|
|
Il 2005 dell’Europa   This Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) multitemporal composite image highlights coastal destruction - including damaged coral reefs - on North Sentinel Island, part of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. Radar images measure surface roughness rather than reflected light. The colour in the image comes from combining two separate ASAR images acquired on different dates in order to highlight differences between them. The yellow (combining red and green) is matched to a 3 June 2004 acquisition while the blue is matched to a post-tsunami acquisition on 30 December 2004. North Sentinel Island is home to a small indigenous tribe that refuses contact with the outside world. They are reported to have survived the severe damage done to the island. Astronomicamente parlando, il 2004 è stato l'anno dell'Europa su Marte. Che cosa ci aspetta nel 2005?  The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board the ESA's Mars Express obtained this perspective view of Candor Chasma from image data taken on 2 May 2004. This view looks toward the north-west, along the north wall of Candor Chasma. The image was taken during orbit 360 with a ground resolution of approximately 40 metres per pixel, showing a region centred around 5° South latitude and 285° East longitude.
This perspective view was calculated from the digital terrain model derived from the stereo channels. Nel 2005 tornerà ad essere protagonista anche la Luna. Con quali prospettive?  This image shows the Moon as seen by SMART-1 during the approach phase. The first image (on the left), was taken on 28 October, at a distance of about 600 000 kilometres from the Moon, when the spacecraft was in its last orbit around Earth. The second image was taken on 12 November, about fifteen days later, at a distance of about 60 000 kilometres. At that time, the Moon was invisible from Earth (new Moon). The slightly illuminated part at the top of the Moon (right-side image) shows a ‘slice’ of the Moon far side at about the latitude of the lunar north pole. The far side is seen for the first time by a European spacecraft, and only for the third time in the history of lunar exploration. The Moon image on the right, is the last shot that the AMIE camera could take before SMART-1 prepared for the delicate manoeuvre that will stabilise the spacecraft in lunar orbit, consisting in a burn of the ion engine that will last for about four days, from 15 to 19 November 2004. Il 2005 segnerà anche il ritorno al volo dello Space Shuttle della NASA?  Cooperation between Europe and Russia on the integration of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) with the International Space Station lasted more than a decade and culminated with a flawless docking of the first European cargo craft to the station’s Zvezda Service Module on 3 April 2008. All Russian systems aboard the ATV (the Refueling System, Docking System, Equipment Control System, and KURS) demonstrated a stunning level of performance at all respective phases of the mission. All major joint tasks, such as delivery of dry cargo to the ISS, water transfer, re-pressurization with oxygen, ISS re-boost with ATV thrusters, attitude control, and a debris avoidance manoeuvre, were fulfilled without a hitch. The giant freighter destroyed itself in a controlled burn-up over the southern Pacific on 29 September 2009. It is currently planned to launch an ATV every 17 months as part of ESA's ISS membership agreement to haul cargo, propellant, water and oxygen to the space station, and also to provide propulsion capacity at the station. The ATV is 9.794m long, weighs 19.357 tonnes and has a total cargo capacity of 7.667 tonnes. Release date: 14 Gennaio 2005 |