söndag 31 maj 2015
lördag 30 maj 2015
torsdag 28 maj 2015
Earth from space:presented by Kelsea Brennan-Wessels
Ariane 5 flight VA223 liftoff.
Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace - Optique Video du CSG
Europa Mission News.
NASA received 33 proposals for science instruments to fly onboard a Europa mission, which would conduct repeated close flybys of the small moon during a three-year period.
Participants in the announcement were:
John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters
Curt Niebur, Europa program scientist, NASA Headquarters.
onsdag 27 maj 2015
Mission status, LightSail
The Planetary Society’s LightSail test mission is paused while
engineers wait out a suspected software glitch that has silenced the
solar sailing spacecraft. Following a successful start to the mission last Wednesday, LightSail spent more than two days sending about 140 data packets back to Earth.
But the long Memorial Day weekend here in the United States offered no respite for the LightSail team, as they scrambled to figure out why the spacecraft's automated telemetry chirps suddenly fell silent. It is now believed that a vulnerability in the software controlling the main avionics board halted spacecraft operations, leaving a reboot as the only remedy to continue the mission. When that occurs, the team will likely initiate a manual sail deployment as soon as possible.
But inside the spacecraft's Linux-based flight software, a problem was brewing. Every 15 seconds, LightSail transmits a telemetry beacon packet. The software controlling the main system board writes corresponding information to a file called beacon.csv. If you’re not familiar with CSV files, you can think of them as simplified spreadsheets—in fact, most can be opened with Microsoft Excel.
As more beacons are transmitted, the file grows in size. When it reaches 32 megabytes—roughly the size of ten compressed music files—it can crash the flight system. The manufacturer of the avionics board corrected this glitch in later software revisions. But alas, LightSail’s software version doesn’t include the update.
Late Friday, the team received a heads-up warning them of the vulnerability. A fix was quickly devised to prevent the spacecraft from crashing, and it was scheduled to be uploaded during the next ground station pass. But before that happened, LightSail fell silent. The last data packet received from the spacecraft was May 22 at 21:31 UTC (5:31 p.m. EDT).
LightSail is likley now frozen, not unlike the way a desktop computer suddenly stops responding. A reboot should clear the contents of the problematic beacon.csv file, giving the team a couple days to implement a fix. But to pull a phrase from recent mission reports, the outcome of the freeze is “non-deterministic.” That means sometimes the processor will still accept a reboot command; other times, it won’t. It’s similar to the way you deal with a frozen computer: You can try to struggle past sluggish menus and click reboot, but sometimes, your only recourse is pressing the power button.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been 37 Cal Poly and Georgia Tech ground station passes. During half of those, reboot commands were sent to the spacecraft. Nothing has happened yet. Therefore, we have to assume that LightSail is only going to respond to the power button method.
Since we can’t send anyone into space to reboot LightSail, we may have to wait for the spacecraft to reboot on its own.
Source: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/2015/20150526-software-glitch-pauses-ls-test.html
But the long Memorial Day weekend here in the United States offered no respite for the LightSail team, as they scrambled to figure out why the spacecraft's automated telemetry chirps suddenly fell silent. It is now believed that a vulnerability in the software controlling the main avionics board halted spacecraft operations, leaving a reboot as the only remedy to continue the mission. When that occurs, the team will likely initiate a manual sail deployment as soon as possible.
What happened?
As of late Friday afternoon, LightSail was continuing to operate normally. The spacecraft’s ground stations at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Georgia Tech were receiving data on each pass. Power and temperature readings were trending stably, and the spacecraft was in good health.But inside the spacecraft's Linux-based flight software, a problem was brewing. Every 15 seconds, LightSail transmits a telemetry beacon packet. The software controlling the main system board writes corresponding information to a file called beacon.csv. If you’re not familiar with CSV files, you can think of them as simplified spreadsheets—in fact, most can be opened with Microsoft Excel.
As more beacons are transmitted, the file grows in size. When it reaches 32 megabytes—roughly the size of ten compressed music files—it can crash the flight system. The manufacturer of the avionics board corrected this glitch in later software revisions. But alas, LightSail’s software version doesn’t include the update.
Late Friday, the team received a heads-up warning them of the vulnerability. A fix was quickly devised to prevent the spacecraft from crashing, and it was scheduled to be uploaded during the next ground station pass. But before that happened, LightSail fell silent. The last data packet received from the spacecraft was May 22 at 21:31 UTC (5:31 p.m. EDT).
LightSail is likley now frozen, not unlike the way a desktop computer suddenly stops responding. A reboot should clear the contents of the problematic beacon.csv file, giving the team a couple days to implement a fix. But to pull a phrase from recent mission reports, the outcome of the freeze is “non-deterministic.” That means sometimes the processor will still accept a reboot command; other times, it won’t. It’s similar to the way you deal with a frozen computer: You can try to struggle past sluggish menus and click reboot, but sometimes, your only recourse is pressing the power button.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been 37 Cal Poly and Georgia Tech ground station passes. During half of those, reboot commands were sent to the spacecraft. Nothing has happened yet. Therefore, we have to assume that LightSail is only going to respond to the power button method.
Since we can’t send anyone into space to reboot LightSail, we may have to wait for the spacecraft to reboot on its own.
Source: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/2015/20150526-software-glitch-pauses-ls-test.html
Rosetta update.
This video covers the mission’s highlights so far: from its launch in 2004; its journey across the solar system and waking up after deep space hibernation ten years later, its arrival at the selection of a landing site and Philae’s unexpected multiple landings on the comet. It also reviews what we have learnt about the comet to this point.
tisdag 26 maj 2015
NASA’s Europa Mission Begins with Selection of Science Instruments.
NASA’s Galileo mission yielded strong evidence that Europa, about the size of Earth’s moon, has an ocean beneath a frozen crust of unknown thickness. If proven to exist, this global ocean could have more than twice as much water as Earth. With abundant salt water, a rocky sea floor, and the energy and chemistry provided by tidal heating, Europa could be the best place in the solar system to look for present day life beyond our home planet.
“Europa has tantalized us with its enigmatic icy surface and evidence of a vast ocean, following the amazing data from 11 flybys of the Galileo spacecraft over a decade ago and recent Hubble observations suggesting plumes of water shooting out from the moon," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “We’re excited about the potential of this new mission and these instruments to unravel the mysteries of Europa in our quest to find evidence of life beyond Earth.”
NASA’s fiscal year 2016 budget request includes $30 million to formulate a mission to Europa. The mission would send a solar-powered spacecraft into a long, looping orbit around the gas giant Jupiter to perform repeated close flybys of Europa over a three-year period. In total, the mission would perform 45 flybys at altitudes ranging from 16 miles to 1,700 miles (25 kilometers to 2,700 kilometers).
The payload of selected science instruments includes cameras and spectrometers to produce high-resolution images of Europa’s surface and determine its composition. An ice penetrating radar will determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and search for subsurface lakes similar to those beneath Antarctica. The mission also will carry a magnetometer to measure strength and direction of the moon’s magnetic field, which will allow scientists to determine the depth and salinity of its ocean.
A thermal instrument will scour Europa’s frozen surface in search of recent eruptions of warmer water, while additional instruments will search for evidence of water and tiny particles in the moon’s thin atmosphere. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope observed water vapor above the south polar region of Europa in 2012, providing the first strong evidence of water plumes. If the plumes’ existence is confirmed – and they’re linked to a subsurface ocean – it will help scientists investigate the chemical makeup of Europa's potentially habitable environment while minimizing the need to drill through layers of ice.
Last year, NASA invited researchers to submit proposals for instruments to study Europa. Thirty-three were reviewed and, of those, nine were selected for a mission that will launch in the 2020s.
“This is a giant step in our search for oases that could support life in our own celestial backyard,” said Curt Niebur, Europa program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We’re confident that this versatile set of science instruments will produce exciting discoveries on a much-anticipated mission.”
The NASA selectees are:
Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS) -- principal investigator Dr. Joseph Westlake of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, Maryland. This instrument works in conjunction with a magnetometer and is key to determining Europa's ice shell thickness, ocean depth, and salinity by correcting the magnetic induction signal for plasma currents around Europa.
Interior Characterization of Europa using Magnetometry (ICEMAG) -- principal investigator Dr. Carol Raymond of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, California. This magnetometer will measure the magnetic field near Europa and – in conjunction with the PIMS instrument – infer the location, thickness and salinity of Europa’s subsurface ocean using multi-frequency electromagnetic sounding.
Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE) -- principal investigator Dr. Diana Blaney of JPL. This instrument will probe the composition of Europa, identifying and mapping the distributions of organics, salts, acid hydrates, water ice phases, and other materials to determine the habitability of Europa’s ocean.
Europa Imaging System (EIS) -- principal investigator Dr. Elizabeth Turtle of APL. The wide and narrow angle cameras on this instrument will map most of Europa at 50 meter (164 foot) resolution, and will provide images of areas of Europa’s surface at up to 100 times higher resolution.
Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON) -- principal investigator Dr. Donald Blankenship of the University of Texas, Austin. This dual-frequency ice penetrating radar instrument is designed to characterize and sound Europa's icy crust from the near-surface to the ocean, revealing the hidden structure of Europa’s ice shell and potential water within.
Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System (E-THEMIS) -- principal investigator Dr. Philip Christensen of Arizona State University, Tempe. This “heat detector” will provide high spatial resolution, multi-spectral thermal imaging of Europa to help detect active sites, such as potential vents erupting plumes of water into space.
MAss SPectrometer for Planetary EXploration/Europa (MASPEX) -- principal investigator Dr. Jack (Hunter) Waite of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), San Antonio. This instrument will determine the composition of the surface and subsurface ocean by measuring Europa’s extremely tenuous atmosphere and any surface material ejected into space.
Ultraviolet Spectrograph/Europa (UVS) -- principal investigator Dr. Kurt Retherford of SwRI. This instrument will adopt the same technique used by the Hubble Space Telescope to detect the likely presence of water plumes erupting from Europa’s surface. UVS will be able to detect small plumes and will provide valuable data about the composition and dynamics of the moon’s rarefied atmosphere.
SUrface Dust Mass Analyzer (SUDA) -- principal investigator Dr. Sascha Kempf of the University of Colorado, Boulder. This instrument will measure the composition of small, solid particles ejected from Europa, providing the opportunity to directly sample the surface and potential plumes on low-altitude flybys.
Separate from the selectees listed above, the SPace Environmental and Composition Investigation near the Europan Surface (SPECIES) instrument has been chosen for further technology development. Led by principal investigator Dr. Mehdi Benna at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, this combined neutral mass spectrometer and gas chromatograph will be developed for other mission opportunities.
NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington conducts a wide variety of research and scientific exploration programs for Earth studies, space weather, the solar system and the universe.
For more information about Europa, visit:
Credit: NASA
Pioneering Space.
söndag 24 maj 2015
lördag 23 maj 2015
Robotic Arms Lend a Healing Touch.
"Where
the robot entered my head," says 21-year old Paige Nickason, the first
patient to have brain surgery performed by a robot as she points to an
area on her forehead. "Now that neuroArm has removed the tumor from my
brain, it will go on to help many other people like me around the
world."
neuroArm began with the search for a solution to a surgical dilemma: how to make difficult surgeries easier or impossible surgeries possible. MDA worked with a team led by Dr. Garnette Sutherland at the University of Calgary to develop a highly precise robotic arm that works in conjunction with the advanced imaging capabilities of MRI systems. Surgeons needed to be able to perform surgeries while a patient was inside a magnetic resonance (MRI) machine, which meant designing a robot that was as dexterous as the human hand but even more precise and tremor-free. Operating inside the MRI also means it had to be entirely made from non-magnetic materials (for instance, no steel) so that it would not be affected by the MRI's magnetic field or adversely affect the MRI's images. The project team developed novel ways to control the robot's movements and give the robot's operator a sense of touch -- both essential so that the surgeon can precisely control the robot and can feel what is happening during the surgery.
Since Paige Nickason's surgery in 2008, neuroArm has been used to successfully treat dozens more patients. The neuroArm technology has since been purchased by IMRIS Inc. a private publicly traded medical device manufacturer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. MDA and IMRIS are advancing the design to commercialize a two-armed version of the system to allow surgeons to see detailed three-dimensional images of the brain, as well as surgical tools and hand controllers that allow the surgeon to feel tissue and apply pressure when they operate. A clinical trial led by Dr. Sutherland is currently underway at Calgary's Foothills hospital using the first generation of the robot on a group of 120 patients. IMRIS anticipates being in a position to seek regulatory approval for the robot as early as 2012.
MDA is also continuing to apply its space technologies and know-how to medical solutions for life on Earth. The company has partnered with the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to collaborate on the design and development of an advanced technology solution for pediatric surgery. Dubbed KidsArm, the sophisticated tele-operated surgical system is being specifically designed for operating on small children and babies. KidsArm is intended to be used by surgeons, in conjunction with a high precision real-time imaging technology, to reconnect delicate vessels such as veins, arteries, or intestines.
In collaboration with The Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, MDA is also developing an advanced platform for use in early detection and treatment of breast cancer. The image-guided autonomous robot will provide increased access, precision and dexterity resulting in more accurate and less invasive procedures.
This story was written and published by the Canadian Space Agency. For information on original posting, please visit http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/canadarm/neuroarm.asp
fredag 22 maj 2015
Europa Mission news
NASA received 33 proposals for science instruments to fly onboard a Europa mission, which would conduct repeated close flybys of the small moon during a three-year period.
Participants in the announcement will be:
- John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters
- Curt Niebur, Europa program scientist, NASA Headquarters
The 100-day countdown begins today for ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen’s visit to the International Space Station.
Most Station astronauts stay for up to six months, but NASA’s Scott Kelly and Russia’s Mikhail Korniyenko are spending almost a year in space to research the effects of living in weightlessness for a long time.
All occupants arrive in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that is certified for six months, so Scott and Mikhail need a new vehicle to fly home when their mission ends next year.
Most Station astronauts stay for up to six months, but NASA’s Scott Kelly and Russia’s Mikhail Korniyenko are spending almost a year in space to research the effects of living in weightlessness for a long time.
All occupants arrive in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that is certified for six months, so Scott and Mikhail need a new vehicle to fly home when their mission ends next year.
Andreas and his crewmates will fly to the Station in Soyuz TMA-18M but return to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-16M, which delivered Mikhail and Scott to the weightless research laboratory.
Planet Hunting.
Living and Working in Space.
The ExoMars programme 2016-2018
Establishing if life ever existed on Mars is one of the outstanding scientific questions of our time. To address this important goal, the European Space Agency (ESA) has established the ExoMars programme to investigate the Martian environment and to demonstrate new technologies paving the way for a future Mars sample return mission in the 2020's.
Two missions are foreseen within the ExoMars programme: one consisting of an Orbiter plus an Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module, to be launched in 2016, and the other, featuring a rover, with a launch date of 2018. Both missions will be carried out in cooperation with Roscosmos.
The ExoMars programme will demonstrate a number of essential flight and in-situ enabling technologies that are necessary for future exploration missions, such as an international Mars Sample Return mission. These include:
- Entry, descent and landing (EDL) of a payload on the surface of Mars;
- Surface mobility with a rover;
- Access to the subsurface to acquire samples; and
- Sample acquisition, preparation, distribution and analysis.
At the same time a number of important scientific investigations will be carried out, for example:
- Search for signs of past and present life on Mars;
- Investigate how the water and geochemical environment varies; and
- Investigate Martian atmospheric trace gases and their sources.
The 2016 mission includes a Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and an Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module (EDM). The Orbiter will carry scientific instruments to detect and study atmospheric trace gases, such as methane. The EDM will contain sensors to evaluate the lander’s performance as it descends, and additional sensors to study the environment at the landing site.
The 2018 mission includes a rover that will carry a drill and a suite of instruments dedicated to exobiology and geochemistry research.
Roscosmos will provide a Proton launcher for both missions.
torsdag 21 maj 2015
Asteroid Impact Mission.
This smaller body is AIM’s focus: the spacecraft would perform high-resolution visual, thermal and radar mapping of the moon to build detailed maps of its surface and interior structure.
The main AIM spacecraft is planned to carry at least three smaller spacecraft – the Mascot-2 asteroid lander, being provided by DLR (Mascot-1 is already flying on JAXA’s Hayabusa-2), as well as two or more CubeSats. AIM would test optical communications and inter-satellite links in deep space, essential technology for future exploration.
If approved, AIM would also be Europe’s contribution to the larger Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment mission: AIDA. In late 2022, the NASA-led part of AIDA will arrive: the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, probe will approach the binary system – then crash straight into the asteroid moon at about 6 km/s.
AIM is intended to be watching closely as DART hits Didymoon. In the aftermath, it will perform detailed before-and-after comparisons on the structure of the body itself, as well as its orbit, to characterise DART’s kinetic impact and its consequences.
Credits: ESA/ScienceOffice.org
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen travels to St Etienne in France for a bone scan as part of the research for his space mission.
SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 18.42 Swedish time.
SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 18.42 Swedish time, about 155 miles southwest of Long Beach, California,
marking the end of the company’s sixth contracted cargo resupply mission
to the International Space Station.
The spacecraft is returning more than 3,100 pounds of NASA cargo and science samples from the International Space Station. A boat will take the Dragon spacecraft to a port near Los Angeles, where some cargo will be removed and returned to NASA within 48 hours. Dragon will be prepared for a return journey to SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas, for processing.
The mission was the sixth of 15 cargo resupply trips SpaceX will make to the space station through 2016 under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract.
The spacecraft is returning more than 3,100 pounds of NASA cargo and science samples from the International Space Station. A boat will take the Dragon spacecraft to a port near Los Angeles, where some cargo will be removed and returned to NASA within 48 hours. Dragon will be prepared for a return journey to SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas, for processing.
The mission was the sixth of 15 cargo resupply trips SpaceX will make to the space station through 2016 under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract.
Ceres Bright Spots Seen Closer Than Ever.
This image of Ceres is part of a sequence taken by
NASA's Dawn spacecraft on May 16, 2015, from a distance of 4,500 miles
(7,200 kilometers).
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
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