Space News this Week: An ESA Spacecraft, New Moon Images, and Solar-Electric Propulsion

A new European re-entry vehicle, unprecedented moon images, and a call for solar electric propulsion systems. 

ESA Spacecraft

ESA's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle

The European Space Agency announced that its re-entry spacecraft, called Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV), will be ready to fly in 2013. The agency first announced the vehicle concept in 2009. Now the detailed design and technologies are ready and the agency has partnered with Thales Alenia Space Italia to manufacture the vehicle. Its first flight will be in 2013.

Europe's ambition for a spacecraft to return autonomously from low orbit is a cornerstone for a wide range of space applications, including space transportation, exploration and robotic servicing of space infrastructure.

This goal will be achieved with IXV, which is the next step from the Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator flight of 1998. More maneuverable and able to make precise landings, IXV is the 'intermediate' element of Europe's path to future developments with limited risks.

The new spacecraft, which resembles a wing-less space shuttle and it s test vehicle, will launch aboard a small ESA rocket, reaching an altitude of 450 kilometers. It will test technologies like advanced thermal protection systems, new guidance, navigation and control systems, and will collect lots of data. It will operate autonomously. It could be proving ground for ESA to develop a vehicle that can travel to the space station or other destinations.

 

Moon Images

Data from seven instruments onboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a spacecraft orbiting the moon since 2009, have provided amazing detailed images and maps of the moon's surface, showing craters and topography that have never before been seen.

According to the NASA press release,

The most precise and complete topographic maps to date of the moon's complex, heavily cratered landscape have been created from the more than 4 billion measurements -- and still counting -- taken by LRO's Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA). These maps are more accurate and sample more places on the lunar surface than any available before. In fact, LOLA has taken more than 100 times more measurements than all previous lunar instruments of its kind combined, opening up a world of possibilities for future exploration and for science.

Already, researchers have used LOLA data to put together the first comprehensive set of maps of the roughness of the moon's surface. Like wrinkles on skin, the roughness of craters and other fetures on the moon's surface can reveal their age. By looking at where and how the roughness changes -- and by combining that information with contour maps that show where the high and low points are -- researchers can get important clues about the processes that shaped the moon.

Solar Electric Propulsion

To reach destinations beyond low Earth orbit spacecraft needs propulsion systems that are efficient and powerful. Chemical propulsion systems are most commonly used for spacecraft, but they require large amounts of fuel and are inefficient for deep space missions. Now NASA is seeking proposals for mission concepts of solar electric propulsion systems. The systems use solar panels to generate electricity that gives a positive charge to atoms inside a chamber, which are pulled by magnetism towards the back of the spacecraft and pushed out. The stream of atoms going out of the spacecraft gives it the thrust it needs to move through space. (The agency tested an ion-propulsion system it developed in 2009 and expects it to launch in 2013.)

More surprises for the Voyager mission at the edge of the solar system

Voyager spacecrafts in the heliosheath

Unexpected observations by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft have astronomers once again revising their theories about the radial extent of the heliosheath – the heated outer shell of the solar system. Recent data from the spacecraft have shown a gentle decrease in the velocity of the solar wind at the heliopause – the outer boundary of the heliosheath – not the abrupt discontinuity predicted by current theories. Also, scientists looking at other data from both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have found that the magnetic field in the heliosheath is a tumultuous foam of magnetic bubbles, as compared to the graceful arcs of magnetic field lines they had expected.

 

At the edge

Ionized particles emitted at high speeds from the Sun – the solar wind – form a bubble around our solar system. The skin of the bubble, called the heliosphere, contains the heliopause, the heliosheath and the termination shock. The solar wind travels at supersonic speed until it crosses a shockwave – the termination shock where it slows down and heats up the heliosheath. The heliopause is the outer edge of the heliosheath where the solar wind slows down to zero.

Launched nearly 34 years ago, and now cruising through space some 14.4 billion kilometres from the Sun, both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are currently in the heliosheath. A team of scientists led by Stamatios Krimigis of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Maryland, US have been using Voyager's Low-Energy Charged Particle instrument to determine the solar wind's velocity. Voyager 1 has crossed into an area where the velocity of the solar wind has slowed gradually to zero since 2007. As Voyager 1 has moved outwards over the past three years, the radial velocity of the wind has been decreasing almost linearly from 208,000 km/h to zero; while the transverse component that flows sideways relative to the Sun is also trending toward zero.

"This tells us that Voyager 1 may be close to the heliopause, or the boundary at which the interstellar medium basically stops the outflow of solar wind," says Krimigis. "The extended transition layer of near-zero outflow contradicts theories that predict a sharp transition to the interstellar flow at the heliopause – and means, once again, we will need to rework our models."

As velocities may fluctuate, the team looked at multiple monthly readings before confirming the velocity was actually at zero. However, scientists believe Voyager 1 has not yet crossed the heliopause into interstellar space. Crossing into interstellar space would mean a sudden drop in the density of hot particles of the heliosheath and an increase in the density of cold particles of the interstellar plasma. The researchers, writing in Nature, estimated the location of the heliopause by combining the Voyager 1 observations and energetic neutral atom images of the heliosheath from the Cassini mission. They believe that the heliopause may be as close as 18 billion kilometres, meaning that Voyager 1 could exit the transition layer and enter the galactic medium by the end of 2012. The research was published in Nature Letters.

 

Bubble trouble

At the same time, another team from NASA has found distinct bubbles of magnetism, each about 160 million kilometres wide, in the heliosheath. Voyager 1 entered the "foam-zone" in around 2007 and Voyager 2 followed about a year later, according to the researchers, and it would take either one of the probes weeks to cross just one bubble.

The old and the new view of the heliosheath

"The Sun's magnetic field extends all the way to the edge of the solar system," explains Merav Opher of Boston University, US. "Because the Sun spins, its magnetic field becomes twisted and wrinkled, a bit like a ballerina's skirt. Far, far away from the Sun, where the Voyagers are now, the folds of the skirt bunch up."

When a magnetic field gets severely folded, lines of magnetic force criss-cross and reorganize themselves into foamy magnetic bubbles. This magnetic reconnection is the same energetic process underlying solar flares. The actual bubbles appear to be self-contained and disconnected from the broader solar magnetic field.

Sensor readings from the spacecraft show that the Voyagers sometimes travel in and out of bubbles in the foam – zone, while at other times they seem to move through foam-free regions. This further complicates our picture of the heliosphere.

The researchers suggest that the foam zone might protect the solar system from cosmic rays, which would be trapped inside the bubbles and have to travel through individual bubbles before arriving at relatively smoother magnetic field lines to travel towards the Sun itself. "The magnetic bubbles appear to be our first line of defence against cosmic rays," points out Opher. "We haven't figured out yet if this is a good thing or not."

So far, most evidence for the bubbles comes from the Voyager energetic-particle and flow measurements and magnetic-field observations; but because the magnetic field is so weak, the data takes much longer to accurately analyse. "We'll probably discover [if our model] is correct as the Voyagers proceed deeper into the froth and learn more about its organization," says Opher. "This is just the beginning, and I predict more surprises ahead."

Watch the video below from the NASA Heliophysics and the Science Visualization Studio to find out more about the bubbles and how cosmic rays may travel through them:

Future of International Space Station

The Future of the International Space Station (ISS) at this point is somewhat in doubt. The reason for that is the fact that the United States is the principle country responsible for the ISS, having absorbed the vast majority of the cost overruns that have come with the project.The fact that their commitment is uncertain is something that really does seem to be affecting
all of the plans that have been made for this space station.

In 2004, then President George W. Bush was responsible for approving a plan that would see the ISS deorbited by the United States and brought back to Earth in 2015. When the Obama Administration came to power, that plan was rejected in favour of a push to allow the ISS to stay in orbit until 2020. This plan was supported by many in the international space community including the Russians, Japanese and Europeans, all of whom have similar plans in operation to continue their own support of the ISS project until 2020.

At the moment, it seems as though the final battles will be fought within the United States. It is up to the administration to convince Congress that the ISS should be funded until that time. With the political turmoil in the country combined with a hyper-partisan attitude, it is unclear as to whether that plan will come to fruition. Even with noted people in the field such as former station commander Leroy Chiao commenting that a loss of confidence in the US ability to lead in the area of space would accompany such a decision, it seems as though this issue is one that is still up in the air.

Based on what we know now, it seems as though the ISS will definitely be around until at least 2015. Whether it makes it past that mark is seemingly dependant on what happens in the halls of Washington DC between now and then.

Aamir sweats it out for DHOOM 3

Though the much talked about shoot of DHOOM 3 is scheduled to begin in February 2012, actor Aamir Khan has already been sweating out for the last six months for his role in the film.
According to reliable sources, Aamir wants to train for one full year for his role in DHOOM 3. That is the reason the actor started his rigorous workouts for his role from January 2011 to give him enough time to shape up for the role.

Aamir on his part has also admitted that he is training hard for the film. Says the actor, "I take out at least one hour everyday to do some serious workout in the gym for my role in DHOOM 3. Though the film will go on the floors in February 2012, I have decided to work on my body in the meantime."
It must be mentioned that unlike the earlier installments of DHOOM and DHOOM 2 that were directed by Sanjay Gadhvi, DHOOM 3 will be directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, who had earlier directed TASHAN with Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar in the lead.

Delhi Belly Movie Reviews

Starring: Imran Khan, Vir Das, Kunal Roy Kapoor, Poorna Jagannathan, Shenaz Treasuryvala
 Director: Abhinay Deo.

 

It is a cliche as old as this nation - of the many Indias that breathe under one India, Indian cinema has hardly been representative of even a few of these. Yet, one would have expected, after globalization and the emergence of a new bold, urban India, that at least this class would get representation in commercial cinema.

Though there have been successful attempts in the past, it is with "Delhi Belly" that the urban, money-is-everything, foul-mouthed India has been captured with aplomb. And that, depending upon your morality, is good or bad.

Tashi (Imran Khan), a Delhi-based journalist living filthily with two roommates, winds up with a bunch of 'desi' goons chasing him and his mates after a mix-up. The three are forced to navigate the dark underbelly to survive, while encountering one situation after another and one idiosyncratic Indian after another.

The beauty of Abhinav Deo's film is not its smooth story, loosely inspired by the type of films made famous by Guy Ritchie, 'Lock Stock..' and 'Snatch' among others, neither is it Ram Sampath's catchy music that beats to the rhythm of the film, or the slick, seamless direction, or its immaculate casting and performance or even its wickedly witty dialogues. The true beauty of the film is in all these elements together creating a madcap image of a new, unabashed, even shameless section of India.

Though Delhi is referred to in its title, it is not the real Delhi that Dibakar Banerjee captures with satirical reality in his films. Instead, it is the image of a Delhi populated by young, educated, newly 'liberated' urbanites. In that it is the splitting image of that young urban India anywhere perpetually churning like the stomach of a character in the film, a showcasing of this nations new neo-liberal underbelly.

Five Year Integrated Postgraduate Programme in Management (IPGP)

A Brief Note In this brief note we articulate the rational on the design and implementation of the proposed five-year integrated postgraduate programme in management (IPGP) of IIM Indore. IIM Indore’s vision is to have a dominant presence in every segment of management education. Operationalization of increasing the PGP batch size from 240 to 450 candidates is a step in this direction. We have launched a one-year executive education programme for the premium price segment of the management education market. Academic presence in Mumbai and Dubai is a demonstration of our desire to be globally present. We have an expanding Ph.D. programme. We have launched a 3-month Faculty Development Programme (FDP) for teachers. We have plans to launch several specialized programmes in the emerging sectors of the Indian economy like egovernance, health care etc. The proposed five-year integrated postgraduate programme in management (IPGP) is a unique and creative programme to meet the aspirations of young students to become management professionals.