The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
Druk op onderstaande knop om te reageren in mijn forum
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Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
Een interessant adres?
UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld Ontdek de Fascinerende Wereld van UFO's en UAP's: Jouw Bron voor Onthullende Informatie!
Ben jij ook gefascineerd door het onbekende? Wil je meer weten over UFO's en UAP's, niet alleen in België, maar over de hele wereld? Dan ben je op de juiste plek!
België: Het Kloppend Hart van UFO-onderzoek
In België is BUFON (Belgisch UFO-Netwerk) dé autoriteit op het gebied van UFO-onderzoek. Voor betrouwbare en objectieve informatie over deze intrigerende fenomenen, bezoek je zeker onze Facebook-pagina en deze blog. Maar dat is nog niet alles! Ontdek ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt en Caelestia, twee organisaties die diepgaand onderzoek verrichten, al zijn ze soms kritisch of sceptisch.
Nederland: Een Schat aan Informatie
Voor onze Nederlandse buren is er de schitterende website www.ufowijzer.nl, beheerd door Paul Harmans. Deze site biedt een schat aan informatie en artikelen die je niet wilt missen!
Internationaal: MUFON - De Wereldwijde Autoriteit
Neem ook een kijkje bij MUFON (Mutual UFO Network Inc.), een gerenommeerde Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in de VS en wereldwijd. MUFON is toegewijd aan de wetenschappelijke en analytische studie van het UFO-fenomeen, en hun maandelijkse tijdschrift, The MUFON UFO-Journal, is een must-read voor elke UFO-enthousiasteling. Bezoek hun website op www.mufon.com voor meer informatie.
Samenwerking en Toekomstvisie
Sinds 1 februari 2020 is Pieter niet alleen ex-president van BUFON, maar ook de voormalige nationale directeur van MUFON in Vlaanderen en Nederland. Dit creëert een sterke samenwerking met de Franse MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP, wat ons in staat stelt om nog meer waardevolle inzichten te delen.
Let op: Nepprofielen en Nieuwe Groeperingen
Pas op voor een nieuwe groepering die zich ook BUFON noemt, maar geen enkele connectie heeft met onze gevestigde organisatie. Hoewel zij de naam geregistreerd hebben, kunnen ze het rijke verleden en de expertise van onze groep niet evenaren. We wensen hen veel succes, maar we blijven de autoriteit in UFO-onderzoek!
Blijf Op De Hoogte!
Wil jij de laatste nieuwtjes over UFO's, ruimtevaart, archeologie, en meer? Volg ons dan en duik samen met ons in de fascinerende wereld van het onbekende! Sluit je aan bij de gemeenschap van nieuwsgierige geesten die net als jij verlangen naar antwoorden en avonturen in de sterren!
Heb je vragen of wil je meer weten? Aarzel dan niet om contact met ons op te nemen! Samen ontrafelen we het mysterie van de lucht en daarbuiten.
30-12-2024
Massive 'weak spot' in Earth's magnetic field is growing... and it could have huge consequences
Scientists have discovered that the 'weak spot' in Earth's magnetic field is growing, allowing harmful radiation to come closer to our planet's surface.
The region, known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), spans more than more than 4.3 million square miles over parts of Africa and South America and is moving westward.
The SAA has increased by seven percent and moved 12 miles to the west since experts first sounded the alarm in 2020.
While scientists believe that the SAA's weakening magnetic intensity is still within the range of normal variation, recent studies have shown that it is starting to split from a single blob into two distinct regions of minimal magnetic field strength.
Models predicting changes in the SAA suggest this division will continue from 2025 onward, and scientists believe this could create additional challenges for satellite missions.
Researchers have speculated that the weakening is a sign that Earth is heading to a pole reversal that happens when the north and south poles switch places — and the last time this occurred was 780,000 years ago.
They said that if the poles are in the process of reversing, it will happen over several thousand years and it is unlikely the field will disappear completely.
NASA has been monitoring the South Atlantic Anomaly, a weak-spot in Earth's magnetic field sitting 40,000 miles above the planet's surface between South America and southwest Africa
Scientists first sounded the alarm about the weak spot in 2020, but new data shows it has increased by another seven percent over the past four years
The cause of SAA sits deep within Earth's surface.
'The magnetic field is actually a superposition of fields from many current sources,' geophysicist Terry Sabaka from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland explained in a 2020 statement.
While regions outside of Earth contribute to the observed magnetic field, the primary source stems from inside the planet.
This, coupled with the tilt of the planet's magnetic axis, is what produces the SAA, according to NASA.
But scientists have also suggested the SAA could be linked to a huge reservoir of dense rock known as the African Large Low Shear Velocity Province (LLSVP). The area of the anomaly appears to correspond to that of this geologic region.
The magnetic field surrounding our planet works as a shield, trapping and repelling particles of radiation from the sun. But the SAA allows radiation to come closer to Earth's surface
These researchers believe that the African LLSVP changes the flow of molten metal in the outer core underneath, which in turn changes the way the magnetic field behaves above this region, they explained in a 2017 article for the Conversation.
While much remains unknown about how the SAA came to be, recent studies have shed new light on how it is changing.
Tracking conducted by small satellites known as CubeSats confirmed that the SAA does not remain fixed in one place, but rather drifts around.
Researchers have also discovered that the anomalous region is splitting into two, with each representing distinct centers of minimum magnetic intensity within the greater SAA.
And another study suggested that this phenomenon is actually a recurrent event that may have affected Earth up to 11 million years ago.
If that proves true, this would contradict the idea that the SAA is a precursor to Earth's magnetic field flipping.
This vast, developing weak spot is a point of intrigue and concern for scientists, especially those at NASA whose satellites and orbital spacecraft can be significantly damaged by the SAA — including the International Space Station.
When these orbiters pass through the anomaly, it can cause satellites and spacecraft to experience short-circuits and malfunctions.
That's because the reduced strength of Earth's magnetic field allows the orbiters to be pummeled by incoming solar radiation that disrupts technological systems.
Typically, this only causes low-level glitches. But in extreme cases, it can permanently damage critical hardware inside an orbiter.
To avoid such damage, operators regularly shut down spacecraft and satellite systems before they enter the SAA.
The weakened field has been on the radar of experts for years — they know that it has lost nine percent of its intensity over the last 200 years.
It also appears to influence the strength of the southern aurora, a natural light display that occurs in the skies over the high-latitude regions of the southern hemisphere.
A study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters in February found a 'substantial weakening' of magnetic fluctuations in the southern aurora where it overlaps with the SAA.
This weakening is even visible to the naked eye, the study's authors told Live Science.
They believe the weakened magnetic force of the anomaly reduces the amount of energy solar particles can put into Earth's atmosphere — which is what causes aurora — even through more of these particles are coming close to the surface.
To further understand how the SAA impacts orbiting satellites and spacecraft, and how it influences geophysical phenomena like the southern aurora, NASA scientists have been monitoring it for years.
Earth’s magnetic field acts like a protective shield around the planet, repelling and trapping charged particles from the Sun. But over South America and the southern Atlantic Ocean, an unusually weak spot in the field – called the South Atlantic Anomaly, or SAA – allows these particles to dip closer to the surface than normal. Currently, the SAA creates no visible impacts on daily life on the surface. However, recent observations and forecasts show that the region is expanding westward and continuing to weaken in intensity. The South Atlantic Anomaly is also of interest to NASA’s Earth scientists who monitor the changes in magnetic strength there, both for how such changes affect Earth’s atmosphere and as an indicator of what’s happening to Earth’s magnetic fields, deep inside the globe. Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Download this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio
Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Going To Flip! Apocalyptic Implications For The Entire Planet
2025 in SPACEFLIGHT: The incredible missions set to take off next year, revealed - from China's daring asteroid retrieval to the first private trip to Venus - PART I
'In 2024, NASA made leap after giant leap to explore, discover, and inspire – all while bringing real, tangible, and substantial benefits to the American people and to all of humanity,' said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
And 2025 is set to be an even more remarkable year for space agencies and companies around the world, who have an assortment of exciting missions lined up.
There's also the European Space Agency, which is set to launch its futuristic 'Space Rider' spaceplane – described as a 'robotic laboratory the size of two minivans'.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk's SpaceX could go one step further in 2025 with its 395-foot Starship vessel as it prepares for a trip beyond Earth orbit.
Here, MailOnline takes a look at the incredible space missions set to take off in 2025 that you won't want to miss.
MailOnline takes a look at the incredible space missions set to take off in 2025, from the first private mission to Venus to China's ambitious asteroid mission
TIANWEN-2
Surely one of the most ambitious trips of the year will be China's Tianwen-2, which is set for launch in May 2025.
Tianwen-2 is an asteroid sample return mission with near-Earth asteroid Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3) as its destination.
The asteroid is roughly the size of a Ferris wheel – between 150 and 190 feet in diameter – and gets as close as about 9 million miles from Earth.
Tianwen-2 will conduct remote sensing observations in orbit, before landing on the asteroid to collect about 100g (3.5 oz) of dusty surface rock ('regolith').
It will then return to Earth to drop off a return capsule containing the sample before a gravity assist maneuver will propel it toward a comet called 311P/PANSTARRS.
Kamo'oalewa has been considered for use as a space station for Earth-to-Mars travel, but samples from the asteroid could also reveal more about the solar system's formation and evolution
While the launch from Xichang is planned for May, Tianwen-2 won't reach Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3) until 2026 and 311P/PANSTARRS until 2034.
Image from China National Space Administration shows the Tianwen-1 probe en route to Mars. The follow-up, Tianwen-2, has a distant asteroid in its sights
At the start of December, NASA delayed its manned mission to the moon yet again.
It blamed 'technical issues' and needing time to allow critical changes for crew safety.
Artemis II - which will send four astronauts on a trip around the moon and back home - has been delayed from 2025 to 2026.
Meanwhile, Artemis III - which will actually land humans on the lunar surface - has been pushed from 2026 to 2027.
VENUS LIFE FINDER
No definitive evidence has been found of past or present life on Venus – but an upcoming mission to the solar system's second planet could change that.
Venus Life Finder – the first private mission to Venus – will launch an uncrewed 17 kg (37 lb) spacecraft from New Zealand sometime in January.
If all goes to plan, the craft will arrive at Venus in May and drop a small probe into Venusian atmosphere that will scan for organic molecules, which could be a possible sign of life.
Launch vehicle company Rocket Lab is partnering with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the mission, which was originally planned for 2023.
Venus is known as Earth's 'evil twin' because its also rocky and about the same size, but its average surface temperature is a blistering 870°F (465°C).
The rocky sphere is not only inhospitable but also sterile – with a surface hot enough to melt lead and toxic clouds of sulfuric acid.
Launch vehicle company Rocket Lab is partnering with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to send the first private mission to Venus as soon as January 2025. Pictured, artist's impression of the Venus Life Finder craft in space
Venus is known as Earth's 'evil twin' because its also rocky and about the same size, but its average surface temperature is a blistering 870°F (465°C). Pictured, the surface of Venus, as interpreted by the Magellan spacecraft
What is Dream Chaser?
Dream Chaser is a reusable spacecraft developed by Colorado firm Sierra Space.
The world's only commercial spaceplane, it's designed to take people and cargo to space (specifically low Earth-orbit).
It will make its maiden trip to the International Space Station (ISS) in low Earth-orbit after more than a decade in development.
DREAM CHASER
After more than a decade in development, Sierra Space's 'Dream Chaser' – which can land horizontally on a runway like a traditional aircraft – is ready to fly.
The craft will make its maiden trip to the International Space Station (ISS) in low Earth-orbit no earlier than May 2025, carrying over 7,800 pounds (3,540kg) of cargo.
Dream Chaser will remain at the space station for about 45 days before it makes the journey back down to Earth.
Although this first flight will be an unmanned mission, it will eventually carry astronauts to the space station, much like SpaceX's Crew Dragon.
Along with SpaceX and Boeing, Sierra Space is one of the companies contracted by NASA a decade ago to send people and equipment to the ISS – but so far only SpaceX has been successful.
Sierra Space revealed in May 2024 that the ship had completed testing and was shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of an imminent launch – but it was pushed it back to 2025.
Although the project is geared towards delivering professional astronauts to space, the company hasn't ruled out using Dream Chaser for tourist trips later in the future.
It will make its maiden trip to the International Space Station (ISS) in low Earth-orbit, after more than a decade in development
Pictured, artist's impression of the Dream Chaser spacecraft during its descent back towards Earth
SPACE RIDER
Space Rider, a 26-foot uncrewed robotic laboratory, will be the European Space Agency's first re-usable space vehicle.
About the size of two minivans, Space Rider is scheduled for its maiden flight during the third quarter of 2025 – so between June and August.
After launch on the Vega-C single-body rocket from Guiana Space Centre, Space Rider will stay in low orbit for about two months.
On-board robotic experiments will benefit research in pharmaceutics, biomedicine, biology and physical science, says the agency.
At the end of its mission, Space Rider will return to Earth with its payloads and land on a runway to be unloaded and refurbished for another flight.
It's akin to the much larger Space Shuttle, NASA's legendary low Earth orbital spacecraft operated 1981 and 2011.
ESA says: 'Space Rider provides a range of possibilities and benefits to potential customers who want to use the advantages of microgravity and exposure to the space environment.'
Space Rider is an uncrewed robotic laboratory about the size of two minivans. After launch on Vega-C it will stay in low orbit for about two months
It's akin to the much larger Space Shuttle, NASA's legendary low Earth orbital spacecraft operated 1981 and 2011 (pictured)
ESCAPADE
NASA's upcoming 'ESCAPADE' project is the first ever mission to send two identical spacecraft to the Martian atmosphere.
For the mission, Rocket Lab has designed and built twin spacecraft, called Blue and Gold, which will launch from Cape Canaveral no sooner than spring 2025.
Following an 11-month, 230 million mile journey, together they will measure plasma and magnetic fields around the Red Planet.
It's hoped the data will reveal more about the processes that strip away atoms from Mars' magnetosphere and upper atmosphere, driving Martian climate change.
'This mission can help us study the atmosphere at Mars – key information as we explore farther and farther into our solar system and need to protect astronauts and spacecraft from space weather,' said Nicky Fox, NASA's science administrator.
In August, NASA said the twin spacecraft had arrived in Florida in preparation for launch on Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket.
ESCAPADE will use two identical spacecraft to investigate how the solar wind interacts with Mars' magnetic environment (artist's impression)
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, depicted in space in this artist's impression, will send the ESCAPADE craft into space
HAVEN-1
Haven-1 is another big milestone for the private space industry – where companies launch spacecraft rather than government-backed agencies.
It's an ambitious new space station, just 33 feet in length – a fraction of the International Space Station's 356 feet.
Despite its humble size, Haven-1 will offer a luxury space for four astronauts, with queen-size beds, a state-of-the-art gym, maple wood interiors and a huge window to observe the Earth as it floats in orbit.
Haven-1 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center no earlier than August 2025.
Shortly after, the as-yet-unknown crew will travel to the station, which has been designed by California-based space firm Vast.
The seats will go to individuals who are involved in scientific or philanthropic projects at an unknown price – but potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.
While the cost to build Haven-1 has not been disclosed, Vast says it will have invested about $1 billion by the time the station launches.
Haven-1 is an ambitious new space station, just 33 feet in length – a fraction of the International Space Station's 356 feet - launching in August
Haven-1 will offer a luxury space for four astronauts, with queen-size beds, a state-of-the-art gym, maple wood interiors and a huge window to observe the Earth as it floats in orbit
2025 in SPACEFLIGHT: The incredible missions set to take off next year, revealed - from China's daring asteroid retrieval to the first private trip to Venus - PART II
'In 2024, NASA made leap after giant leap to explore, discover, and inspire – all while bringing real, tangible, and substantial benefits to the American people and to all of humanity,' said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
And 2025 is set to be an even more remarkable year for space agencies and companies around the world, who have an assortment of exciting missions lined up.
There's also the European Space Agency, which is set to launch its futuristic 'Space Rider' spaceplane – described as a 'robotic laboratory the size of two minivans'.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk's SpaceX could go one step further in 2025 with its 395-foot Starship vessel as it prepares for a trip beyond Earth orbit.
Here, MailOnline takes a look at the incredible space missions set to take off in 2025 that you won't want to miss.
MailOnline takes a look at the incredible space missions set to take off in 2025, from the first private mission to Venus to China's ambitious asteroid mission
GAGANYAAN
Compared with 2023 when it sent its budget rover to the moon, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has had a quiet 2024.
However, 2025 is set to be a bumper year for India's space agency, with an anticipated three missions set to take place as part of its Gaganyaan programme.
Gaganyaan I, II and III, all scheduled throughout 2025, will send an uncrewed spacecraft into orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
Should all go to plan, Gaganyaan IV – scheduled for 2026 – will carry a three-member crew into an orbit of 400 km (250 miles) for three days, before splashing down in the Indian Ocean.
On-board the crewed and uncrewed flights will also be Vyommitra, a humanoid robot specially designed for Gaganyaan.
India's space agency, ISRO, has said it will explore ways to achieve a sustained human presence in space once Gaganyaan is completed.
Gaganyaan is a crewed spacecraft being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the country's space agency
India's space programme has grown considerably in size and momentum since it first sent a probe to orbit the Moon in 2008
The first set of launches in India's Gaganyaan programme were intended to go ahead in 2024, building on momentum set by Chandrayaan-3.
However, ISRO pushed this back a year to ensure more time for essential safety checks and astronaut training.
STARSHIP
Last but by no means least is Elon Musk's company SpaceX, which is edging closer and closer to its ultimate goal of sending its Starship to other worlds.
This advanced mechanism is key to Starship not only landing safely, but being able to quickly refuel before another launch.
And although it's unclear exactly what feat Starship – the most powerful rocket in the world – will attempt in 2025, it's bound to be just as audacious.
It's possible SpaceX could capture both parts of the ship – the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage; MailOnline has contacted the firm for comment.
In October, SpaceX completed possibly its most impressive feat yet – it managed to catch the 'booster' section of the Starship system with metal 'chopsticks' so it could be reused
SpaceX pulled off its boldest test flight yet of the enormous Starship rocket in October, catching the returning booster back at the launch pad with metal 'chopsticks' - marking another milestone on Elon Musk's quest to get humanity to Mars
Musk's firm SpaceX is responsible for the most powerful rocket ever built on Earth - the Starship. The multi-billion-dollar, stainless-steel, 395-foot vessel has been designed to transport crew and cargo to Earth's orbit and the moon. But Musk thinks 'Earth to Earth' travel on Starship is also a possibility
SpaceX intends to launch Starship 25 times in 2025, the company recently revealed, and is seriously intending to ramp up production of the rocket.
Eventually, Elon Musk wants to launch Starships on a daily basis.
Musk predicts Starship will go to Mars in 2026, although it will be an uncrewed mission.
Two years after that in 2028, Starship will transport people to Mars for the first time – which would mark the first time humans have ever walked on another planet.
Parker Solar Probe Survives Closest-Ever Approach to Sun
Parker Solar Probe Survives Closest-Ever Approach to Sun
On December 24, 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe soared just 6.1 million km (3.8 million miles) above the surface of our home star, racing through the solar atmosphere at 692,000 km per hour (430,000 mph) — the fastest speed ever achieved by a human-made object; a signal received two days later confirmed the spacecraft had made it through the encounter safely and is operating normally.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun.
Image credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Close to the Sun, Parker Solar Probe relies on a carbon foam shield to protect it from the extreme heat in the upper solar atmosphere called the corona, which can exceed 500,000 degrees Celsius (1 million degrees Fahrenheit).
The shield was designed to reach temperatures of 1,427 degrees Celsius (2,600 degrees Fahrenheit), while keeping the instruments behind it shaded at a comfortable room temperature.
In the hot but low-density corona, the spacecraft’s shield is expected to warm to 982 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit).
“Flying this close to the Sun is a historic moment in humanity’s first mission to a star,” said Dr. Nicky Fox, the associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.
“By studying the Sun up close, we can better understand its impacts throughout our Solar System, including on the technology we use daily on Earth and in space, as well as learn about the workings of stars across the Universe to aid in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet.”
“Parker Solar Probe is braving one of the most extreme environments in space and exceeding all expectations,” said Parker Solar Probe project scientist Dr. Nour Rawafi, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
“This mission is ushering a new golden era of space exploration, bringing us closer than ever to unlocking the Sun’s deepest and most enduring mysteries.”
Parker Solar Probe’s record close distance of 6.1 million km (3.8 million miles)may sound far, but on cosmic scales it’s incredibly close.
Image credit: NASA / APL.
“It’s monumental to be able to get a spacecraft this close to the Sun,” said Parker Solar Probe mission systems engineer John Wirzburger, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
“This is a challenge the space science community has wanted to tackle since 1958 and had spent decades advancing the technology to make it possible.”
By flying through the solar corona, Parker Solar Probe can take measurements that help scientists better understand how the region gets so hot, trace the origin of the solar wind and discover how energetic particles are accelerated to half the speed of light.
“The data are so important for the science community because it gives us another vantage point,” said Dr. Kelly Korreck, a program scientist at NASA Headquarters.
“By getting firsthand accounts of what’s happening in the solar atmosphere, Parker Solar Probe has revolutionized our understanding of the Sun.”
So far, the spacecraft has only transmitted that it’s safe, but soon it will be in a location that will allow it to downlink the data it collected on this latest solar pass.
“The data that will come down from the spacecraft will be fresh information about a place that we, as humanity, have never been. It’s an amazing accomplishment,” said Dr. Joe Westlake, the director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters.
The spacecraft’s next planned close solar passes come on March 22 and June 19, 2025.
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Covering an Asteroid With Balls Could Characterize Its Interior
Exploring asteroids and other small bodies throughout the solar system has gotten increasingly popular, as their small gravity wells make them ideal candidates for resource extraction, enabling the expansion of life into the solar system. However, the technical challenges facing a mission to explore one are fraught – since they’re so small and variable, understanding how to land on one is even more so. A team from the University of Trieste in Italy has proposed a mission idea that could help solve that problem by using an ability most humans have but never think about.
Have you ever closed your eyes and tried to touch your fingers to one another? If you haven’t, try it now, and you’ll likely find that you can easily. It’s possible to do even without guidance from your five normal senses. That is what is known as proprioception – our hidden “sixth” sense. It is that ability to know where objects are in relation to one another – in this case, where your hands are in relation to one another without any other sensory indication.
Taking that basic idea and extrapolating it to a mission to an asteroid, the basic concept of the mission involves a lander with what seems like a dome with a ton of little balls on it, each facing a slightly different direction. Those balls are then ejected from the dome with varying degrees of force and land on various parts of the asteroid or comet.
Fraser discusses why swarms are becoming so central to our idea of space exploration.
They then create what is known in networking as a “mesh” system by connecting through one another and back to the main lander, which has a higher power output and larger communications array. They also contain a series of sensors, such as a camera, a magnetometer, and, importantly, an inertial measurement unit, or IMU.
IMUs are commonly used in cell phones to tell which direction the phone is oriented—that’s why your phone’s screen will flip upside down if you hold it upside down. They can also measure acceleration, which is why many are used in modern rocketry. They’re tiny and not very power-hungry, allowing them to fit into the ball format used for this mission.
Measurements from each of the remote sensors IMUs can be combined with data about the strength of the force that propelled them to their final resting place and fed into an algorithm, which will then help the base station determine the location of each sensor unit. That then allows measurements from the other sensors, such as the magnetometers and cameras, to paint a picture of the body’s external and internal structure – since magnetic fields, surface objects, and even gravity can vary significantly on small celestial bodies.
There are plenty of missions using swarms to explore asteroids – like the MIDEA project, as described here. Credit – Cosmic Voyages YouTube Channel
As a proof of concept for this mission design, the team ran a simulation of a mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, most widely known for being visited by Rosetta, the ESA mission whose lander, Philae, experienced some of the trouble that is so common on these missions. They found that, depending on the number of projectile sensors, the mission could cover even weird morphologies like 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s two-lobed form.
No agency has yet taken up the mission, but as electronics and sensors get smaller and more power efficient and more small bodies become potential resource sources, there might be a place for testing these spaced-out sensors. We’ll have to wait and see—just not with proprioception alone.
New Image Revealed by NASA of their New Martian Helicopter.
Ingenuity became the first aircraft to fly on another world in the first half of 2021. It explored the Martian terrain from above proving that powered air flight was a very efficient way to move around alien worlds. Now NASA have released a computer rendering of their next design, the Mars Chopper!
Ingenuity was a small helicopter, or rather more a drone, that was carried to Mars on board the Perseverance rover mission in 2020. It was designed as a technology demonstration to prove that powered flight was possible in the thin atmosphere of Mars. It made its first flight on 19 April 2021 and hovered just 10 feet above the ground before safely landing again. Since then, Ingenuity has completed 60 flights on Mars helping to survey and scout for areas of interest for further study.
This view of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was generated using data collected by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard the agency’s Perseverance Mars rover on Aug. 2, 2023, the 871st Martian day, or sol, of the mission, one day before the rotorcraft’s 54th flight. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
Operating a drone in the Martian atmosphere offers challenges largely due to the lower density. Compared to Earth, the atmosphere is less than 1% the density of Earth’s atmosphere. This means the blades on any aerial vehicles need to work harder and generate more lift than their Earth-bound counterparts.
Image of the Martian atmosphere and surface obtained by the Viking 1 orbiter in June 1976. (Credit: NASA/Viking 1)
Density aside, the fine dust on the surface of Mars is often lifted up into the atmosphere which could damage the delicate mechanisms of operating craft. Not only must these types of vehicles be carefully designed to fly in alien atmospheres but they must also be able to protect themselves from local hazards.
Moving on from the success of the Ingeniuty drone, NASA has released a rendering of its next generation vehicle for aerial flight on Mars, known as the Mars Chopper. Ingenuity was a feasability study and proved aerial flight successful, new craft on the drawing board come with a greater payload capacity to carry scientific instruments such as imaging and analysis kit. This will enable them to undertake the basic tasks like scouting activity to support future exploration but also undertake analysis and terrain mapping work. Ultimately even providing support to the human exploration of Mars.
A conceptual design of the successor to NASA's Ingenuity helicopter.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
The image released reveals a drone like vehicle which is about the size of an SUV with six rotors. Each rotor has six blades which are smaller than those on Ingenuity but collectivity can provide even more lift. The payload capacity of the Chopper in its current design configuration is 5 kilograms a distance of up to 3km. The design is a collaboration between the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the Ames Research Center.
This new model will be a real game changer for the exploration not only of Mars but of any alien worlds with a solid surface and an atmosphere that can support flight. Ingenuity led the way proving the technology and now, with the new concept Mars ‘Choppers on the drawing board, aerial reconnaissance on these new worlds will vastly improve the value of ground based exploration. Remote aerial exploration will also be of invaluable benefit to support human exploration where rovers will be unable to reach.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Makes its Record-Breaking Closest Approach to the Sun
In August 2018, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe(PSP) began its long journey to study the Sun’s outer corona. After several gravity-assist maneuvers with Venus, the probe broke Helios 2‘s distance record and became the closest object to the Sun on October 29th, 2018. Since then, the Parker probe’s highly elliptical orbit has allowed it to pass through the Sun’s corona several times (“touch the Sun”). On December 24th, 2024, NASA confirmed that their probe made its closest approach to the Sun, passing just 6 million km (3.8 million mi) above the surface – roughly 0.04 times the distance between the Sun and Earth (0.04 AU).
In addition to breaking its previous distance record, the PSP passed through the solar atmosphere at a velocity of about 692,000 km/h (430,000 mph). This is equivalent to about 0.064% the speed of light, making the Parker Solar Probe the fastest human-made object ever. After the spacecraft made its latest pass, it sent a beacon tone to confirm that it made it through safely and was operating normally – which was received on December 26th. These close passes allow the PSP to conduct science operations that will expand our knowledge of the origin and evolution of solar wind.
Every flyby the probe made with Venus in the past six years brought it closer to the Sun in its elliptical orbit. As of November 6th, 2024, the spacecraft reached an optimal orbit that brings it close enough to study the Sun and the processes that influence space weather but not so close that the Sun’s heat and radiation will damage it. To ensure the spacecraft can withstand temperatures in the corona, the Parker probe relies on a carbon foam shield that can withstand temperatures between 980 and 1425 °C (1,800 and 2,600 degrees °F).
This shield also keeps the spacecraft instruments shaded and at room temperature to ensure they can operate in the solar atmosphere. Said Associate Administrator Nicky Fox, who leads the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in a recent NASA press release:
“Flying this close to the Sun is a historic moment in humanity’s first mission to a star. By studying the Sun up close, we can better understand its impacts throughout our solar system, including on the technology we use daily on Earth and in space, as well as learn about the workings of stars across the universe to aid in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet.”
Nour Rawafi, the project scientist for the Parker Solar Probe at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL), is part of the team that designed, built, and operates the spacecraft. “[The] Parker Solar Probe is braving one of the most extreme environments in space and exceeding all expectations,” he said. “This mission is ushering a new golden era of space exploration, bringing us closer than ever to unlocking the Sun’s deepest and most enduring mysteries.”
The Parker Solar Probe was first proposed in a 1958 report by the National Academy of Sciences’ Space Science Board, which recommended “a solar probe to pass inside the orbit of Mercury to study the particles and fields in the vicinity of the Sun.” While the concept was proposed again in the 1970s and 1980s, it would take several more decades for the technology and a cost-effective mission to be realized.
The Parker Solar Probe also made several interesting and unexpected finds during previous close passes. During its first pass into the solar atmosphere in 2021, the spacecraft discovered that the outer boundary of the corona is characterized by spikes and valleys, contrary to expectations. It also discovered the origin of switchbacks (zig-zag structures) in the solar wind within the photosphere. Since then, the spacecraft has spent more time in the corona, closely examining most of the Sun’s critical processes.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survived its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on December 24th, 2024. Credits: NASA
The probe’s discoveries are not limited to the Sun either. As noted, one of the PSP’s primary objectives is to study how solar activity influences “space weather,” referring to the interaction of solar wind with the planets of the Solar System. For instance, the probe has captured multiple images of Venus during its many gravity assists, documented the planet’s radio emissions, and the first complete image of Venus’ orbital dust ring. The probe has also been repeatedly blasted by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that swept up dust as they passed through the Solar System.
“We now understand the solar wind and its acceleration away from the Sun,” said Adam Szabo, the Parker Solar Probe mission scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “This close approach will give us more data to understand how it’s accelerated closer in.”
The probe even offered a new perspective on the comet NEOWISE by capturing images from its unique vantage point. Now that the mission team knows the probe is safe, they are waiting for it to reach a location where it can transmit the data collected from its latest solar pass. “The data that will come down from the spacecraft will be fresh information about a place that we, as humanity, have never been,” said Joe Westlake, the director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. “It’s an amazing accomplishment.”
The spacecraft’s next solar passes are planned for March 22nd, 2025, and June 19th, 2025.
NASA has announced that the Ingenuity helicopter has formally concluded its mission on Mars, following dozens of successful test flights during its three-year tenure on the planet.
The small helicopter, specially designed for flight in the Red Planet’s thin atmosphere, made history as the first aircraft to perform a powered, controlled flight on another planet.
Although initially planned as a technology demonstration that would only conduct five test flights, Ingenuity went on to perform a remarkable 72 flights, many of which provided useful aerial reconnaissance for the Perseverance rover in advance of its movement to areas of interest for potential study.
“It is bittersweet that I must announce Ingenuity… has taken its last flight on Mars,” Nelson said in a statement.
Characterizing the small aircraft as “the little helicopter that could,” Nelson said the helicopter sustained damage to one of its rotor blades while attempting a landing.
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter takes off above Jezero crater
(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS).
“At least one of its carbon fiber rotor blades was damaged,” Nelson said. “We’re investigating the possibility that the blade struck the ground.”
The damage occurred during a vertical flight the helicopter performed to determine its location several days ago, following an emergency landing during its previous flight.
Although the aircraft achieved a maximum altitude of 40 feet, hovering for a total of 4.5 seconds before beginning its descent, Ingenuity lost contact with Perseverance before reaching the ground. Several days later the rotor blade damage was revealed.
“What Ingenuity accomplished far exceeds what we thought possible,” Nelson said.
“Ingenuity demonstrated how flight can enhance operational missions, and it’s helping us in the search for life on Mars.”
Ingenuity’s first flight occurred on April 19, 2021, after arriving on the Red Planet earlier that year with the Perseverance rover.
Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said Ingenuity was “an exemplar of the way we push the boundaries of what’s possible every day.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team behind this historic technological achievement and eager to see what they’ll invent next,” Leshin added.
Comparing Ingenuity’s operations to the pioneering flights of Wilbur and Orville Wright, Nelson said the Mars helicopter has set the pace for the future use of aircraft in space exploration.
“Ingenuity has paved the way for future flight in our solar system,” Nelson said, “and it’s leading the way for smarter, safer human missions to Mars and beyond.”
9 Phenomena NASA Astronauts Will Encounter at Moon’s South Pole
An artist's rendering of an Artemis astronaut working on the Moon's surface.
Credits: NASA
9 Phenomena NASA Astronauts Will Encounter at Moon’s South Pole
NASA’s Artemis campaign will send the first woman and the first person of color to the Moon’s south polar region, marking humanity’s first return to the lunar surface in more than 50 years.
Here are some out-of-this-world phenomena Artemis astronauts will experience:
1. A Hovering Sun and Giant Shadows
This visualization shows the motions of Earth and the Sun as viewed from the South Pole of the Moon. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Near the Moon’s South Pole, astronauts will see dramatic shadows that are 25 to 50 times longer than the objects casting them. Why? Because the Sun strikes the surface there at a low angle, hanging just a few degrees above the horizon. As a result, astronauts won’t see the Sun rise and set. Instead, they’ll watch it hover near the horizon as it moves horizontally across the sky.
2. Sticky, Razor-Sharp Dust ...
This dust particle came from a lunar regolith sample brought to Earth in 1969 by Apollo 11 astronauts. The particle is about 25 microns across, less than the width of an average human hair. The image was taken with a scanning electron microscope.
NASA/Sarah Noble
The lunar dust, called regolith, that coats the Moon’s surface looks fine and soft like baking powder. But looks can be deceiving. Lunar regolith is formed when meteoroids hit the Moon’s surface, melting and shattering rocks into tiny, sharp pieces. The Moon doesn’t have moving water or wind to smooth out the regolith grains, so they stay sharp and scratchy, posing a risk to astronauts and their equipment.
3. ... That’s Charged with Static Electricity
Astronaut Eugene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, inside the lunar module on the Moon after his second moonwalk of the mission in 1972. His spacesuit and face are covered in lunar dust.
NASA
Because the Moon has no atmosphere to speak of, its surface is exposed to plasma and radiation from the Sun. As a result, static electricity builds up on the surface, as it does when you shuffle your feet against a carpeted floor. When you then touch something, you transfer that charge via a small shock. On the Moon, this transfer can short-circuit electronics. Moon dust also can make its way into astronaut living quarters, as the static electricity causes it to easily stick to spacesuits. NASA has developed methods to keep the dust at bay using resistant textiles, filters, and a shield that employs an electric field to remove dust from surfaces.
4. A New Sense of Lightness
In 1972, Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke hammered a core tube into the Moon’s surface until it met a rock and wouldn’t go any farther. Then the hammer flew from his hand. He made four attempts to pick it up by bending down and leaning to reach for it. He gave up and returned to the rover to get tongs to finally pick up the hammer successfully. NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Artemis moonwalkers will have a bounce to their step as they traverse the lunar surface. This is because gravity won’t pull them down as forcefully as it does on Earth. The Moon is only a quarter of Earth’s size, with six times less gravity. Simple activities, like swinging a rock hammer to chip off samples, will feel different. While a hammer will feel lighter to hold, its inertia won’t change, leading to a strange sensation for astronauts. Lower gravity has perks, too. Astronauts won’t be weighed down by their hefty spacesuits as much as they would be on Earth. Plus, bouncing on the Moon is just plain fun.
5. A Waxing Crescent … Earth?
This animated image features a person holding a stick with a sphere on top that represents the Moon. The person is demonstrating an activity that helps people learn about the phases of the Moon by acting them out.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
When Artemis astronauts look at the sky from the Moon, they’ll see their home planet shining back at them. Just like Earthlings see different phases of the Moon throughout a month, astronauts will see an ever-shifting Earth. Earth phases occur opposite to Moon phases: When Earth experiences a new Moon, a full Earth is visible from the Moon.
6. An Itty-Bitty Horizon
A view from the Apollo 11 spacecraft in July 1969 shows Earth rising above the Moon’s horizon.
NASA
Because the Moon is smaller than Earth, its horizon will look shorter and closer. To someone standing on a level Earth surface, the horizon is 3 miles away, but to astronauts on the Moon, it’ll be only 1.5 miles away, making their surroundings seem confined.
7. Out-of-This-World Temperatures
This graphic shows maximum summer and winter temperatures near the lunar South Pole. Purple, blue, and green identify cold regions, while yellow to red signify warmer ones. The graphic incorporates 10 years of data from NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), which has been orbiting the Moon since 2009. NASA/LRO Diviner Seasonal Polar Data
NASA/LRO Diviner Seasonal Polar Data
Because sunlight at the Moon’s South Pole skims the surface horizontally, it brushes crater rims, but doesn’t always reach their floors. Some deep craters haven’t seen the light of day for billions of years, so temperatures there can dip to minus 334 F. That’s nearly three times colder than the lowest temperature recorded in Antarctica. At the other extreme, areas in direct sunlight, such as crater rims, can reach temperatures of 130 F.
8. An Inky-Black Sky
An animated view of Earth emerging below the horizon as seen from the Moon’s South Pole. This visual was created using a digital elevation map from LRO’s laser altimeter, LOLA.
NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio
The Moon, unlike Earth, doesn’t have a thick atmosphere to scatter blue light, so the daytime sky is black. Astronauts will see a stark contrast between the dark sky and the bright ground.
9. A Rugged Terrain
An overhead view of the Moon, beginning with a natural color from a distance and changing to color-coded elevation as the camera comes closer. The visual captures the rugged terrain of the lunar South Pole area. It includes a color key and animated scale bar. This visual was created using a digital elevation map from NASA LRO’s laser altimeter, LOLA.
NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio
Artemis moonwalkers will find a rugged landscape that takes skill to traverse. The Moon has mountains, valleys, and canyons, but its most notable feature for astronauts on the surface may be its millions of craters. Near the South Pole, gaping craters and long shadows will make it difficult for astronauts to navigate. But, with training and special gear, astronauts will be prepared to meet the challenge.
By Avery Truman
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Why is the moon's south pole so significant? | DW News
NASA is Considering Designs and Simulations to Prepare Astronauts for Lighting Conditions Around the Lunar South Pole
In the coming years, NASA and other space agencies will send humans back to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo Era—this time to stay! To maximize line-of-sight communication with Earth, solar visibility, and access to water ice, NASA, the ESA, and China have selected the Lunar South Pole (LSP) as the location for their future lunar bases. This will necessitate the creation of permanent infrastructure on the Moon and require that astronauts have the right equipment and training to deal with conditions around the lunar south pole.
This includes lighting conditions, which present a major challenge for science operations and extravehicular activity (EVA). Around the LSP, day and night last for two weeks at a time, and the Sun never rises more than a few degrees above the horizon. This creates harsh lighting conditions very different from what the Apollo astronauts or any previous mission have experienced. To address this, the NASA Engineering and Safety Council (NESC) has recommended developing a wide variety of physical and virtual techniques that can simulate the visual experiences of Artemis astronauts.
In the past, the design of lighting and functional vision support systems has typically been relegated to the lowest level of program planning. This worked well for the Apollo missions and EVAs in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) since helmet design alone addressed all vision challenges. Things will be different for the Artemis Program since astronauts will not be able to avoid having harsh sunlight in their eyes during much of the time they spend doing EVAs. There is also the challenge of the extensive shadowing around the LSP due to its cratered and uneven nature, not to mention the extended lunar nights.
Artist’s rendering of the Starship HLS on the Moon’s surface. NASA has contracted with SpaceX to provide the lunar landing system. Credit: SpaceX
In addition, astronaut vehicles and habitats will require artificial lighting throughout missions, which means astronauts will have to transition from ambient lighting to harsh sunlight and/or intense darkness and back. Since the human eye has difficulty adapting to these transitions, it will impede an astronaut’s “function vision,” which is required to drive vehicles, perform EVAs safely, operate tools, and manage complex machines. This is especially true when it comes to rovers and the lander elevator used by the Starship HLS – both of which will be used for the Artemis IIIand IVmissions.
As Meagan Chappell, a Knowledge Management Analyst at NASA’s Langley Research Center, indicates, this will require the development of new functional vision support systems. That means helmets, windows, and lighting systems that can work together to allow crews to “see into the darkness while their eyes are light-adapted, in bright light while still dark-adapted, and protects their eyes from injury.” According to the NESC assessment, these challenges have not been addressed, and must be understood before solutions can be implemented.
In particular, they indicated how functional vision and specific tasks for Artemis astronauts were not incorporated into system design requirements. For example, the new spacesuits designed for the Artemis Program – the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) – provide greater flexibility so astronauts can walk more easily on the lunar surface. However, there are currently no features or systems that would allow astronauts to see well enough when transitioning between brilliant sunlight into dark shadow and back again without losing their footing.
The NESC assessment identified several other gaps, prompting them to recommend that methods that enable functional vision become a specific and new requirement for system designers. They also recommended that the design process for lighting, windows, and visors become integrated. Lastly, they recommended that various physical and virtual simulation techniques be developed to address specific requirements. This means virtual reality programs that simulate what it is like to walk around the LSP during lunar day and night, followed by “dress rehearsal” missions in analog environments (or both combined!).
Astronauts operating around the Lunar South Pole. Credit: NASA
As Chappell summarized, the simulations will likely focus on different aspects of the mission elements to gauge the effectiveness of their designs:
“Some would address the blinding effects of sunlight at the LSP (not easily achieved through virtual approaches) to evaluate [the] performance of helmet shields and artificial lighting in the context of the environment and adaptation times. Other simulations would add terrain features to identify the threats in simple (e.g., walking, collection of samples) and complex (e.g., maintenance and operation of equipment) tasks. Since different facilities have different strengths, they also have different weaknesses. These strengths and limitations must be characterized to enable verification of technical solutions and crew training.”
This latest series of recommendations reminds us that NASA is committed to achieving a regular human presence on the Moon by the end of this decade. As that day draws nearer, the need for more in-depth preparation and planning becomes apparent. By the time astronauts are making regular trips to the Moon (according to NASA, once a year after 2028), they will need the best training and equipment we can muster.
NASA makes HISTORY as spacecraft survives closest-ever approach to Sun: US space agency confirms Parker Probe is 'operating normally' after coming within just 3.8 million miles of the solar surface
The US space agency has confirmed that its Parker Solar Probe survived the close encounter, and is now 'operating normally'.
'Parker Solar Probe has phoned home!' NASA tweeted this morning.
'After passing just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface on Dec. 24 — the closest solar flyby in history — we have received Parker Solar Probe's beacon tone confirming the spacecraft is safe.'
During the flyby, Parker endured temperatures of up to 982°C, while moving at 430,000 miles per hour.
Despite these extreme conditions, the probe's heat shield effectively protected its instruments.
NASA said the mission operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, received the signal on Boxing Day evening.
The spacecraft is next expected to send back detailed data about its condition and experiences on January 1.
The US space agency has confirmed that its Parker Solar Probe survived the close encounter, and is now 'operating normally'
'Parker Solar Probe has phoned home!' NASA tweeted this morning. 'After passing just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface on Dec. 24 — the closest solar flyby in history — we have received Parker Solar Probe's beacon tone confirming the spacecraft is safe'
NASA said: 'Following its record-breaking closest approach to the sun, NASA's Parker Solar Probe has transmitted a beacon tone back to Earth indicating it's in good health and operating normally.'
The news of Parker's survival has been welcomed by space fans across X (formerly Twitter).
'We live in an amazing time! Congratulations!' one user replied to NASA.
Another added: 'It worked. You guys are special.'
And one joked: 'It's like a sun-kissed spacecraft now.'
The Christmas Eve flyby was the first of three record-setting close passes, with the next two - on March 22, 2025, and June 19, 2025 - both expected to bring the probe back to a similarly close distance from the sun.
Nick Pinkine, Parker Solar Probe mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), said: 'No human-made object has ever passed this close to a star, so Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory.'
Beyond breaking records, scientists hope the mission will allow them to measure how material is heated to millions of degrees, find where solar wind comes from and learn how energetic particles reach near light speeds.
The Parker Solar Probe launched from Cape Canaveral in August 2018 before embarking on the 93 million-mile journey to the sun
Arik Posner, Parker Solar Probe program scientist for NASA, says: 'This is one example of NASA's bold missions, doing something that no one else has ever done before to answer longstanding questions about our universe.'
The Parker Solar Probe travelled seven times closer to the sun than any spacecraft before it
Nasa's Parker Solar Probe (PSP) will travel seven times closer to the sun than any spacecraft before it by the end of its mission.
It launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on August 12, 2018.
The probe flew to the sun's outer atmosphere to study life of stars and their weather events.
It is hoped that Parker can help scientists to better understand solar flares — brief eruptions of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface that can knock out communications on Earth.
Over the next few years the probe will continue to make new discoveries as it moves closer to the sun, eventually making its closest approach in the year 2024, as it flies 3.9 million miles above the solar surface.
The craft faces extremes in heat and radiation and will reach speeds of up to 430,000 miles per hour (700,000 kph) at its closest flyby of the star.
The craft's kit includes a white light imager called Whisper, which will take images of solar waves as the craft propels through them at high speeds.
To measure the 'bulk plasma' of solar winds — described by Nasa as the 'bread and butter' of the flares — a set of magnetic imaging equipment will also be stored on board.
NASA Science Live: Parker Solar Probe Nears Historic Close Encounter with the Sun
Telescopes in space and on Earth snapped some incredible shots too, capturing stars, other planets and even entire galaxies in unprecedented detail.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and European Southern Observatory (ESO) are just a few of the highly-sophisticated imaging instruments that changed our understanding of the universe this year.
Below, DailyMail.com highlights some of 2024's most jaw-dropping space photos.
Star-forming region NGC 604
JWST captured this near-infrared view of the star-forming region NGC 604, which sits in the Triangulum galaxy 2.7 million light-years from Earth
JWST's NIRcam instrument is a powerful near-infrared camera that can capture images of distant nebulae in astonishing detail.
This year, the telescope snapped this photo of the star-forming nebula known as NGC 604.
This enormous cloud of gas and dust is located 2.7 million light-years from Earth in the Triangulum galaxy.
Stretching almost 1,500 light-years across, NGC 604 is nearly 100 times larger than the Orion Nebula in our own galaxy.
NHC 604 contains more than 200 hot, massive young stars — significantly more than the Orion Nebula's four.
This JWST image shows the nebula's arms of gas and dust, which serve as a nursery for young, still-forming stars.
Starlink satellites captured by ISS astronaut
Don Pettit, a NASA astronaut aboard the ISS, shared this photo he took in November, which shows Starlink satellites streaking by
In November, NASA astronaut Don Pettit shared this image taken from the ISS, which shows Starlink satellites streaking by.
In a post on X, Pettit compared the satellites to 'a miniature version of the monolith from '2001: A Space Odyssey', where the large flat face of the monolith points towards earth and the solar panel protrudes outward like the fin on the back of a Dimetrodon.'
He described the image, saying: 'Compared to the well-defined streaks from star trails, this time exposure shows wonky streaks flashing ISS.
'These are Starlink satellites reflecting pre-dusk or pre-dawn sunlight off their solar panels. They are only seen from 5 to 18 degrees preceding or trailing the sun.
'They create bright flashes, perhaps lasting for a few seconds each due to the orientation of their outward pointing solar panels.'
Pettit is well-known for his orbital astrophotography, which he creates from the unique vantage point of the ISS.
SpaceX's 'chopsticks' rocket catch
SpaceX achieved a historic spaceflight maneuver this year when the Mechazilla launch tower's 'chopstick' arms caught the Super Heavy booster in mid-air, executing a bull's eye landing
Elon Musk's SpaceX made spaceflight history in October with the successful execution of a 'chopstick' maneuver.
It was the fifth time the spaceflight company launched its 400-foot-tall Starship rocket, but this launch was anything but routine.
In a world's first, SpaceX aimed to return the rocket's Super Heavy booster directly to its launch mount, snatching it out of mid-air with a pair of 'chopstick' arms attached to the launch tower.
Just seven minutes after liftoff, Super Heavy executed a bull's eye landing, hovering near the 'Mechazilla' launch tower as the metal arms caught it.
The bold, historic maneuver marked a major achievement for SpaceX and the spaceflight industry at large.
'Are you kidding me?' SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot added from the launch site following the event. 'Even in this day and age, what we just saw — that looked like magic.'
Supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*
In 2024, astronomers captured the first image of the polarized light and magnetic fields that surround Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way
This year, astronomers captured the first image of the polarized light and magnetic fields that surround Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole that sits at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
This image was made using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a global network of radio telescopes that can observe a supermassive black hole's event horizon, or the boundary where the velocity needed to escape exceeds the speed of light.
At just 26,000 light years from Earth, Sagittarius A* is one of very few black holes in the universe where astronomers can actually observe the flow of matter around it.
This historic image provides the first direct visual evidence of this supermassive black hole's existence.
Although we cannot see the black hole itself — as it is completely dark — the glowing whirls of gas around it reveal a telltale signature: a dark central region (or 'shadow') surrounded by a bright ring-like structure.
The image therefore shows light bent by the black hole's extreme gravity.
HP Tau: An infant star
The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the infant star HP Tau this year, located 550 light-years from Earth
The Hubble Space Telescope snapped this stunning photo of the infant star HP Tau this year.
HP Tau is located roughly 550 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. At just 10million years old, it is the youngest among its neighbors.
It can be seen at the top of a trio of stars captured in this Hubble image. These three stars reside within a hollow cavity in a huge cloud of gas and dust, 'looking like a glittering cosmic geode,' as NASA described it.
HP Tau is a T Tauri star, a type of young variable star that has not begun nuclear fusion yet, but will eventually evolve into a hydrogen-fueled star similar to our sun, according to NASA.
At 4.6 billion years old, our sun is far older than this infant.
First-ever commercial spacewalk
Tech billionaire and SpaceX astronaut Jared Isaacman made history when he emerged from the Polaris Dawn capsule to complete the first civilian spacewalk
In September, SpaceX's Polaris Dawn crew made history by executing the first privately-funded spacewalk.
The achievement marked a major milestone for the commercial spaceflight industry, of which SpaceX is a key leader.
In this image, tech billionaire and Polaris Dawn mission commander Jared Isaacman can be seen emerging from the Crew Dragon capsule 434 miles above Earth's surface as the sun rises over the eastern portion of the US.
He spent 12 minutes testing the mobility and functionality of SpaceX's new extravehicular activity (EVA) suits, which had never been used in space before.
After Isaacman retreated back into the capsule, Polaris Dawn mission specialist Sarah Gillis, emerged and performed the same EVA test maneuvers.
'Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do,' said Isaacman as he looked down at our planet. 'But from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.'
'Doomed' star Eta Carinae
The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the unusual nebula that surrounds Eta Carinae, a star that is likely to explode at any time
This 2024 image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope brings out details in the unusual nebula that surrounds Eta Carinae, a star that may be about to explode.
Scientists aren't sure exactly when this explosion could occur. According to NASA, it could be next year, or it could be a million years from now.
But when it does blow, it will likely cause a supernova — the biggest type of explosion known to man. Eta Carinae is about 100 times more massive than our sun.
Located 7,500 light-years away in the Keyhole nebula, its violent death would not impact Earth. But still, Hubble has been monitoring Eta Carinae for the last 25 years, waiting for it to explode.
In this image, two distinct lobes of the surrounding Homunculus Nebula encompass the hot central region, while some 'strange' radial streaks are visible in red extending toward the right, according to NASA.
Total solar eclipse
On April 8, skywatchers in 15 US states witnessed a total solar eclipse
On April 8, millions of Americans looked up at the sky in unison to witness a total solar eclipse.
All of North America experienced at least a partial solar eclipse. But 15 US states from Texas to Maine were in the 115-mile-wide path of totality, which also stretched through Canada and Mexico.
In this area, spectators experienced several minutes of near-total darkness as the sun disappeared behind the moon's shadow.
Images of the eclipse were shared widely on social media, including this one which shows solar prominences erupting from the sun's surface - the squiggly red lines that appear to be jetting out from the perimeter of the sun.
Solar prominences are eruptions of solar plasma, a hot gas made of electrically charged hydrogen and helium.
US sees far-reaching aurora
The aurora borealis is typically only seen at northern latitudes. But in October, this dazzling light display stretched as far south as Florida
In an extremely rare event, the aurora borealis — also known as the northern lights — stretched as far south as Key Largo, Florida in October.
The dazzling light display was triggered by a severe geomagnetic storm, or a major disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere that occurs when an outburst of solar radiation impacts out planet.
This storm was a G5, the most severe class of geomagnetic storm. Aurora were visible at much lower latitudes than usual, with spectators sharing images from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and other southern states.
Perseid meteor shower
This long exposure photo shows the Perseid meteor shower over Osijek, Croatia on August 11
In August, the Perseid meteor shower streaked across the night sky, allowing stargazers to capture striking long-exposure photos like this one taken in Osijek, Croatia.
The Perseid meteor shower occurs annually, and is considered the best meteor shower of the year. It can produce 50 to 100 shooting stars per hour, which frequently leave long 'wakes' of light and color behind them, according to NASA.
This meteor shower results from the Earth passing through debris, or bits of ice and rock, left in the wake of the comet Swift Tuttle, which last passed close to Earth in 1992.
The peak of the shower is from August 11 through 12, when our planet travels through the densest part of this debris trail.
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Donut-shaped spheres disrupt NASA's Stereo Lasco C3 satellite near the sun
Donut-shaped spheres disrupt NASA's Stereo Lasco C3 satellite near the sun
On December 25, 2024, NASA's Stereo Lasco C3 satellite captured an extraordinary phenomenon near the sun. In a split second, the satellite's imaging was disrupted by what appeared to be a swarm of spherical objects hurtling through space at incredible speeds.
Speculation surrounds the event, with some suggesting it could be a meteor debris field. However, the unusual appearance of the objects has raised questions. Could debris naturally form into such perfectly round shapes, each featuring a dark center that resembles donut-shaped UFOs?
This event might be a natural occurrence, however, with all the recent strange sightings of unknown drones, UFOs, and orbs combined with predictions from several specialists that something significant might happen soon in the realm of the UFO phenomena, one might wonder if these mysterious spheres are connected to something larger on the horizon?
UFOs on official NASA LASCO C2 & LASCO C3 satellite images in the solar space - December 18, 2018
For decades cosmologists have wondered if the large-scale structure of the universe is a fractal: if it looks the same no matter the scale. And the answer is: no, not really. But in some ways, yes. Look, it’s complicated.
Our universe is unimaginably vast and contains somewhere around two trillion galaxies. These galaxies aren’t scattered around randomly, but are assembled into a series of ever-larger structures. There are the groups, containing at most a dozen galaxies are so. Then there are the clusters, which are home to a thousand galaxies and more. Above them are the superclusters, which twist and wind for millions of light-years.
Is this the end of the story?
In the mid 20th century Benoit Mandelbrot brought the concept of fractals into the mainstream. Mandelbrot didn’t invent the concept of fractals – mathematicians had been studying self-similar patterns for ages – but he did coin the word and usher in our modern study of the concept. The basic idea of a fractal is that you can use a single mathematical formula to define a structure at all scales. In other words, you can zoom in and out of a fractal and it still maintains the same shape.
Fractals appear everywhere in nature, from the branches of a tree to the edges of a snowflake. And Mandelbrot himself wondered if the universe is a fractal. If as we zoom out we will see the same kinds of structures appearing again and again.
And in a way, that’s what we see: a hierarchy of structures at ever-larger scales in the universe. But that hierarchy does come to an end. At a certain scale, roughly 300 million lightyears across, the cosmos becomes homogenous, meaning that there are no larger structures and the universe is (at that scale) roughly the same from place to place.
The universe is definitely not a fractal, but parts of the cosmic web still have interesting fractal-like properties. For example, clumps of dark matter called “halos”, which host galaxies and their clusters, form nested structures and sub-structures, with halos holding sub-haloes, and sub-sub-halos inside those.
Conversely, the voids of our universe aren’t entirely empty. They do contain a few, faint dwarf galaxies…and those few galaxies are arranged in a subtle, faint version of the cosmic web. In computer simulations, the sub-voids within that structure contain their own effervescent cosmic webs too.
So while the universe as a whole isn’t a fractal, and Mandelbrot’s idea didn’t hold up, we can still find fractals almost everywhere we look.
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A Mission to Dive Titan’s Lakes – and Soar Between Them
Titan is one of the solar system’s most fascinating worlds for several reasons. It has something akin to a hydrological cycle, though powered by methane. It is the solar system’s second-largest moonMooner our own. It is the only other body with liquid lakes on its surface. That’s part of the reason it has attracted so much attention, including an upcoming mission known as Dragonfly that hopes to use its thick atmosphere to power a small helicopter. But some of the most interesting features on Titan are its lakes, and Dragonfly, given its means of locomotion, can’t do much with those other than look at them from afar. So another mission, initially conceived by James McKevitt, then an undergraduate at Loughborough University but now a PhD student at University College London would take a look at both their surface and underneath.
The mission, which has undergone several iterations, was initially designed to mimic the hunting motion of a gannet. This seabird famously dives under the water to search for fish and then floats back up to the top before setting off again. In the original paper describing the mission concept, Mr. McKevitt focused on the hydrodynamics of how such a mission would be possible on Titan, including the physics of diving into a lake of liquid methane without breaking the probe.
Luckily, the most fascinating lakes on Titan are all clustered around the north pole, so it would be theoretically possible to hop between one lake and another, given there was enough thrust/power. However, as time went on, the original mission concept seemed less and less feasible – especially given the most required to both take off from a resting position on top of a lake and dive down deeply enough into the next lake to make a meaningful difference in the environment.
Fraser discusses the importance of a mission to Titan.
Of particular concern was the power system – RTGs, the only current system that would feasibly power such a probe on Titan’s fully enveloped surface, would be too heavy for such a mission architecture. So, Mr. McKevitt changed tact and created something entirely different.
During COVID-19, he created an organization known as Conex Research to explore complex missions in a collaborative think-tank format. He then adapted Astraeus, as the mission was known, to a more achievable format, which was then described on Conex’s website. In a press release from August of 2022, the mission had morphed into a four-part system.
First is a “Main Orbital Spacecraft,” which would orbit the Moon Moondeploy two smaller vehicles – Mayfly and Manta. As their names suggest, Mayfly would flit about as an aerial observation platform, while Manta would dive into the lakes that were so intriguing in the original mission architecture. A series of 2U Cubesats, called “Mites,” would also join them and measure different parts of Titan’s atmosphere during a slow descent period after being released from the MOS.
Fraser discusses the Dragonfly mission planned to visit Titan’s surface.
That sounds like a pretty hefty lift, especially for a group of volunteer contributors, even if there are almost 30 of them. Lately, the group hasn’t had much of an update since they presented the mission format at the International Astronautical Conference in 2022. But if they are still making progress on the mission, there is a chance it might one day make it all the way to the bottom of one of Titan’s lakes.
The James Webb Space Telescope was designed and built to study the early universe, and hopefully revolutionary our understanding of cosmology. Two years after its launch, it’s doing just that.
One of the first things that astronomers noticed with the James Webb was galaxies that were brighter and larger than our models of galaxy formation suggested they should be. They were like seeing teenagers in a kindergarten classroom, challenging our assumptions of cosmology. But while there were some breathless claims that the Big Bang was broken, those statements were a little overblown.
But still, big, bright, mature galaxies in the early universe are forcing us to reconsider how galaxy formation is supposed to proceed. Whatever nature is telling us through the James Webb, it seems to be that galaxies form far faster than we thought before.
Related to that, for several years cosmologists have recognized a certain tension in their measurements of the present-day expansion rate of the universe, called the Hubble rate. Appropriately called the Hubble tension, the difference comes when comparing measurements of the distant, early universe with measurements of the later, nearby universe.
There’s definitely something funky going on here, but cosmologists can’t figure out exactly what. It might have something to do with our measurements of the deep universe, or it might be because of our lack of understanding of dark matter and dark energy. Either way, the James Webb didn’t help anything by confirming that the tension is very, very real.
No matter what comes out of the Hubble tension problem, the James Webb is delivering spectacular results in other areas. One of its primary missions was to find evidence for Population III stars, the first generation of stars to appear in the universe. There are no such stars left in the modern-day cosmos, as they all apparently died off billions of years ago. So our only hope to detect them is to use super-telescopes like the James Webb.
This year a team reported the first tentative detections of a galaxy in the young universe that just might contain Population III stars. The detection is not confirmed, but hopefully upcoming observation campaigns will tell us if we’re on the right track.
No matter what, we know we have a lot left to learn about the universe, and that the James Webb will continue delivering results – and hopefully a few surprises – for years to come.
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Giant exploding craters only known to exist on Russia's permafrost-covered Yamal and Gydan peninsulas may result from a specific set of conditions not found elsewhere in the Arctic.
This aerial view from a helicopter shows one of the mysterious craters on the Yamal Peninsula.
(Image credit: VASILY BOGOYAVLENSKY/AFP via Getty Images))
Eight giant, 160-foot-deep (50 meters) craters in the Siberian permafrost have baffled scientists since their discovery more than a decade ago — but a new theory may finally explain how they formed.
The Mystery of Siberia's Exploding Craters, Explained
The craters are unique to Russia's northern Yamal and Gydan peninsulas and are not known to exist elsewhere in the Arctic, suggesting the key to this puzzle lies in the landscape, according to a preprint paper published Jan. 12 to the EarthArXiv database.
Researchers have proposed several explanations for the gaping holes over the years, ranging from meteor impacts to natural-gas explosions. One theory suggests the craters formed in the place of historic lakes that once bubbled with natural gas rising from the permafrost below. These lakes may have dried up, exposing the ground beneath to freezing temperatures that sealed the vents through which gas escaped. The resulting buildup of gas in the permafrost may eventually have been released through explosions that created the giant craters.
But the historic-lake model fails to account for the fact that these "giant escape craters" (GECs) are found in a variety of geological settings across the peninsulas, not all of which were once covered by lakes, according to the new preprint, which has not been peer reviewed.
Previousstudies have also linked the craters to accumulations of natural gas within the permafrost, but these can't explain why the holes are only found in northern Russia. "Thus, the formation of GECs points to conditions specific for the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas," researchers wrote in the preprint.
Image taken in 2014 showing one of the craters on Russia's Yamal peninsula.
(Image credit: VASILY BOGOYAVLENSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
Permafrost on the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas varies widely in its thickness, ranging from a few hundred feet to 1,600 feet (500 m). The soil likely froze solid more than 40,000 years ago, imprisoning ancient marine sediments rich in methane that gradually transformed into vast natural gas reserves. These reserves produce heat that melts the permafrost from below, leaving pockets of gas at its base.
Permafrost in Russia and elsewhere is also thawing at the surface due to climate change. In places where it is already thin on the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas, melting from both ends and the pressure from the gas may eventually cause the remaining permafrost to collapse, triggering an explosion.
This "champagne effect" would explain the presence of smaller craters around the eight giant craters, as huge chunks of ice propelled out by the explosions may have severely dented the ground, according to the preprint.
There may also be more of these craters than we realize, the researchers added, as water and sediment likely filled some of the holes over time.
The release of natural gas and methane during these explosions could activate a climate feedback loop if global temperatures continue to creep up and accelerate permafrost melting.
"The formation of GECs has been connected to global climate change, with increasing summer and fall temperatures resulting in permafrost warming and degradation," the researchers wrote.
An estimated 1,900 billion tons (1,700 billion metric tons) of greenhouse gas, including carbon dioxide and methane, are stored in the Arctic permafrost, according to the preprint. Growing emissions from thawing permafrost "are of great concern," the authors added.
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Several theories about our Moon’s formation vie for dominance, but almost all share that point in common: near the time of the solar system’s formation, about 4.5 billion years ago, something ― perhaps a single object the size of Mars, perhaps a series of objects ― crashed into the young Earth and flung enough molten and vaporized debris into space to create the Moon.
Earth’s Moon is thought to have formed in a tremendous collision. A massive object ― named Theia after the mythological Greek Titan who was the mother of Selene, goddess of the Moon ― smashed into Earth, flinging material into space that became the Moon.
NASA
The early solar system would have been a chaotic, terrifying place. Debris left over from the formation of the Sun coalesced into a disk around the star, creating clumps that ranged in size from dust flecks to minor planets. Gravity drew these objects together, causing them to crash into each other ― violent smashups that could end in obliteration or new, larger objects. Those mashed-together objects make up the planets, moons, asteroids and other solar system objects we know today.
A Unique Beginning | How the Universe Works
Written in Stone
Visiting the Moon with the Apollo missions in the late 1960s and early 1970s revolutionized our understanding of the Moon’s origins. Previous concepts ― that the Moon was an object captured by Earth’s gravity as it sailed by, or that the Moon formed alongside Earth from the same debris ― fell out of favor after the Apollo missions brought back data and 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of lunar samples to Earth in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Apollo evidence all pointed to the Moon forming from a large impact. The age of the rock samples indicated that the Moon formed around 60 million years after the solar system began to form. The type and composition of the samples showed that the Moon had been molten during its formation and was covered with a deep ocean of magma for tens of millions to hundreds of millions of years ― an environment that would occur in the aftermath of an intensely energetic impact. Lunar rocks were found to contain only small amounts of elements that vaporize when heated, further indicating the Moon could have formed in a high-energy impact that let those elements escape.
Five Things We Learned from Apollo Moon Rocks
The chemical composition of Moon and Earth rocks are very similar.
The Moon was once covered in an ocean of magma.
Meteorites have shattered and melted rocks on the Moon’s surface through impacts.
Lava flowed up through cracks in the Moon’s crust and filled its impact basins.
Lunar “soil” is made of pulverized rock created by meteorite impacts.
Scientist and astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt stands next to a huge, split lunar boulder during the Apollo 17 mission at the Taurus-Littrow landing site in this photograph from Dec. 13, 1972. Rock samples collected during the Apollo missions provided evidence that the Moon resulted from an object crashing into Earth in the early history of the solar system.
NASA/Eugene Cernan
Perhaps most importantly, the rock samples indicated that the Moon was once a part of Earth. Basaltic rocks from the Moon’s mantle have striking similarities to basaltic rocks from Earth’s mantle. The oxygen isotopes and other elements sealed into the specimens matched those of Earth rocks too precisely for the similarities to be a coincidence.
Meteorites make up another body of evidence. Samples collected by Apollo astronauts come from just a few sites on the Moon, but lunar meteorites ― rocks sent into space by impacts on the Moon that eventually find their way to Earth ― provide samples from all over the Moon that tell a similar tale of the Moon’s history. Meteorites originating from asteroids have also been used to help confirm the timeline of the Moon’s formation. Some show signs of having been bombarded by debris from the giant, Moon-forming impact.
Finally, more recent studies add the evidence for a high-energy impact that resulted in the creation of a molten Moon. Analysis of light reflecting off the Moon gives details of the mineral makeup of the Moon’s surface, and it shows the widespread presence of anorthosite, an igneous rock that crystallizes out of and floats to the top of magma. The presence of anorthosite across the Moon’s surface reinforces that the Moon must once have been covered by a widespread magma ocean that was quite deep, from hundreds to thousands of kilometers.
This light-colored mineral, Apollo mission lunar sample 60639, is thought to have floated to the top of the magma ocean and formed the Moon's first crust around 4.4 billion years ago.
Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility for Astromaterials 3D Explorer
Lunar “Archaeology”
Though Earth and Moon both came from that ancient collision ― and Earth is certainly within easier reach ― studying the Moon gives us our best chance of understanding what happened all those billions of years ago. Earth’s active geological processes, from plate tectonics to erosion, erase the evidence of formation. Aside from events like impacts, much of the Moon’s surface changes on a vastly slower timescale. Like detectives at a crime scene, scientists use clues preserved on the lunar surface to piece together the Moon’s history. Any improvements to the giant impact theory or a new theory would need to explain what we observe of the Moon today.
One of the oddities is the Moon’s low iron content as compared with Earth’s. Earth’s iron-rich core accounts for around 30 percent of its mass, but the core of the Moon is only about 1.6-1.8 percent of its total mass. One possible explanation is that the energy of the impact with Earth that formed the Moon vaporized lighter materials, casting them into space, and left behind heavier elements ― such as iron, which vaporizes only at extremely high temperatures ― to sink into Earth’s core.
This diagram shows a cross-section of the Moon’s interior during its early history, including the silicate mantle and a small metallic core. The lunar mantle is low in the elements 14 zinc, tin, cadmium, indium, and thulium, possibly because they never recondensed from gas form after the collision that created the Moon.
Illustration courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Any viable theory of lunar formation also has to explain where the Moon is now in relation to Earth and the speed and inclination of its orbit. Surface reflectors placed on the Moon during Apollo show that the Moon moves away from Earth at the rate of about an inch and a half per year. This indicates that the Moon initially formed much closer to our planet, and, therefore, that the early Earth’s spin rate was much higher than it is today. Computer models created by scientists to test and analyze Moon formation theories must show how a massive collision can produce the existing orbits and rotation of Moon and Earth over billions of years when paired with the typical gravitational interactions between the two bodies. (Even today, the distance between the Earth and Moon, and the length of a day on Earth, continues to grow due to the effects of Earth’s tides.)
Finally, strange discrepancies exist between the Moon’s near and far sides. Differences include: the thickness of the crust ― 43 miles (70 kilometers) on the Moon's near-side versus 93 miles (150 kilometers) on the far side; the contrasting geological makeup, including a concentration of radioactive elements on the near side; and the rich history of volcanism on the near side compared with a relative lack of volcanic activity on the far side. How closely these differences are related to the Moon’s formation ― how it cooled, how its volcanic activity took place, and the manner in which it has been bombarded by objects from space ― is a question scientists continue to wrestle with today.
The Moon's near side and far side.
NASA LRO / Jatan Mehta
Model Behavior
With humanity’s return to the Moon through the Artemis program, scientists expect a flood of new information that will help us hone in on a single formation scenario. In the meantime, scientists continue to study existing samples and other information they have now ― such as information from lunar orbiters and the growing body of knowledge on planetary formation ― to construct computer models that help us understand how the collision might have happened, and how it could have resulted in the Moon and Earth as we see them today. The models account for factors like the strength of the colliding objects, the friction between the components, the density of the components, and how materials behave under different temperatures and pressures. Today’s advanced computer models can provide a number of very specific outcomes based on variables like these.
A NASA and Durham University simulation theorizes that the Moon may have formed in a matter of hours, when material from the Earth and a Mars sized-body were launched directly into orbit after the impact. The simulations used in this research are some of the most detailed of their kind, operating at the highest resolution of any simulation run to study the Moon’s origins or other giant impacts. NASA's Ames Research Center
For instance, when scientists want to figure out why the Moon is low in certain elements that vaporize easily, they use models to see how the Moon’s composition would look if the elements were lost, or depleted, during different periods of the Moon’s formation. Perhaps the environment in which the Moon formed or early eruptions on the Moon’s surface created a temporary atmosphere that led to the elimination of some of those elements, or they may have been released through interactions with the heat of the Sun or a bright and still-molten Earth.
Even these complex models can’t simulate every atom in a massive collision between giant objects that kicks debris into space. But astronomers can represent larger groups of debris by using particles whose properties depend on where they are located during the collision, like hot material situated near the proto-Moon’s core. Astronomers are able to alter the properties in their models to produce different results, showing how even small changes can produce different scenarios. As evidence continues to come in, the eventual goal is a comprehensive model that accounts for everything we know about the Moon.
Searching for the Past in the Future
The final Apollo Moon mission was in 1972. Scientists have had decades to investigate lunar samples and data from the Apollo missions, combine it with information returned by subsequent lunar missions, come to conclusions, and form new questions. They know what to target during the upcoming Artemis missions to help solve some of the outstanding mysteries.
All of the Apollo missions landed near the Moon’s equator, and the samples brought back are mostly from volcanic regions. Lunar scientists are hoping to obtain new samples from different locations, like the far side of the Moon and areas closer to the poles, so they can examine the Moon’s composition in regions that would have evolved in different ways and uncover more evidence of how the Moon formed. They’re hoping to drill down into the lunar surface and acquire core samples that expose additional layers of the Moon’s geologic history, a record written in rock and mostly hidden from us for now.
These new discoveries will help narrow down the many unknown factors in the Moon formation models. If the new evidence shows ― to choose just one example ― that a vast quantity of sulfur was lost during a period of volcanic activity, then that sulfur loss doesn’t need to be accounted for during early stages of Moon formation. Like a game of Clue, deciphering the mysteries of the Moon’s formation will be a process of elimination, ruling out particular events happening during certain time periods and narrowing down the possibilities until few remain.
But scientists are also alert to the possibility of new discoveries, findings that paint a different picture. The greatest clues to the Moon’s past may still be scattered around and beneath the lunar surface, waiting to be unearthed.
Writer: Tracy Vogel
Science Advisors: Prabal Saxena (NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center), Sarah Valencia (NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center) and Bill Bottke (Southwest Research Institute Boulder)
Onze natuurlijke satelliet onderging een ‘vulkanische facelift’, waardoor ze er in feite veel jonger uitziet dan ze in werkelijkheid is.
De maan is nogal geheimzinnig over haar leeftijd. Pogingen om haar leeftijd te ontrafelen hebben schattingen opgeleverd die honderden miljoenen jaren van elkaar verschillen: sommige onderzoekers stellen dat de maan 4,35 miljard jaar geleden ontstond, terwijl anderen haar geboorte op 4,51 miljard jaar geleden plaatsen. Maar wie heeft er nou gelijk? Een nieuwe studie schept gelukkig duidelijkheid.
Twee leeftijden Het is niet verwonderlijk dat onderzoekers van mening verschillen. Analyses van maanmonsters, zoals die verzameld door de Amerikaanse Apollo-missie, suggereren dat onze kosmische metgezel ongeveer 4,35 miljard jaar oud is. Dit zou betekenen dat de maan ongeveer 200 miljoen jaar na de vorming van ons zonnestelsel is ontstaan. Tegelijkertijd zijn er op het oppervlak ook zeldzame kristallen van zirkonium-silicaat, ook wel zirkonen genoemd, gevonden. En die suggereren weer dat de maan 4,51 miljard jaar oud zou kunnen zijn.
200 miljoen jaar Het idee dat de maan 200 miljoen jaar na de vorming van ons zonnestelsel ontstond, zit onderzoekers echter niet lekker. In de vroege dagen van het zonnestelsel kwamen brokstukken en planeetlichamen in botsing en verenigden zich om planeten te vormen. Tegen de tijd dat er 200 miljoen jaar voorbij waren, was het meeste van dit chaotische puin al samengevoegd tot grotere lichamen. Daarom vinden veel wetenschappers die de evolutie van het zonnestelsel simuleren, het idee van een enorme botsing die de maan zo laat vormt, onwaarschijnlijk.
Hoe ontstond de maan? De geschiedenis van de maan begint met een enorme botsing. In de vroege dagen van het zonnestelsel crasht een object ter grootte van Mars tegen de jonge aarde. De impact was zo krachtig dat de rots volledig smolt en een enorme hoeveelheid materiaal de ruimte in werd geslingerd. Langzaam klonterde dit materiaal samen en vormde de maan, die aanvankelijk bedekt was door een oceaan van heet, vloeibaar gesteente. In de miljoenen jaren die volgden, koelde de pas gevormde maan af en bewoog zich steeds verder van de aarde, totdat hij zijn huidige baan bereikte, op ongeveer 384.400 kilometer afstand.
In een nieuwe studie, gepubliceerd in Nature, stellen onderzoekers een mogelijke verklaring voor de discrepantie voor. Ze denken namelijk dat de maan zo’n 4,35 miljard jaar geleden door de getijdenkracht van de aarde opnieuw smolt. Ze beweren dat dit proces de leeftijd van de maanrotsen ‘gereset’ heeft, waardoor de maan er veel jonger uitziet dan ze in werkelijkheid is, bijna alsof de maan een vulkanische facelift had ondergaan.
Earth’s Moon is thought to have formed in a tremendous collision. A massive object ― named Theia after the mythological Greek Titan who was the mother of Selene, goddess of the Moon ― smashed into Earth, flinging material into space that became the Moon.
NASA
Maanbaan Daar gaan we even wat dieper op in. Zoals in het kader te lezen is, stond de maan ooit veel dichterbij de aarde dan nu. “We waren vooral benieuwd naar de periode waarin de afstand tussen de aarde en de maan ongeveer een derde was van wat die nu is”, legt onderzoeksleider Francis Nimmo uit. In deze periode veranderde de positie en vorm van de maanbaan op verschillende manieren. Zo werd de baan meer elliptisch, waardoor de snelheid van de maan en haar afstand tot de aarde merkbaar varieerden tijdens elke omloop. De krachten die hierdoor ontstonden roerden het binnenste van de maan zo sterk door dat het opwarmde. Een soortgelijke situatie zien we vandaag de dag bij Io, de maan van Jupiter, die ook in een licht elliptische baan rond de gasreus draait. De enorme getijdenkrachten van Jupiter maken Io de meest vulkanisch actieve maan in ons zonnestelsel. De vroege maan van de aarde was waarschijnlijk net zo actief als Io.
Geologische klok “Het sterkte vulkanisme heeft waarschijnlijk de geologische klok van de maan gereset”, legt co-auteur Thorsten Kleine uit. “Maanrotsmonsters geven daarom niet hun oorspronkelijke leeftijd prijs, maar alleen wanneer ze voor het laatst hevig verhit werden.” Slechts enkele hittebestendige zirkonen bieden bewijs van een ouder verleden. Op plekken waar lava het oppervlak niet bereikte, bleven de zirkonen koel, waardoor hun interne klok ongemoeid bleef. “De maanrotsmonsters onthullen het volledige, stormachtige verleden van de maan”, vervolgt Kleine. “Ze vertellen ons over haar ontstaan en het heftige vulkanisme dat volgde. Tot nu toe hebben we deze aanwijzingen gewoon niet goed begrepen.”
Werkelijke leeftijd van de maan De onderzoekers komen dan ook met een nieuwe schatting voor de leeftijd van de maan. Zo vermoeden ze dat onze natuurlijke satelliet tussen de 4,43 en 4,53 miljard jaar oud is. Maar haar korst werd, zoals hierboven uitgelegd is, gevormd door hevig vulkanisme, dat ongeveer 4,35 miljard jaar geleden plaatsvond.
Kraters De nieuwe bevindingen lossen ook veel andere tegenstrijdigheden op die wetenschappers eerder in verwarring brachten. Het ontbreken van kraters op de maan werd bijvoorbeeld gezien als een aanwijzing dat ze niet zo oud kon zijn, omdat ze anders veel meer inslagen zou moeten hebben gehad. Vulkanisme biedt nu een verklaring. “Lava uit het binnenste van de maan kan de vroege inslagbekkens hebben opgevuld, waardoor ze bijna onherkenbaar werden”, verklaart onderzoeker Alessandro Morbidelli van het Collège de France.
Het onderzoeksteam hoopt dat nieuwe maanmonsters van toekomstige missies meer licht zullen werpen op de werkelijke leeftijd van de maan. Wetenschappers staan dan ook te popelen om meer te ontdekken over de maanmonsters die onlangs door China’s Chang’e 6-missie zijn teruggebracht. Deze monsters, verzameld van de verre kant van de maan, zijn van onschatbare waarde voor het begrijpen van de processen die haar geschiedenis hebben gevormd. Onderzoekers zijn vooral benieuwd of deze nieuwe monsters het idee van een wereldwijd ‘resettingsproces’ door getijdenverhitting kunnen bevestigen. “Naarmate er meer gegevens beschikbaar komen – vooral van lopende en toekomstige maanmissies – zal ons begrip van de maan blijven groeien”, stelt Nimmo. “We hopen dat onze bevindingen verdere discussies en ontdekkingen zullen stimuleren, wat uiteindelijk leidt tot een helderder beeld van de rol van de maan in de bredere geschiedenis van ons zonnestelsel.”
Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: MPS / Alexey Chizhik
This animation shows how material around a young star is shaped into planets over billions of years.
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center;
Images courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Scientist and astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt stands next to a huge, split lunar boulder during the Apollo 17 mission at the Taurus-Littrow landing site in this photograph from Dec. 13, 1972. Rock samples collected during the Apollo missions provided evidence that the Moon resulted from an object crashing into Earth in the early history of the solar system.
NASA/Eugene Cernan
This light-colored mineral, Apollo mission lunar sample 60639, is thought to have floated to the top of the magma ocean and formed the Moon's first crust around 4.4 billion years ago.
Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility for Astromaterials 3D Explorer
This all-sky photo of the night sky was compiled using images taken by astrophotographer Eckhard Slawik from the best and darkest locations around the globe.
Image credit: NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / E. Slawik / M. Zamani.
“This complete collection of free, high resolution, downloadable images of all 88 western IAU-recognized constellations serves as an educational archive that can be used on the individual and scholastic levels,” NOIRLab astronomers wrote in a statement.
“The project also includes the release of the largest open-source, freely available all-sky photo of the night sky.”
The photographer behind these stunning, high-quality images is the German astrophotographer Eckhard Slawik.
“The images were taken on film and each panel comprises two separate exposures, one with and one without a diffuser filter to allow the stars’ colors to shine through,” the astronomers said.
“All products include a comprehensive description of the constellation and its historic origins, as well as the corresponding standardized stick figure, outline drawing, finder chart and description of the constellation’s most prominent deep-sky objects.”
“Existing astronomical images of such deep-sky objects, captured with various NSF’s NOIRLab telescopes, are also included.”
“Downloadable flash cards and other audiovisual and educational materials make it easy to bring the constellations into the classrooms.”
The NOIRLab astronomers also released the largest open-source, freely available all-sky photo of the night sky.
“With 40,000 pixels, this is arguably one of the best such images ever made,” they wrote.
“The colossal sky-scape was compiled using images taken by Slawik from the best and darkest locations around the globe: in Waldenburg, Germany; Tenerife, La Palma, Spain; Namibia; and Chile.”
“The 88 Constellations images are open for exploration by all ages, and are especially suitable for use in planetariums and museums.”
“Visit the project webpage to become familiar with all 88 constellations and see how many you can spot in your night sky.”
The 88 Magnificent Constellations of the Night Sky
15 Famous Constellations You Can See In The Night Sky | Animation
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Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 74 jaar jong.
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