Weekly- Truck-sized asteroid whizzes past Earth and more
5 points in 5 minutes
NASA plans to build a nuclear-powered rocket
NASA plans to build and test a new nuclear-powered rocket by 2027; it currently uses hydrogen as fuel. The new rocket could take humans to Mars in a record-breaking time of 3 weeks, the current time being 7 months.
James Webb finds water ice rings around an asteroid
Last week NASA’s James Webb telescope by sheer luck, found rings of water ice around the asteroid Chariklo.
Russia working to get cosmonauts back to the Earth
On December 15, a spacecraft docked to the ISS was discovered to be damaged. The Soyuz spacecraft started spewing coolant into space. The spacecraft was supposed to return 2 cosmonauts and 1 astronaut back to Earth, but due to the damage, they were stranded on the ISS. Russia is now working tirelessly to get them back.
Truck-sized asteroid whizzed past Earth closer than some satellites
Last week a truck-sized asteroid called 2023BU came closer to the earth than some satellites in orbit. The rocket came closest to the southern tip of South America. The asteroid was only 3,600 kilometers above the surface of the earth, much lesser than the altitude at which communications satellites orbit: approximately 35,786 kilometers above the Earth's surface.
Scientists develop a new shapeshifting robot
Scientists at NASA have developed a new shape-shifting robot that can liquify itself and regain shape at will. Last week NASA conducted an experiment in which the robot escaped from a cell by liquifying itself and reforming on the other side. The applications for this robot are still being decided.
