Elizabeth Howell is the senior writer at Universe Today. She also works for Space.com, Space Exploration Network, the NASA Lunar Science Institute, NASA Astrobiology Magazine and LiveScience, among others. Career highlights include watching three shuttle launches, and going on a two-week simulated Mars expedition in rural Utah. You can follow her on Twitter @howellspace or contact her at her website.
A view of rivers in Montana, USA, from the ISS. Credit: ESA/Luca Parmitano.
A new model suggests that up to half of the water on Earth may be older than the Sun and the rest of the Solar System. The model indicates that much of our planet’s water originated in the molecular cloud that created our Solar System, rather than the disc of material that was orbiting the Sun 4.6 billion years ago.
“Chemistry tells us that Earth received a contribution of water from some source that was very cold – only tens of degrees above absolute zero, while the Sun being substantially hotter has erased this deuterium, or heavy water, fingerprint,” stated Ted Bergin, an astronomy professor at the University of Michigan who participated in the research.
“We let the chemistry evolve for a million years – the typical lifetime of a planet-forming disk – and we found that chemical processes in the disk were inefficient at making heavy water throughout the solar system. What this implies is if the planetary disk didn’t make the water, it inherited it. Consequently, some fraction of the water in our solar system predates the Sun.”
What this could mean is that water would be quite abundant in young solar systems since it doesn’t depend on the chemistry of the planetary disc, but what is in molecular clouds — making it easier, perhaps, for water to arise in planets.
The first Mars observations from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft in three ultraviolet wavelength bands. From left to right, you can see wavelengths that focus on hydrogen, oxygen and reflected sunlight. A composite image is at far right. Credit: Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics /University of Colorado and NASA
Sure is fun to see the Red Planet in different colors! This is what the gases around the Red Planet’s atmosphere look like from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft, which did its first observations on Monday (Sept. 22) — just eight hours after arriving in orbit.
The goal of the spacecraft is to better understand how quickly gases are fleeing the Martian atmosphere, and here you can definitely see a difference between hydrogen (at left) and oxygen (second-to-left). Figuring out how fast the atmosphere escapes could help scientists learn why water appeared to flow freely on the Red Planet’s surface in the distant past.
The hydrogen gas is much lighter and surrounds the planet in a bigger cloud that is so huge it extends beyond the boundaries of the picture at left. The oxygen, which is heavier, is less prone to drifting away and stays closer to the planet. (All images were obtained from an altitude of 22,680 miles or 36,500 kilometers.)
An artist concept of MAVEN in orbit around Mars. (Credit: NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center).
It is believed that the Sun’s radiation pushed hydrogen out of the Martian atmosphere in the planet’s past, thinning it over time. A thicker atmosphere would have allowed water to exist in gullies and perhaps even seas or oceans, but today the atmosphere is too thin for liquid water to survive in large quantities on the surface.
MAVEN is in a commissioning phase that will last until early November, although the spacecraft will take a time-out to do observations of Comet Siding Spring upon the object’s closest approach to the planet Oct. 19. So far, NASA does not believe the comet will pose a huge dust threat to the spacecraft, but MAVEN will be maneuvered to minimize exposure just in case.
Artist's concdption of a Neptune-sized planet with a clear atmosphere, passing across the face of its star. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
In an encouraging find for habitability researchers, astronomers have detected molecules on the smallest planet ever — a Neptune-sized planet about 120 light-years from Earth. The team behind the discovery says this means the dream of understanding the atmospheres on planets even closer to size of Earth is getting closer.
“The work we are doing now is important for future studies of super-Earths and even smaller planets, because we want to be able to pick out in advance the planets with clear atmospheres that will let us detect molecules,” stated co-author Heather Knutson, of the California Institute of Technology.
This particular world is not life-friendly as we understand it, however. Called HAT-P-11b, it’s not only a gas giant but also a planet that orbits extremely close to its star — making one circle every five days. And unusually among planets of its size that were previously probed by astronomers, it appears to have clear skies.
The team examined the world using the Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3, looking at the planet as it passed across the face of its star. The team compared the signature of elements observed when the planet was in front of the star and when it was not, and discovered telltale signs of water vapor in its atmosphere.
Artist’s conception of what the weather may look like on HAT-P-11b, a Neptune-sized exoplanet. The upper atmosphere (right) appears clear while the lower atmosphere may host clouds. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
While other planets outside our solar system are known to have water vapor, the ones previously examined are much larger. Jupiter-sized planets are much easier to examine not only because they are larger, but their atmospheres puff up more (making them more visible from Earth.)
To confirm the water vapor was not a false signal from sunspots on the parent star (which also can contain it), the team used the Kepler and Spitzer space telescopes to confirm the information. (Kepler’s single field of view around the constellation Cygnus, which it had been peering at for about four years, happily included the zone where HAT-P-11b was orbiting.) The infrared information from Spitzer and the visible-light data from Kepler both showed the sunspots were too hot for water vapor.
Further, the discovery shows there were no clouds in the way of the observations — a first for planets of that size. The team also hopes that super-Earths could have clear skies, allowing astronomers to analyze their atmospheres.
“When astronomers go observing at night with telescopes, they say ‘clear skies’ to mean good luck,” stated lead author Jonathan Fraine, of the University of Maryland, College Park. “In this case, we found clear skies on a distant planet. That’s lucky for us because it means clouds didn’t block our view of water molecules.”
A view of the International Space Station as seen by the last departing space shuttle crew, STS-135. Credit: NASA
Amid tensions surrounding international space collaboration, Russia is planning to spend $8 billion (321 billion rubles) on the International Space Station between 2016 and 2025, according to a Russian state agency report.
Deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin made the announcement at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. Part of the money will go to new “automatic spacecraft” and modules, said a translated version of the Russian-language ITAR-TASS report.
There was no mention in the report about Rogozin’s anger this spring concerning sanctions against Russia levied earlier this year after his nation placed soldiers inside Ukranian Crimea, which subsequently was annexed to Russia.
As part of policy with the Obama administration, this April NASA said it would cut most space ties with Russia except for those that are deemed essential to operation of the space station. In response, Rogozin wrote a tweet pointing out the Americans’ dependence on Russian Soyuz vehicles to bring astronauts to and from the station, an arrangement that has been in place since the space shuttle retired in 2011.
Screenshot from NASA TV of the Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft arriving at the International Space Station.
“After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest to the USA to bring their astronauts to the International Space Station using a trampoline,” Rogozin wrote in Russian at the time.
The United States wants to extend operations of the station at least four years to 2024, but has not received commitments from its international partners yet. Rogozin’s reported announcement implies Russia would use the station through at least 2024, but it’s not clear if that is the case or what form any international collaboration would take.
A view of Martian hills from the Opportunity rover, taken in August 2014. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.
No science data is missing after the Opportunity Mars rover had a brief “amnesia” event last week, NASA said in an update posted yesterday (Sept. 23). The hiccup occurred a few days after the rover had a reformat to correct ongoing memory problems that were stopping it from doing its mission.
The latest incident happened when the rover “woke up” for a day of work. It was unable to mount its Flash memory, which can store information even when the rover is shut off for the night.
An investigation is ongoing, NASA said, but the rover was performing normally as it scooted towards a small crater called Ulysses last week.
The Martian vista near NASA’s Opportunity rover on Sept. 17, 2014 (Sol 3786), while it was exploring the rim of Endeavour Crater, en route to Ulysses. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.
The journey to Ulysses is taking place over “difficult terrain”, NASA said, but as of Sept. 16 the rover was making progress. It made several drives in the five days before then, including a 98-foot (30-meter) sojourn the day after the memory problem.
Opportunity has spent more than 10 years roaming the Red Planet (it was originally designed to last 90 days). As of Sept. 16, it has driven 25.32 miles (40.75 kilometers) — almost as long as a marathon.
Its medium-range science goal right now is to arrive at Marathon Valley, a location that could have clay minerals in it. Clays are often formed in water-soaked environments, meaning this location could add to the list of ancient water-related finds that spacecraft have found on Mars.
Tracks from the Opportunity rover crisscross Martian soil on Sept. 17, 2014 (Sol 3786). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.
Artist's impression AS 205 N, which is a T Tauri star, and a smaller partner. Credit: P. Marenfeld (NOAO/AURA/NSF)
Watch out! Carbon monoxide gas is likely fleeing the disk of a young star like our Sun, producing an unusual signature in infrared. This could be the first time winds have been confirmed in association with a T Tauri star, or something else might be going on.
Because the observed signature of the star (called AS 205 N) didn’t meet what models of similar stars predicted, astronomers say it’s possible it’s not winds after all, but a companion tugging away at the gas.
“The material in the disk of a T Tauri star usually, but not always, emits infrared radiation with a predictable energy distribution,” stated Colette Salyk, an astronomer with the National Optical Astronomical Observatory who led the research. “Some T Tauri stars, however, like to act up by emitting infrared radiation in unexpected ways.”
View of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) site, which is 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) on the Chajnantor Plateau in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Credit: A. Marinkovic/X-Cam/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)
T Tauri stars are still young enough to be surrounded by dust and gas that could eventually form planets. Winds in the vicinity, however, could make it difficult for enough gas to stick around to form Jupiter-sized gas giants — or could change where planets are formed altogether.
While it’s still unclear what’s going on in AS 205 N, the astronomers plan to follow up their work with observing other T Tauri stars. Maybe with more observations, they reason, they can better understand what these signatures are telling us.
The weird environment was spotted by astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a set of 66 radio telescopes in Chile. A paper based on the research was published in the Astrophysical Journal and is also available in preprint version on Arxiv.
Apollo 14 astronaut Ed Mitchell at work in the Ocean of Storms on the Moon. Credit: NASA / Lunar and Planetary Institute
While any image from the Apollo program is stunning, some of the more iconic ones are used over and over again while equally amazing pictures remain relatively unknown.
In the same spirit, we’ve posted some Apollo images below from the Lunar and Planetary Institute, which maintains a catalog of NASA shots (including some in high-resolution) on its website. We also recommend the 1999 Michael Light book Full Moon, which has dozens of lesser-known Apollo shots of high quality.
A half-Earth shines in this image taken by the Apollo 13 crew in April 1970. Credit: NASA / Lunar and Planetary InstituteFootprints, dusty spacesuit knees and tools — all a part of the Apollo 12 mission in November 1969. Credit: NASA / Lunar and Planetary InstituteApollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin inside the lunar module at the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility in July 1969. Credit: NASA / Lunar and Planetary InstituteShadowy lunar craters poke out in this image taken by the Apollo 8 crew in December 1968. Credit: NASA / Lunar and Planetary InstituteAn Apollo 16 astronaut works near the lunar rover in the Descartes Highlands in April 1972. Credit: NASA / Lunar and Planetary Institute
A shot of the moon taken by a telescope created by 3-D printing. Credit: University of Sheffield
What would Galileo think of this? Here’s a shot of our closest large celestial neighbor, the Moon, taken through a 3-D printed telescope. Better yet — before long, the creators of this telescope promise, the plans will be made available on the Internet for all to use.
“This is all about democratizing technology, making it cheap and readily available to the general public,” stated Mark Wrigley, who-co led the design. He runs a one-person company (Alternative Photonics) and built the telescope with support from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom.
“And the PiKon is just the start. It is our aim to not only use the public’s feedback and participation to improve it, but also to launch new products which will be of value to people.”
The mirror size of the telescope was not disclosed in a press release, but its magnification is 160. This makes it able to look at planets, moons, galaxies and star clusters. Stacking images is also possible to look for moving objects such as comets, the university stated.
The creators say it only costs £100 ($165) to make, so we can hardly wait to see what the plans contain. More information on the telescope is available on the PiKon website.
NASA’s anticipated $3 billion to $4 billion annual budget for the International Space Station is “overly optimistic”, a new report from NASA’s Inspector General says.
Transportation costs will likely rise when NASA uses commercial spacecraft to access the station instead of Russian Soyuzes, the report said. Also, if international partners don’t commit to extending the station four extra years to 2024, NASA will need to pick up more of the financial burden.
“While ISS program officials have been seeking ways to reduce costs and consolidate resources, it is unclear whether these efforts will be sufficient to address anticipated cost increases, particularly because the program does not expect to maintain any funding reserves over the next several years,” the report reads.
Expedition 38 crew members proudly sport their national flags in this March 2014 picture from the International Space Station. Pictured (clockwise from top center) are Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, commander; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy, NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins, and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, all flight engineers. Credit: NASA
In January, the Obama administration approved NASA’s request to extend the ISS until 2024. At the time, NASA said the extension would be beneficial for science and also for the companies that will send spacecraft to the station, which right now appear to be SpaceX and Boeing. (NASA has been purchasing Soyuz seats since the shuttle retired in 2011, and U.S. flights are slated to start up again in 2017.)
There are 16 nations participating in space station operations, however, and any extension may require the approval of some or all of them. Political tensions with major partner Russia (which manages much of the station) have increased since the Ukrainian invasion crisis erupted earlier this year, prompting international condemnation. NASA cut most scientific ties with Russia in April, but preserved the station — an activity the agency says is proceeding normally, despite the crisis.
Besides political ramifications, the report points to technical issues with the ISS that could make an extension difficult. Its solar arrays are degrading faster than predicted, causing power limitations, and NASA has limited capability to lift large replacements parts to the station since the shuttle’s retirement.
Image above: Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock (right) and Tracy Caldwell Dyson work to replace a failed ammonia pump module outside of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV
Even the station’s promise of science return is proving to be a challenge. ISS United States laboratory manager Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) is facing “issues related to funding and patent licenses and data rights” that are “deterring commercial stakeholders from conducting research on the ISS,” the report notes.
The report suggests that NASA keep trying to secure commitments from the ISS partners to share station costs, and that the agency “prioritize the human health risks to long-term exploration” in terms of its scientific research. While the report praised NASA for taking its recommendations seriously, it chastised the agency for not having a list of risks to the ISS ready yet.
NASA’s spending on the ISS was $2.9 billion in fiscal 2013, with 43% of that money going to system operations and maintenance, and 34% to crew and cargo transportation. About 10% is allocated to research.
The report was signed by Paul Martin, the inspector general, and can be read in full at this link. This news report just skims the surface of what the actual report says, so we highly encourage you to read it.
An artist concept of MAVEN in orbit around Mars. (Credit: NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center).
NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter is oh-so-close to its destination after a 10-month journey. It’s scheduled to arrive in orbit Sunday (Sept. 21) around 9:50 p.m. EDT (1:50 a.m. UTC) if all goes well, but there are a few things that need to happen, in order, first.
One big obstacle is already out of the way. MAVEN controllers had expected to do final engine burn tweaks to put it on the right trajectory, but the mission is so on-target that it won’t be needed.
“#MAVEN orbit insertion sequence has been activated on the s/c. No additional ground intervention is needed to enter #Mars’ orbit on Sunday,” the official account tweeted yesterday (Sept. 18).
So what does the sequence entail? MAVEN will need to turn on its six thruster engines for a 33-minute braking maneuver to slow it down. This will allow the gravity of Mars to “capture” the spacecraft into an elliptical or oval-shaped orbit.
Should that all go safely, MAVEN still has a lot of work to do before being ready to capture information about the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet. All spacecraft go through a commissioning phase to ensure their instruments are working correctly and that they are in the correct orbit and orientation to do observations.
Controllers are interested in learning about the comet and its effect on the upper atmosphere, so they will stop the commissioning to make those measurements. MAVEN will also be oriented in such a way that its solar panels are protected as much as possible from the dust, although scientists now believe the risk of strikes is very low.
This graphic depicts the orbit of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring as it swings around the sun in 2014. On Oct. 19, 2014 the comet will have a very close pass at Mars. Its nucleus will miss Mars by about 82,000 miles (132,000 kilometers). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
MAVEN is expected to work at Mars for a year, but investigators are hoping it will be for longer so that the atmosphere can be tracked through more of a solar cycle. The Sun’s activity is a major influencer on the atmosphere and the “stripping” of molecules from it over time, which could have thinned Mars’ atmosphere in the ancient past.
The spacecraft will also serve as a backup communications and data relay for the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers on the surface, which might be needed if some of the older NASA Mars spacecraft that fulfill that function experience technical difficulties.
