This time, I promise I only have a few stories of Elon Musk’s company. SpaceX’s latest launch of the Starship test ended with another explosion, proving that it’s hard to get space hardware right. We will keep watching while they start, and it may not be long before they eliminate all the problems. Meanwhile, there is better news from the company Crew Dragon. An modified version of the capsule with the front landing gear replaced by a transparent dome is scheduled to be launched in September, with the company’s first flight carrying civilian passengers. This is undoubtedly unwelcome news for Virgin Galactic, with which passenger flights abroad are getting closer to reality unveiling their first SpaceShip III spacecraft. Eventually, a Falcon 9 upper stage erupts as they re-enter the northwestern U.S., giving observers on the ground a spectacular display.
Meanwhile, there is an orbit on the ISS a number of bacteria that were previously unknown to scientists on Earth, but it is not yet time to panic about Mutant Bugs From Space. These bacteria appear to be of a species essential to plant cultivation, and it is likely that they originally made a trip with one of the several plant cultivation experiments that took place during the life of the station. While the ISS remained, astronauts visiting the station were at the center of a recently published study looking at loss of bone density over long periods in space. The bone experts found that bone density can still be lost despite the astronauts’ in-flight training programs, concluding that pre-flight training regimens should be considered for future orbital training.
Farther from Earth, the ESA Mars Express satellite was used for a perennial study of water loss to space from the Martian atmosphere. The ESA scientists identified the seasonal mechanism that causes the upper atmosphere of the planet to have an excess of water, and in particular the effect of the periodic planet-wide dust storms on the accelerated water loss, but could not take into account the water which according to them according to Mars must have been lost over its history. From a study of water-created surface features, they can estimate how much liquid the planet once had, yet the atmospheric losses do not take all of that into account. Did it disappear underground? More studies are needed before we get an answer.
The exciting news in the coming days will undoubtedly be the Ingenuity Mars helicopter, which we saw slowly before being unloaded from the belly of the Perseverence Rover. If all goes according to plan, the small vessel will be put down before the rover moves at a safe distance, and the historic flight takes place on April 8th. We will be on the edge of our seats, and so will you undoubtedly be.