Monday, August 19, 2013

All You Need to Know About NASA's Juno Spacecraft & What Will We Learn from its Mission to Jupiter?

On August 12 2013, NASA's Juno Spacecraft reached the halfway point on it's journey to Jupiter.
Since launching back in 2011, it has traveled a little over 9.46 Astronomical Units(The distance from the Earth to the Sun is 1 AU), and has performed a series of planetary flybys and deep space maneuvers. In October of this year, Juno will come within 350 miles of Earth's surface. This is known as a gravity assist, or a gravitational slingshot. After Juno says its farewells to planet Earth for the final time, it will race towards the Jovian system before its slated arrival time of 3:29 a.m. UTC, give or take a few minutes!

But before we start asking about what we are expecting to learn from Juno's voyage, let's ask ourselves a few simpler questions about Juno itself..


Why the name Juno?
In Greek and Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods, as well as god of the sky and thunder. Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief, and his wife, the goddess Juno, was able to peer through the clouds and reveal Jupiter's true nature.


Why does Juno need a gravity assist from Earth?
Well, to put it simply, there just wasn't enough rocket power available to launch a payload of Juno's size directly to Jupiter- over 400 million miles away. Instead, Juno was launched out past the orbit of Mars, before it performed crucial Deep Space Maneuvers to set itself up for October's flyby of Earth. Juno Mission Project Manager Rick Nybakken explains further;

"On Oct. 9, Juno will come within 347 miles (559 kilometers) of Earth. The Earth flyby will give Juno a kick in the pants, boosting its velocity by 16,330 mph (about 7.3 kilometers per second). From there, it's next stop Jupiter... Almost like a second launch for free"!

Confused? Well, think of it this way. If a golfer hits a putt towards the edge of the hole, and the ball does not fall into the cup, instead, hitting the very edge of the hole and "Lipping out", the ball will shoot off in another direction at a faster speed than before. You got the hang of this? Right, let's move on.


When Juno arrives at Jupiter in 2016, it will orbit the gaseous planet for around a year, completing 33 orbits around the planet's poles, using onboard scientific equipment to probe beneath the planet's obscuring yet beautiful clouds.

The main goals of the Juno mission are:

-To find out how much water is in Jupiter's atmosphere, which helps determine which planet formation theory is correct (or if new theories are needed).
-To look deep into Jupiter's atmosphere to measure composition, temperature, cloud motions and other properties.
-To map Jupiter's magnetic and gravity fields, revealing the planet's deep structure
-To explore and study Jupiter's magnetosphere near the planet's poles, especially the auroras – Jupiter's northern and southern lights – providing new insights about how the planet's enormous magnetic force field affects its atmosphere.


Juno's patch to Jupiter
credit: NASA
One of the main mission objectives is to discover how a giant planet like Jupiter came into being, and how it evolved. This cloudy world is a primary example of a giant planet, and can also give us clues as to how other giant gas planets(called "Hot-Jupiters") which we have discovered orbiting other stars, may have formed.

Juno will accomplish this by studying the planet's cloudy atmosphere and its overall composition. By the end of the mission it is hoped that we will be able to see how Jupiter was born, and how important of a role it played in the formation of other planets in the solar system.

Using the suite of scientific instruments aboard Juno, teams back on Earth will study the magnetosphere of Jupiter, which will tell us if Jupiter has a solid core, and how big or small it might be.

End Mission

After completing primary mission objectives and 33 orbits around Jupiter in 2017, Juno will perform a series of de-orbit burns to take the spacecraft out of Jovian orbit and into a destructive re-entry in Jupiter's upper atmosphere.

But first, on October 9th 2013, Juno will return to within 350 miles of Earth to say one last goodbye to planet Earth, before heading to Jupiter to try and unlock some of the secrets of our solar system's biggest planet.










Friday, August 16, 2013

Cosmonauts Complete Record Breaking Spacewalk in Preparation for the Arrival of New Russian Laboratory

Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikin and Alexander Misurkin have completed a record setting 7.5 hour spacewalk aboard the International Space Station, carrying out work outside of the station, ahead of the arrival of a new Russian laboratory, scheduled to launch later this year.

Today's spacewalkers: Yurchikin(left) and Misurkin

Today's EVA officially began at 14:39 UTC, when Misurkin; conducting his second spacewalk today; opened the hatch of the Pirs Docking Compartment in the Russian segment of the station. He then exited the airlock, and was soon joined by seven-time space walker Yurchikin.

The main tasks that were to be completed today was the re-routing and installation of a series of power and ethernet cables along the exterior of both the Russian and US segments of the International Space Station, as well as the installation of an exposed experiment panel and gap spanners on Poisk.

Using the station's 46-foot long Strela cargo boom, Misurkin maneuvered Yurchikin over to the station's Zarya Module with cables in hand, Yurchikin then began to re-route a cable connector and install cables on Zarya. In the meantime, Misurkin installed the Vinoslivost experiment on Poisk. Vinoslivost, meaning Endurance in Russian, exposes materials to the vacuum of space, so scientists on the ground can observe changes in their properties.

The duo then then began working on re-routing cables that had been installed on a previous spacewalk between Zarya and Poisk. Yurchikin and Misurkin installed the cables between the two Russian modules, while at the same time, securing the cables' slack. The cosmonauts then worked on reeling out and installing an ethernet cable that will be connected to the new Multi-Purpose Laboratory Module(MLM) upon it's arrival later this year.
Fyodor Yurchikin appears in Misurkin's Helmet-Cam as the pair
installed ethernet cables, 4 hours into today's EVA
credit: NASA

Upon completion, the spacewalking pair translated back towards Pirs, before carrying out an inventory check of all their equipment and tools prior to re-entering the Pirs airlock.

Today's EVA lasted a total of 7 hours and 29 minutes- the longest Russian EVA ever conducted, when the hatch of the Pirs Airlock was closed with the two cosmonauts safely inside at 22:05 UTC.

All in all endurace was the name of the game today. Yurchikin and Misurkin will now need to take a well deserved rest at the weekend, ahead of yet another busy week of Space Station science, and yet another spacewalk on Thursday August 22. The pair will once again venture outside one last time together before Expedition 36 comes to an end in September. 





Friday, August 9, 2013

Japanese Cargo Ship HTV-4 Docks to ISS

Japan's HTV-4, Konoutori-4 cargo ship has successfully berthed to the International Space Station.

Chris Cassidy and Karen Nyberg smile
for the camera in the Cupola
as HTV-4 floats below the ISS.
credit: NASA
The Japanese HTV-4 (Nicknamed Konoutori-4), loaded with 3.6 tonnes of cargo and supplies for the astronauts aboard the orbiting complex, launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on August 3rd. For the past five and a half days, the vehicle has been performing a series of orbital maneuvers and burns in preparation for today's berthing to the Earth-facing port of the station's Harmony Node, which occurred at 3:38 p.m. UTC, while the International Space Station was flying high above the Southern Pacific Ocean.

HTV-4 entered its Approach Initiation phase shortly after 8 a.m. UTC, as the cargo ship edged its way closer to the International Space Station, travelling at a speed of 1 inch/second.

Konoutori-4 was then ordered to hold at a distance of 10m below the station, as both the HTV-4 and ISS were placed in free-drift- with all thrusters turned off. HTV-4 was then flawlessly grappled and captured by the the Space Station's robotic arm Canadarm2, which was controlled by NASA Astronaut and Expedition 36 Flight Engineer Karen Nyberg. Nyberg was assisted by her fellow flight engineers; NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy, and ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano. Capture was confirmed at 11:26 a.m. UTC, while the ISS flew 260 miles over the southern coast of South Africa.
HTV-4 docked to the International Space Station
credit: NASA

A short while later, Robotics Officer John Bellingham, working from Mission Control in Houston took control of Canadarm2, and slowly maneuvered HTV-4 into a mating position, before the cargo vehicle was finally bolted and berthed to the Nadir(Earth facing) port of the Harmony Module.

Cassidy, Nyberg and Parmitano will now focus on finishing up this week's set of scientific experiments, before turning their attention to preparing the vestibule between the HTV and the Harmony Module. Hatches between the two spacecraft are scheduled toopen at 11:30 a.m. UTC on Saturday, August 10th.

HTV-4 is expected to remain docked to the station for a little over a month, before leaving the complex, filled with trash and other items which will no longer be needed by the astronauts and cosmonauts living aboard the ISS, departing on September 5th.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

365 Days On: What Have We Learned From Curiosity's First Year on Mars?



One year ago today, everybody's favourite planetary rover Curiosity landed in the foothills of Gale Crater on the surface of Mars. Now, 365 days on, we ask what has Curiosity learned about the Red Planet in the last 12 months, and where does it go from here? 


One of the stunning panoramas taken by Curiosity on Mars
credit: NASA
This time last year, we were all on the edge of our seats, waiting to see if the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity had survived the "Seven Minutes of Terror" through the Martian atmosphere, landing safely on the surface of red planet. When touchdown was confirmed, we were treated to jubilant scenes like this that came from Mission Control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Curiosity was now on Mars and it was ready to go to work!

It wasn't long before the rover started sending amazing photos like the one above back to Earth, causing further cause for celebration for all those working back in JPL. But Curiosity wasn't sent on a 355 million mile journey just to take pictures- it was sent to explore what Mount Sharp; located in an area of special interest to mission investigators; had to offer in terms of Mars' ancient past, and to see if life could have ever existed. We soon got our answer.

The video below shows the journey Curiosity has taken in the past 12 months on the surface of Mars, all in a two minute video. Enjoy!



The rover soon started moving, with Curiosity testing out its equipment and systems before getting down to work. All the wheels, cameras and other scientific instruments used for analysis were working just fine, and now, twelve months into the mission, just by investigating a series of surface rocks, pebbles and soil from the Martian landscape, Curiosity has already discovered that there was flowing water on ancient Mars. Within two months the team found an ancient riverbed with evidence of flowing water, and not just any old kind of water- we're talking about water that you probably would have been able to drink had you been on Mars back then. And the cool thing about this is that we haven't even gotten to Mount Sharp yet, and already, the primary mission objectives have been completed.

Its a fact!

So far, Curiosity has taken over 37,000 images, carried out over 75,000 shots with its ChemCam laser, and has driven nearly 2 kilometers on the surface of Mars.

What have we learned?


A Martian Self-portrait
Since landing on Mars one year ago, we have learned that liquid water did exist on the surface of the Red Planet, and that had we been around to see it, we would have been able to drink it! How cool is that?! Now that we've discovered signs of ancient water, that means that there's a good chance that there could have been ancient life on Mars too right? Well, we'll just have to wait and see! 

Recently I asked MSL Flight Director Bobak Ferdowsi  what he thought was Curiosity's greatest discovery to date. He replied:

"Our greatest achievement was almost certainly our discovery that ancient Mars was habitable for some life forms"


What's Next for Curiosity?

Well, now that it's been proven that water did exist on Mars, what's left for Curiosity to discover?

Well, let's remember one of the main reasons why mission planners sent MSL to Mount Sharp in Gale Crater instead of any other region of Mars. Satellite imagery from probes and satellites orbiting the Red Planet saw signs of ancient streambeds radiating outwards from the bottom of Mount Sharp, flowing into Gale Crater, and indicating that there might have been some form of water flow in the dead planets' past. The next question scientists asked was "Where was this liquid coming from? Was it coming from Mount Sharp? What lays beneath its rocky slopes? Could it have been liquid water"?

Now Curiosity will head for the hills and investigate the composition of Sharp. The trek to Mount Sharp has begun! Who knows what discoveries lay ahead? All we know is that Curiosity has already done so much in it's first year on Mars, and it's about to do a whole lot more!



Thursday, August 1, 2013

Japanese HTV-4 Cargo Craft Launches on its way to ISS

HTV-4 Mission Insignia
credit: JAXA
A Japanese cargo ship has launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, bound for the International Space Station.

The unmanned HTV-4, nicknamed "Kounotori", launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 7:48 p.m. GMT aboard a H-IIB rocket, bound for the International Space Station.

HTV-4, carrying 6 tonnes of cargo will orbit the Earth, will gradually make its way closer to the Space Station as it performs a series of orbital maneuvers, prior to rendezvous and berthing to the Earth-facing side of the station's Harmony Module, scheduled for August 9th.

Unlike other ISS resupply crafts, HTV has 2 types of logistics carrier sections; a pressurised section where Expedition 36 crew members can work when the HTV is berthed to the nadir facing port of  the space station's Harmony Module; and an unpressurised Exposed Pallet that accommodates JAXA's Kibo Exposed Facilty payloads.

JAXA's HTV-4 cargo ship is the fourth Japanese HII Transfer Vehicle to resupply the orbiting outpost, since the first HTV-1 visited back in 2009. 

HTV Components
credit: JAXA
The arrival of the HTV-4 comes during a busy period of ISS Science Research and station expansion. The Expedition 36 crew on board the station are currently working on around 130 scientific experiments, flying 250 miles above Planet Earth.

HTV-4 is scheduled to remain berthed to the station's Harmony Module for around 35 days. In the meantime, cargo will be unloaded and used by the crew on board. It will also be filled with trash and other waste materials, before it is released on Septmeber 5th, before a destructive re-entry to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere two days later.


Chris Hadfield Reflects on How Much ISS has Changed Since First Visit

Since returning to Earth only a few months ago on Tuesday May 14, International Space Station Expedition 35 commander and social media sensation Chris Hadfield, or @Cmdr_Hadfield as he is known to his Twitter followers, has been getting used to life back on Earth, after spending nearly 5 months in space. Just two days after returning to Earth, I got the opportunity to ask Commander Hadfield about how much he feels the ISS has changed since his first visit in 2001.

"The Station was very much a work in progress when I visited back in 2001. The purpose of that flight was a shuttle assembly flight, and that's where I first had the opportunity to do spacewalks and build Canadarm2". Hadfield told me.


Hadfield during an EVA during his first visit to the ISS during STS-100
Hadfield, and his fellow Expedition 34/35 crew members Tom Marshburn and Roman Romanenko returned to Earth after spending several months aboard the largest and most expensive spacecraft ever built- but it wasn't always like that, as Hadfield went on to say:

"Station was barely functional when the second expedition was on board. We were Expedition 34/35 and at that time it was Expedition 2 and there was only one laboratory on board".

Since then times have changed. Currently there are over 130 experiments that the crew conduct throughout their increment, constantly working with teams from all over the world on the research being done in the microgravity environment found aboard the orbiting laboratory.

The station commander took time to pay homage to the space station's robotic arm- Canadarm2, which was built in low-Earth orbit by Hadfield during his visit in 2001. It is still operating on the station's exterior today, and is now being used to capture and dock visiting vehicles, such as SpaceX's Dragon capsule, and Japan's HTV Transfer Vehicle.

The Canadarm2 in work
"All Canadians should recognise that Canada built Canadarm2, and Canadarm2 built the space station".

Hadfield continued to mention that during his first visit to station during STS-100, the ISS was just a construction site, with smaller amounts of science being conducted compared to what can be achieved today. However, nowadays, the station is the size of a football field, and has living space similar in size to a five-bedroom house. It is fair to say that the International Space Station has certainly changed since it first became habitable, a change which is clearly visible to a man who got to call this place his home.

"It's sort of as if I was there when it was a construction site a decade ago, and now I got to go back and see the finished product, and it's great to be in a position to have seen both".

Hadfield became the first Canadian to command the International Space Station earlier this year. He returned to Earth on Tuesday May 14 after landing in his Soyuz capsule at 3:31 a.m. GMT in the steppe of Kazakhstan. Hadfield is just after completing a worldwide tour promoting his new book "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth", which is available in all good book stores now.

Progress 52 Resupply Ship Docks to ISS

An unpiloted Russian cargo ship carrying nearly three tons of supplies for the Expedition 36 crew docked to the International Space Station less than six hours after launch Saturday.
The ISS Progress 52 resupply ship docked with the station’s Pirs docking compartment at 10:26 p.m. EDT, delivering 1,212 pounds of propellant, 42 pounds of oxygen, 62 pounds of air, 926 pounds of water and 3,395 pounds of spare parts, maintenance equipment and experiment hardware. Included in the cargo are tools identified for possible repairs to the U.S. spacesuits on the station. At the time of docking Progress 52 and the station were flying 260 miles over the Pacific Ocean approaching the west coast of South America.
The space freighter launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:45 p.m. EDT (2:45 a.m. Sunday Kazakhstan time) on an accelerated, four-orbit journey to rendezvous with the station. At the time of launch, the station was flying 260 miles over southern Russia near the border between Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
The docking port on Pirs was previously occupied by the ISS Progress 50 cargo craft, which departed Thursday after spending five months at the station.
The crew will conduct a series of leak checks at the Pirs docking interface before opening the Progress hatch to begin the long process of unloading the cargo.
Once emptied of its cargo, Progress 52 will be filled with trash and station discards and then undocked later this year for a destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.