Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 264

'Oumuamua is a large, cigar-shaped object that was first identified in October 2017, exiting our solar system at nearly 57,000 mph (92,000 km/h), indicating it could not have originated in our solar system.

Since then, scientists have tried to explain its origin and composition, with two papers published in March by Arizona State University astrophysicists suggesting it was made of nitrogen ice. However, a new paper has been published by Harvard astrophysicists in opposition to this suggestion. Astronomers have been unable to explain the source of its speed, as it shows no signs of propellant gases leaving it. The gravitational pull of the Sun is also insufficient to have accelerated it to the speeds that have slingshotted 'Oumuamua in and out of the solar system.

Alan Jackson and Steven Desch of the Arizona State University suggested that 'Oumuamua was likely a large chunk of nitrogen ice, having broken off of a planet similar to Pluto outside of our solar system. Given Pluto is 98% solid nitrogen, there likely are many similar planets, exo-Plutos, outside of our solar system from which 'Oumuamua may have broken off.

SpaceX has been performing tests for its first upcoming orbital test launch of Starship. However, the company has yet to secure a launch date as it has been waiting for regulatory approval from the FAA.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began an environmental assessment on SpaceX's orbital launch activities at its launch facility called Starbase, located close to the South Texas village of Boca Chica. SpaceX has been patiently waiting for the environmental assessment to be completed and regulatory approval to be granted for the launch of Starship. However, the FAA didn't say when the assessment would be completed until now, as the regulator estimated in an update that it would be completed by December 31, 2021.

For those who don't know the significance of Starship, the launch vehicle is comprised of two fully reuseable components, a large first-stage booster called Super Heavy that stands at 230 ft, and the spacecraft itself called Starship, which stands at 160 ft. Starship is designed to take humans to the Moon and eventually to Mars, as NASA has selected the vehicle to take astronauts back to the Moon as a part of the agency's Artemis program.

Since late October, NASA and the European Space Agency's (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope has been mostly out-of-order as it experienced a glitch.

Engineers found that the glitch has something to do with the synchronization of its internal communications, and as a result of the failure to sync correctly, the space telescope puts all of its instruments into safety mode to prevent any potential damage that could be caused.

On November 7, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) was brought back online, and now according to NASA, "the Hubble team has identified near-term changes that could be made to how the instruments monitor and respond to missed synchronization messages, as well as to how the payload computer monitors the instruments." Adding, "This would allow science operations to continue even if several missed messages occur. The team has also continued analyzing the instrument flight software to verify that all possible solutions would be safe for the instruments."

Russia decided it was going to test out of one of its anti-satellite weapons on one of its own satellites. The results have now sparked a debate.

Russia tested an anti-satellite missile on Monday, November 15, on a defunct satellite called Cosmos-1408, which, as you can probably imagine, resulted in an explosion and many new space debris created. Numberica Corp, a Colorado-based company that tracks space debris, has partnered with Slingshot Aerospace on Twitter to publish images and video of the debris caused by the destruction of Cosmos-1408.

Reports indicate that more than 1,500 new trackable space debris were found, with an unknown amount of debris too small to be tracked. The US Military, as well as NASA, have condemned the actions by Russia to test an anti-satellite weapon as they claim the space debris could pose a threat to astronauts living on the International Space Station (ISS). However, Russia has since defended its decision by saying that the resulting fragments do not pose any threat to space activities".

Russia recently tested an anti-satellite weapon that caused a large swath of space debris that has been subject to heavy debate.

The United States condemned the event, describing it as "dangerous and irresponsible behavior" that can potentially jeopardize the long-term sustainability of space. The criticism came from NASA's head Bill Nelson, as well as Ned Price, a State Department spokesperson, who said that the destruction of one of Russia satellites at the hand of Russia has caused a significant increase in risk for astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and any human spaceflight activities.

Now, Russia's Ministry of Defence has issued a statement defending its decision to test the anti-satellite weapon and create space debris. According to the minister-general of the army, Sergei Shoigu said, "the resulting fragments do not pose any threat to space activities". However, experts have said that the cloud of debris, which consists of more than 1,500 trackable pieces, could pose a threat for years to come. Roscosmos Twitter wrote on Monday that the debris cloud "has moved away from the ISS orbit", referring to the ISS orbiting Earth at around 250 miles and the debris cloud being tracked to 273 to 323 miles. Rocosmos wrote, "the station is in the green zone."

SpaceX is currently gearing up for its first orbital test of Starship, its vehicle that is set to be the transportation between the Moon and Mars.

SpaceX is in full testing mode at the moment in preparation for Starship's first orbital test flight that will take the rocket higher than it ever has before. Starship is comprised of three main parts, the 160 ft spacecraft named Starship, a 230 ft tall booster named Super Heavy, and its 59 ft tall and 30 ft wide payload fairing. Recently, SpaceX conducted a 6-engine static fire test of Starship, showcasing the tremendous power of its six Raptor engines. To see incredible images of that firing test, check out this link here.

As SpaceX wait for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct the first orbital test of Starship, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has published an awesome image of under Super Heavy with the caption "12 million pounds of thrust at liftoff". In response to this image, a Twitter user said, "Can't wait for Raptor 2, it's still a rat's nest up there", which is in reference to the exposed Raptor engines that can be seen in the image.

NASA's Curiosity rover is acquiring data that will be used to make sure future astronauts have a safe environment on the surface of Mars.

Curiosity is equipped with an instrument called a Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), and this instrument is designed to measure the amount of radiation detected from galactic cosmic rays, which are particles that can be traced back to exploding stars. These galactic cosmic rays form what is called "background radiation", and due to Mars not having a protective magnetic field to repel this radiation, these galactic cosmic rays will be especially harmful to astronauts on Mars' surface.

A new paper published in JGR Planets detailed data acquired by Curiosity when it was parked against a cliff called Murray Buttes from September 9 to 21 in 2016. During this time frame, RAD recorded a 4% decrease in overall radiation exposure and a 7.5% decrease in neutral particle radiation, which also includes neutrons that can penetrate rock and are very harmful to human health. Researchers attributed these drops to the location of the rover. Bent Ehresmann of the Southwest Research Institute, lead author of the paper, said, "We've been waiting a long time for the right conditions to get these results, which are critical to ensure the accuracy of our computer models."

NASA has confirmed an upcoming partial lunar eclipse that will take place on November 18 and 19.

According to a new report by Phys.org, NASA writes on its website that the Moon "will be so close to opposite the Sun on Nov 19 that it will pass through the southern part of the shadow of the Earth for a nearly total lunar eclipse." For those that don't know, a "total" lunar eclipse is different from a "partial" lunar eclipse. During a partial lunar eclipse, some of the Moon's surface is still visible, while in a total lunar eclipse, all of the Moon's visible surface moves into Earth's shadow.

NASA states that the eclipse will last for 3 hours, 28 minutes, and 23 seconds, which will be the longest partial eclipse in centuries. Additionally, NASA explains that about 97% of the Moon will be covered in Earth's shadow and that it will appear a reddish-brown color that will be visible throughout many parts of the world. EarthSky writes that people in North America, eastern Australia, New Zealand, and Japan will be able to enjoy the partial eclipse.

Sometimes the most unusual ideas are the ones that generate the most interesting answers, and a song that is poised to last two centuries maybe the idea that generates an incredibly interesting answer.

A group of NASA scientists is going to attempt to communicate with the cosmos through a spacecraft sent towards exoplanet Proxima B that is located 4.2 light-years away from Earth, and a group of select trees that will be equipped with sensors that can detect changes in their surroundings, which will then be converted into sound frequencies that will be relayed to the spacecraft. Julia Christensen, president of the Space Song Foundation, said, "As the light, water and temperature at the tree change, so does the tune, the volume, and the actual sound of the song."

Adding, "In the short term, we hear shifts in the song as day turns to night, as clouds pass over the tree, as seasons change, etc. But over the very long term - decades or centuries - we will hear major global shifts in climate and other changes on our planet." Proxima B is of special interest to researchers as it may have the contains to harbor life, as it is very Earth-like. Researchers intend on sending a future spacecraft towards Proxima B that will communicate the "sound" of our planet. However, with current technology, it would take a spacecraft 6,300 years to reach Proxima B.

Arianespace is set to launch its Vega rocket in Kourou at 6:27 a.m. local time (09:27 UTC) on November 16th, 2021. It will launch from the Ensemble de Lancement Vega (ELV) pad at the Guiana Space Center, the oldest of its launch pads.

Its mission is to launch three Capacite de Renseignement d'origine Electromagnetique Spatiale (CERES) satellites (which translates to "Intelligence Capacity of Space Electromagnetic Origin"). These satellites are operated by the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (translating to the National Centre for Space Studies).

"The objective of the CERES military electronic intelligence mission is to gather signals intelligence from areas that surface sensors cannot reach, free from airspace overflight constraints and in all weathers, thus providing an in-depth situational picture to support conception and execution of military operations. Signals collected by each satellite will be combined to precisely locate detected communication systems," said French space agency CNES said in a mission description.