2021 was a big year for space news .\u00a0
\nFrom commercial space race to operations on the red planet , space exploration was in the public \u2026<\/b>
\n2021 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\u2019 Jezero crater. „This landing is one of those pivotal moments for NASA, the United States, and space exploration globally \u2013 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\u2019s 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 \u2014 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\u2019s Long March 5B booster re-entered Earth\u2019s atmosphere, burning up over the Maldives. After NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and others accused Beijing of acting recklessly, the Chinese government said it was unfairly being held to different standards than the U.S. and other space programs. „We are willing to work with other countries including the United States to strengthen cooperation in the use of outer space, but we also oppose double standards on this issue,“ Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said. At the end of the month, the nation\u2019s first Mars rover touched down on the planet and began to roam its surface. On June 2, NASA announced it had selected two new missions to Venus. The VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) and DAVINCI+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) missions map Earth\u2019s nearest planetary neighbor and measure its atmosphere. DAVINCI+ will also determine whether the planet ever had an ocean. They are expected to launch in the 2028 to 2030 timeframe. On July 11, Billionaire Richard Branson and five crew mates launched to space, flying more than 53 miles above the Earth in a final test mission before kicking off commercial space flights in the new year. The 71-year-old became the first person to blast off in his own spaceship, beating Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos by nine days. On Nov.15, a Russian weapons test created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk, threatening the astronauts aboard the ISS. Nelson told The Associated Press at the time that he was „outraged“ by the action and that it was „unbelievable that the Russian government would“ do the test. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the test also threatened satellites. Russian officials rejected accusations that they had endangered astronauts and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the strike was carried out „with surgical precision.“ Astronauts now face four times greater risk than normal from space junk, according to Nelson. On Dec.14, a spacecraft touched the sun for the first time. NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe has flown through the sun\u2019s corona, or its upper atmosphere, and sampled particles and magnetic fields there. Scientists said it took months to get the data back and several more months to confirm. Parker \u2014 launched in 2018 \u2014 was 8 million miles from the center of the sun when it first crossed the boundary between the solar atmosphere and outgoing solar wind. The spacecraft dipped in and out of the corona at least three times. Preliminary data suggests Parker also dipped into the corona during its ninth close approach in August, but scientists said more analyses are needed. Parker will keep drawing ever closer to the sun and diving deeper into the corona until its grand finale orbit in 2025.<\/p>\n