LETTER
Space News: SpaceX’s third launch in 12 days
Space News Recap | July 3 — July 9
Every Monday, we curate the most interesting stories from the previous week in space science and technology on our Medium blog.
Launches
SpaceX
SpaceX launched the super-heavy Intelsat 35e satellite — weighing close to 6000 kg — on July 5. Unlike most other launches, the Falcon 9 first stage did not attempt a landing due to the heavy payload and higher orbit requiring more fuel than usual leaving very little for a descent. Their third launch in 12 days, SpaceX is on a roll having launched a Falcon 9 with reused booster on June 23 followed by another launch within 48 hours. Watch the entire webcast here.

Astronomy
Black Holes observed circling for the first time
Researchers in the US have visuals on two super massive black holes orbiting each other. Observations over a period of decade have led to this finding. Read more about the study here.

Hubble Hits The Jackpot
By applying a new computational analysis to a galaxy magnified by a gravitational lens, astronomers have obtained images 10 times sharper than what Hubble could achieve on its own.

Interplanetary Travel
Is Mars soil too toxic to support life?
A new study suggests that UV radiation from the sun “activates” chlorine compounds in Mars’s soil, turning them into potent microbe-killers. Further tests will need to be done to see whether the same effects would occur with other life forms.

Americans on Mars and Moon
US Vice President has stated that the Trump administration will highly favor crewed missions to the Moon and Mars although no timelines or budget were explicitly stated.

History
When Mars received a visitor
Twenty years ago on July 4, 1997 NASA’s Pathfinder mission landed on Mars ushering in a new era of Martian exploration. The landed rover Sojourner weighed just 11.5 kg and operated for close to 3 months. Since then NASA has sent eight other rovers to Mars. Check out this video for a complete chronicle of the mission.

Juno reaches Jupiter
On July 4, 2016 NASA’s Juno spacecraft successfully reached the end of its five-year journey and began circling Jupiter.

Voyager flies by Jupiter
Voyager 2’s closest approach to Jupiter occurred on July 9, 1979. The spacecraft played an important role in improving our understanding of the characteristics of the atmosphere of Jupiter.

