Space Stories: Swift Recovery, Saudi Space Sight-seeing Plans, and Ukrainian Reprisals in Russia

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist rendering of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in orbit with parts of spacecraft highlighted. (NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab)

Here are some recent space-related stories.

—Science Alert: “Heads Up: NASA to Launch ‘Daring’ Telescope Rescue Mission This Week“

NASA will soon attempt something it’s never done before: Save a space telescope from falling back to Earth using a servicing robot. It sounds like something right out of a sci-fi film, but NASA is hoping it might be enough to keep its sinking Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in action a little longer. According to the US space agency, the mission could launch as soon as this Tuesday 30 June, 6:17 am EDT (10:17 UTC), and we’ll be keeping you updated on the progress. If this mission works, the much-beloved Hubble Space Telescope is one of the next targets to have its life extended.

—The National News: “Stellar Places to Watch the Night Sky Across the Arab World“

Saudi Arabia has announced plans for AlUla Manara, a major astronomical observatory and research centre in the kingdom’s north-west…AlUla Manara is planned to include large telescopes, observation platforms, exhibitions, interactive experiences, a planetarium, a restaurant and a visitor and research centre. The project is intended to support scientific research as well as public astronomy experiences. No opening date has been announced.

—MSN: “Ukraine Strikes Russian Space Hub as Nuclear Orbit Fears Grow“

Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed its forces struck the Vladimir Space Communications Center near Gus-Khrustalny on 22 June, destroying the main 25‑metre parabolic antenna, damaging satellite modem halls, multiplexers, and cooling systems. Additional damage to the Main Hardware and Software Complex and a key technical building severely degraded Russia’s satellite operations…The Vladimir facility plays a central role in Russia’s satellite communications, and its loss comes amid accusations that Moscow has manoeuvred satellites near European systems used by Ukraine, causing GPS disruption across Europe, Greenland, and Canada.

Note: Here is the podcast version of this post.

Space Quote: That’s All We Need in This Year’s Election

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Solar flares on the Sun spilling radiation into the solar system. (NASA)

“In 2003, during a local Belgian election, a candidate received over 4,000 extra votes on a computerized voting machine — more than was physically possible, triggering an investigation…The leading explanation for each of these events is what’s known as a bit flip: an electronic glitch caused by radiation from space. Although uncommon, they can have significant consequences. And as our reliance on electronics continues to increase, so does our vulnerability to bit flips.“

-Quote from a recent article from Astronomy magazine titled “Our Planet’s Electronic Vulnerability.” The article goes on to explain how high-energy radiation from the Sun as well as deep space can cause a “bit flip” that is difficult to detect. Given the use of electronic voting machines in US elections, we can only hope that this radiation issue does not come up in the fall election. Asking the voters to “wait for the science” before jumping to conclusions is not a viable option.

Astronomy Question: Craters on Mercury

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Surface of Mercury captured by NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging MESSENGER spacecraft. (NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington)

Multiple Choice: What writer’s name below is not found among the craters on Mercury named after famous writers?

A. Marlowe
B. Melville
C. Milton
D. Molière

Take a guess and then check your answer by going to the “Astronomy Question Answer Sheet” page.

Video: The Risk of Self-Replicating Space Probes

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Pixabay

Earlier this month Cool Worlds Labs posted a video titled “Why Technological Civilizations Might Be Insanely Rare” that discusses the idea of self-replicating space probes.

The video starts with the assumption that self-replicating space probes, which have been discussed over the past 50 years, are something we should be able to achieve in the next few decades. That sounds like great news for space exploration. But there is a problem.

With each advance you often find a flaw, and in this case the flaw is that space probes will inevitably mutate into something destructive that slowly destroys exoplanets, then our own galaxy, and quite possibly other galaxies. So Professor David Kipping basically posits that such a probe can never be sent out because it is sure to eventually destroy the universe. This is quite a claim as we follow him through his calculations.

So the next question is why we are even here on Earth today since plenty of time has passed for the probe from another distant civilization to destroy us. The very fact that we are still here seems to indicate that no other civilization has ever sent out a self-replicating probe. And what does that mean? Could it mean there are no other civilizations? Or maybe no civilization survived to the point of sending such probes.

It is quite a mind twister worthy of your time. At the end of it, the overall question will change from “Why are we alone?” to “Why are we even here?” Or maybe, “How much longer will we be here?”

Don’t expect to get much sleep after watching this video.