Mars

“He will go to Mars next year”

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Starship has suffered its greatest setback in years. Two consecutive explosions They have triggered rumors that something is wrong with the latest design improvements of the ship. Elon Musk He has just responded to these rumors in his own way, stating that the world’s largest rocket will be launched to Mars next year. “Starship will leave to Mars at the end of next year, carrying optimus as a load,” The businessman wrote in allusion to Tesla anthropomorphic robots. “If those landings went well, the landings with humans could start in 2029, although they are more likely in 2031”. The dates are optimistic, but not arbitrary. The launch windows between the Earth and Mars occur every 26 months, when the relative position of both planets allows more efficient trajectories, with a lower fuel expense. The next launch window will open in November 2026. Spacex plans to send around Five starship not crew to Mars during the next launch opportunity. The ships would arrive on the red planet six months later, shortly before the planned date For Artemis III, the first manned mission to the Moon since 1972. Starship is a fundamental part of NASA’s lunar mission, and in turn the largest public contract of the rocket, but Musk has said that the moon is “a distraction” and that Spacex’s priority is to colonize Mars, An objective that Donald Trump then adoptedso the future of the Artemis program is uncertain. Starship 34 filtered image with several less engines for the explosion Nor is Starship at his best. The 123 meter high rocket premiered a new version of its second stage, Starship Block 2in January. The ship has exploded on two consecutive flights since then: On flight 7, By “harmonic oscillations” which triggered a leakage of propellants, an engine fire and, finally, the disintegration of the ship On flight 8, for an “energy event” which caused the disappearance of several engines and caused the loss of ship’s control to its self -control The second ruling fired a trail of leaks and rumors that put into question the redesign of the ship. First, a mysterious source leaked an image of Starship 34, that of flight 8, with several missing engines after the explosion. After, The same source affirmed that the root cause of the problem had been the same as in the previous flight: vibrations in the tubes that carry fuel and oxygen to the Vacuor Raptor engines (RVAC), a garrafal design failure. According to this anonymous filter, Vibrations get worse As the tanks are emptied after the separation of stages. When the tanks are full, the liquid helps to cushion the vibrations, but when emptying, the vibrations increase to cause breaks in the pipes. If so, this problem occurs in the engines compartment, a non -pressurized part of the rocket that Spacex calls “AFT” (or stern) and that could be partially redesigned in upcoming versions of the rocket. Despite these rumors, Elon Musk said that flight 8 had been A lower setback and that Starship would be ready to fly again next month. Image | Spacex In Xataka | It is not that Elon Musk has managed to introduce its influence on NASA. Is that he has entered sweeping In Xataka | Elon Musk is willing to conquer Mars. His proposal to govern the planet: a direct democracy with nuances

The European Hera probe has just sent us its first photos for the story: we orbit Mars

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Despite how much we have explored Mars, we had few photos of Deimos, the smallest and distant from its two moons. The European Space Agency has just solved it. Launched October 7, 2024ESA’s hera probe goes towards Dimorfo, the first asteroid diverted by humanity. Understand the effects of historical impact that NASA’s Dart probe achieved In 2022 it will be Europe’s contribution to the International Planetary Defense Mission as we detect new potentially dangerous objects in the Solar System. Before getting to Dído, the binary asteroid system of which Dimorfo is part, the Hera probe has flown Mars to gain speed. The gravitational assistance maneuver It happened last night and it was totally successful: Not only because hera shortened his travel time in several months, saving a crucial amount of fuel, but because he took more than a thousand photos. Deimos and the surface of Mars through the Hara Camera (ESA) Moving at 32,400 km/h with respect to Mars, Hera went to just 5000 km from the red planet, taking advantage of its gravity to gain energy. But also to photograph The moon deams only 1000 km A distance, a historical overflow that was possible thanks to the fact that ESA had adjusted the trajectory of the probe to coincide with the satellite. When the images arrived, the agency scientists project them on a large screen at the European Space Operations Center. All present, including Brian May, a astrophysicist in spectroscopy and guitarist of Queen, exploded in shouts and applause. Deimos and the surface of Mars through the infrared thermal chamber (ESA/Jaxa) Affected by the mare coupling, we always look at Mars with the same face, so Hera has photographed his remote sidehis most unknown face. With 12.4 km in diameter, Deimos, a dark moon and covered with dust in potatoes could be a remnant of a great impact on Mars or an asteroid captured by the gravitational attraction of the planet. During your overfruit, Hera used for the first time Three scientific instruments outside the Earth-Luna system: its black and white sensor used for autonomous navigation, its hyperspectral image sensor (which exceeds the limits of the human eye in terms of visible and infrared colors that it is capable of detecting) and its infrared thermal chamber. In addition to the photos, the exercise has served as training for the main mission, but Dimorfo will be a much more complex objective of photographing: the 151 -meter diameter asteroid is Didimo’s moon, which measures 780 meters. The encounter between the probe and the asteroids should occur in December 2026. Two cubesats that travel inside Hera They will approach the asteroids. Image | THAT In Xataka | NASA and ESA have taken a turn in their predictions on the asteroid: the new data almost rule out the impact

We were wrong about why Mars is red

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The reddish color of Mars is perceived with the naked eye. Perhaps by association of red with the blood, the Babylonians will link him with Nergal, his god of war, something that the Greeks and Romans also did by calling him Ares and Mars. As for why it is a red planet, we have news. Mars is oxidized. For a long time it has been known that the characteristic reddish tone of Mars is due to the presence of iron oxides in the dust on its surface. A New international study that combines data from the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA with laboratory experiments suggests that these iron oxides were formed in the presence of water long before what was believed. A surprisingly wet story. Until recently, it was thought that the predominant iron oxide in Mars was hematite, a mineral that can be formed with little or no presence of liquid water on the surface, provided there is an oxidizing agent in the atmosphere. However, the New observations and laboratory analysis They show clear indications of water in the spectral firm of the Martian dust. This finding indicates that ferrihydrite, an iron oxide with water molecules integrated in its structure, is responsible for the unmistakable red color of the planet, showing that Mars has a more humid story of the established. What is ferrihydrite and why it matters. Ferrihydrite is a badly crystallized and iron ore that is rapidly formed in the presence of fresh water and with moderate oxidation levels. Its structure retains water molecules or other hydroxyl groups inside, so that it leaves a water footprint even under drier subsequent conditions. This feature contrasts with the hematite, which is anhydra and much more stable when there is no liquid water around. Therefore, Ferrihydrite’s discovery implies that in the past of Mars there were episodes with relatively abundant liquid water. The methodology. To get to this conclusion, the researchers combined measurements of several probes and rovers of the ESA (Mars Express and Trace Gas Orbiter) and NASA (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Curiosity, Opportunity and Pathfinder) with laboratory experiments. These experiments consisted of creating simulated Martian dust mixing ferrihydrite with ground basalt in particles a hundred times finer than a human hair. Then, they measured the optical properties of these samples in the same way that the instruments on Mars do, confirming that the ferriidrite explained better the spectral firms of the red planet. A red planet with secrets to reveal. On Earth, ferrihydrite is usually transformed over time into more crystalline phases (such as Goetita or Hematite) if the temperature and water availability conditions allow it. Mars is extremely cold, dry and exposed to a very little dense atmosphere. These conditions hinder the transformation and favor that the ferrihydrite is kept as is, retaining its “water seal” despite the billions of years after it was formed. The image of Mars as an arid and reddish planet has not changed with this study, but our understanding of its past yes. The confirmation of an oxidation phase in the presence of water indicates that the planet had more humid periods and with the possibility of hosting living organisms. Image | ESA/DLR/FU BERLIN/G. Michael, A. Valantines In Xataka | Bombard the poles with nuclear weapons or build a giant magnet: the most reposted ideas to terraft Mars

In 2011, a collector bought in Morocco a meteorite. It has turned out to be a direct test of thermal water on Mars

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A black stone that had fallen from the sky was discovered in the Sahara desert by a Saharawi group. Selling to the highest bidder, we have known for a long time that it comes from the Mars cortex, but they have had to spend more than 10 years for scientists to desert one of their best kept secrets. A meteorite called “Black Beauty”. Officially called Northwest Africa 7034, the 320 grams rock was found in 2011 in the Sahara desert, in Western Sahara, and later sold to an American collector in Morocco. Its composition is unique among known Martian meteorites. It contains very old and very young minerals glued to each other, but coincides with what was observed by NASA’s rovers on the surface of Mars, so it was part of the Martian cortex when it detached from the red planet. A time capsule. A Recent study It focuses on a zircon grain found in the meteorite. This zircon has no less than 4,450 million years, which places it in the earliest stages of Martian history. The majority of known meteorites that come from Mars are from later geological periods, so NWA 7034 provides invaluable information on what the surface environment of the red planet was long before becoming what it is today. The meteorite that contains the most water. What makes Black Beauty exceptional is that it houses 10 times more water than other Martian meteorites. It was known that by the interaction of the rock with the water present in the crust of the planet at the time of its formation, but the recent analysis of the zircon with modern microscopy techniques has revealed much more information. The fragment contains iron, aluminum and sodium, unusual elements for a zircon of purely magmatic origin. But it is above all the presence of tiny inclusions of magnetite (iron oxide) that suggests that it crystallized under hydrothermal conditions. That is, in the presence of water at high temperature, and in an oxidizing environment. Ancient hot springs. The magnetite is trapped in zones of the zirch that are not altered by radiation, which indicates that they were formed at the same time as the zirch, and not as a result of subsequent secondary processes, the researchers explain. What the study comes to say is that 4,450 million years ago, during what is known as the pre-ondic period of Mars, there were already hydrothermal conditions in the Martian cortex. The Black Beauty meteorite is a direct proof that Mars had water in its formation stages. Favorable conditions for life. The finding reinforces the hypothesis that Mars had from very early the necessary conditions to house life, or at least some environments suitable for microbial life. That there was life on Mars or that it arrived on earth through a meteorite is still two hypotheses for which we have no evidence. However, that a meteorite of 2011 has given us so much information and reasons to continue investigating demonstrates how important the Martian samples can be that NASA and China want to bring in the coming years. Images | New Mexico University, NASA

Trump has made it very clear that he wants to conquer Mars. Now NASA has the enormous problem of not being called SpaceX

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Trump made just one space promise during his inauguration speech, but it was no small feat. The Martian dream. Between cheers and jumps of enthusiasm of Elon Musk, Donald Trump pointed out Mars as new “manifest destiny” of the United States. The newly inaugurated president promised to take astronauts to the Red Planet and plant the American flag in Martian soil. Trump stated: “We will pursue our manifest destiny to the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the flag on the planet Mars.” His words are not coincidental and have a clear influence, but they seem to mark a change of priorities for NASA that leaves the future of the Artemis lunar program. The influence of Elon Musk. “We’re going straight to Mars, the Moon is a distraction,” wrote the CEO of SpaceX two weeks ago. No one quite understood the scope of that tweet, since SpaceX has a very important contract with NASA to build the lander for the Artemis III and IV lunar missions, but now that message resonates on Capitol Hill. There, President Trump focused on Mars. It could just be a rhetorical statement (slowly, but surely, we have to get to Mars before China does), but with Elon Musk as a key ally, the new government could really be preparing a radical shift in astronautics strategy. The current Artemis program. It was precisely Trump’s first term that shaped NASA’s current lunar program. The then administrator, Jim Bridenstine, managed to put the United States’ return to the Moon on track with an architecture that combined NASA’s internal developments (the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft) with commercial spacecraft from private companies (SpaceX’s Starship HLS and the lunar module Blue Moon by Blue Origin). In turn, Bridenstine promoted a series of unmanned lunar missions and the creation of the Artemis Accordswhich already has 53 signatory countries, for international cooperation in future missions to the Moon, including the construction of a lunar base, the commercial exploitation of the satellite and everything that comes after (Mars, comets and asteroids). The Moon is a cruel lover. Artemis is not at her best. Manned missions have been delayed for problems on the Orion ship and delays in Starship development. Furthermore, the insane cost overruns of the SLS rocket have put a good part of public opinion against the current architecture of the program, which could be reconfigured with the support of SpaceX’s new Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets. To make matters worse, the first two commercial missions associated with Artemis (CLPS‑1 and CLPS‑2) failed to reach the Moon or lie down when landing on the moonwhich has precipitated the cancellation of other more important missions such as NASA’s VIPER rover. But until Trump’s speech, there was nothing to predict that the Artemis program would be in danger. Is it really? From the Moon to Mars. Until now, NASA’s plan was to establish itself on the Moon throughout this decade and the next (or at least in the Gateway lunar station in orbit with the satellite) to prepare for the jump to Mars in the 2040s. Prioritize the Red Planet I would leave three scenarios to the foreseeable new administrator from NASA, Jared Isaacman: A reduced lunar program, without aspirations to create a large lunar base like the one proposed by the ILRS program led by China. Thus, the United States would continue in the race to put the first woman on the moon without stopping to focus on Mars. In exchange, he would cede lunar land to his opponents A bifurcated program with parallel lunar and Martian missions that do not throw away everything that has been developed so far. It would be the logical step if NASA’s budget were unlimited, but with the huge investment what the lunar program entails, adding a Martian program seems impossible A total redirection to the conquest of Mars. Following Elon Musk’s vision: the Moon is a distraction from the ultimate goal of become a multiplanetary civilization. Even with a majority in Congress, it is the option in which giants such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and even New Space lose (Blue Origin has several lunar contracts). It seems complicated for congressmen to agree on a clean slate, but it is not totally impossible How would the United States get to Mars? There would be a public tender, but one option immediately comes to mind. NASA could adopt the SpaceX Mars program as your own. Elon Musk said SpaceX planned to launch five uncrewed Starships to Mars in 2026 and, if they managed to land, the first crewed mission to Mars in history in 2028. The experts agree at a crucial point: a mission with astronauts to Mars in the next four years is technically impossible if it is to be done with guarantees, since the scientific and technological challenges are monumental. But there were also many people convinced that Trump would not win the election again while Musk bet money that yes I would. Image | The White House, NASA In Xataka | Artemis has entered into crisis: NASA remains silent about the Orion spacecraft and rumors of cancellation of the SLS grow

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