Mars Exploration 1: Unmanned Missions (Probes; Rovers; etc.)
- Thread starter Mattattattatt
- Start date
gellatly68
Deity upon a velocipede
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2004
- Messages
- 274
Never mind the rocky dead fish - look towards the lower left of the middle - it's clearly the Hand of Fear from Doctor Who! :lol:Bigfoot73 said:
A very succinct description Pietro. Lava has seemed like the best geological answer but for one major difference : the lava in your linked pics has holes of varying size and number by area in it, whereas the 'coral' has biological features imposed on it. I don't think lava would weather or shatter to leave forms like that, and the larger rocks were rounded by water rather than being cooled extrudud lava.
Not sure about this at all but I don't think there are any local candidates for a source either.
If a convincing geological explanation can be found.
Don't know about hands but there are fingers! I found some more examples last night and will post links shortly.
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2005
- Messages
- 11,990
In fact, top right hand of the picture, there's a rock that I'd go as far as to say, looks quite like a lava 'bomb', complete with representative tail.Bigfoot73 said:
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Imgs/Jpg/Photoglossary/30410914-028_large.JPG
Plenty of sand storms and weathering on the red planet. Would like to see what some of those Martian rocks looked like, dusted off.
More weird looking stuff on Mars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL5PWjdq ... e=youtu.be
What the heck is that?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL5PWjdq ... e=youtu.be
What the heck is that?
Mythopoeika
I am a meat popsicle
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2001
- Messages
- 51,663
- Location
- Inside a starship, watching puny humans from afar
That whole area looks like an ancient lava field, and it's possible that the object is a pyroclastic extrusion (i.e. some lava that got frozen in position very quickly after erupting up from the surface).
kamalktk
Antediluvian
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2011
- Messages
- 7,220
Space enthusiasts may have found the lost Soviet Mars 3 probe by searching NASA photos
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/Has-the-Mars-3-Lander-Been-Found-202642311.html
"More than four decades ago, the Soviet Union dropped a heavily instrumented craft onto the Martian surface intact — only to have it fall silent seconds later. After a prolonged search, a group of Russian space enthusiasts think they've finally spotted it in NASA imagery. "
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/Has-the-Mars-3-Lander-Been-Found-202642311.html
"More than four decades ago, the Soviet Union dropped a heavily instrumented craft onto the Martian surface intact — only to have it fall silent seconds later. After a prolonged search, a group of Russian space enthusiasts think they've finally spotted it in NASA imagery. "
Here's an interesting time lapse video - Curiosity's first year on Mars compressed into two minutes:
http://media.smh.com.au/selections/curi ... 23295.html
http://media.smh.com.au/selections/curi ... 23295.html
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Curiosity rover's methane result challenges life theory
By Jonathan Amos, Science correspondent, BBC News
The Curiosity rover's failure to detect methane on Mars is a blow to theories that the planet may still host some types of life, say mission scientists.
Telescopes and satellites have reported seeing small but significant volumes of the gas, but the six-wheeled robot can pick up no such trace.
On Earth, 95% of atmospheric methane is produced by microbial organisms.
Researchers have hung on to the hope that the molecule's signature at Mars might also indicate a life presence.
The inability of Curiosity's sophisticated instrumentation to make this detection is likely now to dent this optimism.
"Based on previous measurements, we were expecting to go there and find 10 parts per billion (ppbv) or more, and we were excited about finding it. So when you go to search for something and you don't find it, there's a sense of disappointment," said Dr Chris Webster, the principal investigator on Curiosity's Tuneable Laser Spectrometer (TLS).
The Nasa rover's search is reported online in a paper published by Science Magazine.
Curiosity has been sucking in Martian air and scanning its components since shortly after landing in August 2012.
From these tests, it has not been possible to discern any methane to within the present limits of the TLS's sensitivity.
This means that if the gas is there, it can constitute no more than 1.3ppbv of the atmosphere - equivalent to just over 10,000 tonnes of the gas.
This upper limit is about six times lower than the previous estimates of what should be present, based on the satellite and telescope observations.
The number of 1.3ppbv is very low, and will put a question mark against the robustness of those earlier measurements.
The fact that Curiosity is working at ground level and in one location should not matter, as the Martian atmosphere is known to mix well over the course of half a year.
Methane at Mars could have a number of possible sources, of course - not just microbial activity.
It could be delivered by comets or asteroids, or produced internally by geological processes.
But it is the link to life that has most intrigued planetary scientists.
Earth's atmosphere contains billions of tonnes of methane, the vast majority of it coming from microbes, such as the bacteria found in the digestive tracts of animals.
The speculation has been that some methane-producing bugs, or methanogens, could perhaps exist on Mars if they lived underground, away from the planet's harsh surface conditions.
This theory was bolstered by the previous observations making their detections in spring-time. It was suggested that the seasonal rise in temperatures was melting surface ices and allowing trapped methane to rise into the atmosphere in plumes.
But in Dr Webster's view, Curiosity's inability to detect appreciable amounts of methane now makes this scenario much less likely.
"This observation doesn't rule out the possibility of current microbial activity, [but] it lowers the probability certainly that methanogens are the source of that activity," he told the BBC's Science In Action Programme.
Or as team-member Prof Sushil Atreya, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, put it: "There could still be other types of microbes on Mars. This just makes it harder for there to be microbes that kick out methane."
Dr Geronimo Villanueva is affiliated to the Catholic University of America and is based at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center.
He studies the Martian atmosphere using telescopes here on Earth. He cautioned that additional, much more precise measurements were needed from the rover before firm conclusions could be drawn.
"This is an evolving story as we get more numbers," he told BBC News.
"If Curiosity's statistics hold, it's important because it sets a new bound. Methane should last a long time in the atmosphere and the fact that the rover doesn't see it puts a big constraint on possible releases. But I would like to see more and better Curiosity results, and more orbiter results as well."
Dr Olivier Witasse is the project scientist on the European Space Agency's (Esa) Mars Express satellite, which made the very first claimed methane detection back in 2003.
He also said much more data was required.
"There is some indication from the Mars Express data - and it has not been published yet because it's a very complicated measurement - that the methane might peak at a certain altitude, at 25-40km. The Curiosity results are interesting but they have not yet settled the issue."
Esa has its ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter launching in 2016, which will be able to make further methane searchers. And the Indian space agency (Isro) is due to despatch its Mangalyaan probe to the Red Planet later this year. This, too, has methane detection high on its list of objectives.
Curiosity itself will work to improve its readings, and will shortly deploy an "enrichment" process that will amplify any methane signal that might be present.
"We can lower that upper limit down to tens of parts per trillion, maybe 50 parts per trillion," said Dr Webster.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24165219
By Jonathan Amos, Science correspondent, BBC News
The Curiosity rover's failure to detect methane on Mars is a blow to theories that the planet may still host some types of life, say mission scientists.
Telescopes and satellites have reported seeing small but significant volumes of the gas, but the six-wheeled robot can pick up no such trace.
On Earth, 95% of atmospheric methane is produced by microbial organisms.
Researchers have hung on to the hope that the molecule's signature at Mars might also indicate a life presence.
The inability of Curiosity's sophisticated instrumentation to make this detection is likely now to dent this optimism.
"Based on previous measurements, we were expecting to go there and find 10 parts per billion (ppbv) or more, and we were excited about finding it. So when you go to search for something and you don't find it, there's a sense of disappointment," said Dr Chris Webster, the principal investigator on Curiosity's Tuneable Laser Spectrometer (TLS).
The Nasa rover's search is reported online in a paper published by Science Magazine.
Curiosity has been sucking in Martian air and scanning its components since shortly after landing in August 2012.
From these tests, it has not been possible to discern any methane to within the present limits of the TLS's sensitivity.
This means that if the gas is there, it can constitute no more than 1.3ppbv of the atmosphere - equivalent to just over 10,000 tonnes of the gas.
This upper limit is about six times lower than the previous estimates of what should be present, based on the satellite and telescope observations.
The number of 1.3ppbv is very low, and will put a question mark against the robustness of those earlier measurements.
The fact that Curiosity is working at ground level and in one location should not matter, as the Martian atmosphere is known to mix well over the course of half a year.
Methane at Mars could have a number of possible sources, of course - not just microbial activity.
It could be delivered by comets or asteroids, or produced internally by geological processes.
But it is the link to life that has most intrigued planetary scientists.
Earth's atmosphere contains billions of tonnes of methane, the vast majority of it coming from microbes, such as the bacteria found in the digestive tracts of animals.
The speculation has been that some methane-producing bugs, or methanogens, could perhaps exist on Mars if they lived underground, away from the planet's harsh surface conditions.
This theory was bolstered by the previous observations making their detections in spring-time. It was suggested that the seasonal rise in temperatures was melting surface ices and allowing trapped methane to rise into the atmosphere in plumes.
But in Dr Webster's view, Curiosity's inability to detect appreciable amounts of methane now makes this scenario much less likely.
"This observation doesn't rule out the possibility of current microbial activity, [but] it lowers the probability certainly that methanogens are the source of that activity," he told the BBC's Science In Action Programme.
Or as team-member Prof Sushil Atreya, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, put it: "There could still be other types of microbes on Mars. This just makes it harder for there to be microbes that kick out methane."
Dr Geronimo Villanueva is affiliated to the Catholic University of America and is based at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center.
He studies the Martian atmosphere using telescopes here on Earth. He cautioned that additional, much more precise measurements were needed from the rover before firm conclusions could be drawn.
"This is an evolving story as we get more numbers," he told BBC News.
"If Curiosity's statistics hold, it's important because it sets a new bound. Methane should last a long time in the atmosphere and the fact that the rover doesn't see it puts a big constraint on possible releases. But I would like to see more and better Curiosity results, and more orbiter results as well."
Dr Olivier Witasse is the project scientist on the European Space Agency's (Esa) Mars Express satellite, which made the very first claimed methane detection back in 2003.
He also said much more data was required.
"There is some indication from the Mars Express data - and it has not been published yet because it's a very complicated measurement - that the methane might peak at a certain altitude, at 25-40km. The Curiosity results are interesting but they have not yet settled the issue."
Esa has its ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter launching in 2016, which will be able to make further methane searchers. And the Indian space agency (Isro) is due to despatch its Mangalyaan probe to the Red Planet later this year. This, too, has methane detection high on its list of objectives.
Curiosity itself will work to improve its readings, and will shortly deploy an "enrichment" process that will amplify any methane signal that might be present.
"We can lower that upper limit down to tens of parts per trillion, maybe 50 parts per trillion," said Dr Webster.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24165219
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
India Mars launch stokes Asian space race with China
By Pallab Ghosh, Science correspondent, BBC News
The upcoming launch of a spacecraft to Mars by India is likely to stoke the fires of a burgeoning Asian space race.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is making its final preparations to send an orbiter to the Red Planet.
The principal aim is to test out India's space technology to see if this emerging space-faring nation is capable of interplanetary missions.
The spacecraft will also collect scientific information about the planet's atmosphere and surface.
The Mangalyaan probe was to have been launched as early as 28 October, but rough weather in the Pacific forced officials to delay the launch by a week. The unmanned mission has a launch window lasting until 19 November.
If the mission succeeds, ISRO will become only the fourth space agency, after those in the US, Europe and Russia to have successfully sent a spacecraft to Mars.
According to Pallava Bagla, science editor of New Delhi television news and author of a book about India's space efforts, Destination Moon, the country's public are especially excited about the possibility of beating China to the Red Planet.
"If India does beat China to Mars you can imagine the national pride," he told BBC News.
The mission was announced in August last year by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his independence day speech, delivered from the ramparts of one of New Delhi's most iconic buildings - the Red Fort.
"Anything said from the ramparts of the Red Fort is always replete with national pride and national pride is written very largely and boldly on this mission," according to Mr Bagla.
In 2011, a Chinese attempt to send a spacecraft named Yinghou-1 to Mars was aborted because of a technical problem. The Indian space agency then fast-tracked its Mars mission, called Mangalyaan, readying it in just 15 months.
India has had a space programme for more than 30 years. Until recently, its priority has been to develop technologies that would directly help its poor population, such as improving its telecommunications infrastructure and environmental monitoring with satellites.
But in 2008, ISRO translated its formidable capability to build and launch satellites toward exploration and send a probe to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1. The lunar mission cost more than £55m. Now the government has spent a further £60m to go to Mars.
Some have questioned the government's shift away from building infrastructure towards exploration, and wonder whether the money could have been better spent. It is a point that draws this robust response from Mr Bagla:
"You can't bring the 400 million people who live in poverty in India out of poverty with this £60 million," he says.
The shift towards exploration is also a hard-headed one by officials in the hope that it will have clear economic benefits, according to Prof Andrew Coates, who rejoices in the impressive title of "Head of the Solar System" at the Mullard Space Sciences Laboratory in Surrey, part of University College London.
"The exploration programme gives them something very high to aim for. If they can show the world they have what it takes to send spacecraft to other planets they can begin to sell launches and space on its launch vehicles to scientific organisations. It also brings India to the table of international space science exploration," Prof Coates explained.
Developing satellites and developing launchers is now big business. If India, or for that matter China, ease up on their investments in space exploration there is a risk that they could lose out, not least on the vital expertise that this cutting edge endeavour brings to their respective countries.
Sandeep Chachra, executive director of the poverty eradication charity Action Aid in India believes that investment in space exploration could potentially benefit the country's poorest.
"Investing in new technology, including space technology is an important part of the aspirations for an economy such as India. Developing a sophisticated technological base in a country with this level of poverty is not a simplistic contradiction " he told BBC News.
"What is important is to harness the advances that science and technology bring for the greater good and to use those advances to overcome ingrained poverty and build hope for future generations".
China though remains the greater power in space. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has a well developed astronaut programme and an orbiting laboratory called Tiangong-1. The CNSA is planning to send its Chang'e-3 spacecraft and accompanying rover to the Moon in December.
The mission is part of an ambitious plan to send more robotic probes to the Moon with a view to eventually sending astronauts to the lunar surface.
The Japanese Space Agency (Jaxa) is also a major force in the region. It is by far the most experienced Asian space agency, with numerous unmanned scientific interplanetary missions under its belt.
"India, China and Japan are certainly eyeing each other up," says Prof Coates.
The growing rivalry is likely to see a new boom in space exploration - one that will eventually lead to more collaborative missions between the emerging space-faring nations in Asia. That might eventually lead to a truly global effort to send astronauts to Mars.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24550971
By Pallab Ghosh, Science correspondent, BBC News
The upcoming launch of a spacecraft to Mars by India is likely to stoke the fires of a burgeoning Asian space race.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is making its final preparations to send an orbiter to the Red Planet.
The principal aim is to test out India's space technology to see if this emerging space-faring nation is capable of interplanetary missions.
The spacecraft will also collect scientific information about the planet's atmosphere and surface.
The Mangalyaan probe was to have been launched as early as 28 October, but rough weather in the Pacific forced officials to delay the launch by a week. The unmanned mission has a launch window lasting until 19 November.
If the mission succeeds, ISRO will become only the fourth space agency, after those in the US, Europe and Russia to have successfully sent a spacecraft to Mars.
According to Pallava Bagla, science editor of New Delhi television news and author of a book about India's space efforts, Destination Moon, the country's public are especially excited about the possibility of beating China to the Red Planet.
"If India does beat China to Mars you can imagine the national pride," he told BBC News.
The mission was announced in August last year by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his independence day speech, delivered from the ramparts of one of New Delhi's most iconic buildings - the Red Fort.
"Anything said from the ramparts of the Red Fort is always replete with national pride and national pride is written very largely and boldly on this mission," according to Mr Bagla.
In 2011, a Chinese attempt to send a spacecraft named Yinghou-1 to Mars was aborted because of a technical problem. The Indian space agency then fast-tracked its Mars mission, called Mangalyaan, readying it in just 15 months.
India has had a space programme for more than 30 years. Until recently, its priority has been to develop technologies that would directly help its poor population, such as improving its telecommunications infrastructure and environmental monitoring with satellites.
But in 2008, ISRO translated its formidable capability to build and launch satellites toward exploration and send a probe to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1. The lunar mission cost more than £55m. Now the government has spent a further £60m to go to Mars.
Some have questioned the government's shift away from building infrastructure towards exploration, and wonder whether the money could have been better spent. It is a point that draws this robust response from Mr Bagla:
"You can't bring the 400 million people who live in poverty in India out of poverty with this £60 million," he says.
The shift towards exploration is also a hard-headed one by officials in the hope that it will have clear economic benefits, according to Prof Andrew Coates, who rejoices in the impressive title of "Head of the Solar System" at the Mullard Space Sciences Laboratory in Surrey, part of University College London.
"The exploration programme gives them something very high to aim for. If they can show the world they have what it takes to send spacecraft to other planets they can begin to sell launches and space on its launch vehicles to scientific organisations. It also brings India to the table of international space science exploration," Prof Coates explained.
Developing satellites and developing launchers is now big business. If India, or for that matter China, ease up on their investments in space exploration there is a risk that they could lose out, not least on the vital expertise that this cutting edge endeavour brings to their respective countries.
Sandeep Chachra, executive director of the poverty eradication charity Action Aid in India believes that investment in space exploration could potentially benefit the country's poorest.
"Investing in new technology, including space technology is an important part of the aspirations for an economy such as India. Developing a sophisticated technological base in a country with this level of poverty is not a simplistic contradiction " he told BBC News.
"What is important is to harness the advances that science and technology bring for the greater good and to use those advances to overcome ingrained poverty and build hope for future generations".
China though remains the greater power in space. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has a well developed astronaut programme and an orbiting laboratory called Tiangong-1. The CNSA is planning to send its Chang'e-3 spacecraft and accompanying rover to the Moon in December.
The mission is part of an ambitious plan to send more robotic probes to the Moon with a view to eventually sending astronauts to the lunar surface.
The Japanese Space Agency (Jaxa) is also a major force in the region. It is by far the most experienced Asian space agency, with numerous unmanned scientific interplanetary missions under its belt.
"India, China and Japan are certainly eyeing each other up," says Prof Coates.
The growing rivalry is likely to see a new boom in space exploration - one that will eventually lead to more collaborative missions between the emerging space-faring nations in Asia. That might eventually lead to a truly global effort to send astronauts to Mars.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24550971
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
India readies Mars probe for launch
India is preparing to launch a robotic spacecraft towards the Red Planet - a first for the South Asian country.
The head of India's space agency told the BBC the mission would demonstrate the technological capability to reach Mars orbit and carry out experiments.
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) will lift off at 09:08 GMT atop an Indian-built rocket from Sriharikota.
If launch goes well, the spacecraft is set to travel for 300 days and should reach Mars orbit in September 2014.
If all goes well and the satellite orbits the Red Planet, India's space agency will become the fourth in the world after those of the US, Russia and Europe to undertake a successful Mars mission.
A 56-hour countdown to the launch began on Sunday.
Some observers are viewing the launch of the MOM, also known by the informal name of Mangalyaan (Mars-craft), as the latest salvo in a burgeoning space race between the Asian powers of India, China, Japan, South Korea and others.
Prof Andrew Coates, from the UK's Mullard Space Science Laboratory, told BBC News: "I think this mission really brings India to the table of international space exploration. Interplanetary exploration is certainly not trivial to do, and [India] has found some interesting scientific niches to make some measurements in."
Those niche areas include searching for the signature of methane (CH4) in the Martian atmosphere, which has previously been detected from Martian orbit and telescopes on Earth. However, Nasa's Curiosity rover recently failed to find the gas in its measurements of atmospheric gases.
CH4 has a short lifetime in the Martian atmosphere, meaning that some source on the Red Planet must replenish it. Intriguingly, some 95% of atmospheric methane on Earth is produced by microbes, which has led some to propose the possibility of a biosphere deep beneath the Martian surface. But the gas can be produced by geological processes too, most notably by volcanism.
Definitive conclusions are likely to be elusive, but the spacecraft's Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM) instrument will aim to make measurements and map any potential sources of methane "plumes".
The spacecraft will also examine the rate of loss of atmospheric gases to outer space. This could provide insights into the planet's history; billions of years ago, the envelope of gases around Mars is thought to have been more substantial.
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24729073
India is preparing to launch a robotic spacecraft towards the Red Planet - a first for the South Asian country.
The head of India's space agency told the BBC the mission would demonstrate the technological capability to reach Mars orbit and carry out experiments.
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) will lift off at 09:08 GMT atop an Indian-built rocket from Sriharikota.
If launch goes well, the spacecraft is set to travel for 300 days and should reach Mars orbit in September 2014.
If all goes well and the satellite orbits the Red Planet, India's space agency will become the fourth in the world after those of the US, Russia and Europe to undertake a successful Mars mission.
A 56-hour countdown to the launch began on Sunday.
Some observers are viewing the launch of the MOM, also known by the informal name of Mangalyaan (Mars-craft), as the latest salvo in a burgeoning space race between the Asian powers of India, China, Japan, South Korea and others.
Prof Andrew Coates, from the UK's Mullard Space Science Laboratory, told BBC News: "I think this mission really brings India to the table of international space exploration. Interplanetary exploration is certainly not trivial to do, and [India] has found some interesting scientific niches to make some measurements in."
Those niche areas include searching for the signature of methane (CH4) in the Martian atmosphere, which has previously been detected from Martian orbit and telescopes on Earth. However, Nasa's Curiosity rover recently failed to find the gas in its measurements of atmospheric gases.
CH4 has a short lifetime in the Martian atmosphere, meaning that some source on the Red Planet must replenish it. Intriguingly, some 95% of atmospheric methane on Earth is produced by microbes, which has led some to propose the possibility of a biosphere deep beneath the Martian surface. But the gas can be produced by geological processes too, most notably by volcanism.
Definitive conclusions are likely to be elusive, but the spacecraft's Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM) instrument will aim to make measurements and map any potential sources of methane "plumes".
The spacecraft will also examine the rate of loss of atmospheric gases to outer space. This could provide insights into the planet's history; billions of years ago, the envelope of gases around Mars is thought to have been more substantial.
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24729073
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Lao-tzu.
India launches Mars mission in giant leap for super cheap space exploration
India has launched its first mission to Mars on Tuesday in what its leaders hope will be a giant leap forward for super cheap space exploration
By Dean Nelson, Delhi
9:53AM GMT 05 Nov 2013
Scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched their Mars Orbiter Mission on Tuesday, amid celebrations at mission control.
As the launch vehicle soared spaceward scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) could be heard shouting "Buriah!" – brilliant.
Indian scientists hailed the launch as a success and said they hoped it would herald a new era of low-cost space exploration.
"I’ve no doubt the mission has been worthwhile and the credit for it goes to the scientists at the space department,” said Dr P.M Bhargava.
The ‘Mangalyaan’ or Mars Orbiter was launched on an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, at Sriharikota, on the Andhra Pradesh coast, at 14.38 Indian time.
...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ation.html
India launches Mars mission in giant leap for super cheap space exploration
India has launched its first mission to Mars on Tuesday in what its leaders hope will be a giant leap forward for super cheap space exploration
By Dean Nelson, Delhi
9:53AM GMT 05 Nov 2013
Scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched their Mars Orbiter Mission on Tuesday, amid celebrations at mission control.
As the launch vehicle soared spaceward scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) could be heard shouting "Buriah!" – brilliant.
Indian scientists hailed the launch as a success and said they hoped it would herald a new era of low-cost space exploration.
"I’ve no doubt the mission has been worthwhile and the credit for it goes to the scientists at the space department,” said Dr P.M Bhargava.
The ‘Mangalyaan’ or Mars Orbiter was launched on an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, at Sriharikota, on the Andhra Pradesh coast, at 14.38 Indian time.
...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ation.html
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
November 5th, a good day for launching rockets.. 
And now, the video:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24815426
And now, the video:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24815426
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Some more details:
In one sense, India was left in a quandary because of the failure of its most powerful launcher, the first choice to loft the MOM into orbit. It meant the country's space agency could no longer fire the satellite directly out of Earth's atmosphere.
As a fuel-saving alternative, the spacecraft will circle Earth in an elliptical orbit for nearly a month, building up the necessary velocity to break free from our planet's gravitational pull.
The formal name for the route MOM will take to Mars is a "Hohmann Transfer Orbit". The spacecraft takes advantage of a favourable planetary alignment, carrying out six small engine burns over November to lift it to a higher orbit before a final burn sends it off on an interplanetary trajectory.
The difficulty of visiting the Red Planet will not be lost on Indian officials; just under half the total attempts to reach Mars have succeeded. But Prof Coates said the planned mechanics for getting to Mars were on a sound footing, and that the probe stood a good chance as long as its engines fired correctly.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24729073
In one sense, India was left in a quandary because of the failure of its most powerful launcher, the first choice to loft the MOM into orbit. It meant the country's space agency could no longer fire the satellite directly out of Earth's atmosphere.
As a fuel-saving alternative, the spacecraft will circle Earth in an elliptical orbit for nearly a month, building up the necessary velocity to break free from our planet's gravitational pull.
The formal name for the route MOM will take to Mars is a "Hohmann Transfer Orbit". The spacecraft takes advantage of a favourable planetary alignment, carrying out six small engine burns over November to lift it to a higher orbit before a final burn sends it off on an interplanetary trajectory.
The difficulty of visiting the Red Planet will not be lost on Indian officials; just under half the total attempts to reach Mars have succeeded. But Prof Coates said the planned mechanics for getting to Mars were on a sound footing, and that the probe stood a good chance as long as its engines fired correctly.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24729073
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
India Mars probe makes first engine burn
By Paul Rincon, Science editor, BBC News website
After a successful launch on Tuesday, India's Mars spacecraft has carried out the first of six crucial engine firings in Earth orbit.
The probe performed the firing with its liquid fuel thruster at 19:47 GMT on Wednesday (Thursday 1:17 IST).
The aim is to gradually build up the necessary velocity to break free from our planet's gravitational pull.
If the firings succeed, the spacecraft will travel for 300 days, ready for entering Mars orbit in 2014.
K. Radhakrishnan, head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), told the Times of India that the spacecraft was in "excellent health".
After lift-off, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was placed into an elliptical parking orbit around Earth with a perigee (the point in the orbit closest to Earth) of 248.4 km and an apogee (the point farthest away) of 23,550 km.
The six major thruster firings are designed to manoeuvre the MOM into a so-called hyperbolic trajectory so that the probe escapes the Earth's sphere of influence.
After a 10-month journey, the probe will arrive at Mars on 24 September next year. (The engine will be fired again to slow down the spacecraft, enabling it to be captured by the planet's gravity and place it into Martian orbit.)
Four further manoeuvres between 8 and 16 November will raise the craft's apogee to 192,000km.
"It's going to be a large sequence of events," said Mr Radhakrishnan.
On 1 December, the engine will be fired again for its "trans-Martian injection", sending the craft on its way to the Red Planet.
...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24851242
By Paul Rincon, Science editor, BBC News website
After a successful launch on Tuesday, India's Mars spacecraft has carried out the first of six crucial engine firings in Earth orbit.
The probe performed the firing with its liquid fuel thruster at 19:47 GMT on Wednesday (Thursday 1:17 IST).
The aim is to gradually build up the necessary velocity to break free from our planet's gravitational pull.
If the firings succeed, the spacecraft will travel for 300 days, ready for entering Mars orbit in 2014.
K. Radhakrishnan, head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), told the Times of India that the spacecraft was in "excellent health".
After lift-off, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was placed into an elliptical parking orbit around Earth with a perigee (the point in the orbit closest to Earth) of 248.4 km and an apogee (the point farthest away) of 23,550 km.
The six major thruster firings are designed to manoeuvre the MOM into a so-called hyperbolic trajectory so that the probe escapes the Earth's sphere of influence.
After a 10-month journey, the probe will arrive at Mars on 24 September next year. (The engine will be fired again to slow down the spacecraft, enabling it to be captured by the planet's gravity and place it into Martian orbit.)
Four further manoeuvres between 8 and 16 November will raise the craft's apogee to 192,000km.
"It's going to be a large sequence of events," said Mr Radhakrishnan.
On 1 December, the engine will be fired again for its "trans-Martian injection", sending the craft on its way to the Red Planet.
...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24851242
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Indian probe begins journey to Mars
India's mission to Mars has embarked on its 300-day journey to the Red Planet.
Early on Sunday the spacecraft fired its main engine for more than 20 minutes, giving it the correct velocity to leave Earth's orbit.
It will now cruise for 680m km (422m miles), setting up an encounter with its target on 24 September 2014.
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as Mangalyaan, is designed to demonstrate the technological capability to reach Mars orbit.
But the $72m (£45m) probe will also carry out experiments, including a search for methane gas in the planet's atmosphere.
MOM tweeted: "Earth orbiting phase of the #Mangalyaan ended and now is on a course to encounter Mars after a journey of about 10 months around the Sun."
Since launch on 5 November, the craft has progressively raised its orbit around Earth with a series of engine burns.
The manoeuvres were all successful apart from the fourth, carried out on 11 November, during which a problem with the liquid fuel thruster caused the MOM to fall short of the mark.
But the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has made plans for the eventuality that changes need to be made to the 1,350kg spacecraft's course.
"We have planned right now four mid-course corrections; first one will be around December 11 - plus or minus a couple of days depending on the deviation," the NDTV news channel reported V Koteswara Rao, Isro's scientific secretary, as saying.
On Earth, the majority of atmospheric methane (CH4) is produced by living organisms. The gas has previously been detected in Mars's atmosphere by orbiting spacecraft and by telescopes on Earth.
But Nasa's rover Curiosity recently failed to find the gas in its atmospheric measurements.
If the MOM can detect methane, one possible source could be Martian microbes, perhaps living deep beneath the surface. But CH4 can also be produced by geological processes, including volcanism.
India's PSLV rocket - the second choice for the mission after a beefier launcher failed - was not powerful enough to send the MOM on a direct flight to Mars.
So engineers opted for a method of travel called a Hohmann Transfer Orbit to propel the spacecraft from Earth to Mars with the least amount of fuel possible.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25163113
India's mission to Mars has embarked on its 300-day journey to the Red Planet.
Early on Sunday the spacecraft fired its main engine for more than 20 minutes, giving it the correct velocity to leave Earth's orbit.
It will now cruise for 680m km (422m miles), setting up an encounter with its target on 24 September 2014.
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as Mangalyaan, is designed to demonstrate the technological capability to reach Mars orbit.
But the $72m (£45m) probe will also carry out experiments, including a search for methane gas in the planet's atmosphere.
MOM tweeted: "Earth orbiting phase of the #Mangalyaan ended and now is on a course to encounter Mars after a journey of about 10 months around the Sun."
Since launch on 5 November, the craft has progressively raised its orbit around Earth with a series of engine burns.
The manoeuvres were all successful apart from the fourth, carried out on 11 November, during which a problem with the liquid fuel thruster caused the MOM to fall short of the mark.
But the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has made plans for the eventuality that changes need to be made to the 1,350kg spacecraft's course.
"We have planned right now four mid-course corrections; first one will be around December 11 - plus or minus a couple of days depending on the deviation," the NDTV news channel reported V Koteswara Rao, Isro's scientific secretary, as saying.
On Earth, the majority of atmospheric methane (CH4) is produced by living organisms. The gas has previously been detected in Mars's atmosphere by orbiting spacecraft and by telescopes on Earth.
But Nasa's rover Curiosity recently failed to find the gas in its atmospheric measurements.
If the MOM can detect methane, one possible source could be Martian microbes, perhaps living deep beneath the surface. But CH4 can also be produced by geological processes, including volcanism.
India's PSLV rocket - the second choice for the mission after a beefier launcher failed - was not powerful enough to send the MOM on a direct flight to Mars.
So engineers opted for a method of travel called a Hohmann Transfer Orbit to propel the spacecraft from Earth to Mars with the least amount of fuel possible.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25163113
kamalktk
Antediluvian
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2011
- Messages
- 7,220
It wasn't there two sols ago, now it is....
Mystery Rock 'Appears' in Front of Mars Rover
http://news.discovery.com/space/mystery-rock-appears-in-front-of-mars-rover-140117.htm
Mystery Rock 'Appears' in Front of Mars Rover
http://news.discovery.com/space/mystery-rock-appears-in-front-of-mars-rover-140117.htm
kamalktk
Antediluvian
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2011
- Messages
- 7,220
Mars gets 4 meter diameter craters approximately 200 times a year.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57618515-1/new-image-of-mars-crater-is-well-striking/
Here's the problem with living on Mars someday: You're sitting in your lawn chair in your fully self-contained envirosuit, sipping a marstini (see what I did there?) through your suit's built-in straw module and then WHAM! A space rock slams into the ground next to you ruining a perfectly good time.
It's likely to happen, as NASA recently concluded that space rocks causing craters in excess of 12 feet in diameter rocket into the planet about 200 times per year. Mars lacks Earth's protective atmosphere, so instead of burning up at higher altitudes, the rocks are free to fall straight into the Martian soil and -- blammo! -- there goes cocktail hour.
One of the most recent impacts to our red neighbor, seen in the photo above, was caught by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera that's attached to NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The photo was taken in November but just released this week, and the impact to the Martian surface was believed to have taken place sometime between July 2010 and May 2012.
Debris (known as ejecta) from the space rock is thought to have been thrown as far away as 9.3 miles from the impact site, which (for those of you who want to Martian-GPS it), was at 3.7 degrees north latitude, 53.4 degrees east longitude.
The HiRISE camera is one of six instruments on NASA's Orbiter, which has been circling Mars since early 2006. The camera was developed by scientists at the University of Arizona and is the most powerful camera to ever orbit another planet. This is not the first time the camera has sent back striking images of our planetary neighbor. Just check out the spectacular images here and here.
By the way, Mars' misfortune is good news for astronomy buffs, who can download an image of the new crater for use as computer wallpaper here.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57618515-1/new-image-of-mars-crater-is-well-striking/
Here's the problem with living on Mars someday: You're sitting in your lawn chair in your fully self-contained envirosuit, sipping a marstini (see what I did there?) through your suit's built-in straw module and then WHAM! A space rock slams into the ground next to you ruining a perfectly good time.
It's likely to happen, as NASA recently concluded that space rocks causing craters in excess of 12 feet in diameter rocket into the planet about 200 times per year. Mars lacks Earth's protective atmosphere, so instead of burning up at higher altitudes, the rocks are free to fall straight into the Martian soil and -- blammo! -- there goes cocktail hour.
One of the most recent impacts to our red neighbor, seen in the photo above, was caught by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera that's attached to NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The photo was taken in November but just released this week, and the impact to the Martian surface was believed to have taken place sometime between July 2010 and May 2012.
Debris (known as ejecta) from the space rock is thought to have been thrown as far away as 9.3 miles from the impact site, which (for those of you who want to Martian-GPS it), was at 3.7 degrees north latitude, 53.4 degrees east longitude.
The HiRISE camera is one of six instruments on NASA's Orbiter, which has been circling Mars since early 2006. The camera was developed by scientists at the University of Arizona and is the most powerful camera to ever orbit another planet. This is not the first time the camera has sent back striking images of our planetary neighbor. Just check out the spectacular images here and here.
By the way, Mars' misfortune is good news for astronomy buffs, who can download an image of the new crater for use as computer wallpaper here.
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2003
- Messages
- 58,226
- Location
- Eblana
McAvennie
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2003
- Messages
- 3,998
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/scien ... 48801.html
Shiny object is just a rock reflecting sunlight. Could a rock really make that much reflection? Sure if it was an incredibly smooth rock hit at the right angle?
Who knows, seems a bit of a fetch but then so does an actual entity living on Mars and hiding away in the background.
Shiny object is just a rock reflecting sunlight. Could a rock really make that much reflection? Sure if it was an incredibly smooth rock hit at the right angle?
Who knows, seems a bit of a fetch but then so does an actual entity living on Mars and hiding away in the background.
OneWingedBird
Beloved of Ra
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2003
- Messages
- 15,431
Phil Plait reckoned it was a cosmic ray hitting the camera, although there's a number of other possibilities.
Mythopoeika
I am a meat popsicle
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2001
- Messages
- 51,663
- Location
- Inside a starship, watching puny humans from afar
It's entirely possible that it's a volcanic outcrop of crystals (e.g. quartz). The multiple facets of each crystal would reflect light very well.
Mythopoeika
I am a meat popsicle
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2001
- Messages
- 51,663
- Location
- Inside a starship, watching puny humans from afar
rynner2 said:
Who's saying that all of them are aligned the same way?
Analogue Boy
Bar 6
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2005
- Messages
- 13,537
Surely the point of a rover is to go and rove and look at it closely.
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2003
- Messages
- 58,226
- Location
- Eblana
jimv1 said:
Yeah they should have sent a dog.
McAvennie
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2003
- Messages
- 3,998
jimv1 said:
This is what I always think. These things are always sending back pictures of stuff off in the distance that look curious but then they never go for a closer look.
It's like they have a pre-programmed path and if nothing is on that path then tough luck.