Destination asteroid: NASA probe arrives at ancient ‘mini moon’
“ After spiraling outward from Earth for four years, NASA’s Dawn probe is set to slide into orbit around the potato-shaped asteroid Vesta early Saturday for a year-long look at an ancient “mini moon.”
“ Three hundred fifty miles wide and heavily cratered, Vesta formed some 4.5 billion years ago, when the sun was still young. By probing its secrets, scientists hope to catch a glimpse of how the planets, including Earth, formed out of a swirling disk of gas and dust…
Cassi Creek: Fascinating project! This asteroid has an 8-mile deep canyon and evidence of an iron core, planetary crustal layer, and previous volcanic activity. Not at all a typical asteroid belt dweller.
Simultaneously, our last shuttle mission, a heavy lift resupply run to the ISS is going on in near-Earth orbit. We now have no way to service or repair those satellite systems that were previously within reach of manned missions. The only transport to and from the ISS is via Russian Soyuz capsule atop a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle.
“Soyuz (Russian: Союз, meaning "union", GRAU index 11A511) is a family of expendable launch systems developed by OKB-1, and manufactured by TsSKB-Progress in Samara, Russia. According to the European Space Agency, the Soyuz launch vehicle is the most frequently used and most reliable launch vehicle in the world”
42 years ago today, the Apollo 11 mission was launched at the Kennedy Space Center. The mission called for two men to land upon the moon, then return to the command capsule maintained by the third crewmember before returning to Earth. The Saturn V launch vehicle/ Apollo capsule and lunar excursion module is ostensibly, the most complex machine ever designed and constructed.
No comments:
Post a Comment