Curiosity Finds Iron Meteorite on Mars

NASA - Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) logo.

July 15, 2014

This rock encountered by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is an iron meteorite called "Lebanon," similar in shape and luster to iron meteorites found on Mars by the previous generation of rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.  Lebanon is about 2 yards or 2 meters wide (left to right, from this angle). The smaller piece in the foreground is called "Lebanon B."

This view combines a series of high-resolution circular images taken by the Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) of Curiosity's Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument with color and context from rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam).  The component images were taken during the 640th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (May 25, 2014).

The imaging shows angular shaped cavities on the surface of the rock. One possible explanation is that they resulted from preferential erosion along crystalline boundaries within the metal of the rock.  Another possibility is that these cavities once contained olivine crystals, which can be found in a rare type of stony-iron meteorites called pallasites, thought to have been formed near the core-mantle boundary within an asteroid.

Iron meteorites are not rare among meteorites found on Earth, but they are less common than stony meteorites. On Mars, iron meteorites dominate the small number of meteorites that have been found. Part of the explanation could come from the resistance of iron meteorites to erosion processes on Mars.

ChemCam is one of 10 instruments in Curiosity's science payload. The U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, in Los Alamos, New Mexico, developed ChemCam in partnership with scientists and engineers funded by the French national space agency (CNES), the University of Toulouse and the French national research agency (CNRS). More information about ChemCam is available at http://www.msl-chemcam.com .  The rover's MastCam was built by and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego.

JPL manages NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, and built the project's Curiosity rover.

For more information about Curiosity, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

You can follow the mission on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity.

Image, Text, Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP/LPGNantes/CNRS/IAS/MSSS.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

NASA's Van Allen Probes Show How to Accelerate Electrons

NASA - Van Allen Probes Mission logo.

July 15, 2014

One of the great, unanswered questions for space weather scientists is just what creates two gigantic donuts of radiation surrounding Earth, called the Van Allen radiation belts. Recent data from the Van Allen Probes -- two nearly identical spacecraft that launched in 2012 -- address this question.

Image above: NASA's Van Allen Probes orbit through two giant radiation belts surrounding Earth. Their observations help explain how particles in the belts can be sped up to nearly the speed of light. Image Credit: NASA.

The inner Van Allen radiation belt is fairly stable, but the outer one changes shape, size and composition in ways that scientists don't yet perfectly understand. Some of the particles within this belt zoom along at close to light speed, but just what accelerates these particles up to such velocities? Recent data from the Van Allen Probes suggests that it is a two-fold process: One mechanism gives the particles an initial boost and then a kind of electromagnetic wave called Whistlers does the final job to kick them up to such intense speeds.

"It is important to understand how this process happens," said Forrest Mozer, a space scientist at the University of California in Berkeley and the first author of the paper on these results that appeared online in Physical Review Letters on July 15, 2014, in conjunction with the July 18 print edition. "Not only do we think a similar process happens on the sun and around other planets, but these fast particles can damage the electronics in spacecraft and affect astronauts in space."

Over the last few decades, numerous theories about where these extremely energetic particles come from have been developed. They have largely fallen into two different possibilities. The first theory is that the particles drift in from much further out, some 400,000 miles or more, gathering energy along the way. The second theory is that some mechanism speeds up particles already inhabiting that area of space. After two years in space, the Van Allen Probes data has largely pointed to the latter.

Additionally, it has been shown that once particles attain reasonably large energies of 100 keV, they are moving at speeds in synch with giant electromagnetic waves that can speed the particles up even more – the same way a well-timed push on a swing can keep it moving higher and higher.

"This paper incorporates the Whistler waves theory previously embraced," said Shri Kanekal, the deputy mission scientist for the Van Allen Probes at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "But it provides a new explanation for how the particles get their initial push of energy."

This first mechanism is based on something called time domain structures, which Mozer and his colleagues have identified previously in the belts. They are very short duration pulses of electric field that run parallel to the magnetic fields that thread through the radiation belts. These magnetic field lines guide the movement of all the charged particles in the belts: The particles move along and gyrate around the lines as if they were tracing out the shape of a spring. During this early phase, the electric pulses push the particles faster forward in the direction parallel to the magnetic fields. This mechanism can increase the energies somewhat – though not as high as traditionally thought to be needed for the Whistler waves to have any effect. However, Mozer and his team showed, through both data from the Van Allen Probes and from simulations, that Whistlers can indeed affect particles at these lower energies.

Together the one-two punch is a mechanism that can effectively accelerate particles up to the intense speeds, which have for so long mysteriously appeared in the Van Allen belts.

"The Van Allen Probes have been able to monitor this acceleration process better than any other spacecraft because it was designed and placed in a special orbit for that purpose," said Mozer. "The mission has provided the first really strong confirmation of what's happening. This is the first time we can truly explain how the electrons are accelerated up to nearly the speed of light."

Such knowledge helps with the job of understanding the belts well enough to protect nearby spacecraft and astronauts.

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, built and operates the Van Allen Probes for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The mission is the second mission in NASA's Living With a Star program, managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

For more information about NASA’s Van Allen Probes mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/vanallenprobes

Image, Text, Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center / Karen C. Fox.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

ISS - Blue Dot update

ESA - Blue Dot Mission patch.

15 July 2014

 Our blue dot

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst continues to thrive in his space habitat one month into his Blue Dot mission on the International Space Station.

Over the last few weeks, he’s been working on experiments from NASA, Japan’s space agency and, of course, ESA.

The orbital outpost is a fully equipped weightless laboratory and it shows in the variety of science Alexander has conducted, from experiments on skin and eyes to headaches and sleep patterns as well as studying the physics behind crystals, liquids and fire while testing ‘smart’ shoes and a new form of propulsion.

 Burning fuel in space

All astronauts train for 90 minutes every day to help them return to Earth healthy and mission designers are always keen on improving the fitness routine. NASA’s smart shoes measure the forces on the feet as their wearers run around the world on the Station’s treadmill.

The information will feed into improving the fitness equipment for future exploration missions, making them lighter and smaller.

The approach could be used in future satellite formations, saving fuel and weight. Alexander helped to set up the experiment with NASA colleague Reid Wiseman.

Keeping experiments running smoothly

Some experiments don’t need an astronaut’s involvement all the time, but still require maintenance: Alexander repaired a cable that could have led to problems for radiation readings being transmitted to researchers on Earth.

He also checked a water pump in Europe’s Columbus laboratory to make sure it is working smoothly. A number of pumps around the Station keep the module and its experiments at the correct temperature.

Alexander working on the Columbus water pump

Watch full video Keeping Columbus cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Clf8ljA1M&list=UUIBaDdAbGlFDeS33shmlD0A

For the third time, the entire 450-tonne Station was turned to track the Sun for ESA’s Solar package, a suite of instruments that monitor sunlight to improve computer models. The Station’s orbit means Solar cannot follow our source of life over a full solar rotation – lasting about a whole Earth month – without rotating the whole complex.

Preparing for traffic

Alexander teamed up with NASA shipmates Reid and Steve Swanson for a practice run of grappling the Orbital-2 supply vessel that is set to arrive tomorrow. Catching and berthing the spacecraft requires moving the 16 m-long robotic arm in six dimensions in a two-person job.

 Robotic arm test-run

Earlier, Alexander and cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov checked the control panel and video that will be used when ESA’s fifth and last Automated Transfer Vehicle docks with the Station at the end of this month.

Related links:

All about Blue Dot: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Blue_dot

Blue Dot blog: http://blogs.esa.int/alexander-gerst/

Connect with Alexander Gerst: http://alexandergerst.esa.int/

Where is the International Space Station?: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/International_Space_Station/Where_is_the_International_Space_Station

Alexander Gerst's personal homepage: http://planet3.de/

Space Station crew timeline: http://spacestationlive.jsc.nasa.gov/timeline/index.html

Images. Text, Credits: ESA / NASA.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

SpaceX launch Orbcomm on Falcon 9

SpaceX / Orbcomm - OG2 Mission patch.

July 14, 2014

Falcon 9 carrying six OG2 satellites launch 

After two months of delays, SpaceX says it will launch six second-generation Orbcomm communications satellites July 14 atop a Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket from Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida.

The launch of New Jersey-based Orbcomm's six OG2 satellites has been repeatedly delayed due to technical and weather-related setbacks, beginning with a Falcon 9 first-stage helium leak that pushed the initial May 10 launch date to early June.

Orbcomm OG2 Falcon 9 Satellite Launch

SpaceX has successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket on Monday, delivering six communication satellites to Low Earth Orbit for satellite operator Orbcomm. Falcon 9 made a thundering liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 15:15 UTC, 11:15 a.m. local time. The vehicle completed a flawless ascent mission, culminating in the release of the six Orbcomm Second Generation satellites beginning 15 minutes after liftoff.

Orbcomm OG2 satellite

All six OG2 satellites were successfully separated from the Falcon 9 launch vehicle into the proper insertion orbit.

Launching six relatively light satellites left Falcon 9 with excess performance which allowed SpaceX to conduct the next boost-back demonstration of the first stage in the company's ongoing quest to reusability. Sending the second stage on its way into orbit, the first stage conducted a boost-back/braking burn followed by atmospheric flight and a landing burn for a soft splashdown in the Atlantic on four landing legs deploying just before contact with the water.

This was the most ambitious return demonstration performed by SpaceX as it actually involved the stage landing closer to land than in any previous attempt - building on the success of the first stage splashdown in April that returned the stage intact to the ocean only to have it destroyed by rough seas. Chances of a stage recovery were increased by landing closer to the coast, however, the stage suffered damage when impacting the water.

For more information about SpaceX, visit: http://www.spacex.com/

Images, Video, Text, Credits: SpaceX / Orbcomm / Günter Space Page / Orbiter.ch Aerospace.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

NASA Cargo Launches to Space Station aboard Orbital Sciences Resupply Mission

NASA / Orbital - Orb-2 Mission patch.

July 13, 2014

Image above: The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket launches from Pad-0A with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, Sunday, July 13, 2014, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Cygnus spacecraft is filled with over 3,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station, including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions. The Orbital-2 mission is Orbital Sciences' second contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

A multitude of NASA research investigations, crew provisions, hardware and science experiments from across the country is headed to the International Space Station aboard Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Cygnus spacecraft. The cargo craft launched aboard Orbital's Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 12:52 p.m. EDT Sunday.

Launch of Orbital-2 Mission to the International Space Station

The mission is the company's second cargo delivery flight to the station through a $1.9 billion NASA Commercial Resupply Services contract. Orbital will fly at least eight cargo missions to the space station through 2016.

The Orbital-2 mission is carrying almost 3,300 pounds of supplies to the station, which will expand the research capability of the Expedition 40 crew members. Among the research investigations headed to the orbital laboratory are a flock of nanosatellites designed to take images of Earth, developed by Planet Labs of San Francisco; and a satellite-based investigation called TechEdSat-4 built by NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, which aims to develop technology that will eventually enable small samples to be returned to Earth from the space station.

An experiment managed by Ames called Smart Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) features a sensor and multiple cameras to enable 3-D mapping and robotic navigation inside the space station. In addition, a host of student experiments are on board as part of the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program, an initiative of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and NanoRacks.

Cygnus cargo spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA

Expedition 40 Commander Steve Swanson of NASA, with help from Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, will use the station's robotic arm to take hold of Cygnus at 6:39 a.m. Wednesday, July 16. In August, the capsule, which will be filled with trash, will depart the station and burn up during reentry in Earth’s atmosphere.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station has been continuously occupied since November 2000. In that time, it has been visited by more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in exploration, including future missions to an asteroid and Mars.

For more information about the Orbital-2 mission and the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station

Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA / Rachel Kraft / Johnson Space Center / Dan Huot / Wallops Flight Facility / Keith Koehler.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Cosmic rays tune ATLAS for a particle symphony

CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research logo.

July 11, 2014

At the ATLAS experiment at CERN, physicists and engineers are testing their subdetector systems – using particles from outer space.

During its last 3-year run, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) achieved its highest-energy collisions at 8 TeV. But when the LHC starts up again in 2015 it will hit 13 TeV, which means new challenges for the large detectors ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb. Subdetectors on the ATLAS experiment will have to be thoroughly tested for performance at high energy. But how do you test a general-purpose particle physics detector for high-energy collisions when there are no particle collisions taking place? "Cosmic rays," says ATLAS run coordinator Alessandro Polini.

These high-energy particles from outer space are mainly (89%) protons but they also include nuclei of helium (10%) and heavier nuclei (1%), all the way up to uranium. The energies of the primary cosmic rays range from around 1 GeV – the energy of a relatively small particle accelerator – to as much as 10⁸ TeV, far higher than the beam energy of the LHC. We don’t feel them, but because they register as tracks in the ATLAS detector, physicists can use cosmic rays to calibrate and align the subdetectors when the LHC is switched off. "If there are gaps or certain tracks aren’t aligned at specific points, there is more work to be done," says Polini.

Image above: An engineer inspects the ATLAS detector during maintenance work last year (Image: Anna Pantelia/CERN).

Each subdetector is set up and tested in isolation, then joined to other subdetectors and finally installed into the whole. “It is a bit like an orchestra: the different instruments practice on their own, then we bring them together one by one," says Polini. "You need to tune and get them in the best shape possible first, only then can the ensemble work."

ATLAS took 27 inverse femtobarns of data (roughly 2 × 10 ¹⁵ proton-proton collisions) during the LHC's first run, allowing for the discovery of the Higgs boson and many other results. In the second run, bunches of protons will be accelerated to nearly twice the energy and timed to collide every 25 nanoseconds in the detector. This means up to 40 million collisions per second, two times more than during the previous run.

Polini says there will be a "final rehearsal" in November with an extended cosmic-ray run when all the layers of the ATLAS detector will come together and the magnetic fields will be switched on. "ATLAS will then be ready for its symphony,” he says.

Note:

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics, finding out what the Universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constituents of matter — the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn about the laws of Nature.

The instruments used at CERN are particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before they are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions.

Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the Franco–Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe’s first joint ventures and now has 20 Member States.

Related links:

Large Hadron Collider (LHC): http://home.web.cern.ch/topics/large-hadron-collider

LHC large detectors:

ATLAS: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/experiments/atlas

CMS: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/experiments/cms

ALICE: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/experiments/alice

LHCb: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/experiments/lhcb

Image. Text, Credits: CERN / Abha Eli Phoboo.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

Hubble Sees a Galaxy With a Glowing Heart

NASA - Hubble Space Telescope patch.

July 11, 2014

This view, captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows a nearby spiral galaxy known as NGC 1433. At about 32 million light-years from Earth, it is a type of very active galaxy known as a Seyfert galaxy — a classification that accounts for 10% of all galaxies. They have very bright, luminous centers that are comparable in brightness to that of our entire galaxy, the Milky Way.

Galaxy cores are of great interest to astronomers. The centers of most, if not all, galaxies are thought to contain a supermassive black hole, surrounded by a disk of in-falling material.

NGC 1433 is being studied as part of a survey of 50 nearby galaxies known as the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS). Ultraviolet radiation is observed from galaxies, mainly tracing the most recently formed stars. In Seyfert galaxies, ultraviolet light is also thought to emanate from the accretion discs around their central black holes. Studying these galaxies in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum is incredibly useful to study how the gas is behaving near the black hole. This image was obtained using a mix of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light.

LEGUS will study a full range of properties from a sample of galaxies, including their internal structure. This Hubble survey will provide a unique foundation for future observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). ALMA has already caught unexpected results relating to the center of NGC 1433, finding a surprising spiral structure in the molecular gas close to the center of NGC 1433. The astronomers also found a jet of material flowing away from the black hole, extending for only 150 light-years — the smallest such molecular outflow ever observed in a galaxy beyond our own.

For images and more information about Hubble, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/hubble and http://www.spacetelescope.org/

Image, Text, Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgements: D. Calzetti (UMass) and the LEGUS Team.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch