Space - The Final Frontier

[stephenson]

U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1944. USNA is the college with the highest number of astronauts (54) among its graduates, including 3 of my classmates.

https://www.usnews.com/education/be...at-have-produced-the-most-astronauts?slide=14

We used to kid them ... NOT a college.

 

[ncbill]

Unfortunately, the Boeing Starliner’s first manned space flight will be delayed and not take place in the July timeframe.

https://www.space.com/boeing-starliner-nasa-astronaut-launch-delayed-indefinitely

“ Boeing is standing down for the first-ever crewed launch of its Starliner astronaut capsule for NASA, possibly indefinitely, due to safety issues with the spacecraft's parachutes and wiring discovered last week.

The Starliner astronaut launch, already years behind schedule, was most recently targeted to launch two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on July 21. Now, it likely won't launch at all this summer, and may not get off the ground this year.”

Tell Boeing's C-suite they will be the ones onboard a year from now for a moon fly-by and see how quickly those issues get resolved.

 

[Chuckanut]

Phosphorus had been found on Enceladus a moon of Saturn. It’s the missing ingredient needed for life to form on that moon.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/saturn-moon-enceladus-life-b9d53f97?page=1

“Now, that final seed of life has been detected among icy particles orbiting Saturn that originated from Enceladus’s ocean plumes, researchers reported in a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The finding underscores how ocean worlds like Enceladus in the outer solar system are among the best places to search for life in our planetary neighborhood.

Up until this point, scientists had evidence that Enceladus contained five of the six essential elements—it had carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur, “

“One of Cassini’s instruments, the Cosmic Dust Analyzer, recorded the composition of individual, tiny ice grains that the spacecraft encountered as it passed through the E ring and Enceladus’s plumes.”

“The researchers did follow-up experiments based on the new findings to simulate conditions in Enceladus’s ocean—which is colder, slightly less salty, and much deeper than our own. They suggest the moon’s ocean contains at least 100 times as much phosphorus as oceans on Earth. Postberg said that is because most of the phosphorus on our planet is locked away in rocks and minerals where it can’t be used, whereas the chemistry of Enceladus’s ocean enables the element to dissolve in the water, where it is then accessible by potential life.

He added that the new results suggest similar chemistry conditions are present in the waters of other ocean moons in the solar system beyond Jupiter, such as Saturn’s moon Titan or Neptune’s moon Triton—meaning such worlds should have dissolved phosphorus in their oceans too.”

 

[MichealKnight]

Out there in Space

Somewhere out there, they've all just gotta be elated.

"Woo-hoo the humans are gonna be here soon".

 

[Chuckanut]

Good news from Mars!

https://apple.news/AedHdMiZUR5aU-UGF19w7bg

“After more than two months of radio silence, NASA's Mars chopper has phoned home.
In a news update, NASA confirmed that it had regained contact with its Ingenuity helicopter, which began its 52nd flight on the Red Planet over two months ago on April 26.
As it descended onto the surface of Mars, Ingenuity's communication cut out, and mission control was not able to re-establish it until June 28, NASA said.
While a 63-day lag between transmissions seems lengthy, the team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab expected a potential communication dropout due to the hilly terrain between Ingenuity's dropoff location and the Perseverance rover that supplies its signal.
Despite the new literal obstacle, Ingenuity lives to see another day, an extraplanetary tour de force that has exceeded all expectations.”

Ingenuity, the Energizer Bunny of Martian helicopters just keeps on going.

 

[donheff]

I just posted a photo in another forum when this thread popped up. Not about going into space but my recent obsession with astrophotography is relevant, I guess.

In my light polluted, view restricted Capitol Hill, DC backyard, the only soup to nuts astrophotography I have been able to do are planetary photos with stacked images of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars captured through drift videos on my home built 6" Dob. That is fun, and I am eagerly waiting for the planetary season to kick back in gear. But I have been captivated by the deep space images captured by other amateurs with better locations and/or infinite patience.

I recently, I began renting time on excellent equipment at the Utah Desert Remote Observatories. The result has been a hybrid sort of DSO photography - my data but not really captured by me on my own gear. But you take what you can get. So far, I have been working on Andromeda, M101, the Veil Nebula, and for the last few days, the Eagle Nebula.

The iconic Hubble SHO image of the Eagle's Pillars of Creation caught my attention in the 90s. I was even given a poster of it by Dan Golden, NASA Administrator at the time, and friend of the family. So, here is my progress to date. There is more definition and color intensity in the data to be harvested but getting this far has been very rewarding.

 

[Chuckanut]

Marvelous photos. Thanks for posting.

 

[Chuckanut]

Here’s a sad story.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/...on-on-starliner-with-no-crew-flight-in-sight/

Having two methods to get humans into space was part of NASA’s plan, but Boeing continues to have problems with its Starliner.

During a teleconference this week, NASA officials also provided the first substantial update on Starliner since the June 1 announcement. The agency's program manager for Commercial Crew, Steve Stich, said work is ongoing, but more remains to be done.

The identification of two serious problems so close to the spaceflight prompted NASA to take a broader look at Starliner and determine whether there might be other problems lurking in the spacecraft. "On the NASA side, we really stepped back and looked at all aspects of flight preparation," Stich said.

 

[joesxm3]

I wonder about these UAP hearings and the allegations that the dark projects have reverse engineered tech that would run circles around anything we have. If true that would make all current projects obsolete.

My gut tends to think it likely some disinformation campaign or psych operation to distract or push some agenda.

 

[harley]

Just watched the Antares Rocket launch from Wallops Island from my front yard. It was pretty clear all the way through the first engine shutoff. After that we lost it in the clouds. Always fun. It's interesting how it looks as if it is going sideways then even dropping a little, although I know it was rising at about 5K mph. It's fun being able to see things like this.

 

[audreyh1]

That night time Falcon Heavy launch to launch the biggest ever satellite (Hughes) was very nice to watch.

 

[Chuckanut]

NASA has received a weak signal from Voyager 2 and will try to get it to re-orient itself earlier than pre-programmed automatic reset in mid-October.

Note: On August 20, Voyager 2 will have spent 46 years traveling through space.

https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/news/details.php?article_id=130

UPDATE, Aug. 1, 2023: Using multiple antennas, NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) was able to detect a carrier signal from Voyager 2. A carrier signal is what the spacecraft uses to send data back to Earth. The signal is too faint for data to be extracted, but the detection confirms that the spacecraft is still operating. The spacecraft also continues on its expected trajectory. Although the mission expects the spacecraft to point its antenna at Earth in mid-October, the team will attempt to command Voyager sooner, while its antenna is still pointed away from Earth. To do this, a DSN antenna will be used to “shout” the command to Voyager to turn its antenna. This intermediary attempt may not work, in which case the team will wait for the spacecraft to automatically reset its orientation in October.

 

[Gumby]

Looks like they were successful in reestablishing contact with Voyager 2. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/science/nasa-voyager-2-contact.html

 

[JoeWras]

Looks like they were successful in reestablishing contact with Voyager 2. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/science/nasa-voyager-2-contact.html

Behind a paywall for me, but this CNN article is open: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/04/world/nasa-voyager-2-communications-restored-scn/index.html


I bet the team that sent the 2 degree error command couldn't sleep until this fixed worked.

BTW, as a nerd, I know what 2 degrees means. But it wasn't until the last few years doing carpentry that I really knew what 2 or 3 degrees means. 2 degrees can really mess up your joints. 2 degrees over 12 billion miles really adds up.

 

[Gumby]

Behind a paywall for me, but this CNN article is open: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/04/world/nasa-voyager-2-communications-restored-scn/index.html


I bet the team that sent the 2 degree error command couldn't sleep until this fixed worked.

BTW, as a nerd, I know what 2 degrees means. But it wasn't until the last few years doing carpentry that I really knew what 2 or 3 degrees means. 2 degrees can really mess up your joints. 2 degrees over 12 billion miles really adds up.

Yes it does. At that distance, the antenna was pointed to a position approximately 419 million miles from Earth

 

[Chuckanut]

Apparently NASA has decided to use a backup power supply system to help power Voyager and keep more of its scientific instruments working, rather than having to shut them down to conserve power. It’s a bit of a risk, but the normal power supply has proven to be exceptionally reliable. Plutonium 238 is interesting stuff. For starters it’s less radioactive than other forms of Plutonium which means it won’t damage the other equipment on the spacecraft.

https://rps.nasa.gov/about-rps/about-plutonium-238/

 

[Fermion]

Yes it does. At that distance, the antenna was pointed to a position approximately 419 million miles from Earth

I was thinking about this. The signal from Voyager is directional, but still, it is probably very faint. Voyager is just a few light hours from earth now? (I didn't look up or do calculations but that is a guess).

Why do we think we should be able to detect signals from other civilizations around other stars if it is this hard to detect an intentional signal that is essentially in our own yard?

Additionally, why do we assume some other civilization could detect our signals if they are 5 to 150 light years away?

 

[Alan]

India's spacecraft has entered lunar orbit. Touchdown on the moon's surface scheduled later this month.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-66402526

Chandrayaan-3, India's latest Moon mission, has entered the lunar orbit, the country's space agency has said.

The spacecraft with an orbiter, lander and a rover lifted off on 14 July. It will try to set the lander and rover on the lunar surface on 23 or 24 August.

If successful, India will be the first country to land near the Moon's little-explored south pole.

It will be only the fourth to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, after the US, the former Soviet Union and China.

After the spacecraft orbited the Earth for more than a week, it was sent into the translunar orbit on Tuesday through a slingshot manoeuvre.

 

[Gumby]

I was thinking about this. The signal from Voyager is directional, but still, it is probably very faint. Voyager is just a few light hours from earth now? (I didn't look up or do calculations but that is a guess).

Why do we think we should be able to detect signals from other civilizations around other stars if it is this hard to detect an intentional signal that is essentially in our own yard?

Additionally, why do we assume some other civilization could detect our signals if they are 5 to 150 light years away?

Voyager 2 is currently ~18.5 light hours from Earth. Voyager 1 is ~ 22.2 light hours away. Here is a continuously running status board https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/

 

[Chuckanut]

Latest news from Boeing - The Starliner’s first manned launch will be no earlier than March 2024.

 

[Chuckanut]

India's spacecraft has entered lunar orbit. Touchdown on the moon's surface scheduled later this month.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-66402526

I hope they succeed.

 

[Alan]

I hope they succeed.

+1

They will be exploring the moon’s South Pole region if all goes to plan.

 

[ejman]

+1

They will be exploring the moon’s South Pole region if all goes to plan.

I think Tycho crater of 2001 movie fame is somewhere in the vicinity. Hope all goes well

 

[Yoheadden]

https://interestingengineering.com/...beams-back-first-images-lunar-south-pole-race

It looks like Russia will beat them to the landing. India’s mission is going to orbit longer.

 

[Alan]

https://interestingengineering.com/...beams-back-first-images-lunar-south-pole-race

It looks like Russia will beat them to the landing. India’s mission is going to orbit longer.

Yes, I saw that. Next challenge after a successful landing will be to discover water there. If water is discovered at the South Pole then that is a potential for oxygen and fuel for a possible future moon base.