July 12, 2010
 Taken in 1989 by Voyager 2 during its flyby of the Neptune system, this
is a global color mosaic of Triton. The color was synthesized by
combining high-resolution images taken through orange, violet and
ultraviolet filters; these images were displayed as red, green, and
blue images and combined to
create this color version. With a radius about 22 percent smaller than
Earth's moon, Triton is the largest satellite of Neptune and is one of
the few bodies in the solar system known to have a nitrogen-dominated
atmosphere. The others are Earth and Saturn's giant moon, Titan. Triton
is so cold that most of its nitrogen is condensed as frost, making it
the only satellite in the solar system known to have a surface made
mainly of nitrogen ice. The pinkish deposits constitute a vast south
polar
cap believed to contain methane ice, which would have reacted under
sunlight to form pink or red compounds. The dark streaks overlying
these pink ices are believed to be an icy and perhaps carbonaceous dust
deposited from huge geyser-like plumes, some of which were found to be
active during the Voyager 2 flyby. The bluish-green band visible in
this image extends all the way around Triton near the equator; it may
consist of relatively fresh nitrogen frost deposits. The greenish areas
includes
what is called the cantaloupe terrain, whose origin is unknown, and a
set of "cryovolcanic" landscapes apparently produced by icy-cold
liquids (now frozen) erupted from Triton's interior. Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/USGS
Posted by Prateek Tripathi.
July 12, 2010
 Spacecraft attempting to land on an unfamiliar surface need to perform
a maneuver called “deep throttling" -- a step that allows the vehicle
to precisely throttle down to perform a smooth, controlled landing.
NASA and industry partners have demonstrated this type of engine
control capability to help design a more reliable and robust descent
engine that could be used to land space exploration vehicles on the
moon, an asteroid or another planet. The Common Extensible Cryogenic
Engine, also kn... Continue reading...
Posted by Prateek Tripathi.
July 12, 2010
 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to
take the images combined into this full 360-degree view of the rover's
surroundings after a drive on the 2,220th Martian day, or sol, of its
mission (April 22, 2010). Opportunity launched on July 7, 2003, on a
mission
slated to last 90 days, landing on Mars in January 2004. The rover has
exceeded its mission parameters by more than 2,200 days as its
exploration of the Red Planet continues. Opportunity took some of the
com... Continue reading...
Posted by Prateek Tripathi.
July 12, 2010
 Like an Independence Day fireworks display, a young, glittering
collection of stars looks like an aerial burst. The cluster is
surrounded by clouds of interstellar gas and dust -- the raw material
for new star formation. The nebula, located 20,000 light-years away in
the constellation
Carina, contains a central cluster of huge, hot stars, called NGC 3603.
This environment is not as peaceful as it looks. Ultraviolet radiation
and violent stellar winds have blown out an enormous cavity in the g... Continue reading...
Posted by Prateek Tripathi.
July 10, 2010
 I thank all my friends and all other people who took interest in my site
and in the matter inside it . I thank you all that you all have taken a lot of interest in my subject and have shown your liking towards space and the universe.By your contribution my site is know recognized on the web page just type spaceguide.yolasite.com and see the magic of the contribution that you all have done. thank you for all you have done for me I specially want to thank my Friend Abhimanyu for this and othe... Continue reading...
Posted by Prateek Tripathi. Posted In : My Life
July 8, 2010
 Space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew launched at 2:38 p.m.
EDT on July 4, 2006 to begin their journey to the International Space
Station during the STS-121 mission. The shuttle made history as it was
the first human-occupied spacecraft to launch on Independence
Day. During the 12-day mission, the crew tested new equipment and
procedures that increase the safety of the orbiters. It also performed
maintenance on the space station and delivered supplies, equipment and a
new Ex... Continue reading...
Posted by Prateek Tripathi.
July 8, 2010
 A Rover Gets Its Wheels Continue reading...
Posted by Prateek Tripathi.
July 8, 2010
 Mars rover Curiosity, the centerpiece of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory
mission, is coming together for extensive testing prior to its late 2011
launch. This image taken June 29, 2010, shows the rover with the
mobility system -- wheels and suspension -- in place after installation
on
June 28 and 29. Spacecraft engineers and technicians are assembling and
testing the rover in a large cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Curiosity's six-wheel mobility system, wi... Continue reading...
Posted by Prateek Tripathi.
July 8, 2010
 There are two possible explanations for this 'slingshot' in space:
kickback by a triple black hole system, or the effects of gravitational
waves produced after two supermassive black holes merged a few million
years earlier. The discovery of this object comes from a large,
multi-wavelength survey,
known as the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS). This survey includes data
from Chandra, HST, XMM- Newton, as well as ground-based observatories.
Of the 2,600 X-ray sources found in COSMOS, only... Continue reading...
Posted by Prateek Tripathi.
July 8, 2010
 The Mercury 7 astronauts examine their 'couches.' Each astronaut's couch
was molded to fit his body to help withstand the G-loads of the launch.
Plaster casts of the astronauts were created in order to properly mold
the couches. Left to right are Alan Sheppard, John Glenn, Walter
Schirra,
Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Deke Slayton, Gus Grissom and Bob
Gilruth. Gilruth was director of the Space Task Group, which planned and
managed the Mercury Project. Image Credit: NASA Continue reading...
Posted by Prateek Tripathi.
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