On this day in 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to enter outer space and orbit our planet. Tonight, science and space fans worldwide celebrate this milestone of human exploration with Yuri’s Night. Mika McKinnon tells us more about the man, his voyage, and the ways we honor him today.
NASA scientists are poring over their most detailed snapshots of our universe, searching for the hallmark shapes that indicate a planet being formed. And you can help them, even if you never got that Ph.D. in astronomy, just by hopping on the Disk Detective website.
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The surface of Mars? Psh… been there. With the Curiosity stage well under way, our exploration of the Red Planet is about to take a dive beneath the dust. Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport — InSight, for short — was just confirmed as a new NASA mission, with the space agency set to launch in March of 2016. Based on the Phoenix lander, the craft is tasked with giving us a peek beneath the planet’s surface, armed with tools that include a geodetic instrument from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which will be used to calculate Mars’ rotation axis, a seismic wave sensor and a subsurface heat probe, to measure the planet’s internal temperature. The program has a $425 million budget — a bit shy of the $2.5 billion allocated for Curiosity — not including the costly launch vehicle. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that InSight will help pave the way for future human missions to Mars, and represents just one of the related projects to come. Hit up the source link below for a closer look at JPL’s latest endeavor.
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NASA InSight tapped for Mars drilling mission in 2016 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Bus-sized satellites require massive engines for even the slightest movements, but as far smaller structures become a possibility, a tiny driving mechanism can offer usable thrust. To serve this next-gen tech, MIT saw a need to develop “microthrusters,” which are each the size of a penny and can be mounted to tiny cubed satellites. With thruster components measuring a few microns each, the magnetic levitation system is able to accommodate 500 microscopic tips that emit ion beams in a very small package, serving to push two-pound structures through space. The tiny devices have not made their way into orbit yet, but they have been tested in a vacuum chamber. Because of their size, it’s possible to add several to each satellite, then enabling sophisticated movements for more precise turns.
There are currently two dozen “CubeSats” in orbit, each measuring only slightly larger than a Rubik’s cube, but without any thrusters to power them, positioning can’t be adjusted once they’re released. Because of their current location, CubeSats eventually burn up in the atmosphere, but once they’re released farther from Earth, they won’t be able to enter the atmosphere on their own, remaining in orbit as “space junk” even after completing their missions — micro thrusters could also serve to move these satellites closer to the planet so they can burn up during re-entry. There’s no word on when, or even if, MIT’s invention will make its way to the launchpad, but you can take a closer look in the demo video after the break.
Continue reading MIT ‘microthrusters’ are the size of a penny, could reposition tiny satellites
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MIT ‘microthrusters’ are the size of a penny, could reposition tiny satellites originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Aug 2012 09:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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