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- Polaris Dawn Mission Delays
Introduction
Welcome to another exciting week!
Today we will cover the latest news regarding the Polaris Dawn delays, as well as the upcoming events of this week.
Content:
Best image of the week
Peeking into Perseus (NGC 1333) JWST
This image, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, was uploaded the 27th of August.
It captures NGC 1333 which is a nearby star-forming region. Webb’s sharp infrared vision captures the dusty veil to reveal newborn stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary mass objects.
Many of the young stars in this image are surrounded by discs of gas and dust, which may eventually produce planetary systems.
Last week news
Polaris Dawn Mission Delays:
The Polaris Dawn mission was initially scheduled to launch the 26th of August, we are already at 1st of September, and it hasn't launched yet.
It was postponed to the 28th of August for safety reasons due to helium gas leaks, but it didn't launch.
Now, it has been postponed again, without a settled launch date due to bad meteorological conditions.
New mission to the lunar South Pole:
NASA has partnered with Intuituve Machines for lunar south pole mission, by 2027. NASA awarded that company $119 million dollars to achieve this.
They want to send six pay loads, 4 from NASA, 1 from ESA and another one from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics.
The main objectives of this new mission is better understand the Moon and its composition.
One of the missions consists of drilling a meter below the surface to study any volatiles like water ice that may exist below the surface.
Upcoming events
New Moon, 3rd September:
A new Moon is the first lunar phase, at this point the Moon in not visible.
For that reason, it is the best time for stargazing, as there is the least light pollution.
Starliner will leave the ISS and land on Earth, 6th September:
The Boeing Starliner, which has been on the ISS for over 90 days, although it was first meant to stay for only 8 days, is finally scheduled to come back uncrewed the 6th of September. This is due to major leaks of helium.
Saturn at Opposition, 8th September:
The Earth will be just between the Sun and Saturn (at opposition). This means all the sunlight that hits Saturn will bounce back to Earth, making Saturn much brighter, and for that reason way easier to see with the naked eye. If you have better equipment, you will be able to take incredible images of Saturn.
Mobile wallpaperToday’s wallpaper is from Piotrek Sadowsky. This incredible image captures the NGC 6188 Ara Constellation. Which is located about 4,000 light-years away. |  NGC 6188 Ara Constellation |
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