A group of researchers from several countries have launched the Mars-500 experiment in Russia, a 520-day experiment designed to simulate a trip to Mars. The mission, sponsored by the Moscow-based Institute for Medical and Biological Problems, European Space Agency and China’s space training center, got underway today.
Think your view of the Pacific Ocean is nice? Imagine if you could see the entire ocean with one glance out the window.
The Endeavour astronauts have been hard at work completing their mission on the International Space Station. Early this morning, they completed a new observation module that serves to provide extra room for inhabitants and equipment. The room includes windows that provide an incredible, panoramic view of Earth as well as other objects in space and approaching spacecraft. The segment of the module is called a cupola and serves to provide control of the robotic arms on the station. The cupola features seven windows, and the round, central window is the largest ever flown in space, according to the AP.
Earlier this morning, at 10:23 EST, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory launched from Cape Canaveral. The spacecraft will shrug off the advice of mothers and elementary school teachers everywhere and stare directly into the sun during the course of its mission. The objective is to gather more information about our life-giving star.
The SDO will use three instruments to observe the sun at resolution that makes your HD television look like a black-and-white from the 1960s–it’ll be 10x the resolution of HD. The mission will help scientists better understand and predict solar flares, which can cause problems with satellites and power here on Earth.
The Space Shuttle Endeavour arrived at the International Space Station just after midnight this morning. The vessel carries a new room and observation deck that will help complete the station.
The shuttle hosts a crew of six astronauts that will stay at the Space Station for more than one week, helping with construction of the parts and maintenance work. According to the Associated Press, the station will be 98 percent complete once the new room and observation deck are assembled. Three spacewalks will be required for the completion of the work.
The idea of a giant asteroid colliding with Earth is just terrifying enough to spend billions to avoid. According to Russian space agency Ruscosmos, an asteroid named Apophis measuring 850 feet presents enough of a threat to Earth to demand action. The asteroid could possibly hit Earth and unleash its havoc sometime in the 2030s. Instead of twiddling thumbs and sitting idly waiting for the possible disaster, the Russian agency is currently considering designing a spacecraft that could prevent the collision.
ESO/L. Calçada
In the unending search for another pile of floating rock as stocked with intriguing features as our very own earth, a Super Earth has been sighted 40 light years away. The new planet is suspected of housing water and it’s close enough that astronomers will be able to observe its atmospheric properties.
The find was made by the MEarth project, an Arizona undertaking that replaces the high-tech hardware often associated with space observation in favor of a team of small, independently adjustable telescopes pointed at a collection of M-dwarf stars.
NASA launched its Wise (Wide Field-Infrared Survey Explorer–I guess Wise is catchier than Wfise) spacecraft at 6 a.m. this morning. The telescope was launched on a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California. The mission originates from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs and is a $320 million operation.
The Wise’s mission is to provide a comprehensive map of the entire sky and locate hidden asteroids, comets and other objects that give off heat or infrared. It’ll spend the first month checking its instruments before beginning mapping. The Wise will provide a starting point from which other spacecraft will pick up and focus on in the future.
You know you’re a nerd when…
Nerdy or not, a NASA iPhone app has the potential to be pretty cool for those that enjoy following all things outer space. The app, which was released today, provides the user with instant access to information, updates and pictures on all current NASA missions. App users can also instantly find the location of the International Space Station and other spacecraft using three different views for scoping it out: maps with borders, satellite imagery and satellite images overlaid onto maps. So if you don’t want to open up your laptop to find out the latest NASA news, you can now get it on your iPhone.
With the ever-present hope of finding extraterrestrial life in mind, scientists have been busy logging a host of new planets outside of the solar system. European scientists have recently discovered 32 previously-unknown planets using the European Southern Observatory telescope. This find is said to be a record for planets found at one time. So far, reports are that the planets are larger than Earth and are devoid of qualities that would harbor life. The new findings bring the total number of known planets outside of the solar system to greater than 400.
