Tuesday July 14 Double-Header

[C C]

Fairing halves being caught by catcher's mitt ships

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1285632260721573890

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1285632635335782401

Makes you wonder if "double" is just probability after so many _X_ attempts or if it's a sign that they've gradually developed a system after all this trial and error for a feat that looks like it could never have more than limited, irregular success.

[confused2]

Cryogenic.

[Yazata]

There hasn't been much talk about it but the UAE Al Amal (Arabic for 'Hope') Mars mission is still underway and approaching Mars like the rest of the 2020 Mars fleet. It's conducted several course corrections on its way and is slated to perform its Mars orbital injection burn on February 9. This one will remain a scientific satellite of Mars and won't try to put a lander on Mars' surface like Tianwen and Perseverance.

So UAE Al Amal (Hope) will arrive in Mars orbit next Tuesday (Feb 9), Tianwen will insert itself into Mars orbit on Wednesday (Feb 10) and Perseverance will attempt its wild-and-crazy straight-out-of-SciFi skycrane landing a week later on Thursday Feb 18. Tianwen will remain a Mars photographic orbiter for the time being and is expected to attempt to put its own lander on the surface sometime in May.

[Yazata]

Here's a United Arab Emirates Space Agency website devoted to their Mars mission with real-time updates

https://www.emiratesmarsmission.ae/

[Yazata]

Confirmation has reportedly come in that the UAE Al Amal Mars orbiter successfully completed its Mars orbit injection burn and appears to be in orbit around Mars.

https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/13...5559366656