Tag: Space

(NASA) Microscopic eight-legged animals called ‘Tardigrades’ may become super-heroes of space as they can survive really harsh conditions #AceNewsDesk report

Post author By @ace101
Post date 08/06/2021

#AceNewsReport – Jun.08: It’s a classic superhero tale: Inconspicuous, underestimated, our hero is revealed to have powers beyond imagination! The hottest and coldest environments on Earth, decades without water, the powerful radiation of space – none of it is any match for…the tardigrade!

NASA: ‘Microscopic Superheroes to Help Protect Astronaut Health in Space’

NASA

This chubby, microscopic, eight-legged animal may be an unlikely hero, but tardigrades, also known as water bears due to their shape under a microscope, possess superpowers when it comes to surviving really harsh conditions.

Understanding how they tolerate extreme environments – including the one astronauts experience in space, with microgravity and elevated radiation levels – can better guide research into protecting humans from the stresses of long-duration space travel. An experiment starting aboard the International Space Station, called Cell Science-04, will help reveal how tardigrades do it.

Credits: NASA/Ames Research Center

“We want to see what ‘tricks’ they use to survive when they arrive in space, and, over time, what tricks their offspring are using,” said Thomas Boothby, assistant professor at the University of Wyoming in Laramie and principal investigator of the experiment. “Are they the same or do they change across generations? We just don’t know what to expect.”

One option in the tardigrade bag of tricks could be producing tons more antioxidants to combat harmful changes in the body caused by increased radiation exposure in space.

“We have seen them do this in response to radiation on Earth,” said Boothby, “and we think the ways tardigrades have evolved to withstand extreme environments on this planet may also be what protects them against the stresses of spaceflight.”

The research team will look at what happens with tardigrade genes in space. Knowing which ones are turned on or off in response to short-term and long-term spaceflight will help researchers identify specific ways tardigrades use to survive in this stressful environment. If one solution they have is to turn up the dial on antioxidant production, for example, genes involved in that process should be affected.

Checking which genes are also activated or deactivated by other stresses will help pinpoint the genes that respond exclusively to spaceflight. Cell Science-04 will then test which are truly required for tardigrade adaptation and survival in this high-stress environment.

Data from the space station experiment will also offer a comparison for Earth-based research. The latter is more common and less costly, and uses simulated spaceflight conditions to study tardigrade responses. The current experiment will tell researchers how similar those conditions are to actual spaceflight.

The tiny heroes of Cell Science-04 won’t be the first spacefaring tardigrades to join an astronaut crew. They have already been shown to survive even the vacuum of space when exposed outside the space station for an experiment. This time, they’ll be on board living and reproducing inside special science hardware developed for the station by NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, which also manages the mission. Called the Bioculture System, the hardware lets scientists carry out long-term studies of cultures of cells, tissues, and microscopic animals in space by allowing real-time, remote monitoring, and finer control over the conditions in which they grow.

In the long run, revealing what makes tardigrades so tolerant could lead to ways of protecting biological material, such as food and medicine from extreme temperatures, drying out, and radiation exposure, which will be invaluable for long-duration, deep-space exploration missions. That’s superhero-size potential for the teeny tardigrade.

Dr. Boothby’s research is supported by NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division.

Author: Abby Tabor, NASA’s Ames Research Center

Last Updated: Jun 4, 2021

Editor: Abigail Tabor

#AceNewsDesk report ……Published: Jun.07: 2021:

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Tags NASA, News, Space, Tardigrades, Waterbears

Global Warming & Climate Change

(NASA) June 01: Began the ‘Atlantic Hurricane Season’ and they aredeveloping new technology and missions to study storm formation and impacts, including ways to understand Earth as a system #AceNewsDesk report

Post author By @ace101
Post date 05/06/2021

NASA & Hurricanes: Five Fast Facts: The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season starts today, June 1. Our colleagues at NOAA are predicting another active season, with an above average number of named storms. At NASA, we’re developing new technology and missions to study storm formation and impacts, including ways to understand Earth as a system.

False color view of a swirling hurricane from space, showing the blue clouds in 3-D against a yellow ocean.

1. NASA can see storms from space.

From space, NASA can see so much more than what’s visible to the naked eye. Among NASA’s missions, NASA and NOAA have joint satellite missions monitoring storms in natural color — what our eyes see — as well as in other wavelengths of light, which can help identify features our eyes can’t on their own. For instance, images taken in infrared can show the temperatures of clouds, as well as allow us to track the movement of storms at night.

Two images side by side of a Hurricane Laura approaching New Orleans over the Gulf of Mexico, the left view in infrared and the right in natural color.

2. Satellites can see inside hurricanes in 3D.

If you’ve ever had a CT scan or X-ray done, you know how important 3D imagery can be to understanding what’s happening on the inside. The same concept applies to hurricanes. NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement mission’s radar and microwave instruments can see through storm clouds to see the precipitation structure of the storm and measure how much total rain is falling as a result of the storm. This information helps scientists understand how the storm may change over time and understand the risk of severe flooding.https://www.youtube.com/embed/A7MIVsE2oMM?rel=0

For the first time in 360-degrees, this data visualization takes you inside hurricane Maria.

Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

3. We’re looking at how climate change affects hurricane behavior.

Climate change is likely causing storms to behave differently. One change is in how storms intensify: More storms are increasing in strength quickly, a process called rapid intensification, where hurricane wind speeds increase by 35 mph (or more) in just 24 hours.

In 2020, a record-tying nine storms rapidly intensified. These quick changes in storm strength can leave communities in their path without time to properly prepare.

Researchers at NASA JPL developed a machine learning model that could more accurately detect rapidly intensifying storms.

A natural color image of the powerful Category 4 Hurricane Laura in the Gulf of Mexico.

It’s not just about how quickly hurricanes gain strength. Scientists at NASA are also looking at how climate change may be causing storms to move more slowly, which makes them more destructive. These “stalled” storms can slow to just a few miles an hour, dumping rain and damaging winds on one location at a time. Hurricane Dorian, for example, stalled over Grand Bahama and left catastrophic damage in its wake. Hurricanes Harvey and Florence experienced stalling as well, both causing major flooding.

View from the International Space Station showing the white spiral clouds of Hurricane Dorian dominating the ocean.

4. We can monitor damage done by hurricanes.

Hurricane Maria reshaped Puerto Rico’s forests. The storm destroyed so many large trees that the overall height of the island’s forests was shortened by one-third. Measurements from the ground, the air, and space gave researchers insights into which trees were more susceptible to wind damage.https://www.youtube.com/embed/QeGFaqwDY3s?rel=0

Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Months after Hurricane Maria, parts of Puerto Rico still didn’t have power. Using satellite data, NASA researchers mapped which neighborhoods were still dark and analyzed demographics and physical attributes of the areas with the longest wait for power.https://www.youtube.com/embed/vZkwASBe2zo?rel=0

Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

5. We help communities prepare for storms and respond to their aftermath.

The data NASA collects is available for free to the public. NASA also partners with other federal agencies, like FEMA, and regional and local governments to help prepare for and understand the impacts of disasters like hurricanes.

In 2020, NASA’s Disasters Program provided data to groups in Alabama, Louisiana, and Central America to identify regions significantly affected by hurricanes. This helps identify vulnerable communities and make informed decisions about where to send resources.

Satellite image at night showing cities lights in the southern U.S. at the top of the image and beneath over the Gulf of Mexico three hurricanes in a row: from left to right Katia, Irma, and Jose.

Working together with partners at NOAA, FEMA and elsewhere, NASA is ready to help communities weather another year of storms.

By Katy Mersmann

NASA’s Earth Science News Team

Media Contact: Peter Jacobs, Goddard Space Flight Center

Last Updated: Jun 1, 2021

Editor: Ellen Gray

#AceNewsDesk report ……Published: Jun.05: 2021:

Tags Earth, NASA, NOAA, Space, Technology

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(NASA) Artemis Programme Report: VIPER’s design calls for using the first headlights on a lunar rover to aid in exploring the permanently shadowed regions of the Moon after not being seen for billions of years and some are the coldest spots in the solar system #AceNewsDesk report

Post author By @ace101
Post date 24/05/2021

#AceNewsReport – May.24: Running on solar power, VIPER will need to quickly maneuver around the extreme swings in light and dark at the lunar South Pole: “ The data received from VIPER has the potential to aid our scientists in determining precise locations and concentrations of ice on the Moon and will help us evaluate the environment and potential resources at the lunar south pole in preparation for Artemis astronauts,” said Lori Glaze, director for NASA’s Planetary Science Division at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington. “This is yet another example of how robotic science missions and human exploration go hand in hand, and why both are necessary as we prepare to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon.”

NASA Report: ‘Rover to Search for Water, Other Resources on Moon: As part of the Artemis program, NASA is planning to send its first mobile robot to the Moon in late 2023 in search of ice and other resources on and below the lunar surface. Data from the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, would help the agency map resources at the lunar South Pole that could one day be harvested for long-term human exploration at the Moon’

NASA REPORT:

NASA awarded a task order to Astrobotic for VIPER’s launch, transit and delivery to the lunar surface as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.

Once on the Moon, the rover will explore lunar craters using a specialized set of wheels and suspension system to cover a variety of inclines and soil types. The rover’s design significantly enhances upon a former robotic concept to prospect the Moon called Resource Prospector, which NASA canceled in early 2018. Since then, the VIPER mission duration was extended from one to three lunar days (100 Earth days). VIPER has evolved to increase its science capabilities, enabling more data collection at the lunar surface.

VIPER will carry four instruments, including the Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrains (TRIDENT) hammer drill, the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument, the Near Infrared Volatiles Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) and the Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS). Earlier versions of these instruments will be tested on the lunar surface ahead of the VIPER mission, allowing the team to reduce risk and test instrument performance data.

Slated to arrive via Astrobotic’s first flight, MSolo, NVSS and NIRVSS are among the payloads that will land on the lunar surface on one of the first CLPS deliveries to the Moon. Versions of TRIDENT and MSolo will ride to the Moon in late 2022 aboard the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment (PRIME-1) technology demonstration, delivered by Intuitive Machines on its second CLPS flight.

The VIPER design has come a long way. Following completion of its formulation phase, the agency recently approved the rover to enter the mission development phase. VIPER progress continues moving full speed ahead. NASA’s investment in the mid-size rover for mission development costs and operations is $433.5 million. The current delivery contract value for Astrobotic to deliver VIPER to the Moon through CLPS is approximately $226.5 million.

“VIPER will be the most capable robot NASA has ever sent to the lunar surface and allow us to explore parts of the Moon we’ve never seen” said Sarah Noble, program scientist for VIPER at NASA Headquarters. “The rover will teach us about the origin and distribution of water on the Moon and prepare us to harvest resources 240,000 miles from Earth that could be used to safely send astronauts even farther into space, including Mars.”

Throughout the Artemis program, NASA will send robots and humans to explore more of the Moon than ever before. When astronauts return to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972, they will follow in VIPER’s wheel prints and land at the lunar South Pole. That mission will include landing the first woman on the Moon. She will be one of two crew members paving the way for sustainable lunar exploration missions with crew.

Learn more:

http://www.nasa.gov/artemis

Last Updated: May 20, 2021

Editor: Tricia Talbert

#AceNewsDesk report ….Published: May.24: 2021:

Tags NASA, News, Space

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(BEIJING, China.) JUST IN: Chinese state-run media says the nation’s space agency has landed its first spacecraft on Mars #AceNewsDesk report

Post author By @ace101
Post date 16/05/2021

BEIJING: China reports successful spacecraft landing on Mars, deploys rover in massive leap for space program: The official Xinhua News Agency said on Saturday that the lander had touched down, citing the China National Space Administration.

#AceNewsReport – May.16: The lander carrying China’s first Mars rover has touched down on the red planet, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) confirmed on Saturday morning.

China says it has landed its first spacecraft on Mars, and deployed a rover.(AP: Ng Han Guan)

Posted Yesterday at 2:14am, updated Yesterday at 11:12pm

GLOBALink | China’s probe lands on Mars

It is the first time China has landed a probe on a planet other than Earth.

The craft’s plummet through the Martian atmosphere, lasting about nine minutes, was extremely complicated with no ground control, and had to be performed by the spacecraft autonomously, said Geng Yan, an official at the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the CNSA.

Tianwen-1, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of southern China’s island province of Hainan on July 23, 2020.

It was the first step in China’s planetary exploration of the solar system, with the aim of completing orbiting, landing and roving on the red planet in one mission.

The spacecraft entered the Mars orbit in February after a journey of nearly seven months through space and spent more than two months surveying potential landing sites.

The Tianwen-1 spacecraft landed on a site on the Southern Utopia Plain, “leaving a Chinese footprint on Mars for the first time”, Xinhua said.

The spacecraft left its parked orbit around 3:00am AEST and entered the Martian atmosphere about three hours later.

Xinhua said the landing process consisted of “nine minutes of terror” as the module decelerated and then slowly descended.

The space craft landed in the southern part of a vast plain known as Utopia Planitia.

The 3,300-kilometre-wide plain is the largest impact crater on Mars.

The site where the Chinese rover Zhurong landed in relation to all other successful and failed missions.(NASA/ABC)

The lander was carrying a rover that was deployed on the red planet, making China the second nation to deploy one, behind the United States.

The six-wheel robot called Zhurong marks a major leap in China’s space program, which has managed to launch an orbiter, lander and rover in a single mission.

The rover is solar powered and will survey the landing site before departing from its platform to conduct inspections.

It will study the planet’s surface soil and atmosphere.

Zhurong will also look for signs of ancient life, including any sub-surface water and ice, using a ground-penetrating radar.

Named after a mythical Chinese god of fire, Zhurong has six scientific instruments including a high-resolution topography camera.

Space writer Morris Jones told the ABC China’s most recent achievement shows they are a major player in the “space game”.

“It’s one of the most complicated things China has ever done in space flight. And it comes relatively shortly after China launched its first large space station module,’ Mr Jones said.

“So in between the space station, the Mars landing and the fact that China has recently retrieved samples from the moon via another robot lander, this is a sign that China is now a first-rate space power.

“China is one of only three nations to have human space flight capability along with the US and Russia. They’re now also in the space station league and they’re also in the interplanetary exploration league, which is only open to a handful of nations.

“It’s a reminder that some nations are niche players in the space game – but China is trying to do everything that’s possible in space flight and they’re trying to do it well.”

The five-tonne spacecraft blasted off from the southern Chinese island of Hainan in July last year, launched by the powerful Long March 5 rocket.

After more than six months in transit, Tianwen-1 reached the red planet in February, and has been in orbit ever since.

Tianwen-1, or Questions to Heaven, named after a Chinese poem written two millennia ago, is China’s first independent mission to Mars.

A probe co-launched with Russia in 2011 failed to leave the Earth’s orbit.

Tianwen-1 was one of three that reached Mars in February, with US rover Perseverance successfully touching down on February 18 in a huge depression called Jezero Crater, more than 2,000 km away from Utopia Planitia.

Hope — the third spacecraft that arrived at Mars in February this year — is not designed to make a landing.

Launched by the United Arab Emirates, it is currently orbiting above Mars gathering data on its weather and atmosphere.

The first successful landing ever was made by NASA’s Viking 1 in July 1976 and the second by Viking 2 in September that year.

A Mars probe launched by the former Soviet Union landed in December 1971, but communication was lost seconds after landing.

Wires/ABC/Xinhua Global Service

#AceNewsDesk report ………Published: May.16: 2021:

Tags China, Mars, Space

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(NASA) Press Release Statement Report: On Monday, May 10, at 4:23 p.m. EDT the spacecraft fired its main engines full throttle for seven minutes – its most significant maneuver since it arrived at Bennu in 2018 #AceNewsDesk report

Post author By @ace101
Post date 13/05/2021

#AceNewsReport – May.13: This burn thrust the spacecraft away from the asteroid at 600 miles per hour (nearly 1,000 kilometers per hour), setting it on a 2.5-year cruise towards Earth:

NASA: OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Heads for Earth with Asteroid Sample: After nearly five years in space ‘NASA’s Origins’ Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft is on its way back to Earth with an abundance of rocks and dust from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.

NASA

After releasing the sample capsule, OSIRIS-REx will have completed its primary mission. It will fire its engines to fly by Earth safely, putting it on a trajectory to circle the sun inside of Venus’ orbit.

After orbiting the Sun twice, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is due to reach Earth Sept. 24, 2023. Upon return, the capsule containing pieces of Bennu will separate from the rest of the spacecraft and enter Earth’s atmosphere. The capsule will parachute to the Utah Test and Training Range in Utah’s West Desert, where scientists will be waiting to retrieve it.

“OSIRIS-REx’s many accomplishments demonstrated the daring and innovate way in which exploration unfolds in real time,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters. “The team rose to the challenge, and now we have a primordial piece of our solar system headed back to Earth where many generations of researchers can unlock its secrets.”

To realize the mission’s multi-year plan, a dozen navigation engineers made calculations and wrote computer code to instruct the spacecraft when and how to push itself away from Bennu. After departing from Bennu, getting the sample to Earth safely is the team’s next critical goal. This includes planning future maneuvers to keep the spacecraft on course throughout its journey.

“Our whole mindset has been, ‘Where are we in space relative to Bennu?’” said Mike Moreau, OSIRIS-REx deputy project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Now our mindset has shifted to ‘Where is the spacecraft in relation to Earth?’”

The navigation cameras that helped orient the spacecraft in relation to Bennu were turned off April 9, after snapping their last images of the asteroid. With Bennu in the rearview mirror, engineers are using NASA’s Deep Space Network of global spacecraft communications facilities to steer the OSIRIS-REx by sending it radio signals. By measuring the frequency of the waves returned from the spacecraft transponder, engineers can tell how fast OSIRIS-REx is moving. Engineers measure how long it takes for radio signals to get from the spacecraft back to Earth in order to determine its location.

Exceeding Mission Expectations

The May 10 departure date was precisely timed based on the alignment of Bennu with Earth. The goal of the return maneuver is to get the spacecraft within about 6,000 miles (approximately 10,000 kilometers) of Earth in September 2023. Although OSIRIS-REx still has plenty of fuel remaining, the team is trying to preserve as much as possible for a potential extended mission to another asteroid after returning the sample capsule to Earth. The team will investigate the feasibility of such a mission this summer.

The spacecraft’s course will be determined mainly by the Sun’s gravity, but engineers will need to occasionally make small course adjustments via engine burns.

“We need to do regular corrections to bring the trajectory increasingly closer to Earth’s atmosphere for the sample release, and to account for small errors that might have accumulated since the last burn,” said Peter Antreasian, OSIRIS-REx navigation lead at KinetX Aerospace, which is based in Simi Valley, California.

The team will perform course adjustments a few weeks prior to Earth re-entry in order to precisely target the location and angle for the sample capsule’s release into Earth’s atmosphere. Coming in too low could cause the capsule to bounce out of the atmosphere like a pebble skipping off a lake; too high and the capsule could burn up due to friction and heat from the atmosphere. If OSIRIS-REx fails to release the capsule, the team has a backup plan to divert it away from Earth and try again in 2025.

“There’s a lot of emotion within the team about departure,” Moreau said. “I think everyone has a great sense of accomplishment, because we faced all these daunting tasks and were able to accomplish all the objectives thrown at us. But there’s also some nostalgia and disappointment that this part of the mission is coming to an end.”

OSIRIS-REx exceeded many expectations. Most recently, in the midst of a global pandemic, the team flawlessly executed the most mission’s critical operation, collecting more than 2 ounces (60 grams) of soil from Bennu’s surface.

Leading up to sample collection, a number of surprises kept the team on its toes. For example, a week after the spacecraft entered its first orbit around Bennu, on Dec. 31, 2018, the team realized that the asteroid was releasing small pieces of rock into space.

“We had to scramble to verify that the small particles being ejected from the surface did not present a hazard to the spacecraft,” Moreau said.

Upon arrival at the asteroid, team members also were astonished to find that Bennu is littered with boulders.

“We really had this idea that we were arriving on an asteroid with open real estate,” said Heather Enos, OSIRIS-REx deputy principal investigator, based at the University of Arizona, Tucson. “The reality was a big shocker.”

To overcome the extreme and unexpected ruggedness of Bennu’s surface, engineers had to quickly develop a more accurate navigation technique to target smaller-than-expected sites for sample collection.

The OSIRIS-REx mission was instrumental in both confirming and refuting several scientific findings. Among those confirmed was a technique that used observations from Earth to predict that the minerals on the asteroid would be carbon-rich and show signs of ancient water. One finding that proved unsuccessful was that Bennu would have a smooth surface, which scientists predicted by measuring how much heat radiated off its surface.

Scientists will use the information gleaned from Bennu to refine theoretical models and improve future predictions.

“This mission emphasizes why we have to do science and exploration in multiple ways – both from Earth and from up-close in space – because assumptions and models are just that,” Enos said.

Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator. The university leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft and provides flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate Washington.

For more information about OSIRIS-REx, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex

-end-

Last Updated: May 10, 2021

Editor: Sean Potter

#AceNewsDesk report ……….Published: May.13: 2021:

Tags Headlines, NASA, News, Space

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(BEIJING) JUST IN: The remains of a Chinese rocket that was hurtling back towards Earth have crashed into the Indian Ocean, the country’s space agency says #AceNewsDesk report

Post author By @ace101
Post date 10/05/2021

#AceNewsReport – May.10: There have been days of speculation over where the rocket might land, and US officials and other experts warned its return risked potential casualties:

CHINA: Chinese rocket debris crashes into Indian Ocean – state media: The bulk of the rocket was destroyed as it re-entered the atmosphere, but state media reported that debris landed just west of the Maldives on Sunday’

Ace News Services reported on this ‘Space Debris’ on Saturday and how nobody was aware of where this would land Kindness & Love❤️ says thank God it landed in the ocean Amen

1 hour ago

The rocket, which carried a Chinese space station section into orbit, was launched on 29 April

But China insisted the risk was low.

The Long March-5b vehicle re-entered the atmosphere at 10:24 Beijing time (02:24 GMT) on Sunday, state media reported, citing the Chinese Manned Space Engineering office. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

It said debris from the 18-tonne rocket, one of the largest items in decades to have an undirected dive into the atmosphere, landed in the Indian Ocean at a point 72.47° East and 2.65° North.

US Space Command, meanwhile, simply said the rocket had “re-entered over the Arabian Peninsula”. It did not confirm the landing point reported by Chinese media, saying instead that it was “unknown if the debris [had] impacted land or water”.

The monitoring service Space-Track, which uses US military data, said the rocket was recorded above Saudi Arabia before it fell into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives.

The uncontrolled return of the rocket led to pointed criticism from the US amid fears that it could land in an inhabited area. US and European websites tracked its return, and there was much speculation on social media about where the debris might land.

“Spacefaring nations must minimise the risks to people and property on Earth,” US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.”

Space experts, however, predicted that the chances of anyone being hit were very small, not least because so much of the Earth’s surface is covered by ocean and huge areas of land are uninhabited.

The main segment from the Long March-5b vehicle was used to launch the first module of China’s new space station last month.

Originally injected into an elliptical orbit approximately 160km by 375km (99 miles by 233 miles) above the Earth’s surface on 29 April, the Long March-5b core stage soon began to lose height.Long March-5B rocket launched the Tianhe module on 29 April

Various space debris modelling experts predicted that most of the vehicle would burn up during its final plunge through the atmosphere, although there was always the possibility that metals with high melting points and other resistant materials could survive to the Earth’s surface.

When a similar core stage returned to Earth a year ago, piping assumed to be from the rocket was identified on the ground in Ivory Coast in West Africa.

China has bridled at the suggestion that it has been negligent in allowing the uncontrolled return of so large an object.

Commentary in the country’s media had described Western reports about the potential hazards involved as “hype” and predicted the debris would fall somewhere in international waters.

In recent years, China has made no secret of its space ambitions.

The country has poured billions of dollars into its space efforts, and in 2019 it became the first country to send an uncrewed rover to the far side of the Moon.

President Xi Jinping has also thrown his support behind the endeavours and state media has frequently cast the “space dream” as one step in the path to “national rejuvenation”.

The Tiangong space station could be up and running as early as next year – and there is also talk in Chinese media of missions to Mars and a potential shared lunar station with Russia.

#AceNewsDesk report ………..Published: May.10: 2021:

Tags China, News, Space

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