Embark on a celestial journey with our website as we delve into the fascinating realm of space exploration. From understanding the cosmos to terraforming planets and exploring the solar system, we are here to ignite your curiosity and expand your knowledge of the universe.

NASA's Mars INSIGHT Test vehicle. Its mission will be mainly to detect Martian earthquakes which, according to NASA's description, are "like a flash that illuminates the internal structure of the planet."

The InSight lander will face south and the mission’s workspace will be the ground within reach of the robotic arm on the south side of the lander. Because the site is north of the equator, this will prevent the lander’s shadow from passing over deployed instruments. The lander’s two solar arrays will extend like circular wings east and west from the central deck, with a wingspan of 19 feet, 8 inches (6 meters). Front to back, the lander is 8 feet, 10 inches (2.7 meters) deep. The top of the deck will be 33 to 43 inches (83 to 108 centimeters) above Martian ground level, depending on how far the three shock-absorbing legs compact after the landing. With its solar panels deployed, the lander is about the size of a big 1960s convertible.

In this illustration of the InSight lander’s deployed configuration, south would be toward lower right at the Martian work site, with tethered instruments on the ground and the heat probe’s mole underground. 

The lander’s panels are based on the design of those flown on NASA’s Mars Phoenix Lander, though InSight’s were made slightly larger for more power output and to increase structural strength. These changes were required to support the two-year landed prime science mission with sufficient margins (two Earth years, one Mars year).

Hardware on top of the deck includes the robotic arm, two dedicated science instruments and their accessories, a laser reflector, a helical UHF antenna and two X-band antennas (which are also used as part of a science experiment). In the weeks after landing, the arm will lift the seismometer, its Wind and Thermal Shield and the thermal probe from the deck and place them onto the Martian surface.

The lander’s avionics are mounted to a component deck located within a thermally protective enclosure. This suite of electronics consists of the flight computer, the electrical power system, the landed telecommunications system, the payload electronics and the harness. Other components, such as the inertial measurement units, radiometer, magnetometer and landing radar, are externally mounted under the science deck. Thrusters extend from the sides of the lander.

SpaceX Starship Mission to Mars

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable. All thanks to Elon Musk's business and innovation of rocket design.  

Why Mars?

At an average distance of 140 million miles, Mars is one of Earth's closest habitable neighbors. Mars is about half again as far from the Sun as Earth is, so it still has decent sunlight. It is a little cold, but we can warm it up. Its atmosphere is primarily CO2 with some nitrogen and argon and a few other trace elements, which means that we can grow plants on Mars just by compressing the atmosphere. Gravity on Mars is about 38% of that of Earth, so you would be able to lift heavy things and bound around. Furthermore, the day is remarkably close to that of Earth.

Diameter - 6,791 km / 4,220 mi, Day Length - 24 hrs 37 min, Gravity - 38% of Earth, Avg Distance from Earth - 225Mkm / 140Mmi, Age - 4.5 billion years

Multiple in-flight orbital refueling will be necessary

Starship leverages tanker vehicles (essentially the Starship spacecraft minus the windows) to refill the Starship spacecraft in low-Earth orbit prior to departing for Mars. Refilling on-orbit enables the transport of up to 100 tons all the way to Mars. And if the tanker ship has high reuse capability, the primary cost is just that of the oxygen and methane, which is extremely low. 

Together the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket create a reusable transportation system capable of on orbit refueling and leveraging Mars’ natural H2O and CO2 resources to refuel on the surface of Mars.

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is leftover radiation from the Big Bang or the time when the universe began. As the theory goes, when the universe was born it underwent rapid inflation, expansion and cooling. (The universe is still expanding today, and the expansion rate appears different depending on where you look). The CMB represents the heat leftover from the Big Bang. See the section on 'Character' for details of the CMB.

You can't see the CMB with your naked eye, but it is everywhere in the universe.

The accidental discovery of the CMB in 1965 by American radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson was the culmination of work initiated in the 1940s. The latest measurement of the CMB was made by the Planck Space Telescope, shown below:

In this website, we embrace the notion that space is not an empty vacuum but a dynamic arena filled with virtual particles and varying energy levels. Dive into the realm of quantum fluctuations and virtual particles, where the fabric of space itself is shaped by these intriguing phenomena.

It is not difficult to visualize 'space' as a 'virtual particle soup', after all, you accept that you can see distant objects through air molecules but you can't see the molecules! The virtual particles making up space are necessary to allow light to pass through it, otherwise the sky would look black, but because light is absorbed then re-transmitted by each virtual particle it can travel through 'space' - this is what limits the speed of light. Virtual particles are real but only exist for an instant so they are referred to as virtual and there are billions of these making up space hence provide a platform for light and other Electro-Magnetic (EM) waves, like X-rays, etc to travel through space. Perhaps it might be possible to manipulate the virtual particle structure to allow masses to pass through faster than light speed.

Pushing the Boundaries of Space Exploration

Space exploration is at the forefront of technological advancements, with CubeSat propulsion technologies taking off and swarms of orbiting sensors poised to map the surfaces of distant asteroids. The cosmos beckons us to push the boundaries of what is possible and to explore the unknown.

Join us at our website as we celebrate the spirit of exploration and discovery, from the wonders of the cosmos to the cutting-edge technologies that are propelling us towards new frontiers in space. 

SpaceX is producing Starships that will be able to transport equipment and people to establish a colony on Mars. The business entrepreneur Elon Musk is the instigator of SpaceX and is already using his earlier successful design of rocket called the Falcon 9 which has already launched hundreds of satellites, including his own internet Starlink system and delivering astronauts to the International Space Station. The main success of his rocket business is the ability for the rockets and launching systems to land again, thus saving costs and making it safer. The Starships and their booster rockets will also be able to land automatically.  

Mars City

Artist's impression of a Martian city.

Gravitational Lens to Magnify Images Millions of Light Years Away

When looking to study the most distant objects in the Universe, astronomers often rely on a technique known as Gravitational Lensing. Based on the principles of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, this technique involves relying on a large distribution of matter (such as a galaxy cluster or star) to magnify the light coming from a distant object, thereby making it appear brighter and larger.

This technique has allowed for the study of individual stars in distant galaxies. In a recent study, an international team of astronomers used a galaxy cluster to study the farthest individual star ever seen in the Universe. Although it normally to faint to observe, the presence of a foreground galaxy cluster allowed the team to study the star in order to test a theory about dark matter.

In a rare and extraordinary discovery, researchers have identified a unique configuration of galaxies that form the most exquisitely aligned gravitational lens found to date. The Carousel Lens is a massive cluster-scale gravitational lens system that will enable researchers to delve deeper into the mysteries of the cosmos, including dark matter and dark energy....