WASHINGTON (The Thursday Times) — NASA ki Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, jis ne do dehaiyon se zyada kainat ke sab se taqatwar dhamakon ki nigrani mein guzari, ko bachane ka tijarati mission nakam hone ke baad Juma ke qareeb us ke zameen par wapas girne ki tawaqqo hai.
NASA ne 23 October ko elan kiya ke Swift ka science mission khatm ho chuka hai, kyunke khalai jahaz 275 kilometre se neeche aa gaya tha, jahan atmosphere ki drag ne us ki telescopes ko apne hadaf par jame rehne se rok diya. 1,500 kilogram wazni observatory ke paas wapas oopar jane ke liye apna koi engine nahin hai, aur re-entry beqabu hogi. Us ke zameen par girne ka theek waqt aur jagah abhi maloom nahin, aur reports ke mutabiq mutawaqqa tarikh 6 November ke qareeb hai.
Arizona mein qaim Katalyst Space ka banaya hua robotic khalai jahaz Swift ke saath dock kar ke use oonche orbit mein le jane ke liye tha, lekin NASA aur company ne August mein kaha ke rescue craft mein attitude control ke masle ki wajah se yeh mansooba tark kar diya gaya.
Swift ka zyadatar hissa atmosphere mein jal jane ki tawaqqo hai, agarche mahireen ka kehna hai ke us ki telescopes ke thos hisse bach sakte hain. Woh tawaqqo nahin rakhte ke yeh zameen par logon ke liye koi numaya khatra bane.
November 2004 mein launch ki gayi Swift ko gamma-ray bursts pakarne ke liye banaya gaya tha. Yeh har naye dhamake ki taraf tezi se mur kar, us ke mand parne se pehle us ka mutalea karti thi. Us ne in mein se 2,000 se zyada ka mushahida kiya, aur NASA ka kehna hai ke woh high-energy astrophysics mein bare inkishafat ki wirasat chhor ja rahi hai.
