SpaceFoxies: Space News and Space Community

Mars has fascinated scientists and space enthusiasts for centuries. As our closest neighboring planet, it could one day become the destination for a manned mission or even a human colony. But what do we really know about the Red Planet?
In this article, you'll discover fascinating facts about Mars – from its size and gravity to its seasons, massive sandstorms, and the time it takes to travel there.

Mars – our neighboring planet and the most promising target for humanity to establish an interplanetary civilization. For centuries, people have dreamed of visiting the Red Planet and even settling there one day. But only in the last few decades, thanks to modern space technology and ambitious plans from space agencies and private companies, has this dream moved closer to reality.

As humanity stands at the threshold of a new era in space exploration, the possibilities seem boundless. From revisiting the Moon to setting our sights on Mars and beyond, the future of space exploration is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the universe and our place within it. This article delves into the latest advancements, upcoming missions, and the visionaries leading the charge into the cosmos.

Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in our solar system, is renowned for its spectacular ring system. These fascinating structures have captivated scientists and astronomers for centuries. In this article, we will delve into the rings of Saturn, exploring their formation, composition, and the latest scientific insights.

Within our solar system, there exist numerous fascinating phenomena that pique the curiosity of scientists and space enthusiasts alike. One such phenomenon is the rings of the gas giant Jupiter. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into Jupiter's rings, their discovery history, their structure, possible causes, and most importantly, the question of how many rings Jupiter actually has.

The discovery of exoplanets has revolutionized our view of the universe. In recent years, astronomers have identified thousands of planets outside our solar system. These distant worlds, orbiting stars in other galaxies, provide insights into the diversity and complexity of the cosmos. In this article, we will explore some of the most fascinating exoplanets, delve into their unique features, and contemplate how they influence the foundations of our understanding of planets and life.

Cheers at the Japanese space agency: After a failed attempt, the new H3 carrier rocket has successfully launched. The 63-meter-high rocket has been in development for eight years. Japan hopes to compete with SpaceX with this achievement.

The moon, our faithful companion in the night sky, has captivated humanity throughout history. With its silver presence and mysterious influence on tides and cultures, the moon has played a unique role in shaping the narrative of human existence. In this article, we will delve into the fascination the moon exerts, shedding light on some intriguing aspects of its impact on our lives and culture.

The NASA's 'Artemis' mission aims to return to the Moon. The original schedule for this endeavor, set to happen later this year, has, however, experienced delays. A previous US mission had failed in attempting a lunar landing.

Since landing almost three months ago, NASA has faced challenges in opening the container holding soil samples from the asteroid "Bennu." While the braking parachute failed during the landing in the Utah desert, the main parachutes compensated for its absence. However, a new issue arises as the lid of the sample container cannot be fully opened due to two screws being unresponsive. Experts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston are attempting to retrieve at least part of the valuable cargo using forceps since the container cannot be fully opened. Additionally, there is material located outside the container.

Strictly speaking, the atmosphere has no upper limit; it gradually thins out until, at an altitude of several thousand kilometers, even lightweight helium atoms can escape Earth's gravitational pull. Within the atmosphere, distinct layers can be identified, with the most common division based on temperature, which undergoes characteristic changes with increasing altitude.

The NASA spacecraft "Lucy" brought a remarkable surprise during its initial close encounter with an asteroid. The first images sent back to Earth indicated that "Dinkinesh" isn't a single asteroid but rather an asteroid pair, as revealed by the US space agency NASA on Thursday.

Together with the Japanese space agency JAXA, the Japanese automaker Toyota is working on a lunar vehicle: the Lunar Cruiser. The six-wheeled off-road vehicle is intended to not only drive on the lunar surface from 2029 (perhaps even on the first lunar roads) but also on Earth.

The Lunar Cruiser has a total range of approximately 10,000 kilometers and is powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology. Its living space measures 13 cubic meters and can accommodate up to four people. With a length of 6 meters, a width of 5.20 meters, and a height of 3.80 meters, it is roughly the size of two compact buses parked side by side.

Houston - According to the US space agency NASA, a sample of rubble from asteroid Bennu, which was dropped to Earth approximately three weeks ago, contains traces of water and carbon. Initial investigations of the sample revealed these findings, but further in-depth analyses are still required, NASA announced during a press conference on Wednesday, where they also unveiled photos and videos of the sample for the first time. This marks the first successfully brought to Earth sample from an asteroid in the history of the US space agency, and it is the largest such sample ever collected.

It was a brief, intense puff. Then, dust and rocks that had remained untouched for billions of years were sent into the air. The collection of the rock sample from the asteroid Bennu, far out in space, lasted just five seconds. Following that, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft spent more than two years returning to Earth.

Germany has joined the international "Artemis" initiative, becoming the 29th country to do so, in order to play a more significant role in the current lunar and Martian exploration efforts, primarily led by the United States. The Director-General of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Walther Pelzer, signed the agreement at the German Embassy in Washington. Pelzer emphasized that Germany and the United States have been "successful partners in space exploration for a long time." German space industry companies are already making a "significant contribution to NASA's Artemis program" for lunar landings. Pelzer stated that Germany's signing of the 'Artemis Accords' will provide new momentum to the joint effort to conduct space exploration programs.

The NASA rover Perseverance has now successfully produced oxygen on Mars for the 16th and final time, surpassing the mission's expectations. This announcement comes from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the U.S. space agency. Since the activation of the Moxie instrument (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment), 122 grams of oxygen have been produced. This is equivalent to what a small dog would breathe in over 10 hours, or approximately four hours of oxygen for an adult human. In total, Moxie generated 12 grams per hour, more than double the initially expected amount. The achieved purity level was at 98 percent or higher.

In Japan, on Thursday, the mini-probe Slim embarked on its journey toward the Moon. The launch took place at 8:42 a.m. local time (1:42 a.m. CEST) aboard a rocket from the Japanese Tanegashima Space Center in the southern part of the country, as shown in a live broadcast by the Japanese space agency. The launch, which had been postponed three times due to poor weather, was watched online by around 35,000 people.

In India, for the first time in the history of the country's space exploration, a satellite for the study of the Sun was launched on Saturday, just under a week after the first Indian lander landed near the South Pole of the Moon. The spacecraft Aditya-L1 is the latest mission of India's space program, and it lifted off from the launch pad in Sriharikota, South India, aboard a rocket around noon (local time). Its mission is to observe the outer atmosphere of the Sun.

Four astronauts have launched from the NASA spaceport at Cape Canaveral towards the ISS (International Space Station). Propelled by a Falcon-9 rocket, the team consists of the US-American Jasmin Moghbeli, Danish ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Russian Konstantin Borisov aboard the SpaceX capsule named Dragon. After nearly 24 hours, it is expected to dock at the outpost of humanity around 400 kilometers above Earth.