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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02:49
Perserverance & Ingenuity's amazing year on Mars - See the highlights
Added 122 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars in February 2021 and has delivered amazing imagery, deployed the Ingenuity helicopter and more. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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01:11
Perserverance's ejected 'belly pan' seen in distance in latest Mars pics
Added 196 Views / 0 LikesThe Perseverance rover ejected a 'belly pan,' used to protect its sampling system during landing, on Sol 22 (March 13, 2021). On Sol 23, it can be seen in the distance after the rover drove away from it. Credit: Space.com | imagery courtesy: NASA/JPL-Calt
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07:29
Perseverance & Ingenuity's Mars highlights, SpaceX launch and Dragon move in VFS Weekly
Added 263 Views / 0 LikesThe Ingenuity helicopter captured its first color image of Mars and fired up its rotor blades. Perseverance grabbed headshots and a selfie with its soon-to-be flying companion. SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts moved their Crew Dragon ‘Resilience’ to make way for
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04:37
Perseverance and Curiosity on Mars - Recent pics and missions update
Added 177 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Perseverance, Curiosity and the Ingenuity helicopter are exploring Jezero and Gale craters on Mars. NASA explains what they've been up to lately in the May 2020 report. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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01:09
Perseverance at Mars: Cruise Stage separation confirmed!
Added 210 Views / 0 LikesThe cruise stage has separated from the capsule carrying Perseverance. -- NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission: Live updates: https://www.space.com/news/live/mars-perseverance-rover-updatesCredit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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01:04
Perseverance captured new video of Mars helicopter in flight
Added 160 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Perseverance rover rover captured footage of Ingenuity's 13th flight on the Red Planet on Sept. 4, 2021.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
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01:17
Perseverance captures dust devil on Mars
Added 216 Views / 0 LikesRecent imagery acquired from Perseverance has revealed a dust devil churning on Mars. The footage has been combined with audio captured by the rover on Sol 4. -- Perseverance rover has recorded the 1st laser sound on Mars: https://www.space.com/perseveran
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01:09
Perseverance captures sound of a Martian dust devil
Added 80 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Perseverance rover captured audio of a Martian dust devil on September 21, 2021 using its SuperCam microphone. The dust devil traveled "directly over the Perseverance rover," according to Nature Communications paper authors Naomi Murdoch and collea
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01:40
Perseverance delivers new Mars surface pics, including rocks in wheel!
Added 255 Views / 0 LikesMore imagery from the Perseverance rover on Mars has been released by NASA. See a pair of hazcam images, colorized by combining RGB channels, and a photo of Percy's wheel. -- NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission: Live updates: https://www.space.com
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01:03
Perseverance drills into Martian rock & collects sample for 1st time
Added 144 Views / 0 LikesPerseverance's coring drill was used for a rock sample collection at a location nicknamed 'Citadelle' in Jezero Crater. Its the first sample successfully collected by the NASA rover. Full Story: https://www.space.com/mars-rover-perseverance-drills-first-s
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01:29
Perseverance drops Ingenuity helicopter on Mars! First Pics
Added 234 Views / 0 LikesThe Ingenuity helicopter has touched down on the surface of the red planet. NASA confirmed that it was successfully deployed on April 3, 2021. Credit: Space.com | imagery & audio courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech | produced & edited by Steve Spaleta (http://www.
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02:41
Perseverance has been driving itself on Mars - NASA explains
Added 141 Views / 0 LikesThe Perservance rover on Mars has "self-driving capabilities," according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Perseverance Rover Driver and Strategic Route Planner Tyler Del Sesto explains.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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01:05
Perseverance lands on Mars! See the mission control highlights
Added 238 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Perseverance rover landed in the Jezero Crater on Mars on Feb. 19, 2021. See the highlights from mission control. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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01:41
Perseverance lasers odd rock and new Mars panorama in latest pics
Added 211 Views / 0 LikesPerseverance used its laser to study the composition of a shiny rock in Jezero Crater. Also, new imagery acquired on March 30, 2021 was stitched together for a new view of the Martian landscape. Credit: Space.com | imagery courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU |
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01:29
Perseverance leaves helicopter cover behind in latest pics from Mars
Added 210 Views / 0 LikesPerseverance drove away from the Ingenuity helicopter debris cover that it dropped and it can be seen in the distance in a new pic from Mars. The rover also captured more imagery of Jezero Crater on March 22, 2021 (Sol 31).Credit: Space.com | imagery & au
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01:30
Perseverance Mars sample may be 'youngest preserved material in Jezero Crater'
Added 48 Views / 0 LikesThe Perseverance rover has collected rock sample that may be the "youngest preserved material in Jezero Crater," according to NASA. The rover team explains. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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01:13
Perseverance moves arm and looks at rocks in latest pics from Mars
Added 244 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Perseverance rover conducted instrument and arm movement tests on March 3, 2021 (Sol 12). On March 2 (Sol 11), the rover captured imagery of rocks in the surrounding area. -- See it deploy a wind sensor on Sol 10: https://www.space.com/perseverance
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02:24
Perseverance moves wheel, test drive tracks seen in latest pics from Mars
Added 236 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Perseverance rover moved its wheels and took a short test drive on Mars. Perseverance mobility testbed engineer Anais Zarifian explains the imagery that was beamed back to Earth.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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01:11
Perseverance rover and its tumbling booster spotted by robotic telescopes
Added 306 Views / 0 LikesGianluca Masi from the Virtual Telescope Project captured imagery of the spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuitry Mars helicopter. The booster that launched the mission can be seen tumbling in space. -- NASA: Mars rover Perseverance i
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01:07
Perseverance rover captures Martian dust devil traveling at 12 mph!
Added 60 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Perseverance rover captured a dust devil on Mars traveling at 12 miles per hour (17 kph) on Aug. 30, 2023 about 2.5 miles away. "The video, which was sped up 20 times, is composed of 21 frames taken four seconds apart," according to NASA's Jet Prop