tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6812533936390299612024-03-12T15:31:07.330-07:00Orbiter.ch Space NewsAll news from space: Satellites data's; Probe data's; Discoveries; Exploration; Space survey; Launches etc...Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comBlogger13150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-75828500622546480872023-05-19T16:59:00.001-07:002023-05-19T17:11:55.670-07:00Light Duty Day During Spacewalk Safety Training and Axiom Mission Preps<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7GGwfv_cGJC-L7VJk0acXuifI1dz1mm9Hok-Mlhq33wloC41tZI4PoKlRrvoZEtl7qJbhaU94kauIiFEmqd4dzvu_z1H04BezvtZiK8XKXb2n35eMdu6LPmV51EjIEf3xjtWWs3_3MN_8tu9R6FRt_4s6KN_aEdzHeg9kugg1Ahx4E0E8VmpIUb5o/s600/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7GGwfv_cGJC-L7VJk0acXuifI1dz1mm9Hok-Mlhq33wloC41tZI4PoKlRrvoZEtl7qJbhaU94kauIiFEmqd4dzvu_z1H04BezvtZiK8XKXb2n35eMdu6LPmV51EjIEf3xjtWWs3_3MN_8tu9R6FRt_4s6KN_aEdzHeg9kugg1Ahx4E0E8VmpIUb5o/w200-h200/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ISS - Expedition 69 Mission patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 19, 2023<br /><br />The seven-member Expedition 69 crew split up on Wednesday with four astronauts enjoying some time off and three cosmonauts staying busy with cargo transfers and lab maintenance. The astronauts did have some time for spacewalk safety training and preparations for the arrival of four private astronauts to the International Space Station.<br /><br />NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg each put on a pair of virtual reality goggles on Friday and practiced controlling the jet packs attached to Extravehicular Mobility Units, or spacesuits. The jetpacks, also called SAFERs (Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue), would provide an astronaut the ability to maneuver back to the station in the unlikely event they became untethered during a spacewalk. The duo also reviewed the Enhanced Caution and Warning System that monitors the spacesuit’s condition including oxygen, water, and battery power levels.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGCE3FABrFgXfeoAPAFltKDgNSCpvAOO3K8nMKmA5BBsuEzNdrai9D72ZeOpzWKxMlUUHJFdVYvP_Ru7eCpOa0MB_wJ65xj-cioEPR6lrCRqinMcu5ReDMRY0xTQdamFG_FYBjNzVd1_El0xP5syHh8HW6asB9qYVycsGVqPuYVRS7egHJHJ7bulb/s480/ISS22y.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGCE3FABrFgXfeoAPAFltKDgNSCpvAOO3K8nMKmA5BBsuEzNdrai9D72ZeOpzWKxMlUUHJFdVYvP_Ru7eCpOa0MB_wJ65xj-cioEPR6lrCRqinMcu5ReDMRY0xTQdamFG_FYBjNzVd1_El0xP5syHh8HW6asB9qYVycsGVqPuYVRS7egHJHJ7bulb/w640-h360/ISS22y.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: ESA</p><p>UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi took Friday morning off then spent the afternoon reviewing procedures and training on a computer for the approach and docking of Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2). He also set up computers in the seven-window cupola and the Destiny laboratory module that will support the monitoring of the Ax-2 mission’s arrival aboard the SpaceX Dragon Freedom crew ship.<br /><br />The four Ax-2 private astronauts are scheduled to lift off aboard Freedom from Kennedy Space Center at 5:37 p.m. on Sunday and dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port on Monday at 9:24 a.m. Ax-2 Commander Peggy Whitson will lead Pilot John Shoffner and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi during the ride to the station for several days of research, outreach, and commercial activities before returning to Earth.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-I45RtwV8fgniAHIGqFyDZg7pD_F6AdFbRfXpcp7-ZVdE4H05orcdG_INS-Q5NnGkv30zwogPxEoKXXqIt7rqX8V_b1zgjEmmp7QMfxLiDESQIdlMHKIuScWwoTrxv0EXEy9BfMvYez_cc06mIbFqRCb1wzAFQxjsoQmmnbSn2l6o6YtgxX1And0/s900/blog_iss067e006359.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="900" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-I45RtwV8fgniAHIGqFyDZg7pD_F6AdFbRfXpcp7-ZVdE4H05orcdG_INS-Q5NnGkv30zwogPxEoKXXqIt7rqX8V_b1zgjEmmp7QMfxLiDESQIdlMHKIuScWwoTrxv0EXEy9BfMvYez_cc06mIbFqRCb1wzAFQxjsoQmmnbSn2l6o6YtgxX1And0/w640-h360/blog_iss067e006359.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour carrying four Axiom Mission 1 astronauts approaches the space station above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco on April 9, 2022. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br />NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio had Friday off in anticipation of supporting the Ax-2 crew arrival next week, taking time out for a pair of workout sessions on the advanced resistive exercise device and the exercise cycle. Bowen and Hoburg also had a couple of hours of off-duty time in between their spacewalk safety training, installing extra sleeping units for the Ax-2 crew, and servicing combustion research hardware.<br /><br />Commander Sergey Prokopyev, with assistance from Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev, continued cargo transfers from the ISS Progress 83 (83P) resupply ship docked to the Zvezda service module. The duo then split up the rest of the day for a variety of Roscosmos lab maintenance tasks. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin spent his day configuring video and electronics gear before inspecting windows on the Nauka science module.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTyqDg0RggbLGJyTxXCzAB8D8SwMF7QOXwYRbybX9JOgZcIggWLa2AzMiPrHExsJMdqpsyji1Uu7oCniRZ97dAM0BVCAkRNWY6vSfgkt18gkqylXG9kUWT2Kis1SjBEWQ6yeq0OGKGWVUKzcdSYkhzonoH4sAdOiVd9U_V3NTv6ZXg5FF9HaMzBXz/s2048/52018661592_5f2038b651_k.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTyqDg0RggbLGJyTxXCzAB8D8SwMF7QOXwYRbybX9JOgZcIggWLa2AzMiPrHExsJMdqpsyji1Uu7oCniRZ97dAM0BVCAkRNWY6vSfgkt18gkqylXG9kUWT2Kis1SjBEWQ6yeq0OGKGWVUKzcdSYkhzonoH4sAdOiVd9U_V3NTv6ZXg5FF9HaMzBXz/w640-h426/52018661592_5f2038b651_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev waves to the camera while working outside the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module during a spacewalk that lasted for six hours and 37 minutes to outfit Nauka and configure the European robotic arm on the International Space Station's Russian segment. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br />The space station is orbiting slightly higher after the 83P fired its engines for six minutes on Thursday. The orbital reboost raises the station to the correct altitude for the upcoming docking of the ISS Progress 84 resupply mission.</p><p><b>Related article (NASA):</b><br /><br />NASA Sets Coverage for Axiom Mission 2 Briefings, Events, Broadcast<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-axiom-mission-2-briefings-events-broadcast">https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-axiom-mission-2-briefings-events-broadcast</a><br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />Expedition 69: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html</a><br /><br />Seven-window cupola: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/cupola.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/cupola.html</a><br /><br />Destiny laboratory module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/us-destiny-laboratory">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/us-destiny-laboratory</a><br /><br />Harmony module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/harmony">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/harmony</a><br /><br />Advanced resistive exercise device: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=973">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=973</a><br /><br />Exercise cycle: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=821">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=821</a><br /><br />Combustion research: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=2060">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=2060</a><br /><br />Zvezda service module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/zvezda-service-module.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/zvezda-service-module.html</a><br /><br />Nauka multipurpose laboratory module: <a href="https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/nauka/">https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/nauka/</a><br /><br />Space Station Research and Technology: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html</a><br /><br />International Space Station (ISS): <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.</p><p>Best regards, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-36541286311601577692023-05-19T16:50:00.000-07:002023-05-19T16:50:07.537-07:00NASA’s Chase Aircraft Gets a Facelift<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Ktn8Zd-4ZoejxtK4n5RUqj2WQgxTVjsv1Zdi4gQig8VvpdLFeHx3ypdP8e8dXPzQiMxCiEqNO8d3IOktiukVypa2y_HKfWOY0G4nOthuyfirPzTzDMzhGeFzYF7G739HFYfp1OfzJWfH3f-yMaDUj0VM3EM3J3YEa5BHWJqn0-vbqzRJbeFoVI9-/s761/Armstrong%20Flight%20Research%20Center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="761" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Ktn8Zd-4ZoejxtK4n5RUqj2WQgxTVjsv1Zdi4gQig8VvpdLFeHx3ypdP8e8dXPzQiMxCiEqNO8d3IOktiukVypa2y_HKfWOY0G4nOthuyfirPzTzDMzhGeFzYF7G739HFYfp1OfzJWfH3f-yMaDUj0VM3EM3J3YEa5BHWJqn0-vbqzRJbeFoVI9-/w200-h188/Armstrong%20Flight%20Research%20Center.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>NASA - Armstrong Flight Research Center patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 19, 2023<br /><br />An F/A-18 aircraft received from the U.S. Navy in 2021 has been rejuvenated, had its NASA colors added, and is close to flight certification at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Edwards, California.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJ-cUOHY0t3Ty9mIVTiCOsldWgUeNT-7Y_mbPZmgzDWUIBh0pfcFGd8HPRb3pISqE6sn9G3EjhdQ1GbwXYAOFVnfomEy8r8877L-2-uW1oF_sKDi-L97KovyEz0woMY_pV50u2r3ecTrYsgXPzkVZeCdSLddNxF3wKy4FMQ9mGkH-GDXPiGHTsrU0/s2000/afrc2023-0038-345.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJ-cUOHY0t3Ty9mIVTiCOsldWgUeNT-7Y_mbPZmgzDWUIBh0pfcFGd8HPRb3pISqE6sn9G3EjhdQ1GbwXYAOFVnfomEy8r8877L-2-uW1oF_sKDi-L97KovyEz0woMY_pV50u2r3ecTrYsgXPzkVZeCdSLddNxF3wKy4FMQ9mGkH-GDXPiGHTsrU0/w640-h426/afrc2023-0038-345.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: NASA 862, which is an F/A-18D, departs with its fresh colors from the U.S. Air Force Corrosion Control Facility on Edwards Air Force Base in California for its nearby home at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center. Image Credit: Steve Freeman.<br /><br />Thanks to the U.S. Air Force Corrosion Control Facility on Edwards Air Force Base, also known as the Paint Barn, the F/A-18D aircraft designated NASA 862 will join the center’s stable of aircraft with its new colors. NASA 862 is intended to track, or “chase,” the quiet supersonic X-59 aircraft and provide a platform for videographers and photographers to document flights.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-YfWFYcbOx-zQQIqsFXVtkMnsWy7viI2rD2Ovpe5GOwMPL0g7JBY5ps4tmavf970W4KcPtWd8HDfSHnkRP5XBxwCZ4QXZrATqScp-ZgE7oJATYC4t8UX2JTVd-TCqW5M21Jmefkbp19Am2iWETPdw2eXwQa1x91na6zCPEL5eWmLSNOdYnpmqRG_/s2000/afrc2021-0097-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-YfWFYcbOx-zQQIqsFXVtkMnsWy7viI2rD2Ovpe5GOwMPL0g7JBY5ps4tmavf970W4KcPtWd8HDfSHnkRP5XBxwCZ4QXZrATqScp-ZgE7oJATYC4t8UX2JTVd-TCqW5M21Jmefkbp19Am2iWETPdw2eXwQa1x91na6zCPEL5eWmLSNOdYnpmqRG_/w640-h426/afrc2021-0097-01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: NASA 862, which is an F/A-18D now based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, arrives for the first time in 2021. The aircraft was stationed at the U.S. Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. Once here, the aircraft was sent for major maintenance, painting, and preparation to join the NASA Armstrong aircraft fleet. Image Credit: Lauren Hughes.<br /><br />The long road for this aircraft’s acquisition and preparation began in 2020. Troy Asher, director for Flight Operations at NASA Armstrong, initiated an effort to replace the center’s legacy, two-seat F/A-18B models with newer aircraft. To that end, Asher tasked Jack Ly, a NASA Armstrong flight operations engineer, to evaluate several aircraft that could meet the center’s mission.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6pdG6HQyw9nejj5ECgoJduFoASD5pCvVnKaAWIovl-QdLpaT5OOZwhiZZpNOl27uv3ExJAHhgASDIwjtGVnUay6f1JKShIXusUZ977x_wg12qii3NQ54oym6AEwbPAcfTaLlPQarhAgCz-swzA4v_ub6wJjt_UwfcNGnUnQrZ-Vdjvtl2bchEgyR/s2000/afrc2023-0038-125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6pdG6HQyw9nejj5ECgoJduFoASD5pCvVnKaAWIovl-QdLpaT5OOZwhiZZpNOl27uv3ExJAHhgASDIwjtGVnUay6f1JKShIXusUZ977x_wg12qii3NQ54oym6AEwbPAcfTaLlPQarhAgCz-swzA4v_ub6wJjt_UwfcNGnUnQrZ-Vdjvtl2bchEgyR/w640-h426/afrc2023-0038-125.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: U.S. Air Force Corrosion Control Facility personnel work to sand NASA 862, which is an F/A-18D based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The facility is located on Edwards Air Force Base and is also known as the Paint Barn. Image Credit: Steve Freeman.<br /><br />“We’re excited to have this aircraft in our fleet,” Ly said. “Our hope is in the next couple of months we will be able to integrate more instrumentation to support more missions.”</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimTrO4aPRLVdjyGUlZOp2ATN27SLOfAC7m4plM7dKcSFhBYWc8avRG0hjvml01nkpRzhbw_3efOSOR-vIY12S7Ue1AmoDTYeXI662qSSLLAP598M8ZLHb7cBJJx06L0uY7kY78RioNV9-Cf6EEhhQZGgLkKm-8TuDqiIkDEmuxlHLgKOF_BPxtWhkf/s2000/afrc2023-0038-226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimTrO4aPRLVdjyGUlZOp2ATN27SLOfAC7m4plM7dKcSFhBYWc8avRG0hjvml01nkpRzhbw_3efOSOR-vIY12S7Ue1AmoDTYeXI662qSSLLAP598M8ZLHb7cBJJx06L0uY7kY78RioNV9-Cf6EEhhQZGgLkKm-8TuDqiIkDEmuxlHLgKOF_BPxtWhkf/w640-h426/afrc2023-0038-226.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: U.S. Air Force Corrosion Control Facility personnel Kristian Snoots and Shelby Youngo remove masking from NASA 862, which is an F/A-18D based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The corrosion control facility is located on Edwards Air Force Base and is also known as the Paint Barn. Image Credit: Steve Freeman.<br /><br />Ly identified the F/A-18D that would become NASA 862, was identified in May 2021 at its home base at the U.S. Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. After leading a team to inspect the aircraft, its airframe and component records, Ly gave his recommendation to select it. Although the F/A-18D is considered old by military standards, it is more modern the F/A-18B, and its parts are easier to find.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqn2x1MYIAl4YNoINMHKU_jnrTWfsl8A9EJEA7LhJ8uSwM9BBXIRWRqANfFH6g6uhW_3vvHQeiL7ZMZRB11PTHx8lRcgCQ62JFdfHUTdexnazbvFa1x_U3zSqeUHETln4SHoQHRZt3O0mOPqT3pyngAJu3bQGF4ffk-vNCXe91I7fsTD4Htymclc6G/s2000/afrc2023-0038-280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqn2x1MYIAl4YNoINMHKU_jnrTWfsl8A9EJEA7LhJ8uSwM9BBXIRWRqANfFH6g6uhW_3vvHQeiL7ZMZRB11PTHx8lRcgCQ62JFdfHUTdexnazbvFa1x_U3zSqeUHETln4SHoQHRZt3O0mOPqT3pyngAJu3bQGF4ffk-vNCXe91I7fsTD4Htymclc6G/w640-h426/afrc2023-0038-280.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: U.S. Air Force Corrosion Control Facility’s Shelby Youngo paints tail art on to NASA 862, which is an F/A-18D based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The corrosion control facility is located on Edwards Air Force Base and is also known as the Paint Barn. Image Credit: Steve Freeman.<br /><br />The aircraft spent four months having its military components removed during preparation for transfer to NASA Armstrong. The aircraft was delivered to NASA Armstrong in October 2021, and coordination continued to send it to the Naval Air Station North Island Base, near San Diego, in June 2022 for intense depot-level maintenance. NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and NASA Armstrong provided funding to enable the aircraft rejuvenation.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yoggK4Y59_nY0CskrmOBidSfZbM9xxrrg31r4Ds3kKdZnvMox8XRoPxY7jgZhu2SrODkQpsuA3A6bdW_uSdFirm4QjZw0-ET3c57QNSX7JeygtbZDSwp20In9ozm1KPTTXwjtZImk-ZwJOouEhGDgvNQKCGkeExf-K1Jg_Orqi4GimbjTFoZtHdL/s2000/afrc2023-0038-294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yoggK4Y59_nY0CskrmOBidSfZbM9xxrrg31r4Ds3kKdZnvMox8XRoPxY7jgZhu2SrODkQpsuA3A6bdW_uSdFirm4QjZw0-ET3c57QNSX7JeygtbZDSwp20In9ozm1KPTTXwjtZImk-ZwJOouEhGDgvNQKCGkeExf-K1Jg_Orqi4GimbjTFoZtHdL/w640-h426/afrc2023-0038-294.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: U.S. Air Force Corrosion Control Facility’s Shelby Youngo completes painting a danger warning on NASA 862, which is an F/A-18D based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The corrosion control facility is located on Edwards Air Force Base and is also known as the Paint Barn. Image Credit: Steve Freeman.<br /><br />For the aircraft to fly NASA Armstrong missions, it needed an overhaul required when an aircraft flies a certain number of hours. That involves removing the wings, inspecting for corrosion, modernizing its systems, and conducting other key inspections and servicing. Technicians installed full aircraft controls in the rear cockpit to allow a second pilot to receive training or maintain proficiency. The maintenance to NASA 862 should support a life span of about 40 years for the aircraft based on NASA Armstrong usage.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-A6JA6NFyToeyYaT26V4zDtoOM9X_P0_6EmNZREaxVTIQKHkq-8v4MVb3BirNv31Aq-rlONY13KfpWAB_31j7dg5o3uv96A01v2bfyMm5MPssZ6XTQUxNBNOTYwoylsEVlLyROtEemmgsy5fMsdbDDi8xyVQtWvB0EN5RzFimlU5NluVcomZQyVA-/s2000/afrc2023-0038-301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-A6JA6NFyToeyYaT26V4zDtoOM9X_P0_6EmNZREaxVTIQKHkq-8v4MVb3BirNv31Aq-rlONY13KfpWAB_31j7dg5o3uv96A01v2bfyMm5MPssZ6XTQUxNBNOTYwoylsEVlLyROtEemmgsy5fMsdbDDi8xyVQtWvB0EN5RzFimlU5NluVcomZQyVA-/w640-h426/afrc2023-0038-301.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Eric Miranda, who works at the U.S. Air Force Corrosion Control Facility, paints areas in a stencil for adding some finishing touches to NASA 862, which is an F/A-18D based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The corrosion control facility is located on Edwards Air Force Base and is also known as the Paint Barn. Image Credit: Steve Freeman.<br /><br />NASA 862 returned to NASA Armstrong in February 2023, then made an initial trip to the Paint Barn in March for sanding, masking and preparation for painting. It then returned to the Paint Barn for the full NASA Armstrong paint scheme and the final application of safety decals and NASA and Armstrong identifications. The aircraft returned to NASA Armstrong May 15.<br /><br />NASA entered the aircraft into its Aircraft Management Information System and completed weight and balance checks. The aircraft’s initial airworthiness review is expected this month. Once complete, Asher will sign its airworthiness certificate and send it to Center Director Brad Flick for final approval for the aircraft to begin flights.<br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />Quesst: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/lowboom/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/lowboom/index.html</a><br /><br />Aeronautics: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/topics/aeronautics/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/topics/aeronautics/index.html</a><br /><br />Armstrong Flight Research Center: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/index.html</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Ryan Henderson/Armstrong Flight Research Center/Jay Levine, X-Press Editor.</p><p>Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-39738320537221186782023-05-19T16:38:00.005-07:002023-05-19T16:38:45.662-07:00Hubble Peers into a Glistening Star Cluster<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32COvLtcs_yaL2UpIM9bOrBB_3cyTj-ZmWWyt9FGCoMTpmCubf732e06eredOy1VzURadKOj3ipbyBHxMdpNU-6bpFAM_pVmvjNOW7K17W3JEHpxhYywgLupKMxoOWYASQ-x75c4DmFJKb6HQw9uE5B4mExTKSF3qtw8TT9hMJA78na6-0-b0Kjwj/s197/hubblepng230x0_q85.png__270x197_q85_crop_subsampling-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="165" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32COvLtcs_yaL2UpIM9bOrBB_3cyTj-ZmWWyt9FGCoMTpmCubf732e06eredOy1VzURadKOj3ipbyBHxMdpNU-6bpFAM_pVmvjNOW7K17W3JEHpxhYywgLupKMxoOWYASQ-x75c4DmFJKb6HQw9uE5B4mExTKSF3qtw8TT9hMJA78na6-0-b0Kjwj/w168-h200/hubblepng230x0_q85.png__270x197_q85_crop_subsampling-2.png" width="168" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>NASA / ESA - Hubble Space Telescope (HST) patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 19, 2023</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmbBB6ey73Eq9LTH_6tc9kh9rwy9-GIVOQZCSQf1oNmZjbz77p03WJo3V_whMkvpXYGk7IaxzLnzIeljLY9z-RnL4ogGxHHSQ4y0bXncFzzP-hXkN3DDzDZtGLYwzN5Fqq3xZnBzJPrqtLjBHYIxam3Pl-3zOck2jc2k1me42S37rI2ymcPmJ90Nt/s3987/hubble_ngc6325_potw2320a_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3070" data-original-width="3987" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmbBB6ey73Eq9LTH_6tc9kh9rwy9-GIVOQZCSQf1oNmZjbz77p03WJo3V_whMkvpXYGk7IaxzLnzIeljLY9z-RnL4ogGxHHSQ4y0bXncFzzP-hXkN3DDzDZtGLYwzN5Fqq3xZnBzJPrqtLjBHYIxam3Pl-3zOck2jc2k1me42S37rI2ymcPmJ90Nt/w640-h492/hubble_ngc6325_potw2320a_0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>The densely packed globular cluster NGC 6325 glistens in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This concentrated group of stars lies around 26,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus.<br /><br />Globular clusters like NGC 6325 are tightly bound collections of stars with anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of members. They can be found in all types of galaxies and act as natural laboratories for astronomers studying star formation. This is because the constituent stars of globular clusters tend to form at roughly the same time and with similar initial composition, meaning astronomers can use them to fine-tune their theories of how stars evolve.<br /><br />Astronomers inspected this particular cluster not to understand star formation, but to search for a hidden monster. Though it might look peaceful, astronomers suspect this cluster could contain an intermediate-mass black hole that is subtly affecting the motion of surrounding stars. Previous research found that the distribution of stars in some highly concentrated globular clusters – those with stars packed relatively tightly together – was slightly different from what astronomers expected.<br /><br />This discrepancy suggests that at least some of these densely packed globular clusters – including perhaps NGC 6325 – could have a black hole lurking at the center. To explore this hypothesis further, astronomers turned to Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 to observe a larger sample of densely populated globular clusters, which included this star-studded image of NGC 6325. Additional data from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys was also incorporated into this image.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ozBgod23xJR0wIElWkm1cubNPZvuN-aFJM1cg35YjXqAysswqiEttWJW1G9E1QAenSwvdlmil5wFsU0wCDV2hHgNTpuxp1GjzZgalavy1xZxYUGotw-3Oz6C-l_XpsEy0LdhS1VEMPIZDVY_gbFu9ak80vuWc6gHhDaEgNrkddqkVfx7cFbitF6X/s400/tumblr_inline_nwbqh6Z1Jz1tzhl5u_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="400" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ozBgod23xJR0wIElWkm1cubNPZvuN-aFJM1cg35YjXqAysswqiEttWJW1G9E1QAenSwvdlmil5wFsU0wCDV2hHgNTpuxp1GjzZgalavy1xZxYUGotw-3Oz6C-l_XpsEy0LdhS1VEMPIZDVY_gbFu9ak80vuWc6gHhDaEgNrkddqkVfx7cFbitF6X/w640-h360/tumblr_inline_nwbqh6Z1Jz1tzhl5u_500.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Hubble Space Telescope (HST)</p><p><b>For more information about Hubble, visit:</b><br /><br /><a href="http://hubblesite.org/">http://hubblesite.org/</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/hubble">http://www.nasa.gov/hubble</a><br /><br /><a href="https://esahubble.org/">https://esahubble.org/</a><br /><br />Wide Field Camera 3: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/observatory-instruments-wide-field-camera-3">https://www.nasa.gov/content/observatory-instruments-wide-field-camera-3</a><br /><br />Advanced Camera for Surveys: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/observatory-instruments-advanced-camera-for-surveys">https://www.nasa.gov/content/observatory-instruments-advanced-camera-for-surveys</a><br /><br />Text Credits: European Space Agency (ESA)/NASA/Andrea Gianopoulos/Image, Animation Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, E. Noyola, R. Cohen.</p><p>Best regards, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-50938821315351040422023-05-19T16:33:00.000-07:002023-05-19T16:33:04.365-07:00Space Station Science Highlights: Week of May 15, 2023<div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhZGNkP5wp5McMf6N6_Ywabn8Fd7vj0VlGadaZUnaC_D85m0SPVFgmNzGqvExVxgs_are_AjGm4OB9B7PCzzJfxoXxKbl6ehsJr-q7wx7Vj1DikI-K7J4TNSzAXDuu80cUGHoyVoWeKPWPnPI0rh1EKdMMClmHcbsF-9xuiIFI6ayI6O71lvpQwyP/s600/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhZGNkP5wp5McMf6N6_Ywabn8Fd7vj0VlGadaZUnaC_D85m0SPVFgmNzGqvExVxgs_are_AjGm4OB9B7PCzzJfxoXxKbl6ehsJr-q7wx7Vj1DikI-K7J4TNSzAXDuu80cUGHoyVoWeKPWPnPI0rh1EKdMMClmHcbsF-9xuiIFI6ayI6O71lvpQwyP/w200-h200/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ISS - Expedition 69 Mission patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 19, 2023<br /><br />Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of May 15 that included studying the behavior of protein solutions, testing technology to monitor astronaut sleep quality, and examining the effect of exercise regimens that do not include a treadmill.<br /><br /><b>Here are details on some of the microgravity investigations currently taking place aboard the orbiting lab:</b><br /><br /><b>Liquids, Uncontained</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvgRczYjua_I3MQmgR1qac285VFk2FjMtEXbY6gQiJ-KiC9EjmAtm2jLSGgGnu6PXN1lDAIAXlJKIaM4V3d-cj2jmAqa43Ox9lsxn0H8WDt1AFl2jaPKlyjurW2d9goiPYMV6IWXeLHmVAPHo_0BQuF-tptGHko4JOfJbLVGauwr3C7PLoxHNdwm7/s640/jsc2022e084481.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="640" height="616" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvgRczYjua_I3MQmgR1qac285VFk2FjMtEXbY6gQiJ-KiC9EjmAtm2jLSGgGnu6PXN1lDAIAXlJKIaM4V3d-cj2jmAqa43Ox9lsxn0H8WDt1AFl2jaPKlyjurW2d9goiPYMV6IWXeLHmVAPHo_0BQuF-tptGHko4JOfJbLVGauwr3C7PLoxHNdwm7/w640-h616/jsc2022e084481.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: This image shows mixing at the interface of two shear-driven systems in a ground analog of hardware for Ring-Sheared Drop-IBP, which tests computer models for the behavior of high-concentration protein fluids. Image Credit: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.<br /><br />Ring Sheared Drop-IBP, sponsored by the ISS National Lab, studies high-concentration protein solutions and tests computer models for predicting their behavior. The investigation uses a system without containers that removes the effects of interactions with solid walls. Results could lead to more accurate models of complex fluid behavior, enabling production of next-generation medicines and improving in-space manufacturing and 3D printing. Results also could help streamline pharmaceutical manufacturing, 3D printing, food processing, and other processes on Earth. During the week, crew members installed sample syringes and deployed drops into the system for processing.<br /><br /><b>Sleep, Improved</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7eo4fDYeT8HaKdVy_94yjzjjW2fisJwsJSXntoRB1luvKDw01a7OgIC2oenV9RjPgP3I_Xe56O-n5L9yeb5h17gatXTQ6rtqdkkWYlJHo2vvrvyxUz9hATqHH5U4_wLmob0NNmMUtYeLomIcpNsT72sz6-k4vFF4orpELoGwgnW2EC-RcF8JhZP3/s5568/dreams_kit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3712" data-original-width="5568" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7eo4fDYeT8HaKdVy_94yjzjjW2fisJwsJSXntoRB1luvKDw01a7OgIC2oenV9RjPgP3I_Xe56O-n5L9yeb5h17gatXTQ6rtqdkkWYlJHo2vvrvyxUz9hATqHH5U4_wLmob0NNmMUtYeLomIcpNsT72sz6-k4vFF4orpELoGwgnW2EC-RcF8JhZP3/w640-h426/dreams_kit.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: The hardware kit for Dreams, an ESA investigation that monitors the quality of astronaut sleep. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br />Insufficient sleep and sleep disorders can impair performance and increase the risk of medical problems such as cardiovascular disease. Dreams, an investigation from ESA (European Space Agency), demonstrates a wearable headband to monitor astronaut sleep quality during spaceflight. Sleep conditions for astronauts can be stressful and monitoring their sleep quality is difficult with the devices currently available. This device collects a variety of data including sleep duration, stages, and number of awakenings and heart rate. The easy-to-use tool also could help improve sleep for people on Earth. Crew members wore the headband for several sessions during the week.<br /><br /><b>Exercise, Tested</b><br /><br />Missions to the Moon and Mars need to include exercise devices that provide a variety of aerobic and resistance options to maintain astronaut health and physical fitness and also meet launch weight and mass limits. Treadmills currently used to reinforce the motor pattern of walking in astronauts are too bulky and heavy for future long-term missions. Zero T2 examines the effects on bone, muscle, and aerobic health and performance when crew members do not exercise on a treadmill during flight. Results could help determine whether other exercise regimens are adequate to maintain physical health on future missions. Crew members exercised on the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) during the week for the investigation.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0md05m3FZZsd4ybLsKNfKU-I1sfFX4-znovaPFcYM6PWTw8shqoAXTWj0tRMAZ4UFNvg8TwiUkR3y9xmDrGx4SQoJD21CkINqaR-MqmwmArzSL_HiNcnfALWRnQXs1licQv4WbvI6Ml9JxjlW1vLJpVwSzhjfHCoUPuI3ZdMoU863UHvEI3XOMB_6/s5568/viedma_lake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3712" data-original-width="5568" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0md05m3FZZsd4ybLsKNfKU-I1sfFX4-znovaPFcYM6PWTw8shqoAXTWj0tRMAZ4UFNvg8TwiUkR3y9xmDrGx4SQoJD21CkINqaR-MqmwmArzSL_HiNcnfALWRnQXs1licQv4WbvI6Ml9JxjlW1vLJpVwSzhjfHCoUPuI3ZdMoU863UHvEI3XOMB_6/w640-h426/viedma_lake.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Argentina’s glacier-fed Viedma Lake is visible as the space station orbits 268 miles above. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br /><b>Other Investigations Involving the Crew:</b><br /><br />- Students write software to control the space station’s <b>Astrobee</b> free-flying robots for Zero Robotics. The experience helps inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers.<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7856">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7856</a><br /><br /><b>- ISS Ham Radio</b> provides students, teachers, and others the opportunity to communicate with astronauts using amateur radio units. Before a scheduled call, students learn about the station, radio waves, and other topics, and prepare a list of questions based on the topics they have researched.<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=337">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=337</a><br /><br /><b>- Space Health</b>, an investigation from CSA (Canadian Space Agency), uses the wearable <b>Bio-Monitor</b> system integrated with the automated Artemis platform to assess the effect of space travel on heart health. Automated monitoring systems are needed as future missions travel farther from medical support.<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8601">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8601</a><br /><br /><b>- Immunity Assay</b>, an investigation from ESA, monitors how spaceflight affects immune function using a newly developed process that can be done during flight. Results could support development of countermeasures for immunological issues during long-duration spaceflight.<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8170">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8170</a><br /><br /><b>- JEM Water Recovery System</b> from JAXA demonstrates technology to generate potable water from urine. The system could contribute to life support systems on the space station and future exploration missions.<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2049">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2049</a><br /><br /><b>- Airborne Particulate Monitor (APM)</b> demonstrates an instrument to measure the concentration of particles in the space station’s air. Maintaining air quality in the space station is vital for crew member health, but no capability currently exists to verify that maximum allowable concentrations of particles are met.<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7936">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7936</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxjQaK7ZLlb1uZWVGRcSS4Q4UgkvVge29uIN4ld4401uyzKikSB1ds70HU68nx3ea6tJzr-cSsWzjJD0ebfuQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">Space to Ground: Springing Into Flight: May 19, 2023</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The space station, a robust microgravity laboratory with a multitude of specialized research facilities and tools, has supported many scientific breakthroughs from investigations spanning every major scientific discipline. The ISS Benefits for Humanity 2022 publication details the expanding universe of results realized from more than 20 years of experiments conducted on the station.<br /><br />The ISS Benefits for Humanity 2022: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/benefits/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/benefits/index.html</a><br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />Expedition 69: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html</a><br /><br />Ring Sheared Drop-IBP: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8694">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8694</a><br /><br />Dreams: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8344">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8344</a><br /><br />Zero T2: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8574">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8574</a><br /><br />Bio-Monitor: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7392">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7392</a><br /><br />ISS National Lab: <a href="https://www.issnationallab.org/">https://www.issnationallab.org/</a><br /><br />Spot the Station: <a href="https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/">https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/</a><br /><br />Space Station Research and Technology: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html</a><br /><br />International Space Station (ISS): <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Video (NASA9, Text, Credits: NASA/Carrie Gilder/John Love, ISS Research Planning Integration Scientist Expedition 69.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></div>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-35718060444480501472023-05-19T16:22:00.001-07:002023-05-19T16:22:58.002-07:00JWST spots biggest water plume yet spewing from a moon of Saturn<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopZB5HdNERihrou5pDEW24-sRK1u1Zf1jJaPZnHrobIsg9P9KQdc3O9mhh5qHbAGdqZvqK1_kbu3leuOjgz4V1d-IksJJ_ZQJrvdJGgMQZZI9HrkunEIvMLiGzb7QnwwayJQKwRsTWLSAufNDWty9qZiYYIe25besWD-eTY384xd6Y1_QD1lz2vXF/s303/302px-JWST_decal.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="302" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopZB5HdNERihrou5pDEW24-sRK1u1Zf1jJaPZnHrobIsg9P9KQdc3O9mhh5qHbAGdqZvqK1_kbu3leuOjgz4V1d-IksJJ_ZQJrvdJGgMQZZI9HrkunEIvMLiGzb7QnwwayJQKwRsTWLSAufNDWty9qZiYYIe25besWD-eTY384xd6Y1_QD1lz2vXF/w199-h200/302px-JWST_decal.svg.png" width="199" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>NASA / ESA / CSA-ASC - James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 19, 2023<br /><br />The huge watery cloud spurting from Enceladus could carry the ingredients for life farther into space than previously known. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFS5p3pIRbtkEIbQZUJzPpdUxDkugHQrAJvQ7DoZnkfATBeRr1-gUTeNxWf-c4GqdKnEDcRIbtLyQXMEmKrz9407WOB85VdiSypPiqIqTeoVq9sYm7gw6xMGwN8RwVnkE0PXMmb_atQtc_GlO616O8F5Lp97kncuaMXXHTlfSWrdejEm1oMqTI4n1/s767/d41586-023-01666-x_25376082.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="767" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFS5p3pIRbtkEIbQZUJzPpdUxDkugHQrAJvQ7DoZnkfATBeRr1-gUTeNxWf-c4GqdKnEDcRIbtLyQXMEmKrz9407WOB85VdiSypPiqIqTeoVq9sYm7gw6xMGwN8RwVnkE0PXMmb_atQtc_GlO616O8F5Lp97kncuaMXXHTlfSWrdejEm1oMqTI4n1/w640-h360/d41586-023-01666-x_25376082.webp" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: The Cassini spacecraft swoops through plumes issuing from Saturn’s moon Enceladus (artist’s impression). Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA.<br /><br />The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has spotted Saturn’s moon Enceladus spraying out a huge plume of water vapour, far bigger than any previously seen there. This enormous cloud might contain the chemical ingredients of life, escaping from beneath the moon’s icy surface.<br /><br />In 2005, a NASA spacecraft called Cassini discovered icy particles squirting from Enceladus’s subsurface ocean through cracks in the moon’s surface. But JWST shows that material is spraying much farther than previously thought — many times deeper into space than the size of Enceladus itself.<br /><br />“It’s immense,” said Sara Faggi, a planetary astronomer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, on 17 May at a conference at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. She declined to provide further details, citing a scientific paper that will be published soon.<br /><br /><b>Rare ocean world</b><br /><br />Enceladus excites astrobiologists because it is one of the few ‘ocean worlds’ in the Solar System, making it one of the best places to look for extraterrestrial life. The salty ocean that lies beneath Enceladus’s outer covering of ice is a possible haven for living organisms, which could be sustained by chemical energy at hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnaG3s-c6FQceCjA7iawF6z33xAO8JRb_-ydrctxFsGGetK2_BHaYRC9Md3QptNBmefpscyjTiimSeL9llfwjTpSmFP1DAsc9yj1pLAYDxdObxLU1dhyCTzdzNUk2IVLHE-lLqtrqDWdK8K6a6dMEGN-xo0AgFFRUUcytWp8c4dP8sQBBp_S6vA9S/s8534/pia19656_labeled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4800" data-original-width="8534" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnaG3s-c6FQceCjA7iawF6z33xAO8JRb_-ydrctxFsGGetK2_BHaYRC9Md3QptNBmefpscyjTiimSeL9llfwjTpSmFP1DAsc9yj1pLAYDxdObxLU1dhyCTzdzNUk2IVLHE-lLqtrqDWdK8K6a6dMEGN-xo0AgFFRUUcytWp8c4dP8sQBBp_S6vA9S/w640-h360/pia19656_labeled.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Illustration of the interior of Saturn's moon Enceladus showing a global liquid water ocean between its rocky core and icy crust. Thickness of layers shown here is not to scale. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.<br /><br />The material that squirts out of Enceladus, primarily through fractures known as tiger stripes around the moon’s south pole, is a direct link to that potential extraterrestrial ecosystem. The plumes seen by Cassini contained silica particles that were probably carried up from the sea floor by churning fluids (1). Cassini flew many times through Enceladus’s plumes, measuring ice grains and life-friendly chemicals such as methane, carbon dioxide and ammonia.<br /><br />But it took JWST, a telescope located 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, to discover something that Cassini could not see from its ringside seat. Whereas Cassini could spot ice grains that do not travel far from the surface, JWST has a wider perspective and sensitive instruments that can capture faint gas signals around Enceladus.<br /><br /><b>Enceladus at a glance</b><br /><br />On 9 November 2022, JWST peeked briefly at Enceladus. Just 4.5 minutes’ worth of data revealed the enormous, very cold plume of water vapour. The forthcoming paper will quantify how much water is spraying out and its temperature, Faggi said. But the plume is likely to be of low density, more like a diffuse, cold cloud than a damp spray. That’s not great news for anyone looking to grab samples from the plume and hoping to find life, as the signs of life may be too sparse to detect (2). Ice grains seen by Cassini much closer to Enceladus are more likely to have high concentrations of organic particles, says Shannon MacKenzie, a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdBFN2mtxhYlI7aMfAjKg1gCkcSHztIKV32Kot1sKC1rP-MuQKRswzgr24O3BAie3L8Qe8QGaA7BqN89rGlkLL9FYcTCRpmFto3IDoxii2Wt8f6rO53bnkBeSl0QR0gu1Ez76OKPNy7xo9I7f3bCBt1R52Cdo28OZWupmiwn4VVOKqsqCW9WTv9u-/s1060/enceladustigerstripes.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdBFN2mtxhYlI7aMfAjKg1gCkcSHztIKV32Kot1sKC1rP-MuQKRswzgr24O3BAie3L8Qe8QGaA7BqN89rGlkLL9FYcTCRpmFto3IDoxii2Wt8f6rO53bnkBeSl0QR0gu1Ez76OKPNy7xo9I7f3bCBt1R52Cdo28OZWupmiwn4VVOKqsqCW9WTv9u-/w544-h640/enceladustigerstripes.webp" width="544" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Though the northern hemisphere of Enceladus is pockmarked with impact craters, the southern hemisphere (especially near the pole) is almost entirely crater-free. Instead, this region is carpeted with countless house-sized ice boulders, as well as long, winding crevasses known as “tiger stripes.” From these relatively warm stripes, fissures form and disappear, creating huge geysers of water vapor fueled by a deep, subsurface ocean. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/ESA.<br /><br />JWST also analysed the spectrum of sunlight reflecting off Enceladus and found evidence of many chemicals, including water and possibly other compounds that could hint at geological or biological activity in the moon’s ocean. “We have many more surprises,” Faggi said.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXiLOau1b20eIwBqeJiCJSher2dmoBaBmVbYS4d4-JN0-gJ1NDyaN1Wu6xOSkcvRV_-9IM4t3vNRCa-CDLsZ3ORp9SlcKY-KPrUlJzNj0COS1PY-Km7AJkHCSjDaYgJ8ZA6B557BCMbd33GQlk6Oesb-hiYF1qrcCR_Cx5t47cYvsWmX4A7cpoNPb/s777/NASAs-James-Webb-Space-Telescope.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="777" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXiLOau1b20eIwBqeJiCJSher2dmoBaBmVbYS4d4-JN0-gJ1NDyaN1Wu6xOSkcvRV_-9IM4t3vNRCa-CDLsZ3ORp9SlcKY-KPrUlJzNj0COS1PY-Km7AJkHCSjDaYgJ8ZA6B557BCMbd33GQlk6Oesb-hiYF1qrcCR_Cx5t47cYvsWmX4A7cpoNPb/w640-h360/NASAs-James-Webb-Space-Telescope.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Animation Credits: NASA/ESA</p><p>Researchers are already planning how to follow up on the discovery. Last week, JWST organizers released a list of the observations to be taken in the telescope’s second round of operations — and it includes another project to study Enceladus. That work will look at Enceladus for six times longer than the first JWST study, and will aim to find chemical compounds associated with habitability, such as organic compounds and hydrogen peroxide. “The new observation will give us our best shot yet at searching for habitability indicators on the surface,” says project lead Christopher Glein, a geochemist at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.<br /><br /><b>Moon-scouting snake robot</b><br /><br />JWST’s findings provide more grist for a possible NASA mission to Enceladus to search for signs of life there. Proposals under consideration include an ‘orbilander’ mission that would orbit the moon for a year and a half before landing at its south pole. Another proposal calls for the development of an autonomous snake robot that could slither beneath Enceladus’s ice to explore the ocean.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88latDPSozNUvpE1hf01fzRkSzUgKzrcty6TbqOn3aAKeeRHgnL1ODxhUJszsC0h6kJLvdaXBeqeiaKoEN_8ieBmQa4tJR-tRjGN1etKyR5cKedLGqCdO2fxIqhGQ4MEaTaZOHFtmGrVY8KV6xE4ZAkVsLTGEoBBVFukFF0IKx6Tkf4LAOb6orUMA/s2560/1-EELS_in_snow_with_team_4uPRCyb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2560" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88latDPSozNUvpE1hf01fzRkSzUgKzrcty6TbqOn3aAKeeRHgnL1ODxhUJszsC0h6kJLvdaXBeqeiaKoEN_8ieBmQa4tJR-tRjGN1etKyR5cKedLGqCdO2fxIqhGQ4MEaTaZOHFtmGrVY8KV6xE4ZAkVsLTGEoBBVFukFF0IKx6Tkf4LAOb6orUMA/w640-h360/1-EELS_in_snow_with_team_4uPRCyb.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Team members from JPL test a snake robot called EELS at a ski resort in the Southern California mountains in February. Designed to sense its environment, calculate risk, travel, and gather data without real-time human input, EELS could eventually explore destinations throughout the solar system. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.<br /><br />Other icy moons in the Solar System are also getting attention from JWST. At the conference, Geronimo Villanueva, a planetary scientist at Goddard, reported that the telescope had detected carbon dioxide on Jupiter’s moon Europa. That excites scientists because carbon and oxygen are key building blocks for life on Earth. NASA is launching a mission to Europa next year that will explore that ocean world in more detail. “This is definitely a new era in the exploration of the Solar System,” Villanueva said.<br /><br />doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01666-x">https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01666-x</a><br /><br /><b>References:</b><br /><br />1. Schoenfeld, A. M. et al. Comm. Earth Environ. 4, 28 (2023).<br /><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fs43247-023-00674-z">https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fs43247-023-00674-z</a><br /><br />2. Affholder, A., Guyot, F., Sauterey, B., Ferrière, R. & Mazevet, S. Planet. Sci. J. 3, 270 (2022). <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847%2FPSJ%2Faca275">https://doi.org/10.3847%2FPSJ%2Faca275</a><br /><br /><b>Related article (JPL):</b><br /><br />JPL’s Snake-Like EELS Slithers Into New Robotics Terrain<br /><a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpls-snake-like-eels-slithers-into-new-robotics-terrain">https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpls-snake-like-eels-slithers-into-new-robotics-terrain</a><br /><br /><b>Related link:</b><br /><br />James Webb Space Telescope (JWST): <a href="https://esawebb.org/">https://esawebb.org/</a> and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/webb/main/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/webb/main/index.html</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Nature/Alexandra Witze/Orbiter.ch Aerospace.</p><p>Best regards, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-21887347743036858302023-05-19T16:12:00.001-07:002023-05-19T16:12:40.161-07:00NASA Selects Blue Origin for Astronaut Mission to the Moon<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8IJmRWNVU_cJllgFZxZAXYFHzessuhfrOds1lRHalkYXlC9HRqX5g4vzQ0_dgD-8xd8QaQfPcqOz_jD8kemgqtLFDg5kMi3mRMlFk2Y9e7NERjij_sqO9NdBtt1RyREynBiSqEpFGEXVZV7gYQlfNv0R8G4JHsw6rFBKq_Caf119nY_7nGP4Enkcb/s1200/Artemis_program_(original_with_wordmark).svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1110" data-original-width="1200" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8IJmRWNVU_cJllgFZxZAXYFHzessuhfrOds1lRHalkYXlC9HRqX5g4vzQ0_dgD-8xd8QaQfPcqOz_jD8kemgqtLFDg5kMi3mRMlFk2Y9e7NERjij_sqO9NdBtt1RyREynBiSqEpFGEXVZV7gYQlfNv0R8G4JHsw6rFBKq_Caf119nY_7nGP4Enkcb/w200-h185/Artemis_program_(original_with_wordmark).svg.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>NASA - ARTEMIS Program logo.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 19, 2023<br /><br />NASA has awarded a NextSTEP-2 Appendix P Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) contract to Blue Origin. Blue Origin’s National Team partners include Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYndLcd9Hi1_EeqmzkbCKw6RwujFDmDdQds5q2YEuat0s_BcEuKS8-vrBw-eU5KyF2FdrffWch2U2xoq0-L4bkkk3Qfy1BzALtVwAgXHyiYHQteRqk_WJNqZyC_EHtv-kn5jdqpAVz0Q0fGOdLT6ZQQXMkUx48wRfvBbK-mLbdWuQ7NM6rBZLHHgT5/s3366/1393b8d0-7808-4d09-b28a-bcd69fff9076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2242" data-original-width="3366" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYndLcd9Hi1_EeqmzkbCKw6RwujFDmDdQds5q2YEuat0s_BcEuKS8-vrBw-eU5KyF2FdrffWch2U2xoq0-L4bkkk3Qfy1BzALtVwAgXHyiYHQteRqk_WJNqZyC_EHtv-kn5jdqpAVz0Q0fGOdLT6ZQQXMkUx48wRfvBbK-mLbdWuQ7NM6rBZLHHgT5/w640-h426/1393b8d0-7808-4d09-b28a-bcd69fff9076.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: A rendering of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander that will return astronauts to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program. Image Credit: Blue Origin.<br /><br />Under this contract, Blue Origin and its National Team partners will develop and fly both a lunar lander that can make a precision landing anywhere on the Moon’s surface and a cislunar transporter. These vehicles are powered by LOX-LH2. The high-specific impulse of LOX-LH2 provides a dramatic advantage for high-energy deep space missions. Nevertheless, lower performing but more easily storable propellants (such as hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide as used on the Apollo lunar landers) have been favored for these missions because of the problematic boil-off of LOX-LH2 during their long mission timelines. </p><p>Through this contract, we will move the state of the art forward by making high-performance LOX-LH2 a storable propellant combination. Under SLD, we will develop and fly solar-powered 20-degree Kelvin cryocoolers and the other technologies required to prevent LOX-LH2 boil-off. Future missions beyond the Moon, and enabling capabilities such as high-performance nuclear thermal propulsion, will benefit greatly from storable LH2. Blue Origin’s architecture also prepares for that future day when lunar ice can be used to manufacture LOX and LH2 propellants on the Moon.<br /> <br />Blue Origin and its partners are already at work and are excited to be on this journey with NASA.<br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />NASA Selects Blue Origin for Astronaut Mission to the Moon: <br /><a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/news/nasa-selects-blue-origin-for-mission-to-moon/">https://www.blueorigin.com/news/nasa-selects-blue-origin-for-mission-to-moon/</a><br /><br />Blue Origin: <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/">https://www.blueorigin.com/</a><br /><br />Artemis: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/</a><br /><br />Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: Blue Origin.</p><p>Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-2784229751580851472023-05-18T18:25:00.000-07:002023-05-18T18:25:14.172-07:00ISS Orbit Prepared for Progress MS-23 Cargo Spacecraft Launch<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNPy5LQBQusWGK8O8jTalOuAJPu7VH9sD7OJ54rHBm9EQH31maN6t2-5_VIkORagIYJSJ6-BHzIL5rKMDhBvzLGFFT8c5_4JOVboSsevQGundi1_hRUVt6u3Dw3GZG3KK5EdQXhNkQYWUclw0n4BTlcX19SG3QnlK8SDfrMQTDSUdqmW6WE-1vs23/s297/Soyuz%20's%20patch.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="297" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNPy5LQBQusWGK8O8jTalOuAJPu7VH9sD7OJ54rHBm9EQH31maN6t2-5_VIkORagIYJSJ6-BHzIL5rKMDhBvzLGFFT8c5_4JOVboSsevQGundi1_hRUVt6u3Dw3GZG3KK5EdQXhNkQYWUclw0n4BTlcX19SG3QnlK8SDfrMQTDSUdqmW6WE-1vs23/w200-h168/Soyuz%20's%20patch.gif" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ROSCOSMOS - Russian Vehicles patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 18, 2023<br /><br />The engines of the Progress MS-22 spacecraft, docked to the Russian service module Zvezda, were turned on at 19:43 Moscow time and worked for 353.1 seconds, generating an impulse of 0.55 m/s.<br /><br />As a result, according to preliminary data, the average altitude of the station's orbit increased by 1 km and amounted to 416.6 km.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58MUUnrTwMdtMj_O_ystr6ujBMZG22FLnq1w-F3tN0ZjBOA-J1IAv1n1rSQnbm-snvuR291pBzs1wXA13Ml3IEbVrASIwo0jUrfRH5n42lPrYQM47agBK-ZyLan_icmYBjoSiQpbJYX8gwgi5jkPZP0CHQya5K-k-bAoDz3w_kJCBMzqpEmyTrvQi/s631/ISS-reboost-631-mar07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="631" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58MUUnrTwMdtMj_O_ystr6ujBMZG22FLnq1w-F3tN0ZjBOA-J1IAv1n1rSQnbm-snvuR291pBzs1wXA13Ml3IEbVrASIwo0jUrfRH5n42lPrYQM47agBK-ZyLan_icmYBjoSiQpbJYX8gwgi5jkPZP0CHQya5K-k-bAoDz3w_kJCBMzqpEmyTrvQi/w640-h304/ISS-reboost-631-mar07.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">ISS reboost by Progress Cargo Spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA</p><p>For the entire duration of the ISS flight, 339 corrections of its orbital altitude were carried out, including 187 with the help of Progress spacecraft engines.<br /><br />The launch of the Progress MS-23 spacecraft by the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome is scheduled for May 24, 2023.<br /><br />The crew of the 69th long-term expedition is working on board the ISS, consisting of cosmonauts of the State Corporation Roscosmos Sergey Prokopiev, Dmitry Petelin, Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Franck Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, UAE astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi.<br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />ROSCOSMOS Press Release: <a href="https://www.roscosmos.ru/39240/">https://www.roscosmos.ru/39240/</a><br /><br />Progress MS-22: <a href="https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/progress-ms-22/">https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/progress-ms-22/</a><br /><br />International Space Station (ISS): <a href="https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/mks/">https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/mks/</a><br /><br />Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.</p><p>Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-89832635143531327422023-05-18T18:00:00.003-07:002023-05-18T18:00:38.533-07:00Station Preps for Axiom Mission 2 Nearing Sunday Launch<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1lyF3DX66xBshd5v7DxyaajEdb5qpQmcQXTZk7tcq_VC6btkQbka8xYoWW9Rl-cFJzUb3FobrPOaZvsO5izX7CmXsDbkefPnI3EiOvXKzOXQtAat8Qj0NKYJZZg5Rym3X5pG4p_V9af6zm1jZduUMm5A2l0dohPG7o4cQLhynVMObqecjxUir3fq/s600/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1lyF3DX66xBshd5v7DxyaajEdb5qpQmcQXTZk7tcq_VC6btkQbka8xYoWW9Rl-cFJzUb3FobrPOaZvsO5izX7CmXsDbkefPnI3EiOvXKzOXQtAat8Qj0NKYJZZg5Rym3X5pG4p_V9af6zm1jZduUMm5A2l0dohPG7o4cQLhynVMObqecjxUir3fq/w200-h200/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ISS - Expedition 69 Mission patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 18, 2023<br /><br />The Expedition 69 crew members continue preparing the International Space Station for the arrival four private astronauts early next week. Meanwhile, the orbital residents also stayed focused on their life science activities and lab maintenance tasks.<br /><br />The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon Freedom crew ship attached, rolled out to its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday morning. It is scheduled to launch four Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) astronauts at 5:37 p.m. EDT on Sunday to the orbital outpost. Former NASA astronaut and Ax-2 Commander Peggy Whitson will lead first-time space flyers Pilot John Shoffner and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi aboard Dragon during its space flight. Dragon will automatically approach and dock to the space-facing port on the Harmony module at 9:24 a.m. on Monday.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUA557zV_Sv1cGbBzmGfYP4HGfnZn9FmamOZna47YJ2tQisZoeTSx36J917SX0pum2LfMlTbXcq1OJ1a_BhusdSyQI7LwZ59zxRfqxtFp1r-wwoirqv8R3MWHtIy71BuGND0j7EYdsSLKtm7I-e8xkPQBf1OmRzj750yFUIcY9CdsN-IvvQMUqv7XC/s2048/51999677706_d614616a58_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUA557zV_Sv1cGbBzmGfYP4HGfnZn9FmamOZna47YJ2tQisZoeTSx36J917SX0pum2LfMlTbXcq1OJ1a_BhusdSyQI7LwZ59zxRfqxtFp1r-wwoirqv8R3MWHtIy71BuGND0j7EYdsSLKtm7I-e8xkPQBf1OmRzj750yFUIcY9CdsN-IvvQMUqv7XC/w640-h426/51999677706_d614616a58_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour carrying four Axiom Mission 1 astronauts approaches the International Space Station on April 9, 2022, with the first quarter Moon in the background. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br />Two station flight engineers spent a portion of Thursday configuring station equipment to support the four Ax-2 crew members during their stay aboard orbital lab. NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen gathered and staged emergency hardware on midday Thursday to accommodate the additional astronauts and their Dragon vehicle. UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi relocated a station computer from the Kibo laboratory module to the Harmony module for Ax-2 crew use.<br /><br />Bowen would go on and work the rest of the day inside the Destiny laboratory module servicing life support gear that cools station hardware and rejects heat using water loops. Alneyadi charged batteries, removed components, and practiced installing jetpacks on the Extravehicular Mobility Units, or spacesuits, in preparation for upcoming spacewalks.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguGrvt43447RJzAWntONKzQbWqZlOFjbM6Tdky4nN5NlozSG-IO03gBGfLkZnm6vgrJxlyhqyhYuV8O5VqJQK3Wlx90Avq28tvOlBlaLZHTn1mXFxF_HplbzLOffQGdTxlQXDwqVeTBFxJyghD3sH98taJhdZOiGNLz8wGGQfXSldgcp-XOpcePpgz/s480/International_Space_Station_pillars.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguGrvt43447RJzAWntONKzQbWqZlOFjbM6Tdky4nN5NlozSG-IO03gBGfLkZnm6vgrJxlyhqyhYuV8O5VqJQK3Wlx90Avq28tvOlBlaLZHTn1mXFxF_HplbzLOffQGdTxlQXDwqVeTBFxJyghD3sH98taJhdZOiGNLz8wGGQfXSldgcp-XOpcePpgz/w640-h360/International_Space_Station_pillars.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: ESA</p><p>NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio worked inside the Kibo lab installing protein crystal research hardware and a centrifuge supporting life science and physics research. NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg wrapped up the checkout and activation of the Treadmill 2 in the Tranquility module following its inspection and cleaning earlier in the week.<br /><br />Commander Sergey Prokopyev joined Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin after breakfast for ultrasound scans of their stomachs to understand microgravity’s affect on the digestion process. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev attached sensors to himself recording his heart activity while pedaling on an exercise cycle for a fitness evaluation. Fedyaev that partnered with Prokopyev at the end of the day transferring cargo from the ISS Progress 83 resupply ship docked to the Zvezda service module’s aft port.<br /><br /><b>Related article (NASA):<br /></b><br />NASA Sets Coverage for Axiom Mission 2 Briefings, Events, Broadcast<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-axiom-mission-2-briefings-events-broadcast">https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-axiom-mission-2-briefings-events-broadcast</a><br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />Expedition 69: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html</a><br /><br />Harmony module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/harmony">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/harmony</a><br /><br />Kibo laboratory module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/japan-kibo-laboratory">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/japan-kibo-laboratory</a><br /><br />Destiny laboratory module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/us-destiny-laboratory">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/us-destiny-laboratory</a><br /><br />Destiny laboratory: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/us-destiny-laboratory">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/us-destiny-laboratory</a><br /><br />Protein crystal research: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7468">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7468</a><br /><br />Tranquility module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/tranquility/">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/tranquility/</a><br /><br />Zvezda service module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/zvezda-service-module.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/zvezda-service-module.html</a><br /><br />Space Station Research and Technology: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html</a><br /><br />International Space Station (ISS): <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html</a><br /><br />Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.</p><p>Best regards, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-86607732957299309642023-05-18T17:54:00.002-07:002023-05-18T17:54:42.391-07:00NASA’s Perseverance Rover Captures View of Mars’ Belva Crater<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cD8Kax12qq0hN0f4wsBp1ZnkKkTYW1vsLNjnoOd98rjKGg-G_3OXvq5ZupYi4F0X7dxk8rSeGYtc8vwET7QoWwtEl-EWnVxQ6-XM4BhfkLzvEY9ejcndnahSe1YEAf6X_-Wo3MampXuM_fkL1zJoA--9_XqMUFzoX619PjFtvR0iphKrEJij-Bzd/s753/44982_M2020-Launch-Red-Circle-Logo-white-Text-Stacked.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="465" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cD8Kax12qq0hN0f4wsBp1ZnkKkTYW1vsLNjnoOd98rjKGg-G_3OXvq5ZupYi4F0X7dxk8rSeGYtc8vwET7QoWwtEl-EWnVxQ6-XM4BhfkLzvEY9ejcndnahSe1YEAf6X_-Wo3MampXuM_fkL1zJoA--9_XqMUFzoX619PjFtvR0iphKrEJij-Bzd/w124-h200/44982_M2020-Launch-Red-Circle-Logo-white-Text-Stacked.png" width="124" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>NASA - Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover logo.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 18, 2023</p><p>(Click on the images for enlarge)<br /><br />The six-wheeled scientist encountered the crater during its latest science campaign in search of rock samples that could be brought to Earth for deeper investigation.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82WBAMuBi_DayaQ_EqNBRElURWfKS4wK8wWoVaWhSdN_be3_lWHjrPtzcsRBx91M3jxBRpt7jJpUXMUxbuDklbtkcwvgPeIUOLxXXUk4j7fHwqVt1l1PQvlCHKVbJ9bZPyXVz1zwuP0tz8ONROtHYZ4Z3Ub4Rx4frmEKvt4hrG5gzgf5IuzQXY56z/s2644/1-pia25889-belva-1041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="2644" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82WBAMuBi_DayaQ_EqNBRElURWfKS4wK8wWoVaWhSdN_be3_lWHjrPtzcsRBx91M3jxBRpt7jJpUXMUxbuDklbtkcwvgPeIUOLxXXUk4j7fHwqVt1l1PQvlCHKVbJ9bZPyXVz1zwuP0tz8ONROtHYZ4Z3Ub4Rx4frmEKvt4hrG5gzgf5IuzQXY56z/w640-h84/1-pia25889-belva-1041.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Image above: The 152 images that make up this mosaic of Belva Crater were taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover on April 22, 2023, the 772nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Belva is a 0.6-mile-wide (0.9-kilometer wide) impact crater within the much larger Jezero Crater. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS.<br /><br />The Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover recently collected 152 images while looking deep into Belva Crater, a large impact crater within the far larger Jezero Crater. Stitched into a dramatic mosaic, the results are not only eye-catching, but also provide the rover’s science team some deep insights into the interior of Jezero.<br /><br />“Mars rover missions usually end up exploring bedrock in small, flat exposures in the immediate workspace of the rover,” said Katie Stack Morgan, deputy project scientist of Perseverance at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “That’s why our science team was so keen to image and study Belva. Impact craters can offer grand views and vertical cuts that provide important clues to the origin of these rocks with a perspective and at a scale that we don’t usually experience.”<br /><br />On Earth, geology professors often take their students to visit highway “roadcuts” –places where construction crews have sliced vertically into the rock to make way for roads – that allow them to view rock layers and other geological features not visible at the surface. On Mars, impact craters like Belva can provide a type of natural roadcut.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgykG3mEl1a9P8Ry7W7aydIgKLxKpSpuiReO9nd3pzaf7l3YV5Lns4o8gdohOm4hAMB6bFVbVDIOJgbjQcu2mNg072A5deC9h-ePs-LcUHyKsNBx68jz36IHzvuR_0nkmNJTh8_Wdt0S5sYeQG2R6HuQx3ehCWXtVZbz2hzZtJDmS4Rpmdlz71YY4ZX/s2631/e1-pia25889-1041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="2631" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgykG3mEl1a9P8Ry7W7aydIgKLxKpSpuiReO9nd3pzaf7l3YV5Lns4o8gdohOm4hAMB6bFVbVDIOJgbjQcu2mNg072A5deC9h-ePs-LcUHyKsNBx68jz36IHzvuR_0nkmNJTh8_Wdt0S5sYeQG2R6HuQx3ehCWXtVZbz2hzZtJDmS4Rpmdlz71YY4ZX/w640-h86/e1-pia25889-1041.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: This anaglyph of Perseverance’s mosaic of Belva Crater can best be viewed with red-blue 3D glasses. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS.<br /><br /><b>Signs of Past Water</b><br /><br />Perseverance took the images of the basin on April 22 (the 772nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission) while parked just west of Belva Crater’s rim on a light-toned rocky outcrop the mission’s science team calls “Echo Creek.” Created by a meteorite impact eons ago, the approximately 0.6-mile-wide (0.9-kilometer-wide) crater reveals multiple locations of exposed bedrock as well as a region where sedimentary layers angle steeply downward.<br /><br />These “dipping beds” could indicate the presence of a large Martian sandbar, made of sediment, that billions of years ago was deposited by a river channel flowing into the lake that Jezero Crater once held.<br /><br />The science team suspects the large boulders in the foreground are either chunks of bedrock exposed by the meteorite impact or that they may have been transported into the crater by the river system. The scientists will search for answers by continuing to compare features found in bedrock near the rover to the larger-scale rock layers visible in the distant crater walls.<br /><br />To help with those efforts, the mission also created an anaglyph, or 3D version, of the mosaic. “An anaglyph can help us visualize the geologic relationships between the crater wall outcrops,” said Stack. “But it also provides an opportunity to simply enjoy an awesome view. When I look at this mosaic through red-blue 3D glasses, I’m transported to the western rim of Belva, and I wonder what future astronauts would be thinking if they were to stand where Perseverance once stood when it took this shot.”<br /><br /><b>More About the Mission</b><br /><br />A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including caching samples that may contain signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHueUvNL098Un9Jl8rxc3NpKFTnYJIaT3_wH2o3EkheoFhyiASobVZlGrmLiejAjsQ0M7XpVrXG8z1vJcQGYpCe5C_p_kLoYNTcwqzic28Kh-wxj448XLM9WY6iycE0GBLsH61isLGG35njcn6AaN66MvkMUPHqIW9Qsky50qm2UQnAjWSa9ZYqbsY/s480/Perseverance%20Mars%20Rover%20Driving.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHueUvNL098Un9Jl8rxc3NpKFTnYJIaT3_wH2o3EkheoFhyiASobVZlGrmLiejAjsQ0M7XpVrXG8z1vJcQGYpCe5C_p_kLoYNTcwqzic28Kh-wxj448XLM9WY6iycE0GBLsH61isLGG35njcn6AaN66MvkMUPHqIW9Qsky50qm2UQnAjWSa9ZYqbsY/w640-h360/Perseverance%20Mars%20Rover%20Driving.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Mars Perseverance Rover. Animation Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech</p><p>Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.<br /><br />The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.<br /><br />JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.<br /><br /><b>For more about Perseverance:</b><br /><br /><a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/">https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/</a> and <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/perseverance">http://www.nasa.gov/perseverance</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Tony Greicius/Karen Fox/Alana Johnson/JPL/DC Agle.</p><p>Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-24359439370456017532023-05-17T15:20:00.008-07:002023-05-17T15:20:49.551-07:00Research, Lab Upkeep Fill Crew Day Before Emergency Training Session<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAgCzazVRFnEF8hKHCKTVOKiyRGeLHXuEPyIM0fu7mbNIZlGH5Kdc-nCnWr7xFTcocoNVLtBZ_3nI6AmfoS0V-1UYhKEvDZrCk8h2Us2EsCRxdBQZi5YNxUXKgvMv4UAJSaB01yY7ijY2dBSc6-IGMp1shXUr6NGLnYkG0gZ6UIPq9cLe-EsLbtQ8/s600/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAgCzazVRFnEF8hKHCKTVOKiyRGeLHXuEPyIM0fu7mbNIZlGH5Kdc-nCnWr7xFTcocoNVLtBZ_3nI6AmfoS0V-1UYhKEvDZrCk8h2Us2EsCRxdBQZi5YNxUXKgvMv4UAJSaB01yY7ijY2dBSc6-IGMp1shXUr6NGLnYkG0gZ6UIPq9cLe-EsLbtQ8/w200-h200/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ISS - Expedition 69 Mission patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 17, 2023<br /><br />The Expedition 69 crew spent Wednesday servicing an array of science gear, maintaining orbital lab systems, and readying gear for the next private astronaut mission. The International Space Station crew members also joined each other at the end of the day and practiced responding to a variety of emergency scenarios.<br /><br />NASA Flight Engineers Frank Rubio and Woody Hoburg worked during the morning on science hardware supporting different space biology experiments. Rubio uninstalled video components inside the Cell Biology Experiment Facility, a research incubator that generates artificial gravity. Hoburg deployed a computer on the Tranquility module’s life support rack before ground controllers loaded network security software into the device.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8o87vgRvvXiu4gdkMxRtYQr5KjNQLrosfsify44zwYU32G2mIceHgbkQP4qkbcvk93JtcxQ-yWhu426IKfezSefrth_my1TTd3kCx3clP0r7CKbvhvF1ydSdwXp4izXHh1iFhgMW5hj_eNxCLnmTG3hB8CmmimvqUfKVfubtqGH7g1lXBWRAi85-M/s2048/52902760216_ff4ddc7ad0_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8o87vgRvvXiu4gdkMxRtYQr5KjNQLrosfsify44zwYU32G2mIceHgbkQP4qkbcvk93JtcxQ-yWhu426IKfezSefrth_my1TTd3kCx3clP0r7CKbvhvF1ydSdwXp4izXHh1iFhgMW5hj_eNxCLnmTG3hB8CmmimvqUfKVfubtqGH7g1lXBWRAi85-M/w640-h426/52902760216_ff4ddc7ad0_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Astronaut Woody Hoburg works replaces life support system components inside the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br />Rubio later joined UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and returned the station’s Treadmill 2 to its normal configuration inside Tranquility. Alneyadi and Hoburg had worked the day before on the treadmill rotating it out of its stowage position to inspect and clean its electronic components.<br /><br />NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen swapped out pharmaceutical samples inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for the Ring Sheared Drop experiment that seeks potential treatments for neuro-degenerative diseases. He also removed a vest and headband he was wearing that recorded his vital signs and prepared the medical data for review by doctors on the ground.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHYnz3VOfXqnKnWKsG1IJSrJMUDAl2_wJLzPwuFlJbtc_kM83VZYxv-ws0-Hmltup7T8BN3ZdsYCmhOPuCGl1Fxpw-J6JKz0iigJ3Ld3BMuCg33j6Tb4okFoRifkCDxXvc8IuP-DxJ2OMY4tC4GDyLMmxbpb2t3GDbBl4t6kCQGLG1WtvA9nyzFCt/s2048/52892230003_1f3d0ebf6d_k.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHYnz3VOfXqnKnWKsG1IJSrJMUDAl2_wJLzPwuFlJbtc_kM83VZYxv-ws0-Hmltup7T8BN3ZdsYCmhOPuCGl1Fxpw-J6JKz0iigJ3Ld3BMuCg33j6Tb4okFoRifkCDxXvc8IuP-DxJ2OMY4tC4GDyLMmxbpb2t3GDbBl4t6kCQGLG1WtvA9nyzFCt/w640-h426/52892230003_1f3d0ebf6d_k.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Known for its many rivers and one of Northern Patagonia’s largest glaciers, Laguna San Rafael National Park was photographed on May 9, 2023 as the space station orbited 268 miles above Chile. Image Credits: NASA/Warren “Woody” Hoburg.<br /><br />Bowen also prepared computer tablets that will be used during the upcoming Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2). Bowen configured the devices to allow the Ax-2 crew to access ground resources and connect to the internet. Ax-2 will be commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson who will lead first-time space flyers Pilot John Shoffner and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. The private quartet is scheduled to launch aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at 5:37 p.m. EDT on Sunday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and automatically dock to the orbiting lab at 9:24 a.m. on Monday.<br /><br />Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin worked throughout Wednesday on life support maintenance before partnering together and testing ultrasound gear for a human research study. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his day inspecting surfaces inside the Roscosmos station modules.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8MOG63km4l4tnlz_YJL8qdLCdBLSCyiVpiwhruMVNegT8IvfBZ9x7s6LdLNeltNiKDOejiyrKnMmHl8tVfVKjb9LOuU-ie05x7FujzrtWnzTN9DZHTnScC5c2J6pzVtAquUFh--CADxya99raAv6QLAAKRdheVLjT2ghYtwly3H23HjcLgP18rVw/s394/issy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="394" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8MOG63km4l4tnlz_YJL8qdLCdBLSCyiVpiwhruMVNegT8IvfBZ9x7s6LdLNeltNiKDOejiyrKnMmHl8tVfVKjb9LOuU-ie05x7FujzrtWnzTN9DZHTnScC5c2J6pzVtAquUFh--CADxya99raAv6QLAAKRdheVLjT2ghYtwly3H23HjcLgP18rVw/w640-h374/issy.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA<br /><br />At the end of the day, all seven crewmates joined each other for a regularly scheduled emergency training session. The orbital residents reviewed how they would coordinate their response to unlikely emergency events such as a fire, an ammonia leak, or a pressure leak. They familiarized themselves with escape routes, safety gear, and communication protocols with mission controllers.<br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />Expedition 69: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html</a><br /><br />Tranquility module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/tranquility/">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/tranquility/</a><br /><br />Treadmill 2: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=752">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=752</a><br /><br />Ring Sheared Drop: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7383">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7383</a><br /><br />Space Station Research and Technology: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html</a><br /><br />International Space Station (ISS): <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.</p><p>Best regards, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-6072877594814195292023-05-17T15:14:00.004-07:002023-05-17T15:14:47.254-07:00Our oceans are in hot water<div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDT7eKmxXDBuvRM3kgx4L8cZWk9N58uuq2I_6FrZHiFIJpb0Fwqznng-yHMWDg0noZbh6qbPHaP-dxDFUfHT1AWPa1RW_diwdP6bEzuiqLywn9QpBIIag89YETfMkRouSCgKSI8HKOchST8JSpSoG5hjksktc3x4LsinenI9t9iKLPpk_U605TP8R/s250/Logo-Sentinelle-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="250" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDT7eKmxXDBuvRM3kgx4L8cZWk9N58uuq2I_6FrZHiFIJpb0Fwqznng-yHMWDg0noZbh6qbPHaP-dxDFUfHT1AWPa1RW_diwdP6bEzuiqLywn9QpBIIag89YETfMkRouSCgKSI8HKOchST8JSpSoG5hjksktc3x4LsinenI9t9iKLPpk_U605TP8R/w200-h141/Logo-Sentinelle-3.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ESA - Sentinel-3 Mission logo.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 17, 2023<br /><br />Adding to the grim list of record ice losses, record air temperatures and record droughts, which have all hit the headlines recently, the temperature of the surface waters of our oceans is also at an all-time high. With an El Niño looming, concerns are that we will soon be facing even worse extremes. Satellites orbiting overhead are being used to carefully track the patterns that lead up to El Niño to further understand and predict the consequences of this cyclic phenomenon against the backdrop of climate change.<br /><br />The coupled ocean–atmosphere system of El Niño and La Niña, together known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, are drivers of significant variations in global temperature and precipitation, on top of the warming trend caused by climate change.<br /><br />El Niño occurs every few years when the trade winds weaken allowing warm water in the western Pacific Ocean to shift eastward, bringing with it changes in wind patterns and ocean dynamics. This can have a significant impact on weather around the world, leading to changes in ecosystems and fisheries, droughts, floods and storms, amongst others.<br /><br />Climate models suggest that after three years of La Niña, which has a general cooling effect on the planet, in the next few months we will face a return to the more troublesome El Niño.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QA4nmgQb2utI33hlZoA0paxAWer6KG4t9yISTyuVgZQNavDbrposqHEbOS86WJTQPGLvjEX0Wml_ttrq0399MIt7x1IqAUafpqxt9gv8CwFv_L0nTexuo4QDZj2J6rfjvQuYtNrSCoLe4i7vkwQrQnoVo472v9tLDkH0t8-jmVBtlU-bbhIzS_N_/s1920/Sea-surface_temperatures_May_2022_and_May_2023_pillars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1167" data-original-width="1920" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QA4nmgQb2utI33hlZoA0paxAWer6KG4t9yISTyuVgZQNavDbrposqHEbOS86WJTQPGLvjEX0Wml_ttrq0399MIt7x1IqAUafpqxt9gv8CwFv_L0nTexuo4QDZj2J6rfjvQuYtNrSCoLe4i7vkwQrQnoVo472v9tLDkH0t8-jmVBtlU-bbhIzS_N_/w640-h390/Sea-surface_temperatures_May_2022_and_May_2023_pillars.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Sea-surface temperatures May 2022 and May 2023</p><p>Climate change is already fuelling the recent extreme temperatures that many of us have had to deal with, so the worrying question is whether this impending El Niño will make matters even worse.<br /><br />Monitoring changes in the temperature and height of the sea surface, together with the surface wind patterns that result from the interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere, helps us to understand the mechanisms that drive El Niño events.<br /><br />Moreover, scientists have to take climate change into account, which is likely to amplify the extremes that this El Niño, and future El Niño events, will bring.<br /><br />Satellites orbiting above are paramount to delivering the data for this kind of research because the Tropical Pacific Ocean, the home of El Niño, is so large it is difficult to monitor.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuOPtl5KL8Go1DweKPNI14QXNAWbuIfPlu_lizl9eFN2INBTo6_ZWDfIXa_CGj1uVIrsMcp87tllN4GIME9OsaOSov94ugE_rAH6wPRkFCJkSsZKatUlbj9HWI1nJn6OjjP_6bej9OVbf2RUnEpFosn-I_fbMuKxf5aV8TKqkrT707n9PsiVFNdmZH/s960/Sea-surface_temperature_January_to_mid-May_2023_pillars.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuOPtl5KL8Go1DweKPNI14QXNAWbuIfPlu_lizl9eFN2INBTo6_ZWDfIXa_CGj1uVIrsMcp87tllN4GIME9OsaOSov94ugE_rAH6wPRkFCJkSsZKatUlbj9HWI1nJn6OjjP_6bej9OVbf2RUnEpFosn-I_fbMuKxf5aV8TKqkrT707n9PsiVFNdmZH/w640-h480/Sea-surface_temperature_January_to_mid-May_2023_pillars.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Sea-surface temperature January to mid-May 2023</p><p>ESA’s lead ocean scientist, Craig Donlon, said, “More than 70% of our planet is covered by ocean. It plays an enormous role in the climate system.<br /><br />“We all know that our climate is warming – but I imagine that most people first think of warmer air temperatures. In fact, our oceans have been soaking up much of this extra heat, keeping the atmosphere relatively cool. This has come at a cost, and we are now seeing the temperature of our oceans at their hottest since records began.”<br /><br />“Scientists all over the world use Copernicus Sentinel-3 data that provides reference surface-temperature measurements together with sea-surface height data. They also use Copernicus Sentinel-6 which gives us the most accurate measurements of the height of the sea surface. When seawater warms, it expands – one of the biggest causes of sea-level rise. These complementary datasets work together to provide a unique picture of the evolving El Niño.”</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxvyPOUlgTmCD5Qpz_vaEpwq0XiohAMtzNMtVzyVUJIXF2wPMfeEeJjPKtW8FDMCfIiQy4NUSTUra1-fS5ssA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">El Niño and La Niña</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Built by ESA and operated by Eumetsat, the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission is unique in delivering measurements of global sea-surface temperature as well as sea-surface height from the same satellite platform.<br /><br />The mission comprises two identical satellites, each carrying the same suite of instruments – one of which is the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer, which measures global sea-surface temperatures every day to an accuracy of better than 0.3 K.<br /><br />The other is a radar altimeter that measures sea-surface height, significant wave height and wind speed. In addition, its imager, called the Ocean and Land Colour Imager, allows scientists to study the biological signatures in the ocean that are modified by El Niño.<br /><br />Sentinel-3’s radiometer is used by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites within its Sea Surface Temperature Virtual Constellation for a better understanding phenomena like El Niño and La Niña events, and ocean currents and heat exchange between the ocean and atmosphere.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CMM9o_cbJQwptU1L9wRRja2AueU93vwBZQjwCeSQCSTSDUBHHM-91FegCtUmDC4Rm6neqSZM_9SpIP5wHAVhtihn9RyEut3HbhA7Iqf8GOXI2PMLpqz0q3p41Sp2OA3BeIafcz9cPqPyhDdUOtFGXss_-01lJRUz6BaeIkBmBdTGf0rvyM2FslnM/s1920/Copernicus_Sentinel-3_pillars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CMM9o_cbJQwptU1L9wRRja2AueU93vwBZQjwCeSQCSTSDUBHHM-91FegCtUmDC4Rm6neqSZM_9SpIP5wHAVhtihn9RyEut3HbhA7Iqf8GOXI2PMLpqz0q3p41Sp2OA3BeIafcz9cPqPyhDdUOtFGXss_-01lJRUz6BaeIkBmBdTGf0rvyM2FslnM/w640-h360/Copernicus_Sentinel-3_pillars.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Copernicus Sentinel-3</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Sentinel-6 is the reference altimeter used to homogenise other satellite altimeter data to provide measurements of sea-level rise every 10 days.<br /><br />Importantly, data from both missions are delivered in near-real time.<br /><br />ESA currently building a further two Sentinel-3 satellites, Sentinel-3C and Sentinel-3D, to ensure continuity of such measurements. Looking to the future, ESA is also developing the follow-on Copernicus Sentinel-3 Next Generation mission.<br /><br />A second Sentinel-6 satellite is currently in storage and is due for launch in the next few years to maintain the sea-level record.<br /><br />Since sea-surface temperature is an important essential climate variable, ESA’s Climate Change Initiative also feeds in Sentinel-3 data to its Sea Surface Temperature Project.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV95pvQ7Cg1vIEFm06HyZarVNVAzzuSxzyJFVm_Ru3uSGUTTMFp3iOoxZXrZSmZCOw281XlImgENFYInoYoloUA6X3zMUOvY05cIzTl4VCGPgtalPERFTSuDYXtxwG30fIG3FEQuMGettXQCcXb5EHYL5ilW6lVAMgpOeFkC3x8YhHnF9G_LRYmyQr/s2037/Copernicus_Sentinel-6_radar_altimeter_pillars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2037" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV95pvQ7Cg1vIEFm06HyZarVNVAzzuSxzyJFVm_Ru3uSGUTTMFp3iOoxZXrZSmZCOw281XlImgENFYInoYoloUA6X3zMUOvY05cIzTl4VCGPgtalPERFTSuDYXtxwG30fIG3FEQuMGettXQCcXb5EHYL5ilW6lVAMgpOeFkC3x8YhHnF9G_LRYmyQr/w640-h340/Copernicus_Sentinel-6_radar_altimeter_pillars.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Copernicus Sentinel-6 radar altimeter<br /><br />The future Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer mission is set to provide all-weather high-resolution sea-surface temperature measurements. In addition, the Copernicus Land Surface Temperature Monitoring mission will provide very high-resolution sea-surface temperature data in coastal zones.<br /><br />In short, the Copernicus programme is well-prepared to continue monitoring our oceans well into the future.<br /><br />Warming oceans are indeed a worry, and now with an El Niño on the horizon, the world is braced for the impact it will have.<br /><br />El Niño is likely to affect more than 60 million people, particularly in eastern and southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific region.<br /><br />Severe drought and associated food insecurity, flooding, rains, and temperature rises due to El Niño can cause a wide range of health problems, including disease outbreaks, malnutrition, heat stress and respiratory diseases. <br /><br />“Satellites orbiting Earth, now and in the future, not only those monitoring our oceans but measuring many different aspects of our planet, are more important than ever. They provide hard evidence for science and for decision making to protect society,” added Dr Donlon.<br /><br /><b>Related article:</b><br /><br />International Sea Level Satellite Spots Early Signs of El Niño<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/international-sea-level-satellite-spots.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/international-sea-level-satellite-spots.html</a><br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />Sentinel-3: <a href="https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-3">https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-3</a><br /><br />Sentinel-6: <a href="https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-6">https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-6</a><br /><br />Eumetsat: <a href="https://www.eumetsat.int/">https://www.eumetsat.int/</a><br /><br />Committee on Earth Observation Satellites within its Sea Surface Temperature Virtual Constellation: <a href="https://ceos.org/ourwork/virtual-constellations/sst/">https://ceos.org/ourwork/virtual-constellations/sst/</a><br /><br />Sea Surface Temperature Project: <a href="https://climate.esa.int/en/projects/sea-surface-temperature/">https://climate.esa.int/en/projects/sea-surface-temperature/</a><br /><br />Observing the Earth: <a href="https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth">https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth</a><br /><br />Images, Animation, Video, Text, Credits: ESA/Data source: NOAA.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></div>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-41408758860238970152023-05-17T15:04:00.003-07:002023-05-17T15:04:43.377-07:00CASC - Long March-3B launches the first BeiDou-3 backup satellite<div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7_iLyI5OGhsXNtDRBXYRUotKVJ1s-qxmIuJ8WPc4ELWxZy9KKxgpSmMUkaWVTazCLMcio6nqgQ3aU8_L5PGz5-7p5LRfADlGlLmlj_JL6GF6Nw8f6iwH2HvEPRF6hH9iat5fpS4mD-42y9pBBA6sW4to512_XNBh7ENTvDoQ0x7x2kWeQK4xqGez/s720/vlcsnap-2023-05-17-17h22m43s432.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="687" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7_iLyI5OGhsXNtDRBXYRUotKVJ1s-qxmIuJ8WPc4ELWxZy9KKxgpSmMUkaWVTazCLMcio6nqgQ3aU8_L5PGz5-7p5LRfADlGlLmlj_JL6GF6Nw8f6iwH2HvEPRF6hH9iat5fpS4mD-42y9pBBA6sW4to512_XNBh7ENTvDoQ0x7x2kWeQK4xqGez/w191-h200/vlcsnap-2023-05-17-17h22m43s432.png" width="191" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>CASC - Long March-3B / BeiDou-3 backup satellite patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 17, 2023</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlzLdNGLhAb3sTcN5W_tFJuo2R3t8DhifwEM3th4OgRpYzSrbLJXQLUkMEuJJBTSScctttkVm8ZLiYuGt4JFIvQHA7K03Ws8ELrgI3jTO_OKnVhuB5f1cKOV_zIyRXivjj4Xqr7RNF7Kbt0U7GoD-gG22_cvIZYgT4yrKxX0_BEREf4UYRy_75B5B/s1280/vlcsnap-2023-05-17-17h23m33s715.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlzLdNGLhAb3sTcN5W_tFJuo2R3t8DhifwEM3th4OgRpYzSrbLJXQLUkMEuJJBTSScctttkVm8ZLiYuGt4JFIvQHA7K03Ws8ELrgI3jTO_OKnVhuB5f1cKOV_zIyRXivjj4Xqr7RNF7Kbt0U7GoD-gG22_cvIZYgT4yrKxX0_BEREf4UYRy_75B5B/w640-h360/vlcsnap-2023-05-17-17h23m33s715.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Long March-3B carrying first BeiDou-3 backup satellite liftoff</p><p>A Long March-3B launch vehicle launched the first backup BeiDou-3 navigation satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, southwest China, on 17 May 2023, at 02:49 UTC (10:49 local time). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxsjMz6_CICXAGUQygiVXEXIQWTM_CEmaeEjYb3eaYwy-rfkH-skYFo8Me_fB0NsPczEdGHqoubN6-sxxtkcQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">Long March-3B launches the first BeiDou-3 backup satellite</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The geostationary satellite is the 56th of the BeiDou family and the first to act as a backup satellite for China’s BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUD5nAJ8G8ChWmD1vHnxScVYbTA92JgMTOf6jII-A8BRPwA0jU-lcwG8b20WlaV2fDhN94p-xjGx626dAFqT1sSudj9TL4jnapuK3GKbtw2DfBG3HuJR_p_ZiHpzhMZ2cR58wReKA1KItyJqW_HsfGERmLfvUckLFg7sXOYQK1chRcNaKq_8hj813/s1280/vlcsnap-2023-05-17-17h22m56s151.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUD5nAJ8G8ChWmD1vHnxScVYbTA92JgMTOf6jII-A8BRPwA0jU-lcwG8b20WlaV2fDhN94p-xjGx626dAFqT1sSudj9TL4jnapuK3GKbtw2DfBG3HuJR_p_ZiHpzhMZ2cR58wReKA1KItyJqW_HsfGERmLfvUckLFg7sXOYQK1chRcNaKq_8hj813/w640-h360/vlcsnap-2023-05-17-17h22m56s151.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">BeiDou-3 navigation satellite<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">For more information about China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), visit: <a href="http://english.spacechina.com/n16421/index.html">http://english.spacechina.com/n16421/index.html</a><br /> <br />Images, Video, Text, Credits: China Central Television (CCTV)/China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Best regards, Orbiter.ch<br /></div>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-65089686402800469962023-05-17T14:57:00.005-07:002023-05-17T14:57:37.374-07:00NASA’s Spitzer, TESS Find Potentially Volcano-Covered Earth-Size World<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihK5Mfib2z_7aSluTr9Mh6hP6OogHsjAXQ00qgbuF4WzEGF5ubD05-INKfRmoQxFGFtt6l12il8TnFDEWNRKzNezAl0LtHGm5BzjgEi-h3MZWJVmrBYuddQxezCekB-9M_aW1EOhG8MI5Q3fPF1K0i73deDzYzl8iVu48P4BgBGW968TkYnLTW6XB5/s1515/TESS-Oval-Decal-high-res-tran.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="1515" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihK5Mfib2z_7aSluTr9Mh6hP6OogHsjAXQ00qgbuF4WzEGF5ubD05-INKfRmoQxFGFtt6l12il8TnFDEWNRKzNezAl0LtHGm5BzjgEi-h3MZWJVmrBYuddQxezCekB-9M_aW1EOhG8MI5Q3fPF1K0i73deDzYzl8iVu48P4BgBGW968TkYnLTW6XB5/w200-h121/TESS-Oval-Decal-high-res-tran.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>NASA - Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 17, 2023<br /><br />Astronomers have discovered an Earth-size exoplanet, or world beyond our solar system, that may be carpeted with volcanoes. Called LP 791-18 d, the planet could undergo volcanic outbursts as often as Jupiter’s moon Io, the most volcanically active body in our solar system.<br /><br />They found and studied the planet using data from NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and retired Spitzer Space Telescope, as well as a suite of ground-based observatories.<br /><br />A paper about the planet – led by Merrin Peterson, a graduate of the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx) based at the University of Montreal – appears in the May 17 edition of the scientific journal Nature.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzD-2KXhNLF4V7-zY89ldl8DaxZlVaIbJ9XUR7s7AGXLwBg4AOTbh4RLRCTkmOC_HGG7rX0lZ5ocxRskGEaGhfcHBnFeiMzfjXIa4-NldHCdcb7R8iv01ChkL901QsIC-_7JFozBAk0nSHKXAfJwjyLaWz-f8iyLvt2fxsjmPNFmtrKlAJLYgxO9s/s2048/lp79118d_beautyshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzD-2KXhNLF4V7-zY89ldl8DaxZlVaIbJ9XUR7s7AGXLwBg4AOTbh4RLRCTkmOC_HGG7rX0lZ5ocxRskGEaGhfcHBnFeiMzfjXIa4-NldHCdcb7R8iv01ChkL901QsIC-_7JFozBAk0nSHKXAfJwjyLaWz-f8iyLvt2fxsjmPNFmtrKlAJLYgxO9s/w640-h360/lp79118d_beautyshot.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: LP 791-18 d, shown here in an artist's concept, is an Earth-size world about 90 light-years away. The gravitational tug from a more massive planet in the system, shown as a blue disk in the background, may result in internal heating and volcanic eruptions – as much as Jupiter’s moon Io, the most geologically active body in the solar system. Astronomers discovered and studied the planet using data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) along with many other observatories. Image Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (KRBwyle).<br /><br />“LP 791-18 d is tidally locked, which means the same side constantly faces its star,” said Björn Benneke, a co-author and astronomy professor at iREx who planned and supervised the study. “The day side would probably be too hot for liquid water to exist on the surface. But the amount of volcanic activity we suspect occurs all over the planet could sustain an atmosphere, which may allow water to condense on the night side.”<br /><br />LP 791-18 d orbits a small red dwarf star about 90 light-years away in the southern constellation Crater. The team estimates it’s only slightly larger and more massive than Earth.<br /><br />Astronomers already knew about two other worlds in the system before this discovery, called LP 791-18 b and c. The inner planet b is about 20% bigger than Earth. The outer planet c is about 2.5 times Earth’s size and more than seven times its mass.<br /><br />During each orbit, planets d and c pass very close to each other. Each close pass by the more massive planet c produces a gravitational tug on planet d, making its orbit somewhat elliptical. On this elliptical path, planet d is slightly deformed every time it goes around the star. These deformations can create enough internal friction to substantially heat the planet’s interior and produce volcanic activity at its surface. Jupiter and some of its moons affect Io in a similar way.<br /><br />Planet d sits on the inner edge of the habitable zone, the traditional range of distances from a star where scientists hypothesize liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. If the planet is as geologically active as the research team suspects, it could maintain an atmosphere. Temperatures could drop enough on the planet’s night side for water to condense on the surface.<br /><br />Planet c has already been approved for observing time on the James Webb Space Telescope, and the team thinks planet d is also an exceptional candidate for atmospheric studies by the mission.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDBI_sM-kKqXJE01iGSmTXTbjr3NrPkfMR0gbsXTkTCDIhuUmKEAneV7kf2u0LjOK33yNfsGTl9KPuHQcxfLciZGe4PT08JCH4UJQB2bG68PitwEm6E5-g_Nx5st7neCRNUgYduSRWTikZOxQIBSfZAb9OhhBOM8xDdqHT7B78lr-DrtzQ8yWmfYn/s595/satelliteaim.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="595" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDBI_sM-kKqXJE01iGSmTXTbjr3NrPkfMR0gbsXTkTCDIhuUmKEAneV7kf2u0LjOK33yNfsGTl9KPuHQcxfLciZGe4PT08JCH4UJQB2bG68PitwEm6E5-g_Nx5st7neCRNUgYduSRWTikZOxQIBSfZAb9OhhBOM8xDdqHT7B78lr-DrtzQ8yWmfYn/w640-h360/satelliteaim.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Animation Credit: NASA</p><p>“A big question in astrobiology, the field that broadly studies the origins of life on Earth and beyond, is if tectonic or volcanic activity is necessary for life,” said co-author Jessie Christiansen, a research scientist at NASA’s Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. “In addition to potentially providing an atmosphere, these processes could churn up materials that would otherwise sink down and get trapped in the crust, including those we think are important for life, like carbon.”<br /><br />Spitzer’s observations of the system were among the last the satellite collected before it was decommissioned in January 2020.<br /><br />“It is incredible to read about the continuation of discoveries and publications years beyond Spitzer’s end of mission,” said Joseph Hunt, Spitzer project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “That really shows the success of our first-class engineers and scientists. Together they built not only a spacecraft but also a data set that continues to be an asset for the astrophysics community.”<br /><br />TESS is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission led and operated by MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Additional partners include Northrop Grumman, based in Falls Church, Virginia; NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley; the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian in Cambridge, Massachusetts; MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory; and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. More than a dozen universities, research institutes, and observatories worldwide are participants in the mission.<br /><br />The entire body of scientific data collected by Spitzer during its lifetime is available to the public via the Spitzer data archive, housed at the Infrared Science Archive at IPAC at Caltech in Pasadena, California. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech, managed Spitzer mission operations for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Science operations were conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at IPAC at Caltech. Spacecraft operations were based at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado.<br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite): <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/tess-transiting-exoplanet-survey-satellite">https://www.nasa.gov/tess-transiting-exoplanet-survey-satellite</a><br /><br />Spitzer Space Telescope: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/main/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/main/index.html</a><br /><br />NASA’s Exoplanet Science Institute: <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/astrophysics-data-centers/nasa-exoplanet-science-institute-nexsci">https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/astrophysics-data-centers/nasa-exoplanet-science-institute-nexsci</a><br /><br />NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL): <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/</a><br /><br />NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC): <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">https://www.nasa.gov/goddard</a><br /><br />NASA’s Ames Research Center: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/ames">https://www.nasa.gov/ames</a><br /><br />Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/GSFC/By Jeanette Kazmierczak.</p><p>Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-84831071732560119402023-05-16T15:06:00.001-07:002023-05-16T15:06:27.877-07:00Crew Works Science, Maintenance Ahead of Second Axiom Mission<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPbiHN-E6TOUl4W_xA4buxxJpiFKrgJ1xAQ_wMeqki2kqEyc98uOdFWZE82moGspQHn8Ove9Sd__x21HjXqYIQQEXPUJPPocqGSk9lCm_sG1k-lLtwS52fGsIPCFi1nwmUfqQNxBhJfrPoQc7SsU1BWbPSnRWYwYpIRWyT2TjAyLo9nraJtZsatX_/s600/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPbiHN-E6TOUl4W_xA4buxxJpiFKrgJ1xAQ_wMeqki2kqEyc98uOdFWZE82moGspQHn8Ove9Sd__x21HjXqYIQQEXPUJPPocqGSk9lCm_sG1k-lLtwS52fGsIPCFi1nwmUfqQNxBhJfrPoQc7SsU1BWbPSnRWYwYpIRWyT2TjAyLo9nraJtZsatX_/w200-h200/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ISS - Expedition 69 Mission patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 16, 2023<br /><br />Mission managers have given the go for the launch of the second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station on Sunday. The Expedition 69 crew is preparing to meet the new astronauts while also keeping up its human research, maintaining orbital lab systems, and stowing spacewalk tools.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjP3G-P507PXDXMm9c0iGjeOrmISVr8i9NWhqPMK-qb6zaEr-j0atOHo9KbQkZHJPFAZFL1fmZB17Bd6gwwfQQEEha_7tPpj-ec_unLhoqJIaGq5Wmjo_IjM2wPt5HkeLZbDxgkVt0K-sgFQVCPgEmcKRfXSmsHQnMz43JzmePY0cmF2FvJYf8MyfT/s5132/nhq202204080019orig.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3502" data-original-width="5132" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjP3G-P507PXDXMm9c0iGjeOrmISVr8i9NWhqPMK-qb6zaEr-j0atOHo9KbQkZHJPFAZFL1fmZB17Bd6gwwfQQEEha_7tPpj-ec_unLhoqJIaGq5Wmjo_IjM2wPt5HkeLZbDxgkVt0K-sgFQVCPgEmcKRfXSmsHQnMz43JzmePY0cmF2FvJYf8MyfT/w640-h436/nhq202204080019orig.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon crew spacecraft launched in April 2022 on Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) to the International Space Station. Axiom Mission 2, targeted for launch in May 2023, will carry crew members for the second private astronaut mission to the space station, including Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot John Shoffner, and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br />Axiom Space, SpaceX, and NASA managers met on Monday and agreed to launch four Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) crew members to the space station at 5:37 p.m. EDT on Sunday. Veteran astronaut and commander Peggy Whitson will lead first-time space flyers Pilot John Shoffner and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and guide it to an automated docking at 9:24 a.m. on Monday. The private astronauts will enter the station through the Harmony module’s space-facing port and begin several days of research, outreach, and commercial activities before returning to Earth.<br /><br />Four station flight engineers joined each other during Tuesday afternoon and reviewed the Ax -2 mission schedule. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, Frank Rubio, and Woody Hoburg, along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi familiarized themselves with the upcoming mission activities and reviewed how the crews will coordinate during docked operations.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxLyIb9TbMdUbdQ4QqdYVbAGQvBfxdR_n6sCp3o5MIf9NvZM93WbASEiSACOp8uz08t46u73-kJCyAyuxKt8qmJTD6yBIeIU_aB3uZxg2W2MMfO8Ny6ifx1eRY-Z3zpaRC3d2iZTV6P9fF_wM-C4mKrc7DzlJB2eVWZ2NhaIouzlpTe0LMNd_7uR6O/s480/ISS22y.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxLyIb9TbMdUbdQ4QqdYVbAGQvBfxdR_n6sCp3o5MIf9NvZM93WbASEiSACOp8uz08t46u73-kJCyAyuxKt8qmJTD6yBIeIU_aB3uZxg2W2MMfO8Ny6ifx1eRY-Z3zpaRC3d2iZTV6P9fF_wM-C4mKrc7DzlJB2eVWZ2NhaIouzlpTe0LMNd_7uR6O/w640-h360/ISS22y.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: ESA</p><p>In the meantime, the seven space station residents continued ongoing microgravity science and kept up the maintenance of the orbital outpost. Spacesuit work and cargo transfers also rounded out the day.<br /><br />Bowen was back on human research Tuesday morning servicing samples in a centrifuge for a study exploring the immunity systems of astronauts. Rubio powered on the Astrobee free-flying robotic assistants then removed experiment hardware from inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock.<br /><br />Hoburg and Alneyadi spent most of the day working on the Tranquility module’s treadmill. The duo rotated the exercise rack from its stowage position to gain access to its internal electronics components for inspection and cleaning. Alneyadi then spent a few moments testing the operations of the Astrobees for an upcoming student competition to control the robotic devices.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtcNx-EeYvQv6oXGZvRDf-1RbYx-Phw_7Owaa5G5c0DrD4YMPC4Lz0VpUj7tqeoWRXGnXAVboRJ1e8_xaDMoZKQFOofyCBftPjiOlTwQl9thX1ZDPKOGvxX5grhn17inioOZdoQ24UYF5ZVm1egjDX4_WtZGptKX_WYFdrIICp9-j4-_PWzFbHQydU/s2048/52902760571_c5907eced4_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtcNx-EeYvQv6oXGZvRDf-1RbYx-Phw_7Owaa5G5c0DrD4YMPC4Lz0VpUj7tqeoWRXGnXAVboRJ1e8_xaDMoZKQFOofyCBftPjiOlTwQl9thX1ZDPKOGvxX5grhn17inioOZdoQ24UYF5ZVm1egjDX4_WtZGptKX_WYFdrIICp9-j4-_PWzFbHQydU/w640-h426/52902760571_c5907eced4_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin work outside the space station to deploy and activate a radiator on the Nauka science module during a spacewalk on May 12, 2023. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br />Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin continued cleaning up after last week’s spacewalk. The duo reconfigured the Poisk airlock and stowed the tools and hardware used during the five-hour and 14-minute excursion that saw the deployment of a radiator on the Nauka science module. Prokopyev also partnered with Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev unpacking cargo from the ISS Progress 83 cargo craft, while Petelin also explored how weightlessness affects the cardiovascular system.<br /><br /><b>Related article (NASA):</b><br /><br />NASA Sets Coverage for Axiom Mission 2 Briefings, Events, Broadcast<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-axiom-mission-2-briefings-events-broadcast">https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-axiom-mission-2-briefings-events-broadcast</a><br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />Expedition 69: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html</a><br /><br />Harmony module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/harmony">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/harmony</a><br /><br />Immunity systems: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8170">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8170</a><br /><br />Astrobee: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1891">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1891</a><br /><br />Kibo laboratory module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7428">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7428</a><br /><br />Tranquility module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/tranquility/">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/tranquility/</a><br /><br />Poisk airlock: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/poisk-mini-research-module-2">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/poisk-mini-research-module-2</a><br /><br />Nauka multipurpose laboratory module: <a href="https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/nauka/">https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/nauka/</a><br /><br />Space Station Research and Technology: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html</a><br /><br />International Space Station (ISS): <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.</p><p>Best regards, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-75940203005852482102023-05-16T14:58:00.004-07:002023-05-16T14:58:52.121-07:00NASA’s Lunar Flashlight to Fly by Earth<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyEBzrPCPBGItqqkbDGtMrjjhteaH2q8SCWrWIy2burAsCemZ4VQ6Gqn6ZwX1iIwr1hqnMo78O4e0E6tMGNViJa-gwK_mnHrm_xOTdJNZxGTBHh3VBf-xjUGDvCKzNq9kk2sHP-N3YL_ZABzMJ3x7ZZlgE7MWzZABVD8YgWny5Im0SX66diI7OE7h/s1846/Lunar%20Flashlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1846" data-original-width="1846" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyEBzrPCPBGItqqkbDGtMrjjhteaH2q8SCWrWIy2burAsCemZ4VQ6Gqn6ZwX1iIwr1hqnMo78O4e0E6tMGNViJa-gwK_mnHrm_xOTdJNZxGTBHh3VBf-xjUGDvCKzNq9kk2sHP-N3YL_ZABzMJ3x7ZZlgE7MWzZABVD8YgWny5Im0SX66diI7OE7h/w200-h200/Lunar%20Flashlight.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>NASA - Lunar Flashlight Mission patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 16, 2023<br /><br />With its primary mission over, the CubeSat will zoom by Earth late Tuesday, May 16, and NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System app will track it, providing a chance to say farewell.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGtd3JAj2OKXvP5EDF3HI0RWseH7Nv3c7z-wvpKTzBXDDnlMpDC83iCDdFrOz7chK-H3WicHjvObxGvF7OGg4gMygu6It-Fxsn8ZJii2vuSSEhViyWIpIFsuiQT6wZZHyz_WyIcmKjOgST3829zS_BE8X5MXbY81cKijl_PmsWQ7xaN2JI5Wrk438/s1041/1-lunar-flashlight-eyes-1041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="1041" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGtd3JAj2OKXvP5EDF3HI0RWseH7Nv3c7z-wvpKTzBXDDnlMpDC83iCDdFrOz7chK-H3WicHjvObxGvF7OGg4gMygu6It-Fxsn8ZJii2vuSSEhViyWIpIFsuiQT6wZZHyz_WyIcmKjOgST3829zS_BE8X5MXbY81cKijl_PmsWQ7xaN2JI5Wrk438/w640-h360/1-lunar-flashlight-eyes-1041.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: This screenshot from NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System 3D visualization tool shows Lunar Flashlight making its close approach with Earth late on May 16. The CubeSat will pass about 40,000 miles (65,000 kilometers) from our planet’s surface over Brazil’s east coast. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.<br /><br />NASA’s Lunar Flashlight mission to the Moon has ended, but the briefcase-size spacecraft will soon fly past Earth before heading into deep space. On Tuesday, May 16, at 9:44 p.m. PDT (Wednesday, May 17, at 12:44 a.m. EDT), the CubeSat will pass about 40,000 miles (65,000 kilometers) from our planet’s surface.<br /><br />NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System 3D visualization tool will track the tiny spacecraft in real time, giving users a front-row seat to the flyby. (The tool also provides plenty of information about the spacecraft, including its orbit and forthcoming deep space voyage, as well.) In addition, the CubeSat may be within reach of amateur astronomers’ telescopes in the Southern Hemisphere.<br /><br />“As Lunar Flashlight zooms by, it may reflect enough sunlight from its solar panels that it could be seen through a modest telescope,” said Barbara Cohen, Lunar Flashlight principal investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Depending on its orientation and position it could be up to a magnitude 5 or 6 moving dot.”<br /><br />While still tens of thousands of miles away, the sunlight bouncing off the CubeSat’s solar panels may be visible for those with clear, dark skies. The brightness of an astronomical object can be measured as apparent magnitude. As an object of magnitude 5 or 6, the CubeSat may be visible to backyard telescopes when it passes at its closest point over the east coast of Brazil. Observers should use NASA Horizons to check where in the sky Lunar Flashlight will be.<br /><br />After launch on Dec. 11, Lunar Flashlight was sent on a long, looping path, far beyond Earth orbit. Now it has returned to the proximity of our planet, after being pulled back by the combined gravity of Earth and the Moon.<br /><br />The spacecraft was designed to test new technologies and address knowledge gaps by exploring permanently shadowed craters on the Moon’s South Pole. But soon after Lunar Flashlight launched, its operations team discovered that the CubeSat’s four thrusters were underperforming. After months of troubleshooting to remedy the situation, time ran out for the spacecraft to make critical maneuvers that would have put it in orbit around Earth with monthly flybys of the Moon’s South Pole. When it became clear that Lunar Flashlight couldn’t get into the required orbit for lunar observations, NASA called an end to the rest of its mission. The spacecraft’s other systems are functioning well and it remains in contact with mission operators. NASA is now weighing options for Lunar Flashlight’s future.<br /><br />After passing Earth, the CubeSat will continue into an orbit around the Sun. Lunar Flashlight’s orbit will bring it close to Earth once more in November 2037.<br /><br /><b>More About the Mission</b><br /><br />Lunar Flashlight is managed for NASA by the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California. The CubeSat is operated by Georgia Tech, including graduate and undergraduate students. The Lunar Flashlight science team is led by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and includes team members from multiple institutions, including the University of California, Los Angeles; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; and the University of Colorado.<br /><br />The CubeSat’s propulsion system was developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, with development and integration support from Georgia Tech. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program funded component development from small businesses including Plasma Processes Inc. (Rubicon) for thruster development, Flight Works for pump development, and Beehive Industries (formerly Volunteer Aerospace) for specific 3D-printed components. The Air Force Research Laboratory also contributed financially to the development of Lunar Flashlight’s propulsion system. Lunar Flashlight is funded by the Small Spacecraft Technology program based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley and within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.<br /><br />Read more about the Lunar Flashlight mission here: <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/lunar-flashlight">https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/lunar-flashlight</a><br /><br /><b>Related articles:<br /></b><br />NASA Calls End to Lunar Flashlight After Some Tech Successes<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/nasa-calls-end-to-lunar-flashlight.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/nasa-calls-end-to-lunar-flashlight.html</a><br /><br />Team Continues to Troubleshoot Propulsion for NASA’s Lunar Flashlight<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/team-continues-to-troubleshoot.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/team-continues-to-troubleshoot.html</a><br /><br />NASA’s Lunar Flashlight Team Assessing Spacecraft’s Propulsion System<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/01/nasas-lunar-flashlight-team-assessing.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/01/nasas-lunar-flashlight-team-assessing.html</a><br /><br /><b>Related link:</b><br /><br />NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System 3D: <a href="https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/solar-system/#/home">https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/solar-system/#/home<br /></a><br />Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Tony Greicius/Sarah Frazier/JPL/Ian J. O’Neill.</p><p>Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-86462629752414923742023-05-16T14:53:00.004-07:002023-05-16T14:53:59.082-07:00Stratolaunch's huge Roc plane drops hypersonic test vehicle for 1st time<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghF4SJcYP_ZIfwfs0buZ4qjZLUWCThQASO9lIGI72MP1IhGXmprghw1huwb8Lt5Y1gZY2XGSBE0lsbCgUZg1rs_kDYKZ24oMg0sb4s-eAuOBQpOf_cwjkODu5TgQ0OSFAepgD8KpVb9npRs_XucI1nTN9UYgfGhs9kgRTwZq-DDUru7lAEX8Pn-D0J/s1002/Stratolaunch_LogoB.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="1002" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghF4SJcYP_ZIfwfs0buZ4qjZLUWCThQASO9lIGI72MP1IhGXmprghw1huwb8Lt5Y1gZY2XGSBE0lsbCgUZg1rs_kDYKZ24oMg0sb4s-eAuOBQpOf_cwjkODu5TgQ0OSFAepgD8KpVb9npRs_XucI1nTN9UYgfGhs9kgRTwZq-DDUru7lAEX8Pn-D0J/s320/Stratolaunch_LogoB.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Stratolaunch logo.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 16, 2023<br /><br />Roc, the biggest airplane in the world, aced its first drop test over the weekend. The world's biggest airplane just notched another huge milestone.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSA1SvD1hp6JzPOUS2RE7uaAFpdQO17SRZaesF4-BqJxYHWaHOuVE-iifd5gqox-24kbYuqQc8-Lc_k9auLff7pH4qlHFm1lCx7tnu4jgtBVFqmHm3C128XPS68LvPwejEh439ONlAeDafUTs1Uhux4dBUtVEOY0hl4drQYr8b4O6Y-LwyMOjtCkg/s2080/2022-09-01_Stratolaunch_Website-Asset-43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1387" data-original-width="2080" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSA1SvD1hp6JzPOUS2RE7uaAFpdQO17SRZaesF4-BqJxYHWaHOuVE-iifd5gqox-24kbYuqQc8-Lc_k9auLff7pH4qlHFm1lCx7tnu4jgtBVFqmHm3C128XPS68LvPwejEh439ONlAeDafUTs1Uhux4dBUtVEOY0hl4drQYr8b4O6Y-LwyMOjtCkg/w640-h426/2022-09-01_Stratolaunch_Website-Asset-43.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Talon-A hypersonic vehicle. Image Credit: Stratolaunch</p><p>Stratolaunch's Roc carrier plane aced its first-ever drop test on Saturday (May 13), successfully releasing a prototype of the company's Talon hypersonic vehicle high above the Pacific Ocean off the central California coast.<br /><br />Everything went well, paving the way for an even more ambitious test in the coming months, Stratolaunch representatives said.<br /><br />"With this significant milestone complete, we move on to preparing for our first hypersonic flight in late fall this year," Zachary Krevor, the company's CEO and president, said during a call with reporters today (May 15). "It's a very exciting time for our company."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFuYrn85miB0wBdKiXpZ2n6NgltrVL_onJd4iGbZUEorPmetvL7Y3INiwgzGZprThEtgYkcft-zpmmlcZFz6ISp1UCi7gUJXJUYb_Aw_U05CCzt9cMxvbytgYTpNO-VPz00HmIGkWCTIdjsq8_iMY1h3M8g5uuw5Rxztw1G-DiDkqkRZjXIt63E2Z/s1200/m3RWdvHAfjUDBxBenTRWmg-1200-80.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1200" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFuYrn85miB0wBdKiXpZ2n6NgltrVL_onJd4iGbZUEorPmetvL7Y3INiwgzGZprThEtgYkcft-zpmmlcZFz6ISp1UCi7gUJXJUYb_Aw_U05CCzt9cMxvbytgYTpNO-VPz00HmIGkWCTIdjsq8_iMY1h3M8g5uuw5Rxztw1G-DiDkqkRZjXIt63E2Z/w640-h338/m3RWdvHAfjUDBxBenTRWmg-1200-80.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Stratolaunch successfully releases the Talon-0 separation test vehicle from its Roc air-launch platform on May 13, 2023. Image Credits: Stratolaunch/Christian Turner.<br /><br />Roc lifted off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Southern California on Saturday a little after 9 a.m. local time, Stratolaunch representatives said, kicking off the plane's 11th test flight.<br /><br />Roc, which has a wingspan longer than a football field, carried the company's Talon-0 separation test vehicle between its twin fuselages. The giant plane headed west, eventually dropping Talon-0 when it was off California's central coast.<br /><br />Talon-0 isn't equipped with an engine, so it didn't make a powered flight on Saturday. But the vehicle did perform a variety of gliding maneuvers and continued sending telemetry back to the mission team until it hit the water, in a destructive impact that was all part of Saturday's flight plan.<br /><br />"We got to watch it set up for a mock landing and eventually touch down on the water," Scott Schultz, Stratolaunch's senior director of engineering, said on today's call, referring to Talon-0.<br /><br />"So, all primary objectives, secondary objectives, tertiary objectives — everything was accomplished," he said. "It was really, really a fantastic day."<br /><br />Roc, meanwhile, returned for a touchdown at Mojave four hours and eight minutes after liftoff, bringing an end to Saturday's test flight.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZS3RgP13t_BHI44pyAE3Xzo75SsM28N23zwxSzt4ArAW2bZ-NwVE39v8ZuClKfCNAcWZKq9D8FfxsGUvxxn0H08g2SXXs4LNLjS1y0ZfXgW0dsGfsBnL8UdQNDox2TkPjsVL-Uz-5L1HiQCC3KRLMhRRh4m9azqO197KgD5o1ndjB77yvA8CKAwYi/s1200/9ucduK4hpdpcdvJpT8atZd-1200-80.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1200" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZS3RgP13t_BHI44pyAE3Xzo75SsM28N23zwxSzt4ArAW2bZ-NwVE39v8ZuClKfCNAcWZKq9D8FfxsGUvxxn0H08g2SXXs4LNLjS1y0ZfXgW0dsGfsBnL8UdQNDox2TkPjsVL-Uz-5L1HiQCC3KRLMhRRh4m9azqO197KgD5o1ndjB77yvA8CKAwYi/w640-h338/9ucduK4hpdpcdvJpT8atZd-1200-80.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: A close-up look at Stratolaunch's Talon-0 prototype just after its release from the company's Roc carrier plane during a test on May 13, 2023. Image Credits: Stratolaunch/Christian Turner.<br /><br />Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen established Stratolaunch in 2011, with the initial goal of air-launching rockets carried high into the atmosphere, and then released, by Roc. Virgin Orbit and Virgin Galactic also employ an air-launch strategy, for satellite and space-tourism missions, respectively (though Virgin Orbit's future is murky; it recently declared bankruptcy).<br /><br />The vision changed in 2019, a year after Allen's death: Stratolaunch turned Roc into a platform for hypersonic research and development, which it will conduct with the giant plane and the Talon series of robotic hypersonic vehicles. ("Hypersonic" refers to speeds of at least Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.)<br /><br />Thanks to Saturday's success, the company's first hypersonic flight may now be just a few months away.<br /><br /><b>Related articles:</b><br /><br />Stratolaunch's Roc, the world's largest plane, aces 1st flight carrying hypersonic prototype<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/11/stratolaunchs-roc-worlds-largest-plane.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/11/stratolaunchs-roc-worlds-largest-plane.html</a><br /><br />First successful flight for the world's largest aircraft<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/04/first-successful-flight-for-worlds.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/04/first-successful-flight-for-worlds.html</a><br /><br /><b>Related link:</b><br /><br />Stratolaunch: <a href="https://www.stratolaunch.com/">https://www.stratolaunch.com/</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: Stratolaunch/Space.com/By Mike Wall.</p><p>Best regards, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-91048981538538411142023-05-15T16:30:00.001-07:002023-05-15T16:35:30.251-07:00Crew Works Human Research and Cleans Up After Spacewalk<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEr4L2fCmHew44u2fewibKL94CqgWsE65YtPYlC-uHilMg_JJyPbf3x--kcbwmNS9ewusR920JqZEquBzsHZt29tywh9hqgEttVNDKE0GuGzCOpiqGCf7uiarSNmT7T4xQqP5yhB2spxnF9CPqFkNlsb_SFuhWWscilYtw8Rz65TVFX4P4AYbUYzTp/s600/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEr4L2fCmHew44u2fewibKL94CqgWsE65YtPYlC-uHilMg_JJyPbf3x--kcbwmNS9ewusR920JqZEquBzsHZt29tywh9hqgEttVNDKE0GuGzCOpiqGCf7uiarSNmT7T4xQqP5yhB2spxnF9CPqFkNlsb_SFuhWWscilYtw8Rz65TVFX4P4AYbUYzTp/w200-h200/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ISS - Expedition 69 Mission patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 15, 2023<br /><br />The seven-member Expedition 69 crew began its week studying microgravity’s effects on human immunity, replacing critical life support gear, and cleaning up after last week’s spacewalk. Axiom Space is also counting down to its second private mission to the International Space Station.<br /><br />The orbital lab’s main purpose is gaining scientific knowledge not possible in Earth’s gravity to gain new insights benefitting humans on and off the Earth. Human research and physics are a key part of the microgravity science program helping NASA and its international partners plan missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwuMgkQLv-wyvilsyJav3mzYwzj1yLruM-1-S8bTLoHzMmqWJ5qoic-JNP6yCDi4EBNKtFQQYPUXrGuvG4atZf4Y4NSCBSqvV7NIcd8kRQQ_iMaGrpke_s7Bvn-DYZmcMbHM-xM3tdhQfLyeedAIfnQQOgsZCZcvKH46vpVSVBfSkYH1WCTHOnziWH/s2048/52900133013_399fcfd2ec_k.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwuMgkQLv-wyvilsyJav3mzYwzj1yLruM-1-S8bTLoHzMmqWJ5qoic-JNP6yCDi4EBNKtFQQYPUXrGuvG4atZf4Y4NSCBSqvV7NIcd8kRQQ_iMaGrpke_s7Bvn-DYZmcMbHM-xM3tdhQfLyeedAIfnQQOgsZCZcvKH46vpVSVBfSkYH1WCTHOnziWH/w640-h426/52900133013_399fcfd2ec_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Astronauts (from left) Sultan Alneyadi and Woody Hoburg show off the tools they used to successfully open a hatch on the Unity module. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br />NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen started Monday processing blood samples that will be analyzed to understand how living in space affects cellular immune function to promote healthier astronauts. At the end of the day, Bowen put on a vest and headband packed with sensors that will record his physiological data to the Canadian Space Agency’s Bio-Monitor device.<br /><br />Station flight engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) worked throughout Monday on experiment hardware supporting advanced space biology research. Rubio worked in the Kibo laboratory module checking out the Confocal Space Microscope that captures fluorescence imagery to observe the fundamental nature of cellular and tissue structures. Alneyadi installed a syringe filled with a protein solution inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for the Ring Sheared Drop experiment that may provide potential treatments for neuro-degenerative diseases.<br /><br />Rubio and Alneyadi also assisted NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg as he worked throughout the day on the Destiny laboratory module’s carbon dioxide removal assembly. Hoburg spent several hours throughout Monday replacing components then checking for leaks on the life support device located in Destiny’s air revitalization system rack.<br /><br />Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin relaxed Saturday and Sunday following their five-hour and 14-minute spacewalk on Friday to deploy and activate a radiator on the Nauka science module. The two cosmonauts then kicked off Monday uninstalling components and checking for leaks on their Orlan spacesuits then returning the Poisk airlock to its post-spacewalk configuration. Afterward, the pair checked the heart monitoring gear they would wear during their descent to Earth inside the Soyuz MS-23 crew ship.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnO1BAQq3pp16zJ88-SSGgUhhUJhEmxq37XmivzzcvHYo2JdFGLfTp7ViAdiYWAT_7SE67H0k3whOtxFj6BGOcBCXP5rX4VrxZAPQMwx3oinTBE6bdDCwhJv3jIJK5gbHf1JwfF8Z8eLJpNEYt-IO_zPIdOw0nb7O2VM0uz6AkU8FtFD2mUwUC_ws5/s480/International_Space_Station_pillars.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnO1BAQq3pp16zJ88-SSGgUhhUJhEmxq37XmivzzcvHYo2JdFGLfTp7ViAdiYWAT_7SE67H0k3whOtxFj6BGOcBCXP5rX4VrxZAPQMwx3oinTBE6bdDCwhJv3jIJK5gbHf1JwfF8Z8eLJpNEYt-IO_zPIdOw0nb7O2VM0uz6AkU8FtFD2mUwUC_ws5/w640-h360/International_Space_Station_pillars.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: ESA</p><p>Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his day primarily on maintenance activities as he cleaned ventilation equipment and laptop computers in the Zvezda service module. Fedyaev also spent a few moments on human research activities recording and downloading his body mass measurements then collecting his own blood sample for later analyzing.<br /><br />The second private astronaut mission from Axiom Space, Axiom Mission 2, is scheduled to launch to the space station at 5:37 p.m. EDT on Sunday. Commander Peggy Whitson with Pilot John Shoffner and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi will ride the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the orbiting lab’s space-facing port on the Harmony module where they are scheduled to dock at 9:24 a.m. on Monday. The private quartet will conduct research, outreach, and commercial activities before returning to Earth.</p><p><b>Related article:</b><br /><br />Cosmonauts Deploy Radiator and Complete Spacewalk<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/cosmonauts-deploy-radiator-and-complete.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/cosmonauts-deploy-radiator-and-complete.html<br /></a><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />Expedition 69: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html</a><br /><br />Cellular immune function: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8170">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8170</a><br /><br />Bio-Monitor: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7392">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7392</a><br /><br />Kibo laboratory module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7428">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7428</a><br /><br />Confocal Space Microscope: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7428">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7428</a><br /><br />Microgravity Science Glovebox: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=341">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=341</a><br /><br />Ring Sheared Drop: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7383">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7383</a><br /><br />Destiny laboratory module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/us-destiny-laboratory">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/us-destiny-laboratory</a><br /><br />Poisk airlock: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/poisk-mini-research-module-2">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/poisk-mini-research-module-2</a><br /><br />Nauka multipurpose laboratory module: <a href="https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/nauka/">https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/nauka/</a><br /><br />Zvezda service module: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/zvezda-service-module.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/zvezda-service-module.html</a><br /><br />Space Station Research and Technology: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html</a><br /><br />International Space Station (ISS): <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html</a><br /><br />Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.</p><p>Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-43108663431264185072023-05-15T16:22:00.003-07:002023-05-15T16:22:46.472-07:00NASA’s Juno Mission Getting Closer to Jupiter’s Moon Io<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxe1GG-zcH3Adocpd9aahU57OU7styhYWQ4iqyIVYNYQsWRgREgGXN3ojJ5YXfJqSmmIPvE-JUjmdL3eejA36HdFJT5C_3HsbiSwBP8261pWLiWe3jScCm273HKhmQamr2o-Ets3KeRSzHOnFRTNi0uorlSNMme-lRhfvcVC4p1jwJgxosMzm1Th2/s732/2016-07-04.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="732" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxe1GG-zcH3Adocpd9aahU57OU7styhYWQ4iqyIVYNYQsWRgREgGXN3ojJ5YXfJqSmmIPvE-JUjmdL3eejA36HdFJT5C_3HsbiSwBP8261pWLiWe3jScCm273HKhmQamr2o-Ets3KeRSzHOnFRTNi0uorlSNMme-lRhfvcVC4p1jwJgxosMzm1Th2/w200-h185/2016-07-04.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>NASA - JUNO Mission logo.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 15, 2023<br /><br />The gas giant orbiter has flown over 510 million miles and also documented close encounters with three of Jupiter’s four largest moons.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-to176i_EHqaOeiP17SP5Tp-Z-pHkciaX6vzV5mIHOXSsREVCMBWhNnoXRLE9rpTHJFiL-jPI0unFJJ5duF4Rbz9Mxe1cLSGsq0DMk2lXqtluktfNMKpYkWheDSmr_0jkteED7G-OgXD8nilG5QenKcUKIXRcuLmVsk6Zos_WXMucF0BopjAJxXki/s1041/1-pia25885-1041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="1041" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-to176i_EHqaOeiP17SP5Tp-Z-pHkciaX6vzV5mIHOXSsREVCMBWhNnoXRLE9rpTHJFiL-jPI0unFJJ5duF4Rbz9Mxe1cLSGsq0DMk2lXqtluktfNMKpYkWheDSmr_0jkteED7G-OgXD8nilG5QenKcUKIXRcuLmVsk6Zos_WXMucF0BopjAJxXki/w640-h342/1-pia25885-1041.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: This JunoCam image of the Jovian moon Io was collected during Juno’s flyby of the moon on March 1, 2023. At the time of closest approach, Juno was about 32,000 miles (51,500 kilometers) away from Io. Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing: Kevin M. Gill (CC BY).<br /><br />NASA’s Juno spacecraft will fly past Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io on Tuesday, May 16, and then the gas giant itself soon after. The flyby of the Jovian moon will be the closest to date, at an altitude of about 22,060 miles (35,500 kilometers). Now in the third year of its extended mission to investigate the interior of Jupiter, the solar-powered spacecraft will also explore the ring system where some of the gas giant’s inner moons reside.<br /><br />To date, Juno has performed 50 flybys of Jupiter and also collected data during close encounters with three of the four Galilean moons – the icy worlds Europa and Ganymede, and fiery Io.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoD0J-I9uzzOYRVcIDbtvutOC8rn4zHPL5Q_GbDd8rmzI9JXbMfWIOXycREewGm-1YgsPJP5okmUr8VCK15618bvQz10ADEER3y7crLtaSwssNy9zSeFFWkzlPbWw04EwQUDF-JW3MHk8edJ_4J5A5ph5_7ffYFKpu24n9zDSGj3wzHQzj2oWyY_US/s1041/2-pia25887-1041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="1041" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoD0J-I9uzzOYRVcIDbtvutOC8rn4zHPL5Q_GbDd8rmzI9JXbMfWIOXycREewGm-1YgsPJP5okmUr8VCK15618bvQz10ADEER3y7crLtaSwssNy9zSeFFWkzlPbWw04EwQUDF-JW3MHk8edJ_4J5A5ph5_7ffYFKpu24n9zDSGj3wzHQzj2oWyY_US/w640-h166/2-pia25887-1041.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: This composite image of Io was generated using data collected by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during four flybys of the Jovian moon. The resolution of the images gets progressively better as the distance between spacecraft and moon decreases with each flyby (perijove, or PJ). Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/ Image processing, left to right: Björn Jónsson (CC NC SA), Jason Perry (CC NC SA), Mike Ravine (CC BY), Kevin M. Gill (CC BY).<br /><br />“Io is the most volcanic celestial body that we know of in our solar system,” said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “By observing it over time on multiple passes, we can watch how the volcanoes vary – how often they erupt, how bright and hot they are, whether they are linked to a group or solo, and if the shape of the lava flow changes.”<br /><br />Slightly larger than Earth’s moon, Io is a world in constant torment. Not only is the biggest planet in the solar system forever pulling at it gravitationally, but so are its Galilean siblings – Europa and the biggest moon in the solar system, Ganymede. The result is that Io is continuously stretched and squeezed, actions linked to the creation of the lava seen erupting from its many volcanoes.<br /><br />While Juno was designed to study Jupiter, its many sensors have additionally provided a wealth of data on the planet’s moons. Along with its visible light imager JunoCam, the spacecraft’s JIRAM (Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper), SRU (Stellar Reference Unit), and MWR (Microwave Radiometer) will be studying Io’s volcanoes and how volcanic eruptions interact with Jupiter’s powerful magnetosphere and auroras.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggs3nfY4smBxC03-vrdhQGl4FDNOKFwWTUImXgzF6od21HSPRrB_au6avTOALw2TbhdFWw7zO-N9IwPSlBtnzdpd4uTIYOj8da0LpGMg8ktPdtRk1HwteQVCPRjh-kzZEN_CKhU-Lbvx4kLdTLwuF8FxeV2IwFUru6VfqKTBgynyY9giCz9xlCKpm/s1041/3-pia25888-1041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="1041" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggs3nfY4smBxC03-vrdhQGl4FDNOKFwWTUImXgzF6od21HSPRrB_au6avTOALw2TbhdFWw7zO-N9IwPSlBtnzdpd4uTIYOj8da0LpGMg8ktPdtRk1HwteQVCPRjh-kzZEN_CKhU-Lbvx4kLdTLwuF8FxeV2IwFUru6VfqKTBgynyY9giCz9xlCKpm/w640-h320/3-pia25888-1041.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: These composite views depicting volcanic activity on Io were generated using both visible light and infrared data collected by NASA’s Juno spacecraft during flybys of the Jovian moon on Dec. 14, 2022 (left) and March 1, 2023. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM.<br /><br />“We are entering into another amazing part of Juno’s mission as we get closer and closer to Io with successive orbits. This 51st orbit will provide our closest look yet at this tortured moon,” said Bolton. “Our upcoming flybys in July and October will bring us even closer, leading up to our twin flyby encounters with Io in December of this year and February of next year, when we fly within 1,500 kilometers of its surface. All of these flybys are providing spectacular views of the volcanic activity of this amazing moon. The data should be amazing.”<br /><br /><b>A “Half-Century” at Jupiter</b><br /><br />During its flybys of Jupiter, Juno has zoomed low over the planet’s cloud tops – as close as about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers). Approaching the planet from over the north pole and exiting over the south during these flybys, the spacecraft uses its instruments to probe beneath the obscuring cloud cover, studying Jupiter’s interior and auroras to learn more about the planet’s origins, structure, atmosphere, and magnetosphere.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R9tzFpM3JPNuyuBDmu-APTBPyUDvMtwcLWQi0EdPk_eDHXTvgE_S6SIoTquIj3PzzDIcgZY4DLzX_sdm0N6GQ6tmC0A1LxV_UkBdEu848bUYc-Sip__5UTp8_QDYS5xnAUZKI3wFd5g8cfD1t8OkZFFChTdXBHr97MJ22Vm3TzoGlAOL8eCx38ya/s1191/e1_-_pia25886_-_jiram_io_4_shot_-2023-05-11-at-8-updated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1191" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R9tzFpM3JPNuyuBDmu-APTBPyUDvMtwcLWQi0EdPk_eDHXTvgE_S6SIoTquIj3PzzDIcgZY4DLzX_sdm0N6GQ6tmC0A1LxV_UkBdEu848bUYc-Sip__5UTp8_QDYS5xnAUZKI3wFd5g8cfD1t8OkZFFChTdXBHr97MJ22Vm3TzoGlAOL8eCx38ya/w640-h214/e1_-_pia25886_-_jiram_io_4_shot_-2023-05-11-at-8-updated.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: These infrared views of volcanic activity of Jupiter’s moon Io were collected by the JIRAM (Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper) instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during a flyby of the moon on Oct. 16, 2021. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM.<br /><br />Juno has been orbiting Jupiter for more than 2,505 Earth days and flown over 510 million miles (820 million kilometers). The spacecraft arrived at Jupiter on July 4, 2016. The first science flyby occurred 53 days later, and the spacecraft continued with that orbital period until its flyby of Ganymede on June 7, 2021, which reduced its orbital period to 43 days. The Europa flyby on Sept. 29, 2022, reduced the orbital period to 38 days. After the next two Io flybys, on May 16 and July 31, Juno’s orbital period will remain fixed at 32 days.<br /><br />“Io is only one of the celestial bodies which continue to come under Juno’s microscope during this extended mission,” said Juno’s acting project manager, Matthew Johnson of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “As well as continuously changing our orbit to allow new perspectives of Jupiter and flying low over the nightside of the planet, the spacecraft will also be threading the needle between some of Jupiter’s rings to learn more about their origin and composition.”</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQb1BuBbFTeCFyFsafw8w0bjRjAAyvQQd5rAcnTWa3_TkNdeRgDRyLVk9yYSM7nL_z0qaEaxB12hyr_dvnWtEiT08ggCWluj4ry0poLzyZh9YVdSCIaNMBU4SiOn7gR8u_ElhQZIgyXUqmFB--5_50QaQjpETbU7_gdYEYLp_MdDVoREihj5iwSblW/s1041/e2_-_50orbits-1041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1041" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQb1BuBbFTeCFyFsafw8w0bjRjAAyvQQd5rAcnTWa3_TkNdeRgDRyLVk9yYSM7nL_z0qaEaxB12hyr_dvnWtEiT08ggCWluj4ry0poLzyZh9YVdSCIaNMBU4SiOn7gR8u_ElhQZIgyXUqmFB--5_50QaQjpETbU7_gdYEYLp_MdDVoREihj5iwSblW/w640-h404/e2_-_50orbits-1041.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: This downloadable graphic contains 50 image highlights from NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter. Juno completed its 50th close pass of the gas giant on April 8, 2023. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br /><b>More About the Mission</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvQdOswBHOP1IqdoN7Ld7JgeIE8UZ4DlcnIQVhzFqMb79PYrSVtqoEROgDRdeqxfgQ2WayvZ9pejAa32qsWK1SWF88HEnbl89lL0diQNVQ4QO3u9OFbAeitYGZBAQhHw1VG2JaTm1079mNZBuGo0N3bOo-H9w1PU_J76-K4Em6l8CsROcUdndNWhY/s480/nasa-juno-jupiter.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvQdOswBHOP1IqdoN7Ld7JgeIE8UZ4DlcnIQVhzFqMb79PYrSVtqoEROgDRdeqxfgQ2WayvZ9pejAa32qsWK1SWF88HEnbl89lL0diQNVQ4QO3u9OFbAeitYGZBAQhHw1VG2JaTm1079mNZBuGo0N3bOo-H9w1PU_J76-K4Em6l8CsROcUdndNWhY/w640-h360/nasa-juno-jupiter.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Juno orbiting Jupiter. Animation Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech<br /><br />NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott J. Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built and operates the spacecraft.<br /><br /><b>More information about Juno is available at:</b><br /><br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/juno">https://www.nasa.gov/juno</a> and <a href="https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu">https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Tony Greicius/Karen Fox/Alana Johnson/JPL/DC Agle/Southwest Research Institute/Deb Schmid.</p><p>Best regards, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-80857419587112813742023-05-15T16:13:00.000-07:002023-05-15T16:13:16.232-07:00NASA Calls End to Lunar Flashlight After Some Tech Successes<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5__eTpqspV7smlk_4a8EJaQNLWlQ3bY7IepN36kHp5WFJMROatDnL4Vgmv9eswYaXc9fZK4cBY6vSxkhmbP_6QTQAqUKWuN_nx9pIN7xl1C71MjihW0zi9B2JPp6nhAVDzPB0WnQT98cvObQBM4OiqMEffQI5xYbH-o5KmUYQZZvFdDPR0Zp_civ/s1846/Lunar%20Flashlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1846" data-original-width="1846" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5__eTpqspV7smlk_4a8EJaQNLWlQ3bY7IepN36kHp5WFJMROatDnL4Vgmv9eswYaXc9fZK4cBY6vSxkhmbP_6QTQAqUKWuN_nx9pIN7xl1C71MjihW0zi9B2JPp6nhAVDzPB0WnQT98cvObQBM4OiqMEffQI5xYbH-o5KmUYQZZvFdDPR0Zp_civ/w200-h200/Lunar%20Flashlight.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>NASA - Lunar Flashlight Mission patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 15, 2023<br /><br />While the CubeSat couldn’t reach the lunar South Pole to help seek ice, it fulfilled several technology goals that will empower future missions for the benefit of humanity.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDfOrwZlibvFFAQbDK8kZXUg3aiovtZnNErAsuMalC7Rcig3X1cjOKsklKlZ0_jfIlzXaCuQeDcPi00hFK72TOMLFDl0N5I8jOwjbO7npGp3DoFcFEkUXJ_8jNiztRv58SXjeNY0Q5xnVJELeAFmyj5Hmvg0CYPW-ETLC2csr3hBoM-Bm7syaeqjDn/s1600/lunar-flashlight-launch-illo-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDfOrwZlibvFFAQbDK8kZXUg3aiovtZnNErAsuMalC7Rcig3X1cjOKsklKlZ0_jfIlzXaCuQeDcPi00hFK72TOMLFDl0N5I8jOwjbO7npGp3DoFcFEkUXJ_8jNiztRv58SXjeNY0Q5xnVJELeAFmyj5Hmvg0CYPW-ETLC2csr3hBoM-Bm7syaeqjDn/w640-h360/lunar-flashlight-launch-illo-16.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: This illustration depicts NASA’s Lunar Flashlight, with its four solar arrays deployed, shortly after launch in December. Soon after, the briefcase-size CubeSat experienced thruster issues that prompted months of troubleshooting efforts by the mission’s operations team. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.<br /><br />NASA’s Lunar Flashlight launched on Dec. 11, 2022, to demonstrate several new technologies, with an ultimate goal to seek out surface ice in the permanently shadowed craters of the Moon’s South Pole. Since then, the briefcase-size satellite’s miniaturized propulsion system – the first of its kind ever flown – proved unable to generate enough thrust to get into lunar orbit, despite months of effort by the operations team. Because the CubeSat cannot complete maneuvers to stay in the Earth-Moon system, NASA has called an end to the mission.<br /><br />NASA relies on technology demonstrations to fill specific knowledge gaps and to test new technologies. Used for the first time beyond Earth’s orbit, Lunar Flashlight’s propulsion system and green fuel were such demonstrations. Although the propulsion system was unable to produce the desired thrust – likely because of debris buildup in the thruster fuel lines – newly developed propulsion system components exceeded performance expectations.<br /><br />Also surpassing expectations were Lunar Flashlight’s never-before-flown Sphinx flight computer – a low-power computer developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to withstand the radiation of deep space – and the spacecraft’s upgraded Iris radio. Featuring a new precision navigation capability, the radio can be used by future small spacecraft to rendezvous and land on solar system bodies.<br /><br />“Technology demonstrations are, by their nature, higher risk and high reward, and they’re essential for NASA to test and learn,” said Christopher Baker, program executive for Small Spacecraft Technology in the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Lunar Flashlight was highly successful from the standpoint of being a testbed for new systems that had never flown in space before. Those systems, and the lessons Lunar Flashlight taught us, will be used for future missions.”<br /><br />The mission’s miniaturized four-laser reflectometer, a science instrument that had never flown before, either, also tested successfully, giving the mission’s science team confidence that the laser would have been able to detect ice if it were present at the lunar surface.<br /><br />“It’s disappointing for the science team, and for the whole Lunar Flashlight team, that we won’t be able to use our laser reflectometer to make measurements at the Moon,” said Barbara Cohen, the mission’s principal investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “But like all the other systems, we collected a lot of in-flight performance data on the instrument that will be incredibly valuable to future iterations of this technique.”<br /><br /><b>Propulsion System Performance Challenges</b><br /><br />Despite the mission’s technological wins, Lunar Flashlight’s miniaturized propulsion system struggled to provide sufficient thrust to put the CubeSat on course for the planned near-rectilinear halo orbit that would have given the spacecraft weekly flybys of the Moon’s South Pole.<br /><br />The team suspects that debris obstructed the fuel lines, causing the diminished and inconsistent thrust. The miniaturized propulsion system included an additively manufactured fuel feed system that likely developed the debris – such as metal powder or shavings – and obstructed fuel flow to the thrusters, limiting their performance. Although the team devised a creative method for using just one thruster to maneuver the spacecraft, Lunar Flashlight needed more consistent thrust to reach its planned orbit.<br /><br />The operations team calculated a new orbit that could be reached using the spacecraft’s small amount of potential remaining thrust. The plan called for putting the CubeSat on a path that would place it in orbit around Earth rather than the Moon, with monthly flybys of the lunar South Pole. While this would have meant fewer flybys, the spacecraft would have flown closer to the surface.<br /><br />With the mission running out of time to arrive at the needed orbit, the operations team tried to dislodge any debris from the fuel lines by increasing the fuel pressure well beyond the propulsion system’s designed capacity. Despite limited success, the required trajectory correction maneuvers couldn’t be completed in time.<br /><br />“The student operations team at Georgia Tech, with assistance from JPL and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, rose to the challenge and came up with an incredible array of inventive techniques to utilize what tiny amount of thrust Lunar Flashlight’s propulsion system could deliver,” said John Baker, Lunar Flashlight project manager at JPL. “We learned a lot and honed new methods and strategies for working with tiny spacecraft.”<br /><br />After having traveled out past the Moon, Lunar Flashlight is now moving back toward Earth and will fly past our planet with a close approach of about 40,000 miles (65,000 kilometers) on May 17. The CubeSat will then continue into deep space and orbit the Sun. It continues to communicate with mission operators, and NASA is weighing options for the future of the spacecraft.<br /><br /><b>More About the Mission</b><br /><br />Lunar Flashlight is managed for NASA by JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California. The CubeSat is operated by Georgia Tech, including graduate and undergraduate students. The Lunar Flashlight science team is led by NASA Goddard and includes team members from the University of California, Los Angeles; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; and the University of Colorado.<br /><br />The CubeSat’s propulsion system was developed by NASA Marshall in Huntsville, Alabama, with development and integration support from Georgia Tech. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program funded component development from small businesses including Plasma Processes Inc. (Rubicon) for thruster development, Flight Works for pump development, and Beehive Industries (formerly Volunteer Aerospace) for specific 3D-printed components. The Air Force Research Laboratory also contributed financially to the development of Lunar Flashlight’s propulsion system. Lunar Flashlight is funded by the Small Spacecraft Technology program based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley and within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.<br /><br /><b>Related articles:</b><br /><br />Team Continues to Troubleshoot Propulsion for NASA’s Lunar Flashlight<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/team-continues-to-troubleshoot.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/team-continues-to-troubleshoot.html</a><br /><br />NASA’s Lunar Flashlight Team Assessing Spacecraft’s Propulsion System<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/01/nasas-lunar-flashlight-team-assessing.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/01/nasas-lunar-flashlight-team-assessing.html</a><br /><br />Read more about the Lunar Flashlight mission here: <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/lunar-flashlight">https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/lunar-flashlight</a><br /><br />Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Tony Greicius/Sarah Frazier/JPL/Ian J. O’Neill.</p><p>Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-58111039826067160202023-05-15T16:05:00.000-07:002023-05-15T16:05:21.247-07:00Webb finds water, and a new mystery, in rare main belt comet<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Rw_HKUTvKUdwKdMVMj90njTwPPSpi2Rbd-kdH1CLMRJ77fTj-rWoHdP-HOWKjwVgoIeGR49uOjjo1UBMNjoicTh9AJWit86hWJEahizB7ftwOYqrSKykOvX0eK0c2B72xb9RtNyTvIdhQuA8z6kF6qYOQ_e1XMjvmJE4rRp_t-1Pju4gY71f0BI2/s1920/JWST_mission_logo_pillars.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1920" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Rw_HKUTvKUdwKdMVMj90njTwPPSpi2Rbd-kdH1CLMRJ77fTj-rWoHdP-HOWKjwVgoIeGR49uOjjo1UBMNjoicTh9AJWit86hWJEahizB7ftwOYqrSKykOvX0eK0c2B72xb9RtNyTvIdhQuA8z6kF6qYOQ_e1XMjvmJE4rRp_t-1Pju4gY71f0BI2/w200-h200/JWST_mission_logo_pillars.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>NASA / ESA / CSA-ASC - James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 15, 2023</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDbs0EZ4iMJPboEj0ikrJZyvdKukm_wCiu3lirOO8hwt5zZ_O2taqUyAavVwOdx2K1A93kP5bwsxWr9Ojf_eRBbTaBeRLWjhTTynzJNVOJ9ZU4SWKlASohLZgo1EPNFdAuVlwurK-cHbTRDUl_eO0mEmpFXFcRaUXA8twJPULB1CjPrP-ZnBDXFCz/s1280/Artist%E2%80%99s%20concept%20of%20Comet%20238P-Read.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1280" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDbs0EZ4iMJPboEj0ikrJZyvdKukm_wCiu3lirOO8hwt5zZ_O2taqUyAavVwOdx2K1A93kP5bwsxWr9Ojf_eRBbTaBeRLWjhTTynzJNVOJ9ZU4SWKlASohLZgo1EPNFdAuVlwurK-cHbTRDUl_eO0mEmpFXFcRaUXA8twJPULB1CjPrP-ZnBDXFCz/w640-h458/Artist%E2%80%99s%20concept%20of%20Comet%20238P-Read.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Artist’s concept of Comet 238P/Read</p><p>The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has enabled another long-sought scientific breakthrough, this time for Solar System scientists studying the origins of the water that has made life on Earth possible. Using Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument, astronomers have confirmed gas – specifically water vapour – around a comet in the main asteroid belt for the first time, proving that water from the primordial Solar System can be preserved as ice in that region. However, the successful detection of water comes with a new puzzle: unlike other comets, Comet 238P/Read had no detectable carbon dioxide.<br /><br />“Our water-soaked world, teeming with life and unique in the universe as far as we know, is something of a mystery – we’re not sure how all this water got here,” said Stefanie Milam, Webb Deputy Project Scientist for Planetary Science and a co-author on the study reporting the finding. “Understanding the history of water distribution in the Solar System will help us to understand other planetary systems, and if they could be on their way to hosting an Earth-like planet,” she added.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMI-nQVg1dRYLFerZP0YWUw2XXjoDv2i2uh67y_gykLqxmBx3eIDEpIU_mHILyPxpVyxUPfDP2iI_wigmX4tQBgFvy8aO0YrmINwRCu0y0VfwmLZkAsQOUVSQuTrWwYUTsplflLm9sP87761um-n2wvl942gA-vkXOyAzAdjmkmEIV-Jk39NauMHp/s1280/NIRCam%20image%20of%20Comet%20238P-Read.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1126" data-original-width="1280" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMI-nQVg1dRYLFerZP0YWUw2XXjoDv2i2uh67y_gykLqxmBx3eIDEpIU_mHILyPxpVyxUPfDP2iI_wigmX4tQBgFvy8aO0YrmINwRCu0y0VfwmLZkAsQOUVSQuTrWwYUTsplflLm9sP87761um-n2wvl942gA-vkXOyAzAdjmkmEIV-Jk39NauMHp/w640-h564/NIRCam%20image%20of%20Comet%20238P-Read.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">NIRCam image of Comet 238P/Read</p><p>Comet Read is a main belt comet – an object that resides in the main asteroid belt but which periodically displays a halo, or coma, and tail like a comet. Main belt comets themselves are a fairly new classification, and Comet Read was one of the original three comets used to establish the category. Before that, comets were understood to originate in the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud, beyond the orbit of Neptune, where their ices could be preserved farther from the Sun. Frozen material that vaporises as they approach the Sun is what gives comets their distinctive coma and streaming tail, differentiating them from asteroids. Scientists have long speculated that water ice could be preserved in the warmer asteroid belt, inside the orbit of Jupiter, but definitive proof was elusive – until Webb.<br /><br />“In the past we’ve seen objects in the main belt with all the characteristics of comets, but only with this precise spectral data from Webb can we say yes, it’s definitely water ice that is creating that effect,” explained astronomer Michael Kelley of the University of Maryland, lead author of the study.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zAYCwOsFY8zaijsRbttXWKTH3KXPSCyh09Gm7_V_qrhsd-mP9FV8s0THXhHFs9gjOfRJ8mnpFNS_AUwhe6DA2jZEUcS12bnHgiT1AERalv30a3tAtxCMb5WiNXfgrL5cdOnvRAL-0x-IfaBN_LTYk-ZkRaeSmyN3H7yCmoU1Y2MyP49M8QeVkSc5/s1474/NIRCam%20image%20of%20Comet%20238P-Read%20(annotated).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1474" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zAYCwOsFY8zaijsRbttXWKTH3KXPSCyh09Gm7_V_qrhsd-mP9FV8s0THXhHFs9gjOfRJ8mnpFNS_AUwhe6DA2jZEUcS12bnHgiT1AERalv30a3tAtxCMb5WiNXfgrL5cdOnvRAL-0x-IfaBN_LTYk-ZkRaeSmyN3H7yCmoU1Y2MyP49M8QeVkSc5/w556-h640/NIRCam%20image%20of%20Comet%20238P-Read%20(annotated).jpg" width="556" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">NIRCam image of Comet 238P/Read (annotated)</p><p>“With Webb’s observations of Comet Read, we can now demonstrate that water ice from the early Solar System can be preserved in the asteroid belt,” Kelley said.<br /><br />The missing carbon dioxide was a bigger surprise. Typically carbon dioxide makes up about 10 percent of the volatile material in a comet that can be easily vaporised by the Sun’s heat. The science team presents two possible explanations for the lack of carbon dioxide. One possibility is that Comet Read did have carbon dioxide when it formed, but has lost that because of warm temperatures.<br /><br />“Being in the asteroid belt for a long time could do it – carbon dioxide vaporises more easily than water ice, and could percolate out over billions of years,” Kelley said. Alternatively, he said, Comet Read may have formed in a particularly warm pocket of the Solar System, where no carbon dioxide was available.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyRlYUU2grv_nHZ5MD00McwWeu3W9wHngI6ORdKMOv5sZ0WIPvmW2EW8jCsxQWqZ_9bSFXaNeXgc9vWz8KczyWtnQx_kE4_wevOtlDq2G29AIl999psMStlOh0aTBKYh7zcM3Pg_gP3OOC9a2T-bGBBCC4C8WZZpDCY1R7uQRWiLq0ylWd_KAu9c-/s1280/Spectral%20data%20of%20Comet%20238%20P-Read%20and%20Comet%20109%20P-Hartley%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyRlYUU2grv_nHZ5MD00McwWeu3W9wHngI6ORdKMOv5sZ0WIPvmW2EW8jCsxQWqZ_9bSFXaNeXgc9vWz8KczyWtnQx_kE4_wevOtlDq2G29AIl999psMStlOh0aTBKYh7zcM3Pg_gP3OOC9a2T-bGBBCC4C8WZZpDCY1R7uQRWiLq0ylWd_KAu9c-/w640-h360/Spectral%20data%20of%20Comet%20238%20P-Read%20and%20Comet%20109%20P-Hartley%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Spectral data of Comet 238 P/Read and Comet 109 P/Hartley 2</p><p>The next step is taking the research beyond Comet Read to see how other main belt comets compare, says astronomer Heidi Hammel of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), lead for Webb’s Guaranteed Time Observations for Solar System objects and co-author of the study. “These objects in the asteroid belt are small and faint, and with Webb we can finally see what is going on with them and draw some conclusions. Do other main belt comets also lack carbon dioxide? Either way it will be exciting to find out,” Hammel said.<br /><br />Co-author Milam imagines the possibilities of bringing the research even closer to home. “Now that Webb has confirmed there is water preserved as close as the asteroid belt, it would be fascinating to follow up on this discovery with a sample collection mission, and learn what else the main belt comets can tell us.”<br /><br />The study is published in the journal Nature.<br /><br /><b>More information</b><br /><br />ESA has a long history of exploring comets, both from a distance and up close. In 1986, the Agency's Giotto mission was the first to provide good resolution images of a comet's nucleus when it got close to Halley's Comet. Then during 2014–2016 Rosetta became the first mission to monitor how a comet changes as it swings around the Sun. Both Giotto and Rosetta's target comets are thought to have once originated from the outer reaches of the Solar System, but have since passed close to the Sun many times. ESA's next comet mission is different: due to launch in 2029, Comet Interceptor will be the first to visit a 'pristine' comet as it journeys into the inner Solar System for the first time. One of Comet Interceptor's ambitious goals is to explore how comets are responsible for delivering water to Earth, resulting in a life-friendly ecosystem.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dQD6xDMksPoWeAm_mYfKe7Bap9GkrzGk9C6rA8sliUkXdMGvS8GGzMqtoWTfywWCn0nRMn_cS4UYQ68ocXeVLLGP0fpLypC0R0qUNzIo-P03G3gmtBx0KRS_QX_iALfuuQB18t3msNhEFwMM514iX_acqOFv7V55LgDMJiq5D69IQXgdKzzH9HnI/s777/NASAs-James-Webb-Space-Telescope.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="777" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dQD6xDMksPoWeAm_mYfKe7Bap9GkrzGk9C6rA8sliUkXdMGvS8GGzMqtoWTfywWCn0nRMn_cS4UYQ68ocXeVLLGP0fpLypC0R0qUNzIo-P03G3gmtBx0KRS_QX_iALfuuQB18t3msNhEFwMM514iX_acqOFv7V55LgDMJiq5D69IQXgdKzzH9HnI/w640-h360/NASAs-James-Webb-Space-Telescope.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)</p><p>Webb is the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. Under an international collaboration agreement, ESA provided the telescope’s launch service, using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace. ESA also provided the workhorse spectrograph NIRSpec and 50% of the mid-infrared instrument MIRI, which was designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with JPL and the University of Arizona.<br /><br />Webb is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).<br /><br /><b>Links:</b><br /><br />Collection of Webb’s First Images: <br /><a href="https://esawebb.org/initiatives/webbs-first-images/">https://esawebb.org/initiatives/webbs-first-images/</a><br /><br />ESA Webb Seeing Farther Interactive Brochure: <br /><a href="https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA_Publications/ESA_BR-348_Webb_Seeing_farther">https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA_Publications/ESA_BR-348_Webb_Seeing_farther</a><br /><br />Release on STScI website: <br /><a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-123">https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-123</a><br /><br />Release on NASA website: <br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/nasa-s-webb-finds-water-and-a-new-mystery-in-rare-main-belt-comet">https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/nasa-s-webb-finds-water-and-a-new-mystery-in-rare-main-belt-comet</a><br /><br />Release on ESA website: <br /><a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Webb_finds_water_and_a_new_mystery_in_rare_main-belt_comet">https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Webb_finds_water_and_a_new_mystery_in_rare_main-belt_comet</a><br /><br />Science paper: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06152-y">https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06152-y</a><br /><br />Image Credit: NASA, ESA/NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Kelley (University of Maryland), H. Hsieh (Planetary Science Institute), A. Pagan (STScI)/NASA, ESA, CSA, and J. Olmsted (STScI)/Text Credits: ESA/Webb/Bethany Downer/Ninja Menning/Animation Credits: NASA/ESA.</p><p>Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-51830263240852753462023-05-15T15:54:00.000-07:002023-05-15T15:54:14.652-07:00Juice’s RIME antenna breaks free<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0T34oLNb0Xar92gRjxDm8-fXT59auJ0mqUnw6wQmjPWGkxaW6kQTUcjnJ3TYPWikJvhUf0r3L7ZeeHEr2Bj2NcP_TLaZ1zLkujtwBQaLij3SuxNABu4_bkwO0yf6lVxK9VUpT0aNAFfgzkhaEyN4DArTJdkwCj6Fi6oOtNCP0JNdCy8jXLleeZN4/s1182/Juice_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1182" data-original-width="1182" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0T34oLNb0Xar92gRjxDm8-fXT59auJ0mqUnw6wQmjPWGkxaW6kQTUcjnJ3TYPWikJvhUf0r3L7ZeeHEr2Bj2NcP_TLaZ1zLkujtwBQaLij3SuxNABu4_bkwO0yf6lVxK9VUpT0aNAFfgzkhaEyN4DArTJdkwCj6Fi6oOtNCP0JNdCy8jXLleeZN4/w200-h200/Juice_logo.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ESA - Juice Mission patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 15, 2023<br /><br />More than three weeks after efforts began to deploy Juice’s ice-penetrating Radar for Icy Moons Exploration (RIME) antenna, the 16-metre-long boom has finally escaped its mounting bracket.<br /><br />During the first attempt to extend the folded-up antenna, only the first segments of each half were deployed. Flight controllers suspected that a tiny stuck pin jammed the other segments in place.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0isthaSD2vaI3WU_qFmqyOCfiRF_PHk2QMAwO99tJdl86ACDdb06gDp9K8Wm9nMc_uYvxlyQWg_jTs3TUdK6EscbWGHzPo8TR7db-yMDjAzmIVTtTAEdaHezfO20aRaAueqf2qMXSPeOaCUCgGJmLPRcOf7lvITSs-wEm-vt7RS8MjelIbCnZb_st/s1280/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0isthaSD2vaI3WU_qFmqyOCfiRF_PHk2QMAwO99tJdl86ACDdb06gDp9K8Wm9nMc_uYvxlyQWg_jTs3TUdK6EscbWGHzPo8TR7db-yMDjAzmIVTtTAEdaHezfO20aRaAueqf2qMXSPeOaCUCgGJmLPRcOf7lvITSs-wEm-vt7RS8MjelIbCnZb_st/w640-h360/maxresdefault.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice)</p><p>Fortunately, the flight control teams at ESA’s mission control centre in Darmstadt had lots of ideas up their sleeves.<br /><br />To try to shift the pin, they shook Juice using its thrusters, then they warmed Juice with sunlight. Every day the RIME antenna was showing signs of movement, but no full release.<br /><br />On 12 May RIME was finally jolted into life when the flight control team fired a mechanical device called a ‘non-explosive actuator’ (NEA), located in the jammed bracket. This delivered a shock that moved the pin by a matter of millimetres and allowed the antenna to unfold.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLYADTXa5mq3-9Pn_dZjLUedx--pxN6BRXb4mBqoHAamR25sa5WgH1LzK_vfz_H2tA-dA591NFlygEK_urNdXz5pF-J5-k2QU9YNSz5o8PX7eeqkmVfAzM1G4vdt0YPcrN_kdvaj1kbjj5MduP7OOPU3V-FC5EUkHjmrdYZ2XYD2mj-Cow8xXAOR6/s1024/Juice_RIME_antenna_deploys_pillars.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLYADTXa5mq3-9Pn_dZjLUedx--pxN6BRXb4mBqoHAamR25sa5WgH1LzK_vfz_H2tA-dA591NFlygEK_urNdXz5pF-J5-k2QU9YNSz5o8PX7eeqkmVfAzM1G4vdt0YPcrN_kdvaj1kbjj5MduP7OOPU3V-FC5EUkHjmrdYZ2XYD2mj-Cow8xXAOR6/w640-h640/Juice_RIME_antenna_deploys_pillars.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">The first stuck part of the RIME antenna deploys</p><p>The image below shows the mechanical shock delivered by the firing of the actuator in the mounting bracket. The actuator was fired at the moment labelled ‘NEA 6 Release’. The resulting damping oscillation indicates that the antenna is released and then wobbles back and forth before stabilising into an extended, locked position.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vu88X93--tSEPDxaO5nXh5ahBXWo5f5VOJaW3hMPIVxqs3tAdxTVVUx3Dpab8f9clq76Dda-y3BpiQjlfoyyf-wprxDdCXfOiKqnrRe6L9Nw_m5eqtqtFfDnd75z6f0cZsaWLoUzUMo9fzhsHJQa6twhOP1LrhbbFNzpoGfw0tAhlCyfSeLYikdV/s1920/Juice_RIME_antenna_deploys_pillars.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="1920" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vu88X93--tSEPDxaO5nXh5ahBXWo5f5VOJaW3hMPIVxqs3tAdxTVVUx3Dpab8f9clq76Dda-y3BpiQjlfoyyf-wprxDdCXfOiKqnrRe6L9Nw_m5eqtqtFfDnd75z6f0cZsaWLoUzUMo9fzhsHJQa6twhOP1LrhbbFNzpoGfw0tAhlCyfSeLYikdV/w640-h408/Juice_RIME_antenna_deploys_pillars.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Juice RIME antenna deploys</p><p>But a final part of the antenna remained folded. Confirmation that the RIME antenna was successfully deployed came only when the flight control team fired another actuator in the bracket, causing RIME to fully stretch itself out after months spent folded up for launch.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkWwmExZ1_rd5D9RgvXiPZnr8iGmWfzA5JHnNZNWvLMG8JMBzfjgKQNXxDqstMx1f_UBhQlnuOKf954fL_TTQtoslBnLF86sXuq2ljsrV3E0-vGD7W2xekNezDRUuzaNg_LkfSizCMkBQsuaRQlAD_K4pjU2FtybvP5YiEJTVhSmNGL-rQV_y7694/s1024/Juice_RIME_antenna_deploys2_pillars.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkWwmExZ1_rd5D9RgvXiPZnr8iGmWfzA5JHnNZNWvLMG8JMBzfjgKQNXxDqstMx1f_UBhQlnuOKf954fL_TTQtoslBnLF86sXuq2ljsrV3E0-vGD7W2xekNezDRUuzaNg_LkfSizCMkBQsuaRQlAD_K4pjU2FtybvP5YiEJTVhSmNGL-rQV_y7694/w640-h640/Juice_RIME_antenna_deploys2_pillars.gif" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">The second stuck part of the RIME antenna deploys</p><p>Once ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) arrives at Jupiter, it will use RIME to study the surface and subsurface structure of Jupiter’s icy moons down to a depth of 9 km. RIME is one of ten instruments on board Juice set to investigate the emergence of habitable worlds around gas giants and the formation of our Solar System.<br /><br /><b>Related link:</b><br /><br />ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice): <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice">https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice</a><br /><br />Image, Animations, Graphic, Text, Credits: ESA/Juice/JMC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.</p><p>Best regards, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-7611947196417344872023-05-14T05:12:00.003-07:002023-05-14T05:12:30.775-07:00SpaceX Starlink 83 launch<div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJxAbSpcKiP_4gYbzlE6-0WCbQzw8yTfd0sp1GpO7__FrGH12wnqWnpVLtCSnn1TKwwNfj23eFQjolRa9cbhVuZMpJHPyz9W8fj2I6Elj1_9RH-4JUaNAmnBCG3YjNz3z7Ce-R1chPOsBu4AxCOaPWRboxzVrq2JKivh17gYM-d0s36GxdhG5TW0j/s350/upscaled-350x350.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="350" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJxAbSpcKiP_4gYbzlE6-0WCbQzw8yTfd0sp1GpO7__FrGH12wnqWnpVLtCSnn1TKwwNfj23eFQjolRa9cbhVuZMpJHPyz9W8fj2I6Elj1_9RH-4JUaNAmnBCG3YjNz3z7Ce-R1chPOsBu4AxCOaPWRboxzVrq2JKivh17gYM-d0s36GxdhG5TW0j/w200-h200/upscaled-350x350.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>SpaceX - Falcon 9 / Starlink Mission patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 14, 2023</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNs51c3SqN4P4rjv4Z8jj_SvD7u4s-OsBCi0r5Hfp-YNJTLFAtacbery4jabsGhfD3l4hm4lxy-xnw_1JGsUOAQmSyAtqfi7iYO2ZPhke0AAsZrsVpk1KeHYmyyeejO3u67yiQ0flmV6oTssR9x23ru4R98TUHBPAAF0NQ0fKRJjrnK3Jdj9YOLAp/s1280/vlcsnap-2023-05-14-14h06m13s303.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNs51c3SqN4P4rjv4Z8jj_SvD7u4s-OsBCi0r5Hfp-YNJTLFAtacbery4jabsGhfD3l4hm4lxy-xnw_1JGsUOAQmSyAtqfi7iYO2ZPhke0AAsZrsVpk1KeHYmyyeejO3u67yiQ0flmV6oTssR9x23ru4R98TUHBPAAF0NQ0fKRJjrnK3Jdj9YOLAp/w640-h360/vlcsnap-2023-05-14-14h06m13s303.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Falcon 9 carrying Starlink 83 liftoff<br /></p><p>A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle launched 56 Starlink satellites (Starlink-83 / Starlink 5-9) to low-Earth orbit, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, on 14 May 2023, at 05:03 UTC (01:03 EDT). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwR6CDywvhDLTFjT_op0ZQeDR2ycdle4pkGKY53t7sxQJvJ8VSbzkZSNbUSbJ4DoHlOiLXLWmIqNBVu06w3YA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">SpaceX Starlink 83 launch and Falcon 9 first stage landing, 14 May 2023</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage landed on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Falcon 9’s first stage (B1067) previously supported ten missions: CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat-5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G, O3b mPOWER-a and three Starlink missions.<br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />SpaceX: <a href="https://www.spacex.com/">https://www.spacex.com/</a><br /><br />Starlink: <a href="https://www.starlink.com/">https://www.starlink.com/</a><br /><br />Image, Video, Text, Credits: SpaceX/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></div><br />Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-59005937765276697542023-05-12T16:47:00.003-07:002023-05-12T16:47:46.053-07:00International Sea Level Satellite Spots Early Signs of El Niño<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1XjVSQHiTzfc7_yBdelShaBAzGhqinppIji3uvnRIiM2briUHn2Ee78eyclXthbNOkEiPOJRw9FIiaDtaUPQhXq1c1-cMkCmQD6cG6o4GCcSIMb9DNkXE9OrO0hy4S9cKFc-juffffy_M8q8ZuBD5DWZgPraGHHrZULZG_-D3F5GSv6iKvqo9TP5/s559/sentinel-6-mf-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="559" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1XjVSQHiTzfc7_yBdelShaBAzGhqinppIji3uvnRIiM2briUHn2Ee78eyclXthbNOkEiPOJRw9FIiaDtaUPQhXq1c1-cMkCmQD6cG6o4GCcSIMb9DNkXE9OrO0hy4S9cKFc-juffffy_M8q8ZuBD5DWZgPraGHHrZULZG_-D3F5GSv6iKvqo9TP5/w200-h158/sentinel-6-mf-logo.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ESA / NASA - Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich logo.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 12, 2023<br /><br />Kelvin waves, a potential precursor of El Niño conditions in the ocean, are rolling across the equatorial Pacific toward the coast of South America.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzc3vG-v3GhtPjNO7pwcRCz0or6H947Eh9oKsIsgeu_udDvkrJB-JBqedCnHtEPj03LIlTXY41nSnkrQ2M7yJjBrvYfF8iIig3PC6bBtV48spjcRvnN484TJYE4gL-kCBbcZn4LrV9mvlhAVnQsiOYugfK4JDKKLHFrH3P-UcEpsZAqicoxeuzvaO/s875/pia25776a_enso_kelvin_wave_final.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="875" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzc3vG-v3GhtPjNO7pwcRCz0or6H947Eh9oKsIsgeu_udDvkrJB-JBqedCnHtEPj03LIlTXY41nSnkrQ2M7yJjBrvYfF8iIig3PC6bBtV48spjcRvnN484TJYE4gL-kCBbcZn4LrV9mvlhAVnQsiOYugfK4JDKKLHFrH3P-UcEpsZAqicoxeuzvaO/w640-h304/pia25776a_enso_kelvin_wave_final.gif" width="640" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Animation above: This animation shows a series of waves, called Kelvin waves, moving warm water across the equatorial Pacific Ocean from west to east during March and April. The signals can be an early sign of a developing El Niño, and were detected by the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich sea level satellite. Animation Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.<br /><br />The most recent sea level data from the U.S.-European satellite Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich indicates early signs of a developing El Niño across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The data shows Kelvin waves – which are roughly 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) high at the ocean surface and hundreds of miles wide – moving from west to east along the equator toward the west coast of South America.<br /><br />When they form at the equator, Kelvin waves bring warm water, which is associated with higher sea levels, from the western Pacific to the eastern Pacific. A series of Kelvin waves starting in spring is a well-known precursor to an El Niño, a periodic climate phenomenon that can affect weather patterns around the world. It is characterized by higher sea levels and warmer-than-average ocean temperatures along the western coasts of the Americas.<br /><br />Water expands as it warms, so sea levels tend to be higher in places with warmer water. El Niño is also associated with a weakening of the trade winds. The condition can bring cooler, wetter conditions to the U.S. Southwest and drought to countries in the western Pacific, such as Indonesia and Australia.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7zO-DaB28Axqgw7qSO1hysL9KkKWrD9YQRF6P8sQWQw9ROR2jn-MwpkDQ7KAVJv0nUYKbVJXM1nHT7tsLA3eCLz2HsRyra-2xZZjUwwWjQ8EGQR3ei8zo5iQsod_G6oYIw_BZMjmLViJX8-13jFFhuav7B9-N_0EnRWggfgyrulLm99rM_ePpJN4/s1400/pia25776b_enso-kelvin-wave-still_final-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1400" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7zO-DaB28Axqgw7qSO1hysL9KkKWrD9YQRF6P8sQWQw9ROR2jn-MwpkDQ7KAVJv0nUYKbVJXM1nHT7tsLA3eCLz2HsRyra-2xZZjUwwWjQ8EGQR3ei8zo5iQsod_G6oYIw_BZMjmLViJX8-13jFFhuav7B9-N_0EnRWggfgyrulLm99rM_ePpJN4/w640-h360/pia25776b_enso-kelvin-wave-still_final-16.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Image above: Sea level data from the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite on April 24 shows relatively higher (shown in red and white) and warmer ocean water at the equator and the west coast of South America. Water expands as it warms, so sea levels tend to be higher in places with warmer water. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.<br /><br />The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite data shown here covers the period between the beginning of March and the end of April 2023. By April 24, Kelvin waves had piled up warmer water and higher sea levels (shown in red and white) off the coasts of Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Satellites like Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich can detect Kelvin waves with a radar altimeter, which uses microwave signals to measure the height of the ocean’s surface. When an altimeter passes over areas that are warmer than others, the data will show higher sea levels.<br /><br />“We’ll be watching this El Niño like a hawk,” said Josh Willis, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “If it’s a big one, the globe will see record warming, but here in the Southwest U.S. we could be looking at another wet winter, right on the heels of the soaking we got last winter.”<br /><br />Both the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the World Meteorological Organization have recently reported increased chances that El Niño will develop by the end of the summer. Continued monitoring of ocean conditions in the Pacific by instruments and satellites such as Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich should help to clarify in the coming months how strong it could become.<br /><br />“When we measure sea level from space using satellite altimeters, we know not only the shape and height of water, but also its movement, like Kelvin and other waves,” said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, NASA program scientist and manager for Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich in Washington. “Ocean waves slosh heat around the planet, bringing heat and moisture to our coasts and changing our weather.”<br /><br /><b>More About the Mission</b><br /><br />Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, named after former NASA Earth Science Division Director Michael Freilich, is one of two satellites that compose the Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS (Continuity of Service) mission.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ba0fvqKqfqyxkM691S4wl2wZY_B01KV09fBWRN-1gJlIpgoD3Awhw2gLD45AonPUautwRDx9ZiKEF3-lKSwnt64w_WOOH1Yu9sXVGlns5cGJoSX-Ci9G-SD_0bc4nk6ZBImf8ijAU42WtiMNj5OWIx-5Yp1b58DscjL6CpvbvNEepun5_PhCLp3g/s3840/Sentinel-6_Michael_Freilich_(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ba0fvqKqfqyxkM691S4wl2wZY_B01KV09fBWRN-1gJlIpgoD3Awhw2gLD45AonPUautwRDx9ZiKEF3-lKSwnt64w_WOOH1Yu9sXVGlns5cGJoSX-Ci9G-SD_0bc4nk6ZBImf8ijAU42WtiMNj5OWIx-5Yp1b58DscjL6CpvbvNEepun5_PhCLp3g/w640-h360/Sentinel-6_Michael_Freilich_(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich sea level satellite. Image Credit: NASA</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />Sentinel-6/Jason-CS was jointly developed by ESA (European Space Agency), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), NASA, and NOAA, with funding support from the European Commission and technical support on performance from the French space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales). Spacecraft monitoring and control, as well as the processing of all the altimeter science data, is carried out by EUMETSAT on behalf of the European Union’s Copernicus programme, with the support of all partner agencies.<br /><br />JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, contributed three science instruments for each Sentinel-6 satellite: the Advanced Microwave Radiometer, the Global Navigation Satellite System - Radio Occultation, and the Laser Retroreflector Array. NASA also contributed launch services, ground systems supporting operation of the NASA science instruments, the science data processors for two of these instruments, and support for the U.S. members of the international Ocean Surface Topography Science Team.<br /><br />To learn more about Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, visit: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sentinel-6">https://www.nasa.gov/sentinel-6</a><br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br /><b>Sentinel-6 satellite science instruments:<br /></b><br />Advanced Microwave Radiometer: <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7764">https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7764<br /></a><br />Global Navigation Satellite System - Radio Occultation: <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7742">https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7742</a><br /><br />Laser Retroreflector Array: <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7764">https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7764</a><br /><br /><b>Related climate links:</b><br /><br />El Niño: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/subject/11061/el-nio">https://www.nasa.gov/subject/11061/el-nio</a><br /><br />Climate: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/subject/3127/climate">https://www.nasa.gov/subject/3127/climate</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Tony Greicius/JPL/Jane J. Lee/Andrew Wang.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></div>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-31409579898625576942023-05-12T15:53:00.000-07:002023-05-12T15:53:09.614-07:00The very first private space station will be launched in 2025<div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3Ymi1CM3sa26dTSucWICCrbj3LN1QNa2eIUOLQKRfCYzX0ijKex7SwhIKYv61H5QCVmxP74TeB7EWhVtCZT7L3AkxF7WyBB16ZPP68vppuFa3BLwZN-fm3qSFvWTS-bwFTff_iYEwLhuAyrcNm129wR4J0lkJiQVsJgZJQ6PrRHYIxiphAT60rYD/s2847/62fc7006ec97af37c951e891_Vast%20Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="2847" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3Ymi1CM3sa26dTSucWICCrbj3LN1QNa2eIUOLQKRfCYzX0ijKex7SwhIKYv61H5QCVmxP74TeB7EWhVtCZT7L3AkxF7WyBB16ZPP68vppuFa3BLwZN-fm3qSFvWTS-bwFTff_iYEwLhuAyrcNm129wR4J0lkJiQVsJgZJQ6PrRHYIxiphAT60rYD/s320/62fc7006ec97af37c951e891_Vast%20Logo.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>VAST Space logo.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 12, 2023<br /><br />The American startup Vast aims to put Haven-1 into orbit within two years. It will become the first representative of a new generation of private stations that will redefine humanity's relationship to space.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ5-DT9MZo2sNexd0AJwnPB9C-2yhfdQ3LvAIH4i9E2RyYdG53NSDooxi6fDJOaWBK_anEf17P7JrmwgnZxPrJRy-D0Q1hOWiBvmf_tCY7pNAbJcPlbVWCoYY4czoWnYGvUwQ9kKiLvzPbE9mSLZi6iBmh2FUN1BRjubhrBAANOkWhWcjZNzQFof-/s1400/haven1.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1400" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ5-DT9MZo2sNexd0AJwnPB9C-2yhfdQ3LvAIH4i9E2RyYdG53NSDooxi6fDJOaWBK_anEf17P7JrmwgnZxPrJRy-D0Q1hOWiBvmf_tCY7pNAbJcPlbVWCoYY4czoWnYGvUwQ9kKiLvzPbE9mSLZi6iBmh2FUN1BRjubhrBAANOkWhWcjZNzQFof-/w640-h426/haven1.webp" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: An illustration of the future Haven-1 space station. Image Credit: Vast Space.<br /><br />In a press release spotted by Space.com, the American startup Vast has just announced that it intends to deploy its commercial space station Haven-1 in 2025. If it achieves its goal, it will be the very first private space station of the history of humanity - unless a competitor burns his politeness.<br /><br />Haven-1 is above all a proof of concept intended to demonstrate the viability of the technologies that will be used on board the complete station. But this test module is still designed to be “fully independent”. This is an abuse of language, since such a structure will still need to be resupplied regularly. But it will already carry a functional life support system that will allow four astronauts to breathe and sustain themselves during a 30-day mission.<br /><br />Regarding the energy supply, this first version will be able to deliver around 1000W permanently. It is quite modest; for comparison, the ISS produces between 80 and 120 kW. But this figure will increase considerably as new solar panels are added with the arrival of new modules.<br /><br /><b>A versatile infrastructure with artificial gravity</b><br /><br />The crew will spend most of their time working on research projects, and not just basic science. Vast says Haven-1 was designed to house a wide variety of manufacturing activities. Ultimately, the module could therefore serve as a basis for building real space garages, capable of maintaining or repairing other machines.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwBKrCLFsxDclRaQ6IXCOXYUSG_uuCSMzmv0_ArdyHFWWL5dRedFKKOUesSmk2Tuz1wOLFNB_nwgVUL_nmpgw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">VAST ANNOUNCES THE HAVEN-1 AND VAST-1 MISSIONS</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In the longer term, we can also imagine making it a real orbital factory in good and due form. This would make it possible to directly manufacture devices such as small cubesats directly in orbit to deploy them without having to launch a rocket.<br /><br />Vast also mentions an artificial gravity system. Tiny thrusters, likely gas-powered, will be able to spin Haven-1 to generate centrifugal force. This will allow the crew to stand upright, unlike the ISS where astronauts float in microgravity. Again, if the deadlines are met, it will be a world first.<br /><br />Residents will also be entitled to a communication system that complies with modern standards. It will provide access to the terrestrial Internet at all times through a standard Wi-Fi access point.<br /><br /><b>The race for private stations is accelerating</b><br /><br />Haven-1 will be launched into orbit in August 2025 by a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. This mission will be quickly followed by a second launch of Falcon 9, this time surmounted by a Crew Dragon capsule with four astronauts on board. The vehicle will dock at the station for a month. If all goes according to plan, this will be the first-ever mission aboard a private commercial space station.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_qQKKOmV1Gc9sJuLpvDGfAWzWzmu431Aez1jHZFs4Pj0FOARNhwdU-eKDevyD2ja4NxRYbKhZNo_2X2-59Ls4BTbNCsCtJnzOyBJf1FDhXUa7R6dW0QiIbsrBKTj6w5jys9d8kR6U63UDNJZKFr8j3KNdezTaRaZP6n6woPEfi04HeueZvsQwdCM/s3840/645b0cf0205bc7c9783dbb58_VAST-Haven-1_Docking_A2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_qQKKOmV1Gc9sJuLpvDGfAWzWzmu431Aez1jHZFs4Pj0FOARNhwdU-eKDevyD2ja4NxRYbKhZNo_2X2-59Ls4BTbNCsCtJnzOyBJf1FDhXUa7R6dW0QiIbsrBKTj6w5jys9d8kR6U63UDNJZKFr8j3KNdezTaRaZP6n6woPEfi04HeueZvsQwdCM/w640-h360/645b0cf0205bc7c9783dbb58_VAST-Haven-1_Docking_A2.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Illustation - SpaceX Dragon approaching Haven-1 to dock. Image Credit: Vast Space</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />But it is not excluded that a competitor takes Vast speed. Indeed, the startup is far from the only one working on its own station. It is even a major area of research in aerospace today. We are indeed in a period where more and more private actors are developing technologies to conquer this area long reserved for government space agencies.<br /><br /><b>The dawn of a new era</b><br /><br />For the moment, most of them have mainly manifested themselves on the side of launchers and satellites. But private space stations are fast approaching to fill the void left by the ISS, which will retire in early 2030. NASA has already launched calls for tenders to prepare for this deadline.<br /><br />Among the winners of these calls for tenders, we find in particular Blue Origin, the company of Jeff Bezos. The billionaire and his troops rely heavily on this concept. Ultimately, the firm aims to become a real space real estate agency. To achieve this, it is currently developing a program called Orbital Reef. This is a range of private space stations that can serve as a laboratory or even an orbital hotel for wealthy tourists.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAR-ISBbYPGcAxnGliD2YSK9nOy-vTg6zhVU-avbimrUSOZqKjsj4Luak-LwTiIKXoh4IdBVIlXmA-tQrntVm5bInvmaQEjyhUZTx5UOmbA5ybINMUH2BazzvYRbk9HtKUpU2Fw4-0ui26HqXmmt-f0Amd1yiklCMJZzualq4Zly8gjZ0UIswTSx9/s1400/reef1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1400" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAR-ISBbYPGcAxnGliD2YSK9nOy-vTg6zhVU-avbimrUSOZqKjsj4Luak-LwTiIKXoh4IdBVIlXmA-tQrntVm5bInvmaQEjyhUZTx5UOmbA5ybINMUH2BazzvYRbk9HtKUpU2Fw4-0ui26HqXmmt-f0Amd1yiklCMJZzualq4Zly8gjZ0UIswTSx9/w640-h426/reef1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrwbNw225sruUPF8oAWuklRMwNHuPfnueIPX1i--Vd1dzUAsZ6o1jQTEStiHb0g4NfbjTSjMf8xX-3PCxBWrkQnVvPkK_UrZR_ifbdTxpnXv9okvSqzDyhlK-NyTimgVPVaUIyAHvcx8RQ6s_-vdbrdLC6llscxYjBClTHysX8jxKWFpvu0p_h9V8/s1400/reef2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1400" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrwbNw225sruUPF8oAWuklRMwNHuPfnueIPX1i--Vd1dzUAsZ6o1jQTEStiHb0g4NfbjTSjMf8xX-3PCxBWrkQnVvPkK_UrZR_ifbdTxpnXv9okvSqzDyhlK-NyTimgVPVaUIyAHvcx8RQ6s_-vdbrdLC6llscxYjBClTHysX8jxKWFpvu0p_h9V8/w640-h426/reef2.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Blue Origin Orbital Reef. Images Credit: Blue Origin</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />We can also mention Nanoracks with its Starlab station, expected in 2027. American defense titan Northrip Grumman is also working on a similar project. These three players have all received over $100 million from NASA to fund their private station projects.<br /><br />It will therefore be necessary to remain attentive to the progress of the leaders of the sector, because the stakes are considerable. They go far beyond the framework of the ISS. Certainly, it is fundamental to ensure the succession of the venerable station. But it is also about laying the foundations for a new era, just that. The arrival of these stations will make it possible to democratize – all things considered – access to Earth orbit, with all that this implies for the rest of the space conquest. See you in a few years to witness the beginning of this great transformation.<br /><br /><b>Editor's note:</b><br /><br />Another private project among others remains to be seen whether this will materialize or remain in the state of drawn plans. Without ever mentioning the problem of space debris, which in the case of the ISS, forces it to change altitude regularly to avoid collisions and that of micro-meteorites. And the problem of cosmic and solar radiation... In short, I hope that these future private astronauts will have good life insurance, if these projects become reality.<br /><br /><b>Related articles:</b><br /><br />Airbus presents a revolutionary space station with artificial gravity<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/airbus-presents-revolutionary-space.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2023/05/airbus-presents-revolutionary-space.html</a><br /><br />A start-up plans to open a luxury hotel in space in 2025<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-start-up-plans-to-open-luxury-hotel.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-start-up-plans-to-open-luxury-hotel.html</a><br /><br />NASA Selects Orbital Reef to Develop Space Station Replacement<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/12/nasa-selects-orbital-reef-to-develop.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/12/nasa-selects-orbital-reef-to-develop.html</a><br /><br />NASA Selects Companies to Develop Commercial Destinations in Space<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/12/nasa-selects-companies-to-develop.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/12/nasa-selects-companies-to-develop.html</a><br /><br />Blue Origin and Sierra Space Developing Commercial Space Station<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/10/blue-origin-and-sierra-space-developing.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/10/blue-origin-and-sierra-space-developing.html</a><br /><br />Voyager Station: The first space hotel (could never) see the light of day in 2027?<br /><a href="https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/03/voyager-station-first-space-hotel-could.html">https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/03/voyager-station-first-space-hotel-could.html</a><br /><br /><b>Related link:</b><br /><br />Vast Space: <a href="https://www.vastspace.com/">https://www.vastspace.com/</a><br /><br />VAST Announces the Haven-1 and VAST-1 Missions: <a href="https://www.vastspace.com/updates/vast-announces-the-haven-1-and-vast-1-human-spaceflight-mission-launched-by-spacex-on-a-dragon-spacecraft">https://www.vastspace.com/updates/vast-announces-the-haven-1-and-vast-1-human-spaceflight-mission-launched-by-spacex-on-a-dragon-spacecraft</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: Vast Space/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Best regards, Orbiter.ch<br /></div>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681253393639029961.post-6671778469141331412023-05-12T15:42:00.000-07:002023-05-12T15:42:12.270-07:00Space Station Science Highlights: Week of May 8, 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFidC5VreRjUfHqli3xZwOWJDs3bETkoryCGz2he2fHOXWumGx7w9tqtkR_uxcSdr3V8dLVHgQRxGohRwdZsiqNkBVAcge5MRfD6KdxgmE563fLnZXeFNKxboAiGN7mCJBuWrvvEtfR-VSFumj8kvSS6qSiv12vwDaZvIDiwBaMDKpIuIRiEbGNhzV/s600/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFidC5VreRjUfHqli3xZwOWJDs3bETkoryCGz2he2fHOXWumGx7w9tqtkR_uxcSdr3V8dLVHgQRxGohRwdZsiqNkBVAcge5MRfD6KdxgmE563fLnZXeFNKxboAiGN7mCJBuWrvvEtfR-VSFumj8kvSS6qSiv12vwDaZvIDiwBaMDKpIuIRiEbGNhzV/w200-h200/ISS_Expedition_69_Patch.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ISS - Expedition 69 Mission patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>May 12, 2023<br /><br />Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of May 8 that included monitoring how spaceflight affects immune function, testing a student-designed camera mount, and assessing a platform for automated analysis of cardiovascular health.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSnUYmBwRTBT6BD-H1L41xeh5djp_GKTt9uAllz2NF0c-HHMMUeUM8jtC_FG_Td3BgF0IgWzjOIBSZrPm6SGKv2D-pm-wu5_2iRHtfN50qV26vrh9L4jqknneaLecyR6vvJoSLfBcQj9DULO5GSvlIYTWBtJ7uRwnddulMg8iTLyl0lfGd0tu9M5o/s5568/dragon_relocation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3712" data-original-width="5568" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSnUYmBwRTBT6BD-H1L41xeh5djp_GKTt9uAllz2NF0c-HHMMUeUM8jtC_FG_Td3BgF0IgWzjOIBSZrPm6SGKv2D-pm-wu5_2iRHtfN50qV26vrh9L4jqknneaLecyR6vvJoSLfBcQj9DULO5GSvlIYTWBtJ7uRwnddulMg8iTLyl0lfGd0tu9M5o/w640-h426/dragon_relocation.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a relocation maneuver as the International Space Station orbits 265 miles above the U.S-Canadian border. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br /><b>Here are details on some of the microgravity investigations currently taking place aboard the orbiting lab:</b><br /><br /><b>Inflight Immune Function Testing</b><br /><br />Immunity Assay, an investigation from ESA (European Space Agency), uses a blood test to monitor how spaceflight affects immune function. Previously, this test could only be performed on Earth pre- and postflight, but a newly developed process makes it possible to execute inflight, which provides a clearer assessment of any immune changes. Results contribute to the understanding of immune system response to microgravity and how stress hormones may modulate this response, which could support development of countermeasures for immunological issues during long-duration spaceflight. The test also could be part of an approach to monitor immune performance in astronauts and people on Earth. Crew members collected and processed samples for the investigation during the week.<br /><br /><b>A Clamp for Cameras</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivChwF6Mzm7nG-yJTDNTPB5NL7d4MgSYWA3yWjjauIEotRKhZ0SSiVX8SflUCHrPGkPkWZebsh5WLtQ2kmTAwXhYcWPFrk7diawOKK1VxPKa4L7XnXUnQNanOiqSVmgeSHsFxVOIUM9P-sZyJMmEXAXOsOFN3XzOs3tR2HftBSszrnHxjA_RUczQH2/s5568/hunch_monopod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3712" data-original-width="5568" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivChwF6Mzm7nG-yJTDNTPB5NL7d4MgSYWA3yWjjauIEotRKhZ0SSiVX8SflUCHrPGkPkWZebsh5WLtQ2kmTAwXhYcWPFrk7diawOKK1VxPKa4L7XnXUnQNanOiqSVmgeSHsFxVOIUM9P-sZyJMmEXAXOsOFN3XzOs3tR2HftBSszrnHxjA_RUczQH2/w640-h426/hunch_monopod.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen sets up for a test of the Hunch Ball Clamp Monopod, a mounting system for cameras used to track targets on the ground or to take images and video inside the space station. Image Credit: NASA.<br /><br />Hunch Ball Clamp Monopod tests a mounting system for cameras used to track targets on the ground or to take images and video inside the space station. The device provides a temporary but stable platform for cameras, making operations easier and faster for the crew, and easily moves out of the way when not needed. The platform has potential applications in certain settings on Earth as well. NASA’s HUNCH mission provides students with the opportunity to participate in hands-on design and fabrication of products for NASA. Astronauts had requested a way to correctly position cameras and hold them stable. During the week, crew members used the clamp to take images and evaluated its functionality.<br /><br /><b>Heart Monitoring, Automated</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYagl-yiB-wEYxs8gydVvm8wnJiaF7CCWpUu6wekDv6JcQqakWKuqaCKLZQ7isnlnrFSKeRopcmCMbDtI3OeXrVHqnpKf-ImFQAH6w4oXMuEFfNmgE7FYRLCb0APCgaMY24xH172ZP-hEysnutHQdc1h1ER5U3egVrPnvNOBHWlvDEZxq1ki4Di10k/s5492/astronaut_health.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3074" data-original-width="5492" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYagl-yiB-wEYxs8gydVvm8wnJiaF7CCWpUu6wekDv6JcQqakWKuqaCKLZQ7isnlnrFSKeRopcmCMbDtI3OeXrVHqnpKf-ImFQAH6w4oXMuEFfNmgE7FYRLCb0APCgaMY24xH172ZP-hEysnutHQdc1h1ER5U3egVrPnvNOBHWlvDEZxq1ki4Di10k/w640-h358/astronaut_health.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Image above: Space Health collects a variety of data using the Bio-Monitor system to demonstrate how it could be used to autonomously monitor astronaut health on future space missions. Image Credit: CSA-ASC.<br /><br />Space Health, an investigation from CSA (Canadian Space Agency), uses the wearable Bio-Monitor system to assess the effect of space travel on heart health. It also evaluates integrating the Bio-Monitor system with the Artemis automated analysis platform to provide cardiovascular monitoring on future space missions. Such automated systems are needed as future missions travel farther from medical support. Integrating other parameters into the platform could provide a more comprehensive health status assessment, which also could be useful in intensive care units on the ground. During the week, crew members wore the garment and headband for a 48-hour investigation run.<br /><br /><b>Other Investigations Involving the Crew:</b><br /><br /><b>- JEM Water Recovery System</b> from JAXA demonstrates technology to generate potable water from urine. The system could contribute to life support systems on the space station and future exploration missions.<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2049">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2049</a><br /><br /><b>- Ring Sheared Drop-IBP</b>, sponsored by the ISS National Lab, studies the behavior of high-concentration protein fluids and tests computer models for predicting that behavior. More accurate models could enable production of next-generation medicines for treating cancers and other diseases.<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8694">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8694</a><br /><br /><b>- Airborne Particulate Monitor (APM)</b> demonstrates an instrument to measure the concentration of particles in the space station’s air. Maintaining air quality in the space station is vital for crew member health, but no capability currently exists to verify that maximum allowable concentrations of particles are met.<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7936">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7936</a><br /><br /><b>- AstroPi,</b> an investigation from ESA, uses two augmented Raspberry Pi computers to support an education program that encourages students to study scientific and technical disciplines and to understand the benefits, challenges, and importance of space for Europe.<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7534">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7534</a><br /><br /><b>- Standard Measures</b> uses cognition tests, sleep questionnaires, blood samples, and a variety of other data to examine how crew members adapt to living and working in space. Results also help monitor the effectiveness of countermeasures to maintain crew health and well-being, supporting future long-duration missions.<br /><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7711">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7711</a><br /><br />The space station, a robust microgravity laboratory with a multitude of specialized research facilities and tools, has supported many scientific breakthroughs from investigations spanning every major scientific discipline. The ISS Benefits for Humanity 2022 publication details the expanding universe of results realized from more than 20 years of experiments conducted on the station.<br /><br />The ISS Benefits for Humanity 2022: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/benefits/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/benefits/index.html</a><br /><br /><b>Related links:</b><br /><br />Expedition 69: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html</a><br /><br />Immunity Assay: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8170">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8170</a><br /><br />Hunch Ball Clamp Monopod: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7958">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7958</a><br /><br />HUNCH: <a href="https://www.nasahunch.com/">https://www.nasahunch.com/</a><br /><br />Space Health: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8601">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8601</a><br /><br />ISS National Lab: <a href="https://www.issnationallab.org/">https://www.issnationallab.org/</a><br /><br />Spot the Station: <a href="https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/">https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/</a><br /><br />Space Station Research and Technology: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html</a><br /><br />International Space Station (ISS): <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html</a><br /><br />Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Carrie Gilder/John Love, ISS Research Planning Integration Scientist Expedition 69.</p><p>Greetings, Orbiter.ch<br /></p>Orbiter.chhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694855548709955431noreply@blogger.com