NASA released its Astronomy Picture of the Day on Nov. 15. It captures the Leonid meteor shower streaking across the Orion molecular cloud complex. The same release confirms its ESCAPADE Mars spacecraft completed powered Earth flybys. That begins its interplanetary voyage.
图像拍到了什么
NASA highlighted a detailed composite deep-sky photograph. It shows celestial mechanics in action. The image captures Leonid meteors traversing the starfields of Orion. They pass glowing emission nebulae including the Orion and Horsehead nebulae.
"APOD: 2026 November 15 – Leonid Meteors Through Orion. NASA's ESCAPADE Completes Powered Earth Flybys, Now En Route to Mars," NASA Science reported. Flight controllers confirmed the twin ESCAPADE spacecraft executed their critical propulsion maneuvers. The burns came during a close Earth gravitational assist on Nov. 9. The assist aligned the dual orbiters on a trajectory toward the Red Planet.
狮子座流星雨的来源
The Leonid meteors originate from debris trailing Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Researchers gain fresh spectroscopic data on atmospheric ionization. High-velocity dust particles vaporize as they enter the atmosphere. The photograph and the data come from the same release.
ESCAPADE 的飞行方式
The ESCAPADE mission shows low-cost rideshare spacecraft can use precision orbital flybys and propulsion burns. That lets them execute complex interplanetary transfers. The approach establishes affordable pathways for future planetary science architectures. Those architectures investigate magnetic environments.
双探测器接下来做什么
The twin spacecraft will cruise across the inner solar system over the coming months. They will perform automated instrument checkouts and trajectory correction maneuvers. Mission scientists anticipate orbital insertion around Mars in spring 2027. The probes will then investigate how the solar wind strips away the Martian atmosphere.
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