December 16th, 2020
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China’s Chang’e-5 orbiter/returner completed its second trajectory correction on its Moon-to-Earth transfer voyage Wednesday morning, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). At 9:15 am (Beijing time) two 25 newton thrust engines on the orbiter/returner combination fired for about eight seconds. The CNSA said all systems on the orbiter/returner combination that carries the lunar […]
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China’s ground teams are preparing for the landing of Chang’e-5 probe’s returner at the Siziwang Banner in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The return capsule is filled with roughly 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of lunar samples gathered from Mons Rümker, an isolated volcanic formation that is located in the northwest part of the […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Soll 2971 duties. Here are some recent images from the Red Planet rover:
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has confirmed finding samples from asteroid Ryugu inside the re-entry capsule of the Hayabusa2 asteroid explorer. The sample container was opened on December 14, with researchers finding black grains thought to be from Ryugu. This is outside the main chambers, and likely particles attached to the sample catcher […]
The orbiter/returner of China’s Chang’e-5 mission has attained a Moon-Earth transfer orbit, expected to land on Earth in Inner Mongolia on December 17th. Loaded with lunar samples, the spacecraft conducted its second orbital maneuver at 09:51 on Sunday and entered the Moon/Earth transfer orbit, according to sources with the China National Space Administration (CNSA). Four […]
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) reports that the Chang’e-5 orbiter/returner spacecraft has carried out an orbital maneuver around the Moon, preparing to leave lunar orbit for a trajectory that returns it to Earth. Following roughly six days in lunar orbit, the orbiter/returner combination completed the movement on Saturday, the first trans-Earth injection maneuver, […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2968 tasks. “Curiosity is making her way to ‘Sands of Forvie,’ the large sand field we’ve been seeing in the orbital images,” reports Ashley Stroupe, a mission operations engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Rover planners are trying to drive as far as possible and expect to […]
“Mars, here we come!!” That’s from SpaceX chief rocketeer, Elon Musk, given the December 9 flight of Starship serial number 8 (SN8) that lifted off from the company’s Cameron County launch pad in South Texas. SN8 successfully ascended, transitioned propellant, and performed its landing flip maneuver with precise flap control to reach its landing point […]
Space Rider is Europe’s next-generation reusable transportation system for low Earth orbit. The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space and co-contractor AVIO for the development of the automated reusable Space Rider transportation system, designed for deployment by the new Vega C light launcher into low Earth orbit. A second […]
China’s Chang’e-5 lunar sample return capsule is expected to touch down in China’s Inner Mongolia region next week. If successful, Chang’e-5 would be the first robotic lunar-sample return mission since 1976 – Luna-24 carried out by the former Soviet Union. For Chang’e-5 the goal is to bring back up to 4.4 pounds (two kilograms) of […]
