Planet Venus: Ongoing Volcanic Activity Discovered | NASA Magellan Mission

Planet Venus: Ongoing Volcanic Activity Discovered | NASA Magellan Mission

This computer-generated 3D model of Venus’ surface shows the volcano Sif Mons. It is displaying signs of ongoing activity. Using data from NASA’s Magellan mission, Italian researchers detected evidence of an eruption while the spacecraft orbited the planet in the early 1990s. An analysis of data from Magellan’s radar finds two volcanoes erupted in the early 1990s. This adds to the 2023 discovery of a different active volcano in Magellan data.

Direct geological evidence of recent volcanic activity on Venus has been observed for a second time. Scientists in Italy analyzed archival data from NASA’s Magellan mission to reveal surface changes indicating the formation of new rock from lava flows linked to volcanoes that erupted while the spacecraft orbited the planet. Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Magellan mapped 98% of the planet’s surface from 1990 to 1992, and the images it generated remain the most detailed of Venus to date.

“Using these maps as a guide, our results show that Venus may be far more volcanically active than previously thought,” said Davide Sulcanese of d’Annunzio University in Pescara, Italy, who led the study. “By analyzing the lava flows we observed in two locations on the planet, we have discovered that the volcanic activity on Venus could be comparable to that on Earth.”

This latest discovery builds on the historic 2023 discovery of images from Magellan’s synthetic aperture radar that revealed changes to a vent associated with the volcano Maat Mons near Venus’ equator. The radar images proved to be the first direct evidence of a recent volcanic eruption on the planet. By comparing Magellan radar images over time, the authors of the 2023 study spotted changes caused by the outflow of molten rock from Venus’ subsurface filling the vent’s crater and spilling down the vent’s slopes.

Scientists study active volcanoes to understand how a planet’s interior can shape its crust, drive its evolution, and affect its habitability. The discovery of recent volcanism on Venus provides a valuable insight to the planet’s history and why it took a different evolutionary path than Earth.

Radar Backscatter

For the new study, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the researchers likewise focused on archival data from Magellan’s synthetic aperture radar. Radio waves sent by the radar traveled through Venus’ thick cloud cover, then bounced off the planet’s surface and back to the spacecraft. Called backscatter, these reflected radar signals carried information about the rocky surface material they encountered.

Research article: 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02272-1.epdf

Need Some Space?

The two locations studied were the volcano Sif Mons in Eistla Regio and the western part of Niobe Planitia, which is home to numerous volcanic features. By analyzing the backscatter data received from both locations in 1990 and again in 1992, the researchers found that radar signal strength increased along certain paths during the later orbits. These changes suggested the formation of new rock, most likely solidified lava from volcanic activity that occurred during that two-year period. But they also considered other possibilities, such as the presence of micro-dunes (formed from windblown sand) and atmospheric effects that could interfere with the radar signal.

To help confirm new rock, the researchers analyzed Magellan’s altimetry (surface height) data to determine slope of the topography and locate obstacles that lava would flow around.

“We interpret these signals as flows along slopes or volcanic plains that can deviate around obstacles such as shield volcanoes like a fluid,” said study co-author Marco Mastrogiuseppe of Sapienza University of Rome. “After ruling out other possibilities, we confirmed our best interpretation is that these are new lava flows.”

Using flows on Earth as a comparison, the researchers estimate new rock that was emplaced in both locations to be between 10 and 66 feet (3 and 20 meters) deep, on average. They also estimate that the Sif Mons eruption produced about 12 square miles (30 square kilometers) of rock — enough to fill at least 36,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. The Niobe Planitia eruption produced about 17 square miles (45 square kilometers) of rock, which would fill 54,000 Olympic swimming pools. As a comparison, the 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa in Hawaii, Earth’s largest active volcano, produced a lava flow with enough material to fill 100,000 Olympic pools.

“This exciting work provides another example of volcanic change on Venus from new lava flows that augments the vent change Dr. Robert Herrick and I reported last year,” said Scott Hensley, senior research scientist at JPL and co-author of the 2023 study. “This result, in tandem with the earlier discovery of present-day geologic activity, increases the excitement in the planetary science community for future missions to Venus.”

Figuring Out Volcanoes

Hensley is the project scientist for NASA’s upcoming VERITAS mission, and Mastrogiuseppe is a member of its science team. Short for Venus Emissivity, Radio science, InSAR, Topography, And Spectroscopy, VERITAS is slated to launch early next decade, using a state-of-the-art synthetic aperture radar to create 3D global maps and a near-infrared spectrometer to figure out what Venus’ surface is made of while also tracking volcanic activity. In addition, the spacecraft will measure the planet’s gravitational field to determine its internal structure.

“These new discoveries of recent volcanic activity on Venus by our international colleagues provide compelling evidence of the kinds of regions we should target with VERITAS when it arrives at Venus,” said Suzanne Smrekar, a senior scientist at JPL and principal investigator for VERITAS. “Our spacecraft will have a suite of approaches for identifying surface changes that are far more comprehensive and higher resolution than Magellan images. Evidence for activity, even in the lower-resolution Magellan data, supercharges the potential to revolutionize our understanding of this enigmatic world.”

More About the Mission

NASA’s VERITAS mission was selected in 2021 under NASA’s Discovery Program. Mission partners include Lockheed Martin Space, the Italian Space Agency, the German Aerospace Center, and Centre National d’Études Spatiales in France. The Discovery Program is managed by the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the Planetary Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Image & Article Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Release Date: May 27, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Venus #Planet #Geology #Volcanism #Volcano #SifMons #MagellanSpacecraft #VERITASMission #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Research #ComputerScience #3DModel #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Planet Mars: Fly across Nili Fossae Area | Europe's Mars Express

Planet Mars: Fly across Nili Fossae Region | Europe's Mars Express

The Martian surface is covered in all manner of scratches and scars. Its many marks include the fingernail scratches of Tantalus Fossae, the colossal canyon system of Valles Marineris, the oddly orderly ridges of Angustus Labyrinthus, and the fascinating features captured in the "cat scratches" of Nili Fossae by the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft—celebrating over 20 years at Mars!

Nili Fossae comprises parallel trenches hundreds of meters deep and several hundred kilometers long, stretching out along the eastern edge of a massive impact crater named Isidis Planitia.

The Mars Express mission was launched on June 2, 2003, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on board a Russian Soyuz rocket. In addition to being Europe’s first mission to Mars, Mars Express is the first fully European mission to any planet.

This new video features observations from Mars Express's High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). It first flies northwards towards and around these large trenches, showing their fractured, uneven appearance, before turning back to head southwards. It ends by zooming out to a ‘bird’s eye’ view, with the landing site of NASA’s Perseverance rover, Jezero Crater, visible in the lower-middle part of the final scene.

The trenches of Nili Fossae are actually features known as ‘graben’. They form when the ground sitting between two parallel faults fractures and falls away. As the graben seem to curve around Isidis Planitia, it is likely that they formed as the Martian crust settled following the formation of the crater by an incoming space rock hitting the surface. Similar ruptures—the counterpart to Nili Fossae—are found on the other side of the crater, and named Amenthes Fossae.

Scientists have focused on Nili Fossae in recent years due to the impressive amount and diversity of minerals found in this area, including silicates, carbonates, and clays (many were discovered by Mars Express’s OMEGA instrument). These minerals form in the presence of water, indicating that this region was very wet in ancient martian history. Much of the ground here formed over 3.5 billion years ago, when surface water was abundant across Mars. Scientists believe that water flowed not only across the surface here but also beneath it, forming underground hydrothermal flows that were heated by ancient volcanoes.

Due to what it could tell us about the planet’s ancient and water-rich past, Nili Fossae was considered as a possible landing site for NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, before it was ultimately sent to Gale Crater in 2012. Another mission, NASA’s Perseverance rover, was later sent to land in the nearby Jezero Crater, visible at the end of this video.

Mars Express has visited Nili Fossae before, imaging the region’s graben system back in 2014. The mission has orbited the Red Planet since 2003, imaging the Martian surface, mapping its minerals, studying its tenuous atmosphere, probing beneath its crust, and exploring how various phenomena interact in the martian environment. 

Disclaimer: This video is not representative of how Mars Express flies over the surface of Mars. See processing notes below.

Processing notes: The video is centered at 23°N, 78°E. It was created using Mars Chart (HMC30) data, an image mosaic made from single-orbit observations from Mars Express’s HRSC. This mosaic was combined with topography derived from a digital terrain model of Mars to generate a three-dimensional landscape. For every second of the movie, 62.5 separate frames are rendered following a pre-defined camera path. The vertical exaggeration is three-fold. Atmospheric effects—clouds and haze—have been added, and start building up at a distance of 50 km.

Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin & NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Duration: 2 minutes, 23 seconds

Release Date: May 30, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Mars #NiliFossae #Geology #Grabens #MarsExpress #MarsExpressSpacecraft #HRSC #Europe #DLR #FUBerlin #Berlin #Germany #Deutschland #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #STEM #Education #Visualization #HD #Video

NASA’s Europa Clipper Spacecraft: Pre-launch Processing | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s Europa Clipper Spacecraft: Pre-launch Processing | Kennedy Space Center

    

Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida monitor movement and guide the agency’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, as a crane hoists it on a stand as part of prelaunch processing on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

Technicians and engineers inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida inspect the agency’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, as part of prelaunch processing on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. 

Technicians and engineers inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida inspect the agency’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, as part of prelaunch processing on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

As part of prelaunch processing, crews inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida uncrate the agency’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. 

As part of prelaunch processing, crews inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida uncrate the agency’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare to rotate the agency’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, to a vertical position on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, as part of prelaunch processing. 

Technicians remove NASA’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, from its protective shipping container inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. 

Technicians remove NASA’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, from its protective shipping container inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida monitor movement and guide the agency’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, as a crane hoists it on a stand as part of prelaunch processing on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Slated to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket later this year from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy, Europa Clipper will help determine if conditions exist below the surface Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, Europa that could support life.

Europa Clipper joins the spacecraft’s two five-panel solar arrays that arrived at Kennedy in March. The arrays, each 46.5 feet (14.2 meters) long, will collect enough sunlight to power the spacecraft on its way to Jupiter’s moon. Technicians will install the arrays on the spacecraft before launch.

The spacecraft was designed to withstand the pummeling of radiation from Jupiter and gather the measurements needed to investigate Europa’s surface, interior, and space environment.

Europa Clipper has nine dedicated science instruments, including cameras, spectrometers, a magnetometer, and an ice-penetrating radar. These instruments will study Europa’s icy shell, the ocean beneath, and the composition of the gases in the moon’s atmosphere and surface geology, and provide insights into the moon’s potential habitability. The spacecraft also will carry a thermal instrument to pinpoint locations of warmer ice and any possible eruptions of water vapor. Strong evidence shows the ocean beneath Europa’s crust is twice the volume of all the Earth’s oceans combined.

The Europa Clipper mission demonstrates NASA’s commitment to exploring our solar system and searching for habitability beyond Earth. The data will contribute to our understanding of the Jovian system and will help pave the way for potential future missions to study Europa and other potentially habitable worlds.

Europa Clipper is expected to reach the Jupiter system in April 2030, and it will accomplish a few milestones along the way, including a Mars flyby in February 2025 that will help propel the spacecraft toward Jupiter’s moon through a Mars-Earth gravity assist trajectory.

“After two years of painstaking work on the spacecraft here at JPL, with the help of our partners, it was bittersweet to see the spacecraft encased in its shipping container and on its way to Florida,” said Jordan Evans, Europa Clipper project manager at JPL. “But we already have Europa Clipper engineers and technicians at Kennedy who are welcoming this precious cargo and are set to accomplish the final assembly and testing so that we’re ready for launch.”

NASA and SpaceX are targeting launch aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy later this year. The launch period opens on Oct. 10. After testing and final preparations are complete, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in a protective payload fairing and moved to the SpaceX hangar at the launch complex.

Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The main spacecraft body was designed by APL 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.

NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft.

For more information on the mission, visit: https://europa.nasa.gov/

Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Capture Date: May 28, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Jupiter #Europa #Moon #Ocean #Astrobiology #Biosignatures #Habitability #Radiation #EuropaClipper #Spacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #APL #MSFC #GSFC #JPL #KSC #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Russian Progress MS-27 Cargo Spacecraft Launch | International Space Station

Russian Progress MS-27 Cargo Spacecraft Launch | International Space Station

A Russian Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle launched the Progress MS-27 spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station (ISS Progress 88 mission) on May 30, 2024, at 09:43 UTC (14:43 local time; 05:43 EDT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Progress MS-27 will deliver more than three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 71 crew aboard the International Space Station. It is will have a two-day journey to the station with docking planned for June 1, 2024, at 11:47 UTC (07:47 EDT). 

Follow Expedition 71 Updates: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, 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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Credit: Roscosmos/NASA TV

Duration: 12 minutes

Release Date: May 30, 2024

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #ProgressMS27 #Soyuz #Союз #CargoSpacecraft #Astronauts #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Science #SpaceTechnology #SpaceLaboratory #Engineering #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Dinkinesh Binary Asteroid System: Surprisingly Complex | NASA Lucy Mission

Dinkinesh Binary Asteroid System: Surprisingly Complex | NASA Lucy Mission

Panels a, b, and c each show stereographic image pairs of the asteroid Dinkinesh taken by the NASA Lucy Spacecraft’s L’LORRI Instrument in the minutes around closest approach on Nov. 1, 2023. The yellow and rose dots indicate the trough and ridge features, respectively. These images have been sharpened and processed to enhance contrast. Panel d shows a side view of Dinkinesh and its satellite Selam taken a few minutes after closest approach.

Images from the November 2023 flyby of asteroid Dinkinesh by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft show a trough on Dinkinesh where a large piece—about a quarter of the asteroid—suddenly shifted, a ridge, and a separate contact binary satellite (now known as Selam). Scientists say this complicated structure shows that Dinkinesh and Selam have significant internal strength and a complex, dynamic history.

Panels a, b, and c each show stereographic image pairs of the asteroid Dinkinesh taken by the NASA Lucy Spacecraft’s L’LORRI Instrument in the minutes around closest approach on Nov. 1, 2023. The yellow and rose dots indicate the trough and ridge features, respectively. These images have been sharpened and processed to enhance contrast. Panel d shows a side view of Dinkinesh and its satellite Selam taken a few minutes after closest approach.

“We want to understand the strengths of small bodies in our solar system because that’s critical for understanding how planets like Earth got here,” said Hal Levison, Lucy principal investigator at the Boulder, Colorado, branch of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. “Basically, the planets formed when zillions of smaller objects orbiting the Sun, like asteroids, ran into each other. How objects behave when they hit each other, whether they break apart or stick together, has a lot to do with their strength and internal structure.” Levison is lead author of a paper on these observations published May 29 in Nature.

On November 1, 2023, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft flew by the main-belt asteroid Dinkinesh. Now, the mission has released pictures from Lucy’s Long Range Reconnaissance Imager taken over a roughly three-hour period, providing the best views of the asteroid to date. During the flyby, Lucy discovered that Dinkinesh has a small moon, which the mission named “Selam,” a greeting in the Amharic language meaning “peace.” Lucy is the first mission designed to visit the Jupiter Trojans, two swarms of asteroids trapped in Jupiter’s orbit that may be “fossils” from the era of planet formation. 

Researchers think that Dinkinesh is revealing its internal structure by how it has responded to stress. Over millions of years rotating in the sunlight, the tiny forces coming from the thermal radiation emitted from the asteroid’s warm surface generated a small torque that caused Dinkinesh to gradually rotate faster, building up centrifugal stresses until part of the asteroid shifted into a more elongated shape. This event likely caused debris to enter into a close orbit, which became the raw material that produced the ridge and satellite.

If Dinkinesh were much weaker, more like a fluid pile of sand, its particles would have gradually moved toward the equator and flown off into orbit as it spun faster. However, the images suggest that it was able to hold together longer, more like a rock, with more strength than a fluid, eventually giving way under stress and fragmenting into large pieces. (Although the amount of strength needed to fragment a small asteroid like Dinkinesh is miniscule compared to most rocks on Earth.)

“The trough suggests an abrupt failure, more an earthquake with a gradual buildup of stress and then a sudden release, instead of a slow process like a sand dune forming,” said Keith Noll of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, project scientist for Lucy and a co-author of the paper.

“These features tell us that Dinkinesh has some strength, and they let us do a little historical reconstruction to see how this asteroid evolved,” said Levison. “It broke, things moved apart and formed a disk of material during that failure, some of which rained back onto the surface to make the ridge.”

The researchers think some of the material in the disk formed the moon Selam, which is actually two objects touching each other, a configuration called a contact binary. Details of how this unusual moon formed remain mysterious.

Dinkinesh and its satellite are the first two of 11 asteroids that Lucy’s team plans to explore over its 12-year journey. After skimming the inner edge of the main asteroid belt, Lucy is now heading back toward Earth for a gravity assist in December 2024. This close flyby will propel the spacecraft back through the main asteroid belt, where it will observe asteroid Donaldjohanson in 2025, and then on to the first of the encounters with the Trojan asteroids that lead and trail Jupiter in its orbit of the Sun beginning in 2027.

For more information about NASA’s Lucy mission, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lucy

Lucy’s principal investigator is based out of the Boulder, Colorado, branch of Southwest Research Institute, headquartered in San Antonio. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built and operates the spacecraft. Lucy is the 13th mission in NASA’s Discovery Program. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Discovery Program for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL/NOIRLab

Release Date: May 29, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #LucyMission #LucySpacecraft #Planet #Jupiter #Asteroids #Asteroid #Dinkinesh #1999VD57 #BinaryAsteroidSystem #Moon #Selam #Trojans #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #GSFC #SwRI #JHUAPL #UnitedStates #STEM #Education 

Sun Releases Strong Solar X1.4 Flare | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Sun Releases Strong Solar X1.4 Flare | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 10:37 a.m. ET on May 29, 2024. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) watches the Sun continuously and captured an image of the event.

The Sun, shown in orange, appears against a black background. A few bright yellow active regions appear across the Sun. A bright flash of yellow and white light can be seen on the lower left edge of the Sun against the black background. 

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare—as seen in the bright flash on the left—on May 29, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in orange. 

The most famous sunspot in decades just had its name changed. AR3664 caused the great May 10, 2024, superstorm. It has been re-numbered AR3697 following a 2-week trip around the farside of the Sun. This is an old tradition in solar physics that started long ago when astronomers had no way to track the continuity of farside sunspots. 

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov/, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts. 

NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.

Image Credit: NASA/SDO

Release Date: May 29, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #SpaceWeather #Sun #Star #Solar #SolarFlares #Sunspots #Ultraviolet #Plasma #MagneticField #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Physics #Spacecraft #Satellites #ElectricalGrids #SDO #SolarSystem #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

China Ceres-1 Commercial Rocket Sea Launch of Communications Satellites

China Ceres-1 Commercial Rocket Sea Launch of Communications Satellites

Four global mobile broadband satellites were successfully sea launched in Rizhao, Shandong province by commercial space service provider Galactic Energy of China on May 29, 2024. Compared to land launches, sea launches allow the selection of launch and landing locations, thereby enhancing launch efficiency and safety, while also providing greater flexibility. This was the 12th flight mission of the Ceres-1 rocket series.

The solid-propellant Ceres 1 rocket is about 20 meters tall, has a diameter of 1.4 meters and mainly burns solid propellant. With a liftoff weight of 33 metric tons, it is capable of sending a 300-kilogram satellite or several satellites with a combined weight of 300 kg, to a 500-km sun-synchronous orbit, or 350-kg payloads to a low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 200 km.

These satellites were built by Guodian Gaoke, a Beijing-based private satellite operator, for its Tianqi Network—part of their Tianqi Internet of Things (IoT) Constellation. It will consist of 38 satellites and an extensive ground station network. Twenty-five satellites are now in operation. When the full satellite constellation is complete, Guodian Gaoke will provide global data services.

China has performed eleven sea-based launches, involving four types of rockets: Long March 11, Smart Dragon 3, Ceres 1, and Gravity 1.

On Sept. 23, 2024, Galactic Energy conducted its first sea launch, becoming the first private Chinese space company to conduct successful land and sea-based launches.

Learn more about Galactic Energy: 

https://galactic-energy.cn/index.php/En

Video Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA) Watcher

Duration: 31 seconds

Release Date: May 29, 2024

#NASA #Space #Earth #Satellites #CommunicationsSatellites #GalacticEnergy #星河动力 #CERES1 #CERES1Rocket #SeaLaunch #BeijingGuodianGaokeTechnology #TianqiConstellation #CommercialSpace #YellowSea #Rizhao #Shandong #China #中国 #Science #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Pan of Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 4731 in Virgo | Hubble

Pan of Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 4731 in Virgo | Hubble

This is an image of the broad and sweeping spiral galaxy NGC 4731. It lies among the galaxies of the Virgo cluster, in the constellation Virgo, and is located 43 million light-years from Earth. This highly detailed image was created using six different filters. The abundance of color illustrates the galaxy's billowing clouds of gas, dark dust bands, bright pink star-forming regions and, most obviously, the long, glowing bar with trailing arms.

Barred spiral galaxies outnumber regular spirals and elliptical galaxies put together, numbering around 60% of all galaxies. The visible bar structure is a result of orbits of stars and gas in the galaxy lining up, forming a dense region that individual stars move in and out of over time. This is the same process that maintains a galaxy's spiral arms, but it is somewhat more mysterious for bars: spiral galaxies seem to form bars in their centers as they mature, accounting for the large number of bars we see today, but can also lose them later on as the accumulated mass along the bar grows unstable. The orbital patterns and the gravitational interactions within a galaxy that sustain the bar also transport matter and energy into it, fueling star formation. Indeed, the observing program studying NGC 4731 seeks to investigate this flow of matter in galaxies.

Beyond the bar, the spiral arms of NGC 4731 stretch out far past the confines of this close-in Hubble view. The galaxy’s elongated arms are thought to result from gravitational interactions with other, nearby galaxies in the Virgo cluster.

Image Description: A close-in view of a barred spiral galaxy. The bright, glowing bar crosses the center of the galaxy with spiral arms curving away from its ends and continuing out of view. It is surrounded by bright patches of light where stars are forming, as well as dark lines of dust. The galaxy’s clouds of gas spread out from the arms and bar, giving way to a dark background with some foreground stars and small, distant galaxies.

Video Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: May 29, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC4731 #SpiralGalaxy  #Virgo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Dinkinesh Binary Asteroid System Flyby | NASA Lucy Mission

Dinkinesh Binary Asteroid System Flyby | NASA Lucy Mission

On November 1, 2023, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft flew by the main-belt asteroid Dinkinesh. Now, the mission has released pictures from Lucy’s Long Range Reconnaissance Imager taken over a roughly three-hour period, providing the best views of the asteroid to date. During the flyby, Lucy discovered that Dinkinesh has a small moon. The mission team named it “Selam,” a greeting in the Amharic language meaning “peace.” Lucy is the first mission designed to visit the Jupiter Trojans, two swarms of asteroids trapped in Jupiter’s orbit that may be “fossils” from the era of planet formation.

“Dinkinesh really did live up to its name; this is marvelous,” said Hal Levison, referring to the meaning of Dinkinesh in the Amharic language, “marvelous.” Levison is principal investigator for Lucy from the Boulder, Colorado, branch of the San-Antonio-based Southwest Research Institute. “When Lucy was originally selected for flight, we planned to fly by seven asteroids. With the addition of Dinkinesh, two Trojan moons, and now this satellite, we’ve turned it up to 11.”

This asteroid flyby was added to Lucy’s list of targets in January 2023. The primary purpose of the Dinkinesh encounter was to test the spacecraft’s Terminal Tracking System. This will keep Lucy's instruments pointing at the asteroid as it flies by at 10,000 miles per hour. The Lucy mission’s record-breaking tour will explore at least ten small solar system bodies. 

NASA's Lucy Mission: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/lucy/main/index

Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Dan Gallagher: Producer/Narrator

Harold Levison: Scientist

John Spencer: Scientist

Brian May: Image Processing

Claudia Manzoni: Image Processing

Bill Steigerwald: Science Writer

Katherine Kretke: Public Affairs

Nancy Jones: Public Affairs

Aaron Lepsch: Technical Support

Duration: 54 seconds

Release Date: May 29, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #LucyMission #LucySpacecraft #Planet #Jupiter #Asteroids #Asteroid #Dinkinesh #1999VD57 #BinaryAsteroidSystem #Moon #Selam #Trojans #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #GSFC #SwRI #JHUAPL #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Liftoff of European Space Agency EarthCARE Satellite on SpaceX Falcon 9

Liftoff of European Space Agency EarthCARE Satellite on SpaceX Falcon 9

The European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellite lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg launch complex in California, USA, on May 29, 2024, at 00:20 CEST (May 28, 2024, 15:20 local time).

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellite is poised patiently on the launch pad at Vandenberg in California.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellite being rolled out to the launch pad at the Vandenberg launch complex in California.

The European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellite encapsulated with the Falcon 9 rocket fairing being taken to the SpaceX launch facility at the Vandenberg  launch complex in California. 

The European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellite being encapsulated with in the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fairing. It protects the satellite during the first stages of launch.

The European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellite successfully lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg launch complex in California, USA, on May 29, 2024, at 00:20 CEST (May 28, 15:20 local time).

The Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite is a joint-project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The  satellite carries a set of four instruments to make a range of measurements that examine the role that clouds and aerosols play in regulating Earth’s climate. EarthCARE uses light detection and ranging (lidar) and radar technology. The 2,200-kilogram satellite, flying in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 393 kilometers, will collect data on clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere, along with imagery and measurements of reflected sunlight and radiated heat. This information will be used for atmospheric science, including climate and weather models.

Learn more about the EarthCARE Mission:

https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/missions/earthcare

Image Credits: ESA/SpaceX

Release Date: May 28, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Space #Science #Satellites #Earth #Planet #EarthScience #EarthCARE #SatelliteLaunch #Atmosphere #Climate #ClimateChange #GreenhouseGases #GlobalHeating #EarthObservatory #Europe #JAXA #Japan #日本 #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

European Space Agency EarthCARE Satellite Launch on SpaceX Falcon 9

European Space Agency EarthCARE Satellite Launch on SpaceX Falcon 9

The European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellite successfully lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg launch complex in California, USA, on May 29, 2024, at 00:20 CEST (May 28, 15:20 local time).

The Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite is a joint-project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The  satellite carries a set of four instruments to make a range of measurements that examine the role that clouds and aerosols play in regulating Earth’s climate. EarthCARE uses light detection and ranging (lidar) and radar technology. The 2,200-kilogram satellite, flying in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 393 kilometers, will collect data on clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere, along with imagery and measurements of reflected sunlight and radiated heat. This information will be used for atmospheric science, including climate and weather models.

Learn more about the EarthCARE Mission:

https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/missions/earthcare

Credits: ESA/SpaceX

Duration: 2 minutes, 41 seconds

Release Date: May 29, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Space #Science #Satellites #Earth #Planet #EarthScience #EarthCARE #SatelliteLaunch #Atmosphere #Climate #ClimateChange #GreenhouseGases #GlobalHeating #EarthObservatory #Europe #JAXA #Japan #日本 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

International Space Station Crew Talks with WSYR-TV in Syracuse, New York

International Space Station Crew Talks with WSYR-TV in Syracuse, New York

Aboard the International Space Station, NASA Expedition 71 Flight Engineers Tracy Dyson and Jeanette Epps discussed living and working in space during an in-flight interview with WSYR-TV, NewsChannel 9 in Syracuse, New York on May 28, 2024. 

Dyson and Epps are in the midst of long duration missions living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program. 

NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps Official Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/jeanette-j-epps/biography

NASA Astronaut Tracy Dyson Official Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/people/tracy-caldwell-dyson-2/

Follow Expedition 71 Updates: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, 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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 21 minutes

Release Date: May 28, 2024

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Astronaut #JeanetteEpps #TracyDyson #FlightEngineers #HumanSpaceflight #Science #SpaceTechnology #SpaceLaboratory #Engineering #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-18 Crew Completes First Spacewalk | China Space Station

Shenzhou-18 Crew Completes First Spacewalk | China Space Station

The Shenzhou-18 crew on board China's orbiting space station completed their first spacewalk at 18:58 Beijing time on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). 

During the 8.5-hour extravehicular activity (EVA), astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu successfully installed space debris protection devices, among other tasks.

Ye and Li Guangsu were assigned to the spacewalk and safely returned to the station's Wentian lab module after the venture.

This EVA marked the 15th spacewalk by Chinese astronauts during the space station's application and development phase. It was the first spacewalk for Li Guangsu, who operated the station's robotic arms during the walk, and the second for Ye following his initial outing on the Shenzhou-13 mission.

At 10:35, Ye and Li Guangsu opened the hatch door. Ye then mounted the robotic arm and, with Li Guangsu's assistance, received the equipment and was transported to the worksite to install items such as power protection racks.

By 12:20, Li Guangsu had exited the cabin to join Ye in inspecting the station's exterior equipment and facilities.

"Since Shenzhou 17, we have been carrying out long-term extravehicular maintenance and inspection tasks. During this spacewalk, we addressed issues with the debris protection system by installing a protective panel, which will reduce the risk of collisions with debris and meteoroids for key equipment during long-term operations," said Li Xuedong, deputy chief designer of the space station system at the China Academy of Space Technology.

"This spacewalk involved many tasks, making it the most extensive inspection and photographic documentation conducted outside the cabin. Consequently, this spacewalk was also the longest in duration. The entire procedure was executed flawlessly, with the astronauts demonstrating exceptional precision and skill," said Zhang Wanxin, director of the Spacesuit Engineering Office and deputy chief designer of the Astronaut System at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.

The Shenzhou-18 mission will continue with a series of scheduled space science experiments and technical tests. The crew will also undertake additional extravehicular activities and install payloads outside the space station, according to the CMSA. Shenzhou-18 represents the seventh crew of three astronauts to operate China's Tiangong space station.

Shenzhou-18 Crew:

Ye Guangfu (叶光富, commander)

Li Cong (李聪, mission specialist)

Li Guangsu (李广苏, mission specialist)

Video Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)

Duration: 1 minute, 41 seconds

Release Date: May 28, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou18 #神舟十八 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #EVA #Spacewalk #SpaceDebris #YeGuangfu #LiCong #LiGuangsu #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Strong X2.8 Solar Flare Erupts from Sun | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Strong X2.8 Solar Flare Erupts from Sun | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare seen as the bright flash on the limb of the Sun on May 27, 2024 with an inset image of Earth for scale. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares. It is colorized in red.

Amateur astronomer Michael Karrer captured gigantic explosion from the Sun's surface on May 27, 2024, from Austria

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): An X2.8 flare from old Region 3664 occurred at 27/0708 UTC. Due to its far SE location, energetic particles could take additional time to arrive in the near Earth environment.

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare from the AR3664 region, peaking at 3:08 a.m. ET on May 27, 2024. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) watches the Sun constantly and it captured an image of the event.

"I have not seen an explosion like this in my 40 years of observing the sun," said amateur astronomer Michael Karrer. "So fast, so far out into space! It was gigantic."

This flare is classified as a X2.8 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov/, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts. 

NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.

Image Credit: NASA/SDO/Michael Karrer/NOAA

Release Date: May 28, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #SpaceWeather #Sun #Star #Solar #SolarFlares #Ultraviolet #Plasma #MagneticField #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Physics #Spacecraft #Satellites #ElectricalGrids #SDO #SolarSystem #GSFC #UnitedStates #Infographic #STEM #Education

NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps Portrait | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps Portrait | International Space Station

Expedition 71 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps poses for a portrait inside the seven-window cupola, the International Space Station's "window to the world," while orbiting 259 miles above Greece.

NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps Official Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/jeanette-j-epps/biography

Follow Expedition 71 Updates: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, 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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: May 19, 2024 

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Astronauts #Astronaut #JeanetteEpps #FlightEngineer #HumanSpaceflight #Science #SpaceTechnology #SpaceLaboratory #Engineering #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #STEM #Education

RSCG 55: Wide-field Galactic View in Virgo | Victor Blanco Telescope

RSCG 55: Wide-field Galactic View in Virgo | Victor Blanco Telescope

A wide shot captures the galaxy groups NGC 4410 and NGC 4411. In the center of the image, NGC 4411 is a serene pair of spiral galaxies in a deceptive union. Though the companions are thought to be right next to each other—at a distance of about 50 million light-years from us—they do not show signs of interaction, such as distorted arms. RSCG 55 is a group of intertwined galaxies in the constellation Virgo (see upper right).

The pair NGC4411b (left) and NCG 4411a (right) were captured by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam). This was built by the Department of Energy and mounted on the prime focus of the 4-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab, in Chile. NGC 4411a is a particularly satisfying galaxy to observe because of its distinct and symmetrical spiral arms that swirl more than 360 degrees around its core. 

If the galaxies of NGC 4411 were interacting, they would look more intertwined, like NGC 4410, above them in this image. The four interacting galaxies of that system are connected by tidal bridges, created by the gravity of each galaxy pulling on the others in the system.

This image was captured as part of the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys, which was conducted to identify targets for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) operations.

Credit: DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys/LBNL/DOE & KPNO/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin (NSF NOIRLab) & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

Release Date: May 22, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #NGC4410 #NGC4411 #RSCG55 #InteractingGalaxies #SpiralGalaxies #Virgo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #VictorBlancoTelescope #DECam #CerroTololoObservatory #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #DOE #CTIO #CerroTololo #Chile #SouthAmerica #UnitedStates #STEM #Education