Week in images: 04-08 September 2023
Space News & Blog Articles
Tune into the SpaceZE News Network to stay updated on industry news from around the world.
Astronauts just 3D-printed knee cartilage in space for the 1st time and it's as weird as it sounds
The first-ever knee cartilage in microgravity was made on the International Space Station. Redwire Corp. says the meniscus will assist with treating military personnel and aging seniors on Earth.
DART Had a Surprising Impact on its Target
After NASA’s DART mission slammed into asteroid Dimorphous in September 2022, scientists determined the impact caused tons of rock to be ejected from the small asteroid’s surface. But more importantly, DART’s impact altered Dimorphos’ orbital period, decreasing it by about 33 minutes.
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover wraps up MOXIE oxygen-making experiment
The Perseverance rover's MOXIE experiment produced a total of 122 grams of oxygen on Mars. At its most efficient, it generated 12 grams of the life-sustaining element every hour.
SpaceX's Starship rocket spotted from space ahead of key test flight (satellite photo)
Maxar Technologies' WorldView-1 satellite captured a great photo of SpaceX's Starship vehicle on the launch pad in South Texas ahead of its upcoming test flight.
Warp into Star Trek Day 2023 today with new animated 'very Short Treks'
Paramount rolls out new "Star Trek: very Short Treks" animated promos for "Star Trek" Day 2023.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, September 8 – 17
Comet Nishimura teases us shyly low on the dawn horizon, then low on the dusk horizon. The Milky Way arches high across the evening sky, and Saturn invites your telescope.
Follow the Fall 2023 Return of Comet 103P Hartley
Catch periodic cosmic interloper 103P Hartley while you can.
Mars Doesn’t Have as Many Minerals as Earth
Earth and Mars are very much alike, but also very different. Among other things, scientists find that Earth is much more mineral-rich than the Red Planet. It has 6,000 different minerals. By contrast, Mars has only 161. That’s a big difference. How could this have happened?
Did a Comet Airburst Destroy a Native American Community?
In 1908, when an object entered the Earth’s atmosphere above the Podkamennaya Tunguska River, it flattened 80 million trees over nearly 2,200 square kilometers, and sent atmospheric shock waves reverberating around the world. Fortunately, this event was in a remote region and very few people were believed to be killed.
Another New Way to Measure Distance in the Universe: Baryon Acoustic Oscillations
Measuring cosmic distances is a major challenge thanks to the fact that we live in a relativistic Universe. When astronomers observe distant objects, they are not just looking through space but also back in time. In addition, the cosmos has been expanding ever since it was born in the Big Bang, and that expansion is accelerating. Astronomers typically rely on one of two methods to measure cosmic distances (known as the Cosmic Distance Ladder). On the one hand, astronomers rely on redshift measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) to determine cosmological distances.
Virgin Galactic will launch some of its 1st space tourist customers on 'Galactic 03' flight Friday. But who's flying?
Virgin Galactic plans to launch its 'Galactic 03' space tourism mission on Sept. 8, sending three customers to the final frontier and back. You won't be able to watch it live, though.
A Last-Minute Addition to the Solar Orbiter Allows it to See More Deeply into the Sun’s Atmosphere
Spacecraft instruments are highly specialized and can take years to design, build, and test. But a last-minute hack to one of the instruments on the ESA’s Solar Orbiter has allowed the spacecraft to take some difficult observations it would otherwise have been unable to take.
Atlas V rocket rolled to pad for 2nd time for 'Silent Barker' spysat launch (photos)
United Launch Alliance has rolled out an Atlas V rocket ahead of a planned spysat launch on Saturday (Sept. 9). It was the second rollout for this particular mission.
Newfound Comet Nishimura got its tail blown off by a solar storm. It grew back and still looks gorgeous (photos)
Astrophotographers worldwide have been snapping incredible photos of Comet Nishimura as it makes its way through the solar system.
What is India's Aditya-L1 sun mission?
As it orbits the Earth studying the sun, the Aditya-L1 mission operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation will attempt to solve some of the most pressing solar mysteries.
India's Aditya-L1 solar mission takes an epic selfie with Earth and moon
India's Aditya-L1 solar probe has snapped some striking shots in space, capturing itself and the Earth and moon. Aditya-1 is getting ready for its mission to study the sun, which is a first for India.
Powerful Hurricane Jova spotted from space (video)
Watch ferocious hurricanes Jova and Lee spring up above the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean through the eyes of satellites.
China launches classified Yaogan remote sensing satellites (video)
China has added to its growing network of classified Yaogan series satellites with a pair of Long March rocket launches, adding a third satellite in the Yaogan 33 series of classified Chinese remote sensing satellites.
X-ray, Moon Missions Launch from Japan
In an ambitious mission pairing, Japan launched a next-generation X-ray observatory and an innovative lunar lander.
Newly discovered asteroid zooms within 2,500 miles of Earth
A newly discovered space rock about 6.5 feet wide (2 meters) zipped past Earth today at a distance five times closer than GPS satellites orbit.
