Emerging Discoveries with Solar System...
Transcript of Emerging Discoveries with Solar System...
Emerging Discoveries with Solar System Missions
Sydney, Emily, Kelsi, Charlotte, Drake, Hayden and Roger
ASTR 371
The Sun
All images taken from NASA website without permission
Many of the most recent discoveries have been made by spacecraft orbiting Earth, rather than the Sun itself.
Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)● Launched in 2013● Studies Sun’s corona● October 2014
○ IRIS detected high-energy jets (90 miles per second and 200,000℉) of the material that forms the solar wind
○ It was previously thought that solar wind came from gentle evaporation (and was much slower, ~2 mps)
Hinode (Hee-NOH-dae)● Launched in 2006● Studies magnetic energy coming from the Sun● In 2006, it started detecting a large number of powerful X-ray jets emanating from the surface
○ As many as 240 jets per day, and some as wide as North America○ They “make an important contribution” to the superheating of the corona, a process that
was previously a mystery○ 10-25% of the solar wind is comprised of these jets
Van Allen Probes● Launched in 2012● Study (you guessed it) the VABs● With the help of SAMPEX (a past, no
longer functional mission) discovered the possibility of a third VAB
● Belt observed for four weeks before falling apart
Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO)● Launched 2006● Two spacecraft STEREO-A and B,
orbit ahead of and behind Earth in Lagrange points
● Study coronal mass ejections (CMEs)● As of September 2016, we know the
divide between the corona and the solar wind
○ Corona: area where magnetosphere has control of ejected matter
○ Solar wind: formed after magnetosphere loses majority control of matter
Sounding Rockets● Short-term missions: 5-20 minutes in space● (Relatively) cheap● Follow parabolic trajectory● Don’t reach the height of satellites
Future MissionsSolar Orbiter
● Should launch in 2018● Will image the Sun from its elliptical orbit
around the Sun
Solar Probe Plus
● Should launch in 2018● Will study the Sun’s atmosphere in detail
from very short distance● Elliptical orbit will bring it within 3.7 million
miles of the Sun (<1/25 of an AU)● Will be equipped with a solar shield to
protect the instruments
Mars, Mercury & Venus MissionsMarsMars Reconnaissance Orbiter - NASA
2006 -
Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory) - NASA
2012-
Maven - NASA
2013 -
Missions Orbiting the
Earth
Image of Earth: http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/1-bluemarble_west.jpg
Tardigrades in Space - TARDIS (2007)
● Tardigrades or “water bears” were the first animals to survive exposure to space.
● For 12 days in September 2007, approx. 3000 travelled into space on ESA’s orbital Foton-M3 mission.
○ Exposed to vacuum and solar radiation of outer space for 10 days
○ Returned to Earth and rehydrated
Image of Foton-M3 mission: http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2007/09/Foton-M3_spends_12_days_in_orbit_before_returning_to_Earth
Tardigrades in Space - TARDIS (2007)
Implications:
How do they survive under these conditions?
● Understanding these mechanisms can open the door to many insights in space bioscience
Why do they have this capability?● Survival in space linked to theories
about how life originated on Earth.
Source: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Research/Tiny_animals_survive_exposure_to_space
Color-enhanced electron micrograph image of a tardigrade: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130306.html
A Year in Space (2015 - 2016)
● Purpose: to better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long-duration spaceflight.
● Extended exposure to a zero-gravity environment can cause:
○ changes to the eyes○ muscle atrophy ○ bone loss
Image of the ISS: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/american-russian-and-briton-join-international-space-station-crew
A Year in Space (2015 - 2016)
● Scott Kelly (NASA) and Mikhail Kornienko (Russia)
● Research included: ○ Functional studies (crew member
performance)○ Behavioral studies (sleep, exercise)○ Visual impairment○ Metabolic investigations ○ Physical performance ○ Human factors and interactions
Twin study (Mark Kelly)● Physical, psychological and genetic
studies
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/content/a-year-in-space Image of Scott Kelly:
https://news.spotify.com/us/2015/10/19/songs-of-a-year-in-space/
A Year in Space (2015 - 2016)
Impacts:● In space: human journeys deeper into
the solar system (including to and from Mars, which could last 500 days or longer).
● On Earth: helping patients recover from long periods of bed rest or improving monitoring for people whose bodies are unable to fight infections.
Image of Mars : http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/edu_what_is_mars.jpg
Apollo Missions Project Apollo's goals went beyond landing Americans on the moon and returning them safely to Earth. They included:
● Establishing the technology to meet other national interests in space.● Achieving preeminence in space for the United States.● Carrying out a program of scientific exploration of the Moon.● Developing man's capability to work in the lunar environment.
Apollo 11Mission ObjectiveThe primary objective of Apollo 11 was to complete a national
goal set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961:
perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth.
Additional flight objectives included scientific exploration
by the lunar module, or LM, crew;
deployment of a television camera to transmit signals to Earth;
and deployment of a solar wind composition experiment,
seismic experiment package and a Laser Ranging Retroreflector.
Other Missions Ranger - Take high quality pictures
Mini-RF - Map moon’s poles
Moon Mineralogy Mapper- first
mineralogical map of the lunar
surface.
Future and Significance of Lunar Exploration Robotic Missions orbit the moon to creating global maps.
Soft land on the moon to explore mysterious polar regions.
The Goal: To learn how to use the moon to support a new and growing spacefaring capability. We will learn skills and develop the technologies needed to live and work on another world. Use this knowledge and technology to open the solar system for human exploration.
Observing Comets & AsteroidsRosetta/Philae - ESA
Passed through asteroid belt
Orbited comet nucleus
Flew alongside comet toward inner solar system
Comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko
in September 2014 as imaged by Rosetta
Examined comet warmed by sun
Philae landed on comet nucleus
Magnetic field
Water vapor differences
Organic compounds
Sept 30, 2016 Rosetta Landing
Observing Comets & Asteroids
Comet 67P seen from 10 km (6 mi)
Observing Comets & Asteroids
Rosetta image of 21 Lutetia at closest approach
P/2010 A2 is likely the debris left over from a recent collision between two very small asteroids.
Deep Impact - NASA
Collision with Temple 1
More dust, less ice
Clays, carbonates, sodium, silicates
Uranus and Neptune Oort cloud
Hartley 2
Observing Comets & Asteroids
Taken after impact
Hartley 2
Juno
Mission: Determine the makeup of Jupiter's atmosphere. Map out jupiter’s magnetic and gravitational fields
Launch: Aug 5 2011
Arrives: July 2016
Ends: Feb 2018
Mission To EuropaMission: to Orbit Jupiter and conduct in depth research on Jupiter's Moon Europa.
Europa shows evidence of liquid water oceans under icy crust may be hospitable for life
EuropaDuring mission:
45 flybys as close as 16 miles from surface
Use cameras and spectrometers for high resolution images
Ice penetrating radar
Magnetometer to measure magnetic field
Saturn's Cassini2005 dropped probe to surface
2008 finished 4 year mission
Late 2016 start of Cassinis grand finale
Cassinis Grand Finale
Repeated maneuvers over saturn's poles just outside the F ring
After final titan flyby cassini will make 22 orbits between saturn's upper atmosphere and its closest ring collecting valuable information on gravitation and magnetic fields and sampling atmosphere and ionosphere
The New Horizons Mission The New Horizons mission is designed to explore the outer solar system. Its main targets are:
-Pluto
-Kuiper Belt Objects
It was launched in 2006 by NASA as part of their New Frontiers Program.
New Horizons Spacecraft● New Horizons travels at 36,373mph● It sends radio signals that probe the
planet’s atmosphere● It measures the number of solar
wind-charged particles emitted by the sun found around Pluto
● It records dust particle characteristics● It has seven imagers to take pictures
New Horizons-Pluto and its MoonsNew Horizons passed Pluto on July 14, 2015
It was the first spacecraft to visit Pluto
It provided information about Pluto’s:
● Surface properties● Geology● Interior composition● Atmosphere composition
This is the first high-resolution photo of Pluto’s surface.
It shows ice made of H20 and mountains 11,000 ft high.
New Horizons Mission-Kuiper Belt ObjectsThe New Horizons spacecraft will pass through the Kuiper Belt from 2016 to 2020
Its goal is to closely examine at least one KBO, because KBOs may provide information about the origin of the solar system.
Between January and March 2019, depending on its fuel level, New Horizons will either visit:
● PT1- 100% probability● PT2 -7% probability (eliminated)● PT3 -97% probability
Future of New HorizonsAfter passing through the Kuiper Belt, New Horizons will join the Voyager probes in mapping the heliosphere.
In 2026, it is estimated that the New Horizons mission will end, and will only continue providing intermittent heliosphere data.
If New Horizons is still functioning when it reaches the outer heliosphere, it will meet the heliopause in 2047 and join Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 in interstellar space.
References● The Sun: (All mission info from NASA website)
○ Discoveries/News:
■ NASA's IRIS Helps Explain Mysterious Heating of the Solar Atmosphere: <http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/iris-helps-explain-heating-of-solar-atmosphere>
■ New Discovery: The Sun is Bristling with X-ray Jets: <http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2007/06dec_xrayjets/>
■ NASA's Van Allen Probes Discover a Surprise Circling Earth: <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/rbsp/news/third-belt.html>
■ Images From Sun’s Edge Reveal Origins of Solar Wind: <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/images-from-sun-s-edge-reveal-origins-of-solar-wind>
● Comets and Asteroids : (All mission info from NASA website and wikipedia)■ NASA’s Deep Impact Mission:
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/deepimpact/main/index.html#.WB_3kPkrJPY>
■ Deep Impact (spacecraft): <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Impact_(spacecraft)>
■ Rosetta (spacecraft): <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(spacecraft)>
● The Earth’s Moon : (All mission info from NASA website)
Apollo 11 Mission: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/index.html
Ranger Mission: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/ranger/
Mini-RF Mission: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/Mini-RF/main/index.html
Moon Mineraology Mission: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/moon-mineralogy-mapper-m3/
● Pluto and Kuiper Belt (Mission Information From NASA Website)
New Horizons images -https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/07/new-horizons-pluto-historic-kuiper-encounter/
New Horizons News-http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3163577/New-Horizons-spacecraft-visit-Kuiper-Belt-historic-mission-Pluto.html
● Mercury, Venus, and Mars
Top Achievements of Messenger:http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/27/science/space/28nasa-mercury-discoveries.html?_r=0
NASA missionshttp://www.nasa.gov/missionshttp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2004-030Ahttp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/mercurypage.htmlhttp://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/interactives/msl-science-discoveries/http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-confirms-evidence-that-liquid-water-flows-on-today-s-mars
European Space Agency: Venus Expresshttp://sci.esa.int/venus-express/
Martian Ice Sheetshttp://www.space.com/30502-mars-giant-ice-sheet-discovery-mro.html
Curiosity Discoverieshttp://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report-this-year-s-top-discoveries-made-on-mars-by-curiosity-2155533
Juno Overview
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/overview/index.html
Europa Mission
http://www.nasa.gov/europa/overview/index.html
Cassini Mission
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/whycassini/index.html
Image Galleries
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/index.html