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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02:45
Meet Konstantin Borisov, Crew-7 Mission Specialist
Added 58 Views / 0 LikesRoscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov makes his first trip to space and serves as a mission specialist on Crew-7, working to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and entry phases of flight. He entered the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps as a test c
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Meet MarCO - Engineer Builds Mars Spacecraft That Can Fit in Your Backpack
Added 403 Views / 0 LikesNASA-JPL engineer Anne Marinan is among the first to send CubeSats into deep space with the Mars Cube One (MarCO) mission. These twin spacecraft may be small but Anne has big hopes for how they could change the future of exploration.NASA MarCO Is a flyby
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02:57
Meet Mars Rover Prototype 'Bruno' - Preparing ESA for Exploration
Added 359 Views / 0 LikesMeet "Bruno," the ExoMars rover prototype be used for testing on Earth. The rover that will be used for the actual mission was recently named Rosalind Franklin, after an English chemist that made breakthroughs in DNA research. Credit: ESA
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03:18
Meet Matthias Maurer, Crew-3 Mission Specialist
Added 123 Views / 0 LikesCan a materials scientist and former paramedic find a place in space? ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer is doing just that, right now, on the International Space Station. The native of Sankt Wendel in Germany didn’t give up on his drea
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01:49
Meet my New Girlfriend.
Added 447 Views / 0 LikesNo. It's not the Pineapple. God bless everyone,Stay Cool.Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewsTshirtshttps://hitthebuttonbaby.com/THORNEWS PO BOX 35946HOUSTON TEXAS77235-5946
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03:07
Meet NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps, Crew-8 Mission Specialist
Added 23 Views / 0 LikesNASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is a mission specialist for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. This also will be Epps’ first trip to the space station. She is from Syracuse, New York, and earned a bachelor’s in physics from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York,
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02:58
Meet NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick, Crew-8 Commander
Added 26 Views / 0 LikesNASA astronaut Matthew Dominick is the commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. This will be the first spaceflight for Dominick, who became a NASA astronaut in 2017. He is from Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineer
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03:11
Meet NASA Astronaut Michael Barratt, Crew-8 Pilot
Added 29 Views / 0 LikesNASA Astronaut Michael Barratt is the pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. This will be Barratt’s third trip to the space station. In 2009, Barratt served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 19 and 20 as the station transitioned its standard crew compl
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04:07
Meet NASA's new X-ray telescope launching on a SpaceX rocket
Added 98 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission is scheduled to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Dec. 9, 2021. Learn about the space telescope. Credit: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
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03:14
Meet Nicole Mann, Crew-5 Commander
Added 81 Views / 0 LikesA Marine combat pilot, a mechanical engineer, and a first-time space flyer – just some of the ways to describe Nicole Mann, commander of NASA’s next SpaceX Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station. Hear her describe her California childhood,
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01:28
Meet Orbital ATK's Fleet of Rockets
Added 384 Views / 0 LikesFrom Minotaur to OmegA, the private spaceflight company has a wide array of space launch vehicles to meet a variety of payload needs. Credit: Space.com / Orbital ATK / produced and edited by Steve Spaleta http://www.twitter.com/stevespaleta
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03:05
Meet Raja Chari, Crew-3 Commander
Added 134 Views / 0 LikesIt’s not every day that an astronaut commands a new spacecraft on his first-ever spaceflight, but NASA’s Raja Chari showed he was the man for the job. Watch as Chari tells his own story of an Iowa childhood and Air Force career that led him to become an a
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01:52
Meet Roscosmos Cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, Crew-8 Mission Specialist
Added 27 Views / 0 LikesRoscosmos Cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin is a mission specialist for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. Grebenkin, who graduated from Irkutsk High Military Aviation School, Irkutsk, Russia, majoring in engineering, maintenance, and repair of aircraft radio navi
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03:29
Meet Samantha Cristoforetti, Crew-4 Mission Specialist
Added 115 Views / 0 LikesFrom an adventurous childhood in the Italian Alps to her trailblazing role as one of the first women in the Italian air force, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has been exploring most of her life and is ready for more, as a mission s
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02:51
Meet Satoshi Furukawa, Crew-7 Mission Specialist
Added 58 Views / 0 LikesMeet Satoshi Furukawa, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut from Kanagawa, Japan, making his second trip to space as a mission specialist on Crew-7. Furukawa was selected as a JAXA astronaut in 1999 and has 165 days aboard the space station
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09:42
Meet SpaceX BFR's First Paying Customer - Yusaku Maezawa
Added 383 Views / 0 Likes"I choose to go to the moon" says Yusaku Maezawa, the first paying customer for the SpaceX Big Falcon Rocket (BFR). Elon Musk introduced Maezawa at a press conference on Sept. 17, 2018. -- SpaceX Will Fly a Japanese Billionaire (and Artists, Too!) Around
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01:10
Meet SpaceX Crew-5: Astronauts, launch date, training & more!
Added 119 Views / 0 LikesNASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann, JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station no earlier than Oct. 3, 2022. Learn more about SpaceX Crew-5: https://www.space.com/n
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02:57
Meet Steve Bowen, Crew-6 Commander
Added 84 Views / 0 LikesThe first submarine officer ever selected to be a NASA astronaut, who flew on three space shuttle missions in less than two and a half years, is the commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station. Meet Steve Bowen, a Massachu
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01:37
Meet the 'best-known' black holes in our galaxy (and our neighbor)
Added 157 Views / 0 LikesNASA Goddard Space Flight Center runs down the "best-known" black holes in the Milky Way galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
