Important Innovations Collection

UAE, China, US Satellites in Mars Orbits                                  Source:  UAE Hope Mission to Mars US Perseverance Probe Arriving on Mars Next Week Mars is getting a lot of visitors arriving for Valentine's Day, mid February and staying for a few months beyond.  The United Amirate Emirates (UAE) mission Hope arrived yesterday and is in a stable orbit around Mars. Now, China's Tianwen-1 synced into another successful orbit around the Red Planet.  And, last but not least, NASA's Perseverance Rover spacecraft will touchdown on Mars next week.  Touchdown is expected on February 18, 2021.  Talk about a crowded destination in space.  There is a bit of intergalactic traffic converging on Mars and the scientific results could be spectacular. UAE Mission Autonomous The UAE spacecraft now in orbit is the size of a SUV.  And what is such a great technologi...

Successful Japanese Mission in Space                                                  Source:  JAXA Japanese Spacecraft Retrieves Asteroid Dust The Japanese space agency JAXA has announced that its spacecraft Hayabusa2 has successfully retrieved asteroid dust from the asteroid Ryugu in space.  The scientific hope is that the asteroid dust will contain clues to the origin of the Earth and the solar system.  Japanese scientists also hope to learn "how water was brought to Earth".  The asteroid dust dates back 4.6 billion years. Arduous Mission The asteroid mission was a long and arduous one.  It underscores the innovative leadership role that Asian nations are taking in space.  Last week, a Chinese robotic spacecraft collected samples of the Moon's surface.  That is the first time since 1972 that lunar soil has ...

India's Bold Space Goals 2020's Source:  ISRO Lunar Explorations and Global Cooperation India is a growing leader in the exploration of space.  Of particular interest is India's many lunar exploration successes.  India is providing vital data from its multi-year Chandrayaan-2 mission that is now orbiting the Moon.  The images are being provided to the NASA-led Artemis program, which is a multinational effort to put astronauts back on the Moon by 2024.  The images of the surface of the Moon are vital to determine the best landing spot on the Moon for the next team of astronauts. Back in 2009, India was the first to discover ice deposits on the surface of the Moon. In 2021, it plans to launch Chandrayaan-3 that will include another landing attempt.  Their Vikram lander failed to land safely on the Moon as part of the Chandrayaan-2 mission. US-India Space Cooperation Accelerating President Trump in his late February 2020 trip to India p...