Gravity wells can be parking lots for spacecraft

In the space, there are 5 natural parking spots which are very convenient for space travel ships. Some scientists call it 'space parking'.

These are unusual places where gravity loses traction, so the spacecraft can freely float like a marble in a cup without consuming a lot of fuel.Three of these five positions are 930,000 miles from Earth's orbit, the other, a position between the Earth and the sun, and a position hidden behind the other side of the sun.

A pair of US-operated automatic scientific satellites will pass through two of the five locations in the fall. And then it is very likely that NASA will place a fixed weather station in a convenient location.

In the scientific world, people also called positions on the 'Lagrange point', after the French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange, who foresaw the existence of these wells 200 years ago.

Numbered respectively L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5, they are the central points of the gravity well - where the gravity of the Earth and the sun cancel each other out. However, the effect of gravity reduction spreads millions of miles from the center point L1, L2, .

Two ships currently on the Lagrange journey are NASA's STEREO couple launched into space in October 2006 with the aim of surveying the Sun and its effects on cosmic weather.

STEREO A, one of the above twins, will approach the L4 point 930,000 miles from Earth's orbit on the opposite side of the sun on September 10. STEREO B will approach the L5 point, which is also on L4 on October 26.

The two STEREO vessels are now in the influence of Lagrange points, according to William Thompson, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Control Center located in Greenbelt.'It took several months for the two ships to move through the area of ​​L4 - L5.'

Earth and the moon. (Photo: NASA)

So far there have not been any plans to reduce speed or pause two spacecraft as they enter the gravity well.'We're moving at so fast speeds and certainly won't get stuck,' revealed Michael Kaiser, NASA's STEREO project scientist in an email.

Early next year, two European space telescopes named Herschel and Planck launched on May 14 will approach L2, the Lagrange point between L4 and L5.

Astronomers believe that L2, also 930,000 miles from Earth's orbit, is an ideal place to observe the universe. It will be the location for future James Webb Space Telescope. This telescope was launched into space in 2014 and won the Hubble telescope championship.

Currently the WMAP (the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) satellite launched in 2001 landed on L2 and is conducting detailed observations of the universe.

L1, located a tenth of the distance from the Earth to the Sun, is the seat of the SOHO satellite. The satellite constantly monitors the sun's activity to give early warnings about intense solar storms that damage the telecommunications infrastructure on Earth and endanger astronauts.

L3 is hidden on the opposite side from the sun if taking the Earth as an observation point.

After passing points L4, L5, STEREO A and STEREO B will continue to run around the sun indefinitely, until NASA cuts off the $ 10 million annual support budget.

'By the beginning of 2011, these two spacecraft will be completely separated and provide the first image of the entire Sun's surface, both the front and the back, at a time,' Kaiser said.

Astronomers believe that L4 and L5 are cosmic reservoirs of dust and debris, asteroids and even the remains of an ancient planet.

Edward Belbruno and Richard Gott, two celestial physicists at Princeton University, made speculations in their books and lectures about a hypothetical planet they named Theia.According to the planet, it was thrown out of its position when the solar system was still in the process of forming 4.5 million years ago, then crashed into Earth. This collision has separated a large mass of matter from Earth, thus forming the moon today.

'These places (L4 and L5) can store a lot of asteroids - the rest of a planet the size of Mars is formed billions of years ago,' Kaiser said. 'Most likely, including Theia's traces.'