Showing posts with label SPACE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SPACE. Show all posts

Friday, May 22, 2020

Accelerated interstellar spacecraft based on magnetic levitation on moon

NASA says Maxar will build first big piece for Gateway in lunar GeekWire

I have noticed that things are moving in this direction which is becoming somewhat secretive like many other major scientific discoveries. We must consider the advice of the most enlightened mind in the last decade of science, and that can only be Stephen Hawking, who said to hasten the colonization of other planets because a catastrophe can destroy the earth at any time. Stephen didn't even think that a virus could be the cause you can read below and let's get back to the main topic
A spacecraft launched from a massive Magnetic Levitation Accelerator located on the moon could reach relatively high relativistic speeds at this stage, which no other means of propulsion can do practically and start from the great Hawking project and many other space science projects we can succeed.

 Magnetic Levitation Accelerator model

4 Coil Ring Accelerator Digital Magnetic Levitation Cyclotron High-tech Physics Model Diy Kit Kids Toys Gift

If such a ship without a human crew had a compact nuclear fusion reactor, say in a few decades, then humanity could have spacecraft that could reach Alpha Centauri and a few other nearby star systems with planets like Proxima b one of the nearest planets the closest planet outside the Solar System, "A telluric exoplanet, which is in the habitable zone of the star Proxima Centauri.in just a few years. decades".

The two bright stars are (left) Alpha Centauri and (right) Beta Centauri, both binaries. The faint red star in the center of the red circle, at right angles to both and south-east of Alpha is Proxima Centauri, intensely red, smaller in size, weaker in brightness and a distant third element in a triple star system with the main close pair forming Alpha Centauri. Taken with Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens with 11 frames stacked, each frame exposed 30 seconds. image wikipedia

People could withstand huge accelerations using liquid and gel capsules for compensation or even a rotating sector of the ship that by centrifugal force would compensate for the ship's acceleration. Such a hybrid ship would also have a magnetic parachute that would activate when meeting the Alpha Centauri heliopause.


Voyager - NASA

I don't know, but let's look at some numbers ... speed of light: 300,000 (3 hundred thousand) km/second!!! alpha Centauri: 4.3 light-years ... if 10% of the speed of light could be obtained, ie 30 thousand km / s, then the journey would take 43 years ... ok ... the fastest thing launched by man, voyager 1, travels at 17.26 km / s ... so we should, in exact numbers, get from 17.26 to 29979 km / s, that is 1736 times faster than mankind has managed so far, to reach +4 decades! You have low gravity per month, but how much are the acceleration increase and the braking problem?


Energies Free Full-Text A Study on a Linear Magnetic-Geared


The system would be feasible for launching anything into orbit without any rocket systems. The moon has an orbital speed of 1022m / s so very low, with a rifle you can shoot a bullet at a higher speed. It would have the advantage that it does not require rocket fuel or expensive rocket engines and you can launch large loads. To reach 1100m / s with an acceleration of 1g, 60km is enough.

Since even people can bear 2-3 G FORCE without big problems, a perfectly achievable 30 and 20 km launch ramp would be enough but of course, ramps or even hundreds of km can be built to reach the desired speeds, regardless of costs considering that it is about the survival of the human species that is self-destructing since 1900. Future galactic colonization ships are the launchpad to Mars and many other planets and solar systems like Alpha Centauri. You can't leave the earth with a ship big enough to carry everything you need, but you can get off the moon.



United Arab Emirates Has a Plan to Colonize Mars Universe Today

You can make it from pieces that connect like this international station that was also made of pieces launched one by one, only that from the moon you can launch much larger pieces. Until we have a monthly station, I don't think we'll reach Mars with a human crew at least not very soon.

The centrifugal force would be very high at the speeds required only for launching into orbit and it would be extremely difficult to make this ring. It would not have special advantages over a linear accelerator that is much easier to achieve technically.


It cannot move in a circle, the centrifugal force becomes excessive. Even at a modest, strong, and enormous speed. Let's take a ring with a radius of 10km and an object that goes with 1km / sec so the monthly orbital speed which is very low compared to the cosmic speeds. The centrifugal force will be equal to 100x the mass of the object. And the objects inside the supposed ship will suffer the same force, it's as if they are exposed to 100g so you can't have passengers in the ship even at this modest speed because people can't tolerate more than 5-6g and that for a long time. Besides, the ring should be very strong to withstand such forces.

 Magnetic levitation should withstand this force so it should in turn be very high totally unlikely to be achieved practically. There are fantasies that some launch but they don't think (and they haven't been to school either). To have the only 5g on a 10km ring, the speed range would be only 223m / s. To reach the launch speed on the moon with only 5g centrifugal force would require a ring with a radius of 200km. It is much easier to make a linear accelerator.

All these physio-fusion-nuclear (see, you can do in 3 words.. we have a weak point. We do not know how to produce energy other than through thermal energy with thermal machines that require a hot and a cold source. The hot source is the fissile material but the cold source in space does not exist, the energy can be dissipated only by radiation which is very inefficient compared to cooling by conduction to another substance (air/water). This drastically limits us to the power we can get from a space reactor. At least until we find another way to produce electricity to power various other motors we can not hope for too much power in space.

Monday, May 18, 2020

The planet's magnetic field has decreased in intensity for some time !

 Solar wind magnetic field interacts the Earth's magnetic field ResearchGate

Reading some articles about the earth's magnetic field, I saw that they say that this field has decreased in intensity for some time. As such, we are more exposed than ever to radiation or particles.

But can we have a solution to this problem? Of course, it is an extremely easy one, which I think you can easily guess. I would suggest climbing with the help of satellite rockets, some pieces of special windows or something like that, which we let float at a certain altitude among the remains of disused satellites, whose role would be to reduce the intensity of the waves and stop particles to advance into the atmosphere. Obviously it would take quite a few rockets and tons of such windows launched above the earth's atmosphere.

Magnetic Earth Popular Mechanics


But in the end it would be enough to reduce the dangerous radiation. How will we collect them if the radiation intensity decreases for a long time?  We would make a metal edge for them that will be connected to a magnet that walks through space collecting all these things and holding them like that until they will need to be released and scattered again.

Sources of ionizing radiation in interplanetary space. image wikipedia


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Friday, May 1, 2020

Fundamental forces are different depending on the region of space!

EarthSky

Data collected from a quasar 13 billion light-years away suggest a discrepancy between measurements of fundamental forces on Earth and those in that region.

Scientists have observed over time the existence of four fundamental forces: electromagnetism, gravity, strong nuclear force and weak nuclear force. A study that gathered data from a number of previous studies concluded that electromagnetism has values ​​that vary depending on the region of the universe in which it is measured, and this has a number of implications for how we understand the universe.

Starting from these differences in the values ​​of electromagnetism, scientists have theorized that they have a kind of north and south poles, which show the direction in which these variations can be mapped. "The new study seems to support this idea that there could be a directionality in the Universe, which is really very strange. So the universe may not be isotropic in its physical laws to be the same, statistically, in all directions, ”explains James Webb, a researcher at the University of New South Wales in Australia.



"But, in fact, there could be a certain direction or preferred direction in the Universe where the laws of physics change, but not in a perpendicular direction. In other words, the Universe has, in a certain sense, a dipole structure ", explains the researcher.

The data collected in this study call into question the theories and explanatory models that scientists currently use to explain how the universe evolves and various phenomena occur. "Our standard model of cosmology is based on an isotropic universe, one that is statistically the same in all directions. This standard model is built on Einstein's theory of gravity, which explicitly assumes the constancy of the laws of nature, "adds Webb.


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The study was published in Science Advances.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Homo galacticus colonization and how human body will be affected



Different environmental conditions will cause the descendants of people who will colonize other worlds to differ from the people on Earth.

Colonization of space and new worlds seems to be the next step in the evolution of civilization and, possibly, of our species. Some researchers and enthusiasts are considering the possibility of leaving the planet for the sake of adventure or even driven by as many objective factors as possible: global warming, overpopulation or some pandemic virus like coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) . Currently, the technology we have does not allow us to turn such plans into reality, but that does not mean that we should not consider what the impact of a colonization of space might be on our species.

Medium Natasha Vita-More on Transhumanism & Space Colonization


The evolution of a species is closely linked to the environment and the challenges it brings to survival, given that conditions have remained relatively stable over the last thousand years, Homo sapiens, our species, has not needed major changes. However, such a radical change in the living environment: in environments with microgravity or with different amounts of radiation from those on Earth, it will certainly leave an impact on our species.


The bones

A number of SF authors, as well as researchers, have studied this issue and come to the conclusion that differences in gravity may change the density of our bones. Thus, some theorize that, for example, human settlers on a planet with a higher gravity than Earth will develop denser bones in order to support their weight.



Scott Solomon, an expert in evolutionary biology, argues in one of his books that leaving the planet will change us, here involving natural selection and genetic variations, to obtain those traits that help optimal adaptation to environmental conditions.


Space will change us

Whether we are talking about space travel to other planets or just limited missions in Earth orbit, microgravity affects us in a multitude of ways. A number of studies show that an environment with less severity than that on Earth will lead to a considerable decrease in bone density, anatomical transformations of the eye, changes in brain structure and even changes in the microbiome.



However, we must point out that, with the return to Earth conditions, human bodies seem to return to normal, even if at different rates depending on the period and characteristics specific to each individual who has spent a certain amount of time in space-bar.


Future generations

On earth, evolution plays an important role in determining how we look today, however, given the complexity of our social and cultural relationships, any analysis of the new generations must take both aspects into account. Thus, in addition to our genetic baggage, scientists also take into account the way we live. Thus, details like gravity or the amount of radiation our bodies absorb due to the ships or habitats we use are analyzed.



Scott Solomon argues in his book "Future Humans" that, under microgravity conditions, new generations of people with thicker bones may appear. Although it seems counterintuitive, he argues that an important part of the minerals we need to grow intrauterine come from our mothers' bones. Thus, for a woman to survive a pregnancy in space she should have, from the start, a higher bone density, over time, this will lead to the birth of people whose bone density could be higher than that of to the people of today, precisely to counteract the problems associated with microgravity.


The founder effect

When the colonization of other planets becomes a tangible reality, we must bear in mind that only certain people will be able to become the vanguard of human expansion. What this means? That communities that will form outside of Earth will have limited genetic diversity, which in genetics is called the founder effect. This means that the choice of the first settlers will have profound effects on the genes that will manifest in successive generations.

SlidePlayer Genetic Drift


"It always happens on Earth. Every time a new island rises from the sea, there will be some plants and some insects and other species that will eventually make their way there. And whatever characteristics and traits they have, they will be the characteristics that will be present in that population ", explains Dr. Solomon.

Under these conditions, explains Dr. Solomon, there is a possibility of a phenomenon that we could call "spatial eugenics", in which certain populations encounter problems related to obtaining a position on a colonist ship or space jobs in the cause of the genetic baggage that could make them more prone to certain problems caused by microgravity or radiation.



Sunday, January 15, 2017

2017 in Review: NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Pioneering Progress

Solar Electric Propulsion work is underway, sponsored by NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate and managed by NASA's Glenn Research Center. A prototype 13-kilowatt Hall thruster, shown here, is tested to demonstrate the technology readiness needed for industry to continue the development of high-power solar electric propulsion into a flight-qualified system. Credits: NASA
NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) is dedicated to pushing the technological envelope, taking on challenges not only to further space agency missions near Earth, but also to sustain future deep space exploration activities.

“In 2016, we completed several major program milestones,” explains Steve Jurczyk, NASA associate administrator for STMD.

During the year, STMD focused upon and made significant progress in advancing technologies and capabilities in the following areas:

Space Power and Propulsion;




Enabling engine 

Jurczyk points to areas of notable progress in fiscal year 2016, particularly work on high-power Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) – an enabler for cost-effective deep space exploration.


Asteroid Redirect Mission makes use of solar electric propulsion. The vehicle’s solar arrays collect power from the sun and convert it to energy to ionize and accelerate xenon propellant, resulting in the bright blue plume at the rear of the vehicle. Credits: NASA

SEP makes use of large solar cell arrays that convert collected sunlight energy to electrical power. That energy is fed into extremely fuel-efficient thrusters that provide gentle but nonstop thrust throughout the mission. SEP thrusters are designed to use far less propellant than comparable, conventional chemical propulsion systems.

“We completed the development and testing of a prototype SEP engine at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. Also, we have contracted with Aerojet Rocketdyne to develop the SEP flight system for the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission,” Jurczyk notes.

Furthermore, SEP solar array technology is being transitioned into commercial application, Jurczyk adds, by both Space Systems Loral and Orbital ATK.

Green propellant 

Another 2016 spotlight on progress, Jurczyk observes, is the integration and testing of the Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM). Now ready for launch in 2017, GPIM will test the distinctive quality of a high-performance, non-toxic, “green” fuel in orbit.

STMD worked with Aerojet Rocketdyne in Redmond, Washington and GPIM prime contractor Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colorado, to develop the spacecraft capable of using the unique propellant. It will fly on the U.S. Air Force’s Space Test Program (STP-2) mission.

Given the term “green” propellant, Jurczyk points out that the Air Force-developed fuel is a hydroxyl ammonium nitrate-based fuel/oxidizer mix, also known as AF-M315E. GPIM will flight demonstrate this fuel designed to replace use of highly toxic hydrazine and complex bi-propellant systems now in common use today.

“GPIM’s green propellant is less toxic than hydrazine. It will reduce spacecraft processing costs and it has 40 percent higher performance by volume than hydrazine,” Jurczyk says.

Aerojet Rocketdyne, builder of GPIM’s set of thrusters, is now marketing the novel thrusters as a product. The aerospace firm is also working with NASA’s Glenn Research Center to further enhance the thrusters, looking to reduce cost and add to their reliability, Jurczyk adds. “So we’re collaborating with the aerospace company to further advance this technology and I’m pleased with the progress.”

Push the technology 

Jurczyk reports that STMD-supported work on the Deep Space Atomic Clock, DSAC for short, is ongoing.

DSAC is a small, low-mass atomic clock based on mercury-ion trap technology that will be demonstrated in space, providing unprecedented stability needed for next-generation deep space navigation and radio science. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory oversees project development of DSAC, which offers the promise of 50 times more accuracy than today’s best navigation clocks.


STMD’s Flight Opportunities program includes use of Masten Space Systems’ XA-0.1B “Xombie” vertical-launch, vertical-landing reusable rocket as a risk-reduction activity, testing science experiments and hardware before long duration spaceflight. Vehicle is shown soaring above Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Credits: NASA Photo/Tom Tschida

The task of designing DSAC has not been trouble-free, but it represents a tenant of STMD “to push the technology,” Jurczyk responds. Taking on the challenges of space-rating terrestrial based atomic clock technology is not easy. However, the path forward has been outlined with launch of DSAC now eyed for next year.

The DSAC demonstration unit and payload is to be hosted on a spacecraft provided by Surrey Satellite Technologies U.S. of Englewood, Colorado, lofted spaceward as part of the U.S. Air Force Space Test Program 2 mission aboard a Space X Falcon 9 Heavy booster.

Tipping point partnerships 

In 2016, STMD entered into their first set of public-private partnerships, a solicitation that proved very beneficial – to both industry and NASA. Called “Utilizing Public-Private Partnerships to Advance Tipping Point Technologies,” Jurczyk is pleased with this facilitated collaborative effort with industry. These partnerships require companies to contribute at least 25 percent of the funding; NASA contributes up to $20 million for ground-based efforts.

With the recent increase of the U.S. private sector interest in space applications, NASA is seeking commercial space technologies that are at a “tipping point” in their development.

“We do many one-on-one discussions with companies about their interests. For NASA, we want to help advance technologies that boost commercial products and services,” he points out. The Tipping Point partnerships have led to contracts, for example, in space robotic manufacturing and small spacecraft technologies.

Similarly, Jurczyk adds that in 2016, STMD saw collaborative opportunity for industry to tap into NASA expertise, allowing companies to use space agency talent and facilities. This collaboration is made possible through non-reimbursable, no-exchange-of-funds Space Act Agreements. Those types of agreements, he emphasizes, have enabled private-sector advancements in technologies such as small launch vehicle rocket engines and advanced structures for small boosters.

Flight opportunities

“It has been a good and productive year for STMD’s Flight Opportunities program,” Jurczyk advises.

That program provides affordable access to relevant space-like environments for NASA payloads. This activity makes use of a variety of flight platforms, such as Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle, Masten Space Systems’ XA-0.1B “Xombie” vertical-launch, vertical-landing reusable rocket, as well as the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft sounding rocket.


STMD’s lineup of smallsat launches in 2017 includes the CubeSat Proximity Operations Demonstration (CPOD) project that will demonstrate rendezvous, proximity operations and docking using two CubeSats. Credits: NASA/Ames/Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc.

“We can ‘ring out’ experiments and technologies in short duration exposure to relevant flight conditions before they go onto longer duration flight on space missions,” Jurczyk explains. “It’s a risk reduction activity,” he continues, for example, in life science research or shaking out various robotic technologies.

Big year ahead 

Looking into 2017, STMD’s Jurczyk highlights the launch of the Green Propellant Infusion Mission and the Deep Space Atomic Clock. “Those are two major flight demonstrations and are very important.”

Among a host of STMD-supported activities, next year will see flight of small satellites to showcase, for instance, optical laser communications. Then there’s the Integrated Solar Array and Reflectarray Antenna (ISARA) for advanced communications and the CubeSat Proximity Operations Demonstration (CPOD). The function of CPOD is to trial-run autonomous rendezvous and docking, Jurczyk says.

“There’s going to be a lot going on,” Jurczyk concludes. “It’ll be a big year for small satellites and space technology.”


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Saturday, December 17, 2016

Einstein's Theory Just Put the Brakes on the Sun's Spin

Credit: NASA/SDO
Although the sun is our nearest star, it still hides many secrets. But it seems that one solar conundrum may have been solved and a theory originally proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein could be at the root of it all.

Nov. 21, 1905: It Was a Very Good Year, If You Were Einstein Wired

Twenty years ago, solar astronomers realized that the uppermost layer of the sun rotates slower than the rest of the sun's interior. This is odd. It is well known the sun rotates faster at its equator than at its poles — a phenomenon known as "differential rotation" that drives the sun's 11-year solar cycle — but the fact that the sun has a sluggish upper layer has been hard to understand. It's as if there's some kind of force trying to hold it in place while the lower layers churn below it.


Solar Rotation Varies by Latitude NASA

Now, researchers from University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy (IfA), Brazil, and Stanford University may have stumbled on an answer and it could all be down to fundamental physics. It seems that the light our sun generates has a braking effect on the sun's surface layers.



"The sun won't stop spinning anytime soon, but we've discovered that the same solar radiation that heats the Earth is 'braking' the sun because of Einstein's Special Relativity, causing it to gradually slow down, starting from its surface," said Jeff Kuhn, of IfA Maui, in a statement.

Solar Radiation | EM SC 100: First Year Seminar

Special relativity predicts that photons, which carry the electromagnetic force (i.e. light), also carry a tiny amount of momentum. If you have enough photons travelling away from an object, they will carry away a large amount of momentum. In the case of the sun's 4 billion year lifetime, the surface has lost a lot of momentum to photons, causing a slowdown of the uppermost 5 percent of the sun. This mechanism, called the Poynting-Robertson effect, has been observed in interplanetary dust, which feels the drag of the sun's radiation, causing it to fall from the asteroid belt into the inner solar system.


What affects dust inevitably affects the soup of super-heated gas in the sun's upper layers and, over its lifetime, the drag caused by photons being emitted from the sun has created a measurable and, until now, mysterious effect.

Using several years of data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), the researchers were able to measure waves traveling through the sun to precisely measure the size of the layer that is experiencing this slowdown. The technique, known as "helioseismology," is very similar to measuring the seismic waves travelling through the Earth to measure the strength of an earthquake. The material these seismic waves travel through changes the waves so seismologists can "see" underground.

Helioseismology: Probing the interior of a star PNAS

Though the sun isn't a solid planet made from rock and metal, its dense plasma interior also allows waves to travel, creating oscillations on the surface that can be measured. Helioseismology therefore allows astronomers to "see" into our nearest star, revealing many details about its interior that may not be obvious on the surface. And in this case, by using helioseismology and studying the sun's magnetic field passing from space into the sun's interior, we can gauge how much of a drag Einstein's special relativity has had on the sun's surface.


"This is a gentle torque that is slowing it down, but over the Sun's 5 billion year lifetime it has had a very noticeable influence on its outer 35,000 kilometers [22,000 miles]," said Kuhn. 

These findings have accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters and can be previewed on the arXiv pre-print service.

Using our sun as a laboratory for other stars, Kuhn's team believe that a similar effect likely happens for all stars and could have a strong influence on stellar evolution. Now solar astronomers are very interested to understand how this solar slowdown impacts the sun's magnetic field that threads through the entire solar system. As the sun's magnetism is the root cause of space weather that can trigger solar flares and coronal mass ejections that could interfere with satellites and power grids, this research could have a key role to play in our understanding of solar impacts on Earth.

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Tuesday, November 15, 2016

After 20 years of work and billions of dollars spent, the gigantic NASA space telescope is completed. It has gold plated mirrors and is 100 times more powerful than Hubble

James Webb Space Telescope Mirror photo: commons.wikipedia.org
After years of effort and billions of dollars invested, the components of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is finally realized.

Giant telescope mirror was presented yesterday at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. With its 18 smaller mirrors hexagonal gold plated, which are part of it, his power of observation is 100 times larger than the Hubble.

Also, this week was made public that was built a sunshade the size of a tennis court to protect the optics of the telescope sun. After a few tests will start, probably telescope mirror and hood are integrated together.

photo: Nasa/ Chris Gunn   
"When it will be completed, Webb will be the largest and most complex space observatory was ever built," said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), previously known as Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), is a Flagship-class space observatory under construction and scheduled to launch in October 2018. The JWST will offer unprecedented resolution and sensitivity from long-wavelength (orange-red) visible light, through near-infrared to the mid-infrared (0.6 to 27 micrometers), and is a successor instrument to the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. While Hubble has a 2.4-meter (7.9 ft) mirror, the JWST features a larger and segmented 6.5-meter-diameter (21 ft 4 in) primary mirror and will be located near the Earth–Sun L2 point. A large sunshield will keep its mirror and four science instruments below 50 K (−220 °C; −370 °F).

photo: tecmania.ch

JWST's capabilities will enable a broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology. One particular goal involves observing some of the most distant events and objects in the Universe, such as the formation of the first galaxies. These types of targets are beyond the reach of current ground and space-based instruments. Another goal is understanding the formation of stars and planets. This will include direct imaging of exoplanets.

In gestation since 1996, the project represents an international collaboration of about 17 countries led by NASA, and with significant contributions from the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. It is named after James E. Webb, the second administrator of NASA, who played an integral role in the Apollo program

The JWST has a history of major cost overruns and delays. The first realistic budget estimates were that the observatory would cost $1.6 billion and launch in 2011. NASA has now scheduled the telescope for a 2018 launch. In 2011, the United States House of Representatives voted to terminate funding, after about $3 billion had been spent and 75% of its hardware was in production.Funding was restored and capped at $8 billion. As of winter 2015–2016, the telescope remained on schedule for an October 2018 launch and within the 2011 revised budget

size comparison of the hubble space telescope and the james webb photo: pics.about.space.com



When will be released in October 2018 it will be positioned behind the Moon's orbit, in a region called gravitational stable Lagrange Point 2, or L2 simple. From here, the vision of the cosmos will be unobstructed. Although it is considered the successor to Hubble, there are some clear differences between them, JWST could achieve using infrared view of the universe. However, its size will enable detailed observation of galaxies, stars and probably and exoplanets. This will be possible thanks to the telescope's capability to penetrate cosmic dust using infrared rays.

Initially, the launch of the telescope was scheduled for 2011, and its cost should not exceed $ 1 billion, but various delays have meant that its launch is scheduled for 2018. Furthermore, it will not be supplied with fuel when when it is in space, unlike Hubble, which has several repair missions manned to fix defects and improve.

Its construction began more than 20 years.



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Sunday, October 23, 2016

An astronaut on the International Space Station looked out the window and saw this picture

Certainly astronauts on the International Space Station were not yet accustomed to spectacular images, they observe and photograph them when they are in space.

Following the picture, with a diameter of seven millimeters from the edge of one of the windows through which astronauts on Space, was surprised by Tim Peake during his six months in space, in the first half. This latter was occlusions. In an official statement, British astronaut Peakes stated that ,, I am often asked if the International Space Station is hit by the waste of space. The answer is yes, but I am happy that the windows are quadruple '.

This Cracks did not present a threat, not an uncommon thing. ESA said then: ,, Perhaps it is a small piece of metal '. Although cosmic piece of waste was low because of the speed of 7.66 kilometers per second, which moves along Earth SSI, any particle from waste could produce a huge impact.

But the space station has been developed to withstand these small scratches. SSI windows are made of fused silica and borosilicate glass. According to ESA, an object 1 centimeter can destroy a specific flight or system intrment important for the space station. Any object larger than 1 centimeter would break the shield, and an object larger than ten centimeters would shred a satellite.

To prevent these threats, ESA and NASA are working continuously to improve waste reduction strategy. Part of this work is the observation of garbage larger than one centimeter and calculate the possible trajectory.




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Source: Physics

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

ExoMars is preparing for the great landing on Mars this month 19 October . What is the main purpose of the mission

ExoMars Mission: ESA Targets Meridiani Planum For Schiaparelli Module's October Landing photo: ibtimes.com
Schiaparelli spacecraft of the European Space Agency (ESA) has received oridinele landing on Mars. Experts from the ground is expected on October 19, probe to land on the Red Planet.

Launched on March 14, ExoMars mission has propelled two space probes, Trace Gas Orbiter probe landing and Schiaparelli, to Mars. The two probes will separate Saturday (October 16th 2016). If everything works correctly Schiaparelli probe landing on Mars will reach a distance of three days. While Schiaparelli will be on the Martian surface, Trace Gas Orbiter probe will orbit around the Red Planet to study its atmosphere.


ESA - Robotic Exploration of Mars photo: esa.int
The probe is scheduled to land at Meridiani Planum region of Mars, area close to the equator. It will enter the Martian atmosphere of 21,000 km / h and had only six seconds to brake and to land safely, ESA officials said.

To ensure that the landing will be carried out according to plan, the probe will monitor sensors altitude above the Martian surface, since last 7 km. When the probe reaches two meters above the surface, will plummet a few moments, then stop thrusters and land on the ground.


Once at ground Schiaparelli on Mars will study wind, humidity, atmospheric pressure, air temperature and other phenomena. Measurements will be sent to the Trace Gas Orbiter. The main purpose of the mission is to pave the way for research of life rover on Mars, which was scheduled to be released in 2018.


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Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Chances are very high that Europa , Jupiter's moon host alien life. NASA announcement

Europa, Jupiter's satellite, is hosting an ocean under the ice and water vapor erupting from the surface, said NASA astronomer from William Sparks, during a press teleconference. This means that there may exist extraterrestrial life. The discovery was made in 2013, but astronomers have taken three years to confirm and make a Inspection.

William Sparks said Europe is the second closest satellite of Jupiter, orbiting once every three days. ,, We obtained 10 images of Europe while in front of Jupiter's orbit, "said Sparks.

Observations made with the Hubble telescope, have revealed the discovery of vapor on the surface that could prove the existence of an ocean under the ice.

Brithney Schmidt, professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Science at the Institute of Technology in Atlanta, said on Europa was measured, its size is similar to our moon. In some areas the ice is broken, the majority of the planet is covered peaks. ,, It will be very difficult to penetrate the ice to reach the water, '' she said. Steam and could help researchers analyze the composition under the ice, without having to drill.

Jennifer Wiserman researcher in the project Hubble at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, says that Hubble was the only one who managed to investigate Jupiter and Europe at this level. The UV rays, water vapor were found on the surface of Europe. ,, We are excited at the thought that we will use the James Webb Space Telescope that will launch in 2018. It will study in more detail the fumes emitted by the satellite Europa. We are extremely interested in planets with characteristics similar to those of Earth '. Although the discovery vapor was conducted in 2013, one of the researchers said: ,, It took a lot of work to process images. After all the work we have already achieved results. It is not as if you take a picture, you need a lot of preparation. ''

'' The amount of material that would have produced steam at the level that I saw could be worth millions of kilograms, '' said William Sparks. Each tool analyzes the steam probe on the surface of Europa. There are a lot of assumptions that may explain the presence of water on Europa.

Among the tools that researchers have used to analyze Europe are UV, heat-sensitive instruments and compositional tools such as Cassini, which can fly through fog and steam can analyze the composition. Researchers said they still are not sure if steam comes from the evaporation of water beneath the frozen layer of Jupiter's moon.

Vapors are not necessarily placed in the poles, they appeared and disappeared, were present more often in equator. ,, We believe that the ship is made of hydrogen and oxygen, but more research will reveal us whether it is water vapor or not, '' said one of the researchers.

Researchers need to further investigate the existence of vapor to ensure that substances that are formed can support extraterrestrial life.
The discovery was made using images recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope.

In the teleconference attended by Paul Hertz, director of the Division of Astrophysics at the NASA headquarters in Washington, William Sparks, an astronomer at the Institute of Science in Baltimore, Brithney Schmidt, professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Science at the Institute of Technology Atlanta, and Jennifer Wiserman researcher in the project Hubble at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Astrobiologists have said long before that Europe could support extraterrestrial life. In the story ,, 2001 A Space Odyssey '', Arthur C. Clarke said that Europe is a satellite of Jupiter with a diameter of 3,100 kilometers that could have a liquid ocean beneath its frozen surface. Also astrononii it believes that underground ocean is in connection with the rocky mantle and by contact might produce a chemical reaction that can create life.

The most interesting aspect is the fact that researchers who controls the Juno probe will not let her collapse on the satellite after the mission, as happened in other cases because they do not want contaminating Jupiter's moon.

Source: Wattsup with That