Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

China balloon launch site?: A StratoCat twitter says that after 12 hours of painstakingly searching, mile after mile, all Inner Mongolia using Apple maps, the location of the a Chinese balloon launch facility has been found – tied to that alleged surveillance “spy” aerial mission over the United States that was later shot down over U.S. east coast waters. It is located in the Siziwang Banner, 85 miles (138 kilometers) north of Hohhot. Image credit: StratoCat

Mars collectibles: NASA’s Perseverance rover at Jezero Crater has placed a “depot” of 10 samples on the surface of Mars. The sealed tubes contain a diverse sampling of geology at the rover’s exploration zone, and may be picked up and returned to Earth in the 2030’s. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

High and mighty: NASA’s Mars helicopter continues to show off its scouting skills at Jezero Crater. Mars Guy notes that recent software upgrades allow Ingenuity to fly over rugged terrain while autonomously adjusting its altitude. Image credit: Mars Guy

Go to video at: https://youtu.be/lo-m7zmZczk

Hissy fit: Russian space specialists have recorded a depressurization in the Progress MS-21 cargo ship, which is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station on February 18. The passage hatch from the ISS to the ship is closed, thus the Progress MS-21 is isolated from the total volume of the station. All equipment scheduled for removal is already in the ship. The reasons for its depressurization are being investigated. “The temperature regime and pressure on board the ISS are normal, nothing threatens the life and health of the crew,” explains a Roscosmos posting via Telegram. “This incident had no effect on today’s docking with the ISS of the Progress MS-22 cargo spacecraft and will not affect the station’s future flight program.” Image of Progress MS-22 docking to ISS via Roscosmos.