Pacific Science Center’s Post

"Absolutely mind-blowing! The exploration milestones achieved by NASA's New Horizons continue to astound. Witnessing the flyby of Arrokoth, a binary Kuiper Belt object, expanded our understanding of our solar system's outskirts. The quest for interstellar space beckons, with New Horizons set to join the Voyagers in the 2040s. The relentless pursuit of discovery and exploration is what propels us forward. 🌌🛰️ #NewHorizons #NASA #SpaceExploration"

#OnThisDay in 2019, NASA's New Horizons flew by the farthest object ever visited by spacecraft. 2014 MU69, officially named Arrokoth, is a binary Kuiper Belt object, which means it is two things that fused together. Arrokoth was about 43 AU, or 4 billion miles, from Earth during the flyby. This was the first close-up look at a solar system object of this type. Arrokoth is the first unquestionably primordial contact binary ever explored, and strangely shaped. New Horizons is currently about 58 AU from home and will join Voyagers 1 and 2 in interstellar space in the 2040s. Learn more: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/ #JHUAPL | #NewHorizons | #NASA | NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration | #SolarSystem

Earth is set to get a temporary second moon when a small asteroid, 2024 PT5, begins orbiting the planet from Sept. 29 to Nov. 25. Discovered in August by NASA-funded researchers, the asteroid will follow a horseshoe-shaped orbit around Earth for 56.6 days before returning to its path around the sun. This phenomenon, known as a “mini-moon,” has occurred before with other near-Earth objects. 2024 PT5 is larger than previous mini-moons and is expected to return to Earth’s orbit in 2055. While it won’t be visible to amateur astronomers, professionals will be able to track it. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration ISRO #Astronomy #MiniMoon #EarthOrbit #2024PT5 #NASA

🚀 Exciting News Alert! 🌕 Intuitive Machines uncrewed lunar lander successfully touched down at 6:23 pm ET (2323 UTC), marking a significant milestone in space exploration. This mission is not just about delivering packages; it's about advancing our understanding of the Moon and laying the groundwork for future human exploration under #Artemis. 🌑🔭 NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's instruments aren't just for observation; they're paving the way for future human exploration as part of the #Artemis mission. 🌟 From mapping lunar terrain to understanding its composition, each piece of equipment plays a vital role in our quest to return to the Moon and beyond. https://lnkd.in/gJTPYbkn

🆕 The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has spied a cosmic light show! 🤩 🔴 This is the young multi-star system FS Tau 💫 which is made up of FS Tau A (the bright star-like object near the middle) and FS Tau B (the bright object to the right obscured by dust). 🔴 FS Tau B is a protostar, still surrounded by the dust and gas left from its formation which will eventually coalesce into planets. It is likely to become a T Tauri star 🌟 a young star that varies in brightness. 🔴 Protostars are known to eject fast-moving streams of energised material called jets. FS Tau B provides a striking example. It is the source of an unusual, asymmetric, double-sided jet seen here in blue. 🔴 FS Tau A is itself a T Tauri binary system, consisting of two stars orbiting each other. Read more: https://ow.ly/Bv9450R0Rsu 📷 NASA, ESA, and K. Stapelfeldt (NASA JPL), G. Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

The Lunar exploration for NASA is heating up, and everyone being on the same page is critical: Time is flying on the moon, due to physics time is running slightly faster (58.7 microseconds per day). The concern is this difference can mess with missions and data.   NASA's creating "Coordinated Lunar Time" (LTC) by 2026 to keep everyone is sync. This is crucial for things like spacecraft docking and clear communication. ALTC prevents chaos and fosters collaboration between space agencies and private companies. Plus, no daylight saving time on the moon. Want to learn more? Click below to read my full blog post for a deeper analysis https://lnkd.in/g8uGUYKW

🚀 In an extraordinary display of global collaboration, a NASA spacecraft successfully "pinged" India's Vikram lander on the Moon, confirming its precise location and ushering in a new era of lunar exploration. 🌕 This remarkable achievement, reported by NASA on January 23, signifies a significant milestone in lunar science and international cooperation. 🔍 The "ping" was accomplished using a laser beam transmitted from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and reflected back by a specialized device called a retroreflector, attached to the Vikram lander. 🌌 This Oreo-sized instrument, provided by NASA and carried aboard Chandrayaan-3, acts like a cosmic mirror, accurately bouncing back the laser light. By measuring the time it took for the light to travel round-trip, scientists could pinpoint the lander's location with astonishing precision. 🎯 #lunarexploration #global #collaboration #spacemilestone #vikramlander #nasa #isro #LRO #chandrayaan3 #lunar #science #internationalspacecooperation #moon #mission #success

#OTD in History, on January 6, 1969, Deke Slayton, the head of NASA's astronaut office, held a meeting with the future #Apollo11 crew - Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. During this meeting, he informed them that their upcoming mission, set for July, might involve a lunar landing. That was a current schedule as Apollo 8 had recently completed the first crewed mission around the Moon, and Apollo 9 and Apollo 10 were scheduled to test lunar landing equipment (Apollo 9 on Earth orbit) and conduct a lunar rehearsal (Apollo 10) On January 9, 1969, #NASA officially announced the crew for the Apollo 11 mission. The fifth crewed Apollo mission, aimed to achieve President John F. Kennedy's goal „before this decade is out, of landing a Man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth”. The following day, NASA introduced the Apollo 11 crew during a press conference at the (now called) Johnson Space Center in Houston. Photo: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration #space #spaceexploration #Apollo #JFK #science

The European Space Agency - ESA #HeraMission, launched on Oct 7, aims to study asteroid Dimorphos, which was impacted two years ago by NASA’s #DARTMission. DART's successful impact of Dimorphos was a groundbreaking moment for planetary defense. Hera will analyze the impact crater, debris, and momentum transfer to build on APL’s work and continue developing methods to defend Earth from potential asteroid threats. 🚀 DART was designed, built, and managed by Johns Hopkins APL. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/edennAzH #JHUAPL | #PlanetaryDefense | NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration | #NASA | #ESA | #SpaceExploration | #AsteroidImpact

🆕 The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has spied a cosmic light show! 🤩 🔴 This is the young multi-star system FS Tau 💫 which is made up of FS Tau A (the bright star-like object near the middle) and FS Tau B (the bright object to the right obscured by dust). 🔴 FS Tau B is a protostar, still surrounded by the dust and gas left from its formation which will eventually coalesce into planets. It is likely to become a T Tauri star 🌟 a young star that varies in brightness. 🔴 Protostars are known to eject fast-moving streams of energised material called jets. FS Tau B provides a striking example. It is the source of an unusual, asymmetric, double-sided jet seen here in blue. 🔴 FS Tau A is itself a T Tauri binary system, consisting of two stars orbiting each other. Read more: https://ow.ly/Bv9450R0Rsu 📷 NASA, ESA, and K. Stapelfeldt (NASA JPL), G. Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)