Space Scan

China has signed an agreement with Russia, to stage a joint unmanned mission to Mars and one of its moons in two years. According to the agreement, micro-satellite developed by China will be launched along with Phobos Explorer, a Russian spacecraft atop a Russian rocket. After the spacecraft enters Mars orbit, the micro-satellite will be detached from the spacecraft and will probe the Martian space environment. On the other hand the Phobos Explorer spacecraft will land on the Martian moon and will return to earth with soil samples. China is also working on a three-stage moon exploration project, including sending a lunar orbiter some time this year. This mission will be followed by a soft-landing in 2012 and return of lunar samples in another five years. Via: Chinadaily

A mile wide asteroid named 2006 VV2 will skim past Earth today. The asteroid was discovered in November by LINEAR, an automated telescope scouring the skies for potentially hazardous objects. The asteroid will appear to move at twice the speed of Moon across the sky as it passes through the constellations of Great Bear and Leo. According to the astronomers, the asteroid is too small to be visible by naked eye but can be seen through a normal telescope. The asteroid is billed as a potentially dangerous object and will pass Earth from a distance of 2.1 million miles from us. The distance is eight times the distance between Earth and Moon but in cosmic terms it is a near miss. If this asteroid were to hit Earth, then it would have blasted a crater the size of London and cause devastation for hundreds of miles around. Such close encounters means that one day one asteroid will surely hit Earth, the point is that are we prepared to take the damage…! Via: skymaina

A researcher has stated that the deep scar under the North Sea, which was originally thought to be UK’s only space impact crater, is nothing more that a widespread process caused due to the movement of salt rocks. Professor John Underhill, from the University of Edinburgh, has stated that the Silverpit structure cannot be a scar due to a collision of a meteorite. Professor Underhill put this theory in 2004 and since then he has been working to collect evidence to back his theory. The group that discovered the structure in 2002 stands by on the theory that the crater was created by a cataclysmic asteroid that collided with Earth about 65-million years ago. The3km-wide crater was discovered in 2002 by Dr. Stewart and his colleagues, about 130km east of Yorkshire coast. The structure comprises of concentric rings and is about one km deep. The crater is covered by shales and sandstones so it is only visible on seismic data that is collected by companies hunting for oil and gas fields. Professor Underhill has examined a 3,750-sq-km-area around the structure and has concluded that the feature is not unique and there are many similar features in the close vicinity of the Silverpit structure. He has stated that if the structure was formed when an asteroid collided with Earth, then there was no point that other similar features were also present in the area. He has identified at least nine major bowl-shaped depressions known as synclines and over 15 subsidiary structures including Silverpit itself. He now stated that the swarm of structures is a result of movement of a thick layer of salt of Upper Permian age that lies below the whole area. However Dr. Steward is un-moved. He has pointed his finger towards the 300m-high central peak in the centre of the structure. Such peaks are signatures of an asteroid collision. This hype in debate has drawn in other researchers from the geological community. Some researchers are with Dr. Steward and have stated that the structure is geometrically similar to other craters, particularly those found on other planets. Via: BBC

MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding) radar of the Mars Express space probe has enabled the structure of the layered deposits of region to be made clear. This is for the first time in the history of space exploration that topographic maps of the Martian sub-soil have been produced. These maps have shown considerable amount of ice on the red planet. The Grenoble Planetary Laboratory (LPG) has been closely involved in processing the data. The MARSIS low frequency radar has been designed so that its signals penetrate into the Martian sub-soil, enabling it to peep 3.7km into the soil. The research has also revealed that the South Polar Region of the planet is mainly covered with ice. Another important finding is that the depths of ice varies considerably, in particular a series of depressions of 50 to 200 km diameters and with a depth of around 1 km compared to the average level of subsurface have been identified at high latitudes. The instrument aboard the space craft has also determined the total volume of ice on Mars which stands at 1.6 million cubic kilometers. The volume is so huge that if all the ice on the planet melted then it would cover Mars under 11 m of water. So much of water will again hype the long standing debate of life on Mars. May be there is no life on the planet at present, but having water may mean that the planet once harbored life and one day we might find some traces of it under the depth of ice. Via: Spaceref

Chinese scientists are developing a moon rover for the country’s maiden mission to moon in 2012. The six-wheeled vehicle is nuclear-powered and has been under development for four years at the Shanghai Aerospace System Engineering Institute. The five-foot high rover weighs 440-pound and is designed to transmit video in real time and dig for and analyze soil samples and also produce 3D images of the lunar surface. The rover resembles NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity which are operating on the red planet. But unlike these rovers, the Chinese one will run on nuclear power source to ensure a constant energy supply. Like all other rovers, this one also is a host of some outstanding technology. It can move at an average speed of 328 feet per hour and can negotiate turns and has sensors to prevent it from crashing into other objects. Researchers are still refining its ability to handle low gravity and exposure to cosmic rays and extreme changes in temperature. Via: Usatoday

NASA’s shuttle is expected to retire in 2010. After that in 2015 NASA will be using a different space ship that will carry astronauts to ISS and then to Moon. As early as 2009, applicants to the astronaut corps will face new size limits, including on weight and height. These exact limits have not yet been determined. The last time NASA recruited astronauts in 2003 the minimum height was 4 feet 10.5-inches and the maximum was 6 feet, 4 inches. The shuttle is shaped like an airplane and is 122 feet long, but the new vehicle that will take its place is ball shaped and is much smaller. Between 2010 and 2015 astronauts will rely on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to take astronauts to ISS and back. Soyuz has a 7 feet wide cockpit and can hold three people. Since the space inside the cockpit is limited, astronauts will have to meet strict regulations on weight and height. The Shuttle replacement named Orion is still on the drawing board, but will be 16.5-feet wide and is expected to make the first manned flight in 2015. Only people under a certain weight can be protected by the spacecraft that shields the crew in case of an emergency landing this weight has not yet been determined. Via: Nasawatch

Some places on Earth are hostile, but still life flourishes in these regions. Results from a recent study of microbes in China’s remote deserts could help astrobiologists refine their maps for uncovering Martian life. Researchers have stated that Earth has some areas like the Dry Valleys in Antarctica that is the coldest place on Earth; similarly there are areas in the Atacama Desert that are the driest places on Earth. Mars is like a combination of these two areas. It’s very cold and very dry. Researchers have examined the abundance of blue-green algae called cyanobacteria in several arrears in the extreme deserts of China. They chose three locations based on the temperature and amount of rainfall. Researchers found that like all other plants, these algae also captured sun’s energy to carry out photosynthesis and turn inorganic ingredients into organic material needed for growth. On Earth the main ingredient supporting life is water, now researchers have also discovered water in the form of ice on the red planet. Ecologists suspect that microbes can live within pores or beneath rocks where moisture should be present. Now researchers will devise a new set of rules to hunt for life on Mars. Future explorations will definitely have to cater to these researchers to hunt for life in specific places on Mars. Via: MSNBC

Astronomers have produced a sparkling picture of a spiral galaxy called NGC 1672. The galaxy is quite similar to our home galaxy, The Milky Way. NGC 1672 is 60 million light-years away from us in the southern constellation Dorado. NGC 1672 has four major spiral arms that are linked to a straight bar of stars and dust. This galaxy is a bit smaller than Milky Way, but similar to it this also is anchored at its core by a massive black hole. Astronomers also hope that the nucleus of this galaxy is still ablaze with activity and new stars are born frequently. In the picture young hot stars are seen as flashes of blue and violet sparkling around the edges of the spiral arms. Via: cosmiclog

Approximately a century ago, when a Dutch astronomer named ‘Willem de Sitter’ propounded a ‘static model of the universe’ everybody thought of him to be insane. However, unlike the thinking of those scientists he was prophesying something that was excessively ahead of that era – some 3 trillion years ahead! Can you believe these words said by sir E. L. Wright (UCLA), The COBE Project, DIRBE, (NASA) – “The Milky Way in infrared as it is seen today. In 3 trillion years, physicist Lawrence Krauss and Robert J. Scherrer predict that only “an island universe” made from the Milky Way and its nearby galactic Local Group neighbors will be perceivable in an overwhelmingly dark void.” World-renowned physicists, sir Lawrence Krauss (Case Western Reserve University) and Robert J. Scherrer (Vanderbilt University) have prophesized that some 3 trillion years hence our universe would not be the same as it is today. Rather our universe would seize to bestow us with it’s evolution story and that it would be difficult for any astronomer to judge it’s origin. We would never be able to gather the information that we collect today in regards to the existence and structural patterns of the same. There would be no clues and evidences left that could give us the information regarding the expansion of our universe. It is propounded that the galactic Local Group neighbors of our galaxy – the Milky Way, would contribute in instigating a so called “island universe.” This Dark Void theory seems to be a concerning matter for the human race. In their article, “The Return of the Static Universe and the End of Cosmology,” some well known scientists have concluded that – “While physicists of the future will be able to infer that their island universe has not been eternal, it is unlikely they will be able to infer that the beginning involved a Big Bang.” This well written and well-researched article got an excellent response from all over the world and was also able to bag topmost awards for year 2007 by “Gravity Research Foundation”. The October issue of the “Journal of Relativity and Gravitation” will publish this article. To understand the evolution of our good old universe the scientists relate to the “cosmic microwave background radiation” that came into existence after the so-called “Big Bang” phenomenon or the “initiation of universe.” Sir Krauss opined that Edwin Hubble proposed all of his theories and experiments considering this cosmic microwave background radiation as his “pillars of the modern Big Bang” hypothesis. What he meant was that the galaxies are getting farer and away from the evidences that reveal the existence and expansion of the universe. He took into consideration the “Einstein’s General Relativity Theory” that actually relates the various phenomenon taking place in the universe to something taken as the “Datum.”; like relating the speed of light with an object that is at rest or rather static. So, in this way one can easily judge the exact speed of light or any other moving object. Seriously, speaking these theories at this stage seems to have originated from a science fiction movie but scientists judge it to be a distant fact. This would totally depend on the future physicists and astronomers that how they use the evidences and clues so as to unleash the mysteries of the evolution and formation of the universe. The question of the hour is that – how they would be able to cross the vast distances between “future solar systems?” Will they be competent enough to tame the dark surroundings and environments of the “isolated universes”? In their opinion, the future physicists would have no applications by any means to analyze the mere existence of this universe. The void in the gravitational dynamics of moving galaxies would be a huge barrier in their way and thus they will have no inkling whatsoever about the existing evolution of the human race. I empathize with them too badly. The scientists stated the fact that – “We live in a special time in the evolution of the universe, the only time at which we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time in the evolution of the universe.” Our modern day cosmology is proposed from the “Einstein’s theory of general relativity” which draws it’s formulations from the fact that our universe collapses and expands for a uniform density of matter. It also proves that a “Static universe” can encompass an “isolated region” too. The “cosmic microwave background radiation” still holds many mysteries in itself and scientists have jotted down a hell lot of algorithms for the same. Sir Krauss commented that -”We literally will have no way to detect this radiation.” The researchers considered two primary elements while relating to the “Big Bang” theory – Helium and Deuterium. He opined – “While helium in concentrations of approximately 25 percent at the Big Bang will become indiscernible as stars will produce far more helium in the course of their lives to cloud the origins of the early universe. Eventually, the universe will appear static; all evidence of modern cosmology will have disappeared.” Sir Krauss ended by stating that – “We may feel smug in that we can detect a host of things future civilizations will not know about, but by the same token, this suggests we wonder about what important aspects of the universe we ourselves may be missing. Thus, our results suggest a kind of a ‘cosmic humility’”. Via: Dentalplans

Engineers at NASA have completed some repairs to the space shuttle Atlantis that was damaged due to a hail storm. The space agency said in a mission update that the initial repairs to the vital foam insulation covering the lower half of Atlantis damaged tank are finished. These engineers are currently focusing on repairs to the liquid oxygen tank. Atlantis sustained thousands of dings on February 26 when golf-sized hail bombarded at the shuttle. The damage prompted NASA to delay the scheduled March 15 launch of Atlantis. If everything goes as per plan then the shuttle is expected to be launched in mid-May. If the fuel tank is not repairable then the mission will suffer more delay. NASA managers are expected to meet around April 10 to decide whether or not to proceed with a mid-May launch target or switch tanks and aim for June. Atlantis launch window closes around May 21 and reopens around June 8. During this time the shuttle cannot be launched. Via: MSNBC