Image: Pure gold pin for space testing
Monday, 08 August 2022 14:40
Although this pure gold pin is not much bigger than the tip of a pencil, it is the "pulsing heart" of ESA's Low Earth Orbit Facility, LEOX. Part of the Agency's Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory, based at ESA's ESTEC technical center in the Netherlands, this test facility is vital for developing materials capable of withstanding the highly-erosive individual oxygen atoms prevailing at the top of the atmosphere, the result of standard oxygen molecules of the same kind found just above the ground being broken apart by powerful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
All missions that orbit less than about 1,000 km above Earth's surface must be designed to resist atomic oxygen. To realistically simulate the low-Earth orbit environment, the LEOX atomic oxygen facility generates atomic oxygen traveling at 7.8 km/s.
Atomic oxygen is not easy to generate on Earth, because it is so reactive. This means that the materials used to make the simulator must be as robust as the materials flown in space. This sturdy gold pin is used to inject tiny pulses of oxygen gas molecules into a vacuum chamber, where the molecules are split into atoms using a powerful laser.
100 days of the Minerva mission
Monday, 08 August 2022 14:39
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti was launched to the International Space Station on 27 April as a part of Crew-4 for her second mission, Minerva. One hundred days in, mission Minerva is still going strong. From completing cutting-edge research in the world's only orbiting laboratory to sharing daily life on the Space Station via TikTok, it's all in a day's work for an ESA astronaut.
Inspired by the Roman goddess of wisdom, the handicrafts and the arts, the name Minerva is a homage to the competence and sophisticated craftmanship of the women and men all over the world who make human spaceflight possible. It also embodies the toughness and discipline that is required of us, and the wisdom we wish to demonstrate, as we consolidate and expand human presence in space. All these qualities and more have been on display during these first 100 days of the mission.
Making strides in health
Throughout mission Minerva, Samantha has played a vital role in a large number of scientific experiments on the Space Station, both from European states and international partners.
Jupiter missions could also help search for dark matter
Monday, 08 August 2022 13:30
In a recent study published in the Journal of High Energy Physics, two researchers from Brown University demonstrated how data from past missions to Jupiter can help scientists examine dark matter, one of the most mysterious phenomena in the universe. The reason past Jupiter missions were chosen is due to the extensive amount of data gathered about the largest planet in the solar system, most notably from the Galileo and Juno orbiters. The elusive nature and composition of dark matter continues to elude scientists, both figuratively and literally, because it does not emit any light.
Wide view of early universe hints at galaxy among the earliest ever detected
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
Two new images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope show what may be among the earliest galaxies ever observed. Both images include objects from more than 13 billion years ago, and one offers a much wider field of view than Webb's First Deep Field image, which was released amid great fanfare July 12. The images represent some of the first out of a major collaboration of astronomers and other a Wentian's small mechanical arm completes in-orbit tests
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
The small mechanical arm mounted with Wentian, the first lab module of China's space station, has successfully completed in-orbit tests, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
With the support of the ground team, the small mechanical arm has completed a series of in-orbit function and performance tests. All indexes performed well, achieving expected results, said the CMSA. AI helps discover new space anomalies
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
The SNAD team, an international network of researchers including Matvey Kornilov, Associate Professor of the HSE University Faculty of Physics, has discovered 11 previously undetected space anomalies, seven of which are supernova candidates. The researchers analysed digital images of the Northern sky taken in 2018 using a k-D tree to detect anomalies through the 'nearest neighbour' method. Machi Lehigh physicists to probe gravity's secrets at the smallest scales
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
There are four fundamental forces that describe every interaction in nature: electromagnetism, the weak force, the strong force and gravity.
While gravity, the mutual attraction that brings objects with mass together, may be the most familiar, there is still much to learn about its fundamental nature. Insights into gravity could lead to greater understanding of phenomena as abstract as the One Hundred days of Minerva
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti was launched to the International Space Station on 27 April as a part of Crew-4 for her second mission, Minerva. One hundred days in, mission Minerva is still going strong. From completing cutting-edge research in the world's only orbiting laboratory to sharing daily life on the Space Station via TikTok, it's all in a day's work for an ESA astronaut.
In NASA's Perseverance cores 12th sample, team assessing rover's coring bit
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
Images and data downlinked Thursday from Perseverance show that we've successfully cored, sealed, and stored our 12th sample of the mission. As the team always does, images of several sample collection system components were taken after completion of the coring activity.
In those images, two small pieces of debris were visible - a small object on the coring bit (stored in the bit carousel) Perseid meteor shower peaks Aug. 12, but the full Moon may spoil the show
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
The Perseid meteor shower, one of Earth's biggest, is set to peak with best viewing starting Aug. 11.
The annual meteor shower will peak the next day, but this year the full moon may interfere with visibility, according to NASA.
"Sadly, this year's Perseids peak will see the worst possible circumstances for spotters," NASA astronomer Bill Cooke said in a statement.
"Most o A molecule of light and matter
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
Theoretically, this effect has been predicted for a long time, but now scientists at the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ) at TU Wien, in cooperation with the University of Innsbruck, have succeeded in measuring this exotic atomic bond for the first time. This interaction is useful for manipulating extremely cold atoms, and the effect could also play a role in the formation A cosmic tango points to a violent and chaotic past for distant exoplanet
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
If you close your eyes and imagine a system of planets orbiting a distant star, what do you see?
For most people, such thoughts conjure up systems that mirror the Solar System: planets orbiting a host star on near-circular orbits - rocky planets closer in, and giants such as Jupiter in the icy depths.
However, the more we study the cosmos, the more we begin to realise planetary syste Astrophysicists observe one of the most powerful short gamma-ray bursts ever
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
The collision of two distant neutron stars released one of the most powerful short gamma-ray bursts ever recorded, scientists say.
The collision marked the first time scientists have recorded millimeter-wavelength light from a fiery explosion to be caused by the merger of a neutron star with another star. It was observed on Nov. 6, 2021.
The observation was made with the Atacama No trace of dark matter halos
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
Dwarf galaxies are small, faint galaxies that can usually be found in galaxy clusters or near larger galaxies. Because of this, they might be affected by the gravitational effects of their larger companions. "We introduce an innovative way of testing the standard model based on how much dwarf galaxies are disturbed by gravitational ,tides' from nearby larger galaxies", said Elena Asencio, a PhD Madrid Flight On Chip project wraps up design process
Monday, 08 August 2022 11:01
After more than three and a half years of project, Madrid Flight On Chip (MFoC) successfully culminates providing an important milestone for the implementation of advanced technological products and introduces disruptive changes in the design and verification of complex space systems. The researchers, engineers and technicians of the consortium organizations have positioned Madrid at the forefro