Many wondered how these space agencies design a space mission. Well, for the starters, they PLANET (pun intended). Designing and execution of a space mission require vast financial resources, years of planning, hard work, and collaboration of different teams comprising world-class professionals. But before going into these details, we will enlighten you about the history and space missions of NASA and ESA.
NASA was established on October 01, 1958, and has a unique history of space exploration and technological achievements of aeronautics and astronomy since its inception. Decades after its foundation, NASA has successfully landed a human on the moon with Apollo 11 mission in July 1969, explored the atmospheres of planets like Mercury and Jupiter with Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. Cassini Huygens, a joint NASA/ESA spacecraft, launched in 1997, has been orbiting this ringed plant since its landing in 2004 and taking stunning imagery of planet’s rings, moons and planets.
Spirit and Opportunity, the twin Mars Exploration Rovers, landed on opposite sides of the planet in January 2004 and provided evidence of liquid water on the surface of Mars. With the Hubble telescope, astronomers can peer deep into the universe to see the cosmos more clearly. Throughout history, however, there have been several failures along with the many successes. The Challenger and Columbia accidents, being the most tragic of accidents.
The European Space Agency (ESA), an international intergovernmental organization of 20 Member States, was founded on May 30, 1975. The “raison d’être” of ESA is cooperation among the European States in space research and technology and their space applications. ESA started working on the launch of Ariane in 1974 and launched Ariane 1 successfully in 1979, followed by successive launches of Ariane 2, 3, and 4. The Ariane heavy-lift launch vehicle scheduled to launch James Webb Space Telescope in 2018. In 1986, ESA launched the Giotto Space probe to examine the core of Halley’s Comet, and in 1990 Ulysses spacecraft explored the Sun’s Polar Regions.
Joint ESA-NASA Solar observation mission SOHO, launched in December 1995, provides real-time data for space weather forecasting. At the beginning of the 21st century, ESA launched the Mars Express orbiter and its lander, Beagle 2. With the launching of the Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station in 2008, ESA became a full partner in the operation of the station. Huygens probe landed on Titan in 2005 was the first-ever human-made object to land in the outer Solar System. Rosetta, orbiter mission studying comets and their evolution, was launched in March 2004.
In May 2009, Herschel was launched, the Infrared space observatory missions for general astronomy. NASA and ESA are collaborating to detect and accurately measure gravitational waves (tiny ripples in the fabric of space-time) using Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), which is planned for launch in 2034. For years to come, ESA has many robotic and human spaceflight missions already in the pipeline, such as Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) is planned for launch in 2022 to study Jupiter and its three moons and ExoMars rover launching July 2020 to explore Mars in collaboration with Roscosmos.
A solar eclipse sets in when the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth, and blocks out the Sunlight for a specific period of time and cast a shadow on parts of Earth. Since the Moon’s shadow is not big enough to engulf the whole earth, so the shadow is always limited to a certain area. As Earth and Moon are in constant motion with regards to each other, this area changes during the course of the eclipse. Earth continuously rotates around its axis while it orbits the Sun, and the Moon orbits Earth. This is the reason why solar eclipses seem to travel from one place to another.
A partial Solar eclipse observed around the globe today early morning. There are reports that in some parts like Singapore and UAE, thousands dazzled by rare “ring of fire” which is also coined as “Diamond ring’ sometimes.
Millions gathered, from casual onlookers to astronomy enthusiasts armed with the telescope and captured stunning glimpses of Solar eclipse around the world. Her we are sharing a few astrophotographs.
Different phases of Solar eclipse on 26th December 2019
A stunning view of the ring of fire, captured in Singapore
A beautiful view of the captured in Pakistan, photo credit Bilal Maqsood
The rare ring of fire during Solar eclipse of 26th December 2019
Larry Page, born as Lawrence Page, is an American entrepreneur and computer scientist who, along with Sergey Brin, co-founded Google Inc., the search engine giant that offers a wide range of internet products and services. Google initiated as an online search firm and gradually expanded its operations to other internet related areas. As the son of computer professionals, Larry’s fascination with computers started at an early age. As a child, he showed a keen interest in technology, business, and innovation
While studying Computer Science at Stanford University, he met Sergey Brin with whose assistance he created a search engine that returned results based on relevancy. Larry and Brin launched the company under the name ‘Google Inc’ in 1998. They both served as co-presidents until 2001 when Eric Schmidt was appointed as Chairman and CEO of Google. In 2011, Larry officially became the CEO of Google, while Schmidt continues to serve as executive chairman. Larry is also a member of the Board of Directors of the company. He has an interest in renewable energy technology and philanthropy. Google.org, the philanthropic branch of the company, was set up in 2004. It basically deals with issues of climate change and renewable energy.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin
During his Ph.D. at Stanford, he met fellow researcher Sergey Brin while working on a research project in 1995. By 1996 they had built a search engine – initially called ‘BackRub.’ It was operated on Stanford servers for many months.
Larry and Brin decided to incorporate their project as a company. Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim played a significant role in financing the company as he wrote a check for $100,000 to the entity that had not even come into existence as yet. In September 1998, the project, now renamed as ‘Google,’ was officially incorporated as a company. Eric Schmidt was appointed as the CEO in 2001, while Page and Brin became the presidents of products and technology, respectively.
In 2004, Google launched Orkut, a social networking site, and introduced Google Desktop search. The same year, Google held its Initial Public Offering (IPO), which made Page and Brin billionaires. The philanthropic wing of Google, Google.org, was formed to contribute towards social issues and causes. The year 2005 was quite productive for Google. Google Maps, Blogger Mobile, Google Reader, and iGoogle were released that year. The next year, Google acquired Youtube and introduced the chat feature in Gmail. Google entered into a partnership with China Mobile and Salesforce.com in 2007. The company also signed partnerships to make Google Apps for Education freely available to thousands of students in Kenya and Rwanda. In 2008, Google launched Google Sites and a new version of Google Earth. Google Health, a personal health information centralization service, was also released in the same year, but the service was discontinued in 2011 when it was unable to achieve the desired impact.
iCase for Mac was launched in January 2009, followed by Google Latitude and the latest version of Google Earth. Google Ventures, a venture capital fund for supporting new technology companies, was also introduced the same year. In 2010, Google acquired Aardvark and Picnik. The Google Apps Marketplace, a new online store for integrated business applications, was launched to enable customers to easily manage cloud applications. In January 2011, Larry Page was made the CEO. Eric Schmidt, the former CEO, continues to serve the company as Executive Chairman. Google acquired Admeld and Zagat intending to provide improvised services to its clients.
Larry Page’s most prominent work is the formation of Google. Google, founded in 1998, is the world’s leading search engine, serving millions of users worldwide. Besides search, Google offers many other products and services like Gmail, Blogger, Google Maps, Picasa, etc. The charitable arm of the company, Google.org, was formed in 2004. The organization is dedicated to finding technological solutions to help address global challenges like hunger and poverty. In 2002, Page and Brin were named in the MIT Technology Review TR100 for being among the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35. The World Economic Forum named Page as a Global Leader for Tomorrow in 2002.
Larry and Brin received the prestigious Marconi Foundation Prize (2004), which is given to honor significant contributions in science and technology. They were also elected Fellow of the Marconi Foundation at Columbia University.
Scientists
have found that the magnetic north pole of the Earth has crossed the prime meridian.
It has been in motion at a higher speed than expected and within the past two
decades, it has moved on from the Canadian Arctic to Siberia with a rate of
more than 50 kilometers.
The data was released on 10 December by the National Centers for Environmental Information and British Geological Survey which along with telling about the current speed, have predicted that the movement of the magnetic north pole will continue, although, at a much slower rate.
There is a need to understand and deeply study the model as it used in the calibration of different equipment for navigation including the GPS (Global Positioning System).
The magnetic north pole has moved on from the Canadian Arctic to Siberia. (NOAA NCEI/CIRES; ScienceAlert).
The magnetic field of our planet is produced when the outer core, which is made of iron, movies, and results in a complex north-south field. It is currently facing a reduction in strength due to unknown reasons. This is also one of the reasons for the movement of the magnetic north. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, its location in the earlier part of 2019 was found to be at 86.54 N 170.88 E, within the Arctic Ocean.
After every five years, a new version of the World Magnetic Model is released when scientists recalibrate and carefully study the behavior and movement of the Earth’s magnetic field. The expected 2020 model features a “Blackout Zone” as well which is the area around the magnetic north and compasses are unable to give the correct information about the right direction as true north isn’t easily identified. This map also shows magnetic northeast of the prime meridian, which was set as the official point and marker of zero degrees, zero minutes and zero seconds in the geographic coordinate system.
This year, some great achievements were made in the field of science and one such thing was the first-ever image of a black hole and its event horizon. This enigmatic phenomenon has mesmerized and confounded scientists and researchers for decades and more work is being done to understand it better.
To capture the image, a huge telescope was made by connecting seven observatories located in different parts of the world, which helped in stitching together the image of a black hole. It proved the existence of event horizons and Einstein’s theory.
The image focused on a galaxy, M87 whose heavyweight and size made it easy to study. The gases moving around it were slower than those of others and its brightness remained consistent. For another black hole Sagittarius A, which is located in the center of the Milky Way, there is a need to develop a movie as it changes its appearance very quickly as compared to M87’s black hole.
EHT (Event Horizon Telescope) team member Katie Bouman, a data scientist at Caltech, says that it can be done by breaking up the observations made in a night into different parts and then joining them together. But due to the lack of enough information and data, it is extremely hard to do that.
To capture the image, a huge telescope was made by connecting seven observatories located in different parts of the world. Credit: Scott Manley.
So, the team is developing other methods that can eliminate the gaps and breaks and provide information on how the black hole moves forward in time. This can help to understand in-depth, the structure and workings of a black hole. The black hole of M87 may also get a movie. Astrophysicist Kazu Akiyama says, “Our observations provided good evidence that M87 is actually changing [within] the timescale of a week.” The changes may also disclose about its rotation and spinning of magnetized plasma.
A great discovery
In the earlier part of 2019, scientists revealed the first-ever direct image of one of the most mysterious things in the universe, the black hole, which was previously unseen and considered to be non-observable. The supermassive black hole seen in the image released is a halo of dust and gas tracing the outline of the accretion discs of the monster body in the core of Messier 87 galaxy, some 55 million light-years away from the earth. The phenomenon itself–a trapdoor from which nothing and absolutely nothing can escape– it is considered that black hole cannot be seen and only the shadowy edges of hot swirling clouds of gas, destined to be sucked in by the monster, are visible.
The breakthrough image was unveiled by a team of more than 200 scientists working on the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a network of eight radio telescopes spread from locations in Spain, Chile, Antarctica and other parts of the world. These images will bring revolution in our understanding of one of the most mysterious things in the universe.
Three cubs in a hospital after a few weeks of birth
There are various theories presented why Giant panda babies are born weirdly tiny and underdeveloped? But most of them turned out to be wrong. Some researchers suspect that the newly born pandas are tiny as compared to their moms due to hibernation: At some point, bears started cutting short their pregnancies to avoid gestating during their hibernation, and now that trait is baked into every bear species — even pandas, which don’t hibernate.
Though this theory turned out false and new research shows that Pandas are born exceptionally tiny and underdeveloped which sometimes referred to as “undercooked”. And other bears, including species that do hibernate, are born with robust, mature skeletons.
Peishu Li, the lead author of this research, an undergraduate at Duke University at the time of the research and is now a doctoral student at the University of Chicago, said in a statement that newly born Panda babies weigh just about 3.5 ounces (100 grams), which indicates they are 9 times smaller as compared to their mothers. Only a couple of other species, including kangaroos and echidnas, have similar weight differences at birth. Still, it is nearly possible as a truthful universal bear story.
Li and her co-author, Duke, biology professor Kathleen Smith, researched two of preserved cubs or newly born pandas. They used a CT scanner to build 3D models of the unfortunate critters’ skeletons and scanned newborn grizzlies, sloth bears, polar bears, dogs, a fox, and other animals. Comparing all the skeletons, Li and Smith found that pandas appeared to have uniquely under-developed bones at birth.
Last month, there was the prediction of a beautiful Alpha Monocerotids meteor shower. But, the weak shower left many disappointed.
The prediction was shared by scientists from the SETI Institute and NASA’s Ames Research Center who along with other fellows calculated the estimated time and distance of the outburst. The provided time was 11:50 pm ET (or 04:50 UT) and the shower was predicted to be the brightest at 15 minutes. The total expected time was 40 minutes. The best views were thought to be in South America, Western Europe, etc.
The first time the Alpha Monocerotids was observed in 1925 in Virginia. Witnesses saw “three bright meteors” within a minute and noticed and marked its location around the Orion constellation. It was later observed in 1935 in India and almost 100 meteors were counted in a span of around half an hour. And they have observed quite sometimes in the skies around the world.
Here are some images of the shower.
Michael Boyle Sr. caught an Alpha Monocerotid speeding through Orion.
The shower reflecting on a lake. Credit: Bob King.
Alpha Monocerotids shining through the sky. Credit: Greg Hogan in Kathleen.
The last full moon of the decade occurred yesterday. It’s called the full “cold moon”. The Moon appeared full all night, first sighted in the east with a saffron-colored tinge as it climbs just above the horizon. The full moons usually brighten since the side catching the sunlight is facing earth. That means the Sun, Moon, and Earth are all in a nearly perfect lineup.
This December full moon was dubbed a “cold moon,” for reasons everybody (well, everyone except folks in Pakistan) can probably guess. Let’s take a tour of some of the fascinating sights of this cold moon, captured worldwide.
The Cold Moon sits atop the Chrysler Building as it rises next to the Empire State Building in New York City tonight. Photo Credit; Gary Hershorn
Full moon captured in GAZA
Captured in Virginia, Photo credit Rami_astro
Captured in Virginia, Photo credit Rami_astro
A stunning view of moon with grey shades. Photo credit; Jaxson Pohlman
While the auspiciously timed the full moon was a beacon of curiosity for some, it’s slated to put a damper on tonight’s Geminid meteor shower, which will outshine many of the fainter meteors.
Enceladus, one of the moons of Saturn got overwhelming attention and attraction of scientists in a few years. The data obtained from Cassini spacecraft has been analyzing and with each coming day, some more mysteries are getting resolved. The ‘Tiger stripes’ of Enceladus are one of them, and a piece of good news is that the Weird Physics behind ‘Tiger Stripes’ Finally Explained.
Enceladus has been of particular interest to scientists ever since it was observed by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. After analyzing Cassini’s data, they detected an icy, subsurface ocean on the moon and strange, tiger stripe markings on Enceladus south pole that are like nothing else known in our solar system. Icy material from Enceladus’ ocean spews into space through these stripes, or fissures, in the moon’s surface. These stripes are parallel and evenly spaced, about 130 kilometers long and 35 kilometers apart, and are continually erupting with water ice.
New research performed at Hemingway and colleagues Max Rudolph of the University of California, two scientists Davis, and Michael Manga of UC Berkeley unveiled the physical forces on the moon that cause these fissures to form and keep them in place. The team was also figured out why these cracks are even spaced and only found on the south pole of the moon.
The study shows that Enceladus is not a frozen solid, because the gravitational changes caused by its eccentric orbit around Saturn stretch it out slightly. It shapes deformed and causes the ice sheets at the poles to be thinner and more susceptible to splitting open. The team concluded that the fissures that make up these tiger stripes could have formed on the moon’s north pole just like the south pole, but the south pole cracked first.
Not so long ago, if people were asked to single out a name of an innovator that has had a significant impact in an industry, the most common answer would be Steve Jobs. There is no doubt about his genius, and the legacy he left behind is reminiscent of his talent. But, there is one name that has risen in the past decades and has become the ultimate nerd king and entrepreneurial powerhouse: Elon Musk.
In this rapidly growing technological era, the boom has brought forth great inventions and technologies that are taking over our lives, mostly in the right way. Elon Musk is the person who has tested the waters in almost all potentially groundbreaking technologies and has successfully built big companies that have not only impressed the science geeks and enthusiasts but a layman equally.
Humble Beginnings
Born in 1971 in South Africa, Musk was socially crude and spent most of his childhood reading books and studying science that always fascinated him. He had a business mind, just at the tender age of 12, he made a video game and successfully sold it to a magazine. Discouraged by the racial atmosphere in South Africa, he soon emigrated to Canada in 1988 and opt to work on his dreams by utilizing the latest opportunities offered in the North American regions.
After graduating from college, he founded Zip 2 that intended to provide directories and maps to online newspapers.
He studied at Queen’s University and then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with dual degrees in Physics and Economics. He had a competitive attitude and grasped the potential of the internet, which was a flourishing technology at that time. After brainstorming ideas with his friends, he founded one of his first companies Zip 2, that intended to provide directories and maps to online newspapers. It was soon bought by a big computer company and Musk, ever so creative, founded X.com, another startup that dealt with online financial services. You might not have heard of it but may have known what it morphed into – PayPal, which is one of the most successful online payment systems in the world.
A Look at Successful Ventures
Even though the focus of his early career was online technologies, he still had a soft spot for space travel. This love was created and fueled by the science fiction books that Musk read in his childhood, such as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a classic geek phenomenon endorsed worldwide by many sci-fi lovers. Thus, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) in 2002, with the broader aims of space travel, but initially focused on developing affordable and efficient rocket technologies. SpaceX’s journey reached to peak in a short interval of time, but it was not easy. Under the captaincy of Musk, it went on to one of the best, NASA-endorsed, companies in the world.
Just as he launched SpaceX, he also invested in an electric car company Tesla Motors (inspired by the genius Nikola Tesla), and introduced the first car in 2006, the Roadster. Musk believed that there was a dire need to shift to renewable energies and called electric vehicles as one of the potential solutions. Many bought into his vision, especially those who felt the need to use alternatives that don’t pose many threats like conventional vehicles.
His ideas were initially mocked, and many claimed that it will take him years to develop sophisticated technologies that can aid in achieving such big goals. There were always pushbacks in the dates of new product releases, which affected his position in Silicon Valley. Tabloids and haters ridiculed him, calling his plans and suggestions foolish and impossible.
Elon has the vision to send humans to Mars and establish colonies.
For these
huge plans, Musk and the team had to do immense efforts to get these companies
on track. For rockets production, it was decided that it would be bought from
Russia and then can be used to do experiments in space. But negotiations and
meetings with the Russian developers didn’t go well, so Elon Musk decided to
build rockets in the USA. Experts and local scientists were hired and by 2008,
the Falcon 1 rocket successfully orbited the Earth after several failed
attempts. Several versions have since been introduced with the aim to recycle
the parts as well – something that is rarely done.
The Dragon
spacecraft has been commissioned by NASA to carry the payload to the
International Space Station and more work is been done to develop a spacecraft
that can carry astronauts as well. Falcon Heavy is another worthy mention
because it is the most powerful rocket and was launched in 2018 carrying a
Tesla roadster into space. Not to be missed are the recently launched
‘Starlink’ satellites that could provide high-speed internet. It took almost 15
years for Musk to finally see his dream of space travel come alive.
The Roadster was the first car introduced by Tesla in 2008.
As for Tesla, it has become one of the biggest manufacturers of electric cars in the world. In 2013, after the flagship car, the Model S was launched, Musk has been successful in propelling it to the top with more slick and efficient vehicles that catch everyone’s attention. But do note that this too, like SpaceX, took almost a decade to finally become an extraordinary hit. Although the idea for this company was conceived in the early 90s by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, it was Musk who poured his insight into its development and brought it to the position where it is today. He has become the face of the company even though he was not the original founder.
But that’s
not it for Musk. Along with these two ventures, he has also invested in and
founded companies that seek out and work on the most innovative and sustainable
ideas. While Neuralink Corporation focuses on creating machine implants that
can be connected to the brain and help in treating neural disorders, SolarCity
provides solar panels that can generate energy for commercial and residential
use. And then there is the Boring Company, a highly ambitious project in which
such tunnels are going to be developed that can cut down commute times in
highly busy areas such as Los Angeles.
The Unorthodox Genius
All this might sound overwhelming to an average person, but to someone like Musk, it is just a part of the work. He is a man of conviction who doesn’t back off from his jaw-dropping ideas. He works tirelessly to make sure that things are to perfection. His personality often comes off as harsh and directive, but that is what got him here. In Ashlee Vance’s Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, his life is laid out, and it is shown how sometimes he gets on the nerves of his employees. His work-life balance is nowhere to be seen (or probably rare) because work is his life. At times, his companies were on the verge of bankruptcy, he saved them all alone even though very few people were there to support. His work was decades in the making, but in the end, it was all worth it. Musk earned a high-rank tech-lovers, and the industry that once used to make fun of him now has to collaborate with him, for he has earned a rightful position at the top.
Elon recently unveiled the Tesla pickup truck.
Not just that, the millennials and Gen Z value him even more highly for his online presence. From hosting Meme Reviews on YouTube to tweeting absurd jokes, he is the full package of smart and witty. He occasionally pops up in the pop culture and enjoys being made fun of, to a specific limit, of course. The over the top and extraordinary presentations for cars, pickup trucks, and rockets in nerdy attires make him everybody’s beloved entrepreneur/genius. But, he often gets into hot waters as well for his judgments and comments, and there are quite a few people out there who don’t agree with him and his seemingly overly ambitious and ‘absurd’ views.
Whatever the case, one cannot deny the genius of this man and the entrepreneurial success he has had. Not only is he worth billions, but he is also the one who has brought to the world out-of-the-box ideas that took a while to begin but nevertheless were successful. Every few months, SpaceX is launching rockets, and Tesla bringing out amazing cars, and the compelling persona of Musk is what fuels it all. He may be the one who might take us to Mars, and the charisma that he exudes makes us think that he can do more such crazy things. Musk leads the example of how innovative one can be in this era where new and groundbreaking ideas and inventions are being introduced, and the high technological pace hints towards an even bigger and developed future. We can’t wait to see what he has in stores for us (literally and figuratively)!
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