Space Exploration

[PerrySimm]

The BepiColombo probe will blast off to Mercury next week! The probe consists of two separate missions, a larger mapping and chemistry probe operated by ESA, and a smaller magnetic, plasma, and dust probe operated by JAXA.

The probe will be launched from an Ariane 5 ECA and will cruise on 4 QinetiQ T6 ion thrusters. Each draws 2.8-5.2 kW and provides 75-145 mN of thrust, though only two can be turned on at the same time.

Bepi's first Mercury flyby will be in three years. After that, the probe will do a series of flybys until settling into orbit in 2026, ready for two or more years of observations!

[Yukaphile]

I do hope space exploration will help us come together as a species and learn to get along. The Star Trek ideal.

[PerrySimm]

It's launch time - Live Stream!

[Andrew Joshua Talon]

https://www.space.com/42843-new-horizon ... rview.html

We'll get a look at Ultima Thule, the farthest object yet directly examined by space probe, on January 1st!

[Madner Kami]

https://www.space.com/42843-new-horizon ... rview.html

We'll get a look at Ultima Thule, the farthest object yet directly examined by space probe, on January 1st!

I love living in this time of humanity's existence.

[Yukaphile]

I'd prefer going back to the 1990s. Maybe stop Nader from spoiling Gore and helping Bush win.

[Riedquat]

https://www.space.com/42843-new-horizon ... rview.html

We'll get a look at Ultima Thule, the farthest object yet directly examined by space probe, on January 1st!

I love living in this time of humanity's existence.

There are a huge number of things I don't like about living now but space exploration is certainly a counter-example. First good data from other worlds, that's the modern equivalent of setting foot on an undiscovered distant shore for the first time (without the shipwrecks, disease, kicking out the locals etc.)

[Independent George]

Somewhat related, but I have become addicted to the Isaac Arthur channel on YouTube. It's a great look at what some of the theoretical possibilities of space travel and colonization entail.

[Darth Wedgius]

Isaac Arthur is great.

Also people might be interested in the Atomic Rockets page,

[clearspira]

I do hope space exploration will help us come together as a species and learn to get along. The Star Trek ideal.

It won't. I see nothing in humanity's past or present that convinces me that the Battlestar Galactica reboot isn't far more likely. I'm not talking the whole cylon thing, i'm talking having huge ass space battleships full of fighters and guns fighting other huge ass space battleships full of fighters and guns because we took all of our problems with us into space. Ask yourself this: when we finally reach the other planets, how do you think we will divide up the land and mineral rights? Through negotiation or through bullets? Because sorry to say this, but the latter outweighs the former throughout history a 1000 to 1.

And as for space exploration itself, I find the real world extremely boring because I find our solar system extremely boring. If there is life its a just bit of bacteria somewhere. Everything else is just barren rock and ice. Just think: somewhere out there in the universe, most likely an untold billion light years away, there is someone getting their first proper look at the stars and realising that there is life on their nearest planet. They are about to immerse themselves in a literally completely alien culture, about to learn about their history, their culture, their different ways of doing things, whatever technology they may or may not have, how they avoided problems that the other didn't and vice versa... whereas we have some bacteria and some rocks.
We have been born into the watching paint dry end of space, my friends.