Tag: asteroids

Building NASA’s Psyche: Design Done, Now Full Speed Ahead on Hardware

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NASA’s Psyche mission to a distant metal asteroid will carry a revolutionary Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) package. This artist’s concept shows Psyche spacecraft with a five-panel array. (Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State Univ./Space Systems Loral/Peter Rubin)

The mission to explore a metal-rich asteroid is pivoting from planning the details to building real pieces of the spacecraft puzzle.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — Psyche, the NASA mission to explore a metal-rock asteroid of the same name, recently passed a crucial milestone that brings it closer to its August 2022 launch date. Now the mission is moving from planning and designing to high-gear manufacturing of the spacecraft hardware that will fly to its target in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

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ESA Awards OHB Contracts for Copernicus Missions

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Sentinel-6/Jason-CS will map up to 95% of Earth’s ice-free ocean every 10 days in order to monitor sea level variability. (Credit: ESA/ATG medialab)

BREMEN, Germany (OHB System PR) — OHB System AG, a subsidiary of Bremen-based space and technology group OHB SE (Prime Standard, ISIN DE0005936124), has been selected by the European Space Agency ESA as the prime contractor for the CO2M mission (CO2 Monitoring Mission in the Copernicus program).

This mission includes the Copernicus satellites, which will measure global anthropogenic CO2 emissions and thus play a key role in studying the causes of climate change and monitoring it.

OHB System and OHB Italia will also be responsible for the payload on two further missions (CHIME: Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment and CIMR: Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer) as subcontractors of Thales Alenia Space.

The order volume resulting from today’s bid decisions is expected to be more than EUR 800 million [$900 million]. Final contract negotiations will start shortly and contract signings are expected in the coming weeks.

Copernicus is a satellite Earth observation program of the European Commission and the European Space Agency ESA. It provides Earth observation data for environmental protection, climate monitoring, natural disaster assessment and other social tasks.

In addition, ESA’s Industrial Policy Committee (IPC) has approved OHB System’s proposal for the HERA asteroid defense mission for final negotiations. Implementation of the HERA mission has already commenced. The contract is expected to be worth around EUR 130 million [$146 million].

International Asteroid Day is Tuesday

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LUXEMBOURG, 22 June 2020 (Asteroid Day PR) — The Asteroid Foundation returns with Asteroid Day LIVE Digital from Luxembourg. This year, the event is a fully digital celebration of asteroid science and exploration. Panel discussions and one-on-one interviews with astronauts and world experts will be broadcast on 30 June 2020.

Asteroid Day LIVE Digital from Luxembourg is a five-hour program with panel discussions including:

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Hera and its Asteroid Target

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ESA’s Hera mission for planetary defence seen approaching the Dimorphos asteroid moonlet. (Credit: OHB)

PARIS (ESA PR) — ESA’s Hera mission for planetary defence seen approaching the Dimorphos asteroid moonlet, which is destined to become the subject of an audacious deflection experiment.

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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Produces Nightingale Mosaic

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Mosaic of Nightingale sample collection site on asteroid Bennu. (Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

by Erin Morton
University of Arizona

This view of sample site Nightingale on asteroid Bennu is a mosaic of images collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on March 3. A total of 345 PolyCam images were stitched together to produce the mosaic, which shows the site at 0.2 inches (4 mm) per pixel at full size.

These images were captured when the spacecraft performed an 820-foot (250-meter) reconnaissance pass over site Nightingale, which at the time was the closest the site had been imaged. The low-altitude pass provided high-resolution imagery for the OSIRIS-REx team to identify the best location within the site to target for sample collection.

Sample site Nightingale is located in the relatively clear patch just above the crater’s center – visible in the center of the image. The large, dark boulder located at the top right measures 43 feet (13 meters) on its longest axis. The mosaic is rotated so that Bennu’s east is at the top of the image.

Nightingale is the primary sample collection site for the OSIRIS-REx mission. OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to make its first sample collection attempt at site Nightingale on Oct. 20.

Using Tethers to Protect Earth from Asteroid Impacts

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These photos show the relative size of three asteroids that have been imaged at close range by spacecraft. Mathilde (37 x 29 miles) (left) was taken by the NEAR spacecraft on June 27, 1997. Images of the asteroids Gaspra (middle) and Ida (right) were taken by the Galileo spacecraft in 1991 and 1993, respectively. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/NEAR and Galileo missions

NEW YORK (Springer PR) — Our planet exists within the vicinity of thousands of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), some of which — Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) — carry the risk of impacting Earth causing major damage to infrastructure and loss of life. Methods to mitigate such a collision are highly desirable.

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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Finds Heat, Cold Fracturing Rocks on Asteroid Bennu

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Exfoliation features on a cliff face (a) and on boulders (b-f) with varying size and location. The bright dome on the horizon of panel (a) is a boulder behind the exfoliating cliff. (Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

TUCSON (Planetary Science Institute PR) — Close-up observations of asteroid Bennu by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft contain the first evidence of thermal fracturing of rocks on an airless body, a Nature Communications paper by Planetary Science Institute Research Scientist Jamie Molaro says. 

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ISRO, ARIES Sign MOU on Space Situational Awareness, Astrophysics Cooperation

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BENGALURU, India (ISRO PR) — A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Bengaluru and Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital for cooperation in the field of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Astrophysics was signed by Shri.R. Umamaheswaran, Scientific Secretary, ISRO and Prof. (Dr.) Dipankar Banerjee, Director, ARIES through video at ISRO Headquarters and ARIES Headquarters on 4th June 2020. 

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A Steaming Cauldron Follows the Dinosaurs’ Demise

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A three-dimensional cross-section of the hydrothermal system in the Chicxulub impact crater and its seafloor vents. The system has the potential for harboring microbial life. (Illustration by Victor O. Leshyk for the Lunar and Planetary Institute)

Houston, Texas and Columbia, MD (USRA/LPI PR) — A new study reveals the Chicxulub impact crater may have harbored a vast and long-lived hydrothermal system after the catastrophic impact event linked to the extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

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OSIRIS-REx Swoops Over Sample Site Osprey

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Osprey collection site on the asteroid Bennu. (Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

NASA Mission Update

This view of sample site Osprey on asteroid Bennu is a mosaic of images collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on May 26. A total of 347 PolyCam images were stitched together and corrected to produce the mosaic, which shows the site at 0.2 inches (5 mm) per pixel at full size.

The spacecraft took these images during an 820-foot (250-meter) reconnaissance pass over the site, which is the closest Osprey has been imaged. The pass was designed to provide high-resolution imagery to identify the best areas within the site to collect a sample.

The sample site is located in the crater at the bottom of the image, just above the dark patch at the crater’s center. The long, light-colored boulder to the left of the dark patch, named Strix Saxum, is 17 ft (5.2 m) in length. The mosaic is rotated so that Bennu’s east is at the top of the image.

Osprey is the backup sample collection site for the OSIRIS-REx mission. OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to make its first sample collection attempt at primary site Nightingale on Oct. 20.

Queen’s Brian May Works to Probe Origin of Asteroids

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Brian May (Credit: ESA)

NICE, France (ESA PR) — Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May has teamed up with asteroid researchers to investigate striking similarities and a puzzling difference between separate bodies explored by space probes. The research team ran a supercomputer-based ‘fight club’ involving simulated large asteroid collisions to probe the objects’ likely origins. Their work is reported in Nature Communications.  

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June is Asteroid Month

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Asteroid Day TV is on Air

Tune in to watch asteroid-themed programming from Discovery Science, TED, IMAX, BBC, CNN, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and other top content producers.

Click Here to Start Watching

Asteroid Day TV will stream through the month of June in addition to Asteroid Day LIVE on 30 June. All programming is produced in partnership with Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE) and SES satellites.

Thanks to the unparalleled reach of SES, Asteroid Day TV programming will reach millions of viewers. Click here for satellite access information.

Starting 22 June | ESA Asteroid Day Programmes

The European Space Agency’s 2020 Asteroid Day virtual programme series will feature scientists, astronomers, and astronauts reaching out to audiences everywhere. Each will be in a different language and broadcast on ADTV in the week leading to Asteroid Day. Dates to be announced soon.

30 June | Asteroid Day Live From Luxembourg

Asteroid Day LIVE is back! This year we come to you with experts calling in from around the world to discuss the latest missions, discoveries, opportunities and challenges that asteroids present. This year ADLIVE will premiere on Asteroid Day (30 June) – exact times, topics, and guest line-up to be announced soon.

DART Mission To Deflect Asteroid Moves Toward Early 2022 Launch

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DART mission (Credit: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory)

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

NASA’s planetary defense mission to deflect a small asteroid continues to move toward a February 2022 launch date while holding to its $313.9 million budget, according to a new assessment by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will fly to the binary asteroid Didymos and impact the smaller of the two bodies to assess techniques for deflecting dangerous asteroids on collision courses with Earth.

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Aerojet Rocketdyne Delivers DART Propulsion Systems Ahead of 2021 Asteroid Impact Mission

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DART mission (Credit: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory)

REDMOND, Wash., May 19, 2020 (Aerojet Rocketdyne PR) – The dual chemical and electric propulsion systems for NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) were recently delivered by Aerojet Rocketdyne to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland.

The chemical propulsion system and the electric propulsion Xenon feed system have been undergoing assembly and integration onto the spacecraft structure at Aerojet Rocketdyne’s facility in Redmond, Washington, since August 2019.

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