Space News thread

[BaitongBoy]

The lack of stability also reduces even further the probability of habitable Earth like planets.

Yes, this is the key statement here...And I like the reference to pinball...

[Takeovers]

I have not yet looked at the documentary. But please remember the planetary systems we are discovering now are what we can discover with the available methods. They are very likely not the average systems. We discover large planets near to the suns because they produce the largest effects and we can discover only those. Still very valuable data. They will allow development of better models for forming of planetary systems. Before the discoveries scientists would not have anticipated large planets so near to their suns. Not surprising that these systems are not stable.

[Luigi]

Kepler's Tally of Planets.



Very cool.

[Takeovers]

An animation of DAWN's approach to Ceres. Note that this approach has been chosen after a temporary failure of propulsion. Initially it was planned to get into the final orbit directly. But after the ion propulsion system went down for a short period the approach as shown was chosen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtO9sck13WI

DAWN is now already in an orbit but a very elongated ellliptic one. Ion thrusters keep firing until the low round orbit is achieved.

[misskit]

NASA Confirms Ocean on Jupiter Moon

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA—
Scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope have confirmed that the Jupiter-orbiting moon Ganymede has an ocean beneath its icy surface, raising the prospects for life, NASA said Thursday.

The finding resolves a mystery about the largest moon in the solar system after NASA's now-defunct Galileo spacecraft provided hints that Ganymede has a subsurface ocean during exploration of Jupiter and its moons from 1995 to 2003.

Scientists told reporters on a conference call that it took some detective work to confirm the discovery.

Like Earth, Ganymede has a liquid iron core that generates a magnetic field, though Ganymede's field is embedded within Jupiter's magnetic field. That sets up an interesting dynamic with telltale visuals — twin bands of glowing aurora around Ganymede's northern and southern polar regions.

As Jupiter rotates, its magnetic field shifts, causing Ganymede's aurora to rock. Scientists measured the motion and found it fell short. Using computer models, they realized that a salty, electrically conductive ocean beneath the moon's surface was counteracting Jupiter's magnetic pull.

"Jupiter is like a lighthouse whose magnetic field changes with the rotation of the lighthouse. It influences the aurora," said geophysicist Joachim Saur, with the University of Cologne in Germany. "With the ocean, the rocking is significantly reduced."

Scientists ran more than 100 computer models to see if anything else could be having an impact on Ganymede's aurora.

They also repeated the seven-hour, ultraviolet Hubble observations and analyzed data for both belts of aurora.

"This gives us confidence in the measurement," Saur said.

NASA Planetary Science Division Director Jim Green called the finding "an astounding demonstration."

"They developed a new approach to look inside a planetary body with a telescope," Green said.

Ganymede joins a growing list of moons in the outer solar system with subsurface water. On Wednesday, scientists reported that Saturn's moon Enceladus has hot springs beneath its icy crust. Other water-rich worlds include Jupiter moons Europa and Callisto.

Scientists estimate the ocean is 60 miles (100 km) thick, 10 times deeper than Earth's oceans, and is buried under a 95-mile (150-km) crust of mostly ice.

"It is one step further toward finding that habitable, water-rich environment in our solar system," said astronomer Heidi Hammel with the Washington-based Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.

NASA Confirms Ocean on Jupiter Moon

[Takeovers]

NASA Confirms Ocean on Jupiter Moon

Sending a lander probe to one of the giant planet moons is one of the dream goals of interplanetary missions. Some people believe, NASA and ESA are concentrating too much on Mars. I am split with my own opinion but would really love to see more going further out. But the environment there is very harsh.

Very little energy from the sun for solar panels makes nuclear batteries a good option for energy, but the raw material for these is rare and expensive.

Also the giant planets have extremely intensive radiation belts that dwarf the earth's Van Allen Belts. Probes have to be very radiation resistant and still avoid the worst of that radiation if they are expected to work for extended periods.

[Takeovers]

Some news about the russian space plans.

They are working on a new and very advanced replacement for the aging Soyus launch vehicle. The Soyus 5 would burn methane instead of RP-1 (Kerosene) like the present Soyus.



There would be versions ranging from 3t to LEO up to 26t. The largest would be capable of launching the also planned new manned capsule.

The decision on building Soyus 5 is expected in May this year. Development is in an advanced state. There is not decision yet on building that new manned capsule. If approved the new launch vehicle can fly app. 2021.

????: ?????? - ??? "????????" ??????? ??????, ?????????? ?? ????????? ????????? ????

The article is in russian but google translate is not that bad. I did not read it though. I rely on someone who regularly posts updates on russian space activities in german.

[Necron99]

Abandoning the multi engine approach?

Classic soviet era icon...

[Takeovers]

Abandoning the multi engine approach?

Classic soviet era icon...

I would not say abandon. If they want to build a very heavy lift vehicle they may go back to it. At this medium lift capacity the approach with one engine per core is efficient.

More important IMO is the fuel. Did you notice they are using methane? Up to now the main liquid propellants were RP-1 (Kerosene) and Liquid Hydrogen LH2. (With hypergols a third group that allowed simple engines but at the cost of low performance and poisonous fuel.)

There seems a major shift to Methane in the works at the moment. Methane engines have never flown on orbital vehicles yet. The Russians are the only ones who have tested orbital capable methane engines up to now, but only experimental.

But in the US presently SpaceX is working on a methane engine for their Mars vehicle. They are planning of using many engines - probably more than 20 for their first stage. Blue Origin is developing another methane engines that ULA is planning to use on their NGLV Next Generation Launch Vehicle. The Air Force called for developing of a methane engine too.

Methane is significantly more efficient than RP-1. Less energetic than LH2 but much more dense and much easier to handle.

NASA is testflying the Morpheus moon lander model using methane. A very neat vehicle but a demo system only.

[harrybarracuda]

Just in case anyone hasn't seen The Mist...

Scientists at Large Hadron Collider hope to make contact with PARALLEL UNIVERSE in days

SCIENTISTS conducting a mindbending experiment at the Large Hadron Collider next week hope to connect with a PARALLEL UNIVERSE outside of our own.

By PAUL BALDWIN
PUBLISHED: 14:49, Fri, Mar 20, 2015

The staggeringly complex LHC ‘atom smasher’ at the CERN centre in Geneva, Switzerland, will be fired up to its highest energy levels ever in a bid to detect - or even create - miniature black holes.

If successful a completely new universe will be revealed – rewriting not only the physics books but the philosophy books too.

It is even possible that gravity from our own universe may ‘leak’ into this parallel universe, scientists at the LHC say.

The experiment is sure to inflame alarmist critics of the LHC, many of whom initially warned the high energy particle collider would spell the end of our universe with the creation a black hole of its own.

But so far Geneva remains intact and comfortably outside the event horizon.

Indeed the LHC has been spectacularly successful. First scientists proved the existence of the elusive Higgs boson ‘God particle’ - a key building block of the universe - and it is seemingly well on the way to nailing ‘dark matter’ - a previously undetectable theoretical possibility that is now thought to make up the majority of matter in the universe.

But next week’s experiment is considered to be a game changer.

Mir Faizal, one of the three-strong team of physicists behind the experiment, said: “Just as many parallel sheets of paper, which are two dimensional objects [breadth and length] can exist in a third dimension [height], parallel universes can also exist in higher dimensions.

“We predict that gravity can leak into extra dimensions, and if it does, then miniature black holes can be produced at the LHC.

"Normally, when people think of the multiverse, they think of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, where every possibility is actualised.

"This cannot be tested and so it is philosophy and not science.

“This is not what we mean by parallel universes. What we mean is real universes in extra dimensions.

Image of protons colliding at LHCGetty
Atom art: An image of two protons smashed together at the LHC
“As gravity can flow out of our universe into the extra dimensions, such a model can be tested by the detection of mini black holes at the LHC.

“We have calculated the energy at which we expect to detect these mini black holes in ‘gravity's rainbow’ [a new scientific theory].

“If we do detect mini black holes at this energy, then we will know that both gravity's rainbow and extra dimensions are correct."

When the LHC is fired up the energy is measured in Tera electron volts – a TeV is 1,000,000,000,000, or one trillion, electron Volts

So far, the LHC has searched for mini black holes at energy levels below 5.3 TeV.

But the latest study says this is too low.

Instead, the model predicts that black holes may form at energy levels of at least 9.5 TeV in six dimensions and 11.9 TeV in 10 dimensions.

Scientists at Large Hadron Collider hope to make contact with PARALLEL UNIVERSE in days | World | News | Daily Express

[Necron99]

Who's in charge of these cowboys?














Damn them all to hell!

[harrybarracuda]

That doesn't count, that was a nuclear war and time travel.

[beazalbob69]

Who's in charge of these cowboys?














Damn them all to hell!

One of the best movie endings ever!

[beazalbob69]

Just in case anyone hasn't seen The Mist...

Scientists at Large Hadron Collider hope to make contact with PARALLEL UNIVERSE in days

SCIENTISTS conducting a mindbending experiment at the Large Hadron Collider next week hope to connect with a PARALLEL UNIVERSE outside of our own.

By PAUL BALDWIN
PUBLISHED: 14:49, Fri, Mar 20, 2015

The staggeringly complex LHC ‘atom smasher’ at the CERN centre in Geneva, Switzerland, will be fired up to its highest energy levels ever in a bid to detect - or even create - miniature black holes.

If successful a completely new universe will be revealed – rewriting not only the physics books but the philosophy books too.

It is even possible that gravity from our own universe may ‘leak’ into this parallel universe, scientists at the LHC say.

The experiment is sure to inflame alarmist critics of the LHC, many of whom initially warned the high energy particle collider would spell the end of our universe with the creation a black hole of its own.

But so far Geneva remains intact and comfortably outside the event horizon.

Indeed the LHC has been spectacularly successful. First scientists proved the existence of the elusive Higgs boson ‘God particle’ - a key building block of the universe - and it is seemingly well on the way to nailing ‘dark matter’ - a previously undetectable theoretical possibility that is now thought to make up the majority of matter in the universe.

But next week’s experiment is considered to be a game changer.

Mir Faizal, one of the three-strong team of physicists behind the experiment, said: “Just as many parallel sheets of paper, which are two dimensional objects [breadth and length] can exist in a third dimension [height], parallel universes can also exist in higher dimensions.

“We predict that gravity can leak into extra dimensions, and if it does, then miniature black holes can be produced at the LHC.

"Normally, when people think of the multiverse, they think of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, where every possibility is actualised.

"This cannot be tested and so it is philosophy and not science.

“This is not what we mean by parallel universes. What we mean is real universes in extra dimensions.

Image of protons colliding at LHCGetty
Atom art: An image of two protons smashed together at the LHC
“As gravity can flow out of our universe into the extra dimensions, such a model can be tested by the detection of mini black holes at the LHC.

“We have calculated the energy at which we expect to detect these mini black holes in ‘gravity's rainbow’ [a new scientific theory].

“If we do detect mini black holes at this energy, then we will know that both gravity's rainbow and extra dimensions are correct."

When the LHC is fired up the energy is measured in Tera electron volts – a TeV is 1,000,000,000,000, or one trillion, electron Volts

So far, the LHC has searched for mini black holes at energy levels below 5.3 TeV.

But the latest study says this is too low.

Instead, the model predicts that black holes may form at energy levels of at least 9.5 TeV in six dimensions and 11.9 TeV in 10 dimensions.

Scientists at Large Hadron Collider hope to make contact with PARALLEL UNIVERSE in days | World | News | Daily Express

"Ignorant Monkeys playing with things they know not."

[beazalbob69]

BBC News - Possible fatty acid detected on Mars

Possible fatty acid detected on Mars

By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website, The Woodlands, Texas Curiosity's landing site of Gale Crater was once home to a lake
Continue reading the main story Related Stories

• Curiosity rover back in the groove
• Curiosity rover clobbers Mars rock
• Mars rover 'solves mountain riddle'

A fatty acid might be among organic molecules discovered on Mars by Nasa's Curiosity rover.
However, it's not possible at this stage to determine whether the compound has a biological or non-biological origin.
And contamination could still be responsible for the finding.
The results come from Curiosity's SAM instrument, and were presented at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in Texas.
Nasa scientist Daniel Glavin described the results from the first "wet chemistry" experiment carried out by Curiosity.
A long-chain carboxylic acid, or fatty acid, was a good fit for one of the data peaks detected in a mudstone called Cumberland, he told an audience at the meeting. A form of alcohol molecule may also be among the compounds analysed.
The preliminary result will excite scientists because fatty acids are key components of the cell membranes found in all life forms, including microbial organisms.
Dr Glavin told an audience that the result was "provocative", and said the link to biology was the "million-dollar question". But he explained that a non-biological origin was equally plausible at this stage of the research.
One scientist commenting on the presentation suggested that contamination could not be ruled out as a cause of the signal.
The SAM team have been working to address the leak of a pre-existing chemical called MTBSTFA within the instrument.
The fact this is also an organic molecule has complicated the search for indigenous carbon-containing compounds in Martian rocks.
However, team members say they have turned the leak into an advantage, using their understanding of how MTBSTFA reacts with other compounds to identify Martian organics.
Curiosity landed on the Red Planet in August 2012, on a mission to explore Gale Crater, which billions of years ago would have held a lake.
The instrument team has previously reported evidence of chlorobenzene in the same rock, from the Martian area known as Yellowknife Bay.
Follow Paul on Twitter.

Viking Found Organics on Mars, Experiment Confirms : Discovery News

Viking Found Organics on Mars, Experiment Confirms



The Viking 1 Lander, illustrated in this model, touched down on the western slope of Mars' Chryse Planitia (the Plains of Gold) on July 20, 1976.


THE GIST

— A reanalysis of Mars Viking experiments shows the probes did find organics.
— The result was not initially understood due to the strong oxidation effects of a salt in the Mars soil known as perchlorate.
— A follow-up study on perchlorate-enhanced soil similar to what's found on Mars revealed fingerprints of combusted organics.
More than 30 years after NASA's Viking landers found no evidence for organic materials on Mars, scientists say a new experiment on Mars-like soil shows Viking did, in fact, hit pay dirt.
The new study was prompted by the August 2008 discovery of powerful oxygen-busting compounds known as perchlorates at the landing site of another Mars probe called Phoenix.
SEE ALSO: To Mars! Zambia's Forgotten Space Program
Scientists repeated a key Viking experiment using perchlorate-enhanced soil from Chile's Atacama Desert, which is considered one of the driest and most Mars-like places on Earth, and found telltale fingerprints of combusted organics — the same chemicals Viking scientists dismissed as contaminants from Earth.
"Contrary to 30 years of perceived wisdom, Viking did detect organic materials on Mars," planetary scientist Christopher McKay, with NASA's Ames Research Center in California, told Discovery News. "It's like a 30-year-old cold case suddenly solved with new facts."
"If the Viking team had said 'Well, maybe there's perchlorate in the soil,' everybody would have said they're crazy — why would there be perchlorates in the soil? It was only by having it pushed on us by Phoenix where we had no alternative but to conclude that there was perchlorate in the soil … Once you realize it's there, then everything makes sense," McKay added.
SLIDE SHOW: Remember one of the most successful Mars missions by browsing Phoenix's first photos just after it landed in the Martian arctic.
The Viking team's verdict that Mars lacked organics was the lynchpin argument against another Viking experiment that looked for signs of microbial life. In the experiment, a bit of nutrient-laced water was added to a sample of Martian soil.
The air above the soil was then monitored for signs that the nutrients had been metabolized. The instrument detected tracer gases the first time the experiment was done, but subsequent runs did not. The results were considered inconclusive and remain contested.
New evidence for organics on Mars does not mean Viking found life, cautions McKay.
SEE ALSO: Travel to Mars in 3 Hours
"Finding organics is not evidence of life or evidence of past life. It's just evidence for organics," he said.
But if NASA had realized there were organics on Mars, there might not have been a 20-year hiatus in sending landers for follow-up studies, said Rafael Navarro-González, with the Institute of Nuclear Science at the National Autonomous University in Mexico.
"We might have had continuing missions," Navarro-González told Discovery News.
NASA plans to launch a follow-up mission to look for organics on Mars in November.
SEE ALSO: A Blue Sunset On Mars
The research appears in last month's Journal of Geophysical Research.



"They are going so damn slow with this whole "life on Mars" shit. I wish they would just announce it already!"

[Takeovers]

Possible fatty acid detected on Mars

This just shows that this kind of exploration, exciting as it is, cannot replace humans going there and looking at things directly.

[Takeovers]

"Ignorant Monkeys playing with things they know not."

Actually it is ignorant monkeys writing about things they know not. That article seems nonsensical to me from the beginning to the end.

First and definitely completely wrong they write about creating a black hole that destroys the universe. That's ridiculous. A black hole would just destroy the earth, leaving the universe untroubled.

There was another hypothesis, that a phase change could be initiated, that would change the state of the universe, which indeed could be considered destroying the universe.



About that parallel universe thing I am quite certain they got that wrong too, but cannot be absolutely sure. It sounds to me like they were talking about discovering extra dimensions on very small scales. Look up Superstring theory.

Superstring theory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Super String Theory requires extra space dimensions folded into sub elementary particles. Because of their small size they are not apparent in our every day experience.

[harrybarracuda]

"My God, it's full of stars!".

[Luigi]

Super String Theory requires extra space dimensions folded into sub elementary particles.

Ah. good ol' M-theory with its 11 Dimensions. How my brain misses trying to understand thee.

Horizon did a good documentary on that... Some retards only calculated and envisioned 9 dimensions, pfft.

I'm personally waiting for a 11D computer monitor/TV set up with 769.1 surround sound.

[Neo]

the CERN centre in Geneva, Switzerland, will be fired up to its highest energy levels ever in a bid to detect - or even create - miniature black holes

Was nice knowing you all

[BaitongBoy]

I'm personally waiting for a 11D computer monitor/TV set up with 769.1 surround sound.

Will be obsolete in a year...

[Takeovers]

Ah. good ol' M-theory with its 11 Dimensions. How my brain misses trying to understand thee.

Never tried, too much risk for permanent brain damage in that direction.

BTW the present most complex string theories require a total of 26 dimensions. Good thing I checked. I almost stated 27.

[Necron99]

Ah. good ol' M-theory with its 11 Dimensions. How my brain misses trying to understand thee.

Never tried, too much risk for permanent brain damage in that direction.

BTW the present most complex string theories require a total of 26 dimensions. Good thing I checked. I almost stated 27.

Heh, I just got your avatar to move the other way.
All your dimensions are belong to me.....

[harrybarracuda]

A 400 kilometre-wide impact zone from a huge meteorite that broke in two moments before it slammed into the Earth has been found in Central Australia.

The crater from the impact millions of years ago has long disappeared. But a team of geophysicists has found the twin scars of the impacts - the largest impact zone ever found on Earth - hidden deep in the earth's crust.

Lead researcher Dr Andrew Glikson from The Australian National University (ANU) said the impact zone was discovered during drilling as part of geothermal research, in an area near the borders of South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

"The two asteroids must each have been over 10 kilometres across - it would have been curtains for many life species on the planet at the time," said Dr Glikson, from the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology.

The revelation of such ancient violent impacts may lead to new theories about the Earth's history.

"Large impacts like these may have had a far more significant role in the Earth's evolution than previously thought," Dr Glikson said.

The exact date of the impacts remains unclear. The surrounding rocks are 300 to 600 million years old, but evidence of the type left by other meteorite strikes is lacking.

For example, a large meteorite strike 66 million years ago sent up a plume of ash which is found as a layer of sediment in rocks around the world. The plume is thought to have led to the extinction of a large proportion of the life on the planet, including many dinosaur species.

However, a similar layer has not been found in sediments around 300 million years old, Dr Glikson said.

"It's a mystery - we can't find an extinction event that matches these collisions. I have a suspicion the impact could be older than 300 million years," he said.

A geothermal research project chanced on clues to the impacts while drilling more than two kilometres into the earth's crust.

The drill core contained traces of rocks that had been turned to glass by the extreme temperature and pressure caused by a major impact.

Magnetic modelling of the deep crust in the area traced out bulges hidden deep in the Earth, rich in iron and magnesium, corresponding to the composition of the Earth mantle.

"There are two huge deep domes in the crust, formed by the Earth's crust rebounding after the huge impacts, and bringing up rock from the mantle below," Dr Glikson said.

The two impact zones total more than 400 kilometres across, in the Warburton Basin in Central Australia. They extend through the Earth's crust, which is about 30 kilometres thick in this area.

World's largest asteroid impacts found in central Australia | EurekAlert! Science News

[BaitongBoy]

^Very interesting read...