An Addition To Our Space Rock Collection
An Addition to our Space Rock Collection
On October 20th, our OSIRIS-REx mission will make its first attempt to collect and retrieve a sample of asteroid Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid. On sample collection day, Bennu will be over 200 million miles away from Earth.
Asteroids are the building blocks of our solar system. A sample of this ancient material can tell us about the history of our planet and the origins of life. Science results published from the mission on October 8th confirm that Bennu contains carbon in a form often found in biology or in compounds associated with biology.
To collect a sample, OSIRIS-REx will attempt a method NASA has never used before – called Touch-And-Go (TAG). First, the spacecraft extends its robotic sampling arm, the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) – from its folded storage position. The spacecraft’s two solar panels then move into a “Y-wing” configuration over the spacecraft’s body, which positions them safely up and away from the asteroid’s surface during touch down. This configuration also places the spacecraft’s center of gravity directly over the TAGSAM collector head, which is the only part of the spacecraft that will contact Bennu’s surface.
Finding a safe sample collection site on Bennu’s rocky landscape was a challenge. During the sampling event, the spacecraft, which is the size of a large van, will attempt to touch down in an area that is only the size of a few parking spaces, and just a few steps away from enormous boulders.
The spacecraft will only make contact with Bennu for a matter of seconds - just long enough to blow nitrogen gas onto the surface to roil up dust and small pebbles, which will then be captured for a return to Earth.
We need to conduct a few tests before we can confirm we collected a large enough sample (about 2 oz). First, OSIRIS-REx will take images of the collector head to see if it contains rocks and dust. Second, the spacecraft will spin with the TAGSAM extended to determine the mass of collected material. If these measures show a successful collection, we will stow the sample for return to Earth. If sufficient sample has not been collected, the spacecraft has onboard nitrogen charges for two more attempts. The next TAG attempt would be made no earlier than January 2021.
Despite the many challenges, the OSIRIS-REx team is ready. They’ve practiced and prepared for this moment.
Join in with #ToBennuAndBack and tune in on October 20th.
Learn more about the OSIRIS-REx countdown to TAG HERE.
Learn more about the OSIRIS-REx mission HERE, or follow the mission on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
More Posts from Glaretum and Others
📸 Anthony Fuentes
Ig: https://instagram.com/fuentesphotocr
📍 Puntarenas, Costa Rica
~Félicette
A Total Solar Eclipse Over South America
On Dec. 14, 2020, a total solar eclipse will pass over Chile and Argentina.
Solar eclipses happen when the Moon lines up just right between the Sun and Earth, allowing it to cast its shadow on Earth’s surface. People within the outer part of the Moon’s shadow will see the Sun partially blocked by the Moon, and those in the inner part of the shadow will see a total solar eclipse.
The Moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly tilted, meaning this alignment doesn’t happen on every orbit. Total solar eclipses happen somewhere on Earth about once every 18 months.
During a total solar eclipse, the Moon blocks out the Sun’s bright face, revealing its comparatively faint outer atmosphere, the corona. This provides Sun-watchers and scientists alike with a rare chance to see the solar corona closer to the Sun’s surface than is usually possible.
Scientists can take advantage of this unparalleled view — and solar eclipses’ unique effects on Earth’s atmosphere — to perform unique scientific studies on the Sun and its effects on Earth. Several NASA-funded science teams performed such studies during the total solar eclipse in the United States on Aug. 21, 2017. Read about what they’ve learned so far.
Watching the eclipse
We’ll be carrying images of December’s eclipse — courtesy of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile — on NASA TV and on the agency’s website starting at 9:40 a.m. EST on Dec. 14.
We’ll also have a live show in Spanish from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. EST featuring views of the eclipse and NASA scientists.
If you’re observing the eclipse in person, remember that it’s never safe to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed Sun. You can use special solar viewing glasses (NOT sunglasses) or an indirect method like pinhole projection to watch the eclipse in person.
For people in the path of totality, there will be a few brief moments when it is safe to look directly at the eclipse. Only once the Moon has completely covered the Sun and there is no sunlight shining is it safe to look at the eclipse. Make sure you put your eclipse glasses back on or return to indirect viewing before the first flash of sunlight appears around the Moon’s edge.
Mira el eclipse en vivo comentado por científicas de la NASA de 10:30 a 11:30 a.m. EST el 14 de diciembre en NASA TV y la página web de la agencia. Lee más sobre el eclipse y cómo observarlo de forma segura aquí: https://ciencia.nasa.gov/eclipse-de-2020-en-america-del-sur Y sigue a NASA en español en Instagram, Twitter, YouTube y Facebook.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
El núcleo de la Vía Láctea se eleva sobre la Puerta de Durdle con Saturno y Júpiter.
Crédito: Ant Sullivan Photography
Instagram.com/antsullivan_photography
www.antsullivanphotography.com
Vía Láctea sobre campos de lavanda, Bulgaria.
Crédito: Mihail Minkov
https://instagram.com/fineartshot
~Antares
Rocket Launches and Rising Seas
At NASA, we’re not immune to effects of climate change. The seas are rising at NASA coastal centers – the direct result of warming global temperatures caused by human activity. Several of our centers and facilities were built near the coast, where there aren’t as many neighbors, as a safety precaution. But now the tides have turned and as sea levels rise, these facilities are at greater risk of flooding and storms.
Global sea level is increasing every year by 3.3 millimeters, or just over an eighth of an inch, and the rate of rise is speeding up over time. The centers within range of rising waters are taking various approaches to protect against future damage.
Kennedy Space Center in Florida is the home of historic launchpad 39A, where Apollo astronauts first lifted off for their journey to the Moon. The launchpad is expected to flood periodically from now on.
Like Kennedy, Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia has its launchpads and buildings within a few hundred feet of the Atlantic Ocean. Both locations have resorted to replenishing the beaches with sand as a natural barrier to the sea.
Native vegetation is planted to help hold the sand in place, but it needs to be replenished every few years.
At the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, instead of building up the ground, we’re hardening buildings and moving operations to less flood-prone elevations. The center is bounded by two rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.
The effects of sea level rise extend far beyond flooding during high tides. Higher seas can drive larger and more intense storm surges – the waves of water brought by tropical storms.
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey brought flooding to the astronaut training facility at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Now we have installed flood resistant doors, increased water intake systems, and raised guard shacks to prevent interruptions to operations, which include astronaut training and mission control.
Our only facility that sits below sea level already is Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Onsite pumping systems protected the 43-acre building, which has housed Saturn rockets and the Space Launch System, from Hurricane Katrina. Since then, we’ve reinforced the pumping system so it can now handle double the water capacity.
Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley is going one step farther and gradually relocating farther south and to several feet higher in elevation to avoid the rising waters of the San Francisco Bay.
Understanding how fast and where seas will rise is crucial to adapting our lives to our changing planet.
We have a long-standing history of tracking sea level rise, through satellites like the TOPEX-Poseidon and the Jason series, working alongside partner agencies from the United States and other countries.
We just launched the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite—a U.S.-European partnership—which will use electromagnetic signals bouncing off Earth’s surface to make some of the most accurate measurements of sea levels to date.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
Debajo del meteoro de las Perseidas, los árboles se alzan en silueta contra las luces dispersas a lo largo del horizonte y la débil Vía Láctea, a su vez cortada por oscuras nubes de polvo interestelar.
Créditos: Jared Tennant
Lanzamiento del telescopio "X-ray Polarimetry Explorer" (IXPE) en el Falcon 9 de SpaceX, cuyo objetivo es estudiar los rayos X liberados por los agujeros negros y estrellas de neutrones.
Crédito: Matt Cutshall
https://instagram.com/booster_buddies
https://twitter.com/Booster_Buddies
https://nexthorizonsspaceflight.com
~Antares
Nebulosa de Orión, El corredor, Cabeza de Caballo y Flama en la constelación de Orión.
Imagen capturada con el siguiente equipo:
Canon 80D, Lente Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 SP Di
Exp 60 seg. X 27 fotos luz más 20 Darks ISO 3200 f/2.8 a 200 mm.
Montura Sky Watcher Star Adventurer
6 Nov 2021
Crédito: Chavo Salvador Perez
https://www.facebook.com/chavo.salvadorp
Astrofotografía México
~Antares
Una gran eyección de masa coronal se produjo en nuestro Sol cinco días antes de que se tomara esta imagen de 2012, lanzando una nube de electrones, protones e iones en rápido movimiento hacia la Tierra. Aunque la mayor parte de esta nube pasó por encima de la Tierra, parte de ella impactó la magnetosfera de nuestra Tierra y dio como resultado auroras espectaculares que se vieron en las altas latitudes del norte. Aquí se muestra una corona auroral particularmente fotogénica capturada sobre Grotfjord, Noruega. Para algunos, este resplandor verde resplandeciente de oxígeno atmosférico recombinado puede parecer un águila grande, pero no duden en compartir cómo se ve.
Crédito: Bjørn Jørgensen
www.arcticphoto.no
#UnDiaComoHoy pero en el 2018 fue lanzado la misión #BepiColombo. Es la primera misión europea en conjuncion con la agencia espacial Japonesa (JAXA) hacia el planeta Mercurio. Se espera que llegue a su objetivo en el 2025.
Créditos: @ESA_History
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tristapena777 liked this · 2 years ago
Glaretum fundado en el 2015 con el objetivo de divulgar la ciencia a través de la Astronomía hasta convertirnos en una fuente de conocimiento científico veraz siendo garantía de información seria y actualizada.
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