China's Tiangong 1 Comming Down Early

(China's go at a permanent space presence) may come down earlier than originally thought. 

As it stands now, Tiangong 1, China’s first space laboratory, will come to a fiery end in late 2017. however  during a Sept. 14 news conference Chinese officials came close to admitting that they had lost control of the station, and as such have no control as to when the lab will enter Earth's Atmosphere or even impact the surface. (though in truth have not formally admitted the failure and in the opinion of satellite tracker Thomas Dorman, China will wait until the last minute to let the world know it has a problem with their space station.

more here

Two Second Shorts of Animated Space Death

"Death in Space" is a collection of 2 second scenes depicting the many ways to meet an untimely death in outer space.

kind of like a tongue in cheek Darwin in space Award.

Death in Space from Thomas Lucas on Vimeo.

Review: Gravity

Gravity starring

Sandra Bullock
George Clooney

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

In  Gravity, Sandra Bullock portrays a mission specialist aboard sts 157, George Clooney a veteran astronaut and mission commander.  

During an EVA to repair the Hubble Space Telescope Bullock and Clooney's characters are informed

that a Russian missile strike on a defunct Russian satellite has create a huge cloud of high speed junk that strikes the shuttle, ISS as well as other craft on the same orbit. 

The balance of the film depicts Bullock's character working to return to Earth.

I was really surprised to find this film on cable tv, but there it was.  The film is mildly technical but brings a boatload of excitement.  There is the obligatory dead body floating into view, plus a variety of HUH? scenes, but for the realistic spaceflight (not as real as Apollo 13 but home-work was done) will thoroughly enjoy Gravity. Both Bullock and Clooney put in excellent efforts. 

I would rate the movie an 8.  Acting was good.  Plus the high moments throughout the film keeps your interest.    

The Universe is Dying

Well, Thanks to Joe, I once again revisit a subject that was, to me, at least, dead (sorry about the choice of words) and buried.

It seems that, yes indeed according to  Professor Simon Driver, from the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Western Australia.  Studying 200,000 galaxies, astronomers confirmed that the Universe is slowly dying.

Not just energy generated in the visual band but near,mid, far infrared plus ultraviolet, each and every energy band is showing dying. 

But we should be honest here....  astronomers have known for some time now that the Universe's days were numbered.  There really isn't anything new here except maybe a more refined end time and date I suppose. 

An international team of apx. 100 scientists using information garnered from the world's most powerful telescopes - both land and space based - to study the energy emitting from more than 200,000 galaxies,  in a wide slice of the observable universe.

The up to date data has confirmed the cosmos is radiating only half as much energy as it was 2 billion years ago.

It really should be pointed out that the universe is an elder statesman at over 13 billion years old.  Our sun alone is a third generation star.  Vast amounts of energy have to be squeezed into smaller and smaller areas to make star formation possible, hence far fewer stars.

Death is a bit of a misnomer because the universe will  still be there, but its stars and all else that produces light and stellar fire will fizzle out.

It will just grow old forever, slowly converting less and less mass into energy as billions of years pass by until eventually, it will become a cold, dark and desolate place, where all of the lights go out,I paraphrased - astronomer Luke Davies.

Check the CNN online page HERE  
and the NPR HERE 

Review: Interstellar

 Interstellar  



Directed by Christopher Nolan

Running time 169 minutes

Budget $165 million  Box Office $672.7



Cast (partial listing)

Matthew McConaughey as Joseph
Anne Hathaway as Dr. Amelia Brand,
Michael Caine as Dr. John Brand
Casey Affleck as Tom
Ellen Burstyn as elderly Murphy
John Lithgow as Donald, Cooper's father-in-law
William Devane as Williams, a NASA board member
Matt Damon as Dr. Hugh Mann
Bill Irwin as robots TARS (voice and puppetry) and CASE (puppetry)
Josh Stewart as robot CASE (voice)

The first thing to look at in Interstellar is the out of this world cast!  Michael Caine  -  Ellen Burstyn, Pay attention, It wasn't just a small walk on part for her, but an important almost narrator.  The film is rife with instances where something is not what it appears.  John Lithgow in a part that reminds us just how good of an actor he can be.  And William Devane who has been one of my favorites for some time now,   Lets not forget about the "new" kids on the block, but are every bit as fantastic actors.   Matthew McConaughey spins this film in his hand. He was a perfect choice for the lead. Matt Damon really took a part that stretched his ability and he rose to the challenge.  The robots were a bit weird but what a freshness, non_ humanoid and still interesting and engaging, plus not stooping to robot cliches like jerky movements and that emotionless voice.

The movie premise is that the Earth is dieing.  Whole crops and even crop species are becoming extinct.   This galvanizes a super secret agency to begin with a plan to find an alternative place for humans to live.  

A select crew is chosen which will cold sleep it out to Saturn where a small wormhole has been discovered and a previous exploratory mission has already entered.  The plan being to follow the first mission in along the same trajectory to follow up on the first information block that made it back through.

And then let the weirdness begin.  Loose ends tied up, help comes from the most unusual corners.

I am reluctant to be a spoiler.  The movie as a whole is a strong 9 to 9.5, but the stuff they got wrong was done in spectacular fashion.  Watch the baseball game towards the end of the movie.

I really can't go further without really becoming a spoiler so I will end with a solid 9 maybe 9.5 well worth checking out.  

link to Wikipedia Interstellar movie

Earth to Ceres: Dawn is Comming

Cratered surface of Ceres taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft

After seven years, Dawn will arrive at Ceres, albeit after a layover at a neighbor's, March 6th. 

Ceres is in a class now designated as "dwarf planet" that includes Pluto, Makemake and Haumea.  But it is the giant of the bunch, Ceres, that now holds NASA's Dawn spacecraft's attention. 

From the CNN article:

• New images from Dawn, taken when the probe was about 52,000 miles from Ceres, show craters and what NASA calls mysterious bright spots.

More info at the Space.com article HERE

Artist's rendition of NASA's Dawn explorer

NASA's New Horizon Begins Pluto Encounter

NASA's New Horizon began one of many approach configuration, as it closes with a flyby of  Pluto. 

These will culminate July 14 with the first close-up flyby of the dwarf planet, 4.67 billion miles  from Earth.

Since New Horizons launch in January 2006 - It has voyaged more than 3 billion miles.  It was awakened last month for its close pass to Pluto and inside the orbits of its five known moons.

The heavy duty science will begin this spring.  This will be the time when the cameras and spectrometers aboard New Horizons will be able to provide image resolutions higher than the most powerful telescopes on Earth. Eventually, the spacecraft will obtain images that scientists hope will be good enough to map Pluto and its moons more accurately than achieved by previous planetary reconnaissance missions.

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/january/nasa-s-new-horizons-spacecraft-begins-first-stages-of-pluto-encounter/

NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Makes Final Approach to Ceres

NASA's space probe Dawn was launched in 2007, its mission, to study the two most-massive objects of the asteroid belt: the proto-planet Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres.  Dawn probe is scheduled to arrive at rdgf March 6.

Dawn is the first spacecraft to visit Vesta, entering orbit on July 16, 2011. Dawn then successfully completed its 14-month survey of Vesta  in late 2012. Should its entire mission succeed, it will also be the first spacecraft to visit Ceres and to orbit two separate extraterrestrial bodies.

Previous multi-destination missions were hampered by the use of conventional drives, such as the Voyager program. Since conventional engines have a weight penalty, they were restricted to flybys.

The Dawn mission is the first NASA exploratory mission to use ion propulsion to enter and leave orbit, as well as course corrections.

Top photo the asteroid Vesta taken by Dawn
Middle is an artist's representation of Dawn
Bottom is Ceres                                  

Who Owns the Asteroids?

Am I missing something here, or is the answer painfully obvious.....

Well according to a recent article in Popular Science, it is a bit more complicated than first blush would have us believe.     According to the PopSci article -  the House is holding hearings to discuss a new law to manage resource mining in space.  

In the early days of the "Space Race" an accord or "Treaty" was signed that said, in simple terms, no country or person could assume to own any celestial body.   But now the focus is on mineral rights.   There is some credence  given to having a legal framework  in place which may at the very least spur more entrepreneurial interest in the sector.   The proposed legislation, working in tandem with the earlier Outer Space Treaty, formulated in 1967,  would give U.S. companies ownership of any materials they mine from asteroids, but not ownership of the asteroid itself. 

Read the complete Popsci article HERE

Space Smells Like What?!

Hey, here is an interesting article from Science in a Can called:

What does space smell like?

I know.... the near-vacuum of space has a smell? Well yes it would seem and astronauts have reported the strange odor after space walks.  Their equipment would be permeated by bitter, smoky, metallic smells like seared steak, hot metal and arc welding all rolled into one.
It’s believed that the smell is caused by high-energy vibrations in particles that mix with the air when brought inside.

NASA has asked a chemist to reproduce the smell, in hope of using it during acclimatization training sessions.

Astronomers, searching the vast dust cloud in the middle of the Milky Way, called Sagittarius B2, have found a substance called ethyl formate.  Which would mean that Sagittarius B2 smells and tastes like raspberries and rum.  mmm oh yes that is a much more pleasant combination than seared steak and metal.

 

Read the complete article HERE

Rosetta now in ORBIT!!!

The Rosetta spacecraft has after over a decade of maneuvering become the first probe to orbit a comet. Now I know that is going to raise a few hackles, but Ceres etc. were ASTEROIDS and mini-planets or dwarf planets.So Dawn et al were another class of probe and the few that DID approach were chasers or fly ahead types that did good science, it is Rosetta that will set the bar much higher.

Controllers instructed Rosetta to fire its thrusters on its final approach to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, "Chury", on Wednesday August seventh.  They announced a half an hour after the burn, that the Rosetta had entered into orbit around the comet.

The Rosetta probe will remain in orbit, but plans are to get the probe to within 6 miles so the second history making part of the mission to take place.  Early in November of 2014 the lander Philae will set another historic first for the Rosetta mission by landing on the surface.  (that should prove quite a feat as Chury is swapping it's north and south poles at a fairly rapid interval)  when it lands on the comet.

From the NationalJournal website

• The 220-pound probe will deploy ice screws and harpoons as it hits the surface, because 67P's (Chury) minimal gravity is not enough to keep it anchored.

Voyager Argument All Over Again.......

Yep, that's right.  The Voyager argument continues to rage on.  Has it or Hasn't it?  

According to NASA's JPL which continues to monitor Voyager:

• A paper recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters describes an alternate model for the interaction between the heliosphere ....... and the interstellar medium. It  proposes a test for whether Voyager 1 has, indeed, left the heliosphere.

NASA's Voyager project scientist, Ed Stone of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena explains:

• (the) models, which he and colleagues used to conclude that Voyager 1 entered interstellar space, predict that the density of interstellar wind outside the heliosphere is 40 times greater than the density of the solar wind inside.
• The observational data .... revealed a plasma density that was 40 times higher.  (So) they concluded that Voyager 1 had ... entered interstellar space around August 25, 2012.

However new models:

• (argue) that solar wind inside the heliosphere can be compressed to the point that the solar wind density inside is just as high as interstellar space outside. Therefore, Voyager 1 could still be inside.

If Voyager 1 is still inside the heliosphere, it should observe a reversal in direction of the solar magnetic field sometime before the end of 2015. 

Scientists at JPL will be looking carefully at the  data  coming in  over the next 18 months to see if Voyager picks up this change.

To read the complete NASA JPL article click HERE

New Horizon now less Than a Year Away From Pluto

NASA's New Horizon space probe is one year away from it's rendezvous with Pluto.

New Horizon will will do its fly by on July 15, 2015.  This will be the first time Pluto has been visited up close or otherwise. 

Pluto orbits the sun at an average distance of 3.65 billion miles which gives it an orbital duration of 248 years!




Get more at the web site HERE @ Space dot Com

Kepler - 56 Prepairing For a Great Meal

In 2012  Kepler-56 was discovered. Planets Kepler-56b and Kepler-56c were subsequently confirmed.  The Kepler 56 planetary system is a bit odd however.  First, it was discovered that the orbits of its two planets are about 45° misaligned to the host star's equator. Even weirder is the possibility of a "ghost" planet in the mix.  The scientists though are calling it a gravitational perturbator.   Mainly because it is not clear if it is a nearby star or a third planet.

That would be enough strangeness for several star systems, but Kepler 56 has been exciting the
astrophysicists.   Kepler 56, roughly 1 Sol mass, is going off main sequence and becoming a red giant.  In doing so, it will engulf its two closest in planets Kepler-56b and Kepler-56c.  But wait...there's more!

From the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysic, the lead author on the paper of this discovery, Gongjie Li said:

• "As far as we know, this is the first time two known exoplanets in a single system have a predicted 'time of death,"

The prediction is for the event to happen soon, by astronomical standards. Their ends will come in 130 million and 155 million years, respectively.

Since Kepler 56 is so much like our sun that these observations  provides a glimpse into the future of our solar system.

Wikipedia link HERE       Phys.org link HERE

"As far as we know, this is the first time two known exoplanets in a single system have a predicted 'time of death,'" says lead author Gongjie Li of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA).

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-06-star-swallow-planets.html#jCp

"As far as we know, this is the first time two known exoplanets in a single system have a predicted 'time of death,'" says lead author Gongjie Li of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA).

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-06-star-swallow-planets.html#jCp

"As far as we know, this is the first time two known exoplanets in a single system have a predicted 'time of death,'" says lead author Gongjie Li of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA).

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-06-star-swallow-planets.html#jCp

Dextre "hand" replaces malfunctioning camera on the Canadarm2

The Canadian Space Agency demonstrated the "Destre" system or the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, by  replacing a malfunctioning camera on the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Dextre,  is a two armed  telemanipulator, which is part of the Mobile Servicing System on the International Space Station.   One of it's main functions is to replace some activities otherwise requiring spacewalks.

In a thrilling demonstration of space robotics, today the Dextre "hand" replaced a malfunctioning camera on the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm. And the Canadian Space Agency gleefully tweeted every step of the way

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-05-space-robot-selfie-funny-livetweet.html#jCp

 

Check the Phys.org article HERE 

or the Wiki HERE

Russia to Abandon the ISS by 2020

According to an article on the CNN U.S. blog site   Russia has said that it does not plan to use the ISS past 2020.  This move puts into doubt whether or not NASA will be able to make an argument for extending the life of the laboratory to 2024 or longer.  

Officials in Russia have stated that Russia will redirect it's efforts in different directions and on to other projects after 2020.  

From the article:

• NASA released a statement saying that the U.S. space agency "has not received any official notification from the Government of Russia on any changes in our space cooperation at this point."

Since NASA retired the shuttles the only way to reach the ISS has been aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. 

Read the full article HERE

 

NASA is Seeking Ideas for use of the ISS and L.E.O. for commercial endevours

NASA is seriously trying to open low-Earth orbit to commercial space opportunities One of the things they are willing to put on the table is the International Space Station. NASA is looking for ideas, as this NASA article here reads

• on ways it can help create greater access to and use of the International Space Station for research and commercial activities. 

Yep, I read that as commercial use of the station....hummm

Of course further on, it becomes a bit clearer what the motivation are...

• NASA is soliciting ideas from companies interested in using the space station and the low-Earth orbit environment in innovative ways that will develop a strong commercial market and assist the agency in achieving its exploration goals.

I suspect the rent is going to be a bit pricey.

Check out the complete article HERE

NASA Discovers First Earth-sized Planet in Habital Zone

 

In a startling discovery, astronomer Thomas Barclay from Nasa’s Ames Research Center in Palo Alto, California 

• has discovered a habitable planet almost the same size as Earth orbiting an unidentified star in its so-called Goldilocks zone - a region around the star that emits just enough energy, light and temperature for liquid surface water to appear. 

The planet's data was captured by the Kepler space telescope.  The planet was observed indirectly while orbiting an unnamed M1 dwarf star better known as red dwarfs.   

From the article:

These are much smaller and dimmer than Earth’s sun, and aren’t bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. Also  these stars make up around 70 per cent of all the stars in the galaxy.Barclay made the discovery using data collected by the Kepler space telescope. The planet sits on the outer edge of its star's habitable zone.

Check out the complete facinating article Here

Daily Life of an Astronaut

Hey I know a lot of this material is kind of redundant, however it is just enough fun to make it diverting. I thought it was fun.

Felix's Fall From Space

Here is the long awaited film of Felix Baumgartner's harrowing jump from 128,1000 feet above Earth's surface. And yes he trashed the sound barrier....