<p>NASA began water drop tests on its Orion spacecraft that has been selected as a space vehicle for its ambitious Artemis space missions. The tests began at Langley Research Center's Landing and Impact Research Facility in Hampton, Virginia</p>

<p>Engineers began carrying out tests that will yield vital data that will give more idea about what astronauts will go through when they return to Earth after a space mission.</p>

<p>The tests began earlier this week.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"The @NASA_Orion spacecraft is making a big splash! Engineers at @NASA_Langley began a series of four water impact drop tests to better understand what Orion &amp; its crew may experience when they land in the Pacific Ocean after #Artemis missions to the Moon," tweeted Kathy Lueder, head of NASA's human spaceflight program</p>

<p>These tests may appear to be unimportant to a casual eye but in reality, they are absolutely necessary to ensure safety of the astronauts during 'reentry', the part of the space mission when space capsule with astronauts onboard attempts to land on Earth in oceans. The slightest miscalculation during the re-entry has the potential for the space capsule to explode, instantly killing the astronauts.</p>

<p>NASA suffered such a situation in which astronaut Kalpana Chawla was killed along with her crewmates in the year 2000.</p>

<p><strong>About Orion spacecraft</strong></p>

<p>Orion spacecraft is built to take humans "farther than they've ever gone before", says NASA. Orion spacecraft has been chosen to be a space capsule in Artemis missions, which will see first woman landing on the Moon and humans setting foot on Mars.</p>


NASA began water drop tests on its Orion spacecraft that has been selected as a space vehicle for its ambitious Artemis space missions. The tests began at Langley Research Center's Landing and Impact Research Facility in Hampton, Virginia Engineers began carrying out tests that will yield vital data that will give more idea about what astronauts will go through when they return to Earth after a space mission.

NASA began water drop tests on its Orion spacecraft that has been selected as a space vehicle for its ambitious Artemis space missions. The tests began at Langley Research Center's Landing and Impact Research Facility in Hampton, Virginia Engineers began carrying out tests that will yield vital data that will give more idea about what astronauts will go through when they return to Earth after a space mission. The tests began earlier this week. "The @NASA_Orion spacecraft is making a big splash! Engineers at @NASA_Langley began a series of four water impact drop tests to better understand what Orion & its crew may experience when they land in the Pacific Ocean after #Artemis missions to the Moon," tweeted Kathy Lueder, head of NASA's human spaceflight program These tests may appear to be unimportant to a casual eye but in reality, they are absolutely necessary to ensure safety of the astronauts during 'reentry', the part of the space mission when space capsule with astronauts onboard attempts to land on Earth in oceans. The slightest miscalculation during the re-entry has the potential for the space capsule to explode, instantly killing the astronauts. NASA suffered such a situation in which astronaut Kalpana Chawla was killed along with her crewmates in the year 2000. About Orion spacecraft Orion spacecraft is built to take humans "farther than they've ever gone before", says NASA. Orion spacecraft has been chosen to be a space capsule in Artemis missions, which will see first woman landing on the Moon and humans setting foot on Mars.

NASA begins water drop tests on Orion spacecraft

<p>Images from Mars are aplenty these days. And it's not a surprise as NASA has landed a Perseverance rover on the surface of the Red Planet. But NASA has more eyes on Mars. In addition to 'boots on ground', so to speak, NASA's 'Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter' (MRO) is currently in orbit around Mars.</p>

<p>The MRO has sent a brilliant image of Mars's frosty dunes. NASA has posted the picture on Instagram.</p>

<p>"...Our Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) beamed back another striking image taken on the Red Planet captured by our powerful HiRISE camera, this time showing the stunning image of frosty sand dunes. The field of sand dunes occupies a crater that stretches for 5 kilometers, found in the high-latitudes of Mars’ northern plains. The stripes and other features are the result of sublimated ice that comes with the ‘seasonal thaw." says NASA in its Instagram post. The post is heading fast towards 1 million likes.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CM42QxApeBy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:16px;">
<div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;">
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 19% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CM42QxApeBy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div>

<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CM42QxApeBy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CM42QxApeBy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by NASA (@nasa)</a></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>The image has been clicked by the MRO using HiRise, a camera it has on board.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter keeps an eye on Mars' geology and climate. It provides valuable information that can come in handy to decide about future landings on Mars. MRO was launched in the year 2006 and was placed in orbit around Mars in 2015.</p>


Images from Mars are aplenty these days. And it's not a surprise as NASA has landed a Perseverance rover on the surface of the Red Planet. But NASA has more eyes on Mars.

Images from Mars are aplenty these days. And it's not a surprise as NASA has landed a Perseverance rover on the surface of the Red Planet. But NASA has more eyes on Mars. In addition to 'boots on ground', so to speak, NASA's 'Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter' (MRO) is currently in orbit around Mars. The MRO has sent a brilliant image of Mars's frosty dunes. NASA has posted the picture on Instagram. "...Our Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) beamed back another striking image taken on the Red Planet captured by our powerful HiRISE camera, this time showing the stunning image of frosty sand dunes. The field of sand dunes occupies a crater that stretches for 5 kilometers, found in the high-latitudes of Mars’ northern plains. The stripes and other features are the result of sublimated ice that comes with the ‘seasonal thaw." says NASA in its Instagram post. The post is heading fast towards 1 million likes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by NASA (@nasa) × The image has been clicked by the MRO using HiRise, a camera it has on board. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter keeps an eye on Mars' geology and climate. It provides valuable information that can come in handy to decide about future landings on Mars. MRO was launched in the year 2006 and was placed in orbit around Mars in 2015.

NASA posts brilliant image of frosty sand dunes on Mars

<p>A spectacular display of lights that streamed across the night sky over the US Pacific Northwest triggered several conspiracy theories on Thursday.</p>

<p>However,&nbsp;the National Weather Service (NWS) said it&nbsp;was probably debris from a&nbsp;SpaceX&nbsp;mission re-entering the atmosphere.</p>

<p>"While we await further confirmation on the details, here's the unofficial information we have so far. The widely reported bright objects in the sky were the debris from a Falcon 9 rocket 2nd stage," NWS Seattle tweeted.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Videos posted on social media showed a thick cluster of glowing dots with blazing trails of light moving slowly across the sky before fizzling out, with users speculating the phenomenon might be a meteor shower or even, jokingly, an alien invasion.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Local media reported multiple sightings just after 9 pm local time, with videos posted online from Washington state and Oregon.&nbsp;</p>

<p>NWS Seattle said the sight was more likely to be caused by space debris rather than a meteor or similar object because the latter would be moving far faster, a conclusion backed up by several meteorologists quoted by local media.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Jonathan McDowell from Harvard's Center for Astrophysics also pointed to the Falcon 9 rocket stage as the source of the firework-like display.</p>

<p>"The Falcon 9 second stage from the Mar 4 Starlink launch failed to make a deorbit burn and is now re-entering after 22 days in orbit," he tweeted, referring to a rocket launched on March 4 to carry 60 Starlink internet relay satellites into orbit.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A deorbit burn is a firing of a spacecraft’s thrusters to slow the vehicle and begin its descent, according to NASA's website.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>McDowell tweeted that while "we could predict this rocket stage would re-enter today", the speed at which it was travelling meant it was difficult to predict where it would be seen.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There were no immediate reports of damage, with NWS Seattle saying there were no expected impacts on the ground.&nbsp;</p>


A spectacular display of lights that streamed across the night sky over the US Pacific Northwest triggered several conspiracy theories on Thursday. However, the National Weather Service (NWS) said it was probably debris from a SpaceX mission re-entering the atmosphere.

A spectacular display of lights that streamed across the night sky over the US Pacific Northwest triggered several conspiracy theories on Thursday. However, the National Weather Service (NWS) said it was probably debris from a SpaceX mission re-entering the atmosphere. "While we await further confirmation on the details, here's the unofficial information we have so far. The widely reported bright objects in the sky were the debris from a Falcon 9 rocket 2nd stage," NWS Seattle tweeted. Videos posted on social media showed a thick cluster of glowing dots with blazing trails of light moving slowly across the sky before fizzling out, with users speculating the phenomenon might be a meteor shower or even, jokingly, an alien invasion. Local media reported multiple sightings just after 9 pm local time, with videos posted online from Washington state and Oregon. NWS Seattle said the sight was more likely to be caused by space debris rather than a meteor or similar object because the latter would be moving far faster, a conclusion backed up by several meteorologists quoted by local media. Jonathan McDowell from Harvard's Center for Astrophysics also pointed to the Falcon 9 rocket stage as the source of the firework-like display. "The Falcon 9 second stage from the Mar 4 Starlink launch failed to make a deorbit burn and is now re-entering after 22 days in orbit," he tweeted, referring to a rocket launched on March 4 to carry 60 Starlink internet relay satellites into orbit. A deorbit burn is a firing of a spacecraft’s thrusters to slow the vehicle and begin its descent, according to NASA's website. McDowell tweeted that while "we could predict this rocket stage would re-enter today", the speed at which it was travelling meant it was difficult to predict where it would be seen. There were no immediate reports of damage, with NWS Seattle saying there were no expected impacts on the ground.

'Alien invasion': Spectacular display of lights across US sparks conspiracy theories

<p>While the world has been riveted by the escapades of NASA's Perseverance&nbsp;Mars&nbsp;rover, a group of Swiss primary school children has been eagerly preparing their own mission to the red planet.</p>

<p>Some of Switzerland's top space experts, including the country's only astronaut, Claude Nicollier, evaluated the detailed mission plan the children had developed over nine months. They were given the all-clear for lift-off on March 8.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/perseverance-searches-for-life-on-mars-369682/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>The children "exploded with joy" when they heard, their teacher at the Vivalys private school near Lausanne, Sebastien Roussel, said.</p>

<p>"It was like watching the NASA engineers' ecstatic reaction when Perseverance touched down."</p>

<p>Their destination? A Mars space station conveniently situated a bus-ride away in a secluded wooded area on the outskirts of Lausanne in western Switzerland.</p>

<p>Here, the 16 eight- and nine-year-olds will spend three days carrying out experiments similar to some conducted by actual astronauts, including attempting to grow plants to sustain them on the long journey.</p>

<p>And while the idyllic, snow-sprinkled surroundings are far less hostile than the windswept, dusty surface of Mars, the children wear suits and helmets whenever they step outside.</p>

<p>In a bid to simulate a true space mission, all the children's meals consist of freeze-dried space food. Initial plans for them to sleep on site were meanwhile scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>

<p>During the months of preparation, the children participated in workshops on astronomy and rocket engineering hosted by students at the neighbouring EPFL -- among the most prestigious technical universities in Europe.</p>

<p>The mission required them to use mathematics to calculate the distance to Mars, and they have also sharpened their language skills, learning how to spell the names of the planets.</p>

<p>The first experiment the team embarks upon after arriving at the space station is launching home-made paper rockets into space.</p>

<p>Perseverance's images from Mars have also left some children eager to see humans walk on the red planet.</p>


While the world has been riveted by the escapades of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover, a group of Swiss primary school children has been eagerly preparing their own mission to the red planet.

While the world has been riveted by the escapades of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover, a group of Swiss primary school children has been eagerly preparing their own mission to the red planet. Some of Switzerland's top space experts, including the country's only astronaut, Claude Nicollier, evaluated the detailed mission plan the children had developed over nine months. They were given the all-clear for lift-off on March 8. The children "exploded with joy" when they heard, their teacher at the Vivalys private school near Lausanne, Sebastien Roussel, said. "It was like watching the NASA engineers' ecstatic reaction when Perseverance touched down." Their destination? A Mars space station conveniently situated a bus-ride away in a secluded wooded area on the outskirts of Lausanne in western Switzerland. Here, the 16 eight- and nine-year-olds will spend three days carrying out experiments similar to some conducted by actual astronauts, including attempting to grow plants to sustain them on the long journey. And while the idyllic, snow-sprinkled surroundings are far less hostile than the windswept, dusty surface of Mars, the children wear suits and helmets whenever they step outside. In a bid to simulate a true space mission, all the children's meals consist of freeze-dried space food. Initial plans for them to sleep on site were meanwhile scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During the months of preparation, the children participated in workshops on astronomy and rocket engineering hosted by students at the neighbouring EPFL -- among the most prestigious technical universities in Europe. The mission required them to use mathematics to calculate the distance to Mars, and they have also sharpened their language skills, learning how to spell the names of the planets. The first experiment the team embarks upon after arriving at the space station is launching home-made paper rockets into space. Perseverance's images from Mars have also left some children eager to see humans walk on the red planet.

Students of Swiss primary school preparing for their mission to Mars

<p>The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) On Wednesday released audio tracks that let us listen to ‘music’ comprise translated visual data into sounds.</p>

<p>The resulting ‘music’ gives people an entirely different way to experience a particular image, including observations of space from various missions like the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The latest installments in the series cover three particular space scenes.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mg7whxKFQsk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>In the latest instalment in NASA’s data sonification series, observations by the Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes have been converted into sound, producing audio tapestries that complement the visual representations.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The latest instalment incorporates three captivating vistas: the Chandra Deep Field South, the Cat’s Eye Nebula and Messier 51, the Whirlpool galaxy.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HfFoUWm3NDA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>Chandra Deep Field South — a deep look into the southern hemisphere of the sky -- is on the lighter end of the sound spectrum. "This is the deepest image ever taken in X-rays, representing over seven million seconds of Chandra observing time," said NASA in a statement on Wednesday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"The wide range of musical frequencies represents the full range of X-ray frequencies collected by Chandra of this region," said NASA.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kM2_Zq7DqUo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>"To listen to these data, there is a radar-like scan that moves clockwise emanating from the center point to produce pitch," said NASA. "Light that is further from the center is heard as higher pitches while brighter light is louder."</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) On Wednesday released audio tracks that let us listen to ‘music’ comprise translated visual data into sounds.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) On Wednesday released audio tracks that let us listen to ‘music’ comprise translated visual data into sounds. The resulting ‘music’ gives people an entirely different way to experience a particular image, including observations of space from various missions like the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The latest installments in the series cover three particular space scenes. In the latest instalment in NASA’s data sonification series, observations by the Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes have been converted into sound, producing audio tapestries that complement the visual representations. The latest instalment incorporates three captivating vistas: the Chandra Deep Field South, the Cat’s Eye Nebula and Messier 51, the Whirlpool galaxy. Chandra Deep Field South — a deep look into the southern hemisphere of the sky -- is on the lighter end of the sound spectrum. "This is the deepest image ever taken in X-rays, representing over seven million seconds of Chandra observing time," said NASA in a statement on Wednesday. "The wide range of musical frequencies represents the full range of X-ray frequencies collected by Chandra of this region," said NASA. "To listen to these data, there is a radar-like scan that moves clockwise emanating from the center point to produce pitch," said NASA. "Light that is further from the center is heard as higher pitches while brighter light is louder." (With inputs from agencies)

Hear galaxies and black holes translated into music from NASA data

<p>NASA is targeting early April for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to make the first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet, the space agency said Tuesday.</p>

<p>Right now, the ultra-light aircraft remains fixed to the belly of the Perseverance rover, which touched down on the Red Planet on February 18.</p>

<p><strong>Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/astronomers-capture-polarised-light-swirling-around-black-holes-magnetic-fields-372929" hreflang="en">Astronomers capture polarised light swirling around black hole's magnetic fields</a></strong></p>

<p>On Sunday, Perseverance dropped the debris shield that had protected Ingenuity during landing and is currently making its way to the "airfield" where Ingenuity will attempt its flights.</p>

<p>Once there, it will have 30 Martian sols -- equal to 31 Earth days -- to carry out its mission.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"The best guess we have right now is April 8," for the first flight, said Bob Balaram, Mars Helicopter chief engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, though he added it could be sooner or later by a few days.</p>

<p>Balaram revealed for the first time that Ingenuity is carrying a small piece of cloth that covered one of the wings of the Wright brothers' first aircraft that achieved the first powered flight on Earth at Kitty Hawk in 1903, to pay tribute to the milestone.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/perseverance-searches-for-life-on-mars-369682/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>Ingenuity will be attempting to fly in an atmosphere that is one per cent the density of Earth's, which makes achieving lift harder -- but will be assisted by gravity that is one-third our planet's.</p>

<p>The first flight will involve&nbsp;climbing at a rate of about three feet (one meter) per second to a height of 10 feet (three meters), hovering there for 30 seconds, then descending back to the surface.</p>

<p>Ingenuity will be taking high-resolution photography as it flies.</p>

<p>Before any of this happens, however, Ingenuity needs to be placed at its launching site, and set upright, a process that will take a few more days.</p>

<p>Once Perseverance drops off the helicopter, it needs to drive away about five meters within 25 hours so it doesn't cast a shadow on Ingenuity.&nbsp;</p>

<p>That's the number of time Ingenuity's batteries will be able to run a heater without needing to recharge via its solar panels.</p>

<p>This part is critical to surviving the night time temperatures which can plunge as low as minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 90 degrees Celsius).</p>

<p>If left unheated, the helicopter's unshielded electrical components will freeze and crack, killing the mission before it even begins.</p>

<p>If things however go to plan, Perseverance will take up a position at a distance to record Ingenuity's exploits with its own cameras.</p>

<p>Up to five flights of gradual difficulty are planned over the course of the month.</p>

<p>The four-pound (1.8-kilogram) rotorcraft cost NASA around $85 million to develop and is considered a proof of concept that could revolutionize&nbsp;space exploration.</p>

<p>Future aircraft could cover ground much more quickly than rovers, and explore more rugged terrain.</p>

<p>The next one planned is Dragonfly, a rotorcraft-lander that&nbsp;will launch in 2026 and arrive at Saturn's icy moon Titan in 2034.</p>


NASA is targeting early April for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to make the first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet, the space agency said Tuesday.

NASA is targeting early April for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to make the first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet, the space agency said Tuesday. Right now, the ultra-light aircraft remains fixed to the belly of the Perseverance rover, which touched down on the Red Planet on February 18. Also read| Astronomers capture polarised light swirling around black hole's magnetic fields On Sunday, Perseverance dropped the debris shield that had protected Ingenuity during landing and is currently making its way to the "airfield" where Ingenuity will attempt its flights. Once there, it will have 30 Martian sols -- equal to 31 Earth days -- to carry out its mission. "The best guess we have right now is April 8," for the first flight, said Bob Balaram, Mars Helicopter chief engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, though he added it could be sooner or later by a few days. Balaram revealed for the first time that Ingenuity is carrying a small piece of cloth that covered one of the wings of the Wright brothers' first aircraft that achieved the first powered flight on Earth at Kitty Hawk in 1903, to pay tribute to the milestone. Ingenuity will be attempting to fly in an atmosphere that is one per cent the density of Earth's, which makes achieving lift harder -- but will be assisted by gravity that is one-third our planet's. The first flight will involve climbing at a rate of about three feet (one meter) per second to a height of 10 feet (three meters), hovering there for 30 seconds, then descending back to the surface. Ingenuity will be taking high-resolution photography as it flies. Before any of this happens, however, Ingenuity needs to be placed at its launching site, and set upright, a process that will take a few more days. Once Perseverance drops off the helicopter, it needs to drive away about five meters within 25 hours so it doesn't cast a shadow on Ingenuity. That's the number of time Ingenuity's batteries will be able to run a heater without needing to recharge via its solar panels. This part is critical to surviving the night time temperatures which can plunge as low as minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 90 degrees Celsius). If left unheated, the helicopter's unshielded electrical components will freeze and crack, killing the mission before it even begins. If things however go to plan, Perseverance will take up a position at a distance to record Ingenuity's exploits with its own cameras. Up to five flights of gradual difficulty are planned over the course of the month. The four-pound (1.8-kilogram) rotorcraft cost NASA around $85 million to develop and is considered a proof of concept that could revolutionize space exploration. Future aircraft could cover ground much more quickly than rovers, and explore more rugged terrain. The next one planned is Dragonfly, a rotorcraft-lander that will launch in 2026 and arrive at Saturn's icy moon Titan in 2034.

First flight of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to take place in early April

NASA has announced a new spacesuit for the upcoming Artemis moon missions scheduled later this decade, the next challenge is figuring out the final version of the technology embedded inside.

NASA turns to college students to design new spacesuits

<p>Kangana Ranaut recently hyped two NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) interns as they sported bindi on their forehead.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Pictures of the sisters made it to the social media and soon caught the attention of Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut who heaped praises on them for being “inclined to Hinduism”. Sisters Puja and Pratima were seen posing for the said picture in NASA sweatshirts.</p>

<p><strong>Kangana Ranaut</strong> wrote, "Anyone with scientific bend of mind will naturally be inclined to Hinduism, so lovely to see virat Hindus that too girls and also wearing bindis as one of the brightest scientists of NASA... devotion is the most profound dimension of intelligence."</p>

<p>She had quote-tweeted a NASA scientist who shared pictures of the sisters: "Puja and Pratima Roy are two sisters currently majoring in Computer Engineering Technology and interning at @NASAGlenn .”</p>

<p>On the work front, Kangana will be seen in ‘Tejas’. She recently completed work on ‘Dhaakad’ and also has biopic, ‘Thalaivi’.&nbsp;</p>


Kangana Ranaut recently hyped two NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) interns as they sported bindi on their forehead. Pictures of the sisters made it to the social media and soon caught the attention of Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut who heaped praises on them for being “inclined to Hinduism”.

Kangana Ranaut recently hyped two NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) interns as they sported bindi on their forehead. Pictures of the sisters made it to the social media and soon caught the attention of Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut who heaped praises on them for being “inclined to Hinduism”. Sisters Puja and Pratima were seen posing for the said picture in NASA sweatshirts. Kangana Ranaut wrote, "Anyone with scientific bend of mind will naturally be inclined to Hinduism, so lovely to see virat Hindus that too girls and also wearing bindis as one of the brightest scientists of NASA... devotion is the most profound dimension of intelligence." She had quote-tweeted a NASA scientist who shared pictures of the sisters: "Puja and Pratima Roy are two sisters currently majoring in Computer Engineering Technology and interning at @NASAGlenn .” On the work front, Kangana will be seen in ‘Tejas’. She recently completed work on ‘Dhaakad’ and also has biopic, ‘Thalaivi’.

Kangana Ranaut is thrilled at NASA interns wearing bindi; check out her post

Space administration is partnering with teams on college campuses across America to develop a new spacesuit technology that will help astronauts returning to the moon and eventually reach mars

NASA partnering with teams on College Campuses to develop innovative spacesuits for Astronauts

<p>“If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I bet they’d live a lot differently”</p>

<p>Many of us know this iconic line from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. But it's not always possible for us to look at the infinite beauty of the universe each night.</p>

<p>In smartphone era, we are busier looking down at our phones rather than up in the sky.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But thanks to NASA, we can marvel at the beauty of stars and planets on our devices. NASA hasn't disappointed this time as well. It has posted yet another brilliant image of starscape far far away. It's a galaxy, and it's fifth brightest in the sky.</p>

<p>The name of the galaxy is Centaurus A. NASA has clicked the beautiful galaxy with the help of its James Webb Space telescope.</p>

<p>The galaxy is a beautiful splash of pink. But its colours tell a deeper story.</p>

<p>"...Each light wavelength tells us something different! Dark dust lanes and young blue star clusters, which crisscross its central region, can be seen in visible and near-infrared light. But by switching to X-ray and radio light views, a much more active scene unfolds: spectacular jets of material have erupted from its active supermassive black hole sending material into space well beyond the galaxy's limits," NASA has said in its Instagram post.<br />
⁣</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMnMj1_pakL/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:16px;">
<div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;">
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 19% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMnMj1_pakL/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div>

<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMnMj1_pakL/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMnMj1_pakL/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by NASA (@nasa)</a></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Centaurus-A galaxy is also known as NGC 5128. It is 10-16 million lightyears away from Earth. It is one of the closest radio galaxies to Earth. At the centre of the galaxy there is a supermassive black hole 55 million times the mass of the Sun.</p>


“If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I bet they’d live a lot differently” Many of us know this iconic line from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes.

“If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I bet they’d live a lot differently” Many of us know this iconic line from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. But it's not always possible for us to look at the infinite beauty of the universe each night. In smartphone era, we are busier looking down at our phones rather than up in the sky. But thanks to NASA, we can marvel at the beauty of stars and planets on our devices. NASA hasn't disappointed this time as well. It has posted yet another brilliant image of starscape far far away. It's a galaxy, and it's fifth brightest in the sky. The name of the galaxy is Centaurus A. NASA has clicked the beautiful galaxy with the help of its James Webb Space telescope. The galaxy is a beautiful splash of pink. But its colours tell a deeper story. "...Each light wavelength tells us something different! Dark dust lanes and young blue star clusters, which crisscross its central region, can be seen in visible and near-infrared light. But by switching to X-ray and radio light views, a much more active scene unfolds: spectacular jets of material have erupted from its active supermassive black hole sending material into space well beyond the galaxy's limits," NASA has said in its Instagram post. ⁣ View this post on Instagram A post shared by NASA (@nasa) × Centaurus-A galaxy is also known as NGC 5128. It is 10-16 million lightyears away from Earth. It is one of the closest radio galaxies to Earth. At the centre of the galaxy there is a supermassive black hole 55 million times the mass of the Sun.

NASA posts beautiful photo of fifth brightest galaxy in the sky

<p>Aerospace firms on Thursday credited NASA with a successful test of engines on a Boeing-built rocket for Artemis missions that aim to return US&nbsp;astronauts to the moon by 2024, more than half a century since the last lunar walk.</p>

<p>NASA simulated a launch by firing the engines of the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket while it was anchored to a tower at its Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.</p>

<p>The four RS-25 engines roared to life for the full eight minutes of the test and filled the surrounding area and sky with clouds of white smoke. After the engines cut off, NASA employees could be heard applauding on the space agency`s live-streaming video, and many aerospace firms publicly congratulated NASA on a successful test.</p>

<p>A previous test in January ended after about a minute - well short of the roughly four minutes engineers needed to gather enough data.</p>

<p>The Space Launch System is now expected to go to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with Lockheed Martin Corp`s Orion spacecraft.</p>

<p>NASA aims to send an uncrewed spacecraft to orbit the moon in November and return U.S. astronauts to the moon by 2024, but the SLS program is three years behind schedule and nearly $3 billion over budget.</p>

<p>President Joe Biden has tapped former Democratic senator and astronaut Bill Nelson to run the U.S. space agency, according to two people familiar with the decision.</p>

<p>It was a much-sought-after victory for Boeing after multiple setbacks.</p>

<p>Boeing lost a race for its Starliner crew capsule to be the first to carry astronauts from U.S. soil to the International Space Station in nearly a decade to Elon Musk`s SpaceX.</p>

<p>Jeff Bezos` Blue Origin is also racing to send its own crewed mission to space for the first time.</p>


Aerospace firms on Thursday credited NASA with a successful test of engines on a Boeing-built rocket for Artemis missions that aim to return US astronauts to the moon by 2024, more than half a century since the last lunar walk.

Aerospace firms on Thursday credited NASA with a successful test of engines on a Boeing-built rocket for Artemis missions that aim to return US astronauts to the moon by 2024, more than half a century since the last lunar walk. NASA simulated a launch by firing the engines of the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket while it was anchored to a tower at its Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The four RS-25 engines roared to life for the full eight minutes of the test and filled the surrounding area and sky with clouds of white smoke. After the engines cut off, NASA employees could be heard applauding on the space agency`s live-streaming video, and many aerospace firms publicly congratulated NASA on a successful test. A previous test in January ended after about a minute - well short of the roughly four minutes engineers needed to gather enough data. The Space Launch System is now expected to go to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with Lockheed Martin Corp`s Orion spacecraft. NASA aims to send an uncrewed spacecraft to orbit the moon in November and return U.S. astronauts to the moon by 2024, but the SLS program is three years behind schedule and nearly $3 billion over budget. President Joe Biden has tapped former Democratic senator and astronaut Bill Nelson to run the U.S. space agency, according to two people familiar with the decision. It was a much-sought-after victory for Boeing after multiple setbacks. Boeing lost a race for its Starliner crew capsule to be the first to carry astronauts from U.S. soil to the International Space Station in nearly a decade to Elon Musk`s SpaceX. Jeff Bezos` Blue Origin is also racing to send its own crewed mission to space for the first time.

NASA completes major test on rocket that could take humans back to the moon

<p>NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has sent back first-ever sounds of driving on the Martian surface.</p>

<p>The 16-minute raw audio released by Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California on Wednesday is from Persevarance's six metal wheels and suspension on its first test drive two weeks ago.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Watch |&nbsp;</strong></p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/nasas-astrobiology-rover-perseverance-makes-historic-mars-landing-365101/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>"If I heard these sounds driving my car, I'd pull over and call for a tow," Dave Gruel, an engineer on the rover team, said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"But if you take a minute to consider what you're hearing and where it was recorded, it makes perfect sense," he further added in a written statement.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasa-discovers-three-microbes-that-may-help-grow-plants-on-mars-370933">NASA discovers three microbes that may help grow plants on Mars</a></strong></p>

<p>Perseverance, the biggest and most advanced rover ever sent to Mars landed near an ancient river delta on February 18 to discover the origins of past life.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Samples will be collected from the Red Planet's most promising rocks for eventual return to Earth for analysis.</p>

<p>The rover is embedded with two microphones and one has already has captured the sounds of wind and rock-zapping lasers.</p>

<p>The other microphone was intended to record the descent and landing.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This second mike failed to record the rover's arrival at Mars but was able to record the sounds of first test drive on March 4.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has sent back first-ever sounds of driving on the Martian surface. The 16-minute raw audio released by Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California on Wednesday is from Persevarance's six metal wheels and suspension on its first test drive two weeks ago.

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has sent back first-ever sounds of driving on the Martian surface. The 16-minute raw audio released by Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California on Wednesday is from Persevarance's six metal wheels and suspension on its first test drive two weeks ago. Watch | "If I heard these sounds driving my car, I'd pull over and call for a tow," Dave Gruel, an engineer on the rover team, said. "But if you take a minute to consider what you're hearing and where it was recorded, it makes perfect sense," he further added in a written statement. Also read | NASA discovers three microbes that may help grow plants on Mars Perseverance, the biggest and most advanced rover ever sent to Mars landed near an ancient river delta on February 18 to discover the origins of past life. Samples will be collected from the Red Planet's most promising rocks for eventual return to Earth for analysis. The rover is embedded with two microphones and one has already has captured the sounds of wind and rock-zapping lasers. The other microphone was intended to record the descent and landing. This second mike failed to record the rover's arrival at Mars but was able to record the sounds of first test drive on March 4.

What is the sound of driving on Mars? NASA's probe finds

<p>The Juno spacecraft of the&nbsp;National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has revealed the&nbsp;dark origins of Jupiter's mysterious auroral storms, in a recent study.</p>

<p>The findings of the research, published in the journal AGU Advances state that the&nbsp;Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument of the Juno mission, the gas-giant orbiter is illuminating the provenance of Jovian polar light.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasa-discovers-three-microbes-that-may-help-grow-plants-on-mars-370933">NASA discovers three microbes that may help grow plants on Mars</a></strong></p>

<p>It reveals&nbsp;for the first time the birth of auroral dawn storms – the early morning brightening unique to Jupiter’s spectacular aurorae. These immense, transient displays of light occur at both Jovian poles and had previously been observed only by ground-based and Earth-orbiting observatories, notably NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jQNLMoot-Bs" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>First discovered by Hubble’s Faint Object Camera in 1994, dawn storms consist of short-lived but intense brightening and broadening of Jupiter’s main auroral oval – an oblong curtain of light that surrounds both poles – near where the atmosphere emerges from the darkness in the early morning region.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasa-detects-fm-signals-from-jupiters-moon-ganymede-for-the-first-time-356822">NASA detects FM signals from Jupiter's moon Ganymede for the first time</a></strong></p>

<p>Before Juno, observations of Jovian ultraviolet aurora had offered only side views, hiding everything happening on the nightside of the planet.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to&nbsp;Bertrand Bonfond, a researcher from the University of Liège in Belgium and lead author of the study,&nbsp;“Observing Jupiter’s aurora from Earth does not allow you to see beyond the limb, into the nightside of Jupiter’s poles. Explorations by other spacecraft – Voyager, Galileo, Cassini – happened from relatively large distances and did not fly over the poles, so they could not see the complete picture.”</p>

<p>&nbsp;“That’s why the Juno data is a real game-changer, allowing us a better understanding of what is happening on the nightside, where the dawn storms are born.”</p>

<p>Researchers found dawn storms are born on the nightside of the gas giant. As the planet rotates, the soon-to-be dawn storm rotates with it into the dayside, where these complex and intensely bright auroral features grow even more luminous, emitting anywhere from hundreds to thousands of gigawatts of ultraviolet light into space.</p>

<p>The jump in brightness implies that dawn storms are dumping at least 10 times more energy into Jupiter's upper atmosphere than typical aurora.</p>

<p>The interior of Jupiter is just as intriguing as the planet’s dazzling surface, with a swirling mixture of liquid hydrogen and helium at its centre, vast atmospheric jet streams and exotic gravitational properties.</p>

<p>Data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft, orbiting the solar system’s largest planet since 2016, is providing researchers with what they called unprecedented insight into Jupiter’s internal dynamics and structure. Until now, scientists have had scant information about what lies below Jupiter’s thick red, brown, yellow and white clouds.</p>

<p>Jupiter is a type of planet called a gas giant, as opposed to rocky planets like Earth and Mars, and its composition is 99 percent hydrogen and helium. Juno’s data showed that as you go deeper under the surface, Jupiter’s gas becomes ionized and eventually turns into a hot, dense metallic liquid.</p>


The Juno spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has revealed the dark origins of Jupiter's mysterious auroral storms, in a recent study.

The Juno spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has revealed the dark origins of Jupiter's mysterious auroral storms, in a recent study. The findings of the research, published in the journal AGU Advances state that the Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument of the Juno mission, the gas-giant orbiter is illuminating the provenance of Jovian polar light. Also read: NASA discovers three microbes that may help grow plants on Mars It reveals for the first time the birth of auroral dawn storms – the early morning brightening unique to Jupiter’s spectacular aurorae. These immense, transient displays of light occur at both Jovian poles and had previously been observed only by ground-based and Earth-orbiting observatories, notably NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. First discovered by Hubble’s Faint Object Camera in 1994, dawn storms consist of short-lived but intense brightening and broadening of Jupiter’s main auroral oval – an oblong curtain of light that surrounds both poles – near where the atmosphere emerges from the darkness in the early morning region. Also read: NASA detects FM signals from Jupiter's moon Ganymede for the first time Before Juno, observations of Jovian ultraviolet aurora had offered only side views, hiding everything happening on the nightside of the planet. According to Bertrand Bonfond, a researcher from the University of Liège in Belgium and lead author of the study, “Observing Jupiter’s aurora from Earth does not allow you to see beyond the limb, into the nightside of Jupiter’s poles. Explorations by other spacecraft – Voyager, Galileo, Cassini – happened from relatively large distances and did not fly over the poles, so they could not see the complete picture.” “That’s why the Juno data is a real game-changer, allowing us a better understanding of what is happening on the nightside, where the dawn storms are born.” Researchers found dawn storms are born on the nightside of the gas giant. As the planet rotates, the soon-to-be dawn storm rotates with it into the dayside, where these complex and intensely bright auroral features grow even more luminous, emitting anywhere from hundreds to thousands of gigawatts of ultraviolet light into space. The jump in brightness implies that dawn storms are dumping at least 10 times more energy into Jupiter's upper atmosphere than typical aurora. The interior of Jupiter is just as intriguing as the planet’s dazzling surface, with a swirling mixture of liquid hydrogen and helium at its centre, vast atmospheric jet streams and exotic gravitational properties. Data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft, orbiting the solar system’s largest planet since 2016, is providing researchers with what they called unprecedented insight into Jupiter’s internal dynamics and structure. Until now, scientists have had scant information about what lies below Jupiter’s thick red, brown, yellow and white clouds. Jupiter is a type of planet called a gas giant, as opposed to rocky planets like Earth and Mars, and its composition is 99 percent hydrogen and helium. Juno’s data showed that as you go deeper under the surface, Jupiter’s gas becomes ionized and eventually turns into a hot, dense metallic liquid.

NASA's Juno spacecraft unveils dark origins of Jupiter's mysterious auroral storms for first time

<p>The&nbsp;National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has discovered three bacterial strains at the International Space Station that may&nbsp;help grow plants on Mars.</p>

<p>In order to withstand the rigours of space on deep-space missions, food grown outside of Earth needs a little extra help from bacteria.</p>

<p><strong>Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/breakthrough-first-plant-transplant-takes-place-in-international-space-station-360217">'Breakthrough': First plant transplant takes place in International Space Station</a></strong></p>

<p>The recent discovery aboard the International Space Station (ISS) can help researchers create the 'fuel' to help plants withstand such stressful situations.</p>

<p>The findings published in the&nbsp;Frontiers in Microbiology described the discovery&nbsp;of bacteria belonging to the family Methylobacteriaceae from different locations aboard the ISS across two consecutive flights.</p>

<p>While 1 strain was identified as Methylorubrum rhodesianum, the other 3 were previously undiscovered and belong to a novel species novel. The rod-shaped, motile bacteria were given the designations IF7SW-B2T, IIF1SW-B5, and IIF4SW-B5 with genetic analysis showing them to be closely related to Methylobacterium indicum.</p>

<p>Methylobacterium species are involved in nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, abiotic stress tolerance, plant growth promotion and biocontrol activity against plant pathogens.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/perseverance-searches-for-life-on-mars-369682/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p><strong>Potential for Mars missions</strong></p>

<p>Now, in honor of the renowned Indian biodiversity scientists Dr Ajmal Khan, the team has proposed to call the novel species Methylobacterium ajmalii.</p>

<p>Commenting on the discovery, Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran (Venkat) and Dr Nitin Kumar Singh of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, (JPL), says that the strains might possess " biotechnologically useful genetic determinants" for the growing of crops in space.</p>

<p>However, further experimental biology is needed to prove that it is, indeed, a potential game-changer for space farming.</p>

<p>"To grow plants in extreme places where resources are minimal, isolation of novel microbes that help to promote plant growth under stressful conditions is essential," they said.</p>

<p>Along with JPL, other researchers collaborating on this discovery are based at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Cornell University and the University of Hyderabad in India.</p>

<p>With NASA one day looking to take humans to the surface of Mars - and potentially beyond - the US National Research Council Decadal Survey recommends that the space agency use the ISS as a "test-bed for surveying microorganisms", according to Venkat and Singh.</p>

<p>"Since our group possess expertise in cultivating microorganisms from extreme niches, we have been tasked by the NASA Space Biology Program to survey the ISS for the presence and persistence of the microorganisms," they add.</p>

<p>"Needless to say, the ISS is a cleanly-maintained extreme environment. Crew safety is the number 1 priority and hence understanding human/plant pathogens are important, but beneficial microbes like this novel Methylobacterium ajmalii are also needed."</p>

<p><strong>Expanding the ISS lab</strong></p>

<p>As part of an ongoing surveillance mission, 8 locations on the ISS are being monitored for bacterial growths and have been for the last 6 years. These sample areas include where the crew assembles or where experiments are conducted, such as the plant growth chamber.</p>

<p>While hundreds of bacterial samples from the ISS have been analyzed to date, approximately 1,000 samples have been collected from various other locations on the space station but are awaiting a trip back to Earth where they can be examined.</p>

<p>According to Venkat and Singh, the eventual goal is to bypass this lengthy process and potentially find new novel strains using molecular biology equipment developed and demonstrated for the ISS.</p>

<p>"Instead of bringing samples back to Earth for analyses, we need an integrated microbial monitoring system that collect, process, and analyze samples in space using molecular technologies," Venkat and Singh said.</p>

<p>"This miniaturized 'omics in space' technology - a biosensor development - will help NASA and other space-faring nations achieve safe and sustainable space exploration for long periods of time."<br />
&nbsp;</p>


The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has discovered three bacterial strains at the International Space Station that may help grow plants on Mars.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has discovered three bacterial strains at the International Space Station that may help grow plants on Mars. In order to withstand the rigours of space on deep-space missions, food grown outside of Earth needs a little extra help from bacteria. Also read| 'Breakthrough': First plant transplant takes place in International Space Station The recent discovery aboard the International Space Station (ISS) can help researchers create the 'fuel' to help plants withstand such stressful situations. The findings published in the Frontiers in Microbiology described the discovery of bacteria belonging to the family Methylobacteriaceae from different locations aboard the ISS across two consecutive flights. While 1 strain was identified as Methylorubrum rhodesianum, the other 3 were previously undiscovered and belong to a novel species novel. The rod-shaped, motile bacteria were given the designations IF7SW-B2T, IIF1SW-B5, and IIF4SW-B5 with genetic analysis showing them to be closely related to Methylobacterium indicum. Methylobacterium species are involved in nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, abiotic stress tolerance, plant growth promotion and biocontrol activity against plant pathogens. Potential for Mars missions Now, in honor of the renowned Indian biodiversity scientists Dr Ajmal Khan, the team has proposed to call the novel species Methylobacterium ajmalii. Commenting on the discovery, Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran (Venkat) and Dr Nitin Kumar Singh of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, (JPL), says that the strains might possess " biotechnologically useful genetic determinants" for the growing of crops in space. However, further experimental biology is needed to prove that it is, indeed, a potential game-changer for space farming. "To grow plants in extreme places where resources are minimal, isolation of novel microbes that help to promote plant growth under stressful conditions is essential," they said. Along with JPL, other researchers collaborating on this discovery are based at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Cornell University and the University of Hyderabad in India. With NASA one day looking to take humans to the surface of Mars - and potentially beyond - the US National Research Council Decadal Survey recommends that the space agency use the ISS as a "test-bed for surveying microorganisms", according to Venkat and Singh. "Since our group possess expertise in cultivating microorganisms from extreme niches, we have been tasked by the NASA Space Biology Program to survey the ISS for the presence and persistence of the microorganisms," they add. "Needless to say, the ISS is a cleanly-maintained extreme environment. Crew safety is the number 1 priority and hence understanding human/plant pathogens are important, but beneficial microbes like this novel Methylobacterium ajmalii are also needed." Expanding the ISS lab As part of an ongoing surveillance mission, 8 locations on the ISS are being monitored for bacterial growths and have been for the last 6 years. These sample areas include where the crew assembles or where experiments are conducted, such as the plant growth chamber. While hundreds of bacterial samples from the ISS have been analyzed to date, approximately 1,000 samples have been collected from various other locations on the space station but are awaiting a trip back to Earth where they can be examined. According to Venkat and Singh, the eventual goal is to bypass this lengthy process and potentially find new novel strains using molecular biology equipment developed and demonstrated for the ISS. "Instead of bringing samples back to Earth for analyses, we need an integrated microbial monitoring system that collect, process, and analyze samples in space using molecular technologies," Venkat and Singh said. "This miniaturized 'omics in space' technology - a biosensor development - will help NASA and other space-faring nations achieve safe and sustainable space exploration for long periods of time."

NASA discovers three microbes that may help grow plants on Mars

<p>Stars resemble twinkling dots in our night skies, but scientists now believe that the celestial bodies were way&nbsp;bigger earlier!</p>

<p>Scientists at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) in Taiwan recently found that supermassive black holes situated at the centre of galaxies were actually really gigantic stars - too big for our comprehension.</p>

<p>The researchers ascertained that black holes were left behind in the aftermath of large supernovas from these supermassive stars.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/heres-why-scientists-want-to-send-millions-of-sperm-samples-to-the-moon-370339" hreflang="en">Here's why scientists want to send millions of sperm samples to the moon</a></p>

<p>Supernovas are essentially large-scale explosions that take place once the star runs out of energy and collapses into itself. Supernovas are considered the largest explosions in space. Reported first by Phys[dot]org, the team published their findings in the journal titled “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society”.</p>

<p><strong>But how big were these stars?</strong><br />
Scientists posit that these historic stars could have been millions to billions times bigger than our sun!&nbsp;Black holes are difficult to research. Even then, there’s not much scientists know about the gigantic holes.</p>

<p>To gather evidence for this study, the researchers conducted a “radiation hydrodynamics simulation”. Based on their estimates, the team predicted that the James Webb Space Telescope will be successfully able to observe a supernova event once it launches this year.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/hubble-space-telescope-beams-back-mesmerising-image-of-a-nebula-370330" hreflang="en">Hubble Space Telescope beams back mesmerising image of a nebula!</a></p>

<p>If all goes well, then scientists may be able to understand not only the origins of these mega stars, but also of black holes as we know them today!</p>

<p>One of the researchers, Ke-Jung Chen’s earlier research posited that big stars are potentially “black hole seeds”, and are precursory to these fiery holes.</p>


Stars resemble twinkling dots in our night skies, but scientists now believe that the celestial bodies were way bigger earlier! Scientists at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) in Taiwan recently found that supermassive black holes situated at the centre of galaxies were actually really gigantic stars - too big for our comprehension.

Stars resemble twinkling dots in our night skies, but scientists now believe that the celestial bodies were way bigger earlier! Scientists at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) in Taiwan recently found that supermassive black holes situated at the centre of galaxies were actually really gigantic stars - too big for our comprehension. The researchers ascertained that black holes were left behind in the aftermath of large supernovas from these supermassive stars. Also read: Here's why scientists want to send millions of sperm samples to the moon Supernovas are essentially large-scale explosions that take place once the star runs out of energy and collapses into itself. Supernovas are considered the largest explosions in space. Reported first by Phys[dot]org, the team published their findings in the journal titled “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society”. But how big were these stars? Scientists posit that these historic stars could have been millions to billions times bigger than our sun! Black holes are difficult to research. Even then, there’s not much scientists know about the gigantic holes. To gather evidence for this study, the researchers conducted a “radiation hydrodynamics simulation”. Based on their estimates, the team predicted that the James Webb Space Telescope will be successfully able to observe a supernova event once it launches this year. Also read: Hubble Space Telescope beams back mesmerising image of a nebula! If all goes well, then scientists may be able to understand not only the origins of these mega stars, but also of black holes as we know them today! One of the researchers, Ke-Jung Chen’s earlier research posited that big stars are potentially “black hole seeds”, and are precursory to these fiery holes.

Do gigantic stars from the past hold secrets to black holes? Scientists say so!

<p>For the most part, our knowledge of the word 'planet' revolves around the idea is that its a huge space rock, cooler than the stars, deriving energy from the one it revolves around. We can't be blamed because Earth is one such space rock. It is (much) cooler than the Sun and derives all the life forming energy from it.</p>

<p>But universe, as infinite it is, has ways to surprise our minds and set ideas we tend to have about it.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Can you imagine a space body almost hot as our Sun all the while being a 'planet'? Well, there are such planets.</p>

<p>Meet Kelt-9 b! It's a planet 670 lightyears away from Earth. It was found in 2016.</p>

<p>It has been found that this planet has a temperature of 5000 K (4726 degree Celsius). This makes this planet hotter than 80 per cent of all individual&nbsp;stars in the universe.</p>

<p>Kelt-9 b is a gaseous planet and it is 1.8 times bigger than Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system. It revolves around its star that is twice as hot as the Sun. In addition, Kelt-9 b has a very very short radius of revolution. It means that it revolves around its star in a very close orbit that is smaller even than that of Mercury in our Solar System.</p>

<p>Kelt-9 b is tidally locked with its star. That means that one side of the planet always faces the star when it makes its revolution.</p>

<p><strong>Why studying Kelt-9 b is important</strong></p>

<p>Planets like Kelt-9 b are called 'hot Jupiters' because of their gaseous nature, gigantic size and extremely hot temperature. This means that behaviour of such planets gives us a brilliant opportunity to study Physics in conditions that are nearly impossible to reproduce on Earth.</p>

<p>In other words, these planets can roughly be called giant labs in space!</p>

<p>The universe truly has amazing secrets!</p>


For the most part, our knowledge of the word 'planet' revolves around the idea is that its a huge space rock, cooler than the stars, deriving energy from the one it revolves around.

For the most part, our knowledge of the word 'planet' revolves around the idea is that its a huge space rock, cooler than the stars, deriving energy from the one it revolves around. We can't be blamed because Earth is one such space rock. It is (much) cooler than the Sun and derives all the life forming energy from it. But universe, as infinite it is, has ways to surprise our minds and set ideas we tend to have about it. Can you imagine a space body almost hot as our Sun all the while being a 'planet'? Well, there are such planets. Meet Kelt-9 b! It's a planet 670 lightyears away from Earth. It was found in 2016. It has been found that this planet has a temperature of 5000 K (4726 degree Celsius). This makes this planet hotter than 80 per cent of all individual stars in the universe. Kelt-9 b is a gaseous planet and it is 1.8 times bigger than Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system. It revolves around its star that is twice as hot as the Sun. In addition, Kelt-9 b has a very very short radius of revolution. It means that it revolves around its star in a very close orbit that is smaller even than that of Mercury in our Solar System. Kelt-9 b is tidally locked with its star. That means that one side of the planet always faces the star when it makes its revolution. Why studying Kelt-9 b is important Planets like Kelt-9 b are called 'hot Jupiters' because of their gaseous nature, gigantic size and extremely hot temperature. This means that behaviour of such planets gives us a brilliant opportunity to study Physics in conditions that are nearly impossible to reproduce on Earth. In other words, these planets can roughly be called giant labs in space! The universe truly has amazing secrets!

This planet is hotter than 80 per cent of stars in the universe

<p>It may be just another day for us here on Earth. We may get up and go about as if nothing is going to happen. But ask those Dinosaurs who were out on the day an asteroid struck Earth.</p>

<p>Well, you can't of course because all of them are dead (along with around 75 per cent of life at that time on the planet).</p>

<p>This is what happens when a huge space rock decides that it is tired of travelling through space and wants to 'settle down' on the cosy planet we call Earth.</p>

<p>Asteroids may be small compared to size of the Earth but they can cause massive destruction owing to their very high speeds.</p>

<p>And this is why NASA and other space agencies around the world keep close watch on any rogue rocks that may be coming our way, or at least make a close call.</p>

<p>And one such asteroid has been detected. The asteroid has been named 2020 XU6. And it will reach its closest point from Earth today (February 22).</p>

<p>2020 XU6 is the size of a 'stadium'. For perspective, Statue of Liberty will fall short if it tries to compete with the asteroid to check who was taller. Even Big Ben would not be able to win.</p>

<p>The asteroid in 700 feet across (213 m). It is coming closer to Earth indeed.</p>

<p>But we need not fret about extinction of humans just yet because it will miss the Earth by 4,087,734 km (2,540,000 m)&nbsp;</p>

<p>You can safely go about your day now.</p>


It may be just another day for us here on Earth. We may get up and go about as if nothing is going to happen. But ask those Dinosaurs who were out on the day an asteroid struck Earth.

It may be just another day for us here on Earth. We may get up and go about as if nothing is going to happen. But ask those Dinosaurs who were out on the day an asteroid struck Earth. Well, you can't of course because all of them are dead (along with around 75 per cent of life at that time on the planet). This is what happens when a huge space rock decides that it is tired of travelling through space and wants to 'settle down' on the cosy planet we call Earth. Asteroids may be small compared to size of the Earth but they can cause massive destruction owing to their very high speeds. And this is why NASA and other space agencies around the world keep close watch on any rogue rocks that may be coming our way, or at least make a close call. And one such asteroid has been detected. The asteroid has been named 2020 XU6. And it will reach its closest point from Earth today (February 22). 2020 XU6 is the size of a 'stadium'. For perspective, Statue of Liberty will fall short if it tries to compete with the asteroid to check who was taller. Even Big Ben would not be able to win. The asteroid in 700 feet across (213 m). It is coming closer to Earth indeed. But we need not fret about extinction of humans just yet because it will miss the Earth by 4,087,734 km (2,540,000 m) You can safely go about your day now.

Asteroid alert: A 'stadium sized' space rock is hurtling towards Earth

<p>The chief of Russian space agency Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin on Friday said that American astronauts from NASA will use the country's Soyuz rocket to travel to the International Space Station as US technology is ''unreliable.''</p>

<p>The next launch window for a NASA crew to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket has been pushed&nbsp;to April 20.</p>

<p>The flight marks only the second full-fledged space station crew-rotation mission launched aboard a private company's spacecraft - a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket tipped with the Crew Dragon capsule it will carry into orbit.</p>

<p><strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/russias-soyuz-spacecraft-takes-quickest-crew-trip-to-international-space-station-334731">Also see:&nbsp;Russia's Soyuz spacecraft takes quickest crew trip to International Space Station</a></strong></p>

<p>The four-member SpaceX Crew-2 consists of two NASA astronauts, mission commander Shane Kimbrough and pilot Megan McArthur, along with Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and fellow mission specialist Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency.</p>

<p>After docking with the space station, they will join the four SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts who arrived in November, and cosmonauts carried to the orbiting outpost aboard a&nbsp;Soyuz&nbsp;MS-18 spacecraft.</p>

<p>The newly arrived Crew-2 are to remain in orbit six months, while Crew-1 is due to return to earth by early May.</p>

<p>Dmitry Rogozin said in a <a href="https://www.roscosmos.ru/30252/">post</a>&nbsp;on Facebook that&nbsp;''flights to the International Space Station are unstable.''</p>

<p>However, he added, Roscosmos will ''confirm its commitment to joint agreements and the spirit of joint use of the International Space Station.''</p>

<p>''There was an urgent need for them (NASA) to find insurance and send their man on our ship, to make sure their segment on the space station isn't left unattended. The talk of swapping seats has nothing to do with this at all,''&nbsp;he clarified, noting that the agreement was made with Axiom Space, a NASA contractor and private space company which has plans to eventually sell human spaceflight experiences to tourists who want to visit the ISS.</p>

<p>Despite its former Soviet glory, Russia's space sector has suffered greatly in recent years from a lack of financing and corruption.</p>

<p>Moscow and Washington are collaborating in the space sector -- one of the few areas of cooperation left between the Cold War rivals.</p>

<p>However, Russia did not sign the US-led Artemis Accord last year for countries that want to participate in a lunar exploration scheme spearheaded by NASA.</p>

<p>Under the Artemis programme announced during the tenure of former US President Donald Trump, NASA plans to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024.</p>

<p>In another blow to Russia's space reputation,&nbsp;Roscosmos&nbsp;last year lost its monopoly for manned flights to the International Space Station (ISS) after the first successful mission of the US company Space X.</p>

<p>Elon Musk's SpaceX has become a key player in the modern space race and has announced plans to fly several members of the public to the Moon in 2023 on a trip bankrolled by a Japanese millionaire.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A SpaceX Starship prototype exploded after landing in Texas in March,after climbing to an altitude of six miles (10 kilometres). The test flight was part of the company's ambitious project to take people to Mars.</p>


The chief of Russian space agency Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin on Friday said that American astronauts from NASA will use the country's Soyuz rocket to travel to the International Space Station as US technology is ''unreliable.

The chief of Russian space agency Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin on Friday said that American astronauts from NASA will use the country's Soyuz rocket to travel to the International Space Station as US technology is ''unreliable.'' The next launch window for a NASA crew to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket has been pushed to April 20. The flight marks only the second full-fledged space station crew-rotation mission launched aboard a private company's spacecraft - a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket tipped with the Crew Dragon capsule it will carry into orbit. Also see: Russia's Soyuz spacecraft takes quickest crew trip to International Space Station The four-member SpaceX Crew-2 consists of two NASA astronauts, mission commander Shane Kimbrough and pilot Megan McArthur, along with Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and fellow mission specialist Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency. After docking with the space station, they will join the four SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts who arrived in November, and cosmonauts carried to the orbiting outpost aboard a Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft. The newly arrived Crew-2 are to remain in orbit six months, while Crew-1 is due to return to earth by early May. Dmitry Rogozin said in a post on Facebook that ''flights to the International Space Station are unstable.'' However, he added, Roscosmos will ''confirm its commitment to joint agreements and the spirit of joint use of the International Space Station.'' ''There was an urgent need for them (NASA) to find insurance and send their man on our ship, to make sure their segment on the space station isn't left unattended. The talk of swapping seats has nothing to do with this at all,'' he clarified, noting that the agreement was made with Axiom Space, a NASA contractor and private space company which has plans to eventually sell human spaceflight experiences to tourists who want to visit the ISS. Despite its former Soviet glory, Russia's space sector has suffered greatly in recent years from a lack of financing and corruption. Moscow and Washington are collaborating in the space sector -- one of the few areas of cooperation left between the Cold War rivals. However, Russia did not sign the US-led Artemis Accord last year for countries that want to participate in a lunar exploration scheme spearheaded by NASA. Under the Artemis programme announced during the tenure of former US President Donald Trump, NASA plans to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024. In another blow to Russia's space reputation, Roscosmos last year lost its monopoly for manned flights to the International Space Station (ISS) after the first successful mission of the US company Space X. Elon Musk's SpaceX has become a key player in the modern space race and has announced plans to fly several members of the public to the Moon in 2023 on a trip bankrolled by a Japanese millionaire. A SpaceX Starship prototype exploded after landing in Texas in March,after climbing to an altitude of six miles (10 kilometres). The test flight was part of the company's ambitious project to take people to Mars.

Russian space agency chief calls US technology 'unstable' to reach International Space Station

<p>The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year will approach within some 1.25 million miles (two million kilometers) of our planet on March 21, according to NASA.</p>

<p>The asteroid, 2001 FO32, is estimated to be about 3,000 feet in diameter and was discovered 20 years ago.</p>

<p>The director of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies, to this end, said , "We know the orbital path of 2001 FO32 around the Sun very accurately. There is no chance the asteroid will get any closer to Earth than 1.25 million miles." That is roughly 5.25 times the distance of the Earth from the Moon but still close enough for 2001 FO32 to be classified as a "potentially hazardous asteroid."</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/science-technology/why-a-vagabond-comet-like-object-near-ancient-trojan-asteroids-has-caught-nasas-attention-367558"><strong>Also read |&nbsp;Why a 'vagabond' comet-like object near ancient Trojan asteroids has caught NASA's attention</strong></a></p>

<p>NASA said 2001 FO32 will pass by at about 77,000 miles per hour faster than the speed at which most asteroids encounter Earth.</p>

<p>NASA said astronomers hope to get a better understanding of the asteroid's size and a rough idea of its composition by studying light reflecting off its surface.</p>

<p>"By studying the spectrum of light reflecting off the surface, astronomers can measure the chemical 'fingerprints' of the minerals on the surface of the asteroid," NASA said.</p>

<p>The asteroid will be brightest while it moves through southern skies.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/asteroid-alert-a-stadium-sized-space-rock-is-hurtling-towards-earth-365317"><strong>Also read |&nbsp;Asteroid alert: A 'stadium sized' space rock is hurtling towards Earth</strong></a></p>

<p>NASA said more than 95 per cent of near-Earth asteroids the size of 2001 FO32 or larger have been catalogued and none of them has any chance of impacting our planet over the next century.</p>


The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year will approach within some 1.25 million miles (two million kilometers) of our planet on March 21, according to NASA.

The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year will approach within some 1.25 million miles (two million kilometers) of our planet on March 21, according to NASA. The asteroid, 2001 FO32, is estimated to be about 3,000 feet in diameter and was discovered 20 years ago. The director of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies, to this end, said , "We know the orbital path of 2001 FO32 around the Sun very accurately. There is no chance the asteroid will get any closer to Earth than 1.25 million miles." That is roughly 5.25 times the distance of the Earth from the Moon but still close enough for 2001 FO32 to be classified as a "potentially hazardous asteroid." Also read | Why a 'vagabond' comet-like object near ancient Trojan asteroids has caught NASA's attention NASA said 2001 FO32 will pass by at about 77,000 miles per hour faster than the speed at which most asteroids encounter Earth. NASA said astronomers hope to get a better understanding of the asteroid's size and a rough idea of its composition by studying light reflecting off its surface. "By studying the spectrum of light reflecting off the surface, astronomers can measure the chemical 'fingerprints' of the minerals on the surface of the asteroid," NASA said. The asteroid will be brightest while it moves through southern skies. Also read | Asteroid alert: A 'stadium sized' space rock is hurtling towards Earth NASA said more than 95 per cent of near-Earth asteroids the size of 2001 FO32 or larger have been catalogued and none of them has any chance of impacting our planet over the next century.

A large asteroid to pass by earth on March 21, NASA says

<p>According to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science-technology/us-varsities-to-develop-lunar-power-tech-for-nasa-369187"><strong>NASA</strong></a>, its astronauts are set for the third spacewalk at the International Space Station(ISS) on Saturday as Michael Hopkins and Glover spent some time on "space gardening" tasks.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">👨🏿‍🚀 It’s spacewalk season on the <a href="https://twitter.com/Space_Station?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Space_Station</a>! 👨🏻‍🚀<br />
<br />
Join us LIVE on March 13 to watch <a href="https://twitter.com/AstroVicGlover?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AstroVicGlover</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Astro_illini?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Astro_illini</a> complete upgrades outside the orbital lab while working ~254 miles above Earth.<br />
<br />
Coverage starts at 6am ET. Get the details: <a href="https://t.co/qMygv8YgcO">https://t.co/qMygv8YgcO</a> <a href="https://t.co/xsqRRRwfbW">pic.twitter.com/xsqRRRwfbW</a></p>
— NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1369443892211376128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Hopkins began harvesting<strong> Amara mustard </strong>and <strong>extra dwarf pak choi</strong> plants for the Veg-03 botany study, the space agency informed even as "Noguchi watered fast-growing plants used for traditional medicine and food flavouring for the Asian Herb investigation."</p>

<p><strong>Watch:</strong></p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-russia-and-china-want-to-build-a-space-station-on-the-moon-369535/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>"NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins’ enthusiasm for learning to grow plants in space has proven fruitful for the agency’s <strong>Vegetable Production System </strong>(Veggie)," the agency said in its blog.</p>

<p>The <strong>Expedition 64</strong> crew member had arrived at the ISS in November last year aboard <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasas-perseverance-to-study-turkeys-lake-salda-samples-similar-to-jezero-crater-369120">NASA’s </a>SpaceX Crew-1 for a six-month science mission. Hopkins initiated two experiments - VEG-03I which involved the first successful plant transplants in space and VEG-03J which featured the use of new seed film developed at NASA’s Florida centre.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, astronauts Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins are set to spacewalk together to work on the station’s <strong>cooling system</strong> and communications gear. The duo will spend at least six-and-a-half-hour during their spacewalk working on the venting and relocating ammonia lines.</p>

<p>"Hopkins and Glover were joined by Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi on Tuesday afternoon for a review of this weekend’s spacewalk procedures," the space agency informed.</p>


According to NASA, its astronauts are set for the third spacewalk at the International Space Station(ISS) on Saturday as Michael Hopkins and Glover spent some time on "space gardening" tasks.

According to NASA, its astronauts are set for the third spacewalk at the International Space Station(ISS) on Saturday as Michael Hopkins and Glover spent some time on "space gardening" tasks. 👨🏿‍🚀 It’s spacewalk season on the @Space_Station! 👨🏻‍🚀 Join us LIVE on March 13 to watch @AstroVicGlover and @Astro_illini complete upgrades outside the orbital lab while working ~254 miles above Earth. Coverage starts at 6am ET. Get the details: https://t.co/qMygv8YgcO pic.twitter.com/xsqRRRwfbW — NASA (@NASA) March 10, 2021 × Hopkins began harvesting Amara mustard and extra dwarf pak choi plants for the Veg-03 botany study, the space agency informed even as "Noguchi watered fast-growing plants used for traditional medicine and food flavouring for the Asian Herb investigation." Watch: "NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins’ enthusiasm for learning to grow plants in space has proven fruitful for the agency’s Vegetable Production System (Veggie)," the agency said in its blog. The Expedition 64 crew member had arrived at the ISS in November last year aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 for a six-month science mission. Hopkins initiated two experiments - VEG-03I which involved the first successful plant transplants in space and VEG-03J which featured the use of new seed film developed at NASA’s Florida centre. Meanwhile, astronauts Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins are set to spacewalk together to work on the station’s cooling system and communications gear. The duo will spend at least six-and-a-half-hour during their spacewalk working on the venting and relocating ammonia lines. "Hopkins and Glover were joined by Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi on Tuesday afternoon for a review of this weekend’s spacewalk procedures," the space agency informed.

NASA astronauts harvest Amara mustard & extra dwarf pak choi in space

<p>Mars has enthralled us since time immemorial. The red dot in the night sky has represented God of War in some cultures and it has also given rise to tales of alien life. Mars is a planet that comes closest to resembling Earth in our solar system. The planet has an atmosphere, is almost the same as that of Earth, and it is just next door in the Solar System. It's no wonder that it appears to be the most likely candidate to start our hunt for alien life.</p>

<p>Perseverance, NASA's rover, is currently on the Martian surface. It is now hunting for signs of life on Mars' surface.</p>

<p>SuperCam, a bundle of instruments aboard Perseverance has already collected samples of Martian rocks and soil. It is hunting for signs of past life on the planet that is now just barren wastelands (as per our current understanding at least).</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/perseverance-searches-for-life-on-mars-369682/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>It is already known that Mars had liquid water on its surface millions and millions of years ago. And the crater in which Perseverance made its landing in had a lake millions of years ago!</p>

<p>Where there is water, there is life. At least that's what our logic here on Earth says. Is it perfectly true even in case of celestial bodies? That's what is being ascertained.</p>

<p>The return to Earth years from now of the rocks and soil it retrieves "will give scientists the Holy Grail of planetary exploration," Jean-Yves le Gall, president of France's National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), which mostly built the mobile observatory, commented via a YouTube broadcast. &nbsp;</p>

<p>These "pieces of Mars", he said, may "finally answer this fascinating and fundamental question: was there ever life elsewhere than Earth?"</p>

<p>Our movies and books have been full of Martian invasions against Earth. Based on what we are hearing from Perseverance now, no invasion against Earth is being planned from the surface of Mars right now.</p>

<p>Jokes apart, even signs of ancient life on Mars would be a big discovery.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This will prove that we were not alone in this universe, and that life always finds a way even in harsh conditions.</p>

<p><strong>(With AFP inputs)</strong></p>


Mars has enthralled us since time immemorial. The red dot in the night sky has represented God of War in some cultures and it has also given rise to tales of alien life.

Mars has enthralled us since time immemorial. The red dot in the night sky has represented God of War in some cultures and it has also given rise to tales of alien life. Mars is a planet that comes closest to resembling Earth in our solar system. The planet has an atmosphere, is almost the same as that of Earth, and it is just next door in the Solar System. It's no wonder that it appears to be the most likely candidate to start our hunt for alien life. Perseverance, NASA's rover, is currently on the Martian surface. It is now hunting for signs of life on Mars' surface. SuperCam, a bundle of instruments aboard Perseverance has already collected samples of Martian rocks and soil. It is hunting for signs of past life on the planet that is now just barren wastelands (as per our current understanding at least). × It is already known that Mars had liquid water on its surface millions and millions of years ago. And the crater in which Perseverance made its landing in had a lake millions of years ago! Where there is water, there is life. At least that's what our logic here on Earth says. Is it perfectly true even in case of celestial bodies? That's what is being ascertained. The return to Earth years from now of the rocks and soil it retrieves "will give scientists the Holy Grail of planetary exploration," Jean-Yves le Gall, president of France's National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), which mostly built the mobile observatory, commented via a YouTube broadcast. These "pieces of Mars", he said, may "finally answer this fascinating and fundamental question: was there ever life elsewhere than Earth?" Our movies and books have been full of Martian invasions against Earth. Based on what we are hearing from Perseverance now, no invasion against Earth is being planned from the surface of Mars right now. Jokes apart, even signs of ancient life on Mars would be a big discovery. This will prove that we were not alone in this universe, and that life always finds a way even in harsh conditions. (With AFP inputs)

NASA's Perseverance rover hunts for life on Mars

<p>The Juno spacecraft of the&nbsp;National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has shattered the false notions about the origin of zodiacal light or 'false dawns'.</p>

<p>The zodiacal light is sunlight reflected by dust particles between the Sun and Earth and is best seen close to sunrise or sunset. As its name implies, this celestial glow appears in the ring of constellations known as the zodiac. These are found along the ecliptic, which is the eastward apparent “path” that the Sun traces across Earth’s sky.</p>

<p>Astronomers have believed that zodiacal light&nbsp;is&nbsp;brought into the inner solar system by a few of the asteroid and comet families that venture in from afar.</p>

<p>An instrument aboard the Juno spacecraft serendipitously detected dust particles slamming into the spacecraft during its journey from Earth to Jupiter.</p>

<p>The impacts provided important clues to the origin and orbital evolution of the dust, resolving some mysterious variations of the zodiacal light. The discovery has big implications.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/perseverance-searches-for-life-on-mars-369682/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>John Leif Jørgensen, a professor at the Technical University of Denmark, said&nbsp;&nbsp;“I never thought we’d be looking for interplanetary dust.”</p>

<p>He designed&nbsp;the four star trackers that are part of Juno’s magnetometer investigation. These onboard cameras snap photos of the sky every quarter of a second to determine Juno’s orientation in space by recognizing star patterns in its images — an engineering task essential to the magnetometer’s accuracy.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It wasn’t until the researchers calculated the apparent size and velocity of the objects in the images that they finally realized something: Dust grains had smashed into Juno at about 10,000 miles (or 16,000 kilometers) per hour, chipping off submillimeter pieces. “Even though we’re talking about objects with only a tiny bit of mass, they pack a mean punch,” said Jack Connerney, Juno’s magnetometer investigation lead, and the mission’s deputy principal investigator, who’s based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.</p>

<p>As it turned out, the spray of debris was coming from Juno’s expansive solar panels — the biggest and most sensitive unintended dust detector ever built.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iUBHRAJzIg0" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>“Each piece of debris we tracked records the impact of an interplanetary dust particle, allowing us to compile a distribution of dust along Juno’s path,” Connerney said. Juno launched in 2011. After a deep-space manoeuvre in the asteroid belt in 2012, it returned to the inner solar system for an Earth gravity assist in 2013, which catapulted the spacecraft towards Jupiter.</p>

<p>Connerney and Jørgensen noticed that the majority of dust impacts were recorded between Earth and the asteroid belt, with gaps in the distribution related to the influence of Jupiter’s gravity.</p>

<p>According to scientists, this was a radical revelation. Before now, scientists have been unable to measure the distribution of these dust particles in space. Dedicated dust detectors have had limited collection areas and thus limited sensitivity to a sparse population of dust.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/astronomers-detect-best-place-and-time-to-live-in-milky-way-368901">Astronomers detect best place and time to live in Milky Way</a></strong></p>

<p>They mostly count the more abundant and much smaller dust particles from interstellar space. In comparison, Juno’s expansive solar panels have 1,000 times more collection area than most dust detectors.</p>

<p>Juno scientists determined that the dust cloud ends at Earth because Earth’s gravity sucks up all the dust that gets near it. “That’s the dust we see as zodiacal light,” Jørgensen said.</p>

<p>As for the outer edge, around 2 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun (1 AU is the distance between Earth and the Sun), it ends just beyond Mars. At that point, the scientists report, the influence of Jupiter’s gravity acts as a barrier, preventing dust particles from crossing from the inner solar system into deep space. This same phenomenon, known as orbital resonance, also works the other way, where it blocks dust originating in deep space from passing into the inner solar system.</p>

<p>The profound influence of the gravity barrier indicates that the dust particles are in a nearly circular orbit around the Sun, Jørgensen said. “And the only object we know of in almost circular orbit around 2 AU is Mars, so the natural thought is that Mars is a source of this dust,” he said.</p>

<p>“The distribution of dust that we measure better be consistent with the variation of zodiacal light that has been observed,” Connerney said. The researchers developed a computer model to predict the light reflected by the dust cloud, dispersed by gravitational interaction with Jupiter that scatters the dust into a thicker disk. The scattering depends only on two quantities: the dust inclination to the ecliptic and its orbital eccentricity. When the researchers plugged in the orbital elements of Mars, the distribution accurately predicted the tell-tale signature of the variation of zodiacal light near the ecliptic. “That is, in my view, a confirmation that we know exactly how these particles are orbiting in our solar system,” Connerney said, “and where they originate.”</p>

<p>While there is good evidence now that Mars, the dustiest planet we know of, is the source of the zodiacal light, Jørgensen and his colleagues cannot yet explain how the dust could have escaped the grip of Martian gravity. They hope other scientists will help them.</p>

<p>In the meantime, the researchers note that finding the true distribution and density of dust particles in the solar system will help engineers design spacecraft materials that can better withstand dust impacts. Knowing the precise distribution of dust may also guide the design of flight paths for future spacecraft in order to avoid the highest concentration of particles. Tiny particles traveling at such high velocities can gouge up to 1,000 times their mass from a spacecraft.</p>

<p>Juno’s solar arrays escaped harm because the solar cells are well protected against impact on the back&nbsp;or dark&nbsp;side of the array by the support structure.</p>


The Juno spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has shattered the false notions about the origin of zodiacal light or 'false dawns'.

The Juno spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has shattered the false notions about the origin of zodiacal light or 'false dawns'. The zodiacal light is sunlight reflected by dust particles between the Sun and Earth and is best seen close to sunrise or sunset. As its name implies, this celestial glow appears in the ring of constellations known as the zodiac. These are found along the ecliptic, which is the eastward apparent “path” that the Sun traces across Earth’s sky. Astronomers have believed that zodiacal light is brought into the inner solar system by a few of the asteroid and comet families that venture in from afar. An instrument aboard the Juno spacecraft serendipitously detected dust particles slamming into the spacecraft during its journey from Earth to Jupiter. The impacts provided important clues to the origin and orbital evolution of the dust, resolving some mysterious variations of the zodiacal light. The discovery has big implications. John Leif Jørgensen, a professor at the Technical University of Denmark, said “I never thought we’d be looking for interplanetary dust.” He designed the four star trackers that are part of Juno’s magnetometer investigation. These onboard cameras snap photos of the sky every quarter of a second to determine Juno’s orientation in space by recognizing star patterns in its images — an engineering task essential to the magnetometer’s accuracy. It wasn’t until the researchers calculated the apparent size and velocity of the objects in the images that they finally realized something: Dust grains had smashed into Juno at about 10,000 miles (or 16,000 kilometers) per hour, chipping off submillimeter pieces. “Even though we’re talking about objects with only a tiny bit of mass, they pack a mean punch,” said Jack Connerney, Juno’s magnetometer investigation lead, and the mission’s deputy principal investigator, who’s based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. As it turned out, the spray of debris was coming from Juno’s expansive solar panels — the biggest and most sensitive unintended dust detector ever built. “Each piece of debris we tracked records the impact of an interplanetary dust particle, allowing us to compile a distribution of dust along Juno’s path,” Connerney said. Juno launched in 2011. After a deep-space manoeuvre in the asteroid belt in 2012, it returned to the inner solar system for an Earth gravity assist in 2013, which catapulted the spacecraft towards Jupiter. Connerney and Jørgensen noticed that the majority of dust impacts were recorded between Earth and the asteroid belt, with gaps in the distribution related to the influence of Jupiter’s gravity. According to scientists, this was a radical revelation. Before now, scientists have been unable to measure the distribution of these dust particles in space. Dedicated dust detectors have had limited collection areas and thus limited sensitivity to a sparse population of dust. Also read: Astronomers detect best place and time to live in Milky Way They mostly count the more abundant and much smaller dust particles from interstellar space. In comparison, Juno’s expansive solar panels have 1,000 times more collection area than most dust detectors. Juno scientists determined that the dust cloud ends at Earth because Earth’s gravity sucks up all the dust that gets near it. “That’s the dust we see as zodiacal light,” Jørgensen said. As for the outer edge, around 2 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun (1 AU is the distance between Earth and the Sun), it ends just beyond Mars. At that point, the scientists report, the influence of Jupiter’s gravity acts as a barrier, preventing dust particles from crossing from the inner solar system into deep space. This same phenomenon, known as orbital resonance, also works the other way, where it blocks dust originating in deep space from passing into the inner solar system. The profound influence of the gravity barrier indicates that the dust particles are in a nearly circular orbit around the Sun, Jørgensen said. “And the only object we know of in almost circular orbit around 2 AU is Mars, so the natural thought is that Mars is a source of this dust,” he said. “The distribution of dust that we measure better be consistent with the variation of zodiacal light that has been observed,” Connerney said. The researchers developed a computer model to predict the light reflected by the dust cloud, dispersed by gravitational interaction with Jupiter that scatters the dust into a thicker disk. The scattering depends only on two quantities: the dust inclination to the ecliptic and its orbital eccentricity. When the researchers plugged in the orbital elements of Mars, the distribution accurately predicted the tell-tale signature of the variation of zodiacal light near the ecliptic. “That is, in my view, a confirmation that we know exactly how these particles are orbiting in our solar system,” Connerney said, “and where they originate.” While there is good evidence now that Mars, the dustiest planet we know of, is the source of the zodiacal light, Jørgensen and his colleagues cannot yet explain how the dust could have escaped the grip of Martian gravity. They hope other scientists will help them. In the meantime, the researchers note that finding the true distribution and density of dust particles in the solar system will help engineers design spacecraft materials that can better withstand dust impacts. Knowing the precise distribution of dust may also guide the design of flight paths for future spacecraft in order to avoid the highest concentration of particles. Tiny particles traveling at such high velocities can gouge up to 1,000 times their mass from a spacecraft. Juno’s solar arrays escaped harm because the solar cells are well protected against impact on the back or dark side of the array by the support structure.

NASA's Juno probe solves mystery of 'false dawns'

We've had stories and movies about Martian life for decades. But won't it be great if we found concrete proof of life on Mars? NASA's Perseverance rover is doing just that. Check out the video to know more.

Perseverance searches for life on Mars

Moon race heats up as Russia, China sign memorandum on lunar research station

<p>As NASA aims to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, the agency is looking to the US universities for lunar-focused research to bring about advancements in onsite resource utilisation and sustainable power solutions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The US space agency on Monday said that it has selected six project proposals under its first-ever Lunar Surface Technology Research (LuSTR) solicitation.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"Our inaugural LuSTR opportunity targeted two technology areas within NASA's Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative that are essential to the agency's Artemis programme, which will land the first woman and next man on the Moon," Walt Engelund, Deputy Associate Administrator for programmes in NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) said in a statement.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"The systems developed by the US universities could make future exploration more accessible, robust, and exciting."&nbsp;</p>

<p>Through LuSTR, NASA selected three university-led proposals to research innovative ways to identify resources, like water, on the Moon, and inventive designs for extraction and utilisation equipment.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The University of Texas in El Paso will research an advanced thermal mining approach that could release, trap, and transport water vapour found on the Moon, NASA said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Washington University in St Louis will build a rover-mounted drill to quantify the 3D distribution of water at the Moon's South Pole.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Michigan Technological University in Houghton will adapt a heated percussive cone penetrometer, an engineering instrument regularly used on Earth, to characterise the strength of lunar soil, or regolith.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Understanding a lunar region's regolith strength could inform methods of excavating water and building structures using local materials.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Complementing this research, three other university teams will mature next-generation energy storage and power distribution technologies.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The projects could help power in-situ resource utilisation operations and other robust infrastructure on the Moon.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The University of California in Santa Barbara will research wireless power transfer feasibility from a base station to multiple distant assets on the Moon.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Vanderbilt University in Nashville will look into using silicon carbide power components for lunar surface applications.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Ohio State University in Columbus will explore flexible energy distribution between multiple, different power grids, that may use solar, radioisotope, and battery sources, that could be deployed on the lunar surface to support the Artemis programme, NASA said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(With inputs from agencies) &nbsp;</p>


As NASA aims to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, the agency is looking to the US universities for lunar-focused research to bring about advancements in onsite resource utilisation and sustainable power solutions.

As NASA aims to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, the agency is looking to the US universities for lunar-focused research to bring about advancements in onsite resource utilisation and sustainable power solutions. The US space agency on Monday said that it has selected six project proposals under its first-ever Lunar Surface Technology Research (LuSTR) solicitation. "Our inaugural LuSTR opportunity targeted two technology areas within NASA's Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative that are essential to the agency's Artemis programme, which will land the first woman and next man on the Moon," Walt Engelund, Deputy Associate Administrator for programmes in NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) said in a statement. "The systems developed by the US universities could make future exploration more accessible, robust, and exciting." Through LuSTR, NASA selected three university-led proposals to research innovative ways to identify resources, like water, on the Moon, and inventive designs for extraction and utilisation equipment. The University of Texas in El Paso will research an advanced thermal mining approach that could release, trap, and transport water vapour found on the Moon, NASA said. Washington University in St Louis will build a rover-mounted drill to quantify the 3D distribution of water at the Moon's South Pole. Michigan Technological University in Houghton will adapt a heated percussive cone penetrometer, an engineering instrument regularly used on Earth, to characterise the strength of lunar soil, or regolith. Understanding a lunar region's regolith strength could inform methods of excavating water and building structures using local materials. Complementing this research, three other university teams will mature next-generation energy storage and power distribution technologies. The projects could help power in-situ resource utilisation operations and other robust infrastructure on the Moon. The University of California in Santa Barbara will research wireless power transfer feasibility from a base station to multiple distant assets on the Moon. Vanderbilt University in Nashville will look into using silicon carbide power components for lunar surface applications. The Ohio State University in Columbus will explore flexible energy distribution between multiple, different power grids, that may use solar, radioisotope, and battery sources, that could be deployed on the lunar surface to support the Artemis programme, NASA said. (With inputs from agencies)

US varsities to develop lunar power tech for NASA 

<p>The Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) has shipped its satellite components to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a joint satellite mission known as NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar(NISAR).</p>

<p>This joint mission, which is under development aims to provide earth observation data, that would<b>&nbsp;</b>help in the better management of natural resources and hazards. It is also meant to help scientists study the extent and pace of climate change.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to ISRO, NISAR is a collaboration for a dual-frequency S-Band and L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar for earth observation. On March 4th, ISRO Chairman Dr. K. Sivan virtually flagged off the Indian-made S-Band payload from the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad.</p>

<p>At the NASA facility, this S-Band radar will be integrated with the American L-Band radar, following which it would be sent to India, for further assembly, integration and launch.&nbsp;</p>

<p>“Once ready, NASA would send the payload to India and it will be entirely assembled as a satellite at the UR Rao Space Center in Bengaluru. We have not finalized the launch date, but it is likely to be around the end of 2022 or early 2023, onboard a GSLV Mark-II rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Center” Dr.K Sivan told WION.&nbsp;</p>

<p>NASA says that the NISAR mission will use advanced radar imaging that will provide an unprecedented, detailed view of Earth. “The satellite is designed to observe and take measurements of some of the planet's most complex processes.</p>

<p>These include ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapse, and natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides” reads NASA’s NISAR page. It also adds that the project data would reveal information about the evolution and state of Earth’s crust.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It was on On Sept. 30, 2014, that NASA and ISRO signed a partnership to collaborate on and launch NISAR. NASA is providing the mission’s L-band synthetic aperture radar, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder and payload data subsystem. ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band radar, the launch vehicle and associated launch services.</p>

<p>NASA adds that NISAR will be the first satellite mission to use two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band) to measure changes in our planet's surface less than a centimetre across.&nbsp;</p>


The Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) has shipped its satellite components to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a joint satellite mission known as NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar(NISAR).

The Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) has shipped its satellite components to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a joint satellite mission known as NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar(NISAR). This joint mission, which is under development aims to provide earth observation data, that would help in the better management of natural resources and hazards. It is also meant to help scientists study the extent and pace of climate change. According to ISRO, NISAR is a collaboration for a dual-frequency S-Band and L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar for earth observation. On March 4th, ISRO Chairman Dr. K. Sivan virtually flagged off the Indian-made S-Band payload from the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad. At the NASA facility, this S-Band radar will be integrated with the American L-Band radar, following which it would be sent to India, for further assembly, integration and launch. “Once ready, NASA would send the payload to India and it will be entirely assembled as a satellite at the UR Rao Space Center in Bengaluru. We have not finalized the launch date, but it is likely to be around the end of 2022 or early 2023, onboard a GSLV Mark-II rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Center” Dr.K Sivan told WION. NASA says that the NISAR mission will use advanced radar imaging that will provide an unprecedented, detailed view of Earth. “The satellite is designed to observe and take measurements of some of the planet's most complex processes. These include ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapse, and natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides” reads NASA’s NISAR page. It also adds that the project data would reveal information about the evolution and state of Earth’s crust. It was on On Sept. 30, 2014, that NASA and ISRO signed a partnership to collaborate on and launch NISAR. NASA is providing the mission’s L-band synthetic aperture radar, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder and payload data subsystem. ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band radar, the launch vehicle and associated launch services. NASA adds that NISAR will be the first satellite mission to use two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band) to measure changes in our planet's surface less than a centimetre across.

NASA-ISRO Earth observation satellite launch on GSLV Mk II by Jan 2023

<p>Social media mongers can safely bet on NASA to release brilliant pictures of celestial bodies every now and then. The space agency has a robust presence in online world and they continue to post interesting bits of info and images that thrill.</p>

<p>NASA hasn't disappointed this time as well. It has tweeted a beautiful picture of a galaxy far far away. The name of the galaxy is NGC 2336 in scientist speak. The galaxy was discovered in 19th century. The image shows that the galaxy is a spiral, similar to our own Milky Way Galaxy.</p>

<p>"Check out NGC 2336, a galaxy about 100 million light-years away. Discovered in 1876, by astronomer William Tempel, the image captured by @NASAHubble &nbsp;shows the sheer size and beauty of this majestic galaxy," NASA tweeted.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Check out NGC 2336, a galaxy about 100 million light-years away.✨<br />
<br />
Discovered in 1876, by astronomer William Tempel, the image captured by <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAHubble?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASAHubble</a> shows the sheer size and beauty of this majestic galaxy.<br />
<br />
Find out how it gets its blue glow: <a href="https://t.co/2hLC3DajkO">https://t.co/2hLC3DajkO</a> <a href="https://t.co/XRh9MMNyy7">pic.twitter.com/XRh9MMNyy7</a></p>
— NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1368687911600787457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>The galaxy is 100 million light-years away! It means that even if we make a spaceship that travels at the speed of light, (~ 300 thousand kilometres per second) it will take us 100 million years to reach this galaxy.</p>

<p>This means an&nbsp;interesting thing.</p>

<p>The light from this galaxy that we see now, was emitted 100 million years ago! None of us or even our ancestors were alive when the light that reaches Earth today was emitted by the galaxy.</p>

<p>This leads to another interesting bit.</p>

<p>The galaxy NGC 2336 may have changed shape, collided with another galaxy, or may even have got obliterated. But we may only know that 100 million years after the event takes place. Because light from such an event will take that much time to reach us.</p>

<p>Space is super super huge. Feeling small yet?</p>


Social media mongers can safely bet on NASA to release brilliant pictures of celestial bodies every now and then. The space agency has a robust presence in online world and they continue to post interesting bits of info and images that thrill.

Social media mongers can safely bet on NASA to release brilliant pictures of celestial bodies every now and then. The space agency has a robust presence in online world and they continue to post interesting bits of info and images that thrill. NASA hasn't disappointed this time as well. It has tweeted a beautiful picture of a galaxy far far away. The name of the galaxy is NGC 2336 in scientist speak. The galaxy was discovered in 19th century. The image shows that the galaxy is a spiral, similar to our own Milky Way Galaxy. "Check out NGC 2336, a galaxy about 100 million light-years away. Discovered in 1876, by astronomer William Tempel, the image captured by @NASAHubble shows the sheer size and beauty of this majestic galaxy," NASA tweeted. Check out NGC 2336, a galaxy about 100 million light-years away.✨ Discovered in 1876, by astronomer William Tempel, the image captured by @NASAHubble shows the sheer size and beauty of this majestic galaxy. Find out how it gets its blue glow: https://t.co/2hLC3DajkO pic.twitter.com/XRh9MMNyy7 — NASA (@NASA) March 7, 2021 × The galaxy is 100 million light-years away! It means that even if we make a spaceship that travels at the speed of light, (~ 300 thousand kilometres per second) it will take us 100 million years to reach this galaxy. This means an interesting thing. The light from this galaxy that we see now, was emitted 100 million years ago! None of us or even our ancestors were alive when the light that reaches Earth today was emitted by the galaxy. This leads to another interesting bit. The galaxy NGC 2336 may have changed shape, collided with another galaxy, or may even have got obliterated. But we may only know that 100 million years after the event takes place. Because light from such an event will take that much time to reach us. Space is super super huge. Feeling small yet?

NASA releases beautiful photo of a galaxy far far away

<p>As NASA’s Perseverance rover fell through the Martian atmosphere last month, a video camera on the spacecraft captured the breakneck deployment of its parachute, which was decorated with splotches of reddish-orange and white.</p>

<p>Those splotches were a secret message.</p>

<p>During a news conference last week, Allen Chen, the engineer in charge of the landing system, narrated what could be seen and learned in the slowed-down video.</p>

<p>He added, cryptically and nonchalantly, that his team hoped to inspire others. “Sometimes we leave messages in our work for others to find for that purpose,” he said. “So we invite you all to give it a shot and show your work.”</p>

<p>Across the Atlantic Ocean, Maxence Abela, a 23-year-old computer science student in Paris, realized what Chen was saying: The seemingly random pattern on Perseverance’s parachute contained a code.</p>

<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasa-releases-beautiful-photo-of-a-galaxy-far-far-away-368896">NASA releases beautiful photo of a galaxy far far away</a></strong></p>

<p>He called his father, Jerome, a software engineer at Google in London, and the two set to solving it.</p>

<p>“We like those kinds of little challenges,” Maxence Abela said. “We didn’t think we would be able to solve it, but we would at least try.”</p>

<p>Collaborating via teleconference, they downloaded the video, isolated images showing the fully inflated parachute and started piecing together the bits. So did others around the world, trading insights on Twitter and forums on Reddit.</p>

<p>“It’s just exciting that NASA is putting these little puzzles in their missions,” said Adithya Balaji, a graduate student in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh who independently tackled the problem.</p>

<p>Balaji compared the parachute puzzle to a couple of science fiction movies: “Contact,” where a scientist played by Jodie Foster unravels an alien message, and “The Martian,” where Matt Damon’s character Mark Watney communicates with people back on Earth using a similar code.</p>

<p>“I think that it’s exciting that real life can be sometimes even more exciting than the movies,” Balaji said.</p>

<p>The person who came up with the idea for embedding a message was Ian Clark, who led development of the parachute. NASA’s previous rover, Curiosity, used the same system when it successfully landed on Mars in 2012. But a failure of a prototype parachute intended for future missions spurred engineers to improve the design.</p>

<p>While watching video of a high-altitude test of the new parachute for Perseverance, Clark noticed that the checkerboard pattern on the canopy made it difficult to track how individual portions of the parachute unfurled and inflated.</p>

<p>Because Perseverance would be outfitted with video cameras, Clark wanted a pattern that would be visually distinct. That, in turn, provided an opportunity “to have a little fun with it,” he said.</p>

<p>He asked Matt Wallace, a deputy project manager for the mission, for permission.</p>

<p>“I told them 'OK,'” Wallace recalled. “Just make sure it was appropriate and couldn’t be misinterpreted.”</p>

<p>The 70-foot-wide parachute consisted of 80 strips of fabric radiating outward from the center to form a hemisphere-shape canopy, and each strip consisted of four pieces. Clark thus had 320 pieces to work with.</p>

<p>Some of his ideas would have required additional colors, but that could have threatened the parachute’s integrity if untested dyes weakened the fabric fibers.</p>

<p>“We were unwilling to go to a cloth that was dyed in a color that we had never used before,” Wallace said.</p>

<p>Even a pattern of just orange and white, the two colors of previous parachutes, raised potential issues. “There’s all kinds of second-guessing questions,” Clark said. “Like could having more white than orange, or vice versa, mean that the parachute was going to warm up differently and maybe that would change its behavior?”</p>

<p>After all, mission managers would have been embarrassed if they had to explain how they lost a $2.7 billion mission because a parachute engineer had sneaked in a secret message.</p>

<p>But Clark’s analysis showed no ill effects, and the plan went forward. Until recently, only about half a dozen people knew about it.</p>

<p>When computer scientists see something in black and white — or, in this case, orange and white — they think of binary code, the 1s and 0s that are the language of computers. That was the first clue that the puzzle solvers pursued last week.</p>

<p>For each orange section on the Perseverance parachute, Maxence Abela and his father wrote down a 1, and for each white section, they assigned a 0. That translated into a long string of 1s and 0s.</p>

<p>They thought that perhaps the digits could be rearranged into a picture, like the message that scientists broadcast in 1974 from the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico to tell distant alien civilizations of humans on Earth.</p>

<p>“We couldn’t find anything that looked like anything,” Maxence Abela said.</p>

<p>They tried breaking up the digits into groups of 8 — a common practice used in computer programming — but that too yielded gibberish.</p>

<p>Then the elder Abela noticed that the digits seemed to fit in groups of 10. “Every 10 bits, there would be three zeros in a row,” Maxence Abela said. That, they decided, was not a coincidence.</p>

<p>Still, the resulting numbers did not make sense until they realized they had read the 1s and 0s in the wrong direction, anti-clockwise instead of clockwise. When they wrote down the digits in the opposite order, the 10-digit chunks of binary code translated into small numbers, which could then be assigned to letters. The number 1 corresponded to the letter A, the number 2 was B, 3 was C, 4 was D and so on.</p>

<p>The message on the inner three rings: “Dare Mighty Things.”</p>

<p>Maxence Abela posted on Twitter his answer at 4:36 p.m. Eastern time, about two hours after Chen had dropped his cryptic hint during the news conference.</p>

<p>This is a credo often cited at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, which built and operates Perseverance. It comes from “The Strenuous Life,” a speech by Theodore &nbsp;Roosevelt in 1899: “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”</p>

<p>There were still some numbers and letters in the fourth ring that neither Abela could make sense of. Those turned out to be the longitude and latitude of the NASA center: 34°11’58” N 118°10’31” W.</p>

<p>“If you look in Google Earth, if you type in those coordinates, I think you’re about 10 feet from the door of the JPL visitor center,” Clark said.</p>

<p>In the evening, Adam Steltzner, the chief engineer for Perseverance, posted an annotated diagram explaining the solution.</p>

<p>The parachute was not the only fun that the builders of the Perseverance rover had.</p>

<p>Eagle-eyed observers spotted a series of drawings that represented the five rovers NASA has sent to Mars, from the small Sojourner in 1997 to Perseverance now.</p>

<p>A plaque that will be used to calibrate one of the rover’s main cameras includes patches of colors, but there are also whimsical drawings that include DNA, a rocket and a dinosaur.</p>

<p>On the edge of the calibration plaque is an inscription: “Are we alone? We came here to look for signs of life, and to collect samples of Mars for study on Earth. To those who follow, we wish a safe journey and the joy of discovery.”</p>


As NASA’s Perseverance rover fell through the Martian atmosphere last month, a video camera on the spacecraft captured the breakneck deployment of its parachute, which was decorated with splotches of reddish-orange and white.

As NASA’s Perseverance rover fell through the Martian atmosphere last month, a video camera on the spacecraft captured the breakneck deployment of its parachute, which was decorated with splotches of reddish-orange and white. Those splotches were a secret message. During a news conference last week, Allen Chen, the engineer in charge of the landing system, narrated what could be seen and learned in the slowed-down video. He added, cryptically and nonchalantly, that his team hoped to inspire others. “Sometimes we leave messages in our work for others to find for that purpose,” he said. “So we invite you all to give it a shot and show your work.” Across the Atlantic Ocean, Maxence Abela, a 23-year-old computer science student in Paris, realized what Chen was saying: The seemingly random pattern on Perseverance’s parachute contained a code. Also Read | NASA releases beautiful photo of a galaxy far far away He called his father, Jerome, a software engineer at Google in London, and the two set to solving it. “We like those kinds of little challenges,” Maxence Abela said. “We didn’t think we would be able to solve it, but we would at least try.” Collaborating via teleconference, they downloaded the video, isolated images showing the fully inflated parachute and started piecing together the bits. So did others around the world, trading insights on Twitter and forums on Reddit. “It’s just exciting that NASA is putting these little puzzles in their missions,” said Adithya Balaji, a graduate student in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh who independently tackled the problem. Balaji compared the parachute puzzle to a couple of science fiction movies: “Contact,” where a scientist played by Jodie Foster unravels an alien message, and “The Martian,” where Matt Damon’s character Mark Watney communicates with people back on Earth using a similar code. “I think that it’s exciting that real life can be sometimes even more exciting than the movies,” Balaji said. The person who came up with the idea for embedding a message was Ian Clark, who led development of the parachute. NASA’s previous rover, Curiosity, used the same system when it successfully landed on Mars in 2012. But a failure of a prototype parachute intended for future missions spurred engineers to improve the design. While watching video of a high-altitude test of the new parachute for Perseverance, Clark noticed that the checkerboard pattern on the canopy made it difficult to track how individual portions of the parachute unfurled and inflated. Because Perseverance would be outfitted with video cameras, Clark wanted a pattern that would be visually distinct. That, in turn, provided an opportunity “to have a little fun with it,” he said. He asked Matt Wallace, a deputy project manager for the mission, for permission. “I told them 'OK,'” Wallace recalled. “Just make sure it was appropriate and couldn’t be misinterpreted.” The 70-foot-wide parachute consisted of 80 strips of fabric radiating outward from the center to form a hemisphere-shape canopy, and each strip consisted of four pieces. Clark thus had 320 pieces to work with. Some of his ideas would have required additional colors, but that could have threatened the parachute’s integrity if untested dyes weakened the fabric fibers. “We were unwilling to go to a cloth that was dyed in a color that we had never used before,” Wallace said. Even a pattern of just orange and white, the two colors of previous parachutes, raised potential issues. “There’s all kinds of second-guessing questions,” Clark said. “Like could having more white than orange, or vice versa, mean that the parachute was going to warm up differently and maybe that would change its behavior?” After all, mission managers would have been embarrassed if they had to explain how they lost a $2.7 billion mission because a parachute engineer had sneaked in a secret message. But Clark’s analysis showed no ill effects, and the plan went forward. Until recently, only about half a dozen people knew about it. When computer scientists see something in black and white — or, in this case, orange and white — they think of binary code, the 1s and 0s that are the language of computers. That was the first clue that the puzzle solvers pursued last week. For each orange section on the Perseverance parachute, Maxence Abela and his father wrote down a 1, and for each white section, they assigned a 0. That translated into a long string of 1s and 0s. They thought that perhaps the digits could be rearranged into a picture, like the message that scientists broadcast in 1974 from the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico to tell distant alien civilizations of humans on Earth. “We couldn’t find anything that looked like anything,” Maxence Abela said. They tried breaking up the digits into groups of 8 — a common practice used in computer programming — but that too yielded gibberish. Then the elder Abela noticed that the digits seemed to fit in groups of 10. “Every 10 bits, there would be three zeros in a row,” Maxence Abela said. That, they decided, was not a coincidence. Still, the resulting numbers did not make sense until they realized they had read the 1s and 0s in the wrong direction, anti-clockwise instead of clockwise. When they wrote down the digits in the opposite order, the 10-digit chunks of binary code translated into small numbers, which could then be assigned to letters. The number 1 corresponded to the letter A, the number 2 was B, 3 was C, 4 was D and so on. The message on the inner three rings: “Dare Mighty Things.” Maxence Abela posted on Twitter his answer at 4:36 p.m. Eastern time, about two hours after Chen had dropped his cryptic hint during the news conference. This is a credo often cited at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, which built and operates Perseverance. It comes from “The Strenuous Life,” a speech by Theodore Roosevelt in 1899: “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” There were still some numbers and letters in the fourth ring that neither Abela could make sense of. Those turned out to be the longitude and latitude of the NASA center: 34°11’58” N 118°10’31” W. “If you look in Google Earth, if you type in those coordinates, I think you’re about 10 feet from the door of the JPL visitor center,” Clark said. In the evening, Adam Steltzner, the chief engineer for Perseverance, posted an annotated diagram explaining the solution. The parachute was not the only fun that the builders of the Perseverance rover had. Eagle-eyed observers spotted a series of drawings that represented the five rovers NASA has sent to Mars, from the small Sojourner in 1997 to Perseverance now. A plaque that will be used to calibrate one of the rover’s main cameras includes patches of colors, but there are also whimsical drawings that include DNA, a rocket and a dinosaur. On the edge of the calibration plaque is an inscription: “Are we alone? We came here to look for signs of life, and to collect samples of Mars for study on Earth. To those who follow, we wish a safe journey and the joy of discovery.”

NASA sent a secret message to Mars. Meet the people who decoded it

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has taken its first, short drive on the surface of the red planet, two weeks after the robot science lab's picture-perfect touchdown on the floor of a massive crater, mission managers said on Friday.

Mars rover Perseverance takes first spin on surface of red planet

As Perseverance completes pilot test drive on Mars, what's next for the rover?

<p>Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Friday&nbsp;to replace ageing batteries for the laboratory’s solar power system, an upgrade needed to keep the outpost running into the next decade, NASA said.</p>

<p>NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi&nbsp;switched their spacesuits to battery power at 6:37 a.m. EST to begin the spacewalk, which is expected to last&nbsp;for about six and a half hours.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">"What a view!" <a href="https://twitter.com/Astro_Soichi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Astro_Soichi</a> and Kate Rubins are now working outside the <a href="https://twitter.com/Space_Station?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Space_Station</a>, nearly 250 miles (402 kilometers) above the blue orb that's teeming with life. 🌍 <a href="https://t.co/rkkRP3LC7R">pic.twitter.com/rkkRP3LC7R</a></p>
— NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1367807387239907329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Rubins and Noguchi will traverse out the station’s backbone truss structure to the far left (port) side set of solar arrays, the first pair of solar arrays deployed in December 2000. The spacewalkers will work together to complete the installation and configuration of modification kits on solar arrays 4B and 2B, which will enable new solar arrays to be installed to augment the space station’s power supply.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Following solar array modification kit configuration, the Rubins will conduct cable routing for the Bartolomeo platform Parking Position Interface (PAPOS) on the Columbus module, Noguchi will replace a Wireless Video System External Transceivers Assembly (WETA), and the pair will perform other get-ahead work as time permits.</p>

<p>This is the 236th spacewalk in support of space station assembly.</p>

<p>The US&nbsp;National Aeronautics and Space Administration expects it will take about three years to complete the space station’s power system upgrade, which will keep it operational until at least 2024.</p>

<p>Before this month’s spacewalks, ground control teams used the station’s robotic arm to move the new batteries into position and remove the old ones. This robotics work cut the number of spacewalks needed for the project from six to two, NASA said.</p>

<p>The solar-powered station draws power from the batteries when it flies in darkness, circling about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.</p>

<p>The space station, which is about the size of a five-bedroom house, is a $100 billion research laboratory, owned and operated by 16 nations.</p>


Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Friday to replace ageing batteries for the laboratory’s solar power system, an upgrade needed to keep the outpost running into the next decade, NASA said.

Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Friday to replace ageing batteries for the laboratory’s solar power system, an upgrade needed to keep the outpost running into the next decade, NASA said. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi switched their spacesuits to battery power at 6:37 a.m. EST to begin the spacewalk, which is expected to last for about six and a half hours. "What a view!" @Astro_Soichi and Kate Rubins are now working outside the @Space_Station, nearly 250 miles (402 kilometers) above the blue orb that's teeming with life. 🌍 pic.twitter.com/rkkRP3LC7R — NASA (@NASA) March 5, 2021 × Rubins and Noguchi will traverse out the station’s backbone truss structure to the far left (port) side set of solar arrays, the first pair of solar arrays deployed in December 2000. The spacewalkers will work together to complete the installation and configuration of modification kits on solar arrays 4B and 2B, which will enable new solar arrays to be installed to augment the space station’s power supply. Following solar array modification kit configuration, the Rubins will conduct cable routing for the Bartolomeo platform Parking Position Interface (PAPOS) on the Columbus module, Noguchi will replace a Wireless Video System External Transceivers Assembly (WETA), and the pair will perform other get-ahead work as time permits. This is the 236th spacewalk in support of space station assembly. The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration expects it will take about three years to complete the space station’s power system upgrade, which will keep it operational until at least 2024. Before this month’s spacewalks, ground control teams used the station’s robotic arm to move the new batteries into position and remove the old ones. This robotics work cut the number of spacewalks needed for the project from six to two, NASA said. The solar-powered station draws power from the batteries when it flies in darkness, circling about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth. The space station, which is about the size of a five-bedroom house, is a $100 billion research laboratory, owned and operated by 16 nations.

NASA astronauts begin spacewalk to upgrade station power system

nasa

Nasa, News on Nasa, stories on Nasa, articles on Nasa, Nasa stories at Wion, Nasa news, Nasa latest news