Monthly Archives: August 2022

To the Moon and beyond: NASA’s Artemis program

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NASA’s SLS rocket is seen August 26, 2022 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Artemis program is NASA’s plan to return humans to the Moon as a stepping stone for an eventual voyage to Mars.

Twelve men walked on the Moon between 1969 and 1972 and one of the goals of Artemis is to put the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface.

The first test flight of an uncrewed Artemis rocket is to take place on Monday.

The name Artemis was chosen to echo that of the Apollo program.

Artemis, in Greek mythology, was the twin sister of Apollo and a goddess associated with the Moon.

Here is an overview of the Artemis program:






Artemis 1: test flight

Artemis 1 is a of the 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket and the Orion crew capsule that sits on top.

Blastoff is scheduled for 8:33 am (1233 GMT) on Monday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Mannequins equipped with sensors will take the place of crew members on the flight, recording vibration, acceleration and .

Orion will orbit the Moon before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

Artemis 2: first crew

Planned for 2024, Artemis 2 will be a crewed flight that will orbit the Moon but not land on the surface, similar to what Apollo 8 did.

The four members of the crew will be named before the end of the year. A Canadian is expected to be among them.

Artemis 3: Moon landing

The third Artemis mission will be the first to put astronauts on the Moon since Apollo 17 in December 1972.

NASA, for the first time, will land a crewed spacecraft on the southern pole of the Moon, where water in the form of ice has been detected.

Previous Moon landings took place near the equator.

Artemis 3 is scheduled for 2025 but may not take place until 2026 at the earliest, according to an independent audit of the program.

Starting with Artemis 3, NASA plans to launch crewed missions about once a year.

SpaceX Moon lander

NASA has selected Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build the Moon lander for Artemis 3.

SpaceX’s Starship, which is still under development, will serve as a shuttle from the Orion crew capsule to the lunar surface and back.

Gateway space station

The Artemis program also calls for the construction of a space station called Gateway that will orbit the Moon.

The launch of the first two elements—the living quarters module and power and propulsion system—is planned for late 2024 at the earliest by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Orion crews would be responsible for assembly of Gateway.

Astronauts would spend between 30 to 60 days in Gateway and would eventually have access to a lander that would allow them to travel to the Moon and back.

Gateway would also serve as a stopping point for any future trip to Mars.

Destination Mars

The ultimate objective of the Artemis program is what NASA calls the “next giant leap—human exploration of Mars.”

NASA will use knowledge gained from Artemis about next generation spacesuits, vehicles, propulsion, resupply and other areas to prepare for a trip to Mars.

The goal is to learn how to maintain a in deep space for a long period.

Creating a “base camp” on the Moon is part of the plan with astronauts staying on the for up to two months.

While a trip to the Moon takes just a few days, a voyage to Mars would take a minimum of several months.

© 2022 AFP

Citation:
To the Moon and beyond: NASA’s Artemis program (2022, August 28)
retrieved 29 August 2022
from https://phys.org/news/2022-08-moon-nasa-artemis.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

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Study: Already shrunk by half, Swiss glaciers melting faster

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People stay in front of the Bernina mountain group with the Pers and Morteratsch glaciers in Pontresina, Switzerland, Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Credit: Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP

Switzerland’s 1,400 glaciers have lost more than half their total volume since the early 1930s, a new study has found, and researchers say the ice retreat is accelerating at a time of growing concerns about climate change.

ETH Zurich, a respected federal polytechnic university, and the Swiss Federal Institute on Forest, Snow and Landscape Research on Monday announced the findings from a first-ever reconstruction of ice loss in Switzerland in the 20th century, based in part on an analysis of changes to the topography of glaciers since 1931.

The researchers estimated that ice volumes on the glaciers had shrunk by half over the subsequent 85 years—until 2016. Since then, the glaciers have lost an additional 12%, over just six years.

“Glacier retreat is accelerating. Closely observing this phenomenon and quantifying its historical dimensions is important because it allows us to infer the glaciers’ responses to a changing climate,” said Daniel Farinotti, a co-author of the study, which was published in The Cryosphere.

By area, Switzerland’s glaciers amount to about half of all the total glaciers in the European Alps.

The teams drew on a combination of long-term observations of glaciers. That included measurements in the field and aerial and mountaintop photographs—including 22,000 taken from peaks between the two world wars. By using multiple sources, the researchers could fill in gaps. Only a few of Switzerland’s glaciers have been studied regularly over the years.

A person stands in front of the Bernina mountain group with the Pers and Morteratsch glaciers in Pontresina, Switzerland, Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Credit: Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP

The research involved using decades-old techniques to allow for comparisons of the shape and position of images of terrain, and the use of cameras and instruments to measure angles of land areas. The teams compared surface topography of glaciers at different moments, allowing for calculations about the evolution in ice volumes.

Not all Swiss glaciers have been losing ice at the same rates, the researchers said. Altitude, amounts of debris on the , and the flatness of a glacier’s “snout”—its lowest part, which is the most vulnerable to melting—all affect the speeds of ice retreat.

  • A fleece covers snow in front of the Bernina mountain group with the Pers and Morteratsch glaciers in Pontresina, Switzerland, Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Credit: Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP
  • A person stands in front of the Bernina mountain group with the Pers and Morteratsch glaciers in Pontresina, Switzerland, Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Credit: Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP
  • People take pictures in front of the Bernina mountain group with the Pers and Morteratsch glaciers in Pontresina, Switzerland, Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Credit: Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP
  • A fleece covers snow in front of the Bernina mountain group with the Pers and Morteratsch glaciers in Pontresina, Switzerland, Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Credit: Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP

The researchers also found that two periods—in the 1920s and the 1980s—actually experienced sporadic growth in glacier mass, but that was overshadowed by the broader trend of decline.

The findings could have broad implications for Switzerland’s long-term energy sources, since hydropower produces nearly 60% of the country’s electricity, according to government data.

More information:
Erik Schytt Mannerfelt et al, Halving of Swiss glacier volume since 1931 observed from terrestrial image photogrammetry, The Cryosphere (2022). DOI: 10.5194/tc-16-3249-2022

© 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Citation:
Study: Already shrunk by half, Swiss glaciers melting faster (2022, August 27)
retrieved 28 August 2022
from https://phys.org/news/2022-08-shrunk-swiss-glaciers-faster.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

% %item_read_more_button%% Hexbyte Glen Cove Educational Blog Repost With Backlinks — #metaverse #vr #ar #wordpress