Will probe's upcoming fly-by unlock exotic physics?

[n2doc]

18:17 10 November 2009 by David Shiga
What's causing spacecraft to mysteriously accelerate? The Rosetta comet chaser's fly-by of Earth on 13 November is a perfect opportunity to get to the bottom of it.

The anomaly emerged in 1990, when NASA's Galileo spacecraft whizzed by Earth to get a boost from our planet's gravity and gained 3.9 millimetres per second more than expected. And the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft had an unexpected increase of about 1.8 millimetres per second during a previous fly-by of Earth in 2005.

Scientists have ruled out various mundane explanations like atmospheric drag or the effect of deviations in Earth's shape. This has led some to propose that exotic new physics is involved, such as modifications of Einstein's general relativity, the currently accepted theory of gravity.

All eyes are now on Rosetta, which is set to swing by Earth again at 0745 GMT on 13 November. It is en route to a comet, and will travel around 2500 kilometres above our planet's surface at over 13 kilometres per second. If it gains an extra 1.1 millimetres per second relative to Earth, it would vindicate a formula that reproduces the anomalies seen so far.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18135-will-probes-upcoming-flyby-unlock-exotic-physics.html

[byronius]

1. Perhaps I should reign in the mini black hole in my garage,

But it scratches at the door if I don't give it a little freedom now and then.

[phantom power]

2. That must be a remarkable door.

[joshcryer]

3. I read the ex-NASA paper, it explains frame dragging, something Gravity Probe B could not discern.

It's actually going to be remarkable if the probe does have the same effect.