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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: Northrop Grumman-Built
"Northrop Grumman led the industry team for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest, most complex and powerful space telescope ever built. The Webb Telescope fundamentally alters our understanding of the universe."
"Northrop Grumman ensured that this once unthinkable achievement became a reality."
Polaris Dawn Crew: Testing New Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Spacesuits | SpaceX
A member of the Polaris Dawn Crew wearing their new EVA spacesuit in a Crew Dragon mock-up at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California
The Polaris Dawn crew wearing their new EVA spacesuits in a Crew Dragon mock-up at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California
Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander
Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist
Scott Poteet, Polaris Dawn Mission Pilot
Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer
At ~700 km above Earth, the extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuit will support the Polaris Dawn crew in the vacuum of space during the first-ever commercial astronaut spacewalk. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Polaris Dawn mission from Florida. Dragon and the Polaris Dawn crew will spend up to five days in orbit. This Dragon mission will take advantage of Falcon 9 and Dragon’s maximum performance, flying higher than any Dragon mission to date by reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown. Orbiting through portions of the Earth's Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health.
Evolved from the Intravehicular Activity (IVA) suit, the EVA suit provides greater mobility, a state-of-the-art helmet Heads-Up Display (HUD) and camera, new thermal management textiles, and materials borrowed from Falcon’s interstage and Dragon’s trunk.
Building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars will require millions of spacesuits. The development of this suit and the execution of the spacewalk will be important steps toward a scalable design for spacesuits on future long-duration missions as life becomes multiplanetary.
SpaceX Dragon Endeavour Spacecraft Relocation | International Space Station
The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, with four crew members, backs away from the International Space Station. Dragon switched ports moving from the Harmony module's forward port to its space-facing port during the relocation maneuver.
On Thursday, May 2, 2024, Expedition 71 crew members NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin of Russia, entered the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and relocated it to another port to make room for the upcoming arrival of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Starliner spacecraft. Dragon undocked from the Harmony module’s forward-facing port at 8:57 a.m. EDT and autonomously redocked to the module’s space-facing port at 9:46 a.m.
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominik, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominik, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Key Factors for China's Chang'e-6 Far Side Moon Polar Landing Site Revealed
China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe is the first human mission designed to collect and return samples from the far side of the Moon to Earth. Chang'e-6 arrived in lunar orbit on May 7, 2024. The landing location must consider the scientific significance and the engineering challenges involved. The Chang'e-6 lander relies on solar panels for power generation. Therefore, engineers must take into account the solar illumination available on the far side of the Moon to ensure mission success.
Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude). The SPA basin is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.
"Our spacecraft depends on solar illumination for power generation, and this illumination varies with latitude. For this mission, we have selected a landing site in a region with moderate latitude. We chose the South Pole-Aitken Basin due to its adequate solar illumination and reliable communication signals, meeting the engineering standards," said Lu Yuntong, an engineer of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
"Globally, more than ten missions collecting and returning samples have been conducted from the near side of the Moon. However, there may exist even more ancient lunar soil on the far side. Thus, whatever samples we collect from the Moon's far side hold high scientific significance," said Lu.
The Chang'e-6 mission features scientific payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite. The mission will last about 53 days.
In 2020, Chang'e-5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
China's Yutu-2 Far Side Moon Rover Continues 5-year Record of Operations
China's Yutu-2 lunar rover has been working on the far side of the Moon for over five years, traveling a distance of more than 1,596 meters (1 mile) as part of the China Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP). Yutu-2 is currently operational as humanity's longest-lived lunar rover and the first lunar rover traversing the far side of the Moon. Yutu-2 is the robotic lunar rover component of the China National Space Administration's Chang'e 4 Mission to the Moon, launched on December 7, 2018. Chang'e 4 soft landed on the far side of the Moon on January 3, 2019.
Yutu-2 has a radioisotope heater unit to maintain its subsystems during long and cold lunar nights. Electrical power is generated by the rover's solar panels during daylight.
Yutu-2 communicates with Earth via China's Queqiao-1 relay satellite in a halo orbit around the Moon. Queqiao-1 was launched in advance back in May 2018. Queqiao-1 is the first ever communication relay and radio astronomy satellite at the Moon. It was joined by China's second Earth-Moon relay satellite, Queqiao-2, in March 2024.
Direct communication with Earth is impossible on the far side of the Moon, since transmissions are blocked by the Moon. Communications must pass through a communications relay satellite, placed at a location that has a clear view of a landing site and the Earth.
Image Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)
Shown here is the early morning conjunction of Venus and Mars on February 21, 2024, as observed from the village of San Martino al Cimino in central Italy. A conjunction occurs when two astronomical objects appear close to each other in the sky. In this image, Venus and Mars are separated by less than one degree, among the tree branches (above and to the right of the bench) that overlook Lake Vico—brighter Venus is at top. This photo was snapped at 6:39 am local time.
Lake Vico (from the Latin Lacus Ciminus) is surrounded by the Cimini Mountains This scenic lake boasts the high-altitude record among large Italian lakes—1,663 ft (507 m) above sea level.
Technical Details: Nikon Z9 camera; 100 ISO; 1/15 seconds exposure; Nikon Z14-24/2.8S lens; at 16.5 mm; stopped at f/5
Image & Caption Credit: Marco Meniero
Location: San Martino al Cimino, Italy Coordinates: 42.366667, 12.116667
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominik, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Listens to the Symphony of Space
Where Parallel Lines Converge is a sonic rendering of a composite image of the Galactic Center, the center of our Milky Way galaxy, with data from NASA’s Chandra, Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. The composition highlights three astronomical objects or moments in the image: an X-ray binary, arched filaments, and the supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*.
This video takes you on a tour through the image, stopping at each of those locations in the data, with a slightly deeper visual dive as the composition plays. It ends with the poem "Relativity" by Sarah Howe that inspired the composition piece's title. The music was composed by Sophie Kastner, with Dr. Kimberly Arcand as principal investigator of the project.
Desde Chile descubren causas de la diversidad estelar en estrellas binarias
Cosmoview Episodio 80: Utilizando el telescopio de Gemini Sur, ubicado en la Región de Coquimbo en Chile, un equipo de astrónomos confirmó por primera vez que las diferencias observadas en las estrellas binarias se deben a las diferencias químicas en la nube de material estelar de la cual se formaron. Los resultados ayudan a explicar por qué las estrellas que nacieron de la misma nube molecular pueden tener una composición química distinta y sistemas planetarios tan diferentes, además de plantear nuevos retos a los modelos actuales de formación estelar y planetaria.
Credit:
Images and Videos: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/ESO/L. Calçada/International Gemini Observatory/Kwon O Chul/CTIO/N. Smith (University of Minnesota)/J. da Silva (Spaceengine)/M. Zamani/N. Bartmann
Origin of Unexpected Differences in Giant Binary Stars Revealed | Gemini South
Cosmoview Episode 80: Using the Gemini South telescope a team of astronomers have confirmed for the first time that differences in binary stars’ composition can originate from chemical variations in the cloud of stellar material from which they formed. The results help explain why stars born from the same molecular cloud can possess different chemical composition and host different planetary systems, as well as pose challenges to current stellar and planet formation models. It is estimated that up to 85% of stars exist in binary star systems, some even in systems with three or more stars.
"By showing for the first time that primordial differences really are present and responsible for differences between twin stars, we show that star and planet formation could be more complex than initially thought,” said Carlos Saffe of the Institute of Astronomical, Earth and Space Sciences (ICATE-CONICET) in Argentina who leads the research team. “The Universe loves diversity!”
This research was presented in a paper accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202449263
Video Credit:
Images and Videos: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/ESO/L. Calçada/International Gemini Observatory/Kwon O Chul/CTIO/N. Smith (University of Minnesota)/J. da Silva (Spaceengine)/M. Zamani/N. Bartmann
China's Chang'e-6 Science Mission Enters Lunar Orbit after Near-Moon Braking
China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe has successfully entered its circumlunar orbit, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on May 8, 2024. The near-moon braking procedure is a key orbital control for Chang'e-6 during its flight. The braking makes its relative speed lower than the lunar escape velocity, so that it can be captured by the moon's gravity and orbit the moon.
The Chang'e-6 mission features scientific payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite. The mission will last about 53 days.
Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude). The SPA basin is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.
In 2020, Chang'e-5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Simulating Space to Test Europa Clipper Spacecraft Bound for Jupiter | NASA/JPL
How did the team working on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft test whether the spacecraft will work properly in outer space? They put the spacecraft in a special chamber that mimics the kind of sunlight and airless environment the spacecraft will experience when it is in outer space.
In this video, Tony Licari—a mechanical systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California—shows how the team moved the main body of the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission into JPL's historic 85-foot-tall, 25-foot-wide (26-meter-by-8-meter) thermal vacuum chamber. Inside the chamber, the team simulated the kinds of conditions the spacecraft will experience while flying through space, and practiced deploying instruments. Europa Clipper successfully completed those tests in March 2024.
Europa Clipper will explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to see if there are conditions suitable for life. The spacecraft needs to be hardy enough to survive a 1.6 billion-mile, six-year journey to Jupiter, and sophisticated enough to perform a detailed science investigation of Europa once it arrives at the Jupiter system in 2030.
Europa Clipper is expected to launch in October 2024 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with APL for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.
Planet Jupiter’s Great Red Spot | NASA Juno Mission
This image of Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot and surrounding turbulent zones was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft. The color-enhanced image is a combination of three separate images taken on April 1, 2018, as Juno performed its 12th close flyby of Jupiter. At the time the images were taken, the spacecraft was 15,379 miles (24,749 kilometers) to 30,633 miles (49,299 kilometers) from the tops of the clouds of the planet.
The Great Red Spot, a swirling oval of clouds twice as wide as Earth, has been observed on the giant planet for more than 300 years. In 2021, findings from Juno showed that Jupiter’s storms are far taller than expected, with some extending 60 miles (100 kilometers) below the cloud tops and others, including the Great Red Spot, extending over 200 miles (350 kilometers).
Juno is a solar-powered spacecraft that spans the width of a basketball court and makes long, looping orbits around Jupiter. It seeks answers to questions about the origin and evolution of Jupiter, our solar system, and giant planets across the cosmos.
JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott J. Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built and operates the spacecraft.
Desde Tololo observan la “mano de Dios” emergiendo desde una nebulosa
Cosmoview Episodio 81:Esta estructura turbulenta y ominosa es CG 4, un glóbulo cometario conocido también como la “Mano de Dios”. Se trata de uno de los muchos glóbulos cometarios que hay en la Vía Láctea. La forma en la que estos objetos adquieren su forma particular, sigue siendo un tema de debate entre los astrónomos. Las características que clasifican a CG 4 como un glóbulo cometario se distinguen en esta imagen captada por la Cámara de Energía Oscura construida por DOE e instalada en el Telescopio de 4 metros Víctor M. Blanco del Observatorio Cerro Tololo, un Programa de NOIRLab de NSF. Su polvorienta cabeza y su larga y tenue cola tienen un leve parecido a un cometa, pero no tienen nada en común. Los astrónomos creen que los glóbulos cometarios adquieren su estructura a partir de los vientos estelares de estrellas cercanas masivas y calientes.
Imágenes y Vídeos: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/N. Bartmann
Procesamiento de imágenes: T.A. Rector (Universidad de Alaska Anchorage/NOIRLab de NSF), M. Zamani (NOIRLab de NSF) & D. de Martin (NOIRLab de NSF)
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