Laurence Tognetti, Author at Universe Today

May 16, 2023May 17, 2023 by Laurence Tognetti

It’s Time to Figure Out How to Land Large Spacecraft Safely on Other Worlds

Exhaust plume-surface interaction, more commonly known as brownout, while landing on the Moon. (Credit: Reproduced with permission from A. Rahimi, O. Ejtehadi, K.H. Lee, R.S. Myong, Acta Astronautica, 175 (2020) 308-326. ©2018 Elsevier.)

One of the most iconic events in history is Apollo 11 landing on the lunar surface. During the descent, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin are heard relaying commands and data back and forth to mission control across 385,000 kilometers (240,000 miles) of outer space as the lunar module “Eagle” slowly inched its way into the history books.

In the final moments before touchdown, Aldrin can be heard saying, “Picking up some dust”, followed by large dust clouds shooting outward from underneath from the spacecraft as the exhaust plumes interacted with the lunar surface, more commonly known as brownout or brownout effect. This significantly reduced the visibility for Armstrong and Aldrin as they landed, and while they successfully touched down on the Moon, future astronauts might not be so lucky.

May 9, 2023May 9, 2023 by Laurence Tognetti

NASA Uses Powerful Transmitters to Talk to Deep Space Spacecraft. Will Other Civilizations Receive Those Signals?

Artist rendition of Voyager 1 entering interstellar space. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

In a recent study submitted to the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, a pair of researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) examine the likelihood of extraterrestrial intelligent civilizations intercepting outward transmissions from NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) that are aimed at five deep space spacecraft: Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, and New Horizons. Members of the public are free to track such transmissions at DSN Now, which displays real-time data of outgoing and incoming transmissions to all spacecraft at various times.

May 7, 2023May 7, 2023 by Laurence Tognetti

A Lack of Alien Signals Actually Tells Us a Lot

In a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal, a researcher from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) discusses the potential reasons why we haven’t received technoemission, also called technosignatures, from an extraterrestrial intelligence during the 60 years that SETI has been searching, along with recommending additional methods as to how we can continue to search for such emissions.

April 28, 2023May 1, 2023 by Laurence Tognetti

China is Planning to Land Humans on the Moon by 2030 as Part of its Ambitious Lunar Agenda

Image from a video animation showing the proposed Chinese lunar research station. Credit: China Media Group.

Weiren Wu, the Chief Designer of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP), recently announced an ambitious plan to put Chinese footprints on the lunar surface by 2030. This announcement came just prior to this year’s Space Day of China, an annual event celebrated on April 24^thmeant to showcase the space industry achievements of the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

April 25, 2023April 26, 2023 by Laurence Tognetti

TESS Reaches Fifth Anniversary of Extraordinary Mission, but its Work is Far from Over

Artist illustration of NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observing the heavens. (Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)

NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission recently reached its fifth anniversary of service to humanity as it continues to tirelessly scan the heavens for worlds beyond. Dubbed as an all-sky mission, TESS was launched on April 18, 2018, aboard a SpaceX Falcon rocket. During its five years in space, TESS’s four 24 degrees by 24 degrees field-of-view CCD cameras have successfully mapped greater than 93% of the cosmos.

April 21, 2023April 23, 2023 by Laurence Tognetti

We Could Soon See Landslides on Europa and Ganymede

Image of potential flat, smooth terrain on Ganymede imaged by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in 2000 that could be indicative of landslides. (Credit: NASA/JPL/Brown University)

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) recently launched Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission and NASA’s upcoming Europa Clipper mission could allow scientists to image landslides on the icy moons of Europa and Ganymede due to potential moonquakes on these small worlds. This comes after a recent study examined fault scarps on Europa and Ganymede orbiting Jupiter and Enceladus and Dione orbiting Saturn with the goal of drawing a connection between tectonic activity (quakes) and observed mass wasting (landslides) on these surfaces. The researchers “consider whether such smooth material can be generated by mass wasting triggered from local seismic shaking”, according to the study.

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023 by Laurence Tognetti

Watch a Dramatic Tornado Rise from the Surface of the Sun, Captured by Andrew McCarthy

A 140 megapixel image of the Sun with a tornado-like prominence in the upper right portion and the whisps of the solar corona. Data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory and an image from Jason Guenzel of the 2017 total solar eclipse were combined to form this image. (Credit: Andrew McCarthy & Jason Guenzel)

Amateur astrophotography is becoming increasingly popular among the astronomy community, as advancements in telescope and camera technologies allow individuals from all walks of life to observe the heavens in mind-blowing detail, including our own Sun, albeit with the proper protective equipment. This was recently demonstrated by Andrew McCarthy (Twitter @AJamesMcCarthy), who owns and operates Cosmic Background Studios, and is originally from Northern California but currently resides in Florence, Arizona.

April 17, 2023April 17, 2023 by Laurence Tognetti

The Moon is the Best Place to Transport Rocket Fuel

Artist depiction of future lunar astronauts. (Credit: NASA)

When astronauts return to the Moon in the next few years, the plan is to have them stay for good while establishing a permanent outpost on Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor. Like all space missions, a lunar outpost will require fuel for long-term sustainability, but would it be better to mine fuel on the Moon or get fuel resupply from the Earth? This is what a team of researchers led by Bocconi University in Italy hope to address as they addressed the best option in terms of deriving fuel from either the Earth or the Moon.

April 12, 2023April 12, 2023 by Laurence Tognetti

Saturn’s Rings Warm Up its Atmosphere

Composite image of hydrogen emissions observed on Saturn gathered between 1980 and 2017 by Voyager 1, Cassini, and Hubble. A near-ultraviolet image taken by Hubble in 2017 being used to calibrate the almost 40 years of data. The amount of reflected ultraviolet (UV) sunlight is measured in brightness, with the rings reflecting the least amount UV sunlight. The dark spot at the pole is Saturn's spin axis. (Credit: NASA, ESA, Lotfi Ben-Jaffel (IAP & LPL))

Saturn’s rings are one of the most well-known features throughout astronomy. While much is known about them, they still make headlines from time to time. This includes a recent study involving an international team of researchers that could help paint a clearer picture of the interaction between the gas giant and the massive ring system that encircles it.

April 4, 2023April 5, 2023 by Laurence Tognetti

Perseverance Sees Drifting Clouds on Mars

Animation showing a series of pre-sunrise images of drifting clouds in the Martian sky taken by NASA's Perseverance rover on March 18, 2023. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA’s Perseverance rover mission provided a bluish pre-sunrise gift above Jezero Crater on March 18, 2022, aka Sol 738, or the 738^th Martian day of the mission, with “sol” being the official timekeeping method for Mars missions since one Martian day is approximately 40 minutes longer than one Earth day. And, on this particular sol, the car-sized explorer used one of its navigation cameras (Navcam) to snap images of high-altitude clouds drifting in the Martian sky, which it shared on its officially Twitter page on March 23, 2023.