SPACE CURRENT AFFAIRS

SPACE CURRENT AFFAIRS

NASA LAUNCHED MARS ROVER PERSEVERANCE

  • NASA’s Perseverance rover has successfully launched towards Mars on an Atlas V rocket from space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on July 30, 2020.
  • The Mars rover Perseverance will reach the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021. The main objective of the Mars Perseverance Rover is to search of signs of ancient life and collect rock and soil sample for a possible return to earth.
  • It is the third of three different missions to launch toward Mars in last two weeks, following China’s Tainwen-1 orbiter- Lander-rover mission and the United Arab Emirates’ Hope orbiter.

INDIA SCIENTIST MAKE SPACE BRICKS BUILDING STRUCTURE ON MOON

A team of scientists from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru have developed a sustainable process to make space bricks on the lunar surface.

Named as space bricks, it could be used to assemble structures for habitation on the moon surface in future.

It exploits lunar soil and use bacteria and guar beans to consolidate the soil into possible load bearing structures.

CHINA LAUNCHED ITS FIRST INDEPENDENT MARS MISSION

  • China launched an unmanned probe named as Tainwen -1 to Mars on a Long March-5 carrier rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan on July 23, 2020.
  • The spacecraft consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover and the mission aims to study the thickness and sub-layer distribution of the Martian soil.
  • The probe is expected to reach Mars in February 2021, where it will attempt to land the release a rover that will explore the planet and conduct experiments.  

SPACE X LAUNCHED SOUTH KOREA’S 1ST MILITARY SATELLITE

  • Space X has successfully launched South Korea’s first military satellite ANASIS-II by a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canerval Air Force Station in Florida, US on July 20, 2020.
  • With this launch, South Korea has become the 10th country to own a military- only communications satellite.
  • The satellite is expected to reach its orbit in 2 weeks and will provide permanent and secured military communications.

NASA RENAMED ITS TELESCOPE AFTER NANCY GRACE ROMAN

  • The National Aeronautics and space Administration (NASA) has renamed its next –generation’s space telescope. Wide-Field infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) in honor on Nancy-Grace Roman.
  • Nancy Grace Roman is the US space agency’s first chief astronomer, who praved the way of space telescopes focused on the border universe.
  • The newly named Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will help in research of long- standing astronomical mysteries, like the force behind the universe’s expansion and look for distant planets beyond our system. ‘

CHINA LAUNCHED BROADBAND COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE  

  • China successfully launched its APSTAR-6D satellite, a high-power broadband communication satellite into orbit from Long March 3B carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center on July 9, 2020.
  • It can be used for maritime communications, aviation airborne communications, land vehicle communications and fixed satellite broadband internet access.
  • APSTAR-6D is designed and manufactured by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).     

ISRO RECEIVED PATENT FOR LIQUID COOLING AND HEATING GARMENT

  • The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has got an Indian Patent for its Liquid Cooling (LCHG) that is suitable for space applications on June 23, 2020
  • Liquid Cooling and Heating Garment (LCHG) is a protective garment for human spaceflight.
  • It is a close fitting long garment that covers the torso as well as the limbs from neck to toe as a single piece lightweight comfort inner wear.
  • It would be used in space, military applications, firefighting as well as for personal cooling and heating purpose for protection from hot and cold environments of industrial areas.

ISRAEL LAUNCHED NEW SPY SATELLITE

  • Israel Space Agency successfully launched a new spy satellite called Ofek 16 from the Pal-machine air base in central Israel on July 5, 2020.
  • OFEC 16’ started sending data and started orbiting around the Earth.
  • It will also monitor Iran and developments in its nuclear and missile programs. Ofek 16 is an electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced imaging capabilities.
  • The satellite has been developed by the Ministry of Defense, along with the state owned Israel Aerospace industries.   
ISRO’s MARS ORBITER MISSION CAPTURED IMAGE MOON ‘PHOBOS’
  • The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as Mangalyaan mission, of the ISRO has captured the image of the closet and biggest moon of Mars, named Phobos on July 1, 2020.
  • The image was taken by the Mars Colour Camera (MCC) onboard MOM, when the MOM was about 7,200 km from Mars and 4,200 km from Phobos.
  • Stickney, the largest crater on Phobos along with the other craters (Shklovsky, Roche & Grildrig) are also seen in this image.
NASA HEADQUARTERS TO BE RENAMED AFTER MARY W.JACKSON   
  • NASA headquarters building in Washington, DC, will be renamed after Mary W. Jackson NASA headquarters.
  • She was a mathematician & aerospace engineer and started her NASA carrier in 1951 as a human computer. In 2019, she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
UAE LAUNCHED ‘HOPE’ MISSION TO MARS’   
  • United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched its first-ever interplanetary Hope Probe mission to Mars from Japan’s Tangeshima Space Center on June 20, 2020.
  • The Space craft is expected to reach Mars orbit in about 200 days from now and then begin its mission to study the Red Planet’s atmosphere.
  • ‘Hope’ is expected to reach Mars’s orbit February 2021, marking the 50th anniversary of the unification of the UAE, an alliance of seven emirates.
NASA LAUNCHED FIRST CREWED MISSION FROM US IN DECADE  
  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration on April 17, 2020 announced that it will launch its first crewed mission from US soil in almost 10 years.
  • NASA has been using Russian rockets for crewed flights since its space shuttle was retired in 2011.
  • Both the rocket and spacecraft were developed by private company SpaceX.
  • As per NASA, the rocket and the spacecraft it is carrying are due to take off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on 27 May, taking two astronauts to the international Space Station (ISS).
KATHY LUEDERS SELECTED TO LEAD NASA’s HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT
  • The National Aeronautics and Space administration’s (NASA) has named Kathy Lueders as its first female director of human spaceflight on June 12, 2020.
  • She has been selected to lead NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate.
  • She began her NASA career in 1992 at the White Stands Test Facility in New Mexico where she was the shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System and Reaction Control Systems Depot manager.
SPACE X MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST-EVER FOR NASA   
  • Space X’ c Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully took off on May 30, 2020 from Kennedy Space Center for the International Space Station (ISS), with two NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley.
  • It would have been the first time NASA astronauts launched with Space X and the first time NASA has launched its own crew since 2011.
  • With the liftoff, Space X became the first private company to launch people into orbit, a feat achieved previously by only three governments: the US; Russia and China.