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Moving at unimaginable speeds, from lightspeed to warp speed, we journey into the vast unknown. Space exploration and travel extend far beyond just astronauts. In fact, many of the most incredible breakthroughs we’ve seen were only possible due to advancements in technology, from space probes and rovers to radio and light waves.
Let’s delve deeper into how the science behind space exploration has contributed to the knowledge and progress we now take for granted. Here are ten incredible discoveries that would not have been achievable without the reach of space travel.
10. Wormholes You Can Travel Through
Einstein’s theory of general relativity, introduced in 1915, builds upon his earlier 1910 exploration of space and time. While he didn’t account for gravity initially, he later revealed that gravity from massive objects actually warps spacetime itself.
General relativity explains that wormholes are curved regions of spacetime that act like tunnels, connecting two distant locations. While scientists have not yet directly observed wormholes in nature and there is no solid proof to confirm their existence, the theory suggests that any wormhole would be highly unstable. If something were to travel through, the tunnel would collapse, and the matter would be severed, trapped in a far-off region of space where the wormhole leads.
However, some researchers have proposed methods to keep wormholes open and prevent them from collapsing. One idea involves using negative mass, or electrons, to counterbalance the electric charge and mass of the wormhole. Another theory suggests stabilizing the tunnel by surrounding the entrance with layers of regular matter. These ideas are set to be tested experimentally, and if proven, they could make the science fiction dream of time travel a reality, challenging our current understanding of the universe.
9. Marsquakes
You’ve heard of earthquakes, but now, brace yourself for Marsquakes. NASA’s InSight lander, which touched down in 2018, has detected three separate tremors on the red planet. On September 18, 2021, during its 1,000th day on Mars, InSight recorded a 4.2 magnitude tremor that lasted an impressive 90 minutes—much longer than the typical 30-second quake on Earth.
These Marsquakes provide valuable insight (pun intended, given the lander’s name) into the planet’s internal structure, how it was formed, and how seismic waves travel through Mars’ crust, mantle, and core. It was a near miss for the lander to detect these quakes, though, due to the planet’s elliptical orbit pulling it farther from the sun, forcing InSight to use heaters to stay warm and lack solar power. Fortunately, scientists managed to shut down non-essential instruments to conserve energy, and as InSight approaches the sun once again, its power levels will rise, allowing it to continue collecting data from the red planet.
8. Surviving the Death of a Star
In 2020, scientists discovered 4,324 exoplanets. By now, that number has risen to 4,903. One of the most fascinating discoveries came in September 2020 when a massive Jupiter-sized planet, known as WD 1856 b, was found orbiting a white dwarf star. Despite being classified as a dwarf, this star is actually about 40% larger than Earth. Dwarf stars are the dense remnants of sun-like stars that have exhausted their fuel, expanded, and then shed their outer layers, leaving behind only a dense core with as much as 80% of their mass lost.
Typically, any nearby objects would be consumed by the star’s mass and incinerated during this transformation, which in this case would have included WD 1856 b. However, this planet, which is seven times the size of the dwarf star, somehow managed to get incredibly close without being destroyed. WD 1856 b is located in the Draco constellation, about 80 light-years (or 25 parsecs) from Earth.
7. Asteroid Mining
Asteroid mining is a concept often seen in science fiction, particularly in galaxies where planets have exhausted their resources and turned to asteroids as an alternative fuel source. Surprisingly, this fictional idea may one day become a reality.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, launched in 2016, journeyed to the asteroid Bennu, which is in close proximity to Earth. The mission's goal is to gather samples of rock and materials from the surface of the asteroid to gain deeper insights into its chemical composition, the processes behind life and planet formation, and whether asteroids contain materials that could be beneficial for Earth. OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to return to Earth in 2023, bringing with it valuable extraterrestrial samples for further examination.
6. Voyagers’ Discoveries
In August 1977, Voyager 1 was launched with the aim of studying Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. A month later, in September 1977, Voyager 2 was launched with the same mission: to explore the outer reaches of our solar system and investigate the sun's influence beyond our planet.
Both Voyager spacecraft travel at an astounding speed of about 38,000 miles per hour, or 17 kilometers per second. Over forty years since their launches, they have uncovered ice-covered moons, volcanoes in deep space, and signs of water on distant planets. For instance, Jupiter's moon Io has a volcano erupting with ten times the intensity of volcanic activity found on Earth.
Another of Jupiter's moons, Europa, has a fractured surface, suggesting the presence of liquid water beneath. Voyager 2 is currently 12 billion miles from Earth, while Voyager 1 is 14 billion miles away. These two spacecraft are the first to enter interstellar space. Communications with mission control take about two days for the signals to travel back and forth. This link offers a detailed look at Voyager 2, while this one provides an in-depth overview of Voyager 1 and their real-time locations.
5. The Black Hole Area Theorem
You’re probably familiar with black holes, right? These mysterious voids consume everything, including light, but do they allow anything to escape? In 1971, Stephen Hawking introduced the Black Hole Area Theorem, proposing that black holes can't shrink over time. This theory is based on the thermodynamic principle of entropy, where a system's thermal energy is transformed into mechanical work—essentially, turning heat into motion.
After fifty years of waiting, in 2021, researchers finally validated Hawking's theory by studying the gravitational waves created by black holes. They measured the surface areas of two merging black holes before and after the collision and found that the resulting area was greater than the sum of the two separate black holes.
It may seem obvious that adding 1 + 1 equals 2, but this discovery marks a significant breakthrough in our understanding of astrophysics. It even led two physicists to propose a method for safely extracting energy from black holes. The idea is that by disrupting and reconfiguring the magnetic field lines at the boundaries of black holes, it may be possible for matter, including light, to escape.
4. Space Dust
Without space exploration, we would never have learned that Earth receives 5,200 tons of space dust every year. This space dust, often visible in the sky, is known as zodiacal light, which creates a faint glow that can be seen at sunrise or sunset.
In a twenty-year study, scientists gathered data on the origin and nature of these particles. Space dust consists of debris from comets, asteroids, and interstellar dust traveling through the solar system. While most particles are as small as a few molecules or up to 0.1 millimeters, they contain organic compounds that were formed by stars at both the beginning and end of their life cycles. So next time you’re cleaning, consider holding onto those dust bunnies—they might have come from space.
3. The Fifth Force
There are four fundamental forces that govern spacetime: gravity, electromagnetic, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear. The standard model of physics combines these forces, but scientists couldn't resist probing further and discovered that the standard model is incomplete. It doesn’t unify gravity with the other three forces, nor does it explain the nature of dark matter, which makes up 96% of the universe.
This led them to investigate beauty quarks and the process by which they decay, which generates light particles via the weak force. The particles these quarks decay into break a fundamental law of lepton universality, which states that the number of leptons before and after must remain constant. While this discovery requires further data, researchers are on the verge of uncovering a potential fifth force that could completely revolutionize our understanding of physics.
2. Dwarf Galaxies
In 2021, scientists identified a newly discovered miniature galaxy, only 1% of the size of the Milky Way. Though it’s still in its infancy and expanding, researchers were able to locate it through gravitational lensing, a phenomenon where large objects bend and magnify light, offering a glimpse into what lies beyond, almost like a photo negative effect.
This galaxy isn’t the first of its kind. In fact, there are currently twenty dwarf galaxies drifting within the Milky Way. However, without the advances in technology and the brilliance behind space exploration, such discoveries would not have been possible.
1. A Day on Venus
Venus's day length used to change by twenty minutes with every orbit. A team of scientists conducted a decade-long study, using radar to bounce light waves off Venus in order to measure its axial tilt, core size, and how long it takes to complete an orbit. This research helped to provide a more accurate understanding of the planet’s rotational and orbital characteristics.
For any mission to Venus, scientists must account for the planet's precise spin and orbital period. If these measurements aren't exact, a spacecraft could land up to twenty miles off target, jeopardizing the entire mission. Research has shown that a single day on Venus is equivalent to 243 Earth days, plus a bit more. The challenges they faced in determining this were linked to the planet's thick, fast-moving clouds, which disrupt the rotation of Venus.
