mission – Sacred Geometry International

This artist’s impression shows the first interstellar object discovered in the Solar System, `Oumuamua. Observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and others show that the object is moving faster than predicted while leaving the Solar System. Researchers assume that venting material from its surface due to solar heating is responsible for this behaviour. This outgassing can be seen in this artist’s impression as a subtle cloud being ejected from the side of the object facing the Sun. As outgassing is a behaviour typical for comets, the team thinks that `Oumuamua’s previous classification as an interstellar asteroid has to be corrected.

Comet mission given green light by European Space Agency

July 6, 2019 by AstroMonk 3 comments

Via: Physics World 21 Jun 2019 The European Space Agency (ESA) is to launch a probe to visit a comet originating from the outer solar system. The €150m Comet Interceptor spacecraft, proposed by a team led by UK-based researchers, will launch in 2028. It will be the space agency’s first so-called “fast” or F-class mission, which take under a decade […]

Scientists hope samples from the Ryugu asteroid will shed light on the origins of the solar system

Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe to land on asteroid on Feb 22 – Phys.org

February 8, 2019 by AstroMonk Comments are Disabled

Via Phys.org A Japanese probe sent to examine an asteroid in order to shed light on the origins of the solar system is expected to land on the rock later this month, officials said Wednesday. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the Hayabusa2 probe is expected to touch down on the Ryugu asteroid at 8am local time on February […]

NASA ‘unable to stop’ enormous asteroid Bennu which could hit Earth in 2135

March 19, 2018 by AstroMonk Comments are Disabled

NASA ‘unable to stop’ enormous asteroid Bennu which could hit Earth in 2135 NASA will be unable to stop an enormous asteroid which could crash into Earth in 2135, scientists have warned. It is estimated that Bennu, which is the size of the Empire State Building, would unleash 1,200 megatons of energy on impact, 80,000 times the energy of the […]

Three times further away from the sun than the Earth lies an enormous lump of metal. Around 252km in diameter, the metallic “M-class” asteroid 16 Psyche is the target of NASA’s next mission to the belt of giant rocks that encircles the inner solar system. And the space agency now plans to visit it much sooner than originally planned.

Not only has the launch has been brought forward one year to the summer of 2022, but NASA’s scientists have also found a way to get to Psyche (pronounced SYKe-ee) much faster by taking a more efficient trajectory. The new route means the Psyche spacecraft won’t have to swing around the Earth to build up speed and won’t pass as close to the sun, so it needs less heat protection. It is now due to arrive in 2026, four years earlier than the original timeline.

The main aim of the journey to Psyshe is to gather more information about our own solar system. Psyche is one of many wandering members of the asteroid belt. Unlike the rest of its rocky neighbours, Psyche appears to be entirely made of nickel and iron, just like the Earth’s core. This, together with its size, has led to the theory that it might be the remains of the inside of a planet.

Asteroids are made up of primitive materials, leftovers from the dust cloud from which our solar system originated. Different types of asteroids resemble the various steps it took to form planets from this dust cloud. This means they reveal a lot about the origin and evolution of our solar system. Scientists think Psyche could be what’s left of an exposed metal core of a planet very similar to Earth.

Metal asteroid Psyche is all set for an early visit from NASA

December 5, 2017 by AstroMonk Comments are Disabled

There are other reasons for visiting asteroids. For one thing, possible collisions with Earth can have devastating effects. The impact of an 15km-wide asteroid approximately 65m years ago is linked to the extinction of the dinosaurs. And the explosion of the 30m-diameter Chelyabinsk asteroid over Russia in 2013 led to injuries and damage on the ground. We need to know as much as possible about the composition and physical make-up of asteroids to devise the best ways to defend our planet.

The size of asteroid Bennu, which is 1,614 feet (492 meters) wide, is compared with the Empire State Building and Eiffel Tower in this NASA image.
Credit: NASA

Visit to ‘Armageddon Asteroid’ Could Save Future Earth from Impact

September 13, 2016 by AstroMonk Comments are Disabled

Via Space.com By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor | September 9, 2016 11:52am ET CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The asteroid-sample-return mission that launched into space yesterday (Sept. 8) may help protect Earth from future life-threatening impacts by rogue space rocks. The target of the OSIRIS-REx mission is an asteroid known as Bennu, which circles the sun just inside the orbit of Mars […]

Scientists Discover a Jewel at the Heart of Quantum Physics – WIRED

August 26, 2015 by AstroMonk Comments are Disabled

Via Wired.com Physicists reported this week the discovery of a jewel-like geometric object that dramatically simplifies calculations of particle interactions and challenges the notion that space and time are fundamental components of reality. “This is completely new and very much simpler than anything that has been done before,” said Andrew Hodges, a mathematical physicist at Oxford University who has been […]