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November 15th, 2014
Instrumented Philae comet lander.
Credit: ESA/DLR
Update – the Philae lander has entered sleep mode at 01:36 Central European Time (CET) on November 15, 2014.
The Philae lander performed about 56 hours of continuous scientific measurements on the surface of Comet 67P.
But by 01:15 CET on November 15 the energy state of the lander became so low that the engineers assumed that Philae would go into sleep mode during the night.
“Philae is a complete success,” said Project Manager Stephan Ulamec of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR).
According to a DLR press statement, from around 23:30 CET, Philae was in contact with the Lander Control Center (LCC) at DLR Cologne and sent back scientific data from the SD2 drill and the COSAC instrument.
At the beginning of the contact period, engineers in the DLR LCC continued to send commands to Philae.
The lander performed well, although the radio link to Earth failed several times. The mission scientists cheered repeatedly as new data arrived from space.
During the night, the lander also conducted measurements with the PTOLEMY instrument, acquired two images with the ROLIS camera and examined the interior of the comet nucleus using radio signals – together with the CONSERT instrument on board the Rosetta orbiter.
In addition, ground operators were able to rotate the body of the lander with its solar panels by 35 degrees, so that they are better oriented towards the Sun. The team hopes that this will allow the lander batteries to charge faster in its shaded location.
Philae’s hibernation means a break for the Philae team.
“After a very exciting and successful week, Philae is now taking the time to rest – and the team is now able to take a breath,” said DLR engineer Koen Geurts.
In recent days, the lander control team had been working around the clock to command the lander and make optimal use of the time available for the “First Science Sequence.”
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Hush-hush spacecraft are providing new data on incoming objects within the Earth’s atmosphere.
Credit: NASA/JPL
Here’s new news via old data!
Data gathered by U.S. government sensors onboard hush-hush spacecraft — and released to NASA for use by the science community — reveal that small impact events are frequent and random.
A map of these small impact events – known as fireballs or bolides –has been released by NASA and shows the frequency and approximate energy released by bolide events detected from 1994 through 2013. It dwarfs a data-base of small impacts based on infra-sound detections released last fall, but it does not contain all fireballs – objects less than a meter in size – that impacted the Earth during this period.
Update on bolides! Lindley Johnson, program executive for NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program, spotlights bolide impacts on Earth’s atmosphere during a recent Secure World Foundation workshop on NEO communications.
Credit: SWF
Take a look at the graphic.
It shows that, over a 20-year interval, U.S. Government assets recorded at least 556 bolide events of various energies. On a world map illustration, the size of the orange dots (daytime events) and blue dots (nighttime events) are proportional to the optical radiated energy of the impact event measured in billions of Joules (GJ) of energy.
An approximate conversion between the measured optical radiant energy and the total impact energy can be made using an empirical relationship provided by Canadian researcher, Peter Brown, and his colleagues in 2002.
Wanted: more complete picture
For example the smallest dot on the map represents 1 billion Joules (1 GJ) of optical radiant energy, or when expressed in terms of a total impact energy the equivalent of about 5 tons of TNT explosives. Likewise, the dots representing 100, 10,000 and 1,000,000 Giga Joules of optical radiant energies correspond to impact energies of about 300 tons, 18,000 tons and one million tons of TNT explosives respectively.
“These newly released data will help NEO scientists construct a more complete picture of the frequency and scope of asteroid impacts with Earth,” said NASA NEO Observations Program Executive Lindley Johnson.
While the new data emphasize that small asteroid impacts with Earth are not unusual, the risk of future impacts is not to be taken lightly. “The aim is to find potentially hazardous asteroids before they find us,” said Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA’s NEO Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
A new story from me, up today on Space.com:
Desert testing of exoplanet search technique – the starshade.
Credit: Northrop Gruman
Innovative ‘Starshade’ Tech Could Illuminate Rocky Alien Planets
by Leonard David, Space.com’s Space Insider Columnist
November 14, 2014 06:56am ET
http://www.space.com/27765-starshade-tech-alien-planet-search.html
This image was taken by the Philae comet lander looking down using its descent ROLIS imager when it was about 130 feet (40 meters) above the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
It shows that the surface of the comet is covered by dust and debris ranging from mm to metre sizes.
The large block in the top right corner is 5 meters in size. In the same corner the structure of the Philae landing gear is visible.
The aim of the ROLIS experiment is to study the texture and microstructure of the comet’s surface. ROLIS (ROsetta Lander Imaging System) has been developed by the DLR Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin.
Credit: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/ROLIS/DLR
The European Rosetta mission deposited the Philae lander onto comet Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on November 12, Central European Time.
European space scientists confirmed that the probe bounced three times prior to coming to a stand-still attitude.
Harpoons on the lander did not fire and Philae appeared to be rotating after the first touchdown, which indicated that it had lifted from the surface again.
The first touchdown was inside the predicted landing ellipse. But then the lander lifted from the surface again – for 1 hour 50 minutes.
During that time, it travelled about 1 km, then made a smaller second hop, followed by a landing in its final resting place seven minutes later.
While the lander remains unanchored to the surface — at an as yet undetermined orientation — the science instruments are running and are delivering images and data, helping the team to learn more about the final landing site.
The descent camera revealed that the surface is covered by dust and debris ranging from millimeter to meter sizes.
Meanwhile, Philae’s CIVA camera returned a panoramic image that on first impressions suggests the lander is close to a rocky wall, and appears to have one of its three feet in open space.
ESA Hangout highlights success of Europe’s Philae lander.
Credit: ESA
Philae’s primary battery may run out very shortly. A secondary battery, charged by solar panels on Philae, is only capable of soaking up 1.5 hours of sunlight available to the lander each day. That being the case, there is an impact on the energy budget to conduct science for a longer period of time.
“It has been an overwhelming experience,” said Matt Taylor, Rosetta project scientist. But there’s more to come, “so stay tuned,” he said during a Goggle Hangout session today from ESA’s Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
Listen to a replay of the session on YouTube by going to:
Two-part image taken by Philae comet lander.
Photo shows Philae safely on the surface – with one of its landing legs visible.
Credit: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA
Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft deployed the Philae lander – achieving a space first.
They have been riding through space together for more than 10 years.
Philae lander makes historic landing.
Credit: ESA
Philae is the first probe to land on a comet, while Rosetta is the first to rendezvous with a comet and follow it around the Sun.
The information collected by Philae at one location on the surface will complement that collected by the Rosetta orbiter for the entire comet.
Rosetta’s lander Philae has returned the first panoramic image from the surface of a comet. The view, unprocessed, as it has been captured by the CIVA-P imaging system, shows a 360º view around the point of final touchdown. The three feet of Philae’s landing gear can be seen in some of the frames.
Confirmation of Philae’s touchdown on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko arrived on Earth at 16:03 GMT/17:03 CET on 12 November.
Credits: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA
First launch of Russia’s heavy-class Angara 5 booster is set for December.
Credit: Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center
Russian rocketeers are readying the Angara 5 heavy-lift booster for an end of December liftoff.
This will be the first launch of the heavy-class Angara 5 booster.
The creation of the Angara family of launch vehicles signals a growing capability to launch a variety of spacecraft from the territory of Russia.
Developer of the Angara launch system is the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The Angara-class rocket marks the first space launcher built in Russia from scratch after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Earlier this year, on July 9, the light-lift Angara-1.2ML – meaning “Maiden Launch” – departed from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Archangelsk Region.
That booster made a long-distance, suborbital lob of roughly 21 minutes, tossing hardware into a targeted impact area of the Kura Range on the Kamchatka peninsula – over 3,500 miles (5,700 kilometers) away from the launch site.
The Angara 5 has been rolled out to the launch pad at Plesetsk Cosmodrome.
According to a Khrunichev Press Release, cosmodrome specialists will conduct a comprehensive series of tests, including electrical testing of systems and components, in preparation for first launch of the heavy class Angara 5 next month.
To view a video of Angara 5 preparation for roll out to the pad, go to:
http://tvzvezda.ru/news/forces/content/201411102356-kagv.htm
Virgin Galactic pilot Todd Ericson and NTSB investigators at SpaceShipTwo accident site.
Credit: NTSB
The tragic accident on October 31 involving the private spaceliner, SpaceShipTwo, and the loss of one of its two test pilots, Mike Alsbury, has been addressed in a special message from the CEO of the Mojave Air and Space Port, Stuart Witt:
“The past three weeks have proven exceedingly challenging for the entire Mojave Flight Test Family,” Witt said.
Witt also noted that “it is with great sorrow” that the National Test Pilot School (NTPS) reports that NTPS Instructor Mr. Michael (Mike) Hill and NTPS Student Mr. Ilam Zigante perished in an accident in a T-67 Slingsby Firefly aircraft on October 24. The accident occurred during a scheduled NTPS curriculum sortie approximately 28 miles north of the Mojave Air and Space Port (MASP).
“Losing three valued members of the team in two separate mishaps will have a lasting and profound effect on all. While we chose this profession we are reminded of the price too many have paid so all may enjoy safe mobility around the globe.”
“As the holidays approach, please keep the families of Mike Hill, Ilam Zigante and Mike Alsbury in your thoughts and prayers. God Speed,” Witt said.
Thorough investigation
Additionally, in a MASP newsletter, the SpaceShipTwo accident was detailed:
“On October 31, SpaceShipTwo, piloted by Scaled Composites, under contract to Virgin Galactic, experienced a serious anomaly during a test flight, resulting in the loss of the vehicle. The airport also lost a respected and devoted colleague who was the co-pilot for the test flight,” the newsletter said.
“The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting a thorough investigation with the assistance of Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic. They have said the full investigation can last up to a year.”
“More information will be released throughout the course of the investigation. At this time we ask that everyone please respect the privacy of the families of those involved.”
“We would like to thank the emergency responders who worked diligently to handle the situation throughout the day. We also appreciate all of those who have showed their continuous support for the airport, Scaled Composites, and Virgin Galactic throughout this difficult time.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends who have been most affected by this tragedy.”
Second SpaceShipTwo under construction.
Credit: Virgin Galactic
Chinese flag was carried by test capsule that made a circumlunar voyage.
Credit: CASC
A ceremony in China has showcased the re-entry capsule that recently flew a circumlunar trajectory and returned to Earth under parachute.
In a website posting by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, images are shown of what is now affectionately known as the “little fly” spacecraft.
Shown in photos are items flown in the capsule – such as a large Chinese flag – and other items.
The capsule made use of seven kinds of thermal protection materials, apparently to evaluate the heat-thwarting qualities of various materials. What was learned will be applied to the Chang’e 5 lunar sample return craft that is slated to fly in 2017.
Various items are removed from the test capsule that made a circumlunar voyage.
Credit: CASC
Before its reentry to Earth, the return capsule mounted to its carrier spacecraft was moving at a velocity of 11.2 kilometers per second.
Once released from the carrier craft, the capsule slowed down by employing a reentry method that had the capsule “bounce” off the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere, before reentering again.
The return capsule landed in safe and sound condition under parachute after some eight days of flight. It parachuted to Earth on November 1 (Beijing time) into Siziwang Banner in north China’s Inner Mongolia and was recovered by ground teams.
Credit: CASC
The test craft was lofted moonward by a Long March-3C rocket on Oct. 24.
Credit: Foster+Partners
The European Space Agency (ESA) is working with architects at Foster+Partners to evaluate constructing a Moon base via 3D printing using lunar soil.
Started in 2013, the collaboration is eying the rim of Shackleton Crater at the lunar south pole for the base location. A multi-dome lunar base could be built based on the 3D printing concept. Once assembled, the inflated domes would be covered with a layer of 3D-printed lunar regolith by robots to help protect the occupants against space radiation and micrometeoroids.
Credit: ESA/Foster+Partners
Why Shackleton Crater?
The Moon’s rotation is such that the Sun only grazes its poles at low angles. The result is a near-constant “peak of eternal light” along the rim of Shackleton Crater, beside regions of permanent shadow.
Building a Moon base in the vicinity of such a site would offer plentiful solar power, and relief from the extremes of heat and cold found across the rest of the Moon.
Inflatable dome
The base is first unfolded from a tubular module that can be easily transported by space rocket. An inflatable dome then extends from one end of this cylinder to provide a support structure for construction.
Layers of regolith are then built up over the dome by a robot-operated 3D printer to create a protective shell.
ESA is due to investigate another lunar 3D printing method: harnessing concentrated sunlight to melt regolith rather than using a binding liquid.
Credit: ESA/Foster+Partners
Additive manufacturing
In reality, according to ESA, any lunar base remains firmly on the drawing board, but adds that each small step forward in research makes future lunar colonization a little more feasible.
Last month, more than 350 experts came together for a two-day Additive Manufacturing for Space Applications workshop at ESA’s ESTEC technical center in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. They discussed the potential of 3D printing – also known as “additive manufacturing” – to transform the way the space industry operates and begin preparing common standards for its use.
Go to a video detailing Europe’s approach to Moon base building at:
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA/JPL has issued an image showing the path and some key places in a survey of the “Pahrump Hills” outcrop by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover in autumn of 2014.
This view of the outcrop and other portions of Mount Sharp beyond is a mosaic of images taken by the rover’s Mast Camera (Mastcam).
The outcrop is at the base of Mount Sharp within Gale Crater. The mission’s in-place investigation of the layered mountain began at the low edge of the Pahrump Hills outcrop, at the target “Confidence Hills.”
This image was taken by Front Hazcam: Left B (FHAZ_LEFT_B) onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 802 (2014-11-08 04:06:02 UTC).
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity collected a drilled sample of rock powder at that target in September 2014 and delivered portions of the powder into analytical instruments inside the rover.
The mission then began a “walkabout” of the outcrop, similar to the way field geologists on Earth walk across an outcrop to choose the best places on it to examine in detail.
The dashed gold line indicates the path the rover drove during the walkabout. Names are shown for a few of the features visited and observed by the rover. Red dots indicate stops at the end of a day’s drive. White dots indicate locations of stops made during the drives to collect observations of the Pahrump Hills outcrop.
Wheel watch 2014. This image was taken by Mastcam: Left (MAST_LEFT) onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 797 (2014-11-02 23:46:25 UTC).
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The mission completed the walkabout at the site labeled “Whale Rock”, and the team is now examining the observations acquired during the walkabout to decide where to return for more detailed analysis.
