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Sunday, March 7, 2021
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NASA Pledges to Explore More ‘Uncharted, Promising Worlds’

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Jupiter moons Io and EuropaNASA Juno probe has been placed on an orbit around Jupiter earlier this month and the first high-resolution images are slated to reach us in late August. But the space agency recently said that there are more “uncharted, promising worlds” out there which it is eager to explore.

Jim Green, head of the NASA Planetary Division said in a recent interview that the latest mission to Jupiter was an example of “extraordinary science” that can be picked just around our cosmic backyard.

“There are many uncharted, promising worlds and objects we are eager to explore with our current and future missions,”

Green also said.

NASA is now building a space observatory designed not only to spot distant objects in distant galaxies but also faint objects within our own Solar System. The James Webb Space Telescope (in short, Webb telescope), which will be launched in October 2018, is expected to provide scientists with much more accurate images of space objects and it is equipped with tools that can produce both spectral and angular imagery.

The Webb telescope is so sensitive that it can provide hints on the geological activity on distant worlds.

Juno probe is expected to analyze the gas giant’s atmosphere, structure and moons. NASA researchers are intrigued with Jupiter’s moon Io which is currently the most geologically active known object in the Solar System. There are signs of intense volcanism on the small moon’s surface.

Furthermore, NASA is now planning a $30 million mission to another Jupiter moon, Europa. Reportedly a solar-powered orbiter will perform up to 45 close flybys of the moon and seek more evidence on a subsurface liquid ocean scientists have long theorized.

NASA/ESA’s veteran space telescope Hubble has captured unprecedented data on Jupiter’s auroras and largest moon Ganymede. Scientists now believe that Ganymede may host saltwater on its surface. Hubble should remain functional 5 more years and provide one-of-a-kind science.

NASA’s Cassini probe will keep collecting data on Saturn and its moons as it has done for more than a decade. The space craft is expected to end its mission next year with 22 plunges through the tight space between the planet and its famed rings. The 22 dives, dubbed the Grand Finale will represent a separate mission which should yield unique scientific insights.

In September, NASA will launch a sample return mission dubbed OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer). OSIRIS-REx is expected to take rock samples from a near-Earth asteroid called Benu and return them to our planet in seven years’ time.

Image Source: Wikimedia

New Horizons Given the Green Light for another Kuiper Belt Flyby

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Ring of cosmic debris around star VegaNASA said Friday that it would extend New Horizons mission, which made history in 2015 with the humanity’s first-ever flyby of dwarf planet Pluto, deeper into the Kuiper Belt.

New Horizons probe is now on the course to reach another object in the Belt called 2014 MU69. The probe is expected to reach its destination on Jan. 1, 2019.

Jim Green, senior planetary scientist at NASA said that the scientific data beamed back by the tiny probe continues to surprise scientists worldwide to this day. Green added Friday, when he broke the news of a mission extension, that the mission team was excited over the new chance to explore the dark rims of the solar system.

He noted that scientists were not aware of MU69’s existence when New Horizons was launched ten years ago. MU69 was first detected in 2012 by the Hubble space observatory.

So far, scientists know only its location, about 930 million miles beyond dwarf planet Pluto, and its diameter, about 28 miles. The team also suspects that the icy space rock may be as old as the solar system, so it could provide useful clues on the “building blocks” of the system.

Mission scientists explained that because objects located within the Kuiper Belt, also known as KBOs, are located so far from the sun, they spent so many years in the deep freeze that they could provide an accurate snapshot of what the solar system might have looked like in its early days.

On Friday, NASA also announced that the Dawn probe will continue to orbit dwarf planet Ceres in the main belt. Ceres is about to reach perihelion, or its closes point to the sun, which could spur unprecedented scientific data.

NASA initially planned to move Dawn to another asteroid within the belt called Adeona.But in the meantime, it reached the conclusion that the data Ceres may provide this year may be a lot more significant than an Adeona flyby.

This week, NASA announced modifications or extensions to seven more missions across the solar system. NASA extended the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, the Curiosity rover and Opportunity Mars missions, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, the Mars Odyssey orbiter mission, and an effort to help the ESA reach the Red Planet.

Image Source: Wikimedia

Rocket To Mars Booster In Final NASA Tests

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Solid Rocket Booster for SLS will be tester June 28th.

The rocket booster will burn through 720 tons of solid fuel in 2 minutes.

On Tuesday, June 28th, in northern Utah NASA and Orbital ATK will be performing final tests on their completed and operational new solid rocket booster. It is currently the largest existing model in the world.

The solid rocket booster is 177 feet (54 meters) long and its design consists of five segments. The fifth segment is what adds to the booster’s length as all previous solid rocket boosters had four segments. The four-segment boosters were successfully used for three decades.

The fifth segment was added in order to ensure that the rocket can safely travel to distant locations, in the current case that being Mars.

Testing will occur at Orbital ATK’s Promontory. The burn test will last for two minutes, in which dozens of factors of the solid rocket booster will be verified.

The Qualification Motor 2 will be tested while laying on its side. A proportionally large block of concrete will be holding it in place throughout the trial period. A climate-controlled stand housing will also be used for the simulation. The booster’s flight computer has also been optimized to simulate a genuine rocket launch.

NASA has stated that during the two-minute testing duration, over 530 instrumentation channels will be gathering data at the same time and measuring the appointed 82 design objectives.

Polybutadiene acrylonitrile propellant also referred to as PBAN, will be the fuel used during the testing. With the fuel being present in a solid-grain state, the booster will burn through 6 tons of PBAN every second.

Solid-state fuel is more efficient than liquid state fuel when it comes to rockets, but it does come with several caveats. One of them is that solid fuels alone cannot be used to throttle the propulsion.

The five segments of the boosters are designed to have varying amounts of fuel space, which results in different burn times of each segment. The various burn times are what will throttle propulsion, making the purpose of each segment similar to the speed gears on a car.

In order for the PBAN to remain solid and offer the trials optimal conditions, the booster has to keep an interior temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 degrees Celsius). Once ignited, in a matter of milliseconds, the fuel’s temperature will spike to approximately 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit (3315.5 degrees Celsius). This temperature will almost be as incendiary as the surface of the Sun, which burns at about 6,700 degrees Fahrenheit.

After all the qualifications are met, the new solid rocket booster design will be used with the Space Launch System. NASA’s newest heavy-lift rocket is currently planned to reach for the stars in 2018.

Image Courtesy of Wikipedia.

NASA Finds A Mini Moon Orbiting Earth For A Century

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NASA discovered that a Mini Moon has been timidly orbiting Earth for close to a century

The Mini Moon, or Asteroid 2016 HO3, will be orbiting Earth for centuries.

NASA announced that they have identified an asteroid which has been orbiting around our planet for close to a century. Although it was only discovered this year, on April 27th, NASA scientists were able to backtrack the presence of this new Mini Moon around Earth.

Although its official name is Asteroid 2016 HO3, the name Mini Moon currently fits it all too well. It was discovered by the Pan-STARRS 1, an asteroid survey telescope located in Hawaii.

Mini Moon measures between 120 feet (36.5 meters) and 300 feet (91.5 meters). Mini Moon is 66,000 times smaller than the Moon.

The asteroid was initially attracted to the Sun’s gravity, orbiting around it at approximately the same distance as the Earth was. Asteroid 2016 HO3 was then also attracted to our planet’s gravitational pull. Mini Moon has been revolving around the Sun and the Earth ever since.

Apart from its minute size, NASA was not able to identify Asteroid 2016 HO3 as a quasi-satellite sooner because of its unique movement pattern.

Ever since Mini Moon started orbiting the Sun, it has been doing decade-long back-and-forth twists. Half of its orbit puts it between the Earth and the Sun while the other half of the time, it is farther from the Sun.

The closest Mini Moon has ever gotten to Earth was 38 times the Earth-to-Moon distance, and the farthest was 100 times the Earth-to-Moon distance.

2016 HO3’s orbit around the Earth is also slightly tilted, making it bob up or down each year as part of Earth’s orbit.

NASA believes that Earth’s quasi-satellite will orbit the planet for centuries to come as it cannot currently tear itself away entirely from Earth’s gravitational pull.

The chances of Asteroid 2016 HO3 colliding with another body are minimal as well as the satellite is far too small.

Over a decade ago, NASA had previously identified another asteroid, 2013 YN107, which found itself in Earth’s gravitational pull. That was no Mini Moon, however, as it did not stay in orbit of the Earth for too long.

NASA will be keeping an eye on the asteroid from now on in order to further observe its unique orbital patterns.

Paul Chodas, the manager of NASA;s Center for Near-Earth Objects, referred to the orbital movements of Mini Moon as a dance or a game of leapfrog. He also stated that the asteroid will be Earth’s companion for centuries to come.

Image is an artistic representation, Courtesy of DeviantArt.

Martian Resources for 2030 Colonization

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"Martian resources"

Mars’ surface. Martian Resources

NASA’s plans for the 2030 Mars human landing are being bolstered by Martian resources, new tools, and technologies used to sustain astronauts on the red planet.

NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Directorate is considering what science experiments will be conducted upon landing and the conditions in which they will be performed.

Many experts are pushing for a new Mars orbiter to launch. If approved, this next-generation orbiter might go out as soon as 2022. It would be an orbiter with advanced telecommunications, a much powerful radar, and electric propulsion.

A telecommunication orbiter is currently under construction, although there is no official mission planned for 2022.

Last year scientists proposed approximately 50 Mars locations for the future landing.

People need perfect touchdown sites for landing and carrying out operations. A good site will also provide Martian resources for the new explorers to use. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is on its new mission called HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) to take new pictures of the elected landing zones.

Any of these 50 locations must allow astronauts access to least 110 tons of water.

Last month NASA made public the Mars Water In-Situ Resource Utilization Planning Study (ISRU) report which looks into ways the exploration crew could tap into water resources on Mars.

Water on Mars would be utterly transformative for the planet. It would provide drinking sources and crops cultivation; it would offer processed breathable air and oxygen to propel vehicles.

The report has ruled the extraction of water from Mars’ atmosphere out because of the immense complexity of such a system. Being a reconnaissance mission, this approach would go beyond this a practical deployment.

They would need mass, power, volume and complex mechanics. With Mars’s density of water being so low, “it would take a massive processing system” said Richard Davis, assistant director of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

But a possible water extraction method would be mining Mars for ice deposits. The method implies drilling a hole, vaporizing surface ice, bringing the stuff up as a gas and condensing it into liquid.

What they want is to make the Martian resources and environment work for us, not against us.

There are many technical problems to consider when approaching the Martian resources for future explorations (like the mass and power of the equipment required), but for NASA’s assistant director David, what will make this colonization possible in the year 2030 will the people’s belief in it.

Image source: Vimeo

White House’s National Microbiome Initiative

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"National Microbiome Initiative"

National Microbiome Initiative. Scanning electron micrograph of Escherichia coli

The White House has just launched a new scientific mission, a research program called The National Microbiome Initiative where scientists will go into a deeper analysis of the microbes shaping life on Earth.

This is part of a federal effort to eliminate and fight disease, safely grow food and, of course, contribute to the reduction of the greenhouse climate change effects.

The National Microbiome Initiative or “cross-ecosystem microbiome studies” program will be funded $121 million for what is left of this year and for the next year.

A variety of disciplines will come together to form the research for this program. This includes research from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy.

The studies will come from human, animal, soil, water and air microbes.

Studies done so far show a number of approximately 10 trillion bacteria (amongst which are the typical yeast and fungi) live inside and on the skin of humans.

Bacteria has helped create and model life on the planet. Because of its activity we live and we can die and decay. It considerably affects our life and all life on Earth.

Scientists believe modern life may have negatively modified the balance of the ancient bacteria, leading to chronic disease such as obesity, diabetes, allergies, autism and so on.

The widespread use of antibiotics combined with our deficient diet has led to the death of good bacteria and the survival and stronger regrowth of harmful bacteria.

An effect of the abnormal use of antibiotics is the infection called C. difficile which is currently being experimentally treated with fecal transplants. In this procedure, stool from healthy individuals is being transferred to C. difficile infected person’s colon in an attempt to make good bacteria fight the one spreading the infection.

This is all still experimental, and the National Microbiome Initiative plans to conduct more of these studies to eventually develop more effective medicine, more fertile soils, even fight crime.

The need to map the microbes around us is evident, and the National Microbiome Initiative will help us “humans address some of the most pressing issues of our time,” says Martin Blaser, director of the Human Microbiome Program at Langone Medical Center of the New York University.

Image source: NIH

NASA’s Asteroid-Hunting Spacecraft Detects 72 New Near Earth Objects

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'NEOWISE'

Artist’s rendition of NASA’s NEOWISE spacecraft.

NASA has recently released two years’ worth of Near-Earth Object observations. According to the agency, its Near-Earth Object Wide-field Survey Explorer, in short NEOWISE, has identified 493 Near Earth Objects (NEOs) since December 2013, when the mission was resumed. Of these objects, 72 are completely new.

NEOs are comets, asteroids, and other space rocks that were pulled out from the Asteroid Belt by the gravitation of giant planets and set on an orbit that brings them close to Earth. Some of these rocks need permanent scrutiny because they can become a threat to our planet.

NASA scientists said that eight of the NEOs found last year are ‘potentially hazardous asteroids.’ Researchers give asteroids such description based on the space bodies’ size and orbital proximity to Earth.

NEOWISE observatory’s main goal is to detect, monitor, and describe comets and asteroids that enter Earth’s neighborhood. Since Dec. 2013, the probe has detected over 19,000 space rocks in infrared. NASA and California Institute of Technology (Calltech) have released a short clip with the comets and asteroids the mission has tracked.

James Bauer, NEOWISE mission’s lead investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explained that the probe’s data helped his team understand the source of NEOs whizzing past our planet. Some of NEOs originate in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter or stray comets.

NEOWISE had its debut in late 2009 with the moniker Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Two years later, the spacecraft was deemed inactive after it had completed its first mission. In Sept. 2013, the observatory came back to life as NEOWISE with a new mission: to help the U.S. space agency track space objects that may be dangerous to Earth. The mission also analyzes already known asteroid and comets to better understand their origin and composition.

NEOWISE uses infrared wavelengths in its mission, while ground telescopes that also hunt NEOs use visible-light wavelengths. Amy Mainzer, another NASA investigator involved in the mission, said that many NEOs are hundreds of meters wide.

Mission investigators reported that the asteroid-hunting orbiter has identified 250 new objects since 2013, of which 72 were classified as NEOs and four as new comets.

The mission has cost the U.S. 320 million and is expected to require an extra $5 million every year.

Image Source: Wikimedia

Ice Build-Up on Pluto’s ‘Heart’ May Have Tipped the Planet Over

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'Dwarf Planet Pluto'

According to a new theory, nitrogen ice build-up on Pluto’s ‘Heart’ might have shifted the planet’s axis.

Scientists claim that the dwarf planet’s heart-shaped impact basin known as Tombaugh Regio dragged the icy world into a new position in the distant past. Researchers also said that the planet’s ‘Heart’ may be still slowly pushing the frozen world into a different position nowadays too.

Scientists explained that The Heart is covered in a thick layer of frozen nitrogen which makes the region denser than the rest of the planet. This aspect paired with the gravitational pull of Pluto’s largest moon Charon led to a new orientation for the dwarf planet.

The findings were unveiled last week during the Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference.

Planetary scientists speculate that Sputnik Planum, a region located in the western parts of Tombaugh Regio, is a former crater that is currently filled with tons of frozen nitrogen. Researchers explained that due to its tilted axis, Pluto’s poles are exposed to more sunlight while other regions are shrouded in darkness.

In these regions, nitrogen condenses over the year, but as the planet moves around the sun nitrogen ice and other condensed gases regain their gaseous form on one side and they condense on the other side of the tiny planet.

Scientists believe that as nitrogen turns into ice on The Heart, a thick layer of a hundred meters emerges and starts to influence the planet’s orientation. According to the team, the excess mass wants to migrate to the equator which can tip the planet over in the process.

The team used data provided by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft during its historic flyby of Pluto on July 14, 2015 to create the computer models that have revealed the new theory.

Scientists simulated Sputnik Planum and its influence on the planet’s axis as it builds up more ice. The models showed that the dwarf planet’s poles are still shifting and so does its spin axis.

Study investigators noted that Pluto is far from being a cold dead world as they had assumed before the flyby. New data shows that it is a highly active world on a geological level.

‘That’s different from most other planets and moons in our solar system.’

said James Tuttle Keane, senior researcher involved in the analysis and PhD candidate at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, AZ.
Image Source: Wikimedia

February Smashes Monthly World Temperature Record

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"Sad Earth"

Our planet becomes increasingly warmer, with a new monthly temperature record just having been smashed in February.

Last month’s temperature leap of 1.35 degrees C was the highest in modern history, scientists report. Experts deemed the latest temperature spike a “shocker,” while they also cautioned that we may be in the midst of a “climate emergency.”

According to NASA, February saw the highest temperature spike in a century as the month was 1.35 degrees C warmer than its long-term mean temperature, i.e. the one calculated for the 1951-1980 period. Scientists described the rise as both “unprecedented” and “stunning.”

The recent record shattered a previous one set in January, which saw a temperature spike of 1.15 degrees C.

“Nasa dropped a bombshell of a climate report,”

wrote two weather experts from Weather Underground, Bob Henson and Jeff Masters.

The two researchers were shocked by the sudden jump of 0.21 degrees C in the average monthly temperature from January to February. The team described the leap “extraordinary,” saying that the result was a “true shocker.”

Henson and Masters added that we are heading at a “frightening pace” towards the worst-case-scenario of the 2 degree rise in global temperatures above pre-industrial levels. According to the December climate summit, that threshold should by no means be passed, as the limit is critical for climate change.

World leaders are currently setting in place strategies to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C. The effects of global warming can be observed as years go by. For instance, last year broke the record for the warmest year since records began in 1850.

Experts currently expect this year to set a new record, as well. If that happens, the yearly temperature record will have been shattered three straight years.

Prof Stefan Rahmstorf, head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies could only say “wow” when he saw the new record. He noted that while we may not be aware of it, we must be in a “climate emergency.”

Bob Ward, a climate scientist at the London School of Economics’ Research Institute on Climate Change, deemed the spike “worrying.” He couldn’t help but noting that since October each month was warmer than any prior month.

Ward believes that this is a clear sign that we are approaching the 2 degrees C limit. He explained that beyond that limit the effects of global warming will be probably “very dangerous.”

Yet, some scientists think that the recent temperature records may be partially due to an El Niño event, which was described as the strongest in the last 18 years.

Image Source: Flickr

New Horizons Takes Rare Glimpse at Pluto’s Snow-capped Mountain Range

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"Pluto’s planes"

Artist’s impression of Pluto’s methane-covered planes.

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has recently spotted an “exotic” snow-capped mountain range just like on Earth, except that the “snow” on Pluto is actually atmospheric methane that has morphed into ice onto the frigid mountaintops.

NASA scientists said that the mountains are located in the south-eastern part of a 1,850 mile-long and 450-mile-wide region called Cthulhu. The region is so vast that it covers nearly half of the planet’s equator. In the east, the region meets the large system of nitrogen ice plains called the Sputnik Planum.

Cthulhu is dotted by mountains ranges, cracks, and craters, having an intriguing geology. The newly discovered snowcapped mountain range is located between several craters. Each mountain is separated by steep-sided valleys.

New Horizons could easily spot the mountain peaks because their color is in a stark contrast with Cthulhu’s dark reddish plains. Researchers estimate that the snow-like material is condensed methane.

They noticed that only the upper regions of the peaks are covered in the bright methane ice just like ice on our planet condenses at high altitudes. New Horizons team could detect the snow-capped mountains in an image provided by the spacecraft’s Ralph/Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The image covers 2,230 feet for every pixel.

The probe snapped the photo from a 21,100-mile distance above Pluto, about an hour before its historic flyby of the dwarf planet on July 14, 2015.

In February, New Horizons team reported another intriguing finding. Scientists detected huge chunks of water ice ‘floating’ in a frozen nitrogen sea on the planet. The iceberg-like features were spotted in the Sputnik Planum.

The discovery filled scientists with hope that they could find more water ice on Pluto and even a liquid sea. NASA team noted that the new discoveries are another example of how geologically diverse Pluto really is.

Scientists explained that water ice can ‘float’ in an area filled with frozen nitrogen because water ice is less dense than nitrogen ice. So, the mile-long chunks of water ice can move across the surface of a nitrogen sea just like icebergs do on our planet.

According to NASA researchers, Pluto’s crust is mainly made of water ice, but as seasons change more types of ice emerge such as methane ice. Spectral imagery has show that large areas including Sputnik Planum have little water ice content.

This means that the area may be covered with more volatile ices that can prevent the spectral signature of water ice from reaching New Horizons’ instruments.
Image Source: Flickr

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