Kepler monitors 145,000 Sun-like stars for signs of planets passing in front of them, searching for periodic dips in star brightness that might indicate planet orbital activity around its host star. Astronomers look out for patterns suggesting planet presence by tracking periodic brightness dips that might signal their passage. Kepler had been operating successfully until …
Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, originally intended to explore the outer planets of our solar system, have now entered interstellar space. There, they will remain for thousands of years before returning home. NASA prepared two Golden Records that contain music and greetings in 55 languages to reassure any alien civilization they might come across. The …
Astronauts had a tradition of giving astronauts the opportunity to name spacecraft beginning with Gemini program spaceships and ending with Skylab station missions. Now, NASA’s craft are named by a committee, although their names must still evoke an air of poetic profundity. A spacecraft is a type of spacecraft. Spacecraft are vehicles or vessels specifically …
Unmanned spacecraft include satellite communications, weather and military surveillance satellites as well as telescopes. Landing on Mars can be an enormously complex challenge. NASA’s Curiosity rover demonstrated how difficult this task could be in 2012 by performing flawlessly through an incredibly complex sequence, including successfully deploying an elaborate sky crane system to lower itself onto …
Most rockets can withstand considerable friction and heat during launch, yet occasionally one will explode on either the launch pad or in space. Millions of students watched as the Challenger disaster played out live on television, and seven astronauts lost their lives as a result of its explosion. Could such an outcome have been avoided? …
SpaceCraft can transform any sound into a musical instrument with its use of granular synthesis to generate textures, soundscapes and arpeggiated rhythms. Furthermore, its note grid enables control via either MIDI or MPE. Granite’s revolutionary engine combines cutting-edge granular processing technology with per-grain FX. This powerful virtual instrument facilitates creative flow while yielding immediate results, …
New Horizons spacecraft became the first to visit one of the Kuiper belt objects, an area in the outer Solar System where frozen objects reside, and thus revolutionized our understanding of Pluto and its satellites, among many others. The spacecraft comprises a central thrust tube and triangular structures on either side. It contains seven instruments …
New Horizons Spacecraft Explores the Kuiper Belt Read More »
After years of development, Orion will finally launch into space this month on December 4. On that date it will embark on its Exploration Flight Test 1 mission without human assistance. NASA will use their Space Launch System rocket, the same one which may one day transport humans to Mars, to launch this experiment. The …
Cassini was a highly complex interplanetary spacecraft. Featuring 12 scientific instruments like imaging cameras, radar, spectrometers, magnetometers and spectrographs – its primary mission was to conduct in-depth studies of Saturn, its rings, and moons. Its orbiter was powered by three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). These produced electricity using plutonium-238 decay. It was a joint NASA/ESA …
