Important Innovations

  First Missions to Inferno Like Planet in 30 Years                                                                           Source:  NASA Search for Interplanetary Answers NASA will launch two new missions to Venus between 2028 and 2030.  These missions of discovery will be the first explorations of Venus in thirty years.  NASA Administration Bill Nelson says the purpose is to provide new understanding of how Earth evolved, why it is habitable and why other planets in our solar system are not.  Nelson added that planetary science is critical to answering key questions like "Are we alone?" $1 Billion in Funding   The two selected mission concepts are called DAVINCI+ and VERITAS.  Each will be given $500 million for development funding. DAVINCI+ will measure the composition of Venus' atmosphere to learn how the planet formed, evolved and if it ever contained an ocean.  DAVINCI+ stands for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry and Imaging.  The meas

  Bezos' Blue Origin Ready to Sell Space Tourism Tickets                                                            Source:  Blue Origin's New Shepherd Rocket Travel Like Nothing Else - Hurtling into Space on New Shepherd Rocket Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin is about to start selling tickets for rides on its space tourism rocket New Shepherd.  The rocket has the capacity to carry six passengers into the lower edges of space.  It has been launched multiple times, successfully tested and has completed 11 missions.  You can sign up for a seat on the Blue Origin website.  The ticket price is expected to be disclosed by the company very soon. Vacationing in Zero Gravity The New Shepherd launch site is located in a remote desert area in Texas.  The space capsule has massive windows for passengers to enjoy the view.  Once reaching the edges of space, passengers will spend 10 minutes in zero gravity before returning to Earth. The rocket launches vertically wi

  Perseverance Rover Monitoring the Martian Weather                     Source: NASA Perseverance & Ingenuity on Mars WX Critical For Ingenuity Helicopter Flights  History continues to be made by NASA, its Perseverance Rover and Ingenuity drone helicopter on Mars.  Perseverance has provided NASA with its first full weather report from Mars.  Weather conditions are critical for NASA to make informed decisions on Ingenuity's schedule of flight testing.  Ingenuity is the world's first helicopter to land on Mars and, for that matter, on any planet outside of the Earth. The weather data is also mission critical for making decisions on the Perseverance rover's series of missions.  And the weather data tremendously expands understanding of the Martian atmosphere for NASA scientists. Average Temperatures Far Colder Than Earth Weather conditions are a deciding factor on when Ingenuity takes flight, which could be as early as Sunday. Perseverance's first weather report showed

Asteroid 2020 HS7 Discovered Source:  NASA Tracking Mysterious Group of Asteroids UFO Sighting A relatively small asteroid, 13x26 feet flew close to the Earth and close to satellites.  The nearest satellite was just 750 miles away and the asteroid passed within 26,554 miles of Earth.  The discovery of Asteroid 2020 HS7 was just made by NASA's Pan-STARRS project.  This is one of the closest flybys by an asteroid ever recorded. The asteroid actually passed under the nearest satellite and came close to the geostationary orbit ring for satellites. Global Coordinated Tracking On April 26, 2020 NASA's Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii spotted what scientists thought was a UFO flying through space. They found it to be extremely close to the Earth with a 10% chance of colliding with the Earth.  Word went out to observatories around the world from China to Germany about the unidentified flying object.  Astronomers tracked the UFO's position, speed, motion and brightness.  Through thei

Growing Global Space Programs Source:  ISRO Lunar Explorations and Global Cooperation India is a growing leader in the exploration of space.  Of particular interest is India's many lunar exploration successes.  India is providing vital data from its multi-year Chandrayaan-2 mission that is now orbiting the Moon.  The images are being provided to the NASA-led Artemis program, which is a multinational effort to put astronauts back on the Moon by 2024.  The images of the surface of the Moon are vital to determine the best landing spot on the Moon for the next team of astronauts. Back in 2009, India was the first to discover ice deposits on the surface of the Moon. In 2021, it plans to launch Chandrayaan-3 that will include another landing attempt.  Their Vikram lander failed to land safely on the Moon as part of the C-2 mission. US-India Space Cooperation Accelerating President Trump in his late February 2020 trip to India praised India's many space exploration and te

Starhopper Spaceship Aces Test Launch Source:  SpaceX Big Victory for SpaceX Elon Musk's SpaceX is on a roll with victory after victory in the commercialization of space.  It's latest success happened yesterday with the successful launch of its spaceship Starhopper.  For more details, go to Important Innovations Collection: SpaceX on Target for Mars : Starhopper Rocket Prototype Passes Highest & Final Test Source:  Space X Next: On to Orbital Prototypes for 2021 Launch Another ...

India Going to the Moon Second Lunar Mission On Monday, July 22 India plans to launch a rocket to the Moon.  By mid September it's scheduled to land on the Moon's South Pole, which is unexplored territory.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: India Going for the Moon : Second Lunar Mission in a Year Source:  NASA image of the Moon To Explore Moon's South Pole - Unchartered Territory India is gea...