Magic carpet

This false-colour composite image, constructed from data obtained by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, shows the glow of auroras streaking out about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from the cloud tops of Saturn’s south polar region. It is among the first images released from a study that identifies images showing auroral emissions out of the entire catalogue of images taken by Cassini’s visual and infrared mapping spectrometer. Credit: NASA/JPL/ASI/University of Arizona/University of Leicester.

Who’s Who

Alternate concept of Saturn’s close-up by Cassini :). Doodle (and caption) by Nate Swinehart.

Earth and Cosmos

This image of Saturn’s northern hemisphere was taken by Cassini on September 13, 2017. It is among the last images Cassini sent back to earth. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Handout via Reuters.

Cosmic Kaleidoscope

A cosmic view of Saturn while Cassini was in its shadow. The image was taken on October 17, 2012, with the cameras turned toward Saturn and the sun so that the planet and rings are backlit. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute.

Cassini’s Grand Finale

Plumes of water ice and vapour from the south polar region of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Photo: AP.

Swan song

NASA’s Cassini Mission to Saturn is about to enter its final week, after a remarkable 20-year-long story of exploration and discovery. On September 15, 2017 the spacecraft will dive into the planet’s atmosphere till to burn up and disintegrate like a meteor. NASA has called it “The Grand Finale”.

Enceladus’s Dance

Hanging on Saturn’s rings: Enceladus’s dance
Photo credit: NASA/JPL

Cassini Mission, started in 1997, prepares for its “grand finale”. On November 30, the probe will start the maneuver that will crown its space odissey, scheduled for 2017, with a spectacular series of daring dives between and into Saturn’s rings which will last until September 15, 2017, when Cassini will plunge into the upper atmosphere of the gas giant planet, where it will burn up like a meteor, ending its epic mission to the Saturn system. Cassini Mission is a NASA/ESA/ASI mission to explore the Saturnian system, and expecially the ringed planet and its moons in detail. Among the most important discoveries are a global ocean hidden beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s geologically active moon Enceladus and methane seas on Titan (Saturn’s largest moon).

FASTOPEN

Schiaparelli thought it had landed on Mars when in fact it was still 3.7km above the surface, says European Space Agency A tiny lander that crashed on Mars last month flew into the red planet at 540km/h (335mph) instead of gently gliding to a stop, after a computer misjudged its altitude, the European Space Agency has said. Schiaparelli was on a test-run for a future rover meant to seek out evidence of life, past or present, but it fell silent seconds before its scheduled touchdown on 19 October. [Read more].

• Agence France-Presse, Mars lander smashed into ground at 540km/h after misjudging its altitude, The Guardian, November 24, 2016

Artist’s impression of the Mars-bound Schiaparelli probe (centre) separating from the Trace Gas Orbiter. Photo: D. Ducros/AP.

The Heart We Sold

So, according to the investigations of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the cause of Schiaparelli’s unexpected crash would be due to the European Space Agency (ESA)’s responsibility, as they, in order to save money (supposedly one million €uros), would have hired the Rumanian ARCA Space Corporation rather than the Swedish Space Corporation – as the companies involved in the ExoMars mission were recommending – for performing Schiaparelli’s acceptance tests.

On November 1, 2016, the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed the impact site of Europe’s Schiaparelli test lander, gaining the first color view of the site since the lander’s October 19 arrival. These cutouts cover locations where three parts of the spacecraft reached the ground. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.

Highlander

According to the first scientific hypothesis, the cause of last week’s crash of the Schiaparelli lander might have been due to a potential computing glitch.

This comparison of before-and-after images shows two spots that likely appeared in connection with the October 19, 2016, Mars arrival of the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli test lander. The images are from the Context Camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

Schiaparelli, a Heartbeat Away

Images released by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Friday show new markings on the Red Planet’s surface that are believed to be ESA’s ExoMars Schiaparelli’s parachute and landing site. It appears the lander suffered a violent collision at the surface, exploding on impact. Images © NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

It Goes Without Saying

The European Space Agency is not yet certain that the probe crashed, but data analysis so far indicates a destructive collision with the red planet’s surface. [Read more].

• Hannah Devlin, How the ExoMars Schiaparelli lander may have met its fate on Mars, The Guardian, October 20, 2016

The data beamed back from Schiaparelli show that the first five minutes of its descent went flawlessly. Illustration: Reuters.

Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation

There is growing apprehension for the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Schiaparelli probe, since the robot’s radio signal was suddenly cut off about a minute before it was expected to land on Mars. Scientists are afraid the robot has crashed and been destroyed. The European Space Agency, however, is far from surrender, and, on next days, its engineers will try everything humanly possible to revive Schiaparelli’s heartbeat.

ExoMars approaching Mars. Image © ESA/ATG Medialab.