As humans plan expeditions to places such as the Moon and Mars, biomining could offer a way to obtain needed materials on other planetary bodies rather than bringing them from Earth. However, microbes and rocks interact differently outside of Earth’s gravity, potentially affecting output from extraterrestrial biomining. A new investigation on the International Space Station is studying how microbes grow on and alter planetary rocks in microgravity and simulated Martian gravity.
A Soyuz spacecraft consists of three parts (from front to back): a spheroid orbital module, which provides accommodation for the crew during their mission; a small aerodynamic reentry module, which returns the crew to Earth; a cylindrical service module with solar panels attached, which contains the instruments and engines.
The orbital and service modules are single-use and are destroyed upon reentry in the atmosphere. Though this might seem wasteful, it reduces the amount of heat shielding required for reentry, saving mass compared to designs containing all of the living space and life support in a single capsule. This allows smaller rockets to launch the spacecraft or can be used to increase the habitable space available to the crew (6.2 m3 or 220 cu ft in Apollo CM vs 7.5 m3 or 260 cu ft in Soyuz) in the mass budget. The orbital and reentry portions are habitable living space, with the service module containing the fuel, main engines and instrumentation.
Soyuz can carry up to three crew members and provide life support for about 30 person days. The life support system provides a nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere at sea level partial pressures. The atmosphere is regenerated through potassium superoxide (KO2) cylinders, which absorb most of the carbon dioxide (CO2) and water produced by the crew and regenerates the oxygen, and lithium hydroxide (LiOH) cylinders which absorb leftover CO2.
The vehicle is protected during launch by a payload fairing, which is jettisoned along with the SAS at ​2 1â„2 minutes into launch. It has an automatic docking system. The ship can be operated automatically, or by a pilot independently of ground control.
Among the most striking features in the image are the rich colors of the clouds moving toward the Great Red Spot, a storm rolling counterclockwise between two bands of clouds. These two cloud bands, above and below the Great Red Spot, are moving in opposite directions. The red band above and to the right (northeast) of the Great Red Spot contains clouds moving westward and around the north of the giant tempest. The white clouds to the left (southwest) of the storm are moving eastward to the south of the spot.
All of Jupiter’s colorful cloud bands in this image are confined to the north and south by jet streams that remain constant, even when the bands change color. The bands are all separated by winds that can reach speeds of up to 400 miles (644 kilometers) per hour.
Dragon 2 is a reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by U.S. aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, intended as the successor to the Dragon cargo spacecraft. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and return via ocean splashdown. In comparison to Dragon, Dragon 2 has larger windows, new flight computers and avionics, redesigned solar arrays, and a modified outer mold line.
The spacecraft is planned to have two variants – Crew Dragon, a human-rated capsule capable of carrying up to seven astronauts, and Cargo Dragon, an updated replacement for the original Dragon. Cargo Dragon capsules are repurposed flown Crew Dragon capsules. Crew Dragon is equipped with an integrated launch escape system in a set of four side-mounted thruster pods with two SuperDraco engines each. Crew Dragon has been contracted to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with crew under the Commercial Crew Program, with the initial award occurring in October 2014 alongside Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner.
The Artemis program is an ongoing crewed spaceflight program carried out by NASA, U.S. commercial spaceflight companies, and international partners such as ESA, with the goal of landing “the first woman and the next man” on the lunar south pole region by 2024. Artemis would be the first step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually sending humans to Mars.
In 2017, the lunar campaign was authorized by Space Policy Directive 1, utilizing various ongoing spacecraft programs such as Orion, the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway space station, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, and a yet-to-be-developed crewed lander. The Space Launch System will serve as the primary launch vehicle for Orion, while commercial launch vehicles are planned for use to launch various other elements of the campaign. NASA requested $1.6 billion in additional funding for Artemis for fiscal year 2020, and full funding has yet to be approved by Congress.
During the successful test of Orion’s launch abort system, known as Ascent Abort-2, a camera mounted on a ring connecting the crew module and launch abort system to its booster captured a view of Orion escaping the booster. After the booster separated, its motor continued to burn for several seconds and maintained stability, which allowed for a clear, mid-air view of the Orion elements continuing to execute the abort test. About 27 seconds after the abort is initiated and the Orion elements separate from the booster, the launch abort system’s jettison motor is seen firing, releasing the capsule.
The July 2 test demonstrated the Orion’s launch abort system works during high-stress aerodynamic conditions and can pull the capsule to safety if an emergency ever arises during launch. The test was a critical milestone needed to help pave the way for Artemis missions with astronauts.
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