“First Women on the Moon” Essay Contest

Sep18
by TopSpacer on September 18, 2018 at 12:21 pm
Posted In: Activism, Astronomy, Contests and Games

An announcement from the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA):

‘FIRST WOMEN ON THE MOON’ ESSAY CONTEST RULES

100-Word Submission Due 5 October 2018
Grand Prize: All-expenses-paid participation at Galaxy Forum Hainan, China 4-7 December 2018 

INTRODUCTION: The first men walked upon the Moon in 1969. Since then, 61 women from multiple nations have traveled into Space. Several countries are now actively aiming for the Moon, including a Human Return to the Moon. The First Woman to the Moon is walking among us.

GRAND PRIZE: Winner will attend all sessions, ceremonies and activities at ILOA Galaxy Forum Hainan 2018, China on 4-7 December, and participate in the “First Women on the Moon” special luncheon panel featuring Astronauts Soyeon Yi, Naoko Yamazaki, other women Astronauts from China and USA (TBD); and potentially an Apollo Moonwalker. Direct purchase by ILOA will cover round-trip regular class airline travel to Hainan Island, hotel accommodation at Hilton Wenchang, Galaxy Forum registration fee and meals. Reimbursement for reasonable traveling incidentals such as meals at airports and ground transportation will be covered. Reimbursement for passport and visa, and expedited fees, will also be provided, if necessary.

HOW TO ENTER: Describe in 100 words or less why you would like to be the First Woman or one of the First Women on the Moon, and the significance of the First Woman landing on the Moon. Send your essay with subject line of “First Women on the Moon” to 1stWomenontheMoon@iloa.org along with your full name, age, mailing address, and telephone number listed at the bottom.

DEADLINE: All email entries due by 5 October 2018, 12:00 Hawaii Standard Time (UTC-10) to email address: 1stWomenontheMoon@iloa.org

ELIGIBILITY: Contest is open to all women 21 years of age or older by 1 December 2018, from any country, nation, continent, background and ability. English is the main language of Galaxy Forum Hainan, therefore we ask for essays to be written in English. Contestant must already have or be eligible to receive a Passport and a Visa to travel to Hainan, China for 4-7 December 2018.

WINNER SELECTION: ILOA Associates will review and select a Contest Winner based on the merit of the written essay.

WINNER NOTIFICATION: Grand Prize Winner will be informed via email or phone by 17 October 2018 and announced to media shortly thereafter. A Second Grand Prize or Runner Up may be chosen at ILOA’s discretion and may include an identical Grand Prize trip to ILOA Galaxy Forum Hainan, publicity of contestant’s essay, and / or a ‘First Women on the Moon’ mailing packet with posters and pins designed by ILOA.

SPONSOR:  International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) an interglobal enterprise incorporated in Hawai’i as a 501(c)(3) non-profit to realize the multifunctional ILO — to advance human knowledge of the Cosmos through observation from our Moon, and to participate in lunar base build-out with Aloha. The ILOA also since 2008 has cosponsored with its Space Age Publishing Company affiliate an international series of 85 Galaxy Forums.

ODDS OF WINNING: The odds of winning this Contest will depend upon the number of Contest Contestants. 

GALAXY FORUM HAINAN 2018, CHINA: Full public details for Galaxy Forum Hainan 2018 may be found here: https://galaxyforum.org/galaxy-forum-china-2018-hainan/

FURTHER INFORMATION AND CONTACT: Please visit the websites for International Lunar Observatory Association, Galaxy Forum, or affiliated Space Age Publishing Company. ILOA may or may not have time or ability to respond to contestant questions, however contestants are welcome to send questions to 1stWomenontheMoon@iloa.org

GENERAL CONDITIONS & BINDING AGREEMENTS: By entering this CONTEST (the “Contest”) and accepting the terms herein, you (the “Contestant” or “Winner”) agree to be bound by the conditions and terms outlined in this document. ILOA is not liable for any problems that may prevent your entry in the contest, or for events that delay or cancel the contest. No purchase is necessary to win.

These rules are subject to change and interpretation at the discretion of ILOA. Failure to adhere to the contest rules will be subject for removal from the contest.

Contestant is solely responsible for reviewing and understanding the policies regarding eligibility to participate in the Contest, its rules, regulations and responsibilities.

Contestant / Winner agrees that neither ILOA nor any affiliate, officer, director, employee, attorney, or agent of ILOA shall have any liability for any indirect or direct damages, inconveniences or issues that may arise from sources including, but not limited to, media attention, publicity, travel, ‘acts of god’, force majeure, or personal medical problems / sickness that could occur; the Contestant / Winner hereby waives, releases, and agrees not to sue any of them upon, any claim for any special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages suffered or incurred by this Contest or ILOA in connection with, arising out of, or in any way related to this Contest.

CONTEST CANCELLATION, SUSPENSION OR MODIFICATION: ILOA reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend this Contest if the Contest is not capable of being completed as planned for any reason. The decision of ILOA to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend this Contest shall be final in all respects.

PUBLICITY RELEASE: Unless prohibited by applicable law, Contestant / Winner authorizes and irrevocably grants to ILOA permission to, from time to time, reference and discuss Contestant / Winner and their participation in the Contest on-air and/or on their website(s) in photographs, video recordings, digital images, audio recordings, as well as in publications, newsletters, news releases, other printed materials, and in materials made available on the Internet or in other media now known or hereafter developed for any purpose ILOA deems proper. Such reference and discussion may involve Contestant’s name and voice, and other personal/biographical material or their participation. 

RULES CHANGES AND INTERPRETATIONS: ILOA reserves the right in its sole discretion to supplement or make changes to the rules of this Contest at any time without notice. ILOA reserves the right in its sole discretion to interpret the rules of any contest, and such interpretation shall be binding upon all contestants.

CONTEST ENTITY AND IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DISQUALIFICATION: The officers, directors, employees, contractors, and agents of ILOA, as well as their immediate family members (and those living in the same household, whether or not related), are prohibited from participating in this Contest and do not qualify as Contestants. “Immediate family members” shall include spouses, siblings, parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren, whether as “in-laws”, or by current or past marriage, remarriage, adoption, co-habitation or other familial extension.

FIRST WOMAN ON THE MOON POLL: ILOA invites anonymous voting from anyone for the “First Woman on the Moon” poll located on Space Calendar http://www.spacecalendar.com/ and Lunar Enterprise Daily http://www.lunarenterprisedaily.com/

Participating in this poll does not in any way affect this Contest or its results.

MEDIA INQUIRES: We welcome any MEDIA inquiries to be sent directly to ILOA at info@iloa.org

MAHALO / THANK YOU: ILOA sends a warm Mahalo and Thank You to all Contestants who enter this Contest and to all readers that share and support the ‘First Women on the Moon’ vision for the benefit of all humankind. Ad Astra with Aloha!

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Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa will take artists with him on a trip around the Moon

Sep18
by TopSpacer on September 18, 2018 at 12:59 am
Posted In: Rockets, Spaceflight & Parabolic Flight

On Monday evening at the SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, Calfornia, Elon Musk introduced billionaire entrepreneur and art collector Yusaku Maezawa, as the mystery space tourist who has reserved a BFR (Big Falcon Rocket) for a flyby trip around the Moon. (See previous posting.) The flight could happen as early as 2023.

Maezawa will not be alone on the BFR, which can carry up to 100 people. He will take a group of 6-8 artists, film makers, architects, and other creative people of his choosing to share the 4-5 day long experience with him.

The BFR lunar flyby trajectory.

Maezawa has created a website #dearMoon to provide updates on the project. Here is a video about #dearMoon:

Maezawa would not say how much he will pay for the flight but Elon said the deposit alone will make a serious contribution towards the development of the BFR, which he said would probably cost in the $5 billion dollar range.

Major BFR structural components are already under construction and the Raptor engines are in an advanced state of testing. Up and down flights, or “hops”, of the upper stage are expected by late next year.

Yusaku Maezawa: “This is BFR from @spacex #dearMoon… “

[ Update: More about the big cylinder above – Elon Musk on Twitter:  “That’s the first BFR airframe/tank barrel section
​made of a new carbon fiber material… “]

Elon describes the latest BFR design:

A description of how the BFS (Big Falcon Spaceship, i.e. the upper stage) slows down in the atmosphere and then lands on the surface of Earth or Mars:

Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, gives his first impression of the night’s announcement:

Reports on the event:

Elon and Yusaku.

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SpaceX to present plan to fly paying passenger around the Moon

Sep17
by TopSpacer on September 17, 2018 at 5:04 pm
Posted In: Future space, Rockets, Spaceflight & Parabolic Flight

Tonight Sept. 17, 2018,  at 6:00 pm PDT (9:00 pm EDT), SpaceX will hold an event to lay out the company’s plan to fly a private passenger around the Moon on the next-generation, fully-reusable Big “Falcon” Rocket or BFR. According to  SpaceX on Twitter:

“SpaceX has signed the world’s first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard our BFR launch vehicle—an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of traveling to space. Find out who’s flying and why on Monday, September 17.”

You can watch the webcast here – SpaceX on Twitter:

Meet BFR’s first private passenger tomorrow [Monday Sept.19.2018] at 6:00 p.m. PDT → spacex.com/webcast

A couple of artist’s views of the BFR in flight (click for larger versions):

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Mattel offers Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser spaceplane as Matchbox toy

Sep17
by TopSpacer on September 17, 2018 at 4:39 pm
Posted In: Space Models, Space Systems, Spaceflight & Parabolic Flight

Sierra Nevada plans to start delivering cargo to the  International Space Station with uncrewed Dream Chaser spaceplanes In 2020.  A crew version of the Dream Chaser could fly sometime later in the next decade. Here is a new toy Dream Chaser for kids to start flying today:

Mattel, Inc. Releases SNC Dream Chaser® Spacecraft Matchbox Toy

Dream Chaser Matchbox toy.

SPARKS, Nev., September 17, 2018 – America’s next generation spaceplane will soon be available in stores. Mattel, Inc. toymaker is releasing a Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Dream Chaser spacecraft Matchbox® toy, which will be sold in stores starting in September.

“We are thrilled that Dream Chaser will be inspiring kids everywhere and up close,” said Eren Ozmen, SNC owner, chairwoman and president.  “A big part of SNC’s mission is to inspire the next generation of space explorers and innovators.  This toy will spark kids’ imaginations, help them dream big and excited them about the possibilities in space.”

The toy will be a part of the Matchbox Sky Busters® line, which showcases America’s best and most groundbreaking aircraft and spacecraft, including NASA’s space shuttle.

The Dream Chaser spacecraft is a reusable and versatile vehicle for low-Earth orbit that is scheduled to service the International Space Station starting in late 2020 for NASA cargo missions under the Commercial Services Resupply 2 (CRS-2) contract 2.  The vehicle’s unique winged design and gentle runway landing make it the only spacecraft of its kind in the commercial space industry.

“We hope that America’s future astronauts and engineers who receive a Dream Chaser Matchbox toy will want learn more about math, engineering, science and space exploration,” said Steve Lindsey, vice president of SNC’s Space Exploration Systems and former NASA space shuttle commander.  “My curiosity for space started young, and I hope this helps spark the same in any kid who has this toy. There’s just something about a winged spacecraft that spurs the imagination.” 

Lindsey commanded three assembly and test missions to the International Space Station, flew on five space shuttle missions for NASA and was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2015.

The Matchbox Dream Chaser toy will be available at retailers including Dollar General and J.C. Penney, along with stores supplied by Darice Global Sourcing.

Dream Chaser prototype landing after flight test in November 2017.

About Dream Chaser Spacecraft: Owned and operated by SNC, the Dream Chaser spacecraft is a reusable, multi-mission space utility vehicle. It is capable of transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit, where the International Space Station resides, and is the only commercial, lifting-body vehicle capable of a runway landing. The Dream Chaser Cargo System was selected by NASA to provide cargo delivery and disposal services to the space station under the Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract. All Dream Chaser CRS2 cargo missions are planned to land at Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility.

About Sierra Nevada Corporation: Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is a trusted leader in solving the world’s toughest challenges through advanced engineering technologies in Space Systems, Commercial Solutions, and National Security and Defense. Honored as one of the most innovative U.S. companies in space, SNC’s Space Systems business area designs and manufactures advanced spacecraft and satellite solutions, space habitats and environmental systems, propulsion systems, precision space mechanisms and subsystems, and SNC’s celebrated Dream Chaser® spacecraft. With 30 years of space heritage working with the U.S. government, commercial customers, and the international market, SNC has participated in more than 450 successful space missions and delivered 4,000+ systems, subsystems and components around the world. For more information, visit www.sncorp.com.

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The Space Show this week – Sept.17.2018

Sep17
by TopSpacer on September 17, 2018 at 1:14 pm
Posted In: Activism, Space Policy, SpaceCasts

The guests and topics of discussion on The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, Sept. 17, 2018; 2-3:30 pm PDT (4-5:30 pm CDT, 5-6:30 pm EDT): We welcomed back Dr. Chris Impey to discuss his new book Einstein’s Monsters: The Life and Times of Black Holes.

2. Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018: 7-8:30 pm PDT; 9-10:30 pm CDT; 10-11:30 pm EDT: We welcome John Jossy to the show for astronomy, space advocacy, staying informed and much more.

3. Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018: Hotel Mars. See Upcoming Show Menu and the website newsletter for details. Hotel Mars is pre-recorded by John Batchelor. It is archived on The Space Show site after John posts it on his website.

4. Friday, Sept. 21 2018; 9:30 AM-11 am PDT, (12:30 -2 pm EDT; 11:30 am -1 pm CDT): We welcome back Meagan Crawford to discuss the NewSpace business plan competition and more.

5. The Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018 program from 12-1:30 pm PDT, (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): We welcome back Roderick and Randa Milliron of Interorbital Systems back to the show.

See also:
* The Space Show on Vimeo – webinar videos
* The Space Show’s Blog – summaries of interviews.
* The Space Show Classroom Blog – tutorial programs

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

The Space Show - David Livingston

David Livingston

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Video: TMRO Orbit 11.36 – “Making money from space junk”

Sep17
by TopSpacer on September 17, 2018 at 9:00 am
Posted In: Activism, Space debris, SpaceCasts

The latest episode of TMRO.tv is now available online:

Astroscale COO, Chris Blackerby, chats about the money to be made from space junk, and how we can leverage these space resources for the benefit of humanity

Other topics:

Launch minute:
Falcon 9 | Telstar 18
Delta II | IceSat-2

Space News:
Orion completes final parachute test
SpaceX, NASA, and JAXA all have Lunar plans
Opportunity’s 45 day clock begins ticking

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Videos: Delta II launches NASA ICESat-2 + Indian PSLV launches two earth observation satellites

Sep16
by TopSpacer on September 16, 2018 at 7:00 pm
Posted In: Eyes in the Sky, Rockets, Space Systems

This weekend, three earth observation spacecraft were sent into orbit by two different rockets. On Saturday morning the final launch of a Delta II rocket sent the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite or ICESat-2 into a polar orbit, the spacecraft will

use lasers and a very precise detection instrument to measure the elevation of Earth’s surface. By timing how long it takes laser beams to travel from the satellite to Earth and back, scientists can calculate the height of glaciers, sea ice, forests, lakes and more – including the changing ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica.

Delta II rockets have been launched 155 times since the first flight on Feb. 14, 1989.

Here are two photos made by  Anthony Galván III of the launch from Vandenberg AFB:

Final Delta II launch. Credits: Anthony Galván III

 

Delta II launch downrange. Credits: Anthony Galván III

Anthony says,

The early morning launch was visible as the rocket’s exhaust plume was illuminated by the morning sun. However, downrange stage separation provided a spectacular view of the exhaust plume as the rocket climbs out of the earth’s shadow into direct sunlight.

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Today the radar imaging satellite NovaSAR-1 and the high resolution optical imaging satellite SSTL S1-4 were sent into polar orbits by an Indian PSLV rocket:

Both satellites were built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), a spinoff from the smallsat program at the University of Surrey. (Airbus bought SSTL a few years ago but has kept it as an independent subsidiary.) SSTL confirms successful launch of NovaSAR-1 and SSTL S1-4 satellites | SSTL

NovaSAR-1 is the first SAR [Synthetic Aperture Radar] spacecraft to be manufactured entirely in the UK and is a technology demonstration mission designed to test the capabilities of a new low cost S-Band SAR platform.  NovaSAR-1 will be the world’s first commercial SAR satellite to be operated at a 10:30 equator crossing time, providing time diversity for radar observations by affording increased daylight imaging opportunities in addition to night acquisitions.  Synthetic Aperture Radar is a powerful tool for monitoring the Earth from space due to its ability to see through clouds and image the Earth night and day, and a constellation of three NovaSAR satellites could image any point on the globe every day, regardless of local time or weather. 

…

SSTL S1-4 satellite is a sub one metre Earth observation satellite identical in design to the three DMC3/TripleSat Constellation satellites launched in 2015.  A contract to provide data from SSTL S1-4 was signed with Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd (21AT) in February 2018.  As manufacturer and owner of the satellite, SSTL will lease imaging capacity to 21AT for the lifetime of the satellite, designed to be in excess of 7 years.  SSTL S1-4 will contribute sub one metre resolution image data into 21AT’s existing TripleSat Constellation service, comprising three SSTL DMC3 satellites launched in 2015.  SSTL S1-4 is capable of acquiring multiple targets in one pass, utilising spot, strip and mosaic imaging modes and 45 degree off-pointing agility for a range of applications including urban planning, agricultural monitoring, land classification, natural resource management and disaster monitoring.  The very high resolution imager on board the spacecraft has been designed and manufactured by SSTL and will acquire sub one metre resolution images in panchromatic mode and sub four metre resolution images in multispectral mode, with a swath width of about 24km. 

More about the launch and the two satellites:

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Videos: Space to Ground + Recent ISS views of Hurricane Florence

Sep14
by TopSpacer on September 14, 2018 at 5:49 pm
Posted In: Living in Space, Space Systems, SpaceCasts

The latest Space to Ground report from NASA on activities related to the  International Space Station:

Latest views of Florence from the ISS:

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Hubble: Galaxy cluster Abell 370 magnifies ancient objects beyond it

Sep13
by TopSpacer on September 13, 2018 at 11:00 am
Posted In: Astronomy

The latest report from the NASA/ESA Hubble collaboration:

BUFFALO charges towards the earliest galaxies
New Hubble project provides wide-field view of the galaxy cluster Abell 370 

The galaxy cluster Abell 370 was the first target of the BUFFALO survey, which aims to search for some of the first galaxies in the Universe. This remarkable cluster in the constellation of Cetus is located approximately four billion light-years away. Its mass, consisting of both hundreds of galaxies and dark matter, bends and distorts the light coming from even more distant objects behind it. This effect is known as strong gravitational lensing. The most stunning demonstration of gravitational lensing can be seen just below the centre of the image. Nicknamed “the Dragon”, this extended feature is made up of a multitude of duplicated images of a spiral galaxy in the background of Abell 370 — all lying five billion light-years away. Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Koekemoer, M. Jauzac, C. Steinhardt, and the BUFFALO team. [Hi-Res images]

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has started a new mission to shed light on the evolution of the earliest galaxies in the Universe. The BUFFALO survey will observe six massive galaxy clusters and their surroundings. The first observations show the galaxy cluster Abell 370 and a host of magnified, gravitationally lensed galaxies around it.

Learning about the formation and evolution of the very first galaxies in the Universe is crucial for our understanding of the cosmos. While the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has already detected some of the most distant galaxies known, their numbers are small, making it hard for astronomers to determine if they represent the Universe at large.

Massive galaxy clusters like Abell 370, which is visible in this new image, can help astronomers find more of these distant objects. The immense masses of galaxy clusters make them act as cosmic magnifying glasses. A cluster’s mass bends and magnifies light from more distant objects behind it, uncovering objects otherwise too faint for even Hubble’s sensitive vision. Using this cosmological trick — known as strong gravitational lensing — Hubble is able to explore some of the earliest and most distant galaxies in the Universe.

With the final observation of the distant galaxy cluster Abell 370 — some five billion light-years away — the Frontier Fields program came to an end. Abell 370 is one of the very first galaxy clusters in which astronomers observed the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, the warping of spacetime by the cluster’s gravitational field that distorts the light from galaxies lying far behind it. This manifests as arcs and streaks in the picture, which are the stretched images of background galaxies. [Hi-Res images]

Numerous galaxies are lensed by the mass of Abell 370. The most stunning demonstration of gravitational lensing can be seen just below the centre of the cluster. Nicknamed “the Dragon”, this extended feature is made up of a multitude of duplicated images of a spiral galaxy which lies beyond the cluster.

This image of Abell 370 and its surroundings was made as part of the new Beyond Ultra-deep Frontier Fields And Legacy Observations (BUFFALO) survey. This project, led by European astronomers from the Niels Bohr Institute (Denmark) and Durham University (UK), was designed to succeed the successful Frontier Fields project [1]. 101 Hubble orbits — corresponding to 160 hours of precious observation time — have been dedicated to exploring the six Frontier Field galaxy clusters. These additional observations focus on the regions surrounding the galaxy clusters, allowing for a larger field of view.

BUFFALO’s main mission, however, is to investigate how and when the most massive and luminous galaxies in the Universe formed and how early galaxy formation is linked to dark matter assembly. This will allow astronomers to determine how rapidly galaxies formed in the first 800 million years after the Big Bang — paving the way for observations with the upcoming NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.

Driven by the Frontier Fields observations, BUFFALO will be able to detect the most distant galaxies approximately ten times more efficiently than its progenitor. The BUFFALO survey will also take advantage of other space telescopes which have already observed the regions around the clusters. These datasets will be included in the search for the first galaxies.

This image composite shows the new observations of Abell 370 made for the BUFFALO project, as well as the old observation made for the Frontier Fields programme. The composition clearly shows the extended field of view in the new observations. [Hi-res images]

The extended fields of view will also allow better 3-dimensional mapping of the mass distribution — of both ordinary and dark matter — within each galaxy cluster. These maps help astronomers learn more about the evolution of the lensing galaxy clusters and about the nature of dark matter.

Notes

[1] Frontier Fields was a Hubble programme that ran from 2013 to 2017. Hubble spent 630 hours of observation time probing six notable galaxy clusters, all of which showed effects of strong gravitational lensing.

Video: Autumn aurora above northern Sweden

Sep12
by TopSpacer on September 12, 2018 at 6:00 pm
Posted In: Multiple media

From Kiruna, Sweden comes this view of beautiful autumn aurora accompanied by a nice soundtrack (Daniel Birch – Attack Of The Birds):

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Carnival of Space #578 – Urban Astronomer

Sep12
by TopSpacer on September 12, 2018 at 5:18 pm
Posted In: General

Urban Astronomer hosts the latest Carnival of Space.

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ESO: The Very Large Telescope (VLT) captures a Galactic Gem

Sep12
by TopSpacer on September 12, 2018 at 7:00 am
Posted In: Astronomy

The latest report from the European Southern Observatory (ESO):

A Galactic Gem 
ESO’s FORS2 instrument captures stunning details of spiral galaxy NGC 3981

FORS2, an instrument mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope captured the spiral galaxy NGC 3981 in all its glory. The image, captured during the ESO Cosmic Gems Programme, showcases the beauty of the southern skies when conditions don’t allow scientific observations to be made. [Full image]

FORS2, an instrument mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, has observed the spiral galaxy NGC 3981 in all its glory. The image was captured as part of the ESO Cosmic Gems Programme, which makes use of the rare occasions when observing conditions are not suitable for gathering scientific data. Instead of sitting idle, the ESO Cosmic Gems Programme allows ESO’s telescopes to be used to capture visually stunning images of the southern skies.

This wonderful image shows the resplendent spiral galaxy NGC 3981 suspended in the inky blackness of space. This galaxy, which lies in the constellation of Crater (the Cup), was imaged in May 2018 using the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT).

FORS2 is mounted on Unit Telescope 1 (Antu) of the VLT at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. Amongst the host of cutting-edge instruments mounted on the four Unit Telescopes of the VLT, FORS2 stands apart due to its extreme versatility. This ”Swiss Army knife” of an instrument is able to study a variety of astronomical objects in many different ways — as well as being capable of producing beautiful images like this one.

The sensitive gaze of FORS2 revealed NGC 3981’s spiral arms, strewn with vast streams of dust and star-forming regions, and a prominent disc of hot young stars. The galaxy is inclined towards Earth, allowing astronomers to peer right into the heart of this galaxy and observe its bright centre, a highly energetic region containing a supermassive black hole. Also shown is NGC 3981’s outlying spiral structure, some of which appears to have been stretched outwards from the galaxy, presumably due to the gravitational influence of a past galactic encounter.

NGC 3981 certainly has many galactic neighbours. Lying approximately 65 million light years from Earth, the galaxy is part of the NGC 4038 group, which also contains the well-known interacting Antennae Galaxies. This group is part of the larger Crater Cloud, which is itself a smaller component of the Virgo Supercluster, the titanic collection of galaxies that hosts our own Milky Way galaxy.

NGC 3981 is not the only interesting feature captured in this image. As well as several foreground stars from our own galaxy, the Milky Way, FORS2 also captured a rogue asteroid streaking across the sky, visible as the faint line towards the top of the image. This particular asteroid has unwittingly illustrated the process used to create astronomical images, with the three different exposures making up this image displayed in the blue, green and red sections of the asteroid’s path.

This image was taken as part of ESO’s Cosmic Gems programme, an outreach initiative to produce images of interesting, intriguing or visually attractive objects using ESO telescopes, for the purposes of education and public outreach. The programme makes use of telescope time that cannot be used for science observations. In case the data collected could be useful for future scientific purposes, these observations are saved and made available to astronomers through ESO’s science archive.

This image is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximately 2.4 x 2.0 degrees. [Full image]

Video: TMRO Orbit 11.35 – “How NanoRacks can put anything you want in space”

Sep11
by TopSpacer on September 11, 2018 at 4:12 pm
Posted In: Activism, In Space Infrastructure, SpaceCasts

The latest episode of TMRO: Space is now available on line: How NanoRacks can put anything you want in space – Orbit 11.35 – TMRO

NanoRacks CTO Mike Lewis joins us to talk about all of the different things they are working on, including how they launch stuff from the International Space Station, they are building a docking collar and Lunar Gateway plans! 

Launch and space news topics:

Launch Minute:
Long March 2C | Haiyang-1C

Space News:
USGS Gets Serious about Space Mining
Chinese Launch Startups are growing fast
Lunar Swirls Point to the Moon’s Moody Past

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Videos:”Space to Ground” ISS report + Viewing Hurricane Florence from the ISS

Sep10
by TopSpacer on September 10, 2018 at 4:48 pm
Posted In: Eyes in the Sky, Space Systems

Here’s the latest Space to Ground report from NASA on activities related to the International Space Station:

Hurricane Florence is heading towards the East Coast of the US. Good thing we have spacecraft like the ISS and weather satellites to provide lots of warning time on such storms: Hurricane Florence Viewed from the Space Station | NASA

Astronaut Ricky Arnold, from aboard the International Space Station, shared this image of Hurricane Florence on Sept. 10, taken as the orbiting laboratory flew over the massive storm. Tweeting from @astro_ricky, he said “Hurricane #Florence this morning as seen from @Space_Station. A few moments later, #Isaac & the outer bands of #Helene were also visible.” Image Credit: NASA. [Full scale image]

A video of Florence from the ISS:

A video from a week ago of the tropical storm Gordon:

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The Space Show this week – Sept.10.2018

Sep10
by TopSpacer on September 10, 2018 at 3:03 pm
Posted In: Activism, Space Policy, SpaceCasts

The guests and topics of discussion on The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, Sept. 10, 2018; 2-3:30 pm PDT (4-5:30 pm CDT, 5-6:30 pm EDT): We welcomed Dr. Chris Limbach to discuss his work on particle beam and laser interstellar propulsion.

2. Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018: 7-8:30 pm PDT; 9-10:30 pm CDT; 10-11:30 pm EDT: We welcome back Dallas Bienhoff to the show.

3. Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018: Hotel Mars. See Upcoming Show Menu and the website newsletter for details. Hotel Mars is pre-recorded by John Batchelor. It is archived on The Space Show site after John posts it on his website.

4. Friday, Sept. 14 2018; 9:30 am -11 am PDT, (12:30 -2 pm EDT; 11:30 am -1 pm CDT): No show today.

5. The Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018 program from 12-1:30 pm PDT, (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): We welcome back Jay Wittner and Ron Jones to update us with the Integrated Space Plan and more.

See also:
* The Space Show on Vimeo – webinar videos
* The Space Show’s Blog – summaries of interviews.
* The Space Show Classroom Blog – tutorial programs

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

The Space Show - David Livingston

David Livingston

 

Video: The Dawn misison to Vesta and Ceres

Sep10
by TopSpacer on September 10, 2018 at 9:00 am
Posted In: Asteroids & Comets, Space Science, Space Systems

An overview of NASA’s Dawn mission, the first time a probe has orbited two different celestial bodies:

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft turned science fiction into science fact by using ion propulsion to explore the two largest bodies in the main asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres. The mission will end this fall, when the spacecraft runs out of hydrazine, which keeps it oriented and in communication with Earth. For more info on the mission, visit https://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov

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Video of Chinese rocket launch as seen from space

Sep08
by TopSpacer on September 8, 2018 at 10:37 am
Posted In: Multiple media, Rockets

The Chinese rocket company OneSpace launched a OS-X suborbital rocket on Thursday powered by a solid-fueled motor, which typically produce more rapid acceleration than liquid-fueled engines. The launch was captured in a remarkable video by a Chinese imaging satellite:

Here’s what the launch looked like from the ground:

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Music from Beach House, ZHU, and Everyday Astronaut

Sep07
by TopSpacer on September 7, 2018 at 12:23 pm
Posted In: Space Music

** Space Song – Beach House

** DUST x ZHU “Magenta Sky” Sci-fi Music Interlude

** Jovian Moon Run – Everyday Astronaut

** Slow Orbit – Everyday Astronaut

** Elegy to the Void – Beach House (Thank Your Luck Stars album)

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Curiosity rover sends a grand panorama from Vera Rubin Ridge

Sep07
by TopSpacer on September 7, 2018 at 9:00 am
Posted In: Mars, Multiple media, Space Science

Check out the latest 360 degree panorama of the Martian landscape taken by the rover Curiosity:

Curiosity Surveys a Mystery Under Dusty Skies

After snagging a new rock sample on Aug. 9, NASA’s Curiosity rover surveyed its surroundings on Mars, producing a 360-degree panorama of its current location on Vera Rubin Ridge.

The panorama includes umber skies, darkened by a fading global dust storm. It also includes a rare view by the Mast Camera of the rover itself, revealing a thin layer of dust on Curiosity’s deck. In the foreground is the rover’s most recent drill target, named “Stoer” after a town in Scotland near where important discoveries about early life on Earth were made in lakebed sediments.

The new drill sample delighted Curiosity’s science team, because the rover’s last two drill attempts were thwarted by unexpectedly hard rocks. Curiosity started using a new drill method earlier this year to work around a mechanical problem. Testing has shown it to be as effective at drilling rocks as the old method, suggesting the hard rocks would have posed a problem no matter which method was used.

This 360-degree panorama was taken on Aug. 9 by NASA’s Curiosity rover at its location on Vera Rubin Ridge. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
› Full image and caption

There’s no way for Curiosity to determine exactly how hard a rock will be before drilling it, so for this most recent drilling activity, the rover team made an educated guess. An extensive ledge on the ridge was thought to include harder rock, able to stand despite wind erosion; a spot below the ledge was thought more likely to have softer, erodible rocks. That strategy seems to have panned out, but questions still abound as to why Vera Rubin Ridge exists in the first place.

The rover has never encountered a place with so much variation in color and texture, according to Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the Mars Science Laboratory mission that Curiosity is a part of.

“The ridge isn’t this monolithic thing — it has two distinct sections, each of which has a variety of colors,” Vasavada said. “Some are visible to the eye and even more show up when we look in near-infrared, just beyond what our eyes can see. Some seem related to how hard the rocks are.”

The best way to discover why these rocks are so hard is to drill them into a powder for the rover’s two internal laboratories. Analyzing them might reveal what’s acting as “cement” in the ridge, enabling it to stand despite wind erosion. Most likely, Vasavada said, groundwater flowing through the ridge in the ancient past had a role in strengthening it, perhaps acting as plumbing to distribute this wind-proofing “cement.”

Much of the ridge contains hematite, a mineral that forms in water. There’s such a strong hematite signal that it drew the attention of NASA orbiters like a beacon. Could some variation in hematite result in harder rocks? Is there something special in the ridge’s red rocks that makes them so unyielding?

For the moment, Vera Rubin Ridge is keeping its secrets to itself.

Two more drilled samples are planned for the ridge in September. After that, Curiosity will drive to its scientific end zone: areas enriched in clay and sulfate minerals higher up Mt. Sharp. That ascent is planned for early October.

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Rockets: EFS August Launch Report + Everyday Astronaut tours SpaceX Dragon + Explaining rocket exhausts

Sep06
by TopSpacer on September 6, 2018 at 2:13 pm
Posted In: Rockets

** Space Mike reviews rocket launches around the world during August:

** The Everyday Astronaut (Tim Dodd) gives a tour of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft:

** Scott Manley explains “Why Rocket Exhausts Look The Way They Do”:

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