Nasa makes oxygen on Mars using Perseverance Rover

Sep 12, 2023

A toaster-sized device called Moxie, onboard the American space agency's Perseverance Rover, landed on the Red Planet in February 2021 and has made 122 grams of the gas - enough for an astronaut to breathe for roughly three hours.

Oxygen is one of the main gases that make up air on Earth and is needed by virtually all life on our planet to survive.

Nasa's hope is that future human missions will take much bigger versions of Moxie to the Red Planet rather than carrying tanks of breathable oxygen with them on rockets from Earth.

How does Moxie make oxygen on Mars?

Mars' atmosphere is almost entirely made up of carbon dioxide (CO₂) - 96% of the planet's air contains CO₂.

Oxygen is only at 0.13%, compared with 21% in Earth's atmosphere.

Moxie is able to strip the oxygen atoms from CO₂ molecules, which are made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.

Could Moxie mean future human life on Mars?

Not only is oxygen vital for astronauts to breathe it's also an important part of burning rocket fuel when it comes to blasting off into space.

So far, Moxie has produced oxygen on 16 separate occasions since its first attempt, two months after landing on Mars in April 2021 - a result that Nasa says is much better than expected.

"Moxie's impressive performance shows that it is feasible to extract oxygen from Mars' atmosphere - oxygen that could help supply breathable air or rocket propellant to future astronauts," said Pam Melroy from Nasa.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/66774126

NASA Leadership to Call Agency’s Record-Breaking Astronaut in Space

Sep 11, 2023

During an Earth-to-Space call at 12:05 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 13, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy will speak with agency astronaut Frank Rubio about his record-breaking mission aboard the International Space Station.

Rubio, who is serving on a year-long mission aboard the orbiting laboratory, today surpassed NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei’s U.S. record of 355 days in space as the longest single spaceflight by an American.

When he lands on Earth at the end of the month, Rubio will have 371 days in space. A list of other NASA station astronaut records is available online.

For more than 22 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth.

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-leadership-to-call-agency-s-record-breaking-astronaut-in-space

Webb Discovers Methane, Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere of K2-18 b

Sep 11, 2023

A new investigation with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope into K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, has revealed the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide. Webb’s discovery adds to recent studies suggesting that K2-18 b could be a Hycean exoplanet, one which has the potential to possess a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface.

The first insight into the atmospheric properties of this habitable-zone exoplanet came from observations with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, which prompted further studies that have since changed our understanding of the system.

K2-18 b orbits the cool dwarf star K2-18 in the habitable zone and lies 120 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo. Exoplanets such as K2-18 b, which have sizes between those of Earth and Neptune, are unlike anything in our solar system. This lack of equivalent nearby planets means that these ‘sub-Neptunes’ are poorly understood, and the nature of their atmospheres is a matter of active debate among astronomers.

The suggestion that the sub-Neptune K2-18 b could be a Hycean exoplanet is intriguing, as some astronomers believe that these worlds are promising environments to search for evidence for life on exoplanets.

"Our findings underscore the importance of considering diverse habitable environments in the search for life elsewhere," explained Nikku Madhusudhan, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the paper announcing these results. "Traditionally, the search for life on exoplanets has focused primarily on smaller rocky planets, but the larger Hycean worlds are significantly more conducive to atmospheric observations."

The abundance of methane and carbon dioxide, and shortage of ammonia, support the hypothesis that there may be a water ocean underneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere in K2-18 b. These initial Webb observations also provided a possible detection of a molecule called dimethyl sulfide (DMS). On Earth, this is only produced by life. The bulk of the DMS in Earth’s atmosphere is emitted from phytoplankton in marine environments.

The inference of DMS is less robust and requires further validation. “Upcoming Webb observations should be able to confirm if DMS is indeed present in the atmosphere of K2-18 b at significant levels,” explained Madhusudhan.

While K2-18 b lies in the habitable zone, and is now known to harbor carbon-bearing molecules, this does not necessarily mean that the planet can support life. The planet's large size — with a radius 2.6 times the radius of Earth — means that the planet’s interior likely contains a large mantle of high-pressure ice, like Neptune, but with a thinner hydrogen-rich atmosphere and an ocean surface. Hycean worlds are predicted to have oceans of water. However, it is also possible that the ocean is too hot to be habitable or be liquid.

"Although this kind of planet does not exist in our solar system, sub-Neptunes are the most common type of planet known so far in the galaxy," explained team member Subhajit Sarkar of Cardiff University. “We have obtained the most detailed spectrum of a habitable-zone sub-Neptune to date, and this allowed us to work out the molecules that exist in its atmosphere.”

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>>19538969

Characterizing the atmospheres of exoplanets like K2-18 b — meaning identifying their gases and physical conditions — is a very active area in astronomy. However, these planets are outshone — literally — by the glare of their much larger parent stars, which makes exploring exoplanet atmospheres particularly challenging.

The team sidestepped this challenge by analyzing light from K2-18 b's parent star as it passed through the exoplanet's atmosphere. K2-18 b is a transiting exoplanet, meaning that we can detect a drop in brightness as it passes across the face of its host star. This is how the exoplanet was first discovered in 2015 with NASA’s K2 mission. This means that during transits a tiny fraction of starlight will pass through the exoplanet's atmosphere before reaching telescopes like Webb. The starlight's passage through the exoplanet atmosphere leaves traces that astronomers can piece together to determine the gases of the exoplanet's atmosphere.

"This result was only possible because of the extended wavelength range and unprecedented sensitivity of Webb, which enabled robust detection of spectral features with just two transits," said Madhusudhan. "For comparison, one transit observation with Webb provided comparable precision to eight observations with Hubble conducted over a few years and in a relatively narrow wavelength range."

"These results are the product of just two observations of K2-18 b, with many more on the way,” explained team member Savvas Constantinou of the University of Cambridge. “This means our work here is but an early demonstration of what Webb can observe in habitable-zone exoplanets.”

The team’s results were accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The team now intends to conduct follow-up research with the telescope's MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) spectrograph that they hope will further validate their findings and provide new insights into the environmental conditions on K2-18 b.

"Our ultimate goal is the identification of life on a habitable exoplanet, which would transform our understanding of our place in the universe," concluded Madhusudhan. "Our findings are a promising step towards a deeper understanding of Hycean worlds in this quest."

https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/2023/webb-discovers-methane-carbon-dioxide-in-atmosphere-of-k2-18b

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China launches Yaogan 40 spy satellite on Long March 6A rocket

Sep 11, 2023

China launched a new classified satellite on Sunday (Sept. 10), continuing the country’s recent rapid launch rate.

A Long March 6A rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China on Sunday at 12:30 a.m. EDT (0440 GMT; 12:30 p.m. Beijing Time). Launch video shows the vehicle rising over the verdant hills surrounding Taiyuan, powered by its four solid rocket boosters.

Little is known about the Yaogan 40 satellite. It is designed to obtain data on the electromagnetic environment and conduct related technological tests, according to the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country’s main space contractor.

The vague description of the spacecraft and lack of details and images is typical for China’s Yaogan satellites, which are considered by outside experts to be reconnaissance craft for China’s military.

The launch follows just days after a pair of launches to put four other Yaogan satellites into orbit. The Yaogan 40 satellite is likely a much larger satellite than the other recently launched spacecraft, indicated by the size of the rocket used for Sunday's mission.

The Long March 6A is 164 feet (50 meters) tall and is China's first rocket to feature a liquid-propellant core stage with solid rocket boosters. The rocket bears little resemblance to the much smaller standard Long March 6.

The 6A is capable of carrying 9,900 pounds (4,500 kilograms) to a 430-mile-altitude (700 kilometers) sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). Satellites in an SSO pass over the poles and can observe particular spots on Earth at the same time every day.

Sunday's mission was the third launch of the 6A, which had its debut flight in March 2022. The launch was China’s 42nd of 2023 and the 17th since July 9, demonstrating an uptick in Chinese launch cadence. CASC is aiming to launch more than 60 times this year, with China’s commercial launch firms adding to overall activity.

https://www.space.com/china-yaogan-40-spy-satellite-long-march-6a-launch-video

India, NASA to cooperate on human spaceflight and planetary defense

Sep 12, 2023

India plans to build off its recent space successes and become an even bigger player in the final frontier.

The nation recently landed on the moon for the first time, acing the first-ever touchdown near the lunar south pole with its Chandrayaan-3 mission. And India now has a solar probe aloft — Aditya-L1, which launched on Sept. 2 to investigate some of the sun's biggest mysteries.

U.S. President Joe Biden congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the scientists at the engineers at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), for these achievements during a meeting in India on Friday (Sept. 8).

And, during that meeting, the two leaders pledged to cooperate on several ambitious space projects going forward.

"Determined to deepen our partnership in outer space exploration, ISRO and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have commenced discussions on modalities, capacity building and training for mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024, and are continuing efforts to finalize a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation by the end of 2023," reads a joint India-U.S. statement that the White House published on Friday.

India has not yet sent anyone to space, but the nation is working to change that: It's developing and testing hardware for its own human spaceflight program, called Gaganyaan, which could launch astronauts for the first time as soon as late 2024.

The statement also notes that both Biden and Modi "welcomed efforts" toward the establishment of a "working group for commercial space collaboration." That potential collaboration would slot into an existing structure, the India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group.

The U.S. and India also want to work together to help save the world from potential death from above.

The two nations "intend to increase coordination on planetary defense to protect planet Earth and space assets from the impact of asteroids and near-Earth objects, including U.S. support for India's participation in asteroid detection and tracking via the Minor Planet Center," the statement reads. (The Minor Planet Center, based at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Massachusetts, is the official repository for asteroid and comet observations.)

NASA already has considerable expertise in this regard. For example, the agency's Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, or DART, slammed into an asteroid moonlet last year in a successful trial of the "kinetic impactor" method of space rock deflection.

https://www.space.com/india-nasa-space-cooperation-planetary-defense

>>19538888

>send in the mini boss.