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MARS MISSIONS
In 1976, NASA's Viking Project sent the first images from a Mars lander back to Earth; its landing-site lessons influenced later U.S. Mars missionsIn 1976, Viking 1's successful touchdown on Mars set in motion a vital new strategy for choosing landing sites. Following safety concerns t...
In 1984, NASA sent about 3,300 honeybees into space to test comb-building without gravity; the colony built about 31 square inches of honeycombIn 1984, honeybees traveled aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger for a unique student experiment. These bees successfully built honeycomb an...
NASA mixed cement aboard the space station; it hardened with strange stripes and highly porous structures that may affect its strengthAstronauts on the International Space Station conducted a unique experiment blending cement in microgravity. This innovative study seeks to...
In 2023, NASA grew tomatoes for 100 days aboard the space station; ground plants produced more than 100, while the space crop yielded 12 and was not eatenNASA's tomato experiment on the International Space Station faced major hurdles in microgravity, where watering issues resulted in uneven m...
Billions of years ago, Mars shifted from rivers and lakes to dry dunes; NASA says Curiosity’s hematite crystals may help date that climate shift in rockRecent studies on hematite crystal sizes reveal insights into Mars' ancient climate shifts. The presence of these tiny crystals suggests th...
In 1999, a small unit mismatch sent NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter deep into the Martian atmosphere and led to the failure of the missionIn 1999, a small unit mismatch sent NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter deep into the Martian atmosphere and led to the failure of the mission. The...
In 2011, a 320-gram Martian meteorite discovered in Sahara Desert reveals red planet Mars once had waterIn 2011, a 320-gram Martian meteorite discovered in Sahara Desert revealed evidence that Mars once had water. Known as Black Beauty or Nort...
In 1964, NASA first tracked a satellite with lasers; the method later helped measure sea-level rise and ice lossIn 1964, NASA researchers made history by tracking a satellite for the first time using a laser beam. Leveraging spare radar components and...
From Thumba to tomorrow: Indian space programme is preparing for its biggest leap yetIndia's space program began with a small rocket range in 1962. It progressed to launching its first satellite and developing indigenous lau...
Space, AI and other tech integration to shape a nation's geopolitical future: Minister ShekhawatPrivatisation of space is the "democratisation of space opportunities," Shekhawat asserted at the event, organised by the Space Application...
In 2004, NASA’s Genesis sample capsule crashed in Utah at up to 193 miles per hour; scientists later recovered valuable solar-wind samplesNASA's Genesis mission faced a dramatic mishap in Utah when its capsule crashed after gathering precious solar wind samples. The failure of...
In 2013, NASA beamed laser data from lunar orbit at 622 megabits per second, demonstrating faster space communications than radioIn 2013, NASA's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration set a groundbreaking standard by achieving data transmission speeds of 622 megabits...
NASA left a camera on the moon for 31 months; when Apollo 12 brought it home, scientists found bacteria that appeared to be aliveAfter 31 months on the moon, a bacterium discovered on the Surveyor III camera is believed to be a case of contamination. A thorough re-eva...
US Navy aircraft transits Taiwan Strait before planned Xi-Trump meetingA US Navy aircraft transited the Taiwan Strait, asserting international law. China's military monitored the patrol aircraft throughout its ...
NASA's Curiosity Rover on Mars captured a mysterious ‘jellyfish’ with two small legs and a body sparking theories of alien life on the Red planetA NASA Curiosity rover image of Mars shows a mysterious jellyfish-like figure with a body and two legs in Gale Crater, absent from photos t...
Donald Trump pushes commercial space boom with 1,000-launch annual goalPresident Trump signed a memo to significantly increase U.S. commercial space launches. The directive aims for one thousand launches and re...
Japan to launch probe for Mars moons in October: Space agencyJapan's MMX mission will launch on October 20 to collect samples from Mars's moon Phobos. The unmanned probe will stay in orbit for three y...
52 astronauts left Earth for months in orbit, and within weeks their gut bacteria changed how they processed food, revealing why spaceflight can trigger constipation and potentially affect brain healthConstipation in space is more than an uncomfortable side effect. Astronauts often face it during long missions, but scientists have not ful...
Japan aims for the moons of MarsJapan's MMX mission will blast off soon to collect Martian moon samples. The spacecraft will orbit Mars for three years and land on Phobos....
She was rejected by NASA at 14, then unpacked a space toilet: Claire Parfitt’s unlikely journey from a teenage work-experience placement to leading Mars exploration studies at the European Space AgencyAt 14, Claire Parfitt dreamed of working in space and applied to NASA, only to be rejected. She instead landed a work placement at Leiceste...