UAE “Hope” probe successfully reaches Mars, two more following shortly
2021 marks both the 50th anniversary of the Emirates and the first landing on Mars.
NASA is bargaining with a US space startup for a Soyuz seat
A negotiated seat
NASA is planning to buy an astronaut seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft through Texas-based aerospace firm Axiom Space, according to two people familiar with the plans. The seat is a backup for NASA in case its upcoming ride with SpaceX runs into technical problems, and it suggests the agency is proceeding cautiously.
... https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/11/2227 ... rew-spacex
Report: NASA’s only realistic path for humans on Mars is nuclear propulsion
"It's the kind of technology challenge that NASA was built for."
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Even in favorable scenarios where Earth and Mars line up every 26 months, a humans-to-Mars mission still requires 1,000 to 4,000 metric tons of propellant.
If that’s difficult to visualize, consider this. When upgraded to its Block 1B configuration, NASA’s Space Launch System rocket will have a carrying capacity of 105 tons to low-Earth orbit. NASA expects to launch this rocket once a year, and its cost will likely be around $2 billion for flight. So to get enough fuel into orbit for a Mars mission would require at least 10 launches of the SLS rocket, or about a decade and $20 billion. Just for the fuel.
At 132 astronomical units, 'Farfarout' is the most distant object we've ever found in the solar system
For comparison, Pluto is only 39 astronomical units away
On Monday, NASA released a video (embedded below) that included several viewpoints from the descent of Mars Perseverance to the surface of the red planet last week. A camera on the back shell captured a view of the parachute deploying, and cameras on the descent stage and rover itself captured the final seconds of the landing.
On Monday, NASA released a video (embedded below) that included several viewpoints from the descent of Mars Perseverance to the surface of the red planet last week. A camera on the back shell captured a view of the parachute deploying, and cameras on the descent stage and rover itself captured the final seconds of the landing.
On Monday, NASA released a video (embedded below) that included several viewpoints from the descent of Mars Perseverance to the surface of the red planet last week. A camera on the back shell captured a view of the parachute deploying, and cameras on the descent stage and rover itself captured the final seconds of the landing.
