Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
After 25 days in space, Artemis I, NASA's unmanned spacecraft, returned to earth landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico's Baja Peninsula.
The successful mission will act as a foundation for human deep-space exploration.
The spacecraft's return happened Sunday at approximately 12:40 p.m. EST -- the same day as the final Apollo moon landing in 1972.
Although spearheaded by NASA and a global community, Canada is playing a key role in the Artemis program. The Canadian Space Agency continues to develop new technology for space travel aiding the international community's goal of establishing a human presence on the moon.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a Canadian on the moon in one of the first missions," Keith Cowing, editor of SpaceRef.com, a media company focusing on space news, said. "For NASA, it's important because we're going back. But this time, we're going back with a lot of friends in a global way."
Speaking to CTV News Channel Sunday, Cowing said he remembers the space race and geopolitics that played into the first moon landing, but now Canada is no longer on the sidelines.
"There's something called the Artemis Accords, which is an agreement with a number of nations … including Canada, Europe, Japan – a whole bunch of countries all working together," Cowing said. "And as part of the Artemis program, Canada is going to have one of its famous robotic arms on the Gateway Station."
An important aspect of the first Artemis mission is the re-entry of the Orion spacecraft into Earth's orbit.
"It's going to hit the Earth's atmosphere, but this time, it's going to skip like a rock on a lake and help to slow down and then come into land just off the coast of California," Cowling said. "So that sounds simple, but it's probably the most stone nailbiting aspect of this entire mission other than the launch."
When the spacecraft enters the atmosphere at such a high speed, estimated about 25,000 to 40,000 kilometres per hour, the temperature will increase to about 2,700 degrees Celsius, Cowing said.
"There's no real margin for error," he said. "It's going to come in, skip and come down, so that heat shield has to work perfectly."
Artemis faced a rocky start to the mission when it was delayed three months due to technical problems and a tropical storm. It launched Nov. 16 and is the first step to NASA's program to put humans back on the moon and eventually establish a lunar base.
"Hopefully, we're sustainable in that, we're gonna go back … and build up a capability on the moon instead of just going to visit and staying home for half a century," Cowing said.
The program is split into three parts, the first being completed Sunday with a successful return of the spacecraft. The second launch is set to come "no later" than May 2024 and will have a crewed test flight, reads the Canadian Space Agency website.
The final mission is set to launch in 2025 and will fly astronauts to the moon and "may land humans on the lunar surface."
The historic missions will also land the first woman and first person of colour on the surface of the moon.
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
World Food Programme executive director Cindy McCain says people living in Gaza are 'wasting' as famine concerns continue amid the war between Israel and Hamas.
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues the 'Team Canada' charm offensive to U.S. lawmakers and business leaders, Canada's ambassador to the United States downplayed the effect of another Trump presidency on Canada.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.