Science Pics of the Week: NASA releases 'naked' pic of Orion
Meteorologist/Science Writer
Friday, February 5, 2016, 3:03 PM - NASA gives us a peak behind the scenes at "naked" Orion, the last piece is fitted into our next eye on the universe, and China releases a treasure trove from the Moon. It's Science Pics of the Week!
Naked space... craft, that is
It's not too often that we get to take a peak behind the scenes at NASA, but they recently provided us with a look at the progress they're making on an important future space mission - the Orion space capsule.
The Orion is shown here "naked," that is to say showing only its pressure vessel, without the protective outer shell or inner workings in place.
When the spacecraft is ready for its Exploration Mission 1, where it will spend seven days in space in 2018, flying out to the Moon and back, it will look like the concept images below:
Credit: NASA/S. Sutherland
One step closer to unraveling the Universe's secrets
While those at Kennedy Space Center in Florida were taking charge of the newly-arrived Orion, engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland were fitting the final hexagonal component into place for the primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope.
The fully-assembled primary mirror of the JWST, from the floor (left) and from a better vantage point (right). Credit: NASA/S. Sutherland
Once in space, JWST will be able to angle the hexagonal sections of the mirror to optimize light collection from both near and distant objects. It is expected to far surprass the capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope.
"Scientists and engineers have been working tirelessly to install these incredible, nearly perfect mirrors that will focus light from previously hidden realms of planetary atmospheres, star forming regions and the very beginnings of the Universe," John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. "With the mirrors finally complete, we are one step closer to the audacious observations that will unravel the mysteries of the Universe."
China's stark landscapes of the Moon
Chang'e 3's view of the Moon and Yutu rover on Dec 17, 2013. Credits: Chinese Academy of Sciences/China National Space Administration/The Science and Application Center for Moon and Deepspace Exploration/Emily Lakdawalla. Click or tap the image to expand.
When China set their Chang'e 3 lander and Yutu rover down on the Moon in December of 2013, the duo returned the first images we'd seen from the lunar surface in over 40 years.
Although we were treated to some of those images as they trickled down and out through the media, recently, the Chinese Space Agency released the entire batch for public viewing. After downloading the entire database, Planetary Society editor Emily Lakdawalla had some fun with it, stitching together numerous small images into the great panorama above, and into these other exceptional looks at the Moon that Yutu and Chang'e 3 have now given us.
Captions by Emily Lakdawalla. Image credits: Chinese Academy of Sciences/China National Space Administration/The Science and Application Center for Moon and Deepspace Exploration/Emily Lakdawalla. Click or tap the images to expand. |
See the full entry on these amazing images on Emily's Planetary Society blog.
Sources: NASA | NASA | NASA | Planetary Society
Watch Below: NASA launches the Orion on its December 5, 2013 test flight into space!