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Chinese-built Reusable Rocket Completes 10-kilometer Vertical Return Test
A Chinese reusable carrier rocket completed a 10-kilometer vertical return test Sunday, June 23, 2024. This was the largest vertical return test for a Chinese reusable carrier rocket. This successful vertical takeoff, vertical landing test demonstrates continued progress towards a reusable rocket.
The test flight began at 13:00 and lasted for about six minutes. The 3.8-meter-diameter rocket, powered by three variable-thrust liquid oxygen-methane rockets, climbed to an altitude of about 12 kilometers before adjusting and descending. The rocket opened its landing pad supports at an altitude of 50 meters and landed slowly but stably on the pad.
This rocket development is led by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, a member of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
This is the first use of the self-developed highly-variable thrust liquid oxygen-methane rocket engine in a 10-kilometer return test, laying a solid foundation for the 4-meter diameter reusable rocket to be tested in 2025.
After this, the development team will carry out a 70-kilometer vertical return test.
This event is the latest marker among several competing Chinese efforts to match and exceed the capabilities of SpaceX and its Falcon 9 rocket for commercial and domestic use on a large scale, combined with rapid rates of rocket production in higher volumes at a lower cost. This will further reduce the costs of payload delivery to Earth orbit and beyond for humanity.
Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency
Zooming to Arp 273: A Galactic Rose in Andromeda | Hubble
This pair of interacting galaxies is called Arp 273. The distorted shape of the larger of the two galaxies shows signs of tidal interactions with the smaller of the two. It is thought that the smaller galaxy has actually passed through the larger one.
Distance:300 million light years
Credit: NASA, European Space Agency and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Interacting Galaxies Arp 273: A Galactic Rose in Andromeda | Hubble
This pair of interacting galaxies is called Arp 273. The distorted shape of the larger of the two galaxies shows signs of tidal interactions with the smaller of the two. It is thought that the smaller galaxy has actually passed through the larger one.
Distance:300 million light years
Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Pakistan & China: Dreaming of The Moon | ICUBE-Q Lunar Satellite Mission
China's Chang'e-6 far side Moon mission successfully carried the ICUBE-Q satellite, releasing it into lunar orbit on May 8, 2024. The 15.4-pound (7 kilogram) small satellite captured images of the Moon and Sun and collected magnetic field data.
The ICUBE-Q is among the first nano-satellites to travel into deep space. It is also the first satellite collaboration mission between the governments of Pakistan and China, as well as their universities.
To accomplish this, young people from Pakistan and China embarked on a collaborative journey, starting a new chapter in lunar exploration. They represent not only the future of their nations, but also a new hope for humanity's future space endeavors. Going from dream to reality, from Earth to the Moon, watch what is made possible when young people aspire and inspire in this short clip from the upcoming CGTN documentary "Back To the Far Side."
Pakistan launched its groundbreaking lunar mission aboard China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe on May 3, 2024. The Chinese probe launched on a Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province.
The ICUBE-Q CubeSat satellite, designed and developed by Pakistan's Institute of Space Technology (IST) in collaboration with China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Pakistan's national space agency, SUPARCO, represents a milestone in space cooperation.
The launch was broadcast live on the Institute of Space Technology's website and media channels with viewers worldwide witnessing history in the making. For the many young students aspiring to explore the unknown, this historic day signified that their dream is about to come true.
"It all started from my childhood, basically, it looks really fascinated when I looked at the Moon continuously walking with us, and I usually stare at the Moon from my rooftop," said Malaika Khursheed, a student at the Institute of Space Technology.
ICUBE-Q is a symbol of mutual trust, and youngsters' exploration of the Moon.
"At the moment of the launch of the Pakistan and SJTU CubeSat, I'm very delighted to be part of this momentous occasion and I can't wait to watch the launch," said Chen Ye, a student from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
In March 2024, students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University arrived in Pakistan to meet and train with their fellow Pakistani students. The Chinese team brought a copy of the satellite to Pakistan. It was the only time that both teams met and interacted in-person. Pakistani researchers spoke highly of the cooperation.
"Collaboration with China is really significant, it signifies global cooperation," said Syed Azish Ali Bukhari, a communication engineer and a research fellow at the IST.
"It truly gives a big boost to our young people so that they can look forward to such projects and even more complex and bigger projects in the future," said Qamar Ul Islam, director of the Space System Lab of IST.
CubeSats, renowned for their compact design and versatility, have transformed space exploration, empowering universities, research institutions, and commercial ventures to participate in cutting-edge missions at a fraction of the cost.
This collaborative endeavor underscores the deepening ties between Pakistan and China in the pursuit of scientific discovery beyond Earth's bounds.
The Chang'e-6 Mission's primary objective is to gather samples from the far side south pole region of the Moon for their return to Earth for the first time in human history.
Video Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Stars are forming in Lynds Dark Nebula (LDN) 1251. About 1,000 light-years away and drifting above the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, LDN 1251 is also less appetizingly known as "The Rotten Fish Nebula." The dusty molecular cloud is part of a complex of dark nebulae mapped toward the Cepheus flare region. Across the spectrum, astronomical explorations of the obscuring interstellar clouds reveal energetic shocks and outflows associated with newborn stars, including the telltale reddish glow from scattered Herbig-Haro objects hiding in the image. Distant background galaxies also lurk in the scene, almost buried behind the dusty expanse. This alluring view spans over four full moons on the sky, or 35 light-years at the estimated distance of LDN 1251.
Keeping PACE with the Oceans | NASA Earth Science Mission
Did you know that we can detect tiny organisms called phytoplankton from space?
These creatures affect the colors of the ocean, and NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite can see those colors in fine detail.
Join NASA’s chief scientist Kate Calvin as she explores the PACE mission in depth with oceanographers Ivona Cetinić and Bridget Seegers.
China Launches SVOM Gamma Ray Astronomy Satellite Developed with France
On Saturday, June 22, 2024, China successfully launched an astronomy satellite—the result of nearly 20 years of hard work between Chinese and French scientists. It will capture gamma-ray bursts that flicker like fireworks in the farthest reaches of the universe.
The satellite, the Space-based Multi-band Variable Object Monitor (SVOM), was launched by a Long March-2C rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
It is the most powerful satellite to carry out multi-band comprehensive observations of gamma-ray bursts to date. It will play an important role in scientific studies of high-energy astronomical phenomena.
The 930kg (2,050-pound) satellite, which took hundreds of scientists and engineers nearly two decades to develop, will orbit Earth at 625km (450 miles) above the ground to accurately measure the location and energy of distant, violent explosions known as gamma-ray bursts.
China is primarily responsible for the mission, launch, satellite and operations, and shared responsibility with France for the design and construction of the instruments and ground segment.
The French contribution was developed in partnership with research laboratories at the IRFU research institute at CEA, the French atomic energy and alternative energies commission, and at INSU, the national institute of universe science, and IN2P3, the national institute of nuclear and particle physics, both attached to the national scientific research centre CNRS.
Red Sprites Spotted off South African Coast | International Space Station
Close-up view of red sprites off South African Coast
High-resolution wide-view of red sprites off South African Coast
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick: "Super lucky a few weeks ago when shooting a timelapse of a lightning storm off the coast of South Africa. One of the frames in the timelapse had a red sprite. A rare event. My knowledge is pretty much just from Wikipedia but I want to know more."
Red Sprites: These mysterious bursts of light in the upper atmosphere momentarily resemble gigantic jellyfish. One unusual feature of sprites is that they are relatively cold. They operate more like long fluorescent light tubes than hot compact light bulbs. In general, red sprites take only a fraction of a second to occur and are best seen when powerful thunderstorms are visible from the side.
Technical details: 50mm lens, f1.2, 1/5s, ISO 3200
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)/Astronaut Matthew Dominick
The first rays of an orbital sunrise reflect off the International Space Station's roll-out solar arrays that overshadow and augment the orbital outpost's main solar arrays. The space station was soaring 260 miles above Arizona northeast of Phoenix at the time of this photograph.
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
Milky Way & Large Magellanic Cloud Galaxies+Aurora over Western Australia
Astrophotographer Trevor Dobson: "This is an 8 shot panorama of the recent Aurora event of May 11. In this shot you can see the Aurora Australis, aka the Southern Lights, with the Crux/Carina region of the Milky Way above it. The Large Magellanic Cloud is also visible on the far right centre of the image."
For many people, the aurora is a beautiful nighttime phenomenon that is worth traveling to Earth's polar regions just to observe. It is the only way for most people to actually experience space weather.
Earth auroras have different names depending on the pole where they occur. Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights, is the name given to auroras around the north pole and Aurora Australis, or the southern lights, is the name given for auroras around the south pole.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Peers into Densest & Strangest Stars
Astronomers have taken an important step toward understanding examples of the densest and strangest objects in the Universe by using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton. These results show that the interiors of neutron stars may contain a special type of ultra-dense matter that does not exist anywhere else in the universe.
Neutron stars are the dense cores that can form after massive stars collapse. They are so dense that a teaspoon of their matter weighs about a trillion pounds.
The team in this new study analyzed previously released data from neutron stars to determine the so-called equation of state. This refers to the basic properties of the neutron stars including the pressures and temperatures in their interiors.
The authors used machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence, to compare the data to different equations of state. Their results imply that a significant fraction of the equations of state—the ones that do not include the capability for rapid cooling at higher masses—can be ruled out.
The researchers capitalized on neutron stars in the study being located in supernova remnants, including 3C 58. Since astronomers have age estimates of the supernova remnants, they also have the ages of the neutron stars that were created during the explosions that created both the remnants and the neutron stars. The astronomers found that the neutron star in 3C58 and two others were much cooler than the rest of the neutron stars in the study.
The team thinks that part of the explanation for the rapid cooling is that these neutron stars are more massive than most of the rest. Because more massive neutron stars have more particles, special processes that cause neutron stars to cool more rapidly might be triggered.
One possibility for what is inside these neutron stars is a type of radioactive decay near their centers where neutrinos—low mass particles that easily travel through matter—carry away much of the energy and heat, causing rapid cooling. Another possibility is that there are types of exotic matter found in the centers of these more rapidly cooling neutron stars.
These are objects that seem to just get more interesting the more scientists examine them!
Video Credit: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
Image Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/ICE-CSIC/A. Marino et al.; Optical: SDSS
Shenzhou-18 Crew Performs Health & Science Experiments| China Space Station
The Shenzhou-18 crew has carried out a series of in-orbit experiments, physical exercises, and their first extravehicular activities over the past one and a half months since they entered the China's space station on April 26, 2024.
The three Chinese astronauts, Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, were sent to the orbiting space station for a six-month mission on April 25, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
Four zebrafish and hornwort were brought into orbit via the Shenzhou-18 spaceship for a life science and ecological experiment.
So far, the astronauts have successfully carried out two water samplings and one fish food container replacement. They have found abnormal directional behaviors of the zebrafish in microgravity, such as making rotational movements, going in circles and even swimming upside-down.
The water samples, fish eggs, and videos recording spatial movement behaviors of the zebrafish will be sent back to Earth for scientists to study the influence of the space environment on the growth and behaviors of vertebrates. This will provide references for research on material circulation of contained ecosystems in space.
The three astronauts completed the mission to replace samples of the container-free material cabinet. Previously, a number of key research projects had been carried out in the container-free cabinet, and many batches of experimental samples had been brought back to Earth for further tests and investigation.
The Shenzhou-18 crew also replaced a burner, plus vacuumized and exhausted waste gas on the combustion experimental cabinet.
The combustion experimental cabinet is one of the eight experimental cabinets carried by Mengtian, a lab module of China's space station. It can help scientists carry out in-depth research on basic science problems of combustion, space propulsion, fire safety for spacecraft, combustion pollution control, and other basic and applied technologies.
They have completed the installation of the conversion cable of the combustion solenoid valve, that can remotely controlled the switch of the solenoid valve, to accurately control fuel flow during experiments.
The crew also assembled and tested material extravehicular exposure of experimental equipment.
The astronauts in space face a series of physiological challenges brought about by the microgravity environment, including changes in the cardiovascular system, muscle atrophy, and bone density loss.
The three astronauts used an ultrasound diagnostic device to complete carotid artery ultrasound imaging and spectrum testing, and used an instrument to perform bone density testing.
They have performed regular weightlessness protection exercises, such as treadmill training and resistance training, so as to maintain good physical condition for the half-year mission.
The trio cooperated closely to complete the first spacewalk of their mission on May 28, 2024. They spent about 8.5 hours working outside the Tiangong space station and completed multiple tasks, including the installation of space debris protection devices. It was the longest spacewalk or extravehicular activity (EVA) record for China to date.
During the in-orbit stay of the Shenzhou-18 mission crew, they will take care of the space station and application payloads as planned, and carry out maintenance and inspection of the space station, so as to ensure the station's safe, reliable and efficient operation.
The crew will utilize scientific experiment cabinets and extravehicular payloads to conduct more than 90 experiments in the fields of basic physics in microgravity, space material science, space life science, space medicine and space technology.
Shenzhou-18 Crew:
Ye Guangfu (叶光富, commander)
Li Cong (李聪, mission specialist)
Li Guangsu (李广苏, mission specialist)
Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency
NASA's Space to Ground: "Science, Spacewalks & Starliner"
Week of June 21, 2024: NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.
NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt are getting ready for the first spacewalk of the Expedition 71 mission set to begin at 7 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 24. The suited up duo will exit the depressurized Quest airlock into the vacuum of space for six-and-a-half hours of radio hardware removal tasks and to sample collections of microorganisms that may have exited through station vents.
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
NASA's "Espacio a Tierra" | Prueba de vuelo: 14 de junio de 2024
Espacio a Tierra, la versión en español de las cápsulas Space to Ground de la NASA, te informa semanalmente de lo que está sucediendo en la Estación Espacial Internacional.
Aprende más sobre la ciencia a bordo de la estación espacial:
The Serpens Nebula: Objects Identified | James Webb Space Telescope
For the first time, a phenomenon astronomers have long hoped to image directly has been captured by the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). In this detailed image of the Serpens Nebula, the discovery lies in the northern area of this young, nearby star-forming region.
The astronomers found an intriguing group of protostellar outflows, formed when jets of gas spewing from newborn stars collide with nearby gas and dust at high speeds. Typically these objects have a variety of orientations within one region. Here, however, they are all slanted in the same direction, to the same degree, like sleet pouring down during a storm.
The discovery of these aligned objects, made possible only by Webb’s exquisite spatial resolution and sensitivity at near-infrared wavelengths, is providing information about the fundamentals of how stars are born.
This video showcases the new Webb Serpens Nebula image, with notable features and objects highlighted.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Pontoppidan (NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory), J. Green (Space Telescope Science Institute), N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)
Aligned Protostellar Outflows Captured for First Time | James Webb Space Telescope
For the first time, a phenomenon astronomers have long hoped to image directly has been captured by the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). In this image of the Serpens Nebula, the discovery lies in the northern area of this young, nearby star-forming region.
Astronomers have found an intriguing group of protostellar outflows, formed when jets of gas spewing from newborn stars collide with nearby gas and dust at high speeds. Typically these objects have a variety of orientations within one region. Here, however, they are all slanted in the same direction, to the same degree, like sleet pouring down during a storm.
The discovery of these aligned objects, made possible only by Webb’s exquisite spatial resolution and sensitivity at near-infrared wavelengths, is providing information about the fundamentals of how stars are born.
The Serpens Nebula, located 1,300 light-years from Earth, is home to a particularly dense cluster of newly forming stars (about 100,000 years old), where a number will eventually grow to the mass of our Sun. Webb’s image of this nebula revealed a grouping of aligned protostellar outflows (seen in the top left). The jets are identified by bright clumpy streaks that appear red. These are shock waves caused when the jet hits the surrounding gas and dust.
Video Credits:
Directed by: Bethany Downer and Nico Bartmann
Editing: Nico Bartmann
Written by: Bethany Downer
Footage: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Pontoppidan (NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory), J. Green (Space Telescope Science Institute)
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