SpaceWatchtower: January 2024

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Laser Observatory in Space to Expand Search for Gravity-Waves

Artist's conception of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) to be launched by 2035.

(Image Sources: NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Wikipedia.org, By NASA - NASA, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10372273)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

With the first detection of Gravitational-Waves coming from a ground-based observatory in 2015, now there is a plan to expand the search for Gravitational-Waves with an observatory in Outer Space. This past week, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced an ambitious plan to launch the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) by 2035.

Gravitational-Waves, described as ripples in the fabric of Space-Time, have been very difficult to find since the search began more than two decades ago. Gravitational-Waves often are produced by the collision of large Black Holes.

Scientists believe that further study of Gravitational-Waves will help them learn more about the workings and history of our Universe. Learning more about the Black Holes and Supernovae that cause Gravitational-Waves may also help them learn more about the creation and evolution of the Galaxies these phenomena inhabit.

A space-based Laser observatory would allow researchers to detect Gravitational-Waves of much longer wavelengths than can be sensed on Earth. This would detect the collision of much larger Black Holes, which are millions of times the size of our Sun.

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna would use three spacecraft firing Lasers at each other, over distances larger than the orbit of Earth's Moon: ranging up to 1.5 million statute miles / 2.5 million kilometers. The three spacecraft detectors will be arranged in Outer Space as an equilateral triangle.

The spacecraft will be placed in orbit of the Sun, at the same distance from the Sun as the Earth, but trailing the Earth by 20 degrees. Each spacecraft will be built as a Zero-Drag Satellite, to eliminate light pressure and the Solar Wind from affecting the detection results.

Officials at the European Space Agency project the LISA budget will cost 1.75 billion Euros / 1.5 billion British Pounds / $1.5 billion. Additional funds are expected to come from member states such as Germany, France, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

NASA, which had been part of the original LISA proposal as far back as 1997, will also be part of this project. NASA's contribution will include more advanced technologies including Lasers.

Currently, the Earth-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) consists of two Laser stations in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana, the largest and most ambitious project ever funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Built and operated by the California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the initial project ran from 2002 to 2010 when no Gravitational-Waves were found.

The Advanced LIGO Project began in 2008, with the enhanced detectors beginning operation in 2015. Two days after beginning operation, the first Gravitational-Wave was detected on 2015 September 14.

The detection of Gravitational-Waves confirmed a prediction of Albert Einstein's 1916 General Theory of Relativity. A new branch of observational Astronomy, Gravitational-Wave Astronomy obtains and studies data from highly-energetic sources of Gravitational-Waves such as Black Holes and Supernovae. Although predicted by Dr. Einstein, he had doubted whether Gravitational-Waves could ever actually be detected.

Three American physicists, who developed a Laser observatory which led to the detection of Gravitational-Waves, were awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday, 2017 October 3. Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne of the California Institute of Technology and Rainer Weiss of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were given the annual award "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of Gravitational-Waves."

Presently, Gravitational-Waves are detected in LIGO from the perturbations of Laser light as fired down 4-kilometer-long L-shaped tunnels. LISA will use the same principle, but over much larger distances in Outer Space.

Internet Links to Additional Information ---

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA):

Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Interferometer_Space_Antenna

Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO):

Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIGO

Black Hole: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole

Supernova / Supernovae: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova

Related Blog-Post ---

"Physics Nobel Prize Awarded to Developers of Laser Observatory." Sat., 2017 Oct. 7.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2017/10/physics-nobel-prize-awarded-to.html

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss

"Laser Observatory in Space to Expand Search for Gravity-Waves."

Saturday, 2024 January 27.

Artificial Intelligence not used in the writing of this article.

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator (For more than 50 years! - Since Monday Morning, 1972 June 12):
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), America's fifth major planetarium and Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania, the fourth of only five libraries where both construction and endowment funded by famous industrialist & philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: Link >>> http://www.planetarium.cc Buhl Observatory: Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/11/75th-anniversary-americas-5th-public.html
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago: Link >>> http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear: Link >>> http://johnbrashear.tripod.com
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: Link >>> http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc

* Other Walsh-Authored Blog & Web-Sites: Link >>> https://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/gawweb.html

Thursday, January 4, 2024

Live-Stream - Early Mon. Launch: U.S. Robotic Return to Moon

Observation windows looking into the Astrobotic Clean Room, from the Moonshot Space Museum, located on Pittsburgh's Lower North Side. In this photograph, two Astrobotic technicians are working on the Peregrine Moon Lander, scheduled to be launched to the Moon early Monday Morning, 2024 January 8. This photograph was taken on the day of dedication of the Moonshot Space Museum: Saturday, 2022 October 15.

(Image Source: SpaceWatchtower Blog, Friends of the Zeiss; Photographer: Glenn A. Walsh)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

America's return to the Moon, with a robotic lander and rover, is now planned for launch in the early hours of January 8. This NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) project, the Peregrine Lander carrying 21 payloads, was built by Astrobotic Technology, Inc. of Pittsburgh and the Iris Rover was produced by Carnegie Mellon University.

Over the years, the United States has had several fly-by and orbital missions to the Moon, since the last Apollo mission, Apollo 17, left the Moon on 1972 December 14. Peregrine Mission One will be the first American lander and rover since the days of Apollo.

Peregrine Mission One will be launched atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida [Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41)]. This is the first flight of this particular rocket, a successor to ULA's Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles.

Getting such a new rocket ready for launch, and passing NASA requirements, meant that the original 2023 May 4 launch date slipped until Christmas Eve of last year. Then, “routine” issues regarding ground equipment resulted in United Launch Alliance (ULA) Chief Executive Officer Tory Bruno, in a Social Media Post, announcing that the launch would be again delayed to no earlier than January 8.

Launch of the Peregrine mission is now scheduled for early on Monday Morning 2024 January 8: 2:18:38 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) / 7:18:38 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) (45-minute lainch window).

While it had been scheduled on Traditional Christmas Eve, the new launch date is one day after the celebration of Orthodox Christmas. It was on Traditional Christmas Eve, this time in 1968, when humans first entered orbit around another planetary body, the Earth's Moon, during the historic mission of Apollo 8.

The Peregrine Mission One launch window continues for four days, if a launch cannot occur on January 8. Provided the launch does occur one of these four days, landing on the Moon is expected on Friday, 2024 February 23.

Internet Link to Live-Stream Web-Cast of Astrobotic Launch Near End of Blog-Post.

About an hour or so after launch, the Peregrine Lander and Iris Rover will separate from the launch vehicle and enter a Trans-lunar Injection for the beginning of the trip to the Moon. After entering a medium orbit around the Moon, landing the spacecraft will wait until early morning at the landing site: Sinus Viscositatis ('Bay of Stickiness') located at 35.25 degrees North and 40.99 degrees west on the Moon.

By landing early in the morning on the Moon, this will give the mission eight-to-ten days of operation while the Sun is shining. Once nightfall descends on the spacecraft, operations will stop and wait for the next sunrise.

However, Astrobotic Founder and Chief Executive Officer John Thornton warns that with the cold of a lunar night, it is not known how that may affect the equipment; he said that India's Chandrayaan-3 Lander did not resume operation after lunar night. According to Mr. Thornton, the Moon's surface temperature varies from about +212 to +248 degrees Fahrenheit / +100 to +120 degrees Celsius in the daytime “down to liquid nitrogen cold” at night; a lot of things can break at such low nighttime temperatures.

Another NASA CLPS mission, the launch of Intuitive Machines Nova-C Lander (IM-1 Mission) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, has also been delayed and is now scheduled to launch after the Peregrine Lander, in mid-February. But if the current IM-1 Mission schedule holds, it may actually land on the Moon within days (perhaps as early as February 22) of the Peregrine Lander.

The Iris Rover is a collaboration between the students, professors, and staff from Carnegie Mellon University and Astrobotic in the development of robotics technology for Outer Space. The rover name Iris is Siri spelled backwards, in honor of Carnegie Mellon University Lead Systems Engineer Siri Maley. The Iris robotic mission will be the smallest, first American, first university-built, and first student-built rover on the Earth's Moon.

Carnegie Mellon University is also providing another payload called MoonArk, which Astrobotic describes as a “collaborative space project”. This sort-of space museum “embodies the arts, humanities, sciences, and technologies in a set of intricately designed objects intended to spark wonderment and discovery for future generations.”

Among the 21 payloads on this mission are instruments from NASA research centers: Ames Research Center (Moffett Federal Airfield, Silicon Valley, California), Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, Maryland), and Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas) ---

Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) – GSFC
Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS) – JSC
Near InfraRed Volatiles Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) – ARC
Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS) – ARC
Peregrine Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS) – GSFC/European Space Agency

Peregrine Mission One, part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, is scheduled to be the first United States commercial robotic lander launching to the Moon's surface, as part of the NASA Artemis Program to return astronauts to the Moon by the end of this decade.

Other payloads include a M-42 Radiation Detector from the German Aerospace Center, as well as scientific payloads from the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Hungary. And, scientists from the Seychelles are sending one Bit-coin.

Two American space companies, Celestis and Elysium Space, are sending the cremated remains and DNA of 70 people's loved ones on the spacecraft. The human remains will be interred in flight capsules, permanently encased in a lunar lander spacecraft. The cremated remains of a couple famous persons in the Peregrine Mission One include Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.

The remains of another 265 persons will be represented on the rocket's upper stage, which will go into orbit of the Sun. These include three original Star Trek cast members [Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Nyota Uhura), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy), and James Doohan (Montgomery “Scotty” Scott)], as well as strands of hair from three American Presidents: George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy.

Japan's Lunar Dream Capsule, from the company Astroscale, is described as a “time capsule”. The time capsule includes messages from 80,000 children from around the world.

NASA invites all members of the general public, throughout the world, to attend the Peregrine launch virtually. According to NASA:

Members of the public can register to attend the launch virtually:

Link >>> https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nasas-commercial-lunar-payload-services-astrobotic-peregrine-1-launch-registration-525735457907?aff=webfeature

As a virtual guest, you have access to curated resources, schedule changes, and mission-specific information delivered straight to your in-box. Following each activity, virtual guests will receive a commemorative stamp for their virtual guest passport:

Link >>> https://nasa-external-ocomm.app.box.com/s/mhdv60p0g3xowte635a27peqibwgcezh

More information about NASA CLPS activities can be found on the CLPS Blog:

Link >>> https://blogs.nasa.gov/clps

A commercial spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University, Astrobotic opened a Moonshot Space Museum on Pittsburgh's Lower North Side on Saturday Morning, 2022 October 15. This new museum is located adjacent to Astrobotic's manufacturing facility. In addition to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education for young people, this museum allows the general public to watch Moon rovers being constructed.

Carnegie Mellon University originated in 1900 as the Carnegie Technical Schools. It was established to provide for a technical education by famous industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

Internet Link to Live-Stream Web-Cast of Astrobotic Launch ---

Link >>> https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv/

Internet Links to Additional Information ---

Peregrine Mission One ---

Link 1 >>> https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/clps/astrobotic-peregrine-mission-one/

Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrine_Mission_One

Astrobotic Technology ---

Astrobotic: Link >>> https://www.astrobotic.com/

Peregine Mission One Update: L nk >>> https://www.astrobotic.com/peregrine-mission-one-update/

Peregine Mission One Manifest: Link >>> https://www.astrobotic.com/lunar-delivery/manifest/

Carnegie Mellon Iris & MoonArk:

Link >>> https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2023/october/cmus-iris-moonark-leave-pittsburgh-en-route-to-the-moon

Related Blog-Posts ---

"UPDATE: Launch Slips to Jan. for U.S. Robotic Return to Moon." 2023 Dec. 11 (Original Blog-Post: 2023 Dec. 7).

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2023/12/christmas-eve-launch-planned-for.html

"Moonshot Space Museum Opens in Pittsburgh." Thur., 2022 Oct. 20.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2022/10/moonshot-space-museum-opens-in.html

Moonshot Space Museum sponsored by Astrobotic Technology.

"CMU to Build 1st Univ.-Based Space Mission Control." Mon., 2022 April 18.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2022/04/cmu-to-build-1st-univ-based-space.html

"American Lunar Society Founder on 50th Anniversary: 1st Humans Orbit Moon."

Mon., 2018 Dec. 24.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/12/50th-anniversary-incredible-legacy-of.html

"Library to be Established on the Moon !" Mon., 2018 May 2.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/05/library-to-be-established-on-moon.html

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss

"Live-Stream - Early Mon. Launch: U.S. Robotic Return to Moon."

Thursday, 2024 January 4.