#she's the largest spacecraft nasa has built for a planetary mission

[carpediemily]

Hello! The Europa Clipper launches on October 10th, 2024 at 12:31 pm EST, and will travel 1.8 billion miles to reach Jupiter in April of 2030!

It wrinkles my brain that Jupiter’s moon Europa has oceans that are sixty miles deep, while Earth’s oceans only reach seven miles deep at most. I’m willing to bet good money that there’s life in Europa’s oceans. Like five bucks. You hear me, NASA? I bet you five bucks that there’s life on Europa… Now that there’s money and reputation on the line, I bet they send a mission there real quick.

[sciencespies]

This Martian lava tube could swallow Earth's biggest lava tube more than 3 times

https://sciencespies.com/space/this-martian-lava-tube-could-swallow-earths-biggest-lava-tube-more-than-3-times/

This Martian lava tube could swallow Earth's biggest lava tube more than 3 times

NASA’s Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet when it reached Mars in late 1971. It got there only a few weeks before the Soviet Union’s Mars 2 and Mars 3 spacecraft, despite being launched 11 days later than those missions. Unfortunately, there was a major dust storm when Mariner 9 arrived, and NASA had to wait until January before the spacecraft could get good images.

When it did get those images, they revealed a surprise: volcanoes and lava flows cover large portions of the Martian surface.

In the decades since Mariner 9’s visit, we’ve learned a lot about Mars and its geologic history. For instance, we know that Mars is home to the Solar System’s largest volcano: Olympus Mons.

But volcanoes and lava flows are just the most visible artifacts of Mars’ ancient volcanic activity. As our technology has gotten better and better, we’ve been able to see the surface in greater detail. And that’s revealed the presence of lava tubes on the planet.

Lava tubes form when lava flows underneath the surface. As the outside of the flowing lava cools and solidifies into a ceiling and walls, the interior stays molten and keeps flowing. Eventually, the lava flows out of the tube in a downslope direction, leaving the tube.

Lava tubes, also called pyroducts, can be found on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. They may be found on other bodies that have volcanic activity, too.

But while Earth is larger than Mars, terrestrial lava tubes are smaller than the largest ones on Mars. The HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) recently took a picture of a collapsed lava tube ceiling that is much larger than anything on Earth.

When HiRISE took this image, shadows prevented it from seeing inside the collapsed section, sometimes called a skylight. But if the hole is 50 meters across, the lava tube is likely that large,too. On Earth, lava tubes are only as large as 14–15 meters (46–49 ft) wide, though they’re typically much narrower.

Some scientists say that exploring lava tubes should be given some priority. Lava tubes could host any simple life that may have survived to this day on Mars. As the planet lost its atmosphere and cooled, the tubes could’ve provided shelter from the increasingly hostile surface conditions. If life had migrated there somehow, it may still be present.

Science journalist Sid Perkins thinks so. In his article “Core Concept: Lava tubes may be havens for ancient alien life and future human explorers,” he said, “If Mars ever hosted life, it may have moved into such refugia as the planet evolved and surface conditions became increasingly harsh. Indeed, some researchers suggest that microbial life may yet hang on in the Red Planet’s underground havens.”

If those underground havens are good enough for Martian microbial life, they may be good enough for humans. Some researchers say that habitats or bases could be placed or built inside these tubes. In the same way that they could potentially provide shelter for extant Martian life, they could provide shelter for visiting humans on the Moon, or possibly even on Mars itself.

“Lava tubes could provide stable shields from cosmic and solar radiation and micrometeorite impacts which are often happening on the surfaces of planetary bodies,” said Francesco Sauro, co-author of a comparative study of lava tubes on Earth, Mars, and the Moon. “Moreover, they have great potential for providing an environment in which temperatures do not vary from day- to night-time.”

A person stands inside the the Surtshellir-Stefanshellir lava tube. (Dave Bunnell/Under Earth Images/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0)

But before we use them for that purpose, we have to explore them first. And though there’s a strong likelihood that they’re similar to tubes on Earth, nobody’s really seen inside one yet. There are images that show a portion of the floor of these tubes, but that’s it.

If we’re going to explore them, it’ll be risky. Astronauts on the Moon or on Mars are not going to be set up to go spelunking, or to belay each other down into the hole. There are probably some people who would dedicate their entire adult life to being the first to go into one, but space agencies are reluctant to put people in that kind of danger.

It’ll probably be up to machines to do the initial exploration. And scientists have already put some thought into that. One concept is the Moon Diver.

The Moon Diver is the brainchild of NASA’s Laura Kerber at JPL. She and her colleagues proposed the mission to explore the Tranquillitatis Pit on the Moon. The proposal included a stationary lander that would land near the pit. Then it would release a small, two-wheeled rover that would approach the pit, and lower itself into it while still tethered to the lander by cable.

Unfortunately, the Moon Diver was not chosen for funding. But the idea is still alive.

There are currently no plans to explore lava tubes on Mars or the Moon. But it might just be a matter of time until we do. Compared to some of the missions proposed to explore Titan and Europa, for example, a mission similar to the Moon Diver might not be that complex, or expensive.

But until then, they’re tantalizing targets for cameras.

This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.

#Space

[inhandnetworks-blog]

Astronomers Give Pluto’s Planetary Features First Official  touchscreen vending  Names

www.inhandnetworks.com

Pluto’s first official surface-feature names are marked on this map, compiled from images and data gathered by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft during its flight through the Pluto system in 2015. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI/Ross Beyer

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has officially named 14 Pluto surface features and many more will soon be proposed to the IAU, both on Pluto and on its moons.

It’s official: Pluto’s “heart” now bears the name of pioneering American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930. And a crater on Pluto is now officially named after Venetia Burney, the British schoolgirl who in 1930 suggested the name “Pluto,” Roman god of the underworld, for Tombaugh’s newly-discovered planet.

Tombaugh Regio and Burney crater are among the first set of official Pluto feature names approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the internationally recognized authority for naming celestial bodies and their surface features.

These and other names were proposed by NASA’s New Horizons team following the first reconnaissance of Pluto and its moons by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015. The New Horizons science team had been using these and other place names informally to describe the many regions, mountain ranges, plains, valleys and craters discovered during the first close-up look at the surfaces of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon.

A total of 14 Pluto place names have now been made official by the IAU; many more will soon be proposed to the IAU, both on Pluto and on its moons. “The approved designations honor many people and space missions who paved the way for the historic exploration of Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, the farthest worlds ever explored,” said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado.

“We’re very excited to approve names recognizing people of significance to Pluto and the pursuit of exploration as well as the mythology of the underworld. These names highlight the importance of pushing to the frontiers of discovery,” said Rita Schulz, chair of the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. “We appreciate the contribution of the general public in the form of their naming suggestions and the New Horizons team for proposing these names to us.”

Stern applauded the work of the New Horizons Nomenclature Working Group, which along with Stern included science team members Mark Showalter — the group’s chairman and liaison to the IAU — Ross Beyer, Will Grundy, William McKinnon, Jeff Moore, Cathy Olkin, Paul Schenk and Amanda Zangari.

The team gathered many ideas during the “Our Pluto” online naming campaign in 2015. Following on Venetia Burney’s original suggestion, several place names on Pluto come from underworld mythology. “I’m delighted that most of the approved names were originally recommended by members of the public,” said Showalter, of the SETI Institute, Mountain View, California.

The approved Pluto surface feature names are listed below. The names pay homage to the underworld mythology, pioneering space missions, historic pioneers who crossed new horizons in exploration, and scientists and engineers associated with Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.

Tombaugh Regiohonors Clyde Tombaugh (1906–1997), the U.S. astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930 from Lowell Observatory in Arizona.

Burney craterhonors Venetia Burney (1918-2009), who as an 11-year-old schoolgirl suggested the name “Pluto” for Clyde Tombaugh’s newly discovered planet. Later in life she taught mathematics and economics.

Sputnik Planitiais a large plain named for Sputnik 1, the first space satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957.

Tenzing MontesandHillary Montesare mountain ranges honoring Tenzing Norgay (1914–1986) and Sir Edmund Hillary (1919–2008), the Indian/Nepali Sherpa and New Zealand mountaineer were the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest and return safely.

Al-Idrisi Monteshonors Ash-Sharif al-Idrisi (1100–1165/66), a noted Arab mapmaker and geographer whose landmark work of medieval geography is sometimes translated as “The Pleasure of Him Who Longs to Cross the Horizons.”

Djanggawul Fossaedefines a network of long, narrow depressions named for the Djanggawuls, three ancestral beings in indigenous Australian mythology who traveled between the island of the dead and Australia, creating the landscape and filling it with vegetatio modem  n.

Sleipnir Fossais named for the powerful, eight-legged horse of Norse mythology that carried the god Odin into the underworld.

Virgil Fossaehonors Virgil, one of the greatest Roman poets and Dante’s fictional guide through LTE cat 1 Connectvity hell and purgatory in theDivine Comedy.

Adlivun Cavusis a deep depression named for Adlivun, the underworld in Inuit mythology.

Hayabusa Terrais a large land mass saluting the Japanese spacecraft and mission (2003-2010) that performed the first asteroid sample return.

Voyager Terrahonors the pair of NASA spacecraft, launched in 1977, that performed the first “grand tour” of all four giant planets. The Voyager spacecraft are now probing the boundary between the Sun and interstellar space.

Tartarus Dorsais a ridge named for Tartarus, the deepest, darkest pit of the underworld in Greek mythology.

Elliot craterrecognizes James Elliot (1943-2011), an MIT researcher who pioneered the use of stellar occultations to study the solar system – leading to discoveries such as the rings of Uranus and the first detection of Pluto’s thin atmosphere.

The New Horizons spacecraft – built and operated M2M IoT router   at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, with a payload and science investigation led by SwRI — is speeding toward its next flyby, this one with the ancient Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, a billion miles beyond Pluto, on January 1, 2019.

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[sciencespies]

It's official: NASA's sending a mission to Titan, a top candidate for alien life

https://sciencespies.com/space/its-official-nasas-sending-a-mission-to-titan-a-top-candidate-for-alien-life/

It's official: NASA's sending a mission to Titan, a top candidate for alien life

For its newest planetary science mission, NASA aims to land a flying robot on the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan, a top target in the search for alien life.

Dragonfly will be the first endeavor of its kind. NASA’s car-sized quadcopter, equipped with instruments capable of identifying large organic molecules, is slated to launch in 2026, arrive at its destination in 2034 and then fly to multiple locations hundreds of miles apart.

“The science is compelling . . . and the mission is bold,” Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science, said Thursday.

“I am convinced now is the right time to do this.”

BIG NEWS: The next @NASASolarSystem mission is… #Dragonfly – a rotorcraft lander mission to Saturn’s largest moon Titan. This ocean world is the only moon in our solar system with a dense atmosphere & we’re so excited to see what Dragonfly discovers: https://t.co/whePqbuGBq pic.twitter.com/BQdMhSZfgP

— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) June 27, 2019

Why Titan?

Titan is bigger than the planet Mercury and as geographically diverse as Earth. This large, cold moon features a thick, methane-rich atmosphere, mountains of ice and the only surface seas in the solar system beside those on Earth.

But on Titan, the rivers and lakes are full of sloshing liquid hydrocarbons. If the moon does harbor water, scientists think it exists in an ocean lurking beneath the frozen crust.

It’s a world utterly unlike our own, and yet “we know it has all of the ingredients that are necessary to help life form,” said Lori Glaze, NASA’s planetary science division director.

Titan’s complex rings and chains of carbon are fundamental to many basic biological processes and may resemble the building blocks from which life on Earth evolved.

Dragonfly will provide “the opportunity to discover the processes that were present on early Earth and possibly even the conditions that might harbor life today,” Glaze said.

New Frontiers

This is the fourth mission to be funded as part of NASA’s New Frontiers program, which supports medium-size planetary science projects that cost less than US$1 billion.

It follows in the footsteps of the New Horizons spacecraft, which flew past Pluto and the Kuiper belt object MU69; the asteroid-explorer OSIRIS-REx; and the Juno probe currently orbiting Jupiter.

It was one of two program proposals that have been under consideration since December 2017. The other finalist was the CAESAR mission, for Comet Astrobiology Exploration Sample Return, which would have circled to the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

That craft would have rendezvoused with the huge space rock, sucked up a sample from its surface and returned it to Earth in November 2038.

(NASA)

Dragonfly will land near Titan’s equator, among dunes composed of solid hydrocarbon snowflakes. It will be powered by heat from radioactive plutonium, much like NASA’s intrepid Mars rovers.

But with eight rotors, it will be able to cover much more distance than any wheeled robot ever has – as many as nine miles per hop.

“It’s actually easier to fly on Titan,” Elizabeth Turtle, the mission’s principal investigator and a researcher at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, said during a news conference Thursday. That world’s atmosphere is thicker than Earth’s and its gravity is weak.

The craft has to be able to maneuver on its own, however. Light signals from Earth take 43 minutes to reach Titan, making Dragonfly much more complicated than a standard drone.

Scientists had to develop a navigation system that will enable the spacecraft to identify hazards and fly and land autonomously.

Where will Dragonfly land?

In flight, it will sample Titan’s hazy atmosphere and provide aerial images of the landscape below. But the craft will spend most of its time on the ground, testing for biologically relevant materials.

Its ultimate destination is Selk Crater, the site of an ancient meteor impact where scientists have found evidence of liquid water, organic molecules and the energy that could fuel chemical reactions.

The gutsy design prompted NASA to ask two independent teams to examine the mission plan and assess whether the project could be executed at the cost allowed, Zurbuchen said. Ultimately, the agency decided the project was doable.

“While this is a new way of exploring a different planet, this is actually technology that is very mature on Earth,” Turtle noted.

“Really what we’re doing with Dragonfly is innovation, not invention.”

NASA hasn’t seen the surface of Titan since 2005, when the Huygens probe dropped through its hazy orange clouds to reveal an outlandish panorama. Every Earth-like feature on this strange moon had a chemically alien twist.

“Instead of liquid water, Titan has liquid methane,” scientists reported in the journal Nature. “Instead of silicate rocks, Titan has frozen water ice. Instead of dirt, Titan has hydrocarbon particles settling out of the atmosphere.”

At nearly 1 billion miles from the sun, its world is bitterly cold; temperatures average minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit (-180 degrees Celsius) on a mild day. Were more oxygen present, those abundant hydrocarbons (the main component of gasoline) would quickly catch fire.

The presence of all that methane — a molecule that is usually destroyed by sunlight in a few million years – is what’s most intriguing to scientists. Its persistence suggests some process that is continually renewing Titan’s supply.

They now believe that Titan experiences a weather much like what occurs on Earth – except its clouds are made of hydrocarbon gas, and its precipitation falls as organic compound rain and snow.

Life as we don’t know it

Turtle said Thursday that Titan in many ways resembles the infant Earth, before life evolved and irrevocably changed the planet.

“Titan is just a perfect chemical laboratory to understand the chemistry that occurred before chemistry took the step to biology,” she said.

Johns Hopkins University planetary scientist Sarah Hörst, a member of Dragonfly’s science and engineering team, once compared Titan to a cosmic kitchen in which scientists have found all the ingredients for life.

“But you weren’t there when they got mixed, so you don’t know what they got mixed up to do. You don’t know what will happen when you bake it,” she said in 2017.

All those ingredients may add up to nothing. Or they could be signs of “life as we don’t know it,” she said – a form of biology based in hydrocarbons, rather than water.

In the years since the Huygens landing, scientists have detected even more molecular riches: negatively charged molecules associated with complex chemical reactions; rings of hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen from which amino acids can be built; and molecules that can clump together to form a spherical envelope much like the membranes that surround cells.

“We are pretty darn sure that everything in these broad, big-picture categories that’s required for life exists on Titan,” Hörst said. “At some point it just comes down to, well, shouldn’t we go check?”

2019 © The Washington Post

This article was originally published by The Washington Post.

#Space