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.
