Next Mission for Deep Impact? - Page 2

KaiYeves · #31 (**permalink**) 16-December-2007, 12:13 AM

Quote:

I think he's saying that the name was made to fit the acronym, not the other way around. Which is not uncommon for NASA, as catchy names make it easier to sell a project to the politicians.

I mean that instead of just being any word they could possibly dredge from those letters, it's good enough to actually be the name all by itself.

ToSeek · #32 (**permalink**) 16-December-2007, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noclevername

I think he's saying that the name was made to fit the acronym, not the other way around. Which is not uncommon for NASA, as catchy names make it easier to sell a project to the politicians.

And don't forget the Solar-TERrEstrial Observatory (STEREO) mission!

djellison · #33 (**permalink**) 16-December-2007, 03:25 PM

The NAWG* produces hundreds of HQA's** for NFP's*** on a regular basis. The real problem is getting NAPN's **** to fit into an ETRAPT ***** so that JP****** can GWTP******* and RTLCNMTL********

* - NASA Acronym Working Grou
** - High Quality Acronyms
*** - NASA Flight Projects
**** - Near Acronym Project Names
***** - Easy to remember acronym project title
****** - Joe Public
******* - Get With The Program
******** - Remember The Latest Cool NASA Mission To Launch

Doug

KaiYeves · #34 (**permalink**) 16-December-2007, 03:41 PM

I had an idea for a show about an organization called S.C.O.O.B.I., the Skeptic Cooprative Organization of Brainy Investigators. I wanted the acronym to be "Scooby" or something like that, so I had the exact opposite problem- making something for the letters to stand for!

MaDeR · #35 (**permalink**) 17-December-2007, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetlack

im surprised Gilese 581 d is not on their list.

MOST already looked at Gliese 581. Not surprisingly, nothing found... chance was low anyway. But at least confirmed that these planets are not any flukes specific to star and that Gliese 581 is rather peaceful.

01101001 · #36 (**permalink**) 30-December-2007, 10:32 PM

Deep Impact, in its new identity as Epoxi, flies past Earth December 31.

NASA Epoxi Mission: Earth Flyby 2007

Quote:

Where will EPOXI be in the sky? From 19-30 Dec, the spacecraft is located in the constellation Pisces and is visible in the evening sky. If you can see Pisces, then theoretically, you could see the spacecraft -- it is actually very faint, mag 20+. However, around 29 Dec, it will start to get get close enough to be brighter than mag 20 and within several hours of perigee it could get as bright as mag 12 for observers who are closer to EPOXI as it approaches perigee. This should be observable in modest (8-10inch aperture) and larger telescopes although other factors such as sky clarity, darkness, visual acuity also play a role.

KaiYeves · #37 (**permalink**) 31-December-2007, 12:35 AM

We have Epoxi in our auditorium at school.
It smells bad.
;-)

Kullat Nunu · #38 (**permalink**) 03-January-2008, 12:35 PM

Only now after seeing the images of the Moon I understand how major problem the defocus error is.

No surprise why there aren't really good images of the nucleus of Tempel 1.

On the positive side, the defocused telescope is ideal for light curve observations needed in the extrasolar planet studies.

ToSeek · #39 (**permalink**) 08-February-2008, 02:09 AM

JPL press release:

Quote:

NASA's Deep Impact Begins Hunt for Alien Worlds

NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft is aiming its largest telescope at five stars in a search for alien (exosolar) planets as it enters its extended mission, called Epoxi.

Deep Impact made history when the mission team directed an impactor from the spacecraft into comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005. NASA recently extended the mission, redirecting the spacecraft for a flyby of comet Hartley 2 on Oct. 11, 2010.

As it cruises toward the comet, Deep Impact will observe five nearby stars with "transiting exosolar planets," so named because the planet transits, or passes in front of, its star. The Epoxi team, led by University of Maryland astronomer Michael A'Hearn, directed the spacecraft to begin these observations Jan. 22. The planets were discovered earlier and are giant planets with massive atmospheres, like Jupiter in our solar system. They orbit their stars much closer than Earth does the sun, so they are hot and belong to the class of exosolar planets nicknamed "Hot Jupiters."

However, these giant planets may not be alone. If there are other worlds around these stars, they might also transit the star and be discovered by the spacecraft. Deep Impact can even find planets that don't transit, using a timing technique. Gravity from the unseen planets will pull on the transiting planets, altering their orbits and the timing of their transits.

"We're on the hunt for planets down to the size of Earth, orbiting some of our closest neighboring stars," said Epoxi Deputy Principal Investigator Drake Deming of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Epoxi is a combination of the names for the two extended mission components: the exosolar planet observations, called Extrasolar Planet Observations and Characterization (Epoch), and the flyby of comet Hartley 2, called the Deep Impact Extended Investigation (Dixi). Goddard leads the Epoch component.

More than 200 exosolar planets have been discovered to date. Most of these are detected indirectly, by the gravitational pull they exert on their parent star. Directly observing exosolar planets by detecting the light reflected from them is very difficult, because a star's brilliance obscures light coming from any planets orbiting it.

However, sometimes the orbit of an exosolar world is aligned so that it eclipses its star as seen from Earth. In these rare cases, called transits, light from that planet can be seen directly.

"When the planet appears next to its star, your telescope captures their combined light. When the planet passes behind its star, your telescope only sees light from the star. By subtracting light from just the star from the combined light, you are left with light from the planet," said Deming, who is leading the search for exosolar worlds with Deep Impact. "We can analyze this light to discover what the atmospheres of these planets are like."

Deep Impact will also look back to observe Earth in visible and infrared wavelengths, allowing comparisons with future discoveries of Earth-like planets around other stars.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages Epoxi for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The University of Maryland is the Principal Investigator institution. NASA Goddard leads the mission's exosolar planet observations. The spacecraft was built for NASA by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.

For information about Epoxi, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/epoxi/ . More information about JPL is at www.jpl.nasa.gov . More information about NASA programs is at www.nasa.gov .

-end-

ToSeek · #40 (**permalink**) 29-May-2008, 08:24 PM

NASA EPOXI Mission Status May 23, 2008

Quote:

EPOCh observations resumed on May 4, as the spacecraft telecom anomaly has disappeared at greater Sun range. EPOCH is now observing transits of the Neptune-sized planet orbiting the nearby (d=10 pc) red dwarf star GJ436. The orbit of this planet is known to have a significant eccentricity (e=0.15), and this eccentricity is believed to be forced by the gravitational perturbations from a second planet. The second planet may have a mass comparable to Earth, and the EPOCh team believes it has an orbital period in the range from 20 to 30 days. Because this star is small and much less luminous than the Sun, the second planet may be close to or within the habitable zone. So searching for this "exo-Earth" is a high priority for EPOCh. EPOCh has two ways to find it. First, it may lie in the same orbital plane as the Neptune-sized planet, and may therefore transit the star while EPOCh is watching. In that case EPOCh can measure its radius, and we will be sensitive to planets nearly as small as our own Earth! A second method EPOCH is using involves looking for changes in the transit characteristics of the Neptune-sized planet, produced by the gravitational perturbations of the exo-Earth. In this case too, EPOCh has excellent sensitivity. So this is an exciting time for EPOCh, as we search for an exo-Earth orbiting a stellar neighbor of our Sun!

On May 29 and June 5, EPOCh will again turn the EPOXI telescope toward our own Earth, and observe it in the visible and infrared for a full rotation. These data will be used to characterize the "Earth as an exoplanet," essentially to calibrate the properties of possible "pale blue dots" that may eventually be imaged by advanced missions such as the Terrestrial Planet Finder. The May 29 observations will be especially interesting because the Moon will "transit" the Earth while EPOCh is watching, and this is a view of the Earth-Moon system that has seldom if ever been seen before.

01101001 · #41 (**permalink**) 05-June-2008, 07:33 AM

I noted this in an article in topic MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb: 3 Earth masses, much as an aside.

It's probably better reported here, in this Deep Impact topic.

Astrobiology.com: Hunt for Super Earth Planets Underway

Quote:

The mission which uses the Deep Impact spacecraft has begun its search for "super Earth" planets. The EPOXI team has focused its attention on the star GJ436. This red dwarf star which is 32 light-years from Earth has a Neptune-sized planet that transits in front of the star. Spitzer observations have shown that this Neptune-sized planet has an oval shaped orbit (eccentric).
[...]
The orbital period of the "super Earth" is not precisely known, but the EPOXI team estimates it to be in the range from 20 to 30 days. EPOXI has been observing the system from May 5 - May 28. Deming and his team are in the process of analyzing the results of these data.

Also, EPOXI has been imaging Earth.

Quote:

EPOXI measured the Earth's rotational light curve at visible wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. These observations will help to calibrate future observations of Earth-like exoplanets. EPOXI obtained a particularly interesting view of the Earth on May 29, when the Moon passed in front of the Earth as viewed from the spacecraft.

Planetary Weblog: What's up in the solar system has a picture of the Earth-Moon system, but I can't find the original source at or around NASA. It's interesting, but not beauty sharp thanks to Deep Impact's camera.

01101001 · #42 (**permalink**) 18-July-2008, 02:15 AM

It was reported in Universe Today already (An Alien View of the Moon Transiting Earth), but it's too cool not to log it in this EPOXI (nee Deep Impact) topic.

NASA's Deep Impact Films Earth as an Alien World

Quote:

NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft has created a video of the moon transiting (passing in front of) Earth as seen from the spacecraft's point of view 31 million miles away. Scientists are using the video to develop techniques to study alien worlds.

"Making a video of Earth from so far away helps the search for other life-bearing planets in the Universe by giving insights into how a distant, Earth-like alien world would appear to us," said University of Maryland astronomer Michael A’Hearn, principal investigator for the Deep Impact extended mission, called EPOXI.

See also: BA Blog: Moon transits Earth!

adastragrl · #43 (**permalink**) 18-July-2008, 03:49 AM

Q: Did they think of this after seeing how well DI weathered the storm?
A: NASA put out an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) requesting ideas for an extended project since they had a working spacecraft. They also put out an AO for the Stardust spacecraft at about the same time.

Q: Suntrack2, I have no idea what you asked...

A: re names and acronyms... two separate projects were proposed. Each made an acronym out of their name. Then NASA selected both and said you are one mission, get one name. Noone happy with situation, so to spite NASA, we stuck the names together, hence EPOXI

A: re budget for naming... $0... we do not have a logo, letterhead, etc... Normally use letterhead of home institution... logo is done in variety of ways... with Deep Impact, we held an inhouse contest. Don't have one (yet) for EPOXI... (unofficial logo is a roll of ducttape!)

A: Kullat Nunu... No good images of Tempel 1?? What about the composite put together from the impactor images as it was flying in? Because the focus is a very simple and slight out of focus, it can be mathematically corrected. Only the HRI camera is affected. The MRI works perfectly.

A: 01101001 .... can't find the original source at or around NASA. Can't find the original source of the Earth-Moon image featured in the Planetary Society blog? Perhaps, it's on the EPOXI mission website! http://epoxi.umd.edu/4gallery/Earth-Moon.shtml

A: Today's release: alot more details (beyond the press release) are on the mission website http://epoxi.umd.edu/4gallery/Earth-Moon_vid.shtml

The EPOXI mission does have a newsletter... issue #3 will be coming out soon.

Clear Skies!
Elizabeth
warnerem at astro dot umd dot edu
EPOXI webmaster

Warren Platts · #44 (**permalink**) 18-July-2008, 01:42 PM

Welcome to BAUT, Elizabeth!

Very cool website!

slang · #45 (**permalink**) 20-July-2008, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adastragrl

(unofficial logo is a roll of ducttape!)

I love that, so fitting for a mission patched onto the remains of another mission. Perhaps a stylized telescope made from a roll of ducttape. Welcome to BAUT!

Lord Jubjub · #46 (**permalink**) 21-July-2008, 01:38 AM

What I find somewhat shocking. . .just how small the moon really is. I never gave it a lot of thought, but seeing the moon cover only the western section of Africa really gives a sense of scale that I had not realized.

Launch window · #47 (**permalink**) 25-July-2008, 03:43 AM

I think the entire surface area of the Moon is works out about the same as the African continent

fantastic photo
contender for pic of the year?

Doodler · #48 (**permalink**) 25-July-2008, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Launch window

I think the entire surface area of the Moon is works out about the same as the African continent

fantastic photo
contender for pic of the year?

I'm quoting an IMAX flick I caught at the Air and Space Museum last year, but I think the African continent comparison was to the area covered by the Apollo surface missions.