Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
European Space Agency (ESA) is planning to create its own moon with 900 tonnes of volcanic rock. The facility known as LUNA or Lunar Analog is spread over a 700-square-meter area at European Astronaut Centre near Cologne. It will be created by using movable ceiling-mounted trolleys for rover’s movements or providing simulating enviornment for suspended astronaut. The astronauts can practice living in such low-gravity conditions similar to that on the Moon. From working under low sunlight to collecting craters, astronauts will get different trainings in this simulated environment. Meanwhile, space agencies like NASA, ESA, ISRO are planning for manned moon missions later in this decade.
Timelapse flying by Hurricane Milton about 2 hours ago.
— Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) October 8, 2024
1/6400 sec exposure, 14mm, ISO 500, 0.5 sec interval, 30fps pic.twitter.com/p5wBlC95mx
Credit - X/@dominickmatthew
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured breathtaking views through the window of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour, revealing Hurricane Milton’s massive scale and power as it churned over the Gulf of Mexico. The video showed Hurricane Milton as a swirling titan of nature. The eye of the hurricane showed tiny yet terrifying feature of rapid power surge. These observations are making scientists think more about climate change and onset of such powerful storms. This category 5 hurricane has already threatened life with surges predicted to attain a height of 15 feet.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which is rapidly progressing with the ambitious Gaganyaan mission to send Indian astronauts into space, is simultaneously working on first manned deep sea mission named Samudrayaan. ISRO's expertise in developing state-of-the-art materials and engineering is invaluable in completing submersible Matsya-6000 structure. ISRO helped in construction of the personnel sphere, for housing the crew, life support systems, controls, as well as electronics 6,000 meters below sea level. Due to the lack of efficient testing facilities in India, the sphere will undergo extensive testing in Saint Petersburg, Russia. If this mission becomes successful, it will place India in an elite group of nations capable of manned deep sea exploration including US, Russia, France, and Japan.
NASA is concerned about a persistent air leak in the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS). The problem was first detected in 2019 in the Zvezda module's PrK vestibule, which undergone rigorous investigation and mitigation efforts. NASA's Office of Inspector General recently pointed out the severity of the air leak, as it had increased to 1.7 kilograms per day by April 2024. As a precautionary measure, station crews have kept the hatch to the affected area closed most of the time to effectively reduce the impact of the leak.
Meanwhile, this is not the only problem being faced by space agencies. Other major concerns include supply chain management and increasing space debris.
