Picture of the Day: Jupiter with its shade of moon "Ganymede"
Description: Shadow of Ganymede moon on Jupiter near great red spot
Image Source : www.nasa.gov
Image Credit: Hubble Space Telescope | NASA | ESA
SPACEX SPACESHIPS ON MARS
SpaceX Future Concept of Landed Spaceships (Big Falcon Rocket) on Mars
MILKYWAY GALAXY
Wonderful View of Our Milkyway Galaxy
MOON BASE - ALPHA BY SPACEX
Artist Concept of Moon Base Alpha led by Elon Musk (SpaceX)
MAGNIFICENT VIEW OF GAS NEBULAE
Hubble Space Telescope Updates
ORION NEBULAE
Wonderful Image of Orion M42 Gas Nebulae
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
Explore Our Solar System with Multiple Spacecrafts
MARS BASE ALPHA SPACEX
Elon Musk Concept of Mars Base with Big BFR Rockets
NEW HORIZONS TO A NEW TARGET FLYBY
Explore Beyond Solar System
WHITE CLOUDS OF GAS NEBULAE
Hubble Space Telescope Photographs
ANDROMEDA GALAXY
Our Nearest Galaxy to Observe
HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGE OF HUBBLE
NASA'S Hubble Space Telescope Photographs
VOYAGER 1 AND VOYAGER 2
Spacecraft Leaving Our Solar System
TRAPPIST-1 SOLAR SYSTEM
Amazing Discovery of NASA
GIANT GAS NEBULAE
These Nebulae mostly consist of Hydrogen Gases
UNIVERSE IS EXPANDING AND ACCELERATING
Universe is not only Expanding but Accelerating
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Jupiter with its shade of moon "Ganymede"
Picture of the Day: Jupiter with its shade of moon "Ganymede"
Gaganyaan - India's First Human Spaceflight Programme
Gaganyaan Mission - Indian Human Mission to Space
Highlights:
- Indian Cabinet accepted Gaganyaan mission worth 10,000 crore to send 3 astronauts for 7 days
- India's First human mission (crewed orbital spaceflight)
- Fourth nation to have Human Spaceflight Programme
About Gaganyaan:
Gaganyaan is an crewed orbital spaceflight vehicle intended to spent 7 days in space with 3 Indian astronauts and be the first flight carrying astronauts from India. Later it will be upgraded to facilitate docking facility with other spaceflight vehicle. The dry mass of the vehicle is estimated to be 3700 kilograms approximately.
The crewed vehicle is pretended to be launched with India's heaviest launch vehicle (GSLV-Mark-III) full formed as Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. ISRO planned to carry out the spaceflight in near 2021 or 2022. The space vehicle is designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and its first experimental demonstration flight tested on 18 December 2014.
Relevant Materials for Studies:
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Saturn's Auroras | Picture of the Day
Picture of the Day: Saturn's Auroras
Description: Aurora on top of planet Saturn captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
Image Source : www.nasa.gov
Image Credit: Hubble Space Telescope | NASA | ESA
Saturday, December 22, 2018
Jupiter-Ganymede Image | Picture of the Day
Picture of the Day: Image of Jupiter with shadow of its moon "Ganymede"
Description: Image captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope showing planet Jupiter with shadow of its one of the moon "Ganymede"
Image Source : www.nasa.gov
Image Credit: Hubble Space Telescope | NASA | ESA
Friday, December 21, 2018
Brightest Comet of 2018
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| Comet 46P / Wirtanen Image Credit: NASA | Hubble Space Telescope |
Highlights:
- NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured 46P/Wirtanen Comet
- Brightest comet of 2018 looking bluish in color
- The image was captured when the comet is at 12 million kilometers away from earth
- Image was taken by Hubble's Wide Field Camera-3
Previously NASA announced an opportunity to see a comet this year. Its now updated and NASA captured the image of brightest comet of the year 2018. The comet was widely called 46P/Wirtanen. The image was captured by Hubble's Wide Field Camera-3 when the comet is at 12 million kilometers away from our earth. The image depicts its fuzzy nucleus at the center and glow from comet's coma. The coma is mostly consisted of cloud of gas. The comet was ejected during the pass and heating of the Sun.
The comet is normally not accessible from Earth. But the scientists are trying to find that, how the comet is ejecting gas out of the nucleus. Studies are carried out in detail by the researchers from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Image portrayed that the coma is chemically altered by the light and radiation the from sun.
Get More Information about the Comet 46P/ Wirtanen Comet
High Resolution Image | Comet 46P/Wirtanen | Picture of the Day
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| High Resolution Image of Comet 46P/Wirtanen Captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Image Credit : NASA | Hubble Space Telescope |
Picture of the Day: Comet 46P/ Wirtanen
Description: Brightest comet of 2018 captured by wide field camera onboard Hubble Space Telescope
Image Source : www.nasa.gov
Image Credit: Hubble Space Telescope | NASA | ESA
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Cosmic Caterpillar | Picture of the Day
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| Image of a gas nebula named Cosmic Caterpillar - OPO1335A |
Picture of the Day: Cosmic Caterpillar
Description: Image of a cosmic caterpillar (officially gas nebula) taken by hubble space telescope. The designated ID of this image in OPO1335A. Officially image taken from www.spacetelescope.org
Image Source : www.spacetelescope.org
Image Credit: Hubble Space Telescope | NASA | ESA
New Horizons to flyby Ultima Thule - Kuiper Belt
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| New Horizons near Ultima Thule - Artist conceptual diagram |
Highlights:
- NASA's New Horizons space probe will encounter Kuiper Belt on 01 Jan 2019
- Event will be broadcasted live through NASA media (described below)
- It will encounter a object named as "Ultima Thule"
20 December 2019: New Horizons new encounter:
NASA's New Horizons probe will encounter a Kuiper belt object nicknamed as "Ultima Thule" on 01 January 2019. The farthest spacecraft flyby in history. The orbital maneuvers will take place from 29 December 2018 to 04 January 2019. The flyby will be controlled and monitored by John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory located in Laurel, Maryland.
New Horizons aimed to visit Kuiper belt - the third belt of our solar system containing small and infinite number of small objects and asteroids. The belt forms a ring around the sun beyond dwarf planet pluto. It also contains gigantic icy bodies and mysterious small objects.
Live Coverage: Facebook Page | Twitter | New Horizons official page
To know more about Ultima Thule and Kuiper Belt
Image Credit: New Horizon | NASA
Image Source: www.nasa.gov
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
ISRO launched its 39th communication satellite GSAT-7A
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| GSLV-F11 standing on second launch pad SDSC, Sriharikota |
Highlights:
- India launched its 13th heaviest launch vehicle GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle)
- The rocket delivered 39th Indian Communication Satellite
- GSLV-F11 is Fourth Generation indigenous rocket with three stages
On 19 December 2018, Indian Space Research Organisation shortly called ISRO launched its 39th communication satellite (GSAT-7A) onboard GSLV-F11 rocket from second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India.
The launch was categorized under 13th heaviest flight of Geosynchronous Satellite launch vehicle and it also 7th flight with indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage. The total lift-off (launch) mass was around 2250 kilograms including GSAT-7A.
Application:
The satellite was built and manufactured by ISRO for providing better communication over the Indian region.
Image Credit : Indian Space Research Organisation | ISRO
Image Source : https://www.isro.gov.in
Tags : ISRO GSLV Launch | Launch Updates | Fornax Space Missions
SpaceX launches spy satellite
Spacex going to launch United States first national security mission satellite - spy satellite for military applications. This navigation and military application satellite was scheduled to launch earlier. But the launch was triggered by onboard SpaceX's rocket (Falcon-9) computer.
This is a Global Positioning Satellite estimated cost around $500 million USD dollars. It was manufactured by Lockheed Martin Space Systems. The satellite will be carried out by Space X's Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday morning local time.
NASA Returns to Moon and Mars
Highlights:
- NASA recruited new administrator "Jim Bridenstine"
- NASA begins its plans to return to Moon and Mars
- Six Decades of Space Exploration
- Had achieved tremendous development in aviation and space science
New NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and deputy administrator Jim Morhard focused to begin their work on sending humans back to Moon and to Mars. NASA has been continuously inspiring and creating new achievements and accomplishments in space programs.
President Eisenhower initiated the space age in America followed by President Kennedy to send humans to Moon. Following this, in 2018 - NASA celebrated its 60th Anniversary in space exploration and technology achievements (i.e., six decades of space exploration).
New President Jim Bridenstine strongly promised to return to Moon and go to Mars. NASA celebrated this great legacy on 18 December 2018.
Some of the ongoing mission of NASA - Solar System and beyond:
- Parker Solar Probe
- OSIRIS-REx Mission
- Voyager 1 & 2 ( Exploring beyond solar system)
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Kepler Space Telescope
- Dawn Mission
- James Webb Space Telescope
- NASA's Galileo Space Probe
- Juno Mission to Jupiter
- New Horizons beyond Pluto
- Curiosity
- InSight
For More information visit here
Tags: NASA Return to Moon | Space Updates | Fornax Space Missions
InSight captured by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
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| Image captured my HiRISE onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on 11 Dec 2018 |
Highlights:
- InSight successful landing images transmitted by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
- Image Shows landing site and disposed hardwares
- Looks Greenish color from outer space (i.e., from Mars orbit)
On 26 November 2018, NASA's Insight Mars lander touched down at Mars. Since that day, no images of landing marscraft was taken from Mars orbit. Only self panoramic view of Mars lander is obtained by NASA. Now, InSight team pointed the landing site of InSight with the help of HiRISE ( a onboard instrument mounted upon Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter)
It portrays the image of lander, heat shield, parachute. One image was captured on 06 December 2018 and another on 11 December 2018. They were about 100 feet away from each other found in the region of Elysium Planitia - the flat lava plains selected earlier for InSight landing site.
On the day of InSight landing, MRO was not in position to take good images of lander. Later period, the team from University of Arizona took the images of Insight landing site with the help of HiRISE payload onboard MRO.
Image Source and Credit: https://www.nasa.gov
Tags: InSight by MRO | Space Updates | Fornax Space Missions
Monday, December 17, 2018
SpaceX Falcon 9 Vandenberg | Picture of the Day
Picture of the Day: Space-X Falcon-9 Standing on the launch pad - Vandenburg
Description: Falcon 9 - Elon Musk Spacex's powerful rocket before launch, standing on the launch pad at Vandenberg.
Image Source : www.spacex.com
Image Credit: Elon Musk | Space-X
Sunday, December 16, 2018
InSight Mars Lander | Picture of the Day | InSight Lander by Charlie Burgess
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| InSight Lander by Charlie Burgess |
Description: NASA's Insight lander standing on Mars, the art by made by Charlie Burgess
Image Source : www.humanmars.net
Image Credit: Charlie Burgess | Humanmars.net
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Watch comet 46P approaching earth tomorrow 16 December 2018
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| Comet 46P |
- Comet 46P/Wirtanen approaching earth on 16 December 2018
- The comet appears once in 5.4 years
- The comet can be seen through our naked eye
NASA's center for Near-Earth Object Studies situated at Jet Propulsion Laboratory had announced an opportunity to see a comet named "46P/Wirtanen" on 16 December 2018.It is considered as one of the most closest flyby comets to reach earth in 70 years. Scientist say that it can be seen through naked eye without telescope.
The closest approach is about 11.4 million kilometers, it is one of the new and rare comet to come near earth as compared to past centuries stated by Paul Chodas manager at NEO, Center, JPL, Pasadena, California. The comet is visible through large seized telescopes and predicted to see with our naked eye.
Nomenclature:
The comet named Wirtanen after the astronomer Carl Wirtanen who discovered this comet in 1948 at Lick Observatory at Hamilton in Santa Clara, California. The time period of the comet is 5.4 years to make visit to our solar system. The comet will look like it is located in the constellation of Taurus.
NASA's Infrared Telescope located in Hawaii is expected to study and conduct deep scientific observation of the comet. Most likely to study the hydrologic properties.
Observation and Tracking of Comet by various science instruments and observatories include
- Goldstone Solar System Radar at California
- NASA Infrared Telescope at Hawaii
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Chandra X-Ray Observatory
- Swift and Spitzer Space Telescopes
- Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)
- Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
More Information at 46P-NASA
Image Credit : NASA
Tags: Near-Earth Object 46P | Space Updates | Fornax Space Missions
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Mars One Spaceship departing from LEO | Picture of the Day
Picture of the Day: Mars One Spaceship - Mars Crewed Mission
Description: Dutch startup for establishing colony on Mars - Mars One spaceship departing towards Mars.
Image Source : www.mars-one.com
Image Credit: Mars One
InSight records the first sounds of Mars
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| INSIGHT MARS LANDER EXPANDING ITS ARM ON MARS |
The instrument recorded the sounds of wind blowing on Mars. The sound was most similar to wind sounds on Earth. NASA released the sound worldwide public via official youtube channel " NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory". Hear the sound here below...
Image Credit: NASA | Insight
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
List of planned "Human Mars Missions" from 1952 to 2012
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| Artist Concept of Human Mars Missions |
Human mission to Mars have been a great challenge and dream to mankind in order to make human a multiplanetary species. The rocket scientist "Von Braun" was the first man to outline a sketch for manned mission to Mars. Depicting the plan, several space agencies portrayed many "Human mission plans since 20th century, but none of them were employed (i.e., launched or undertaken). Here are the list of crewed missions or planned Human mission to Mars from the year 1952 to 2012.
- 1952 - Von Braun Mars
- 1954 - Stuhlinger Mars
- 1956 - Von Braun Mars
- 1958 - Martian Piloted Complex
- 1960 - Bono Mars
- 1960 - NASA Lewis Mars
- 1961 - TMK-1 flyby
- 1962 - Stuhlinger Mars
- 1962 - TMK-2
- 1962 - EMPIRE - Aeronutronic
- 1962 - EMPIRE - General Dynamics
- 1962 - EMPIRE - Lockheed
- 1962 - TRW Mars Expedition
- 1963 - Faget Mars (Heavy)
- 1963 - Faget Mars (Light)
- 1963 - UMPIRE Douglas
- 1964 - Project Deimos
- 1965 - Douglas MORL Mars Flyby
- 1966 - NASA NERVA - Electric Mars
- 1966 - Korolev KK - TMK
- 1966 - Titus FLEM
- 1966 - Stuhlinger Mars
- 1968 - Boeing IMIS
- 1969 - Mars Expeditionary Complex (MEK)
- 1969 - Von Braun Mars
- 1971 - NASA Mars Expedition
- 1972 - Mars in 30 Days (Ragsdale)
- 1972 - MK-700
- 1974 - Chelomei (MK-700 Flyby)
- 1982 - British Interplanetary Society Mars
- 1983 - Planetary Society of Mars Expedition
- 1984 - Paine
- 1985 - NASA-LANL Manned Mars Flyby
- 1986 - NPO Energia Mars
- 1986 - Case for Mars II
- 1986 - NASA Ride Report
- 1988 - NASA Mars Evolution
- 1988 - NASA Mars Expedition
- 1988 - NASA Phobos Expedition
- 1989 - NASA 90 Day Study
- 1989 - NPO Energia Mars
- 1989 - Mars Evolution
- 1989 - NASA Mars Expedition
- 1991 - Mars Direct (Zubrin)
- 1991 - STCAEM CAB
- 1991 - STCAEM NEP
- 1991 - STCAEM NTR
- 1991 - STCAEM SEP
- 1991 - NASA Synthesis Study
- 1991 - International Space University
- 1993 - NASA Design Reference Mission 1.0
- 1994 - Kurchatov Mars
- 1996 - Zubrin Athena
- 1997 - NASA Design Reference Mission 3
- 1998 - NASA Dual Lander Mission
- 1999 - Mars Society Mission
- 2000 - Marspost
- 2009 - Mars Design Reference Mission 5
- 2012 - Spacex Interplanetary Transport System
- 2013 - Inspiration Mars
Bold colored missions have time scale to achieve within 2035 to carry out Human Mars Mission.
Tags: Human Mars Mission plans | Space Updates | Fornax Space Missions
Monday, December 10, 2018
Voyager 2 Spacecraft of NASA
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| Voyager 2 reaching interstellar space |
Description: One of the most powerful deep space probe "Voyager 2" currently leaving our solar system. Second man made object to reach interstellar space.
Image Source : Voyager 2 | NASA
Image Credit: NASA
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Voyager 1 spacecraft of NASA
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| Voyager 1 space probe of NASA Image Credit: NASA | Wikipedia |
Picture of the Day: Voyager 1 Spacecraft of NASA
Description: One of the most powerful deep space probe "Voyager 1" currently leaving our solar system. First man made object to reach interstellar space.
Image Source : Voyager 1 | NASA
Image Credit: NASA
Friday, December 7, 2018
Orion - Multipurpose Crew Vehicle at Mars
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| An Image depicting Orion - Multi-purpose crew vehicle near Mars |
Picture of the Day: Orion - Multipurpose Crew Vehicle at Mars
Description: An Image depicting Orion - Multi-purpose crew vehicle near Mars - manned spaceflight carried out by National Aeronautics Space Administration
Image Source : NASA | Orion
Image Credit: NASA
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Open Contest to Design " Human Mars Settlement on Mars" by Mars Society
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| An image of open contest first page Image : Mars Society |
Mars Society : United States, Mars Society had announced opportunity for worldwide contestants to "Design the First Human Settlement on Mars". The students and common people can take part as a single person or a group or organization in this competition. The plans and designs should be written within 20 pages in PDF format and submitted before 31 March 2019.
The points and awards will be granted based on the specific criterias. First three best papers and their authors will be invited to present their plans in front of Judges. Furthermore, best 20 papers will be published in www.marspapers.org website. For more information and guidelines visit www.marssociety.org. The contest is open for all members worldwide and no one should write more than 20 pages in PDF format.
About Mars Society:
Mars Society was initiated by Dr.Robert Zubrin, formerly worked for NASA's Human Mars Mission popularly known as " Mars Direct" and "Mars Semi-Direct" of 1999. He was responsible for the invention of Mars Propellant Plant and many human Mars mission architectures. He was also famous for his best book " The Case for Mars - The plan to settle Red planet". After the rejection of Mars Direct concept by NASA due to financial estimation. He started this initiative for creating awareness about the "Human Mars Mission.
Tags: Mars Society Contest | Space Opportunities | Fornax Space Missions
GSAT-11 Successful Launch - India's Heaviest Communication Satellite
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| GSAT-11 Launch from Kourou, French, Guiana on 05 December 2018 |
India launched its heaviest communication satellite "GSAT-11" on 5 December 2018 from Kourou launch site, French, Guiana onboard Ariane-5 VA-246. The satellite weighing 5854 kilograms. It is the heaviest satellite ever built by ISRO scientists.
GSAT-11 is considered as pioneer in series of advanced communication satellite covering areas of India and neighbour Islands. It will be playing vital role in providing broadband communications and to demonstrate new technological applications.
After the launch, GSAT-11 was placed in Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit and the mission control and management was undertaken by Master Control Facility located at Hassan. They will control orbital raising manoeuvres in placing in a circular geostationary orbit. The satellite is expected to work for a period of 15 Years. It is capable of producing 13.6 kW of power from earth orbit.
Know More about GSAT-11 - ISRO
Image Credit : Indian Space Research Organisation
Tags: GSAT-11 | Launch Updates | Fornax Space Missions
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