March 29, 2024

On This Day in Space! Dec. 13, 2012: Chinese spacecraft flies by asteroid Toutatis

On Dec. 12, 1967, NASA introduced the Pioneer 8 spacecraft on an objective to study the sun. Pioneer 8 was the 3rd in a series of solar-orbiting satellites that NASA launched to observe things like the solar wind, the suns magnetic fields and cosmic rays, or high-energy particles from outside the solar systemAn artists illustration of the Pioneer 8 spacecraft (Image credit: NASA) The Pioneer objectives provided the worlds very first network of satellites that could monitor area weather and solar storms, which can cause amazing auroras in the world, however can likewise cause some issues. Space weather condition occasions can scramble satellite interaction systems on Earth and even damage power grids.Catch up on our whole “On This Day In Space” series on YouTube with this playlist. On This Day in Space Archive! Still not sufficient space? Dont forget to take a look at our Space Image of the Day, and on the weekends our Best Space Photos and Top Space News Stories of the week. Email Hanneke Weitering at [email protected] or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook..