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Mission Control intenta “sin descanso” rescatar una nave espacial a Mercurio

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Una compleja misión a Mercurio ha comenzado su odisea espacio Hace seis años, el vuelo encontró problemas críticos de propulsión que, según los observadores, podrían poner en peligro los planes para estudiar el planeta más cercano a la Tierra. sol.

pepe colombo, Una misión conjunta europeo-japonesa, está en camino de llegar a Mercurio el 5 de septiembre para el primero de tres sobrevuelos cruciales destinados a poner la nave espacial robótica en camino alrededor del planeta el próximo año. En octubre de 2025 se lanzaron dos sondas científicas: una operada por la Agencia Espacial Europea y la otra por la Agencia Espacial Europea. Agencia de Exploración Aeroespacial de Japón – Se separará de la unidad para luego estudiar la superficie del planeta y su campo magnético.

Pero es incierto si estas operaciones científicas podrán llevarse a cabo según lo planeado. Durante la maniobra del 26 de abril, la unidad de propulsión eléctrica alimentada por energía solar no proporcionó suficiente energía a los timones de la nave espacial. Según la Agencia Espacial Europea. Después de unos 11 días, los ingenieros restauraron el empuje de la nave espacial a casi su nivel anterior, pero aún un 10 por ciento menos.

“Un equipo de expertos está trabajando incansablemente para comprender la causa fundamental del problema y el impacto adicional en el resto de la trayectoria”, dijo a Mashable Camille Bellot, portavoz de la Agencia Espacial Europea.

Planeta Mercurio

Mercurio es quizás el mundo rocoso menos estudiado del sistema solar.
Fuente de la imagen: Laboratorio de Física Aplicada NASA/JHU/Institución Carnegie. Washington

Para adaptarse al nivel más bajo de empuje de la nave espacial, el equipo extendió la duración del arco de empuje hasta que la nave espacial pudiera regresar a la trayectoria correcta. Vuelos planificados Entre septiembre y enero de 2025. En cuanto a la causa del problema de propulsión, los ingenieros todavía están tratando de resolverlo examinando hasta el último dato disponible.

“Sabemos que estamos ante un tema relacionado con la disponibilidad de energía eléctrica de la unidad de transmisión de mercurio”, dijo Bello. “Las transmisiones eléctricas en sí son buenas”.

Velocidad de la luz triturable

Mercurio Quizás sea el mundo rocoso menos estudiado del sistema solar. Es caluroso y de difícil acceso, incluso desde Saturno, y no ha disfrutado del nivel de exploración que han recibido otros planetas alrededor del Sol. Sólo dos naves espaciales anteriores, ambas NASA Las misiones espaciales se han dirigido al planeta Swift, apodado así por su rápida órbita alrededor del sol.

bebé colomboEmpecé a octubre 2018 A bordo de un cohete Ariane 5 desde un puerto espacial francés en América del Sur, busca estudiar los cráteres polares llenos de hielo, el campo magnético del planeta y un misterioso “hueco” en la superficie. La capa exterior está cubierta de mercurio. Antiguos flujos de lavaexcavado en rocas espaciales hace aproximadamente 4 mil millones de años.

Al ampliar el conocimiento sobre la composición, la atmósfera y el magnetismo de Mercurio, los científicos pueden comprender mejor cómo surgieron los planetas rocosos similares a la Tierra.

Pero éste no es el primer problema difícil para Pepe Colombo. El año pasado, los controladores de misión A Corrección de rumbo importante Para compensar interrupciones de motivación previas. Sin él, BepiColombo podría haberse desviado unas 15.000 millas de su rumbo hacia el lado equivocado del planeta, según la Agencia Espacial Europea.

Explicando la dificultad de llegar a Mercurio

Son necesarios muchos años de sobrevuelos consecutivos para la misión debido a lo difícil que es alcanzar la órbita de Mercurio.
Crédito: Agencia Espacial Europea

Misión Muchos años de vuelo consecutivo. Necesario por lo difícil que es llegar a Mercurio. Para entrar en órbita alrededor del planeta, la nave espacial debe volar lo suficientemente lento como para verse afectada por la gravedad de Mercurio. Demasiado rápido y te pasará de largo. El problema es que a medida que la nave espacial se acerca al Sol, gana velocidad como una bicicleta que desciende.

Reducir la velocidad en el vacío del espacio no es fácil. La coreografía precisa de balancearse alrededor de los planetas es Una forma para que una nave espacial queme energía. Sin llevar cantidades excesivas de combustible puede provocar lo contrario. Haz que la nave espacial sea muy pesada. Para ponerse en marcha en primer lugar.

Si la gestión de la misión puede abordar adecuadamente el problema de energía de la nave espacial, las operaciones científicas podrían comenzar en la primavera de 2026.



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What China’s mission to collect rocks from the far side could reveal about the Moon

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Later this week, China will embark on the world’s second-only trip to the Moon’s far side. The goal is to collect the first rocks from inside the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, the largest and oldest impact crater on the lunar surface, and bring them back to Earth for analysis.

A stack of four spacecraft needed to complete this unprecedented and highly challenging mission, known as Chang’e-6, is now tucked into the nose of a 57-metre-tall Long March 5 rocket, waiting to lift off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre on southern China’s Hainan Island.

“The whole process is very complex and risky,” says Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

But he says it’s a risk worth taking: “Samples from the SPA basin would be very interesting scientifically and tell us a lot about the history of the Moon and of the early Solar System.”

Far side science

Because the Moon is tidally locked to Earth, humans were only able to see its near side for thousands of years. In 1959, the first lunar far-side images returned by the Soviet probe Luna 3 revealed a face pocked with mountains and impact craters, in contrast to the relatively smooth near side. Scientists have since been collecting data from satellites orbiting the Moon to understand its little-known other half. In 2019, China’s Chang’e-4 became the first spacecraft to soft land and conduct surveys on the Moon’s far side.

The upcoming Chang’e-6 mission, with its landing site carefully chosen by Chinese scientists and international colleagues, aims to give the first accurate measurements of the age and composition of the geology of the Moon’s far side. It might provide key clues to why the two sides of the Moon are so different — the so-called lunar dichotomy mystery — and help test theories about the early history of the Solar System.

The SPA Basin is a vast indentation on the lower half of the far side some 2,500 kilometres wide and 8 kilometres deep. Inside the northeastern part, Li’s team has identified three potential landing areas. They believe the sites could have a variety of materials formed during repeated asteroid impacts and volcanic eruptions over two billion years, and therefore could be scientifically rich.

The South Pole-Aitken Basin on the lunar far side. The low center is dark blue and purple. Mountains on its edge, remnants of outer rings, are red and yellow.

The South Pole-Aitken Basin is the blue area in the centre of this false-colour image. The indentation is 2,500 kilometres wide.Credit: NASA/GSFC/University Of Arizona

The most likely rock to be collected is basalt — dark-coloured cooled lava — which has previously been brought back to Earth for analysis from the Moon’s near side. With the first far-side basalt samples, scientists will be able to date them and assess their chemical composition, giving clues to their formation. “Then we can make comparative studies to understand why volcanic activities happened on a much smaller scale and ended much earlier on the far side of the Moon,” says Long Xiao, a planetary scientist at the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan.

Being able to pin down the SPA Basin’s age would also be a major achievement, says planetary geologist Carolyn van der Bogert from the University of Münster, Germany. It will help settle the long-standing debate about whether the Moon and the inner Solar System was battered by a massive cluster of asteroids between 4.0 and 3.8 billion years ago. If the SPA Basin is older, then it would cast doubt on the heavy bombardment theory.

Besides basalts, scientists hope that Chang’e-6 will also pick up fragments of other rocks that have been scattered during impact events. If the Chinese mission strikes ejecta the from the deeper lunar crust or mantle, it will be scientific gold.

Engineering challenges

Chang’e-6 was originally built as a backup for the Chang’e-5 mission, which successfully returned 1.73 kilograms of samples from the Moon’s near side in 2020. Because the two craft are identical, site selection for Chang’e-6’s landing was constrained to similar latitudes as Chang’e-5’s and needed a relatively flat surface, says Chunlai Li, the mission’s deputy chief designer from the National Astronomical Observatories in Beijing.

Like its predecessor, Chang’e-6 does not pre-determine its landing site but will use its instrumentation during the descent process to find the safest and most favourable spot. “The landing of Chang’e-6 would be more challenging than Chang’e-5 simply because the far side landing site is more rugged,” says Xiao.

Chang’e-6, like its twin, consists of an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a re-entry module. When the spacecraft arrives at the Moon, it will separate into two parts, with the lander and ascender headed for the lunar surface while the orbiter and re-entry module remain in orbit.

If it pulls off the difficult soft landing, the lander will drill and scoop up two kilograms of soil and rocks. The sampling process needs to be completed within 48 hours, after which the ascender is intended to blast off from the lander and return to the lunar orbiter. There it is supposed to dock and transfer the precious samples to the re-entry module for the trip home.

During the sample collection and lunar surface liftoff, the Chang’e-6 lander would be unable to directly communicate with Earth. Every command will need to go through a relay satellite named Queqiao-2. Launched last month and now operating in a highly elliptical orbit around the Moon, Queqiao-2 is more powerful than the Queqiao satellite which served the Chang’e-4 mission. Its 4.2-metre umbrella-shaped antenna has the ability to simultaneously serve up to ten spacecraft working on the Moon’s far side.

International collaboration

Chang’e-6 is also carrying scientific payloads from France, Sweden, Italy and Pakistan. The Detection of Outgassing RadoN (DORN), which will be the first French instrument on the Moon, plans to use radon released from the lunar surface as a tracer to study the origin and dynamics of the Moon’s faint atmosphere. Pierre-Yves Meslin, a planetary scientist at the Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology in Toulouse, France, says previous spacecraft have measured radon gas movement from orbit, but surface-level radon information is the missing piece of the puzzle.

The Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface, a payload developed in Sweden with funding from the European Space Agency, will seek to answer the question of why no negative ions have yet been detected on the lunar surface. Negative particles could be short-lived, formed either by atoms at the surface snatching electrons from the solar wind, or by molecules breaking apart from the high-energy solar radiation. The biggest challenge for this instrument is overheating, since it needs to face the Sun, says ESA project manager Neil Melville. But he says one hour of operation should be enough to gather the data.

Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics is sending a laser retroreflector for distance measurements. And Pakistan has piggy-backed its first lunar satellite to the Chang’e 6 orbiter, which will deploy after entering the lunar orbit.

Both surface instruments need to complete their work and send data back to Earth within the 48-hour window. “As soon as the samples lift off, the ascender will bring with it the communications and control system it shares with the lander. Even if the instruments on the lander continue to take data, there is no way to receive them here on Earth,” Li says

He says that like Chang’e-5 samples, the returned Chang’e-6 samples will be shared with the international community.

“When those samples come back to Earth, they will be like a Christmas present — whoever opens it will be happily surprised,” Bogert says.

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Apple’s ‘Mission Impossible’ promo fails

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April 18: Today in Apple history: Apple pays $15 million for Mission: Impossible movie tie-in April 18, 1996: Apple unveils a massive $15 million promotional tie-in for the Mission: Impossible movie starring Tom Cruise.

Designed to promote the PowerBook, which Cruise uses in the spy flick, the marketing campaign comes at a particularly bad time. Attempting to climb back into the black after reporting its largest quarterly loss ever, Apple is in the middle of trying to perform its very own impossible mission. And that’s just the start of the problems.

Mission: Impossible PowerBook promo

1996 stands as probably the nadir of Apple’s nasty ’90s. Just a couple of weeks before the Mission: Impossible promo campaign, Apple reported a quarterly loss of $740 million. The shocking scale of the loss — with more than half coming from $1 billion in unsold products — revealed a company in far worse shape than previously thought.

The Mission: Impossible deal was an attempt to imbue Apple with some much-needed cool.

As part of the expensive campaign, Apple launched a “Mission: Impossible — The Web Adventure” site, an early example of online movie advertising. (You can still see Apple’s Mission: Impossible site, although the game sadly no longer works.)

Apple product placement in Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible The Web Adventure: Apple's big Hollywood promo proved about as effective as a shoe phone.
Apple’s big Hollywood promo proved about as effective as a shoe phone.
Screenshot: Apple

The deal also ensured that the PowerBook 5300c got screen time in the movie. Unfortunately, Apple and Paramount Pictures signed the deal so late that Cupertino got no input on the script’s tech elements.

As a result, the Mac shown in the movie uses a command-line interface instead of Mac OS. That made it look way behind the Windows 95 operating system then running on PCs.

Even worse, when a particularly tough job turns up later in the movie, the Mission: Impossible team’s resident computer expert advises the use of nonexistent “Thinking Machines laptops.”

Apparently, only those fictional computers could get the job done. Ouch!

PowerBook 5300: On-screen and on fire, but not on store shelves

A final problem dogged Apple’s Mission: Impossible promo campaign: The PowerBook 5300 wasn’t available to buy when the movie hit theaters. And, soon after the first 1,000 PowerBook 5300 units shipped to dealers around the United States, news broke that two production units caught fire — one at the home of an Apple programmer, the other at Apple’s factory in China.

“The main hallmark for Apple is ease of use,” wrote Pieter Hartsook, editor of The Hartsook Letter, at the time. “If your machine doesn’t work, it’s not easy to use.”

Apple issued a recall on the 100 PowerBook 5300s already sold, replacing the computers with another model. Unfortunately, the replacements packed only two-thirds the hard drive capacity of their predecessors. That forced Apple to lower the price of the laptop by $100.

As a result, moviegoers who saw the PowerBook 5300 plastered on the silver screen could not buy the computer. Not that many people could afford the pricey machines: The top-end PowerBook 5300ce came with a $6,500 price tag, making it the most expensive Apple laptop ever. (Adjusted for inflation, that’s nearly $13,000 today.)

Somehow, Apple pulls off the impossible

The Mission: Impossible promo deal certainly failed to work out as Apple planned. However, 1996 marked the beginning of a major turnaround for the company. Before long, Cupertino abandoned its disastrous clone Mac concept, enjoyed a few surprisingly big hits, and — most significantly of all — brought Steve Jobs back into the fold with the NeXT acquisition.

Now that’s a Hollywood ending!



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‘Franklin’ trailer shows founding father’s perilous mission to France

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A Benjamin Franklin docudrama coming soon to Apple TV+ will have the founding father taking on the dangerous task of convincing the king of France to financially support the American Revolution.

Legendary actor Michael Douglas has the title role of Franklin, a limited series premiering in April.

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Apple TV+ Franklin docudrama will be thick with political intrigue

In 1776, Benjamin Franklin is sent to France to convince the monarch to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy. Against the odds he succeeds and [Spoiler alert] the fledgling United States wins the Revolutionary War.

As Apple TV+ says:

“At age 70, without any diplomatic training, Franklin convinced an absolute monarchy to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy. By virtue of his fame, charisma and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies, French informers and hostile colleagues to engineer the Franco-American Alliance of 1778 and the peace treaty with Great Britain in 1783.”

It is easy to picture Franklin’s mission to Paris as a bunch of men standing around discussing diplomacy, but the trailer for the Apple TV+ series emphasizes the intrigue and danger … because of course it does.

So much talent

Michael Douglas has over 50 years of acting experience. Among his many accolades are two Academy Awards and five Golden Globes.

The Apple TV+ series is based on the book A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America by Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff.  The adaptation was written by Kirk Ellis, who also wrote HBO’s John Adams, which was showered with awards.

The drama also stars Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place) as Temple Franklin, Thibault de Montalembert (Call My Agent!) as comte de Vergennes, Daniel Mays (Line of Duty) as Edward Bancroft, Ludivine Sagnier (Lupin) as Madame Brillon, Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) as John Adams and Théodore Pellerin (There’s Someone Inside Your House) as Marquis de Lafayette.

The series was directed by Tim Van Patten (The Pacific, The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire).

Coming to Apple TV+ in April

Franklin will premiere globally on Apple TV+ with the first three episodes on Friday, April 12. These will be followed by one new episode every Friday through mid May.

Watch on Apple TV

Watching comes with a subscription to Apple TV+. The service is $9.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle.

And Apple’s streaming video service also includes much more than historical dramas, of course. There are comedies, science fiction, children’s shows, nature documentaries, etc.

Want more tips on what to watch? Read our guide to the 15 best shows on Apple TV+.



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Astro Pi Replay simulation tool launched for Mission Space Lab

Astro Pi Replay simulation tool for Mission Space Lab projects

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced a new simulation tool, Astro Pi Replay, to support participants in the European Astro Pi Challenge 2023/24, specifically for the Mission Space Lab. This educational project, run in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), allows young people up to 19 years old to write programs that operate on the International Space Station (ISS).

The challenge is divided into two missions: Mission Zero for beginners and Mission Space Lab for more experienced coders. This year’s Mission Space Lab includes a new format and resources, with a specific scientific task for teams to calculate the speed of the ISS using Python programming and onboard sensors.

Imagine having the chance to write a computer program that will run in space. That’s exactly what young coders are doing with the help of the Raspberry Pi Foundation and the European Space Agency (ESA). These organizations have come together to create the initiative, which builds on the success of the European Astro Pi Challenge. This program is not just another coding competition; it’s an opportunity for young people up to 19 years old to make a real impact on the operations of the International Space Station (ISS).

Your Mission if you would like to accept it!

The Astro Pi Challenge has been a beacon for young minds interested in space science, offering a hands-on experience that goes beyond the classroom. By participating, students can contribute directly to the research and activities conducted on the ISS. The challenge is divided into two missions: Mission Zero, which is designed for beginners, and Mission Space Lab, which is tailored for more advanced coders. For those who are ready to take on a significant scientific challenge, Mission Space Lab in the 2023/24 cycle presents a unique task. Participants will use the Python programming language and the sensors aboard the ISS to calculate the orbital speed of the station. This task is not just about writing code; it’s about applying problem-solving skills to a real-world scenario in an extraordinary setting.

Astro Pi Replay is the latest tool introduced to help participants perfect their code. This simulation tool is a game-changer for preparation, as it allows students to test and refine their programs under conditions that closely mimic those on the ISS. The goal is to ensure that the code will perform without a hitch when it’s finally deployed in space.

Astro Pi Replay

To support the participants in their journey, the Raspberry Pi Foundation and ESA have provided a wealth of resources. These include guides for mentors and creators, as well as a focused ISS speed project guide that helps students approach their scientific task methodically. Additionally, virtual sessions are available, offering expert support and insights to help students navigate the challenges they may face.

One of the most exciting aspects of Astro Pi Replay is that it will be open source. This means that the code and the tools used in the project will be available for anyone to see, use, and learn from. It also allows the community to contribute to the project, fostering a collaborative environment where innovation thrives. This open-source approach is about more than just transparency; it’s about building a network of young innovators who are committed to advancing space science education.

The Astro Pi Challenge, with its new simulation tool and comprehensive support resources, is an invitation to explore the boundaries of coding and space science. As participants write code that will operate in the unique environment of space, they become part of a legacy of educational excellence and discovery. This is a call to all young coders to prepare, test, and set their sights high. The mission to code for space is underway, and it promises to be an unforgettable adventure.

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Astro Pi Mission Space Lab coding competition launches once again

Astro Pi Mission Space Lab

The team over at Raspberry Pi have once again launched the Astro Pi Mission Space Lab competition enabling young people all over Europe a chance to have their code for a science experiment run in space on the International Space Station (ISS). So if you are think you are up for the challenge this year’s Mission Space Lab, astronauts from the European Space Agency are setting young people a task : to write a computer program that runs on the ISS and calculates the speed at which the ISS is orbiting planet Earth. Participation in Mission Space Lab is completely free.

The Astro Pi Mission Space Lab is a unique initiative that offers young people an unprecedented opportunity to contribute to space exploration. This program invites participants aged up to 19 years to write a Python program for the Astro Pi computers onboard the International Space Station (ISS) with the goal of calculating the speed of the ISS.

Other articles you may find of interest on the subject of Raspberry Pi range of mini PC systems :

 

Participants engage in this project in teams of 2 to 6, working under the guidance of mentors who help them navigate through the process. The Mission Space Lab program is designed to be inclusive and accessible to all levels of programming experience. For beginners, a guided project is available to provide a roadmap for the mission. Meanwhile, more experienced teams are encouraged to create their own innovative solutions.

Raspberry Pi Astro Pi

The Astro Pi, the heart of this program, are Raspberry Pi computers equipped with a High Quality Camera, a Sense HAT add-on board with sensors, and a Coral machine learning accelerator. The Astro Pis are not just ordinary computers; they are specifically designed to withstand the harsh conditions of space and function effectively in the ISS environment.

In this program, participants are encouraged to use sensor data from the Astro Pis in creative ways to calculate the ISS’s speed. This requires not only programming skills but also an understanding of physics and mathematics. The combination of these disciplines provides a rich and challenging learning environment for participants.

Certificate of achievement

All participants whose programs successfully run on the ISS will receive a certificate of achievement, adding a noteworthy accomplishment to their portfolio. In addition, they will have the chance to attend a Q&A webinar with an ESA astronaut, a rare opportunity to interact directly with a professional in the field of space exploration. They will also receive data from the ISS based on their programs, providing them with a unique dataset for further analysis and learning.

Astro Pi Guides

To support the teams in their mission, the Astro Pi Mission Space Lab provides a mentor guide and a creator guide. The mentor guide includes tips on structuring the mission and assisting the team in problem-solving. It serves as a valuable resource for mentors to effectively guide their teams. On the other hand, the creator guide is designed to help participants design and create their Python programs. It provides insights into the technical aspects of the mission, guiding participants through the process of program creation.

Furthermore, a project guide is also provided as part of the resources. This guide showcases one way to complete the task by writing a program that calculates the ISS speed using photos taken by the Astro Pi’s camera. This guide serves as an example and inspiration for participants, showing them what is possible with the Astro Pi and Python programming.

The Astro Pi Mission Space Lab is a groundbreaking program that combines space exploration with coding, offering young people a unique opportunity to contribute to real-life space missions. It not only enhances their programming skills but also fosters a deeper understanding of space science, making it a truly enriching experience.

For more details and to apply to enter the new Astro Pi Mission Space Lab  jump over to the official Raspberry Pi Foundation website.

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