Here are some facts about NASA Missions you may haven't heard about :
1. MESSENGER
MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging), was a NASA robotic spacecraft that orbited Mercury between 2011 and 2015. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket in August 2004 to study Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field.
Messenger started collecting its data for the mission on April 4, 2011 While its primary mission was completed on March 17, 2012, having collected close to 100,000 images. MESSENGER had achieved successful results from mapping of Mercury on March 6, 2013, and completed its first year-long extended mission on March 17, 2013. MESSENGER's second extended mission lasted for over two years, but as its low orbit degraded, it required thrust to avoid impact. It conducted its final reboost thrust on October 24, 2014, and January 21, 2015, before crashing into Mercury on April 30, 2015.
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| MESSENGER as an Artists Concept |
2. CYGNSS
Forecasting hurricanes has become more easier with a new tool which help us better understand and forecast the storm intensity and location . This advanced machinery is a constellation of eight microsatellites, known as NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System Mission, or CYGNSS , which has been launched using Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket.
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| Aircraft Carrier Stargazer carrying CYGNSS. Credit : NASA |
This unique, air-launched vehicle was carried on board by Orbital’s modified L-1011 aircraft, “Stargazer,” which took off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and deployed the three-stage Pegasus XL rocket at a predetermined observed point at 39,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean and about 110 nautical miles east-northeast of Daytona Beach.
3. ARES V
The Ares V was THE MISSION incorporated by NASA to launch the Earth Departure Stage and Altair lunar lander for NASA's return to the Moon after its Apollo programme, which was planned for 2019. If succesful, it would also have served as the principal launcher for missions beyond the Earth-Moon system, including the program's ultimate goal, a manned mission to the red star,] Mars. However, the Constellation program, including Ares V and Ares I was canceled in October 2010 by the NASA Authorization Act of 2010.
IF NOT CANCELLED, ARES V WOULD HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST & MOST POWERFUL ROCKET TO BE LAUNCHED.
4. NEEMO
NEEMO, the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations project - is a NASA analog mission that sends groups of astronauts, engineers and scientists to live in Aquarius, the world's only undersea research station, for up to three weeks at a time. Operated by Florida International University (FIU), Aquarius is located 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It is deployed next to deep coral reefs 62 feet (19 meters) below the surface.
The Aquarius habitat and its surroundings provide a convincing analog for space exploration. Much like space, the undersea world is a hostile, alien place for humans to live. NEEMO crew members, known as aquanauts, experience some of the same challenges there that they would on a distant asteroid, planet or moon. During NEEMO missions, the aquanauts are able to simulate living on a spacecraft and test spacewalk techniques for future space missions. Working in space and underwater environments requires extensive planning and sophisticated equipment. The underwater condition has the additional benefit of allowing NASA to "weight" the aquanauts to simulate different gravity environments.
A technique known as saturation diving allows the aquanauts to live and work underwater for days or weeks at a time. After twenty four hours underwater at any depth, the human body becomes saturated with dissolved gas. With saturation diving, divers can accurately predict exactly how much time they need to decompress before returning to the surface. This information limits the risk of decompression sickness. By living in the Aquarius habitat and working at the same depth on the ocean floor, NEEMO crews are able to remain underwater for the duration of their mission.
NASA is developing the technologies and systems to transport future explorers to multiple destinations, each with its own unique - and extreme - space environment. Future destinations may include near-Earth asteroids, the moon, and Mars and its moons. To prepare for these complex missions, NASA must conduct field tests in Earth-based extreme environments to plan, test and develop technologies that will help guide the future direction of human exploration of the solar system.
Note : This information was given by NASA on its official page.
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| Credit : NASA |
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