NASA •

Juno Reached Jupiter Last Night

July 5, 2016 By John Birks

NASA’s spacecraft, Juno reached Jupiter last night and placed itself in the orbit of the gas giant. The satellite will collect information about the sixth planet from the Sun until 2018 when it will throw itself into the deadly gaseous atmosphere.

Yesterday NASA headquarters looked like a scene from a science fiction movie when the stranded team of astronauts makes it back home safe. After 35 tense minutes of engine burn, while the spacecraft was positioning itself on Jupiter’s atmosphere, papers flew into the air, and the ground team started cheering as Juno reached its destination.

The stakes were high with this maneuver because if the engine decided to malfunction, then the spacecraft would have floated past Jupiter and on to open space without any chances of retrieval.

The entire mission was not problem-free. Just as Juno reached Jupiter last night, the autopilot function of the engine kicked on. The spacecraft was located in Juno’s belt at the moment, an area filled with electrons and intense radiation that could have seriously interfered with the navigation system.

“The more you know about the mission, you know just how tricky this maneuver was, and it had to be flawless,” Diane Brown, executive of the Juno program declared.

The principal investigator of the mission, Scott Bolton, declared that he let out a sigh of relief when the successful burn was registered.

“I really can’t put it into words. You imagine what it might feel like, but to actually have it, to know that we can all go to bed tonight not worrying about what’s going to happen tomorrow? It’s pretty awesome.”

The Juno mission, which costed around $1.1 billion, was launched in August 2011. Its principal aim is to map out the internal structure and composition of the gas giant.

By learning how the planet was made to be and how much water the atmosphere contains, the team members of the mission will find out how the planet took shape when the solar system was still forming.

Even though Juno reached Jupiter last night, the spacecraft will start studying the gas giant in late August. Until then, it will revolve in its 53-day orbit.

In August 2018, Juno is programmed to take a suicidal jump in the atmosphere of the gas giant.

Image source: YouTube

SpaceX Didn’t Manage to Land the Falcon 9 Smoothly

March 11, 2016 By Ryan Harris Leave a Comment

“Just follow the Instructions” is written on SpaceX’s landing pad in the ocean.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – After attempting to launch the reusable rocket a couple of times, SpaceX didn’t manage to land the Falcon 9 smoothly. The NASA-associated company has sixteen more launches scheduled for 2016.

Elon Musk’s space company managed to encounter any problem that could have been encountered, including an unidentified vehicle that trespassed the launching area at the second attempt of getting the reusable rocket in space.

But last week, the company succeeded in placing the communication satellite into orbit, and now there are a few Asian countries with better television, internet and mobile connection thanks to the relentless efforts of the team.

The five previous attempts at launching the rocket were affected by the liquid oxygen fuel that the spacecraft uses. The liquid was not cooling at the right temperature, so they had to replace it with something denser. Also, the bad weather played a significant role in the delay.

Even though the satellite is now up and running, the team didn’t complete the mission successfully because SpaceX didn’t manage to land the Falcon 9 smoothly. There is still a lot of work in the landing department.

The problem was that the rocket used a lot of fuel while carrying the satellite because it had to be placed in a high orbit, somewhere above the equator. Furthermore, the booster had to turn around and correct its course in order to be able to land on the drone ship.

The Falcon 9 eventually missed the boat, and the team believes that it fell somewhere in the ocean. They are still waiting for the telemetry from the Florida landing area in order to establish the exact current state of the rocket.

Even though the company managed to land one of its Falcon 9 rockets on land in December, there are still a lot of missions that require the recovery to be done at sea. This was one of them because the booster was obligated to travel to high orbit, consequentially coming down at a higher speed than usual.

SpaceX has 16 more launches scheduled for this year. The next mission on Musk’s list is a routine cargo delivery for the Space Station. The run is scheduled to take place in late March or, the beginning of April.

And even though SpaceX didn’t manage to land the Falcon 9 smoothly, the company will then try again to land the reusable rocket safely on the ocean platform.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

Hubble Photographed a Blue Nebula

February 29, 2016 By Matthew Slotkin Leave a Comment

The color of a blue nebula is given by the chemical composition of the surrounding cosmic cloud.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – NASA’s Hubble photographed a blue nebula cluster that resides roughly 30,000 light-years away. The photographs taken by NASA’s telescope are the most accurate pictures of a star that we have.

The WR31a star is, in fact, a Wolf-Rayet type nebula. These nebulae are usually ring-shaped, or even appear to be spherical. What is even more interesting about the latest Wolf-Rayet-type star that Hubble photographed is the fact that it is blue.

Researchers think that the unique color is given by the composition of the interstellar cloud that surrounds the star.

The material themselves don’t give the color, but their chemical composition filters the light emitted by the star and create the unique, blue effect.

The astronomers that studied the data collected by Hubble think that the interstellar cloud contains a high concentration of helium, hydrogen, and dust, especially carbon dust. This means that, apart from the noble gasses, the star is surrounded by diamond dust.

But it seems that every beautiful thing in the universe must ultimately suffer a terrible fate. According to the scientists, the stars that fall into the Wolf-Rayet category are short lived.

The nebulae usually have a short lifespan of just only a couple hundred thousand years. This is an insignificant amount of time in the overall age of the Universe.

By comparison, our Sun is approximately four billion years old and scientists believe that it’s going to be another four billion or so before it turns into a supernova.

Compared to our center of the solar system, the WR31a star is just a little baby.

But the beautiful nebula doesn’t just waste away after a couple hundred thousand years. The star usually goes supernova and the explosion fills the surrounding space with plenty of heavy elements that will prove very useful for the future star generations.

Astronomers believe that this type of beautiful short-lived nebulae are created by the interaction of fast-moving cosmic stellar winds with the hydrogen layers that the Wolf-Rayet type stars eject.

This particular nebula’s blue bubble is believed to have formed roughly 20000 years ago and it’s rapidly expanding. According to the researchers, the expansion rate of the surrounding bubble is of 220000 kilometers per hour.

Sooner rather than later the blue nebula that Hubble photographed will explode and its remains will be the basis of future stars formation.

NASA’s Hubble photographed a blue nebula and the mayfly of stars is as beautiful as a diamond in the rough.

Image source: www.pixabay.com

SpaceX Prepares for a Launch This Afternoon

February 28, 2016 By Ryan Harris Leave a Comment

SpaceX will launch its Falcon 9 reusable spacecraft this afternoon in Florida.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – After delaying the flight two times, SpaceX prepares for a launch this afternoon. Elon Musk’s space company will try to launch its Falcon 9 spacecraft so that it can deliver an SES-9 communication satellite.

SpaceX is actively trying to launch rockets into space and bring them back down safely. They are also attempting to create a landing system that keeps the rocket intact.

In the present moment, the engineers and technicians of the company are trying to land the rocket on a floating sea platform. When they will perfect the landing they will move to ground tests.

Earlier this year SpaceX tested a landing system based on specially-designed parachutes. The test was successful, but additional experiments and evaluations must be made before the Falcon 9 is equipped with the landing system.

Last week, Musk’s company tried to launch its reusable rocket in order to place an SES-9 communication satellite into orbit.

The satellite is meant to provide internet, mobile, and television services to roughly 20 Southeast Asian countries.

The first launch was delayed due to bad wheatear. The unfriendly meteorological conditions were not compatible with the launch, so they postponed it for Thursday.

But Thursday was a bad day for science, as the genius cartoon character would put it. Even though the wheatear was great, ideal actually for a launching, the decision to ground the rocket until further notice was taken minutes before the countdown.

According to the company, the launching team discovered that there were several problems with the loading of the liquid fuel needed to power up the rocket.

But three is a lucky number, the weather is great, the scientists are all rested up so maybe today will be the day that satellite is put into position.

SpaceX and SES have announced via Twitter that the launch will take place today, Sunday, the 28^th of February at 6:46 PM. The rocket will leave from the Air Force Cape Canaveral Station in Florida.

But since any respectable company has a backup plan for the second backup plan, there is another launch scheduled for Monday. Just in case, something goes wrong with the one scheduled for later today.

As SpaceX prepares for a launch this afternoon, billions of people in Southeast Asia are waiting for a proper internet, mobile and television service.

SpaceX is co-owned by engineer, economist, and millionaire Elon Musk. The charismatic inventor has been named the real-life Tony Stark that the planet needed.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

A Shorter Trip to Mars Is Theoretically Possible

February 25, 2016 By John Birks Leave a Comment

"NASA's experimental Enterprise spacecraft"

We are closer to warp technology than we thought, at least at a theoretical level.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – A physics professor demonstrated that a shorter trip to Mars is theoretically possible. According to the Philip Lubin who teaches at the University of California, a propulsion system based on laser technology could significantly shorten the voyage towards the Red Planet. Unfortunately, everything is still in pure theoretical form.

Professor Lubin is sure that a shorter trip to Mars is theoretically possible. But there is still a long way to go before he could prove his theories in practical experiments.

It’s no secret that NASA plans on sending a human expedition to the Red Planet by 2030. But with present technology the trip alone would last approximately five months. Besides, the mission would have to last at least two years given the fact that the planets align perfectly once every twenty-six months.

The technology that professor Lubin is proposing would take the astronauts there in only three days. The problem is that his idea is purely theoretical, yet.

The professor of physics and NASA scientist developed a system that would make use of laser technology instead of the traditional rocket fuel.

The advantages of such a propulsion method would be the fact that while lasers generate momentum and energy, they are void of mass. This means that the spacecraft would be significantly lighter in the absence of fuel and fuel reserves.

Furthermore, the spacecraft would not only be lighter but notably faster. The momentum force generated by laser technology could prove to be a highly efficient propulsion system that will shorten the trip from several months to several days.

Of course, this entire idea is purely theoretical. While the laser-powered spacecraft is not impossible to build, there are additional factors that must be taken into consideration.

For example, there is the twin paradox that could affect the members of the mission. According to it, if one twin goes to space and travels at a great speed, while the other remains on Earth, the latter will be significantly older when the first one returns.

This paradox was explained by several physicists over the years, including Albert Einstein and Max Born who invoked the concept of gravitational time dilation as the main reason for the decreased aging of the astronaut twin.

Of course, as the theory of relativity and the principle of time dilation, the twin paradox is just another theory. But it still raises some questions regarding the effects that such a high-speed journey could have on the astronauts.

For the moment, it seems that while a shorter trip to Mars is theoretically possible, NASA is still counting on “old-fashioned” rocket fuel to power up the 2030 expedition.

Image Source: www.wikimedia.org

Planet Nine’s Location Can Be Pinpointed

February 24, 2016 By Melissa Gansler Leave a Comment

Planet Nine’s orbit is believed to be at a great distance from the Sun.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – A team of French astronomers declared that Planet Nine’s location can be pinpointed if the Cassini extends its mission until 2020.

Planet Nine’s location can be pin-pointed, at least, that’s what a team of four French astronomers declared this Tuesday. They are certain that they could use the Cassini to determine the exact location of the mysterious planet.

At the end of this year, a team of astronomy researchers published a paper in which they declared that they have found the ninth planet of our solar system. And they didn’t re-discover Pluto.

The planet in question was never spotted by the researchers, but they approximated its presence and location from the way in which ice debris was moving in the Kuiper belt.

The general public was so excited about the discovery, that NASA had to release a video stating that the planet’s existence is till theoretical and they need further scientific proof, including a telescope image of the planet in order to declare it the official ninth planet of our solar system.

The French team that declared that Planet Nine’s location can be pinpointed is currently studying the data that the Cassini spacecraft sent back. NASA’s craft is currently orbiting Saturn.

Jaques Laskar, the co-author of the paper published in the Astrophysics and Astronomy journal declared that thy already removed two probable zones from the equation. They managed to do that by confronting the data provided by the computer analysis of the probable location with the information sent by NASA’s Cassini.

All they did was compare the two pieces of information. The data that did not conclude with the real images sent back by the aircraft was taken out of the calculation. Thus, the team of French scientists managed to reduce the searching are with approximately 50 percent.

Since Planet Nine is thought to revolve around the Sun at a very great distance, its gravitational effect on the other planets is virtually inexistent. That is why the astronomers must focus their attention on other details, like the elongated loop that it’s believed to form around the Sun or the strange movement that the ice objects display in the Kuiper belt.

Laskar’s team managed to reduce the searching area with almost 50 percent. But there is still a lot more ground to cover and mathematical predictions have almost always failed astronomers when it came to pinpointing the location of a new planet. The only time the method worked was when they discovered Neptune.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

Asteroid Art Show Might Be the New Thing

February 21, 2016 By John Birks Leave a Comment

In order to send your art to the asteroid you must create a piece that is space themed and then post it on Twitter or Instagram.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – An asteroid art show might be the new thing in art exhibitions. The only inconvenience is that the public is very, icy, and it’s actually just an asteroid. Also, the art will not be displayed, per se, but rather stored in a digital version on a memory drive that the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will leave on the asteroid’s surface.

If you think that an asteroid art-show might be the new thing, then all you have to do is create an art piece that is space-themed and upload it on Twitter tagging @OSIRISREx, or Instagram using the tag @OSIRIS_Rex. The photo must also be accompanied by the hashtag #WeTheExplorers.

The “Origins-Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolite Explorer” or, OSIRIS-REx, for short, spacecraft will be launched this April. The NASA craft will fly back to the asteroid Bennu. Its main mission is to collect samples from the asteroid’s surface and bring them back to Earth.

Scientists are impatient to get their hands on some asteroid samples because they think that many questions concerning the origin of life on the planet can be answered by studying the rogue space objects.

OSIRIS-REx’s secondary mission is to discard the art file on the asteroid where our artistic print will survive for millions of years.

NASA’s initiative of sending art files to an asteroid has nothing to do with the hopes that the files will be found someday by aliens. Extra-terrestrial beings who, only in Hollywood movies or Sci-Fi channel TV-shows, will have the technology of reading the data drive. And then decide that our planet’s art is far too precious for them not to put Earth on their vacation list.

There have been other times in which NASA sent art in the outer space. The first and most important piece of art was the Golden Record meant to show any alien space peers what a human sounds like. The problem with the disk it’s that it is a phonograph record. Not even the inhabitants of Earth can use such a piece of technology in modern days.

In 2014, there was a campaign centered on the same Bennu asteroid. The difference is that two years ago, NASA was encouraging people to add their names on the chip that was left on the asteroid in the previous mission.

An asteroid art show might be the new thing in artistic exhibitions. Sure, nobody will see your art on the actual asteroid, but you could gather some fans on Twitter or Instagram. Don’t forget about the #WeAreExplorers hashtag.

Image source: www.pixabay.com

Are You Really Ready to Go to Mars?

February 17, 2016 By Joe Hennessey Leave a Comment

"Mountain in Jordan that was used as a set for the filming of the movie The Martian"

The fine red dust that covers the entire surface of Mars can prove to be highly dangerous.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Are you really ready to go to Mars? This is the question that the candidates for the newly opened astronaut positions at NASA should ask themselves before applying. And while the idea of being among the first people to set foot on the Red Planet is more than appealing, people should keep in mind that the Mars expedition will be nothing like the Matt Damon movie.

NASA is hiring the new generation of astronauts and according to a representative, one member of this class will be a part of the Mars expedition. There are only sixteen jobs available but there are already thousands of candidates. And the requirements are harsh. The candidates must have a bachelor degree in sciences, military background and perfect social skills just to be considered for an interview.

But the main question on the interviewer’s lips will be “Are you really ready to go to Mars?”

The idea of visiting the Red Planet is thrilling, to say the least, but before arriving there, one must survive the trip towards Mars. NASA estimates that the journey will take approximately six months. Scott Kelly has been aboard the ISS for almost a year, so we know that it is possible to survive in space for an extended period of time.

But Scott Kelly received supplies on a regular basis from Florida and Kazakhstan. And while his overall health was not affected in any way, his motivation was raised by the fact that he had access to the internet and knew that it would take approximately an hour to receive something from the base in case of an emergency. These things will not apply to the crew traveling towards Mars.

Also, the ship could be hit by a meteor or a stray space object with no determined trajectory. There are a lot of risks revolving around just the journey there. So if you think about the trip and still answer yes when you ask yourself “Are you really ready to go to Mars?” then let’s talk landing.

NASA already managed to land the rovers on the Red Planet’s surface, so the actual landing is possible. But the settlers will face a lot of difficulties, for example, the radiation, the high amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the dust, the cold and the extremely low atmospheric pressure.

According to a new study, the astronauts that will land on Mars will have to construct their base underground in order to escape from the fatal solar radiation. Also, they will have to have tremendous amounts of oxygen supply with them because it would take a while for plants to grow and filter the carbon dioxide inside the settlement.

The dust, as seen in The Martian, is very fine and it could do tremendous amounts of damage to the settlement and the equipment. The researchers at NASA are not yet sure how the dust will affect the astronauts or how dangerous it could really prove to be.

Also, the average temperature on the planet’s surface balances from a pleasant 27 Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) to a bone-chilling, Jack Nicholson freezing -143 Celsius (-225 degrees Fahrenheit). So the team must be ready to learn how to fix the heating.

The atmospheric pressure is so low that, according to NASA scientists, a person’s body water would evaporate if the individual is not wearing the protection suit.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

NASA Is Hiring

February 13, 2016 By Tara Hamilton Leave a Comment

"Astronaut performing a spacewalk on the ISS"

NASA is hiring the new generation of astronauts, one of which will go to Mars.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Attention all space enthusiasts, NASA is hiring the new generation of astronauts. This is the first class that NASA gathers in four years. And that is not the best news. According to the Space Agency, one of the astronauts of this generation could have the opportunity of going to Mars.

Jessica Meir, a NASA employee and future participant in the astronaut training program is delighted to be a part of a team that will ultimately produce a member of the Mars crew. Dr. Meir is an assistant professor at Harvard and has collaborated with NASA on human physiology research on the International Space Station and the space shuttle.

The training of the new astronaut cadets will take place at Huston’s Space Center. In order for the candidates to be viable, they need to meet certain criteria. For starters, the applicants for the astronaut position at NASA must have at least a bachelor’s degree in either math, engineering or science. They must also have a military background or, at least, some experience in the military field. Because NASA is hiring only people that are able to comply with an order.

Another “must” is represented by communication skills and the ability to successfully work as a member of a team, or as a team leader. It is imperious that the candidates have above standards communication skills because, for example, the Mars mission will require them to work and sleep in a tent with a number of different other people for as long as three years. It’s not like NASA is hiring only Matt Daemons, but it is important to be able to communicate easily with your co-workers.

A chief astronaut at the National Aeronautics Space Agency, Chris Cassidy, gives a very pertinent example. Imagine going camping for a week in the woods with a person that you don’t like very much. Now expand the time free with approximately two to three years and change the location from the woods to a distant planet. It’s hard to imagine what could happen.

NASA is hiring, but the selection process will be rigorous. Of course, all of the astronauts that will be trained at Huston’s Space Center will be reassigned to other missions after completing their training because they will need to gather as much experience as they can in order to be selected for the Mars mission.

Even though the acceptance conditions are strict and there are only 8 to 14 available positions, the Space Agency announced that over six thousand people have already applied for the astronaut training.

According to NASA, the training will include some of the most difficult and extreme scenarios an astronaut can encounter from faulty equipment to a close encounter with a meteor.

We can only stop and ponder if NASA is hiring Elon Musk as well since he declared that he wants to be a part of the Mars mission and the current generation will produce an astronaut that will be a part of the team that will head out to the Red Planet.

Image source: www.pixabay.com

Black Mold Delayed the ISS Resupply Mission

February 12, 2016 By Ryan Harris Leave a Comment

NASA says the crew aboard the ISS has sufficient supplies and will not be affected by the delay.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – NASA made an official statement in which it confirmed that black mold delayed the ISS resupply mission. For the moment, the agency is still working on identifying the cause of the black mold, but the evidence they have so far points to the high levels of humidity in Florida.

The black mold was found on the packing bags that were supposed to be sent to the Space Station. The journey of the supplies was not a regular one, but it also marked the fifth resupply mission that used the Orbital ATK.

Dan Hout, NASA’s official spokesperson declared that the delay will not be longer than two weeks. According to Hout, the agency wants to make sure that all of the black mold is removed and the entire equipment disinfected before sending the craft to the Space Station.

NASA wants to make sure that all of the traces of mold are removed from the equipment because the fungi can endanger the health of the astronauts that are currently on the Space Station. The agency also wants to make sure that the problem will not appear again.

The Space Agency should keep the spores as they mark the first time in the history of NASA when they had to deal with this kind of infestation. It is also the first time in the history of the agency when they were forced to unload cargo in order for a transporter to be disinfected. But at least, the circumstances are extraordinary.

Even though the delay is of only two weeks, the NASA official has no idea at this point how much this incident affected the SpaceX scheduled cargo resupply run.

SpaceX will take care of the resupply missions in the next years. Elon Musk’s company declared that the collaboration with NASA is running smoothly and they haven’t encountered any problem. It’s safe to assume that the mold infestation cannot be considered a major problem in the collaboration of the two agencies.

NASA has declared that black mold delayed the ISS resupply mission for approximately two weeks. The agency added the fact that the astronauts that are currently serving on the Space Station will not be affected by this delay because they still have sufficient supplies.

Who knows, if they’ve seen Matt Damon’s The Martian maybe they’ll think about growing potatoes on the ISS to make their supplies last longer. The agency should really consider adding some seeds in their next shipment.

Image source: www.pixabay.com

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