Martian Winds at Work | ESA Mars Express

Martian Winds at Work | ESA Mars Express

These images from the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter shows part of possibly the largest single source of dust on Mars: a wind-sculpted feature known as the Medusae Fossae Formation, or MFF.

The MFF is not only a veritable dust factory, but also remarkably extensive—it is the largest sedimentary deposit on the planet and stretches out discontinuously for more than 5,000 km, covering an area about the size of India. It is named for the Greek mythological Gorgon Medusa, who was able to turn those who looked into her eyes to stone, with the suffix ‘fossae’ being Latin for trenches or hollows.

The formation is found along the boundary between Mars’ southern highlands and northern lowlands (known as the martian dichotomy), and sits between the planet’s two most prominent volcanic regions (Tharsis and Elysium). It also contains the Eumenides Dorsum mountain range, the edges of which can be seen in the gentle elevation extending out of the bottom right of the frame (northeast).

Wind is a powerful sculptor on the Red Planet—as well as here on Earth. Mars Express has spied several other landscapes on Mars that have been significantly shaped by wind, such as Nili Fossae, Arabia Terra, Syrtis Major, southern dunes, and Schiaparelli crater.

In fact, this region likely formed as a result of wind moving material around on Mars’ surface. The MFF is thought to consist of ash released by the volcanoes in the nearby Tharsis region—including Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the Solar System—that has been deposited either through the air or via fast-moving ‘pyroclastic’ flows of lava, gas and rocky debris.

The crescent-shaped depressions are also the doing of martian winds. These saucer- or trough-shaped hollows, known as blowouts, are apparently carved into the sand by wind erosion. To create a blowout, sand-laden wind whips along and erodes the smooth surface until it hits an obstacle—a buried object such as a rock or more resistant patch of sediment, for example. The wind is then forced around and beneath the object, creating an eddy, before finally heading back upwards, lifting sand with it as it goes.

Wind erosion is thought to be the latest stage of erosional processes acting on the MFF. This is evidenced by the general lack of craters seen on the formation’s surface; if wind erosion had occurred long ago only, we would expect to see more recent craters atop the wind-sculpted terrain. Overall, the fact that only a few craters are visible here, sitting alongside underlying older rock that has subsequently been covered and draped in dust, implies that the region’s surface is young.

Exploring the surface features and geology of Mars is a key objective of Mars Express. Launched in 2003, the spacecraft has been orbiting the Red Planet for nearly two decades; it has since been joined by the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), which arrived in 2016, while the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover and its accompanying surface science platform are scheduled for launch in 2022. Together, this fleet of martian explorers is working towards a fuller understanding of Mars and its intriguing landscapes.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/German Aerospace Center (DLR)/Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin)

Release Date: February 23, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #Mars #Astronomy #Science #Geology #Planet #Atmosphere #Dust #Wind #MedusaeFossaeFormation #MFF #Spacecraft #MarsExpress #HRSC #Europe #DLR #FUBerlin #Berlin #Germany #Deutschland #STEM #Education

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope: Exploring the TRAPPIST-1 System

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope: Exploring the TRAPPIST-1 System

During its first operating cycle, the James Webb Space Telescope will set its sights on the TRAPPIST-1 system, an incredible collection of seven rocky exoplanets 41 light years away from Earth.

Astrobiologists, like Dr. Giada Arney from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, are excited about this system because TRAPPIST-1 is a perfect laboratory for studying habitability! It consists of seven rocky planets, distributed across the system’s habitable zone, or the area around a star where it is not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to exist on the surface of surrounding planets. Webb will characterize the atmospheres of these planets and help scientists learn more about planetary formation and habitability.

Learn more about Webb’s mission: http://webb.nasa.gov

Learn more about the search for life: http://astrobiology.nasa.gov

Credit: NASA Astrobiology

Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay: https://bit.ly/3JIZkt6

Duration: 2 minutes, 39 seconds

Release Date: February 22, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #JamesWebb #Webb #Telescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #Exoplanets #TRAPPIST1 #Astrobiology #Europe #CSA #Canada #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Galaxy Collision Creates “Space Triangle” | Hubble

Galaxy Collision Creates “Space Triangle” | Hubble

A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies fueled an unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy, as captured in a new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. 

The interacting galaxy duo is collectively called Arp 143. The pair contains the glittery, distorted, star-forming spiral galaxy NGC 2445 at right, along with its less flashy companion, NGC 2444 at left.

For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center 

Paul Morris: Lead Producer 

Music Credits: 

“Enticing Occultism 2” by Joel Goodman [ ASCAP ] via Medley Lane Music [ ASCAP ] and Universal Production Music.

Duration: 1 minute, 8 seconds

Release Date: February 22, 2022

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #Galaxies #Arp143 #NGC2444 #NGC2445 #Lynx #Constellation #Stars #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Galactic Head-on Collision | Hubble

A Galactic Head-on Collision | Hubble

A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies has been captured by the NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope, which has the unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy.

The interacting galaxy duo is collectively called Arp 143. The pair contains the distorted, star-forming spiral galaxy NGC 2445, at right, along with its less flashy companion, NGC 2444, at left. This frenzied action takes place against the tapestry of distant galaxies. Some of them can be seen through the interacting pair.

Credit:

NASA, ESA, STScI, and J. Dalcanton (Center for Computational Astrophysics/Flatiron Inst., UWashington)

Release Date: February 22, 2022

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #Galaxies #Arp143 #NGC2444 #NGC2445 #Lynx #Constellation #Stars #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education

NASA ScienceCasts: The International Space Station's New Solar Arrays

NASA ScienceCasts: The International Space Station's New Solar Arrays

The new ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) being installed on the International Space Station are providing power to the station with improved efficiency. ROSA technology will also help power the NASA Lunar Gateway outpost, and the DART mission as it makes its way to the Didymos asteroid system.

These solar arrays  are lightweight, flexible power sources for spacecraft designed and developed by Redwire. Redwire Corporation is an American aerospace manufacturer and space infrastructure technology company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

This new type of solar array provides much more energy than traditional solar arrays at much less mass. Traditional solar panels used to power satellites are bulky, with heavy panels folded together using mechanical hinges. Given a space-bound payload is limited in its mass and volume by necessity, ROSA is 20 percent lighter (with a mass of 325 kg (717 lb)) and one-fourth the volume of rigid panel arrays with the same performance.

ROSA is a flexible and rollable solar array that operates the same way a measuring tape unwinds on its spool. The new solar array design rolls up to form a compact cylinder for launch with significantly less mass and volume, potentially offering substantial cost savings as well as an increase in power for satellites. 

ROSA has a center wing made of a flexible material which support the strings of photovoltaic cells that produce electricity. Both the sides of the wing have a narrow arm that extends through the length of the wing to provide support to the array, called a high strain composite boom. The booms look like split tubes made of a stiff composite material, flattened and rolled up lengthwise. 

The array does not need any motor to unfurl. This is achieved using the potential energy stored in the booms that is released as each boom transitions from a coil shape to a straight support arm. The solar wings are then deployed due to strain energy in rolled booms that are present at the two ends of the structure.

Learn more about Redwire's technology:

https://youtu.be/ijgHg1-4mpY

Space Station Research & Tech: https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

Credit: NASA

Duration: 1 minute, 27 seconds

Release Date: Nov 22, 2021

#NASA #Space #Science #Technology #ISS #Solar #SolarPanels #SolarArrays #ROSA #iROSA #Redwire #Engineering #Boeing #UnitedStates #ScienceCasts #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Solar Orbiter Captures Giant Solar Eruption | ESA/NASA

Solar Orbiter Captures Giant Solar Eruption | ESA/NASA

The Full Sun Imager of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager on board the European Space Agency/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft captured a giant solar eruption on February 15, 2022.

Solar prominences are large structures made of tangled magnetic field lines that keep dense concentrations of solar plasma suspended above the Sun’s surface and often take the form of arching loops.

This is the largest solar prominence eruption ever observed in a single image together with the full solar disc. They are often associated with coronal mass ejections, which if directed towards Earth, can wreak havoc with our technology and everyday lives.

This coronal mass ejection was not directed at Earth. In fact, it was traveling away from us. 

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3HbmqXR

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Image Date: February 15, 2022

Release Date: February 18, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Sun #Solar #Prominence #Eruption #Plasma #Corona #Physics #Astrophysics #Ultraviolet #SolarOrbiter #Earth #GSFC #Goddard #STEM #Education

Smoky Ring for a Halo | Hubble

Smoky Ring for a Halo | Hubble

Two stars shine through the center of a ring of cascading dust in this image taken by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. The star system is named DI Cha, and while only two stars are apparent, it is actually a quadruple system containing two sets of binary stars.

As this is a relatively young star system it is surrounded by dust. The young stars are moulding the dust into a wispy wrap.

The host of this alluring interaction between dust and star is the Chamaeleon I dark cloud—one of three such clouds that comprise a large star-forming region known as the Chamaeleon Complex. DI Cha's juvenility is not remarkable within this region. In fact, the entire system is among not only the youngest but also the closest collections of newly formed stars to be found and so provides an ideal target for studies of star formation.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt (geckzilla.org)

Release Date: October 26, 2015

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #DICha #Stars #Binary #Halo #Cloud #ChamaeleonI #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education

Hubble Captures a Peculiar Galactic Pair

Hubble Captures a Peculiar Galactic Pair

This striking image from the NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope showcases Arp 298, a stunning pair of interacting galaxies. Arp 298—which comprises the two galaxies NGC 7469 and IC 5283—lies roughly 200 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. The larger of the two galaxies pictured here is the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7469, and IC 5283 is its diminutive companion. NGC 7469 is also host to an active, supermassive black hole and a bright ring of star clusters.

The “Arp” in this galaxy pair’s name signifies that they are listed in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies compiled by the astronomer Halton Arp. The Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies is a rogues’ gallery of weird and wonderful galaxies containing peculiar structures, featuring galaxies exhibiting everything from segmented spiral arms to concentric rings. This interacting galaxy pair is a familiar sight for Hubble—a portrait of the merging galaxies in Arp 298 was published in 2008.

This image of Arp 298 contains data from three separate Hubble proposals. By combining observations from three proposals, Arp 298 is captured in glorious detail in seven different filters from two of Hubble’s instruments—the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys.

The process of planning Hubble observations starts with a proposal—a detailed plan of what an astronomer intends to observe and their scientific motivation for doing so. Once a year, these proposals are gathered and judged in a gruelling review process which assess their scientific merit and feasibility. Fewer than 20% of the proposed observations in any given year will make it through this process and be approved, which makes observing time with Hubble highly prized indeed.

This system will be one of the first galaxies observed with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope as part of the Director's Discretionary Early Release Science Programs in Summer 2022.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Evans, R. Chandar

Release Date: February 21, 2022

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #Galaxies #Arp298 #NGC7469 #IC5283 #Pegasus #Constellation #Stars #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education

The James Webb Space Telescope | Meet ESA Experts

The James Webb Space Telescope | Meet ESA Experts

Are you curious to know how a telescope works? Join European Space Agency (ESA) astronomer Giovanna Giardino as she provides insights into the inner workings of the world’s largest telescope in space, the extraordinary James Webb Space Telescope.

Learn more about Webb: https://bit.ly/ESAWebb

ESA - Teach with Astronomy website:

https://www.esa.int/Education/Teach_with_astronomy

"We are Europe's gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int to get up to speed on everything space related."

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Duration: 12 minutes, 40 seconds

Release Date: February 20, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #JamesWebb #Webb #Telescope #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #Exoplanets #SolarSystem #ESAEducation #Europe #CSA #Canada #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Jupiter and Europa | Hubble

Jupiter and Europa | Hubble

This image of Jupiter, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on August 25, 2020, was captured when the planet was 653 million kilometers from Earth. Hubble’s sharp view gave researchers an updated weather report on the monster planet’s turbulent atmosphere, including a remarkable new storm brewing, and a cousin of the Great Red Spot changing color—again. The image also features Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.

Learn more about NASA's upcoming Europa Clipper Mission—Earth's first mission to conduct detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter's moon, Europa. Scientists are almost certain that a vast ocean (larger than Earth's) lies beneath Europa's icy shell:

https://europa.nasa.gov

Europa Clipper is an interplanetary mission in development by NASA consisting of an orbiter. Currently planned for launch in October 2024, the spacecraft will study the Galilean moon Europa through a series of flybys while in orbit around Jupiter.

Europa Clipper will perform follow-up studies to those made by NASA's Galileo spacecraft during its nearly eight years in Jupiter orbit (1995-2003), which indicated the existence of a subsurface ocean underneath Europa's ice crust. Due to the adverse effects of radiation from Jupiter's magnetosphere in Europa orbit, it was decided that it would be safer to inject a spacecraft into an elliptical orbit around Jupiter and make 44 close flybys of the moon. The mission began as a joint investigation between the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), and will be built with a scientific payload of nine instruments contributed by JPL, APL, Southwest Research Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Arizona State University and University of Colorado Boulder. 

The mission will complement the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) launching in 2022, which will fly-by Europa twice and Callisto multiple times before moving into orbit around Ganymede.

Credit:

NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M. H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley) and the OPAL team.

Image Date: August 25, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Hubble #Telescope #Space #Science #Jupiter #Europa #Moon #Ocean #Astrobiology #Biosignatures #Habitability #Radiation #EuropaClipper #ESA #JUICE #Spacecraft #SolarSystem #Exploration #JPL #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA Seeks Space Technology Partners for the Moon and Near-Earth

NASA Seeks Space Technology Partners for the Moon and Near-Earth

NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) is looking for companies developing technology that can advance space exploration. Two new opportunities focus on technology development for space infrastructure and capabilities for the Moon and near-Earth space. The deadline to submit initial proposals is March 31, 2022. More info: https://go.nasa.gov/3I6cK28

Eligibility requirements can be found in Section 3 of this PDF document: https://bit.ly/3s4yaXS

Under the Tipping Point opportunity, NASA will award a total of up to $200 million to multiple companies using funded Space Act Agreements. The opportunity also includes incentives for small businesses, allowing companies with fewer than 500 employees to contribute less to the cost of the technology development.

More than half a billion dollars have been awarded to 50 projects since NASA announced the first Tipping Point opportunity in 2015. Space technologies advanced through this funding are now part of current and future mission plans.

Image: Illustration of Artemis astronauts on the Moon. NASA's new Tipping Point opportunity and Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO) seek to mature space technology, including those that could be used for living and working on the Moon for NASA's Artemis astronauts

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Release Date: February 15, 2022

#NASA #Space #Science #Technology #Engineering #Commerce ##Infrastructure #TippingPoint #ACO #Funding #Artemis #Moon #Earth #STMD #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Florida: Destination Before Arrival | International Space Station

Florida: Destination Before Arrival | International Space Station

European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Thomas Pesquet (France): "A unique aspect of space travel is that you can see your destination before you leave! We flew over Florida recently and probably in a few days we will splashdown there. I don't want to liken us to the Apollo astronauts, but it must have been a strange feeling to look up at the Moon in 1969 and think that you would be there in a few days’ time!"

"Le voyage spatial est le seul qui permet de voir sa destination avant d’y arriver, plutôt cool 😎 La Station spatiale a survolé la Floride récemment, et ce sera à nouveau le cas quand on va plonger vers elle pour se poser. Sans vouloir nous comparer aux astronautes des missions Apollo, ça devait être un sentiment particulier de regarder la Lune en 1969 et de se dire qu’ils y poseraient le pied quelques jours plus tard !"

Credit: ESA/NASA/JSC, Thomas Pesquet

Image Date: October 10, 2021

#NASA #Space #ISS #Astronaut #ThomasPesquet #CNES #France #ESA #Science #Atlantic #Ocean #Kennedy #KSC #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #SpaceCoast #GulfofMexico #Florida #Alabama #Mississipi #Georgia #UnitedStates #Photography #Expedition66 #International #OverviewEffect #STEM #Education

Solar Orbiter and SOHO’s View of a Giant Eruption | NASA/ESA

Solar Orbiter and SOHO’s View of a Giant Eruption | NASA/ESA

Composition of imagery from the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter and SOHO spacecraft, which captured a giant solar eruption on February 15, 2022. 

The Full Sun Imager (FSI) of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on board the Solar Orbiter spacecraft captured the images of the solar disc and out into space for about 3.5 million kilometers (center image). SOHO LASCO C2 imagery is superposed, tracing the eruption even further.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/35a3zPf

The Solar Orbiter (SolO) is a Sun-observing satellite developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). SolO, designed to obtain detailed measurements of the inner heliosphere and the nascent solar wind, performs close observations of the polar regions of the Sun which is difficult to do from Earth. These observations are important in investigating how the Sun creates and controls its heliosphere. SolO was launched in February 2020. The mission is planned to last seven years.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft built by a European industrial consortium led by Matra Marconi Space (now Airbus Defence and Space) that was launched on a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS launch vehicle in December 1995 to study the Sun. It has discovered over 4,000 comets. It began normal operations in May 1996. It is a joint project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. 

Credit: Solar Orbiter/EUI and SOHO/LASCO teams, ESA & NASA

Duration: 40 seconds

Release Date: February 17, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Solar #SolarEruption #Sun #Earth #ActiveRegions #Plasma #SolarOrbiter #SolO #SOHO #Observatory #MagneticField #Ultraviolet #Wavelength #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Uncovering a Black Hole in an Immense Dust Cloud | ESO

Uncovering a Black Hole in an Immense Dust Cloud | ESO

ESOcast 251 Light: Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are extremely energetic sources powered by supermassive black holes. This short video provides insights into these peculiar objects by showcasing a new discovery on the AGN at the center of the Messier 77 galaxy.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Directed by: Herbert Zodet and Martin Wallner.  

Editing: Herbert Zodet.  

Web and technical support: Gurvan Bazin and Raquel Yumi Shida.  

Written by: Anita Chandran and Juliet Hannay.  

Music: Stellardrone—Billions And Billions.  

Footage and photos: ESO, Jaffe, Gámez-Rosas et al., L. Calçada, M. Kornmesser, C. Malin (christophmalin.com) and Gianluca Lombardi (glphoto.it).  

Scientific consultants: Paola Amico and Mariya Lyubenova.

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: February 16, 2022

#NASA #ESO #Europe #Observatory #BlackHole #AGN #Activegalacticnuclei #Galaxy #Messier77 #Science #Technology #VLT #Telescope #Earth #SolarSystem #Chile #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Next Space Station Commercial Cargo Mission | This Week @NASA

Next Space Station Commercial Cargo Mission | This Week @NASA

Week of Feb. 18, 2022: The next commercial cargo mission to the space station, celebrating the first year of Perseverance on Mars, and the first science images from a recently launched mission . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!

0:00 Introduction
0:15 The Next Commercial Cargo Mission to the Space Station
0:44 Russian Spacecraft Delivers Cargo to Space Station
1:12 Perseverance Marks One Year on Mars
1:55 IXPE Sends First Science Image
2:33 New Sea Level Rise Projections for U.S. Communities

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Producer: Andre Valentine
Editor: Sonnet Apple
Music: Universal Production Music

Duration: 3 minutes, 44 seconds

Release Date: February 18, 2022

 #NASA #Space #ISS #Roscosmos #Cosmonauts #Astronauts #Роскосмос #Russia #Россия #ESA #DLR #Germany #Deutschland #Science #Cancer #Research #Cargo #Progress80 #NorthropGrumman #Cygnus #Antares #Rocket #Mars #Perserverance #JPL #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #Expedition66 #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

 

We are Going to the Moon! | NASA, ESA and Artemis Partners

We are Going to the Moon! | NASA, ESA and Artemis Partners 

This is the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It was moved from the Launch Abort System Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building to be stacked atop the Launch Abort System. In that package is the Orion spacecraft which consists of the NASA’s Crew Module, the Crew Module Adapter and the European Space Agency (ESA) European Service Module. Together these modules will power the spacecraft around the Moon and back. Over 30 engines, four solar wings, 8.6 tons of propellant and 11 km of cables are inside. For the first Artemis mission they will work in harmony to travel from Earth to the Moon, make two flybys and return.

For the European Service Module this is just another small step on its way to the Moon. With parts made in ten countries in Europe and assembled in Bremen, Germany, the complete module was flown to Kennedy Space Center at the end of 2018 to be integrated with the crew module.

Launching soon, Artemis I will be a test of the Orion spacecraft and its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Through Artemis, NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, heralding a new era for space exploration and utilization. The NASA-led Artemis program is a new generation of lunar exploration missions designed to send humans farther into space than ever before. The Artemis missions are increasingly complex endeavours that will lay the foundation for sustainable human and robotic exploration of Earth's only natural satellite, the Moon.

While NASA is leading the Artemis missions, international partnerships will play a key role in achieving a sustainable and robust presence on the Moon while preparing to conduct a historic human mission to Mars.

Named after the mythological figure Artemis, who is both Apollo's twin sister and Goddess of the Moon and the hunt, this ambitious campaign encompasses efforts to send the first woman and the next man to walk on the surface of the Moon. These missions will also prepare and propel us onward to Mars. As the "torch bringer," Artemis will light the way for human exploration of the red planet.

Which countries have signed the Artemis Accords?

On May 31, 2021, New Zealand became the 11th country to sign the Artemis Accords. A few days earlier, on May 24, Republic of Korea signed the accords. These two countries join Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ukraine, and the United States. (Source: ORF)

With numerous countries and private sector players conducting missions and operations in cislunar space, it is critical to establish a common set of principles to govern the civil exploration and use of outer space.

The Artemis Accords will describe a shared vision for principles, grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, to create a safe and transparent environment which facilitates exploration, science, and commercial activities for all of humanity to enjoy.

Current Artemis mission plans include:

Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft, set to launch on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in 2022;

Artemis II, the first-ever crewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft, scheduled to launch on the SLS rocket no later than May 2024; and

Artemis III, the mission that will land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon, set to launch no earlier than 2025.

Like the Apollo program over 50 years ago, Artemis will begin with missions around the Moon (Artemis I and II) before a mission that lands on the lunar surface (Artemis III).

During later missions, astronauts will dock Orion to the Lunar Gateway, a small space station to which Canada is contributing a smart robotic system, Canadarm3. The Gateway is critical to sustainable lunar exploration and will serve as a model for future missions to Mars. From the Gateway, astronauts will be able to venture to the lunar surface.

In return for contributing Canadarm3, a smart robotic system, to the Lunar Gateway, Canada receives a range of opportunities for lunar science, technology demonstration and commercial activities, as well as two astronaut flights to the Moon. A Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut will be part of Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon since 1972.

Learn more about the NASA Artemis Program:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis

Caption Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA

Image Credit: NASA–Isaac Watson

Image Date: October 18, 2021

Release Date: February 17, 2022

#NASA #ESA #CSA #Space #Moon #Artemis #Orion #Spacecraft #ServiceModule #SLS #Rocket #Orion #Spacecraft #Mars #JourneyToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #History #America #UnitedStates #Europe #Canada #International #STEM #Education