Symbiotic Star Spotted in Chandra-X Ray

     Astronomers spotted a symbiotic star ( Symbiotic = two organisms live together with interactions). One of the best symbiotic star is known as R Aquarii which is located at a distance of 710 light years away from the Earth. First it was noticed with naked eye almost thousand years ago with its changes in brightness characteristics. R Aquarii consists of two stars one red and white. NASA's Astronomers are gaining better understanding about these stars with the images from Chandra-X Ray Observatory and other telescopes. They are trying to understand the close stellar relationship between this two stars.

In few billion years, our Sun will turn into a red giant and will exhaust hydrogen fuel from its outer surface and become a cool dwarf. Its pulse rate and periods will be 10 to 1000 days, but R Aquarii is similar to Star Mir, and its pulse rate is 250.The white dwarf has the surface temperature 20,000k and the red dwarf has 3000k. Astronomers predict that the outer ring of the star may be formed due to an supernova explosion in 1073. 

The release of energy from this star will blows off the outer layer by an asymmetric supernova explosion and it will move with a velocity of ten million miles per hour.Chandra-X Ray was launched in 1999, after its launch it began its observation on R Aquarii.

Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/R Montez et al, Optical Adam Block/Mt. Lemmon Skycenter, Arizona. Read more from Chandra-X Ray Observatory.

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NASA Finds a Planet Kelt-9b

   NASA finds a planet named KELT-9b revolving around the Star KELT-9 is evaporating its material like a comet. This planet was discovered by Ohio state university. This is the brightest gas giant star ever discovered and 300 million years older. The planet Kelt-9b is 2.8 times larger than the planet Jupiter. It revolving around the star and evaporates its material like a planet. Scientist predict that the planet would have larger radius and have been decreased due the evaporating ability. This Blue type star whose temperature is around 4600 Kelvin. It is one of the major discovery like the past TRAPPIST-1 system. Scientists saw this planet through NASA Spitzer Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope. Eventually James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to launch in 2018 and it contributed a little to this discoveries.

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Ultraviolet Spectrometer

Ultraviolet Spectrometer

      Ultraviolet Spectrometer uses ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy to analyse metal ions, organic compounds and biological macro-molecules. These analysis is carried out in solution state only not in solid or gas state. It absorbs the light in the visible range which directly makes a change in colour of chemicals. In the visible region atoms, molecules and electromagnetic spectrum undergo electronic transitions. Fluorescence spectroscopy deals with transition from excited to ground state and absorption transition from ground to excited state.

Principle of Spectrometer:

      Molecules containing pi-electrons can observe energy in the form of visible light to excite electrons from low to high anti-bonding molecular orbitals.

Simple Principle of UV-Spectrometer

Applications:

• It has wide applications in the field of colouring metal solutions
• It is used in spacecrafts as payload to detect organic compounds in space for search of life.
• It detects organic water-soluble compounds, ethanol and biological compounds. 

NOTABLE SPACECRAFTS FOR THIS PAYLOAD: 

• Voyager-1
• Viking-1 Lander
• Curiosity Rover
• Mariner-6
• Mariner-7
• Mariner-9
• Mars Express
• Beagle-2 Lander
• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter etc...

SOME PHOTOS OF UV-SPECTROMETER:

 

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Successful Launch of South Asia Satellite GSAT-09 India

GSLV-F09 / GSAT-09

     Indian Space Research Organisation launches GSLV-F09 a 2230 kg  South Asia Satellite known as GSAT-09 into Geostationary Transfer Orbit. This GSLV is our Eleventh flight of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and its fourth stage with indigenous cryogenic upper stage (CUS). This vehicle is designed to transfer or inject 2-2.5 ton of Satellites into GTO.GSLV-F09 was launched from second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota - the space port of India.

     GSLV-F09 configuration was similar to previous three launches of ISRO such as GSLV-D5 in January 2014, GSLV-D6 in August 2015, GSLV-F05 in September 2016 respectively.GSLV-D5 successfully placed communication satellite GSAT-14 and GSLV-D6 successfully placed another communication satellite GSAT-6 whereas GSLV-F05 successfully placed Indian Weather Satellite INSAT-3DR into GTO. S-band telemetry and C-band transponders enabled GSLV-F09 performance such as monitoring, tracking the vehicle, range safety, flight safety and Preliminary Orbit Determination (POD).    

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Viking 1 Orbiter

NASA's Viking Program consists of Viking-1 and Viking-2. Of these Viking-1 spacecraft became the first spacecraft to land on Mars. It Successfully landed on Mars on 20 July 1976. It occupies the second longest operated mission on Mars. The first place was occupied by Opportunity Rover which landed on 19 Mars 2010.Viking-1 Spacecraft carried a Orbiter and a Lander. The Viking-1 Lander performed Biological Experiment on the surface of Mars.

 START OF MISSION:

    Viking-1 Orbiter with Lander was carried by Titan IIIE/Centaur Rocket on 20 August 1975 at  11:53:06 UTC. Viking-1 after placed into its trajectory path to Mars, it traveled a period of 10 months and beamed back images of Mars Five days before its orbital insertion. Viking-1 Orbiter was successfully inserted into Martian Orbit on 19 July 1976. After orbital insertion Viking-1 Lander separated from orbiter at 08:51 UTC and performed successful landing on Mars at 11:53:06 UTC. This became the first lander to land on Mars.

INSTRUMENTS CARRIED BY ORBITER:

• Vidicon Cameras

• Infrared Spectrometer

• Water vapor mapper

• Infrared Radiometers

• Thermal Mapper  

ORBITER:

     The Viking-1 Orbiter became a communication relay between Viking-1 Lander and Earth. It performed various operation during its period from 19 June 1976 to 16 August 1980 and operations were terminated on 17 August 1980, because it was ran out of control gas.

LANDER:

       The lander separated from orbiter on 20 July 1976 and it orbited around mars at a speed of 5km per hour. Its retrorockets fired and landed safely on Martian Surface using its parachute. During its landing its Mass Spectrometer measured pressure, temperature and density sensors. After successful landing of Viking-1 Lander, it began its operations after 25 seconds.The lander operated for a period of 6 years on Mars.It conducted various experiments, but in an attempt to program a new software it lost its communication.

INSTRUMENTS CARRIED BY LANDER:

• Two Facsimile Cameras
• Analyser for Metabolism
• Gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer
• X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer
• Sensors to measure temperature, pressure,wind and velocity
• Three-axis seismometer
• A Magnet on a sampler
• Cameras and various sensors     

MISSION OUTCOMES:

      The Viking-1 Lander took biological experiment for the search of life, but the team got positive results. Some believe that the result was false due to various reasons. But NASA observed many changes to the surface near the viking landing site and they predict that, this change due to the inorganic chemical reactions. Life may be present.

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ESA's Mars Express Updates

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Mars 7 | 3MP No.51P

Mars 7 Lander/Flyby

     Mars 7 also known as 3MP No.51P was a Soviet Mars Spacecraft launched to explore Mars. A 3MP bus spacecraft launched as a part Mars Programme, This Mission carried a Lander and a coast stage with instruments to study Mars. This spacecraft was built by Lavochkin, Mars 6 and Mars 7 were 3MP spacecrafts. Two orbiters Mars-4 and Mars-5 were launched earlier and were expected to relay data for these two Landers. However Mars 4 failed to enter orbit and Mars 5 failed after few days in Martian orbit.

INSTRUMENTS CARRIED:

• Thermometer - to measure surface temperature
• Barometer - to measure surface pressure
• Accelerometer
• Radio Altimeter -  for analyse the surface materials
• Mass Spectrometer
• Magnetometer
• Plasma Traps
• Cosmic Ray detectors
• Micro-meteoroid detectors - to study proton,electron and fluxes from the Sun

OPERATION:     

      Mars 7 was launched by a Proton-K carrier rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome at 17:00:17 UTC. Mars 7 Lander failed to separate from the flyby. However it was eventually released to begin its descent. Due to the retrorocket failure, the probe missed the atmosphere of Mars, instead of landing, flew past along with the coast stage, with a closest approach of 1,300 kilometers. The spacecrafts transistors were blamed for the failure, along with that of Mars 4.

MISSION OUTCOMES:

• The Spacecraft failed, and failed to land on Mars due to transistor problem.

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Wonderful Discoveries of 2016

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NASA's LIGO detected Third Gravitational Wave

     NASA's Scientist revealed that about 3 billion years ago, two orbiting black hole collided to each other to form a single object, which is 49 times bigger than the sun.This powerful gravitational waves detected by the scientists on earth at 5:12 am EST on 4 January 2017. They were detected by ground based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana. This event was named GW170104 and this black hole is located at a distance of 3 billion light years, the black hole is twice as the distance. NASA Scientists detected the merging of two black holes in early January of 2017. This findings was published by LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) on 1 June 2017 in Journal Physical Review letters.

LIGO team believe the existence of stellar-mass black holes which are larger than 20 solar masses. It detected the first black hole merging in September and December 2015. These black hole produced powerful gravitational waves as they radiated at a speed of light by all the stars in the Universe at any time.NASA researchers also interested to know about that "black hole not only produce electromagnetic signals but also high-energy flares".

ABOUT LIGO:

     LIGO is established by National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by MIT and Caltech. Financial support was given by Max Planck Society (Germany), Science and Technology Council (U.K), Australian Research Council (Australia). LIGO was made successful with the effort of 1000 of scientists around the world and additionally 280 Scientists from Europe's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) and Nikhef, Virgo institution and European Gravitational Observatory.

References:

• LIGO Official News Site

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Mars 6 | 3MP No.50P

Mars 6 Lander

     Mars 6 also known as 3MP No.50P was a Soviet Mars Spacecraft launched to explore Mars. A 3Mp bus spacecraft launched as a part Mars Programme, This Mission carried a Lander and a coast stage with instruments to study Mars. This spacecraft was built by Lavochkin, Mars 6 and Mars 7 were 3MP spacecrafts. Two orbiters Mars-4 and Mars-5 were launched earlier and were expected to relay data for these two Landers. However Mars 4 failed to enter orbit and Mars 5 failed after few days in Martian orbit.

INSTRUMENTS CARRIED:

• Thermometer - to measure surface temperature
• Barometer - to measure surface pressure
• Accelerometer
• Radio Altimeter -  for analyse the surface materials
• Mass Spectrometer
• Magnetometer
• Plasma Traps
• Cosmic Ray detectors
• Micro-meteoroid detectors - to study proton,electron and fluxes from the Sun

OPERATION:

      Mars 6 Lander separated from the flyby on a large amount of the data which had been returned was unusable. at an altitude of 48,000 kilometers from the Surface of Mars at 09:05:53 UTC. The lander encountered the atmosphere at a speed of 5.6 km per hour. As it passed through the upper atmosphere, the parachute deployed to further slow the descent lander and retrorockets fired during the last seconds before probe reaching the ground.

     The Spacecraft returned data for  3.7 minutes during its descent through the Martian atmosphere. But at 09:11:05 UTC with the spacecraft about to fire its retrorockets in preparation for landing,all contact was lost. The contact lost due to the design flaw. a chip aboard the spacecraft had degraded during the mission.

MISSION OUTCOMES:

• A large amount of the data which had been returned was unusable. 
• The Spacecraft failed, due to the contact lost upon landing.
• Atmospheric data were mostly unreadable
• Only the Flyby bus collected data

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