On Dec. 18, NASA for the first time opened the doors of its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy in flight. Test fligthts occured since 2007. The telescope is built into the tail end of a Boeing 747. The overall mission is named the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and flies above atmospheric water vapor that blocks most infrared light from ground observatories. The telescope is easier to maintain than the Spitzer or Hubble and costs significantly less. IT scans the widest range of light of any scope, from ultraviolet to the far infrared.
Telescope Riding In a Boeing 747 Sees More Than Hubble
March 3rd, 2010Chilean Earthquake Alters Earth’s Rotation
March 2nd, 2010The recent earthquake in Chile probably altered the rotation of the earth, moving the Earth’s figure axis by about 3 inches (8 cm or 27 milliarcseconds).
The Massive 8.8 Chilie Earthquake, the seventh strongest earthquake in recorded history, hit Chile Saturday and should have shortened the length of an Earth day by 1.26 milliseconds, according to research scientist Richard Gross at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
The 9.1 Sumatran earthquake in 2004, which set off a deadly tsunami, should have shortened Earth’s days by 6.8 microseconds and shifted its axis by about 2.76 inches (7 cm, or 2.32 milliarcseconds).
The fault responsible for the 2010 Chile quake also slices through Earth at a steeper angle than the Sumatran quake’s fault, NASA scientists said.
“This makes the Chile fault more effective in moving Earth’s mass vertically and hence more effective in shifting Earth’s figure axis,” NASA officials said.
France Buys $1 Billion Worth of Russian Rockets
March 2nd, 2010French Arianespace company head Jean-Ives Le Gall has announced that the company has made $1 billion available in a contract with Russia. ‘We have ordered 14 Soyuz carrier rockets. This contract will be worth about $1 billion,’ Le Gall said in Paris on Tuesday. The Russian rockets and spacecraft have been one of the most reliable, stable, low cost and mature for space travel.
SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Readying New Rockets
February 21st, 2010Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), a California-based company, already has already tested and completed the Falcon 9 rocket. In fact, a new Falcon 9 rocket is already assembled in Cape Canaveral for deployment soon. SpaceX holds a 1.6 billion contract with NASA for 12 flights to resupply the International Space Station.  The Falcon 9 rocket will feature the Dragon spacecraft that allows a higher payload than the Russian Soyuz.
Orbital Sciences, a Virginia-based company has been developing technologies for NASA for over a decade. Â They are developing the Taurus 2 rocket with it’s own cargo spacecraft to resupply the space station. The contract they hold is more expensive for NASA, at $1.9 billion for eight flights.
SpaceX has been making huge headlines because of the lower total cost and the efficiency they have shown. Â PayPal co-founder Elon Musk founded the company in 2002 with the goal of making the making space travel affordable and reliable by removing unneeded bureaucracy.
More information about the Falcon 9 rocket can be found here: http://spacex.com/falcon9.php
More information about the Taurus 2 Rocket can be found here: http://www.orbital.com/SpaceLaunch/TaurusII/
Surface Changes on Pluto Revealed by Hubble
February 16th, 2010NASA today released the most detailed set of images ever taken of the distant dwarf planet Pluto. The images taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope show an icy and dark molasses-colored, mottled world that is undergoing seasonal changes in its surface color and brightness. Pluto has become significantly redder, while its illuminated northern hemisphere is getting brighter. These changes are most likely consequences of surface ices sublimating on the sunlit pole and then refreezing on the other pole as the dwarf planet heads into the next phase of its 248-year-long seasonal cycle. The dramatic change in color apparently took place in a two-year period, from 2000 to 2002.
The Hubble images will remain our sharpest view of Pluto until NASA’s New Horizons probe is within six months of its Pluto flyby. The Hubble pictures are proving invaluable for picking out the planet’s most interesting-looking hemisphere for the New Horizons spacecraft to swoop over when it flies by Pluto in 2015.
Though Pluto is arguably one of the public’s favorite planetary objects, it is also the hardest of which to get a detailed portrait because the world is small and very far away. Hubble resolves surface variations a few hundred miles across, which are too coarse for understanding surface geology. But in terms of surface color and brightness Hubble reveals a complex-looking and variegated world with white, dark-orange and charcoal-black terrain. The overall color is believed to be a result of ultraviolet radiation from the distant sun breaking up methane that is present on Pluto’s surface, leaving behind a dark and red carbon-rich residue.
Life Originated Outside of Earth? A Meteorite Suggests So!
February 16th, 2010A 40 year old meteorite that was found contains millions of organic molecules. Spectroscopy was used to detect a fraction of the molecules and, based on prior studies, it is reasonable to make the estimate that the ancient rock contains over 14,000 different organic compounds. The meteorite landed in Murchison Australia in 1969.
Scientists believe the meteorite could have originated before the Sun was formed, 4.65 billion years ago. The scientists from the Institute for Ecological Chemistry in Neuherberg, Germany say it probably passed through primordial clouds in the early Solar System, picking up organic chemicals.
This isn’t the first time a meteorite has shown to contain organic molecules, the necessary building blocks for life. The finding on this particular meteorite has further heightened the debate on where we came from and why primordial clouds might have contained the organic chemicals.
NASA’s Hobbled Spirit Rover Parks for Winter on Mars
February 15th, 2010The Spirit Rover on Mars is about to enter hibernation mode as it is parked for the harsh Martian Winter. It is not operating as a science outpost on Mars after getting it’s wheel stuck in the sand. The Rover has spent 6 years on the service–much longer than anyone had anticipated. Before Spirit will hibernate, it will take pictures around the surface and beam them back to NASA, helping them study Martian wind.
Second Spacewalk Ends at ISS
February 14th, 2010After 5 hours and 54 minutes of orbital work, astronauts Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick have completed their second spacewalk outside the International Space Station to activate the outpost’s new Tranquility node. The spacewalk ended at 3:14 a.m. EST (0814 GMT), a bit early though the spacewalkers completed all their work.