United Arab Emirates’ Hope Probe (Arabic: Misbar Al-Amal, al-amal means “hope” in English), which entered Mars’ orbit in February 2021, has captured a breathtaking photo of Mars and its tiny moon Deimos.
Category Archives: Space Exploration
Solar eclipse as seen from the Moon Orbit
Japan’s ispace Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander captured this stunning photo in orbit around our Moon while a solar eclipse was occurring on Earth last week (September). You can see the Moon’s dark shadow passing above Australia as a dark smudge.
Top 12 Tallest Rockets Ever Launched [2023 SpaceX Starship Update]
To be able to reach space, we need rockets. Rocket engines work by action and reaction (“To every action, there is always opposed an equal reaction”, see notes 1) and push rockets forward simply by expelling their exhaust in the opposite direction at high speed and can, therefore, work in the vacuum of space. Space rockets …
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The first in-space satellite repair was performed on April 11, 1984
The first orbiting satellite to be repaired in space was NASA’s Solar Maximum Mission, which launched on February 14, 1980, to observe solar flares. Just a few months later, in November 1980, one of the satellite’s altitude control fuses failed. It was put in standby mode, and it remained so until Space Shuttle Challenger [STS-41-C] …
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The first weather observation satellite [TIROS-1] was launched on April 1, 1960
On April 1, 1960, the world’s first weather observation satellite (TIROS-1) was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It became operational for 78 days, despite the mission duration being 90 days.
The first Mercury flyby was performed by Mariner 10 on March 29, 1974
On March 29, 1974, NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft has performed the first Mercury flyby in the history of space exploration.
Vanguard 1, the first Solar-Powered Satellite [and the Oldest Human-Made Object Still in Orbit] was Launched on March 17, 1958
Vanguard 1, launched on March 17, 1958, marks a significant step in space exploration as the first solar-powered satellite. It is also the oldest human-made object still orbiting Earth. The satellite, with a diameter of about 6.4 inches (16.3 cm), demonstrated the viability of solar energy in space missions. While its primary scientific mission has …
Voyager 1 performed the Jupiter flyby on March 5, 1979
On March 5, 1979, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft performed a Jupiter flyby as it flew within 277,400 kilometers (172,368 miles) of the planet’s cloud tops or 348,890 km/216,790 miles from the center of mass.
Pioneer 10 was launched on March 2, 1972
On March 2, 1972, Pioneer 10, was launched by NASA on top of an Atlas-Centaur rocket (AC-27 / Atlas 3C no. 5007C / Centaur D-1A) to study Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, and its environment. The mission’s primary goal was to fly by Jupiter and study its atmosphere, magnetosphere, and radiation belts. …
Venera 13 became the first spacecraft to record sounds on another planet [Venus] on March 1, 1982
On March 1, 1982, the landing vehicle of the Soviet Union’s Venera 13 spacecraft landed on Venus and became the first spacecraft to record sounds on another planet.
