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Stars

Each star in the sky is an enormous glowing ball of gas. Our Sun is a medium-sized star. Stars can live for billions of years. The largest stars have the shortest span(still billions of years); more massive stars burn hotter and faster than their smaller counterparts(like the sun).

Stars twinkle due to air currents in the atmosphere. The colour of any star depends upon its temperature. They appear to be near each other, but actually they are apart by distances of billions of kilometres. These distances are measured in terms of a very big unit of distance called light year. Light year is used to measure distances in the Universe. One light year is the distance travelled by light in one year.

Constellations

A constellation is a group of stars which seen from Earth, form a pattern. The stars in the sky are divided into 88 constellations.

The brightest constellation is Crux (the Southern Cross). The constellation with the greatest number of visible stars in it is Centaurus (the centaur with 101 stars). The largest constellation is Hydra (The Water Snake).

Galaxies

Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is typical: it has hundreds of billions of stars, enough gas and dust to make billions more stars, and at least ten times as much dark matter as all the stars and gas put together. And it’s all held together by gravity.

Like more than two-thirds of the known galaxies, the Milky Way has a spiral shape. At the center of the spiral, a lot of energy and, occasionally, vivid flares are being generated. Based on the immense gravity that would be required to explain the movement of stars and the energy expelled, the astronomers conclude that the center of the Milky Way is a supermassive black hole.

Other galaxies have elliptical shapes, and a few have unusual shapes like toothpicks or rings. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) shows this diversity. Hubble observed a tiny patch of sky (one-tenth the diameter of the moon) for one million seconds (11.6 days) and found approximately 10,000 galaxies, of all sizes, shapes, and colors. From the ground, we see very little in this spot, which is in the constellation Fornax.

Formation of Galaxies

After the Big Bang, the Universe was composed of radiation and subatomic particles. What happened next is up for debate – did small particles slowly team up and gradually form stars, star clusters, and eventually galaxies? Or did the Universe first organize as immense clumps of matter that later subdivided into galaxies?

Collisions of Galaxies

The shapes of galaxies are influenced by their neighbors, and, often, galaxies collide. The Milky Way is itself on a collision course with our nearest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy. Even though it is the same age as the Milky Way, Hubble observations reveal that the stars in Andromeda’s halo are much younger than those in the Milky Way. From this and other evidence, astronomers infer that Andromeda has already smashed into at least one and maybe several other galaxies.

Recent Discoveries of Galaxies

Date	Discovery
February 22, 2021	Eye in the Sky (NGC4826)
January 18, 2021	Colors of the Lost Galaxy (NGC 4535)
January 14, 2021	Magnetic Chaos Hidden Within the Whirlpool Galaxy
January 12, 2021	NASA Missions Help Investigate an ‘Old Faithful’ Active Galaxy
January 7, 2021	Hubble Showcases 6 Galaxy Mergers
January 7, 2021	Hubble Showcases 6 Galaxy Mergers
December 21, 2020	Faint Remnant Threads (NGC 1947)
December 7, 2020	The Stellar Forge (NGC 1792)
November 18, 2020	16-Year-Old Cosmic Mystery Solved, Revealing Stellar Missing Link
November 9, 2020	Contorting Giants (LRG-3-817)
October 26, 2020	Beauty From Chaos (NGC 34)
September 22, 2020	Data Sonification: Sounds from Around the Milky Way
August 27, 2020	Hubble Maps a Giant Halo Around the Andromeda Galaxy
August 25, 2020	NASA Missions Explore a ‘TIE Fighter’ Active Galaxy
August 10, 2020	Ring of Stellar Wildfire (NGC 1614)
July 13, 2020	A frEGGs-cellent Discovery (J025027.7+600849)
June 29, 2020	Birds of a Feather (NGC 2275)
June 15, 2020	A Bright Find (PLCK G045.1+61.1)
June 1, 2020	Stellar Snowflakes (NGC 6441)
May 18, 2020	Stellar Glitter in a Field of Black (ESO 461-036)
May 11, 2020	Bending the Bridge Between Two Galaxy Clusters (Abell 2384)
April 6, 2020	Rings Upon Rings (NGC 2273)
February 20, 2020	Beyond the Brim, Sombrero Galaxy’s Halo Suggests a Turbulent Past
February 3, 2020	Nature’s Grand Design (NGC 5364)

Supernova

A supernova, plural: supernovae, or supernovas, abbreviations: SN and SNe) is a powerful and luminous stellar explosion. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. The original object, called the progenitor, either collapses to a neutron star or black hole, or is destroyed. The peak optical luminosity of a supernova can be comparable to that of an entire galaxy before fading over several weeks or months.

Supernovae are more energetic than novae. In Latin, nova means "new", referring astronomically to what appears to be a temporary new bright star. Adding the prefix "super-" distinguishes supernovae from ordinary novae, which are far less luminous. The word supernova was coined by Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky in 1929.

The most recent directly observed supernova in the Milky Way was Kepler's Supernova in 1604, but the remnants of more recent supernovae have been found. Observations of supernovae in other galaxies suggest they occur in the Milky Way on average about three times every century. These supernovae would almost certainly be observable with modern astronomical telescopes. The most recent naked-eye supernova was SN 1987A, the explosion of a blue supergiant star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite of the Milky Way.

Theoretical studies indicate that most supernovae are triggered by one of two basic mechanisms: the sudden re-ignition of nuclear fusion in a degenerate star such as a white dwarf, or the sudden gravitational collapse of a massive star's core. In the first class of events, the object's temperature is raised enough to trigger runaway nuclear fusion, completely disrupting the star. Possible causes are an accumulation of material from a binary companion through accretion, or a stellar merger. In the massive star case, the core of a massive star may undergo collapse, releasing gravitational potential energy as a supernova. While some observed supernovae are more complex than these two simplified theories, the astrophysical mechanics are established and accepted by the astronomical community.

Supernovae can expel several solar masses of material at speeds up to several percent of the speed of light. This drives an expanding shock wave into the surrounding interstellar medium, sweeping up an expanding shell of gas and dust observed as a supernova remnant. Supernovae are a major source of elements in the interstellar medium from oxygen to rubidium. The expanding shock waves of supernovae can trigger the formation of new stars. Supernova remnants might be a major source of cosmic rays. Supernovae might produce gravitational waves, though thus far, gravitational waves have been detected only from the mergers of black holes and neutron.

Discovery

Early work on what was originally believed to be simply a new category of novae was performed during the 1920s. These were variously called "upper-class Novae", "Hauptnovae", or "giant novae". The name "supernovae" is thought to have been coined by Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky in lectures at Caltech during 1931. It was used, as "super-Novae", in a journal paper published by Knut Lundmark in 1933, and in a 1934 paper by Baade and Zwicky. By 1938, the hyphen had been lost and the modern name was in use. Because supernovae are relatively rare events within a galaxy, occurring about three times a century in the Milky Way, obtaining a good sample of supernovae to study requires regular monitoring of many galaxies.

Supernovae in other galaxies cannot be predicted with any meaningful accuracy. Normally, when they are discovered, they are already in progress. To use supernovae as standard candles for measuring distance, observation of their peak luminosity is required. It is therefore important to discover them well before they reach their maximum. Amateur astronomers, who greatly outnumber professional astronomers, have played an important role in finding supernovae, typically by looking at some of the closer galaxies through an optical telescope and comparing them to earlier photographs.

Naming Convention

Supernova discoveries are reported to the International Astronomical Union's Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, which sends out a circular with the name it assigns to that supernova. The name is formed from the prefix SN, followed by the year of discovery, suffixed with a one or two-letter designation. The first 26 supernovae of the year are designated with a capital letter from A to Z. Afterward pairs of lower-case letters are used: aa, ab, and so on. Hence, for example, SN 2003C designates the third supernova reported in the year 2003. The last supernova of 2005, SN 2005nc, was the 367th (14 × 26 + 3 = 367). The suffix "Nc" acts as a bijective base-26 encoding, with a = 1, b = 2, c = 3, ... z = 26. Since 2000, professional and amateur astronomers have been finding several hundred supernovae each year (572 in 2007, 261 in 2008, 390 in 2009; 231 in 2013).

Historical supernovae are known simply by the year they occurred: SN 185, SN 1006, SN 1054, SN 1572 (called Tycho's Nova) and SN 1604 (Kepler's Star). Since 1885 the additional letter notation has been used, even if there was only one supernova discovered that year (e.g. SN 1885A, SN 1907A, etc.)—this last happened with SN 1947A. SN, for Supernova, is a standard prefix. Until 1987, two-letter designations were rarely needed; since 1988, however, they have been needed every year. Since 2016, the increasing number of discoveries has regularly led to the additional use of three-digit designations.

Nebula

A nebula (Latin for 'cloud' or 'fog'; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct body of interstellar clouds (which can consist of cosmic dust, hydrogen, helium, molecular clouds; possibly as ionized gases). Originally, the term was used to describe any diffused astronomical object, including galaxies beyond the Milky Way. The Andromeda Galaxy, for instance, was once referred to as the Andromeda Nebula (and spiral galaxies in general as "spiral nebulae") before the true nature of galaxies was confirmed in the early 20th century by Vesto Slipher, Edwin Hubble and others. Edwin Hubble discovered that most nebulae are associated with stars and illuminated by starlight. He also helped categorize nebulae based on the type of light spectra they produced.

Most nebulae are of vast size; some are hundreds of light-years in diameter. A nebula that is visible to the human eye from Earth would appear larger, but no brighter, from close by.The Orion Nebula, the brightest nebula in the sky and occupying an area twice the angular diameter of the full Moon, can be viewed with the naked eye but was missed by early astronomers.Although denser than the space surrounding them, most nebulae are far less dense than any vacuum created on Earth – a nebular cloud the size of the Earth would have a total mass of only a few kilograms. Many nebulae are visible due to fluorescence caused by embedded hot stars, while others are so diffused that they can be detected only with long exposures and special filters. Some nebulae are variably illuminated by T Tauri variable stars. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the "Pillars of Creation" in the Eagle Nebula. In these regions, the formations of gas, dust, and other materials "clump" together to form denser regions, which attract further matter, and eventually will become dense enough to form stars. The remaining material is then believed to form planets and other planetary system objects.

Exoplanets

Step outside on a clear night, and you can be sure of something our ancestors could only imagine: Every star you see likely plays host to at least one planet.

The worlds orbiting other stars are called “exoplanets,” and they come in a wide variety of sizes, from gas giants larger than Jupiter to small, rocky planets about as big around as Earth or Mars. They can be hot enough to boil metal or locked in deep freeze. They can orbit their stars so tightly that a “year” lasts only a few days; they can orbit two suns at once. Some exoplanets are sunless rogues, wandering through the galaxy in permanent darkness.

That galaxy, the Milky Way, is the thick stream of stars that cuts across the sky on the darkest, clearest nights. Its spiraling expanse probably contains about 400 billion stars, our Sun among them. And if each of those stars has not just one planet, but, like ours, a whole system of them, then the number of planets in the galaxy is truly astronomical: We’re already heading into the trillions.

We humans have been speculating about such possibilities for thousands of years, but ours is the first generation to know, with certainty, that exoplanets are really out there. In fact, way out there. Our nearest neighboring star, Proxima Centauri, was recently found to possess at least one planet – probably a rocky one. It’s 4.5 light-years away – more than 25 trillion miles (40 trillion kilometers). The bulk of exoplanets found so far are hundreds or thousands of light-years away.

The bad news: As yet we have no way to reach them, and won’t be leaving footprints on them anytime soon. The good news: We can look in on them, take their temperatures, taste their atmospheres and, perhaps one day soon, detect signs of life that might be hidden in pixels of light captured from these dim, distant worlds.

The first exoplanet to burst upon the world stage was 51 Pegasi b, a “hot Jupiter” 50 light-years away that is locked in a four-day orbit around its star. The watershed year was 1995. All of a sudden, exoplanets were a thing.

But a few hints had already emerged. A planet now known as Tadmor was detected in 1988, though the discovery was withdrawn in 1992. Ten years later, more and better data showed definitively that it was really there after all.

And a system of three “pulsar planets” also had been detected, beginning in 1992. These planets orbit a pulsar some 2,300 light-years away. Pulsars are the high-density, rapidly spinning corpses of dead stars, raking any planets in orbit around them with searing lances of radiation.

Now we live in a universe of exoplanets. The count of confirmed planets is 3,700, and rising. That’s from only a small sampling of the galaxy as a whole. The count could rise to the tens of thousands within a decade, as we increase the number, and observing power, of robotic telescopes lofted into space.

How did we get here?

We’re standing on a precipice of scientific history. The era of early exploration, and the first confirmed exoplanet detections, is giving way to the next phase: sharper and more sophisticated telescopes, in space and on the ground. They will go broad but also drill down. Some will be tasked with taking an ever more precise population census of these far-off worlds, nailing down their many sizes and types. Others will make a closer inspection of individual planets, their atmospheres, and their potential to harbor some form of life.

Direct imaging of exoplanets – that is, actual pictures – will play an increasingly larger role, though we’ve arrived at our present state of knowledge mostly through indirect means. The two main methods rely on wobbles and shadows. The “wobble” method, called radial velocity, watches for the telltale jitters of stars as they are pulled back and forth by the gravitational tugs of an orbiting planet. The size of the wobble reveals the “weight,” or mass, of the planet

This method produced the very first confirmed exoplanet detections, including 51 Peg in 1995, discovered by astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz. Ground telescopes using the radial velocity method have discovered nearly 700 planets so far.

But the vast majority of exoplanets have been found by searching for shadows: the incredibly tiny dip in the light from a star when a planet crosses its face. Astronomers call this crossing a “transit.”

The size of the dip in starlight reveals how big around the transiting planet is. Unsurprisingly, this search for planetary shadows is known as the transit method.

NASA’s Kepler space telescope, launched in 2009, has found nearly 2,700 confirmed exoplanets this way. Now in its “K2” mission, Kepler is still discovering new planets, though its fuel is expected to run out soon.

Each method has its pluses and minuses. Wobble detections provide the mass of the planet, but give no information about the planet’s girth, or diameter. Transit detections reveal the diameter but not the mass.

But when multiple methods are used together, we can learn the vital statistics of whole planetary systems – without ever directly imaging the planets themselves. The best example so far is the TRAPPIST-1 system about 40 light-years away, where seven roughly Earth-sized planets orbit a small, red star.

The TRAPPIST-1 planets have been examined with ground and space telescopes. The space-based studies revealed not only their diameters, but the subtle gravitational influence these seven closely packed planets have upon each other; from this, scientists determined each planet’s mass.

So now we know their masses and their diameters. We also know how much of the energy radiated by their star strikes these planets’ surfaces, allowing scientists to estimate their temperatures. We can even make reasonable estimates of the light level, and guess at the color of the sky, if you were standing on one of them. And while much remains unknown about these seven worlds, including whether they possess atmospheres or oceans, ice sheets or glaciers, it’s become the best-known solar system apart from our own.

Where are we going?

The next generation of space telescopes is upon us. First up is the launch of TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. This extraordinary instrument will take a nearly full-sky survey of the closer, brighter stars to look for transiting planets. Kepler, the past master of transits, will be passing the torch of discovery to TESS.

TESS, in turn, will reveal the best candidates for a closer look with the James Webb Space Telescope, currently schedule to launch in 2020. The Webb telescope, deploying a giant, segmented, light-collecting mirror that will ride on a shingle-like platform, is designed to capture light directly from the planets themselves. The light then can be split into a multi-colored spectrum, a kind of bar code showing which gases are present in the planet’s atmosphere. Webb’s targets might include “super Earths,” or planets larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune – some that could be rocky planets like super-sized versions of our own.

Little is known about these big planets, including whether some might be suitable for life. If we’re very lucky, perhaps one of them will show signs of oxygen, carbon dioxide and methane in its atmosphere. Such a mix of gases would remind us strongly of our own atmosphere, possibly indicating the presence of life.

But hunting for Earth-like atmospheres on Earth-sized exoplanets will probably have to wait for a future generation of even more powerful space probes in the 2020s or 2030s.

Thanks to the Kepler telescope’s statistical survey, we know the stars above are rich with planetary companions. And as we stare up at the night sky, we can be sure not only of a vast multitude of exoplanet neighbors, but of something else: The adventure is just beginning.

Dark Matter and Dark Energy

In the early 1990s, one thing was fairly certain about the expansion of the universe. It might have enough energy density to stop its expansion and recollapse, it might have so little energy density that it would never stop expanding, but gravity was certain to slow the expansion as time went on. Granted, the slowing had not been observed, but, theoretically, the universe had to slow. The universe is full of matter and the attractive force of gravity pulls all matter together. Then came 1998 and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of very distant supernovae that showed that, a long time ago, the universe was actually expanding more slowly than it is today. So the expansion of the universe has not been slowing due to gravity, as everyone thought, it has been accelerating. No one expected this, no one knew how to explain it. But something was causing it.

Eventually theorists came up with three sorts of explanations. Maybe it was a result of a long-discarded version of Einstein’s theory of gravity, one that contained what was called a “cosmological constant.” Maybe there was some strange kind of energy-fluid that filled space. Maybe there is something wrong with Einstein’s theory of gravity and a new theory could include some kind of field that creates this cosmic acceleration. Theorists still don’t know what the correct explanation is, but they have given the solution a name. It is called dark energy.

What is Dark Energy?

More is unknown than is known. We know how much dark energy there is because we know how it affects the universe’s expansion. Other than that, it is a complete mystery. But it is an important mystery. It turns out that roughly 68% of the universe is dark energy. Dark matter makes up about 27%. The rest – everything on Earth, everything ever observed with all of our instruments, all normal matter – adds up to less than 5% of the universe. Come to think of it, maybe it shouldn’t be called “normal” matter at all, since it is such a small fraction of the universe.

One explanation for dark energy is that it is a property of space. Albert Einstein was the first person to realize that empty space is not nothing. Space has amazing properties, many of which are just beginning to be understood. The first property that Einstein discovered is that it is possible for more space to come into existence. Then one version of Einstein’s gravity theory, the version that contains a cosmological constant, makes a second prediction: “empty space” can possess its own energy. Because this energy is a property of space itself, it would not be diluted as space expands. As more space comes into existence, more of this energy-of-space would appear. As a result, this form of energy would cause the universe to expand faster and faster. Unfortunately, no one understands why the cosmological constant should even be there, much less why it would have exactly the right value to cause the observed acceleration of the universe.

Another explanation for how space acquires energy comes from the quantum theory of matter. In this theory, “empty space” is actually full of temporary (“virtual”) particles that continually form and then disappear. But when physicists tried to calculate how much energy this would give empty space, the answer came out wrong – wrong by a lot. The number came out 10120 times too big. That’s a 1 with 120 zeros after it. It’s hard to get an answer that bad. So the mystery continues.

Another explanation for dark energy is that it is a new kind of dynamical energy fluid or field, something that fills all of space but something whose effect on the expansion of the universe is the opposite of that of matter and normal energy. Some theorists have named this “quintessence,” after the fifth element of the Greek philosophers. But, if quintessence is the answer, we still don’t know what it is like, what it interacts with, or why it exists. So the mystery continues.

A last possibility is that Einstein’s theory of gravity is not correct. That would not only affect the expansion of the universe, but it would also affect the way that normal matter in galaxies and clusters of galaxies behaved. This fact would provide a way to decide if the solution to the dark energy problem is a new gravity theory or not: we could observe how galaxies come together in clusters. But if it does turn out that a new theory of gravity is needed, what kind of theory would it be? How could it correctly describe the motion of the bodies in the Solar System, as Einstein’s theory is known to do, and still give us the different prediction for the universe that we need? There are candidate theories, but none are compelling. So the mystery continues.

The thing that is needed to decide between dark energy possibilities – a property of space, a new dynamic fluid, or a new theory of gravity – is more data, better data.

What Is Dark Matter?

By fitting a theoretical model of the composition of the universe to the combined set of cosmological observations, scientists have come up with the composition that we described above, ~68% dark energy, ~27% dark matter, ~5% normal matter.

We are much more certain what dark matter is not than we are what it is. First, it is dark, meaning that it is not in the form of stars and planets that we see. Observations show that there is far too little visible matter in the universe to make up the 27% required by the observations. Second, it is not in the form of dark clouds of normal matter, matter made up of particles called baryons. We know this because we would be able to detect baryonic clouds by their absorption of radiation passing through them. Third, dark matter is not antimatter, because we do not see the unique gamma rays that are produced when antimatter annihilates with matter. Finally, we can rule out large galaxy-sized black holes on the basis of how many gravitational lenses we see. High concentrations of matter bend light passing near them from objects further away, but we do not see enough lensing events to suggest that such objects to make up the required 25% dark matter contribution.

Cosmic microwave background ( CMB)

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is thought to be leftover radiation from the Big Bang, or the time when the universe began. As the theory goes, when the universe was born it underwent a rapid inflation and expansion. (The universe is still expanding today, and the expansion rate appears different depending on where you look). The CMB represents the heat left over from the Big Bang.

You can’t see the CMB with your naked eye, but it is everywhere in the universe. It is invisible to humans because it is so cold, just 2.725 degrees above absolute zero (minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 273.15 degrees Celsius.) This means its radiation is most visible in the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Origins and Discoveries

The universe began 13.8 billion years ago, and the CMB dates back to about 400,000 years after the Big Bang. That’s because in the early stages of the universe, when it was just one-hundred-millionth the size it is today, its temperature was extreme: 273 million degrees above absolute zero, according to NASA. Any atoms present at that time were quickly broken apart into small particles (protons and electrons). The radiation from the CMB in photons (particles representing quantums of light, or other radiation) was scattered off the electrons. “Thus, photons wandered through the early universe, just as optical light wanders through a dense fog,” NASA wrote.

About 380,000 years after the Big Bang, the universe was cool enough that hydrogen could form. Because the CMB photons are barely affected by hitting hydrogen, the photons travel in straight lines. Cosmologists refer to a “surface of last scattering” when the CMB photons last hit matter; after that, the universe was too big. So when we map the CMB, we are looking back in time to 380,000 years after the Big Bang, just after the universe was opaque to radiation.

American cosmologist Ralph Apher first predicted the CMB in 1948, when he was doing work with Robert Herman and George Gamow, according to NASA. The team was doing research related to Big Bang nucleosynthesis, or the production of elements in the universe besides the lightest isotope (type) of hydrogen. This type of hydrogen was created very early in the universe’s history.

But the CMB was first found by accident. In 1965, two researchers with Bell Telephone Laboratories (Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson) were creating a radio receiver, and were puzzled by the noise it was picking up. They soon realized the noise came uniformly from all over the sky. At the same time, a team at Princeton University (led by Robert Dicke) was trying to find the CMB. Dicke’s team got wind of the Bell experiment and realized the CMB had been found.

Both teams quickly published papers in the Astrophysical Journal in 1965, with Penzias and Wilson talking about what they saw, and Dicke’s team explaining what it means in the context of the universe. (Later, Penzias and Wilson both received the 1978 Nobel Prize in physics).

Studying in more detail

The CMB is useful to scientists because it helps us learn how the early universe was formed. It is at a uniform temperature with only small fluctuations visible with precise telescopes. “By studying these fluctuations, cosmologists can learn about the origin of galaxies and large-scale structures of galaxies and they can measure the basic parameters of the Big Bang theory,” NASA wrote.

While portions of the CMB were mapped in the ensuing decades after its discovery, the first space based full-sky map came from NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) mission, which launched in 1989 and ceased science operations in 1993. This “baby picture” of the universe, as NASA calls it, confirmed Big Bang theory predictions and also showed hints of cosmic structure that were not seen before. In 2006, the Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to COBE scientists John Mather at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and George Smoot at the University of California, Berkeley.

A more detailed map came in 2003 courtesy of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), which launched in June 2001 and stopped collecting science data in 2010. The first picture pegged the universe’s age at 13.7 billion years (a measurement since refined to 13.8 billion years) and also revealed a surprise: the oldest stars started shining about 200 million years after the Big Bang, far earlier than predicted.

Scientists followed up those results by studying the very early inflation stages of the universe (in the trillionth second after formation) and by giving more precise parameters on atom density, the universe’s lumpiness and other properties of the universe shortly after it was formed. They also saw a strange asymmetry in average temperatures in both hemispheres of the sky, and a “cold spot” that was bigger than expected. The WMAP team received the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their work.

In 2013, data from the European Space Agency’s Planck space telescope was released, showing the highest precision picture of the CMB yet. Scientists uncovered another mystery with this information: Fluctuations in the CMB at large angular scales did not match predictions. Planck also confirmed what WMAP saw in terms of the asymmetry and the cold spot. Planck’s final data release in 2018 (the mission operated between 2009 and 2013) showed more proof that dark matter and dark energy — mysterious forces that are likely behind the acceleration of the universe — do seem to exist.

Other research efforts have attempted to look at different aspects of the CMB. One is determining types of polarization called E-modes (discovered by the Antarctica-based Degree Angular Scale Interferometer in 2002) and B-modes. B-modes can be produced from gravitational lensing of E-modes (this lensing was first seen by the South Pole Telescope in 2013) and gravitational waves (which were first observed in 2016 using the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, or LIGO). In 2014, the Antarctic-based BICEP2 instrument was said to have found gravitational wave B-modes, but further observation (including work from Planck) showed these results were due to cosmic dust.

As of mid-2018, scientists are still looking for the signal that showed a brief period of fast universe expansion shortly after the Big Bang. At that time, the universe was getting bigger at a rate faster than the speed of light. If this happened, researchers suspect this should be visible in the CMB through a form of polarization. A study that year suggested that a glow from nanodiamonds creates a faint, but discernible, light that interferes with cosmic observations. Now that this glow is accounted for, future investigations could remove it to better look for the faint polarization in the CMB, study authors said at the time.

Humans Reaching Space

Humans have always been curios to explore. In around the 1600's, the world thought it was a very hard job to sail across the sea. But nowadys, that is very little as the aviation industry has helped humans to travel from point A to Point B a lot faster than having to sail there in a few days even years somtimes. Now people travel to space, Even if your not an Astronaut! So let's talk about the start of space travel. Space Travel was first introduced by Russia's ROSKOSMOS, who sent the first man Yuri Gagarin into space. There was a USA's and Russia's ROSKOSMOS rivalry to see who lands on the moon first which USA's NASA won by sending Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin but only Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped on the moon. There was even sending satellites to space which Russia's ROSKOSMOS won again by sending the Sputnik satellite. Next was sending satellites to Mars many countries succeded but nobody was able to do it on their first try except India's ISRO whos sent their satellite to Mars on the PSLV(Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle). Astronauts meaning 'Space Sailor' also live in space in the ISS (International Space Station). There are even telescopes in space. There are many private companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Firefly etc. Space travel is also becoming famous SpaceX had lauched the Inspiration4 mission with only travellers, Blue Origin lauched their First Human Flight with a former astronaut and 3 travellers. Both the missions were autmated but were trained just in case.

International Space Station(ISS)

The International Space Station (ISS) is a modular space station (habitable artificial satellite) in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which scientific research is conducted in astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, physics, and other fields. The ISS is suited for testing the spacecraft systems and equipment required for possible future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.

The ISS programme evolved from the Space Station Freedom, an American proposal which was conceived in 1984 to construct a permanently manned Earth-orbiting station, and the contemporaneous Soviet/Russian Mir-2 proposal from 1976 with similar aims. The ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz, and Mir stations and the American Skylab. It is the largest artificial object in space and the largest satellite in low Earth orbit, regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth's surface. It maintains an orbit with an average altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi) by means of reboost manoeuvres using the engines of the Zvezda Service Module or visiting spacecraft. The ISS circles the Earth in roughly 93 minutes, completing 15.5 orbits per day.

The station is divided into two sections: the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) is operated by Russia, while the United States Orbital Segment (USOS) is run by the United States as well as many other nations. Roscosmos has endorsed the continued operation of ROS through 2024, having previously proposed using elements of the segment to construct a new Russian space station called OPSEK. The first ISS component was launched in 1998, and the first long-term residents arrived on 2 November 2000 after being launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 31 October 2000. The station has since been continuously occupied for 20 years and 330 days, the longest continuous human presence in low Earth orbit, having surpassed the previous record of 9 years and 357 days held by the Mir space station. The latest major pressurised module, Nauka, was fitted in 2021, a little over ten years after the previous major addition, Leonardo in 2011. Development and assembly of the station continues, with an experimental inflatable space habitat added in 2016, and several major new Russian elements scheduled for launch starting in 2021. In December 2018, the station's operation authorization was extended to 2030, with funding secured until 2025.[23] There have been calls to privatize ISS operations after that point to pursue future Moon and Mars missions, with former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine saying "given our current budget constraints, if we want to go to the moon and we want to go to Mars, we need to commercialize low Earth orbit and go on to the next step."

The ISS consists of pressurised habitation modules, structural trusses, photovoltaic solar arrays, thermal radiators, docking ports, experiment bays and robotic arms. Major ISS modules have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets and US Space Shuttles. The station is serviced by a variety of visiting spacecraft: the Russian Soyuz and Progress, the SpaceX Dragon 2, and the Northrop Grumman Space Systems Cygnus, and formerly the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle, and SpaceX Dragon 1. The Dragon spacecraft allows the return of pressurised cargo to Earth, which is used, for example, to repatriate scientific experiments for further analysis. As of August 2021, 244 astronauts, cosmonauts, and space tourists from 19 different nations have visited the space station, many of them multiple times; this includes 153 Americans, 50 Russians, 9 Japanese, 8 Canadians, 5 Italians and 1 Brazilian.

Prominent Space Agencies

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

India decided to go to space when Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was set up by the Government of India in 1962. With the visionary Dr Vikram Sarabhai at its helm, INCOSPAR set up the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in Thiruvananthapuram for upper atmospheric research.

Indian Space Research Organisation, formed in 1969, superseded the erstwhile INCOSPAR. Vikram Sarabhai, having identified the role and importance of space technology in a Nation's development, provided ISRO the necessary direction to function as an agent of development. ISRO then embarked on its mission to provide the Nation space based services and to develop the technologies to achieve the same independently.

Throughout the years, ISRO has upheld its mission of bringing space to the service of the common man, to the service of the Nation. In the process, it has become one of the six largest space agencies in the world. ISRO maintains one of the largest fleet of communication satellites (INSAT) and remote sensing (IRS) satellites, that cater to the ever growing demand for fast and reliable communication and earth observation respectively. ISRO develops and delivers application specific satellite products and tools to the Nation: broadcasts, communications, weather forecasts, disaster management tools, Geographic Information Systems, cartography, navigation, telemedicine, dedicated distance education satellites being some of them.

To achieve complete self reliance in terms of these applications, it was essential to develop cost efficient and reliable launch systems, which took shape in the form of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The famed PSLV went on to become a favoured carrier for satellites of various countries due to its reliability and cost efficiency, promoting unprecedented international collaboration. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) was developed keeping in mind the heavier and more demanding Geosynchronous communication satellites.

Apart from technological capability, ISRO has also contributed to science and science education in the country. Various dedicated research centres and autonomous institutions for remote sensing, astronomy and astrophysics, atmospheric sciences and space sciences in general function under the aegis of Department of Space. ISRO's own Lunar and interplanetary missions along with other scientific projects encourage and promote science education, apart from providing valuable data to the scientific community which in turn enriches science.

Future readiness is the key to maintaining an edge in technology and ISRO endeavours to optimise and enhance its technologies as the needs and ambitions of the country evolve. Thus, ISRO is moving forward with the development of heavy lift launchers, human spaceflight projects, reusable launch vehicles, semi-cryogenic engines, single and two stage to orbit (SSTO and TSTO) vehicles, development and use of composite materials for space applications etc.

ISRO Formation

The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). Eminent scientist Dr Vikram Sarabhai had a big role in this development. He understood the need for space research and was convinced of the role it can play in helping a nation develop. INCOSPAR set up the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) at Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram at India’s southern tip. TERLS is a spaceport used to launch rockets. The INCOSPAR became ISRO in 1969.

The Department of Space was created in 1972 and ISRO became a part of it and remains so till date. The Space Department reports directly to the Prime Minister of the country. During 1975-76, Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) was conducted. It was hailed as ‘the largest sociological experiment in the world’. It was followed by the ‘Kheda Communications Project (KCP)’, which worked as a field laboratory for need-based and locale-specific program transmission in the state of Gujarat State. During this phase, the first Indian spacecraft ‘Aryabhata’ was developed and was launched using a Soviet Launcher.

Another major landmark was the development of the first launch vehicle SLV-3 with a capability to place 40 kg in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which had its first successful flight in 1980. ’80s was the experimental phase wherein, Bhaskara-I & II missions were pioneering steps in the remote sensing area whereas ‘Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment (APPLE)’ became the forerunner for the future communication satellite systems. Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL) is a Marketing arm of ISRO for promotion and commercial exploitation of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO.

ISRO has many facilities each dedicated to a specialized field of study in space. A few of them are as follows:
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram – The space research activities were initiated in India under Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of the Indian space program, during 1960s.

Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Thiruvananthapuram

Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota

Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad

National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad

ISRO Milestones

The first Indian-made sounding rocket was the RH-75 (Rohini-75). It was launched from TERLS in 1967. It weighed just 32 kg. Series of Rohini Sounding Rockets were developed by ISRO for atmospheric and meteorological studies. ISRO built its first satellite in 1975 and named it Aryabhata. This was launched by the Soviet Union.

The first Indian-built launch vehicle was SLV-3 and it was used to launch the Rohini satellite in 1980.

ISRO launched its first INSAT satellite in 1982. It was a communication satellite. It was named as INSAT-1A, which failed in orbit. The next communication satellite INSAT-1B was launched in 1983.

Established in 1983 with commissioning of INSAT-1B, the Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system is one of the largest domestic communication satellite systems in the Asia-Pacific region with nine operational communication satellites placed in Geostationary orbit. Details regarding INSAT – 1B are available on the linked page. The INSAT system provides services to telecommunications, television broadcasting, satellite newsgathering, societal applications, weather forecasting, disaster warning and Search and Rescue operations. ISRO also launched the first IRS (remote-sensing satellite) in 1988.

ISRO has developed three types of launch vehicles (or rockets) namely, the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), the GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mark III or LVM). Further details on GSLV MK III are available on the link provided here. ISRO launched its first lunar mission Chandrayaan I in 2008.

It also launched the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or the Mangalyaan in 2014. With this, India became the first country to achieve success in putting a satellite in the Mars orbit in its maiden attempt and the fourth space agency and the first space Asian agency to do so. Read the details on Mangalyaan Mission here. ISRO has launched many small satellites mainly for experimental purposes such as INS-1C, Aryabhatta, APPLE, Rohini Technology Payload, YOUTHSAT, etc. The experiment includes Remote Sensing, Atmospheric Studies, Payload Development, Orbit Controls, recovery technology and more. Scramjet (Supersonic Combustion Ramjet) engine – In August 2016, ISRO successfully conducted the Scramjet (Supersonic Combustion Ramjet) engine test. It uses Hydrogen as fuel and Oxygen from the atmospheric air as the oxidizer. ISRO’s Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), which is an advanced sounding rocket, was the solid rocket booster used for the test of Scramjet engines at supersonic conditions. This test was the maiden short duration experimental test of ISRO’s Scramjet engine with a hypersonic flight at Mach 6. The new propulsion system will complement ISRO’s reusable launch vehicle that would have a longer flight duration. Read in detail about the Advance Technology Vehicle of ISRO on the given link. In 2017, ISRO created another world record by launching 104 satellites in a single rocket. It launched its heaviest rocket yet, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III and placed the GSAT 19 in orbit. India’s Manned Mission to Space also termed as Gaganyaan, this project is part of the government’s ambition to make India a global low-cost provider of services in space. The launch vehicle for this mission will carry heavy payloads into space. For this purpose, GSLV Mk-III is being developed with a cryogenic engine. ISRO has already tested the GSLV Mk-III with experimental crew module (Re-entry & Recovery technology) and Crew Escape System (CES). Detailed information on Gaganyaan Mission is available on the linked page. Also read the List of Indian Satellite From 1975 to 2021 on the given link.

Candidates can go through a few more achievements of ISRO mentioned below –
ISRO has launched many operational remote sensing satellites, starting with IRS-1A in 1988. Detailed information on IRS-1A – the first indigenous remote sensing satelite is available on the linked page. Today, India has one of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in operation. The data from these satellites are used for several applications covering agriculture, water resources, urban planning, rural development, mineral prospecting, environment, forestry, ocean resources and disaster management. Navigation services are necessary to meet the emerging demands of the Civil Aviation requirements and to meet the user requirements of the positioning, navigation and timing based on the independent satellite navigation system. ISRO worked jointly with Airport Authority of India (AAI) in establishing the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system to meet the Civil Aviation requirements. Similarly, it established a regional satellite navigation system called the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) to meet the user requirements of the positioning, navigation and timing services. Know more on IRNSS-NAVIC on the linked page. ISRO has influenced educational institutions by its activities like making satellites for communication, remote sensing and astronomy. The launch of Chandrayaan-1 increased the interest of universities and institutions towards making experimental student satellites. Some important Academic Institute Satellite are – Kalamsat-V2, PRATHAM, SATHYABAMASAT, SWAYAM, Jugnu, etc.

ISRO Vision & Objectives

ISRO’s vision is stated as “Harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration.”

ISRO Mission

Design and development of launch vehicles and related technologies for providing access to space.

Design and development of satellites and related technologies for earth observation, communication, navigation, meteorology and space science. Indian National Satellite (INSAT) programme for meeting telecommunication, television broadcasting and developmental applications. Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) programme for management of natural resources and monitoring of environment using space-based imagery.

Space-based Applications for Societal development.

Research and Development in space science and planetary exploration.

Stamp depicting SLV-3 D1 carrying RS-D1 satellite to orbit.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)

NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is a U.S. government agency that is responsible for science and technology related to air and space. The Space Age started in 1957 with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik.

NASA opened for business on Oct. 1, 1958. The agency was created to oversee U.S. space exploration and aeronautics research.

The administrator is in charge of NASA. The NASA administrator is nominated by the president and confirmed by a vote in the Senate.

What Does NASA Do?

Many people know something about NASA’s work. But most probably have no idea about how many different things the agency does. Astronauts in orbit conduct scientific research. Satellites help scientists learn more about Earth. Space probes study the solar system and beyond. New developments improve air travel and other aspects of flight. NASA is also beginning a new program to send humans to explore the Moon and Mars. In addition to those major missions, NASA does many other things. The agency shares what it learns so that its information can make life better for people worldwide. For example, companies can use NASA discoveries to create new spinoff products.

NASA helps teachers prepare students who will be the engineers, scientists, astronauts and other NASA workers of the future. They will be the adventurers who will continue exploration of the solar system and universe. NASA has a tradition of investing in programs and activities that inspire students, educators, families and communities in the excitement and discovery of exploration. NASA offers training to help teachers learn new ways to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The agency also involves students in NASA missions to help them get excited about learning.

Who works for NASA?

NASA’s Headquarters is in Washington, D.C. The agency has nine centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and seven test and research facilities located in several states around the country. More than 17,000 people work for NASA. Many more people work with the agency as government contractors. These people are hired by companies that NASA pays to do work. The combined workforce represents a variety of jobs. Astronauts may be the best-known NASA employees, but they only represent a small number of the total workforce. Many NASA workers are scientists and engineers. But people there hold many other jobs, too, from secretaries to writers to lawyers to teachers.

What Has NASA Done?

When NASA started, it began a program of human spaceflight. The Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs helped NASA learn about flying in space and resulted in the first human landing on the Moon in 1969. Currently, NASA has astronauts living and working on the International Space Station.

NASA’s robotic space probes have visited every planet in the solar system and several other celestial bodies. Telescopes have allowed scientists to look at the far reaches of space. Satellites have revealed a wealth of data about Earth, resulting in valuable information such as a better understanding of weather patterns.

NASA has helped develop and test a variety of cutting-edge aircraft. These aircraft include planes that have set new records. Among other benefits, these tests have helped engineers improve air transportation. NASA technology has contributed to many items used in everyday life, from smoke detectors to medical tests.

In 2018, NASA celebrated its 60th anniversary.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is the Japanese national aerospace and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon. Its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan is Explore to Realize.

Roscosmos

Roscosmos, also known as the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, is the coordinating hub for space activities in Russia. It performs numerous civilian activities (including Earth monitoring and the astronaut program) and coordinates with the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation for military launches.

Roscosmos used to be known as the Russian Federal Space Agency, which was formed in 1992. The new corporation was formed from merging the agency and United Rocket and Space Corporation, a joint-stock entity meant to bolster the space sector. Russia's involvement in space, however, long predates these events. At the height of the former Soviet Union's space prowess in the 1950s and 1960s, the country racked up several world firsts — including the first human in space.

Roscosmos came to be in a different era, shortly after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The agency poured its scant resources into the International Space Station and to this day remains a major participant in the effort. In 2016, it opened a new launch complex called Vostochny that is intended to eventually take over most of the duties of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, its current primary launch facility in Kazakhstan.

The Soviet-U.S. space race

Soviet experience with space threads through much of the past century. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky's pioneering rocketry work extended through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Soviets then supplemented that experience with German V2 missile engineers acquired after the end of World War II in 1945. The United States had another group of Germans from the same program.

Under the auspices of International Geophysical Year in 1957-58, the Soviets launched the world's first satellite (Sputnik) on Oct. 4, 1957. Some in the United States worried about the influence of communism in outer space. As Americans scrambled to catch up, the Soviets accomplished many world firsts. Among them were the first man in space (Yuri Gagarin), first woman (Valentina Tereshkova), first lunar flyby (Luna 1) and first three-person crew (Voskhod 1).

The Soviets, however, also had their share of disasters. On Oct. 24, 1960, an R-16 missile detonated at Baikonur and killed an estimated 150 people; the details weren't known by the public, or even the affected families, for many decades. The missions of Soyuz 1 (1967) and Soyuz 11 (1971) both launched from Baikonur and ended with disaster upon landing, which between the two missions killed four astronauts. Another famous example of disaster was the N-1 rocket explosion that detonated on the launch pad on July 3, 1969. While there were no fatalities, it damaged the launch facilities and derailed Soviet plans to send astronauts to the moon.

Subsequently, the Soviets focused on space station technology, most notably in the form of the Salyut and the Mir space station programs. Mir hosted the longest human spaceflight to date: Valeri Polyakov, in 1994. The Soviet expertise in long-duration spaceflight impressed NASA, which decided to partner with the Russians after the Soviet Union fell apart in the early 1990s.

International Space Station contributions

Collaboration with NASA dates back to the 1970s, with the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project of 1975, which saw a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and an American Apollo spacecraft meet in Earth orbit. The astronauts and cosmonauts worked together in space briefly before heading off for their own separate missions.

After the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, funds reportedly ran thin for the Russian space program. A year later, Roscosmos was formed to coordinate space activities for Russia. The United States was concerned that the fall of the Soviet Union might cause economic havoc in that area of the world. So, NASA offered paid astronaut flights to the Mir space station, with its astronauts receiving technical and language training in Russia before flights. The Shuttle-Mir program (as it was called) flew several American astronauts to Mir between 1995 and 1998. It also laid the groundwork for the International Space Station collaboration; Russian officials eventually elected to focus their resources on the ISS and de-orbit the aging Mir.

Baikonur and Vostochny

As of early 2018, all astronauts leaving for the ISS leave from Baikonur. This situation has persisted since 2011, when NASA retired the aging space shuttle. At the time, the agency expected to restart flights on U.S. soil in 2015, when the Commercial Crew Program's spacecraft were ready. However, funding and development delays now have test flights expected to start no earlier than 2018.

NASA currently buys seats on Russian spacecraft for its astronauts, a practice that was projected to climb to $82 million per person by 2018. For Russia, contributing cargo launches and launch hardware — not to mention other Russian modules on station — allows the country to send numerous cosmonauts into space. Many three-person Soyuz crews that head to the station for long-term stays have multiple Russians on board.

In 2011, Russia started construction on another launch site — Vostochny — which is in Siberia and close to the Chinese border. The long-term aim is to shift most Russian launches to Vostochny, which unlike Baikonur, is on Russian soil. (Baikonur used to be inside the Soviet Union, but Kazakhstan since declared independence and the Russians lease the facility.) While Russia initially planned to have crewed launches start at Vostochny in 2018, there have been few launches at the facility to date. Three satellites were successfully launched in 2016, but after Vostochny's second launch in late 2017, a $45 million satellite was lost.

Robotic space missions

Roscosmos is a major provider of launch services to other countries. Its Proton rocket line has had a few snags over the years. Three Breeze-M upper stages failed in separate launches across 16 months, prompting a full review in late 2012. Then in 2013, another booster failed 17 seconds after the launch. Satellites were also lost in failure in 2015 and 2015.

In addition to launching satellites for other countries, Roscosmos does numerous satellite missions of its own. Some examples include Earth observation, military satellites, telecommunications, and Glosnass navigation satellites.

In 2013, a fragment of a Chinese satellite (Fengyun 1C) reportedly collided with a small Russian laser-ranging satellite called BLITS (Ball Lens in The Space). The crash knocked BLITS from its original orbit and broke it into at least two fragments.

Russia is now looking ahead to a major Mars mission, ExoMars, which it is doing with the European Space Agency. ExoMars' first leg (the Trace Gas Orbiter) launched successfully in 2016, while a rover was delayed by two years (due to scheduling problems) until an expected launch in 2020. Roscosmos is hoping the mission will break the streak of several failed Mars missions, most recently the Phobos-Grunt failure that occurred in 2012 when the probe could not break free of Earth's orbit.

Media reports have said that Russia is interested in developing a series of robotic moon missions, which would be dubbed Luna-Glob. However, budgetary restraints have reportedly pushed back the first of these missions until at least 2025.

China National Space Agency(CNSA)

China National Space Administration (CNSA) (Chinese: 国家航天局; pinyin: Guójiā Hángtiān Jú) is the national space agency of China responsible for the national space programand for planning and development of space activities. CNSA and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) assumed the authority over space development efforts previously held by the Ministry of Aerospace Industry. It is a subordinate agency of the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND), itself a subordinate agency of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The headquarter is in Haidian District, Beijing.

Despite its relatively short history, CNSA has pioneered a number of achievements in space for China, including becoming the first space agency to land on the far side of the Moon with Chang'e 4, bringing material back from the Moon with Chang'e 5, and being the second agency who successfully landed a rover on Mars with Tianwen-1.

The human spaceflight program of China, namely China Manned Space Program, is not administered by CNSA, but China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Canadian Space Agency(CSA)

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA; French: Agence spatiale canadienne, ASC) is the national space agency of Canada, established in 1990 by the Canadian Space Agency Act. The agency is responsible to the minister of innovation, science, and economic development.

The president is Lisa Campbell, who took the position on September 3, 2020. The CSA's headquarters are located at the John H. Chapman Space Centre in Longueuil, Quebec. The agency also has offices in Ottawa, Ontario, and small liaison offices in Houston; Washington, D.C.; and Paris.

Presidents

1989 – May 4, 1992—Larkin Kerwin

May 4, 1992 – July 15, 1994—Roland Doré

November 21, 1994 – 2001—William MacDonald Evans

November 22, 2001 – November 28, 2005—Marc Garneau

April 12, 2007 – December 31, 2007—Larry J. Boisvert

January 1, 2008 - September 2, 2008—Guy Bujold

September 2, 2008 – February 1, 2013—Steven MacLean

February 2, 2013 – August 5, 2013—Gilles Leclerc (interim)

August 6, 2013 – November 3, 2014—Walter Natynczyk

November 3, 2014 - March 9, 2015—Luc Brûlé, Interim

March 9, 2015 - September 14, 2020—Sylvain Laporte

September 14, 2020 - present—Lisa Campbell

United Arab Emirates Space Agency

The United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) (Arabic: وكالة الإمارات للفضاء‎ translit: wikālat al-Imārāt l-lifaḍā') is the space agency of the United Arab Emirates government responsible for the development of the country's space industry. It was created in 2014 and is responsible for developing, fostering and regulating a sustainable and world-class space sector in the UAE.

The agency is charged with the growth of the sector through partnerships, academic programmes and investments in R&D, commercial initiatives, and driving space science research and exploration.

Australian Space Agency(ASA)

The Australian Space Agency is Australia's national agency responsible for the development of Australia's commercial space industry, coordinating domestic activities, identifying opportunities and facilitating international space engagement that include Australian stakeholders. Its headquarters are located in Adelaide, the southeastern capital city of South Australia.

European Space Agency

The European Space Agency,is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states dedicated to the exploration of space. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,200 in 2018 and an annual budget of about €6.5 billion in 2021.

ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station program); the launch and operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets and the Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles; and maintaining a major spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 5 is operated through Arianespace with ESA sharing in the costs of launching and further developing this launch vehicle. The agency is also working with NASA to manufacture the Orion Spacecraft service module that will fly on the Space Launch System.

The agency's facilities are distributed among the following centres:
ESA science missions are based at ESTEC in Noordwijk, Netherlands;
Earth Observation missions at ESA Centre for Earth Observation in Frascati, Italy;
ESA Mission Control (ESOC) is in Darmstadt, Germany;

the European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT), a research institute created in 2009, is located in Harwell, England;
and the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) is located in Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain.
The European Space Agency Science Programme is a long-term programme of space science and space exploration missions.

Danger of Space

Black Hole

Don't let the name fool you: a black hole is anything but empty space. Rather, it is a great amount of matter packed into a very small area - think of a star ten times more massive than the Sun squeezed into a sphere approximately the diameter of New York City. The result is a gravitational field so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. In recent years, NASA instruments have painted a new picture of these strange objects that are, to many, the most fascinating objects in space.

The idea of an object in space so massive and dense that light could not escape it has been around for centuries. Most famously, black holes were predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, which showed that when a massive star dies, it leaves behind a small, dense remnant core. If the core's mass is more than about three times the mass of the Sun, the equations showed, the force of gravity overwhelms all other forces and produces a black hole.

Scientists can't directly observe black holes with telescopes that detect x-rays, light, or other forms of electromagnetic radiation. We can, however, infer the presence of black holes and study them by detecting their effect on other matter nearby. If a black hole passes through a cloud of interstellar matter, for example, it will draw matter inward in a process known as accretion. A similar process can occur if a normal star passes close to a black hole. In this case, the black hole can tear the star apart as it pulls it toward itself. As the attracted matter accelerates and heats up, it emits x-rays that radiate into space. Recent discoveries offer some tantalizing evidence that black holes have a dramatic influence on the neighborhoods around them - emitting powerful gamma ray bursts, devouring nearby stars, and spurring the growth of new stars in some areas while stalling it in others.

One Star's End is a Black Hole's Beginning

Most black holes form from the remnants of a large star that dies in a supernova explosion. (Smaller stars become dense neutron stars, which are not massive enough to trap light.) If the total mass of the star is large enough (about three times the mass of the Sun), it can be proven theoretically that no force can keep the star from collapsing under the influence of gravity. However, as the star collapses, a strange thing occurs. As the surface of the star nears an imaginary surface called the "event horizon," time on the star slows relative to the time kept by observers far away. When the surface reaches the event horizon, time stands still, and the star can collapse no more - it is a frozen collapsing object.

Even bigger black holes can result from stellar collisions. Soon after its launch in December 2004, NASA's Swift telescope observed the powerful, fleeting flashes of light known as gamma ray bursts. Chandra and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope later collected data from the event's "afterglow," and together the observations led astronomers to conclude that the powerful explosions can result when a black hole and a neutron star collide, producing another black hole.

Babies and Giants

Although the basic formation process is understood, one perennial mystery in the science of black holes is that they appear to exist on two radically different size scales. On the one end, there are the countless black holes that are the remnants of massive stars. Peppered throughout the Universe, these "stellar mass" black holes are generally 10 to 24 times as massive as the Sun. Astronomers spot them when another star draws near enough for some of the matter surrounding it to be snared by the black hole's gravity, churning out x-rays in the process. Most stellar black holes, however, are very difficult to detect. Judging from the number of stars large enough to produce such black holes, however, scientists estimate that there are as many as ten million to a billion such black holes in the Milky Way alone.

On the other end of the size spectrum are the giants known as "supermassive" black holes, which are millions, if not billions, of times as massive as the Sun. Astronomers believe that supermassive black holes lie at the center of virtually all large galaxies, even our own Milky Way. Astronomers can detect them by watching for their effects on nearby stars and gas.

Historically, astronomers have long believed that no mid-sized black holes exist. However, recent evidence from Chandra, XMM-Newton and Hubble strengthens the case that mid-size black holes do exist. One possible mechanism for the formation of supermassive black holes involves a chain reaction of collisions of stars in compact star clusters that results in the buildup of extremely massive stars, which then collapse to form intermediate-mass black holes. The star clusters then sink to the center of the galaxy, where the intermediate-mass black holes merge to form a supermassive black hole.