Mars Spacecraft Reveal Comet Flyby Effects on Martian Atmosphere

Two NASA and one European spacecraft that obtained the first up-close observations of a comet flyby of Mars on Oct. 19, have gathered new information.

from News and Features - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory http://ift.tt/1tm6uUI

via IFTTT

Mars Spacecraft Reveal Comet Flyby Effects on Martian Atmosphere

Two NASA and one European spacecraft that obtained the first up-close observations of a comet flyby of Mars on Oct. 19, have gathered new information about the basic properties of the comet’s nucleus and directly detected the effects on the Martian atmosphere.



from NASA Breaking News http://ift.tt/1vUYw77

via IFTTT

NASA Tests Revolutionary Shape Changing Aircraft Flap for the First Time

NASA's green aviation project is one step closer to developing technology that could make future airliners quieter and more fuel-efficient with the successful flight test of a wing surface that can change shape in flight.



from NASA Breaking News http://ift.tt/13Rknpk

via IFTTT

Comet landing – the most critical moments

We'll be biting our nails during these eight critical moments. You should, too!



from Rosetta - ESA's comet chaserRosetta - ESA's comet chaser http://ift.tt/1AxUSbb

via IFTTT

VIRTIS detects water and carbon dioxide in comet’s coma

In previous blog posts we’ve heard how VIRTIS is able to map the temperature of the comet’s surface. Now, as Dominique Bockelee-Morvan and Stephane Erard (Observatoire de Paris) report, the VIRTIS science team has started to map gas in the coma. One of the scientific objectives of Rosetta’s Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) is to map the emission of different gases from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and to study how these change with comet activity. In early October 2014, activity in the region above the ‘neck’ of the comet became high enough for water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) to be detected by the instrument’s high spectral resolution channel, VIRTIS-H. (The surface mapping is done with an imaging spectrometer, called VIRTIS-M.) From these spectra, it is already possible to tell quite a lot about the gas in the coma. The spectra show infrared molecular bands whose shape depends on the temperature in the coma, whereas the intensity is a function of the number of molecules along the line of sight of VIRTIS. From these measurements, the relative abundance of carbon dioxide with respect to water is estimated to be about 4%, showing that comet 67P/C-G is not as rich in carbon dioxide as comet 103P/Hartley, also a Jupiter-family comet, for which a relative abundance of about 20% was measured by NASA’s EPOXI mission during its brief fly-by on 4 November 2010. Ever since July, VIRTIS has been measuring the average temperature of the comet’s surface, finding it to be around –70 °C at the moment. These measurements of the gas in the coma now allow the science team to say something also about the temperature at some distance from the surface. The current measurements correspond to a height of one kilometre above the surface, where the temperature falls by more […]



from Rosetta - ESA's comet chaserRosetta - ESA's comet chaser http://ift.tt/1GwOTUu

via IFTTT

NASA Rolls Out Enhanced, Mobile-Friendly Climate Site

NASA has relaunched its Webby Award-winning website, Global Climate Change, with enhanced interactive features that play on any mobile device, state-of-the-art visuals, and new sections on climate change solutions and the people behind the science.

from News and Features - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory http://ift.tt/1xeiduG

via IFTTT

Rosetta Races Toward Comet Touchdown

After sailing through space for more than 10 years, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is now less than a week shy of landing a robotic probe on a comet.

from News and Features - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory http://ift.tt/1uDaJme

via IFTTT

NASA’s Orion Spacecraft Set to Roll out to Launch Pad for its First Flight

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is set to roll out of the Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to its launch pad at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37 on Monday Nov. 10, in preparation for liftoff next month on its first space flight.



from NASA Breaking News http://ift.tt/1pssLWl

via IFTTT

NASA Rocket Experiment: Universe is Brighter Than We Thought

A NASA sounding rocket experiment has detected a surprising surplus of infrared light in the dark space between galaxies, a diffuse cosmic glow as bright as all known galaxies combined.

from News and Features - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory http://ift.tt/1vQ2oGr

via IFTTT

NASA Rocket Experiment Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought

A NASA sounding rocket experiment has detected a surprising surplus of infrared light in the dark space between galaxies, a diffuse cosmic glow as bright as all known galaxies combined.



from NASA Breaking News http://ift.tt/1xdl0Et

via IFTTT

NASA Television to Broadcast Return of Space Station Crew

Three of the crew members aboard the International Space Station are scheduled to depart the orbiting laboratory Sunday, Nov. 9 after almost six months aboard. NASA Television will provide complete coverage.



from NASA Breaking News http://ift.tt/1x9MQ4o

via IFTTT