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Monday, January 08, 2024

Arp 122: A "Herculean" Galactic Merger | Hubble Space Telescope

Arp 122: A "Herculean" Galactic Merger | Hubble Space Telescope

This Hubble image features Arp 122, a peculiar galaxy that is made up of two galaxies—NGC 6040, the tilted, warped spiral galaxy and LEDA 59642, the round, face-on spiral—that are in the middle of a collision in the constellation Hercules. This dramatic cosmic encounter is located at the very safe distance of roughly 570 million light-years from Earth. Peeking in at the corner is the elliptical galaxy NGC 6041, a central member of the galaxy cluster that Arp 122 resides in, but otherwise not participating in this monster merger.

Image Description: Two spiral galaxies are merging together at the right side of the image. One is seen face-on and is circular in shape. The other seems to lie in front of the first one. This galaxy is seen as a disc tilted away from the viewer and it is partially warped. In the lower-left corner, cut off by the frame, a large elliptical galaxy appears as light radiating from a point. Many small galaxies cover the background.

Galactic collisions and mergers are monumentally energetic and dramatic events, but they take place on a very slow timescale. For example, the Milky Way is on track to collide with its nearest galactic neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), but these two galaxies have a good four billion years to go before they actually meet. The process of colliding and merging will not be a quick one either. It may take hundreds of millions of years to unfold. These collisions take so long because of the truly massive distances involved.

Galaxies are composed of stars and their solar systems, dust and gas. In galactic collisions, therefore, these constituent components may experience enormous changes in the gravitational forces acting on them. In time, this completely changes the structure of the two (or more) colliding galaxies, and sometimes ultimately results in a single, merged galaxy. This may well be what results from the collision pictured in this image. Galaxies that result from mergers are thought to have a regular or elliptical structure, as the merging process disrupts more complex structures (such as those observed in spiral galaxies). It would be fascinating to know what Arp 122 will look like once this collision is complete . . . but that will not happen for a long, long time.

Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Acknowledgement: L. Shatz

Release Date: Jan. 8, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #Arp122 #NGC6040 #NGC6041 #SpiralGalaxies #MergingGalaxies #Hercules #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #DOE #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Launch of First NASA Artemis Robotic Moon Mission | ULA Vulcan Rocket

Launch of First NASA Artemis Robotic Moon Mission | ULA Vulcan Rocket

As part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis program, a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket successfully launched at 2:18 a.m. EST Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This is the first U.S. commercial robotic launch to the Moon’s surface. Vulcan has supported a NASA science mission via Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander. This was the ULA Vulcan rocket's first certification mission (Cert-1).

Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One is carrying NASA and commercial payloads to study the lunar exosphere, thermal properties, and hydrogen abundance of the lunar regolith, magnetic fields, and the radiation environment of the lunar surface.

Learn more about Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander (Adobe PDF):

https://www.astrobotic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Peregrine-Launch_Info_Packet-Web-1.pdf

Learn about NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) - Astrobotic's Peregrine Mission One:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-lunar-payload-services/

Image Credits: NASA/Isaac Watson/United Launch Alliance (ULA)

Image Date: Jan. 8, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ArtemisProgram #Moon #SouthPole #MonsMouton #WaterIce #Astrobotic #PeregrineLunarLander #Robotics #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #DeepSpace #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #ULA #VulcanRocket #CLPS #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Successful Launch of First NASA Artemis Robotic Moon Mission | ULA

Successful Launch of First NASA Artemis Robotic Moon Mission | ULA

As part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis program, a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket successfully launched at 2:18 a.m. EST Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This is the first U.S. commercial robotic launch to the Moon’s surface. Vulcan is supporting a NASA science mission via Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander. This is the ULA Vulcan rocket's first certification mission (Cert-1).

Learn more about Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander (Adobe PDF):

https://www.astrobotic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Peregrine-Launch_Info_Packet-Web-1.pdf

Learn about NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) - Astrobotic's Peregrine Mission One:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-lunar-payload-services/

Video Credit: NASA/United Launch Alliance (ULA)

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 7 minutes

Image Dates: Jan. 8, 2023

Zooming in on Pandora’s Cluster | Hubble

Zooming in on Pandora’s Cluster | Hubble

This sequence starts with a broad view of the southern skies. We close in on an apparently empty region of sky in the faint constellation of Sculptor. As we zoom in further we can start to make out a cloud of faint galaxies that is revealed in the final NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope image to be a spectacularly rich merging cluster of galaxies called Abell 2744, and nicknamed Pandora's Cluster. This remarkable object seems to be the result of the collision of at least four separate galaxy clusters.

Distance: 4 billion light years

Credit: ESO/NASA/ESA and J. Merten (Heidelberg/Bologna)/D. Coe (STScI)/Digitized Sky Survey 2/A. Fujii

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Feb. 17, 2016

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #PandorasCluster #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #Abell2744 #DarkMatter #Sculptor #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #Optical #HST #VLT #ESO #Chile #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Panning across Pandora’s Cluster | Hubble

Panning across Pandora’s Cluster | Hubble

This video shows a composite image of Hubble and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) observations of galaxy cluster Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora's Cluster. This remarkable object seems to be the result of the collision of at least four separate galaxy clusters.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and D. Coe (STScI)/J. Merten (Heidelberg/Bologna)

Duration: 36 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 17, 2016

Sunday, January 07, 2024

Hubble Space Telescope Sees "Ghost Light" from Dead Galaxies in Pandora's Cluster

Hubble Space Telescope Sees "Ghost Light" from Dead Galaxies in Pandora's Cluster

The massive galaxy cluster Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora's Cluster, takes on a ghostly look in this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope view. Distance: 4 billion light years

In this image the total starlight from the cluster has been artificially colored blue. This reveals that not all the starlight is contained within the cities of stars—the galaxies—that appear as bright blue-white blobs. A fraction of the starlight is also dispersed throughout the cluster, as seen in the darker blue regions.

This light comes from dead galaxies. The galaxies were torn apart long ago by the cluster's gravitational forces, and their stars were scattered into what is known as intracluster space—the space between the galaxies.

These orphaned stars roam the cluster, without being gravitationally tethered to any single galaxy. Because these extremely faint stars are brightest at near-infrared wavelengths of light, this type of observation could only be accomplished with Hubble’s infrared sensitivity to extraordinarily dim light.

The galaxies that are not colored blue are either in the foreground or background and are not part of the cluster.

Learn more: https://science.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/hubble-sees-ghost-light-from-dead-galaxies/

Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Montes (IAC), and J. Lotz, M. Mountain, A. Koekemoer, and the HFF Team (STScI)

Release Date: Oct. 31, 2014

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #GalacticClusters #PandorasCluster #Abell2744 #Sculptor #Constellation #GravitationalLensing #Astrophysics #Cosmology #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Dark Matter & Galaxies in Pandora's Cluster | NASA Optical & X-ray Views

Dark Matter & Galaxies in Pandora's Cluster | NASA Optical & X-ray Views

This image combines visible light exposures of galaxy cluster Abell 2744 taken by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), with X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and a mathematical reconstruction of the location of dark matter.

The galaxies in the cluster, while they are the only part that is visible in the optical part of the spectrum, actually only provide around 5% of the mass in the cluster.

Hot intracluster gas (shown in pink, and responsible for around 20% of the mass in the cluster) is visible through its X-ray emissions, observed by NASA’s Chandra satellite.

The blue overlay shows a map of the mass in the cluster. This is reconstructed based on detailed analysis of the way that the cluster bends light from galaxies in the distant background. Evidence of this light bending can be seen in arc-like distortions in parts of this image. Since dark matter makes up the lion’s share of mass in the cluster—around 75%—this blue overlay reveals the location of the otherwise invisible dark matter.

Analysis of this data has allowed scientists to observe some strange phenomena in Abell 2744, including a pocket of dark matter with no gas or galaxies, and a clump of galaxies with no associated gas. Astronomers believe that Abell 2744 formed from the simultaneous pile-up of at least four separate clusters.

Credit: NASA, ESA, ESO, CXC & D. Coe (STScI)/J. Merten (Heidelberg/Bologna)

Release Date: June 22, 2011

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #PandorasCluster #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #Abell2744 #DarkMatter #Sculptor #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #Xrays #NASAChandra #Optical #HST #VLT #ESO #Chile #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

First NASA Artemis Robotic Moon Mission | ULA Vulcan Rocket Ready for Launch

First NASA Artemis Robotic Moon Mission | ULA Vulcan Rocket Ready for Launch

As part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis program, United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Astrobotic are currently targeting 2:18 a.m. EST Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, for the first commercial robotic launch to the Moon’s surface. Carrying NASA science, liftoff of ULA’s Vulcan rocket and Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander will happen from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Launch of Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One will carry NASA and commercial payloads to study the lunar exosphere, thermal properties, and hydrogen abundance of the lunar regolith, magnetic fields, and the radiation environment of the lunar surface.

Learn more about Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander (Adobe PDF):

https://www.astrobotic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Peregrine-Launch_Info_Packet-Web-1.pdf

Learn about NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) - Astrobotic's Peregrine Mission One:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-lunar-payload-services/

Image Credits: United Launch Alliance (ULA)

Image Dates: Jan. 5-7, 2024

Pandora's Cluster: Discover the Abell 2744 Collection of Galaxies | Hubble

Pandora's Cluster: Discover the Abell 2744 Collection of Galaxies | Hubble

Hubblecast 47: This joint episode of the Hubblecast and ESOcast presents Abell 2744, an unusual cluster of galaxies nicknamed "Pandora's Cluster" by the astronomers who have studied it. Looking at the galaxies, gas and dark matter in the cluster, scientists have reconstructed the series of huge collisions that created it, and have uncovered some strange phenomena never seen together before.

Video Credits:

European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble, European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Visual design and editing: Martin Kornmesser

Animations: Martin Kornmesser, Luis Calcada

Web and technical support: Lars Holm Nielsen and Raquel Yumi Shida

Written by: Oli Usher and Richard Hook

Narration: Gaitee Hussain

Images: NASA, ESA, ESO

Directed by: Oli Usher

Executive producer: Lars Lindberg Christensen

Duration: 5 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 3, 2019

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #PandorasCluster #Abell2744 #DarkMatter #Sculptor #Constellation #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #ESO #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

The Center of Pandora’s Cluster: Abell 2744 in Sculptor | Hubble

The Center of Pandora’s Cluster: Abell 2744 in Sculptor | Hubble

This Hubble image, taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), shows the central part of merging galaxy cluster Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora’s Cluster. This remarkable object seems to be the result of the collision of at least four separate galaxy clusters. This cluster is thought to have a very violent history, having formed from a cosmic pile-up of multiple galaxy clusters.

Abell 2744 is a giant galaxy cluster resulting from the simultaneous pile-up of at least four separate, smaller galaxy clusters that took place over a span of 350 million years, and is located approximately 4 billion light years from Earth. The galaxies in the cluster make up less than five percent of its mass. The gas (around 20 percent) is so hot that it shines only in X-rays. Dark matter makes up around 75 percent of the cluster's mass. This cluster also shows a radio halo along with several other Abell clusters. It has a strong central halo, along with an extended tail, which could either be relic radiation, or an extension of the central halo.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and D. Coe of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)/J. Merten (Heidelberg/Bologna)

Release Date: June 22, 2011

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #PandorasCluster #Abell2744 #Sculptor #Constellation #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GravitationalLensing #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Pandora’s Cluster: Abell 2744 in Sculptor | Hubble Space Telescope

Pandora’s Cluster: Abell 2744 in Sculptor | Hubble Space Telescope

Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora’s Cluster, was the first of six targets within the Frontier Fields program that together have produced deep images of gravitational lensing. The cluster is thought to have a very violent history, having formed from a cosmic pile-up of multiple galaxy clusters.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and the HST Frontier Fields Team/Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Release Date: Oct. 22, 2015

Pandora's Cluster: Abell 2744 | Hubble’s Inside The Image | NASA

Pandora's Cluster: Abell 2744 | Hubble’s Inside The Image | NASA

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken over 1.5 million observations over the years. One of them is the incredible image of Abell 2744. Abell 2744, known as Pandora's Cluster, nestled in the Sculptor constellation, emerges as a celestial marvel. This cosmic spectacle showcases an intricate dance of galaxies, clusters, and dark matter, captivating astronomers and enthusiasts alike.

In this video, Dr. Brian Welch explains this breathtaking image and how important Hubble is to exploring the mysteries of the universe.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Producer, Director & Editor: James Leigh

Director of Photography: James Ball

Executive Producers: James Leigh & Matthew Duncan

Production & Post: Origin Films

Video Credits:

Hubble Space Telescope Animation:

ESA/Hubble - M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen

Hubble Space Eclipsing The Sun Animation:

ESA/Hubble - M. Kornmesser

Animation of Galaxy Cluster With Gravitational Lensing

ESA/Hubble - L. Calçada

Artist’s Impression of Gravitational Lensing:

ESA/Hubble - M. Kornmesser

Duration: 2 minutes, 28 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 7, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #PandorasCluster #Abell2744 #Sculptor #Constellation #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #Cosmos #Universe #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

Exploring The Moon with NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

Exploring The Moon with NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative allows NASA to send science investigations and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface. Under Artemis, NASA will study more of the Moon than ever before, and CLPS will demonstrate how NASA is working with commercial companies to achieve robotic lunar exploration.

Learn more about CLPS:

https://www.nasa.gov/content/commercial-lunar-payload-services

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Duration: 1 minute, 54 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 1, 2022

#NASA #Space #Earth #Moon #LunarPayloadServices #CLPS #CommercialSpace #ArtemisProgram #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #Science #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Saturday, January 06, 2024

Performing Science on The Moon with Radioisotopes | NASA Apollo Missions

Performing Science on The Moon with Radioisotopes | NASA Apollo Missions

Apollo 12 Mission: NASA astronaut Alan Bean unloads Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) fuel element.

Astronaut Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, is photographed at quadrant II of the Lunar Module (LM) during the first Apollo 12 extravehicular activity (EVA) on the Moon. This picture was taken by astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., commander. Here, Bean is using a fuel transfer tool to remove the fuel element from the fuel cask mounted on the LM's descent stage. The fuel element was then placed in the RTG, the power source for the ALSEP that was deployed on the moon by the two astronauts. The RTG is next to Bean's right leg. While astronauts Conrad and Bean descended in the LM "Intrepid" to explore the Ocean of Storms region of the moon, astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Yankee Clipper" in lunar orbit.

Image Date: 11-19-1969

Alan Bean has just offloaded Apollo 12 ALSEP package No. 2 from the Scientific Equipment (SEQ) Bay using a retractable boom, pulleys, and cables. Cooling fins on the RTG can be seen just to the right of Alan's right knee.

Image Date: 11-19-1969

Apollo 16 Mission: This shows the dark grey doors of the Scientific Equipment (SEQ) Bay to the left of center, with a silver-colored, cosmic ray detector panel to the right of the doors and the protective cask for the RTG plutonium fuel element beyond the doors on the far left. A lanyard was used to pull the main door up and out of the way, revealing side doors which could be opened by hand.

Image Date: 04-21-1972

Apollo 16 Mission: Astronaut John Young stands at ALSEP deployment site during first EVA

Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, stands at the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) deployment site during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Descartes landing site. The components of the ALSEP are in the background. The lunar surface drill is just behind and to the right of astronaut Young. The drill's rack and bore stems are to the left. The three-sensor Lunar Surface Magnetometer is beyond the rack. The dark object in the right background is the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG). Between the RTG and the drill is the Heat Flow Experiment. A part of the Central Station is at the right center edge of the picture. This photograph was taken by astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot.

Image Date: 04-21-1972

A partial view of the Apollo 16 Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) in deployed configuration on the lunar surface as photographed during the mission's first extravehicular activity (EVA), on April 21, 1972. The Passive Seismic Experiment (PSE) is in the foreground center; Central Station (C/S) is in center background, with the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) to the left. One of the anchor flags for the Active Seismic Experiment (ASE) is at right. While astronauts John W. Young, commander; and Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot; descended in the Apollo 16 Lunar Module (LM) "Orion" to explore the Descartes highlands landing site on the moon, astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Casper" in lunar orbit.

Image Date: 04-21-1972

Apollo 14 Mission: View of the Central Station of the ALSEP deploy by Apollo 14 astronauts

A close-up view of the central station (CS) of the Apollo lunar surface experiments package (ALSEP), which was deployed on the moon by the Apollo 14 astronauts during their first extravehicular activity (EVA). While astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander, and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot, descended in the Lunar Module (LM) to explore the moon, astronaut Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit.

Image Date: 02-05-1971

Apollo 11 Mission: A close-up view of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module as it rested on the surface of the Moon. This photograph was take with a 70mm lunar surface camera during the extravehicular activity of Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin on July 20, 1969. This photo shows Aldrin off-loading the Passive Seismometer package from the left-hand Scientific Equipment (SEQ) Bay compartment. The laser reflector is in the righthand compartment.

Image Date: 07-20-1969

Apollo Radioactive Fuel Case: Cylindrical-shaped assembly with assorted wires and sockets mounted inside a metallic bar cradle. This artifact was transferred to the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum in 1974 from NASA's Johnson Space Center.

The Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) was a set of experiments that were placed on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts. The ALSEP received electrical power from heat produced by a radioactive substance. The power generator is called an radioisotope thermal generator (RTG). The radioactive material used for fuel by the RTG was stored outside the Lunar Module, mounted in a casing prior to transfer to the RTG.

The LSEP contained a collection of geophysical instruments designed to continue to monitor the environment of each Apollo landing site for a period of at least a year after the astronauts had departed. Designed for a life of one year (Apollo 17 was for two), they ended up working for up to 8 years, the experiments permanently shut down by Mission Control on September 30, 1977. Due to the experimental nature of the first landing of Apollo 11, especially the mechanics of getting to the lunar surface and back, science took a lesser role, so Apollo 11 had a simpler version known as the Early Apollo Surface Experiments Package (EASEP), with only two experiments.

The ALSEP/EASEP packages were stowed in Scientific Equipment Bay (SEQ Bay)/Quad II during the flight from Earth. The height of the pallets was at the limit for easy manual deployment on level terrain. There were booms to help with off-loading, particularly if the Lunar Module was tilted in such a way that the Bay was higher than normal. Lanyards were used to release the packages and allow them to swing free and then be lowered by pulley to the surface. On Apollo 15, the LM tilt put the package in easy reach and the off-loading was done entirely by hand. The pulleys were removed for Apollo 17 since the crew felt they were not needed. The mission timelines show offloading as a coordinated activity and allowed 8 to 9 minutes for both crewmen.

Image Credit: NASA/JSC/Smithsonian

Apollo Image Dates: July 20, 1969- April 21, 1971

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #Geology #ApolloProgram #LunarLander #ALSEP #PowerSystems #Radioisotopes #RTG #RadioisotopeThermalGenerator #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #Astronauts #HumanSpaceflight #JSC #DOE #UnitedStates #History #STEM #Education

Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs): Pull-apart Animation | NASA Space Tech

Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs): Pull-apart Animation | NASA Space Tech

This 3D animation shows the main components of a radioisotope heater unit, or RHU, that is used to provide heat for many NASA missions that explore the solar system.

RHUs have a rich history of use on NASA missions. They were first used with the science experiments that were left on the surface of the Moon in 1969 by the Apollo 11 astronauts. Later NASA missions have carried them to Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. All told, the United States has flown 300 RHUs on 32 space missions.

RHUs are small devices that use the decay of plutonium-238 to provide heat to keep spacecraft components and systems warm so that the equipment can survive long enough in the cold space environment to complete its mission. This heat is transferred to spacecraft structures, systems, and instruments directly, without moving parts or intervening electronic components.

By using RHUs, the spacecraft designer can allocate scarce spacecraft electrical power to operate the spacecraft systems and instruments. RHUs also provide the added benefit of reducing potential interference (electromagnetic interference) with instruments or electronics that might be generated by electrical heating systems.

An RHU contains a Pu-238 fuel pellet about the size of a pencil eraser and outputs about 1 Watt of heat. (The entire RHU is about the size of a C-cell battery.) A number of missions employ just a few RHUs for extra heat, while others have dozens.

Download NASA RHU Fact Sheet here:

https://rps.nasa.gov/resources/55/radioisotope-heater-units/

For more information about radioisotope power systems, visit http://rps.nasa.gov

Credit: NASA/U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Duration: 37 seconds

Release Date: Nov. 8, 2013

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Spacecraft #PowerSystems #RadioisotopeHeaterUnits #RHU #Moon #Mars #CuriosityRover #PerseveranceRover #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #Planets #Jupiter #Saturn #SolarSystem #JPL #Caltech #DOE #UnitedStates #History #STEM #Education #3DAnimation #HD #Video

First NASA Artemis Robotic Launch to The Moon on New ULA Vulcan Rocket

First NASA Artemis Robotic Launch to The Moon on New ULA Vulcan Rocket

United Launch Alliance (ULA)'s first Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle (VC2S) was transported to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on January 5, 2024. For its first certification mission (Cert-1), Vulcan will launch Astrobotic's Peregrine Lunar Lander (Peregrine Mission One – PM1) and Celestis Memorial Spaceflights deep space Voyager mission (Enterprise Flight). They are currently targeting 2:18 a.m. EST Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, for the first commercial robotic launch to the Moon’s surface.

This launch is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis program. Carrying NASA science, liftoff of ULA’s Vulcan rocket and Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander will happen from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Learn more about Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander (Adobe PDF):

https://www.astrobotic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Peregrine-Launch_Info_Packet-Web-1.pdf

Learn about NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) - Astrobotic's Peregrine Mission One:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-lunar-payload-services/

Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky/United Launch Alliance

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Jan. 6, 2024

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