Curiosity log 15 (playing in Rocknest)

Curiosity is already near the area known as Glenelg. On October 2 (Sun 56) arrive at the area known as Rocknest, where there are some small sand bank. Curiosity will spend two or three weeks at this site while making the first sample collection with robot arm systems. As of today, our rover has already surpassed the 400 runs, which is not bad.

Launch GPS IIF-3 (Delta IV M +)

On Thursday, October 4 at 12:10 UTC, the company ULA (United Launch Alliance) launched a Delta IV M + (4, 2) from SLC-37 slope to Cape Canaveral. On board was the GPS IIF-3 satellite (USA-239) global positioning system GPS. Apparently, the motor RL-10 of the second stage experienced some problems during power up.

The asteroid will tell about the origin of the solar system

Tiny pieces of rock the size of 50-100 microns - thinner than a human hair - were taken from the asteroid Itokawa Japanese Hayabusa mission. They were carefully extracted by experts from the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester.

This case was the first, when the samples collected on the asteroid were returned to Earth. Only 70 samples were provided for international analysis, and seven of them - to study at this university.

"Eye" spiral nebula is blue

Helix Nebula (snail) is often called the "Eye of God" or "Eye of Sauron", and do not reject that this place looks like a cosmic eye, looks straight at us. On the new image, which combined the image transmitted from the telescope "Spitzer" and GALEX, the eye appears to us in a blue shade that complements the palette of gold, green and turquoise of the nebula, obtained previously by other observatories.

Curiosity first sample of Martian soil

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity first dig a soil sample of the Red Planet this weekend, mission scientists announced yesterday, October 4.

1-ton rover arrived at the sandy area called "Rocknest", on Wednesday, October 3. Scientists have found a place suitable for his first robot operations associated with the extraction of soil samples with the bucket, which should start on Saturday, 6 October, if all goes according to plan.

Rapid star will test the theory of relativity

Astronomers have exposed a star that hits record speed, moving around the central black hole (BH) of our Milky Way galaxy at a speed of 5,000 kilometers per second and making a complete rotate in less than 12 years.

This discovery gives scientists a unique opportunity over the next decade to test the theory of relativity in extreme conditions.

Scientists have proposed to deal with space debris harpoon

British company Astrium UK proposed to deal with space debris in orbit with a special harpoon.

Debris called fragments of old spacecraft left Earth orbit. Currently, the Joint U.S. Strategic Command monitors 19 thousand objects in orbit, the size of which more than 10 centimeters. According to experts objects with a diameter greater than a centimeter in space on the order of magnitude - more than 600,000. Due to the high velocity (and, consequently, the high kinetic energy), even small pieces of apparatus can be hazardous to spacecraft.