Outer Space & Universe
Outer Space & Universe
Space, also known as outer space, is the near-vacuum between celestial bodies. It is where everything (all of the planets, stars, galaxies and other objects) is found.
On Earth, space begins at the Kármán line (100 km above sea level). This is where Earth's atmosphere is said to stop and outer space begins. This is not a firm boundary but is a convention used by scientists and diplomats.
Items in space are free to move back and forth; up and down; and left and right. These three dimensions are what make 3D space. Items also move forward through time, which is sometimes called the fourth dimension.
The majority of space contains very little matter and so most of it is a vacuum. Scientists do not know how big space is but we do know that space is extremely big, and is always expanding.
According to the big bang theory, all matter and energy in the Universe was compressed into a very small space. Then it exploded and started expanding. Space is still growing in size today; this means the distance from one galaxy to distant galaxies is getting longer.
Gravity is the force that keeps the Moon in orbit around the Earth and the planets in orbit around the Sun. Gravity can stretch and bend space similar to how a heavy ball placed on a stretched sheet of rubber will cause the rubber to stretch. The scientist who discovered that space can bend is named Albert Einstein. How gravity bends space is part of his theory of general relativity.
Astronauts, Cosmonauts, Taikonauts and Spationauts
An astronaut is any person who is trained by NASA to travel and perform tasks in space. Although the space traveler may not necessarily be a United States citizen, each astronaut does go through a rigorous training regiment by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Other space travelers go by other names then astronaut depending on their country of origin.
In the United States, astronaut is derived from the Greek words ástron (star) and nautis (sailor). While, in Russia, a space traveler goes by the name космонавт (English: cosmonaut), which is derived from the Greek words kosmos (universe) and nautis (sailor). Westerners call a space traveler from China a taikonaut, based on the 1998 writings of Chiew Lee Yik and Chen Lan where the term tàikōng (great emptiness), Chinese for “space”. In China, the term yuháng yuán (universe navigator) is used for space traveler.
Only the United States of America (United States), Russia (earlier, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), and the People’s Republic of China (China) have sent manned spacecraft into space. Other countries have assisted these countries by sending their own space travelers on space missions. For instance, a French space traveler is called a spationaut (from the French word spationaute), which is derived from the Latin spatium (space) and Greek nautis (sailor). (plural in Greek nautes = sailors)
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01:27
Mars helicopter Ingenuity soars over rover tracks! See entire flight 28
Added 158 Views / 0 LikesNASA Mars helicopter Ingenuity flew a distance of 418 meters (~1,371 Feet) during its 28th flight on April 28, 2022. Perseverance rover tracks can be seen during the flight. Credit: Space.com | imagery courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech | produced & edited by [St
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02:09
Mars helicopter Ingenuity spots Perseverance rover during flight 51
Added 80 Views / 0 LikesNASA Mars helicopter Ingenuity flew for the 51st time on April 22, 2023. The Perserverance rover can be seen in the distance during the flight in an enhanced color image. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech | edited by Steve Spaleta (ht
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01:07
Mars helicopter Ingenuity spots Perseverance rover during latest flight
Added 82 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Mars helicopter took a quick flight on Aug. 3, 2023. The Perseverance rover can be seen In one of the images it captured. Credit: Space.com | imagery courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech | edited by Steve Spaleta (https://twitter.com/stevespaleta)
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01:23
Mars helicopter Ingenuity takes off and spins in amazing Perseverance rover view of flight
Added 75 Views / 0 LikesNASA Perseverance rover's Mastcam-Z captured the Ingenuity helicopter's 54th flight on Mars on Aug. 3, 2023. A camera onboard Ingenuity snapped a mid-air view of the rover. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech | edited by Steve Spaleta (
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01:07
Mars helicopter Ingenuity takes quick hop on 66th flight
Added 57 Views / 0 LikesMars helicopter Ingenuity flew for the 66th time on Nov. 3, 2023. See black and white and color images of the flight. Full Story: https://www.space.com/nasa-mars-helicopter-ingenuity-flights-solar-conjunction-2023Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: NASA
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01:12
Mars helicopter soars on 29th flight! - Time-lapse, color images & flight data
Added 129 Views / 0 LikesMars helicopter Ingenuity's flew for the 29th time on June 11, 2022. See a time-lapse of black & white imagery, color snapshots and data from the flight.Credit: Space.com | imagery courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech | produced & edited by Steve Spaleta (http://ww
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01:08
Mars helicopter spots Perseverance landing gear debris during flight
Added 139 Views / 0 LikesThe Ingenuity helicopter spotted debris from Perseverance landing on Mars. The remnants of the back shell and supersonic parachute can be seen during the helicopters flight on April 19, 2022. Credit: Space.com | imagery courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech | produc
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03:22
Mars helicopter test flight status updated by NASA
Added 207 Views / 0 LikesNASA Ingenuity's flight was delayed earlier this week, but NASA has been running tests on the Mars helicopter. Ingenuity Chief Engineer Bob Balaram gives an updated. Also, Perseverance Project Scientist Ken Farley talks about the MOXIE experiment. Credit:
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02:57
Mars helicopter to take images but will there be audio? NASA explains
Added 216 Views / 0 LikesNASA Ingenuity team talks about the impact imagery from Ingenuity's flight could have. Also, Perseverance's microphone will not be recording during the first flight, but may on subsequent flights. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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06:18
Mars helicopter unfolded, Starship exploded & Curiosity selfie | VFS Weekly
Added 220 Views / 0 LikesThe Ingenuity helicopter unfolded on Mars and Perseverance watched. SpaceX's Starship SN11 prototype exploded and debris was seen on the beach by [SPadre.com](https://www.spadre.com/). Curiosity snapped a selfie in front of Mont 'Mercou' on the Red Planet
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01:22
Mars helicopter's 63rd flight was longest since 2022 - See a time-lapse!
Added 62 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Ingenuity helicopter conducted its 63rd Mars flight on Oct. 19., 2023. It flew 1,901 feet (579 meters) horizontally. Full Story: https://www.space.com/nasa-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-63rd-flightThat was "its longest distance since Flight 25," NASA's
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01:11
Mars helicopter's blades spin to 50 rpm, Perseverance watches
Added 251 Views / 0 LikesThe Ingenuity helicopter's rotor blades were "spun to 50 rpm in preparation for first flight," according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Perseverance rover captured several images of Ingenuity as it conducted the test. Credit: Space.com | imagery
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01:37
Mars helicopter's flight date set after delay - See its blades spin!
Added 224 Views / 0 LikesNASA will attempt the first flight of Ingenuity as early as Monday (April 19), after it was delayed by a timer glitch during a preflight test. See footage of the helicopter's blades spinning and its deployment to the surface combined with Martian wind aud
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03:02
Mars helicopter's rotor blades move! Perseverance's arm 'dances' and more in new pics!
Added 218 Views / 0 LikesThe rotor blades on the Ingenuity helicopter were unlocked and the Perseverance rover's arm was run through some checks in imagery acquired by NASA from Mars on April 8, 2021. Also, Perseverance captured a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter in April 6 i
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01:12
Mars Helicopter's scouting mission for Perseverance in color and b&w pics
Added 176 Views / 0 LikesIngenuity "climbed to 32.8 ft (10 m) for a total of 169 seconds and flew ~1,476 ft (~450 m) roundtrip to scout" the South Séítah region for Perseverance on Aug. 16, 2021, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Credit: Space.com | imagery courtesy:
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00:37
Mars impact crater flyover created from spacecraft data
Added 101 Views / 0 LikesNASA has created a flyover animation of an impact crater on Mars that was captured using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. NASA's ailing Mars lander feels shockwaves from ice-blasting meteoroid i
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01:42
Mars in near real-time! Stunning time-lapse and color pic marks European probe's 20th anniversary
Added 93 Views / 0 LikesThe Mars Express orbiter launched to the Red Planet on June 2, 2003. Twenty years later, ESA has delivered a high resolution color image of Mars along with a time-lapse of "webcam" images that were released in near real-time. Credit: Space.com | footage c
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01:04
Mars InSight lander starts burying cable (feat. Marsquake sonified audio)
Added 213 Views / 0 LikesWatch NASA's InSight lander begin to bury a cable that connects its seismometer to the spacecraft. The footage has been combined with sonified audio of a Marsquake detected by InSight in 2019. Credit: Space.com | imagery & audio courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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04:22
Mars Inspired Rocketeers to Dream Big – clip from “Mars Calling” 4K Documentary
Added 203 Views / 0 LikesWorld War Two technologies gave engineers tools to peacefully explore space. Or, at least, that was the hope. From assembling massive science armadas in orbit, to creating powerful nuclear propelled vessels, Mars invited 20th century innovators to dream b
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01:45
Mars is Hiding its Water – clip from “Mars Calling” 4K Documentary
Added 201 Views / 0 LikesOnce abundantly wet, now bone-dry; Mars’ surface conceals a subtle cycle of warm to cool climate shifts and elusive seasonal changes. Stream the full 4K film “Mars Calling” on MagellanTV:https://www.magellantv.com/video/mars-calling-4k