2015年12月31日 星期四

Solstice Sun at Lulworth Cove


A southern exposure and striking symmetry made Lulworth Cove, along the Jurassic Coast of England, planet Earth a beautiful setting during December's Solstice. Five frames in this dramatic composite view follow the lowest arc of the Sun, from sunrise to sunset, during the shortest day of the year. The solstice arc spans about 103 degrees at this northern latitude. Of course, erosion by wave action has produced the cove's remarkable shape in the coastal limestone layers. The cove's narrow entrance is responsible, creating a circular wave diffraction pattern. The wave pattern is made clearer by the low solstice Sun. via NASA http://ift.tt/1OuqcZp

NASA: We're on a #JourneyToMars - But Don't Ask Us How

NASA Gets Big Boost in Final FY2016 Appropriations Bill, Space Policy Online "The Orion spacecraft will receive $1.270 billion, $174 million more than the request and $76 million more than FY2014. Within Advanced Exploration Systems funding, Congress also directs NASA...

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Planetary Exploration Timelines: A Look Ahead to 2016

How many planetary exploration missions are there, and where are they? These days, it's hard to keep track, because there are so many. I plan to begin the new year by taking stock of active missions, figuring out what each has set out to do and accomplished so far, but first I want to step back to consider the spread of missions across the solar system as a whole.

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News Conference Features Next Space Station Crew; Interviews Available

NASA will host a news conference for the next crew launching to the International Space Station, featuring NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

December 30, 2015
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ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/30/15

Cardio Ox Ultrasound: Kopra, with Peake assisting, performed his first (Flight Day 15) of three ultrasound and blood pressure measurement sessions for the Cardio Ox experiment. The objective of Cardio Ox is to determine whether biological markers of oxidative and inflammatory stress are elevated during and after space flight and whether this results in an increased, long-term risk of atherosclerosis in astronauts. Twelve crewmembers provide blood and urine samples to assess biomarkers before launch, 15 and 60 days after launch, 15 days before returning to Earth, and within days after landing. Ultrasound scans of the carotid and brachial arteries are obtained at the same time points, as well as through 5 years after landing, as an indicator of cardiovascular health.   On Board Training (OBT) Emergency Procedures Review: The USOS crew practiced/reviewed emergency mask don/purge technique and demonstrated the ability to communicate with Mission Control Center-Moscow (MCC-M) from the Soyuz wearing an emergency mask. The crew also reviewed locations of equipment and positions of valves used in emergencies. During training, crewmembers consulted and coordinated with specialists at MCC-Houston, MCC-M, Columbus Control Center (COL-CC) and JAXA Space Station Integration and Promotion Center (SSIPC).   Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. NEIROIMMUNITET. Saliva Sample / r/g 1009 HRF – Sample Collection and Prep for Stowage Insertion CORRECTSIA. Closeout Ops / r/g 1009 HRF – Sample Insertion into MELFI Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – OCT Setup Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – OCT Exam  (Operator) Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – OCT Exam (Subject) Setup and Activation of КСПЭ Equipment for Hatch Closure from MRM1 TV coverage in MPEG2 Crew Prep for PAO Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – OCT Exam (Operator) TV Conference with RCC Energia, IMBP, GCTC Management.  New Year Greetings Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – OCT Exam (Subject) DOSETRK – Medication Tracking Update FINEMOTR – Experiment Test Crew Onboard Support System (КСПЭ) Equipment Deactivation after TV conference Treatment of FGB structural elements and shell areas with Fungistat r/g 1013 Kulonovskiy Kristall Experiment Run r/g 1026 Checkout of ВП-2 Pilot’s Sight and Comm Interfaces r/g 1011 USND2 – Hardware Activation Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – OCT Equipment Stowage CARDOX – Setup Ops CARDOX – Experiment Ops CARDOX – Scan (Operator) Intermodular TORU Test with Docked Progress 431 (DC1) r/g 1024 CARDOX – Blood Pressure Operations Checkout of the Wide Angle Vertical Sight (ВШТВ) r/g 1011 KULONOVSKIY KRISTALL. Copy and Downlink Data / r/g 1026 CARDOX – Doffing and Stowage Ops DOSETRK – Medication Tracking Update Compound Specific Analyzer-Combustion (CSA-CP) Checkout Part 2 Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Buffer Container (BC) Changeout Treatment of FGB structural elements and shell areas with Fungistat r/g 1013 PUMA Health Check r/g 1011 CEVIS Exercise WRS Water Sample Analysis Formaldehyde Monitoring Kit (FMK) Stow Operations JRNL – Journal Entry USND2 – Hardware Deactivation Emergency Mask Review OBT Kazbek Fit Check (Soyuz 718) OBT ISS Emergency Hardware Familiarization Drill Preventive Maintenance of FS1 Laptop  (Cleaning and rebooting) / r/g 1023 Treatment of FGB structural elements and shell areas with Fungistat r/g 1013 OBT ISS Emergency Hardware Familiarization Drill BRI Monthly Maintenance r/g 0681 [Aborted] Cleaning ГЖТ4 (Gas-Liquid Heat Exchanger) ВТ-7 fan screen / FGB System Operations INTERACTION-2. Experiment Ops / r/g 1015 Verification of ИП-1 Flow Sensor Position / Pressure Control & Atmosphere Monitoring System IMS Delta File Prep TOCA Data Recording Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – Prep for Fundoscope Ops (Ophthalmoscope) Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation HABIT. Overview Video Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – Fundoscope Setup (Ophthalmoscope) Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – Prep for Fundoscope Ops (Ophthalmoscope) Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – Fundoscope Ops (Ophthalmoscope) (СМО) On-orbit hearing assessment using EARQ / See OPTIMIS Viewer for Procedure Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – Fundoscope Ops (Ophthalmoscope) (Subject) CONTENT. Experiment Ops / r/g 1016 СОЖ Maintenance Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – Fundoscope Ops (Ophthalmoscope) (СМО) Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – Fundoscope Ops (Ophthalmoscope) (Subject) Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation Eye Imaging (Ocular Health) – Post-Ops Fundoscope (Ophthalmoscope) Stowage   Completed Task List Items None   Ground Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Nominal system commanding Three-Day Look Ahead: Thursday, 12/31:  Ocular Health, EVA Preparations, CIR Operations, ISS Safety Video Survey Friday, 01/01: Crew holiday Saturday, 01/02: Crew off duty; housekeeping   QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:                               Component Status Elektron Off Vozdukh Manual [СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) On [СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) Off Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab Standby Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 Operate Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab Idle Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 Operate Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) Process Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) Norm Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab Full Up Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 Off  

December 30, 2015 at 10:27PM
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The Top Space and Astronomy Stories of 2015

I swear I wasn’t going to do a “Top Whatevers of 2015” blog post this year, but then the Benevolent Overlords at Slate asked me to do one, and what choice do I have? They’re benevolent, but they are overlords. Plus I like them. So we went through the most fun stories of the year, and put them together in video form for your eyeballs. Enjoy.

(Note: I’ve added the transcript below the video, fully endowed with links so you can find more information and reminisce over the past annum.)

TRANSCRIPT:

Every year seems to be a big year in space and astronomy, with new missions, amazing images, and wonderful science.

2015 was no exception … but it was specifically planetary science that stole the spotlight. The biggest news was the flyby of Pluto after a decadelong voyage by the New Horizons spacecraft, which sent back the first close-up pictures in human history of the tiny, frozen world. It turns out Pluto is surprisingly diverse, with vast, flat plains of frozen nitrogen, towering mountains of water ice rivaling the Rockies, and weird fields of pits caused by evaporating ice. It even has a sprawling flat area that looks like a heart!

Pluto’s large moon Charon held its own, too. It’s a ragged mess, like someone tore it apart and then slapped it back together again. The southern hemisphere is smoother, the northern more ragged, and there’s a dark red splotch at the north pole forbiddingly named Mordor. The coloration may be due to chemicals from Pluto that leaked away from its thin atmosphere and fell on Charon.

Speaking of Pluto’s atmosphere, it has one. It’s very thin, but it’s mostly nitrogen, like Earth’s. And also like Earth, there’s enough there to scatter sunlight—and that means if you were on Pluto you’d see blue skies! But don’t bother with sunscreen. From 5 billion kilometers away, frost bite is a far bigger concern than sunburn.

In 2015, the Dawn spacecraft arrived at the protoplanet Ceres, the largest body in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and immediately “spotted” a mystery: Over a hundred bright spots on the surface, including a pair in the middle of a large crater that dominates the photos.

Speculation on the Internet ran freely, from ice deposits to—of course—alien bases. But further analysis of the spots shows they’re likely to be salt deposits, left over from briny water ice seeping up from the interior of Ceres. This was unexpected on the surface of the airless world and shows that the solar system still has lots of surprises for us.

Comets made the news, too: The Rosetta spacecraft went into orbit around the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014, but the highest resolution images didn’t start rolling in until January 2015. They revealed a bizarre, forbidding place, with jagged cliffs, deep fissures, and sinkholes venting gas. A study of the layers of materials on the comet revealed how it got its rubber-ducky shape, too: It used to be two comets! A gentle collision stuck them together like two snowballs, forming the weird lumpy worldlet we see now.

Even more, scientists were able to receive a signal from Philae, the plucky robot lander that was thought lost when it hit the comet and failed to stick the landing. It fell to rest on its side and was silent for months until we heard back from it once again in June. The signal’s been intermittent, but scientists remain hopeful they can regain contact with it and find out more about the comet from up close.

Weirdly, just as much in the news as science stuff that did happen was stuff that … didn’t happen.

The Kepler space observatory stares at 150,000 stars, looking for changes in their brightness as potential planets pass in front of them. One such star, KIC 8462852, was acting really, really weirdly. Instead a single dip in brightness like you’d expect from a planet, it had hundreds of dips. They seemed to come at random times, and some blocked an incredible 20 percent of the starlight. No planet could do that! So what was causing it?

One possibility—extremely unlikely, but possible—was that an advanced alien civilization was building gigantic structures around the star. Now, astronomers had lots of other explanations, but nothing seemed to quite fit, and it wasn’t much effort to check, so why not? Various telescopes and methods were deployed to see if aliens might be sending a signal our way, but no luck. The most likely explanation is a gigantic comet disrupted, creating millions of small chunks and huge clouds of gas that are blocking the star’s light.

That’s still pretty cool, but a tiny piece of me still hopes that maybe hailing frequencies are still open.

Another thing that didn’t happen in 2015 was that Mark Watney didn’t really get stuck on Mars. Well, that did happen, but only in the blockbuster movie The Martian. And while it was science fiction, a lot of it was rooted in what we really do know about Mars. NASA had a pretty big hand in developing and promoting the movie, which is why the technology looks so familiar. I can nitpick the details of the science in the movie—and I have—but I can’t argue the overall theme of the flick: Science and good ol’ human knowhow can overcome a lot of life’s obstacles … even what that obstacle is 100 million kilometers of empty space.

Rockets had an interesting year, too. Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos, successfully launched an uncrewed suborbital rocket into space and then brought it back down to land vertically on Earth once again—a successful step on the path to future flights.

For the private rocket company SpaceX, 2015 had some pretty big ups and downs. In June, an attempted launch of a Falcon 9 carrying supplies to the space station resulted in complete catastrophe as a loose strut inside the rocket resulted in a tank of liquid helium rupturing, causing a complete loss of the mission. Still, SpaceX got an order from NASA to launch astronauts to the space station in 2017. They also made space history in late December when the booster for a Falcon 9 rocket was successfully relanded at Cape Canaveral after helping loft a series of satellites into space. The first stage booster landed vertically in a pitch-perfect mission that will hopefully lead the way to more reliable and less expensive access to space.

And Elon Musk, the flamboyant SpaceX CEO, made some headlines after saying he wanted to nuke the poles of Mars to create a thicker atmosphere on the planet, a prelude to colonizing it. I have my doubts that would work, but at least he’s not thinking small.

But Musk was also involved in the biggest news of all, a cover-up so huge it spans decades: It turns out the Simpsons’ home town of Springfield isn’t even in the United States! An episode of the venerable cartoon series featuring Musk showed him looking out a window after dinner and seeing the crescent Moon, but the crescent was facing the wrong way! That would only work if Springfield were in the Southern Hemisphere, putting lie to 26 years of TV. Unless Musk has been able to flip the Earth upside down, somehow. I wouldn’t put it past him.



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2015年12月30日 星期三

The Fox Fur Nebula


This interstellar canine is formed of cosmic dust and gas interacting with the energetic light and winds from hot young stars. The shape, visual texture, and color, combine to give the region the popular name Fox Fur Nebula. The characteristic blue glow on the left is dust reflecting light from the bright star S Mon, the bright star just below the top edge of the featured image. Textured red and black areas are a combination of the cosmic dust and reddish emission from ionized hydrogen gas. S Mon is part of a young open cluster of stars, NGC 2264, located about 2,500 light years away toward the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros). via NASA http://ift.tt/1RRhE5q

Preview: 2016 aboard the International Space Station

A look ahead to see what's in store for the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard humanity's orbital outpost.

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The Alps in Winter


European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and Expedition 46 Flight Engineer Tim Peake (@astro_timpeake) photographed the Alps from orbit on Dec. 27, 2015 and later shared the image with his social media followers, writing, "There may not be much snow in the Alps this winter but they still look stunning from here! #Principia" via NASA http://ift.tt/1miLof5

Oregon Transplant

Years ago, my wife and I were thinking of moving out of California. We decided to travel around a bit over time and see what caught our fancy. One destination we loved was Oregon; it was beautiful, the people where we visited were friendly, and it just felt like a place we could call home.

Ultimately, we decided Colorado was a better fit for us, and I’ve never regretted that decision. But Oregon is still a mighty pretty place. And I can prove it to you too:

Holy wow. Gorgeous! I like the mix of time-lapse and slow-motion photography; both show us the world in different ways, exposing sights and events our eyes and brains aren’t adapted to seeing on their own.

I have to laugh, too: I saw the name of the video production company, Uncage the Soul, and it sounded familiar. I checked, and hey! One of the guys running it is Ben Canales, a photographer whose work I’ve featured here on the blog many times. He took one of my favorite astrophotos of all time:

I love that so much. As I wrote about it, “This is what it’s like to live in my head.”   

I’m really glad I got to feature more of Ben’s work here. If you want to see more — and you do — then check out his 500px page. He’s really very gifted.

Some day I’ll head back to Oregon. I gave a talk in Portland a few years ago and really enjoyed myself, and Crater Lake… well, that ancient exploded volcano still deeply resonates in my brain and heart. It was overwhelming, and I’d love the chance to experience it again.

Tip o’ the lens cap to Vernon Balbert.



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2015年12月29日 星期二

Dust of the Orion Nebula


What surrounds a hotbed of star formation? In the case of the Orion Nebula -- dust. The entire Orion field, located about 1600 light years away, is inundated with intricate and picturesque filaments of dust. Opaque to visible light, dust is created in the outer atmosphere of massive cool stars and expelled by a strong outer wind of particles. The Trapezium and other forming star clusters are embedded in the nebula. The intricate filaments of dust surrounding M42 and M43 appear brown in the featured image, while central glowing gas is highlighted in red. Over the next few million years much of Orion's dust will be slowly destroyed by the very stars now being formed, or dispersed into the Galaxy. via NASA http://ift.tt/1PuLd9H

ULA Vs SpaceX: Just Bring More Money

Washington's 'Star Wars', Politico "A Washington brawl has broken out over the future of the U.S. military's ability to reach orbit, with the powerhouse combo of Boeing and Lockheed Martin jostling with the scrappy yet well-funded upstart of entrepreneur Elon...

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Two epic photos of Earth -- but which one is truer?

Two images of Earth taken from different spacecraft at the same time illustrate differences in "true" color imaging among spacecraft.

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Remembering Fred Durant, George Mueller, and Bob Farquhar

Fred Durant, George Mueller, and Bob Farquhar Honored at The Smithsonian "There are three displays presently located in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC honoring Fred Durant, George Mueller, and Bob Farquhar who left our planet in...

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Reading the Alphabet From Space


NASA's Earth Observatory has tracked down images resembling all 26 letters of the English alphabet using only NASA satellite imagery and astronaut photography. In this image, the letter 'Y' is for yardangs, elongated landforms sculpted by erosion and similar to sand dunes, but instead comprised of sandstone or siltstone. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ZzD7Bo

Importance of CRISPR Surpasses Pluto Ballot Stuffing Effort

Making the cut: CRISPR genome-editing technology shows its power, Science "[CRISPR] was conceived after a yogurt company in 2007 identified an unexpected defense mechanism that its bacteria use to fight off viruses. A birth announcement came in 2012, followed by...

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Dione, From Afar

As the year winds down, can we take a moment to remember how beautiful our Universe can be? Especially our little local piece of it.

That image above was taken by the Cassini spacecraft, which has been orbiting Saturn since—and I still have a hard time believing this—2004. In more than a decade it has taken countless observations of Saturn, its atmosphere, the rings, and its ridiculously photogenic moons.

The photo shows Dione, a mostly-ice-but-with-some-rock moon, some 1,120 kilometers across (our Moon is roughly three times that diameter). One hemisphere of the moon contains the wispy features you can see in the shot; they were discovered during the Voyager probes in the early 1980s. From those images they were thought to be material extruded from beneath the surface, but Cassini revealed them to be fractures in the surface, interconnecting canyons with bright walls, probably made of nearly pure water ice.

From 1.7 million kilometers away, Cassini got an interesting overview of the moon, with the wisps and a few large craters visible. Highlighting the shot are Saturn’s rings, seen very nearly edge-on, behind the moon. Cassini was “below” the rings, south of Saturn’s equator, looking “up” (north), in this shot; you can tell because the rings look dark gray. Right now it’s approaching summer in Saturn’s northern hemisphere (the solstice for Saturn is in May 2017), so the Sun shines down from the north on the rings. If Cassini were north of Saturn’s equator, the rings would look far brighter as the tiny ice particles reflect sunlight toward the spacecraft.

This image was taken on Aug. 15, 2015, just two days before Cassini flew past Dione, dipping down to an astonishing 500 km of its surface, and sending back pictures so incredible they almost stopped my heart. That was the very last flyby of Dione; there are no more scheduled between now and the time the Cassini mission ends in 2017.

That’s going to be a tough one, I’ll admit. Cassini has been nothing short of a triumph, a phenomenal paean to what humans can do when we look up to the sky in wonder instead of at each other in hatred. It is the best of us, and has shown us how devastatingly beautiful, how intricately woven, and how magnificently displayed are the results of nature’s laws. 

I have friends who have worked on Cassini for decades. It will be incredibly sad to see it end, fittingly plunging into the atmosphere of Saturn. There are no plans by any nation to visit Saturn again … but we have a Europa mission on the boards, and I hope, with recent news of a healthy increase to NASA’s budget, that we may venture this way again, and learn more about the giants that populate the outer solar system. Even after all this time, there is still a Universe worth of knowledge to gain out there.



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ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/28/15

Thermal Radiator Rotary Joint (TRRJ) Repositioning for Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS)-02: Due to the high negative beta angle, the AMS team requested that the Starboard-Thermal Radiator Rotary Joint (S-TRRJ) be moved to a better angle to provide a more optimal temperature for the Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) pump.  Ground teams will continue to monitor the TRD pump temperature, and will be required to activate the pump if the temperature reaches 7° Celsius resulting in a loss of science.  AMS-02 has collected and analyzed billions of cosmic ray events, and identified 9 million of these as electrons or positrons (anti-matter). The number of high energy positons increases steadily rather than decaying, conflicting with theoretical models and indicates a yet to be identified source of positrons. Researchers also observed a plateau in the positron growth curve and need additional data to determine why. Results suggest that high-energy positrons and cosmic ray electrons may come from different and mysterious sources. Solving the origin of cosmic rays and antimatter increases understanding of our galaxy. ISS RapidScat: The RapidScat payload, located on the nadir Columbus Exposed Facility Unit (EFU) went into a Digital Interface Bridge (DIB) only mode on 24 December, with no science collection or antenna spinning due to a combination of the high negative beta and the ISS attitude with a yaw-bias for Service Module shadowing.  Ground teams reactivated RapidScat today to the nominal wind-gathering observation mode.  ISS RapidScat is a space-based scatterometer that measures wind speed and direction over the ocean, and is useful for weather forecasting, hurricane monitoring, and observations of large-scale climate phenomena. The ISS RapidScat instrument enhances measurements from other international scatterometers by cross-checking their data, and demonstrates a unique way to replace an instrument aboard an aging satellite. Sprint Ultrasound:  Kopra performed his Flight Day (FD) 14 thigh and calf ultrasound scans with assistance from Kelly and guidance from the Sprint ground team.  Ultrasound scans are used to evaluate spaceflight-induced changes in the muscle volume. The investigation evaluates the use of high intensity, low volume exercise training to minimize loss of muscle, bone, and cardiovascular function in ISS crewmembers during long-duration missions. Upon completion of this study, investigators expect to provide an integrated resistance and aerobic exercise training protocol capable of maintaining muscle, bone and cardiovascular health while reducing total exercise time over the course of a long-duration space flight. This will provide valuable information in support of the long term goal of protecting human fitness for even longer space exploration missions. Skin-B:  Peake performed his first Skin-B activity, completing Corneometer measurements of the hydration level of the stratus coreum (outer layer of the skin), Tewameter measurements of the skin barrier function, and Visioscan measurements of skin surface topography. The European Space Agency (ESA) Skin-B investigation aims to improve the understanding of skin aging, which is greatly accelerated in space.  The data will also be used to verify the results from previous SkinCare investigation testing on the ISS. Sleep Actiwatch Downlink and Configuration: Kelly downloaded data from his and Kornienko’s Actiwatch Spectrums and configured the devices to continue collecting data.  The actiwatches have a photodiode that measures ambient light and an accelerometer to measure the movement of the arm or leg to which the watch is attached.  The actiwatch data recorded on the watch supports the Sleep ISS-12 experiment which assesses the effects of space flight and ambient light exposure on sleep during a year-long mission on the ISS. Education Payloads Operations (EPO) Destination Space:  Peake recorded video that will provide the raw film footage for videos created on the ground for use in Destination Space educational shows and workshops for school groups and families. Individualized Real-Time Neurocognitive Assessment Toolkit for Space Flight Fatigue (Cognition):  This afternoon Peake will perform his FD 13 session of the Cognition experiment.  The investigation is a battery of tests that measures how spaceflight-related physical changes, such as microgravity and lack of sleep, can affect cognitive performance. Cognition includes ten brief computerized tests that cover a wide range of cognitive functions and provides immediate feedback on current and past test results. The software allows for real-time measurement of cognitive performance while in space. Biochemical Profile and Cardio Ox:  Kopra performed his FD 15 blood and urine collections for the Biochem Profile and Cardio Ox investigations.  The Biochemical Profile experiment tests blood and urine samples obtained from astronauts before, during, and after spaceflight. Specific proteins and chemicals in the samples are used as biomarkers, or indicators of health. Post-flight analysis yields a database of samples and test results which scientists can use to study the effects of spaceflight on the body.  The objective of Cardio Ox is to determine whether biological markers of oxidative and inflammatory stress are elevated during and after space flight and whether this results in an increased, long-term risk of atherosclerosis in astronauts. Microbiome and Salivary Markers: Blood and saliva samples were collected from Kopra to support the Microbiome, Telomeres and Salivary Markers investigations. Microbiome investigates the impact of space travel on both the human immune system and an individual’s microbiome (the collection of microbes that live in and on the human body at any given time).  Telomeres investigates how telomeres and telomerase are affected by space travel.  Salivary Markers data will be used to identify any risks of an adverse health event in crewmembers due to an impaired immune system. Portable Emergency Provisions (PEPS) Inspection:  Peake conducted a regular inspection of the Portable Fire Extinguisher (PFE), Extension Hose Tee Kit (EHTK), Portable Breathing Apparatus (PBA), and Pre-Breathe Masks.  Pre-Breathe Masks are not emergency equipment, but have similar maintenance requirements and are included in this inspection. Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparation:  Kelly configured a lithium-ion battery charger and initiated an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB) charge cycle.  The activity was performed in preparation for the Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU) EVA planned for January 15th. Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Morning Inspection. SM ПСС (Caution & Warning Panel) Test SLEEP Questionnaire Morning Inspection, […]

December 28, 2015 at 10:38PM
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2015年12月28日 星期一

Putin Formally Kills Roscosmos

Vladimir Putin dissolved Roscosmos, Russia's federal space agency, Engadget "With the flourish of a pen earlier today, Russian president Vladimir Putin officially put an end to Roscosmos, the country's federal space agency. That decree capped off over a year's worth...

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All That Wacky Secret Stuff That NASA Supposedly Does

Aliens, bunny-killing rovers, and a Moon base: What all is NASA "hiding"?, Ars Technica "Spend any time around NASA public affairs specialists, as I do, and you'll eventually get the eye roll. It comes when someone inquires about aliens or...

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ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander travel safely to Baikonur

Europe's second mission to Mars has begun its journey from its birthplace in Cannes to its planned arrival at Mars on October 19. Since December 17 we've been able to watch every step of its journey via Twitter.

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NASA and Artificial Intelligence

Why Google's new quantum computer could launch an artificial intelligence arms race, Washington Post "Ever since the 1980s, researchers have been working on the development of a quantum computer that would be exponentially more powerful than any of the digital...

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Boulders on a Martian Landslide


The striking feature in this image, acquired by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 19, 2014, is a boulder-covered landslide along a canyon wall. Landslides occur when steep slopes fail, sending a mass of soil and rock to flow downhill, leaving behind a scarp at the top of the slope. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ZxnSsx

SpaceX Releases New Photos of the Booster Landing

On Dec. 22, 2015, the private rocket company SpaceX performed an extraordinary feat: returning the first stage booster of an orbital rocket back to ground, landing vertically on its tail, right in the center of the landing pad.

The video is incredible, and now SpaceX has released lovely high-res photos of the event as well. I want you these pictures here because a) they’re very cool, and 2) there’s a point I want to make at the end. Also, click on the pictures to make them full size; I had to crop them a bit to fit here. They’re worth it.

Moments before landing, the booster comes in at a slight angle from vertical. Onboard software senses the orientation of the booster (as well as wind speed and other factors) and corrects for it to ensure it lands vertically. Note the landing legs, deployed earlier, after the booster separated from the rest of the rocket, sticking out the bottom at an angle.

A second or two later the booster has reoriented itself, and is very near vertical, ready to land. The rocket exhaust is hitting the ground and billowing out.

From a remotely controlled drone, the view is even more dramatic. As you can see, the booster is almost exactly centered over the stylized X (the SpaceX logo, but also a convenient way to mark a spot. Say).

Speaking of which, here is Landing Zone 1 before the booster landed. Note the person standing in the middle, arms wide (hopefully more as a “Look at this!” expression more than “I got it! I got it!”). This should give you a sense of scale…

Now look at the booster sitting on the pad. The whole time it was landing, and even looking at these photos, I had a hard time grasping the scale of what I was seeing, even though not long ago I stood right next to one of the landing legs and saw the size of the boosters when I visited the SpaceX factory earlier this year.

Note the person in an orange jacket crouched over by the landing leg on the left. The booster is far bigger than you think! It stands over 40 meters in height, as tall as a 12 story building, and even empty weighs something like 20 tons.

Got that? So this is what SpaceX did: They took a 12 story rocket weighing 20,000 kilograms moving at 6000 kph, slowed it, stopped it, turned it around, let it fall nearly 200 km to the ground, reignited the engines, had it follow a descent path, automatically correcting its orientation and attitude, until it landed within a few meters of the pre-chosen spot.

That is (in part) why I was excited about this feat: It was an astonishingly complex technological process, and they nailed it. And now the booster will be checked out to see how it faired during all this. It may get cleaned up to be reused, though in a press conference after the launch Musk noted they may keep this one in their factory, a memento to the achievement.

So as I pointed out in my original article, the story is not yet done. This was the first step; getting the booster back on the ground. The next step, the critical one, is to reuse the booster (or whichever one is brought back down to the ground next). Once that has been achieved, then Elon Musk and SpaceX will have shown they can reuse that rocket, and potentially save tens of millions of dollars on a launch into orbit.

Musk estimates the cost to build a first stage Falcon 9 at around $60 million, while the fuel costs around $200,000. If they can reuse that booster, then even if it costs a few million bucks to fix it back up, that’s a savings of over $50 million in launch costs… on a launch that costs roughly $90 million to start with.

If this works, then launch costs can be cut in half. And that is the second part of why I was so excited about this landing. I hope this all works. Between this effort, Blue Origin’s recent flight into space and back, NASA’s Orion capsule, Boeing’s CST-100 capsule, Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser, and Virgin Galactic (despite the awful loss of their SpaceShipTwo in 2014), we are in an unprecedented moment: More human-rated spaceships are in development now than in any time since the Space Age began.

Where will we be in 20 years? I can’t say for sure, but if everything goes well, more humans will be space than in all of history. That is a future I very much look forward to.



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2015年12月27日 星期日

Doomed Star Eta Carinae


Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae's mass - about 100 times greater than our Sun - makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown supernova. Historical records do show that about 150 years ago Eta Carinae underwent an unusual outburst that made it one of the brightest stars in the southern sky. Eta Carinae, in the Keyhole Nebula, is the only star currently thought to emit natural LASER light. This featured image, taken in 1996, brought out new details in the unusual nebula that surrounds this rogue star. Now clearly visible are two distinct lobes, a hot central region, and strange radial streaks. The lobes are filled with lanes of gas and dust which absorb the blue and ultraviolet light emitted near the center. The streaks remain unexplained. via NASA http://ift.tt/1On0iH4

CineSpace

Well now, this is lovely: NASA and the Houston Cinema Arts Society teamed up to form the CineSpace competition. The idea was to take some real NASA imagery and create a short film that uses it in some way.

They just announced the winners, and I watched several of them. They’re all quite good, including the overall winner, “Higher Ground” (holy mackerel, the effort that went into that!). But I think my favorite is “Home”, which is very short:

I love how it uses the everyday things we experience and weaves them into the things NASA does every day… and then projects that into the future.

Also, I’m a sucker for a composite shot of someone standing in awe, looking up, gawking at some fantastic scene in the sky. It reminds me a little bit of “Wanderers” — which, in my opinion, is the best short paean to space travel ever made.

Still, I recommend bookmarking that NASA page and watching the videos when you get a chance. It’s always interesting to see how different people interpret very general instructions like this, and the results will show you just how inspiring NASA and space exploration can be.



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2015年12月26日 星期六

Southern Craters and Galaxies


The Henbury craters in the Northern Territory, Australia, planet Earth, are the scars of an impact over 4,000 years old. When an ancient meteorite fragmented into dozens of pieces, the largest made the 180 meter diameter crater whose weathered walls and floor are lit in the foreground of this southern hemisphere nightscape. The vertical panoramic view follows our magnificent Milky Way galaxy stretching above horizon, its rich central starfields cut by obscuring dust clouds. A glance along the galactic plane also reveals Alpha and Beta Centauri and the stars of the Southern Cross. Captured in the region's spectacular, dark skies, the Small Magellanic Cloud, satellite of the Milky Way, is the bright galaxy to the left. Not the lights of a nearby town, the visible glow on the horizon below it is the Large Magellanic Cloud rising. via NASA http://ift.tt/1OrZQgI

Stormscapes3

Nicolaus Wegner is a photographer and a storm chaser, and he’s well accomplished at both. His time-lapse video Stormscapes is wonderful, as is Stormscapes2.

He’s just released Stormscapes3, and wow. I mean seriously, WOW. Make this full screen, turn up the volume, and watch the whole thing, because at four minutes in it gets pretty jaw-dropping. A note: If bright strobe-like flashes bug you, then have a care because there’s a lot of that in the latter part of the video.

I love how the serene music at the beginning contrasts with the nuclear-bomb amounts of energy being casually tossed around by convection in those storms. And the colors! As I mentioned in Monsoon II (and the other Stormscape video posts linked above), the cause of the deep blues and greens you see in some of those storm clouds isn’t terribly well understood; they may be from light passing through icy hailstones.

Wegner told me that he shot a lot of this near Limon, Colorado, 150 or so km southeast of where I live. He’s tried to convince me to head out that way in the spring to catch some of these wild storms. I prefer to stay away from violent weather if I can (unless it comes to me), but watching his videos makes it very, very tempting.

Earlier this summer my wife and I saw a deep green cloud north of us, and it dumped a lot of rain in a short time. I wasn’t able to get pictures (we were driving) but it was still amazing. But oh, I’d so love to see a majestically spinning mesocyclone for myself, maybe from 50 km away so the whole thing could be taken in at once.

With the El Niño we have brewing in the Pacific, maybe this coming year I’ll get my chance. 



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2015年12月25日 星期五

Merry Goatsmas!

During this holiday season, remember what’s truly important: Ridiculously cute goat elf cosplay.

The goats seem to be getting used to the snow, which is good because we’re expecting a bit today again*. Maybe I’ll find Tauntaun costumes for them…

Whatever your beliefs, or lack thereof, have a great holiday. And now you will, because goats.

* And before anyone calls PETA on me, they all slip in the snow, cosplaying or not. As I mention in the video notes, they’re amazing jumpers and climbers, but really awkward when they don’t stick the landing.



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2015年12月24日 星期四

Star Colors and Pinyon Pine


Beautiful, luminous decorations on this pinyon pine tree are actually bright stars in the constellation Scorpius and the faint glow of the central Milky Way. Captured in June from the north rim of the Grand Canyon of planet Earth, the shallow, close focus image has rendered pine needles on the tree branch sharp, but blurred the distant stars, their light smeared into remarkably colorful disks. Of course, temperature determines the color of a star. Most of the out-of-focus bright stars of Scorpius show a predominately blue hue, their surface temperatures much hotter than the Sun's. Cooler and larger than the Sun, and noticably redder on the scene, is giant star Antares at the heart of the scorpion. In focused, telescopic views the whitish disk at the upper right would be immediately recognizable though, reflecting the Sun's light as ringed gas giant Saturn. via NASA http://ift.tt/1OpIO30

Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos: Distant Galaxies

Astrophotographer Adam Block shares stunning his images of far-away spiral galaxies.

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Stained Glass Pluto

This is pretty amazing: An actual movie taken by a camera on board the New Horizons spacecraft as it passed by Pluto in July! But it’s not your ordinary movie… it’s actually taking a spectrum of Pluto, mapping out minerals on its surface as the world sweeps by underneath. The spectrum is in the infrared, light invisible to our eyes, but it’s been converted to colors our eyes can see to produce this trippy and very cool video:

So what the heck did you just see? First, let me link to Alex Parker's writeup of this; Parker created the video and gives loads of details. But I can't resist explaining it myself; it's too much fun not to.

The detector used to make this is called LEISA, for Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array. It’s a small 256 x 256 pixel detector, and it’s equipped with a very weird filter. Usually, filters are flat and let through a very specific wavelength, or color, of light.

But LEISA has a wedge filter, and this means that different wavelengths are let through at different positions on the filter. In this case, you get slices of color, so the "bluest" (shortest wavelength) light gets through on one side of the filter, the "reddest" (longest wavelength) at the other, with a gradual series of steps in between. That’s why you see those vertical slices of color: Each is one of 256 individual slices of color the filter lets through.

In this case, the light is infrared, with 1.25 micron light on the left and 2.5 microns on the right. The human eye can see out to about .75 microns or so, so this IR light is invisible to us, but many minerals can be identified by how much of these colors of light they reflect and absorb. These include water ice, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and methane.

As the spacecraft moved past Pluto, the tiny icy world swept past the detector. The detector is set up to take images at the same speed Pluto moved past, in a sense taking 256 pictures that could then be split up and reassembled to map the surface in all 256 colors.

I know, that’s weird. Imagine it this way: Let’s say you have a single column of pixels that only lets through light at 1.25 microns. As the detector sees the edge of Pluto it takes a snapshot (creating a single line of data). Then a moment later, it takes another, then another, and so on. Eventually, you have 256 slices of Pluto that will all fit together to make a picture of it.

This is called the pushbroom technique. But why stop with one row of pixels? If you have two, each seeing different colors, you can make two color images at the same time. Or 3, or 4… or 256. That’s how this works.

In the video, the colors were shifted in wavelength, converted, to blue through red so our eyes can interpret them. Watch it again, and keep your eyes on some particular feature on Pluto’s surface; say, a dark spot. As it moves across the detector, you may see it get brighter and darker. That’s because different minerals (say, water ice versus methane ice) reflect and absorb different colors differently. So one might be very bright in “blue” but very dark in “green”.

The dark vertical streaks correspond to colors where some minerals absorb light. Not as much light from the Sun gets reflected, so that part of the image looks darker. Really strong ones correspond to nitrogen and methane ice, which are abundant on the surface.

It’s interesting how the surface seems very high contrast in the “purple”, and you can see lots of bright and dark features. Clearly, there are some minerals on the surface of Pluto that strongly absorb the infrared light that’s displayed as purple in the video, while others don’t, giving them high contrast (the orange section on the right is a special case; it covers a narrower part of the spectrum at higher color resolution; this part is sensitive to nitrogen, and is used to map temperature and composition variations with more detail).

Also, you can see Pluto moving slightly up and down, bobbing, as it moves across the view. That’s actually due to the New Horizons thrusters firing as it flew by! The individual snapshots were taken about every half-second to create this video, so you’re seeing things sped up, but still, that’s very cool.

As a final note, a reminder that this movie was assembled by Alex Parker, who does simply amazing work with Pluto images. Follow him on Twitter. Trust me: He will drop a bit of true wonder into your timeline every now and again, and your life will be better for it.



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ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/23/15

62 Progress (62P) Docking:  62P completed its 34 orbit rendezvous with ISS and successfully docked to Docking Compartment (DC)-1 at 4:27 AM CST.  After docking, Volkov successfully performed leak checks and subsequently opened the hatches.   Biochemical Profile and Cardio Ox:  Peake has performed his Flight Day 15 session blood and urine collections for the Biochem Profile and Cardio Ox investigations.  The Biochemical Profile experiment tests blood and urine samples obtained from astronauts before, during, and after spaceflight. Specific proteins and chemicals in the samples are used as biomarkers, or indicators of health. Post-flight analysis yields a database of samples and test results, which scientists can use to study the effects of spaceflight on the body.  The objective of Cardio Ox is to determine whether biological markers of oxidative and inflammatory stress are elevated during and after space flight and whether this results in an increased, long-term risk of atherosclerosis in astronauts.   Ocular Health:  Kelly and Kornienko completed Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) testing and Kelly performed a fundoscopy activity in support of the Ocular Health investigation.  OCT is used to measure retinal thickness, volume, and retinal nerve fiber layer, and the fundoscope is used to obtain images of the retinal surface.  The Ocular Health protocol calls for a systematic gathering of physiological data to characterize the risk of microgravity-induced visual impairment/intracranial pressure in ISS crewmembers. Researchers believe that the measurement of visual, vascular and central nervous system changes over the course of this experiment and during the subsequent post-flight recovery will assist in the development of countermeasures, clinical monitoring strategies, and clinical practice guidelines.   Extravehicular Mobility Unit Loop Scrub:  Kopra configured Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) suits 3010 and 3011 for loop scrubbing.  Once the scrubbing activity was complete, he reconfigured hardware in order to perform Iodination of Ion Filters for both suits.  Samples containing 250 mL of the water were obtained after the loop scrub activity to determine the effectiveness of the filtering.  10 mL of this water sample were used for a conductivity test onboard ISS and the remaining water will be sent to the ground for chemical analysis.   Spare Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU) Checkout:  Peake configured the port Maintenance Work Area (MWA) within Node 2 and connected power and data cables onto a spare SSU.  Once cables were connected, power was applied to the SSU and a ground led checkout was successfully performed to ensure valid operations of the SSU’s firmware.  The checkout confirmed no health flags and associated refreshes were completed.  The SSU has been declared GO to replace SSU 1B during an Extravehicular Activity (EVA) planned for January 15th.  The currently installed SSU had experienced an anomaly last month on November 13th.   Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. HRF Urine Sample Collection SLEEP Questionnaire Closing USOS Window Shutters HRF – Sample MELFI Insertion Activation/Deactivation of MPEG2 Multicast TV Data Monitoring Closing window 6,8,9,12,13,14 shutters OCT Hardware Setup Eye Examination, Subject Eye Examination, Operator VIBROLAB. Monitoring hardware activation Preparation for ТКГ 431 Docking HRF – Review Big Picture Words WHC – Full Fill Replacement of MSPR-ELT Laptop ТКГ 431 Docking to DC1 WRS Water Sample Analysis High Definition Video Camera Assembly (HD-VCA) Remove & Replace WRS – Recycle Tank Fill from EDV СОЖ Maintenance Activation of TV data and MPEG2 Multicast Controls VEG-01 Fan Speed Change ТКГ 431 Docking to DC1 Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation WHC Fill On MCC Go Activation of MPEG2 Multicast Recording Mode on CP SSC ТКГ 431 Docking to DC1 Video Footage for Nauka 2.0 TV Channel Closing Applications and Downlink of MPEG2 Multicast Video via OCA HRF Urine Sample Collection HRF – Sample MELFI Insertion Food Frequency Questionnaire Start EMU cooling loop scrub On MCC Go ТКГ 431 and DC1 Interface Leak Check On-orbit hearing assessment using EARQ Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation HRF Urine Sample Collection ARED Flywheel Cylinder Evacuation HRF – Sample MELFI Insertion Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) – Eye Exam DC1-СУ Hatch Opening On MCC Go Opening of ТКГ-СУ Transfer Hatch OCT Hardware Stowage IDENTIFICATION. Copy ИМУ-Ц micro-accelerometer data to laptop HRF – Hardware Setup Installation of Quick Release Screw Clamps (ЗВБ) on DC1-Progress 431 Interface Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU) Setup from the Spares Kit WRS – Recycle Tank Fill from EDV ТКГ 431 (DC1) deactivation, air duct installation ТКГ 431 (DC1) Air Sampling using АК-1М sampler Assistance in Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU) Test Initiate EMU Cooling Loop Scrub Part 1 Photo of a scuffmark left by the Active Docking Mechanism Probe on DC1 АСП Receiving Cone after Progress 431 Docking Start EMU cooling loop scrub Downlink Docking Cone Internal Surface Photos and Data via OCA ТКГ 431 (DC1) Early Unstow and US Cargo Items Transfers and IMS Ops EMU – Conductivity Test Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation Terminate METOX Regeneration VIBROLAB. Copy and Downlink Data ТКГ 431 (DC1) Early Unstow and US Cargo Items Transfers and IMS Ops EMU Boot Inspection TOCA Data Recording Environmental Control and Life Support (ECL) Battery Removal Fundoscope Setup for exam MARROW – Sample Processing EMU – Cooling Loop Maintenance – EMU Reconfig Fundoscope – Vision Test Fundoscope – Eye Exam CONTENT. Experiment Ops INTERACTION-2. Experiment Ops EMU – Long Dryout Equipment stowage after Fundoscope Eye Imaging HRF Urine Sample Collection Evening Work Prep HRF – Sample MELFI Insertion HRF – Review Big Picture Words URISYS Hardware Setup ISS HAM – Activation of ISS HAM Radio and Video In-flight Maintenance (IFM).  Disconnecting Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU) from UOP Stow Syringes used in Н2О Conductivity Test IMS Delta File Prep Installation of inserts to ease opening of SM interior panel locks (Unstow Элементы конструкции (Structural Elements) kit (004890R), ФГБ1ПГО_4_427_1, СТВ No.1112 (004106J) Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos Web Site and Social Media ECON-M. Observation and Photography URAGAN Observations and Photography Video Recording for All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (ВГТРК)   Completed Task List Items EVA-SEMU Launch Enclosure Deltas Training   Ground Activities All activities were completed […]

December 24, 2015 at 12:36AM
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Wham! Apollo 16 Saturn V Booster Impact Site Found on the Moon

In the last 1960s and early 1970s, NASA sent a dozen men to the Moon and returned them safely to Earth. Apollo started as a political stunt, a way for America to thumb its nose at the USSR. But along the way, a remarkable thing happened: Science.

We learned a lot about the Moon during those missions. And the engineers and scientists at NASA figured out clever ways of learning more: Seismographs were placed on the surface by several missions, starting with Apollo 11 (which only provided data for a few weeks; later devices worked for years). Waiting for moonquakes was a pain, though, so they decided to make their own: Starting with Apollo 13, the upper stage of the Saturn rocket that brought them to the Moon was purposely steered toward the surface. When it impacted, it created a series of seismic waves that could be measured.

Fast forward to 2015. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been mapping the Moon’s surface in detail for years, and over time has found all the impact sites for those boosters, except one: that of Apollo 16. The S-IVB boosters were equipped with radio devices, so they could be tracked to the surface. The impact locations for the others were well known, and relatively easily found in LRO images. But the Apollo 16 transmitter failed, so the location of the impact site was only poorly known…

Until now. The impact crater of the Apollo 16 S-IVB has finally been located! It was about 30 km off from tracking estimates. That may not seem like much, but the LRO images map the Moon in strips 25 or 50 km wide, and those images have half a billion pixels in them. Worse, the Moon is saturated in craters the size of the booster impacts, making this like looking for a particular grain of sand on a huge beach.

But the good folks working with LRO found it. The impact site is in the western half of the Moon in a region called Mare Insularum, just to the southwest of the bright crater Copernicus.

The photo at the top of this article shows the impact crater. It looks different than those around it; the other craters are softer looking, with less distinct features. That’s a clear sign of age, perhaps billions of years; micrometeorite impacts and the solar wind take their toll over the eons.

The impact site also has obvious rays: Streamers of excavated material shot out as plumes, which then fall as linear features pointing away from the center of the crater. Those same erosive events fade the rays over time, so we know this is a very fresh feature. And the size, about 40 x 30 meters (roughly a quarter the area of an American football field), is just what you’d expect from a high-speed impact from the Saturn V booster.  

Very cool. And this is more than just idle curiosity: The exact location of the booster impact will help refine the models of the Moon’s interior made using those seismographs. The devices used timing differences to figure out how the seismic waves traveled through the Moon, so knowing the exact location of the sources of the waves is very helpful. The shape and depth of the crater also help scientists understand the nature of impacts on the Moon, too.

We spend a lot of time, effort, and money on Apollo, and here we are, 43 years later, still learning from it. I expect that will be true for many, many decades to come, too.



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Christmas Pluto


Pluto gets into the holiday spirit, decked out in red and green using a pair of Ralph/LEISA instrument scans. via NASA http://ift.tt/22quRWL

2015年12月23日 星期三

Geminid Meteors over Xinglong Observatory


Where do Geminid meteors come from? In terms of location on the sky, as the featured image composite beautifully demonstrates, the sand-sized bits of rock that create the streaks of the Geminid Meteor Shower appear to flow out from the constellation of Gemini. In terms of parent body, Solar System trajectories point to the asteroid 3200 Phaethon -- but this results in a bit of a mystery since that unusual object appears mostly dormant. Perhaps, 3200 Phaethon undergoes greater dust-liberating events than we know, but even if so, exactly what happens and why remains a riddle. Peaking last week, over 50 meteors including a bright fireball were captured streaking above Xinglong Observatory in China. Since the Geminids of December are one of the most predictable and active meteor showers, investigations into details of its origin are likely to continue. via NASA http://ift.tt/1RGdL3e

ULA Gets A Russian Christmas Gift From Sen. Shelby

ULA Orders RD-180 Engines to Serve Civil, Commercial Contracts, ULA "ULA has ordered additional Atlas engines to serve our existing and potential civil and commercial launch customers until a new American-made engine can be developed and certified. While ULA strongly...

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Zinnia Flowers Starting to Grow on the International Space Station


Zinnia flowers are starting to grow in the International Space Station's Veggie facility as part of the VEG-01 investigation. Veggie provides lighting and nutrient supply for plants in the form of a low-cost growth chamber and planting "pillows” to provide nutrients for the root system. via NASA http://ift.tt/1mApUtZ

NASA Suspends 2016 Launch of InSight Mission to Mars

After thorough examination, NASA managers have decided to suspend the planned March 2016 launch of the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission. The decision follows unsuccessful attempts to repair a leak in a section of the prime instrument in the science payload.

December 22, 2015
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InSight's Problems: Possible Impacts

Van Kane details the potential repercussions of the launch delay of InSight Mars lander on the rest of NASA's Discovery mission program.

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NASA Suspends InSight, The Next Big Mission to Mars

Well, not all the space news this week is good: NASA formally suspended the Mars InSight mission. The lander was set to launch in March 2016 for a September 2016 touchdown. Its mission is to study the interior geology of Mars; the name is short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations Geodesy and Heat Transport.

The main instrument on the lander, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), is a seismometer designed to study the ground movements of Mars to extraordinary accuracy; literally displacements on the size scale of atoms.

SEIS, built by the French Centre National d'Études Spatiales, needs a very rigorous vacuum seal around its three sensors. During a vacuum test last week, though, a leak was found. Leaks had been found earlier in the year and repaired, but this new leak is too close to the launch date to be sure it can be fixed.

Given that, NASA admins made the hard call: The mission has been suspended for now. During a press conference, Bruce Banerdt, the principal investigator, said they don’t think there’s a fundamental design flaw with the instrument, just a stubborn part or parts. It’s possible this can be repaired, and the instrument thoroughly checked again. For now, InSight will be shipped to Lockheed to undergo examination.

Because of the relative motion of Earth and Mars around the Sun, the two planets won’t be in position for another launch for 26 months — that is, until 2018. Here’s where things get sticky: That’s plenty of time to fix the problem, but InSight is a cost-cap mission; there’s a hard upper limit of $675M for the mission including launch, and $525M has already been spent. Because of that, there’s a chance it may be canceled altogether. NASA has not yet run the numbers for that.

This is heartbreaking; the rocket is ready to be assembled, and things were looking good for launch just three months from now. But SEIS is the main instrument on InSight, and NASA won’t launch a mission when there’s a good chance the main device might fail.

It’s tough news right now, but it sounds like it’s the right call. And it may yet work out; the Curiosity rover mission was delayed by two years to give engineers time to work out some unexpected kinks, and I doubt most people even remember that now because the mission has been so ridiculously successful. My big concern is the cost cap, honestly. If it's projected to run out of money, then that may very well be that (unless the Europeans cover the additional costs). Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

For more details, I suggest reading Casey Dreier’s article at The Planetary Society, and, as usual, following Emily Lakdawalla on Twitter.

This stinks, but the story’s not over yet. Stay Tuned.



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ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/22/15

Ocular Health:  One year crewmembers Kelly and Kornienko completed vision and tonometry tests and took blood pressure measurements as part of their Flight Day 270 Ocular Health testing.  The Ocular Health protocol calls for a systematic gathering of physiological data to characterize the risks of microgravity-induced visual impairment and increased intracranial pressure in ISS crewmembers. Researchers believe that the measurement of visual, vascular and central nervous system changes over the course of this experiment and during the subsequent post-flight recovery will assist in the development of countermeasures, clinical monitoring strategies, and clinical practice guidelines.   Sleep Log:  Kelly recorded a Sleep Log entry today. The Sleep ISS-12 experiment monitors ambient light exposure and crew member activity and collects subjective evaluations of sleep and alertness.  The investigation examines the effects of space flight and ambient light exposure on sleep during a year-long mission on the ISS.   Veg-01 Anomaly:  Kelly refilled the Veg-01 plant pillows with water today.  He noted an unexpected growth on the plants and sent pictures for ground experts to evaluate.  In coordination with those experts he subsequently removed affected plant areas and double bagged and inserted them into a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for return to the ground.  He also increased the Veggie facility fan speed to compensate for extra moisture observed in the pillows and on the plants.  The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility.  For this run, Zinnias will be grown for 60 days and are expected to produce flowers.   Journals:  Kelly completed a Journals entry today. The Journals investigation obtains information on behavioral and human issues that are relevant to the design of equipment and procedures used by astronauts during extended-duration missions. Study results provide information used in preparations for future missions to low-Earth orbit and beyond.   Cardio Ox:  Peake, with assistance from Kelly, collected blood pressure and ultrasound measurements of his carotid and brachial arteries for this Flight Day 15 Cardio Ox session.  The objective of Cardio Ox is to determine whether biological markers of oxidative and inflammatory stress are elevated during and after space flight and whether this results in an increased, long-term risk of atherosclerosis in astronauts. Twelve crewmembers will provide blood and urine samples to assess biomarkers before launch, 15 and 60 days after launch, 15 days before returning to Earth, and within days after landing. Ultrasound scans are obtained at the same time points and through 5 years after landing.   Habitability Video and Observations:  Kopra set up his iPad and recorded the first 10 minutes of his exercise session on Treadmill 2 (T2).  He narrated details such as hardware interface issues, volume needed to perform exercise, or other human factors concerns for set-up and task performance.  He documented additional observations on human factors and habitability from his last 3 to 4 days on the ISS. Topics may include any significant habitability related changes or improvements to the ISS Kopra has noticed since his previous time onboard the ISS.  Habitability assesses the relationship between crew members and their environment in order to better prepare for future long-duration spaceflights to destinations, such as near earth asteroids and Mars.  Observations recorded during 6 month and 1 year missions can help spacecraft designers determine how much habitable volume is required, and whether a mission’s duration impacts how much space crew members need.   Dose Tracker:  Kopra and Peake were unable to complete entries for medication tracking because both experienced issues with logging on to the Dose Tracker application that runs on an iPad.  Ground experts are working on troubleshooting procedures that are scheduled to be performed on Thursday.  This investigation documents the medication usage of crew members before and during their missions by capturing data regarding medication use during spaceflight, including side effect qualities, frequencies and severities. The data are expected to either support or counter anecdotal evidence of medication ineffectiveness during flight and unusual side effects experienced during flight. It is also expected that specific, near-real-time questioning about symptom relief and side effects will provide the data required to establish whether spaceflight-associated alterations in pharmacokinetics (PK) or pharmacodynamics (PD) is occurring during missions.   Human Research Facility (HRF)-2 Resupply:  Kopra restocked the HRF supply kits in the HRF2 rack in the Columbus module and remove expired limited life items.  He then took photographs of the kits for downlink.   Circadian Rhythms:  Peake configured and donned the Armband Monitor and Thermolab sensors and belt for his Flight Day 15 Circadian Rhythm session.  He will wear the monitors for 36 hours and then doff and download the data on Thursday.  Circadian Rhythms investigates the role of synchronized circadian rhythms, or the “biological clock,” and how it changes during long-duration spaceflight. Researchers hypothesize that a non-24-hour cycle of light and dark affects crewmembers’ circadian clocks. The investigation also addresses the effects of reduced physical activity, microgravity and an artificially controlled environment. Changes in body composition and body temperature, which also occur in microgravity, can affect crewmembers’ circadian rhythms as well. Understanding how these phenomena affect the biological clock will improve performance and health for future crewmembers.   Post-Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Activities:  Today, USOS crewmembers participated in an EVA #34 debrief with ground specialists to discuss details of yesterday’s EVA.  In addition, Kelly and Kopra deconfigured the US Airlock following EVA operations and prepared Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMU) and equipment for stowage.   Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Morning Inspection, Laptop RS1(2) Reboot RSS1,2 Reboot SLEEP – Filling in Questionnaire Morning Inspection, SM ПСС (Caution & Warning Panel) Test МО-8. HW Setup Body Mass Measurement CARDOX МО-8. Closeout ops Antivirus Scan Results Checkout on SSC Laptops and Report Daily Planning Conference (S-band) WRS – recirculation system tank fill On MCC Go Regeneration of absorption cartridge Ф2 of TCPU [БМП] Recharge […]

December 23, 2015 at 12:45AM
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2015年12月22日 星期二

For the first time ever, a Curiosity Mastcam self-portrait from Mars

In a remarkable and wholly unexpected gift to Curiosity fans, the rover has just taken the first-ever color Mastcam self-portrait from Mars.

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NASA's Next Mars Mission Delayed for Two Years

A problem with the French space agency's seismometer instrument will delay NASA's InSight Mars lander by two years.

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NASA Suspends 2016 Launch of InSight Mission to Mars, Media Teleconference Today

After thorough examination, NASA managers have decided to suspend the planned March 2016 launch of the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission. The decision follows unsuccessful attempts to repair a leak in a section of the prime instrument in the science payload.

December 22, 2015
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FAA Announces Landing Impact Statement Day After SpaceX Lands

FAA Finding of No Significant Impact: SpaceX Falcon Launch Vehicle Landings at Landing Complex-1 "... the FAA is announcing the availability of a FONSI, based on the analysis and findings of the U.S. Air Force's (USAF's) December 2014 Environmental Assessment...

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December solstice: Viewing Earth's seasonal shifts from space

It's fun to watch the seasons shift from space, and as of this year we have new ways to do that.

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NASA Will Not Be Launching InSight To Mars in 2016

Keith's note: NASA sources report that NASA SMD has decided to cancel the launch of Mars InSight in 2016 due to problems with the French seismometer. There is a design flaw in the instrument - one that prevents it...

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NASA Astronaut Tim Kopra on Dec. 21 Spacewalk


Expedition 46 Flight Engineer Tim Kopra on a Dec. 21, 2015 spacewalk, in which Kopra and Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly successfully moved the International Space Station's mobile transporter rail car ahead of Wednesday's docking of a Russian cargo supply spacecraft. via NASA http://ift.tt/1S8leHF

Hey! Wanna Be an Astronaut?

Ever dreamed of flying in space, floating by a window in a space station, watching the Earth slide past you at eight kilometers per second? Or maybe riding a Boeing capsule to an asteroid, or a SpaceX rocket to Mars?

Now you have a chance to quite literally make your dream a reality. NASA is hiring astronauts.

NASA is accepting applications for a new class of astronauts. Today, more new human spacecraft are in development in the United States (U.S.) than at any time in history, and future Astronaut Candidates will have the opportunity to explore farther in space than humans have ever been. 

Oh, that opening line. I hadn’t really thought of it in those terms, but it’s true. Boeing’s CST-100, SpaceX’s Dragon V2, and NASA’s own Orion capsule — all three are currently under development, and if they all wind up in production it will open a lot of chances to explore space*.

In my life I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a few of the people who have traveled to space. In my experience this most recent generation of astronauts has been comprised of some of the most intelligent, compassionate, driven, kind, and forward-thinking human beings our species has to offer. Set aside any hype, any mythos about them, and you are still left with a group who are a breed apart, an inspiration to what we can do when we strive for the stars.

It’s hard to say what lays ahead for NASA — plans change, governments priorities fluctuate, and random chance always plays its role — but it’s entirely possible that a young man or woman applying to be an astronaut in this round could be the first person to leave a footprint on Mars.

That, I think, is a dream worth trying to make happen.

My thanks to Reid Wiseman for alerting me to this; he knows of which he speaks.

* There are a lot of caveats here, of course, and my feelings about Orion are on record and haven’t changed. But even without it, in just a couple of years the ability available to NASA to launch humans into space will grow enormously.



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ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/21/15

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #34:  Kelly and Kopra performed an EVA to troubleshoot the starboard Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart and Mobile Transporter (MT).  The starboard CETA cart is linked to the side of the Mobile Transporter (MT), and its brake was engaged preventing MT movement.  Kelly released the brake and the MT was successfully commanded by Robotic Ground Controllers to translate to Worksite 4 where it was latched and mated.  In addition to the CETA cart task, Kelly and Kopra performed several get ahead activities.  Kelly routed Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA) 3 power and International Docking Adapter (IDA) ethernet cables along Node 1.  Kopra opened the Secondary Power Distribution Assembly (SPDA) doors for future Robotic operations, routed an ethernet cable for the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM), and retrieved a Scoop/D-Handle tool from a toolbox on the truss.  US Airlock Egress took place at 6:43am CST with ingress occurring at 9:59am CST, for a total EVA time of 3 hours 16 minutes.   62 Progress (62P) Launch:  62P successfully launched from the Baikonur, Kazakhstan Cosmodrome today at 2:44am CST.  The vehicle will perform a 34-orbit rendezvous, with docking scheduled for Wednesday December 23 at 4:31am CST.   Cognition:  Peake performed his Flight Day 6 session of the Cognition experiment today.  The Individualized Real-Time Neurocognitive Assessment Toolkit for Space Flight Fatigue (Cognition) investigation is a battery of tests that measure how spaceflight-related physical changes, such as microgravity and lack of sleep, can affect cognitive performance. Cognition includes ten brief computerized tests that cover a wide range of cognitive functions, and provides immediate feedback on current and past test results. The software used allows for real-time measurement of cognitive performance while in space.   Fine Motor Skills:  Kornienko completed a session of the Fine Motor Skills experiment today.  During the experiment he performed a series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet. This investigation is the first fine motor skills study to measure long-term microgravity exposure, different phases of microgravity adaptation, and sensorimotor recovery after returning to Earth gravity.   Space Headaches:   Peake completed his final Daily Space Headaches questionnaire today.  The daily questionnaires are scheduled for one week immediately after arrival of a new crewmember to the ISS.  Weekly questionnaires will be completed in subsequent weeks.  Headaches can be a common complaint during spaceflight. The Space Headaches experiment will provide information that may help in the development of methods to alleviate associated symptoms and improvement in the well-being and performance of crew members in space.     Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Reading Reminder for EVA In-Suit Light Exercise (ISLE) Preparation Morning Inspection. SM ПСС (Caution & Warning Panel) Test Inspection of СМ-У, РУ2, РУ4, РУ5 connectors on МНР-НС separator pump in АСУ behind panel 139 and line 5182-03 from Pretreat and Water Dispenser (ДКиВ) towards МНР in its transparent section. Fine Motor Skills Test Reminder RSS1,2 Reboot Reading CARDOX Reminder Reading Cognition Reminder Powerdown of HAM Radio in SM and Columbus CUCU Deactivation for US EVA Photo/TV EVA Camera Test and Transfer EVA – ISLE Prep Check MCC БМП (Micropurification Unit) Ф1 Cartridge Regeneration (initiation) Revitalization Subsystem (СОГС),  5.3, step 1, p. 5-3 (64) Vacuum cleaning of ПФ1, ПФ2 dust filters and screens of [В1], [В2] fans in DC1 Cargo Transfer from Soyuz 719 with IMS Update IAS EVA Communication Configuration EVA – ISLE Prep Fine Motor Skills – Subject Virus Definition File Update on Auxiliary Computer System Laptops PILOT-Т. Preparation for Experiment Session EMU Purge PILOT-Т. Experiment Session ISLE EMU Prebreathe Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation Crewlock Depress Crewlock Post Depress Crewlock Egress Station Support Computer (SSC) 22 USB Reseat CETA Cart / Mobile Transporter Troubleshooting Station Support Computer (SSC) 22 Reboot PILOT-Т. Closeout Ops SM Fan System Maintenance. Group [В1] CALCIUM. Photo and Placement of Bioecologia Cases. Photo Downlink СОЖ Maintenance Crewlock Ingress EVA Glove Photo Setup Crewlock Pre Repress Internal Audio Subsystem (IAS) Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Communication Deconfiguration Crewlock Repress Exercise data D/L via OCA Post-EVA Activities Photo/TV Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Camera Disassembly EVA Glove Photo Downlink COGN – Experiment Ops and Questionnaire Completion SHD – Daily Questionnaire Relocate PBAs for upcoming EVA check MCC БМП (Micropurification Unit) Ф1 Cartridge Regeneration (termination) Reading Reminder Preparation for Virus Scan on Auxiliary Computer System Laptops Reading HABIT Reminder Reading Reminder Reading Habitability Reminder Reading CARDOX Reminder Installation of inserts to ease opening of SM interior panel locks (Unstow Элементы конструкции (Structural Elements) kit (004890R), ФГБ1ПГО_4_427_1, СТВ No.1112 (004106J) Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos Web Site and Social Media ECON-M. Observation and Photography URAGAN. Observation and Photography Video Recording for All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (ВГТРК) IMS Delta File Prep   Completed Task List Items None   Ground Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. EVA Support MT Translation   Three-Day Look Ahead: Tuesday, 12:22:  Cardox, EVA Debrief, Ocular Health, Circadian Rhythms Wednesday, 12/23:  62P Docking, OCT Exams, EMU Loop Scrubs, SSU Test Setup Thursday, 12/24:  Ultrasound 2 Scan, Circadian Rhythms, NeuroMapping   QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:                               Component Status Elektron Off Vozdukh Manual [СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) Off [СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) On Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab Standby Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 Operate Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab Idle Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 Operate Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) Process Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) Standby Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab Full Up Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 Off  

December 22, 2015 at 12:40AM
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NASA Administrator Statement on Japan Announcement of Support for International Space Station Through 2024

Statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Japan's Dec. 22 announcement to continue its support for the International Space Station through at least 2024.

December 22, 2015
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2015年12月21日 星期一

What If We Used Reusable Falcon Heavys To Go To Mars?

Trying to picture what it would cost to use reusable Falcon rockets to send humans to Mars Vs multiple SLS rockets at $1billion+ each.— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) December 22, 2015 @NASAWatch Over the life of SLS, it'll cost NASA...

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SN Refsdal: The First Predicted Supernova Image


It's back. Never before has an observed supernova been predicted. The unique astronomical event occurred in the field of galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+2223. Most bright spots in the featured image are galaxies in this cluster. The actual supernova, dubbed Supernova Refsdal, occurred just once far across the universe and well behind this massive galaxy cluster. Gravity caused the cluster to act as a massive gravitational lens, splitting the image of Supernova Refsdal into multiple bright images. One of these images arrived at Earth about ten years ago, likely in the upper red circle, and was missed. Four more bright images peaked in April in the lowest red circle, spread around a massive galaxy in the cluster as the first Einstein Cross supernova. But there was more. Analyses revealed that a sixth bright supernova image was likely still on its way to Earth and likely to arrive within the next year. Earlier this month -- right on schedule -- this sixth bright image was recovered, in the middle red circle, as predicted. Studying image sequences like this help humanity to understand how matter is distributed in galaxies and clusters, how fast the universe expands, and how massive stars explode. via NASA http://ift.tt/1NItoRO

SpaceX Sticks the Landing!

Tonight — Dec. 21, 2015, at 13:49 UTC — space history was made. For the first time the first stage of a rocket came back from helping boost a payload to orbit and landed vertically back at the launch site.

The private company SpaceX achieved this incredible milestone. And it was really amazing to watch live (scroll to the 40:20 time mark if the video doesn’t go there automatically):

WOW. I watched this on the SpaceX live feed, and my heart was pounding like a tympani (hearing hundreds of SpaceX employees cheering wildly only added to the suspense). By landing the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket successfully, SpaceX can refurbish it and prepare it for another launch, saving a lot of money on launch costs.

One of the major goals CEO Elon Musk had for SpaceX was to lower launch costs, making it easier to get into space. Today, that goal was achieved. Even sweeter: This was the first Falcon 9 flight after one in June which failed catastrophically, with the entire payload (supplies for the space station) lost.

OK, let me back up a bit. Tonight’s launch had the primary goal of placing 11 ORBCOMM satellites into orbit. The launch was originally set for Dec. 20, but Musk delayed it a day because the weather looked more favorable tonight to re-land the booster.

Liftoff was right on time, 20:33 Eastern time (01:33 UTC). The first stage burn went nominally, and separated cleanly from the upper stage. While the upper stage continues on to carry the satellites into orbit, the first stage — which saved a little bit of fuel from the launch — flipped around and performed a burn to slow down. Without the upper stage, and minus most of the fuel it had at liftoff, it weighed only a fraction of its launch weight, so it didn’t take nearly as much fuel to slow down and reverse course to head back to Cape Canaveral.

Cold jets oriented it correctly, and the engine reignited to begin to slow its descent. Four huge landing struts deployed, then, at T+9:44, the moment of truth: It set down safely at Landing Zone 1, the landing pad that was once a launch site of its own in Florida.

Amazing.

Minutes later, the 11 ORBCOMM satellites were successfully deployed into orbit, and both the primary and secondary goals of the launch were achieved — a complete success. Incidentally, the second stage saved a bit of fuel as well. It was set to perform a burn to de-orbit itself, and will burn up over the Indian Ocean to prevent it from becoming just another piece of space junk to deal with in orbit. When I hear about that I'll update this post.

Let me put this in some perspective. SpaceX has been testing vertical landings for several years time with its Grasshopper rocket series, which reached a maximum height of about a kilometer (0.6 miles) off the ground. Then, in November 2015, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket company successfully sent its New Shepard rocket into space (past the agreed-upon 100-km-high definition of space) and landed it again vertically back at the launch site, the first time that had ever been done.

Tonight, after the SpaceX booster landed again at the Cape, Bezos tweeted:

That’s nice, but also a little unfair. He specifically called the booster “suborbital”, equating it to the New Shepard. However what SpaceX did was far more technically difficult. The New Shepard went straight up and down, with no sideways velocity. The Falcon 9 first stage was moving eastward very rapidly, about 6,000 kph (3,600 mph). It had to slow, come back west, and then land. And mind you, it also successfully boosted the second stage with the payload of 11 satellites as well. What Blue Origin did was fantastic, but nothing like what happened tonight with SpaceX.

I’ll note that after the New Shepard flight, Bezos and Musk exchanged a series of snarky tweets that were funny, but appeared to have more than a bit of competition fueling them as well.

So, what’s next? The Falcon 9 first stage will now be thoroughly checked to see what damage it took and what it will take to clean it up and reuse it. Eventually, this will be a less expensive and faster process than building one from scratch. So in a sense, this test isn’t over: Once a booster is re-used, then it will show that the next step in spaceflight has been truly achieved (much like, in a historical sense, the second flight of the Space Shuttle was just as important as the first).

Nothing is ever routine when it comes to space, so while this was a big step, many more lie ahead. SpaceX has more Falcon 9 launches (and booster landings) scheduled, and will hopefully test its massive Falcon Heavy next year; this is essentially three Falcon 9s strapped together, and will have a higher lift capacity than any other rocket on Earth. It’s designed from the ground up to carry humans into space.

It won’t be human-rated for some time, and in the meantime SpaceX has an order from NASA to send a crew of astronauts to the International Space Station in 2017. Boeing has two orders for crewed launches, using its new CST-100 capsule. It’s unclear who will launch first.

Either way, this is all great news. Two companies are competing to make access to space less expensive and more reliable, and a third, Blue Origin, is making big strides in crewed suborbital launches. It’s been a while — July 21, 2011 — since an American rocket brought humans to space, but the time is soon coming when we’ll be doing it again.

Congratulations to everyone at SpaceX. You earned this.

Postscript: I wrote about Musk, SpaceX, and the goal of putting humans on Mars after a trip to the SpaceX factory earlier this year. That will put this launch into perspective as well.



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Bezos Knocks SpaceX For Something Bezos Has Not Done Yet

Congrats @SpaceX on landing Falcon's suborbital booster stage. Welcome to the club!— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) December 22, 2015 Gee Jeff @SpaceX just put a bunch of stuff into orbit - again. Something you have yet to figure out how...

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SpaceX Falcon 9 Returns to Flight, Sticks Landing at Cape Canaveral

SpaceX returned its Falcon 9 rocket to flight with flair tonight, successfully deploying 11 communications satellites after returning the rocket's first stage to Cape Canaveral for an upright landing.

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SpaceX Lands First Stage Back on Earth

The Falcon 9 first stage landing is confirmed. Second stage continuing nominally. http://pic.twitter.com/RX2QKSl0z7— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 22, 2015...

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Background on Tonight's Launch

A lot about how things work in space is counter-intuitive, as all of our intuition is gained from daily experiences where the air is thick, gravity doesn't seem to change and movement is relatively slow. We do see lots of movies about space, but, unless you're watching an IMAX documentary, they vary from slightly wrong, like The Martian (good movie!), to mostly absurdly wrong, like Red Planet (don't watch this, it will hurt your brain), which also doesn't help intuition.

​Gravity Never Stops



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Pluto updates from AGU and DPS: Pretty pictures from a confusing world

Pluto is reluctant to give up its secrets. Last week at the American Geophysical Union meeting I attended sessions featuring results from the New Horizons mission, and most of the presentations could be summed up thusly: the data sets are terrific, but there are still a lot of Pluto features that have scientists scratching their heads.

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NASA Reaches New Heights in 2015

In 2015, NASA explored the expanse of our solar system and beyond, and the complex processes of our home planet, while also advancing the technologies for our journey to Mars, and new aviation systems as the agency reached new milestones aboard the International Space Station.

December 21, 2015
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Chandra Finds Remarkable Galactic Ribbon Unfurled


An extraordinary ribbon of hot gas trailing behind a galaxy like a tail has been discovered using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. via NASA http://ift.tt/1OGFdI6

Spacewalkers Unstick Cart ahead of Cargo Ship Arrival

NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra successfully completed a spacewalk to free a stuck Mobile Transporter cart outside the International Space Station.

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Something for Everyone: A Solstice, Tonight!

At 04:48 UTC tomorrow morning (or 21:48 tonight Eastern US time), the Earth’s north polar axis will be tipped as far away from the Sun as it will be all year. This means the Sun will reach its most southern position on the sky. It also means we have the day with the least amount of daylight in it*, and the longest night.

In other words, it’s the winter solstice (or, out of respect for southern hemisphereans, the December solstice).

I described this in some detail last year at this time, so if you want more info, check that out.

But, there’s something I want to note: You’d think that if the amount daylight is shortest on the solstice, then you’d have the latest sunrise and earliest sunset, right? But actually, it’s a bit more complicated than that.

For example, in Boulder, the earliest sunset already happened, sometime around Dec. 8 or so, when it set at 4:36 p.m. But the latest sunrise still hasn’t happened yet: That’ll be around Jan. 4 of next year.

This is true everywhere in the northern hemisphere, though the exact numbers and dates depend on your latitude. But it’s caused by two things: The Earth’s axis is tilted, and the Earth’s orbit isn’t a perfect circle. These two situations interact in an unusual and not necessarily intuitive way, changing the dates of the latest sunrise and earliest sunset by a week or so around the December solstice. I wrote a post describing it a while back, and of you want even more details, go to analemma.com and poke around; that’s a fun website (if you’re an astronomy dork, as — duh — I am).

As it happens, in Boulder on the solstice, it turns out daylight lasts about 9 hours and 20 minutes today. Compare that to the summer (June) solstice when daylight is just over 15 hours! That might seem a little bleak, but think of it this way: Every day, from now until June 20 (the summer/June solstice) the days get a bit longer, and night a bit shorter (get the times for your own location here). That’s why ancient peoples celebrated this day; it meant the worst (as far as least daylight) was behind them. 

That sounds like a fine basis for celebration to me! Even though I’m an astronomer, and I like long nights, it’s nice to see the Sun sometimes too.

* Some people say we have the shortest day, but that word is ambiguous; do they mean amount of daylight or the time it takes the Earth to spin once? That’s why I phrased it as I did above. Also? One day/night cycle has the technical name of nycthemeron, a word I love.



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