Author Topic: Deep Space and Interplanetary Exploration - The Universe is Timeless (Read 178890 times)

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #1080 on:** 24 December 2018, 19:14:24 »

https://astrobob.areavoices.com/2018/12/24/250-at-f11-the-story-behind-the-apollo-8-earthrise-photo/

Fifty years...

rebs · « **Reply #1081 on:** 24 December 2018, 20:24:51 »

This one from a slightly different angle and resolution. Not to steal anyone's thunder, kamas, but to enhance the boom.

Taken by the Apollo 8 orbit team and prelude to Apollo 11's landing. Courtesy of NASA and astronomy picture of the day.

Fifty years indeed.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #1082 on:** 24 December 2018, 21:18:10 »

Hey enhance it all, man!

rebs · « **Reply #1083 on:** 24 December 2018, 22:43:55 »

Cool. While waiting for the encounter with Ultima Thule, the other thing I was noticing was an article interviewing a former astronaut. It was mostly his observation that outside of the superb unmanned missions of which he is a fan, NASA has mostly become a hive of busy work, with only a hazy sense of direction. He scoffed at their plans for Mars, and further critcized the agency for squandering what he says NASA could have done during the space shuttle/ISS era (sadly, he did not elaborate on that point in this article). I don't know if that's too political, but coming from one of the boys, it makes great copy.

rebs · « **Reply #1084 on:** 25 December 2018, 00:08:18 »

Can a planet be an artist and a work of art? The Juno probe says yes. This image, courtesy of Vox, NASA and the Juno mission is of an area in the northern polar region. That the colors are enhanced is a side note; it looks like an oil painting by a master. The many eyes of Jove. And it's a great piece of evidence in favor of allowing the public to play with the images the stream in from this robotic probe.

If you can't see the uploaded image, here is the link: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/5/21/17353110/jupiter-photos-juno-high-res-clouds-great-red-spot

Daryk · « **Reply #1085 on:** 25 December 2018, 06:07:42 »

Hm... it's not showing for me, and downloading it didn't work either. ???

Sabelkatten · « **Reply #1086 on:** 25 December 2018, 06:29:34 »

Quote from: rebs on 24 December 2018, 22:43:55

Cool. While waiting for the encounter with Ultima Thule, the other thing I was noticing was an article interviewing a former astronaut. It was mostly his observation that outside of the superb unmanned missions of which he is a fan, NASA has mostly become a hive of busy work, with only a hazy sense of direction. He scoffed at their plans for Mars, and further critcized the agency for squandering what he says NASA could have done during the space shuttle/ISS era (sadly, he did not elaborate on that point in this article). I don't know if that's too political, but coming from one of the boys, it makes great copy.

Well... Arguably, there's four things a space agency can do:

-Basic science
-Engineering
-Business
-Colonization

NASA has been doing 1 & 3 (thought they've kind of lost 3 now), nobody's willing to pay for 4, so it's 2 that's the rub. And I figure the problem there is mentioned lack of focus - Without a clear direction to go, what technologies are supposed to be developed?

rebs · « **Reply #1087 on:** 26 December 2018, 18:29:04 »

Quote from: Sabelkatten on 25 December 2018, 06:29:34

Well... Arguably, there's four things a space agency can do:

-Basic science
-Engineering
-Business
-Colonization

NASA has been doing 1 & 3 (thought they've kind of lost 3 now), nobody's willing to pay for 4, so it's 2 that's the rub. And I figure the problem there is mentioned lack of focus - Without a clear direction to go, what technologies are supposed to be developed?

The opinion in question comes from the point of view of a manned space program. The astronaut was specifically critical of the current state of manned missions as opposed to the era in which he worked, when manned missions to the moon were a much greater part of NASA's focus.

A lot of it is a big "back in my day" sort of sentiment, but it also points out a lack of commitment and support for manned missions to space, where more experience could be gained. The lack of current manned missions was his point. We're not building toward a mission to Mars currently, no matter what the state of plans might be. Missions to Mars would have a focus on orbital activities at first, building toward a landing. Colonization is yet a longer way off from that. Granted, the moon isn't the same experience as Mars, we keep putting off a return to Luna, as well as space in general, with the Orion vehicle's slow pace of development.

Much of this can be blamed on lack of funding as well as other political reasons, yet the criticism is still valid. For the long term plans we make, we're moving very slow at the moment, at least from the perspective of manned missions. We should be further along.

Granted, the astronaut in question isn't commenting on private firms and what they bring to the table. There's much to be optimistic about, yet the private concerns tend to be overly optimistic, currently. They still have much to prove, though I personally am impressed by their commitment to space exploration and the future exploitation of resources.

One thing I've always said...once commercial interests figure out how to profit from space exploration, we'll be up there all the time and nothing will stop expansion to other worlds, moons, or asteroids.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #1088 on:** 26 December 2018, 23:17:25 »

Quote from: rebs on 26 December 2018, 18:29:04

One thing I've always said...once commercial interests figure out how to profit from space exploration, we'll be up there all the time and nothing will stop expansion to other worlds, moons, or asteroids.

rebs · « **Reply #1089 on:** 27 December 2018, 00:19:10 »

Quote from: ANS Kamas P81 on 26 December 2018, 23:17:25

The corporations, man. They control everything. Man.

The future is now, indeed!

Speaking of the future, after New Horizons' encounter with Ultima Thule early next week, it may go on in its extended mission to yet a further Kuiper Belt object. Three encounters with one gold-foiled space probe. Bring it on!

Read about it at the following link...

https://www.space.com/42808-nasa-new-horizons-possible-third-flyby.html

Wrangler · « **Reply #1090 on:** 27 December 2018, 06:53:20 »

I hope if they do decide keep mission going, the object will be interesting. I can feel getting older each time we reach something now. xp

rebs · « **Reply #1091 on:** 28 December 2018, 19:02:15 »

The crewed Orion capsule has passed a critical design review in its lugubrious journey toward completion and readiness for a 2022 mission to cislunar space. Read about it in greater technicality at the following link:

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/12/crewed-orion-passes-critical-design-review/

Wrangler · « **Reply #1092 on:** 28 December 2018, 22:33:54 »

Are they able keep going? I thought NASA was shut down mostly due to budget battle.

rebs · « **Reply #1093 on:** 28 December 2018, 22:59:19 »

This shutdown seems to be only partial. And many people are working without pay right now, though they'll be paid later.

Not sure about everything NASA-related, but I know that the team that will be watching the flyby at Ultima Thule will be on duty.

That said, here is an article about some of the more interesting exoplanets. What interests me most is when you scroll down to the bottom of the list. It's the first exomoon. This purported moon is the size of the planet Neptune, and it orbits a gas giant the size of Jupiter at a distance of about 3 million kilometers. Hopefully more will be discovered. Moons are so prevalent in our solar system, I can't imagine that moons would be a rarity elsewhere. They're just hard to notice with current observation techniques.

https://amp.space.com/42813-most-fascinating-exoplanets-2018.html

Wrangler · « **Reply #1094 on:** 29 December 2018, 00:24:43 »

Moon the size of Neptune? Woah. How that thing not being sucked into gas giant's gravity fully? They'd would been pulling each other in i would think.

rebs · « **Reply #1095 on:** 29 December 2018, 00:33:56 »

The three million kilometer distance helps keep the moon from being consumed, I would think. They do mention that the moon is probably gas, too, so that thought is a valid concern.

Here's an article from space.com that might shed more light on it. This article is wholly about the exomoon, more than the two paragraph blurb in the amp article...

https://www.space.com/42008-first-exomoon-discovery-kepler-1625b.html

kato · « **Reply #1096 on:** 29 December 2018, 04:15:03 »

The Roche limit for fluid satellites is:

with R being the radius of the primary.

Even assuming equal densities the roche limit would be at only 170,800 km distance for a Jupiter-sized primary. For a density delta as between Neptune and Jupiter it would be around 159,300 km.

worktroll · « **Reply #1097 on:** 29 December 2018, 04:41:42 »

Did I miss someone posting the Christmas Hippo?

2003 SD220 on Dec 15, making its closest approach since Christmas Eve 2015. Radar images from Goldstone, Arciebo, and somewhere else ( :-\ )

As I resemble this asteroid, I am well pleased.

W.

rebs · « **Reply #1098 on:** 29 December 2018, 19:45:25 »

After four decades of being thin like the cheetah, I've had to revise my own personal Roche limit. It's still in flux. ;D

Here is a brief itinerary of things space exploration-related to look forward to in the new year...

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/amp/ncna952701

kato · « **Reply #1099 on:** 30 December 2018, 08:28:12 »

Calling OneWeb a "London-based startup" in that article is a bit ridiculous given that it's basically a subsidiary of SES - the largest commercial satellite operator in the world.

rebs · « **Reply #1100 on:** 30 December 2018, 16:14:45 »

Quote from: kato on 30 December 2018, 08:28:12

Calling OneWeb a "London-based startup" in that article is a bit ridiculous given that it's basically a subsidiary of SES - the largest commercial satellite operator in the world.

The reporter could have done even a little more research on that one.

kato · « **Reply #1101 on:** 30 December 2018, 17:25:08 »

Commercial payloads:

10 commercial GEO satellites incl. 3 just for Eutelsat
40 LEO satellites for SES OneWeb plus another 4 for SES O3b
20+ LEO cubesats with Vega SSMS POC dispenser mission

Institutional payloads:

Falcon Eye : Reconnaissance constellation launched for UAE military, two satellites to be launched.
CSG-1 : Reconnaissance satellite for Italy, dual-use (part of wider Italian/French/German recon network).
PRISMA : Hyperspectral earth observation satellite for Italy, most technology demonstration.
EDRS-C : GEO communications satellite, part of high-speed backbone for LEO recon platforms.
LARES 2 : Passive geodetic laser target, payload for Vega-C first launch.
TARANIS : Studying luminous electromagnetic interaction at space-ionosphere-atmosphere interface layers.
CHEOPS : High-precision exoplanet transit photometer.

rebs · « **Reply #1102 on:** 31 December 2018, 02:20:27 »

The final set of commands has been sent to the New Horizons probe before the encounter with 2014 MU69, or Ultima Thule. Mostly small tweaks so that the camera doesn't photograph blank space as it whips by at 14 km per second. Read about it here...

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/science-environment-46699737

Wrangler · « **Reply #1103 on:** 31 December 2018, 08:34:20 »

As for the OTHER space related event, OSIRIS-REX spacecraft begins the process of entering orbit of the Asteroid Bennu tonight.

The picture is from December 18th.

rebs · « **Reply #1104 on:** 31 December 2018, 17:24:21 »

Thank you for the post and image, Wrangler. To supplement that, here is an excellent article from spaceflightnow.com detailing what has been discovered so far by OSIRIS-Rex and what we hope to discover in the near future.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/12/31/osiris-rex-bennu-orbit-insertion/

rebs · « **Reply #1105 on:** 01 January 2019, 01:40:25 »

The New Horizons probe is now a half hour out of it's brief encounter with 2014 MU69, otherwise known as Ultima Thule. It will be several hours before the first images are received, so until then I present these "before" pictures, to contrast with the"after" pics as they are received.

Feel free to post them and surprise me when I wake up as they are available. I still think of this thread as my baby, but it's in a community's hands, and glad I am of that.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #1106 on:** 01 January 2019, 02:10:28 »

Looks like it's got a three hour imaging window before it begins sending data; we're scheduled to receive the first info at 9:45 EST - though at 1kb/s it's going to take a LONG time for any real info to come in. The team ballparks 20 months to get everything from the pass, but we might have first imagery in a few days once contact with New Horizons is reestablished and everything's checked out.

rebs · « **Reply #1107 on:** 01 January 2019, 02:26:51 »

We were posting about the Pluto encounter for months afterward as the data trickled in. But even the low res stuff was fantastic to have.

Scientists are still learning new things about Pluto every day. I heard one estimate at 10 years before everything that can be gleaned from the data sets is known. Amazing.

And now the same will apply for this encounter.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #1108 on:** 01 January 2019, 05:13:23 »

Data spawns questions spawns answers spawns more questions. Gotta love science!

Any word as to whether they've got a second target decided on? I'd heard there was some consideration, and it's still got some fuel onboard for maneuver.

Wrangler · « **Reply #1109 on:** 01 January 2019, 10:05:22 »

Size comparison with real pictures of asteroids in comparison to Bennu.