Space exploration uses fantastic astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. See space news, exciting discoveries of space missions, objects seen by telescopes, robotic space probes and humans in space.
SciNews Channel on Youtube shows that the members of the Tianzhou-2 mission describe the docking between the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft and the Tianhe Core Module as "China’s first fast automatic rendezvous and docking." The Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft autonomously docked to the Tianhe Core Module on 29 May 2021, at 21:01 UTC (30 May, at 05:01 China Standard Time). Tianzhou-2 (天舟二号) is the first spacecraft to dock to the Tianhe Core Module (天和核心舱), the first and main component of the China Space Station (中国空间站).
Credit: China Central Television (CCTV)/China National Space Administration (CNSA)
Take a look at how UFO expert Nick Pope discusses new video ahead of Department of National Intelligence announcement to Congress.
A so-called unidentified flying object (UFO) is any aerial phenomenon that cannot immediately be identified or explained. Most UFOs are identified or investigated as conventional objects or phenomena. The term is widely used for claimed observations of extraterrestrial spacecraft, and was coined as an anacronym by Project Blue Book project head Edward J. Ruppelt. Another widely used term for the phenomenon is "flying saucer."
VideoFromSpace Channel on Youtube shows that a recent inspection of the the International Space Station's Canadarm2 has revealed that it was hit by orbital debris. See the hole that was created and a time-lapse of the robotic arm in action.
Canadarm2 is part of Canada's contribution to the International Space Station (ISS). This 17-metre-long robotic arm was extensively involved in the assembly of the orbiting laboratory.
Tasks: This Canadian robotic arm lends a helping hand to:
- perform Station maintenance
- move supplies, equipment, Dextre and even astronauts
- perform "cosmic catches" by grappling visiting vehicles and berthing them to the ISS
iGadgetPro Channel on Youtube shows the Mars Helicopter Flight story.
On May 22, 2021 NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completed 6th flight on Red Planet but almost crashed due to unexpected anomaly. On the 91st Martian day, or sol, of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter performed its sixth flight. The flight was designed to expand the flight envelope and demonstrate aerial-imaging capabilities by taking stereo images of a region of interest to the west. Ingenuity was commanded to climb to an altitude of 33 feet (10 meters) before translating 492 feet (150 meters) to the southwest at a ground speed of 9 mph (4 meters per second). At that point, it was to translate 49 feet (15 meters) to the south while taking images toward the west, then fly another 164 feet (50 meters) northeast and land.
Telemetry from Flight Six shows that the first 150-meter leg of the flight went off without a hitch. But toward the end of that leg, something happened: Ingenuity began adjusting its velocity and tilting back and forth in an oscillating pattern. This behavior persisted throughout the rest of the flight. Prior to landing safely, onboard sensors indicated the rotorcraft encountered roll and pitch excursions of more than 20 degrees, large control inputs, and spikes in power consumption. The resulting inconsistencies significantly degraded the information used to fly the helicopter, leading to estimates being constantly "corrected" to account for phantom errors. Large oscillations ensued.
BBC News shows that "Dark Matter" is perhaps the most mysterious substance in the universe.
Little is known about it. Scientists are pretty sure it exists but don't know exactly what it is.
Yet it is fundamental to their explanation of the Universe. They believe it permeates space and amounts to around 80% of all matter.
Dark matter does not emit or absorb light but is subject to the effects of gravity. Because of that, astronomers can measure the way it distorts light from distant stars.
Now for the first time they have mapped the distribution of dark matter in the Universe. However the findings have deepened the mystery because they seem to contradict Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, one of the central pillars of modern physics.
Sophie Raworth presents BBC News at Ten reporting by science correspondent Pallab Ghosh.
A huge part of the matter in the universe really is: dark matter. You can't really so-called "see" it. But, you could see the effects of its gravity. Experts are thinking about how this matter can really behave.
Scientists can see how dark matter is distributed based on how its gravity affects light. However, when astronomers compared recent data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope to current models, something didn’t really add up.
So-called "Current assumptions" about dark matter physics might not be entirely correct.
Dark matter is a form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe and about a quarter of its total mass - energy density or about 2.241×10⁻²⁷ kg/m³.
Dark matter can refer to any certain substance which interacts predominantly via gravity with visible matter (e.g., stars and planets). Hence in principle it need not be composed of a new type of fundamental particle but could, at least in part, be made up of standard baryonic matter, such as protons or neutrons.
Here is the explanation of "dark matter" in really simple terms. Dark matter is composed of particles that do not absorb, reflect, or emit light, so they cannot be detected by observing electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is material that cannot be seen directly. We seem to know that dark matter exists because of the effect it has on objects that we can observe directly.
Proving that dark matter exists is certainly a difficult task. Scientists have not yet observed dark matter directly. It doesn't interact with baryonic matter and it's completely invisible to light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation, making dark matter impossible to detect with current instruments.
Some people may wrongfully think that there is no dark matter. However, without dark matter, galaxies would lose a large fraction of the gas that forms new stars immediate after the first major star-forming event they experienced.
Dark matter theory is certainly needed to account for the fact that galaxies don't seem to obey the fundamental laws of physics. That led scientists to believe there must be some invisible matter there to create a stronger gravitational pull and really faster stellar motion.
China certainly said that the Martian rover took a first drive on surface of Red Planet. A remote-controlled Chinese motorized rover drove down the ramp of its landing capsule on Saturday and onto the surface of planet Mars, making China the first nation to orbit, land and deploy a land vehicle on its inaugural mission to the Red Planet.
Planet Mars is certainly the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury. In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the "Red Planet."
Futurity Channel on Youtube shows that SpaceX handles two-thirds of NASA’s launches (including many research payloads). It is interesting how Elon Musk manages to get his SpaceX employees to build successful rockets so quickly.
Since June 2010, rockets from the Falcon 9 group have launched 114 times, with 112 successful launches.
It seems that SpaceX is currently the only privately owned company that successfully delivers humans to the international space station.
It seems that the SpaceX flights are as cheap as $62 million, roughly two-thirds the price of a rocket from United Launch Alliance, a competitor.
How exactly does SpaceX manage to build their rockets so fast?
It sure takes exceptional engineering.
Their rockets are all made with innovative technology. Some cost-saving options have been chosen, such as stainless steel (which costs about $3 per kilogram). Take a look at the full video for more explanations.
This alien video is pretty interesting. "What If" Channel on Youtube asks: Are we alone in this universe? Is there intelligent life out there? Or are they living among us? Humans have wondered about aliens for centuries. But, have you ever thought about the most important question of them all? Do you think this little green man tastes like chicken? Uh, I don't know if aliens will want to make contact after seeing this video. You've embarked on a galactic journey in search of extraterrestrial life. In the future, technology has advanced, allowing us to travel thousands of light-years away. We can finally explore the faraway planets in our galaxy. As you reach the first planet, your stomach rumbles in pain. You've been without food for days. The planet is barren and arid. There isn't anything around to eat. Except for this guy, an alien greeting you at the entrance of your spaceship. Houston, we have a problem, and you're going to kick our butts for this one. Why would you want to eat an alien in the first place? Would it be unethical? And, would they be safe to eat?
DW News shows that China has landed a spacecraft on Mars. This is the latest step in its ambitious space program. The Chinese rover will stay in its lander for a few days of tests before exploring the Red Planet. The rover has yet to send back any images from Mars, but here's the story of how it got there - and what the mission aims to find out.
The name Tianwen means "Heavenly Questions" or "questions to heaven" or "quest for heavenly truth", and comes from the long poem of the same name written by Qu Yuan (c. 340-278 BC), a poet of ancient China.
Tianwen-1 (TW-1; simplified Chinese: 天问; traditional Chinese: 天問 ) is certainly an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to send a robotic spacecraft to Mars, consisting of an orbiter, deployable camera, lander and the Zhurong rover. The spacecraft, with a total mass of nearly 5 tons, is one of the heaviest probes launched to Mars and carries 13 scientific instruments.
The scientific objectives of the mission relate to the geology of Mars, the current and past presence of water, the internal structure of the planet, identification of minerals and rock types on the surface, as well as characterization of the space environment and atmosphere of Mars.
At 23:18 UTC, on 14 May 2021, the Tianwen-1 lander successfully landed in the preselected landing area in the southern part of the Mars Utopia Planitia. The planet landing phase began with the release of the protective capsule containing the lander/rover. The capsule made an atmospheric entry followed by a descent phase under parachute, after which the lander used retro-propulsion to soft-land on Mars.
The lander had a "treacherous journey" through the Martian atmosphere.
This is certainly a major triumph for China's space ambitions, and the culmination of years of hard work.
This is a key event for the China Aerospace and Technology Corporation.
This is the China's first rover landing on another planet.
The icy area of Mars known as "Utopia Planitia" was formed by the violent impact of an asteroid about 4 billion years ago. Past space probes have discovered large amounts of frozen water under the surface here.
The Tiangong Space Station (Chinese: 天宫 'Heavenly Palace') or Chinese large modular space station is a space station placed in low Earth orbit between 340-450 km above the surface. The Tiangong Space Station will be roughly one-fifth the mass of the International Space Station and about the size of the decommissioned Russian Mir space station. The Tiangong is expected to have a mass between 80 and 100 t (180,000 and 220,000 lb). Operations will be controlled from the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center in China. The core module, the Tianhe ("Harmony of the Heavens"), launched on 29 April 2021.
The construction of the station will manifest the 3rd phase of the Tiangong program. It builds on the experience gained from its precursors, Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2. Chinese leaders hope that research conducted on the station will improve researchers' ability to conduct science experiments in space, beyond the duration offered by China's existing space laboratories.
The Chinese large modular space station is designed to be used for 10 years which could be extended to 15 years and will accommodate 3 astronauts.
With the core module deployed and stocked, China will launch 3 taikonauts to live on the CSS. The launch is expected to take place in June 2021. This crewed mission, named Shenzhou-12, will be China's 7th, and the first since the Shenzhou-11 mission in 2016.
China is seeking to enhance its capacity for scientific and technological innovation by building the large modular space station.
A weird mysterious object was certainly captured on video soaring close to the SpaceX Crew Dragon shortly after the astronauts left earth Friday morning. Sources say it could be ice from liquid oxygen in the rocket.
The so-called Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying up to 7 passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond. It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth, and is the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station.
Global News shows that SpaceX safely returned 4 astronauts from the International Space Station on Sunday, making the first USA crew splashdown in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot.
The Crew Dragon capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, just before 3 a.m., ending the second astronaut flight for Elon Musk’s company.
The crew - NASA's Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japan's Soichi Noguchi - had launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 15, propelled by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
"It's not very often you get to wake up on the Space Station and go to sleep in Houston," Holly Ridings, NASA's chief flight director said at a news conference on Sunday.
The 167-day mission was the longest for a crew capsule launching from the USA. The previous record of 84 days was set by NASA’s final Skylab station astronauts in 1974.
As early as Wednesday, May 5, the SpaceX team will attempt a high-altitude flight test of Starship serial number 15 (SN15). For SpaceX, this is the 5th high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from Starbase in Texas. SN15 has vehicle improvements across structures, avionics and software, and the engines that will allow more speed and efficiency throughout production and flight: specifically, a new enhanced avionics suite, updated propellant architecture in the aft skirt, and a new Raptor engine design and configuration.
Similar to previous high-altitude flight tests of Starship, SN15 will be powered through ascent by 3 Raptor engines, each shutting down in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee - approximately 10 km in altitude. SN15 will perform a propellant transition to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent.
Take a look at the SpaceX Channel on Youtube to stay tuned for more updates.
Global News shows that the remnants of China's largest rocket launched last week are expected to plunge back through the atmosphere - this will be dropping the equivalent of 3 pickup trucks or a small plane late Saturday or early Sunday, an expert said.
Long March 5B, the Chinese rocket, is equivalent in size to an unloaded semi-truck and weighs roughly 22 tons (as much as nine tons of material) and is expected to survive, Ted Muelhaupt, principal director of The Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (Cords) at the Aerospace Corporation, said.
The space debris will likely fall into the ocean. However, China has had 2 uncontrolled re-entries in the space of a year.
"There was enough reaction to the last one last May - most people thought they (China) would have learned their lesson and not done it again, but apparently they have," Muelhaupt said.
The Long March 5B is one of the largest pieces of space debris to return to Earth. The core stage of the first Long March 5B that returned to Earth last year weighed nearly 20 tons, surpassed only by debris from the Columbia space shuttle in 2003, the Soviet Union's Salyut 7 space station in 1991, and NASA's Skylab in 1979.
The so-called Long March 5 (LM-5; Chinese: 长征五号 ) is also known as Chang Zheng 5 (CZ-5). This is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). It is the first Chinese launch vehicle designed to use exclusively non-hypergolic liquid propellants. It is the 5th iteration of the Long March rocket family, named for the Chinese Red Army's 1934-35 Long March, during the Chinese Civil War.
