2021 was a big year for space news .
From commercial space race to operations on the red planet , space exploration was in the public …
2021 was a big year for space news. From commercial space race to operations on the red planet, space exploration was in the public spotlight. Here are a few of the biggest moments: On Feb.18, NASA’s fifth Mars rover, Perseverance, successfully landed on Mars’ Jezero crater. „This landing is one of those pivotal moments for NASA, the United States, and space exploration globally – when we know we are on the cusp of discovery and sharpening our pencils, so to speak, to rewrite the textbooks,“ then-acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk said in a statement. „The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission embodies our nation’s spirit of persevering even in the most challenging of situations, inspiring, and advancing science and exploration.“ On April 19, NASA made history once again after its Ingenuity Mars helicopter completed the first-ever powered, controlled flight on another planet. The helicopter hovered for 30 seconds at its planned altitude of 10 feet, and spent 39 seconds airborne. „Ingenuity has performed its first flight — the first flight of a powered aircraft on another planet!“ flight control was heard saying in a NASA audio broadcast. On the evening of May 8, the core stage of China’s Long March 5B booster re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, burning up over the Maldives.
