Mars

^{Source: NASA imagine showing Space shuttle Columbia lifting off from Launch Pad 39A on April 12, 1981, to begin STS-1.}

Earlier his week NASA highlighted the 50 year anniversary of President Nixon’s decision to initiate a space shuttle program to follow the success of the Apollo Moon missions. The story states:

In January 1972, he directed NASA to develop and build a reusable space transportation system, commonly known as the space shuttle. The reusability of the shuttle’s components was expected to provide regular access to space to many customers, while at the same time reducing costs.

The space shuttle was proposed by the National Aeronautics and Space Council, which also proposed a trip to Mars. The Council’s report states:

As a focus for the development of new capability, we recommend the United States accept the long-range option or goal of manned planetary exploration with a manned Mars mission before the end of this century as the first target.

While the space shuttle was eventually operational by 1981, we still await a clear timeline for a trip to Mars. NASA said it will start with a trip back to the Moon first. Let’s hope we do not need to wait another 50 years before a manned trip to Mars.

^{Source: Sciencealert.com webpage – “We’re Going Back to Venus! NASA Announces Two New Missions by 2030.”}

Before we get too far into 2022, it is worth considering some of the top astronomy stories from 2021. Space.com put together a nice list that I highlighted below.

Discovery of Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein: “…It may be 10 times wider and 1,000 times more massive than a typical comet.”
Amateur astronomer discovers a new moon around Jupiter: “The new moon, called EJc0061, belongs to the Carme group of Jovian moons.”
NASA will return to Venus this decade: “…NASA has not launched a dedicated mission to the planet since 1989.”
The sun is reawakening: “In early November, for instance, a series of solar outbursts triggered a large geomagnetic storm on our planet.”
James Webb Space Telescope flies into space: “…JWST is heading to an observational perch located about a million miles from our planet.”
Event Horizon Telescope takes high-resolution image of black hole jet: “The end result is a resolution that is 16 times sharper and an image that is 10 times more accurate than what was possible before.”
Scientists spot the closest-known black hole to Earth: “Just 1,500 light-years from Earth…”
Earth’s second ‘moon’ flies off into space: “…the object, known as 2020 SO, is a leftover fragment of a 1960s rocket booster from the American Surveyor moon missions.”
Parker Solar Probe travels through the sun’s atmosphere: “The probe managed to get as low as 15 solar radii, or 8.1 million miles (13 million km) from the sun’s surface.”
Perseverance begins studying rocks on Mars: “Perseverance is taking its observations from the 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) Jezero Crater, which was home to a river delta and a deep lake billions of years ago.”