The North Star, Volume 35, Issue 1

News

Preparing for Take Off

NASA perseveres through the international pandemic with big plans for space in 2021

As 2020 orbits around discussions of the coronavirus pandemic, many advancements in space exploration have also taken place. Scientists are continuing to discover more about Mars, the mysterious red planet, by sending a crew to the moon and searching for signs of extraterrestrial life near Venus.

Launched on July 30, the Perseverance rover will land on Mars on Feb. 18. NASA is seeking signs of past life on the Jezero Crater, located on Mars, with intentions of returning rock and soil samples back to Earth for further research. The Jezero Crater has piqued the interest of scientists because it possesses unique qualities that could tell scientists more about life on Mars. According to NASA, signs of ancient microbial life are possibly lingering in the Jezero Crater, which was once flooded with a lake that carried clay minerals. If life is found on Jezero, Mars could possibly be a habitable environment, and a breakthrough in space exploration.

But Mars is not the only planet with possible signs of life. Researchers at MIT have located large amounts of phosphine gas 30-40 meters above the surface of Venus. Phosphine is a colorless gas, and works as a biosignature, because microorganisms use the gas to break down decaying plants and animals. Therefore, the emission of phosphine gas can be a sign of life, according to researchers. Astrobiologists are still figuring out what these findings may mean. However, because they detected larger amounts of phosphine than expected, Astrobiologists believe alien life may exist within our solar system.

In addition to these undertakings, NASA has various other plans for space exploration in the upcoming years. NASA has designed several missions called the Artemis missions to send astronauts to the moon, and eventually Mars. According to NASA, “Artemis I, the first uncrewed flight test of SLS and Orion, is on track to launch on its month-long mission around the Moon by fall.”

The end goal is to send humans back to the moon, which NASA plans to accomplish in 2024, when they send the first woman to the moon. NASA also has plans to launch the James Webb Space Telescope, an astrophysics mission 100 times more powerful than the Hubble, and able to detect the first generation of galaxies formed at the beginning of the universe.

Nonetheless, space exploration has a full calendar for this upcoming year, with the potential to be a stellar one.

by Kara Deskin