James Webb Space Telescope begins historic mission

   / James Webb Space Telescope begins historic mission #343  
Sure, but unfolding it back into precision location must be a nail biter.
Yes but if we (NASA ) don't try, then it certainty doesn't happen. I like to see us or any nation, trying to explore and expand our knowledge. Failures will happen.
 
   / James Webb Space Telescope begins historic mission #344  

Nasa's Artemis spacecraft arrives at the Moon​


The Moon.
Image source, NASA
Image caption,
Orion sent back images as it passed by the Moon
By Rebecca Morelle
Science Editor, BBC News

Nasa's Artemis spacecraft has arrived at the Moon.
The Orion capsule swept 130km (80 miles) above the lunar surface, and it will now begin to enter a larger orbit.
The vehicle was out of contact for 34 minutes during this manoeuvre, which began at 12:44 GMT, as it took place on the far side of the Moon.
As the signal returned, the spacecraft sent back an image of the Earth. Nasa says so far the mission has "exceeded expectations" since last week's launch.
 
   / James Webb Space Telescope begins historic mission #345  
Things that make you go, Hmmmmmmm.
No stars, sunlight only on moon and ship but not lighting up space,
6 days to the moon but in 1969 it took naza 3 days to the moon.
Picture says "Orion sent back images" but not "Artemis sent back images".
 

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   / James Webb Space Telescope begins historic mission #346  
Oops, I got the mirror size for the Carl Sagan Observatory wrong, the proposed size is 12 meters, not 100. That will be much easier to fold up and loft into orbit on a rocket. Falcon 9's fairing is a little over 5 meters in diameter, and the extended fairing can accommodate loads over 40 feet (12 meters) tall, so a folded 12 meter segmented mirror would probably fit.
 
   / James Webb Space Telescope begins historic mission #347  
NASA's Orion spacecraft with Earth in the distance



NASA
NASA's Orion spacecraft has successfully completed one of the key maneuvers of its maiden journey: a flyby of the Moon during which it got as close as 81 miles to the lunar surface. This was important for a few reasons, not least because it marked a critical test for the propulsion system.
Orion carried out four trajectory correction burns on its way to the Moon, but this time around, the orbital maneuvering system engine fired for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. This accelerated Orion at a rate of more than 580MPH. At the time the burn started, the uncrewed spacecraft was traveling at 5,023MPH, 238 miles above the Moon. Shortly after the burn, it was 81 miles above the lunar surface and it was traveling at 5,102MPH.

The flyby burn was one of two necessary maneuvers for Orion to enter its retrograde orbit around the Moon. Next up is the distant retrograde orbit insertion burn, which is slated to take place on Friday at 4:52PM ET. Orion will remain in this orbit for around a week to test various systems, including guidance, navigation, communication, power and thermal control. Of note, the distant retrograde orbit will take Orion 40,000 miles past the Moon. The spacecraft is scheduled to return to Earth on December 11th.
NASA will reveal more details about the flyby burn and offer updates on post-launch assessments for the Space Launch System rocket and Exploration Ground Systems (including the launch tower) at a press conference on Monday at 5PM ET. Meanwhile, engineers have been looking into RAM faults in the star tracker system, which have been resolved with power cycles. Another team examined an issue that has caused one of the eight service mobile units suppling solar array power to the crew module to open on a few occasions without a command. NASA says there have been no mission impacts as a result of these hiccups.
 
   / James Webb Space Telescope begins historic mission #348  
Interesting space stuff but where should it be posted?
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Two minerals never before been seen on Earth found inside 17-ton meteorite​


By Ben Turner
published about 18 hours ago
The minerals were found inside a slice of the El Ali meteorite, which landed in Somalia in 2020.

The 2.5 ounce slice which contains the two brand new minerals.

The 2.5-ounce slice which contains the two brand-new minerals. (Image credit: University of Alberta Meteorite Collection)

Two minerals that have never been seen before on Earth have been discovered inside a massive meteorite in Somalia. They could hold important clues to how asteroids form.

The two brand new minerals were found inside a single 2.5 ounce (70 gram) slice taken from the 16.5 ton (15 metric tons) El Ali meteorite, which was found in 2020. Scientists named the minerals elaliite after the meteor and elkinstantonite after Lindy Elkins-Tanton (opens in new tab), the managing director of the Arizona State University Interplanetary Initiative and principal investigator of NASA's upcoming Psyche mission, which will send a probe to investigate the mineral-rich Psyche asteroid for evidence of how our solar system's planets formed.

"Whenever you find a new mineral, it means that the actual geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, was different than what's been found before," Chris Herd (opens in new tab), a professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta, said in a statement (opens in new tab). "That's what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite you have two officially described minerals that are new to science."
 
   / James Webb Space Telescope begins historic mission #350  

Webb Space Telescope Reveals “Stirred Up” Secrets of Breathtaking Planetary Nebula​

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This image of the Southern Ring Nebula (NGC 3132) was captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). Credit: Science: NASA, CSA, ESA, STScI, Orsola De Marco (Macquarie University), Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
 
 
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