OrbitalHub

NASA dixit:

“NASA’s Cold Atom Lab will produce clouds of ultra-cold atoms aboard the International Space Station to perform quantum physics experiments in microgravity. Atoms are chilled to about one 10 billionth of a degree above Absolute Zero, or about 10 billion times colder than the average temperature of deep space. At those temperatures, atoms behave in strange ways, allowing scientists to investigate the fundamental nature of matter.

The clouds of ultra-cold atoms CAL produces are called Bose-Einstein Condensates (BECs), a bizarre state of matter in which atoms exhibit quantum behavior at a macroscopic scale you can see. BECs make it possible for researchers to probe the fundamental nature of matter. Hundreds of BEC experiments exist on Earth, but on the International Space Station, free from the pull of gravity, scientists will be able to observe BECs for much longer than what is possible on Earth, and reach even colder temperatures than what is typically achieved on the ground. The Cold Atom Lab will move scientists another step closer to solving some of the biggest mysteries in the universe, such as understanding the nature of dark matter and dark energy and solving the disagreement between quantum mechanics and the theory of gravity.

Research done on CAL can also have practical applications, such as making improvements to atomic clock technologies, which are used in spacecraft navigation, as well as the GPS satellites that provide navigation information to devices like smartphones. CAL research could also lead to improvements to quantum sensors used for remote sensing on spacecraft. These sensors can be used for a variety of applications, including monitoring Earth’s changing climate and remotely studying the internal makeup of planets and asteroids.”

Credits Video: NASA

NASA dixit:

“NASA’s historic Parker Solar Probe mission will revolutionize our understanding of the Sun, where changing conditions can propagate out into the solar system, affecting Earth and other worlds. Parker Solar Probe will travel through the Sun’s atmosphere, closer to the surface than any spacecraft before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions — and ultimately providing humanity with the closest-ever observations of a star.

In order to unlock the mysteries of the Sun’s atmosphere, Parker Solar Probe will use Venus’ gravity during seven flybys over nearly seven years to gradually bring its orbit closer to the Sun. The spacecraft will fly through the Sun’s atmosphere as close as 3.8 million miles to our star’s surface, well within the orbit of Mercury and more than seven times closer than any spacecraft has come before. (Earth’s average distance to the Sun is 93 million miles.)

Flying into the outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere, known as the corona, for the first time, Parker Solar Probe will employ a combination of in situ measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and expand our knowledge of the origin and evolution of the solar wind. It will also make critical contributions to our ability to forecast changes in Earth’s space environment that affect life and technology on Earth.

Parker Solar Probe will perform its scientific investigations in a hazardous region of intense heat and solar radiation. The spacecraft will fly close enough to the Sun to watch the solar wind speed up from subsonic to supersonic, and it will fly though the birthplace of the highest-energy solar particles.

To perform these unprecedented investigations, the spacecraft and instruments will be protected from the Sun’s heat by a 4.5-inch-thick (11.43 cm) carbon-composite shield, which will need to withstand temperatures outside the spacecraft that reach nearly 2,500 F (1,377 C).”

Credits Video: NASA Kennedy

NASA dixit:

“Something mysterious is going on at the Sun. In defiance of all logic, its atmosphere gets much, much hotter the farther it stretches from the Sun’s blazing surface.

Temperatures in the corona — the Sun’s outer atmosphere — spike to 3 million degrees Fahrenheit, while just 1,000 miles below, the underlying surface simmers at a balmy 10,000 F. How the Sun manages this feat is a mystery that dates back nearly 150 years, and remains one of the greatest unanswered questions in astrophysics. Scientists call it the coronal heating problem. Watch the video to learn how astronomers first discovered evidence for this mystery during an eclipse in the 1800s, and what scientists today think could explain it.”

Credits Music: “Developing Over Time” by Ben Niblett [PRS], Jon Cotton [PRS], “Eternal Circle” by Laurent Dury [SACEM], “Starlight Andromeda” by Ben Niblett [PRS], Jon Cotton [PRS]

Credits Video: NASA Goddard