2015: A Space Odyssey

As we begin a new year, this past year has been an amazing year for space exploration. From pop culture to reality, astronomy has been a bright star for all to be amazed and dazzled by its explosive power. Let's take a look at just a few of the exciting things that have happened in 2015.

Hubble's 25th Anniversary
We began 2015 with a year-long celebration of the accomplishments of the Hubble Space Telescope. Launched into orbit in April 1990, Hubble has revolutionized the way we view the cosmos. Although the telescope had a bit of a blurry start after an initial problem with its primary mirror, by 1993, Hubble showed the world a cosmos unlike it had been seen before.

Eagle Nebula - "Pillars of Creation"
Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, J. Hester and P. Scowen (Arizona State University)

Throughout it's 25 years in space, Hubble has been essential in expanding, not only our view, but our understanding of the cosmos. Helping us understand galaxy evolution, refining the age of the universe, and assisting in the detection of exoplanets are just a few of the greatest impacts from the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble will continue its mission exploring the cosmos at least until its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, takes it's place in 2018.

Learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope HERE.

New Horizon's Flyby of Pluto
Almost 10 years ago, the New Horizon's spacecraft was launched on a long and lonely journey into the depths of our Solar System. It's mission: learn all we can about Pluto during a brief flyby. Finally, on July 14, 2015, New Hoizon's made it's closest approach to Pluto, and stunned scientists and the world alike. 

Pluto
Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

Instead of a boring, old, frozen ball of various ices, Pluto was a world of varying geologic ages and activity. A smooth plane of nitrogen ice with flowing glaciers marked the "heart" of Pluto. While, mountains of water ice rise high in stark contrast. The various surface features and compositions show a strange and wildly interesting world beyond anyone's imagination. Pluto and it's five moons finally shown in clear detail after spending a lifetime as a fuzzy blip in the dark abyss of space. This is just the beginning of our understanding of this system. The data from New Horizon's brief visit is still beaming back to Earth, and years of research awaits.

Learn more about the New Horizon's mission and Pluto HERE.

Martian Water
One of the great mysteries in the Solar System lies on one of our nearest neighbors, Mars. The question of life beyond on Earth begins with the Red Planet. We have known that Mars had liquid water on it's surface in the past and there's plenty of water ice on the planet today. However, for the first time, liquid water has been confirmed "flowing" on Mars in the present.

Dark Recurring Slope Lines
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Researchers from the University of Arizona observed recurring streaks of salty water ebbing and flowing down slopes during the warmer months on Mars. The high salt content allows water to remain liquid in extreme temperatures, and is causing a shallow subsurface flow that causes dark streak to appear on the martian surface. While, these flows are not conducive to life, it is a step in understanding the processes that occur on Mars today, and may lead scientists to clues about the possibility of past or present life on Mars.

Learn more about water on Mars HERE.

The Martian
Pop culture has a huge impact on our scientific advancement. We have a habit of turning our dreams created for science fiction into reality. The Martian was not simply a science fiction flight of fancy with a charismatic hero that capitalized on our fascination with Mars exploration, but a look into the reality of the future.

Credit: 20th Century Fox

Mars is the next great destination for human space exploration. NASA is currently preparing for a future journey to Mars. The goal is to have humans reach Mars by the 2030's. This means, the children of today are the Mars generation of the future. While Matt Damon may have is feet firmly planted on the Earth, in the near future we will have a step for mankind firmly planted on Mars. 

Learn more about NASA's Journey to Mars here: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html

SpaceX Rocket Landing
On December 21, 2015, SpaceX made history by landing their Falcon 9 rocket after it launched to deploy several communication satellites in orbit. Through a series of engine burns, the Falcon 9 was maneuvered and positioned to land standing upright back in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Falcon 9 Landing
Credit: SpaceX

This monumental occasion and the subsequent tests of the Falcon 9's re-usability will revolutionize space exploration, if all proves successful. The ability to reuse rockets will pave the way to greater access to space by making it's exploration cheaper and more efficient. Two great hurdles that have always stood in the way to our final and greatest frontier.
Learn more about spaceX HERE.

We are continually pushing the boundaries of our frontier, and 2015 saw many advances in our exploration and understanding of the universe. So, while we send 2015 into the past, we welcome 2016 with even more promise and excitement.

Happy New Year! Here's to continually boldly going where we have never gone before!