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Search for Rosetta Landing Site Narrows

August 25, 2014 By Jack M. Robinson Leave a Comment

Two highly important space missions reached new stages in August. NASA’s New Horizons probe passed near Neptune on its way to Pluto and other Kuiper Belt bodies.

The European Space Agency prepared a daring program, Rosetta, in another part of the solar system. Rosetta is a probe launched in 2004 with the aim of studying a comet. The spacecraft was set to hibernation mode for 31 months to conserve energy until this January. The daring part is ESA’s plan to land Rosetta on the 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko comet.

The probe sent back wonderful images of the comet as it was getting closer. Based on the information received so far now scientists must decide the Rosetta landing site. Now, the agency announced that five locations are considered.

The ESA team working on Rosetta must take into account multiple characteristics when deciding which locations fits their interests and the spacecraft’s wellbeing best.

Rosetta landing site chosen by mid-September

“The process of selecting a landing site is extremely complex and dynamic; as we get closer to the comet, we will see more and more details, which will influence the final decision on where and when we can land,” said Fred Jansen, Rosetta’s mission manager from the European Space Agency’s Science and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. “We had to complete our preliminary analysis on candidate sites very quickly after arriving at the comet, and now we have just a few more weeks to determine the primary site. The clock is ticking and we now have to meet the challenge to pick the best possible landing site.”

Rosetta landing site search narrows down.

From a list of 10 initial potential landing sites, only five made it to the shortlist. Several factors need to be accounted for. First, Rosetta must be able to maintain regular communication with Earth from the location. Secondly, the location topography must not pose any dangers to Rosetta and ensure a safe landing. Thirdly, the location must not obstruct natural illumination, as Rosetta’s batteries last only 64 hours and need to be recharged.

By September 14 the final Rosetta landing site will be selected. Philae, the robotic lander with nine extra analytical instruments, will be deployed in November. Philae will send back to Earth the most detailed information on comets so far. The robots has to land in November the latest, as the comet will get closer to the Sun afterward and start melting.

Filed Under: Science Tagged With: astronomy, comet, European space agency, Rosetta, spacecraft

Now snake robots on Mars mission

September 17, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

Soon snake robots will be seen on a Mars mission as the European space agency (ESA) is mulling to send a detachable snake-like robot to the red planet, which could partner up with future rovers, allowing the scientists of greater access to nooks and crannies there.

According to the ESA researchers, snake-like robots may do a better job exploring Mars than the wheeled rovers humans have previously sent to the red planet.

Researchers at The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research (SINTEF) are looking into whether snake robots could be a successful endevour. ESA wants its operations on other planets to have greater mobility and manoeuvrability.

mars2_115916c
It is noteworthy, NASA has landed four rovers on Mars that are solar-powered with six wheels and robotic arms that can take soil samples and operate cameras. Sojourner landed in 1997, Spirit and Opportunity in 2003, while the more advanced Curiosity was landed last year.

“Manoeuvrability is a challenge. The Spirit rover was lost after it became stuck in the sand on Mars. The vehicles just cannot get to many of the places from which samples have to be taken,” said Pal Liljeback and Aksel Transeth.

The researchers hope that by combining a rover that can navigate over large distances with a snake robot that can crawl along the ground and can get into inaccessible places, so many more possibilities could be opened up.

At the moment, soil samples from Mars are analyzed on board the rover itself, and the results are communicated back to Earth. However, ESA also wants to examine options that could allow samples to be returned to Earth. Snake robots could assist with collecting such samples, since they enable access to tight spots that the rovers cannot reach.

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: ESA, European space agency, Mars, mars mission, robots, snake robots, snake robots on mars

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