Spirit helped prove Mars was once wetter than we imagined. Made by shorts.wixee.ai

Launched on June 7, 1983, Venera 16 set out to explore a planet no camera could properly see. After reaching Venus, it spent more than eight months in orbit alongside Venera 15. Instead of relying on visible-light imaging, the twin spacecraft used radar to penetrate Venus’s dense cloud cover and map the terrain below. Together, they surveyed about 25 to 30% of the planet and produced the first detailed radar atlas of Venus, marking a major milestone in planetary exploration. Follow for more space missions that changed what humanity could see. #venus #venera16 #venera15 #spacemissions #spacehistory #planetaryscience #radar #solarsystem #astronomy #sovietspaceprogram

Radar, not cameras, revealed Venus’s hidden surface. 🌍➡️♀️. Made by shorts.wixee.ai

SKA will combine more than 130,000 antennas in Australia and 197 dish antennas in South Africa into the largest radio telescope project ever built. Spanning thousands of kilometers, this observatory is designed to capture faint signals from the early Universe and process immense volumes of data with advanced computing systems. Scientists hope it will deepen our understanding of the first stars, galaxies, black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and fast radio bursts. First scientific observations are expected around 2027. #ska #radiotelescope #astronomy #spacescience #earlyuniverse #bigbang #darkmatter #darkenergy #blackholes #scienceupdate

The Universe has been whispering for billions of years. SKA is how we finally listen. Made by shorts.wixee.ai

In 1959, Luna 3 became the first spacecraft to photograph the Moon’s far side, showing humanity a hemisphere no one had ever seen. The probe used film, developed it automatically onboard, scanned the images, and transmitted them to Earth across nearly 480,000 kilometers. Though blurry by modern standards, the pictures revealed a far side with fewer dark maria and many more craters. The mission created the first map of the Moon’s hidden hemisphere and helped open the age of robotic planetary exploration. Follow for more forgotten space firsts that changed what humanity could see. #luna3 #moon #farsideofthemoon #spacehistory #sovietspaceprogram #lunarmapping #astronomy #sciencehistory #roboticspacecraft #spacefirsts

Imagine seeing the Moon’s hidden side for the first time. Made by shorts.wixee.ai

The Rosalind Franklin rover is designed to explore Oxia Planum, a region on Mars filled with ancient sedimentary rocks and clay-rich deposits linked to past liquid water. What makes this mission especially compelling is its drill, which can reach up to two meters below the surface. That depth may allow scientists to study material protected from radiation for billions of years and look for possible biosignatures from ancient microbial life, if any were preserved. #mars #rosalindfranklinrover #spacenews #astrobiology #exomars #oxiaplanum #marsscience #ancientlife #redplanet #discovery

Could Mars still be hiding ancient biosignatures underground? Made by shorts.wixee.ai

On June 16, 2012, China launched Shenzhou-9 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Among the crew was Liu Yang, who became the first Chinese woman in space. The date aligned exactly 49 years after Valentina Tereshkova became the world’s first woman in space. Shenzhou-9 also carried out key docking operations with Tiangong-1, an essential step toward the permanent Tiangong space station now in orbit. Follow for more archival moments from space history. #spacehistory #chinaspace #liuyang #shenzhou9 #tiangong1 #womeninspace #valentinatereshkova #humanspaceflight #orbitaldocking #archivehistory

Imagine seeing the Moon’s hidden side for the first time. Made by shorts.wixee.ai

Meet Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein (C/2014 UN271), the largest comet ever observed by astronomers. Its nucleus is estimated to be about 150 kilometers (93 miles) wide, an extraordinary size that initially made scientists wonder if it could be a dwarf planet. There is no danger to Earth. Its closest approach will happen in 2031, but it will remain far beyond Earth’s orbit and never travel inside Saturn’s orbit. While it is not expected to be visible to the naked eye, astronomers think binoculars may be enough to spot it. Follow for more space discoveries that sound unreal but are true. #space #astronomy #comet #bernardinellibernstein #c2014un271 #solarsystem #spacescience #stargazing #cosmos #science

Biggest comet ever observed — and still no threat to Earth. Would you try spotting it with binoculars? Made by shorts.wixee.ai

In roughly 1.35 million years, Gliese 710 is expected to make a rare close pass by the Sun, reaching about 0.21 light-years away and moving through the inner Oort Cloud. This is not expected to endanger Earth or the planets. But it could gravitationally disturb many icy bodies in that distant region. Some may be pushed out of the Solar System, while others could shift onto new paths toward the inner Solar System, possibly increasing long-period comet activity in the distant future. A dramatic event on cosmic timescales, but a reassuring one for us. #space #astronomy #gliese710 #oortcloud #solarsystem #comets #stars #science #cosmic #spaceupdate

Would you watch a sky where another star shines almost as bright as Jupiter? Made by shorts.wixee.ai

A new observation from the James Webb Space Telescope is adding fresh evidence to one of cosmology’s biggest mysteries. Researchers studied Abell 2744-QSO1, an extremely distant object seen only 700 million years after the Big Bang. They found that its host galaxy appears modest in mass, while its central black hole is astonishingly large by comparison. This raises the possibility that, at least in some early systems, the black hole formed first and the galaxy grew around it. Scientists are also considering unusual formation paths, including direct gas-cloud collapse or primordial black hole scenarios. It is not the final answer, but it may be one of the clearest clues yet that supermassive black holes helped shape the first galaxies. Follow for more space mysteries with real evidence behind them. #space #astronomy #jwst #blackhole #galaxies #cosmology #earlyuniverse #science #astrophysics #universe

If black holes came first, what does that change about how we think the universe grew? Made by shorts.wixee.ai

NASA’s Perseverance rover has traveled more than 42 kilometers on Mars since landing in 2021, matching the length of a full marathon on Earth. The rover did not sprint—it spent years exploring the surface, studying rocks, and collecting data that helps scientists understand Mars in greater detail. That is what makes this milestone so important: distance on Mars means discovery. For future human explorers, traveling that far would be much harder. Mars has lower gravity, but the cold, thin atmosphere and the need for protective equipment would make a long run extremely demanding. Perseverance’s marathon journey offers a small preview of what exploration on Mars could look like for humans one day. Follow for more space milestones that change how we see other worlds. #nasa #perseverance #mars #spaceexploration #science #marsmission #redplanet #astronomy

Perseverance just completed a Mars marathon: 42+ km since landing. Would you walk that distance on the Red Planet? Made by shorts.wixee.ai

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has delivered the most detailed X-ray image so far of the jet emerging from the supermassive black hole in M87. M87 lies about 55 million light-years away and hosts the same black hole whose shadow was imaged in 2019. The new data gives astronomers a sharper look at where particles inside the jet may be accelerated to extreme speeds, helping explain one of the universe’s most powerful phenomena. Follow for more space discoveries that make the universe feel impossible. #space #astronomy #blackhole #m87 #chandra #nasa #science #cosmos #universe #astrophysics

The same M87 black hole imaged in 2019 is now revealing its jet in unprecedented X-ray detail. Made by shorts.wixee.ai