Space exploration has always been a fascinating subject for us, humans. As we peer through the vast expanse of the universe, we uncover mysteries and discoveries that defy all our expectations. NASA has been at the forefront of this exploration, and with recent missions, it has made groundbreaking discoveries that may change the way we perceive our universe.
One of the latest missions conducted by NASA is the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) launched in April 2018. Its primary objective is to look, beyond our solar system and find planets that could potentially host life. TESS uses the transit method, in which a planet’s orbit passes in front of its host star, causing a dip in star’s brightness, revealing the planet’s existence. So far, TESS has discovered over 1,000 exoplanets, including several that could possibly support life.
Another crucial mission conducted in recent years was the Mars Curiosity Rover, which landed on Mars in August 2012. The rover’s primary objective is to search for signs of habitable environmental conditions in ancient Mars’ history. Since then, NASA has discovered impressive geological formations like the “Mars Buttes” and “Murray Buttes” and identified water activity on Mars’ surface that likely lasted for several years. These significant discoveries gave us a clear understanding of how Mars may have looked like, facilitating future missions to the red planet.
Additionally, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, has been breaking ground in the study of the Sun. Its mission is to investigate the sun’s outer atmosphere, the “corona,” which is much hotter than the sun’s surface. The probe will also examine solar winds and energy particles that can damage communication satellites and power grids on Earth. Before Parker, no spacecraft has ever come so close to the sun, and it promises to unlock significant mysteries about our life-giving star.
Another exciting project is the James Webb Space Telescope, set to launch in October 2021. It is an ambitious in-space observatory supported by NASA, ESA, and CSA. This telescope will be the most powerful and significant space telescope ever made, and it aims to unravel the mysteries of the universe. It will allow us to study the early formation of the universe, the birth and death of stars, exoplanets, and the search for life beyond Earth.
The mysteries of space are infinite, and NASA’s recent missions have unearthed groundbreaking discoveries that have pushed us to explore even further. With every mission, we learn more about our universe and its secrets. These missions play a crucial role in our understanding of the universe, and they provide an excellent opportunity for scientists to learn more about the unknown. NASA’s recent endeavors have been breaking ground, and they represent a crucial turning point in the pursuit of space exploration.