Tag: Methane
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ZhuQue-2 launches on third flight
LandSpace has launched its third ZhuQue-2 rocket on Friday, Dec. 8, at 23:40 UTC. The launch, just like the first two, took place from Launch Site 96 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. Earlier this year, ZhuQue-2 performed its second launch, in which the rocket successfully reached orbit. After the initial launch in…
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Chinese company wins race for first methane-fueled rocket to orbit
A commercial Chinese firm named LandSpace launched its Zhuque-2 rocket late Tuesday and made history as the first company to send a methane-fueled launcher into orbit, beating a bevy of US vehicles to the milestone. LandSpace launched the Zhuque-2 rocket at 9 pm ET Tuesday (01:00 UTC Wednesday) from the Jiuquan spaceport, a military-run facility…
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LandSpace claims win in the methane race to orbit via second ZhuQue-2 launch
LandSpace launched its methane-based ZhuQue-2 rocket on Wednesday. This was the rocket’s second launch after its failed maiden flight in December 2022. Initial claims from the company noted a mission success, marking the first methalox rocket to reach orbit. The ZhuQue-2 rocket ZhuQue-2 (Redbird 2 in English) is a rocket designed by the Chinese private company…
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Intuitive Machines selects SpaceX to launch commercial lunar lander
Artist’s illustration of an Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander during launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: Intuitive Machines Intuitive Machines confirmed plans Wednesday to launch a commercial lunar lander aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Space Coast in 2021 on a mission to deliver multiple payloads to the moon, including up to…
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That burst of Martian methane is long gone, but mystery of life on Mars remains
This image was taken by the left Navcam on NASA’s Curiosity rover on June 18. It shows part of Teal Ridge, which the rover has been studying within a region called the “clay-bearing unit.” (NASA / JPL-Caltech Photo) BELLEVUE, Wash. — NASA says the record-setting belch of Martian methane that its Curiosity rover detected last…
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Is there life on Mars, or on other worlds beyond Earth? The answer may be squishy
NASA’s Curiosity rover took this selfie in June 2018 by capturing a series of pictures with a camera mounted on its robotic arm. (NASA / JPL-Caltech Photo) BELLEVUE, Wash. — NASA’s Curiosity rover has detected fresh whiffs of Martian methane, once again sparking speculation about a potential biological source — but researchers at the space…
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Sweet! Scientists narrow down source of mysterious burst of methane on Mars
The European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter, shown in this artist’s conception, has been circling Mars since 2003. (Spacecraft image credit: ESA / ATG Medialab; Mars: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO) It may sound like an April Fool’s joke about flatulent aliens, but this is serious: The scientists behind the…
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More signs of past — and possibly present — habitability of Mars
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Credit: NASA/GSFC NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover, slowly making its way up the side of a towering mountain of sedimentary rock at the center of its Gale Crater landing site, has found fresh evidence for the red planet’s past — and possibly present — habitability, scientists reported Thursday. The…
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Do rockets blast away the ozone layer? It’s no biggie today … but watch the skies
The dark exhaust seen streaming from the Merlin engines on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched last October contains black carbon, which chemists say may play a role in ozone-depleting chemistry. (SpaceX via YouTube) Thanks to Blue Origin, SpaceX and other space ventures, the skies could well be filled with rockets in years to…
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Ambitious European-led Mars mission ready for liftoff
Artist’s concept of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) deploying the Schiaparelli Entry Descent and Landing demonstrator module (EDM) just before arrival at Mars in October 2016. Credit: ESA–D. Ducros Humankind’s largest emissary to Mars in a generation is set for blastoff Monday, when Europe and Russia will dispatch a mission to unravel the mystery…