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Monday, July 11, 2022

NASA’s Perseverance Scouts Mars Sample Return Campaign Landing Sites | JPL

NASA’s Perseverance Scouts Mars Sample Return Campaign Landing Sites | JPL

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used one of its navigation cameras to take these panoramas of a proposed landing site for the Mars Sample Return lander that would serve as part of the campaign to bring samples of Mars rock and sediment to Earth for intensive study.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is conducting its science campaign, taking samples at Jezero Crater’s ancient river delta, but it is also been busy scouting. The six-wheeled rover is looking for locations where the planned Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign can land spacecraft and collect sample tubes Perseverance has filled with rock and sediment. The sites being scouted are under consideration because of their proximity to the delta and to one another, as well as for their relatively flat, lander-friendly terrain.

Mars Sample Return is a historic endeavor that would retrieve and deliver samples of that faraway terrain for intensive study in laboratories on Earth to look for signs of past microscopic life on the Red Planet. The strategic partnership between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) would involve multiple spacecraft, including a rocket that would launch from the surface of Mars.

Engineers planning a Mars landing prefer to work with flatter ground because rocks and an undulating surface are harder to land on. With that in mind, the MSR Entry, Descent, and Landing team is looking for a pancake-flat landing zone with a 200-foot (60-meter) radius.

“The Perseverance team pulled out all the stops for us, because Mars Sample Return has unique needs when it comes to where we operate,” said MSR Program Manager Richard Cook of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Essentially, a dull landing place is good. The flatter and more uninspiring the vista, the better we like it, because while there are a lot of things that need to be done when we arrive to pick up the samples, sightseeing is not one of them.”

Flat-Out Inspirational

The first stage of MSR is already in progress: Perseverance has cored, collected, and sealed nine samples of Mars rock to date. The ninth, collected on July 6, is the first from Jezero Crater’s ancient river delta. The plan is for Perseverance to drop, or cache, sample tubes on the surface to await later retrieval during MSR surface operations.

Choosing an area that lacks large rocks (especially those over 7 1/2 inches, or 19 centimeters, in diameter), sand dunes, and steeply angled terrain would go a long way toward easing the path for an MSR recovery vehicle to efficiently grab tubes before heading to the MSR Sample Retrieval Lander and its Mars Ascent Vehicle.

Landing Strip

The MSR team calls the area they’ve been looking at the “landing strip” because – at least from images taken from spacecraft in orbit – it appears to be as flat and long as a runway. But they needed a rover’s-eye-view for a closer look.

“We had been eyeing these locations since before Perseverance’s landing, but imagery from orbit can only tell you so much,” said Al Chen, Mars Sample Return Systems Engineering & Integration manager at JPL. “Now we have some up-close-and-personal shots of the landing strip that indicate we were right on the money. The landing strip will more than likely make our shortlist of potential landing and caching sites for MSR.”

NASA’s Mars Sample Return Campaign promises to revolutionize humanity’s understanding of Mars by bringing scientifically selected samples to Earth for study using the most sophisticated instruments around the world. The campaign would fulfill a solar system exploration goal, a high priority since the 1970s and in the last three National Academy of Sciences Planetary Decadal Surveys.

This strategic NASA and ESA partnership would be the first mission to return samples from another planet and the first launch from the surface of another planet. The samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover during its exploration of an ancient lakebed are thought to present the best opportunity to reveal clues about the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for past life. By better understanding the history of Mars, we would improve our understanding of all rocky planets in the solar system, including Earth.

Learn more about the Mars Sample Return Program: https://mars.nasa.gov/msr/

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Release Date: July 11, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #Jezero #Crater #Perseverance #Rover #Robotics #MSR #ESA #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #CitizenScience #STEM #Education

Galaxy Cluster SMACS 0723: First Deep Field Image | James Webb Space Telescope

Galaxy Cluster SMACS 0723: First Deep Field Image | James Webb Space Telescope

This image shows thousands of distant galaxies of different shapes, sizes, colors, and brightness, with a scattering of bright foreground stars.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 is overflowing with detail.

Thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared – have appeared in Webb’s view for the first time. This slice of the vast universe is approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground.

This deep field, taken by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), is a composite made from images at different wavelengths, totaling 12.5 hours – achieving depths at infrared wavelengths beyond the Hubble Space Telescope’s deepest fields, which took weeks.

The image shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. The combined mass of this galaxy cluster acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying much more distant galaxies behind it. Webb’s NIRCam has brought those distant galaxies into sharp focus – they have tiny, faint structures that have never been seen before, including star clusters and diffuse features. Researchers will soon begin to learn more about the galaxies’ masses, ages, histories, and compositions, as Webb seeks the earliest galaxies in the universe.

This image is among the telescope’s first-full color images.

Image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, affectionately known as Webb’s First Deep Field, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), with compass arrows and color key for reference.

The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).

This image shows invisible near-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which NIRCam filters were used when collecting the light. The color of each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.

Because this is a deep field that shows objects at various distances and magnifications, there is no scale bar.

Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Release Date: July 11, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #GalaxyCluster #SMACS0723 #Science #JamesWebb #WebbTelescope #JWST #Telescope #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education

First Image Released! | The James Webb Space Telescope

First Image Released! | The James Webb Space Telescope

This first image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 is overflowing with detail. Thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared – have appeared in Webb’s view for the first time. This slice of the vast universe covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground.

On Monday, July 11, 2022 U.S. President Joe Biden released one of the James Webb Space Telescope’s first images in a preview event at the White House in Washington. NASA, in partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA

Release Date: July 11, 2022

Science Goals of The James Webb Space Telescope | ESA

Science Goals of The James Webb Space Telescope | ESA

Watch this special Space Sparks episode to learn about the science goals of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.

Catch the Webb space telescope’s first full-color images on NASA TV: NASA.gov/NASATV

You can also check out: https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages

Learn more about Webb’s mission: http://webb.nasa.gov

Video Credits:

Directed by: Bethany Downer and Nico Bartmann

Editing: Nico Bartmann

Web and technical support: Enciso Systems

Written by: Bethany Downer

Narration: Sara Mendes de Costa

Music: Stan Dart - Olympus Mons (Music written and performed by STAN DART), The Belt of Orion (Stellardrone), Tonelabs - Expect the Unexpected (tonelabs.com)

Footage and photos: ESA/Hubble, ESA, NASA, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab, ESA/ATG Media Lab, ESO/L. Calçada/spaceengine.org, P. Ševeček/Charles University

Duration: 6 minutes, 53 seconds

Release Date: July 11, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #JamesWebb #WebbTelescope #JWST #Telescope #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Carina Nebula's 'Mystic Mountain' | Hubble

The Carina Nebula's 'Mystic Mountain' | Hubble

Within the tempestuous Carina Nebula lies “Mystic Mountain.” This three-light-year-tall cosmic pinnacle, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 in 2010, is made up primarily of dust and gas, and exhibits signs of intense star-forming activity. The colors in this composite image correspond to the glow of oxygen (blue), hydrogen and nitrogen (green) and sulfur (red).

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency, will soon reveal unprecedented and detailed views of the universe, with the upcoming release of its first full-color images and spectroscopic data.

The Carina Nebula is one of a list of cosmic objects that Webb targeted for these first observations, which will be released in NASA’s live broadcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, July 12, 2022. Each image will simultaneously be made available on social media as well as on the agency’s website: www.nasa.gov

Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)

Image Date: April 23, 2010

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Hubble #CarinaNebula #Carina #Constellation #Science #Astrophysics #Physics #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #JamesWebb #Telescope #WFC3 #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education

A Confetti-Like Collection of Stars | NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (Infrared)

A Confetti-Like Collection of Stars | NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (Infrared)

Before the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope was the largest infrared telescope. New Chandra x-ray observations have been used to make the first detection of x-ray emissions from young stars with masses similar to our Sun outside our Milky Way galaxy. The Chandra observations of these low-mass stars were made of the region known as the "Wing" of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), one of the Milky Way's closest galactic neighbors. In this composite image of the Wing the Chandra data is shown in purple, optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope is shown in red, green and blue and infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope is shown in red. Astronomers call all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium - that is, with more than two protons in the atom's nucleus—"metals". The Wing is a region known to have fewer metals compared to most areas within the Milky Way. The Chandra results imply that the young, metal-poor stars in NGC 602a produce x-rays in a manner similar to stars with much higher metal content found in the Orion cluster in our galaxy.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ.Potsdam/L.Oskinova et al; Optical: NASA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image Date: April 3, 2013

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #MagellanicCloud #SMC #Tucana #Hydrus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Spitzer #SpaceTelescope #Infrared #Hubble #Telescope #ChandraObservatory #Xray #JPL #Caltech #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy M106 | NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (Infrared)

Spiral Galaxy M106 | NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (Infrared)

A galaxy about 23 million light years away is the site of impressive, ongoing fireworks. Rather than paper, powder and fire, this galactic light show involves a giant black hole, shock waves and vast reservoirs of gas.

This galactic fireworks display is taking place in NGC 4258, also known as M106, a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way. This galaxy is famous, however, for something that our galaxy does not have—two extra spiral arms that glow in X-ray, optical and radio light. These features, or anomalous arms, are not aligned with the plane of the galaxy, but instead intersect with it.

The anomalous arms are seen in this new composite image, where X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory are blue, radio data from the NSF’s Karl Jansky Very Large Array are purple, optical data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope are yellow and infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope are red.

A new study made with Spitzer shows that shock waves, similar to the sonic booms from supersonic planes, are heating large amounts of gas—equivalent to about 10 million suns. What is generating these shock waves? Researchers think that the supermassive black hole at the center of NGC 4258 is producing powerful jets of high-energy particles. These jets strike the disk of the galaxy and generate shock waves. These shock waves, in turn, heat the gas—composed mainly of hydrogen molecules—to thousands of degrees.

The Chandra X-ray image reveals huge bubbles of hot gas above and below the plane of the galaxy. These bubbles indicate that much of the gas that was originally in the disk of the galaxy has been heated and ejected into the outer regions by the jets from the black hole.

The ejection of gas from the disk by the jets has important implications for the fate of this galaxy. Researchers estimate that all of the remaining gas will be ejected within the next 300 million years—very soon on cosmic time scales—unless it is somehow replenished. Because most of the gas in the disk has already been ejected, less gas is available for new stars to form. Indeed, the researchers used Spitzer data to estimate that stars are forming in the central regions of NGC 4258, at a rate which is about ten times less than in the Milky Way galaxy.

The European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory was used to confirm the estimate from Spitzer data of the low star formation rate in the central regions of NGC 4258. Herschel was also used to make an independent estimate of how much gas remains in the center of the galaxy. After allowing for the large boost in infrared emission caused by the shocks, the researchers found that the gas mass is ten times smaller than had been previously estimated.

Because NGC 4258 is relatively close to Earth, astronomers can study how this black hole is affecting its galaxy in great detail.

Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Caltech/P.Ogle et al; Optical: NASA/STScI; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA

Image Date: July 2, 2014

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxy #Spiral #M106 #NGC4258 #CanesVenatici #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Spitzer #SpaceTelescope #Infrared #Hubble #Telescope #ChandraObservatory #Xray #Radio #KarlJanskyVLA #JPL #Caltech #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #STEM #Education

The Tarantula Nebula | NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (Infrared)

The Tarantula Nebula | NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (Infrared)

Before the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope was the largest infrared telescope. This composite of 30 Doradus, aka the Tarantula Nebula, contains data from Chandra (blue), Hubble (green), and Spitzer (red). Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Tarantula Nebula is one of the largest star-forming regions close to the Milky Way. Chandra's X-rays detect gas that has been heated to millions of degrees by stellar winds and supernovas. This high-energy stellar activity creates shock fronts, which are similar to sonic booms. Hubble reveals the light from massive stars at various stages of star birth, while Spitzer shows where the relatively cooler gas and dust lie.

The Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility) was launched by a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 25, 2003. Consisting of a 0.85-meter telescope and three cryogenically-cooled science instruments, Spitzer was the largest infrared space telescope before the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was launched in December 2021. The telescope was named in honor of American astronomer, Lyman Spitzer, who had promoted the concept of space telescopes in the 1940s. The retired Spitzer was the first observatory to provide high-resolution images of the near- and mid-infrared Universe. Webb, by virtue of its significantly larger primary mirror and improved detectors, will allow us to see the infrared sky with improved clarity (better spatial resolution), enabling even more discoveries.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, managed the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD). Science operations were conducted at the Spitzer Science Center, at Caltech, in Pasadena, California. Spacecraft operations were based at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Littleton, Colorado. Data are archived at the Infrared Science Archive housed at Caltech/IPAC. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/L.Townsley et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/JPL/PSU/L.Townsley et al.

Image Date: April 17, 2012

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #30Doradus #TarantulaNebula #Nebula #Dorado #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Spitzer #SpaceTelescope #Infrared #Hubble #Telescope #ChandraObservatory #Xray #JPL #Caltech #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #STEM #Education

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover—New July 2022 Images | JPL

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover—New July 2022 Images | JPL