“Expedition 38 astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins ventured outside the space station on December 21, for the first in a series of spacewalks to remove and replace a faulty coolant pump module. The pump is associated with one of the station\’s two external cooling loops, which circulate ammonia outside the station to keep both internal and external equipment cool. The previously planned mission of Orbital Sciences\’ Cygnus spacecraft has been moved to no earlier than mid-January. The postponement will allow ample time for the station crew to focus on repairing the pump module, which stopped working properly on December 11.”
“[Watch] a replay of ESA\’s billion-star surveyor Gaia lift off at 09:12UT/10:12CET [from Kourou, French Guiana] on 19 December [, 2013].”
“Animation showing Gaia launch and journey to its operating orbit. The animation begins by visualising the launch from Europe\’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on a Soyuz-STB/Fregat-MT vehicle. The rocket\’s four boosters are jettisoned 118 seconds after launch, and the spacecraft fairing is jettisoned after 220 seconds. Following two burns, the Fregat upper stage separates from Gaia 42 minutes after launch. The separation activates an automatic sequence onboard Gaia, including switching on the spacecraft\’s transmitters, pressurisation of the propulsion system, initial attitude acquisition and deployment of the sunshield. By then Gaia will be on its transfer orbit from Earth towards L2, a virtual point in space some 1.5 million kilometres \’behind\’ Earth as seen from the Sun. Gaia will take about a month to cruise and manoeuvre into a \’Lissajous\’ orbit around L2. The size of the orbit is typically 340 000 x 90 000 km and takes 180 days. There, Gaia will spin slowly in order to make systematic repeated observations of stars covering the whole sky with its two telescopes. Over its five-year mission, Gaia will monitor the positions, motions, temperatures, luminosities and compositions of a billion stars.”
“Billions of years ago when the Red Planet was young, it appears to have had a thick atmosphere that was warm enough to support oceans of liquid water – a critical ingredient for life. The animation shows how the surface of Mars might have appeared during this ancient clement period, beginning with a flyover of a Martian lake. The artist\’s concept is based on evidence that Mars was once very different. Rapidly moving clouds suggest the passage of time, and the shift from a warm and wet to a cold and dry climate is shown as the animation progresses. The lakes dry up, while the atmosphere gradually transitions from Earthlike blue skies to the dusty pink and tan hues seen on Mars today. “
“The first free flight of a Morpheus prototype lander was conducted December 10, 2013, at Kennedy Space Center\’s Shuttle Landing Facility. The 54-second test began with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending approximately 50 feet, then hovering for about 15 seconds. The lander then flew forward and landed on its pad about 23 feet from the launch point. Project Morpheus integrates NASA\’s automated landing and hazard avoidance technology (ALHAT) with an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or “green” propellants, into a fully operational lander that could deliver cargo to asteroids and other planetary surfaces. “
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