Missions Archives

July 26, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

MESSENGER’s Farewell Venus Video

NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft made its second and final flyby with the planet Venus on June 5th, 2007. It captured images and data on the way in, and it did the same as it sped away from the cloudy inner planet. The imaging team working with Messenger have stitched together the outbound images into a video, 50 frames long.

The images were captured using MESSENGER’s Wide Angle Camera. At the beginning of the sequence, the spacecraft was only 60,688 kilometers (37,710 miles) away from Venus, and at the end, it was 89,310 kilometers (55,495 miles) away. The first set of images were taken every 20 minutes, and then every 60 minutes at the end.

Click here to watch the video. Warning, it’s a 3 MB download, so this is only for the bandwidth unimpaired.

This is the end of MESSENGER’s visits to Venus, but that just means it’s time to get ready for the big show: Mercury. In January 2008, the spacecraft will make its first flyby of Mercury, and then two more on October 6th, 2008 and September 29th, 2009. It will make its final insertion maneuver on March 18, 2011.

Once it’s in a final mapping orbit, MESSENGER will begin analyzing Mercury with a suite of scientific instruments. These are designed to answer several key questions:

Why is Mercury so dense? Of all the inner planets, it’s the most dense by far. In fact, according to calculations, it would have to be 65% metal, twice as much as the Earth. One theory proposes that the planet became enriched with metal during its formation in the early solar nebula. Another possibility is that radiation from the Sun blasted away the outer rock layer of Mercury, leaving the iron rich core.

What is its geologic history? Only 45% of Mercury has ever been photographed by spacecraft. The part that was seen is heavily cratered and ancient, like the Earth’s moon. But there are younger plains between some of the older craters, and scientists think these could indicate volcanism in the planet’s history.

What is the structure of Mercury’s core? Scientists were surprised to discover that Mercury has a global magnetic field. This is a characteristic that it shares with the Earth. We know that the Earth has a liquid metal core, that acts as a natural dynamo. Does Mercury have one too?

What is the nature of Mercury’s magnetic field? Scientists are just beginning to understand the interactions between the Earth’s magnetic field, and the Sun’s solar wind. How does Mercury’s magnetic field differ from our own?

What are the unusual materials at Mercury’s poles? Mercury’s rotation is oriented so that its axis of rotation is nearly perpendicular to its angle of orbit. This means that in the polar regions, the sunlight hits the surface at a constant grazing angle. The interiors of some craters are in permanent shadow, and could have tiny deposits of water ice.

What’s the story with its atmosphere? You might be surprised to know, but Mercury has a thin atmosphere. It’s so thin that the gas particles don’t collide with each other. Instead, they bounce across Mercury’s surface; the official name for this is an exosphere.

So many questions. I can’t wait for MESSENGER to get to Mercury.

Original Source: MESSENGER News Release

July 17, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

NASA is Sending a Phoenix to Mars

Since the launch of the Mars Phoenix Lander is just around the corner, I thought I’d give you a quick explainer on the mission.

So, let’s get into it. Meet NASA’s Mars Phoenix Lander. Scheduled for launch on August 3rd, this mission will blast off from Cape Canaveral atop a Delta II rocket. It’ll take almost 10 months to reach Mars, entering the atmosphere in May, 2008.

The spacecraft is equipped with a pulsed thrust system to slow its descent through the atmosphere. Its landing system is pared down to the bare essentials to maximize the amount of scientific equipment it can land with. It doesn’t have an airbag system like the rovers, and instead will use parachutes and thrusters to land gently on the surface on its three landing legs.

Unlike the Mars rovers currently crawling around the surface of the Red Planet, Mars Phoenix Lander will be stationary. Once it touches down in the Martian polar regions, it’ll live out the rest of its days searching from that position.

Its purpose is to determine if life ever arose on the surface of Mars, or even there’s life there today. Although the surface of Mars is cold, dry, scoured by wind and dust, and blasted by radiation from the Sun and space, just underneath the topsoil, there could water ice and even life, protected from the harsh elements.

The Phoenix Lander will use its 2.3 metre (7.7 feet) folding arm to dig down into the Martian soil around its landing site. NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft revealed that there are large deposits of water ice just a few centimetres beneath the surface of Mars. The Phoenix Lander should be able to break through into this crust, and see if there’s anything alive down there.

The robotic arm will lift the soil samples up onto the main spacecraft deck so that a suite of scientific instruments can examine it for evidence of life. One will heat the samples, and measure the kinds of gases given off. Another will analyze the chemistry of the soil itself.

In addition to its search for evidence of past and present life, Mars Phoenix Lander will serve as a Martian weather station, following changes in the polar regions to help scientists predict weather patterns on the Red Planet.

Good luck Mars Phoenix Lander.

Original Source: NASA/JPL News Release

July 11, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Dawn Mission Pushed Back to September

One of my favourite upcoming missions is NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, set to go into orbit around two different asteroids. It was originally supposed to blast off this month, but mission planners have decided to push the launch back to September to minimize any potential disruptions to NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander mission, due for launch in early August.

I actually did an article on Dawn about a year ago. So instead of repeating that here, I’ll just link you to the article.

Original Source:NASA

June 25, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Science Experiments that Astronauts will Deploy on the Moon

NASA announced that it has selected 7 new experiments that might be carried to the Moon as part of the Vision for Space Exploration. Each of these missions would be “suitcase science” experiments, which the astronauts could easily deploy them onto the surface of the moon as part of a mission.

The experiments include:

Autonomous Lunar Geophysical Experiment Package – NASA/JPL
Lunar Laser Transponder and Retroreflector Science – NASA/JPL
Volatile Analysis by Pyrolysis of Regolith on the Moon using Mass Spectrometry – NASA/Goddard
Seismology and Heat flow instrument package for Lunar Science and Hazards – NASA/Goddard
Lunar Radiation Environment and Regolith Shielding Experiment – SWRI
Lunar Suitcase Science: A Lunar Regolith Characterization Kit – U.S. Army
Autonomous Lunar Dust Observer – Ball Aerospace

NASA chose these winning proposals out of 70 submissions under the Lunar Sortie Science Opportunities Program.

Original Source: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

June 20, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Hubble Delivers Photos of Ceres and Vesta

On July 7, 2007 NASA will launch its next explorer into the Solar System. This spacecraft’s destinations are the asteroids Ceres and Vesta, where it will help answer many unknowns about the formation and structure of these minor planets. As part of the mission, the Hubble Space Telescope captured high resolution images of the two objects, and the photos were released today.

Dawn will go into orbit around Vesta in 2011, spend a few years examining it, and then move on to Ceres. It will arrive at its second destination in 2015. This will make it the first spacecraft to ever orbit two different objects in the Solar System.

So there you go Dawn, take these pictures along, so you’ll recognize the asteroids when you see them.

Original Source: Hubble News Release

June 7, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Japanese Moon Probe Nicknamed KAGUYA

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency announced that they’re giving their SELenological and ENgineering Explorer (aka SELENE) a new nickname: Kaguya. Now I know it’s not the hugest news in the aerospace industry, but I haven’t actually given many words to this lunar mission. So, now I’ve got an excuse. For those of you with some Greek mythology knowledge, Selene was the Greek Moon goddess, so the name SELENE is actually pretty clever.

The mission will consist of 3 different spacecraft: a relay satellite, the VRAD satellite, and the Orbiter. If all goes well, they’ll launch together on July 1, 2007 atop an H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center into a lunar trajectory. 5 days later, the trio will reach the Moon, and then go into an extremely eccentric orbit, varying between 120 and 13,000 km (75 by 8,100 miles).

Over time, the relay and VRAD satellites will move to lower, but still eccentric orbits. The orbiter will go into a nice, tight 100 km (62 miles) circular orbit.

The purpose of SELENE will be to perform a global survey of the Moon, determining its elemental abundance, minerals, topology, gravity and other aspects that will help future lunar exploration – especially important when humans set foot on the Moon again.

The VRAD satellite has a different job to do. It’ll measure the position and precession of the Moon very very carefully. Once again, very important when you’re sending future missions back to the Moon.

So, by a popular vote in Japan, SELENE was nicknamed Kaguya. This comes from a 10th century Japanese folktale. You can read the Wikipedia entry for a full description.

Original Source: Jaxa News Release

May 31, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Grapple Attachment May Be Added to the James Webb Telescope

When the James Webb telescope launches in 2013, it’ll be the most powerful telescope ever deployed in space. To the get the best view, using the least fuel, it’ll sit in a stable orbit about 1.6 million km (1 million miles) from Earth. Unlike Hubble, it was never meant to be repaired. But NASA announced that it’s considering installing a grapple attachment anyway, just to be safe.

Since the new Orion spacecraft will be capable of taking astronauts to the Moon and back, NASA is investigating how feasible it’ll be to send astronauts to the James Webb telescope to perform emergency servicing operations. Although the observatory is meant to never be serviced, it’s good to keep your options open.

Engineers are currently working out what would be the best kind of hardware they could add to the telescope, so that future astronauts or robotic missions could link up with the telescope and perform repairs.

Original Source: NASA News Release

May 11, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Microbes Travel With Our Spacecraft

Wherever humans go, our microbes go too. Astronauts on board Mir experienced this first hand. Even thought the spaceship was cleaned as thoroughly as possible before launch, years of human habitation made it a breeding ground for molds and microbes. Over time, these wee beasties can build up, and cause a genuine health concern for spacefaring humans.

A recent article on NASA’s Science website traces the history of microscopic astronauts. In one encounter, visiting US astronauts on board Mir removed an instrument panel and discovered a grapefruit-sized ball of cloudy water, which had condensed from humidity. The water couldn’t escape, so it just built up over time. Samples brought back to Earth showed it contained several dozen species of bacteria and fungi.

On board Mir, organisms were found growing on rubber gaskets around windows, on spacesuit components, copper wire insulation. Pretty much everywhere. And the International Space Station has the problem too. Astronauts have discovered patches of mold growing on a panel where they hang their exercise clothes.

NASA is working on new tools that will help astronauts be able to detect different kinds of microbes and fungi, and then choose the right cleaning compound for the job.

Original Source: Science@NASA

May 11, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

New Mission Could Find Star Trek’s Planet Vulcan

All right, this article from NASA is totally pandering to my Star Trek geekiness. I know I’m being manipulated, but I just… can’t… resist. According to NASA, their upcoming SIM PlanetQuest mission should be able to find Star Trek’s planet Vulcan. You know, Spock’s home?

Okay, I’ll try and put this into some kind of scientific justification. The SIM PlanetQuest is a new mission in the works at NASA. If all goes well, and it doesn’t befall the fate that struck the Terrestrial Planet Finder, it will launch into an Earth-trailing solar orbit. Once fully operational, it’ll be able to detect potentially habitable planets as small as the Earth around nearby stars.

Here’s the Star Trek angle. One of the stars that it’ll be able to detect Earth-sized planets around will be 40 Eridani, a triple star system located about 16 light-years from Earth. In the Star Trek universe, the planet Vulcan, home of Spock, orbits the star 40 Eridani A, which is part of this system. So, if all goes well, SIM PlanetQuest will be able to find an Earth-sized world, in the habitable zone around 40 Eridani A. It’ll find Spock’s homeworld, get it?

If the Terrestrial Planet Finder does get brought back from canceled status, it’ll be able to take this research to the next level, and actually search for signatures of life around any worlds which are discovered.

Original Source: NASA News Release

May 9, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Phoenix Lander Arrives in Florida

The long-lasting Mars rovers are still wandering across the surface of the Red Planet, but they’re about to get a new friend. Next up to land on the surface of Mars is the Phoenix Mars Lander, which recently arrived in Florida in preparation for its upcoming launch. The Phoenix lander was delivered by a US Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft from its manufacturer in Colorado.

If all goes well, the Phoenix Mars Lander will blast off atop a Boeing Delta II rocket as early as August 3rd, 2007. It will make the six month trip to Mars, and then land in a flat plain near the planet’s arctic ice cap. It will use its robotic digging arm and a suite of instruments to determine if the soil holds quantities of water ice – one of the necessary ingredients for life. The detection of ice would bring the possibility of microbial life on Mars one step closer.

Workers from Lockheed Martin Space Systems have been assembling and testing the spacecraft in Denver for the last year. At this point, Phoenix is now safely stowed away inside its back shell, and will stay that way until it launches in August.

NASA will perform a series of tests over the next few weeks, and then install its heat shield and test its ability to separate from the launcher. Just a week before launch, the launch fairing will be installed around the lander and then it will be installed atop the Delta II rocket.

Original Source: NASA News Release