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Added on the 01/11/2022 15:06:56 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
SpaceX launched its third crewed mission to the International Space Station early Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four astronauts were on board, including Frenchman Thomas Pesquet. IMAGES
SpaceX launches its Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station, as part of its nineteenth commercial resupply services mission (CRS-19), at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. IMAGES
This four-wheeled robot rover is undergoing its final trials on Japan's Tottori Sand Dunes before it will be flown into space and out to its final test - a 1,640 foot ride on the surface of the moon. Called the Moonraker, the rover was built by Team Hakuto of Japan to compete with 15 other teams from all over the world for the $20 million dollar grand prize in the Google Lunar XPrize competition. Google's Lunar XPrize competition calls for participating teams to create a rover, launch it into space, land it on the moon, have it travel at least 1,640 feet, and then send images of its travels back to the earth. The first team to successfully complete the challenge will take home the grand prize. Team Hakuto, which means 'white rabbit' in Japanese, is well on its way to securing the prize money - their Moonraker rover is scheduled to be launched from Earth by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket soon. The purpose is to create a cheap machine to help humans easily explore the moon, and maybe even prepare it for colonization. The Hakuto team hope that the Moonraker will be able to explore holes on the moon's surface and perhaps discover cave systems. The future looks interesting indeed.
SpaceX carries out the third test launch of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket that is vital to NASA's plans for landing astronauts on the Moon and Elon Musk's hopes of eventually colonizing Mars. Lift-off from the company's base in southeast Texas came around 8:25 am local time (1325 GMT) and was carried on a webcast viewed by more than 1.5 million people. IMAGES
SpaceX's 'Starship' rocket, the largest ever built, takes off from the space company's Texas launch site. CEO Elon Musk hopes the ship will one day colonize Mars and NASA is awaiting a modified version to land humans on the Moon. The first test in April ended in a spectacular explosion over the Gulf of Mexico. IMAGES