Orbiter.ch Space News: 2019-12-29

samedi 4 janvier 2020

First teleportation between computer chips

Quantum physics logo.

Jan. 4, 2020

Scientists from the University of Bristol and the Technical University of Denmark have carried out an unprecedented quantum experiment.

Scientists successfully teleport information between two computer chips (Illustration)

This is a major advance expected in the world of quantum computing. Researchers have attempted to achieve quantum teleportation. The idea is to transmit information between two computer chips without them being physically linked.

They have developed chip-scale devices that are capable of exploiting the applications of quantum physics by generating and manipulating individual light particles in programmable circuits at the nanoscale.

This phenomenon is made possible by quantum entanglement. This concept was discovered in 1930 by Schrödinger and Einstein. He admits that two particles that have the same properties can undergo the same changes at the same time.

"Our current understanding of physics says that nothing can go faster than the speed of light, yet with quantum teleportation, information seems to exceed this speed limit," said the research report.

Quantum physics could be the next computer revolution. With computers capable of adapting and performing increasingly complex calculations.

Related articles:

Teleporting Toward a Quantum Internet
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2016/10/teleporting-toward-quantum-internet.html

Particles in Love: Quantum Mechanics Explored in New Study
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2016/02/particles-in-love-quantum-mechanics.html

Researchers Advance 'Quantum Teleportation'
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2014/11/researchers-advance-quantum.html

Related links:

University of Bristol: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/

Technical University of Denmark - DTU: https://www.dtu.dk/english

Image, Text, Credits: ATS/Wikimedia/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

vendredi 3 janvier 2020

Dragon Delays Departure While Crew Studies Space Biology and Botany

ISS - Expedition 61 Mission patch.

January 3, 2020

The Expedition 61 crew aboard the International Space Station is preparing to bid farewell to a U.S. space freighter. The astronauts are also exploring what microgravity does to biology and botany to improve life for astronauts and Earthlings.

Station mission managers and SpaceX officials rescheduled the departure of the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship from the complex from Sunday night to early Tuesday due to a forecast of high seas in the Pacific Ocean splashdown zone. Dragon is now scheduled to be released on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 5:03 a.m. EST when the Canadarm2 robotic arm will set the craft free following its unbolting from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module. Dragon will parachute to a splashdown southwest of Long Beach, California, Tuesday at around 10:41 a.m. loaded with station hardware and research results for analysis.

Image above: Stars glitter in the night sky above an atmospheric glow that blankets the city lights as the International Space Station orbited 259 miles above the Sudanese/Egyptian border before it crossed the Red Sea. Image Credit: NASA.

Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan started Friday morning with Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) loading science freezers inside Dragon before next week’s departure. The freezers are packed with a variety of scientific samples that researchers will study to understand microgravity’s impact on a broad spectrum of biology and materials.

Mice, whose physiology is similar to humans, are being examined today to learn how to prevent muscle and bone loss in weightlessness. Doctors are studying ways to minimize the effects of spaceflight by observing the effectiveness of myostatin and activin in mice aboard the station. NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch scanned and imaged the mice today in a bone densitometer measuring their bone mass.

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA

Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan harvested moss today in the Kibo laboratory module collecting and stowing samples for further analysis. The Space Moss study, sponsored by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is exploring ways to grow strains of plants suited for the gravity conditions of spaceflight, the Moon and Mars.

Veteran cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Skripochka started their day videotaping and photographing life on the orbiting lab. The duo then split up servicing Russian life support systems, packing a Progress cargo craft and charging batteries in a Soyuz crew ship.

Related links:

Expedition 61: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition61/index.html

SpaceX Dragon: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/spacex-dragon-launches-arrivals-and-departures

Canadarm2: https://cms.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/mobile-servicing-system.html

SpaceX Dragon: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/spacex-dragon-launches-arrivals-and-departures

scientific samples: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-tv-to-air-us-cargo-ship-departure-from-space-station-0

Myostatin and activin: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8075

Bone densitometer: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1059

Kibo laboratory module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/japan-kibo-laboratory

Space Moss: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7892

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Hubble Sights Galaxy’s Celestial Sequins

NASA - Hubble Space Telescope patch.

Jan. 3, 2020

This smattering of celestial sequins is a spiral galaxy named NGC 4455, located in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair). This might sound like an odd name for a constellation — and in fact it is somewhat unusual. It’s the only modern constellation to be named in honor of a real person from history: Queen Berenice II of Egypt.

The story of Queen Berenice II is an interesting one. A ruling queen of the ancient Greek city of Cyrene in modern-day Libya, and later a queen of Ptolemaic Egypt through her marriage to her cousin Ptolemy III Euergetes, Berenice became known for sacrificing locks of her hair as an offering to ensure her husband’s safe return from battle. Her husband did indeed return safely, and her hair, which she had left in a Zephyrium temple, had disappeared — it had apparently been stolen and placed among the stars.

Should it be located in NGC 4455, it traveled a long way. The galaxy is about 45 million light-years away. This image was taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

For more information about Hubble, visit:

http://hubblesite.org/

http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

http://www.spacetelescope.org/

Text Credits: ESA (European Space Agency)/NASA/Rob Garner/Image, Animation Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, I. Karachentsev et al.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

jeudi 2 janvier 2020

2019 Space Station Research in Pictures

ISS - International Space Station patch.

Jan. 2, 2020

2019 Space Station Science in Pictures

It has been a busy year of science aboard the International Space Station. In November, we kicked off the 20th year of continuous human presence aboard the space station, which so far has hosted 239 people and more than 2,700 science experiments. During the past year, research has ranged from growing leafy greens in microgravity to analyzing mining microbes to testing out autonomous robots. This research is benefiting people on Earth while helping prepare us to go forward to the Moon in 2024, and then on to Mars.

Take a look at some of the pioneering investigations crew members worked on in 2019:

Keeping it cool

Credit: NASA

NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan stow biological research samples into a science freezer located inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module. It is important to store scientific samples in cold facilities like the General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER) to preserve the data produced in space for researchers to analyze on Earth.

Seeking understanding of Alzheimer’s disease in microgravity

Credit: NASA

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano holds an Amyloid Aggregation blue jar. Amyloid fibrils, a conglomeration of proteins that can build up in the body, are associated with a number of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The Amyloid Aggregation investigation assesses whether microgravity affects formation of these fibrils, which represents a potential risk to astronauts on long flights.

Perfect photographic timing

Credit: EarthKAM

Students participating in the Sally Ride EarthKAM project time the perfect shot to catch JAXA’s HTV-8 cargo vehicle making its way to the space station carrying science and supplies. The Sally Ride EarthKAM program allows students to request photographs of specific Earth features, taken by a special camera mounted on the space station when it passes over those landscapes. Learn more about the science that was on board HTV-8 here.

Harnessing the power of microbes

Credit: NASA

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano installs biomining reactors in KUBIK as a part of the BioRock investigation. For centuries, people have done the hard work of mining useful minerals and metals from solid rock. Then, scientists learned how to harness the power of tiny microbes to do some of this labor. This process, called biomining, has become common on Earth. The BioRock investigation represents the first study of how microbes grow on and alter planetary rocks in microgravity and simulated Martian gravity.

Getting a closer look

Credit: NASA

Expedition 60 flight engineer Christina Koch of NASA uses a microscope to observe and photograph growing protein crystal samples as part of the Microgravity Crystals experiment. The Microgravity Crystals investigation crystallizes a membrane protein that is integral to tumor growth and cancer survival. Results may support development of cancer treatments that target the protein more effectively and with fewer side effects.

Time flies by

Credit: NASA

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David Saint-Jacques performs a session of the Time Perception in Microgravity investigation that measured the subjective changes in time perception in humans during and after long-duration exposure to microgravity. Crew members were asked to indicate how long they see a blue square in the center of a head-mounted display.

Expiration dates of materials

Credit: NASA

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Anne McClain install the Materials ISS Experiment-Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) gear inside the Japanese Kibo laboratory module’s airlock before depressurizing the unit. MISSE-FF contains new materials exposure experiments ready for deployment outside Kibo. The study will help scientists understand how radiation, the vacuum of space and micrometeoroid impacts affect a variety of materials.

Fabricating new tissue

Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Christina Koch activates the BioFabrication Facility (BFF) to test its ability to print organ-like tissues in space. Scientists and medical professionals have long dreamed of using 3D biological printers to produce usable human organs. But printing the tiny, complex structures found inside human organs has proven difficult in Earth’s gravity. The BFF allows researchers to explore whether the microgravity environment of space may support the fabrication of human organs in space.

Robotic research

Credit: NASA

Expedition 60 Flight Engineers cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov and astronaut Andrew Morgan float with the SPHERES robots, putting small spacecraft technologies to the test. The crew is running code from participants of the SPHERES Zero Robotics (ZR) 2019 Middle School Summer Program. This program tests student-developed algorithms and selects the best designs from the competition to operate the robots on board the space station.

Goodbye, Cygnus

Credit: NASA

The NG-10 Cygnus cargo craft from Northrop Grumman, with its prominent cymbal-shaped solar arrays, is in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Cygnus was released moments later as the space station orbited over the Pacific Ocean. Visible in Cygnus' Common Berthing Mechanism is the SlingShot small satellite deployer, designed to deploy CubeSats from the cargo ship once it reaches a safe distance from the station.

Burning bright

Credit: NASA

One of the jobs of the space station crew is to run and maintain the science hardware. In the above pictures, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir works on the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR), a facility in which combustion experiments can be performed in microgravity. The CIR, along with facilities such as the Microgravity Science Glovebox, create a secure and safe environment in which to study combustion without putting the crew in danger.

Flame on

Credit: NASA

This flame was one of many ignited as part of the Flame Design investigation inside of CIR to investigate the amount of soot that is produced in different conditions. The yellow spots are soot clusters that glow yellow when hot. These clusters grow larger in microgravity than on Earth because the soot remains within the flame longer.

Red or white?

Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Anne McClain is pictured in the cupola of the space station holding biomedical gear for the Marrow experiment. The study measures fat changes in the bone marrow before and after exposure to microgravity. In addition, this investigation measures specific changes of red and white blood cell functions.

Adapting to space

Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan works with the Multi-use Variable-g Platform (MVP) Experiment Module used in the MVP Cell-02 investigation aboard the space station. The MVP enables space biology research into a variety of small organisms such as fruit flies, flatworms, plants, fish, cells, protein crystals and many others. The Cell-02 experiment seeks to understand how organisms adapt to the space environment, an important component of future space exploration.

Feeling the rhythm

Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Anne McClain is pictured inside the vestibule between the Harmony module and the Destiny laboratory module. She is wearing a sensor on her forehead that is collecting data for the Circadian Rhythms experiment researching how an astronaut's “biological clock” changes during long-duration spaceflight.

Hamming it up

Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Nick Hague floats inside Europe's Columbus laboratory module during an ISS Ham radio session using the International Space Station's call sign NA1SS. ISS Ham gives students a chance to talk directly with crew members via ham radio.

It’s easy being green

Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir waters the plant pillows of Mizuna mustards greens aboard the space station, and then eats the greens after harvesting. The greens were raised as part of the Veg-04B experiment. This investigation is part of a phased research project to address the need for a continuous fresh food production system in space and focuses on the effects of light quality and fertilizer on a leafy crop.

Building better bones in space

Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Nick Hague works inside the Japanese Kibo laboratory module supporting research activities with the Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG). Hague is conducting science operations for the Cell Science-02 bone healing and tissue regeneration experiment. The investigation improves understanding of how selected factors affect tissue regeneration at the molecular and biochemical level and contributes to developing methods to fight loss of bone density experienced by astronauts in space.

Busy bees

Credit: NASA

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David Saint-Jacques is photographed working with the free-flying Astrobee cube named Bumble and the docking station onboard the space station. Astrobee consists of three self-contained free flying robots and a docking station for use inside the station. It is an autonomous free flyer powered by fans and operates in the entire U.S. Operating Segment (USOS) using vision-based navigation.

Fixing the unfixable

Credit: NASA

Ferocious Fires in Australia Intensify

NOAA & NASA - Suomi NPP Mission patch.

Jan. 2, 2020

As the New Year starts, the outlook for the bushfire situation in Australia continues to be grim. These huge and disastrous fires continue to burn ferociously and with abandon, and reports have come out that the fires have actually intensified in the last 12 hours. NOAA-NASA's Suomi NPP satellite captured imagery of the fires and the resultant billowing smoke cascading off the edge of Australia on Jan. 01, 2020.

Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) satellite. Image Credit: NASA

In the resort town Mallacoota, Australia, wildfires surrounded the southeastern seaside town. Over 4,000 people were forced to seek refuge on the beach and even boats in the water yesterday as deadly blazes closed in. The scene was described by residents as apocalyptic, with the sky turning a dark orange. On the major fire updates page of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service page (this is discounting more fires that have plagued the states of Victoria and Queensland) there are nearly 1.5 million hectares that are currently on fire. That is 3.67 million acres that continuing to burn just in New South Wales alone. According to the Bushfires and Natural Hazards CRC website: "The 2019/20 fire season is well underway with multiple large bushfires occurring since the release of the previous Outlook in August. Queensland and New South Wales in particular have experienced severe fires, but all states have had challenging fire conditions. Catastrophic fire danger ratings have been issued in NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria, and there has been loss of human lives and animals, and damage to property and the environment." The 2019/2020 outlook for the fire season was showing: "above normal bushfire potential for large fires to take hold based on recent and predicted weather, the dryness of the land and forests, recent fire history and local firefighting resources." This prediction has come to pass and exceed the outlook for the year. And no end is currently in sight.

The map below taken from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service website shows the areas currently on fire. There is almost no area which has not been affected to date.

Image above: For more information about the map and the individual fires go to:
https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/fires-near-me
Image Credits: Courtesy of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service webpage.

NASA’s satellite instruments are often the first to detect wildfires burning in remote regions, and the locations of new fires are sent directly to land managers worldwide within hours of the satellite overpass. Together, NASA instruments detect actively burning fires, track the transport of smoke from fires, provide information for fire management, and map the extent of changes to ecosystems, based on the extent and severity of burn scars. NASA has a fleet of Earth-observing instruments, many of which contribute to our understanding of fire in the Earth system. Satellites in orbit around the poles provide observations of the entire planet several times per day, whereas satellites in a geostationary orbit provide coarse-resolution imagery of fires, smoke and clouds every five to 15 minutes. For more information visit: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/missions/index.html

NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Worldview application provides the capability to interactively browse over 700 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and then download the underlying data. Many of the available imagery layers are updated within three hours of observation, essentially showing the entire Earth as it looks "right now.” This satellite image was collected by NOAA-NASA's Suomi NPP satellite using the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument on Jan. 01, 2020. Actively burning fires, detected by thermal bands, are shown as red points. Image Courtesy: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Caption: Lynn Jenner with information from New South Wales Rural Fire website and the Bushfires and Natural Hazards CRC website.

Related links:

Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS): https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/

New South Wales Rural Fire website: https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/major-fire-updates

Bushfires and Natural Hazards CRC website: https://www.bnhcrc.com.au/hazardnotes/68

Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/main/index.html

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Lynn Jenner.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

mardi 31 décembre 2019

Galactic Pyrotechnics From 23 Million Light Years Away

NASA logo.

Jan. 1, 2020

A galaxy about 23 million light years away is the site of impressive, ongoing fireworks. Rather than paper, powder and fire, this galactic light show involves a giant black hole, shock waves and vast reservoirs of gas.

This galactic fireworks display is taking place in NGC 4258, also known as M106, a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way. This galaxy is famous, however, for something that our galaxy doesn’t have – two extra spiral arms that glow in X-ray, optical and radio light. These features, or anomalous arms, are not aligned with the plane of the galaxy, but instead intersect with it.

The anomalous arms are seen in this new composite image, where X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory are blue, radio data from the NSF’s Karl Jansky Very Large Array are purple, optical data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope are yellow and infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope are red.

A new study made with Spitzer shows that shock waves, similar to the sonic booms from supersonic planes, are heating large amounts of gas – equivalent to about 10 million suns. What is generating these shock waves? Researchers think that the supermassive black hole at the center of NGC 4258 is producing powerful jets of high-energy particles. These jets strike the disk of the galaxy and generate shock waves. These shock waves, in turn, heat the gas – composed mainly of hydrogen molecules – to thousands of degrees.

The Chandra X-ray image reveals huge bubbles of hot gas above and below the plane of the galaxy. These bubbles indicate that much of the gas that was originally in the disk of the galaxy has been heated and ejected into the outer regions by the jets from the black hole.

The ejection of gas from the disk by the jets has important implications for the fate of this galaxy. Researchers estimate that all of the remaining gas will be ejected within the next 300 million years – very soon on cosmic time scales – unless it is somehow replenished. Because most of the gas in the disk has already been ejected, less gas is available for new stars to form. Indeed, the researchers used Spitzer data to estimate that stars are forming in the central regions of NGC 4258, at a rate which is about ten times less than in the Milky Way galaxy.

The European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory was used to confirm the estimate from Spitzer data of the low star formation rate in the central regions of NGC 4258. Herschel was also used to make an independent estimate of how much gas remains in the center of the galaxy. After allowing for the large boost in infrared emission caused by the shocks, the researchers found that the gas mass is ten times smaller than had been previously estimated.

Because NGC 4258 is relatively close to Earth, astronomers can study how this black hole is affecting its galaxy in great detail.

Related links:

Chandra X-ray Observatory: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/main/index.html

NSF’s Karl Jansky Very Large Array: https://public.nrao.edu/visit/very-large-array/

Hubble Space Telescope: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

Spitzer Space Telescope: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/main/index.html

Black Holes: https://www.nasa.gov/black-holes

Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Caltech/P.Ogle et al; Optical: NASA/STScI; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA/Text Credits: NASA/Yvette Smith.

Happy New Year 2020, Orbiter.ch

Life-Saving Science on Last Day of 2019; Crew Relaxes New Year’s Day

ISS - Expedition 61 Mission patch.

December 31, 2019, updated on January 1, 2020 01:00 UTC

Six humans from three countries will ring in the new year 16 times tonight from an average altitude of about 260 miles above the Earth’s surface. Before the Expedition 61 crew goes to bed tonight and relaxes on New Year’s Day, they are researching critical space science to benefit humans on and off Earth.

Fire safety is extremely important and even more so aboard a spacecraft. Flight Engineer Jessica Meir of NASA got to work using the Microgravity Science Glovebox and observed how different fabric and acrylic samples burn in microgravity. Space fires spread differently in confined spaces of different shapes and sizes. Scientists will use the data to improve products and procedures to save lives on the ground and in space.

Image above: The Expedition 61 crew portrait with (from left) NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, astronaut Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency), Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, and NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch. Image Credit: NASA.

A bone densitometer that images and measures the bone mass of mice living in space is being calibrated today. NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan checked out the sensitive device to ensure accurate measurements. Morgan then switched from biology hardware to tiny satellites and tested formation flying using algorithms programmed in to the free-flying SPHERES.

NASA Flight Engineer Christina Koch is loading the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship today before it departs the International Space Station on Jan. 5. She was measuring the mass of gear returning to Earth using an acceleration device that follows Newton’s Second Law of Motion (force equals mass times acceleration).

Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) reconfigured a specialized incubator that uses a centrifuge to mimic different gravity environments for biology research. Afterward, he installed new components in a life support system that removes carbon dioxide from the station’s atmosphere.

Cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Skripochka kicked off the last day of 2019 with housecleaning and computer checks. In the afternoon, the duo set up radiation detection gear and serviced Russian life support hardware.

Related links:

Expedition 61: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition61/index.html

Microgravity Science Glovebox: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=341

Space fires: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7886

Bone densitometer: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1059

SPHERES: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7753

SpaceX Dragon: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/spacex-dragon-launches-arrivals-and-departures

Specialized incubator: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=333

Radiation detection gear: https://www.energia.ru/en/iss/researches/human/03.html

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.

Happy New Year 2020, Orbiter.ch

lundi 30 décembre 2019

Crew Packing Dragon Cargo Craft and Researching Flames in Space

ISS - Expedition 61 Mission patch.

December 30, 2019

A U.S. cargo craft is getting ready to depart the International Space Station early next week loaded with research results and degraded hardware for analysis on Earth. Meanwhile, the Expedition 61 crew explored a variety of space phenomena including how flames spread in weightlessness.

The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is being configured for its departure on Jan. 5 after a month attached to the Harmony module. Dragon will be released from the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm on Sunday at 9:41 p.m. EST and splashdown in the Pacific off the coast California a few hours later.

Image above: The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship approaches the International Space Station on Dec. 8, 2019. Image Credit: NASA.

NASA Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan is leading the packing activities today with assistance from fellow NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch. The trio will be preserving and loading finalized experiment results inside Dragon. Obsolete hardware exposed to the harshness of space will also be returned to Earth for engineering inspections.

3-D surround video recordings of station science operations has been ongoing aboard the orbiting lab for months and today was no exception. Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) set up the unique video camera this morning to record him and Koch as they worked on combustion research. The duo burned acrylic and fabric samples in the Microgravity Science Glovebox to help scientists understand how flames expand in space to increase fire safety.

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA

Parmitano and Meir also partnered together in the afternoon for life support maintenance tasks. The duo checked out hardware inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module that condenses water vapor from air.

Cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Skripochka spent Monday dividing their time between setting up communications gear and studying Russian science. The duo activated video hardware and explored advanced imaging techniques for locating targets on Earth to photograph.

Related links:

Expedition 61: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition61/index.html

SpaceX Dragon: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/spacex-dragon-launches-arrivals-and-departures

Canadarm2: https://cms.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/mobile-servicing-system.html

3-D surround video: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7877

Combustion research: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7886

Microgravity Science Glovebox: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=341

U.S. Destiny laboratory module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/us-destiny-laboratory

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Exploring the Night Sky with Hubble’s Caldwell Catalog

NASA - Hubble Space Telescope patch.

Dec. 30, 2019

During the 18th century, French astronomer Charles Messier compiled a list of over 100 cosmic objects that might fool fellow comet hunters into thinking they had discovered new comets. In the 1980s, an Englishman named Sir Patrick Moore produced an additional list to highlight more cosmic wonders visible to amateur astronomers. Unlike the Messier catalog, which only features objects that were visible from Charles Messier’s viewing location in Europe, Moore’s Caldwell catalog includes celestial bodies that are found in both the northern and southern skies. The catalog consists of 46 star clusters, 35 galaxies and 28 nebulas. Moore intentionally avoided including any of the Messier objects in his catalog, hoping to expand his fellow amateur astronomers’ cosmic horizons. From nearby clouds of gas and dust that are left over from dying stars to remote galaxies that formed billions of years ago, the Caldwell catalog is brimming with surprising celestial treats.

This loose collections of stars, known as an open star cluster, is image 100 of the catalog. Caldwell 100 (also called Collinder 249) is an open star cluster that’s embedded within a large nebula (named IC 2944) about 6,000 light-years away from Earth. The reddish glow of hydrogen gas surrounding the cluster is typical of emission nebulas found in massive star-forming regions. This Hubble image, taken in visible light using the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, shows a small portion of this region.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

Related article:

New Hubble Gallery Features Celestial Objects From Caldwell Catalog Visible to Amateur Astronomers
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/12/new-hubble-gallery-features-celestial.html

Related link:

Caldwell catalog: https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog

For more information about Hubble, visit:

http://hubblesite.org/

http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

http://www.spacetelescope.org/

Image, Animation, Text, Credits: NASA, Yvette Smith/ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: Bo Reipurth (University of Hawaii).

Greetings, Orbiter.ch