The Artemis Program took another important step towards bringing humanity back to the Moon: this week NASA chose the astronauts who will travel on the next mission, which will take them to a lunar flyby test.
In addition, we had news about SpaceX’s first orbital test, astronomical phenomena and much more. Check below the summary of the main news of the week.
The reddish bow in the sky
After a very intense solar storm at the end of March, a reddish streak in the sky was observed over Denmark. What would it be? It is a stable red auroral arc. Despite the name, it is quite unstable.
This arc arises from the light emitted by oxygen molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, heated by the system of electrical currents that surround our planet. While the phenomenon is not directly related to solar storms, the more intense than normal storm helped the arc become more visible.
The map of Mars made by the Arab spacecraft
After making more than three thousand observations of Mars, the Arab probe Hope allowed the creation of a high-resolution map of the Red Planet. The map reveals incredible details of the Martian surface, such as the polar ice caps, mountains, volcanoes, traces of ancient rivers, valleys and impact craters.
The objective of the mission is to provide a complete picture of the Martian climate, but the new map will already be useful for putting together the “puzzle” of the neighboring planet’s ancient history.
Plasma around Earth affected by lunar tides
According to a new study, Earth’s plasmasphere is influenced by tidal forces exerted by the Moon. This region is dominated by a plasma that surrounds our planet in a “doughnut” shape whose shape and location of the highest point changes with the seasons.
The new discovery shows that these changes are caused by the movement of the Moon, as well as ocean tides. It is the first time that tidal gravitational influences have been observed in a plasma.
The rescue of samples from the asteroid Bennu
NASA is preparing to receive samples from the asteroid Bennu, collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission, which will arrive at Earth on September 24. The capsule containing the material will land by parachute in the Utah desert, in the United States, and will be rescued by three teams that are already in training.
Soil and air samples will also be collected from the place where the capsule lands to check for possible contaminating materials. The capsule will be placed in a temporary security room, from where it will be transported to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The passage of the 100 m diameter asteroid
The asteroid 2023 FM made a close approach to our planet on Thursday (6), but it passed much further than many other visitors – about eight times the distance between Earth and the Moon.
According to the calculations of this object’s orbit, there is no chance of an impact in the next 100 years.
The assembly of Starship and Super Heavy for orbital flight
The Starship and Super Heavy were assembled and installed at the launch pad for the first orbital flight test, which is expected to take place in April. The system appeared in a new video posted on Twitter by Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, on Wednesday (5).
To confirm the launch, SpaceX needs the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States. The goal will be to see how the rocket and spacecraft perform at high altitudes and observe re-entry into the atmosphere.
Astronauts Selected by NASA to Go to the Moon
Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman: these are the astronauts selected to form the crew of the Artemis 2 mission, which will return humans to lunar orbit for the first time in over 50 years.
This will also be the first mission to the Moon with a woman and a person of color on board. The mission will take place in 2024 and will aim to test the manned flight of the Orion spacecraft around our natural satellite.
