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Scientists want to explore asteroids with a fleet of nanoprobes
Researchers at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) presented a mission plan today at the European Planetary Science Congress that would allow scientists to observe hundreds of asteroids over the course of just a few years. Their plan is to send 50 nanoprobes -- small space instruments -- into the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter to take images and chemical measurements of around 300 large asteroids. "Asteroids are very diverse and, to date, we've only seen a small number at close range. To understand them better, we need to study a large number in situ. The only way to do this affordably is by using small spacecraft," FMI's Pekka Janhunen told Popular Mechanics.
ICYMI: Soft robot challenge, NASA's space sails and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-736059{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-736059, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-736059{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-736059").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: NASA announced a space probe this week that will use solar sails to leave Earth's orbit; the first spacecraft from the agency to do so. It should go up in 2018 and its mission is to get a good view of an asteroid.
China plans to visit the dark side of the moon in 2018
The dark side of the moon hasn't been extensively explored by humans yet (hence the name), and China aims to do so in 2018. The country's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) announced plans Thursday that include landing the first probe in the area. That spacecraft, the Chang'e-4, is similar to the Chang'e-3 that delivered the Jade Rabbit rover to the moon in 2013, but carries a larger payload. In early 2014, the rover was no longer able to move despite its instruments still functioning.
Crowdfunding project aims to bring a forgotten space probe back to life
The International Sun/Earth Explorer 3 probe is slated to come home in August after 36 years in space, but a group of engineers wants to use it as a platform for citizen science before it does. Sadly, NASA doesn't have the budget to reactivate a probe's that been decommissioned since 1999 -- so, the team has turned to crowdfunding to get the ball rolling. For those who've never heard of the ISEE-3 before, it was originally sent to space to study how the Earth's magnetic field and solar winds interact. Thus, it has 13 different scientific instruments on board (for measuring plasma, magnetic fields, waves and particles) that students or just about anyone can use if the group manages to recapture it.
Russian space probe crashes in Pacific Ocean, fish reportedly startled
On the plus side, the fish needed additional space probe parts. On Sunday night, fragments of Russia's Phobos-Grunt probe landed in the Pacific Ocean 1,250 kilometers to the west of Wellington Island in southern Chile around 17:45 GMT. The probe, which experienced a failure with its launch rocket machinery on November 8, had become marooned in Earth's orbit, destined to crash back home. The cause of the incident remains unknown and stands as the latest in a series of gaffes by the Russian space program, including an impact in Siberia by a supply ship bound for the International Space Station and the loss of three navigation satellites in the past year. It's unknown whether the probe was carrying any radioactive alien materials, but stay tuned to Engadget for your up-to-the-second guide on how to fight the Cloverfield monster in the year to come.
NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover stars in its very own photoshoot
NASA's already given us a glimpse at its Mars rover, courtesy of a USTREAM broadcast a few months back, but the crew over at BoingBoing has taken one small step for mankind by going even further in-depth with Curiosity before it launches in November. One lucky photographer was granted permission into the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and the fruits of his bunny-suited labor showcase the nooks and crannies of NASA's latest and greatest. We're still kind of bummed that the rover won't be equipped with a zoom 3D camera as originally planned, but we've got a hunch James Cameron's taking it even harder. Be sure to hit the source link for a whole smattering of more angles, if intergalactic spacecrafts are your thing.
NASA forced to abandon plans for 3D camera in next Mars rover, James Cameron not losing faith yet
Among the many great feats of his career, film director James Cameron counts the rather unorthodox achievement of being able to convince NASA to use a stereoscopic camera on its next Mars rover project. Unfortunately for him, us, and the hard working folks over at Malin Space Science Systems, technical snags have been encountered in the integration of the jumbo mastcam (pictured above) with the rover's hardware and the resulting delays have caused NASA to nix the idea altogether. You might think that 3D visuals of Red Planet gravel will be no great loss, but the MSSS cams also had zoom lenses attached, whereas the research project will now be returning to tried and true fixed focal length imaging. Ah well, such is the bumpy road to interterrestrial enlightenment. NASA's rover, titled Curiosity, is set to begin its voyage in November of this year, while Cameron and co remain upbeat about the future, saying they're "certain that this technology will play an important role in future missions."
Cassini space probe exits safe mode just in time for its flyby of Enceladus
Apparently our faithful Windows 98 laptop isn't the only thing that goes into "safe mode" from time to time. For the last three weeks, the Cassini spacecraft has been in standby as it orbited Saturn due to a glitch, or "flipped bit," which prompted a shutdown of all but the most essential of the probe's operations. Engineers have been unable to determine what exactly prompted the error, although a subsequent examination of the vehicle's systems shows that all the spacecraft's responses were proper, paving the way for a reactivation of its instrumentation this previous Wednesday. If all continues to go smoothly, this will set the stage for a study of the moon Enceladus during a fly-by on November 30. This marks the sixth time that the spacecraft has gone into safe mode since its launch in 1997.
Planck telescope maps the universe in search of primordial light
Yep, that innocuous-looking picture above is the whole freaking universe, as perceived by the Planck telescope -- a long-wave light detector that's been catapulted into space to search for Big Bang clues. The European Space Agency is using it in order to get the most precise information to date on Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (apparent in the image as the magenta and yellow mush in the, ahem, background), which could in turn enlighten us on the conditions that gave rise to all of us omnivores prowling a gravity-assisted, ozone-protected, floating rock. The first mapping run took just over six months to complete, but the plan is to produce four such images using the Planck's super-cold (nearly at absolute zero) sensors before retiring the thing. Results are expected no sooner than 2013, so please do slide back from the edge of your seat.
Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft returns to Earth after asteroid visit (video)
Japan's plans for sending robots to the moon may still have to wait another decade or so, but the country's space program can now claim another pretty huge victory -- its Hayabusa spacecraft successfully returned to Earth on Sunday after visiting an asteroid to collect samples. That end to the spacecraft's seven-year mission occurred somewhere in the Australian outback and, as you can see above and in the video after the break, it was quite a sight to behold. Despite appearances, however, the breaking up of the spacecraft was actually part of the plan, and Hayabusa's main return capsule is said to have made it to Earth intact -- although it's still not clear if the capsule actually contains any samples of the asteroid. Scientists should know what they have on their hands soon enough, though -- the space agency says it expects to retrieve the capsule sometime on Monday.
"Flying laptop" spacecraft could "transform" in space, sort of
Impressive as they are, satellites and space probes aren't always the most versatile pieces of equipment once they're up in orbit. A new satellite developed by researchers from the University of Stuttgart's Institute of Space Systems looks set to shake things up in a pretty big way when it launches in 2012, however, even if it's not quite the "transforming" space probe that you might be imagining. Described as a "flying laptop," the satellite promises to pack a vast array of instruments and sensors, including cameras, multispectral imagers, star trackers, and GPS receivers, to name a few, all of which can apparently be completely reconfigured on the fly in space. That, the researchers say, could let the satellite switch from, say, an atmospheric pollution sensor to a near-Earth asteroid detector, an even open up some new commercial possibilities, with different groups able to rent out the satellite to perform various tasks.
