Russia plans to build own orbit space station

Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will propose to the government the building of a low-orbit space station to support future exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Alexei Krasnov, director of manned flight programmes at Roscosmos said: "We will soon propose to our government a project to construct a low-orbit complex, which could serve as a foundation for the implementation of the lunar programme and later on the Mars programme,"

Russia and other countries, are looking at the Moon in a mid-term perspective, and would want not only to go there and come back, but to establish a lunar base, which would allow us to start exploring Mars in the future. These are our intentions, but we are working hard to ensure that these plans get adequate financial and legislative support from the government."

Roscosmos will propose extending the use of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2020. We are considering the extension of ISS service life at least until 2020, but this decision must be adopted by the governments of all 15 countries participating in the project. The project currently involves NASA, Roscosmos, the Canadian Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and 11 members of the European Space Agency.

Russia, a pioneer in robotic lunar research, abandoned its lunar exploration programme with the end of the Moon race in the mid-1970s, but the idea of exploring the Earth's natural satellite has been revisited recently, due to ambitious international projects to develop the Moon's resources and to use it as a stepping-stone for further space exploration.

Roscosmos earlier said that its first unmanned flight to the Moon would include a lunar orbiter to fire 12 penetrators across diverse regions to create a seismic network. These will be used to research the origins of the Moon.

The orbital assembly of the ISS began with the launch of the US-funded and Russian-built Zarya module from Kazakhstan November 20, 1998. Zarya, which means dawn, was the ISS's first component.

The project has taken longer than the planned five years, and as of July 2008 the station was approximately 76 percent complete.

NASA invites public to vote for astronomy-related objects

The National Aeronautic and Space Agency (NASA) has invited the public to vote for one of six candidate astronomy-related objects for the Hubble Telescope to observe in honor of the International Year of Astronomy-2009.

The options, which Hubble has not previously photographed, range from far-flung galaxies to dying stars. Votes can be cast until March 1.

Hubble''s camera will make a high-resolution image revealing new details about the object that receives the most votes. The image will be released during the International Year of Astronomy''s "100 Hours of Astronomy" from April 2 to 5.

Space enthusiasts can cast their vote at: http://YouDecide.Hubblesite.org

Everyone who votes also will be entered into a random drawing to receive one of 100 copies of the Hubble photograph made of the winning celestial body.

NASA has also invited teachers and students to participate in an accompanying Hubble Space Telescope classroom collage activity that integrates art, science and language arts.

Students in participating classes will select their favorite Hubble images and assemble them in a collage. Students in each class also will choose their favorite object from the image-voting contest and write essays about why they made their selections.

The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, was designed so that astronauts could repair it in space.

The next servicing mission to the telescope is targeted to launch on space shuttle Atlantis on 12th May, 2009. Mission objectives include extending Hubble''s operational life by five years, repairing its out-of-commission instruments and enhancing its scientific power.

First glance of X-rays from the Moon

The Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (CIXS), one of the 11 payloads onboard Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the UK's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, has successfully detected the first X-ray signature from the Moon, ISRO announced on Friday.

Chandrayaan-1 is the first lunar mission of ISRO and also the first mission with international partners. It is designed to orbit the Moon at an altitude of 100 km and carries 11 scientific instruments including radar and particle detectors as well as instruments that will make observations in the visible, near infrared and soft and hard X-rays.

Chandrayaan-1 was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, on 22nd October, 2008 and it entered the lunar orbit on 8th November, 08.

In orbit around the Moon, Chandrayaan-1 CIXS detected the X-ray signal from a region near the Apollo landing sites on 12th December, 08.

ISRO said: "The solar flare that caused the X-ray fluorescence was exceedingly weak, approximately 20 times smaller than the minimum CIXS was designed to detect. The X-ray camera collected three minutes of data from the Moon just as the flare started and the camera finished its observation".

ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said: "The joint development of CIXS in Chandrayaan-1 between ISRO and RAL, UK, is a major achievement. First signatures obtained from CIXS are highly encouraging".

M3 AND INDIA'S FIRST MISSION TO THE MOON

The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) is one of two instruments that NASA is contributing to India's first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1 (meaning "Lunar Craft" in ancient Sanskrit), which launched on October 22, 2008. M3 is a state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer that will provide the first map of the entire lunar surface at high spatial and spectral resolution, revealing the minerals of which it is made.

Scientists will use this information to answer questions about the Moon's origin and development and the evolution of terrestrial planets in the early solar system. Future astronauts will use it to locate resources, possibly including water that can support exploration of the Moon and beyond.

China publishes first image of moon from lunar probe

China displayed the first image of the moon captured by its Chang'e-1 lunar probe at a gala ceremony Monday, marking the formal start of the satellite's mission to document the lunar landscape.

Unveiling the image at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, Premier Wen Jiabao hailed it as a major step in "the Chinese race's 1,000-year-old dream" of exploring the moon. The black and white image clearly showed craters on the moon's surface.

China hopes the probe, launched late last month, will have surveyed the entire surface of the moon at least once by early next year.

The probe's launch closely followed the start of a similar mission by Japan, prompting speculation over a new space race in Asia. India plans to launch a lunar probe in April.

Chinese officials said: “Beijing wanted to use its program to work with other countries and hoped to join in building the international space station”.

Sun Laiyan, head of the China National Space Administration said: “We have a very open program and we are willing to cooperate according to common international practices. China had no plans to put a man on the moon — yet. For the time being we have no plans to send any Chinese onto the moon.

So please do not put even more pressure on our shoulders. But having said that, I'm confident that one day China will send its taikonaut on the moon and I hope to see that day. The space program as fulfilling "national security" needs, but did not elaborate".

In 2003, China became only the third country in the world after the United States and Russia to send a human into Earth's orbit, following that up with a two-man mission in 2005.

The Chang'e 1 satellite, slung into space by a Long March 3A rocket, will survey the moon's surface using stereo radar and other tools as a precursor to a planned lunar landing in 2012 and a mission to gather lunar samples by 2020.

Chinese space officials have said they were being careful not to travel territory already covered by the space programs of Russia, the U.S., Japan and the European Space Agency. China's space program is backed by the country's secretive military. While Beijing insists it is committed to a peaceful space program, analysts point to numerous potential applications for its technology.

China showed his mettle to the international community in January when it blasted apart an old satellite in space, using a land-based missile.

The Sombrero galaxy as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope

The Sombrero galaxy is located some 28 million light years away. Viewed from Earth, it is just six degrees south of its equatorial plane. Spitzer detected infrared emission not only from the ring, but from the center of the galaxy too, where there is a huge black hole, believed to be a billion times more massive than our Sun.

Japan launches greenhouse-gas monitoring satellite ‘IBUKI’

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite "IBUKI" (GOSAT) along with 7 smaller satellites aboard the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 15 (H-IIA F15) at 12:54:00 p.m. on January, 23, 2009 from the Tanegashima Space Center.

The main satellite will enable scientists to calculate the density of carbon dioxide and methane from 56,000 locations on the Earth's surface, which Japanese officials hope will contribute to global efforts to tackle climate change.

Japan is one of the leading space-faring nations and launched its first satellite in 1970. The mission is also a test for Japan as it sets its sights on the satellite-launch business in the face of competition from Europe, USA and Russia, China and India.

China to develop "Beidou" Global Satellite Navigation System by 2015

China plans to develop its own independent global satellite navigation system by 2015, which will make it the third world power to develop such a Global Positioning System (GPS). China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced that Beidou II satellites, independently developed by China, will enter the height of the network formation period this year. Beidou is expected to develop into a satellite navigation system with global coverage by 2015, according to a report by China Central Television (CCTV).

The Beidou navigation system which will have both military as well as civil applications will arm Chinese aircraft and satellite systems, the official news agency of China reported on Monday quoting a senior space official.

Zhang Xiaojin, director of astronautics department with China Aerospace Science said: “China plans to send 10 navigation satellites into the space between 2009 and 2010 for the purpose. China plans to complete its independent global satellite navigation system by launching more than 30 satellites by the year 2015”.

Currently, the U.S.'s Global Positioning System (GPS) is the world leader. The Russians have just launched their system called Global Navigation Satellite System GLOSSNOS and the European Union has Galileo Positioning System.

China has sent five positioning orbiters into the space. The current Beidou system only provides regional navigation service within China's territory. Since Beidou's fifth orbiter launched in April 2007, China has started to upgrade the navigation system to the second generation, code named COMPASS.

Chinese civilian and military users could be guided by their own satellites worldwide after the Beidou becomes the world's fourth edition of global navigation systems.

China to develop "Beidou" Global Satellite Navigation System by 2015

China plans to develop its own independent global satellite navigation system by 2015, which will make it the third world power to develop such a Global Positioning System (GPS). China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced that Beidou II satellites, independently developed by China, will enter the height of the network formation period this year. Beidou is expected to develop into a satellite navigation system with global coverage by 2015, according to a report by China Central Television (CCTV).

The Beidou navigation system which will have both military as well as civil applications will arm Chinese aircraft and satellite systems, the official news agency of China reported on Monday quoting a senior space official.

Zhang Xiaojin, director of astronautics department with China Aerospace Science said: “China plans to send 10 navigation satellites into the space between 2009 and 2010 for the purpose. China plans to complete its independent global satellite navigation system by launching more than 30 satellites by the year 2015”.

Currently, the U.S.'s Global Positioning System (GPS) is the world leader. The Russians have just launched their system called Global Navigation Satellite System GLOSSNOS and the European Union has Galileo Positioning System.

China has sent five positioning orbiters into the space. The current Beidou system only provides regional navigation service within China's territory. Since Beidou's fifth orbiter launched in April 2007, China has started to upgrade the navigation system to the second generation, code named COMPASS.

Chinese civilian and military users could be guided by their own satellites worldwide after the Beidou becomes the world's fourth edition of global navigation systems.

China to develop "Beidou" Global Satellite Navigation System by 2015

China plans to develop its own independent global satellite navigation system by 2015, which will make it the third world power to develop such a Global Positioning System (GPS). China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced that Beidou II satellites, independently developed by China, will enter the height of the network formation period this year. Beidou is expected to develop into a satellite navigation system with global coverage by 2015, according to a report by China Central Television (CCTV).

The Beidou navigation system which will have both military as well as civil applications will arm Chinese aircraft and satellite systems, the official news agency of China reported on Monday quoting a senior space official.

Zhang Xiaojin, director of astronautics department with China Aerospace Science said: “China plans to send 10 navigation satellites into the space between 2009 and 2010 for the purpose. China plans to complete its independent global satellite navigation system by launching more than 30 satellites by the year 2015”.

Currently, the U.S.'s Global Positioning System (GPS) is the world leader. The Russians have just launched their system called Global Navigation Satellite System GLOSSNOS and the European Union has Galileo Positioning System.

China has sent five positioning orbiters into the space. The current Beidou system only provides regional navigation service within China's territory. Since Beidou's fifth orbiter launched in April 2007, China has started to upgrade the navigation system to the second generation, code named COMPASS.

Chinese civilian and military users could be guided by their own satellites worldwide after the Beidou becomes the world's fourth edition of global navigation systems.

Planetary nebula NGC 2818 is nested inside the open star cluster NGC 2818A.

This Hubble image was taken in November 2008 with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. The colors in the image represent a range of emissions coming from the clouds of the nebula: red represents nitrogen, green represents hydrogen, and blue represents oxygen

It’s an amazing gorgeous image. Hubble has captured a unique planetary nebula nested inside an open star cluster. Both the cluster (NGC 2818A) and the nebula (NGC 2818) reside over 10,000 light-years away, in the southern constellation Pyxis also called the Compass. This spectacular structure contains the outer layers of a sun-like star that were sent off into interstellar space during the star's final stages of life. These glowing gaseous shrouds were shed by the star after it ran out of fuel to sustain the nuclear reactions in its core. Our own sun will undergo a similar process, but not for another 5 billion years.

Moon Had Molten Core

Scientists asserted that the Moon rocks returned by the Apollo astronauts would keep researchers busy for decades. An analysis on one of the rocks collected during the Apollo 17 mission has helped to solve a longstanding enigma about the Moon. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) carried out the most detailed analysis ever of the oldest pristine rock from the Apollo collection. Magnetic traces recorded in the rock provide strong evidence that 4.2 billion years ago the moon had a liquid core with a dynamo, like Earth's core today, that produced a strong magnetic field.

Ben Weiss, Assistant Professor of Planetary Sciences in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences said: “Until the Apollo missions, many scientists were convinced the moon was born cold and stayed cold, never melting enough to form a liquid core. Apollo proved that there had been massive flows of lava on the moon's surface, but the idea that it has, or ever had, a molten core remained controversial. "People have been vociferously debating this for 30 years,"

Many of the rocks returned from the Moon had magnetic qualities, which was perplexing to scientists. How could Moon rocks be magnetic if the Moon had no magnetic core?
One rock in particular was compelling. The rock was collected on Apollo 17, the last Apollo mission to the moon, by Harrison "Jack" Schmidt, the only geologist ever to walk on the moon. "Many people think that it's the most interesting lunar rock.

The magnetic field necessary to have magnetized this rock would have been about one-fiftieth as strong as Earth's is today. This is consistent with dynamo theory," and also fits in with the prevailing theory that the moon was born when a Mars-sized body crashed into the Earth and blasted much of its crust into space, where it clumped together to form the moon.

Scientists solves astronomy mystery

In a new research, scientists have solved the longstanding astronomy mystery of how massive stars form without blowing away the clouds of gas and dust that feed their growth.

The research, by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley, has shown how a massive star can grow despite outward-flowing radiation pressure that exceeds the gravitational force pulling material inward.

Using 3-D radiation hydrodynamics simulations, the group, which includes Livermore’s Richard Klein, who also is an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley, and his LLNL post doc Andrew Cunningham, unexpectedly discovered that these massive stars also tend to occur in binary or multiple star systems.

Richard Klein, an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley said: “Originally, we were just exploring the physics of massive star formation. As we were looking at the physics, we found that gravitational instabilities cause companion stars to form around massive stars.

Logically, we thought the massive amounts of radiation pressure would stop the star in its tracks from growing any larger. But instead, gravitational instabilities channeled gas onto the star system through disks and filaments, sort of like fingers, that self-shield against the radiation, while allowing the radiation to escape through optically thin bubbles.

Massive stars produce so much light that the radiation pressure they exert on the gas and dust around them is stronger than their gravitational attraction, a circumstance that has long been expected to prevent them from growing by accretion.

Mark Krumholz, lead author and an assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the UC Santa Cruz said: “We didn’t set out to solve that question, so it was a nice side benefit of the study. The main finding is that radiation pressure does not limit the growth of massive stars. The team spent years developing complex computer codes for simulating the processes of star formation.

Combined with advances in computer technology, their latest code (called ORION) enabled them to run a detailed 3-D simulation of the collapse of an enormous interstellar gas cloud to form a massive star.

Possibility of continents and oceans on Venus

In a new research, scientists have claimed to detect evidence for granite highlands on Venus in data almost two decades old, which suggests that the planet may have once been far more like Earth, with oceans and continents.

According to a report in Nature News, the data includes nighttime infrared emissions coming from the surface of Venus, which was detected by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in 1990.

Analyzing these data, an international team led by planetary scientist George Hashimoto, now at Okayama University, Japan, found that Venus’s highland regions emitted less infrared radiation than its lowlands.

One interpretation of this lower infrared emission from the highlands, according to the authors, is that they are composed largely of ‘felsic’ rocks, particularly granite. Granite, which on Earth is found in continental crust, requires water for its formation.

Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist at Washington State University in Pullman said: “This is the first direct evidence that early in the history of the Solar System, Venus was a habitable planet with plenty of water. The question is how long Venus remained habitable. But this gives new impetus for the search for microbial life in Venus’s lower atmosphere.

According to Kevin Baines, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, Before Galileo, researchers had believed that only radar could see through the dense clouds of sulphuric acid in Venus’s atmosphere to the surface. Detecting the surface in the infrared is a breakthrough.

The possible presence of granite also suggests that tectonic plate movement and continent formation may have occurred on Venus, as well as recycling of water and carbon between the planet’s mantle and atmosphere.

According to geophysicist Norm Sleep of Stanford University in California, the implication of continent formation is “quite significant”. Venus might have once been almost entirely underwater, although without further geochemical data, we don’t know whether this early ocean’s temperature was 30 degree Celsius or 150 degree Celsius.

Nowadays, the planet is a paragon of the uninhabitable, with an atmosphere of 96 percent carbon dioxide and a surface temperature of around 460 degrees C. Any life on Venus that hadn’t figured out how to colonize the cloud tops a billion years after the planet’s formation would have been in big trouble.

Venus moves closer to Sun

Planet Venus will now move closer to the Sun, making it appear brighter in the night sky.

Science Popularization Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE) president Chander Bhushan Devgun said: “Venus was at its maximum elongation on Thursday on the day of Makar Sankranti, and now will move closer to the Sun”.

Elongation is an astronomical term which refers to the angle between the Sun and a planet as viewed from the Earth. When a planet is visible after sunset, it is near its greatest eastern elongation. When it is visible before sunrise, it is near its greatest western elongation.

The value of the greatest elongation for Venus is between 45 and 47. This value varies because the orbits of the planets are elliptical, rather than perfect circles. Also, the variation can be attributed to the inconsistency in orbital inclination. That is, each planet's orbit is in a slightly different plane. The silvery planet is "up" for more than three hours after sunset now-a-days.

ISRO to Launch Weather Satellite

After the success of the Chandrayaan mission, ISRO is all set on its next mission -- the launch of the 'Mehga Tropiques' -- an Indo-French weather satellite

The weather satellite has been jointly developed by the French Space Agency CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales) and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization).

'Mehga Tropiques' will study tropical weather and would aid in the study of cyclones, monsoon and other weather-related effects. The information obtained from the satellite would be shared by both the countries. The satellite would be launched by the end of 2009.

ISRO developing next-generation rocket for weighty satellite launches
After the victory of Chandrayaan-I, the mission to moon, ISRO is now developing the next generation launch vehicle to decrease the costs of putting satellites in orbit.

In 2009 ISRO is going to conduct a series of tests in the development of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III, which is expected to take to the skies in the period of 2010-11. With the help of Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of ISRO is conducting this new test. The new rocket, which can put a 4 tonne satellite in orbit and the regular GSLV, can put up to 2 tone satellites in orbit.

According to K Radhakrishnan, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, "The new year will see solid booster testing for the Mark III, followed by the liquid stage after which we will test the cryogenic engine stage. We are planning to have flight testing during 2010-11 period.

ISRO will be able to pack more transponders in one space flight. "This makes it a cost effective solution and will give us a niche in the world in launching 4tonne satellites. The GSLV Mark III will also help ISRO put more Indians in space at one go. As per the current plans, the agency plans to send two Indians on a week-long space sojourn in 2015. The regular GSLV will be used for the human spaceflight.

India to send man to moon by 2020

India is planning to send man to the moon by 2020, a space agency official said 4th January Sunday at 96th Indian Science Congress. He said that the country's first manned flight into space was also on cards by 2015.

K. Radhakrishnan, member of the Space Commission and director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said plans were occurring to send a two-member crew into space and orbit around 200 km away from the earth by 2015. This would be the first time that an Indian would travel to space on an Indian spacecraft, which ISRO hopes to build with its own technology.

Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel in space onboard a Soviet spacecraft in 1984. Two people of Indian origin, Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams, have been to space onboard US spacecrafts.

ISRO is in the process of developing sophisticated versions of the PSLV launch vehicles. Scientists said the proposal to send a manned spacecraft was sent after India successfully launched the lunar mission Chandrayaan-I last year.

ISRO also plans a Mars mission before 2020:
Everyone is happy with the successful launch of Chandrayaan and now there are preparations for Mission Chandrayaan-II after the government approval. Chandrayaan-I was mostly a remote-sensing spacecraft scanning the lunar surface for minerals and water, Chandrayaan-II will be a land-rover with capabilities to move on the moon's surface.