Daily Extra :
Aurora Borealis : The "Northern Lights"; caused by the interaction between the solar wind, the Earth's magnetic field and the upper atmosphere. A similar effect happens in the southern hemisphere where it is known as the aurora australis.
Who Was Born Today?:
1949: Maidarjabyn Ganzorig, Mongolia, cosmonaut, Soyuz 39 backup
Who Died Today?:
Today in History:
1962: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn within 16 degrees
1963: Soviet lunar probe failure
1967: Lunar Orbiter 3 - USA Lunar Orbiter launched. Orbited the moon, photographed the far side for potential Apollo 12 landing sites, then impacted on command.
1971: Apollo 14 - USA Lunar Manned Lander (January 31 to February 8, 1971) Crew: Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell, Stuart A. Roosa. Shepard and Mitchell landed on the moon on February 5, 1971, in the Fra Mauro highlands, located at 3°40' S and longitude 17°28' E. They collected 42.9 kilograms of lunar samples and used a hand-held cart to transport rocks and equipment.
1974: Mariner 10 - USA Mercury/Venus Flyby - 526 kg - (November 3, 1973 - March 24, 1975) flew past Venus for a gravity assist to the planet Mercury. Mariner 10 was the first dual planet mission. Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to have an imaging system. It recorded circulation in the Venusian atmosphere and showed the temperature of the cloud tops to be -23°C. Mariner 10 flew past Mercury 3 times on March 29, 1974, September 21, 1974, and March 16, 1975. These three encounters produced over 10,000 pictures with 57% planet coverage. It recorded surface temperatures ranging from 187°C to -183°C on the day and night sides. A weak magnetic field was detected but it failed to detect an atmosphere. Mariner 10 is now in a solar orbit.
1987: Soyuz TM-2 launches
1994: Clementine - USA Lunar Orbiter - (launched January 25, 1994) spent 70 days (between February 6 and May 5, 1994) in lunar orbit. The official name for Clementine is Deep Space Probe Science Experiment (DSPSE). It was a Department of Defense program used to test new space technology. Clementine was a new design using lightweight structure and propellant systems. Its four cameras mapped the surface of the Moon at 125-250 meters/pixel resolution. Clementine also used a laser to gather altimeter data which will make it possible to generate the first lunar topographic map.
