Science 2020: 5 events that could change the future of technology - and mankind itself
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31/12/2020 - 13:24 The Long March-5 Y5 rocket, carrying the Chang e-5 lunar probe, takes off from Wenchang Space Launch Center, China on November 24. REUTERS - TINGSHU WANG 6 min If 2020 will always be remembered for the emergence and global spread of Covid-19, there were also some significant scientific milestones that will change the way we look at the world, our relationship with the world, how we live in and on it, and even the future of humanity. Advertising
1. Bringing lunar rocks, asteroid dust to Earth
The Japanese Hayabusa 2 mission, launched in 2014, succeeded in bringing to Earth soil samples from an asteroid 300 million kilometers away. A capsule containing 0.1 grams of the dust from the asteroid Ryugu landed in Australia on December 5.
Sky Matters: 2020 saw the launch of 111 rockets, some carrying up to 60 satellites
The unmanned Chinese Chang’e spacecraft brought back the largest haul of moon rock since the Apollo era.
In 2020 the Japanese Hayabusa 2 spacecraft returned to Earth after a rendez-vous with a near-Earth asteroid called Ryugu.
Mon, 28 Dec, 2020 - 08:00
We have passed the shortest day of the year. Slowly but surely the hours of daylight increase. More energy from the sun falls on the northern hemisphere and gradually the warming begins.
It’s not immediate, as we all know, partly because our atmosphere is slow to react. This time lag may have been a cause for concern for our ancestors who likely prayed to their deities in the hope of the fruitful return of the longer days. For us, it’s different. We know the lengthening of the days are inevitable because we understand the principal force of nature responsible gravity.
How NASA used a medi-hotel to prepare for the return of the Hayabusa2 space capsule
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The NASA crew in Adelaide for the Hayabusa2 space capsule landing.
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Key points:
Like other international arrivals, they were forced to quarantine and used the time productively
Their stay coincided with one of the strictest state lockdowns so far imposed by authorities
When the Japanese Hayabusa2 spacecraft approached Earth in late November, a team of scientists from around the world was assembling in South Australia, where the mission s space capsule was destined to land.
The mission was led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), with support from NASA, the Australian Space Agency and the Australian Defence Force.
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On October 20, an uncrewed spacecraft roughly the size of a Sprinter van and traveling at the glacial pace of 10 centimeters per second collided with an asteroid 200 million miles from Earth.
The OSIRIS-REx craft’s proboscis-like “Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism” (Tagsam), an 11-foot-long shock absorber tipped by a round vacuum head and a collection canister, touched down atop a boulder on the asteroid Bennu’s surface and appeared to smash right through it. Several seconds after impact, the arm had punched more than a foot and a half into the asteroid. It would have kept going too, but for the programmed sequence that burst the arm’s nitrogen gas canister, tripped its vacuum suction, and milliseconds later fired the spacecraft’s reverse thrusters to initiate a hyperbolic escape trajectory. After 17 years and $800 million in funding, the crux of OSIRIS-REx’s smash-and-grab mission was over in
Confirman la primera muestra de gas procedente del espacio profundo traída desde el asteroide Ryugu rt.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rt.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.