2024-02-01 15:00:00
Ilan Ramon’s experiment continues successfully, a new space station is on the way, the Japanese lunar lander is back in action and farewell to the Mars helicopter. Summary of the week around the universe
Another success for the Israeli experiment
This week marks the 21st anniversary of the Columbia shuttle disaster, in which seven crew members perished, including the first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. Symbolically, precisely this week beautiful results were obtained from the continuation of one of the experiments he started with the same mission, to photograph “lightning sprites” and other atmospheric phenomena that occur above storm clouds. The experiment continues to be led by Prof. Yoav Yair from Reichman University, through “Sky mission” company which was established following the participation of the private astronaut Eitan Stiva In the first manned mission of a commercial company to the International Space Station. Stiva himself was able to photograph the mission Spectacular pictures of the elves – Colorful electrical discharges that occur above the clouds during a lightning storm, but are very difficult to notice in real time because they only last a fraction of a second.
As in the previous missions, Yair guided the astronauts of Ax-3 mission Before going into space on how to carry out the experiment, he analyzed the forecasts to understand where lightning storms occurred, and every day sent instructions to the control center in Houston for the astronauts when to try to photograph the storms and in which direction. “The commander of the current mission, Michael Lopez Alegria, who also commanded the Ax-1 mission with Stiva, grasped the matter well, and his photographs improved from observation to observation,” Yair told the Davidson Institute website. “Although the team didn’t film everything we asked for, those who were free did film, and I’m happy for everything we can get from these missions.”
The observations from the current experiment reinforce Yair’s assessment that there is sometimes a connection between lightning storms that are very far apart – something that can only be noticed in observations from space. “Even if the storms are hundreds of kilometers away, we can see the lightning with differences of less than a thousandth of a second. We still do not understand the physical mechanism of that ‘lightning synchronization,’ but it seems to be a real phenomenon. Yair is researching the phenomenon in collaboration with Dr. Lior Rubanenko from the Technion, and with the help of artificial intelligence algorithms. “In the coming months we will publish at least one article on the subject, and we will challenge the common perception that every lightning storm is autonomous.”
Spectacular breakdowns that are very difficult to watch. A red and blue lightning sprite seen near the edge of the space station’s solar panel in a photo taken over Australia on Jan. 24 | Photo: Michael Lopez Alegria, Axiom Space
See you in the forum
The last week of January is the date of the Israel Space Week, in memory of Ilan Ramon, where the Ilan Ramon Space Conference is also held, led by the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology. At this week’s meeting, the establishment of a new body was announced, The Israeli Space Forum, which is intended to strengthen the space industry in Israel. The forum will consist of veteran space companies, start-up companies, entrepreneurs and investors, and its establishment was agreed upon between the Space Agency, the Sky Mission Company headed by Eitan Stiva, the Innovation Authority, the Association of Manufacturers, the Export Institute, the Israel Aerospace Industries and the Earth & Beyond greenhouse.
The forum, which will be officially launched in two months, should provide a platform where companies and entrepreneurs can interface with investors, with government bodies, with academic researchers and with the local and global space industry. “Establishing the forum brings to light the necessary partnership between the various entities in Israel in order to promote the space industry and move it forward,” said the Director of the Space Agency, Uri Oron.
move the space industry forward. Director of the Space Agency, Uri Oron, at the 19th Ilan Ramon conference, this week Photo: Oz Schechter, L.A.M
Another stop in time
The American company Starlab Space, which is developing its own space station, signed an agreement with the SpaceX company to place the station in space in one launch, without the need to assemble it in orbit around the Earth. The companies did not publish the details of the agreement, the cost of the launch or its estimated date, but said that the launch will be carried out on the Starship spacecraft, which is not yet operational, and that it is expected to happen before the end of the decade – when the International Space Station’s operations are planned to end.
The Starlab company was officially established only in January of this year, as part of a cooperation agreement between the American Voyager Space and the European Airbus company. At the end of last year, the two companies signed an Memorandum of Understanding with the European Space Agency, ESA, regarding the development of a commercial space station, which will give European entities access to research activities in space even after the end of the international station’s journey. The planned station will consist of a large complex with work and living spaces, to which will be attached a service module that will provide energy, propulsion, and life support systems. Since the large complex will be more than eight meters in diameter, Starship is the only system suitable to carry it into space.
Last year, another American company, VAST, signed an agreement with SpaceX to launch a private space station Otherwise, smaller. The American company Axiom is also developing commercial space station which is supposed to be built on the basis of the international station, and several other companies are also in the more preliminary stages of developing stations, so it is very likely that in the next decade several stations of commercial companies will circle the earth, with a variety of options for experiments, research and space tourism.
It is intended to continue to allow European bodies access to work in space after the end of the International Station. The planned Starlab station | Image: Starlab Space
The revival of the Japanese landing party
The Japanese lunar lander SLIM managed to make a soft landing on the moon about two weeks ago, but paid by overturning for the challenging attempt to land on sloping ground, on the slopes of a crater. Because of this, the solar panels on its upper part did not face the sun, and the Japanese space agency had to turn off its instruments after a short time, due to the depletion of its batteries. However, as the Japanese hoped, towards the lunar evening, when the sun was lower above the horizon, the panels received enough light to Turn on some of the devices again. The lander is equipped, among other things, with cameras and spectrometers designed to help it analyze the composition of the soil and rocks in the landing area.
It is not yet clear how long the lander will be able to operate in this format. Originally it was supposed to operate as our fortnight, i.e. one lunar day, but was not designed to survive the lunar night. The researchers will probably try to activate it again on the next lunar day, and if they succeed it will be a pleasant surprise.
Can also work lying on the side. Image composed of footage of the SLIM lander. In the circle: one of the rocks that she is supposed to investigate the composition of Source: JAXA
Farewell to a groundbreaking helicopter
The space agency of the United States, NASA, has decided Disable the Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, after damage was discovered in one of its propeller blades. It is estimated that the helicopter was damaged when it landed on its last flight, and the blade, which is made of carbon fiber, broke or cracked when it hit the ground.
The helicopter, designed for five flights to demonstrate the technology, landed on mars with the Perseverance SUV about three years ago. A few weeks later he performed the The maiden flight. After NASA decided to continue operating it, it reached 72 flights, at a maximum height of about 26 meters, and at horizontal distances of hundreds of meters, and became a significant element in the mission planning of the all-terrain vehicle. In total, the helicopter accumulated More than two hours in the air (128 minutes of flight), and traveled a horizontal distance of about 17 kilometers. Following the success, NASA is expected to integrate similar aircraft in future missions, and is now looking at the development of larger helicopters, which can carry cargo and even people.
A glorious career. A video of NASA’s JPL laboratory on the Mars helicopter (in English):
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