Dragon fire
Thursday, 29 April 2021 13:21
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon spits fire as it lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, 23 April at 05:49 local time. On board are ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.
The crew of four spent around 23 hours orbiting Earth and catching up with the International Space Station after their launch before docking to the Node-2 Harmony module, marking the start of ESA’s six-month mission Alpha.
Thomas is the first European to be launched to space on a US spacecraft in over
The Chinese Mars lander: How Zhurong will attempt to touch down on the red planet
Thursday, 29 April 2021 12:57 Write a comment
For the first few months of 2021, the Martian atmosphere was buzzing with new visitors from Earth. First, it was the UAE Space Agency's Hope probe, followed by the Chinese Tianwen-1 entering orbit.
More recently Nasa landed the biggest-ever rover on Mars and its companion, an ingenious helicopter, both of which have been setting new milestones since.
The next visitor to the planet will be Tianwen-1 mission's lander, which will attempt to reach the surface of the Mars in mid-May. To enter the Martian atmosphere, it will use a slightly different technique to previous missions.
Landing on Mars is notoriously dangerous—more missions have failed than succeeded. A successful Mars landing requires entering the atmosphere at very high speeds, then slowing the spacecraft down just the right way as it approaches its landing location.
This phase of the mission, known as entry-descent-landing, is the most critical.
Lofted by NASA balloons, new experiments will study sun-Earth system
Thursday, 29 April 2021 12:14 Write a comment
A suite of scientific balloons is about to lift off from NASA's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility's field site in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, carrying instruments that will help scientists understand the connection between the Sun and Earth.
The Sun sizzles at the center of our solar system 93 million miles away, but its influence doesn't end there. It exhales the solar wind, a continuous stream of charged particles that whisks past Earth and continues for more than 4 billion miles. Sudden bursts in the solar wind can trigger beautiful auroras on Earth, but can also disrupt radio and GPS signals, threaten our satellites, and pose a risk to electrical power grids at the surface.
With goals met, NASA to push envelope with Ingenuity Mars helicopter
Thursday, 29 April 2021 12:00 Write a comment
The red planet rotorcraft will extend its range, speed, and flight duration on Flight Four.
Now that NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has accomplished the goal of achieving powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on the red planet, and with data from its most recent flight test, on April 25, the technology demonstration project has met or surpassed all of its technical objectives. The Ingenuity team now will push its performance envelope on Mars.
The fourth Ingenuity flight from "Wright Brothers Field," the name for the Martian airfield on which the flight took place, is scheduled to take off Thursday, April 29, at 10:12 a.m.
ESA to build second deep space dish in Australia
Thursday, 29 April 2021 11:00 Write a comment
- ESA, in cooperation with the Australian Space Agency, will construct a new 35-metre, deep space dish antenna at its existing ground station in New Norcia, Western Australia
- The 620-tonne antenna will help ESA provide crucial communication links to its growing fleet of deep space missions
- It will be ESA’s second 35-metre antenna at the site and its fourth in total
- The joint announcement was made during a virtual meeting held between the heads of ESA and the Australian Space Agency on 29 April
Beyer seeks funding for NASA in infrastructure bill
Thursday, 29 April 2021 10:43 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House space subcommittee says he is working to secure funding for NASA as part of what could be a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure package proposed by the White House.
Speaking at a Washington Space Business Roundtable webinar April 28, Rep.
China launches first module for new space station
Thursday, 29 April 2021 10:19 Write a comment
China launched the first module of its "Heavenly Palace" space station on Thursday, a milestone in Beijing's ambitious plan to establish a permanent human presence in space.
Billions of dollars have been poured into space exploration as China seeks to reflect its rising global stature and growing technological might, following in the footsteps of the United States, Russia and Europe.
The Mars mission team prepares for its toughest challenge
Thursday, 29 April 2021 10:19 Write a comment
As Beijing's residents bask among the spring blossoms, engineers and technicians in the capital's northwestern suburbs are busily preparing for a challenging maneuver involving a spacecraft hundreds of millions of kilometers from Earth.
The team members-spacecraft control professionals at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center-are making all-out efforts to ensure that Tianwen 1, China's firs NASA Data Helps Builds Resilience as Disasters Grow More Intense
Thursday, 29 April 2021 10:19 Write a comment
In a decade filled by record-breaking events including raging wildfires, numerous hurricanes, unseasonal flooding and historically cold temperatures, NASA has continued to learn more about how the planet is changing and the effect it has on Earth's systems.
In the satellite era, a fleet of Earth-observing satellites have gathered data on world-wide rain and snowfall, air and ocean temperat SpaceX launches Starlink satellites
Thursday, 29 April 2021 09:51 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites April 28, its first since the FCC approved a modification that allows the company to operate more satellites in lower orbits.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 11:44 p.m.
With goals met, NASA ready to push the envelope with Ingenuity Mars Helicopter
Thursday, 29 April 2021 07:26 Write a comment
Now that NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has accomplished the goal of achieving powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on the Red Planet, and with data from its most recent flight test, on April 25, the technology demonstration project has met or surpassed all of its technical objectives. The Ingenuity team now will push its performance envelope on Mars.
The fourth Ingenuity flight fro Zhurong on course for historic journey
Thursday, 29 April 2021 07:26 Write a comment
If it touches down safely on the red planet and works as planned, the Tianwen 1 rover will be the sixth such vehicle deployed on Mars, following five predecessors launched by the United States.
If the semi-autonomous craft functions efficiently, it will work for at least three months and undertake comprehensive surveys of the planet.
The rover, recently named Zhurong after an ancient New View of Asteroid Ryugu's Surface
Thursday, 29 April 2021 07:26 Write a comment
Samples from the near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu recently arrived at Earth, ready for laboratory analysis. In the meantime, ground-based measurements of Ryugu's surface are helping us to complete our picture of this nearby, rocky body.
In December 2020, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 completed a daring 6-year mission, successfully landing on near-Earth asteroid Ryugu and returning a Measuring the Moon's nano dust is no small matter
Thursday, 29 April 2021 07:26 Write a comment
Like a chameleon of the night sky, the Moon often changes its appearance. It might look larger, brighter or redder, for example, due to its phases, its position in the solar system or smoke in Earth's atmosphere. (It is not made of green cheese, however.)
Another factor in its appearance is the size and shape of moon dust particles, the small rock grains that cover the moon's surface. Rese Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins dead at 90
Thursday, 29 April 2021 07:26 Write a comment
American astronaut Michael Collins, who piloted the Apollo 11 command module while his crewmates became the first people to walk on the Moon, died on Wednesday after battling cancer, his family said.
Sometimes called "the loneliest man in history" because of his long solo flight while his colleagues loped across the lunar surface, Collins never earned the same global name recognition as Neil