Thanks to the leap in technological advances, science has reached new achievements • Planets that may contain similar living conditions to Earth were just one of them
The journey to the sun, the discovery of planets with similar conditions to the earth and rare documentation from Pluto, are just some of the ten landmarks we will remember from the last decade.
PARKER PROBE
Quite a few spacecraft have been launched into the moon since July 21, 1969, when Neil Armstrong took a major step toward humanity. But what about a journey to the sun? In 2018, NASA launched the Parker spacecraft, which provided an amazing record of the Corona.
Journey to the Sun of the Parker Spacecraft
Parker Spacecraft // Photo: IP
It is the outer aura of the star that can only be seen during a lunar eclipse. The probe also measured magnetic fields and hot winds, revealing that the sun emits materials and gases into space. Parker became the first object ever so close to the sun, and is set to break that record in 2024 as well.
VOYAGER PROBE
Although the Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched into space in 1977, it was the first object to reach the planetary region in 2012. The Voyager 2 is the only lump that has moved beyond the two ice giants - Uranus and Neptune.
Voyager 2 // Photo: AFP
The mission has been going on for over forty years. During that time, the spacecraft measured magnetic fields and transmitted rare records of the storm's patterns of justice, the Saturn rings, and Neptune and Uranus moons.
NEW HORIZONS PLUTO
New Horizons was the first spacecraft ever to visit around Pluto in 2015. The spacecraft took detailed pictures of the distant planet's surface, and even its moons - Tsrus and Nix. Also, the spacecraft provided somewhat blurry images of the Hyderra, Styx and Krebsus moons moving around it.
New Horizons Imaging // Photo: EPA / NASA
The spacecraft also obtained images that showed us frozen volcanoes over Pluto. In addition, the spacecraft was the first to ever cross beyond the Kuiper Belt, which is outside our solar system.
CURIOSITY
The spacecraft landed on Mars in 2012. Not only did the bump teach the world about the desert land and mountains of the planet, it also took samples of red dust and other geological features for future research. Curiosity discovered an area where water may have once flowed, posting over 49,000 images in its media. NASA scientists hope it will help pave the way for a future Mars mission.
The new planets
As space exploration evolved, we were exposed to more and more planets outside the solar system we knew. There are currently 4,104 registered planets outside the system. Among other planets that were very similar to Earth were exposed: Ross 128 b and K2-155d.
In each of them, conditions were identified that allow life to develop such as a suitable distance from the sun and a reasonable mass. It is estimated that the Ross 128 b planet has a suitable temperature for holding liquid water.
Potential living places apart from the Earth were also discovered in the solar system. This is the case with Saturn's moons and justice, or Mars, Neptune and Pluto. Methane gas detection - was considered a precedent for water bodies. It is estimated that these areas are capable of sustaining life - no matter how important they are
China and India on missions to the moon
Not only did Israel make headlines in the last year with the launch of the "Genesis" spacecraft to the moon, which ended in a crash. India's Tsundrain 2 set out on a mission to search for water on the moon and learn about its rock composition. Although the Indian spacecraft lost contact with the crew prior to landing and its current location is unknown, it was a landmark in 2019, and India already has plans for Tsundrain 3 for next year.
China landed very successfully on the far side of the moon in 2019 with Changja 4. This followed Changja 3 in 2013, which made various measurements and made astronomical observations.
KATIE BOUMAN AND THE BLACK HOLE
A young American scientist this year smashed the headlines with the first computer-generated image and worked by algorithms written and led by a team of researchers, presenting the first black hole in 2019.
Prof. Hagai Netzer of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University worked with a team of international astronomers who unearthed gas clouds orbiting a black hole, and shaped the center of a very luminous astronomical object known as a quasar. This marks the first discovery of a huge black hole outside the Milky Way galaxy.
"The women's walk in space"
Christina Hooch and Jessica Meyer made history at the space station as they walked the space walk in September 2019. They repaired a battery charging unit on top of the station and spent about 6 hours in a row above our planet with photos, and also received a phone call from US President Donald Trump.
Jessica Meyer
The first astronaut of Israeli and eastern origin, Jessica Mayer, was sent to space in 2019. As mentioned, Mayer has already made history in the first all-female walk on the space station. But she is also a biologist by profession, who has done many researches around the world - including research on entree and geese emperor penguins in the Himalayas.
Jessica Meyer // Photo: Reuters
Meyer worked as an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School. She is the fourth Jewish astronaut to ever fly in space, and is scheduled to return to Earth around April 2020.
10. "Genesis"
Israel's first trip ended in a crash last February. Nevertheless, it shattered all the assumptions we had become accustomed to taking for granted. Thus, Israel became the fourth country to reach the moon.
As mentioned, unfortunately, there was a technical malfunction that led to its crash on the moon, which left a large crater. Israel may not be the fourth country to land successfully on the moon, but it still arrived somehow. Who knows when a future mission of Genesis will happen?
So who knows what the next decade will be? NASA is already planning to send astronauts to the moon - including the first woman to travel - by 2024.
and after that?
only time will tell.
