NSS - Mumbai Blogs

Spacecraft of MMX mission|Source: JAXA Martian Moons eXploration(MMX) is the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) mission to shed light on the history of the Martian moons and the evolution of the Mars region. The mission's objective includes observing Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos, and returning to the Earth with a sample taken from one of them. The launch of this mission is scheduled for 2024 and return to the Earth in 2029. The mission seeks to offer crucial data that will assist in determining whether the Martian moons are the consequence of bigger bodies striking Mars or captured asteroids impacting the planet. Why Phobos and Deimos? Phobos and Deimos|Source: Quora Among the numerous moons currently in the Solar System, only two terrestrial planets, Earth and Mars, have their moons. Phobos and Deimos are two of those three moons. We have a plethora of information from the exploration of the Earth's Moon which includes sample return missions that reveal...

  Have you ever wondered, "What method do astronomers use to detect exoplanets?" It is hard to detect planets revolving around stars through direct imaging because planets are dim and small and are easily lost in the glare of stars. What we use to study these planets are indirect methods : detecting the dimming of light when a planet passes from in front of the star(transit method) or monitoring the star's spectrum for signs of a planet pulling on it and generating a Doppler shift in the star's light. Other methods include gravitational lensing, radial velocity, and coronagraphs. Source: scientificamerican.com The stars' brightness would absorb any light reflected from the planets at visible wavelengths. So we use an infrared wavelength of light as their integral heat burns relatively brightly at longer wavelengths. Kepler Space Telescope made one of the mind-boggling discoveries that our galaxy has more planets than stars. Here is a series of telescopes that have...

Albert Einstein, in his theory of General Relativity, proposed that Gravity is not just a force that attracts the object. Gravity is responsible for making ripples, called gravitational waves, in the spacetime fabric. These waves can be a great medium to unveil various things in space that we think don't exist.    Let's dive deep into this topic and understand what exactly gravitational waves are and how they work. What Are Gravitational Waves?  Two massive bodies creating ripples in spacetime fabric| Source : Scitechdaily.com Gravitational waves are invisible ripples or disturbances in spacetime fabric when objects move at very high speeds. But what are these ripples? The answer is directly linked to gravity. Gravity is a force that bends the spacetime curvature . Imagine that space is a rubber sheet and every massive object will cause that rubber sheet to bend. The larger the mass of the body, the larger the depression, and hence, the larger the gravitational pul...

Do you know there are stars in the universe that are racing through the sky at a staggering high speed that is in the order of 1000 km/second? This speed is 10 or more times the speed of normal stars that move at 100 km/second. The Milky Way galaxy's fastest hypervelocity star, US 708, runs at the speed of 1200 km/second while an ordinary star like our sun has the speed of only 200 km/second. "But how is this possible?" "Which mechanism causes such a massive body to move at this high speed?" What Is A Runway Star?  A runaway star is a star that is moving through interstellar space at tremendously high speed. We know these stars for several decades but we are still unable to find out the reason for their exceptional speed. In 2005, astronomers found that these stars travel so fast that even the gravity of the galaxy can not stop them . In an attempt to calculate its orbit, they realized that it had come from somewhere near the center of the galaxy. The star was...

  Do you know where scientists conduct research in space? What is that place in space where astronauts linger for months? Yes, you are guessing it right- it is "the one and only International Space Station". But the ISS is no more the "one and only" place in space to stay and conduct research. China has launched its space station officially known as Tiangong Space Station. It is a modular space station in which astronauts will stay for six months in Earth's orbit. The successful launch of three astronauts on the Chinese Space Station made China the third country to independently send humans into space.  China started the construction of the Tiangong Space Station in 2021 and is expected to complete it in 2022 after 11 missions. These include three launches of different modules, four launches of cargo vehicles, and four crewed launches.  Space Station Technology  Tiangong Space Station|Source: Nasaspaceflight.com Like Mir Space Station, Tiangong Space Station has...