“When the Hubble Space Telescope observed Mars near opposition in May, 2016, a sneaky companion photobombed the picture. Phobos, the Greek personification of fear, is one of two tiny moons orbiting Mars. In 13 exposures over 22 minutes, Hubble captured a timelapse of Phobos moving through its 7-hour 39-minute orbit.”
Music credit: “Neighborhood Conspiracy” by Brice Davoli [SACEM]; Koka Media [SACEM], Universal Publishing Production Music (France) [SACEM]; Killer Tracks Production Music
Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Katrina Jackson
“Several cameras on the International Space Station (ISS) have eyes on NICER. Since arriving to the space station on June 5 – aboard SpaceX’s eleventh cargo resupply mission – NICER underwent robotic installation on ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 2, initial deployment, precise point tests and more. This video shows segments of NICER’s time in space. Scientists and engineers will continue to watch NICER, using these cameras, throughout the mission’s science operations.”
Credit: Music Credits: KillerTracks, Strange Reality
Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Clare Skelly
“[This is a] Video showing a test of the mechanisms steering the four solar electric propulsion thrusters on BepiColombo’s Mercury Transfer Module (speeded up by 20 times). The module will use a combination of electric propulsion and multiple gravity assists at Earth, Venus and Mercury to carry BepiColombo’s two scientificorbiters – ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and Japan’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter – to the innermost planet in our Solar System.
The test is designed to demonstrate that the mechanisms can reach their full steering range. The thruster mechanisms control the steering of the spacecraft during the long thrust arcs of the 7.2 year cruise to Mercury and as such are used for navigation, attitude control, and reaction wheel off-loading. Together with the onboard software, the mechanisms will update the direction of the thrust vector every five minutes relative to the spacecraft’s evolving centre of gravity. The thrusters will be fired for several months at a time between the gravity assist flybys.
This particular test was conducted in April 2017, before the spacecraft was put into the composite stack configuration. The same test will be repeated again later in the year to verify performance after the stack level vibration test campaign.”
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