Hayabusa capsule plunges to Earth after historic visit to asteroid

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Capsule plunges to Earth after historic visit to asteroid
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1006/13hayabusaentry/

BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: June 13, 2010

Cutting across the night sky at more than 27,000 mph, a small Japanese capsule returned to Earth from the surface of an asteroid Sunday, but the fate of the drum-shaped sample return craft was not immediately clear.

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Live USTREAM recorded by some very excited Japanese.
- LRK -

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http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/7634995
hayabusa re-entry
Recorded on 10/06/13

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Sequence of pictures as I saw Posted on June 13, 2010 by astroengine

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http://twitpic.com/1wgyd7
Sequence of images showing #Hayabusa re-entry over Australia #JAXA

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Beautiful picture of HAYABUSA re-entry, streaking across the sky.
- LRK -

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http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/zoom/20100613-OYT9I00808.htm
星空を進む「はやぶさ」。天の川（左）の中にある南十字星の上で消えた＝尾崎孝撮影

[My attempt at Google translation - "Take the Sky "Hayabusa". Milky Way (left) has gone on in the Southern Cross-shooting Ozaki Takashi"]
- LRK -
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And if you want a lot more Twitter links, try this in Google search -- #Hayabusa site:twitter.com
See, even NASA -- http://twitter.com/NASA/status/16073757786

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Asteroid Explorer "HAYABUSA"(MUSES-C) Capsule reentry plan

Look up.
- LRK -

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http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/06/20100612_hayabusa_e.html
Asteroid Explorer "HAYABUSA"(MUSES-C)
Capsule reentry plan

June 12, 2010 (JST)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) assessed the trajectory of Hayabusa and confirmed that it was nominal.
JAXA will implement the capsule reentry plan.

Hayabusa system is going well.

The following are main capsule reentry plans.

   * Around 6/13 19:51(JST) : Capsule separation
   * Around 6/13 22:51(JST) : Capsule reentry

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[See graphic on website - LRK -]
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It has been a long wait.
- LRK -

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http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/muses_c/index_e.html
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HAYABUSA, which was launched on May 9, 2003,achieved its goal of arriving at the Itokawa asteroid and performing scientific observations. As a result, its mission was featured in the scientific magazine "Science" as a first Japanese mission to illustrate various new findings about the asteroid including its gravity and surface conditions. HAYABUSA is now under preparations for its return trip to the Earth in 2010.
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JST is UT + 9:00 so waiting is about over.
- LRK -

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http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/t/time.htm
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TIME ZONES:

The world is broken into 24 separate time zones that are used to help determine the time in all areas of the world. GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) or UT (Universal Time) is a method of referencing the time differences across the world. The GMT or UT is centered in the middle of the time zone as 12:00. Any time zone to the left of this is -GMT or -UT and  any time zone to the right of this is +GMT or +UT. Below is a listing of time zone abbreviations, time zone descriptions and the UT difference.

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Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Earth-Moon-Earth Communication ( Moonbounce )

Pat sent me an email and would like to get the word out about bouncing signals off of the Moon and looking at the results with Slow Scan TV.
I know, I mentioned the "M..." word.  Sorry, there ARE folks interested in where we have been.
- LRK -

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Hello Larry,

How should/could we promote Moon Bounce communications, where I joined a team that is experimenting with an imaging mode, called Slow Scan TV.  The teams at Dwingeloo, Holland, one of a number of big dish moon bounce stations around the world, are having success in bouncing via SSTV, images off the moon.

See their website http://www.camras.nl and look for SSTV.

Best Regards,
73, de Pat Barthelow AA6EG

Arecibo  Video Tours:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vicxDnn6LEY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rFeXsVz8hE&NR=1

"The most exciting phrase to hear in Science, the one that heralds new discoveries,  is not "Eureka, I have found it!"    but: "That's funny..."  ----Isaac Asimov
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http://www.camras.nl/index.php?lang=en
http://www.camras.nl/index.php?lang=nl

A link I found using SSTV as a search item.
- LRK -

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http://www.camras.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=149%3Asstv-eme-fotos&catid=76%3Aeme&Itemid=98&lang=en
SSTV-EME foto’s     
Written by Mark Bentum
Monday, 10 May 2010 21:12
There are no translations available.

Via Dick Harms kregen we een aantal leuke foto’s van Chris Ploeger (PA2CHR) van het SSTVEME gebeuren. Chris schreef: “Hierbij een paar foto’s die ik maakte in de shack van HB9Q

tijdens de, voor zover wij weten, eerste SSTV - EME verbinding op 70cm. ter wereld “.
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[Note: Google translate says -
Dutch to English translationShow romanization
By Dick Harms we got some nice pictures of Chris Ploeger (PA2CHR) of SSTVEME happen. Chris wrote: "Here are some photos I took in the shack of HB9Q

during, as far as we know, first SSTV - 70cm EME connection. world ".]
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 Also, I was a bit dense and took me a bit to realize that EME is short for Earth-Moon-Earth. (See in left navigation column)
http://www.camras.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=76&Itemid=98&lang=en
[Note: Some of the captions are in Dutch and not translated.  Give Google translate a try. http://translate.google.com/#nl|en| ]
- LRK -

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http://www.nitehawk.com/rasmit/ws1_1.html
 Earth-Moon-Earth Communication
( Moonbounce )
Here you find a collection of EME stations with their WEB pages.

Moonbounce is often equivalent with large antennas, low feed line losses, T/R relays, LNA's, HPA's, Weaksignal detection, Moon tracking, lots of labor and system maintenance.
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A lot of information about Radio Ham activities.  See the news articles at the bottom for links to items that include Moon Bounce items.
- LRK -

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http://www.hobbyspace.com/Radio/index.html
Space Radio
Tuning in the cosmos...

   Communicate with astronauts aboard the Space Station....Monitor satellite transmissions...Listen to erie Natural Radio...Use amateur satellite transponders to talk to other hams around the world...

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News, Articles & Upcoming Events

   * UNITEC-1 On the Way to Venus - ARRL - May.23.10
   * Moonbounce for Everyone -- Courtesy of the Arecibo Radio Telescope! - ARRL - Apr.7.10
   * Littlest station gives us the 'sound' of Mars Express - Mars Express Blog - Mar.5.10
   * Listening for LRO and LCROSS - Frednet/X PRIZE Foundation - Sept.8.09
   * Monitor Space Shuttle launch with your police scanner - Examiner - July.11.09
   * Ham Operators Shoot the Moon - Wired.com - July.6.09
   * Ham radio operators shoot for the moon - San Francisco Chronicle - June.27.09
   * A Ham Radio Weekend for Talking to the Moon - NYTimes.com - June.26.09
   * First German Mars Mission makes sidestep to Venus: Ground station in Bochum generated echoes from Venus - AMSAT-DL - Mar.27.09
   * World Moon Bounce / EME Day Gathering Momentum - Echoes of Apollo - Mar.22.09
   * ARRL NEWS: ARISS to Celebrate 25 Years of Amateur Radio in Space with Special Events - ARRLWeb - Dec.1.08
   * Ham radio makes contact in space - canada.com - Oct.27.08
   * Postcards from space - Cosmic Log/msnbc.com - Oct.21.08
   * Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, Gets Busy from Space - ARRLWeb - Oct.17.08
   * ARISS - Richard Garriott update - Oct.08
   * Hams in Space -- For the Young and Young at Heart - ARRLWeb - Sept.25.08
   * Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) - NASA - Aug.15.08
   * Hams Head into Space - ARRLWeb - June.3.08
   * Become a Ham Radio Operator - Wired How-To Wiki - May.14.08
   * Amateur radio operators prepare to contact Korean astronaut - Korea.net News - Apr.5.08

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Very glad to hear that Arecibo Radio Telescope is still on the air.
They used to listen to Pioneer 10 and 11.
http://www.seti-inst.edu/seti/projects/project-phoenix/past_campaigns/pc-pioneer10.php
- LRK -

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http://www.arrl.org/news/view/moonbounce-for-everyone-courtesy-of-the-arecibo-radio-telescope
Moonbounce for Everyone -- Courtesy of the Arecibo Radio Telescope!
TAGS: amateur radio, hams, joe taylor, puerto rico, radio telescope, yagi antenna
04/07/2010

Sending Amateur Radio signals to the Moon and back has never been easy. After roundtrip journeys of nearly half a million miles, even the most powerful signals generated by hams are exquisitely weak on arrival. Because of the equipment and expertise necessary for successful "moonbounce" operating, this facet of Amateur Radio has been traditionally confined to a small audience. But for three days in April even hams with very modest stations will have the opportunity to experience the thrill of moonbounce, thanks to the giant radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

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If you read the above article you will see that I am late for the World Moon Bounce Day 2010.
Maybe you did better and will help others get the word for other upcoming events.
When I was at NASA Ames I received information from a High School student in Hungary that was listening to the Moon.
I must admit I am not looking up with all the tools that are available.
- LRK -

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http://echoesofapollo.com/moon-bounce/
World Moon Bounce Day 2010
EOA April 17th

This major event will add a new word to most people’s vocabulary – Moon Bounce. Moon Bounce has been happening for almost as long as the oldest of us can remember. From the early days when it was thought to be a  means of communications that the military could exploit right through to today’s more peaceful use by amateur radio hobbyists. So what is moon bounce? Also known technically as Earth-Moon-Earth transmissions (EME), it is simply bouncing radio waves off the moon’s surface and back to earth. Every day hundreds of people enjoy doing just that and they do it as everyday people using mainly homemade dishes and antennas and  a mix of “do it yourself” systems, electronics and “off the shelf” equipment.

So why hold World Moon Bounce Day? At Echoes of Apollo we are both interested in space (especially the moon) and amateur radio. We created an event to highlight both of these amazing areas of interest.  We are also looking to the commercial world to take part soon and make this an event for the whole world to enjoy
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Thanks to you folks, like Pat, that help get my head out of the books.
 Much to learn and enjoy.

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Fly Your Face in Space

Bert's sister sent him a link to NASA's Fly Your Face in Space, which he passed to me.
It looks like you can have your picture fly on one of the last two shuttle flights and get a certificate for your keeping.
- LRK -

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http://faceinspace.nasa.gov/
 Fly Your Face in Space

NASA wants to put a picture of you on one of the two remaining space shuttle missions and launch it into orbit. To launch your face into space and become a part of history, just follow these steps:

First...Select the Participate button at the bottom of this page and upload your image/name, which will be flown aboard the space shuttle.  Don't have a picture to upload? No problem, just skip the image upload and we will fly your name only on your selected mission!

Next...Print and save the confirmation page with your flight information.

Later...Return to this site after the landing to print your Flight Certificate - a commemorative certificate signed by the Mission Commander. You can also check on mission status, view mission photographs, link to various NASA educational resources and follow the commander and crew on Twitter or Facebook.

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If you go to the "Education" tab you will be presented with a number of links to NASA items of General Interest and items for Students and Educators.
- LRK -

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http://faceinspace.nasa.gov/education.aspx
Face In Space

Links
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At the bottom of the above page is a link for a complete list of NASA social networking sites
- LRK -

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http://www.nasa.gov/connect/
Connect and Collaborate with NASA

Connect With NASA on Social Networking Sites
Connect with NASA at...
Collaborate with NASA

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In looking at some of the Collaboration links I see it is already NOT politically correct to mention Lunar activities. :-(
OK, to go to Mars.
- LRK -

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http://beamartian.jpl.nasa.gov/
NASA Be A Martian - Age of Virtual Exploration & the Human-Robotic Partnership

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Not OK to Inspire (Lunar activities)
- LRK -

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http://moontasks.larc.nasa.gov/
The contest is open and will award prizes for the lunar-centric challenge that is due May 15, 2010. In light of NASA's new mission priorities, we will change the contest next fall to reflect non-lunar centric challenges.

Student Challenge:  We have expanded the contest beyond rover exploration of the lunar surface. The new challenge is to design tools and instrumentation for human and robotic exploration on the moon. The NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and the Exploration Technology Development Program encourage college students to design tools and instruments needed for future human and robotic exploration of the moon. Student projects will tackle real problems required for successful lunar missions. An expanded list of example problems will be posted to Design Challenge page soon. Check back often for new FAQ and other information.

Contest News
* NASA rover fact sheets

Moon Work Contestants visit Desert RATS near Flagstaff, AZ In September, the top three scoring teams from the 2009 Moon Work contest attended the NASA Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) lunar analog test site at Black Point Lava Flow north of Flagstaff, AZ. After touring the equipment stations at the site, the students gave a brief overview of their contest projects to a group of scientists, engineers and technicians. Joe Kosmo, D-RATS project manager, gave each of the teams an engraved award plaque to commemorate their achievement.
View more Desert RATS photos.

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I wonder if it will be ok to send robots to the Moon or will there be no need for these activities?
Oh, oh, don't tell anyone where they hid the box with the simulated regolith.  We wouldn't want any testing of lunar devices going on year round, no, no, --- no testing.
- LRK -

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http://www.nasa.gov/offices/ipp/innovation_incubator/centennial_challenges/regolith/index.html
Centennial Challenges - NASA's Prize Program for the "Citizen Inventor"

Regolith Excavation Features
College Team Wins NASA Lunar Robot Prize

Paul’s Robotics, a team led by college student, Paul Ventimiglia of Worcester Polytechnic Institute won the $500,000 first prize in the 2009 Regolith Excavation Challenge that concluded on Oct. 18.

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In this challenge, teams design and build robotic machines to excavate simulated lunar soil (regolith). Excavating regolith will be an important part of any construction projects or processing of natural resources on the Moon. The robots are tested in box containing eight tons of simulated lunar regolith that is about 4 meters square and about one-half meter deep. In order to qualify for a prize, a robot must dig up and then dump at least 150 kg of regolith into a container in 30 minutes. The teams with the robots that move the most regolith  will claim the three cash prizes. NASA is looking for new ideas for excavation techniques that do not require excessively heavy machines or large amounts of power. None of the teams in the 2007 or 2008 competitions were able to meet the winning criteria. Following the 2008 event, a suggestion was made to find a permanent facility for the box with the simulated lunar regolith and that home was found in the Research Park at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA.  The 2009 competition held in October in that new facility, which will also be available year-round for testing of lunar devices.

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I don't suppose the Information Technology (IT) Summit will have to worry about communicating with the Moon.  Been there, done that. . . .  :-(
- LRK -

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-- First NASA IT Summit to Gather Industry Leaders and Explore Tech Innovations
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=31011

"NASA's first Information Technology (IT) Summit will bring together government and industry
leaders to explore the outer reaches of information technology. The summit, which takes place August 16-18 at the Gaylord National Harbor in Maryland, will gather 750 participants and more than 100 expert presenters with themes on collaboration, social networking, innovation, infrastructure, operations and IT security and privacy."
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Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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NASA's DC-8 Laboratory Heads to Australia for Hayabusa Re-entry - 06.07.10

Follow the updates for the Hayabusa Re-entry.
Watch those looking up by whatever means available.
- LRK -

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NASA's DC-8 Laboratory Heads to Australia for Hayabusa Re-entry - 06.07.10
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/status_reports/dc-8_status_06_07_10_prt.htm

A planeload of scientists and specialized instruments aboard NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory is scheduled to depart NASA’s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility at Palmdale, Calif., for Australia Tuesday evening, June 8, to catch a glimpse of the fiery return of a Japanese spacecraft to Earth on June 13.

The group of astronomers from NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other institutions are flying to Melbourne, Australia to make final preparations for the highly anticipated return of JAXA's Hayabusa spacecraft, which may bring back to Earth a sample of the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa. Hayabusa is expected to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and land in the Woomera Test Range in southern Australia late Sunday night, June 13.

The team of 27 astronomers will have their instruments focused out the DC-8's specialized windows as it cruises at an altitude of 39,000 feet, far above light pollution and clouds. Using their suite of spectroscopic and radiometric imaging instruments, they hope to get a clear reading on what happens during the fiery re-entry process when the spacecraft descends like an artificial meteor at more than 27,000 mph.

At the same time, ground-based observation teams will attempt to reconstruct the as-flown trajectory to correlate with the airborne imaging data.

Following its launch in 2003, Hayabusa arrived at Itokawa in September 2005 and observing the asteroid's shape, terrain, mineral composition, gravity and other aspects over the next 2  1/2  months. Hayabusa briefly touched down on Itokawa's surface that November to sample surface material.

NASA’s primary goal during the airborne mission is to study the re-entry of Hayabusa's 40-pound sample return capsule to enable heat shield designers and engineers gain technological insight for the development of NASA's future exploration vehicles.

Astronomers made similar airborne studies from NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory for the September 2008 re-entry of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle "Jules Verne," as well as the January 2006 Stardust sample return re-entry over Utah. During those missions, scientists studied the levels of radiation, light and out-gassing of the descending spacecraft, to better understand meteor and heat shield radiation mechanisms.

NASA's Science Mission Directorate is supporting the airborne observation of the Hayabusa SRC re-entry via the In-Space Propulsion Technology Project.

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http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1876386/dc8_flying_laboratory_heading_to_australia_for_hayabusa_reentry/
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More information and images.
- LRK -

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http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/multimedia/imagegallery/DC-8/index.html
Dryden Flight Research Center

DC-8 Image Gallery

DC-8
ED10-0145-34

Hayabusa re-entry imaging mission project scientist Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute and NASA's Ames Research Center and Christina Giannopapa of the Netherlands' Eindhoven University prepare lenses for one of the specialized cameras for installation on NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory

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Daily updates to Hayabusa.
- LRK -

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http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/home/hayabusa-live/
2010/06/09 12:53 JST: TCM-4 operation started, precise guidance to WPA
Category: 2010_English
Posted by: HayabusaLive
JAXA would like to announce that TCM-4 operation has commenced (12:30 June 9th, 2010 (JST)). It will take around 2 hours 30 minutes for ion thrusters to accelerate.

Hayabusa system is going well.

*TCM : Trajectory Correction Maneuver
*WPA : Woomera Prohibited Area

2010/06/09 12:53 JST: TCM-4 WPAへの精密誘導開始について
Category: News_jp
Posted by: HayabusaLive
はやぶさの運用に関して、6月9日 12:30（日本時間）にTCM-4を開始しました。
イオンエンジン噴射加速に約2時間30分を予定しています。

探査機の状態は良好です。

※TCM: Trajectory Correction Maneuver （軌道補正マヌーバ）
※WPA : Woomera Prohibited Area （豪州）

2010/06/09 09:00 JST: Today’s Hayabusa
Category: Location_jp
Posted by: HayabusaLive
Hayabusa is currently 1,989,730 km away from the Earth, located at 8h44m00s RA and
29.79 deg DEC (Constellation of Cancer), as of 00:00:00 UT, 09 Jun. 2010.
From Hayabusa’s point of view, the Earth can be seen in a direction of Microscopium.

2010/06/09 09:00 JST: 本日の はやぶさ君
Category: Location_jp
Posted by: HayabusaLive
2010年06月09日00時00分00秒
（日本時間では、06月09日の09時00分00秒）現在のはやぶさ君は、
地球からの距離1,989,730 km、
赤経8h44m00s、赤緯29.79度(かに座)にいます。
はやぶさ君から見て地球の方向には、けんびきょう座が見えます。

2010/06/08 19:44 JST: TCM-4 operation decision
Category: 2010_English
Posted by: HayabusaLive
JAXA would like to announce that it was authorized to implement TCM-4.

It is scheduled to conduct on June 9th 12:30 (JST).

*TCM: Trajectory Correction Maneuver

2010/06/08 19:44 JST: TCM-4実施判断について
Category: News_jp
Posted by: HayabusaLive
はやぶさの運用に関して、TCM-4を実施することが決定しましたのでお知らせいたします。

なお、TCM-4は、6月9日 12:30（日本時間）開始を予定しております。

※TCM: Trajectory Correction Maneuver （軌道補正マヌーバ）

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I guess we will have to make the most of what our robot/spacecraft friends can do.
And if you enjoy Power Point Presentations, we probably will be seeing more of them..
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/new_space_enterprise/home/workshop_home.html
May 25 - 26, 2010 Moody Gardens Hotel & Convention Center Galveston, TX
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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HAYABUSA heading to Australia

Wish the Japanese luck in retrieving the capsule.
- LRK -

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http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/muses_c/index_e.html
June 5, 2010 Updated
HAYABUSA heading to Australia
JAXA confirmed that the third trajectory correction maneuver (TCM-3) was successfully carried out for the Asteroid Explorer "HAYABUSA" at 1:44 p.m. on June 5 (Japan Standard Time.) This operation completed the guidance of the HAYABUSA from the Earth's outer rim to the Woomera Prohibited Area in South Australia.

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http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/06/20100605_hayabusa_e.html
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would like to announce that TCM-3 operation was successfully completed (1:44 p.m. June 5th, 2010 (JST)).
By this operation, Hayabusa was guided from Earth's outer rim toward WPA in Australia.

http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/muses_c/index_e.html
Launch Date 13:29, May 9, 2003 (JST)

HAYABUSA (MUSES-C) has been developed to investigate asteroids.
HAYABUSA explored an asteroid named "Itokawa," after the late Dr. Hideo Itokawa, the father of Japan’s space development program.
HAYABUSA is traveling through space using an ion engine.

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How long did it take the Japanese to send a spacecraft to an asteroid and back, about 7 years.
And that is with the assistance of an ion engine.
- LRK -

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http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/muses_c/index_e.html
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HAYABUSA, which was launched on May 9, 2003,achieved its goal of arriving at the Itokawa asteroid and performing scientific observations. As a result, its mission was featured in the scientific magazine "Science" as a first Japanese mission to illustrate various new findings about the asteroid including its gravity and surface conditions. HAYABUSA is now under preparations for its return trip to the Earth in 2010.
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Hmmmmm, In Russia we are practicing for a 520 day mission to Mars and back and here we have a mission to an Asteroid that took 7 years.  I wonder if we will practice that on the ground with humans who will want to twiddle their fingers for seven years to look at an asteroid up close and personal?

Radiation suits in order, hide in the water supply, tend the garden, recycle, recycle, recycle, for what, to say been there, done that?
Will we pick an asteroid that has a lot of nickel or platinum and bring it back to Earth orbit where it can be mined.  Or land it on the Moon where we won't be waiting, since we have been there already and done that.
- LRK -

http://www.permanent.com/a-geolog.htm
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http://chview.nova.org/station/ast-mine.htm
While asteroids are rich in the metals and minerals needed for needed for building space facilities, comets are rich sources of the water and carbon-based molecules needed to maintain life. According to John Lewis (a University of Arizona planetary scientist), for example, the smallest Earth-crossing asteroid 3554 Amun  (see orbit) is a mile-wide (2,000-meter) lump of iron, nickel, cobalt, platinum, and other metals; it contains 30 times as much metal as Humans have mined throughout history, although it is only the smallest of dozens of known metallic asteroids and worth perhaps US$ 20 trillion if mined slowly to meet demand at 2001 market prices.
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http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=amun;orb=1  3554 Amun (1986 EB)
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=amun;orb=1;cov=0;log=0;cad=1#cad
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- LRK -

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http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0604/Falcon-9-launch-takes-place-after-aborted-attempt
Falcon 9 launch takes place after aborted attempt

 By Clara Moskowitz, SPACE.com Senior Writer / June 4, 2010

The brand new commercial Falcon 9 rocket soared into orbit from Florida on its maiden flight Friday, the first test for a new era of private vehicles that could one day send cargo – and possibly astronauts – into space.

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Falcon 9 will at least get cargo to the ISS but then ESA can already do that and so will the Japanese and the Russians have been doing it for us for awhile.
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMDYOK26DF_index_0.html
http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/rockets/h2b/index_e.html
http://onorbit.com/node/1246
- LRK -

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http://www.spacex.com/falcon9.php
Falcon 9 User's Guide (2.9 mb)

The Falcon launch vehicle family is designed to provide breakthrough advances in reliability, cost, flight environment and time to launch.  The primary design driver is and will remain reliability, as described in more detail below. We recognize that nothing is more important than getting our customer's spacecraft safely to its intended destination.

Like Falcon 1, Falcon 9 is a two stage, liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) powered launch vehicle. It uses the same engines, structural architecture (with a wider diameter), avionics and launch system.

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I wonder how I say, "to the moon" in Chinese?
I guess I should get my Chinese dictionaries down and dust them off, or use Google -
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http://translate.google.com/#en|zh-CN|to%20the%20Moon

to the moon
到月球
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- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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See you in 520 days – or today @esa.int

Well if I can't mention going to the Moon, maybe an article about simulating going the Mars will have to do.
Wherever you are going to find yourself in a confined space with a group of fellow humans, you have to be able to get along.  The long flight to Mars and back and a short stay there, will test your ability to control your emotions.

I found that a five week leadership course in the Navy with two others in my room was a real test.  One of my roommates was so neat you just wanted to scream, and of course I could never get my towels to hang perfectly.  Then getting a demerit for a chicken feather on your bed didn't help much either.  Not leaving your cramped quarters for 520 days will be hard even if you don't have to worry about being zapped by a Solar storm or hit by a meteorite.
- LRK -

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-- Hatch closed! 18-month Mars500 mission has begun
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=30962
-- Mars500: Goodbye Sun, goodbye Earth, we are leaving for Mars!
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=34244

"Mars500, the first full-length simulated mission to Mars, started today in Moscow at 13:49 local time (11:49 CET), when the six-man crew entered their 'spacecraft' and the hatch was closed.  The experiment will end in November 2011"

The mood was serious, intense but very determined in the Mars500 facility at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow this afternoon, as the crew of the Mars500 talked to the press and and then walked into the modules that will be their home for next 520 days.

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http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=34244
 Mars500: Goodbye Sun, goodbye Earth, we are leaving for Mars!

STATUS REPORT
Date Released: Thursday, June 3, 2010
Source: ESA Mars 500
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars500/index.html
3 June 2010

This is the first entry of the Mars500 mission diary by European crewmembers Diego Urbina and Romain Charles.

Hello,

If you are reading these lines, I guess that you already know most of the technical characteristics of the Mars500 project. For our first diary, I would like to write some lines about our training and how it is from the inside.

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I hope you caught that this is being conducted in Russia.
- LRK -

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100602/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_mission_to_mars
Russia launching 520-day Mars mission simulation

 By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer Vladimir Isachenkov,
Associated Press Writer   – Wed Jun 2, 9:43 am ET

MOSCOW – A manned mission to Mars may be decades away, but an international team of researchers will try to experience what one might be like by locking themselves up in a windowless capsule for a year-and-half — the time needed for a roundtrip to the red planet. 

The all-male crew of three Russians, a Frenchman, an Italian-Colombian and a Chinese won't endure weightlessness, but from Thursday they will live for 520 days in the spartan conditions of a mock spaceship and follow a harsh regimen of experiments and exercise.

The main task of the Mars-500 experiment is to study the effects of long isolation to help a real space crew of the future cope better with stress and fatigue.
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Meanwhile back on this side of the Atlantic a look in at the vegetable garden for those that would like to learn how to survive on what you can grow.  Fresh food from Earth to Mars would be a rarity.
- LRK -

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-- Live Webcams On Devon Island
http://www.onorbit.com/node/2252

"There are several webcams currently in operation on Devon Island in Support of the Arthur
Clarke Mars Greenhouse located at the HMP Research Station. The greenhouse was installed on Devon Island in the summer of 2002. These webcams update once a day, conditions permitting, through the greenhouse's autonomous systems using an MSAT satellite connection."

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 Other interesting items at the On Orbit web site as well.
http://www.onorbit.com/
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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