Homeward, Hayabusa!

HayabusaJAXA’s unmanned Hayabusa spacecraft fires its ion engines to depart asteroid 25143 Itokawa, embarking on a five-year trek back to Earth to return surface samples it obtained of the asteroid. Hayabusa has experienced numerous technical glitches, and continues to experience further problems, including a total loss of contact with Earth for several weeks. Only two out of the vehicle’s four ion engines are still functional, and its battery system is only partially reliable, but it is carrying its precious cargo of the first sample material from an asteroid back to Earth.

The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (soundtrack)

The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe soundtrackWalt Disney Records releases Harry Gregson-Williams‘ soundtrack from The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, also featuring songs by Alanis Morissette, Imogen Heap, Lisbeth Scott, and Tim Finn. Read more

Doctor Who: The Christmas Invasion

Doctor WhoThe 712th episode of Doctor Who (the 14th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. David Tennant spends much of his first episode portraying an unconscious tenth Doctor, recovering from his regeneration; Penelope Wilton guest stars as Harriet Jones. This is the first episode of Doctor Who intended to be a Christmas special since 1965. Read more

Who revival kicks BBC into Hyperdrive

HyperdriveWhile the much-talked-about Red Dwarf movie continues to languish in the realm of big-screen vaporware, the BBC lines up its successor. According to a report in the London Times, the new Doctor Who series has put science fiction back on the British broadcasting map, with the BBC’s rivals at ITV preparing a series called Primeval with a multi-million-pound budget and CGI dinosaur effects. In the meantime, the BBC announces a new science fiction comedy for BBC2 called Hyperdrive, which is said to “consciously echo” Red Dwarf, which remains the highest-rated sitcom in BBC2′s history.

Mittens required on Pluto

PlutoScientists are already aware that Pluto is really cold, but recent observations suggest that it’s even colder than they had imagined. New radio telescope measurements of Pluto’s surface indicate that it’s a brisk -382 degrees Fahrenheit (scientists had earlier estimated a positively summery -364). Part of the reason for the slight chill in the air – if indeed there was any there – is that Pluto is on the outbound train. The tiny planet’s highly inclined orbit isn’t centered around the sun, while the solar system’s other worlds are more or less centered; part of Pluto’s orbit carries it further away from the sun and “under” the plane shared by the other planets. Curiously enough, however, the surface of Charon – Pluto’s nearly-identical-twin moon – is determined to be warmer than Pluto itself. The readings are taken by the Submillimeter Array in Hawaii by astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Stardust comes home

StardustNASA’s unmanned Stardust space probe successfully returns its samples of comet and interstellar dust to Earth. A few minutes after 5:00am Eastern time, the Stardust sample return capsule makes a soft landing in Utah, its record-setting 29,000mph return to Earth slowed by a series of parachutes. (Before Stardust’s return, the fastest vehicle to enter Earth’s atmosphere was the capsule bringing home the crew of Apollo 10 in May 1969.) It is hoped that analysis of the tiny particles captured in cakes of a special porous material called aerogel will shed some light on the origins of the solar system. The “mother ship” portion of the Stardust probe is left on a course that will put it into a permanent orbit around the sun. Stardust was launched in February 1999, and gathered its samples from the cloud of gas and dust surrounding Comet Wild-2 in January 2004, zipping through the comet’s coma at 13,000mph.

New Horizons launched

New HorizonsNASA launches the unmanned New Horizons probe on a course for the minor planet Pluto, the first spacecraft built to explore that destination. A trajectory with multiple planetary flybys and gravitational assists is designed to sling New Horizons toward Pluto within a decade (compared to Voyager 2’s 12-year trek to Neptune).

New Horizons will enter Pluto’s surprisingly complex system in 2015.