Successful scientific operations NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Until the splashing of the Orion space capsule, 2022 saw many wins.
Here are the biggest moments to remember:
Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART)
NASA’s Double Asteroid Reorientation Test (DART) mission has successfully changed the orbit of an asteroid millions of miles away. After analysis two weeks after the spacecraft crashed into Dimorphos – humanity’s first time deliberately altering the motion of a celestial body and the first full-scale demonstration of asteroid deflection technology – scientists found that the kinetic impact shortened the moon’s orbit around the main asteroid. Didymos by 32 minutes. Previously, the rotation of Dimorphos in the orbit of Didymos took 11 hours 55 minutes. The measurement has an uncertainty of approximately plus or minus two minutes.
IMAGE FROM NASA’s WEBB TELESCOPE SHOWS EARLY STAR FORMATION IN ‘RARE’ FINDING
In this image provided by NASA, debris is thrown from the asteroid Dimorphos, moments after the deliberate collision of NASA’s September 2 Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. September 26, 2022, captured by the nearby Italian Space Agency’s LICIACube. On Tuesday, October 5, 2022, NASA said it had succeeded in changing the orbit of the spacecraft.
((ASI/NASA via AP))
black hole in the Milky Way
Astronomers have announced the first image of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The colorized image was produced by the international Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration using observations from a worldwide network of radio telescopes. The black hole is about 27,000 light-years from Earth and 4 million times larger than our Sun.
Perseverance rover collects Mars samples
NASA’s Perseverance rover is expected to begin building the first sample warehouse on another world. According to NASA, this will be a crucial milestone in the Mars Sample Return campaign. Bringing Mars samples to Earth for closer work. Over the course of approximately 30 days, Perseverance will deploy a total of 10 tubes carrying samples that represent the diversity of the rock record in Jezero Crater.
Orion spacecraft leaps after moon flight
Sagittarius A (star) captured in collaboration with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)
(Credit: EHT Collaboration)
STUNNING NASA IMAGES REVEALED VOLCANO-CONNECTED SURFACE OF IO
NASA’s Orion space capsule crashed into the ocean 25 days later. Unmanned test flight around the moon, concluding a mission that paves the way for astronauts on their next lunar flight. The capsule splashed west over Baja California, more than 300 miles south of the original target area.
James Webb Space Space Telescope begins scientific operations
NASA and its international partners have released the first full-color series of images and data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The images include the exoplanet WASP-96 b, a hot, gaseous giant located about 1,150 light-years from Earth. In another shot shared via an international publication, the Southern Ring, or “Eight Burst” planetary nebula is shown in more detail, previously hidden from astronomers. Then, in an image presented by European Space Agency (ESA) partners, the Stephan Quintet, a visual group of five galaxies, is seen in a new light about 290 million light-years away. The final image showed the glittering landscape of the Carina Nebula – a stellar nursery – with brand new stars that had previously been completely hidden. The “Cosmic Abyss” captured by Webb is the edge of the giant, gaseous void in the Carina Nebula’s star forming region called NGC 3324. Located in the Milky Way, the Carina Nebula is about 7,600 light-years away. It is home to many massive stars that are several times larger than the sun.
Since then, the telescope has helped astronomers discover the oldest confirmed galaxies to date.
What looks a lot like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening is actually the edge of NGC 3324, a nearby young star-forming region in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals previously hidden star birth sites.
(PICTURE: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI)
NASA’s Native American astronaut makes history
NASA astronaut Nicole Mann made history as the first Native American woman in space. A member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Mann traveled to the International Space Station as the commander of the SpaceX Crew-5 mission aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
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Axiom-1 private spaceflight launched
Axiom Mission 1, the first privately crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS), launched in April. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endeavor take off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Ax-1 mission sent four private space travelers on a 10-day flight to do science and push the boundaries of commercial spaceflight.
Bradford Betz of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
