More Good News

[jseal]

The joint US-European mission to Saturn, Cassini-Huygens, has successfully entered into orbit around the planet!

The 95 minute main engine burn on this morning slowed it down enough to be captured by Saturn's gravity. It actually passed through a gap between two of the rings while decelerating.

Having traveled for more than six years and three billion km, it can now start a four-year study of the ringed planet and its 31 moons.

Nifty stuff!

[huntersgirl]

It sure is! Absolutely fascinates me.

[gekkogecko]

*Almost* went to NASA/GSFC last night to watch the live event. The Visitors Center there was open to the public from about 1930-2300 for the event. Too much other stuff to deal with in my life, though, so didn't get to do it. Ah, well, the important part is that the mission is such a success so far.

[PantyFanatic]

Originally posted by jseal
.....Nifty stuff!
Very! :cool:

[jseal]

In addition to the technical achievement of putting a satellite into orbit around Saturn – an amazing achievement in and of itself, the project management required for such a success must itself be a challenge.

The notion that messages must be sent at least an hour and a half earlier than their earliest possible execution time is unusual. Having to allow for the speed of light as a limitation – now that is an “otherworldly” idea.

[Irish]

In MY opinion,it is a horrible waste of money!I,personally,can't
believe,that people,Bitch about,the cost of a war on terrorism,but
this doesn't bother them.Sure,it's a great accomplishment,but I
would rather,see the money spent on the unexplored regions,of
the sea,on our own planet.That's just my opinion! Irish

[Oldfart]

Irish,

Lessons learned in outer space help us daily living in inner space.

[PantyFanatic]

OldFart? You mean you think war has been done to death, (no pun………..well, pun) and you think something that doesn’t go *BOOM* could be useful?

What a novel thought. :rolleyes:

[Irish]

If you're lucky,my opinion & $1.00,will get you a $1.00s worth!
I'll keep my opinion tho.It's the only thing that is, truely,mine!
Irish
P.S.The only person that you have to satisfy,is the person,that
looks back from the mirror.

[PantyFanatic]

^----- Also very true Irish. ;)

[Teddy Bear]

Originally posted by jseal

Having traveled for more than six years.....



Think they would've gotten there sooner if they'd asked for directions? LOL :D

[Teddy Bear]

Originally posted by Irish
In MY opinion,it is a horrible waste of money!I,personally,can't
believe,that people,Bitch about,the cost of a war on terrorism,but
this doesn't bother them.Sure,it's a great accomplishment,but I
would rather,see the money spent on the unexplored regions,of
the sea,on our own planet........


or feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, setting up decent affordable health care, lowering college tuition, repairing social security, paying our service men and women better, developing more efficient forms of transportation, improving our schools by hiring top people in the fields of science & math to teach, fund more research for finding cures for cancer, AIDS & Parkinsons, make sure every town has its own library, put computers in classrooms......... etc, etc......
~just MY opinion!~ :)

[Teddy Bear]

Originally posted by Oldfart
Irish,

Lessons learned in outer space help us daily living in inner space.


Such as???

[scotzoidman]

Why explore outer space? Because it's there...& because it's what's next...

[jseal]

Teddy Bear,

I doubt that there will ever be enough money to do everything. The toughest question might be "which ones"?

[Teddy Bear]

Originally posted by jseal
Teddy Bear,

I doubt that there will ever be enough money to do everything. The toughest question might be "which ones"?


So since we can't decide what we should do we send the money into space... ohhhhh I see.

[jseal]

Teddy Bear,

Well, that is one way of looking at it. It is also true that almost all of the money spent on the project remains here on Earth. All the jobs which are generated throughout the economy by this mission – and all NASA missions – remain firmly on the ground. Everyone from the most humble groundskeeper who maintains the launch site facilities, through the mechanics to the engineers, and ending in the Mission managers, all remain on Earth, and spend their salaries on the same types of things you an I do.

The only bits of the mission which are gone forever are the launch vehicle and the probe itself.

[Teddy Bear]

Thats a unique view. :)

But aside from creating a few jobs what do we gain thats of any use from space exploration?

[Lilith]

Velcro

WD-40


let me think on that some more

[Oldfart]

TeddyBear

Alot of the remote and micro-integrated medical sensors we now rely

on during operations were developed for space.

Micro-gravity promises medicines of unparalleled purity, crystal growth

for electronics impossible in our gravity well and fun for hundreds

of generations of kids.

PantyFanatic,

War will continue as long as two idiots want to kill each other.

All we can do is try to keep them from taking us with them.

[jseal]

Gentlefolk,

I hope that you are just pulling my leg, but on the off chance that you are unaware of some of the benefits of space exploration, I shall list a few.

Scratch-resistant lenses for eyeglasses are a spinoff product from something developed to protect satellites from getting nicked by space debris. Nitinol is a medical alloy which makes wearing dental braces easier. Nitinol was developed to enable satellites to “open up” more easily when deployed from the cramped confines of a launch vehicle.

Back in the 60’s Project Mercury technicians invented an automatic blood pressure measuring device. You can use the consumer edition of that device in many pharmacies for an instant check-up. Heart pacemakers communicate through electronic telemetry similar to that developed to operate satellites orbiting the earth. The implantable insulin pump that helps keep diabetics alive borrows technology from the mechanical robot arm on the first Mars Voyager probe. There’s a miniature blood pump which has been approved for use in humans. This heart pump uses technology from Space Shuttle fuel pumps.

Another spinoff from the space program comes from the HST’s Charge Coupled Device (CCD) chips. The CCD chips enable imaging that can discern between a malignant or benign tumor without the need for a biopsy. The cost for this procedure is hundreds of dollars versus thousands for a biopsy. Multiply that by the half million women each year who have one, and you are talking real money. There is also the personal avoidance of surgery with the attendant risk and scarring.

In the sphere of Earth sciences, remote-sensing technology implemented in satellites has been very valuable in areas such as disaster preparedness and mitigation, ocean health monitoring, weather prediction, forest and agricultural management and land use planning. Focusing on weather prediction alone, the American economy saves millions of dollars every year form the improved predictions provided by satellites operating in space.

[Teddy Bear]

I humbly bow in the presence of those with great knowledge. I seriously had no clue. I'll ease up a little bit on my negative outlook regarding the space program. But I'd still like to see more money spent at home on some of the things mentioned earlier. TY for explaining to the fluff brain bear. :)



And jseal, if I was pulling your leg you'd know it sweetie. ;) :D

[dicksbro]

No need to bow, Teddy Bear. The question you raise is a valid one.

My thought's always been that the money didn't go to space ... just some metal and plastics and stuff. The money went into the businesses that built the craft, the jobs that created, and the salaries of the people that work there ... not to mention the taxes that support the programs that help the hungry, poor, homeless, etc.

On the other side, the knowledge derived from challenging ourselves to do things that have never been done before seems to add real future value.

Probably just goofy thinking on my part ... but that's what I've always thoughtl.

[jseal]

Teddy Bear,

NASA has failed to communicate the vales of these space spin-offs, and needs to do a better job doing so. I stand corrected for assuming that everyone shares my interest in this subject. They are spending your tax dollars, so questions like "Why go into space when we have unsolved problems here on Earth?" and "What does the space program do for me?" are legitimate and pertinent questions. Irish expresses similar concerns in his post. Each of the goals in your post is valid, as is the “earth exploration” Irish proposes. Please accept my apologies for any implications to the contrary.

I consider it unfortunate that so few people are aware of the substantial benefits the space program provides to our daily lives. Applications on Earth of technology developed for space flight have produced many – I’m sure I can say hundreds - of different products that improve the economy as a whole, and each of our lifestyles. Collectively, these spin-off applications represent a substantial return on the investment (our tax dollars) in aerospace research.

[jseal]

The Cassini-Huygens probe passed within 350,000 km of Saturn’s moon Titan, one of the mission’s primary science targets. The spacecraft has managed to image large linear features on its surface which have not been observed from Earth because of Titan's thick atmosphere. One guess is that these could be tectonic structures - areas of crust which had been shaped by movement similar to what happens on the Earth.

[Cheyanne]

This is the link to the NASA site that explains more about the exploration of Saturn and also explains more about how we receive benefits from space exploration...I found this very interesting... and some really cool pictures of Saturn and its moons!!

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/index.html

Also, there is a section there where you can check up on the Mars Rovers... :D

[Cheyanne]

Another good reason for space exploration.... :D Looking at things from a different view!

http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/mission/index.htm

http://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov/

[jseal]

There is a spectacular set of pictures of Saturn's Rings, Titan, and Phoebe here!

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/latest/index.cfm

[jseal]

Another Earth satellite, the “Aura” will be launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, on Tuesday. It is the third in the NASA’s series of satellites aimed at providing hard data on the global environment. The first two global environment satellites, “Terra” and “Aqua”, gather information about the ground and the oceans. Aura will concentrate on the atmosphere, looking at gases, pollutants, and chemical reactions.

The 3 ton satellite will be used to test whether the Montreal Protocol to repair the ozone layer is working. While it SEEMS to be working, Aura will provide accurate numbers one way or another. Another of Aura’s roles is to assess the role of tiny particles in the atmosphere. These particles, containing sulphur or carbon, come from natural sources, such as volcanoes, and from human sources, such as coal, oil, and gasoline burning.

If Aura can provide the data needed to by scientists to understand clearly what these aerosols are doing, the costs of effectively reducing air pollution can be minimized, or with the same amount of money, the air quality can be improved more.

Effectively using the information is a political event, not a scientific one.

[rabbit]

People...BIG PICTURE for a moment....

We are entering an age of wonderous and HISTORIC scientific discovery. Rovers on Mars, snapping pictures of an alien landscape, discovering WATER (one of the necessary building blocks for life as we know it)....Cassini orbiting Saturn and an opportunity to land a rover on an alien moon...probes capturing material from comets and the solar wind....this is the stuff that expands our knowledge of the Universe and helps to define our place in it.

I am not saying that feeding the hungry isn't important. It's damn important. However, it is a flawed argument that suggests a choice between feeding hungry people and expanding mankind's knowledge. We cannot and must not foresake one for the other.

This is why I was buoyed by the President's proposal for the future exploration of space. Are they lofty goals? Absolutely. Can we pay for it? Sure. Should we pay for it? Not sure. But I do know that if you reach for stars but only get to the moon, you've still gone a long way.

President Kennedy was right to dream big...we should do the same.


rabbit

[jseal]

The launch of Aura has been delayed for a second time. A problem with a solid-state recorder aboard the satellite stopped the countdown 30 minutes before lift-off yesterday. A launch on Sunday was delayed due to a problem with the rocket nosecone.

NASA said it will be either a 24 or 48 hour hold.

[jseal]

Liftoff was at 6 AM EDT. A problem with the rocket's battery system stopped the countdown three minutes before lift-off on Wednesday.

[jseal]

Cassini has made the first direct observation of lightning in Saturn’s atmosphere.

[Catch22]

Jseal what of the Mars probes/landers? Are they still going?

[jseal]

Catch22,

Yes they are - and doing very well. NASA has given both rovers additional operating time, but the mission will not be granted additional money. They'll have to squeeze their budget.

[Irish]

As many of you know,I have a 10% diability,that I recieve a Govt. Check for
every month.At the beginning of the year,I recieved a letter,saying that the
allotment amount,would be increased by $? a month.I heard on the news, lately,that(among other things)the military pay,had been given,a $?? increase.
I imagine that my check will also be increased,because everytime,that the
military,gets an increase,it also increases by the same amount as they get!
Maybe that's one of the reasons ,for the space exploration budget,not being
increased. Irish
P.S. There is ONLY a certain amount of money!I imagine that everyone,would
bitch,if the taxes,were increased!

[Catch22]

As many of you know,I have a 10% diability,that I recieve a Govt. Check for
every month.At the beginning of the year,I recieved a letter,saying that the
allotment amount,would be increased by $? a month.I heard on the news, lately,that(among other things)the military pay,had been given,a $?? increase.
I imagine that my check will also be increased,because everytime,that the
military,gets an increase,it also increases by the same amount as they get!
Maybe that's one of the reasons ,for the space exploration budget,not being
increased. Irish
P.S. There is ONLY a certain amount of money!I imagine that everyone,would
bitch,if the taxes,were increased!

Your on a serviice pension Irish? I am on payment as well. I care for an aged relative and it is cheaper for the govt to pay me to nurse then have them in a hospital. We have had a fair bit of cash thrown at us this year. It is a voting year for the Fed Govt.

[Irish]

Your on a serviice pension Irish? I am on payment as well. I care for an aged relative and it is cheaper for the govt to pay me to nurse then have them in a hospital. We have had a fair bit of cash thrown at us this year. It is a voting year for the Fed Govt.
I don't know if you'd call it a pension.I get a 10% disability check,from the Govt!I have gotten it since it was awarded to me,from VN.I don't know if
"pension" is the right terminology.Being wounded,doesn't make you a "Hero",
it just means that you were in the wrong place, at the wrong time.As far as,
I'm concerned,the heros,are the medics,that kept me from bleeding to
death.I'd do it all over again.As Mackenzie said-If you don't stand for something,You'll fall for anything! Irish
P.S.My $.02.

[Catch22]

I don't know if you'd call it a pension.I get a 10% disability check,from the Govt!I have gotten it since it was awarded to me,from VN.I don't know if
"pension" is the right terminology.Being wounded,doesn't make you a "Hero",
it just means that you were in the wrong place, at the wrong time.As far as,
I'm concerned,the heros,are the medics,that kept me from bleeding to
death.I'd do it all over again.As Mackenzie said-If you don't stand for something,You'll fall for anything! Irish
P.S.My $.02.

Yes, my father was on something the same from WW2. My mother then got a widows one after he died. She was a war widow twice. Her first hubby was killed on a Jap death march.

[Irish]

Your on a serviice pension Irish? I am on payment as well. I care for an aged relative and it is cheaper for the govt to pay me to nurse then have them in a hospital. We have had a fair bit of cash thrown at us this year. It is a voting year for the Fed Govt.
In MY opinion,you are to be commended for that relative.The way that,many,
in VA hospitals,are cared for,is much, worse then death.I was in one,outside
of,Hartford Conn.,for some tests.One of the "old" men,on the ward,couldn't
get out of bed,had to be fed,some concoction,thru a funnel,in his throat,&
existed,for visits from wife & family.I would rather,be dead.Imagine,existing,
for the rest of your life,like that?With my luck,I'd live to be 115.That's why a
"living will" or whatever it's called is a good idea!I would hate to know,that I was just a "burden" on my family.Yes,he served his country,but after a while,
people just feel obligated to be there. Irish
P.S.Sorry,it's a sore spot with me,& I just vented.War is hell,but as I've said before,-The only person,that you can satisfy,is the person,that looks back from the mirror!

[jseal]

The Rocsat-2 spacecraft has been in orbit for two months and is studying high-altitude phenomena.

For many years, reports of red streamers, blue jets and strange diffuse glows seen in the upper reaches of the atmosphere were not taken seriously - rather like sailors’ stories of sea monsters. Over the past 10 years or so videos taken from high-altitude aircraft and the space shuttle have persuaded people that that they may be real.

The phenomena are difficult to study as they occur between 50km and 100km up, too high for most aircraft and too low for satellites. To study them, the Taiwanese government built the Rocsat-2 (Republic of China Satellite 2), which includes a sensor built to gather information about the lights.

The first image was returned on July. It showed red sprites - short fluorescent "tubes" glowing like neon lights - reaching to the ionosphere. Another image showed a brilliant lightning flash with a trio of red sprites above it and a sprite halo encircling it.

No obvious benefits here, just basic science.

[Irish]

jseal---I used to see the same thing,before I stopped drinking.Maybe I should
start again.Purely for scientific research! Irish :eek:

[jseal]

For those who are up late at night, the Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 11 & 12

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/040806_perseid_guide.html

[jseal]

Here’s a good one: Which spacecraft travels farther to reach its target – Cassini to Saturn, or Messenger to Mercury? If you picked Messenger, you’re right! By the time it gets to Mercury, Messenger will have traveled 4.9 billion miles. Cassini on the other hand traveled “only” 2.2 billion miles to get to Saturn!

[jseal]

NASA has decided it will save the Hubble Space Telescope by sending a robotic mission to repair it. One of the HST's major instruments has already gone off-line.

[jseal]

The jet plane GlobalFlyer, in which Steve Fossett (of global ballooning fame) plans to fly non-stop around the world without refueling may try the feat early next year. The jet has been designed by Burt Rutan, the man behind the first private spacecraft, SpaceShipOne.

Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson is the backer of the GlobalFlyer. He is the reserve pilot for the flight, even though he does not have his pilot's license.

[jseal]

The Cassini-Huygens mission in orbit around Saturn has discovered two new moons around the ringed planet. The new discoveries bump up Saturn's count of natural satellites to 33! The two new satellites are still unnamed, and are very small.

[jseal]

Dr Nuno Santos, of the University of Lisbon, speaking at the EuroScience Open Forum in Stockholm, Sweden, announced the discovery of what he described as the smallest Earth-like planet orbiting a star outside our Solar System. The discovery was made using the Harps spectrograph on the European Southern Observatory's at La Silla, Chile.

The planet is about 14 times the size of Earth – too small to be a gas giant - and is close enough to the star that it is unlikely to be icy. Mu Arae is located about 50 light-years from Earth, so NASA has not yet announced any plans for a mission.

[cowgirltease]

The Rocsat-2 spacecraft has been in orbit for two months and is studying high-altitude phenomena.

For many years, reports of red streamers, blue jets and strange diffuse glows seen in the upper reaches of the atmosphere were not taken seriously - rather like sailors’ stories of sea monsters. Over the past 10 years or so videos taken from high-altitude aircraft and the space shuttle have persuaded people that that they may be real.

The phenomena are difficult to study as they occur between 50km and 100km up, too high for most aircraft and too low for satellites. To study them, the Taiwanese government built the Rocsat-2 (Republic of China Satellite 2), which includes a sensor built to gather information about the lights.

The first image was returned on July. It showed red sprites - short fluorescent "tubes" glowing like neon lights - reaching to the ionosphere. Another image showed a brilliant lightning flash with a trio of red sprites above it and a sprite halo encircling it.

No obvious benefits here, just basic science.
This is interesting. Do you have a link to this? Do they have images posted anywhere?

[jseal]

cowgirltease,

Yes'm. Hope these help. The first link has some images.


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0625_030625_atmospherethunder.html#main

http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:o-qBpu-wMZEJ:hawk.iszf.irk.ru/URSI2002/GAabstracts/papers/p0732.pdf+rocsat-2&hl=en

http://www.nspo.gov.tw/e50/menu0402.html

http://www.fas.org/spp/guide/taiwan/earth/

http://www.spaceandtech.com/spacedata/logs/2003/rocsat-2_sum.shtml

http://nis-www.lanl.gov/~stanleym/dissertation/node8.html

[cowgirltease]

Thank you very much Darlin! :x:

[jseal]

:grin:

[jseal]

The Genesis probe, which left Earth in 2001 to gather particles blown off the Sun, is scheduled to eject a capsule containing its cargo today.

The reentry vehicle should fall over Utah, and pilots are to snatch the parachute in midair to prevent the capsule hitting the ground.

Scientists hope the particles of solar wind can tell them about the evolution of the Sun and the planets.

[jseal]

University of London scientists have found a new ring around Saturn and possibly two new "moons".

[Catch22]

The Genesis probe didn't go so well. A bit of a hard landing.

[jseal]

So I understand. And wouldn't you know it, but Prof. Pillinger (of Beagle fame) was in line to analyze some of the samples. Space has been unkind to Dr. Pillinger of late.

[jseal]

NASA now claims that some material has been found still intact inside of what was left of the Genesis space capsule.

[dicksbro]

I'm glad for that. Hopefully not all was lost.

[jseal]

The first direct image of a planet circling another star may have been obtained by a US-European team of astronomers working at the Very Large Telescope facility operated by the European Southern Observatory in Chile.

The planet, a gas giant like Jupiter, is orbiting a star 230 light-years away. I’ll take them at their word, but I have to admit that it strains my credulity that they are able to do this.

[jseal]

Authorities in Cambridge, England are trying to find the vandal who spray-painted the chemical notation of a molecule of guanine on the road near where the double helix structure of DNA was unveiled. Guanine is one of the amino acids found in DNA.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cambridgeshire/3661972.stm

[jseal]

NASA has awarded a contract to design the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) spacecraft. Since it is not scheduled for launch until 2011, a lot can happen, but at least they’re moving forward!

[texascubfan]

31 moons
Maybe I'm not thinking right, but that would be a full moon every night! How romantic! Anyone know a good realtor on Saturn?

[jseal]

Sir Richard Branson, CEO of the Virgin Atlantic airline, has just announced an agreement with Mojave Aerospace Ventures to take the rich - those who can afford a $180,000 – into space. It seems a bit early to me for Space tourism to take off. Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.

[jseal]

SpaceShipOne is scheduled to take off at 0600 Pacific Time for the first of the two flights required to win the $10m Ansari X-Prize. The second flight must take place within 14 days.

[jseal]

SpaceShipOne has successfully completed the first of two qualifying flights into space! There was no report of any passengers, so I presume it carried ballast instead. In order to win the $10 million prize, it must make a second successful trip within the next 14 days.

The SpaceShipOne team does not have a lot of wiggle room. A Canadian team is scheduled to try on October 2nd.

[Catch22]

Good that means we may have 4 hour flights to the other side of the world instead of 16. That means I can pop over to Bumfuck for lunch and be back home for bedtime! :D

[jseal]

Catch22 !!!!!!!!!!!!

At $100,000 a trip, that'll have to be one hell of a Bumfuck! Yet another of the evils of Globalization revealed for all to see!

[Catch22]

So I am a romantic Jseal. A boy can dream you know.

[jseal]

SpaceShipOne is scheduled today to make the second of the two qualification flights needed to claim the $10m Ansari X-Prize. The first flight took place on Wednesday last week above California.

Let’s wish them well!

[jseal]

Official confirmation is still pending, but it looks as if SpaceShipOne successfully made the second of the two qualification flights needed to claim the X-Prize! The only difference from last week’s flight was that the pilot was different. Still no word of passengers, so I guess that ballast was used again.


Yeah Team!

[jseal]

VIPs from around the world have gathered in Geneva at CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) headquarters to mark 50 years of scientific research.

CERN was also where the World Wide Web was created by Tim Berners-Lee as a method of file-sharing.

[jseal]

“Scooby-Doo” has been awarded a Guinness World Record for most episodes of a cartoon comedy series.

The show's 350th episode, Scooby-Doo Halloween, will be aired on Friday. The previous record holder was “The Simpsons”. Doh!

Seen in more than 160 countries, the show was created back in 1969 by Hanna-Barbera, the same company that created The Flintstones.

Amazing!

[jseal]

SMART-1, which has entered into the Moon's gravity well, is the first European spacecraft to travel to and orbit around the Moon. It was launched back on September 27th of last year.

It will test a solar-electric propulsion system as one of its primary mission objectives. The engine works by expelling a beam of charged xenon ions from the back of the probe. This is only the second time that ion propulsion has been used as a mission's primary propulsion system. The first was NASA's Deep Space 1 probe.

SMART-1 will look for water (in the form of ice) on the Moon.

[jseal]

The Huygens probe is on target and set for its descent onto Titan, the large moon of Saturn on 14-JAN-05. For the past seven years the probe has ridden on the Cassini spacecraft, which arrived at Saturn in July.

If all goes according to plan, Huygens should have approx. two and a half hours to study its surroundings as it drifts down to the surface. Titan is unique in that it is the only planetary satellite with a substantial atmosphere.

[jseal]

Back in July, NASA launched the Aura satellite, and it is on-line and delivering the goods! :)

It has already provided new images of the ozone hole over Antarctica, and direct measurements of lower atmospheric ozone, including chemicals that lead to "bad ozone" at ground level.

Read all about it at the Beeb: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4112351.stm

[jseal]

The Huygens probe has been released from Cassini, and is scheduled to arrive at Titan in 21 days. As Titan may contain liquid methane or ethane, if all goes well, it could radio back the very first extraterrestrial oceanographic measurements.


Pretty cool.

[dicksbro]

I have NASA send me updates on the Huygens-Cassini mission. Fascinating, isn't it? Jseal, I love you keeping us posted on these things! Thanks!

[jseal]

I’m sure we have all heard of the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Darfur, in the west of Sudan.

One of the aid organizations, Respond, is using satellite imagery to produce accurate maps which help address the logistical challenges in getting supplies to where they are needed. These maps have been very useful during Sudan's rainy season, when normally dry riverbeds, or wadis, flood, rather like what happens in the southwest US.

The group uses satellites from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

[jseal]

The remains of the only known Roman chariot racing track in Britain, which archaeologists say was built around the 2nd century AD, have been found.

New homes are to be built on a 209-acre site where builders preparing the groundwork excavated what they believe is a race track nearly 2,000 years old. The developer will include it as a feature in their development of a decommissioned army barracks!

It is one of only four tracks which have been found in the north western Roman Empire provinces

[osuche]

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. ..... Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important, proximique sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt.

[jseal]

Ave Caesar!

Veni, vedi, vici!

:thumb:

[osuche]

LMAO ~ sorry. I read your post and I couldn't help but think of Ceasar's explaination that those in England and Northern France (the Belgae) are the bravest, because they are furthest from the civilization and refinement of Roma

.....I guess a racetrack constitutes refinement?.....I had no idea Caesar had so much in common with Dale Earnhardt Jr.



;) OK...end of Latin lesson :D

[jseal]

The Huygens space probe has touched down on Titan, one of Saturn's moons, Titan, and is sending back data!

The data has not arrived on Earth yet, but a radio telescope has detected that the probe is working. It had been transmitting data for over two hours as it parachuted to Titan’s surface.

This is the furthest landing from Earth ever!

[jseal]

Gentlefolk,

Here is a good link for current Huygens info.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/index.html

[jseal]

Gentlefolk,

It is interesting to see the similarities in the photographs of Venus, Mars, and Titan


Venera
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/hires/v13_vg261_262.gif

Sojourner
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/parker/TwnPks_RkGdn_left_sm.jpg

Huygens
http://www.esa.int/images/Picture7_L.jpg

[jseal]

The American Astronomical Society (AAS) said it endorsed a National Research Council recommendation that NASA pursue a manned mission to repair Hubble instead of robots.

"They came down very clearly saying that if you really care about the space telescope, then doing the shuttle mission is the best answer," said Robert Kirshner, AAS president.

US Congress has directed NASA to request a study from the NRC to look into servicing options for Hubble, after NASA cancelled what was to be the fifth, and final, shuttle-servicing mission to the telescope.

[jseal]

Pictures from the Huygens probe show that Titan's sea has slow moving waves and an atmosphere similar to that of earth – about 4 billion years ago!

At a news conference today, ESA scientists announced that liquid methane rain feeds river channels, lakes, streams, and springs on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan, images.

"We have evidence of many Earth-like processes such as rain, erosion and abrasion but with very exotic materials," said Marty Tomasko, one of the scientists involved with the lander.

Wild stuff!

[jseal]

The Hubble Space Telescope and a mission to explore Jupiter's moons look to be casualties in NASA 's 2006 budget plans! In the proposals, a mission to service Hubble would be scrapped and the telescope left to die in orbit.

[wyndhy]

another sad victim of an area of govn't frought with entanglements. all things considered, this is a young science. i have faith that someday we will learn to manage it with more success.

[jseal]

Steve Fossett has successfully flown non-stop around the world solo, landing in Kansas about 10 minutes ago.

[jseal]

Russia's main space station, the Cosmodrome at Baikonur, celebrates its fiftieth anniversary today, 02-JUN-05.

The first satellite, Sputnik 1, and the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, both launched from the site in what is now Kazakhstan.

[jseal]

Pro-whaling nations, led by Japan, have lost a vote at the International Whaling Commission meeting on a proposal which could have led to a resumption of commercial whaling.

It looks like the moratorium on commercial whaling in place since 1986 will remain in place for at least one more year. :)