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International The Space, Science, Technology thread: America back in space
- Thread starter JDragon
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hunter go green. its the first step to becoming yellow
“Technological limits” are limits until they aren’t. It’s not a real justification for technology stagnanting, from my perspective. For that you have to reexamine processes of innovation in use. Too much is controlled at the top for us to see how much creative potential is being lost.
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It's not like they can just snap their fingers and come up with new engine designs. And it's not just the US, or governments that have this problem. The US, Russia, China, and several private companies all still use the same principles of space launches they used in the 60s. Strap the cargo to a quarter million pounds of fuel and give it hell.
Granted, there have been other ideas. Launches at high altitudes from cargo jetliners has been tested several times (I think Boeing is currently undergoing new trials) and more efficient engines. But in the end, there simply hasn't been an idea that has worked to get away from rocket boosters. And until someone figures out and designs a new type of engine, it's going to stay that way.
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China has done it and landed the first ever rover on the far side of the moon.
Chang'e-4: China space mission lands on Moon's far side
China says it has successfully landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, the first ever such attempt and landing.
At 10:26 Beijing time (02:26 GMT), the unmanned Chang'e-4 probe touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, state media said.
It is carrying instruments to characterise the region's geology, as well as a biological experiment.
State media called the landing "a major milestone in space exploration".
While past missions have been to the Earth-facing side, this is the first time a craft has landed on the unexplored far side.
The probe has sent some first pictures from the surface. With no direct communications link possible, all pictures and data are first sent to a separate satellite and then relayed from there to earth.
In recent days, the Chang'e-4 spacecraft had lowered its orbit in preparation for landing.
At the weekend, Chinese state media said the probe had entered an elliptical path around the Moon, bringing the vehicles to within 15km (9 miles) of the lunar surface at its closest point.
Risky mission
The BBC's China correspondent John Sudworth says that more was at stake than just science: the propaganda value of a leap forward in its space race ambitions was underscored by the careful media management - with very little news of the landing attempt before the official announcement that it had been a success.
China has been a late starter when it comes to space exploration. Only in 2003, it sent its first astronaut into orbit, making it the third country to do so, after the Soviet Union and the US.
Targeting the far side has turned this mission into a riskier and more complex venture than its predecessor, Chang'e-3 - which in 2013 touched down on the near side of the Moon, in the Mare Imbrium region.
China's latest moon shot will pave the way for the country to deliver samples of lunar rock and dust to Earth.
Ahead of the landing, Andrew Coates, professor of physics at UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory in Surrey, told the BBC: "This daring mission will land nearly 50 years on from the historic Apollo landings and will be followed in late 2019 by a Chinese sample return mission."
Full story:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46724727
Chang'e-4: China space mission lands on Moon's far side
China says it has successfully landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, the first ever such attempt and landing.
At 10:26 Beijing time (02:26 GMT), the unmanned Chang'e-4 probe touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, state media said.
It is carrying instruments to characterise the region's geology, as well as a biological experiment.
State media called the landing "a major milestone in space exploration".
While past missions have been to the Earth-facing side, this is the first time a craft has landed on the unexplored far side.
The probe has sent some first pictures from the surface. With no direct communications link possible, all pictures and data are first sent to a separate satellite and then relayed from there to earth.
In recent days, the Chang'e-4 spacecraft had lowered its orbit in preparation for landing.
At the weekend, Chinese state media said the probe had entered an elliptical path around the Moon, bringing the vehicles to within 15km (9 miles) of the lunar surface at its closest point.
Risky mission
The BBC's China correspondent John Sudworth says that more was at stake than just science: the propaganda value of a leap forward in its space race ambitions was underscored by the careful media management - with very little news of the landing attempt before the official announcement that it had been a success.
China has been a late starter when it comes to space exploration. Only in 2003, it sent its first astronaut into orbit, making it the third country to do so, after the Soviet Union and the US.
Targeting the far side has turned this mission into a riskier and more complex venture than its predecessor, Chang'e-3 - which in 2013 touched down on the near side of the Moon, in the Mare Imbrium region.
China's latest moon shot will pave the way for the country to deliver samples of lunar rock and dust to Earth.
Ahead of the landing, Andrew Coates, professor of physics at UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory in Surrey, told the BBC: "This daring mission will land nearly 50 years on from the historic Apollo landings and will be followed in late 2019 by a Chinese sample return mission."
Full story:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46724727
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China has done it and landed the first ever rover on the far side of the moon.
Chang'e-4: China space mission lands on Moon's far side
China says it has successfully landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, the first ever such attempt and landing.
At 10:26 Beijing time (02:26 GMT), the unmanned Chang'e-4 probe touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, state media said.
It is carrying instruments to characterise the region's geology, as well as a biological experiment.
State media called the landing "a major milestone in space exploration".
While past missions have been to the Earth-facing side, this is the first time a craft has landed on the unexplored far side.
The probe has sent some first pictures from the surface. With no direct communications link possible, all pictures and data are first sent to a separate satellite and then relayed from there to earth.
In recent days, the Chang'e-4 spacecraft had lowered its orbit in preparation for landing.
At the weekend, Chinese state media said the probe had entered an elliptical path around the Moon, bringing the vehicles to within 15km (9 miles) of the lunar surface at its closest point.
Risky mission
The BBC's China correspondent John Sudworth says that more was at stake than just science: the propaganda value of a leap forward in its space race ambitions was underscored by the careful media management - with very little news of the landing attempt before the official announcement that it had been a success.
China has been a late starter when it comes to space exploration. Only in 2003, it sent its first astronaut into orbit, making it the third country to do so, after the Soviet Union and the US.
Targeting the far side has turned this mission into a riskier and more complex venture than its predecessor, Chang'e-3 - which in 2013 touched down on the near side of the Moon, in the Mare Imbrium region.
China's latest moon shot will pave the way for the country to deliver samples of lunar rock and dust to Earth.
Ahead of the landing, Andrew Coates, professor of physics at UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory in Surrey, told the BBC: "This daring mission will land nearly 50 years on from the historic Apollo landings and will be followed in late 2019 by a Chinese sample return mission."
Full story:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46724727
As a massive CCP hater (not Chinese, I don't hate the Chinese citizenry at all and I <3 @SaiWa), congrats to them. It's good for space science and exploration, which I'm vehemently opposed to the militarization of.
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And it belongs to Uncle Chang. Congrats I guess.
Will this finally light a fire under Murica's ass and get some proper funding for NASA? It's time to start thinking about manned lunar missions again, perhaps even a small research station on the surface.
Will this finally light a fire under Murica's ass and get some proper funding for NASA? It's time to start thinking about manned lunar missions again, perhaps even a small research station on the surface.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46724727
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We have an official [ [ Space + Science ] ] thread now, bro. Once @JDragon eventually changes the title to fit what it already Is.
http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/the-year-in-space-looking-back-looking-forward.3889881/
http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/the-year-in-space-looking-back-looking-forward.3889881/
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The US should send men back to the moon and get MEXICO to pay for it!!!!!
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Lol
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The problem is the US hasn't had an operational man-rated SHLLV capable of moon missions since 1973. It was kind of the most powerful rocket ever engineered and built.
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I know how you can get another one
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There are several being developed by NASA, SpaceX and Blue Origin. We'll magically and completely coincidentally be faking manned moon missions again in no time.
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*gasp!*
Of course! It all makes so much sense now!
Congratulations to China for this achievement I wish had been accomplished by the USA.
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Done already.
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Probably going to enlarge an atoll on the Sea of Tranquility then get all pissy if any space craft go near it .
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The new images — taken from as close as 17,000 miles (27,000 kilometers) on approach — revealed Ultima Thule as a "contact binary," consisting of two connected spheres. End to end, the world measures 19 miles (31 kilometers) in length. The team has dubbed the larger sphere "Ultima" (12 miles/19 kilometers across) and the smaller sphere "Thule" (9 miles/14 kilometers across).
The team says that the two spheres likely joined as early as 99 percent of the way back to the formation of the solar system, colliding no faster than two cars in a fender-bender.
"New Horizons is like a time machine, taking us back to the birth of the solar system. We are seeing a physical representation of the beginning of planetary formation, frozen in time," said Jeff Moore, New Horizons Geology and Geophysics team lead. "Studying Ultima Thule is helping us understand how planets form — both those in our own solar system and those orbiting other stars in our galaxy."
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20190102
That's really crazy. They actually crashed and have now been joined for billions of years.
