Cassini Names Final Mission Phase Its 'Grand Finale'

NASA / ESA - Cassini Mission to Saturn patch.

1 July 2014

With input from more than 2,000 members of the public, team members on NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn have chosen a name for the final phase of the mission: the Cassini Grand Finale.

Starting in late 2016, the Cassini spacecraft will begin a daring set of orbits that is, in some ways, like a whole new mission. The spacecraft will repeatedly climb high above Saturn's north pole, flying just outside its narrow F ring. Cassini will probe the water-rich plume of the active geysers on the planet's intriguing moon Enceladus, and then will hop the rings and dive between the planet and innermost ring 22 times.

Image above: With help from the public, members of NASA's Cassini mission have chosen to call the spacecraft's final orbits the "Cassini Grand Finale." Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Because the spacecraft will be in close proximity to Saturn, the team had been calling this phase "the proximal orbits," but they felt the public could help decide on a more exciting moniker. In early April, the Cassini mission invited the public to vote on a list of alternative names provided by team members or to suggest ideas of their own.

"We chose a name for this mission phase that would reflect the exciting journey ahead while acknowledging that it's a big finish for what has been a truly great show," said Earl Maize, Cassini project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
For more information about the name contest, visit: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/name

For a visualization of the Grand Finale, visit: http://eyes.nasa.gov and click on "Cassini's Tour"

For more information about Cassini mission, Visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/main/ and http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens

Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA / JPL / Preston Dyches.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

Spot the Space Station looking at you

ESA - Blue Dot Mission patch.

1 July 2014

Moonrise from space

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst and five astronauts from America and Russia are flying on the International Space Station 400 km above us – but did you know they are sharing live views of our planet and you can even see their home at night?

Circling Earth at 28 800 km/h, it takes only 90 minutes to complete a circuit of our planet – while cameras transmit the incredible view for everybody to see.

Find out where the Station is and enjoy the same views as the astronauts by visiting ESA’s Space Station tracker. The orbital outpost flies over the planet between latitudes 52ºN/S, reaching from the tip of South America to the UK.

Southern tip of South America

As it skims overhead, it looks like a bright star travelling smoothly across the heavens. Unlike aircraft, though, its light holds steady and it will always appear from the west and head eastwards.

ESA’s app for Apple smartphones and tablets keeps you updated on the trajectories of all ESA satellites, including the Space Station. Alternatively go to NASA's Spot the Station website and enter your city to receive alerts of when it next flies over your area.

Share the view

Taking a picture as the astronauts streak through the night sky is not difficult. Keep your camera steady on a tripod and make sure your exposure time is more than 30 seconds. If all goes well, you should capture a white streak that is the Station flying at 23 times the speed of sound.

Station over Darmstadt

Make the picture more interesting by framing a landmark in the foreground and share your creation with the world. Tweet the image with the hashtag #SpotTheStation with the location in brackets such as {Berlin, Germany} and your image will automatically be added to an interactive map.

A window on the world

Spot the Station is a joint project by NASA, Esri, the Canadian Centre of Geographic Sciences and Alexander’s crewmate Reid Wiseman. The locations and images will be collected throughout their mission until Alexander, Reid and commander Maxim Suraev return to Earth in November.

Space Station over Earth

Get your camera ready, look up and hope for cloudless nights.

Related links:

ESA’s Space Station tracker: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/International_Space_Station/Where_is_the_International_Space_Station

ESA’s app for Apple smartphones and tablets: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/esa-wis/id493034786?mt=8

NASA's Spot the Station website: http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/com%20

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/

Images, Text, Credits: ESA / NASA / Michael Khan.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Young sun’s violent history solves meteorite mystery

ESA - Herschel Mission patch.

1 July 2014

Astronomers using ESA’s Herschel space observatory to probe the turbulent beginnings of a Sun-like star have found evidence of mighty stellar winds that could solve a puzzling meteorite mystery in our own back yard.

In spite of their tranquil appearance in the night sky, stars are scorching furnaces that spring to life through tumultuous processes – and our 4.5 billion-year-old Sun is no exception. To glimpse its harsh early days, astronomers gather clues not only in the Solar System but also by studying young stars elsewhere in our Galaxy.

Violent wind gusting around protostar

Using Herschel to survey the chemical composition of regions where stars are being born today, a team of astronomers has noticed that one object in particular is different.

The unusual source is a prolific stellar nursery called OMC2 FIR4, a clump of new stars embedded in a gaseous and dusty cloud near to the famous Orion Nebula.

“To our great surprise, we found that the proportion of two chemical species, one based on carbon and oxygen and the other on nitrogen, is much smaller in this object than in any other protostar we know,” says Dr Cecilia Ceccarelli, of the Institute de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble, France, who lead the study with Dr Carsten Dominik of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

In an extremely cold environment, the measured proportion could arise by one of the two compounds freezing onto dust grains and becoming undetectable. However, at the relatively ‘high’ temperature of about –200°C found in star-forming regions like OMC2 FIR4, this should not occur.

“The most likely cause in this environment is a violent wind of very energetic particles, released by at least one of the embryonic stars taking shape in this proto-stellar cocoon,” Dr Ceccarelli adds.

Violent wind gusting around protostar in Orion

The most abundant molecule in star-forming clouds, hydrogen, can be broken apart by cosmic rays, energetic particles that permeate the entire Galaxy. The hydrogen ions then combine with other elements that are present – albeit only in trace amounts – in these clouds: carbon and oxygen, or nitrogen.

Normally, the nitrogen compound is also quickly destroyed, yielding more hydrogen for the carbon and oxygen compound. As a result, the latter is far more abundant in all known stellar nurseries.

Strangely enough, though, this was not the case for OMC2 FIR4, suggesting that an additional wind of energetic particles is destroying both chemical species, keeping their abundances more similar.

Astronomers think that a similarly violent wind of particles also gusted through the early Solar System, and this discovery might finally point to an explanation for the origin of a particular chemical element seen in meteorites.

Meteorites are the remains of interplanetary debris that survived the trip through our planet’s atmosphere. These cosmic messengers are one of the few tools we have to directly probe the elements in our Solar System.

Herschel space observatory

“Some elements detected in meteorites reveal that, long ago, these rocks contained a form of beryllium: this is quite puzzling, as we can’t quite understand how it got there,” explains Dr Dominik.

The formation of this isotope – beryllium-10 – in the Universe is an intricate puzzle of its own. Astronomers know that it is not produced in the interior of stars, like some other elements, nor in the supernova explosion that happens at the end of a massive star’s life.

The majority of beryllium-10 was formed in collisions of very energetic particles with heavier elements like oxygen. But since this isotope decays very quickly into other elements, it must have been produced just before it was incorporated in the rocks that would later appear on Earth as meteorites.

In order to trigger these reactions and produce an amount of beryllium matching that recorded in meteorites, our own Sun must have blown a violent wind in its youth.

These new observations of OMC2 FIR4 give a very strong hint that it is possible for a young star to do this.

“Observing star-forming regions with Herschel not only provides us with a view on what happens beyond our cosmic neighbourhood, but it’s also a crucial way to piece together the past of our own Sun and Solar System,” says Göran Pilbratt, ESA’s Herschel project scientist.

More information:

“Herschel finds evidence for stellar wind particles in a protostellar envelope: is this what happened to the young Sun?” by C. Ceccarelli et al. is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, July 2014.

The study is based on observations performed with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) on Herschel, as part of the Herschel Guaranteed Time Key Programme Chemical HErschel Surveys of Star forming regions (CHESS).

Related links:

Herschel: ESA's giant infrared observatory: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Herschel

Herschel overview: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Herschel_overview

Online Showcase of Herschel Images OSHI: http://oshi.esa.int/

Herschel in depth: http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=16

Herschel Science Centre: http://herschel.esac.esa.int/

Images, Text, Credits: Herschel image: ESA/Herschel/Ph. André, D. Polychroni, A. Roy, V. Könyves, N. Schneider for the Gould Belt survey Key Programme; inset and layout: ESA/ATG medialab.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

First LDSD Test Flight a Success

NASA logo.

June 30, 2014

 NASA's LDSD powered flight test. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

NASA representatives participated in a media teleconference this morning to discuss the June 28, 2014 near-space test flight of the agency's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD), which occurred off the coast of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii.

A high-altitude balloon launch occurred June 29,  2014 at 8:45 a.m. HST (11:45 a.m. PDT/2:45 p.m. EDT) from the Hawaiian island facility. At 11:05 a.m. HST (2:05 p.m. PDT/5:05 p.m. EDT), the LDSD test vehicle dropped away from the balloon as planned and began powered flight. The balloon and test vehicle were about 120,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean at the time of the drop. The vehicle splashed down in the ocean at approximately 11:35 a.m. HST (2:35 p.m. PDT/5:35 p.m. EDT), after the engineering test flight concluded. The test vehicle hardware, black box data recorder and parachute were all recovered later in the day.

Image above: Hours after the June 28, 2014, test of NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator over the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range, the saucer-shaped test vehicle is lifted aboard the Kahana recovery vessel. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

"We are thrilled about yesterday's test," said Mark Adler, project manager for LDSD at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "The test vehicle worked beautifully, and we met all of our flight objectives. We have recovered all the vehicle hardware and data recorders and will be able to apply all of the lessons learned from this information to our future flights."

This test was the first of three planned for the LDSD project, developed to evaluate new landing technologies for future Mars missions. While this initial test was designed to determine the flying ability of the vehicle, it also deployed two new landing technologies as a bonus. Those landing technologies will be officially tested in the next two flights, involving clones of the saucer-shaped vehicle.

Image above: Two members of the Navy's Explosive Ordinance Disposal team swim towards the pilot ballute (a combination balloon and parachute used for braking at high altitudes and speeds) that was used to deploy the parachute. The recovery vessel Mana'o II is in the background. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

"Because our vehicle flew so well, we had the chance to earn 'extra credit' points with the Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator [SIAD]," said Ian Clark, principal investigator for LDSD at JPL. "All indications are that the SIAD deployed flawlessly, and because of that, we got the opportunity to test the second technology, the enormous supersonic parachute, which is almost a year ahead of schedule."

The Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD) is a large, doughnut-shaped first deceleration technology that deployed during the flight. The second is an enormous parachute (the Supersonic Disk Sail Parachute). Imagery downlinked in real-time from the test vehicle indicates that the parachute did not deploy as expected, and the team is still analyzing data on the parachute so that lessons learned can be applied for the next test flights, scheduled for early next year.

Image above: The LDSD test vehicle is unseen at the tip of the slash-like contrail at the upper left of this image. Just to the right of the contrail, and about a third of the way up, is the balloon that carried the saucer. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

In order to get larger payloads to Mars, and to pave the way for future human explorers, cutting-edge technologies like LDSD are critical. Among other applications, this new space technology will enable delivery of the supplies and materials needed for long-duration missions to the Red Planet.

Image above: The first "flown" test vehicle of Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator project relaxes aboard the recovery vessel Kahana. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

"This entire effort was just fantastic work by the whole team and is a proud moment for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate," said Dorothy Rasco, deputy associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This flight reminds us why NASA takes on hard technical problems, and why we test - to learn and build the tools we will need for the future of space exploration. Technology drives exploration, and yesterday's flight is a perfect example of the type of technologies we are developing to explore our solar system."

Image above: Hours after its successful engineering flight, the first test vehicle for NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator project is lifted aboard the recovery vessel Kahana. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate funds the LDSD mission, a cooperative effort led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. NASA's Technology Demonstration Mission program manages LDSD at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, coordinated support with the Pacific Missile Range Facility and provided the balloon systems for the LDSD test.

For more information about the LDSD space technology demonstration mission: http://go.usa.gov/kzZQ

For more information about the Space Technology Mission Directorate, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

The follow-along page from the media teleconference can be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/ldsd/telecon2014/

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA / David Steitz / JPL / DC Agle / Marshall Space Flight Center / Shannon Ridinger / Pacific Missile Range Facility / Stefan Alford.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Saturn’s shadows

ESA - Cassini Missio to Saturn logo.

June 30, 2014

It may seem odd to think of planets casting shadows out in the inky blackness of space, but it is a common phenomenon. Earth’s shadow obscures the Moon during a lunar eclipse, and Jupiter’s moons cast small shadows onto their parent planet. 

One of the best places in our Solar System to spot intriguing and beautiful celestial shadows is at Saturn. On 1 July, the international Cassini mission celebrates 10 years of exploring Saturn, its rings and its moons, an endeavour that has produced invaluable science but also stunning images like this.

Drifting along in the foreground, small and serene, is Saturn’s icy moon Mimas. The blue backdrop may at first appear to be the gas giant’s famous and impressive set of rings, with pale and dark regions separated by long inky black slashes, but it is actually the northern hemisphere of Saturn itself. The dark lines slicing across the frame are shadows cast by the rings onto the planet.

Although we may not associate the colour blue with Saturn, when Cassini arrived at the planet the northernmost regions displayed the delicate blue palette shown in this image. As this region of Saturn is generally quite free of cloud, scattering by molecules in the atmosphere causes sunlight to take a longer path through the atmosphere. The light is scattered predominantly at shorter – bluer – wavelengths. This is similar to why the sky on Earth appears blue to our eyes.

Cassini spacecraft

Seasonal changes over the years since this photo was taken have turned the blue into Saturn's more familiar golden hue. The reverse is occurring in the south, which is slowly becoming bluer.

This image is composed of infrared, optical and ultraviolet observations from Cassini’s narrow-angle camera on 18 January 2005. The colours closely match what the scene would look like in true colour.

The Cassini–Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA and Italy’s ASI space agency.

This image was first published on the NASA Cassini website, in 2005.

For more information about Cassini mission, Visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/main/ and http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens

ESA / NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute.

Rosetta’s comet ‘sweats’ two glasses of water a second

ESA - Rosette Missio patch.

30 June 2014

ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft has found that comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko is releasing the equivalent of two small glasses of water into space every second, even at a cold 583 million kilometres from the Sun.

The first observations of water vapour streaming from the comet were made by the Microwave Instrument for Rosetta Orbiter, or MIRO, on 6 June, when the spacecraft was about 350 000 kilometres from the comet.

First detection of water vapour

Since the initial detection, water vapour has been found every time MIRO has been pointed towards the comet.

“We always knew we would see water vapour outgassing from the comet, but we were surprised at how early we detected it,” says Sam Gulkis, the instrument’s principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, USA.

“At this rate, the comet would fill an Olympic-size swimming pool in about 100 days. But, as it gets closer to the Sun, the gas production rate will increase significantly. With Rosetta, we have an amazing vantage point to observe these changes up close and learn more about exactly why they happen.”

Comet on 4 June

Water is a major volatile component of comets, along with carbon monoxide, methanol and ammonia. MIRO is designed to help determine the abundance of each of these ingredients, in order to understand the nature of the comet’s nucleus, the process of outgassing and where they originate on the surface.

These gases stream away from the nucleus carrying dust, forming the comet’s surrounding ‘coma’. As the comet moves closer to the Sun, its coma will expand and, eventually, pressure from the solar wind will cause some of the material to stream out into a long tail.

Rosetta will be there to watch these developments up close. The comet – and Rosetta – will make its nearest approach to the Sun in August 2015, between the orbits of Earth and Mars.

Determining the changes in production rate of water vapour and other gases as the icy object moves around the Sun is important for comet science. But it is also vital for mission planning, because once Rosetta is closer to the comet, the outflow of gases may alter the craft’s trajectory.

“Our comet is coming out of its deep-space slumber and beginning to put on a show for Rosetta’s science instruments,” says Matt Taylor, ESA’s Rosetta project scientist.

“Rosetta’s engineers will also be using MIRO’s observations to help them plan for future mission events when we are operating close to the comet’s nucleus.”

Today, the spacecraft is within 72 000 km of its destination. Six out of a total of ten rendezvous manoeuvres still need to be carried out to ensure that Rosetta arrives at a distance of just 100 km from the nucleus on 6 August.

More about Rosetta: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/More_about_Rosetta

More about MIRO: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/More_about_MIRO

Images, Text, Credits: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Launch of Indian PSLV Rocket with French SPOT-7 Satellite

ISRO logo.


June 30, 2014

Launch of Indian PSLV Rocket with French SPOT-7 Satellite

A French Satellite, Spot-7 was launched today, June 30th 2014 at 04:22 UTC on an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India.

Launch of Indian PSLV Rocket with French SPOT-7 Satellite

Spot-7 is an agile Earth observation satellite offering 2 meter resolution imagery for the French Space Agency, CNES.

SPOT-7 Satellite

Images, Video, Text, Credits: ISRO / Günter Space Images / Orbiter.ch Aerospace.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch