Approaching Asteroid 1998 QE2 has a satellite Moon

First radar images of asteroid 1998 QE2 were obtained when the asteroid was about 3.75 million miles (6 million kilometers) from Earth.

CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSSR

A huge asteroid set to sail past Earth on Friday has its own moon, NASA scientists have just discovered.

Researchers obtained a series of radar images of the approaching asteroid 1998 QE2 late Wednesday (May 29) using the Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif.

Images captured over the course of two hours showed that the asteroid is actually a binary system.

The main space rock is the size of nine ocean liners, roughly 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) across, and the satellite that orbits it is estimated to be 2,000 feet (600 meters) wide, according to NASA.

Binary systems are quite common among near-Earth asteroids. Of space rocks at least 655 feet (200 meters) across, about 16 percent are binary or triple systems, NASA officials said.

1998 QE2 poses no threat of hitting Earth during the flyby, space agency officials assure. Its closest approach will occur at 4:59 EDT on Friday (May 31) and it is expected to pass at least 3.6 million miles (5.8 million kilometers) away from the planet.

The asteroid won't be visible to the unaided eye as it zips by.

Though harmlessly far away, this will be the nearest 1998 QE2 gets to Earth in the next two centuries.

As it passes, the asteroid will be closely watched by astronomers. In addition to the 230-foot-wide (70 meter) Deep Space Network antenna, astronomers will also be using the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to observe 1998 QE2 until June 9.

ESA Mars Express: First Data from Malargüe, Argentina

An image of the enigmatic Red Planet acquired by ESA’s Mars Express was received today via ESA’s new tracking station in Malargüe, Argentina, symbolising ‘first data’ and recognising formal inauguration.

Credit: ESA

The precision tracking of the Mars mission by the station’s 610-tonne, 35m diameter dish antenna was commanded ‘on’ by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of the Republic of Argentina, via remote link from her office in the Casa Rosada presidential palace.

The image was acquired by the low-resolution monitoring camera on the Mars orbiter and it travelled 327 million kilometres in just over 18 minutes.

The tracking pass began at about 22:11 GMT (23:11 CET). On arrival at the station, the data were transmitted to ESOC, ESA’s European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany.

The inauguration ceremony took place at the station, a short drive south of Malargüe, 1200 km west of Buenos Aires, in the presence of Julio de Vido, Argentina’s Minister of Federal Planning, Services and Public Investment, ex-astronaut, Thomas Reiter, ESA’s Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations, and Alvaro Giménez Cañete, Director of Science and Robotic Exploration.

The agreement to build and exploit the station was signed with Argentina on 16 November 2009, for a duration of 50 years.

The agreement contains benefits, facilities and services to be provided by Argentina.

In exchange, ESA will make available to Argentina 10% of the antenna time for their national scientific projects in space. The Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) is responsible for implementing the agreement.

Construction began in January 2010, and the station was substantially complete in spring 2012. It will enter routine service early in 2013.

The inauguration of Malargüe also marks the completion of the ESA’s trio of deep-space antenna – DSA – stations as part of the Estrack network and confirms ESA as one of the world’s most technologically advanced space organisations.

Joining DSA 1 in New Norcia, Australia, and DSA 2 in Cebreros, Spain, DSA 3 Malargüe provides the final leg in ESA’s global coverage for deep-space probes including, today, Mars Express, Venus Express, Rosetta, Herschel and Planck, and, in the future, Gaia, BepiColombo, ExoMars, Solar Orbiter and Juice.

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