Category: Space
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Part 6: The big send-off
The power and fuel capacity of the Delta IV, along with an eventual gravity assist from Venus, will get the solar probe velocity down to a point where it can orbit the sun.
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Part 5: Sunblock and instrumentation
The extreme conditions of the corona are one of the main reasons a solar probe mission like this hasn’t been undertaken before. But Parker features a series of innovations that will allow the probe to get close enough to do what needs to be done.
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Part 4: Using the gravity of Venus to reach the sun
While NASA never intended for the probe to return to Earth, Venus represents a point of no return.
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Part 3: Parker’s record-breaking ride
The probe will make multiple passes through the corona, utilizing seven gravity assists from Venus to bring its orbits closer and closer to the sun.
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Part 2: Testing: Simulating the sun on Earth
A key component of Justin Kasper’s sensory equipment, Parker’s Faraday cup, had to be shown capable of withstanding the heat and light of the journey to the sun. To test it, researchers had to create something new – a homemade sun simulator.
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Part 1: Why we need an early-warning system for solar ejections
When strong magnetic fields crop up along the surface of the Sun cause the atmosphere above to twist, the buildup of magnetic energy leads to a sudden release, called a solar flare. When that energy reaches Earth, it has the capacity to wreak havoc.
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Europa’s ocean: New evidence from an old mission
An image from Hubble and data from Galileo support the theory that this moon is home to global body of water.
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Recreating supernova reaction yields new insights for fusion energy
Our pursuit of fusion needs a heat-check
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Key Parker Solar Probe sensor bests sun simulator—last launch hurdle
With old IMAX projector bulbs, Michigan Engineers simulate the sun.
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Podcast: The X3 Thruster
Hear Dean Gallimore and recent PhD graduate Scott Hall discuss the X3 “Mars engine” on the new podcast “The High Five.”
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Meteor over Michigan: How dangerous are space hazards like bolides?
Around 8 pm on Jan. 16, people across Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio witnessed a meteor exploding in Earth’s atmosphere.
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CLASP celebrates 2017 Nelson W. Spencer Lecture
Professor Margaret Kivelson’s lecture titled, “Magnetic Structures in the Solar System” was followed by a conversation with daughter U-M Professor Valerie A. Kivelson.