February 7th, 2022
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India appears ready to rekindle its Moon exploration program, apparently eyeing this August to loft the country’s Chandrayaan-3 mission. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State, Science and Technology, has stated that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is readying its third lunar exploration mission. “Many related hardware and their special tests are successfully completed, the […]
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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3378 tasks. Reports Abigail Fraeman, a planetary geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the robot is leaving “The Prow” in its rearview mirror. “We’ll be checking off the last item on our ‘Prow vicinity investigation’ to-do list” with Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) […]
China’s Mars orbiter, the Tianwen-1, has sent a selfie video showcasing the Beijing Olympic, Paralympic emblems that are attached to the spacecraft. The video released on Friday celebrates the official opening of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games via the Red Planet mission. The Tianwen-I probe carries the Five Stars Red Flag, as […]
The International Astronomical Union has announced the creation of a new “Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference.” The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is deeply concerned about the increasing number of launched and planned satellite constellations in mainly low Earth orbits. IAU has chosen the SKA Observatory (SKAO) […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3376 duties. Scientists continue to marvel at the Toron chunk of bedrock, reports Susanne Schwenzer, a planetary geologist at The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. “We arrived here two sols ago and didn’t drive away just yet to get some second servings.” […]
There is increasing interest in that wayward SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage and its impact on the Moon next month. In 2015 the Falcon 9 placed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) DSCOVR climate observatory around the L1 Lagrange point. That’s one of five such gravitationally-stable points between Earth and the Sun. Having reached […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3374 duties. “We continue to characterize ‘The Prow,’ which stands proud above nearby flat lying dust coated bedrock,” reports Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, a planetary geologist at the University of New Brunswick; Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. “Our sedimentologists are very keen to get grain size […]
China’s high-flying Shenzhou-13 crew — Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, have decorated the space station core module with traditional Chinese paper-cuts, red lanterns, and Spring Festival Couplets – all in preparation to welcoming the Chinese Lunar New Year. Commander Zhai, a Chinese calligraphy aficionado, displayed a pair of couplets. The taikonaut trio, who […]
China’s Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter has produced video selfies as it circles the Red Planet. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) released the videos on Monday. One shows a glimpse of the Martian north polar ice cap captured by the orbiter, also recording the process of the orbiter adjusting its solar panels. The second […]
China has issued a sweeping and lengthy white paper that outlines the next five years of planned space activities. The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China published “China’s Space Program: A 2021 Perspective” on Friday. Among highlights in the paper: China will continue to improve the capacity and performance of […]
