When SMART-1 ended its mission by crashing into the Moon on Semptember 3, telescopes around the world were watching. A newly released series of images comes from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, which shows the crash site before and after impact. The telescope captured images every 15 seconds, and detected the flash of impact, and the following dust cloud that lasted about 75 seconds.
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New Horizons’ Telescope Sees First Light
Although New Horizons is still more than 9 years away from reaching Pluto, it’s ready to do some science along the way. The spacecraft passed an important milestone this week when it opened the protective cover on its Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) and took a photograph of the Messier 7 star cluster. Stars were visible in this cluster down to 12th magnitude, which matches the instrument’s pre-launch calibration. New Horizons will start imaging Jupiter with LORRI as it approaches a Feb. 28, 2007 flyby.
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SMART-1 Smashed into the Moon
ESA’s SMART-1 spacecraft ended its productive mission on September 3, 2006 when it crashed into the lunar soil in the “Lake of Excellence” region of the Moon. The impact took place on the near side of the Moon, in full view of Earth and space-based telescopes; even amateurs captured a tiny flash in their telescopes as the spacecraft obliterated, and carved out a small crater. This final act of science will hopefully give researchers some insights into the minerals that lie underneath the lunar surface, which were briefly excavated by the impact.
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New Crew Exploration Vehicle Named Orion
NASA officially announced today that the crew exploration vehicle will be named Orion. This is the new capsule that will first take astronauts to the International Space Station by 2014, and fly to the Moon by 2020. The agency also recently renamed the crew launch rocket Ares, and the larger cargo rocket Ares V. Orion will be capable of carrying 6 astronauts to the space station, or 4 astronauts to the Moon.
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Planck Telescope Tested in Vacuum
ESA’s Planck space telescope recently spent two weeks in a chamber that simulates the vacuum and temperature of space. When it finally launches in 2008, the European spacecraft will explore the cosmic background radiation; the afterglow of the Big Bang. Engineers needed to make sure that its instruments will perform well under the harsh conditions of space, and so far, everything checks out. The various components of the mission will continue to be tested separately, and then tested together in the coming months.
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STEREO Spacecraft Set for Launch
Get set to see the Sun… in thrilling 3-D! At the end of August, NASA will launch its twin STEREO spacecraft into orbit around the Sun, to provide the first stereoscopic views of coronal mass ejections. The spacecraft will be lofted into space on Thursday, August 31, to begin a 2-year mission; one spacecraft will fly ahead of the Earth in its orbit, and the other will tail back. With this 3-D view, scientists will be able to accurately track the direction and speed of coronal mass ejections, providing much better space weather forecast.
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SMART-1’s Final Days
After 16 months of successful observations, ESA’s SMART-1 is about to make its final contribution to lunar science. On September 3, 2006, it’ll crash into the Moon in full view of Earth- and space-based telescopes, giving astronomers a glimpse of what’s underneath the surface. In its final orbits, the spacecraft will be flying so low that it might crash into a hill on a previous pass, giving different Earth-based telescopes a better view. The final crater is expected to be 3-10 metres (10-33 feet) wide and 1 metre (3 feet) deep.
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Dark Energy Mission Chosen
A new space telescope concept has been chosen by NASA to help uncover the source of dark energy; the mysterious force accelerating the expansion of the Universe. Called Destiny, or the Dark Energy Space Telescope, the orbiting observatory would detect and observe more than 3,000 supernovae over the course of 2 years. This data will help astronomers trace back the expansion of the Universe, and calculate if the rate of acceleration has changed over time. If all goes well, it’ll launch in 2013.
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Help Look for Space Dust
If you’ve got keen eyes, a computer connection, and a little spare time, you could help discover particles of interstellar dust. Poring over the samples returned by NASA’s Stardust probe is a big job, so the scientists have opened up the task to volunteers through the Internet. Using a virtual microscope, volunteers can download images and search for the telltale track of a interstellar dust particles that were captured in aerogel. Discoverers will get a chance to name the particles they discover.
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Crashing Into the Moon… On Purpose
It might sound hard to believe, but dozens of spacecraft have crashed themselves onto the surface of the Moon. All in the name of science. The first was the Soviet spacecraft Luna 2, which smashed into the lunar surface in 1959. Well, an upcoming mission is all set to do it again. NASA’s Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will launch in 2008 together with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Its booster rocket will smash into the Moon first, carving out a large crater, and then the smaller Shepherding spacecraft will smash into the same spot, analyzing the debris cloud before it’s destroyed too.
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