Portal:Space

The Space Portal   Main     Featured content     Things you can do     Topics   Space (or outer space) describes the vast empty regions between and around planets and stars. The study of these, and other, astronomical objects is called astronomy, one of the oldest sciences. It is often said that space exploration began with the launch of Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to orbit the Earth. Then, in an almost unbelievable feat of human achievement, in 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin travelled to the Moon and set foot on the surface during the Apollo 11 mission. Recently, it has become clear that the possibility of space colonization may no longer be exclusively reserved for science-fiction stories, and many controversial issues surrounding space have come to light, including commercial spaceflight, space laws and space weapons. The recorded history of Mars observation dates back to the era of the ancient Egyptian astronomers in the 2nd millennium BCE. Detailed observations of the position of Mars were made by Babylonian astronomers, and ancient Greek philosophers and Hellenistic astronomers developed a geocentric model to explain the planet's motions. Indian and Muslim astronomers estimated its size and distance from Earth. The first telescopic observation of Mars was by Galileo Galilei in 1610. The first crude map of Mars was published in 1840. When astronomers mistakenly thought they had detected the spectroscopic signature of water in the Martian atmosphere, the idea of life on Mars became popular. During the 1920s, the range of Martian surface temperature was measured; it ranged from −85 °C (−121 °F) to 7 °C (45 °F). The planetary atmosphere was found to be arid with only trace amounts of oxygen and water. Since the 1960s, multiple robotic spacecraft have been sent to explore Mars. The planet has remained under observation by ground and space-based instruments and the discovery of meteorites on Earth that originated on Mars has allowed laboratory examination of the chemical conditions on the planet. A composite image of Olympus Mons on Mars, the tallest known volcano and mountain in the Solar System. This image was created from black-and-white imagery from the USGS's Mars Global Digital Image Mosaic and color imagery acquired from the 1978 visit of Viking 1. Wikinews Space Portal May 9: NASA releases first topographical map of Mercury October 31: NASA releases complete image of Pluto's crescent October 9: After Mars, NASA announces water ice on Pluto October 1: NASA announces water on Mars July 17: NASA's New Horizons space probe performs first close planetary flyby of Pluto January 30: Scientists find ancient solar system in Milky Way galaxy January 11: SpaceX launches fifth resupply rocket to International Space Station January 10: Researchers say light signal from space suggests merging black holes December 8: Orion Spacecraft accomplishes first spaceflight test November 13: Philae space probe lands on comet October 30: Launch failure occurs at Virginia spaceport August 23: SpaceX test rocket crashes in Texas The next scheduled launch is of a geodesy satellite on a Rokot launch vehicle. Launch from Plesetsk Site 133/3 is scheduled for 14:00 UTC on June 4, 2016. The next scheduled manned launch is of Soyuz MS-01, the maiden flight of the Soyuz-MS spacecraft, on a Soyuz-FG rocket, carrying three Expedition 48 crew members to the International Space Station. Launch from Baikonur Site 1/5 is scheduled for 07:46 UTC on June 21, 2016. For a full launch schedule see 2025 in spaceflight Celestial events by month Portals : Astronomy and Space 2016: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2015: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2014: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2013: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2012: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2011: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2010: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2009: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2008: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2007: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2006: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2005: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 55x55px Astronomy European Space Agency Jupiter Mars Moon Science 55x55px Solar System Spaceflight Star Cosmology Uranus X-ray astronomy What are portals? List of portals Featured portals