China successfully launched an experimental space mission of Friday in an effort to expand its space exploration program. The test is a first stage of a complex research program with a second episode scheduled for 2017. In three years from now, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) will send another mission to bring back samples of Moon … [Read more...]
NASA Considers Hibernation a Viable Option for Mars Missions
When humans will finally reach Mars, it will end up being the most expensive endeavor in history. The two planets rarely get closer than 38 million miles and they can be separated by 249 million miles of empty space when they are in opposition. The trip to Mars will be a very long one. Besides taking into account the psychological effects of an approximately 180-day trip, space agencies have to … [Read more...]
Indian Low-Cost Satellite Enters Mars Orbit
India successfully placed a satellite on the red planet’s orbit on Wednesday morning. The Southern Asian state raises the bar in interplanetary missions for all other space explorers. Mangalyaan, India’s space probe now revolving around Mars, had a total cost of just $74 million, 11 percent of MAVEN’s cost, the satellite operated by NASA. The Indian satellite was launched on November 5, 2013 from … [Read more...]