Europe's Gaia Mission Finds a Mysterious Planet and Brown Dwarf | ESA

Europe's Gaia Mission Finds a Mysterious Planet and Brown Dwarf | ESA

New research, published on February 4, 2025, uses data collected by the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft to confirm the existence of two mysterious celestial objects. Gaia-4b is a ‘Super-Jupiter’ exoplanet, and Gaia-5b a brown dwarf. These massive objects are unexpectedly orbiting low-mass stars.

Gaia-4b is a planet orbiting the previously unremarkable star Gaia-4 around 244 light-years away. Gaia-5b orbits the Gaia-5 star, around 134 light-years away from Earth. These two newly discovered objects are nearby, in our own galactic neighborhood. Their existence challenges current theories of planet formation, and Gaia's ongoing mission will provide valuable data to help us understand these intriguing objects.

“Gaia-4b is about twelve times more massive than Jupiter. With an orbital period of 570 days, it is a relatively cold gas giant planet,” explains first author Guðmundur Stefánsson of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and first author of the new study.

“With a mass of around 21 Jupiters, Gaia-5b is a brown dwarf, more massive than a planet but too light to sustain nuclear fusion to be a star,” Guðmundur adds.

This is the first time a planet has been uniquely discovered by Gaia’s ability to sense the gravitational tug or ‘wobble’ the planet induces on a star. 

Learn more about ESA's Gaia Mission:

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia_overview

Video Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC/M. Marcussen
Duration: 1 minute, 40 seconds
Release Date: Feb. 4, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #GaiaMission #GaiaSpaceTelescope #Stars #Exoplanets #Gaia4 #Gaia4b #Gaia5 #Gaia5b #BrownDwarf #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe  #Europe #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

Grand Canyons on The Moon's Far Side: Vallis Schrödinger & Vallis Planck | NASA LRO

Grand Canyons on The Moon's Far Side: Vallis Schrödinger & Vallis Planck | NASA LRO

The Schrödinger impact crater sits near to the Moon’s south pole. Sprouting off it are two canyons—called Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck—each comparable in size to the Grand Canyon here on Earth. These were formed when debris, thrown up by a meteor or comet hitting the Moon, crashed back into the surface.

Now, analysis suggests that these high-energy streams of rock could have excavated the canyons in under ten minutes.

Vallis Schrödinger (Latin for "Schrödinger Valley") is a long, nearly linear valley that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is oriented radially to the huge Schrödinger basin and most likely was formed during the original impact that created Schrödinger.

Vallis Planck is a long, linear valley located on the far side of the Moon. It is oriented radially to the huge Schrödinger basin, and was most likely formed by that impact. The selenographic coordinates of this feature are 58.4°S 126.1°E, and it has a length of 451 km.

Understanding this area of the Moon is important as the region has been selected for investigation as part of NASA’s Artemis missions.

Read the science paper: 
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-55675-z

This year, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will celebrate its 16th anniversary orbiting the Moon (2009-2025). This mission has given scientists the largest volume of data ever collected by a planetary science mission at NASA. Considering that success and the continuing functionality of the spacecraft and its instruments, NASA awarded the mission an extended mission phase to continue operations. This is LRO's 5th extended science mission (ESM5). LRO continues to be one of NASA's most valuable tools for advancing lunar science.

Video Credit: Science Journal Nature

Image Credits: NASA, LRO, Arizona State University (ASU)

Duration: 2 minutes, 47 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 4, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ApolloProgram #ArtemisProgram #Moon #Geology #SchrödingerCrater #VallisSchrödinger #VallisPlanck #LRO #Orbiter #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #ASU #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #NatureJournal #HD #Video

NASA’s PUNCH Solar Wind Mission | Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA’s PUNCH Solar Wind Mission | Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, or PUNCH Mission, is a constellation of four small satellites in low Earth orbit that will make global, 3D observations of the Sun’s corona to better understand how the mass and energy there becomes the solar wind that fills the solar system.

Watch the video to learn how imaging the Sun’s corona and the solar wind together will help scientists better understand the entire inner heliosphere—Sun, solar wind, and Earth—as a single connected system.

Learn more about NASA's PUNCH Mission:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/punch/

Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Producer: Beth Anthony (eMITS)
Duration: 2 minutes, 22 seconds
Release Date: Feb. 4, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Earth #Satellites #Science #Sun #Corona #Heliosphere #SolarWind #SpaceWeather #PUNCHMission #Polarimeter #SolarSystem #Heliophysics #Astrophysics #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Visualization #Animation #HD #Video

Exploring Planet Jupiter: Perijoves 63, 68 & 69 | NASA Juno Mission

Exploring Planet Jupiter: Perijoves 63, 68 & 69 | NASA Juno Mission

Jupiter - NASA Juno Spacecraft PJ63-37

Jupiter - NASA Juno Spacecraft PJ68-29

Jupiter - NASA Juno Spacecraft PJ69-19

Jupiter - NASA Juno Spacecraft PJ68-29

Jupiter - NASA Juno Spacecraft PJ68-33

Jupiter - NASA Juno Spacecraft PJ69-31

Since it arrived at Jupiter in 2016, NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been probing beneath the dense, forbidding clouds encircling the giant planet—the first orbiter to peer so closely. It seeks answers to questions about the origin and evolution of Jupiter, our solar system, and giant planets across the cosmos. Each perijove passes near a new part of Jupiter's cloud tops. A perijove indicates the point in the Juno spacecraft's orbit when it comes closest to planet Jupiter's center.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott J. Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program. This is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built and operates the spacecraft.

Learn more about NASA's Juno mission:

https://www.nasa.gov/juno

https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu

Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Release Dates: Feb. 3-4, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Jupiter #Perijove63 #Perijove68 #Perijove69 #Atmosphere #JunoMission #JunoSpacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #JPL #MSFC #SwRI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

China Commercial Startup Building Reusable Passenger Spaceplane: Flight Animation

China Commercial Startup Building Reusable Passenger Spaceplane: Flight Animation

China commercial startup Space Transportation, also known as Lingkong Tianxing Technology, tested a hypersonic prototype of their passenger spaceplane during late January 2025. This vehicle design involves two reusable rocket boosters and a reusable rocket plane, combining vertical takeoff and landing operations. It would be capable of a 1-hour trip from Shanghai, China, to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates—a distance of over 6,400 km or nearly 4,000 miles. Founded in 2018 by Yudong Wang, Space Transportation focuses on reducing the costs of space exploration and on developing spaceplanes, plus hypersonic and supersonic aircraft. As testing continues, Space Transportation’s ambitious goal is to make commercial spaceplane, along with supersonic and hypersonic travel, an everyday reality. It may soon help to introduce a new era in global transportation. 

This vehicle is being developed by Sichuan Lingkong Tianxing Technology as part of a parallel effort to develop a supersonic passenger jet capable of Mach 4.1, over twice as fast as the British-French Concorde supersonic plane, according to the company. Supersonic aircraft development has been delayed for decades due to challenges, such as noise, economic feasibility, and a lack of mature technology.

Learn more:
https://www.spacetransportation.com.cn

Video Credit: Lingkong Tianxing Technology
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: Jan. 24, 2025

#NASA #Space #Earth #SpaceTransportation #CommercialSpace #Spaceplane #PassengerAircraft #Spaceflight #CommercialAviation #China #中国 #HypersonicFlight #CommercialTravel #LingkongTianxingTechnology #凌空天星科技 #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

The Bullseye Galaxy: LEDA 1313424 in Pisces | Hubble Space Telescope

The Bullseye Galaxy: LEDA 1313424 in Pisces | Hubble Space Telescope

High-resolution imagery from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope has allowed researchers to hone in on more of the Bullseye galaxy’s rings—and helped confirm the galaxy that dove through its core.

LEDA 1313424, aptly nicknamed the Bullseye, is two and a half times the size of our Milky Way and has nine rings—six more than any other known galaxy. Hubble has confirmed eight rings, and data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii confirmed a ninth. Hubble and Keck also identified the galaxy that dove through the Bullseye, creating these rings: the blue dwarf galaxy sitting to its immediate center-left. This relatively tiny interloper traveled like a dart through the core of the Bullseye about 50 million years ago, leaving rings in its wake like ripples in a pond. A thin trail of gas now links the pair, though they are currently separated by 130,000 light-years.

The research team’s paper was published on February 4, 2025 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ad9f5c

Credits: NASA, ESA, Imad Pasha (Yale), Pieter van Dokkum (Yale)
Release Date: Feb. 4, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Hubble #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #LEDA1313424 #InteractingGalaxies #DwarfGalaxy #Pisces #Constellation #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #STEM #Education

Ax-4 Mission | Crew Press Conference | Axiom Space

Ax-4 Mission | Crew Press Conference | Axiom Space

Axiom Space held a virtual press conference with the astronauts of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), the company’s fourth commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The Ax-4 crew presented their training and experience, preparedness, and mission objectives. This was the first opportunity for reporters to talk with the full Ax-4 crew.

The Ax-4 mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first and only government-sponsored flight taking place more than 40 years ago. While Ax-4 marks each nation’s second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the space station. This historic mission underscores how Axiom Space is redefining the pathway to low-Earth orbit and elevating national space programs globally.

The Ax-4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of the European Space Agency (ESA)/Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. 

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Ax-4 crew aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the space station from Florida no earlier than spring 2025. Once docked, the Ax-4 astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days on board implementing a full mission comprised of microgravity research, technology demonstrations, educational outreach, and media events.

Learn more about Ax-4: https://www.axiomspace.com/missions/ax4

Video Credit: Axiom Space
Duration: 57 minutes
Release Date: Jan. 31, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Axiom #AxiomSpace #Ax4Mission #Ax4 #Ax4Crew #PeggyWhitson #ShubhanshuShukla #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #ESA #SławoszUznańskiWiśniewski #Poland #Polska #TiborKapu #Hungary #Magyarország #CommercialAstronauts #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Falcon9Rocket #CommercialSpace #Science #SpaceLaboratory #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The star that should have exploded already: T Coronae Borealis | ESO

The star that should have exploded already: T Coronae Borealis | ESO

T Coronae Borealis, nicknamed the Blaze Star, erupts every 80 years or so, becoming visible to the naked eye. Based on recent behavior the star should have flared again in late 2024, but it did not! Astronomers are thus eagerly waiting for this imminent explosion. In this episode of Chasing Starlight we tell you how professional telescopes can quickly react to sudden cosmic events like this one.

T Coronae Borealis (T CrB), nicknamed the Blaze Star, is a binary star and a recurrent nova about 3,000 light-years (920 pc) away in the constellation Corona Borealis.

Video Credits: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Directed by: L. Calçada, M. Kornmesser
Hosted by: S. Randall
Written by: H. Huysegoms
Editing: M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada
Videography: A. Tsaousis
Animations & footage: ESO, M. Kornmesser, Liam Young, B. Tafreshi, ESA/Hubble, VPHAS+ team, P. Horálek, L. Calçada, H. Zodet
Scientific Consultant:  P. Amico
Filming Locations: ESO Supernova
Duration: 5 minutes
Release Date: Jan.  31, 2025

#NASA #FoN #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #TCoronaeBorealis #BlazeStar #VariableStar #BinaryStar #CoronaBorealis #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

Comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS: Multiple Tails over Chile

Comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS: Multiple Tails over Chile

What is happening to Comet G3 ATLAS? After passing near the Sun in mid-January 2025, the head of the comet has become dimmer and dimmer. By late January, the comet had become a headless wonder—although it continued to show impressive tails after sunset in the skies of Earth's Southern Hemisphere. A key reason is likely that the comet's nucleus of ice and rock, at the head's center, has fragmented. Comet G3 ATLAS passed well inside the orbit of planet Mercury when at its solar closest, a distance that where heat destroys many comets. Some of comet G3 ATLAS' scattering remains will continue to orbit the Sun . . .

Image Description: In a gradient from orange-red to green-blue, this image captures the Comet C/2024 G3 around dusk. The background is covered by countless stars of all sizes. At the forefront, the comet appears as a white feather-shaped object. The core of the comet (its tip) is bright white. From there, two tails originate: towards the right projects a fainter tail, almost like a veil. Approaching the top, it projects a brighter tail, almost looking like the bushy tail of a cat. It becomes fainter the further you go from the comet’s core.

This impressive image of comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS was captured on January 29, 2025, from the European Southern Observatory's Paranal Observatory by Abel de Burgos Sierra, ESO Fellow in Chile. Gas and dust particles are ejected from the nucleus and pushed away from the Sun by the solar wind and radiation, creating a spectacular display with multiple tails.

Credit: A. de Burgos Sierra/European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Release Date: Feb. 3, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Earth #Comets #Comet #CometC2024G3ATLAS #C2024G3 #Dusk #OortCloud #SolarSystem #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #ADeBurgosSierra #ParanalObservatory #AtacamaDesert #Chile #SouthAmerica #STEM #Education

Planet Mars Images: Feb. 2-3, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: Feb. 2-3, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars 2020 - sol 1407

Mars 2020 - sol 1407

MSL - sol 4439

MSL - sol 4439

MSL - sol 4439

MSL - sol 4439

Mars 2020 - sol 1406

MSL - Sol 4441

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Celebrating 12+ Years on Mars (2012-2024)

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life. 

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars

Celebrating 3+ Years on Mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020    

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Date: Feb. 2-3, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #MSSS #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

China's 'Space Transportation' Startup Tests Hypersonic Spaceplane Prototype

China's 'Space Transportation' Startup Tests Hypersonic Spaceplane Prototype

China commercial startup Space Transportation, also known as Lingkong Tianxing Technology, tested a prototype of their hypersonic passenger spaceplane during late January 2025, as shown in a released clip of a vertical takeoff. Founded in 2018 by Yudong Wang, Space Transportation focuses on reducing the costs of space exploration and on developing hypersonic aircraft. As testing continues, Space Transportation’s ambitious goal is to make commercial hypersonic travel a reality. It may soon introduce a new era in global transportation. The vehicle design involves two reusable rocket boosters and a reusable rocket plane. It would be capable of a 1-hour trip from Shanghai, China, to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates—a distance of over 6,400 km or nearly 4,000 miles.

This vehicle is being developed by Sichuan Lingkong Tianxing Technology as part of a parallel effort to develop a supersonic passenger jet capable of Mach 4.1, over twice as fast as the British-French Concorde supersonic plane, according to the company. Supersonic aircraft development has been delayed for decades due to challenges, such as noise, economic feasibility, and a lack of mature technology.

Learn more: https://www.spacetransportation.com.cn

Video Credit: Lingkong Tianxing Technology
Duration: 4 seconds
Release Date: Jan. 24, 2025

#NASA #Space #Earth #SpaceTransportation #CommercialSpace #Spaceflight #CommercialAviation #China #中国 #HypersonicFlight #CommercialTravel #LingkongTianxingTechnology #凌空天星科技 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Blue Ghost Moon Mission Prepares for Trans-Lunar Injection | Firefly Aerospace

Blue Ghost Moon Mission Prepares for Trans-Lunar Injection | Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace: "T-5 days until Blue Ghost says goodbye to Earth! With the accuracy we achieved on our first two burns, we were able to skip the third Earth orbit maneuver. Blue Ghost is already in a good position to perform our trans-lunar injection in just under a week. Our GhostRiders continue to capture some incredible shots of our home planet along the way."

A trans-lunar injection (TLI) is a propulsive maneuver used to send a spacecraft to the Moon.

The Blue Ghost lander is currently on its 45-day journey to the Moon. Blue Ghost is seeking to land in Mare Crisium to deliver ten NASA science instruments and technology demonstrations to the Moon. They will perform numerous science and technology demonstrations, including lunar subsurface drilling, sample collection, and X-ray imaging of Earth’s magnetic field to advance research for future human missions on the Moon and provide insights into how space weather impacts the planet. Mare Crisium is a lunar mare located in the Moon's Crisium basin, just northeast of Mare Tranquillitatis. It was formed by the flooding of basaltic lava that filled an ancient asteroid impact.

Learn more: https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-1/

Video Credit: Firefly Aerospace
Duration: 17 seconds
Release Date: Feb. 3, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Earth #ArtemisProgram #Moon #LunarLanders #FireflyAerospace #BlueGhostLunarLander #BlueGhostMission1 #BGM1 #UnitedStates #Robotics #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) Gleams above Cerro Pachón in Chile

Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) Gleams above Cerro Pachón in Chile

Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) gleams against the sky above three NOIRLab-supported telescopes in this image. The straight lines across the sky are satellites. This image was taken atop Cerro Pachón, in the foothills of the Chilean Andes, next to the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope (SOAR), a part of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab. In the distance are two other observatories supported by NSF NOIRLab (left to right): Gemini South, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the NSF and operated by NSF NOIRLab, and the upcoming NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, jointly funded by the NSF and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science.

C/2024 G3 ATLAS is a non-periodic comet. It reached perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on January 13, 2025, at a distance of 0.09 AU (13 million km) from the Sun. It is potentially the brightest comet of 2025, with an apparent magnitude reaching −3.8 on the day of its perihelion.

Comet C/2024 G3 was found by the automated Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on April 5, 2024, in images obtained with a 0.5-m reflector telescope located in Río Hurtado, Chile. ATLAS is funded by NASA's Planetary Defense Office. ATLAS was developed and is operated by the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy.

Learn more:
https://fallingstar.com
https://science.nasa.gov/planetary-defense-overview/

Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/C. Corco
Release Date: Jan. 29, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Earth #Comets #Comet #CometC2024G3ATLAS #C2024G3 #OortCloud #SolarSystem #MilkWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #CTIO #SOAR #GeminiSouth #VeraRubinObservatory #CerroTololo #Chile #PlanetaryDefense #JPL #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Recalling John Glenn's Friendship 7 Mission: First American to Orbit the Earth | NASA

Recalling John Glenn's Friendship 7 Mission: 1st American to Orbit Earth | NASA 

"The more I thought about it, the more I leaned toward the name Friendship. Flying around the world, over all those countries, that was the message I wanted to convey." 
–Astronaut John Glenn on how he and his family chose the name for his MA-6 spacecraft.

On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 Mission, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth. He was the third American, and the fifth person, to be in space. He received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1962, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Learn more about John Glenn:
https://www.nasa.gov/people/john-glenn/

Learn about NASA's Project Mercury:

https://www.nasa.gov/project-mercury/

Image Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: Feb. 2, 1962

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Astronaut #JohnGlenn #Astronaut #Friendship7Mission #MA6Spacecraft #MercuryAstronauts #ProjectMercury #UnitedStates #HumanSpaceflight #History #STEM #Education

February 2025: What's in the night sky tonight? | Venus & Mars dominate the sky

February 2025: What's in the night sky tonight? | Venus & Mars dominate the sky

Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal what is visible in the night sky this month, including bright Venus dominating the sky in February 2025.

Mars and Jupiter continue to dazzle, a particular highlight being a meeting between Mars and the Moon on February 9, 2025.

Also, February marks a final chance to enjoy and explore the constellation Orion before it disappears from view.

Video Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Duration: 25 minutes
Release Date: Jan. 31, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Planets #Venus #Mars #Saturn #Uranus #SolarSystem #Comets #Stars #Constellations #StarClusters #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Universe #Skywatching #BBC #UK #Britain #Europe #UnitedStates #Canada #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-19 Crew: Spring Festival Greetings | China Space Station

Shenzhou-19 Crew: Spring Festival Greetings | China Space Station

Shenzhou-19 Astronaut Wang Haoze

Shenzhou-19 Astronaut Song Lingdong

Shenzhou-19 Crew: Astronaut Wang Haoze, Commander Cai Xuzhe, and Astronaut Song Lingdong

Shenzhou-19 crew members aboard China's orbiting Tiangong Space Station have extended their best wishes to the Chinese people for the 2025 Spring Festival, or China's New Year. The 2025 Spring Festival began on Jan. 29, ushering in the Year of the Snake. As the most significant holiday on the Chinese calendar, it is a time for family reunions, festive celebrations, and reflecting on the year ahead.

Holding papercuts themed on the Year of the Snake, the Shenzhou-19 crew sent their New Year greetings to Chinese people on Earth.

"We are in the space home of the Chinese people, wishing you all a happy Chinese New Year! We wish the people of the whole country good health and all the best in the Year of Snake! May our great motherland enjoy harmony and prosperity!" said the crew.

China launched the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship on Oct. 30 last year, sending three astronauts, Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, to the orbiting space station for a six-month mission.

Shenzhou-19 Crew:

Commander Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲)

Mission Specialist Wang Haoze (王浩泽)

Mission Specialist Song Lingdong (宋令东)

Image Credits: China Manned Space Agency (CMSA)/CGTN

Release Date: Jan. 28, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #SpringFestival2025 #Shenzhou19 #神舟十九号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityResearch #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #LongDurationMissions #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education