Space Quote: Studying Exoplanets

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of 25 hot Jupiters captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope that have been analysed by an international team of astronomers, enabling them to answer five open questions important to our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres. (ESA/Hubble, N. Bartmann)

“We are interested in understanding the diversity and atmospheric compositions of planets between the size of Earth and Neptune…“‘Super-Earths’ and ‘mini-Neptunes’ are the most common types of planets in our galaxy. But we only have a few examples of atmospheric measurements from these types of planets.”

-Statement by Johanna Teske, a staff scientist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington who is co-leading a Webb observation team with Natasha Batalha at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Northern California. She was discussing the James Webb Space Telescope’s role to better understand exoplanets. Her comments and more are included in a NASA news article, “Exoplanets: What NASA Will See with the Webb Telescope.”

Space Quote: Finally Seeing the Individual Leaves

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The new James Webb Space Telescope Forever stamp. (U.S. Postal Service)

“It is like humanity just got a brand-new pair of eyeglasses for the distant universe…We are suddenly seeing that those green areas on the tops of trees are actually made of thousands of individual leaves. We suspected it, but we are now seeing it for the first time.”

-Statement by planetary astromomer Heidi Hammel in a Washington Post article, “The Webb telescope is astonishing. But the universe is even more so.”

Space Quotes: Russia is Pulling Out of the ISS? Maybe Not

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Russian cosmonauts headed for the ISS get ready to board the Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft prior to its launch at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 18, 2022. (Roscosmos)

“Of course, we will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision about withdrawing from the station after 2024 has been made.”

-Statement by Yuri Borisov regarding Russia’s participation in the International Space Station (ISS), as quoted by Reuters. Mr. Borisov was recently appointed director-general of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos. However, like his predecessor, he may have spoken without thinking through the consequences. Time magazine quoted Vladimir Solovyov, an ISS flight director, who stated, “We, of course, need to continue operating the ISS until we create a more or less tangible backlog for ROSS. We must take into account that if we stop manned flights for several years, then it will be very difficult to restore what has been achieved.” In other words, the withdrawal may not be anytime soon. Not a very good start for Mr. Borisov.

Space Quote: China is Not Seizing the Moon

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): China’s Yutu 2 rover explores the far side of the moon shortly after its Jan. 2, 2019, touchdown. (China National Space Administration)

“As two scholars who study space security and China’s space program, we believe that neither China nor any other nation is likely to take over the Moon in the near future. It is not only illegal, it is also technologically daunting – the costs of such an endeavor would be extremely high, while the potential payoffs would be uncertain.”

-Statement by Svetla Ben-Itzhak, Assistant Professor of Space and International Relations, Air University and R. Lincoln Hines, Assistant Professor, West Space Seminar, Air University in the Astronomy magazine article “Why China is unlikely to claim the Moon anytime soon.” It follows an earlier statement by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who said, “We must be very concerned that China is landing on the Moon and saying: ‘It’s ours now and you stay out.‘”

Space Quote: Elon, It’s All in Your Hands

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Falcon Heavy rocket. (SpaceX)

“It would be nice to have a bit more free time on my hands, as opposed to just working day and night from when I wake up till when I go to sleep seven days a week. It’s pretty intense.”

-Statement by Elon Musk from last year, as quoted in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal story, “Twitter Suit Tests Musk as He Faces Tesla, SpaceX Hurdles.” The newspaper cites Tesla’s struggles with new car plants in Germany and Texas, which he calls “gigantic money furnaces,” as well as the billions in losses at SpaceX related to the Starship and Starlink programs. Musk can only blame himself for distracting himself and investors with the Twitter deal. He needs to decide what he wants to spend his time on. If it is not SpaceX, maybe he should sell the firm to others who believe in space. That way he has more money in his pocket for his other distracting hobbies.