At the end of the Stardust spacecraft's mission, it was decided to place it in orbit around the Sun until a new target is chosen for it. It was actually a standby track. The chosen goal was to return to comet Temple, which had already been visited in 2005
At the end of the Stardust spacecraft's mission, it was decided to place it in orbit around the Sun until a new target is chosen for it. It was actually a standby route. The chosen goal was to return to comet Temple, which had already been visited in 2005. It was decided to change the spacecraft's name to NExT Stardust, an abbreviation of the name
New Exploration of F (1). The goal was to examine the processes taking place on its surface after it approaches the sun and to continue its mapping, which would ease the questions regarding its geology following the first observation made of it (2). When the wreckage spacecraft hit the ground of the comet, a cloud of dust rose up which made it impossible to photograph the impact site. The hope was that this time it would succeed (3). The spacecraft also measured the density and size of the dust from the boundaries of the nucleus (the coma). The investigation of the comet continued for two months after passing by (4).
When the Stardust spacecraft was launched, it had a cargo of 85 kg of fuel. Before heading towards Comet Temple 1, she had 3.7 kg of fuel left. A very small amount. For this reason, 3 different techniques were developed on how to utilize this minimal amount of fuel to achieve the desired goal (4). The date of the pass by the comet was on February 14.2.2011, 200. According to the plan, the spacecraft was supposed to pass at a distance of 178 km from it. In practice, the crossing distance was 72 km. A total of 5 very high resolution photographs were broadcast to Israel (6). The investigation of the comet was done simultaneously both from the spacecraft and from telescopic observations from the Earth during the approach, during the approach and during the distance from it. In doing so, they hoped to build a more detailed model in relation to what happens on the surface of the comet over time (XNUMX).
The axial rotation speed of comets is not constant. It depends on the comet's distance from the sun. As it approaches the sun, the surface heats up, the ice melts, evaporates and turns into gas that turns into jet streams. At this point the comet's rotation speed around itself can change. It must be remembered that as the comet gets closer to the sun, its speed increases and vice versa. One of the objectives of the passage of the Stardust near 1Temple was to measure the rate of change in the comet's axial velocity (6). Temperature mapping combined with color mapping of the comet showed that 2 out of 3 ice-covered regions are found in colder parts of the comet. It also turned out that the ice areas are 80 meters lower than their surroundings (7). In one of the observations, a temperature range of C ° 8 ± C ° 56 – C ° 6 ± C ° 13 – (8) was measured.
One of the surprises was finding layers. Such a phenomenon is suitable for atmospheric bodies such as the Earth where wind and water move dust and deposit it in different places. Around the comet is a ring of quasi-sedimentary layers. Two possibilities have been put forward to explain the phenomenon. According to one explanation, two proto-comets collided with each other and stuck together like dough. According to the second explanation, the layers were formed through a certain type of erosion as the comet approaches the Sun. Another surprise was rockslides. The Hersk spacecraft discovered any type of powdery material that covered an entire area 1 km below it. Such a phenomenon can explain something else. The cloud of rock fragments created when a spacecraft crashed into the comet threw up a lot of material and it was impossible to see the impact site. Only with the passage of the Stardust spaceship was it possible to see the crater that was created and in the center a small escarpment probably formed from material that flew upwards, returned to the ground and accumulated to form the escarpment (5). Based on the set of observations, they concluded that the ice seen on the surface was originally inside the comet and over time it was exposed. The jets that blew dust and vapor, sent this ice to the coma or tail of the comet. The area of the ice-covered areas is 100,000 square meters, which is 6% of the surface of the comet (9). The comet usually produces 16,000 tons of water per day. With the impact of the Hersk spacecraft, the amount increased to 40,000 tons for 5-10 days. During the entire observation, 250,000 tons of water were released due to the impact (10).
Another surprise was finding a mixture of organic materials inside the comet. For comparison, inside the comet Wild 2 is found a large range of complex hydrocarbon molecules - potential building materials for sustaining life. These findings strengthen the Panspermia idea that the basic materials for life on Earth came from space (11). It turned out that the Stardust spacecraft went through a stream of particles from the comet and that 12 particles penetrated through several layers of its shield (5).
Sources
1. Philips T.-"Blowing a hole in a comet: take 2" 27.9.2007
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/ Blowing_ A_ Hole _In _A_ Comet_ Take _ 2_999.html
2. "NASA gives two successful spacecraft new assignments" 5.7.2007
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0705/05extensions
3. "NASA spacecraft prepares for Valentine's Day comet rendezvous" 20.1.2007
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/ NASA_ Spacecraft _Prepares_ For _Valentine’s_ Day _Comet_ Rendezvous_999.html
4. Clark S.-"Team extends stardust's fuel mileage for comet mission" 23.12.2010
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1012/23stardustnext/
5. "NASA releases images of man made crater on Comet" 17.2.2011
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/ NASA_ Releases_ Images _Of_ Man_ Made _Crater_ On_ Comet_999.html
6. "Ground based observations support NASA comet mission" 13.4.2009
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/ Ground_ Based _Observations _Support _NASA_ Comet _mission_999.html
7. "Ice exists on the surface of comets, but most lies deeper" 2.2. 2006
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n602/02deepimact/
8. PIA02143 : temperature map of Temple 1
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/ PIA02143
9. "Deep impact team reports first evidence of cometary ice" 2.2.2006
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/ Deep_ Impact _Team_ Reports_ First_ Evidence_ Of_ Cometary_ Ice_999.html
10. "Massive amounts of water released by comet hit" 4.4.2006
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n604/04deepimpact/
11. "Comet probe reveals evidence origin of life" 12.8.2007
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/ Comet _Probe_ Reveals_ Evidence _Origin _Of_ Life_999.html
2 תגובות
The size of the comet is estimated at 14 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide (Wikipedia).
Even if, for the purpose of testing its surface area, we define it as a sphere with a diameter of 14 km (which is much more), then the surface area of the comet will be 4 pi multiplied by 49, which is about six hundred square kilometers in S.A. which is much less than the hundreds of thousands of km the article is about. Something is wrong here. Perhaps the data in the article should be divided into thousands.
Other than that, the article is interesting
Good night
Sabdarmish Yehuda
The idea of panspermia is the idea that life came to Earth from space.
It has long been known that the materials necessary for life came from space.
It is true that today we also know about the arrival of organic substances from space (something they did not know before), but this is not called panspermia.