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分类： Universe

Universe

  • The Bipi Colombo probe, a collaboration between Europe and Japan, successfully flew past Mercury and entered a new stage of orbit in 2026

    On the path of scientific exploration, the collaboration between the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has once again brought us exciting news: the Mercury probe “Bipi Colombo” successfully completed its sixth flyby of Mercury on January 8th. This flyby not only marks a new stage in the preparation for the probe’s future orbit, but also provides valuable data for us to gain a deeper understanding of Mercury, the smallest and hottest planet in the solar system.

    Since its launch on October 20, 2018, the “Bipi Colombo” probe has been striving to enter Mercury’s orbit in 2026. During this flyby, the probe cleverly utilized Mercury’s gravity to slow down and adjust its course, ensuring a smooth path for future scientific goals. During its flyby of Mercury’s North Pole region, the probe came closest to the surface of Mercury at a distance of only 295 kilometers, which allowed scientists to observe this mysterious planet from the closest perspective possible.

    During the flyby process, the detector experienced a period of over 20 minutes without receiving sunlight, relying entirely on its own battery power. During this period, the detector continued to operate normally, observing craters in the “permanent shadow zone”. This unique observation condition undoubtedly provides scientists with valuable data to reveal the composition and history of Mercury’s surface.

    The “Bipi Colombo” exploration mission is a major scientific research project led by the European Space Agency and closely collaborated with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. In the project, the detector carries two independent detection devices with significant scientific exploration value. The “Mercury Planetary Orbiter” developed by the European Space Agency will be used to explore the surface and composition of Mercury in depth, while the “Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter” developed by the Japanese Space Agency focuses on detecting Mercury’s magnetic field, which is a manifestation of the detector’s multi-dimensional observation capability.

    With the advancement of technology, space exploration technology is also constantly improving. From carrying high-precision imaging equipment to using artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze scientific data, the “Bipi Colombo” project fully demonstrates the combination of cutting-edge science and modern technology. Through these latest exploration data, we will be able to better understand Mercury and its complex geological and magnetic characteristics.

    It is worth noting that comprehensive scientific exploration cannot be achieved without international cooperation. The mutual support and cooperation between Europe and Japan for the “Bipi Colombo” probe demonstrate the importance of global scientific research in space exploration. Not only has it enabled the smooth implementation of exploration missions, but it has also injected more momentum into human exploration of space and unlocking the mysteries of the universe.

    Looking ahead to the future, as the “Bipi Colombo” probe officially enters the orbit of Mercury in 2026, research teams from China, Japan, and Europe will work closely together in their respective scientific fields to carry out corresponding scientific exploration operations. This collaboration will provide the scientific community with more insights into Mercury and further advance our exploration of other planets in the solar system.

    Overall, the flyby mission of “Bipi Colombo” is not only a scientific success, but also a vivid embodiment of humanity’s spirit of exploring the universe. When we are in this era of informatization and globalization, modern technology is constantly pushing the boundaries of scientific exploration

  • NASA has released the highest quality image of Jupiter in history

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    NASA’s Jupiter Polar Orbiter (Juno) spacecraft has sent back the most detailed images of Jupiter to Earth. At the end of October,
    It completed its 66th orbit around Jupiter. The Belarusian Ideal News Agency reported on this.
    These photos were taken with a JunoCam camera with a resolution of two million pixels. These photos show chaotic clouds and cyclonic storms in Jupiter’s subpolar latitudes.
    The latest batch of images he sent back to Earth is indeed impressive, “Newsweek reported
    Juno is also equipped with other instruments, including a magnetometer for mapping planetary magnetic fields and a microwave radiometer for measuring water and ammonia in the atmosphere.
    The journey of the space station from Earth to the largest planet in the solar system took approximately five years
    The Juno spacecraft was launched in 2011. In 2016, it entered Jupiter’s orbit and flew 1.7 billion miles. Since then, the probe has flown over Jupiter and its satellites, capturing images and sending back a large amount of detailed data. The greatest achievement was the first close-up image of Jupiter’s North Pole. Juno also revealed the largest storm on Jupiter – the Great Red Spot. It also showed that the storm was about 200 miles (about 321 kilometers) deep, which is 50 to 100 times the depth of Earth’s oceans.
    Juno has flown 2.7 billion kilometers in 5 years.
    In addition, on September 29, 2022, the Juno spacecraft flew close to Europe. The minimum distance to the surface of the satellite is only 352 kilometers. The device is also close to Jupiter’s fifth largest moon, Amalthea, with a diameter of approximately 83 kilometers.
    Juno is named after the sister and wife of the Greek and Roman goddess of marriage and childbirth, Jupiter. This task will end in 2025. Jupiter’s gravity will pull the interplanetary space station into the chaotic atmosphere of this gas giant planet.
    SpaceX sends Europa Clipper space station to icy Jupiter moon
    On October 14th, the Europa Clipper from the American Interstellar Automated Station (AMS) departed for Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, carrying AMS, was launched into space from the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. About an hour after takeoff, the Europa Clipper successfully separated from the second stage carrier rocket. The space station will arrive at this gas giant planet in 2030.
    It is expected that the “Europa Clipper” will orbit Jupiter and make multiple close flybys of Europa, which is believed to have an ocean of liquid water beneath the ice. The spacecraft will collect data on the atmosphere, surface, and interior of Jupiter’s satellites, which may contain life.

  • Latest discovery: A large amount of liquid water detected 20 kilometers underground on Mars!

    Mars, the fourth planet in the solar system, now presents a desolate landscape with a dry surface covered in sand dunes and rocks, as if it were a huge desert. However, scientific research shows that Mars billions of years ago was not like this.
    At that time, Mars had a thick atmosphere similar to Earth, a warm climate, and a large amount of liquid water.
    Because there are many river valley landforms on the surface of Mars that resemble Earth, this indicates that liquid water once flowed on the surface of this red planet. In addition, scientists have discovered many minerals on Mars that can only form in the presence of water, such as clay and sulfates.
    These findings strongly suggest that Mars once had a large amount of liquid water and may have had vast lakes, rivers, and even oceans.
    However, approximately 3 to 4 billion years ago, Mars underwent a series of catastrophic events that completely changed the fate of the planet. Scientists believe that the dramatic changes in the Martian environment began with the collapse of its global magnetic field. Magnetic field is a key barrier that protects planetary atmospheres from solar wind erosion.
    As the core of Mars gradually cools down, this protective barrier begins to weaken, causing the Martian atmosphere to be gradually stripped away by the solar wind.
    With the loss of the atmosphere, the pressure on Mars significantly decreases and the climate becomes increasingly cold. Causing liquid water to evaporate and escape into space, while some freeze into ice and are buried beneath the surface or in polar ice caps. This process transformed Mars from a warm and humid world to today’s dry and cold desert planet.
    Although scientists have long speculated that there may be water resources underground on Mars, there was no substantial evidence before. However, recently scientists have made a remarkable breakthrough. NASA’s “Insight” lander discovered a large amount of liquid water existing underground on Mars while exploring its internal structure, with depths ranging from 11.5 to 20 kilometers, reaching a depth of 1 kilometer.
    And this discovery was achieved through a method similar to seismology. Scientists use the seismic data collected by the Insight mission on Mars to analyze the behavior of seismic waves propagating in different media, thereby inferring that there are characteristics similar to liquid water underground.
    According to speculation, the existence of this underground ocean may be related to geothermal activity underground on Mars. Because geothermal activity provides sufficient temperature for groundwater to remain liquid. Surprisingly, this amount of water is enough to cover the entire surface of Mars, opening a whole new door for future research on Mars.
    The discovery of groundwater resources has also raised an extremely important question: is there life in this underground ocean? If there is life in the underground ocean of Mars, it will mean that Earth is no longer the only planet with life.
    In fact, the existence of life on Mars has always been a focus of scientists’ attention. If life is discovered in the underground ocean of Mars in the future, it will change our understanding of the possibility of life in the universe. Future Mars exploration missions will continue to delve deeper into this issue. But regardless of the outcome, these explorations will greatly enrich our understanding of Mars.