El Floppo
Footballguy
it did?
I thought it was a question of relative gravitational pull (slight), not surface quality, that made it bounce as much as it did. No?
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Rosetta spacecraft achieves orbit with comet 67P (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter joffer
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I thought it was a question of relative gravitational pull (slight), not surface quality, that made it bounce as much as it did. No?
Don Quixote
Footballguy
The Daily Mail article linked above said: "Scientists described the ground as being more like a 'trampoline' than rock, owing to its soft and powdery texture, which may have caused the unsteady landing of the probe."
culdeus
Footballguy
Bobcat10
Footballguy
Fennis
Footballguy
jamny
Footballguy
NorvilleBarnes
Footballguy
El Floppo
Footballguy
joffer
Footballguy
http://www.iflscience.com/space/nasa-receive-significantly-more-money-it-asked-next-year
In the past, it has seemed that NASA often drew the short straw when it came to budget allocations. But it turns out that they were in for a nice surprise this year when the House of Representatives passed its $1.1 trillion spending, or “CRomnibus,” bill last Thursday. The federal space agency will be getting a much appreciated 2% rise from next year, receiving a respectable $18.01 billion.
This very generous figure is actually around $550 million more than the President’s request for 2015, and $364 million more than NASA received last year. Impressively, the increases that various space programs will be receiving come without slashing others.
Among those feeling flush is the planetary sciences division, which will receive $1.44 billion; $160 million more than originally requested and tantalizingly close to the $1.5 billion recommended by The Planetary Society. This money will help kickstart design efforts for the Mars 2020 rover and will also see the continued support of other space probes, such as the Red Planet’s Opportunity rover that’s been exploring since 2004 and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Of special note within the allocation for planetary science is the proposed mission to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, which will be getting a boost of $118 million. That’s almost 700% more than the $15 million requested. Although this mission is not yet in existence, the small amount originally requested in the President’s budget was to study low-cost concepts. Although $118 million won’t get us to the satellite, which is thought to be the most likely candidate to host alien life in our solar system, it’s certainly more than a kick in the teeth and will help lay the groundwork for the ambitious project.
Other worthy winners are human spaceflight endeavors, comprising the combination of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule, which will receive a grand total of $2.9 billion, almost 20% more than the total requested. The astrophysics division has also been given an impressive $685 million, which will sustain the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) program. This project uses a modified Boeing 747 with an IR telescope to peer into space from the stratosphere.
A few divisions were also inevitably stung by cuts, such as Space Technology Development which is due to be allocated $109 million less than requested. However, that’s still an increase from the amount allocated last year, which is a step in the right direction.
Overall, this is certainly a winning situation for NASA, which will lead to more space science and ultimately a better understanding of the universe we live in.
sbonomo
Footballguy
that's great!
joffer
Footballguy
El Floppo
Footballguy
incredible news.
but really- it tweeted? wtf. waiting for the selfie-stick shot before I get too excited.
MaxThreshold
Footballguy
El Floppo
Footballguy
LONDON, ENGLAND (CNN) - Could life on Earth have been kick-started by a comet strike? A startling discovery by the Rosetta comet-chasing mission has added fresh evidence to suggest that it is possible.
The European Space Agency (ESA), which is leading a consortium that includes NASA, announced that the mission to explore Comet 67P has discovered 16 organic compounds, described as "carbon and nitrogen-rich."
The agency says on its websitethat the discovery, made by the Philae lander, includes four compounds that have never before been detected in comets.
And it adds that some of the compounds "play a key role in the prebiotic synthesis of amino acids, sugars ... the ingredients for life."
"For example, formaldehyde is implicated in the formation of ribose, which, ultimately features
"The existence of such complex molecules in a comet, a relic of the early Solar System, imply that chemical processes at work during that time could have played a key role in fostering the formation of prebiotic material," it says.
Commenting on the findings, lander system engineer Laurence O'Rourke told CNN it was an important discovery.
"If you apply energy
The Philae lander has tantalized mission watchers ever since it bounced across the surface of 67P in November 2014. It was able to take measurements in two locations -- once on hitting the surface, and again when it came to rest under a cliff.
The bounce turned out to be a happy accident, as Philae was protected from the scorching sun. In the first hours of its mission, Philae returned the data
Although contact was later lost when it ran out of power
Project scientists knew there were problems with the probe's transmitters, and contact was lost again in early July. But O'Rourke says that Philae is a "robust machine
"There's no way we can say the lander is dead," he said.
The mission is now approaching an important landmark called perihelion, the point in its orbit where the comet is closest to the sun. Comet 67P and its accompanying spacecraft are traveling at nearly 75,000 miles per hour and will come closest to the sun on August 13 before it swings around and begins its outward journey
As the comet approaches the sun, increasing solar energy
"Perihelion is an important milestone in any comet's calendar, and even more so for the Rosetta mission because this will be the first time a spacecraft has been following a comet from close quarters as it moves through this phase of its journey around the Solar System," Matt Taylor, an ESA Rosetta project scientist, said on the mission website.
The mission has now been extended to September of next year, when the Rosetta orbiter will most likely land on the surface of the comet, the ESA says.
