A Blast Over Antarctica As Telescope Soars

SPACE SCOPES

illustration only

by Staff Writers
Longueuil, Canada (SPX) Jan 01, 2007
A fascinating experiment is being conducted this week over Antarctica by Canada and its partners, the U.S., the U.K. and Mexico. Attached to a huge helium balloon, 2,000-kilogram BLAST (balloon-borne large aperture sub-millimetre telescope) is peering deep into space to study distant stars and galaxies.

Launched from the McMurdo Research Station in Antarctica on December 21, BLAST is expected to fly for up to 10 days, circling 38,000 metres above the frozen continent in the stratosphere. The two-metre telescope offers levels of sensitivity and resolution unmatched by any observation facility on Earth.

The mission will shed light on fundamental questions about the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. BLAST will identify large numbers of distant star-forming galaxies, study the earliest stages of star and planet formation, and make high-resolution maps of diffuse galactic emissions.

Canada is providing the gondola, the pointing control system, the data acquisition system, the flight and ground station software, the power system, and overall system integration.

Canadian partners in this project include the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and AMEC Dynamic Structures Ltd. of Port Coquitlam, B.C. Canadian funding was provided by the Canadian Space Agency, who contributed $2 million for equipment and mission operations, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada.

Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Innovation Trust, and the University of Toronto. International partners include the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, the University of Miami, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cardiff University, and the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica of Mexico, with funding from NASA and the U.K.'s Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC).

SPACE SCOPES

Europe Looks Forward To COROT Launch

Paris, France (ESA) Dec 20, 2006
On 27 December, COROT is to be launched into space on a unique astronomy mission: its twin goals are to detect exoplanets orbiting around other stars and to probe the mysteries of stellar interiors as never before. COROT is a French national space agency (CNES)-led mission to which the European Space Agency and European partners are adding a particularly strong international flavour.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT Scramble To Repair Telecom Lines Across Asia After Taiwan Quake Weather Hampers Efforts To Reach Indonesian Flood Victims Quake Cuts Off Much Of Asia Internet Fund To Build 46,000 Homes, Shelters For Indonesian Java Quake Victims	CLIMATE SCIENCE UN International Year Of Deserts Ends With Stark Warnings Nature Not Humans To Blame For Long Lasting Australian Drought Dire Warnings From First Chinese Climate Change Report Rising Sea Levels Engulfing Indian World Heritage Islands
EARTH OBSERVATION New Weather Satellite For Beijing Olympics Working Perfectly In Orbit UW Researcher Changed Our View Of The World 40 Years Ago Europe Ready To TANGO With New EO Constellation COSMIC Provides Better Weather Forecasts, Climate Data	ENERGY TECH Hydrogen Fuel Cell Outperforms Diesel Counterpart Researchers Will Work With Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Hydrogen Fuel Cell Outperforms Diesel Counterpart B-52 Flight Uses Synthetic Fuel In All Eight Engines
EPIDEMICS Rift Valley Fever Outbreak Toll Rises To 24 In Northern Kenya Surgery deemed safe for HIV patients Malaria Kills 21 People In Flood-Hit Somalia, Toll Climbs To 141 Common PTSD Drug Is No More Effective Than Placebo	FLORA AND FAUNA Medical Company Lists On Anonymous Trading Market To Avoid Animal Extremists What Really Caused The Largest Mass Extinction In Earth History Elephant Wreaks Terror In India's Northeast Japanese Gadget Has Plants Talking Back
FROTH AND BUBBLE Bogus Data Masks Scale Of Pollution Woes Facing China How To Protect Against Carbon Monoxide US Court Slashes ExxonMobil Damages For Valdez Spill Study Finds Oysters Can Take Heat And Heavy Metals, But Not Both	ABOUT US Software Speeds And Enhances Access To Print Brain Atlases Neanderthals different in north, south Complexity Constrains Evolution Of Human Brain Genes Protein That Kills Cells May Help Memory

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement