15 facts about space that will blow your mind

NASA

Space exploration in real life is just as mind-blowing as it looks in the movies.

The universe's size and scope are incomprehensible even to the most advanced scientists, but we're learning more and more about the final frontier every day.

Keep reading to learn 15 facts you didn't know about outer space.

NASA has recorded eerie space "sounds."

NASA uses a technique called data sonification to take signals from radio waves, plasma waves, and magnetic fields and convert them into audio tracks to "hear" what's happening in space.

The sounds range from ambulance-like screeches to beeps reminiscent of an alien spaceship making its approach.

Sunsets on Mars are blue.

The Curiosity Mars rover's first color photograph of a sunset in 2015 revealed a surprising twist — sunsets on Mars are blue.

NASA said this is because "dust in the Martian atmosphere has fine particles that permit blue light to penetrate the atmosphere more efficiently than longer-wavelength colors" like yellow, orange, and red.

Launching things into space is wildly expensive.

If you divide the cost of a mission's launch by its cargo weight, you get some staggering numbers.

Payload specialist and space station engineer Ravi Margasahayam told Business Insider that each pound of cargo used to cost $10,000 to ship into space. Prices have skyrocketed since — Orbital Science's Cygnus spacecraft's cargo costs about $43,180 per pound, and SpaceX's new carriers about $27,000 per pound.

Business Insider determined that a 16-ounce bottle of water can cost anywhere between $9,100 to $43,180 to blast into space today.

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