| W.A.S.A. |
Cymru III - Mission Photos... |
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Take off...
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Aerial view of Cerrigydrudion following succesful launch of Cymru 3. |
The flight deck on Cymru 3. Qualified space personnel only. |
A last look home from some 38,000 km away. An unusually clear day on earth - you can even make out the equator. |
Callisto Encounter
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After orbit insertion. Altitude 450 km. |
In contrast to the first picture, this photo from 77 degrees latitude shows a layer that exhibits definite signs that the surface has been molten in recent geological times. Stress fracture showing in North West. |
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| This image was taken from altitude 375km. 44N030W Evidence that water once flowed on Callisto. The ridge at the top of the picture is as high as Poundstretcher in Wrexham or 1km high (whichever is the higher). |
Altitude 420 km. Impact crater showing complete erosion. Crater diam. approx. 6 km. |
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Near infrared image. As Cymru 3 rounded the dark side of Callisto, this spectacular active volcano showed up. Mission control could barely contain their excitement. Before Cymru 3, Callisto was thought to be completely inert. |
One of very few photos from the surface of Callisto. This through the porthole of Cymru III. The colouration observed is as a result of unanticipated levels of oxidated copper on the surface of the planet, and high pressure carbon dibaxide levels inside the craft which discoloured the glass. Notice that Dilwyn wasn't alone when he got there. The Gay Ulsterman's Space Agency's craft was parked just over a mile away - cheeky monkeys! |
Phase II - Encounter with Europa Cymru III's Callisto phase is well and truly over. It wasn't supposed to be. But rummaging around for a dropped malteser Dilwyn accidentally pulled on the firing rope and blasted him, Megan and Cymru III on their way to the next part of the mission. Stuck flat to the floor in +25g for the next 3 days, they briefly discovered life as 2 dimensional organisms - life in liquid form. Once they'd reached Lagrangian point 2 and gravity balanced out, they could stand up and Dilwyn could hang out the window to take some photos. Yet more amazing Welsh science was about to be made. Below are the pictures he took. |
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| A last look back at Callisto as Cymru III inadvertently blasts off. This photo taken with the Oric Atmos Autocam #1 fitted to the one of the legs of the craft. Dear oh dear! Dil is such an untidy astronaut. | Dilwyn and Megan spent 3 days sloshing around on the floor of Cymru III after departure from Callisto - due to the intense gravity experienced. At one point Dilwyn lost integrity by flowing into two separate puddles. |
Enroute to Europa..
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Meet "Nugget World". This previously unknown asteroid, made of solid 18 ct gold plate has been claimed for Wales. Photographed here from 11,500 km as Cymru III made a close encounter en-route for Europa. WASA scientists are already planning a retrieval mission to tow it back to Denbighshire, or break bits off which we will fashion into £1 coins for the car park machines in Ruthin and Denbigh |
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And then, just around the corner, the most amazing discovery of the mission to date. A whole new, as yet, undiscovered moon of Jupiter. NASA, The Russians, the Chinese, the people of the Isle of Wight - they've all missed this one. So we get to name it and we're going to call it Myfanwy. WASA scientists are already planning a mission to Myfanwy, probably instead of the Miranda one now, to either start a new Welsh colony there, or to break bits off it to fashion into £1 coins for the carpark machine in Denbigh. |
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Cymru III passed within 1,800 km of Myfanwy's south pole at closest approach. An ultra-thin atmosphere of Helium, Argon and something else, like the smell of parma-violets was detected. Probably in the order of 0.075 hPa / millibar. Ammonite and marlborolite mineral deposits also were detected using Cymru III's ZX Microdrive and expansion pack. The unit had to be phase-shifted to cope with the extremes of space. |
Myfanwy's equatorial basin viewed from the port port of Cymru III after closest approach. Another shocking discovery about Myfanwy was that at first it appeared to rotate contra to the solar plane and also that of it's parent, Jupiter. This further confounded our scientists by appearing to correct itself when Dilwyn put the camera the right way up. |
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Europa, first encounter
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EUROPA... "All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landing there." Yeah right ! Cyrmu III seen here approaching Europa. Wherein the onboard scientists - Dilwyn and Megan - frantically crunch through the gearbox in order to slow the craft down in order to optimistically scout for a landing site. They will then point Cymru III at the moon's surface and fire the second stage of blast-cartridges. Space helmets and the vain hope that Europa is made of fluffy snow will ensure they arrive in a low number of pieces.
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Dilwyn enjoys a lovely fresh cup of tea and a fag outside Europa whilst waiting to descend. Megan can be seen outside with her space helmet on doing her business. No need to pooper-scoop in space at least. |
| dilwyn@welshspaceagency.org |