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..only they're mostly covered with dust from dust storms.

Remember the patch of ice in a crater? It's supposedly up to 200 meters thick. On Earth, that would be a glacier. What else could it be?

a reference I found too late for the previous post, that leads to others --the ESA study EUNEOS: http://spaceguard.esa.int/tumblingstone/issues/num19/eng/euneos.htm

Ah, this particular device. Well, it uses solar power and (according to TFA) 40 kg of Xenon, which will last for 20 months, providing constant thrust. I'm not sure how you'd go about determining the efficiency in any meaningful way.

I guess you could sum up the weight of ion thrusters, Xenon tanks and extra solar panels needed by it, and compare that to weight of a chemical rocket thrusters and rocket fuel capable of giving same average thrust for the same perioid of time.

However, if we just consider Xenon (exhaust velocity 50km/s) vs. Hydrazine (exhaust velocity 1km/s) and forget engine mass, then 40kg Xenon is worth 2000kg of hydrazine. Since the entire craft weight is only 1000kg, I'd say Xenon ion engine is much more efficient.

Actually, it's not a completely new piece of information that the Black Hole at the center of our Galaxy - or its immediate surroundings, if you want to be nitpicky - was much more active
some 300+ years ago. See http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Integral/SEMSKPO3E4E_0.html

28 January 2005

The centre of our galaxy has been known for years to host a black hole, a 'super-massive' yet very quiet one.

New observations with Integral, ESA's gamma-ray observatory, have now revealed that 350 years ago the black hole was much more active, releasing a million times more energy than at present. Scientists expect that it will become active again in the future.

But it seems the authors of the current scientific publication missed the earlier result.

Asteroids come with retroreflectors preinstalled? Asteroids provide such a predictable environment that the exact same approach can be rehearsed countless times in a lab beforehand?

IMHO, the DARPA Urban Grand Challenge moved the science closer to unpredictable real-world mining than this. (though admittedly, both relied heavily on laser rangefinders)

The module is not designed to survive re-entry. ESA is studying a modified version that allows re-entry with a crew on board.

'Human launch capability' also depends on the launch rocket. I suspect the Ariane V isn't man-rated. That may be a matter of certification, or the G-loading may be too high for humans.

If you're European then you can either be an excellent pilot from the military, or an excellent scientist: http://www.esa.int/esaHS/ESA1RMGBCLC_astronauts_0.html

(Actually, you have to be more than European. You have to be a citizen of one of the countries that finances the astronauts, which currently doesn't include my country. Which yesterday suggested they'd remove the funding to the worlds second best telescope array)

Here, see for yourself. No complicated science, just photos:

http://www.everybodysweather.com/Static_Media/Polar_Ice_Cap_Melter/index.htm

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/1023esuice.html (scroll down)

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/09/15/arctic.nwestpssg/index.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060914-arctic-ice.html

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/arctic-20070515.html

http://geology.com/nasa/antarctic-ice-sheet-melting.shtml

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMYTC13J6F_index_0.html (scroll down)

NASA also provided the Radio Isotope Generator. Almost all of the data from the Spacecraft comes via NASA's Deep Space Network, rather than via ESTRACK.

Their site is amazing! It shows all of the instruments and links to the data they've provided directly. For instance, the DUST instrument measures dust impact events (imagine that). You can use the heliocentric latitude and longitude for these thousands of events to track the spacecraft position throughout it's 17 year journey. A nice readme file explains the structure of the data file. That's just one of the 12 scientific instruments. Very cool stuff...

On another note, why are people saying four times as long as they expected? 17 years is closer to three times the original five years than four. You can't really say it's lasted four times as long as expected until after it has lasted 20 years.

Their site is amazing! It shows all of the instruments and links to the data they've provided directly. For instance, the DUST instrument measures dust impact events (imagine that). You can use the heliocentric latitude and longitude for these thousands of events to track the spacecraft position throughout it's 17 year journey. A nice readme file explains the structure of the data file. That's just one of the 12 scientific instruments. Very cool stuff...

On another note, why are people saying four times as long as they expected? 17 years is closer to three times the original five years than four. You can't really say it's lasted four times as long as expected until after it has lasted 20 years.

Their site is amazing! It shows all of the instruments and links to the data they've provided directly. For instance, the DUST instrument measures dust impact events (imagine that). You can use the heliocentric latitude and longitude for these thousands of events to track the spacecraft position throughout it's 17 year journey. A nice readme file explains the structure of the data file. That's just one of the 12 scientific instruments. Very cool stuff...

On another note, why are people saying four times as long as they expected? 17 years is closer to three times the original five years than four. You can't really say it's lasted four times as long as expected until after it has lasted 20 years.

Their site is amazing! It shows all of the instruments and links to the data they've provided directly. For instance, the DUST instrument measures dust impact events (imagine that). You can use the heliocentric latitude and longitude for these thousands of events to track the spacecraft position throughout it's 17 year journey. A nice readme file explains the structure of the data file. That's just one of the 12 scientific instruments. Very cool stuff...

On another note, why are people saying four times as long as they expected? 17 years is closer to three times the original five years than four. You can't really say it's lasted four times as long as expected until after it has lasted 20 years.

If you go to the publications page for Ulysses, you'll see that about 60 PhDs have been awarded for Ulysses research, in addition to vast numbers of research papers and other article. By any count, this mission has been a success. Congratulations to all involved.

I thought the whole idea of an *international* space station was that we didn't have to duplicate technology efforts between the partners? ESA developed the ATV for the express purpose of resupplying the ISS, so what's this duplicate piece of tech doing?

Google hit #4 for "early quiet sun": http://www.esa.int/esaCP/Pr_7_1996_i_EN.html

Well most developed nations could develop radar installations to track space junk and their own satellites.

(I just wanted to know about the object size one can track and found some interesting paper:
http://www.esa.int/esapub/bulletin/bullet109/chapter16_bul109.pdf)

Also consider the Chinese anti missile test some months ago, the Chinese should also be able to track their
space junk if this experiment was to be meaningful.

The problem is though that even lesser developed Nations without their own space program have the need to protect
their defense installations. Even though their means might be limited they certainly can do damage to an attacker
within range of their defenses. So even they want to detect the prying eyes in the sky.

What they probably don't have is the same number of guys with a telescope, spare time, and the education to hunt
for satellites and even guess their purpose. Combined with a distribution medium like the internet for collaboration
and collection of information that a bunch of amateurs would have come up with easily, this would become a valuable
source of information to those lesser developed nations. This would only cost you an internet connection and an OLPC.

While away a useful few hours with Google Tech Talks
http://research.google.com/video.html

Then do some searching for podcasts, both audio and video. A quick sample of a hundred feeds or so:

http://www.esa.int/gsp/ACT/podcast/podcast.xml

http://feeds.feedburner.com/AiBquicktime

http://www.archaeologychannel.org/rss/TACfeed.xml

http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses/rss/archive.php?seriesid=1906978378

http://aaweekly.blip.tv/?skin=rss

http://www.techonline.mtu.edu/iTunes_Media/astronomy_rss.xml

http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast161/Audio/Podcast.xml

http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Audio/Podcast.xml

http://astronomy.libsyn.com/rss

http://www.astronomy.com/asy/podcasts

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~clgroks/groks.rss

Pick your own subjects!

Technically the Soviet Union beat us all to the surface. To be even more frank, the ESA has since made it to Titan, a moon around Saturn, a planet 6 times further away...

Sorry man I'm proud to be an American but I've never been impressed with our space program...

Err, what about the satellites NASA and ESA has in orbit around Mars?

Mars Express
  http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
  http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/

Both are kinda closer than we are so may get a better picture.

Actually I kind this kind of interesting, the explanation I had always heard was that a wave of charged particles boiled off of a sunspot and that it was electrical charge of that wavefront collapsing some field lines and streaming down the magnetic holes at the poles. Knowing that there is actually a continuous event from the sun to the earth is an interesting realization for me. ~ Afidel

Actually I kind this kind of interesting, the explanation I had always heard was that a wave of charged particles boiled off of a sunspot and that it was electrical charge of that wavefront collapsing some field lines and streaming down the magnetic holes at the poles. Knowing that there is actually a continuous event from the sun to the earth is an interesting realization for me. ~ Afidel

Isn't this old information? AFAIK the ESA found most of this on the Cluster II missions http://clusterlaunch.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=8 Funny how NASA seems to get a monopoly on discovering things, even if the do find out later ;-)

Zero for consumer direct use, agreed.
But there are companies that use the open sourced design to produce compatible processors: Simply RISC is one and, IIRC, also the Leon2-FT from ESA is a SPARC-derivative processor. There are many others around that, thanks to the GPL, are too open source.
If engineering cost of processors can be "shared" there will be good coming for consumers too. After all, why not a SPARC T1 derivative in your next phone?

> Satellites can calibrate their altimeters by bouncing signals off the ocean surface .. because of atmospheric interference, tides and waves, there are uncertainties. Borsa says the salar, now so accurately mapped and with dry, clear skies, is about five times better than the ocean as a reference point.'"

Sounds more complicated then Envisats LRR (mirror on spacecraft, bounce a land based laser off it and measure the round trip time: http://envisat.esa.int/instruments/lrr/)

>However I'd strongly question your assertion that zero-g can be adequately simulated on earth.

'Zero-gee': no, never. 'Free-fall': yes, quite well.

Witness:
http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/msad/dtf/tube.htm
(cool image: http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/msad/dtf/images/stand1.gif)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallturm_Bremen
(additional: http://www.spaceflight.esa.int/users/index.cfm?act=default.page&level=11&page=fac-dt)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_tube

> I would be shocked if they didn't already use an optical
> link to send their data to relay satellite for downloading
> to a ground station

Already done by ESA -- project ARTEMIS demonstrated laser
comms between satellites and downlink to the Canary Islands
and in-flight aircraft:

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMN6HQJNVE_index_0.html

I remember this being done with Earth Observation satellites. The EO satellite beams data using an optical link to a satellite that is in geostationary orbit. This satellite then beams the information down through a microwave link. This frees the EO satellite (that producue huge amounts of data) of the need of high-power consuming RF transceivers, reduces the need for ground stations, and is seriously cool. This was done in 2001 between SPOT 4 and Artemis (Press release). Note that SPOT sits in an orbit around 800km, and Artemis is geostationary... They then did the same with an aircraft (see here).

So it is really quite useful. When you consider the amount of data the sensors on board ENVISAT (or even MODIS) produce, this is an important tool.

I remember this being done with Earth Observation satellites. The EO satellite beams data using an optical link to a satellite that is in geostationary orbit. This satellite then beams the information down through a microwave link. This frees the EO satellite (that producue huge amounts of data) of the need of high-power consuming RF transceivers, reduces the need for ground stations, and is seriously cool. This was done in 2001 between SPOT 4 and Artemis (Press release). Note that SPOT sits in an orbit around 800km, and Artemis is geostationary... They then did the same with an aircraft (see here).

So it is really quite useful. When you consider the amount of data the sensors on board ENVISAT (or even MODIS) produce, this is an important tool.

In the article, they say that the distance was chosen because it is the distance between the earth and either of the L1 or L2 lagrangian points. SOHO currently sits at L1 and talks to earth with a 200 kbit/s radio, so this isn't exactly a hypothetical scenario. (An interesting question in that case, though, might be whether we can reliably receive a laser signal against the sun's background radiation.)

I'm in a quandry. I see policemen beating lawyers on the streets in Pakistan. How should I be feeling?

That's a tough call. You should already be depressed, worried, upset, mad, and overall just frickin' pissed off at the terrible rape in the Congo (or even the U.S.), the starvation in Somalia (or North Korea, mothers dying around the world from a condition that can be treated simply and cheaply, incredible pollution in China and everywhere else, intense economic inequality in Latin America and how it's driving the obesity epidemic elsewhere in the world, the war in Iraq that will never end, and the spread of MRSA thanks to decades of using antibiotics too liberally.

This stuff in Pakistan is just more of the same. Please feel sad, perplexed, and angry.

The real question (which you missed) is this: what can you DO about it? Other than make snarky comments on Slashdot, of course.

>> the really shiny "NASA" kind, but still duct tape

I think it's some of that special 7.7 km/second duct tape.

1. EHT (Extended Heim Theory) allows to easily calculate particle masses using only some physical constants. You can check this Heim Mass Calculator: http://www.daimi.au.dk/~spony/HeimMassFormula/HeimCalculator
2. Succesful prediction of masses of neutrinos.
3. Prediction of Heim-Lorentz force which most likely is being observed in ESA experiments performed by Dr. Martin Tajmar. During these experiments artificial gravity is being created.
   • ESA news about Tajmar experiments http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/GSP/SEM0L6OVGJE_0.html and some other news.
   • M.Tajmar recent papper which references EHT (Droscher&Hausner): http://arxiv.org/pdf/0707.3806
   • Theoretical explanation of Tajmar Gravito-Magnetic experiments by Droscher&Hausner: http://www.hpcc-space.de/publications/documents/LauncherSymPaper2007-0-42JHCorrected22April.pdf
     This paper also contains proposal of modified experiment which will allow to verify if EHT is true and also allow to build very effective propulsion engine for spaceships. See this article: http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/mg18925331.200
4. Reasonable explanation why CMB Cold Spot appears to be cold without mumbling about Dark Matter/Dark Energy, thanks to Heim's corrected gravitional law.
5. EHT explains why it appears that there is not enough mass observable in the Universe without using Dark Matter concept.
6. EHT most likely explains weird effects measured during Gravity Probe B experiment, see: http://www.hpcc-space.de/publications/documents/FieldPropulsion.pdf.
   These effects are in agreement with Martin Tajmar findings, see: http://arxiv.org/pdf/0707.3806
7. Droscher&Hausner paper about space propulsion based on Heim theory http://www.hpcc-space.de/publications/documents/aiaa2004-3700-a4.pdf was awarded by AIAA in 2004.

It is inevitable...we were subliminally told to do so from the ESA article.

Anyone else notice that it shows an industrial site with a smokestack and a condensation plume? Now I might be wrong, but doesn't that fall under more of the category of global warming? Now countless clueless moms and dads are going to drive by industrial areas and tell their kids that nasty industry is still adding to the destruction of the ozone layer too!

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM6MD7H07F_index_1.html#subhead3

I hope this is a bluff. IMO, the plasma crystal experiments alone made the whole thing worthwhile ...

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/ESA_Permanent_Mission_in_Russia/SEMSBDYEM4E_0.html

The Second Young Engineers' Satellite (YES2) was activated and separated from the Foton-M3 spacecraft earlier today. The tether deployed for 8.5 km, after which the Fotino capsule was released on its way to Earth.

"We are very proud of the students' work, although we didn't reach the full 30 km deployment" said Roger Walker, YES2 project manager for ESA's Education Office. "The hard work of the YES2 team over the past five years has paid off with this largely successful demonstration."

The reentry capsule for the Foton-M3 spacecraft, which has been in low-Earth orbit for the last 12 days, successfully landed this morning in an uninhabited area 150 km south of the town of Kustanay in Kazakhstan, close to the Russian border, at 09:58 CEST, 13:58 local time.

The unmanned Foton spacecraft, which was launched on 14 September from Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, carried a payload of 43 European experiments in a range of scientific disciplines - including fluid physics, biology, crystal growth, radiation exposure and exobiology.

The Second Young Engineers' Satellite (YES2) was activated and separated from the Foton-M3 spacecraft earlier today. The tether deployed for 8.5 km, after which the Fotino capsule was released on its way to Earth.

"We are very proud of the students' work, although we didn't reach the full 30 km deployment" said Roger Walker, YES2 project manager for ESA's Education Office. "The hard work of the YES2 team over the past five years has paid off with this largely successful demonstration."

The reentry capsule for the Foton-M3 spacecraft, which has been in low-Earth orbit for the last 12 days, successfully landed this morning in an uninhabited area 150 km south of the town of Kustanay in Kazakhstan, close to the Russian border, at 09:58 CEST, 13:58 local time.

The unmanned Foton spacecraft, which was launched on 14 September from Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, carried a payload of 43 European experiments in a range of scientific disciplines - including fluid physics, biology, crystal growth, radiation exposure and exobiology.

The Second Young Engineers' Satellite (YES2) was activated and separated from the Foton-M3 spacecraft earlier today. The tether deployed for 8.5 km, after which the Fotino capsule was released on its way to Earth.

"We are very proud of the students' work, although we didn't reach the full 30 km deployment" said Roger Walker, YES2 project manager for ESA's Education Office. "The hard work of the YES2 team over the past five years has paid off with this largely successful demonstration."

The reentry capsule for the Foton-M3 spacecraft, which has been in low-Earth orbit for the last 12 days, successfully landed this morning in an uninhabited area 150 km south of the town of Kustanay in Kazakhstan, close to the Russian border, at 09:58 CEST, 13:58 local time.

The unmanned Foton spacecraft, which was launched on 14 September from Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, carried a payload of 43 European experiments in a range of scientific disciplines - including fluid physics, biology, crystal growth, radiation exposure and exobiology.

http://www.esa.int/images/Envisat_ASAR_GM_Sep2007_2_passages_and_mask_L.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow_Earth

I'd also suggest your map is woefully misleading. Please see the latest results of Greenland for just a single indicator. On average, Greenland has ADDED 5.4 cm PER YEAR of ice over the last decade. Given your map leads one to inger that Greenland is melting when in fact reality is the exact opposite, I'd question the accuracy of the rest of the map.

You actually can focus gamma rays.

TFA mentions that they can achieve images better than Hubble. The sample image they show, of the Cat's Eye Nebula, isn't as sharp as the Hubble image of the same object.

Probably they can push their technique harder than this initial image suggests (it was mainly comparing the "lucky" image with a conventional, blurry, ground-based image)... But I just thought it would be good to show Hubble's pictures alongside.

About Indonesian islands being submerged? It's been going on for 8,000 years at least; this is nothing new. At the same time, the big island of Hawaii is adding area daily. Guess what: islands - and coastlines - always change. Always have, always will.

Oh, and about the air in China being unbreathable? I just got back from 25 days working in the Shanghai area (from Suzhou down to Ningbo). I can assure you I didn't hold my breath for 25 days. And in fact the air was cleaner than what I was breathing 40 days ago in LA. Thick dust blew into Shanghai one day, but no worse than the dust I've experienced in McPherson, Kansas or Lubbock, Texas. Thankfully the dust was gone in a day as we had some strong thunderstorms roll in...

Lastly, you're correct that "climate scientists *have* shown that increased CO2 can lead to warming in all kinds of closed systems". However, the Earth is NOT a closed system. Over 30,000 metric tons of space dust are added to the Earth each year, and the dominant source of energy - the Sun - is constantly changing it's input to the Earth.

Lucky for you my young padawan I have no life.

Does anyone know how/if NASA handles things like micrometeorites?

Dunno exactly, how's that for a start? I do know the shuttle's glazings are replaced about once every 10 flights due to impact, mostly with man made stuff like paint chips from exploded satellites. Just guessing here and don't quote me, but the way they deal with this is probably with stats. As in, if a chip of paint can ding a window, I guess a gram-sized piece of debris can poke two holes in the orbiter (an in and an out). Although, that might not be fatal if it doesn't pass through someone's body, the little hole can probably be patched with, you know, the space shuttle hole patch kit they must have.

The Orbiter is maneuvered to avoid known space debris, but that only goes down to about tens of centimeters. So stuff smaller than that has to be handled with stats.