                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2023 April 6

                           Terran 1 Burns Methalox
                    Image Credit: Relativity / John Kraus

   Explanation: Relativity's Terran 1 Rocket is mostly 3D-printed. It
   burns a cryogenic rocket fuel composed of liquid methane and liquid
   oxygen (methalox). In this close-up of a Terran 1 launch on the night
   of March 22 from Cape Canaveral, icy chunks fall through the stunning
   frame as intense blue exhaust streams from its nine Aeon 1 engines. In
   a largely successful flight the inovative rocket achieved main engine
   cutoff and stage separation but fell short of orbit after an anomaly at
   the beginning of its second stage flight. Of course this Terran 1
   rocket was never intended to travel to Mars. Still, the methane and
   liquid oxygen components of its methalox fuel can be made solely from
   materials found on the Red Planet. Methalox manufactured on Mars could
   be used as fuel for rockets returning to planet Earth.

                       Tomorrow's picture: Rigel wide
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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