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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
May 11, 2024
AR 3664: Giant Sunspot Group
Right now, one of the largest sunspot groups in recent history is crossing the Sun. Active Region 3664 is not only big – it's violent, throwing off clouds of particles into the Solar System. Some of these CMEs are already impacting the Earth, and others might follow. At the extreme, these solar storms could cause some Earth-orbiting satellites to malfunction, the Earth's atmosphere to slightly distort, and electrical power grids to surge. When impacting Earth's upper atmosphere, these particles can produce beautiful auroras, with some auroras already being reported unusually far south. Pictured here, AR3664 and its dark sunspots were captured yesterday in visible light from Rome, Italy. The AR3664 sunspot group is so large that it is visible just with glasses designed to view last month's total solar eclipse. This weekend, skygazing enthusiasts will be keenly watching the night skies all over the globe for bright and unusual auroras.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
Cassini Observations Suggest Underground Ocean on Titan
May 10, 2024
“Liquid water is one of the prerequisites for the emergence of life,” said Dr. Sander Goossens from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and colleagues.
“Water is rarely liquid on the surface of a planet, but a number of moons in our Solar System, such as Titan, contain underground oceans.”
“These probably formed long ago, which raises the question of why they are not yet frozen in the cold environment far from the Sun.”
“Our study supports the explanation that ammonia extended the life of the liquid ocean in Titan. In addition, it provides insight into Titan’s deeper layers.”
NASA’s Cassini mission explored Saturn and its icy moons for more than a decade.
Among its many instruments, Cassini carried a radio science subsystem that enabled Earth-based radiometric tracking of the spacecraft by the Deep Space Network.
These data were used to determine the gravity field and interior structure of several of Saturn’s moons as well as those of Saturn itself. Cassini data were also used to determine Titan’s tidal response.
“The Cassini space mission flew around Saturn between 2005 and 2017,” the researchers said.
“To precisely measure Titan’s gravity, the spacecraft was sent close to the moon several times.”
“Cassini had to skim past Titan at exactly the right time to properly map the change in gravity.”
“This is because Titan’s deformation is due to Saturn’s tidal force, which depends on the distance between Titan and Saturn.”
“By measuring at times when Titan is close and far away from Saturn, the difference in Titan’s deformation and thus its effect on gravity was maximum.”
From precise radar measurements, the scientists calculated Cassini’s velocity and then the change in gravity and Titan’s deformation associated with it.
They carefully examined the effect of tides on Titan at each location in the spacecraft’s orbit and concluded that the deformation is smaller than previously calculated.
Numerical simulations of the moon’s deformation for different internal structures show that the most likely scenario is that the ocean has a density similar to that of water with a small proportion of ammonia.
“An underground ocean can help transport organic material from a moon’s rock core to the surface,” the authors said.
“For Titan, it was assumed that a thick ice layer between the ocean and the core made this difficult.”
“Our analysis suggests that the ice layer is possibly thinner than previously thought, making exchange of material between rock and the ocean more plausible.”
“The organic molecules that this can produce are seen as important ingredients for the emergence of life.”
The study was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
https://www.sci.news/space/titan-ocean-12922.html
Head of NASA, Bill Nelson, on Vatican Observatory's work to explore the heavens
10 May 2024, 16:07
"I'm very glad the Vatican is so involved in matters of space, with its Observatory, which says a lot about exploring the heavens."
In an interview with Vatican News, this was the sentiment expressed by the Head of NASA, Administrator Bill Nelson, who discussed the ongoing collaboration between the US and Holy See in space cooperation, how space exploration contributes to human fraternity, and how Pope Francis' teachings have set a powerful example for the world.
The world-renowned space expert, who led and trained space missions, also revealed why he is in town to participate in the Vatican's Human Fraternity #BeHuman meetings this weekend, and how space, offers a valuable lesson for human fraternity.
Administrator Nelson, a former Senator, also traveled to Italy this week as part of NASA’s efforts to strengthen space relationships throughout the world and to support the peaceful exploration of space.
He met with the President of the Italian Space Agency to discuss current and future collaborations, which include the Artemis Campaign to return to the Moon, the International Space Station, the exploration of Mars and Venus, and earth science missions to study our own planet.
Q: Administrator Nelson, many may not be aware of the long-standing cooperation between the US and Holy See in space exploration. Could you shed light on the valuable collaboration between the two?
I certainly will. Most people don't even know about the Vatican Observatory and its interest in space, which goes back to the time of Copernicus and Galileo and then the advancement of science ever since.
Interestingly enough, one of the scientists at the Vatican Observatory is a participant with us at NASA, in our sample return from an asteroid.
While the mission is called OSIRIS-REx, we actually returned a sample of an asteroid called Bennu, and that sample, is now at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. It is starting to be examined by the scientists, and one of those scientists, is right here, at the Vatican.
The fact that the Vatican has an Observatory says a lot about exploring the heavens. I remember in Genesis, the first line that was repeated by our astronauts when they orbited the moon for the very first time. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
That was Apollo 8, when they came around the back side of the moon and suddenly saw Earth, and with those words, they spoke back to the people on Earth on Christmas Day in 1968. I'm very glad the Vatican is so involved with its Observatory on matters of space.
Q: You are also in Rome for the Human Fraternity #BeHuman meetings on May 11. Why is this encounter, in your opinion, significant, and why has it attracted your attention and participation?
At the outset, they kindly invited me to make a presentation to the participants, mostly Nobel Peace Prize laureates, about the Earth, and how one perceives it, from space, namely the fact that the Earth is so beautiful, so colorful, and, at the same time, looks so fragile, suspended, in the nothingness of space.
I also observed to them from the matter as an elected official, when I flew in space 38 years ago, that I observed, as I orbited the Earth every 90 minutes, I did not see racial division. I did not see religious division. I did not see political division. When you look back at Earth, you see Earth from the perspective that we are all citizens of planet Earth.
And as they discuss matters of peace, of reconciliation, of human rights in this encounter, they invited me to make some opening comments, which I was glad to do from the perspective of seeing Earth from space.
Q: From your vast experience, which ranges from having trained and flew with the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia, mission STS-61C, the 24th flight of the Space Shuttle, which orbited Earth 98 times over six days, to being the congressional leader for the US space program, advocating to combat climate change, and being a proponent for career training and education programs in science and technology, has there been something in Pope Francis' teachings that has struck you?
Well, Pope Francis, walks his talk. The two great commands given by Jesus of Nazareth are to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and the second one of the great Commandments is to love your neighbor as yourself. And I think that's what Pope Francis preaches all the time. He walks his talk.
Q: Administrator Nelson, you have had a busy week. Can you share what has been drawing your attention…
This is the first stop of going on to another country, Saudi Arabia, which has participated with the United States in our space program.
cont.
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2024-05/nasa-administrator-bill-nelson-on-holy-see-us-space-cooperation1.html
Serbia becomes latest country to join China’s ILRS moon base project
May 10, 2024
HELSINKI — Serbia has signed an agreement on participating in the China-led International Lunar Research Station.
Serbia’s Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation signed a memorandum of understanding with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on cooperation on the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) earlier this week.
The development was listed in a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs document published May 9, listing outcomes following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Serbia May 7-8. CNSA has yet to issue its own statement on the matter.
The pair also signed an MoU on cooperation in the field of innovation in the exploration and peaceful use of outer space, in addition to that on the ILRS.
The China-led ILRS envisions constructing a permanent lunar base in the 2030s. This will be constructed using a super heavy-lift launcher. China also aims to send astronauts to the moon before 2030.
It will launch precursor missions in the 2020s. These include Chang’e-7 around 2026 and the later Chang’e-8 in-situ resource utilization technology test mission. Both multi-spacecraft missions will target the lunar south pole. The Chang’e-6 sample return mission—currently in lunar orbit ahead of an expected early June landing attempt—is nominally part of the program.
Chinese officials state that ILRS has a number of scientific and engineering goals. These include lunar and Earth science, astronomy, conducting experiments and resource utilization. Others are stated to involve driving technological development and laying the foundation for further space lunar exploration.
Russia this week stated it was developing a nuclear power unit for the joint lunar station, Reuters reported, citing the RIA news agency.
It is not clear how Serbia will be involved in and contribute to the ILRS at this stage. China previously stated its intent to create the ILRS Cooperation Organization (ILRSCO) to oversee and manage the project. Its establishment and subsequent meetings will likely to begin to map out Serbia’s and other parties’ involvement in the project. The development is, however, notable for a number of reasons.
“I think it speaks to the interest in getting access to the moon and not just that, but an interest in seeking out a partner that has been very effective in using space as a form of soft power outreach: China,” Victoria Samson, chief director of Space Security and Stability at the Secure World Foundation, told SpaceNews via email.
“And while the agreement was done with China, I think you can’t overlook the historical closeness Serbia has had with Russia and the ties between the increasingly autocratic president of Serbia and Putin. So signing the ILRS allows Serbia to reconfirm its connection to Russia while getting a much more tangible benefit in terms of its relationship with China.”
“The more countries that sign onto either the Artemis Accords or the ILRS, the more it is evident that it is crucial that we figure out now—while exploration there is at the very beginning stages—how best to deconflict activities on the moon and make clear what all stakeholders believe to be responsible behavior in cislunar space so that we can ensure sustainable access to the moon and its environs for the long-term,” Samson added.
Serbia becomes the 11th country to join the ILRS, following Nicaragua and Thailand in April. China and Russia formally announced the joint ILRS project in St. Petersburg, Russia, in June 2021. Venezuela, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, South Africa and Egypt signed up during 2023.
https://spacenews.com/serbia-becomes-latest-country-to-join-chinas-ilrs-moon-base-project/
FAA to conduct new environmental review for SpaceX's Starship operations in Florida
May 10, 2024
SpaceX will have to clear another regulatory hurdle before ramping up work with its Starship megarocket on Florida's Space Coast.
The company currently builds, tests and launches the 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship, which is still in development, at its Starbase site in South Texas. But SpaceX wants to add Florida to the mix as well: It aims to fly the giant vehicle from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), which already hosts liftoffs of SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.
In 2019, a NASA-led environmental assessment (EA) concluded that Starship operations at KSC wouldn't significantly affect the surrounding ecosystem. However, SpaceX's plans for the site have changed since then, and a more in-depth review — an environmental impact statement (EIS) — is therefore now in order, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today (May 10).
"While the 2019 EA prepared by NASA provides an analytical baseline, the environmental impacts of these proposed changes to Starship-Super Heavy LC-39A development and operations will be specifically analyzed in this EIS," FAA officials wrote in a statement today (May 10).
Starship consists of two elements, both of which are designed to be fully and rapidly reusable — a giant first-stage booster called Super Heavy and a 165-foot-tall (50 m) upper stage known as Starship, or simply "Ship." SpaceX views the vehicle as potentially revolutionary, saying it could make Mars settlement and other ambitious exploration feats economically feasible.
A fully stacked Starship has launched three times to date. The first occurred in April 2023, the second in November 2023 and the third on March 14 of this year. Each of those flights lifted off from Starbase, and each of the latter two lasted longer and notched more milestones than its respective predecessor.
Proposed Starship activities at LC-39A that were examined by the 2019 EA involved infrastructure development, as well as approximately 24 launches per year, FAA officials explained.
"SpaceX now proposes to construct additional launch infrastructure not previously contemplated in the 2019 EA; launch an advanced design of the Starship and Super Heavy vehicle; operate at a projected higher launch tempo; and land the Super Heavy booster at LC-39A in support of the reusability concept. Starship landings are no longer proposed to occur at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station," the officials wrote in today's update. (Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is next door to KSC.)
The revised plan envisions up to 44 Starship launches from LC-39A per year, FAA officials added in an emailed statement today.
SpaceX is responsible for preparing the EIS, under the supervision of the FAA. The agency is inviting input on the matter; it will hold two in-person public meetings on the Space Coast on June 12 and a third on June 13, as well host as a virtual meeting on June 17. Public comments can also be submitted from today through June 24.
A positive result on the EIS would not clear SpaceX to start launching Starship from KSC, by the way; the company would still need to obtain a vehicle operator's license from the FAA.
https://www.space.com/faa-environmental-impact-statement-spacex-starship-ksc
https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholder_engagement/spacex_starship_ksc
'World's purest silicon' could lead to 1st million-qubit quantum computing chips
May 11, 2024
Scientists have created an enhanced, ultra-pure form of silicon that could one day be the foundation for highly reliable "silicon-spin qubits" in powerful quantum computers.
While the bits in classical computers encode data as either 1 or 0, qubits in quantum computers can be a superposition of these two states — meaning they can achieve a quantum state known as "coherence" and occupy both 1 and 0 in parallel while processing calculations.
These machines could potentially be more powerful than the world's fastest supercomputers but would need around a million qubits to achieve this, the scientists said. The largest quantum computer today has roughly 1,000 qubits.
But a key challenge with quantum computing is that qubits are "noisy," meaning they are highly prone to interference, such as temperature changes, and need to be cooled to near absolute zero. Otherwise, they easily lose information and fail midway through operations.
This means that even if we had a quantum computer with millions of qubits, many of those would be redundant even with error-correction technologies, making the machine extremely inefficient.
But in a new study, published May 7 in the journal Nature Communications Materials, researchers proposed using a new, pure form of silicon — the semiconductor material used in conventional computers — as the basis for a qubit that is far more scalable than existing technologies.
Building qubits from semiconducting materials like silicon, gallium or germanium has advantages over superconducting metal qubits, according to the quantum computing company QuEra. The coherence times are relatively long, they are cheap to make, they operate at higher temperatures and they are extremely tiny — meaning a single chip can hold huge numbers of qubits. But impurities in semiconducting materials cause decoherence during computations, which makes them unreliable.
In the new study, the scientists proposed making a qubit out of silicon-28 (Si-28), which they described as the "world's purest silicon," after stripping away the impurities found in natural silicon. These silicon-based qubits would be less prone to failure, they said, and could be fabricated to the size of a pinhead.
Natural silicon is normally made up of three isotopes, or atoms of different masses — Si-28, Si-29 and Si-30. Natural silicon works well in conventional computing due to its metalloid properties, but problems arise when using it in quantum computing.
Si-29 in particular, which makes up 5% of natural silicon, causes a "nuclear flip-flopping effect" that leads to decoherence and the loss of information. In the study, the scientists got around this by developing a new method to engineer silicon without Si-29 and Si-30 atoms.
Cheaper, more scalable quantum computing
"What we've been able to do is effectively create a critical 'brick' needed to construct a silicon-based quantum computer," lead study author Richard Curry, professor of advanced electronic materials at the University of Manchester, said in a statement. "It’s a crucial step to making a technology that has the potential to be transformative for humankind feasible."
Components for silicon-based quantum computers could in theory be built using the same methods used to manufacture classical electronic chips, which can fit billions of transistors onto a tiny circuit board, the scientists said. Silicon qubits, or silicon-spin qubits, are nothing new, but the quality of the silicon has never been as pure, they added, which is determined based on microscopy testing.
Silicon-based qubits could also be manufactured far more easily than other kinds of qubit because of existing chip fabrication methods. And, therefore, quantum computers that use them can be scaled to the million-qubit region much more quickly than competing methods, the researchers said.
"Now that we can produce extremely pure silicon-28, our next step will be to demonstrate that we can sustain quantum coherence for many qubits simultaneously," project co-supervisor David Jamieson, professor of physics at the University of Melbourne, said in the statement. "A reliable quantum computer with just 30 qubits would exceed the power of today's supercomputers for some applications."
https://www.space.com/purest-silicon-could-lead-to-first-million-qubit-quantum-computing-chips
DAF leaders discuss future of all-volunteer force
May 10, 2024
Department of the Air Force senior leaders emphasized the importance of the all-volunteer force and its role in helping the military to meet national defense needs during RAND Corporation’s America’s All-Volunteer Force symposium in Arlington, Virginia, May 3.
Alex Wagner, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, and Katharine Kelley, the U.S. Space Force deputy chief of staff for Human Capital, discussed the current state of the all-volunteer force and explored innovative approaches to enhancing recruiting and talent management.
“We have two high-tech forces, an Air Force and a Space Force, and we are not only trying to attract a different type of talent from the American people but trying to hold onto them for a longer period of time,” Wagner explained.
Wagner highlighted three obstacles to efforts to better support the future of the all-volunteer force: recruiting for a different generation, improving support to family members, reimagining military careers talent management policies that were created during a different era. Current efforts to remove barriers to service of Airmen and Guardians include modernized tattoo and body composition policies, as well as accelerating naturalization at basic military training.
Wagner also highlighted the efforts to better leverage the talents of military spouses, including the Military Spouse Career Accelerator pilot, which provides 12-week fellowships at private employers for spouses and has over an 80% permanent hiring rate,
Kelley spoke about how the Space Force is also leveraging civilian employees and commercial partnerships to meet its force needs.
“We are taking advantage of a total force that is broader than just the military,” Kelley said. “… One of the things in the Space Force we can uniquely do is [use] the power of the civilian workforce sitting right next to that military Guardian, and that comprehensive team is delivering assets for the DoD mission.”
Both leaders concluded by emphasizing the importance of continuously adapting recruiting strategies to meet the evolving needs of the Air Force and Space Force in a rapidly changing world.
The U.S. military’s all-volunteer force model was established in 1973, replacing the active use of mandatory selective service, also known as the “draft” system. It ushered in a new era in which all military members are recruited via voluntary service, helping to create a dedicated force of committed and highly developed professionals.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3772279/daf-leaders-discuss-future-of-all-volunteer-force/