Categories: Mars

Nozomi Makes its Earth Flyby

The Japanese space probe Nozomi, passed an important milestone on its journey to Mars Thursday night with the successfully flyby of Earth. The spacecraft passed within 11,000 km of the Earth in order to use our planet’s gravity to assist its trip to Mars. Its challenges aren’t over yet, however, since its heating system still isn’t functional and required in order to enter Mars orbit at the end of its journey. Space experts give Nozomi a 50/50 chance of being able to fix itself before reaching Mars.

Fraser Cain

Fraser Cain is the publisher of Universe Today. He's also the co-host of Astronomy Cast with Dr. Pamela Gay. Here's a link to my Mastodon account.

Recent Posts

Enceladus’s Fault Lines are Responsible for its Plumes

The Search for Life in our Solar System leads seekers to strange places. From our…

15 hours ago

Lunar Explorers Could Run to Create Artificial Gravity for Themselves

Few things in life are certain. But it seems highly probable that people will explore…

17 hours ago

This is an Actual Picture of Space Debris

Space debris is a growing problem, so companies are working on ways to mitigate it.…

17 hours ago

Insanely Detailed Webb Image of the Horsehead Nebula

Few space images are as iconic as those of the Horsehead Nebula. Its shape makes…

2 days ago

Binary Stars Form in the Same Nebula But Aren’t Identical. Now We Know Why.

It stands to reason that stars formed from the same cloud of material will have…

2 days ago

Earth Had a Magnetosphere 3.7 Billion Years Ago

We go about our daily lives sheltered under an invisible magnetic field generated deep inside…

2 days ago