NASA spacecraft plunges through Saturn moon's icy spray

• The probe skimmed 30 miles (49 kilometers) above the moon's southern polar region, sampling and collecting data on the spray that is believed to emanate from a subterranean ocean.
• While the spacecraft is not equipped to detect life, scientists hope that the pass will give them a better understanding of what is contained in the icy spray, how much there is, and if conditions might be hospitable to life.
• The first images are expected in the next 24-48 hours, NASA said.
• "Mission controllers established two-way communication with the spacecraft this afternoon and expect it to begin transmitting data from the encounter this evening," NASA said in a statement late Wednesday.
• The tiny moon orbiting the sixth planet from the sun stunned scientists when they discovered it had an icy plume in 2005.
• After years of observations, NASA announced earlier this year that Enceladus definitely has a subterranean ocean, widening the search for alien life in our solar system.
• The $3.26 billion mission is a joint project by the US space agency, European space agency and Italian space agency.
• Cassini is the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, and it has been circling the planet since 2004.

Keywords-The probe skimmed 30 miles, Two-way communication,

Russia is testing the world’s first all-female space crew for a mission to the moon

• A crew of six Russian women have been locked away in a mock spaceship as part of an eight-day experiment to simulate conditions for a potential mission to the moon in 2029.
• The experiment, the first of its kind to feature an all-female crew, is designed to “test the psychology and physiology of the female organism,” the space institute organising it said. The participants will be let out next Thursday.
• Sergei Ponomarev, the scientific director of Moon-2015, said: “It will be interesting to see how well they get on with each other, and how well they are able to perform tasks. We believe women might not only be no worse than men at performing certain tasks in space, but actually better.”
• Earlier this week, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) announced plans for a manned mission to the moon in 2029. The spacecraft that will be used for the mission is currently under construction and is due for its maiden flight in 2021, according to Roscosmos. It will then dock with the International Space Station in 2023 and make an unmanned trip to the moon in 2025.
• Russia and the European Space Agency are planning a joint research mission to the moon using an unmanned spacecraft in 2020, to perform a number of tests to determine how suitable the moon might be for human habitation.
• The mock spacecraft is equipped with cameras and the participants will be monitored remotely by doctors psychologists round the clock.

Keywords-A crew of six Russian women,Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) announced plans for a manned mission to the moon in 2029,European Space Agency are planning a joint research mission to the moon using an unmanned spacecraft in 2020.

Ten incredible facts about spacewalks!

1. A spacewalk can be defined as a period of physical activity engaged in by an astronaut in space outside a spacecraft. A spacewalk is also called an EVA. EVA stands for extravehicular activity.
2. The first person to go on a spacewalk was Alexei Leonov from Russia. It took place on March 18, 1965, and was 10 minutes long.
3. NASA's first spacewalks took place during the Gemini program. Ed White became the first American to go on a spacewalk on June 3, 1965, during the Gemini 4 mission, which lasted for 23 minutes.
4. The first woman to perform an EVA was cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya during Soyuz T-12 on July 25, 1984.
5. The world record for the most spacewalks is held by Russian astronaut Anatoly Solovyev. He has been on 16 spacewalks and spent more than 82 hours outside in space.
6. Astronauts go on spacewalks for many reasons such as repairing satellites or spacecraft that are in space. Spacewalks let astronauts work outside their spacecraft while still in space. During a spacewalk, astronauts can also do science experiments.
7. Astronauts wear spacesuits when they go on spacewalks in order to keep themselves safe. Inside spacesuits, astronauts have the oxygen they need to breath and the water they need to drink.
8. A spacesuit weighs approximately 280 pounds on the ground - without the astronaut in it.
9. When on a spacewalk, astronauts use safety tethers - that resemble ropes - to stay close to their spacecraft. Tethers are like ropes. Another way astronauts stay safe during spacewalks is by wearing a SAFER. SAFER stands for Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue.
10. Astronauts prepare for spacewalks by practicing their tasks underwater in a large swimming pool because floating in space is a lot like floating in water. Another way astronauts practice for a spacewalk is by using virtual reality. 

Keywords-EVA stands for extravehicular activity,Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya,practicing their tasks underwater in a large swimming pool

New Horizons captures incredible backlit photo of Pluto's crescent

• The latest photo relayed from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has landed and it is a stunner. Taken right after the probe hurtled past Pluto in July, the back lit image was snapped from a distance of 11,000 mi (18,000 km) and highlights the hazy layers in the dwarf planet's tenuous atmosphere.

• Last month, NASA released a breath-taking set of images snapped by New Horizon's wide-angle Multi-spectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The series showed various geological features in impressive detail, including 1,353 m (11,000 ft) tall mountain ranges and the vast icy expanses of the plain known as Sputnik Planum.

• The latest image, which comes courtesy of processing work by the New Horizons team, offers a more complete picture. Taken as New Horizon peered back at Pluto 15 minutes after its historic flyby with the sun providing dramatic backlighting. In it we see the smooth Sputnik Planum illuminated on the right hand side, with the mountain range known informally as Norgay Montes sitting above and what NASA believes to be glaciers appearing underneath.

• New Horizons has continued on its path beyond Pluto toward the Kuiper Belt, though it continues to return data showing the dwarf planet and its surroundings in new light. Last week it sent back images of its smallest moon Kerberos, completing a collection of family portrait of Pluto's satellites.

Keywords-NASA's New Horizons spacecraft ,New Horizon's wide-angle Multi-spectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC),Dramatic backlighting

NASA's EPIC camera captures three developing tropical lows in Indian Ocean

• The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera or EPIC instrument that flies aboard NOAA's DSCOVR or Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite captured an image showing all three low pressure areas on October 25 at 05:37 UTC (12:37 a.m. EDT).

• Two of the three systems have a medium chance to develop into a tropical depression in the next day or two, said NASA.

• On October 25 and 26 two tropical low pressure areas are spinning in the Northern Indian Ocean, and one in the Southern Indian Ocean.

• According to NASA, in the Northern Indian Ocean, System 93B was located east of the southern India peninsula. System 93B was near 6.6 degrees north latitude and 83.1 degrees east longitude. That's about 190 nautical miles east of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

• Despite this low pressure area having a weak low-level center of circulation with disorganized convection (rising air that forms the thunderstorms that make up a tropical cyclone), it is in an environment with low to moderate vertical wind shear. However, because it is close to Sri Lanka, its proximity to land is hindering development. System 93B has a low chance for development in the next two days.

• System 94A was located on the western side of the southern India peninsula. System 94A was centered near 7.0 degrees north latitude and 66.0 degrees east longitude, about 1,080 nautical miles south-southeast of Muscat, Oman. System 94A has fragmented bands of thunderstorms wrapping into an elongated low-level center of circulation, but it's in an environment with warm sea surface temperatures and low vertical wind shear that will allow it to develop.

• In the Southern Indian Ocean, low pressure area designated System 92S was centered near 7.0 degrees south latitude and 54.2 degrees east longitude. That's about 830 nautical miles north-northeast of Antananarivo, Madagascar. The EPIC image shows that this is a large system and it appears somewhat elongated.

• It said that both System 94A in the Northern Indian Ocean and System 92S in the Southern Indian Ocean have a medium chance to become a tropical depression over the next several days.

• The DISCOVER spacecraft is located at the Earth-Sun Lagrange-1 (L-1) point giving EPIC a unique angular perspective that will be used in science applications to measure ozone, aerosols, cloud reflectivity, cloud height, vegetation properties, and UV radiation estimates at Earth's surface.

Keywords - The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera, Fragmented bands of thunderstorms wrapping into an elongated low-level center of circulation,Earth-Sun Lagrange-1 (L-1),UV radiation

Russia to launch manned moon missions by 2029

•                 Moscow: Russia is planning to send its first manned lunar missions by 2029, Vladimir Solntsev, head of Roscomsos Energia consortium, announced on Tuesday.

    "  A manned flight to the moon and lunar landing is planned for 2029," Solntse said.

•    A spacecraft specially designed to carry out missions to the moon is currently being built by Roscomsos Energia, and is expected to make its first test flight in 2021, EFE news reported. It will dock with the International Space Station in 2023.In 2025, the spaceship will carry out its first unmanned mission to the moon.The US remains the only country to send manned lunar missions; the first was in 1969.
•                  The Russian Federal Space Agency, commonly known as Roscosmos, decided to change its focus on the conquest of Mars after the resounding failure of the Phobos Grunt mission in 2011, which intended to take samples from one of the moons of the red planet.

 Keywords - Manned lunar missions by 2029,Roscomsos Energia

NASA Astronauts Get Workout in Marathon Spacewalk

 ·        Two US astronauts got quite a workout Wednesday during a spacewalk that lasted more than seven hours in order to do upgrades and maintenance at the orbiting International Space Station, Nasa said.

·        The spacewalk was the first ever for veteran Scott Kelly, who is in the midst of a year-long stint at the ISS, and for his colleague, flight engineer Kjell Lindgren.

·        It lasted seven hours and 16 minutes - longer than the scheduled six and a half hours, a Nasa commentator said on the space agency's live broadcast.

·        He described the outing as "a very long day for these two spacewalkers, a very physically intensive activity."

·        The two accomplished the "lion's share" of their planned tasks, he added, including setting a thermal blanket over a state-of-the-art particle physics detector, known as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, as well as routing cable to prepare for new docking ports for US commercial crew spacecraft and lubricating the station's robotic arm.

·        Once the space walkers are able to climb out of their bulky spacesuits, they were expected to grab a quick dinner and "then right off to bed," the Nasa commentator said.

·        Another spacewalk by the pair is scheduled for November 6.

·        While it was a pioneering spacewalk for both Kelly and Lindgren, it was the 189th in support of space station assembly and maintenance.

·        Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly will Thursday set a new record for the longest single stretch of time spent in space by an American, with 216 consecutive days at the International Space Station.

·        Kelly is more than midway through an entire year at the ISS, as part of an experiment to study the effects of long-term spaceflight on the body and mind.

Keywords - A very long day for these two spacewalkers, a very physically intensive activity,bulky spacesuits,Two US astronauts got quite a workout