The "Science and Space" Thread #2

[RT]

And on the left is a Jupiter moon, Io perhaps?

 

[ekim68]

NASA astronauts have a new task: make videos of Estée Lauder products

The International Space Station has served as the world's most unique laboratory for two decades, hosting hundreds of scientific experiments, crews of astronauts and even the occasional slime.

But now, NASA, one of the space station's primary operators, is preparing to oversee the largest push of business activity aboard the ISS. Later this month, up to 10 bottles of a new Estée Lauder (EL) skincare serum will launch to the space station, a NASA spokesperson told CNN Business. NASA astronauts are expected to film the items in the microgravity environment of the ISS and the company will be able to use that footage in ad campaigns or other promotional material.

 

[ekim68]

Earth-size 'pi planet' rocks a 3.14-day orbit

Everyone's favorite mathematical constant has received an inadvertent tribute from the universe. A team led by MIT researchers discovered a distant planet that orbits its star every 3.14 days, mirroring the famous first three digits of pi.

 

[ekim68]

ISS moves to avoid space debris

Astronauts on the International Space Station carried out an "avoidance maneuver" Tuesday to ensure they would not be hit by a piece of debris, said US space agency NASA, urging better management of objects in Earth's orbit.

 

[ekim68]

Cyclones of Color at Jupiter’s North Pole

Cyclones at the north pole of Jupiter appear as swirls of striking colors in this extreme false color rendering of an image from NASA’s Juno mission. The huge, persistent cyclone found at Jupiter’s north pole is visible at the center of the image, encircled by smaller cyclones that range in size from 2,500 to 2,900 miles (4,000 to 4,600 kilometers). Together, this pattern of storms covers an area that would dwarf the Earth.

 

[ekim68]

The only black hole we’ve ever seen has a shadow that wobbles

The supermassive black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy has a shadow crescent that moves, like a dancer in the dark.

 

[ekim68]

NASA Lays Out $28 Billion Plan to Land First Woman on the Moon

Last year, NASA had said that in four years, it would be landing the first woman ever on the moon, and returning to Earth’s only natural satellite for the first time since 1972, through its Artemis programme. Now, in a release on September 22, NASA has shared an update outlining its plan, announcing a whopping $28 billion plan for the return to the lunar surface.

 

[ekim68]

Lunar orbiter to listen for radio signals from cosmic "Dark Ages"

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has announced a new addition to NASA’s upcoming moon-shot Artemis program. From the silent skies on the far side of the Moon, the DAPPER spacecraft will listen out for radio signals from the “Dark Ages” of the universe, before the first stars fired up.

Beginning around 370,000 years after the Big Bang, the universe settled into quite a dull existence. For millions of years after that, pretty much the only things around were huge clouds of hydrogen gas, but as everything started to cool down, pockets of that gas condensed and collapsed to form the first stars and black holes. With those stars came the first ever light, ending the Dark Ages and transitioning to a time often called the “Cosmic Dawn.”

 

[ekim68]

NASA's new $23 million space toilet is ready for launch

NASA is launching a new space toilet to the International Space Station next week for astronauts to test out before it’s used on future missions to the moon or Mars.

The $23 million toilet system, known as the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), is 65% smaller and 40% lighter than the toilet currently in use on the space station, and can support larger crews.

 

[Brigham]

"The big bang theory" could probably have done it much cheaper.

 

[2twenty2]

Astronomers discover possible 60s-era Moon rocket booster heading back to Earth

https://www.teslarati.com/astronomers-discover-mysterious-object-heading-to-earth/

 

[xrobwx71]

Cyclones of Color at Jupiter’s North Pole



View attachment 281161

Looks like a Van Gogh.

 

[ekim68]

Over 75% of space debris detected in new survey is unknown objects

All of this is mirrored in our expansion into the space domain. Since we started lobbing rockets into orbit in the 1950s, the amount of human-made trash whipping around the Earth has been steadily increasing.

Orbital debris is comprised of old, defunct satellites and the rockets that put them there. They range in size from flakes of paint to huge fairing sections. In February 2009 a worst-case scenario occurred, wherein two large defunct satellites – the commercial Iridium 33 and the Russian military-owned Kosmos-2251 – smashed into each other, creating a vast cloud of hazardous debris.

 

[ekim68]

First Moon radiation measurements reveal risk to astronaut health

The instrument recorded an equivalent dose rate of around 60 microsieverts per hour. That’s about 200 times higher than what we’re exposed to here on the ground, between five and 10 times more than you’d get on a long-haul flight, and about 2.6 times more than experienced by astronauts on the International Space Station.

There are ways to reduce that exposure though. Moon bases could be set up in huge caverns and lava tubes that are believed to sprawl underground, or shelters constructed of moon dust could provide adequate protection on the surface.

 

[ekim68]

Liquid water on Mars? New research indicates buried 'lakes'

The existence of liquid water on Mars — one of the more hotly debated matters about our cold, red neighbor — is looking increasingly likely.

New research published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy indicates that there really is a buried reservoir of super salty water near the south pole. Scientists say such a lake would significantly improve the likelihood that Mars just might harbor microscopic life of its own.