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Tuesday’s CSExtra offers the last reporting and commentary on global space activities. In Japan, scientists confirm their Hayabusa spacecraft fulfilled a seven-year journey to obtain material from an asteroid. Harvard astronomers use NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to study a young black hole for the first time. Engineers discover a fourth crack in the shuttle Discovery’s external fuel tank, as they repair the fuel leak that stopped a Nov. 5 launch attempt. Two cosmonauts walk outside the International Space Station. Human space travel is among the most challenging of pursuits, yet the dividends promise to address many of the most pressing problems on the Earth.
1. From the Coalition for Space Exploration: The Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency confirms the presence of dusty material from an asteroid aboard their Hayabusa spacecraft, which was recovered from the Australian outback in June. Hayabusa visited the asteroid Itokawa. Studies of the material are providing a deeper insight into the formation of the solar system. The dust was gathered during a seven-year, four billion mile journey.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/blog/japan%e2%80%99s-hayabusa-probe-reportedly-contains-particles-from-asteroid
A. From the Associated Press via the Washington Post and others: JAXA’s comet dust retrieval joins three other famous milestones in the gathering of space samples: The moon rocks by NASA’s Apollo astronauts and Soviet robotic probes; NASA’s Stardust mission, comet material; NASA’s Genesis mission, solar grains.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/16/AR2010111600884.html
2. From the Los Angeles Times: Astronomers use NASA’s Chandra X-ray Telescope to monitor the growth of a “young” black hole that emerged from a stellar explosion. The stellar object, which is emitting X-rays and consuming interstellar gas, was first spotted by an amateur astronomer 31 years ago.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-black-hole-20101116,0,6024668.story
3. From Spaceflightnow.com: The number of cracks found on shuttle Discovery’s external fuel tank grows, as NASA plans repairs at Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Discovery’s final mission was halted during a Nov. 5 countdown by a substantial hydrogen leak. Technicians are changing out the leaky fuel tank vent line fixture. The space agency continues to aim for a lift off during the next launching period, Nov. 30 through Dec. 6.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/101115crack/
4. From Space.com: Two Russian spacewalkers retrieve science experiments and install work platforms during a 6.5 hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/missionlaunches/international-space-station-russian-spacewalk-wrap-101115.html
5. From the Space Review: In “An experiment in sustainability and spaceflight,” Kit Martin, the CTO of Onyx Neon Press, looks to the advancement of long duration human space exploration as a crucible for solutions to many of the Earth’s most pressing problems. These include international cooperation; energy for power and propulsion; land space; recycled water; compact agriculture; and fabrication with limited manufacturing capabilities. “The marvels of a new space age would benefit the world of today,” Martin writes.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1725/1
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