A Reuters article could do wonders to this mission awareness.
RadioAstron Announcement of Opportunity - 2The space VLBI Mission RadioAstron, led by the Astro Space Center (ASC)of Lebedev Physical Institute, provides a range of specific and uniquecapabilities for detecting and imaging sources of cosmic radio emissionat the highest angular resolution. The optimal utilization of thesecapabilities relies on the construction and execution of a balancedscientific program for the Mission. The scientific program ofRadioAstron consists of three major parts: the Early Science Program(ESP), Key Science Program (KSP), and General Observing Time (GOT)projects. The Early Science Program, which finished in June 2013,explored the main scientific capabilities of RadioAstron observationsand paved the way for the subsequent KSP and GOT programs.RadioAstron KSP observations commenced in July 2013. The KSP is aimedspecifically at focusing on the areas of strongest scientific impact ofRadioAstron and ensuring a long-lasting scientific impact for theMission. KSP observations within the AO-1 period are being carried outbetween July 2013 and June 2014, inclusive.
We present the first polarimetric space VLBI imaging observations at 22 GHz. BL Lacertae was observed in 2013 November 10 with the RadioAstron space VLBI mission, including a ground array of 15 radio telescopes. The instrumental polarization of the space radio telescope is found to be within 9%, demonstrating the polarimetric imaging capabilities of RadioAstron at 22 GHz. Ground-space fringes were obtained up to a projected baseline distance of 7.9 Earth's diameters in length, allowing us to image the jet in BL Lacertae with a maximum angular resolution of 21 μas, the highest achieved to date. We find evidence for emission upstream of the radio core, which may correspond to a recollimation shock at about 40 μas from the jet apex, in a pattern that includes other recollimation shocks at approximately 100 μas and 250 μas from the jet apex. Polarized emission is detected in two components within the innermost 0.5 mas from the core, as well as in some knots 3 mas downstream. Faraday rotation analysis, obtained from combining RadioAstron 22 GHz and ground-based 15 GHz and 43 GHz images, shows a gradient in rotation measure and Faraday corrected polarization vector as a function of position angle with respect to the core, suggesting that the jet in BL Lacertae is threaded by a helical magnetic field. The intrinsic de-boosted brightness temperature in the unresolved core exceeds 3×1012 K, suggesting at the very least departure from equipartition of energy between the magnetic field and radiating particles.
Astrophysicists have spotted a faraway object that's hotter than any contemporary theory can explain, a discovery that might require scientists rewriting galaxy operation manuals for years to come. The first fruits of these mind-boggling observations were just published by an international group of scientists led by the Russian astrophysicist Yuri Kovalev in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters."I believe that behind this remarkable result lies a new chapter in the exploration of the faraway universe," said Nikolai Kardashev, the head of the Spektr-R (Radioastron) orbital observatory project, which was instrumental in the latest breakthrough.
In the meantime, the Spektr-R space observatory presses on mission. Launched on a Ukrainian-built Zenit rocket on July 18, 2011, the satellite is about to exceed its five-year manufacturer warranty.Although harsh conditions of space, particularly radiation, are taking their toll on the spacecraft, the flight control team so far has managed to continue a productive scientific mission by switching to backup systems. According to Kovalev, technical issues have not yet degraded the scientific results.Inspired by the success of Spektr-R, Russian scientists proposed a much more complex space radio telescope known as Spektr-M or Millimetron. The new instrument will be able to register millimeter and sub-millimeter bands of electromagnetic spectrum not only in conjunction with ground-based antennas but also on its own, peering farther into the Universe than any ground-based telescope can. Because of its high cost and many technical hurdles, though, Spektr-M is not expected to blast off into orbit before 2025.