NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Feb 10, 2024

The Shadow of Ingenuity's Damaged Rotor Blade

On January 18, 2024, during its 72nd flight in the thin Martian atmosphere, autonomous Mars Helicopter Ingenuity rose to an altitude of 12 meters (40 feet) and hovered for 4.5 seconds above the Red Planet. Ingenuity's 72nd landing was a rough one though. During descent it lost contact with the Perseverance rover about 1 meter above the Martian surface. Ingenuity was able to transmit this image after contact was re-established, showing the shadow of one of its rotor blades likely damaged during landing. And so, after wildly exceeding expectations during over 1,000 days of exploring Mars, the history-making Ingenuity has ended its flight operations. Nicknamed Ginny, Mars Helicopter Ingenuity became the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021. Before launch, a small piece of material from the lower-left wing of the Wright Brothers Flyer 1, the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on planet Earth, was fixed to the underside of Ingenuity's solar panel.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?

Saturn's 'Death Star' moon Mimas may have an ocean scientists never believed could exist

Feb 7, 2024

Astronomers have discovered that a tiny moon of Saturn, named Mimas, may harbor a hidden liquid ocean beneath its thick icy shell and may thus have the conditions for habitability.

This shocking finding radically changes the definition of what an ocean moon can be, and could ultimately redefine our search for alien life on moons in the solar system. That's because, at first appearance, Mimas — nicknamed the 'Death Star' because a large crater means it resembles the Empire's space station in Star Wars — doesn't look like the kind of body scientists would expect to support an ocean. In fact, it doesn't even look capable of supporting such a vast body of liquid at all.

The team behind the watery discovery estimates the ocean is located around 12 to 18 miles (20 to 30 kilometers) beneath the ice crust surface of Mimas; the researchers also believe it is relatively young, having only appeared between 2 million and 25 million years ago. Yet, despite remaining hidden for millions of years, the ocean appears to comprise at least half of the moon's volume.

"The major finding here is the discovery of habitability conditions on a solar system object which we would never, never expect to have liquid water," Valery Lainey, discovery team member and a scientist at the Observatoire de Paris, told Space.com. "It's really astonishing."

The discovery makes Mimas even more similar to its Saturnian moon sibling, Enceladus, which scientists had already known has a subsurface ocean. Both moons exist at similar distances from the gas giant planet and are similar in size, with the ice-covered Enceladus measuring around 310 miles (500 kilometers) across and the similarly frigid Mimas sitting slightly smaller at 246 miles (396 km) across.

One key difference between the two moons is that, whereas the ocean of Enceladus breaches its surface in the form of massive jets and plumes, the sea of Mimas has yet to crack its icy crust.

That means that, while NASA's Cassini spacecraft was able to fly through plumes of ice spraying from Enceladus to confirm its oceans and even discover some of the complex molecules contained within, the spacecraft was not able to do any such thing for Mimas.

"It's really surprising we haven't seen anything, but the thickness of the icy shell of Mimas is enough to maintain this ocean without any significant activity betraying it for millions of years," Lainey continued. "That's why Cassini did not find anything at the surface of Mimas."

However, that doesn't mean Cassini, which spent 13 years in Saturn's system before purposefully crashing into the gas giant in 2017, wasn't key in assisting in the discovery of the ocean of Mimas.

Lainey and colleagues discovered their initial hints of Mimas having a buried liquid ocean when they used Cassini data to investigate a break in the infamous rings of Saturn called the "Cassini division."

In 2010, while aiming to discover if a change in Mimas' orbit could have caused the Cassini division, the team noticed a strange shift in both the moon's rotation and its orbit. The team determined, in 2014, that these large librations were either the result of the Saturnian moon having a misshapen, solid rocky core — or, a subsurface ocean that would allow its outer shell to oscillate independently of its core.

The breakthrough came when the team finally modeled the motion of Mimas, and determined a rocky core could only be responsible for the observations if it was elongated and flat like a pancake. Obviously, this did this not match what the team was seeing in real life, but moreover, the way Mimas' orbit has evolved since 2014 also offered support to the global subsurface ocean hypothesis.

"There is no rigid interior that can be compatible with the rotation and the orbital evolution of Mimas," Lainey said. "It is a relief to eventually succeed in demonstrating that that is the solution."

Not only was the team able to determine that the oceans have only been present for a few million years (due to the fact that Mimas' orbit remains flattened, or eccentric) but the crew was also able to calculate just how much water is likely present in the moon's oceans.

"At least 50% of the volume of Mimas is filled by liquid water," Lainey said. "This is a huge amount of liquid water for the size of the satellite."

This water appears to be grinding against the rocky core of Mimas, simultaneously getting heated by the friction this action generates. This interaction also gives rise to what Lainey describes as "interesting chemistry" likely developing on the Saturnian moon — right now.

https://www.space.com/saturn-death-star-moon-mimas-liquid-subsurface-ocean

Greece signs Artemis Accords

February 9, 2024

Greece became the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords outlining best practices for sustainable space exploration Feb. 9.

In a ceremony at the U.S. State Department, Giorgos Gerapetritis, Greece’s foreign minister, formally signed the Accords. The signing took place as part of a U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue meeting.

“As humanity embarks on a great adventure, returning to the moon and preparing for traveling beyond the moon, the Artemis Accords serve as a beacon of collaboration and cooperation among nations, paving the way for a sustainable and peaceful exploration of space,” Gerapetritis said in a statement.

Greece is the 35th country to do so since the Accords were announced in 2020. The document is intended to build upon the principles of the Outer Space Treaty and other international agreements on topics ranging from the sharing of scientific data to utilization of space resources.

“The U.S. and Greece are long-time partners and friends, and we are excited to expand this partnership in the cosmos,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “Together, we are shaping the future of cooperation in space for the Artemis Generation.”

Greece is the second European country in as many months to sign the Artemis Accords, after Belgium did so Jan. 23. With the addition of Greece, 13 of the European Space Agency’s 22 member states have joined, as well as 12 of 27 European Union member states.

The Artemis Accords is outpacing a parallel effort led by China, the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), which has its own, undisclosed set of principles for participation. Eight countries have joined the ILRS, most recently Egypt in December, according to data compiled by the Secure World Foundation.

https://spacenews.com/greece-signs-artemis-accords/

SpaceX Starlink Mission

On Friday, February 9 at 4:34 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

This was the 14th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9, and now eight Starlink missions.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-7-13

Third NASA Enabled Private Flight to Space Station Completes Safely

FEB 09, 2024

The third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station successfully completed its journey as part of NASA efforts to create commercial opportunities in space. Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) and its four crew members safely returned to Earth Friday, splashing down off the coast of Daytona, Florida.

Axiom Space astronauts, Michael López-Alegría, Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, and Alper Gezeravci returned to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at 8:30 a.m. EST, completing their nearly 22-day mission that included 18 days aboard the space station. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and astronauts.

“Low Earth orbit is now within humanity’s economic sphere of influence. It presents the best opportunities for the U.S. commercial space sector to capture new global and domestic markets and to provide critical capabilities to the nation’s space objectives,” said Phil McAlister, director of NASA’s commercial space division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This ground-breaking Ax-3 mission is part of a larger effort, enabled by NASA, to open space to more people, more research, and more opportunities as the agency prepares for the transition to future private space stations at the end of this decade.”

The Ax-3 mission launched at 4:49 p.m. Jan. 18 on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Approximately 37 hours later, Dragon docked to the Harmony module’s forward port. The astronauts undocked from the same port at 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, to begin the trip home.

The crew spent over two weeks conducting microgravity research, educational outreach, and commercial activities. The spacecraft returns to Florida for inspection and processing at SpaceX’s refurbishing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where teams will examine the spacecraft’s data and performance throughout the flight. Throughout their mission, the astronauts conducted over 30 science experiments, and returned science, including NASA cargo, back to Earth.

Supporting private astronaut missions is part of NASA’s strategy to create a vibrant commercial economy in orbit where the agency will become just one of many customers.

The Ax-3 mission embodies the culmination of NASA’s efforts to foster a commercial market in low Earth orbit and continue a new era of space exploration that enables more people and organizations to fly multiple mission objectives. This partnership expands the arc of human spaceflight history and opens access to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities.

https://www.nasa.gov/general/third-nasa-enabled-private-flight-to-space-station-completes-safely/

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Mars helicopter Ingenuity's final resting place named after 'Undying Lands' in 'Lord of the Rings'

Feb 9, 2024

Like some hobbits, a wee Martian helicopter received a special honor.

The final resting place of NASA's Ingenuity, grounded after its last flight on Jan. 18, now has a new name bestowed from fans of fantasy.

"The Ingenuity team has nicknamed the spot where the helicopter completed its final flight 'Valinor Hills' after the fictional location in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novels, which include 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy," NASA officials wrote on Monday (Feb. 6).

Tolkien (1892-1973), an Anglo-Saxon scholar at the University of Oxford, is best known for his fantasy works that include "Lord of the Rings" (LOTR), "The Hobbit" and "The Silmarillion."

Several of Tolkien's stories have been turned into tales for radio, television, streaming and Hollywood, such as the LOTR and "The Hobbit" movie series directed by Peter Jackson in the 2000s and 2010s, and "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" Amazon Prime series from 2022.

Valinor was a part of the Undying Lands, a location cited often in Tolkien's mythology. The most-cited reference to those islands comes at the end of LOTR. The elves granted some of the main characters refuge there, after the invitees played key roles in a quest to destroy a powerful finger-ring threatening the universe.

The islands of the Undying Lands were the home of the elves and also the Valar, the latter referring to beings who played a role in creating the world, according to a 2009 paper in the peer-reviewed journal "Mythlore " led by Keith Kelly, of Pennsylvania's Kutztown University. While not quite equivalent to the Judeo-Christian concepts of heaven, according to Tolkien's letters cited in the paper, the Undying Lands are a point of eternal refuge and rest.

The informal name for the location (used by NASA engineers for navigation and honorific purposes) is apt for Ingenuity, which made 72 flights since alighting on the surface of Mars with its robotic companion, the Perseverance rover, on Feb. 18, 2021.

https://www.space.com/ingenuity-mars-helicopter-final-resting-place-lord-of-the-rings-tolkein

Polish mint creates world’s first “flying coin”

FEB 8, 2024

The world’s first “flying coin” has been created by the Mint of Poland (Mennica Polska), the maker of Poland’s own official currency.

The coin is set in motion by a motor hidden inside it. A magnetic field generated between the motor and the specially designed base below then causes it to float in the air.

Named UFO MP-1766 due to its likeness to a science-fiction spaceship and in reference to the year the mint was founded, the coin also glows in the dark thanks to the use of fluorescent paint.

UFO MP-1766 is made from seven ounces of silver and despite its unconventional form, the coin will be legal tender.

Its denomination is 1,766 Cameroonian francs, equivalent to approximately 11.70 Polish zloty or €2.69. But “its real value is significantly higher than its nominal one”, says the mint.

The prototype coin was unveiled at last week’s Technical Forum in Berlin. However, it will not be introduced to the market until this spring.

“We cannot simply create a coin that goes into official circulation, because only central banks have the right to issue money,” Łukasz Karda, director of the mint’s technical and production planning department, told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.

“Therefore, there is a business model of getting in touch with somewhat exotic foreign banks, in this case the Bank of Cameroon,” he added.

“We wondered what to surprise the participants of the Technical Forum with this time…We assembled a team of experts from various company divisions, including marketing and production. The idea was spontaneous, thrown around ad hoc: ‘Let’s make a flying coin’,” explained Karda.

“At first it sounded like a good joke, but with each passing day it became clear that we were up to the task. We found the right technology and it worked. Work went smoothly, production went rapidly.”

This is not the first time the Mint of Poland has issued an unconventional coin. Its portfolio includes the world’s first “spatial coin” (one made in a non-conventional 3-D shape) and a cylindrical coin.

“Now we are making history anew by being able to boast of using our know-how to create the world’s first flying coin,” said Katarzyna Budnicka-Filipiuk, Mint of Poland’s president.

The mint, although a private company, is the only private body permitted to manufacture coins and investment products in Poland.

It is also the sole manufacturer of commemorative coins issued by the National Bank of Poland – the country’s central bank – and produces official and heraldic seals, as well as commemorative medals and insignia for local authorities.

https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/02/08/polish-mint-creates-worlds-first-flying-coin/