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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01:16
NASA test-fires 3D-printed Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine - Could be revolutionary!
Added 80 Views / 0 LikesNASA successfully test-fired a full-scale Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE). It generates thrust by “using a supersonic combustion phenomenon known as a detonation,” according to the space agency's Marshall Space Flight Center, where the test was c
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08:45
NASA test-fires Artemis moon rocket engines for first time in 2024
Added 41 Views / 0 LikesNASA has begun it's 2024 testing of future Artemis moon rockets with a "full-duration, 500-second hot fire of an RS-25 certification engine" on Jan. 17, according to the Stennis Space Center. Full Story: https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-moon-program-rs-
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08:45
NASA Test-Fires RS-25 Engine
Added 314 Views / 0 LikesNASA test-fired the Space Launch System's RS-25 engine at Stennis Space Center on April 4, 2019. -- Megarocket Engine Could Take Astronauts to the Moon (Video): https://www.space.com/nasa-sls-megarocket-engine-test-video.htmlCredit: NASA Stennis Space Cen
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10:12
NASA test-fires SLS rocket engine in Mississippi
Added 182 Views / 0 LikesAn RS-25 rocket engine was test-fired at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on Aug. 5, 2021. Credit: NASA Stennis Space Center
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02:38
NASA testing 'space lasers' for high-bandwidth communications
Added 56 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) demonstration is flying on the Psyche mission. Learn more about it here. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechProduced by: True Story Films
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01:02
NASA Testing Tools, Spacesuits, Facilities to Prepare for Moonwalks
Added 272 Views / 0 LikesAt NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, teams are testing the tools and developing training approaches for lunar surface operations and Moonwalks astronauts will conduct during Artemis missions beginning in 2024. As part of a test series that occurred
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01:08
NASA tests 'longer and stronger' blades for future Mars helicopters
Added 43 Views / 0 LikesNASA has conducted tests of new Mars helicopter blades. They are "longer and stronger than those used on the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter," according to NASA. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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06:36
NASA Tests Fires RS-25 Engine for First Time in 2018
Added 439 Views / 0 LikesNASA Tests Fires RS-25 Engine for First Time in 2018
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09:43
NASA Tests New 'Brain' for Old RS-25 Rocket Engine | Video
Added 652 Views / 0 LikesNASA Tests New 'Brain' for Old RS-25 Rocket Engine | Video
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01:06
NASA Tests Orion Crew Exit Plans in Gulf of Mexico
Added 547 Views / 0 LikesNASA Tests Orion Crew Exit Plans in Gulf of Mexico
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02:48
NASA Tests Orion Spacecraft's Parachutes for Final Time
Added 421 Views / 0 LikesThe final parachute test for NASA's Orion spacecraft occurred on Sept. 12, 2018. Credit: NASA
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01:07
NASA tests VIPER rover on rugged moon-like terrain on Earth
Added 63 Views / 0 LikesNASA's prototype VIPER moon rover climbed slopes and traveled over simulated lunar terrain in tests at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Credit: NASA’s Ames Research Center
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00:38
NASA to announce Artemis 2 crew on April 3 - Trailer
Added 78 Views / 0 LikesOn April 3, 2023, NASA will announce the names of the astronauts that will travel around the moon and back on the Artemis 2 mission. Watch the trailer to the event! How to watch live at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT): https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-2-moon-cre
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01:37
NASA To Award $20K For Mars 'Ejectable Mass' Idea | Video
Added 886 Views / 0 LikesNASA To Award $20K For Mars 'Ejectable Mass' Idea | Video
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02:11
NASA to launch microwave-size satellite to moon - CAPSTONE mission explained
Added 125 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission will launch to the moon atop a Rocket Lab Electron rocket. Learn more about the mission here. Credit: NASA
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01:32
NASA To Ping Halloween Asteroid With Large Antenna | Video
Added 621 Views / 0 LikesNASA To Ping Halloween Asteroid With Large Antenna | Video
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03:10
NASA To Probe Europa For Signs Of Life | Video
Added 677 Views / 0 LikesNASA To Probe Europa For Signs Of Life | Video
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02:24
NASA to record how the X59 supersonic plane sounds from 30 ground recording stations
Added 31 Views / 0 LikesNASA will use 30 ground recording stations to monitor the sound produced by the X-59 QueSST experimental aircraft. Learn more about the equipment they will be using here. Credit: NASA
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01:32
NASA to return to Venus with DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions
Added 169 Views / 0 LikesThe Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging (DAVINCI+) and Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy (VERITAS) missions were announced on June 2, 2021. Credit: NASA