Space news and Exploration II

[Old Rocks]

Oort cloud, here we come! Better develop some kind of shielding mechanism. Even a grain of sand at c/10 would be catastrophic.

 

[ScienceRocks]

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/23/te...ander-planned/

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), divulged the plan to an expert panel, including members of the cabinet and the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry on Monday.

"This is an initial step and a lot of procedures are still ahead before the plan is formally approved," a JAXA spokesperson told reporters.

If it is approved, the agency will reportedly use its Epsilon solid-fuel rocket technology to carry and deploy a SLIM probe -- the acronym stands for "Smart Lander for Investigating Moon" -- on the surface of the celestial body.

If America wants to compete it better spend more and get a plan!

 

[ScienceRocks]

Coldest Star Found—No Hotter Than Fresh Coffee

By Andrew Fazekas, for National Geographic News
Coldest Star Found No Hotter Than Fresh Coffee

According to a new study, a star discovered 75 light-years away is no warmer than a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

Dubbed CFBDSIR 1458 10b, the star is what's called a brown dwarf. These oddball objects are often called failed stars, because they have starlike heat and chemical properties but don't have enough mass for the crush of gravity to ignite nuclear fusion at their cores.

With surface temperatures hovering around 206 degrees F (97 degrees C), the newfound star is the coldest brown dwarf seen to date. (Related: "Dimmest Stars in Universe Spotted?")

"Over the years there has been steady but slow progress in pushing the boundaries of finding the coldest stars," said study leader Michael Liu, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii.

"But with this latest discovery we have made a big leap forward—besting the previous record holder by at least 150 Kelvin [270 degrees F, or 150 degrees C]," he said.

Coldest Star May Have Watery Atmosphere?

With an estimated mass of only 6 to 15 times that of Jupiter, CFBDSIR 1458 10b is the smaller and dimmer member of a binary system in which two brown dwarfs are locked in close orbit.

Liu and his team spotted the pair's faint infrared signature using the W.M. Keck Observatory and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, both on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

I thought the lower limit is 13 Jupiter masses? So the odds would favor this being a planet.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Europe's Next Space Chief Wants a Moon Colony on the Lunar Far Side
Europe s Next Space Chief Wants a Moon Colony on the Lunar Far Side

COLORADO

SPRINGS, Colorado — The incoming leader of the European Space Agency is keen on establishing an international base on the moon as a next-step outpost beyond the International Space Station (ISS).

Johann-Dietrich Wörner expressed his enthusiasm for a moon colony at the Space Foundation’s National Space Symposium, a gathering of global, commercial, civil, military and "new space" experts that was held here from April 13 to April 16.

"It seems to be appropriate to propose a permanent moon station as the successor of ISS," Wörner said. This station should be international, "meaning that the different actors can contribute with their respective competencies and interests." [Living on the Moon: What It Would Be Like (Infographic)]

 

[ScienceRocks]

The Detail That Goes Into Making Orion's Windows Is Incredible

Given how high-tech spacecraft tend to be, I was surprised to learn that existing space vehicles tend to use good old-fashioned glass (albeit a rather expensive kind). But for the next-gen Orion spacecraft, NASA has been working overtime to find something stronger, lighter, and just a little less fragile.

 

[ScienceRocks]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20..._134209220.htm

Chinese researchers have used 3D printing technology to make a safer space suit for astronauts while spacewalking.

A research center under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation used a 3D printer to create the vent pipes and the flanges connecting the pipes used on extravehicular space suit, according to a recent report from China Space News.

The vent pipe and the flange as a whole can improve the reliability and safety of the space suit, and suits can be made more efficiently. Researchers will use the technique to make more parts, says the report.

The technology has been approved by the Scientific Research Training Center for Chinese Astronauts.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Demory et al. (2015) "Variability in the super-Earth 55 Cnc e"
http://arxiv.org/abs/1505.00269

4-sigma variation in the dayside thermal emission. Cause is uncertain, but they also find a smaller radius (and thus higher density) planet, which has implications for the composition:
Using internal structure models of super-Earths (Madhusudhan et al. 2012), we find that the mass and bulk radius of the planet, given by the minimum radius observed, are consistent with an Earth-like interior composition of the planet, i.e. composed of an Iron core (30% by mass) overlaid by a silicate mantle and crust. Previous studies which used a larger radius of the planet required a thick water envelope (Demory et al. 2011; Gillon et al. 2012; Winn et al. 2011) or a carbon-rich interior (Madhusudhan et al. 2012), neither of which are now required but cannot be ruled out either.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Astronomers find first evidence of changing conditions on a super-Earth
The ability to peek into the atmospheres of rocky “super-Earths” and observe conditions on their surfaces marks an important milestone toward identifying habitable planets outside the solar system.
By University of Cambridge, United Kingdom | Published: Tuesday, May 05, 2015

For the first time, researchers led by the University of Cambridge have detected atmospheric variability on a rocky planet outside the solar system and observed a nearly threefold change in temperature over a two-year period. Although the researchers are quick to point out that the cause of the variability is still under investigation, they believe the readings could be due to massive amounts of volcanic activity on the surface. The ability to peek into the atmospheres of rocky “super-Earths” and observe conditions on their surfaces marks an important milestone toward identifying habitable planets outside the solar system.

Using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, the researchers observed thermal emissions coming from the planet, called 55 Cancri e — orbiting a Sun-like star located 40 light-years away in the constellation Cancer — and for the first time found rapidly changing conditions, with temperatures on the hot “day” side of the planet swinging between 1,800° and 4,900° F (1,000° and 2,700° C).

Astronomers find first evidence of changing conditions on a super-Earth Astronomy.com



Artist’s impression of super-Earth 55 Cancri e, showing a hot partially-molten surface of the planet before and after possible volcanic activity on the day side.

“This is the first time we’ve seen such drastic changes in light emitted from an exoplanet, which is particularly remarkable for a super-Earth,” said Nikku Madhusudhan of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy. “No signature of thermal emissions or surface activity has ever been detected for any other super-Earth to date.”

Although the interpretations of the new data are still preliminary, the researchers believe the variability in temperature could be due to huge plumes of gas and dust, which occasionally blanket the surface that may be partially molten. The plumes could be caused by exceptionally high rates of volcanic activity, higher than what has been observed on Io, one of Jupiter’s moons and the most geologically active body in the solar system.

“We saw a 300 percent change in the signal coming from this planet, which is the first time we’ve seen such a huge level of variability in an exoplanet,” said Brice-Olivier Demory of the University’s Cavendish Laboratory. “While we can’t be entirely sure, we think a likely explanation for this variability is large-scale surface activity, possibly volcanism, on the surface is spewing out massive volumes of gas and dust, which sometimes blanket the thermal emission from the planet so it is not seen from Earth.”

55 Cancri e is a “super-Earth,” a rocky exoplanet about twice the size and eight times the mass of Earth. It is one of five planets orbiting a Sun-like star in the constellation Cancer and resides so close to its parent star that a year lasts just 18 hours. The planet is also tidally locked, meaning there is a permanent “day” side and a “night” side. Since it is the nearest super-Earth whose atmosphere can be studied, 55 Cancri e is among the best candidates for detailed observations of surface and atmospheric conditions on rocky exoplanets.

Most of the early research on exoplanets has been on gas giants similar to Jupiter and Saturn since their enormous size makes them easier to find. In recent years, astronomers have been able to map the conditions on many of these gas giants, but it is much more difficult to do so for super-Earths: exoplanets with masses between one and 10 times the mass of Earth.

Earlier observations of 55 Cancri e pointed to an abundance of carbon, suggesting that the planet was composed of diamond. However, these new results have muddied those earlier observations considerably and opened up new questions.

“When we first identified this planet, the measurements supported a carbon-rich model,” said Madhusudhan, who along with Demory is a member of the Cambridge Exoplanet Research Center. “But now we’re finding that those measurements are changing in time. The planet could still be carbon rich, but now we’re not so sure — earlier studies of this planet have even suggested that it could be a water world. The present variability is something we’ve never seen anywhere else, so there’s no robust conventional explanation. But that’s the fun in science — clues can come from unexpected quarters. The present observations open a new chapter in our ability to study the conditions on rocky exoplanets using current and upcoming large telescopes.”

 

[danielpalos]

I believe we should advance technologies to the point where we can accomplish this even if only for local solar system surveys:
A Swarm of Probes to the Stars

We should also be advancing RailGun technologies for close support.

Railgun - Wikipedia the free encyclopediahttp://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=18968

 

[ScienceRocks]

I'd love to see that happen Danielpalos, but with the republicans holding the power I am afraid we'll be lucky to have anything by 2020. I'd love to see nasa getting 40, 50 or 100 billion per year. Can you imagine what we'd be able to do???

I bet we could find 200 or 300 thousand extrasolar planets by 2030 if we invested in telescopes like we should.

I bet we could have a base on the moon and mars!!!

I bet we could mine asteroids and add trillions of bucks to our economy!

I bet we could put together a good defense for asteroids in no time flat. This is a serious issue that the anti-space people don't seem to care about but they sure as fuck should.

Our country is better off spending money on science as that comes back into the economy in the mid to long term. We have a choice...Do we want to be north Korea or do we want to be a first world technological advance society???

I honestly pray Obama veto's the living hell out of the gop budget.

 

[ScienceRocks]

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-05/uot-uot050515.php

The team, led by Daniel Tamayo from the Centre for Planetary Science at U of T Scarborough and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, found that circular gaps in a disk of dust and gas swirling around the young star HL Tau are in fact made by forming planets

http://arxiv.org/abs/1505.00882

Evidence of fast pebble growth near condensation fronts in the HL Tau protoplanetary disk

Water and simple organic molecular ices dominate the mass of solid materials available for planetesimal and planet formation beyond the water snow line. Here we analyze ALMA long Baseline 2.9, 1.3 and 0.87mm continuum images of the young star HL Tau, and suggest that the emission dips observed are due to rapid pebble growth around the condensation fronts of abundant volatile species. Specifically, we show that the prominent innermost dip at 13AU is spatially resolved in the 0.87mm image, and its center radius is coincident with the expected mid-plane condensation front of water ice. In addition, two other prominent dips, at distances of 32 and 63 AU, cover the mid-plane condensation fronts of pure ammonia or ammonia hydrates and clathrate hydrates (especially with CO and N2) formed from amorphous water ice. The spectral index map of HL Tau between 1.3 and 0.87mm shows that the flux ratios inside the dips are statistically larger than those of nearby regions in the disk. This variation can be explained by a model with two dust populations, where most of solid mass resides in a component that has grown into decimeter size scales inside the dips. Such growth is in accord with recent numerical simulations of volatile condensation, dust coagulation and settling.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Discovery of a young planetary mass companion to the nearby M dwarf VHS J125601.92-125723.9

In a search for common proper motion companions using the VISTA Hemisphere Survey and 2MASS catalogs we have identified a very red (J-Ks=2.47 mag) late-L dwarf companion of a previously unrecognized M dwarf VHS J125601.92-125723.9, located at a projected angular separation of 8.06"+/-0.03". From low-resolution optical and near-IR spectroscopy we classified the primary and the companion as an M7.5+/-0.5 and L7+/-1.5, respectively. The primary shows weaker alkali lines than field dwarfs of similar spectral type, but still consistent with either a high-gravity dwarf or a younger object of hundreds of millions of years. The secondary shows spectral features characteristic for low surface gravity objects at ages below several hundred Myr, like the triangular shape of the H-band continuum and alkali lines weaker than in field dwarfs of the same spectral type. The absence of lithium in the atmosphere of the primary and the likely membership to the Local Association allowed us to constrain the age of the system to the range of 150-300 Myr. We report a measurement of the trigonometric parallax pi=78.8+/-6.4 mas, which translates into a distance of 12.7+/-1.0 pc; the pair thus has a projected physical separation of 102+/-9 AU. We derived the Lbol of the components and compared them with theoretical evolutionary models to estimate the masses and effective temperatures. For the primary, we determined log(Lbol/LSun)=-3.14+/-0.10, and a mass of 73 (+20,-15} MJup at the boundary between stars and brown dwarfs and Teff of 2620+/-140 K. For the companion we obtained log(Lbol/LSun)=-5.05+/-0.22 and a mass of 11.2 (+9.7,-1.8 ) MJup placing it near the deuterium-burning mass limit. The effective temperature derived from evolutionary models is 880 (+140,-110) K, about 400-700 K cooler than expected for field late-L dwarfs.

 

[danielpalos]

I'd love to see that happen Danielpalos, but with the republicans holding the power I am afraid we'll be lucky to have anything by 2020. I'd love to see nasa getting 40, 50 or 100 billion per year. Can you imagine what we'd be able to do???

I bet we could find 200 or 300 thousand extrasolar planets by 2030 if we invested in telescopes like we should.

I bet we could have a base on the moon and mars!!!

I bet we could mine asteroids and add trillions of bucks to our economy!

I bet we could put together a good defense for asteroids in no time flat. This is a serious issue that the anti-space people don't seem to care about but they sure as fuck should.

Our country is better off spending money on science as that comes back into the economy in the mid to long term. We have a choice...Do we want to be north Korea or do we want to be a first world technological advance society???

I honestly pray Obama veto's the living hell out of the gop budget.

i believe we should advance those technologies which can enable more practicable use them, as well.

 

[ScienceRocks]

SpaceX successfully completes Launch Abort System test
By Anthony Wood
May 6, 2015
4 Pictures

SpaceX has carried out a successful test of its Launch Abort System (LAS) for the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The test, which took place at Space Launch Complex 40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station represents a major stop towards getting the spacecraft human rated under the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract. NASA hopes that commercial spacecraft such as the Crew Dragon will return manned spacecraft launches back to American soil sometime in 2017.

 

[ScienceRocks]

UAE to explore Mars' atmosphere with probe named 'Hope' (Update)
UAE to explore Mars atmosphere with probe named Hope Update

The United Arab Emirates' planned 2020 mission to Mars will study the planet's atmosphere and be appropriately named "Hope," members of the project team revealed Wednesday.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced initial plans for the unmanned probe last year. It is the first Mars mission attempted anywhere in the Arab world.

An invitation-only event Wednesday in Dubai was a chance for officials to unveil many of the finer details. And they did it with a good dose of Gulf flair—soaring music and computer animations projected onto a movie screen in a chandelier-filled beachside palace. One of the world's largest yachts, Dubai, was berthed outside.

"This mission to Mars is really for the hope of the Arab world and will send them a message to say you can be better, you can improve your country," Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the Emirates' vice president and prime minister, told reporters after the event.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Fresh evidence for how water reached Earth found in asteroid debris

Water delivery via asteroids or comets is likely taking place in many other planetary systems, just as it happened on Earth, new research strongly suggests.

Geochemical process on Saturn's moon linked to life's origin

New work from a team including Carnegie's Christopher Glein has revealed the pH of water spewing from a geyser-like plume on Saturn's moon Enceladus. Their findings are an important step toward determining ...

 

[ScienceRocks]

Ancient star raises prospects of intelligent life
Can life survive for billions of years longer than the expected timeline on Earth? As scientists discover older and older solar systems, it's likely that before long we'll find an ancient planet in a habitable ...

 

[mamooth]

Maybe.

Class M red dwarfs, the longest lived stars, probably can't support life. In order for a planet orbiting a red dwarf to be warm enough, it would have to be very close to the star, which would cause it to become tidally locked to the star. One face always frozen, one face always hot. Not conducive to life.

Class K orange stars also live very long lives. Kepler-444, K-class, 0.75 solar masses. Right kind of star, but like the article says, the planets are too close in.

On the other end of the scale, any star bigger/hotter than F7 (1.2 solar masses) would be putting out enough UV radiation to sterilize the land. Ocean life only.

So, K class (orange), G (yellow, like our sun), and lower-end F (white) are realistic possibilities for life. From 0.6 - 1.2 solar masses.

(OBAFGKM. Oh, be a fine girl, kiss me. Stellar classification, hottest to coldest.)

 

[mamooth]

This guy tries for a more complete version of the Drake equation. His estimate is 1 in 12,000 stars having a planet with intelligent life. That works out to 25 million such stars in the Milky Way, with an average distance between them of 88 light years.

An Estimate for N

 

[ScienceRocks]

Carl Sagan’s solar sail spacecraft is finally getting a real-world test

• By Ryan Whitwam on May 8, 2015 at 3:00 pm
• Comment

Carl Sagan s solar sail spacecraft is finally getting a real-world test ExtremeTech

The Planetary Society is preparing to test a spacecraft proposed by legendary astronomer (and founder of the Planetary Society) Carl Sagan. The vessel is called LightSail, and as you might expect, it uses a light sail for propulsion. The fascinating design has been successfully tested on Earth, but now it’s going to be launched to the upper atmosphere to test the deployment of its huge mylar sails in flight.

Solar sail technology relies upon a well-understood fact of spaceflight. While light doesn’t have mass, it does have momentum, which can be transferred to a vessel. It’s something space agencies have had to correct for since the early days of spaceflight. Of course, the effects on a small spacecraft are almost nil, but that’s why LightSail has big sheets of mylar. Basically, as photons make contact with the solar sail material, some of it is absorbed, while the rest is reflected. This exerts a small amount of pressure on the sail — enough to push a craft along.