Category: Solar System

Our solar system

China eyes May 2024 launch for 1st-ever lunar sample-return mission to moon’s far side

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Engineers working on China’s Chang’e-6 mission have foregone family reunions over the Lunar New Year to help get the spacecraft ready for launch. The components of the complex Chang’e-6 moon sample return mission arrived at Wenchang spaceport on Hainan island in early January. There, a team of engineers and researchers, many with extensive experience from the 2020 Chang’e-5 mission, is intensively testing and adjusting the equipment, according to a China Central Television (CCTV) report.  The mission will make the first ever attempt at collecting material from the far side of…

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Everything we know about ‘Spaceman’

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Prepare yourself for an out-there experience with Netflix’s “Spaceman.” Fans of science fiction have a lot to look forward to in the movie and TV space in 2024, and one of Netflix’s upcoming releases might be one of the best space movies we’ve received in a while if it lives up to its promise. Here’s everything we know about “Spaceman” starring Adam Sandler. “Spaceman,” an adaptation of Jaroslav Kalfař’s 2017 novel “Spaceman of Bohemia,” packs some very impressive creative talent, but it’s only one of the many sci-fi movies and…

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Private ‘Odysseus’ lander heads for the moon after SpaceX launch

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A pioneering private moon mission is going well so far. The robotic Odysseus moon lander, which was built by Houston company Intuitive Machines, launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early this morning (Feb. 15) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  The liftoff went smoothly, and Odysseus got up and running on its own as planned. The lander has been “successfully commissioned in space by establishing a stable attitude, solar charging and radio communications contact with the company’s mission operations center in Houston,” Intuitive Machines wrote in a brief…

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Neil deGrasse Tyson’s new StarTalk TV streaming channel launches on Pluto TV

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Spreading the universal wit and wisdom of celebrity astrophysicist, author, humorist and TV host Neil deGrasse Tyson, StarTalk is one of the most popular educational podcasts in the world.  First arriving on Earth back in 2009, the internet show features engaging discussions on NASA and international space missions, time travel, physics, astronomy, planetary science, black holes, the search for life, and how these topics intersect with pop culture and comedy. The National Geographic Channel also aired an Emmy-nominated spinoff StarTalk TV series from 2015-2019 encompassing 76 total episodes. Now the…

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‘Odd couple’ kissing stars created by unromantic cannibalistic feeding dance

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Valentine’s Day won’t be all hearts and flowers for some “kissing stars” — or, in other words, stars that exist in close binaries that have been locked in a waltz that has left one a shrunken husk, and the other a swollen orb. Astronomers have zoomed in on a group of such “odd couple” stars, only to discover the bodies appear to have been created by a voracious and essentially cannibalistic stellar feeding process. How unromantic. The team, led by Georgia State Postdoctoral Research Associate Robert Klement, used the Center…

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How to watch ‘The Shuttle That Fell to Earth’ online – from anywhere

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‘The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth’: Key information • UK: Watch for FREE on BBC iPlayer• Away from home: Use a VPN such as ExpressVPN to watch your usual service from anywhere• US, Canada and Australia: International release dates TBC “The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth” is a is a new three-part documentary that charts the story of the 2003 Columbia disaster, when NASA’s shuttle disintegrated as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over Texas. Utterly mesmerizing from the start, this documentary combines first-hand testimony with previously unseen video footage to explore…

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SpaceX to launch Intuitive Machines lander Feb. 14 on 2nd try for NASA’s commercial moon program

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Early Wednesday morning (Feb. 14), Intuitive Machines will kick off its quest to become the first private company to make a soft landing on the lunar surface. The Houston-based company is launching its Nova-C lander, named “Odysseus,” to the moon atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is currently scheduled for 12:57 a.m. EST (0557 GMT) on Wednesday, Valentine’s Day. The mission was originally slated to launch in January, but bad weather pushed it to this month. SpaceX has a three-day window in…

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Astronauts may accidentally threaten Mars missions with their gut bacteria, scientists warn

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As space agencies plan for future crewed missions to Mars, with NASA hoping to have humans step foot on the Red Planet as soon as the 2030s, scientists warn that astronauts themselves could be carrying a threat to these missions.  This threat may very well live within their bodies. New research using simulated Mars conditions — such as the planet’s lack of water, harsh ultraviolet radiation and exposure to toxic salts — suggests four strains of bacteria that can be carried in the human gut may not only survive in…

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SpaceX to launch Starship again ‘in about 3 weeks,’ Elon Musk says

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The third test flight of SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket could be just around the corner, according to Elon Musk. “Starship were meant to fly and our next one launches in about 3 weeks, but I recommend waiting for a few more test flights before hopping on board,” Musk said Monday (Feb. 12) in a post on X . The billionaire entrepreneur was replying to a post from the rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), who had asked Musk, “Where my rocket ship?” The two moguls have known each other…

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Canadian astronaut reveals Indigenous art patch for Artemis 2 moon mission

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The first Canadian who will fly to the moon now has a patch to represent his own mission, as well as the knowledge passed on by his country’s original explorers. Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who in 2025 will fly as a member of NASA’s Artemis 2 crew on a flight around the moon, revealed the new emblem while meeting with students from First Nations University of Canada on Thursday (Feb. 8). The insignia reflects Hansen’s appreciation for Indigenous “ways of knowing.” “For the past decade, Jeremy has…

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