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naturalplastic
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09 Mar 2022, 8:53 am

cyberdad wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
Thats the first technigue I mentioned. Looking for a sudden dip in the stars luminosity indicating that the planet has, essentially eclipsed the star from our pov.

Both techniques are used by ground bound astronomers. But the eclipse method is used by Hubble and Kepler etc in space. Obviously its easier to detect a big fat planet either way. But now they are finding earth sized planets with the eclipse method. But yes...it would seem that they must be making a lot of assumptions about things in order to deduce all of these characteristics that they claim to know about these exoplanets that they keep finding.


Yes, they must be observing a consistent "dip" in luminosity over a measurable cycle which indicates an orbiting object. In all probability this is a planet (based on what we observe with our own solar system), however for all we know it could be a lump of a rock devoid of any water/organics.


Well...I am assuming that THEY assume that the planets found by this way have no air and no water and no life nor organic chemicals (ie that they are dry dead worlds like Mercury or the moon) until they find evidence otherwise. So when they say they have evidence for things like an oxygen atmosphere, or water vapor, on a recently discovered exoplanet it boggles my mind how they could they could know something like that. Finding an exoplanet is like taking a telescope in New York City the middle of the night and aiming it a street light in Chicago a thousand miles away in order to see, not the street light itself, but to find the bugs flying around the street lamp. So its as if theyre telling us that they can tell the color of the eyes of a bug flying around a street lamp a thousand miles away.



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10 Mar 2022, 7:01 pm

Image

Cool pictures hi-res

NASA printable Calendars

https://science.nasa.gov/get-involved/t ... ning-guide

(or you can buy one if you have more money than time)

● 2022 Calendar - Print Resolution
● 2022 Calendar - Low resolution
● 2022 Calendar - Print resolution (Spanish)
● 2022 Calendar - Low resolution (Spanish)


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cyberdad
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10 Mar 2022, 8:00 pm

naturalplastic wrote:
Well...I am assuming that THEY assume that the planets found by this way have no air and no water and no life nor organic chemicals (ie that they are dry dead worlds like Mercury or the moon) until they find evidence otherwise. So when they say they have evidence for things like an oxygen atmosphere, or water vapor, on a recently discovered exoplanet it boggles my mind how they could they could know something like that. Finding an exoplanet is like taking a telescope in New York City the middle of the night and aiming it a street light in Chicago a thousand miles away in order to see, not the street light itself, but to find the bugs flying around the street lamp. So its as if theyre telling us that they can tell the color of the eyes of a bug flying around a street lamp a thousand miles away.


Yes i think there's a certain element of marketing going on to sell to the public that more funding for this type of research will lead to discovering advanced interstellar travelling civilisations in distant solar systems/galaxies.

Capturing the public imagination makes funding this type of research more easier

The simple truth is that detecting dips in starlight does not tell the analyst anything about the object orbiting the star. The amount of light an orbiting planet emits will never be detected by an earth telescope so there's no way to say anything about the planet itself.



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23 Mar 2022, 7:47 pm

NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Extracts First Oxygen from Red Planet

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The growing list of “firsts” for Perseverance, NASA’s newest six-wheeled robot on the Martian surface, includes converting some of the Red Planet’s thin, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere into oxygen. A toaster-size, experimental instrument aboard Perseverance called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) accomplished the task. The test took place April 20, the 60th Martian day, or sol, since the mission landed Feb. 18.

While the technology demonstration is just getting started, it could pave the way for science fiction to become science fact – isolating and storing oxygen on Mars to help power rockets that could lift astronauts off the planet’s surface. Such devices also might one day provide breathable air for astronauts themselves. MOXIE is an exploration technology investigation – as is the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) weather station – and is sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.

“This is a critical first step at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for STMD. “MOXIE has more work to do, but the results from this technology demonstration are full of promise as we move toward our goal of one day seeing humans on Mars. Oxygen isn’t just the stuff we breathe. Rocket propellant depends on oxygen, and future explorers will depend on producing propellant on Mars to make the trip home.”

For rockets or astronauts, oxygen is key, said MOXIE’s principal investigator, Michael Hecht of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Haystack Observatory.

To burn its fuel, a rocket must have more oxygen by weight. Getting four astronauts off the Martian surface on a future mission would require approximately 15,000 pounds (7 metric tons) of rocket fuel and 55,000 pounds (25 metric tons) of oxygen. In contrast, astronauts living and working on Mars would require far less oxygen to breathe. “The astronauts who spend a year on the surface will maybe use one metric ton between them,” Hecht said.

Hauling 25 metric tons of oxygen from Earth to Mars would be an arduous task. Transporting a one-ton oxygen converter – a larger, more powerful descendant of MOXIE that could produce those 25 tons – would be far more economical and practical.

Mars’ atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide. MOXIE works by separating oxygen atoms from carbon dioxide molecules, which are made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. A waste product, carbon monoxide, is emitted into the Martian atmosphere.

The conversion process requires high levels of heat to reach a temperature of approximately 1,470 degrees Fahrenheit (800 Celsius). To accommodate this, the MOXIE unit is made with heat-tolerant materials. These include 3D-printed nickel alloy parts, which heat and cool the gases flowing through it, and a lightweight aerogel that helps hold in the heat. A thin gold coating on the outside of MOXIE reflects infrared heat, keeping it from radiating outward and potentially damaging other parts of Perseverance.

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecra ... nts/moxie/

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa ... red-planet


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kitesandtrainsandcats
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20 Apr 2022, 11:59 am

I'm pretty sure that not all 3 Apollo 16 astronauts touched down on the moon and that not all 3 rode the Lunar Rover ...

How astronaut Charlie Duke brought the Air Force to the moon
A freshly remastered set of Apollo 16 images illustrates the tale 50 years later.
By Rachel S. Cohen
Apr 20, 09:26 AM

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your ... -the-moon/

"
Apollo 16 launched on April 16, 1972; its three-man crew touched down at the moon’s Descartes highlands four days later on April 20. It would prove to be the United States’ second-to-last moon landing of the first space race.

NASA notes that Navy Cmdr. John Young, the mission commander, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Ken Mattingly and Duke “drove more than 16 miles over three moonwalks on the Lunar Roving Vehicle” and collected more than 200 pounds of rock and soil samples in their 71 hours on the surface.
"


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20 Apr 2022, 2:51 pm

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Explanation: Astronomers recently witnessed an astounding, large scale solar event as the Sun's north and south magnetic poles changed places! But, this complete solar magnetic field flip was actually anticipated. It occurs every 11 years during the maximum of the solar activity cycle. Plagues of sun spots, flaring active regions, and huge prominences are also hard-to-miss signs that the solar maximum is here. On February 12, the sungazing SOHO spacecraft captured this dramatic image of a magnificent prominence above the Sun's limb. Seen at the lower right, streams of relatively cool dense plasma were lofted along looping magnetic field lines extending outward about 30 times the diameter of planet Earth. Far above the limb at the upper right, a disconnected ghostly arc surrounds a dark cavity with bright central emission. These features are telltale signs of a coronal mass ejection -- yet another violent expulsion of material from the active Sun. Enormous, intensely bright active regions also mottle the solar surface in this image, recorded in the light of energetic Helium atoms by SOHO's Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010301.html

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html


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31 May 2022, 6:59 pm

(( Voyager 1 Space Probe Is Suddenly Sending NASA Wacky Data ))

Voyager launched in 1977, and now humankind’s most distant object is transmitting data that doesn’t make sense.

Voyager 1 is nearly 14.5 billion miles from Earth and continues to hurtle out of the solar system at about 38,000 miles per hour. But NASA engineers working on the 44-year-old spacecraft have recently been vexed by the probe’s articulation and control system, which is generating data that appears to be completely random.


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17 Jul 2022, 4:22 pm

https://2022.spaceappschallenge.org/loc ... ittsburgh/


“MAKE SPACE” IS THE 2022 SPACE APPS THEME
This year’s “Make Space” theme celebrates that, at Space Apps, “there’s always space for one more”

Large group of diverse people of ages in frame for a group picture at a Space Apps event
June 22nd 2022 by Space Apps
The 2022 NASA International Space Apps Challenge theme is “Make Space!” At Space Apps, we strive to eliminate barriers of access to space and science opportunities. Space Apps is for anyone and everyone! Participants from around the world are welcomed regardless of background and experience to create, explore, learn, and build together. Through each year’s Space Apps Challenge, we continue to support and empower ideas through innovation and inclusion.

We are excited to share some ways “Make Space” can be defined. What does “Make Space” mean to you?

Making Space: Making Space reminds us of the Space Apps commitment that “There’s always space for one more.” Space Apps is committed to providing a professional and productive forum for all participants to engage in a robust exchange of ideas regarding the challenges. By making space, we create a place that invites more people, more creativity, and more opportunity. Space Apps takes pride in continually working to ensure that, no matter who or where you are, there is room for you to develop as a coder, scientist, artist, designer, storyteller, maker, builder, technologist, and beyond. And we are excited to celebrate this commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility through this year’s theme! During the annual hackathon all are invited to join this space – whether virtual or in person at a local event!
A “Make” Space: Space Apps Challenge participants gain access to the tools, networking, and skill development needed to create, or “make,” solutions. Everyone who participates in the Space Apps Challenge becomes a “maker.” A maker is someone who learns by doing, and that’s what Space Apps is all about! Thousands of makers connect each year through Space Apps and use their shared interest in engaging with NASA’s open data resources to help solve real-world problems on Earth and in space. Prototypes, software applications, art projects, and communities are just some examples of what is made each year during the hackathon, and we are so proud that through this process Space Apps has become one of largest maker communities in the world!
Make S.P.A.C.E.: Who says acronyms can’t be fun? To represent what “Make Space” means to us, these are some highlighted terms we believe celebrate this year's theme. What words would your acronym for S.P.A.C.E. represent?
S: Safe, Solve
P: Possibility, People
A: Access, Appreciation
C: Collaboration, Culture
E: Equity, Empowerment
Stay tuned for future announcements and news about how we plan to celebrate this year’s theme! In the meantime, Space Apps wants to hear what “Make Space” means to you! Share your idea with us on social by tagging #SpaceApps and #MakeSpace. And make sure to join us on Oct. 1-2, 2022. Registration opens on July 15th!

Connect with the #SpaceApps community!
Instagram: @nasa_spaceapps Twitter: @SpaceApps Facebook: @spaceappschallenge
YouTube: NASA Space Apps Challenge
Nasa

(((Register Now)))


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11 Aug 2022, 6:14 pm

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-seeks ... n-the-moon

NASA’s 2023 annual Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge asks university students to design a metal production pipeline on the Moon - from extracting metal from lunar minerals to creating structures and tools. The ability to extract metal and build needed infrastructure on the Moon advances the Artemis Program goal of a sustained human presence on the lunar surface.

Its strength and resistance to corrosion make metal key to building structures, pipes, cables and more, but the metal materials for infrastructure are heavy, making them very expensive to transport. Student teams participating in the BIG Idea Challenge, a university-level competition sponsored by NASA and managed by the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA), will develop innovative ways to extract and convert metals from minerals found on the Moon, such as ilmenite and anorthite, to enable metal manufacturing on the Moon.

The BIG Idea Challenge, now in its eighth year, invites university students to tackle some of the most critical needs facing space exploration and help create the mission capabilities that could make new discoveries possible. The challenge provides undergraduate and graduate students working with faculty advisors the opportunity to design, develop, and demonstrate their technology in a project-based program over the course of a year and a half. This NASA-funded challenge provides development awards of up to $180,000 to up to eight selected teams to build and demonstrate their concept designs and share the results of their research and testing at the culminating forum in November 2023.

The availability of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) derived metals on the Moon would allow infrastructure needed for a lunar base – including pipes, power cables, landing pads, transport rails, and pressure vessels to contain volatiles like fuel – to be made locally using additive manufacturing, or 3D printing.

"Here at home, forging metal has long been a key part of building our homes and infrastructure, and the same holds true as we work towards a sustained presence on the Moon," said Niki Werkheiser, director of technology maturation within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). “This challenge gives students the opportunity to help develop the future technology that will help us find, process, and manufacture with metal on the lunar surface."

Teams are invited to submit proposals for technologies needed along any point in the lunar metal product pipeline, including, but not limited to:

Metal detecting
Metal refining
Forming materials for additive manufacturing
Testing and qualifying 3D printed infrastructure for use on the Moon
Drilling, excavation, and transportation of mined materials are excluded from this challenge.

A non-binding notice of intent is due Sept. 30, 2022. Written proposal and video submissions are due on Jan. 24, 2023, in which teams must include a specific, compelling use case that describes how their portion of the metal product production pipeline fits into infrastructure development on the Moon. Teams should also identify what systems they assume will be in place to support their proposed concept, as well as consider incorporating mechanisms to enable efficient operation on the Moon, including lunar dust mitigation, thermal management, and realistic power considerations.

Teams of at least five and no more than 25 must be composed of students and faculty at U.S.-based colleges and universities affiliated with their state’s Space Grant Consortium. Non-Space Grant affiliated colleges and universities may partner with a Space Grant-affiliated institution. Minority Serving Institutions are encouraged to apply. Multi-university and multi-disciplinary teams are encouraged.

“NASA is already thinking about supporting longer-term missions to the Moon. This BIG Idea Challenge theme links university teams to the push toward sustained human presence on the Moon and on other planets,” said Tomas Gonzalez-Torres, Space Grant project manager in NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement. “This theme goes beyond initial Artemis missions and starts tackling the mission planning needs once we’ve returned humans to the Moon. We are excited to see what these teams develop.”

The 2022 BIG Idea Challenge is sponsored by NASA through a collaboration between STMD’s Game Changing Development program and the Office of STEM Engagement’s Space Grant project.

NASA’s BIG Idea Challenge is one of several Artemis student challenges. The BIG Idea Challenge is managed by the National Institute of Aerospace. For more information and to participate in the challenge, visit:

http://bigidea.nianet.org

Last Updated: Aug 11, 2022
Editor: Kristyn Damadeo
Tags: Moon to Mars, Space Tech


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09 Sep 2022, 11:34 am

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/20 ... asa-s-webb


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20 Nov 2022, 4:22 pm

Space Station Science Highlights: Week of November 14, 2022

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stat ... ts-14nov22


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22 Nov 2022, 1:06 pm

apod.nasa.gov - Astronomy Picture of the Day - 2012 August 10 - Perseid Below

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2012 August 10
Perseid Below
Credit: Ron Garan, ISS Expedition 28 Crew, NASA

Explanation: Denizens of planet Earth watched last year's Perseid meteor shower by looking up into the bright moonlit night sky. But this remarkable view captured on August 13, 2011 by astronaut Ron Garan looks down on a Perseid meteor. From Garan's perspective onboard the International Space Station orbiting at an altitude of about 380 kilometers, the Perseid meteors streak below, swept up dust left from comet Swift-Tuttle heated to incandescence. The glowing comet dust grains are traveling at about 60 kilometers per second through the denser atmosphere around 100 kilometers above Earth's surface. In this case, the foreshortened meteor flash is right of frame center, below the curving limb of the Earth and a layer of greenish airglow, just below bright star Arcturus. Want to look up at this year's Perseid meteor shower? You're in luck. This weekend the shower should be near its peak, with less interference from a waning crescent Moon rising a few hours before the Sun.


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