Mission Control

MORNING MEETING: For the last couple of days, many of my friends have been posting their 'back to school' photos of their sharply dressed kids getting on the bus or entering their school building for the first time this year.

Our back-to-school looks a little different. This morning it looked like two kids and two dogs, stretched out a bed, taking part in a remote learning opportunity while still in pajamas. I'll let Annabelle tell you a bit more about it.

This morning, I watched a live presentation on NASA’s DLN (Digital Learning Network) channel about the space probe Cassini’s “Grand Finale.” On September 15, the Cassini probe’s 20 year extended mission will come to a close, with Cassini crashing into the planet Saturn to avoid hitting its moons.

Cassini was originally launched on October 15, 1997, with the purpose of studying Saturn’s moon Titan. The mission was officially known as Cassini-Huygens, named after French-Italian astronomer Giovanni Domencio Cassini (who discovered Saturn’s ring divisions) and Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, who discovered the moon Titan. Huygens was the name of the lander that was sent to Titan. This Huygens lander was also the first ever landing in the outer solar system.

The Cassini probe part of the mission continued to orbit Saturn for many years, taking breathtaking photos of Saturn and its rings, even capturing an Eclipse-like photo with the sun shining behind Saturn. At first, the probe was set to arrive in Saturn’s orbit in 2004 and end its mission in 2008, but the mission was extended for 2 years so Cassini could observe Saturn’ spring equinox in 2009. Another extension was then introduced, lasting 6 ½ years until September 15^th of this year. Cassini’s final moments before crashing into Saturn will be transmitting data about the atmosphere back to Earth. 

And here's what CJ had to share ...

This morning, I watched a NASA livestream about the long-running Cassini mission, more specifically, its end. On 15 October 1997, nearly 20 years ago, the rocket containing Cassini was launched into space, thus starting a mission that would provide great insight into Saturn, as well as its moons.

During the livestream, we were introduced to Rex Engelhardt, a longtime NASA engineer and Launch Services Program mission manager. Engelhardt had worked on the Cassini program prior to launching, as well as the Titan IV-B rockets that propelled Cassini. The livestream was also hosted by Todd Barber, an engineer in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

We got the chance to ask a question that would be answered on the livestream, through contact by e-mail. Specifically, we had asked how long a day on Saturn was. According to Engelhardt, a day on Saturn is 10 hours and 45 minutes long. About 30 people were watching the Livestream, and some of them also asked questions.

The broadcast team shared some of their favorite images from the Cassini mission. 

During its duration, there have been two solar eclipses. This stunning photos captured one of them. 

Image Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA

If you look closely,  far in the distance, at the left (about 10 o'clock), just above the brighter, inner main rings, is the pale blue dot of Earth. That's you, me, and everybody.

At the conclusion of today's program, NASA shared a video about the end of the mission. You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/xrGAQCq9BMU


Editor's note: Some of the 30 watching the broadcast were classrooms with multiple people in them. Still, it seemed like a sparse crowd. And, perhaps it's one reason that NASA's Digital Learning Network is having its plug pulled within a month. :( We have certainly benefited from DLN and will miss the opportunities and information it provided. 

STARMAN: A fond Facebook memory popped up today: This photo of one of Annabelle's Perler bead creations. My favorite, by far. it's David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust.

A year ago today, a photo of this artwork was on a chip on board OSIRIS-REx, the NASA spacecraft set to land on an asteroid, as it lifted off. Set to land in November of 2018, the probe will collect a sample and return home. 

The photo made me wonder where OSIRIS-REx is now, so we did the Google and found this great NASA website: https://www.asteroidmission.org/where-is-the-spacecraft/

Right now OSIRIS-REx is in the 'cruise' portion of its mission. An important part of the cruise is coming up on Sept. 22, 2017, when, after a year orbiting the sun, OSIRIS-REx will make a flyby of Earth. Per NASA, "Earth's gravitational field will pull the spacecraft towards the planet where it can "borrow" a small amount of Earth's orbital energy. This additional energy is used to increase OSIRIS-REx's orbital inclination and sling it back into space for a rendezvous with Bennu."

Imagine the math involved in plotting OSIRIS-REx's course - so impressive!