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Subject: Space Technology

  • Aditya-L1: India’s first mission to Sun to be launched soon

    aditya

    The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch the Aditya-L1 mission by June or July this year.

    What is Aditya-L1 Mission?

    • ISRO categorizes Aditya L1 as a 400 kg-class satellite that will be launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in XL configuration.
    • It will observe the Sun from a close distance, and try to obtain information about its atmosphere and magnetic field.
    • The space-based observatory will have seven payloads (instruments) on board to study the Sun’s corona, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.

    L1: Behind the name

    • L1 refers to Lagrangian/Lagrange Point 1, one of five points in the orbital plane of the Earth-Sun system.
    • Lagrange Points, named after Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange, are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system (like the Sun and the Earth) produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.
    • The L1 point is about 1.5 million km from Earth, or about one-hundredth of the way to the Sun.

    Major payloads

    • In total Aditya-L1 has seven payloads, of which the primary payload is the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), designed and fabricated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru.
    • The satellite carries additional six payloads-
    1. SUIT, the solar ultraviolet imaging telescope
    2. ASPEX (Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment),
    3. PAPA (Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya),
    4. SoLEXS (Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer),
    5. HEL1OS (High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray spectrometer) and
    6. Magnetometer — with enhanced science scope and objectives possible by extensive remote and in-situ observation of the sun.

    Why is studying the Sun important?

    (1) To understand space weather

    • To learn about and track Earth-directed storms, and to predict their impact, continuous solar observations are needed.
    • Every storm that emerges from the Sun and heads towards Earth passes through L1, and a satellite placed in the halo orbit around L1 of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses.

    (2) Observing corona

    • The VELC payload will be able to observe the corona continuously and the data provided by it is expected to answer many outstanding problems in the field of solar astronomy.
    • No other solar coronagraph in space has the ability to image the solar corona as close to the solar disk as VELC can.
    • It can image it as close as 1.05 times the solar radius.
    • It can also do imaging, spectroscopy, and polarimetry at the same time, and can take observations at a very high resolution (level of detail) and many times a second.

    Why are solar missions challenging?

    • Distance: What makes a solar mission challenging is the distance of the Sun from Earth (about 149 million km on average, compared to the only 3.84 lakh km to the Moon).
    • Heat: More importantly the super-hot temperatures and radiations in the solar atmosphere make it difficult to study.

    Major missions to Sun till now

    • NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has already gone far closer — but it will be looking away from the Sun.
    • The earlier Helios 2 solar probe, a joint venture between NASA and space agency of erstwhile West Germany, went within 43 million km of the Sun’s surface in 1976.

     

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  • Green Comet appears close to Earth after 50,000 years

    comet

    The rare green comet that last came to Earth about 50,000 years ago has returned to the skies of Earth. C/2022 E3 (ZTF) can be seen with the naked eye if the conditions in the sky are just right.

    What are Comets?

    • Comets are frozen rocky or gas-filled objects that are remnants of the formation of the solar system.
    • Due to their composition, characteristics and the path they move in, they tend to leave a light “behind them”.
    • Here, the comet itself is green (called the head of the comet) and emits a whitish light behind it (often called the tail of the comet).
    • Just like other bodies in space, comets also have orbits.
    • They are sometimes pulled in close to the sun because of the sun’s gravity acting on them.
    • As they orbit near the Sun, they heat up and spew gases and dust into a glowing head that can be larger than a planet.
    • The remains of dust following this burning up, from a distance, look like a trail of light to humans on Earth.

    What is Green Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)?

    • Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was first discovered in March last year by the wide-field survey camera at the Zwicky Transient Facility when it was already inside the orbit of Jupiter.
    • While it was initially believed to be an asteroid, it began developing a tail as the Sun’s influence began vapourising the ice.
    • At the time of its discovery, it was shining with a magnitude of 17.3.

    Why is it green in colour?

    • Comets have often been seen giving out blue or whitish light, or even green.
    • In this case, the green glow “is thought to arise from the presence of diatomic carbon – pairs of carbon atoms that are bound together – in the head of the comet.
    • The molecule emits green light when excited by the ultraviolet rays in solar radiation.

    When and where can the green comet be seen?

    • Observers in the Northern Hemisphere will find the comet in the morning sky, as it moves swiftly toward the northwest during January.
    • It’ll become visible in the Southern Hemisphere in early February.
    • In Indian skies, when looking in the northwest direction, one might spot it 16° above the horizon in the Bootes constellation.
    • But with lights from buildings and streetlights on, it can be difficult to make it out without equipment.

    Is the green comet rare?      

    • It last came in the skies above Earth during the Upper Paleolithic period, a time when Neanderthals roamed the planet and early homo sapiens had just come around.
    • Coming under the category of long-period comets, which take more than 200 years to orbit the Sun, the green comet is not easily spotted.
    • With a highly elliptical orbit, the comet will head back to the Oort cloud and make its next appearance roughly 50,000 years later.
    • But given their orbits, it’s not unique for comets to reappear close to Earth only after many, many years.

     

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  • Bimodal Nuclear Propulsion can send missions to Mars in 45 days

    nuclear

    NASA is planning to send mission to Mars in 45 days using the Bimodal Nuclear Propulsion.

    Bimodal Nuclear Propulsion: What is it?

    • NASA relaunched its program to develop bimodal nuclear propulsion a few years ago. Bimodal nuclear propulsion is a two-part system that includes an NTP and NEP element.
    • This system is expected to enable transits to Mars in 100 days.
    • In 2023, the US space agency started a new program named NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) and has selected a nuclear concept for Phase I development.
    • This new bimodal nuclear propulsion system will use a “wave rotor topping cycle” that may reduce transit times to Mars to 45 days.

    How will nuclear propulsion work?

    • Nuclear propulsion is based on two concepts Nuclear-Thermal Propulsion (NTP) and Nuclear-Electric Propulsion (NEP).
    • The NTP system includes a nuclear reactor that will heat liquid hydrogen (LH2) propellant and turn it into ionised hydrogen gas (plasma) that will then be channelled through nozzles to generate thrust.
    • NEP depends on a nuclear reactor to provide electricity to a Hall-Effect thruster (ion engine).
    • It will generate an electromagnetic field that will ionise and accelerate an inert gas (for example xenon) to create thrust.

    Benefits offered

    • Nuclear propulsions have major advantages over conventional chemical propulsion.
    • These benefits include fuel efficiency, a higher specific impulse rating and unlimited energy density (virtually).
    • NEP’s advantage over NTP and conventional chemical propulsion systems is that it offers more than 10,000 seconds of Specific impulse (ISP).
    • ISP is a measure of how efficiently a reaction mass engine (a rocket using propellant or a jet engine using fuel) creates thrust.

    Benefits for manned missions

    • A crewed mission to Mars based on conventional propulsion technology may last up to three years.
    • However, A transit time of 45 days will reduce the overall mission time to months instead of years.
    • This will drastically reduce the major risks associated with missions to Mars which include – radiation exposure, the time spent in microgravity and related health concerns.

    Limitations of these nuclear propulsion systems

    • This means NEP systems can maintain thrust for close to three hours.
    • However, the thrust level is lower compared to conventional rockets and NTP systems.
    • In outer space, the thermal energy conversion rate is just 30-40% under ideal circumstances.

     

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  • [pib] First evidence of Solitary Waves near Mars

    In a first-of-its-kind discovery, a team of Indian scientists from the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) reported the first evidence of the presence of solitary waves around Mars.

     

    Mars

    mars

    • Of the largest Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury.
    • In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the “Red Planet”.
    • The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars’s surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye.
    • Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface features reminiscent of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth.
    • The days and seasons are comparable to those of Earth, because the rotational period, as well as the tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane, is similar.
    • Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, one canyons in the Solar System.

     

    What are Solitary Waves?

    • Solitary waves are distinct electric field fluctuations (bipolar or monopolar) that follow constant amplitude-phase relations.
    • Their shape and size are less affected during their propagation.
    • Solitary waves are known to be responsible for the plasma energization and its transport in Earth’s magnetosphere.

    Unveiling the undercover solitary waves

    • Earth is a giant magnetic entity, wrapped in a magnetosphere generated by the motion of molten iron in its core.
    • This magnetosphere casts a protective layer around our home planet, shielding us from the solar winds coughed towards us by the Sun.
    • But unlike Earth, Mars lacks a robust intrinsic magnetic field, which effectively allows the high-speed solar wind to interact directly with the Martian atmosphere.
    • This interaction suggests that even with a weak and flimsy magnetosphere, the frequent occurrences of solitary waves on Mars remain a possibility.

    Why this is a significant feat for India?

    • Despite several missions to Mars, their presence has never been detected — until now.
    • However, Indian Scientists have successfully identified and reported the first-ever solitary waves detected on Mars.
    • They arrived at this result by analyzing about 450 solitary wave pulses observed by the Langmuir Probe and Waves instrument on NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft.

    Decoding the data

    • Their analysis revealed distinct electric field fluctuations, which lasted for about 0.2-1.7 milliseconds.
    • Such signals were predominant during dawn or between afternoon to dusk at an altitude of 1000-3500 km from Mars’ surface.
    • Further investigation is needed to determine exactly why these waves are dominant during a fixed time of the day.

    Significance of such waves on Mars

    • These pulses are dominantly seen in the dawn and afternoon dusk sectors at an altitude of 1000–3500 km around Mars.
    • Researchers are further exploring their role in the particle dynamics in the Martian magnetosphere and whether such waves play any role in the loss of atmospheric ions on Mars.
    • The study of these waves is crucial as they directly control particle energization, plasma loss, transport, etc., through wave-particle interactions.

     

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  • ISRO pushing Venus Mission ‘Shukrayaan’ to 2031

    venus

    ISRO said that it is yet to receive approval from the Indian government for the Venus mission and that the mission could as a result be postponed to 2031.

    Shukrayaan I: Venus Orbiter Mission

    • Shukrayaan-I is a planned orbiter to Venus by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to study the surface and atmosphere of Venus.
    • The idea was born in 2012; five years later, ISRO commenced preliminary studies after the Department of Space received a 23% hike in the 2017-2018 budget.
    • The orbiter, depending on its final configuration, would have a science payload capability of approximately 100 kilograms (220 lb) with 500 W available power.
    • The launch will involve GSLV Mark II.

    Expected launch

    • ISRO had originally hoped to launch Shukrayaan I in mid-2023 but cited the pandemic when it pushed the date to December 2024.
    • Optimal launch windows from Earth to Venus occur once around every 19 months.
    • This is why ISRO has ‘backup’ launch dates in 2026 and 2028 should it miss the 2024 opportunity.
    • But even more optimal windows, which further reduce the amount of fuel required at liftoff, come around every eight years.

    Other missions to Venus

    • The US and the European space agencies have Venus missions planned for 2031 — referring to VERITAS and EnVision, respectively.

     

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  • James Webb Telescope discovers its first Earth-sized Exoplanet

    exoplanet

    NASA has announced that the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered its first new exoplanet LHS 475 b.

    LHS 475 b

    • The exoplanet LHS 475 b is roughly the same size as Earth.
    • Located just 41 light-years away, the planet orbits very close to a red dwarf star and completes a full orbit in just two days.

    Red Dwarf Stars

    • As mentioned before, the newly discovered exoplanet orbits around a red dwarf star.
    • Such types of stars are the most common and smallest in the universe.
    • As they don’t radiate much light, it’s very tough to detect them with the naked eye from Earth.
    • However, as red dwarfs are dimmer than other stars, it is easier to find exoplanets that surround them.
    • Therefore, red dwarfs are a popular target for planet hunting.

    What are Exoplanets?

    • Exoplanets are planets that orbit other stars and are beyond our solar system.
    • According to NASA, to date, more than 5,000 exoplanets have been discovered.
    • Scientists believe that there are more planets than stars as each star has at least one planet orbiting it.
    • Exoplanets come in a host of different sizes. They can be gas giants bigger than Jupiter or as small and rocky as Earth.
    • They are also known to have different kinds of temperatures — boiling hot to freezing cold.

    Significance of exoplanets study

    • Studying exoplanets not only broadens our understanding of other solar systems but also helps us piece together information about our own planetary system and origin.
    • However, the most compelling reason to learn about them is to find extraterrestrial life.
    • Researchers emphasize on determining if exoplanets are solid or gaseous or even has water vapour in the atmosphere.
    • This helps scientists determine if a discovered world is habitable or not.
    • Another important element of the study is finding out the distance between an exoplanet and its host star.

    Do you know?

    If an exoplanet is too close to the star, it might be too hot to sustain liquid water. If it’s too far, it might only have frozen water. When such a planet is at a distance that enables it to have liquid water, it is said to be in the “Goldilocks zone”.

     

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  • 1st-ever 3D map of Local Bubble’s magnetic fields

    bubble

    Researchers have generated a 3D magnetic map of the giant cosmic cavity called Local Bubble that surrounds the solar system could reveal the universe’s secrets, including questions about the origins of stars.

    What is the Local Bubble?

    • The Local Bubble is a 1,000-light-year-wide cavity or a super-bubble.
    • It is a relative cavity in the interstellar medium (ISM) of the Orion Arm in the Milky Way.
    • Local Bubble is thought to have originated from supernovae roughly 14 million years ago. Supernova is a cosmic explosion occurring when stars meet their end.
    • Space is full of these super-bubbles that trigger the formation of new stars and planets and influence the overall shapes of galaxies.

    How are they formed?

    • Super-bubbles are comparable to holes in Swiss cheese. Supernova explosions blow holes in the cheese. New stars form around these holes.
    • However, mechanisms powering the formation and expansion of the Local Bubble are not well-understood.
    • Further, there is little information on how magnetic fields likely impact the bubble and local star formation.
    • Max Planck has provided information on the magnetic alignment of cosmic dust. This alignment can indicate the orientation of the magnetic field acting on the dust particles.

     

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  • What are Globular Clusters?

    cluster

    Astronomers and scientists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) while studying the Omega Centauri have found that hot stars and white dwarfs emitted less ultraviolet radiation than expected.

    Omega Centauri

    • It is the most massive globular cluster system in our galaxy.
    • It was first identified as a non-stellar object by Edmond Halley in 1677 and as globular star cluster orbiting Milky Way galaxy by John Herschel in 1830s.
    • It contains approximately 10 million stars and is about 16,000 light-years away.
    • It also includes stars of a variety of ages, whereas other globular clusters contain stars from only one generation.
    • It is the largest and brightest globular cluster in the Milky Way.

     What is a globular cluster?

    • A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars.
    • Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centres.
    • They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member stars.
    • They orbit mostly in the extended stellar halos surrounding most spiral galaxies.

    How are they formed?

    • No one knows precisely how globular clusters formed. Or what role, if any, they played in the development of galaxies.
    • We know globular clusters are the oldest, largest and most massive type of star cluster. And globular clusters contain the oldest stars.
    • Their age is determined by their almost complete lack of what astronomers call metals, the heavier elements forged in star interiors.

    Our Milky Way has over 150 globular clusters

    • Our own Milky Way has over 150 globular clusters, with perhaps more, hidden by galactic dust.
    • The Andromeda galaxy (M31), our neighboring spiral galaxy, appears to have around 300 globular clusters.

    Difference between a globular cluster and an open cluster

    • Globular clusters are big, symmetric and old. They can reach 300 light-years in diameter and contain 10 million stars.  On the other hand, open star clusters, contains sibling stars, scattered through the disk of our galaxy and presumably other galaxies.
    • Globular star cluster are very symmetrical in shape, and are densest toward their centers. Open star clusters are irregular in shape and loosely grouped together.
    • Globular clusters orbit in the halo of our galaxy. Plus, center around the galaxy’s core and expanding above and below the galactic disk. Open star clusters tend to orbit within the disk.
    • Globular star clusters contain million of stars. Yet some globular clusters, like Omega Centauri, contain millions of stars. Open star clusters contain only hundreds of stars.

     

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  • Five space exploration missions to look out for in 2023

    2023 is set to be another busy year. Here are five of the most exciting missions to watch out for.

    (1) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer

    space

    • In April, the European Space Agency (ESA) is set to launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice), in what will be Europe’s first dedicated robotic mission to Jupiter.
    • Juice is due to reach the planet in July 2031 after performing an incredible flight path through the Solar System.
    • The mission will enter into orbit around Jupiter and perform numerous flybys of its large icy moons: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
    • After four years of moon flybys, Juice will then enter into orbit around Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System — becoming the first spacecraft ever to reach orbit around the moon of another planet.
    • The icy moons of Jupiter are interesting as they are all believed to host oceans of liquid water beneath their frozen surfaces.
    • Europa, in particular, is regarded as one of the most likely abodes in the Solar System for extra-terrestrial life.

    (2) SpaceX Starship

    space

    • Starship will be the largest spacecraft capable of carrying humans from Earth to destinations in space (the International Space Station is larger, but it was assembled in space).
    • It will be the most powerful launch vehicle ever to fly, capable of lifting 100 tonnes of cargo to low Earth orbit.
    • Starship is the collective name for a two-component system consisting of the Starship spacecraft (which carries the crew and cargo) and the Super Heavy rocket.
    • The rocket component will lift Starship to some 65km altitude before separating and returning to Earth in a controlled landing.
    • The upper Starship component will then use its own engines to push itself the rest of the way to orbit.

    (3) dearMoon Project

    space

    • The long-awaited dearMoon project, which will take members of the public on a six-day trip around the Moon and back, is due for launch on Starship and was originally planned for 2023.
    • It will be the first true deep space tourism launch.
    • This mission will mark a big change in the way we think about space, as previously only astronauts picked using incredibly stringent criteria have been able to go into deep space.
    • The success or failure of the dearMoon mission could affect whether deep space tourism becomes the next big thing, or it is relegated back to being a pipe-dream.

    (4) OSIRIS-REx returning Earth

    space

    • The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security — Regolith Explorer, mercifully more commonly known as OSIRIS-REx, is a NASA mission to near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
    • A key goal of this robotic mission was to acquire samples of Bennu and return them to Earth for analysis.
    • OSIRIS-REx is now fast returning to Earth with up to a kilogram of precious asteroid samples stored aboard.
    • If all goes well, the capsule will detach from the spacecraft, enter the Earth’s atmosphere and parachute to a soft landing in the deserts of Utah.
    • Asteroid sample return has only been achieved once before, by the Japanese Space Agency’s Hayabusa 2 mission in 2020.
    • Bennu is an approximately diamond-shaped world just half a kilometre in size, but has many interesting characteristics.
    • Some of the minerals detected within it have been altered by water, implying that Bennu’s ancient parent body possessed liquid water.
    • It also has an abundance of precious metals, including gold and platinum.
    • It is however classed as a potentially hazardous object with a (very) small possibility of Earth impact in the next century.

    (5) India’s private space launch

    • Skyroot Aerospace, which successfully launched its Vikram-S rocket in November 2022, is soon to become the first private Indian company to launch a satellite.
    • The rocket itself reached 90km in altitude, a distance that would need to be improved upon to get a constellation of satellites into orbit.
    • Skyroot’s first satellite launch is planned for 2023, with a goal of undercutting the cost of private space launch rivals by producing its 3D-printed rockets in a matter of days.
    • If successful, this could also provide a route for cheaper launches of scientific missions, enabling a faster rate of research.

    Conclusion

    • With many bold advances and launches due in 2023, we are entering a new phase akin to the “Golden era” of space launches in the 1960s and ’70s.

  • Uncontrolled Re-entries of Satellites

    satellite

    Many dignitaries have signed an open letter published by the Outer Space Institute (OSI) calling for both national and multilateral efforts to restrict uncontrolled re-entries of Satellites back to earth.

    About Open Space Institute (OSI)

    • OSI is a conservation organization that seeks to preserve scenic, natural and historic landscapes for public enjoyment, conserve habitats while sustaining community character, and help protect the environment.
    • It uses policy initiatives and ground-level activism to help accomplish its goals.

    What are the stages of a rocket launch?

    • Rockets have multiple stages.
    • Once a stage has increased the rocket’s altitude and velocity by a certain amount, the rocket sheds it.
    • Some rockets jettison all their larger stages before reaching the destination orbit; a smaller engine then moves the payload to its final orbit.
    • Others carry the payload to the orbit, then perform a deorbit manoeuvre to begin their descent.
    • In both cases, rocket stages come back down — in controlled or uncontrolled ways.

    What is an uncontrolled re-entry?

    • It is the phenomenon of rocket parts falling back to earth in unguided fashion once their missions are complete.
    • In an uncontrolled re-entry, the rocket stage simply falls.
    • Its path down is determined by its shape, angle of descent, air currents and other characteristics.
    • It will also disintegrate as it falls.

    How many satellites are there in space?

    • The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite in 1957.
    • Today, there are more than 6,000 satellites in orbit, most of them in low-earth (100-2,000 km) and geostationary (35,786 km) orbits, placed there in more than 5,000 launches.
    • The number of rocket launches have been surging with the advent of reusable rocket stages.

    Why is this hazardous?

    • As the smaller pieces fan out, the potential radius of impact will increase on the ground.
    • Some pieces burn up entirely while others don’t.
    • But because of the speed at which they’re travelling, debris can be deadly.
    • If re-entering stages still hold fuel, atmospheric and terrestrial chemical contamination is another risk.

    Why are we discussing this?

    • The OSI letter cited examples of parts of a Russian rocket in 2018 and China’s Long March 5B rockets in 2020 and 2022 striking parts of Indonesia, Peru, India and Ivory Coast, among others.
    • Many news reports have focused on Chinese transgressions of late, but historically, the US has been the worst offender.
    • Parts of a SpaceX Falcon 9 that fell down in Indonesia in 2016 included two “refrigerator-sized fuel tanks”.

     

    Damage control mechanism for uncontrolled re-entry

    • There is no international binding agreement to ensure rocket stages always perform controlled re-entries nor on the technologies with which to do so.
    • The Liability Convention, 1972 requires countries to pay for damages, not prevent them.
    • These technologies include wing-like attachments, de-orbiting brakes, and extra fuel on the re-entering body, and design changes that minimise debris formation.

     

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