The first civilian space crew makes its historic launch, and Chinese astronauts return to Earth after a 90-day mission to their new space station. Here are some of the top stories this week from Space.com.
The launch of Inspiration 4 sends the first crew of all civilians into space
The first all-civilian crew was launched into space on Wednesday, September 15th, as part of SpaceX's Inspiration 4 mission.
The crew, which includes Chris Sembrowski, Sian Proctor, Jared Isaacman and Hayley Arsenault, is the fourth group to board a SpaceX Dragon capsule designed to transport humans in and out of space.
And “SpaceX” published on its official account on the Twitter site, last Sunday, the moment the “Crew Dragon” capsule landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, and 4 tourists who were on board exited.
Shenju 12 crew after landing in the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia (Foreign Press)
Shingo 12 astronauts return to Earth
The three members of the first manned mission to China's new space station have returned to Earth.
The mission carried Nie Haisheng, Liu Beoming and Tang Hongbo to the station's core unit, Tianhe (Heaven's Harmony), last June.
Shenzhou 12's 90-day mission ended this week when their spacecraft separated from Tianhe, and the expedition members landed on Earth on Friday, September 17.
An asteroid hits Jupiter's envelope and produces a bright flash
On Monday, September 13, Brazilian astronomer José Luis Pereira caught a bright flash on Jupiter, most likely caused by the collision of an asteroid in the atmosphere of the giant planet.
It is uncommon for asteroids to collide with Jupiter, where large space rocks can leave traces lasting for years, however the impact of Monday's impact was relatively small and it is possible that asteroid rocks failed to reach Jupiter's inner atmosphere.
Brazilian observer Jose Luis Pereira captured this shot of an asteroid hitting Jupiter (Foreign Press)
A NASA astronaut on a long mission to break a record
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei will stay on the International Space Station until March 2022, bringing his stay on the space station to a new record of 353 days, and the Vande Hay mission extension will help scientists learn how long spaceflights affect the human body. .
Astronaut Scott Kelly currently holds the record for the longest single spaceflight, spanning 340 days.
Hole in the ozone layer near Antarctica is larger than Antarctica
A massive ozone hole has emerged over Antarctica this year, and has already exceeded the size of most ozone holes measured since 1979. The ozone layer is an important component of the atmosphere where it absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun, and worsening climate change is making it difficult to recover. Earth from concentrations of substances that have damaged the ozone layer for decades.
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hay at the International Space Station in June 2021 (NASA)
Dexe fires close to antennas searching for alien life
The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) of the SETI Institute in Northern California is searching the universe for signs of alien life.
The array is now close to the path of the raging Dixie fires that reached a distance of (13 kilometers) from the observatory on September 9, threatening 42 of its antennas.
But Matrix staff are "rather optimistic" and this is their worst experience with the fire, one of the events caused by human-caused climate change, and the second largest on record in California.
Allen Telescope Array on September 7, 2021 (Alex Pollack)
Ultra-precision watch makers receive the Breakthrough Prize
Two physicists have received $3 million for developing an ultra-accurate clock that could allow scientists to study and explore the universe like never before.
Scientists Hidetoshi Yatori and Jun Ye have won the 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics "for their outstanding contributions to the invention and development of the optical retina clock, which enables precision tests of the fundamental laws of nature," the Breakthrough Prize representatives announced Thursday (September 9). current.
Yatori works at the University of Tokyo and Japan's Riken research institute, and the duo have worked independently and will share a $3 million prize.
Optical lattice clocks can help researchers detect gravitational waves (NASA Ames Research Center)
NASA awards $146 million to the pioneers of the Artemis program that aims to get humans to the surface of the moon
Five American companies are receiving millions of dollars from NASA so they can develop manned lunar landers for the space agency's Artemis program.
On Tuesday, September 14, NASA officials announced that Blue Origin, Dynetics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX will receive a total of $146 million from the Exploration Partnerships Advanced Space Technologies Program (NextSTEP). For NASA, the awards will fund work over the next 15 months.
Tropical Storm Nicholas makes landfall
Tropical Storm Nicholas made landfall near Houston, Texas as a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday, Sept. 14.
Nicholas has brought torrential rains to Texas and parts of Louisiana and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Hurricane Center warned of "potentially life-threatening flooding."
Artist's illustration of an Artemis astronaut stepping on the moon (NASA)
The mystery of the supernova solved 900 years after it appeared in the sky
In a new research paper, scientists describe what they believe to be the remnants of a massive collision that caused a bright flash of light 900 years ago.
As astronomers in China and Japan observed a brightness of their sky that lasted for 6 months in 1181, the team believes that the rapidly expanding nebula called Pa30 was the result of that thunderous explosion.