Google+ SpaceTravelFoundation: 2014-10-19

October 24, 2014

Counting down before the landing of Rosetta mission on the comet

Dear readers and followers,


After a 10 year journey of some seven billion kilometres, the Rosetta mission is now heading towards its next major milestone : setting the lander Philae on a comet. Rosetta is a robotic space probe built and launched by the +European Space Agency, ESA to perform a detailed study of comet called 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko with both an orbiter and lander module (Philae).




On November 12th 2014, a lander is scheduled to touch down on a comet for the first time in the history of spaceflight. “We don’t know exactly what awaits us there,” says lander Project Manager Stephan Ulamec from the +DLR, German Aerospace Center .


Philae’s landing site, currently known as Site J, is located on the smaller of the comet’s two ‘lobes’, with a backup site on the larger lobe. The sites were selected just six weeks after Rosetta arrived at the comet on August 6th, following its 10-year journey through the Solar System. Site J was chosen unanimously over four other candidate sites as the primary landing site because the majority of terrain within a square kilometre area has slopes of less than 30º relative to the local vertical and because there are relatively few large boulders.


Credit image: +European Space Agency, ESA 

Landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko will enable scientists to carry out experiments in situ for the first time. Comets are considered to be witnesses to the birth of the Solar System. Will the surface of the comet be in a primordial state? Do comets show evidence of prebiotic molecules and water, and did they therefore play a role in the origin of life on Earth? The Rosetta mission is expected to help answer such questions.


  Credit video: +DLR, German Aerospace Center 


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Source: +DLR, German Aerospace Center


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Astronauts complete spacewalk to fix power regulator on ISS

Dear readers and followers,


Two NASA astronauts wrapped up a spacewalk of around 6 hours last wednesday October 15th to replace a failed power regulator. Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman and Barry Wilmore also relocated equipment on the ISS’s exterior to begin setting the stage for a reconfiguration of the orbiting complex to accommodate future commercial crew vehicles.

Credit image: +NASA TV


Wiseman, the lead spacewalker for Wednesday’s excursion, and Wilmore switched their suits to battery power at 8:16 a.m. EDT, signaling the start of the spacewalk (EVA-28). The spacewalk timeline was set up to ensure that Wiseman and Wilmore could remove the faulty sequential shunt unit (SSU) during a night pass when the arrays were not generating power. A few moments before passing into orbital darkness, the spacewalkers were treated to a spectacular view of Egypt, the Nile river and the Red Sea passing by 418 km below. "I see Cairo, can't quite make out the pyramids, though," Wiseman observed.

For the highest priority task of the spacewalk, Wiseman and Wilmore exited from the Quest airlock and translated out to the starboard side of the station’s integrated truss structure. There they replaced a failed power regulator known as a sequential shunt unit, which failed in May. The unit regulates power from the 3A solar array. The station has since operated normally on seven of its eight power channels, but replacing the unit provides the station team with more flexibility and redundancy in managing the primary power system and assures enough power for all the planned science. 

Timing was a factor for the replacement of the sequential shunt unit. The spacewalkers needed to remove the failed suitcase-sized unit and install its replacement while the station passed through the Earth’s shadow and electricity was not being generated by the solar array.

Working in darkness at the far right side of the station's solar power truss, at the base of the channel 3A solar array, Wiseman was initially unable to drive open a bolt holding the faulty SSU in place. 






Using a ratchet wrench and a bit of elbow grease, he successfully "broke torque" on the bolt and pulled the shorted SSU out of its mounting bracket. He then ran into problems bolting down the replacement. 

The remainder of the spacewalk focused on moving equipment installed on the port side of the station’s truss in preparation for the relocation of the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module, or PMM, currently expected to take place next summer. The relocation of the PMM and the installation of international docking adapters scheduled to be delivered to the complex in 2015 will configure the station for future commercial crew vehicles and provide an additional berthing port for commercial cargo spacecraft.

Wiseman and Wilmore removed an external TV camera from the bottom of the P1 truss segment. Since that camera had lost its zoom capability, the spacewalkers replaced it on the top of P1 with a new camera.

The astronauts then detached an articulating portable foot restraint and tool stanchion from P1 and moved it inward to the centerpiece of the station’s truss structure, the S0 truss, to get it out of the way for the relocation of Leonardo.

Finally, the Wireless Video System External Transceiver Assembly, or WETA, which receives all the video signals from spacewalking crew members, was transferred from the P1 truss to the top of the Harmony node.

Wednesday’s spacewalk was the 183rd in support of station assembly and maintenance. This was the first spacewalk for Wilmore. Wiseman, who joined Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency for a 6-hour, 13-minute spacewalk on Oct. 7, completed his second spacewalk.

The year's seventh and final planned spacewalk is scheduled for Oct. 22 when station commander Maxim Suraev and Alexander Samokutyaev plan to jettison no-longer-needed gear and carry out a detailed photo survey of the Russian segment's exterior.

Source: NASA


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October 20, 2014

Amazing picture of the comet Siding Spring taken from NASA'rover Opportunity from martian surface

Dear readers, and followers,

as you know, All mars orbiter, as the Indian spacecraft, has been repositioned in order to reduce the effect of and not be disturbed by the flyby of the comet Siding Spring. The other orbiters from NASA orbiters around Mars confirmed their healthy status Sunday after each took shelter behind Mars during a period of risk from dust released by a passing comet. The rover opportunity which is on Mar's land took an amazing picture of the comet Siding Spring. 


Credit image: +NASA 


This incredible image showing the comet Siding Spring in the Martian sky was taken by Nasa's opportunity rover on the surface of Mars - the first ever image of a comet from another planet. It is hoped the event will provide researchers with an unprecedented opportunity to gather data on comets.



Source: NASA


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Mars orbiters healthy after Siding Spring comet flyby

Dear readers and followers,


Last week, we informed you that a huge ice comet, called C/2013 A1, will be so close to Mars on Sunday October 19th. All mars orbiter, as the Indian spacecraft, has been repositioned in order to reduce the effect of and not be disturbed by the flyby of the comet Siding Srping. The other orbiters from NASA orbiters around Mars confirmed their healthy status Sunday after each took shelter behind Mars during a period of risk from dust released by a passing comet.


Credit image: +Hubble Space Telescope 


Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter all are part of a campaign to study comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring and possible effects on the Martian atmosphere from gases and dust released by the comet. 


Credit image: +NASA 

The comet sped past Mars today much closer than any other know comet flyby of a planet. Actually, the comet missed the red planet by just 140,000 kilometers.

As we said in Friday October 17th, the comet could be observed from Earth, here, an image of the comet C/2013 A1 taken from the ESA's Optical Ground Station, equipped with a 1-meter telescope, on Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Credit image: +European Space Agency, ESA 


Source: NASA


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