On November 2, 2018, NASA has published the first Ultra-HD 8k video from space. The video focuses on science efforts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and features some important investigations and facilities. It also includes a few amazing Earth views from space.
On July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, two American astronauts, Apollo 11 mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle on the Moon. It was the first time humans set foot on another planetary body other than Earth, making the moon landing probably the most monumental event in history.
Vox.com published a beautiful video highlighting the key moments of the Apollo 11 mission.
Even we could remove the effects of the moonlight, starlight and diffused sunlight from the far side, the Earth’s night sky would never be totally dark. This phenomenon is known as Airglow (also called nightglow). Airglow is a faint emission of light by Earth’s atmosphere (or any planetary atmosphere).
Amateur astronomers in the Netherlands took an amazing Moon-Earth photo using a Chinese satellite. On May 20, 2018, China launched Queqiao lunar communications relay satellite, a key component of the upcoming
In the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, there’s a location called “Point Nemo”. It’s not a place where humans live, in fact, there is no land there: not an island, not even a small rock. It is actually the remotest place from any human civilization you can find on Earth. It lies at least 2,688 km (1,670 mi) from the nearest land. It is also called the “Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility” (see notes 1).
Back in December 1990, during its flyby of Earth, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft, which studied the planet Jupiter and its moons, as well as several other Solar System bodies, pointed its instruments towards Earth, at the urging of Carl Sagan. And, it has found evidence of life on our planet. This can be a key to detecting vegetation on exoplanets – which is key to a possible i
In a paper published in Nature, researchers wrote “The Galileo spacecraft found evidence of abundant gaseous oxygen, a widely distributed surface pigment with a sharp absorption edge in the red part of the visible spectrum, and atmospheric methane in extreme thermodynamic disequilibrium. Together, these are strongly suggestive of life on Earth.”
Earth, our beautiful blue planet. It is the third planet from the Sun, but above all, it is our home, the only astronomical object known to harbor life. Here are the top 10 best Earth quotes.
For eons, skywatchers have been fascinated by the pale red dot that not only unpredictably moves backward in the night sky but also shines a compelling blood-red. Its color, indeed, is one of the first features we notice about Mars. It seizes our attention, and its compelling ambiguity has evoked a deep visceral reaction from the nomad in ancient savannas to modern astronomers.
The ancient astronomer may be satisfied to know that, in fact, Mars is literally blood-red: the same chemical reaction that occurs in the iron in Mars’ soil is the same as the same chemical reaction that occurs in the hemoglobin molecule. Mars, is, quite literally, blood red. Even with our cutting-edge technology and science, Mars still bewitches and amazes us as seen with these five surprising facts about Mars.
On August 6, 2012, at 05:17 UTC, NASA has successfully landed a Mini-Cooper-sized rover, Curiosity, on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars. The 900-kg rover (899 kg, to be exact, which is 1,982 lbs) is equipped with six 50 cm (20 in) diameter wheels in a rocker-bogie suspension (see notes 1). For the first time in the history of space exploration, the suspension system also served as landing gear for the vehicle, unlike its smaller predecessors.
Curiosity “soft-landed” (wheels down) on the surface of Mars. But, even it’s called “soft-landing”, the touchdown speed was 0.6739m/s vertical and 0.044m/s horizontal, which could damage the wheels. Plus, while the rover is moving, the wheels should withstand the substantial damage through the rough Martian surface. That’s why the wheels of the Curiosity rover have been one of the biggest technical difficulties encountered on the mission (see notes 2).
Those of us who have grown up reading Asimov’s robot series are quite informed about what robots can accomplish. While that’s only a reel representation, it definitely points to an abundance of opportunities in the realm of space research.