European Space Agency Archives

Comet Organic Molecules Discovered by Rosetta

May 28, 2016 By Andreas Petersen

Comet Organic Molecules Discovered by Rosetta

Spacecraft Rosetta identified chemicals and organic molecules on Comet 67P. These findings are the first proof that chemicals necessary to create life on Earth came from space. Rosetta is a mission initiated by the European Space Agency.

The Discovery

On the 28^th of March, Rosetta was flying 10 miles away from the comet. It was on that particular day when the human-made device detected amino acid glycine. The substance was identified in the comet’s surrounding halo, which is called a coma.

Glycine is the simplest type of amino acid, and it contains carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen. Together with other components, glycine can create proteins.

Another chemical detected in the coma is phosphorus, which is a major component of cell membranes and DNA. Moreover, phosphorus is an essential element in cell metabolism.

Scientists suggest that Rosetta managed to detect glycine only after comet’s temperature raised below 150°C and the substance turned into gas. This is the reason why they were unable to detect it in the first samples.

The Theory of Life Emergence on Earth

Scientists long believed that life on Earth was brought by the arrival of – or collision with – another space object, carrying the necessary chemicals needed for organic reactions. Another substance believed to have come from space is water.

The exploration of other comets and asteroids confirmed that theory, as they carried on their surface water similar to that on Earth.

Nonetheless, this is the first detection of glycine ever made. Scientists have also discovered a different and more primitive type of organic molecule, which could help them to develop new theories on biological processes.

Rosetta’s Mission

Comet 67P (aka Churyumov–Gerasimenko) is a comet first discovered in 1969. Its maximum shape is 2.7 by 2.5 miles. The comet origins are in the Kuiper belt, and it’s one of the common types of comets – with low inclinations and short orbital periods.

The European spacecraft Rosetta first reached the comet in August 2014. Since then, it has orbited the space object and tried to gather as much information as possible.

The ship made the first detection of organic substances in October 2014, when it was just 6 miles away from the core of the comet. A second occasion was in March 2015, being at approximately 10 miles away. But the final measurements only came in August 2015.

Another mission with promising results took place ten years ago when a NASA spacecraft returned to Earth with dust samples possibly glycine components. Still, scientists had to wait for a second mission as Stardust was suspected of a possible contamination of the samples.

Image Source: Wikipedia

Earth Is Pummeled by Stardust from a Dead Supernova

April 25, 2016 By Waleed Javed

When people say that we are made of star dust, they are in fact romanticizing. No, all of our composing atoms originated on Earth, even though the Earth is composed of two different planets – the original Earth and Theia. But the remnants of distant stars are far closer than you may even imagine.

While it’s true that any dying star that stops shining right now is too far away for its light to reach us within our lifetimes, that doesn’t mean that the stars we’re still seeing are still in existence. And it certainly doesn’t mean that there is nothing left of them even if they blew up.

Ancient star dust

As you might have surmised from the title, a team of researchers from the Washington University in Saint Louis managed to determine that Earth is pummeled by stardust from a dead supernova. This pummeling is done by specks of intergalactic dust propelled from the exploding star with speeds close to that of light.

The finding comes as a result of a team of researchers discovering tiny deposits of iron-60 isotopes in most of the world’s oceans. The specks of radioactive cosmic dust were very difficult to trace, primarily because of the many shifts in trajectory they suffered as they were slingshot by the gravity and magnetic fields of other celestial bodies.

Isotopes and dating

As for the iron-60 isotopes, the researchers realized that they didn’t come from Earth because iron-60 is only produced in dying stars. It is also with the help of isotopes that scientists were able to figure out that Earth as it is today, as well as the moon, resulted from the head-on collision with a forming planet that was part of our solar system.

Still, once they realized that the dust specks weren’t from Earth, as well that they were radioactive, the team used dating procedures to figure out exactly when the supernova that pushed dust with such force that it’s falling on Earth today exploded, as well as how close it was to our own floating space rock.

Seventeen years of data

By looking at seventeen years of cosmic ray data captured by spectrometers, satellites, and other very expensive imagers, the scientists managed to find fifteen atomic nuclei in the iron-60 or 60Fe particles. And it’s with their help that the team managed to pinpoint the time and place of the exploding supernova.

According to the findings, the supernova was actually pretty close to Earth, and it went up just a few million years ago. While it may seem like a lot, if we consider the distances and times in outer space, that’s quite recent. In fact, it is estimated that our Homo erectus ancestors probably witnessed the explosion in the sky, as it would have been close enough to see with the naked eye.

Image source: Wikimedia

ESA Cast Doubts on the Discovery of Gravitational Waves

February 7, 2015 By Carol Harper

In March 2014, a group of astronomers claimed that they had found gravitational waves from the early universe. The discovery marked a new history in the arena of science. The finding is commonly known as BICEP2.

Recently, The European Space Agency completely rebuffs the idea of BICEP2. The intergovernmental organization informs that scientists considered dust particles of Milky Way as the gravitational waves.

Marc Kamiokowski, a cosmologist at Johns Hopkins University said that scientists no longer believe that BICEP2 spotted gravitational waves.

Scientists of Planck satellite worked together with the experts of BICEP2. They compare the data of BICEP2 telescope with the Planck satellite in order to determine the accuracy of gravitational waves. The BICEP2 data was recorded at a frequency of 150 gigahertz. In comparison, the Planck’s data was observed at 353 GHz. The two telescopes studied the same region of the Milky Way.

In the end, the close analysis of the data shows that polarization of Cosmic Background Radiation is dust of Milky Way. Earlier, scientists interpreted these dust particles as the gravitational waves.

Jean Loup Puget, a Planck scientist at the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale discussed the outcome of the research in detail. He informs that joint effort of the two teams reveals that primordial B modes are only the galactic dust.

Lost Philae; ESA Is Considering Sending Rosetta Probe To Search It Out

January 26, 2015 By Carol Harper

About 3 months after the Philae probe’s momentous landing on a comet, European Space Agency researchers still don’t know where it is. After landing, the probe bounced and likely settled in a shadowy crater, rapidly emptying its battery because of an absence of sunlight.

Presently Nature reports that ESA is considering sending Rosetta — the probe that is been circling the comet 67p/C-G — on an exceptional mission to discover Philae next month.

Rosetta would be dropped down to a closer orbit around the comet (around 3.7 miles out, the closest its ever come) to take higher-resolution photographs of the zone Philae is thought to be. The drawback is that doing so would use up some of Rosetta’s fuel — blocking an intended flyby on the comet’s other, sunlit side, which would give the best pictures of the comet’s surface taken thus far.

ESA researchers are apparently debating the thought, and are prone to settle on a decision in the following few days. However, in spite of whether they complete the search mission, the main hope is that by May or June, Philae will be presented to enough sunlight to wake up all alone.

At the point when Philae landed on the comet — the first-ever controlled landing of a spaceship on one — there were some technical challenges. The most real one was that the probe’s harpoons, which were intended to secure it to the comet’s surface, failed to fire.

Thus, Philae bounced a few times. Because of the very low level of gravity, its first bounce took around 2 hours, and conveyed it as high as a kilometer over the surface. After another littler bounce, it at last settled in a shadowy crater.

Thus, its solar panels were just able to gather around 90 minutes of sunlight every 12 hours, which implied the spaceship needed to depend largely on its battery. In spite of the fact that ESA researchers utilized mechanical instruments on the spaceship to turn it somewhat with expectations of getting more sunlight, the exertion failed, and Philae shut down after 57 hours on the comet.

Amid this short interim, Philae sent back photographs and information, making the mission in general a win. In addition to everything else, that information has let us know that the water present on the comet is not the same as that on earth, making it appear less likely that comets like 67p/G-C conveyed water to earth billions of years back.

However, despite the fact that researchers had the capacity to confirm that Philae likely landed in a 20 by 200-meter band of the comet, photographs taken by Rosetta have neglected to uncover precisely where it is.

The costs and benefits of a search mission

In the following few days, Nature reports, ESA mission researchers will choose whether to complete the search mission or not.

If they do, Rosetta will fly down to a generally close orbit around February 14 and take photographs of the zone Philae is thought to rest. These pictures will be even higher-resolution than past ones, which would assuredly give the researchers a superior chance at discovering Philae.

There’d be two principle advantages do doing this. One is that it’d make it simpler to translate formerly received information from the CONSERT test, which includes sending radio waves from Rosetta to Philae through the comet’s interior to better comprehend its structure. When it was awake, Philae sent back information on the radio waves it received, yet knowing Philae’s exact area and direction would make it simpler to translate that information, and create a precise picture of the comet’s interior.

Locating Philae’s site would likewise make it simpler to foresee whether it will surely wake up as the comet nears the Sun in May.

However, there are a few drawbacks to the mission. The fundamental one is that Rosetta would then never again have the capacity to take an intended flyby of another zone of the comet that will be directly lit by daylight. This flyby would let Rosetta take high-resolution, without shadow pictures, allowing researchers to better comprehend the comet’s surface.

Also, there’s a bit of danger involved: the comet, which has been warming up over the recent months, is discharging progressively strong jets of dust and gas — and those jets could harm Rosetta if it comes excessively close.

What’s next for Philae

If Rosetta isn’t sent on the search plan — or if it is, yet researchers still can’t find Philae — then an alternate close flyby isn’t possible until 2016, after the comet has passed the Sun and chills off enough so Rosetta can securely get close to it.

However, in spite of whether Rosetta has the capacity spot Philae, the ideal situation would certainly be Philae getting enough solar power to wake up all alone, which could happen in May or June.

This would give Philae a couple of months to gather new information on the comet, including significantly to the measurements it gathered in the hours after its landing. We’ve never had an operable probe on a comet before Philae, so any further information will add massively to our insight of how comets work.

Rosetta Spacecraft Finds Astonishing Facts About Comet 67P

January 23, 2015 By Cliff Jenkins Scott

The early photographs and data of the European Space Agency show that comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is covered with simple organic molecules.

Recently, researchers presented the initial observation of Comet. The information is quite significant for the future missions of Rosetta. Matt Taylor, the project scientists of the mission states that these findings are the paradigm of the entire mission.

Previously, numerous other spacecraft passed nearby the comet. However, this is the first time when a spacecraft has touched the surface of the comet. In the beginning, Rosetta took measurements of the comet. The data revealed the exact location of the 67/P comet. It uncovers that the comet is approximately 325 million miles away from the sun. Hence, it is a complicated task for astronomers to study the comet through a ground-based telescope.

Additionally, data gathered from Rosetta demonstrates that Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is a dumb-bell shaped comet.

Paul Weissman, an interdisciplinary scientist at the European Space Agency discussed the current state of the mission. He informs that planetary scientists do not have much information regarding the comets. Presently, they are exploring the undiscovered region of solar system.

Most of the result of research is collected from Rosetta’s data of April and September. It was the time period when the spacecraft was moving towards the direction of comet. The spacecraft is expected to reach its closest point to the sun sometime in the month of August.

The outcome of the study is published in detail in the Journal Science

ESA Reports: Long Lost Beagle 2 Spotted on Mars

January 16, 2015 By Denise Ehrlich

Beagle 2, the British spacecraft is discovered from the surface of Mars. The spacecraft was lost during the search Mars mission nearly 11 years ago. The chief objective of the spacecraft was to explore the physical properties of Martian atmosphere.

The spacecraft of European Space Agency was intended to land on Mars on 25th of December 2005. However, it lost all contacts from the space agency on the 19^th of December. The government space agency tried numerous times to find out Beagle 2 but in vain.

A few researchers thought that high velocity of the planet destroyed the probe.

On Friday, the London Royal Society of Scientific Institution announced that the Mars lander has been located on the surface of Mars. NASA has identified the Lander in the Mars images of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

David Parker, CEO of the UK Space Agency expressed with excitement that Beagle 2 is not lost anymore. He informs that scientists found strong evidences that the spacecraft is still present on planet Mars. As per the proofs, the spacecraft safely landed on the Red planet on 25^th of December 2003. Initially, the former scientists of the Mars express team detected the spacecraft. Later, they worked together with the engineering team of Beagle-2.

Unfortunately, the spacecraft is discovered a year after the death of its chief investigator. Colin Pillinger, the planetary scientists died at the age of 70 in 2014.

Amazing Time lapse video of Earth made outta pictures taken from Space

December 29, 2014 By Marlene R. Litten

Seeing Earth from such a vintage point of the ground, Space, is just mind blowing and amazing. Our planet is the only habitable place we know with beautiful natural wonders.

European Space Agency astronaut, Alexander Gerst made a time lapse video over a period of six months. As Gerst got the chance of exploring the planet in the International Space Station where he took photos captured scenes that we might not be able to see while here on ground.

Gerst captured both the man-made as well as natural aspects of our planet that includes poles, cities and much more.

So being the only known habitable planet, we should take care of our planet Earth as in it, is our survival.

Stunning Time-Lapse Video Of Earth’s Violent Storms From ISS: Christmas Present

December 27, 2014 By June Harris

A new time-lapse footage permits us here on Earth to see what our planet looks like from the ISS (International Space Station) — and the sights are stunning.

Alexander Gerst, European Space Agency astronaut came back from the ISS back in Nov after serving as a flight engineer for a 6 month voyage. However, engineer work wasn’t all he was doing on board the spaceship: he also set up cams to catch 12,500 pictures out the window of the ISS, and transformed them into a time-lapse footage that delineates everything from vicious storms to splendid auroras, as indicated by International Business Times.

Gerst said his time on board the ISS made him acknowledge exactly how little the planet is in the universe, and how delicate of a vessel it is for humankind, and that “we have to comprehend the universe we live into secure our home,” he said in an announcement.

Gerst, who hails from Germany, was a part of the Blue Dot mission a month ago, serving beside Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suarev and American astronaut Reid Wiseman. They were observed to perceive how they would rearrange to gravity after spending a lot of time in space.

All of them used Twitter to document their journey, posting pictures and videos to share with their fans.

They were charged with a series of missions and trials, including investigating seedling development in zero gravity, perception of meteors as they enter the environment, and investigations of bone and muscle physiology, to name some.

They came back to Earth at the start of November, slipping through the mists and arriving in Kazakhstan after the 165-day mission. Cold climate made recovery troublesome right off the bat, yet the team arrived securely in their targeted area only 3.5 hours after undocking from the ISS.

Amid their mission, the ISS made 2,640 orbits, or 70 million miles, permitting Gerst to get all the pictures he required to develop stunning time-lapse. They had launched on 28th May from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southwest Kazakhstan, as per a CBS News report.

Since the Soyuz module they returned in had tipped onto its side, the recovery groups needed to spend a half hour separating the three men from the spaceship. They all come out well and in great spirits, chatting with specialists and experts.

The ISS is a tenable artificial satellite that sits in low-Earth orbit (LEO), a modular spaceship whose first segment was sent into space in 1998. It is currently the biggest artificial body in orbit and can frequently be seen with the stripped eye by a spectator on Earth. It is a joint project between the United States and Russia. It is utilized to lead tests in an extensive variety of fields, including biology, physical, and meteorology.

The ISS has been in incessant operation for more than 14 years since Expedition 1 touched base in November 2000. It holds the record for longest incessant human existence in space, demolishing the past record of about 10 years by the Russian space station Mir, which left service in 1996.

The ISS is 239 feet long, 356 feet wide and 66 feet tall. It weighs about 500 tons.

Telescopic detection of Super Earth orbiting a Sun like Star paves way for further small exoplanet detections

December 1, 2014 By Marlene R. Litten

The international research team used the 2.5-meter Nordic Optical Telescope on the island of La Palma, Spain, a moderate-sized facility by today’s standards but equipped with state-of-the-art instruments, to make the detection. Previous observations of this planet transit had to rely on space-borne telescopes.

The host star, 55 Cancri, is located just 40 light-years away from us and is visible to the naked eye. During its transit, the planet crosses 55 Cancri and blocks a tiny fraction of the starlight, dimming the star by 1/2000th (or 0.05%) for almost two hours. This shows that the planet is about twice the size of Earth, or 16,000 miles in diameter.

“Our observations show that we can detect the transits of small planets around Sun-like stars using ground-based telescopes,” says Ernst de Mooij of Queen’s University Belfast in the United Kingdom, lead author of the study.

He continues, “This is especially important because upcoming space missions such as TESS and PLATO should find many small planets around bright stars and we will want to follow up the discoveries with ground-based instruments.”

TESS is a NASA mission scheduled for launch in 2017, while PLATO is to be launched in 2024 by the European Space Agency; both will search for transiting terrestrial planets around nearby bright stars.

The planet 55 Cancri e is about twice as big and eight times as massive as Earth. With a period of 18 hours, it is the innermost of five planets in the system. Because of its proximity to the host star, the planet’s dayside temperature reaches over 3100° Fahrenheit (1700° Celsius), hot enough to melt metal, with conditions far from hospitable to life. Initially identified a decade ago through radial velocity measurements, it was later confirmed through transit observations with the MOST and Spitzer space telescopes.

Until now, the transits of only one other super-Earth, GJ 1214b circling a red dwarf, had been observed with ground-based telescopes. The Earth’s roiling air makes such observations extremely difficult. But the team’s success with 55 Cancri e raises the prospects of characterizing dozens of super-Earths likely to be revealed by upcoming surveys.

Best Maps Of Ocean Flows Created By ESA’s GOCE

November 27, 2014 By June Harris

As per the Discovery News, ESA’s Gravity and Ocean Circulation Explorer satellite reemerged the air in 2013 following four years and eight months in orbit, giving a huge amount of information to researchers that permits them to make unfathomably exact maps of worldwide sea flows.

During the UN conference in Paris this week, researchers unveiled that the satellite’s exact estimations of the Earth’s gravity enabled for an imitation of the seas at rest, permitting scientists to watch how gravity interacts with the sea flows. Typically, this is hard to do, as forces like wind follow up on the seas too, skewing the results.

GOCE was the first of ESA’s Living Planet Program satellites that were made to map the Earth’s gravity field in phenomenal aspect utilizing instrumentation that incorporates a profoundly responsive gravity gradiometers that measures gradients along the three orthogonal axis.

These new simulations will permit researchers to better comprehend the Earth’s atmosphere, as seas are in charge of transporting 30% of the Earth’s heat. The circulation of sea waters that assumes a tremendous part in the regulation of atmospheric temperatures, as flows move heat from low to high latitudes in the water, while chilled water moves from high latitude to the equator. One of the illustrations of this is the Gulf Stream, which takes warm surface waters to the Gulf of Mexico, creating coastal waters in Europe to be marginally hotter than waters at the same latitude in the North Pacific.

Gravity and Ocean Circulation Explorer satellite had the capacity make the exact models by watching little changes in the Earth’s gravitational heave, which is diverse, relying upon the area because of the uneven dissemination of mass over the whole planet. Marie-Helene Rio from the Italian National Research Council’s Institute of Atmosphere Sciences and Climate told the BBC that GOCE has “made an achievement for the estimation of sea flows.”