Space: The Final Frontier

[nudge]

Orion splashdown in less than 1 hour... 

What a view.

 

 

[Tommy]

 

[CaaC (John)+]

Quote

Lost in space? The Artemis CubeSats that have thrived or died

40% of Moon launch’s secondary payload failed to fire.

While the splashdown of the Orion spacecraft marks the end of a successful lunar voyage, not everything has gone to plan for Artemis I.

As part of the mission which spent almost 26 days in space after blasting off from the Kennedy Space Centre on 16 November, NASA packed a secondary payload as part of the mission’s launch: 10 low-cost CubeSats.

“Low-cost” is relative. Each of these breadbin-sized satellites cost millions of dollars, but what they offer scientists are cheap, high-risk, high-reward technology to conduct experiments in space.

Most of these mini missions are now underway, some despite a few hiccups.

However, four have hit snags or failed to fire at all.

CubeSat success stories (so far)

ArgoMoon

This joint development between NASA and the Italian Space Agency following the successful deployment of the LICIACube during the recent Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission.

Its purpose was to review the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage which sent Orion into on its lunar trajectory after launch.

It then captured images of the Moon and Earth as part of its final duties.

BioSentinel

Sent yeast samples into space in the only biological experiment among the CubeSat assignments.

It will monitor how long exposure to space radiation impacts living organisms.

Despite an issue in its early stages of deployment where it began ‘tumbling’, ground teams signalled corrective instructions to the CubeSat and it has now completed its maiden lunar flyby.

The experiment is due to commence in the coming weeks.

EQUULEUS

The EQUilibriUm Lunar-Earth point 6U Spacecraft, built by the Japanese Space Exploration Agency (JAXA), is on its way to the second Earth-moon Lagrangian Point as part of a demonstration of low-energy trajectory control techniques.

In simple terms, Lagrangian points are positions in space where gravitational and centrifugal forces from nearby celestial bodies (like the Earth, Sun and Moon) cancel each other out, and objects at these points tend to remain stationary.

EQUULEUS will also image the Earth’s plasmasphere, and monitor both lunar impact flashes (when meteoroids smack into the Moon’s surface) and near-Earth objects like asteroids and comets.

Lunar IceCube

From Morehead State University, the Lunar IceCube has signalled NASA’s Deep Space Network and is on its way on a unique mission to investigate ice on the moon using infrared spectrometry.

Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper

The Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper (LunaH-Map) will join the IceCube on a similar mission.

It has begun transmitting imagery on its quest to measure hydrogen distribution across the Moon’s south pole.

Team Miles

This one is already a winner, thanks to finishing first in NASA’s CubeQuest Challenge – an initiative that invited competitors to build small spacecraft propelled by innovative technology.

The ultimate prize included a ticket to be launched during Artemis I.

The good news for Team Miles is that its signal – and exciting solid iodine plasma thrusters – are firing towards its goal of travelling 96 million kilometers beyond Earth.

Boldly going, going, gone

While most of the CubeSats are looking goods, there have been some disappointments, particularly given the promise of their missions.

CubeSat for Solar Particles

CuSP for short, this CubeSat built by Southwest Research Institute is as good as lost in space.

It was intended to measure solar wind and the magnetic fields emitted from the Sun, however after deploying successfully, NASA’s Deep Space Network has been unable to re-establish contact with the satellite.

Three software reboots detected on CuSP and an “unexplained battery anomaly” were also detected after initial contact.

According to NASA, the CuSP team are still working to re-establish contact.

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout

One of the big disappointments of the launch was the failure of NASA’s own NEA Scout. It is still yet to signal NASA after separating from the Space Launch System rocket and is assumed lost.

That’s a shame, because its mission was to explore the 18-metre-wide Near-Earth Asteroid 2020 GE and send back images of what would have been the smallest asteroid to be investigated by a spacecraft.

OMOTENASHI

While EQUULEUS is underway, JAXA’s other CubeSat, officially the Outstanding Moon Exploration Technologies demonstrated by Nano Semi-Hard Impactor (or OMOTENASHI for short) failed to live up to its name.

What was intended to be the vehicle for Japan’s debut Moon landing hit a critical snag the moment it was released from the Space Launch System rocket – its solar panels weren’t pointing at the Sun long enough to communicate properly with JAXA mission control.

https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/artemis-cubesats-thrived-or-died/

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by CaaC (John)
Spacing correction

[Dr. Gonzo]

On 11/12/2022 at 08:55, nudge said:

Orion splashdown in less than 1 hour... 

What a view.

 

 

 

On 11/12/2022 at 11:40, Tommy said:

 

I'd heard it was splashing down fairly close to me. And my flat faces the ocean so I thought maybe I'd be able to see it as it comes down to earth. So I stayed up pretty late to see if I could see it. Waited for hours and hours until the thing was actually in the water (also was watching it on TV).

Couldn't see a fucking thing  - basically didn't sleep for no good reason.

[Tommy]

1 minute ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

 

I'd heard it was splashing down fairly close to me. And my flat faces the ocean so I thought maybe I'd be able to see it as it comes down to earth. So I stayed up pretty late to see if I could see it. Waited for hours and hours until the thing was actually in the water (also was watching it on TV).

Couldn't see a fucking thing  - basically didn't sleep for no good reason.

Show us the view from your window!  

[nudge]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

 

I'd heard it was splashing down fairly close to me. And my flat faces the ocean so I thought maybe I'd be able to see it as it comes down to earth. So I stayed up pretty late to see if I could see it. Waited for hours and hours until the thing was actually in the water (also was watching it on TV).

Couldn't see a fucking thing  - basically didn't sleep for no good reason.

 Yeah, it splashed down over 150 km off the coast, should have just stuck with the livestream tbh  

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

6 minutes ago, Tommy said:

Show us the view from your window!  

I'll do it on a nicer day. Today's been pretty shit. I can't see the ocean though - I can just see in the direction of it.

4 minutes ago, nudge said:

 Yeah, it splashed down over 150 km off the coast, should have just stuck with the livestream tbh  

 

I definitely overestimated how good my vision is 

[Tommy]

Just now, Dr. Gonzo said:

I definitely overestimated how good my vision is 

[CaaC (John)+]

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Io volcano world comes into view of Juno probe

Nasa's Juno probe is bearing down on Io, the most volcanically active world in the Solar System.

It's in the process of making a series of ever closer flybys.

Already, the spacecraft has passed by the Jupiter moon at a distance of 80,000km, to reveal details of its hellish, lava-strewn landscape.

But Juno will get much, much nearer to Io over the course of the next year, eventually sweeping over the surface at an altitude of just 1,500km.

It's more than 20 years since we've had such an encounter with the 3,650km-wide object.

FULL REPORT

 

[Bluewolf]

[nudge]

21 minutes ago, Bluewolf said:

That's a proper crazy story. His girlfriend was also an intern at NASA, and they had two other accomplices. The most stupid thing was trying to sell the rocks online though, that's how they got caught  Anyway, the worst part of it was the fact that 30 years' worth of research notes got destroyed in the process... 

[Tommy]

1 hour ago, Bluewolf said:

That does not sound very comfy. 

[nudge]

2 minutes ago, Tommy said:

That does not sound very comfy. 

They actually kept the rocks in a bag under the mattress, and even that's disputable, as this story is quite a bit fictionalised. Regolith is extremely abrasive, during the Apollo missions, it ate through 3 layers of Kevlar... And it's also toxic. There's no way they spread them on the bed and had sex on them  

[Tommy]

I already developed a strange sympathy for failing delivery robots in the last few days, and now this tweet.  

[nudge]

1 minute ago, Tommy said:

I already developed a strange sympathy for failing delivery robots in the last few days, and now this tweet.  

Don't mean to make you sad, but they indeed lost contact with it today...  

[Tommy]

19 minutes ago, nudge said:

Don't mean to make you sad, but they indeed lost contact with it today...  

[nudge]

1 minute ago, Tommy said:

I really should watch that new Good Night Oppy documentary... 

[Tommy]

1 minute ago, nudge said:

I really should watch that new Good Night Oppy documentary... 

I will too! Ready to get sad about a Mars Rover.  

[CaaC (John)+]

For @nudge & @Tommy   

[CaaC (John)+]

 

[CaaC (John)+]

NEVER eat beans on the moon!!!! 

 

[CaaC (John)+]

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Meet the autonomous Moon robots about to change space travel forever

If we want to explore the Solar System even further, we'll need self-sufficient robots to help us do it. And that’s why scientists are putting futuristic bots through their paces on the lunar-like landscape of Mount Etna.

Anyone who has followed our efforts to explore other planets over the last few decades will have realised the importance of robots. They’re our mechanical eyes and ears on distant worlds, and have allowed us to see places that would have otherwise remained shrouded in mystery. Perhaps this is why the landing of each new NASA rover on Mars draws millions of viewers online.

Recently, however, most of the headlines have been about the imminent return of humans to the Moon. So with people once again venturing further out into space, will robotic explorers start to fade in importance?

Not at all. The fact is robotic explorers are set to become more important than ever. “There are some places in the Solar System you can’t send humans, Venus, for example, or some moons of Jupiter or Saturn,” says Prof Alin Albu-Schäffer from the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics at the German Aerospace Center, Munich. “They’re just too far away and too hostile for humans. So, youhttps://www.sciencefocus.com/space/mars-facts-figures-fun-questions-red-planet/ know, robots will be very important.”

FULL REPORT

 

[nudge]

India’s maiden human space flight mission is targeted for launch in the fourth quarter of 2024. Uncrewed test missions G1 and G2 are scheduled to be conducted in Q4 2023 and Q2 2024!

 

@Mel81x @Stan

[CaaC (John)+]

What's Up for next Month? (January 2023)

 

What to look for:

Two conjunctions, winter stars, and a comet! The Moon and several planets have close encounters, a new comet graces morning skies, and the stars of Northern Hemisphere winter dazzle.

Spoiler

• All month – Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is observable with binoculars or a small telescope in the predawn sky for Northern Hemisphere observers. It works its way swiftly across the northern sky during the month. (Check your favorite skywatching app for the comet's position on the date you're observing.)
• All month – The January sky is filled with bright stars in the constellations Orion, Taurus, Gemini, Canis major, and Canis minor. Find these cosmic gems by looking toward the southeast in the first few hours after it gets dark.
• January 2 – After sunset, find the Moon and Mars high in the southeast, in a lovely grouping with the Pleiades and Aldebaran.
• January 6 – Full moon
• January 18-24 – Watch Venus cross paths with Saturn over several days after sunset. Look for the pair low in the southwest about 45 minutes after the Sun dips below the horizon.
• January 21 – New moon
• January 22 – Venus and Saturn are super close together in the sky after sunset. They'll appear only a third of a degree apart – that's a third of the width of your index finger held at arm's length. Look for the pair low in the southwest about 45 minutes after the Sun dips below the horizon.
• January 23 – Venus and Saturn are just a degree apart in the sky – the width of your index finger held at arm's length. The slim crescent Moon hangs just above them tonight. Look for the trio low in the southwest about 45 minutes after the Sun dips below the horizon.
• January 25 – Look to the southwest 30-45 minutes after sunset to find the Moon only a degree apart from Jupiter, about halfway up the sky.
• January 12 – Recently discovered comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is at its closest to the Sun today, and will pass Earth at a distance of 26.4 million miles (42.5 million km) on Feb. 2. The comet is visible with binoculars or a small telescope in the predawn sky.

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TRANSCRIPT

What's Up for January? The planets have some close encounters, the bright stars of winter, and a chance to catch a comet.

All month after sunset, you can see four planets without the aid of binoculars or a telescope. You'll find Mars in the east, Jupiter high overhead, and Saturn in the southwest with Venus. January 2nd finds the Moon and Mars high in the southeast after sunset, in a lovely grouping with the Pleiades and Aldebaran. Then from about January 18th to the 24th, watch Venus cross paths with Saturn as the glow of sunset fades. Look for the pair low in the southwest about 45 minutes after the Sun dips below the horizon. The two planets appear at their closest on Jan. 22, when they'll be only a third of a degree apart on the sky. You'll be able to capture both of them in the same field of view through binoculars or a small telescope. On the 23rd, the two planets are still only a degree apart and will be joined by a slim crescent moon. And on January 25th, looking to the southwest 30-45 minutes after sunset, look high above Venus and Saturn to find the Moon only a degree apart from Jupiter, about halfway up the sky.

January nights are filled with bright stars. Looking toward the south or southeast in the first few hours after dark, you'll spy the bright constellations of winter in the Northern Hemisphere: Of course, there's Orion the hunter; the big dog constellation Canis Major; and the lesser-known little dog, Canis Minor with its bright star Procyon. Y-shaped Taurus, the bull, includes the bright Hyades and Pleiades star clusters. And just east of Orion, you'll find the bright stars Castor and Pollux, which form the heads of the twins in Gemini. Make sure you take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the January sky, which more than meets the definition of "star-studded," with so much to marvel at.

A recently discovered comet is now passing through the inner solar system and should be visible with a telescope and likely with binoculars. The comet, which has a mouthful of a name – C/2022 E3 (ZTF) – was first sighted in March last year, when it was already inside the orbit of Jupiter. It makes its closest approach to the Sun on January 12 and then passes its closest to Earth on February 2.

Comets are notoriously unpredictable, but if this one continues its current trend in brightness, it'll be easy to spot with binoculars, and it's just possible it could become visible to the unaided eye under dark skies.

Observers in the Northern Hemisphere will find the comet in the morning sky, as it moves swiftly toward the northwest during January. (It'll become visible in the Southern Hemisphere in early February.) This comet isn't expected to be quite the spectacle that Comet NEOWISE was back in 2020. But it's still an awesome opportunity to make a personal connection with an icy visitor from the distant outer solar system.

Stay up to date with all of NASA's missions to explore the solar system and beyond at nasa.gov. I'm Preston Dyches from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that's What's Up for this month.

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/

 

[CaaC (John)+]

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Tail of the sky serpent has been captured in wonderful new telescope image

The dust curtain has been lifted.

New year, new awe-inspiring image of the cosmos.

For example, the infrared James Webb Space Telescope started taking full colour images in July last year, and this year is likely to be even more exciting. The telescope will be able to examine every phase of cosmic history, from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang to the formation of galaxies, stars and planets to the evolution of our own solar system.

Back home in Australia, 2023 could also be a great year for the ASKAP radio telescope to show us a whole different band of astronomy. Last year, the team at Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre which works with ASKAP has unveiled a new supercomputer called Setonix.

This new system was able to produce a highly detailed image of a supernova remnant immediately after the computing system’s first stage was made available to researchers.

And the image above – taken by the European Southern Observatory’s VISTA telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile and released earlier this week – is particularly pretty.

The infrared image strips away the dust normally seen in the Sh2-54 nebula, revealing a cornucopia of new stars.

You can see this very well when compared to a visible light image of the Sh2-54 nebula taken by the VLT Survey Telescope, which is also at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. Whilst visible light is easily absorbed by clouds of dust in nebulae, infrared light can pass through the thick layers of dust almost unimpeded.

The Sh2-54 nebula itself is part of an open cluster of stars called NGC 6604. Located around 4,580 light years from us, it’s an area of heavy star formation.

The nebula and open cluster is in the constellation ‘Serpens Cauda’, meaning snake tail in Greek. But although the larger constellation might look a bit like a snake tail (if you really really squint) unfortunately the nebula itself looks more like a mass of stars than a serpent.  

The image of the Sh2-54 nebula was taken as part of the VVVX survey — the VISTA Variables in the Via Láctea eXtended survey.

The VVVX survey has been scanning the mid-plane of the Milky Way since 2010. This ‘galactic bulge’ in the Milky Way is obscured by dust, which makes the infrared telescope handy for peering behind the curtain. This has been providing scientists with more data to understand the evolution of stars.

Hopefully this image is just the start of many more fabulous shots of the Universe for 2023.

https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/sky-serpent-space-askap-jwst-telescope-images/