With advancements in technology, new findings about outer space are emerging. At a time when space exploration is not merely limited to research and recreational space travel is gaining ground, news developments are precipitating at an unprecedented level.
These developments entail plans to colonise and mine other planets, such as Mars, to satisfy humanity’s ever growing need for resources.
At Down To Earth, reporting on the cosmic realm is a significant part of our reportage. In order to ensure that the readers are updated with the top news events that took place this year, we present a wrap of all such developments.
Scientists are studying Europa, one of Jupiter’s many moons, to see if it could support life. One of the key factors that could determine the likelihood of life on this natural satellite is the structure of the icy moon, which is as old as the Earth.
A new study published in journal Science Advances has estimated Europa’s ice shell to be at least 20 kilometres thick. Europa has a water ice crust, which hides a vast saltwater ocean below. Previous estimates of its ice shell thickness range from only a few kilometres thick up to a few tens of kilometres thick.
New research paints a picture of a more active Mars than previously imagined. The Red Planet is likely struck by a space rock nearly every day, generating seismic waves and leaving behind an 8-metre-wide crater, according to a new study.
Further, every month, the Red Planet also appears to be hit by a meteorite that leaves a 30-metre crater, the paper published in journal Nature Astronomy noted.
A collaboration between the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to revolutionise Earth observation and disaster preparedness. The highly anticipated NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite will track changes not only to Earth’s surface but also to ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice and vegetation, measuring shifts with precision down to “fractions of an inch”.
NISAR’s cutting-edge technology aims to deepen our understanding of dynamic Earth processes, measuring the motion of nearly all of the planet’s land and ice-covered surfaces every 12 days. The satellite will observe movements from earthquakes, ice sheet movements, landslides and volcanic activity, track changes in forests, wetlands and farmland and even check infrastructure stability.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) to study celestial objects on January 1, 2024.
The XPoSat was launched by ISRO’s PSLV-C58 Mission, which is the 60th mission of PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle).
“PSLV-C58 vehicle placed the satellite precisely into the intended orbit of 650 km with 6-degree inclination,” ISRO wrote on X, formerly Twitter. The space agency added that XPoSat’s health is normal. It also has begun generating power.
More than 300 Indian entities have sent 440 applications to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) for assistance in the space sector as of January 2024, according to the Economic Survey 2023-24 report released July 22, 2024.
Applications from Indian firms sought authorisation, handholding, facility support and consultancy, technology transfer and facility usage in the space sector from IN-SPACe.
IN-SPACe is an autonomous agency in the Department of Space (DOS), which was formed following the space sector reforms in 2020 to enable and facilitate the participation of private players.
NISAR will employ advanced radar technology to monitor changes across Earth’s land and ice surfaces, particularly focusing on the dynamics of ice shelves in polar regions. This initiative comes at a crucial time, as recent satellite imagery from East Antarctica has shown significant glacial collapse, highlighting the urgent need for detailed monitoring.
It will employ two radar systems, an L-band and an S-band, to penetrate clouds and darkness, offering comprehensive data even during polar winter nights.
This mission is distinguished by its ability to track a variety of Earth’s vital signs, ranging from the health of wetlands to the impacts of deforestation and natural hazards, NASA noted in the official statement.
In June this year, the world’s 35-year-long effort to restore and preserve its ozone layer got a major boost, when researchers confirmed dropping levels of chemicals which deplete this shield that protects us from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. These chemicals, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), are part of a set of 100-odd substances which have elements like chlorine and bromine that destroy ozone molecules.
Their release thus depletes the ozone layer 15 to 35 kilometres above the Earth’s surface. The ozone layer is the thinnest over the poles, especially in the Antarctic stratosphere, where the depletion is known as the “ozone hole”.
But the June study, led by a scientist from Bristol University, UK and published in journal Nature Climate Change, indicated signs of ozone healing by noting that for the first time since the 1970s, the impact of HCFCs on the Earth’s energy balance and the amount of chlorine from these gases in the atmosphere have decreased after reaching a peak in 2021. This is five years ahead of the projected peak year of 2026.
The spacecraft Aditya-L1 had been travelling towards the Sun for four months since lift-off on September 2, 2023. It reached its destination on January 6, 2024.
After lift-off, the spacecraft went four times around the Earth before escaping the sphere of Earth’s influence on September 30. L1 stands for Lagrange point 1 — the place between the Sun and Earth where the spacecraft has now reached. A Lagrange point is a spot where the gravitational forces of two large objects — such as the Sun and the Earth — cancel each other out, allowing a spacecraft to “hover”.
Mars has no open waters. However, scientists have unveiled evidence of substantial water reserves hidden deep beneath the Red Planet’s surface. A new study suggests that vast amounts of water, potentially enough to fill entire oceans, may be trapped between 11.5 and 20 kilometres below the Martian soil.
The discovery has renewed hopes of finding life on the planet. The amount of groundwater could cover the entire planet to a depth of 1-2 kilometres, the study published in journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences noted.
“Water is necessary for life as we know it. I don’t see why [the underground reservoir] is not a habitable environment,” Michael Manga of University of California (UC), Berkeley and the lead author of the study, said in a statement.