Straying away from Science

Move a bit away from the Science that fills your day! Let creativity take over and see what happens :) 

Planetary Exploration...........Rewind 2013

Humans by nature are a curious lot. Always exploring, always setting a limit, crossing it and further setting a new limit. Space is a canvas for humans to sketch their ideas, play with technologies, overcome challenges and create wonderful mean machines capable of venturing astronomical distances where no human has ever gone! It comes with a lot of allied applications in defence, aeronautics, navigation, material sciences and even medical, apart from the enormous science! 

Planetary exploration began in 1960s with Venera, Mariner, and Apollo missions (to Venus, Mars and Moon) which distinguished the exploration fraternity as those who are not satisfied being limited by the spatial extent of the Earth. Everyday newer discoveries are made and old bench marks are being shifted. Better resolution (spectrally and spatially) data are available. There is a need for better understanding the other known yet mysterious lands, distant and near and at the same time comprehending the analogous processes on the Earth. With so little been done and so much to do, these are exciting times!

Japan's AKASTUKI a.k.a Venus Climate Orbiter is bravely travelling as a recovery effort to study the harsh and hellish Venus (Venus arrival 2015). The curious CURIOSITY celebrated its first birthday of landing on Mars in August 2013. It investigates the geology finding larger answers of past Martian environment. It zaps the rocks through its laser eyes. It is well equipped with gas chromatograph, mass spectrometer, laser spectrometer (suite called Sample Analysis at Mars), X-ray diffraction and fluorescence (CheMin), Mars Hand Lens Imager, Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer, Mast Camera, ChemCam to vaporize fine thin layers from Martian surface and identify the excited atoms using spectrometer and not to forget the Radiation Assessment Detector. Curiosity is a true geologist. Apart from this, MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) launched in November, aims to investigate what went wrong with Mars-its lost atmosphere and water. It is devoted to study the upper atmosphere and the loss of atmospheric gases.  

DAWN scanning one of the most interesting asteroid Vesta (a close-up like never before, its extreme terrain images released in an Atlas in 2013) and now on the way to the largest one Ceres. Studying these protoplanets DAWN would take us back in time, as it would throw some light on early solar system (the dawn of solar system), its evolution and processes. JUNO en route to unlock the Giant Jupiter's secrets (Jupiter arrival July 2016). It had a gravity assist Earth flyby in October 2013. JUNO aims to study in depth the atmosphere, its composition, clouds, and magnetosphere, magnetic field and auroras. 

On July 19, 2013, in an event celebrated the world over, CASSINI went into Saturn's shadow and imaged the planet, its seven moons, inner rings and our home Earth, in the background. The image released was a mosaic of 1600 images and a stunner. Hope you did wave at Saturn that time! Cassini continues to provide intriguing information about the Saturn system since 2004. As we entered a new year 2014 on our Earth, Cassini had a Titan flyby at 1400 kilometres altitude on the 1st. The New Horizons spacecraft already crossed Uranus orbit and awaits to unravel long standing mysteries of the newer horizons of Pluto (Pluto arrival July 2015). 

Coming closer to home, the nearest neighbour Moon too has visitors- NASA's LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) entered the Moon orbit around its equator on November 20th 2013, has begun to study the extremely thin atmospheric structure and composition along with the dust, through three main instruments- the Ultraviolet & Visible Light Spectrometer, Neutral Mass Spectrometer and Lunar Dust Experiment. 

The Chinese CHANG'E 3 landed on the desolate magnificent Moon on December 14th and a little rover YUTU was deployed. YUTU carries a ground penetrating radar that aims to provide the structure below. The LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) already orbiting the Moon sent back a picture of the lander and rover on Christmas, to us Earthlings. 

The icing on the cake not to be forgotten, is with India entering the elite club of a handful nations attempting inter planetary mission on 5th November. The PSLV shot like firework from Sriharikota shooting hopes sky high of all Indians. The Mars Orbiter Mission is eight months and 600 million kilometres away from the Red Planet. Other than the technological demonstration it aims for scientific objectives of exploration of Martian surface, morphology, mineralogy and methane gas. 

With years to come, the challenges are plenty. To achieve what has never been attempted before, planet to planet! 

Image Credit:Olaf Frohn, 2012

Must see: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/whycassini/jpl/cassini20131112.html#.UsWcmfQW1bY

*P.S: Past and present NASA planetary data archived and distributed via http://pds.nasa.gov/