TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
July 8, 2024
Exoplanet Zoo: Other Stars
Do other stars have planets like our Sun? Surely they do, and evidence includes slight star wobbles created by the gravity of orbiting exoplanets and slight star dimmings caused by orbiting planets moving in front. In all, there have now been over 5,500 exoplanets discovered, including thousands by NASA's space-based Kepler and TESS missions, and over 100 by ESO's ground-based HARPS instrument. Featured here is an illustrated guess as to what some of these exoplanets might look like. Neptune-type planets occupy the middle and are colored blue because of blue-scattering atmospheric methane they might contain. On the sides of the illustration, Jupiter-type planets are shown, colored tan and red from the scatterings of atmospheric gases that likely include small amounts of carbon. Interspersed are many Earth-type rocky planets of many colors. As more exoplanets are discovered and investigated, humanity is developing a better understanding of how common Earth-like planets are, and how common life might be in the universe.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
Space radiation can damage satellites − my team discovered that a next-generation material could self-heal when exposed to cosmic rays
July 7, 2024
The space environment is harsh and full of extreme radiation. Scientists designing spacecraft and satellites need materials that can withstand these conditions.
In a paper published in January 2024, my team of materials researchers demonstrated that a next-generation semiconductor material called metal-halide perovskite can actually recover and heal itself from radiation damage.
Metal-halide perovskites are a class of materials discovered in 1839 that are found abundantly in Earth’s crust.
They absorb sunlight and efficiently convert it into electricity, making them a potentially good fit for space-based solar panels that can power satellites or future space habitats.
Researchers make perovskites in the form of inks, then coat the inks onto glass plates or plastic, creating thin, filmlike devices that are lightweight and flexible.
Surprisingly, these thin-film solar cells perform as well as conventional silicon solar cells in laboratory demonstrations, even though they are almost 100 times thinner than traditional solar cells.
Related: Space-based solar power may be one step closer to reality, thanks to this key test (video) But these films can degrade if they’re exposed to moisture or oxygen.
Researchers and industry are currently working on addressing these stability concerns for terrestrial deployment.
To test how they might hold up in space, my team developed a radiation experiment. We exposed perovskite solar cells to protons at both low and high energies and found a unique, new property.
The high-energy protons healed the damage caused by the low-energy protons, allowing the device to recover and continue doing its job. The conventional semiconductors used for space electronics do not show this healing.
My team was surprised by this finding. How can a material that degrades when exposed to oxygen and moisture not only resist the harsh radiation of space but also self-heal in an environment that destroys conventional silicon semiconductors?
In our paper, we started to unravel this mystery.
Why it matters
Scientists predict that in the next 10 years, satellite launches into near-Earth orbit will increase exponentially, and space agencies such as NASA aim to establish bases on the Moon.
Materials that can tolerate extreme radiation and self-heal would change the game.
Researchers estimate that deploying just a few pounds of perovskite materials into space could generate up to 10,000,000 watts of power.
It currently costs about US$4,000 per kilogram ($1,818 per pound) to launch materials into space, so efficient materials are important.
What still isn’t known
Our findings shed light on a remarkable aspect of perovskites – their tolerance to damage and defects.
Perovskite crystals are a type of soft material, which means that their atoms can move into different states that scientists call vibrational modes.
Atoms in perovskites are normally arranged in a lattice formation. But radiation can knock the atoms out of position, damaging the material.
The vibrations might help reposition the atoms back into place, but we’re still not sure exactly how this process works.
What’s next?
Our findings suggest that soft materials might be uniquely helpful in extreme environments, including space.
But radiation isn’t the only stress that materials have to weather in space. Scientists don’t yet know how perovskites will fare when exposed to vacuum conditions and extreme temperature variations, along with radiation, all at once.
Temperature could play a role in the healing behavior my team saw, but we’ll need to conduct more research to determine how.
These results tell us that soft materials could help scientists develop technology that works well in extreme environments.
Future research could dive deeper into how the vibrations in these materials relate to any self-healing properties.
https://www.space.com/space-radiation-satellite-damage-averted-with-next-generation-self-healing-material
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44876-1
Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket launching for 1st time ever this week
July 8, 2024
Europe's new heavy-lift Ariane 6 rocket is set to make its long-delayed debut on Tuesday (July 9).
If all goes according to plan, the Ariane 6 will launch from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on Tuesday during a four-hour window that opens at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT).
You can watch the launch live here at Space.com, courtesy of the European Space Agency (ESA); coverage will begin 30 minutes before liftoff.
The Ariane 6, which is operated by the French company Arianespace on behalf of ESA, will replace the venerable Ariane 5, which retired last year after 117 flights over nearly three decades.
The Ariane 6 has been in development for nearly a decade.
It was originally scheduled to debut in 2020, but technical issues and outside problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine pushed the timeline back multiple times.
Europe has high hopes for the new launcher, which is expected to be flying nine to 12 times per year by 2026.
The Ariane 6 "will ensure our guaranteed, autonomous access to space — and all of the science, Earth observation, technology development and commercial possibilities that it entails," ESA officials wrote in a preview of the debut launch.
"With many features brand-new to Ariane 6, we'll be able to carry more and take it further, while sustainably disposing of the launcher's upper stage to prevent it [from] becoming space debris," they added.
The Ariane 6 will deploy nine cubesats into low Earth orbit (LEO) on Tuesday's flight, if all goes according to plan.
The rocket will also carry a variety of non-orbital experiments, including two reentry capsules that will get a trial by fire as they return to our planet through its thick atmosphere.
The rocket's upper stage will come back to Earth as well, as ESA noted in its mission preview. But the upper stage won't survive the trip, burning up in our air instead.
https://www.space.com/europe-ariane-6-rocket-debut-launch-this-week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0oFpOJaIYc
We Still Haven't Solved the Space Poop Problem
Jul 7, 2024 2:25 PM CDT
Neil Armstrong left more than his footprints on the moon. As Becky Ferreira writes in Wired, he and his fellow Apollo astronauts also left nearly 100 bags of poop up there over various missions, where they remain to this day. For one thing, this raises the prospect of humans contaminating an extraterrestrial world with their fecal microbes. For another, it illustrates an easy-to-overlook problem that still exists as we humans ramp up our plans for moon expeditions—the complicated and very real logistics of space pooping. This is the main focus of Ferreira's piece, which provides an earthy education. Start with this, for example: "Basically, in space a human no longer has gravity to assist pulling the feces away from the anus," explains David Munns of John Jay College, City University of New York.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station use a hose and a head to suction out waste, a big advance from the early days, when phrases such as "fecal popcorning" were invented to describe unfortunate mishaps. "But scientists haven't developed a circular system that can dispose of all the biological waste produced by humans in space—urine, feces, vomit, and menstrual blood—which is a major technology gap for future human space exploration," writes Ferreira. The story explores some of the designs under review, which are not only vital to plans of returning humans to the lunar surface but may play a role in solving waste-management problems that still plague billions of people down here on Earth. Read it in full here.
https://www.newser.com/story/352425/we-still-havent-solved-the-space-poop-problem.html
https://www.wired.com/story/pooping-on-the-moon-is-a-messy-business/
Jay Leno Explores The Beast: Inside the Presidential Limousine with Secret Service Agents
Join Jay Leno in this exclusive episode of Jay Leno's Garage as he takes a deep dive into the world of the Presidential Limousine, affectionately known as "The Beast." Jay is joined by two seasoned Secret Service agents, Jay Nasworthy and Steve Abel, who reveal intriguing insights and share fascinating stories about the most secure vehicle in the world. While they can't disclose all its secrets, this in-depth conversation offers a rare glimpse into the history and evolution of Presidential limousines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thZX9zHwodk