ALMA pinpoints Pluto to help guide NASA's New Horizons spacecraft

The cold surface of Pluto and its largest moon Charon as seen with ALMA on July 15, 2014. 

Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) are making high-precision measurements of Pluto's location and orbit around the Sun to help NASA's New Horizons spacecraft accurately home in on its target when it nears Pluto and its five known moons in July 2015.

Though observed for decades with ever-larger optical telescopes on Earth and in space, astronomers are still working out Pluto's exact position and path around our Solar System.

ALMA - The Atacama Array

This lingering uncertainty is due to Pluto's extreme distance from the Sun (approximately 40 times farther out than the Earth) and the fact that we have been studying it for only about one-third of its orbit.

Pluto was discovered in 1930 and takes 248 years to complete one revolution around the Sun.

"With these limited observational data, our knowledge of Pluto's position could be wrong by several thousand kilometers, which compromises our ability to calculate efficient targeting maneuvers for the New Horizons spacecraft," said New Horizons Project Scientist Hal Weaver, from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft

The New Horizons team made use of the ALMA positioning data, together with newly analyzed visible light measurements stretching back to Pluto's discovery, to determine how to perform the first such scheduled course correction for targeting, known as a Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM), in July.

This maneuver helped ensure that New Horizons uses the minimum fuel to reach Pluto, saving as much as possible for a potential extended mission to explore Kuiper Belt objects after the Pluto system flyby is complete.

Animated image of ALMA data showing the motion of the moon Charon around the icy dwarf planet Pluto. 

Credit: B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

To prepare for this first TCM, astronomers needed to pinpoint Pluto's position using the most distant and most stable reference points possible.

Finding such a reference point to accurately calculate trajectories of such small objects at such vast distances is incredibly challenging.

Normally, stars at great distances are used by optical telescopes for astrometry (the positioning of things on the sky) since they change position only slightly over many years.

For New Horizons, however, even more precise measurements were necessary to ensure its encounter with Pluto would be as on-target as possible.

The most distant and most apparently stable objects in the Universe are quasars, galaxies more than 10 billion light-years away.

Though quasars appear very dim to optical telescopes, they are incredibly bright at radio wavelengths, particularly the millimeter wavelengths that ALMA can see.

Ed Fomalont

"The ALMA astrometry used a bright quasar named J1911-2006 with the goal to cut in half the uncertainty of Pluto's position," said Ed Fomalont, an astronomer with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, Virginia, and currently assigned to ALMA's Operations Support Facility in Chile.

ALMA was able to study Pluto and its largest moon Charon by picking up the radio emission from their cold surfaces, which are about 43 degrees Kelvin (-230 degrees Celsius).

The team first observed these two icy worlds in November 2013, and then three more times in 2014, once in April and twice in July. Additional observations are scheduled for October 2014.

"By taking multiple observations at different dates, we allow Earth to move along its orbit, offering different vantage points in relation to the Sun," said Fomalont.

"Astronomers can then better determine Pluto's distance and orbit." This astronomical technique is called measuring Pluto's parallax.

"We are very excited about the state-of-the-art capabilities that ALMA brings to bear to help us better target our historic exploration of the Pluto system," said New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

"We thank the entire ALMA team for their support and for the beautiful data they are gathering for New Horizons."

ESA Astronaut Tim Peake: ESA says 'Name his six-month mission'

ESA astronaut Timothy Peake will be heading to the International Space Station next year and he needs your help to name his six-month mission. 

Send us your suggestion and help to make history.

The winner will receive a mission patch signed by Tim himself.

ESA Astronaut Corps.

Front line left to right: Paolo Nespoli, Roberto Vittori, Hans Schlegel, Christer Fuglesang, André Kuipers 

Back line left to right: Frank De Winne, Jean-François Clervoy, Leopold Eyharts. 

Tim was a helicopter test pilot and instructor before joining ESA’s astronaut corps in 2009. 

He was assigned his mission last May and has been training non-stop to be part of Expedition 46/47 to the orbital outpost.

He is following a long line of British explorers and scientists, stretching from the South Pole and the Nile to the Himalayas and now to outer space.

Space mission to Venus might help explain origin of the Moon

The Moon's gravity field as mapped by NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory. 

Credit: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/MIT/GSFC

Robin Canup, a space scientist with the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado has published a Comment piece in the journal Nature proposing that a mission to Venus be considered to help better understand the development of our moon.

She suggests that current theories that describe how the moon came about rely too heavily on Mars data, which could be obscuring the real story.

Tim Elliot and Sarah Stewart offer their own opinions on the matter in a companion News & Views piece in the same journal.

Robin Canup

The general consensus among modern space scientists is that our moon came to exist as the result of a Mars size planet impacting the Earth—that impact, the thinking goes, would have caused a lot of debris (made up mainly of material from the impactor) being pushed into space which over would have coalesced over time into a disk and then eventually, into the moon as we know it today.

The problem with this theory, as Canup notes, is that evidence is mounting that indicates the moon, at least on its surface, is far more like the Earth than the theory suggests.

Silicate samples brought back from manned missions, for example have the same isotope composition as those found here on Earth.

It's possible the impacting body had a nearly identical composition to the Earth, but that seems unlikely considering the differences in composition between Earth, and say Mars.

That's part of the reason Canup argues, that we need to go to Venus. We don't have isotopic samples from that planet.

If we did go there and retrieve samples and then found them similar to those here on Earth, it would go a long way towards explaining why the Earth and Moon seem to be so similar.

Meanwhile, space scientists are left to consider other theories to explain not just how the moon was created and developed but how it and the Earth evolved together resulting in the relationship we have today.

Some have suggested that perhaps the impact was actually between two Earth-like bodies, or maybe, the Earth was spinning a lot faster way back when which would have resulted in a small impact causing a lot of Earth debris to be flung into space, leading to the formation of the moon.

The main point Canup seems to be making is that if we want to understand our own planet better, we need to understand the moon as well and to do that, we need more data—starting with surface samples from Venus, she notes, would be a great way to begin.

More information: Planetary science: Lunar conspiracies, by Robin Canup, Nature 504, 27–29 (05 December 2013) DOI: 10.1038/504027a

ESA Helps Ireland Promote Job Creation in Space

Ireland is setting an example for how space technologies can contribute to economic growth and recovery through the maritime sector.

Over 100 European specialists in policy, space technology, industry and maritime interests met this week on the Emerald Isle to learn more.

Satellites can support the development of our seas and oceans in areas such as aquaculture, renewable energy, resource extraction, fisheries protection and tourism.

With ESA’s help, Irish companies and researchers are developing innovative maritime services using satellite-derived data in these areas, providing an opportunity for growth and employment in addition to contributing to numerous socio-economic activities.

Volker Liebig

“Data from satellites help identify how our oceans are used and there is a very strong demand from the marine community and operational agencies for this type of information,” said Volker Liebig, Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes and keynote speaker at the Space Innovation Powering Blue Growth conference.

“For example, oil spills and pollution know no borders, use of and access to shipping routes is becoming increasingly complex, and illegal activities require robust maritime surveillance capabilities.”

Read more at ESA Website

Fujitsu develops 'smart walking stick' to help the elderly

The stick has an LED display showing the which direction to go

A walking stick with built-in sat-nav has been developed by Japanese technology giant Fujitsu.

The Next Generation Cane is designed to help elderly people find their way, as well as monitor things such as heart rate and temperature.

Its location can also be followed online - and can be set up to send email alerts if it thinks the user may have fallen over.

Technology for the elderly is a key concern for Japan's ageing population.

Fujitsu, like several companies in the region, is looking at ways to help us remain mobile and connected later into our lives - potentially extending our ability to keep on working.

The prototype device, shown off at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, is equipped with various connection technologies such as GPS, 3G and wifi - and has an LED display on top of the handle.

If a change of direction is needed, the walking stick vibrates, and an arrow appears.

'Mature customer'
Although designed for the elderly, Fujitsu envisions it being used by any vulnerable person.

The stick sends data back to a host computer, so a carer or relative can see the location of the user, with additional data, such as heart rate, being streamed.

If the stick detects an irregular heartbeat, it can automatically contact emergency services.

The Stylistic smartphone runs a heavily modified version of Google Android

Also on show at MWC was Fujitsu's smartphone designed for the elderly - or the "mature customer", in their words.

The interface includes question marks at various locations to explain what each function is.

The phone is also able to change the frequency of audio to make it easier for older ears to hear.

There is as yet no planned release date for the Next Generation Cane, but the phone will launch in Europe in June, beginning with France.

A Cycle Helmet That Calls for Help When You’ve Crashed

ICEdot, the company that makes the smartest helmet out there, says that its little helper will only send out a signal if you’ve been hit hard enough to have to replace the helmet.

So every time you come to a skidding stop or clumsily dismount or fall on your face, the paramedics won’t show up. You can fund this little device at Indiegogo.

The Atlantic Cities has the one caveat:

There is one big catch to this potentially life-saving device: Should you be in a location with no cellphone service, it doesn’t work. So don’t go around crashing into fir trees just because you think somebody will carry you to the hospital.

Natural human protein could prevent H1N1: study

Natural human protein could prevent H1N1: study

A strain of natural human proteins have been found to help ward off swine flu and other viruses including West Nile and dengue, in a discovery that could spur more effective treatments, US researchers said Thursday.

In cultured human cells, researchers lead by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) found that these certain proteins have powerful antiviral effects by blocking the replication of viruses.

The findings, reported Thursday in an online article from the journal Cell, "could lead to the development of more effective antiviral drugs, including prophylactic drugs that could be used to slow influenza transmission," the team said.

The influenza virus, along with the other viruses, must take over proteins in cells to sustain itself. In their study, researchers found some 120 genes that are needed by H1N1 -- commonly known as swine flu.

"But in the process of figuring that out, we found this other class of genes that actually have the opposite effect, so that if you get rid of them, influenza replicates much better," according to HHMI team leader Stephen Elledge at the Harvard Medical School.

Finland leads UN food body helping farmers fight climate change

The programme will also for the first time "create a global database on current and projected greenhouse gas emissions in land and agriculture for the most important agricultural commodities, countries and regions."

The Food and Agriculture Organisation is to promote the potential for agriculture in the developing world to lower greenhouse gas emissions, the UN body said on Tuesday.

"Finland is the first country to contribute to a 60 million dollar FAO programme to support climate change mitigation in agriculture in developing countries," the Rome-based body said in a statement.

"The multi-donor programme aims to promote sustainable low-emission agriculture in developing countries over the coming five years, in partnership with countries and other relevant organisations," the FAO said.

Agriculture accounts for 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and is in a position to make a significant contribution to reducing emissions, particularly in developing nations, the FAO said.

"Many suitable technologies and farming practices to sequester carbon in smallholder agriculture already exist," said FAO Assistant Director-General Alexander Mueller.

"These include practices used in conservation and organic agriculture, based on no/low tillage, utilising residues for composting or mulching, use of perennial crops to cover soil, re-seeding or improving grazing management on grasslands and agroforestry, which combines crops and trees."

The programme will also for the first time "create a global database on current and projected greenhouse gas emissions in land and agriculture for the most important agricultural commodities, countries and regions."

The FAO said last week that while farming could offer a cost-effective way of cutting greenhouse emissions, it had been "largely excluded" from the current UN climate summit in Copenhagen.

Does Experimental Vaccine helps prevent HIV infection

For the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the AIDS virus, a watershed event in the deadly epidemic and a surprising result.

Recent failures led many scientists to think such a vaccine might never be possible.
The vaccine cut the risk of becoming infected with HIV by more than 31% in the world's largest AIDS vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand, researchers announced Thursday.

Even though the benefit is modest, "it's the first evidence that we could have a safe and effective preventive vaccine," said Col. Jerome Kim. He helped lead the study for the U.S. Army, which sponsored it with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The institute's director, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned that this is "not the end of the road," but said he was surprised and very pleased by the outcome.

"It gives me cautious optimism about the possibility of improving this result" and developing a more effective AIDS vaccine, Fauci said. "This is something that we can do."

Even a marginally helpful vaccine could have a big impact. Every day, 7,500 people worldwide are newly infected with HIV; 2 million died of AIDS in 2007, the U.N. agency UNAIDS estimates.

"Today marks an historic milestone," said Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, an international group that has worked toward develping a vaccine.

"It will take time and resources to fully analyse and understand the data, but there is little doubt that this finding will energize and redirect the AIDS vaccine field," he said in a statement.