Mars Panorama - Next Best Thing to Being There

NASA - Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity (MER-B) patch.

July 9, 2012

Image above: This full-circle scene combines 817 images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell / Arizona State Univ.

From fresh rover tracks to an impact crater blasted billions of years ago, a newly completed view from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the ruddy terrain around the outcrop where the long-lived explorer spent its most recent Martian winter.

This scene recorded from the mast-mounted color camera includes the rover's own solar arrays and deck in the foreground, providing a sense of sitting on top of the rover and taking in the view. Its release this week coincides with two milestones: Opportunity completing its 3,000th Martian day on July 2, and NASA continuing past 15 years of robotic presence at Mars. Mars Pathfinder landed July 4, 1997. NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter reached the planet while Pathfinder was still active, and Global Surveyor overlapped the active missions of the Mars Odyssey orbiter and Opportunity, both still in service.

The new panorama is online at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA15689. It is presented in false color to emphasize differences between materials in the scene. It was assembled from 817 component images taken between Dec. 21, 2011, and May 8, 2012, while Opportunity was stationed on an outcrop informally named "Greeley Haven," on a segment of the rim of ancient Endeavour Crater.

"The view provides rich geologic context for the detailed chemical and mineral work that the team did at Greeley Haven over the rover's fifth Martian winter, as well as a spectacularly detailed view of the largest impact crater that we've driven to yet with either rover over the course of the mission," said Jim Bell of Arizona State University, Tempe, Pancam lead scientist.

Mars Exploration Rover B "Opportunity". Image Credits: NASA / JPL-Caltech

Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, landed on Mars in January 2004 for missions originally planned to last for three months. NASA's next-generation Mars rover, Curiosity, is on course for landing on Mars next month.

Opportunity's science team chose to call the winter campaign site Greeley Haven in tribute to Ronald Greeley (1939-2011), a team member who taught generations of planetary science students at Arizona State University.

"Ron Greeley was a valued colleague and friend, and this scene, with its beautiful wind-blown drifts and dunes, captures much of what Ron loved about Mars," said Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for Opportunity and Spirit.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

More information about Opportunity is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/rovers and http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov . You can follow the project on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MarsRovers and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mars.rovers .

Images (mentioned), Text, Credit: NASA / JPL / Guy Webster.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

Flying along the Vela ridge

ESA - Herschel Mission patch.

9 July 2012

 Vela C region (click on the image for enlarge)

A beautiful blue butterfly flutters towards a nest of warm dust and gas, above an intricate network of cool filaments in this image of the Vela C region by ESA’s Herschel space observatory.

Vela C is the most massive of the four parts of the Vela complex, a massive star nursery just 2300 light-years from the Sun. It is an ideal natural laboratory for us to study the birth of stars.

Herschel’s far-infrared detectors can spot regions where young high- and low-mass stars have heated dense clumps of gas and dust, where new generations of stars may be born.

The eye is immediately drawn to two prominent features in this image: a delicate blue and yellow butterfly shape just right of centre that appears to be flying towards a nest of coiled blue material in the lower right.

Herschel space observatory

These regions stand out from their surroundings because their dust has been heated by young hot stars. A cluster of very hot, massive stars are strung out along the butterfly’s ‘body’, their radiation heating up the surrounding dust seen as yellow in this scene.

These heavy stars will follow ‘live fast, die young’, burning brightly for only a short time in cosmic terms. Those with more than eight times the mass of our own Sun will explode as cataclysmic supernovas within 10 million years of forming.

A particularly dense trunk of cool gas and dust weaves its way through the centre of the image, surrounded by a complex network of wispy red filaments.

Deeply embedded inside the filaments are numerous point-like sources, particularly evident towards the left of the scene: these are protostars, the seeds of new stars that will soon also light up the Vela region of the sky. 

For more information about Herschel Mission, visit: http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Herschel/index.html
and http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/herschel/index.html

Images, Text, Credits: ESA / PACS & SPIRE Consortia, T. Hill, F. Motte, Laboratoire AIM Paris-Saclay, CEA / IRFU – CNRS / INSU – Uni. Paris Diderot, HOBYS Key Programme Consortium.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Riding the winds, Solar Impulse returns to Europe

SolarImpulse - Destination Morocco patch.

July 7, 2012

It’s been a long but exciting flight with a number of stimulating events that have kept all of us on our toes, but Bertrand Piccard landed the Solar Impulse prototype safely in Madrid-Barajas’s airport at 11:19 PM (UTC), on Friday 6 July.

Rabat to Madrid – Landing in Madrid-Barajas Airport

One of the flight’s singularities was that Bertrand went from beating HB-SIA’s record ground speed, 157km/h, to gaining its fastest reverse speed at 18km/h! I couldn’t help but smile when I thought of one of André’s comments after the first attempted flight to Ouarzazate: “Maybe we should install a couple of rearview mirrors what’s going on in the back!” It wouldn’t have been absolutely necessary this time as Bertrand was offered a splendid view of the sunset over the horizon. In fact, although Bertrand was navigating eastward, the nose of the aircraft was actually pointing westward in direction of the spectacular view. We might even start speculating he did it on purpose to better seize the moment...

To better understand the difficulties Solar Impulse is faced with when there are headwinds and crosswinds, here are a couple of descriptions:

    Groundspeed: can be defined as the speed of the aircraft relatively to the ground.

    True airspeed: the speed of the aircraft in relation to the air mass it’s flying through.

To make it clearer, let’s take the following example: an airplane flies at 50 km/h with no wind. In this case, the groundspeed and true airspeed are equal to the speed of flight. Let’s suppose now that there are headwinds at 20 km/h and the pilot maintains the speed at 50 km/h, in the given air mass. From the cockpit it will seem as though he’s cruising at 50 km/h while his groundspeed will be, in actuality, only 30 km/h.  So in Bertrand’s case, a groundspeed of 157km/h* was aided by an agreeable tailwind while the reverse speed was obviously caused by particularly stubborn headwinds.

Rabat to Madrid – Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg after landing

It’s been a particularly important flight for the Solar Impulse engineers and technicians as it has once again proven this experimental aircraft’s reliability and energy savings efficiency through never before experienced winds, often faster than the speed of the aircraft.

Madrid is the first and last stop in Europe before HB-SIA and the Solar Impulse team returns home to the lovely landscapes of the Swiss Alps.

*I’ve used km/h in this exercise, but the common speed measure in aviation is knots (kts).

Flight Report: Rabat - Madrid

Pilot: Bertrand Piccard

Take-off time: 06/07/2012 05:17 AM UTC

Time of landing: 06/07/2012 11:19 PM UTC

Flight duration: 17h 3min

Average speed: 60 km/h

Average altitude: 4'879 metres

Distance: 898 km

For more information about SolarImpulse, visit: http://solarimpulse.com/

Images, Text, Credits: Solar Impulse / Jean Revillard.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Hubble Sees Red Giant Blow a Bubble

NASA - Hubble Space Telescope patch.

July 6, 2012

Camelopardalis, or U Cam for short, is a star nearing the end of its life. As stars run low on fuel, they become unstable. Every few thousand years, U Cam coughs out a nearly spherical shell of gas as a layer of helium around its core begins to fuse. The gas ejected in the star’s latest eruption is clearly visible in this picture as a faint bubble of gas surrounding the star.

U Cam is an example of a carbon star, a rare type of star with an atmosphere that contains more carbon than oxygen. Due to its low surface gravity, typically as much as half of the total mass of a carbon star may be lost by way of powerful stellar winds. Located in the constellation of Camelopardalis (The Giraffe), near the North Celestial Pole, U Cam itself is much smaller than it appears in this Hubble image. In fact, the star would easily fit within a single pixel at the center of the image. Its brightness, however, is enough to saturate the camera's receptors, making the star look much larger than it is.

The shell of gas, which is both much larger and much fainter than its parent star, is visible in intricate detail in Hubble’s portrait. This phenomenon is often quite irregular and unstable, but the shell of gas expelled from U Cam is almost perfectly spherical.

Links:

    ESA Hubble site: http://www.spacetelescope.org/

    NASA Hubble site: http://hubblesite.org/

Image, Text, Credit: ESA / NASA.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

SolarImpulse - Europe, here we come!

SolarImpulse - Destination Morocco patch.

July 6, 2012

The long awaited moment has finally arrived. This morning at 05:17AM (UTC), Friday 6 July, HB-SIA, piloted by Bertrand Piccard, took-off from its temporary home in Rabat, leaving the Moroccan soil to make its way back to Europe.

HB-SIA, piloted by Bertrand Piccard, ready to flight

The flight had originally been scheduled for this past Tuesday, 3 July, but due to a sudden change in weather conditions, it was postponed. The wait seemed to be long as, in our minds, we had psychologically begun our “goodbyes” to Morocco while our tummies began preparing for jamón and paellas.

But that day has finally come and our mouths are already watering. For those of us that were cheering for Italy in the Euro Cup finals, we just need ensure not to make any uncomfortable slips as we might miss our chance to a nice Spanish meal. In fact, when Bertrand was asked whether he was ready to talk about fútbol, he replied he’s more comfortable speaking about larger balls than those kicked around in stadiums, balls more like balloons that fly in the skies… I think it’s a good strategy and I might adopt a spinoff to secure a Salud! to a soothing glass of red. 

SolarImpulse takeoff from Rabat

On more serious terms, today’s flight still remains particularly challenging due to strong crosswinds over the Iberian Peninsula. The initial part of the flight will be smooth, leading HB-SIA towards Tangier and over the Strait of Gibraltar. However, once Bertrand enters Spain, he will need to navigate west of Seville to a first holding point. This is where the winds are expected to be stronger, up to 35-40 knots, which will have a tendency to push the Solar Impulse prototype eastward. The aircraft will therefore need to steer far enough to the West to ensure it is not pushed east of the planned track. Bertrand will then fly towards Toledo and finally to Madrid. A short holding is planned around the Spanish capital, but just long enough to get the green light from the Control Tower for Bertrand to being his final descent.

HB-SIA takeoff from Rabat to Madrid

But at least Bertrand is not alone. This is the first time HB-SIA has a passenger in addition to the pilot. A Moroccan fly has decided to try its luck and taste some of the flavors on the other side of the Strait! Do we have an insect size oxygen mask in the cockpit, anybody?

Expected Landing: Barajas- Madrid Airport (Spain) after 11:00 PM (UTC).

For more information and see online the flight: http://live.solarimpulse.com/

Images, Video, Text, Credits: SolarImpulse / Jean Revillard.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Ariane 5 ECA orbits EchoStar XVII and MSG-3

ESA / Arianespace - Ariane 5 ECA - VA207 poster / MSG-3 Satellite logo.

July 6, 2012

Arianespace launch a success

 Ariane 5 ECA liftoff with EchoStar XVII and MSG-3

On Thursday, July 5, Arianespace successfully launched two satellites: the dedicated Internet satellite EchoStar XVII for the American operator Hughes Network Systems, and the MSG-3 weather satellite for Eumetsat, the European Meteorological Satellite organization.

Launch of Ariane 5 with EchoStar 17 and MSG-3

63rd Ariane 5 launch, 49th success in a row

Today's successful Ariane 5 launch once again proves the launcher's operational capabilities. Ariane 5 handles a complete range of missions, from commercial launches into geostationary orbit to launches into special orbits.

Separation of MSG-3 of the second stage of Ariane 5 ECA rocket

This was the 63rd launch of an Ariane 5, and the 49th successful launch in a row.

Arianespace's latest successful mission, the third Ariane 5 launch in 2012, clearly shows that its launch Service & Solutions continue to set the global standard and guarantee independent access to space for all customers, including national and international space agencies, private operators and governments.

302nd and 303rd satellites launched by Arianespace from French Guiana

Arianespace offers the launch services that best match the demanding requirements of leading operators worldwide.

EchoStar XVII spacecraft

EchoStar XVII is the second satellite launched by Arianespace for the American operator Hughes, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. A high-power Ka-band satellite, EchoStar XVII will offer broadband Internet services to companies and individuals in North America. EchoStar XVII is the 37th satellite built by Space Systems/Loral to be launched by Arianespace.

MSG-3 (Meteosat Second Generation) description

MSG-3 (Meteosat Second Generation) is part of a European family of four geostationary meteorological detection and observation satellites. It is the ninth satellite to be launched by Arianespace for Eumetsat. The first two MSG satellites were launched by Arianespace in 2002 and 2005.

 MSG-3 in geostationary orbit

For more information about Arianespace, visit: http://www.arianespace.com/index/index.asp

For more information about  EchoStar, visit: http://www.echostar.com/

For more information about  EUMETSAT, visit: http://www.eumetsat.int/Home/index.htm

Images, Video, Text, Credits: Arianespace / ESA / EUMETSAT / Space Systems / Loral.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Melas Dorsa reveals a complex geological history on Mars

ESA - Mars Express Mission patch.

5 July 2012

(Click on the images for enlarge)

 Melas Dorsa in full colour

ESA’s Mars Express has imaged an area to the south of the famed Valles Marineris canyon on the Red Planet, showing a wide range of tectonic and impact features.

Melas Dorsa in context

On 17 April, the orbiter pointed its high-resolution stereo camera at the Melas Dorsa region of Mars. This area sits in the volcanic highlands of Mars between Sinai and Thaumasia Plana, 250 km south of Melas Chasma. Melas Chasma itself is part of the Valles Marineris rift system.

The image captures wrinkle ridges, some unusual intersecting faults and an elliptical crater surrounded by ejecta in the shape of a butterfly and with a strange ‘fluid-like’ appearance.

Melas Dorsa impact crater perspective view

Elliptical craters like this 16 km-wide example are formed when asteroids or comets strike the surface of the planet at a shallow angle.

Scientists have suggested that a fluidised ejecta pattern indicates the presence of subsurface ice which melted during the impact. Subsequent impacts have created a number of smaller craters in the ejecta blanket.

Zoom view of flooded crater

The rim of another large crater is visible in the upper centre part of the image, but it appears mostly to have been almost buried during some distant epoch by volcanic dust and ash.

This makes any detailed study of it almost impossible. However, its centre shows
concentric deposits that could provide insights into the composition of the volcanic material that buried it.

Melas Dorsa topography

Several wrinkle ridges can be seen across the image. These form when horizontal compression forces in the crust pushes the crust upwards.

To the left, the ridges are bisected by crustal displacement faults. These have cut into the ridges and the surrounding surface at some later epoch. This highlights the different tectonic phases responsible the formation of this region.

Melas Dorsa 3D anaglyph

Related links:

Mars Express: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/index.html

High Resolution Stereo Camera: http://berlinadmin.dlr.de/Missions/express/indexeng.shtml

Behind the lens: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMSXE1PGQD_0.html

Frequently asked questions: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEM76D9OY2F_0.html

Mars Express blog: http://webservices.esa.int/blog/blog/7

Mars Webcam: http://www.esa.int/vmc

For specialists:

ESA Planetary Science archive (PSA): http://www.rssd.esa.int/PSA

NASA Planetary Data System: http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/mars_express/hrsc.htm

HRSC data viewer: http://hrscview.fu-berlin.de/

Images, Text, Credits: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin (G. Neukum) / NASA / MGS / MOLA Science Team.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch