Confessions of a Curiosity Voyeur

We have just watched, along with millions of other space junkies, NASA’s successful landing of the Curiosity rover on the surface of the planet Mars.  And I must confess that those of us here, and at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California, along with millions from around the world, have been ecstatic for hours.

It is one thing to view the Mars crater landing on the faces of the crew working the mission; it is another to see the swiftly delivered almost live photos that they are viewing themselves.  Spectacular thumbnails first seen through transparent lens covers, then through the lenses themselves, made us oooh! and aaah!

Seeing a live broadcast by NASA is now over for the night. And over too is my first voyeuristic adventure with Curiosity.  It has been enormously satisfying.  But now it is back to the canned, replayed stuff from the past.  And soon tonight’s events will also become a part of the past history of the United States space program, a program that has been exciting me for six decades.

Dragon Daring

Space.com just published a new NASA image . . . the picture of a tiny dot whose name is “Dragon.”

That little dot at the edge of the earth thrills a lot of us, folks who are in the space business, or are mere “space junkies” like me.  It was a historic event according to the story:

The unmanned vehicle, called Dragon, is built by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), and is the first commercial spacecraft ever launched toward the space station. During the rendezvous, the spacecraft approached within 1.6 miles (2.5 km) of the outpost. Dragon launched to orbit  from Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Tuesday (May 22) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and is due to arrive at the station on Friday (May 25).

This vehicle is a milestone,  the first commercial cargo carrier to make it to the International Space Station (ISS).  And that is a very big deal for several reasons.

• We are in an era of very tight budgetary times for the space program.
• NASA can no longer carry the entire financial load of the U.S. space program. In order to progress beyond low earth orbit, part of it needed to be spun off to the private sector.
• If Congress has been willing to attack the social safety net, legislators will surely disagree on space spending levels.
• For far too long, the United States has lacked its own way to transport items to the station, though we have excellent international cooperation within the ISS effort.
• International cooperation is essential to the success of big space projects, just as public –private partnerships have become essential.
• ISS is the premier scientific research platform for a whole host of space related projects.

You may also want to visit the site to view a photo series featuring the Space Station’s robotic fleet, of which Dragon is the latest. Space.com also lists the five most promising of the private spaceships.

News Update The current International Sp

News Update The current International Space Station situation is very complicated http://ow.ly/1euBxo

Russian crash clouds space station operations

The recent Russian Suyoz crash puts the international space program in somewhat of a bind.  Though the International Space Station has enough equipment and supplies to go well into 2012.

The unpiloted Soyuz-U rocket, which fizzled out five minutes after blasting off from the Baikonur launch pad, closely resembles Russia’s Soyuz-FG model used to transport astronauts to the orbital station in the absence of a U.S. shuttle.

 According to MSNBC and Reuters, changing out ISS crew members will not take place on the planned schedule:

The next space station crew launch, which industry sources and foreign officials say will now be postponed from Sept. 22, was to be the first since the U.S. space agency ended its 30 year shuttle program in July.

This crash is another in a series of space craft failures.  A Russian commission will investigate the incident to determine the cause before another attempt at any rocket launches.

And in the U.S. there will be additional pressure on our commercial efforts to fly a cargo supply vessel as soon as possible.  The shuttle program is over; there will be no more of those launches.  Therefore, launching our own crew members into low earth orbit is somewhat further away.  Until then, we remain dependent on the Russians.

Soon there will be another rover headed to Mars

Though we still have one active Mars rover sending us information, NASA is excited by the next phase of Mars exploration via robotics. The new rover, named Curiosity, will be far ahead of its predecessors in size, capacity and complexity. It has 17 cameras, for example.

I cannot wait to see the outcomes!

Amplify’d from www.nasa.gov

NASA’S Next Mars Rover To Land At Gale Crater

WASHINGTON — NASA’s next Mars rover will land at the foot of a layered mountain inside the planet’s Gale crater.

The car-sized Mars Science Laboratory, or Curiosity, is scheduled to launch late this year and land in August 2012. The target crater spans 96 miles (154 kilometers) in diameter and holds a mountain rising higher from the crater floor than Mount Rainier rises above Seattle. Gale is about the combined area of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Layering in the mound suggests it is the surviving remnant of an extensive sequence of deposits. The crater is named for Australian astronomer Walter F. Gale.

During a prime mission lasting one Martian year — nearly two Earth years — researchers will use the rover’s tools to study whether the landing region had favorable environmental conditions for supporting microbial life and for preserving clues about whether life ever existed.

In 2006, more than 100 scientists began to consider about 30 potential landing sites during worldwide workshops. Four candidates were selected in 2008.

Curiosity is about twice as long and more than five times as heavy as any previous Mars rover. Its 10 science instruments include two for ingesting and analyzing samples of powdered rock that the rover’s robotic arm collects. A radioisotope power source will provide heat and electric power to the rover. A rocket-powered sky crane suspending Curiosity on tethers will lower the rover directly to the Martian surface. The portion of the crater where Curiosity will land has an alluvial fan likely formed by water-carried sediments. The layers at the base of the mountain contain clays and sulfates, both known to form in water.

Curiosity will go beyond the “follow-the-water” strategy of recent Mars exploration. The rover’s science payload can identify other ingredients of life, such as the carbon-based building blocks of biology called organic compounds. Long-term preservation of organic compounds requires special conditions. Certain minerals, including some Curiosity may find in the clay and sulfate-rich layers near the bottom of Gale’s mountain, are good at latching onto organic compounds and protecting them from oxidation.

“Gale gives us attractive possibilities for finding organics, but that is still a long shot,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program at agency headquarters. “What adds to Gale’s appeal is that, organics or not, the site holds a diversity of features and layers for investigating changing environmental conditions, some of which could inform a broader understanding of habitability on ancient Mars.” The rover and other spacecraft components are being assembled and undergoing final testing. The mission is targeted to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida between Nov. 25 and Dec. 18. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena manages the mission for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. To view the landing site and for more information about the mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl   Read more at www.nasa.gov

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a19ms8

Moon-Watchers Welcome at 3 NASA Centers Saturday

Skywatchers with the moon on their minds can get their lunar fix tonight (Sept. 18) at three NASA space centers as part of a global moon-watching event.

NASA centers in California, Alabama and Maryland will welcome the public tonight as part of the first International Observe the Moon Night, a worldwide project to spur interest in the moon among the public. The space centers are just some of the participants in the skywatching event. Some 370 venues across 30 countries are expected to host moon-watching parties of their own, NASA officials said.

"We’re participating in a truly international event to share knowledge and information about the moon," said Kim Newton, a spokeswoman for NASA’s Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Ala., where scientists will be waiting with telescopes to share moon secrets with the public. "We’re looking forward to a great turnout." [10 Coolest New Moon Discoveries]

Hundreds of other local moon-watching events are planned around the world tonight. To see if an event is planned near your location, visit the International Observe the Moon Night project website: http://www.observethemoonnight.org/getInvolved/attend.cfm

Here’s a look at the three NASA centers opening their doors for moon-lovers tonight:

MARYLAND: Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center

The Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Md., will hold moon observing events from 6:30-10 p.m. EDT, weather permitting. The events includes guest speakers, hands-on activities and for early attendees a tour of the center’s laser-ranging facility. Tours of the laser-ranging facility, used to help determine the position of the moon and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter currently in orbit around it, are open to the first 100 visitors.

Goddard officials will show photos of the moon taken by the LRO spacecraft, encourage moon observations and discuss the moon’s phases, history and appearance.  For more information on the Goddard events and schedule, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/visitor/events/observe-the-moon.html

Location:

Goddard Space Flight Center
800 Greenbelt Rd.
Greenbelt, Md., 20771

Click here for local directions.

ALABAMA: Marshall Space Flight Center/U.S. Space & Rocket Center

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is teaming up with the Lunar Quest Program to host a moon-watching event at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., from 5-8 p.m. CDT, weather permitting.

Several large amateur telescopes will be available for the public to view the moon, along with an inflatable planetarium and an "astronomy van" that will offer 3-D views of the moon as it would appear through the windows of a spacecraft command module, Marshall center officials said.

Astronomer Rob Suggs, NASA Space Environments Team lead and manager of the Lunar Impact Monitoring Project at Marshall, will be present to discuss the latest moon discoveries with the public. For more information on the Marshall events and schedule, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2010/M10-120.html

Location:

NASA’s Educator Resource Center near the rocket center complex. Take Interstate 565 to exit 15 for Madison Pike toward Sparkman Drive/Bob Wallace Avenue. Keep right at the fork, follow signs to the Space & Rocket Center. Take the first left after the Marriott entrance.

Click here for detailed directions.

CALIFORNIA: Ames Research Center

At NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., event organizers plan to aim more than 40 telescopes at the moon for visiting skywatchers. The event will run from 7-11 p.m. PDT, weather permitting.

NASA scientists will be available to discuss recent lunar discoveries, including the existence of water on the moon, the upcoming Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer mission and other moon-watching projects.

Speakers will include David Morrison, former director of the National Lunar Science Institute, Barry Blumberg, a Nobel laureate and former director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, and Greg Delory, LADEE mission deputy project scientist. For more information on the Ames events and schedule, visit: http://lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov/articles/international-observe-the-moon-night

Location:

NASA Ames Research Center Parade Grounds
Moffett Field, Calif.

Click here for directions.

• 10 Coolest New Moon Discoveries
• How to Observe the Moon Saturday Night
• Poll: Where Should Humans Land on the Moon Next?
• Telescopes for Beginnersspanspan

via space.com

Think about going if you are anywhere near any of these locations. Take the kids.

Shuttle set for Sunday launch amid space plan shift, carrying node & cupola: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6151JD20100206

Posted via web from Make Good Mondays

Shuttle delivers the goods to space station – Return to Flight- msnbc.com

The space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of six arrived at the International Space Station Wednesday to drop off some massive spare parts for the orbiting laboratory.

The two vehicles linked up at 11:51 a.m. ET as the two spacecraft flew 220 miles (354 kilometers) above Earth. After sealing the link between them, astronauts opened the hatches at 1:29 p.m. ET.

“We’re crashing the party,” Atlantis commander Charlie Hobaugh radioed to the waiting station crew when the shuttle was about a mile away.

“We’re looking forward to seeing you guys,” station astronaut Jeff Williams replied.

Atlantis launched Monday carrying more than 27,000 pounds (12,246 kilograms) of cargo for the space station, including a pair of massive carrier platforms laden with large spare parts for the orbiting laboratory. The spares, which include huge gyroscopes, pumps and other gear, will be installed at the station during three spacewalks planned for the 11-day space mission.

via msnbc.msn.com

Not wasting any time, the combined Atlantis-ISS crew is today in the midst of the STS-129 first space walk of this busy logistics mission. As usual, a rookie and an old hand are outside together in their suits/mini-spacecrafts, working hard and stealing glances at the earth flying underneath them.
It never ceases to excite and amaze. Watch everything on a NASA cable or satellite TV channel.

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

Stuck Mars rover to begin moving – Mars- msnbc.com

LOS ANGELES – The Mars rover Spirit will soon try to drive itself out of a sand trap where it has been stuck for the past six months.

NASA is set to outline plans to try to free Spirit, a risky process that could take months.

Details of the extraction attempt will be announced later Thursday.

For the past several months, engineers have been busy testing different escape routes on Earth using prototype rovers.

via msnbc.msn.com

I continue to be amazed at the capacity of these plucky little machines . . . and their dedicated engineer “drivers.”

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

SPACE.com — White House Panel’s Human Spaceflight Report Due Soon

“What’s really at stake in the short-term is Ares I, and all of this push for commercial crew I would think is viewed as an alternative to a government-run program like Ares I,” said John Logsdon, a space policy expert professor emeritus at the George Washington University here. “Long-term, it’s whether in fact there is going to be a meaningful space exploration program beyond the International Space Station.”

The Ares I is based on the space shuttle’s giant solid rocket motors built by Alliant Techsystems of Edina, Minn. Alliant Techsystems is the lead contractor on Ares I.

Sources in the administration and on Capitol Hill say it remains to be seen when or how the White House responds to the report. But sources both within the administration and close to it say an increase along the lines suggested by the Augustine panel is being weighed. Such an increase would add almost $1 billion to the space exploration budget in 2011, ramping up to about $3 billion annually by 2014.

“I think the $3 billion figure has been widely misunderstood,” Logsdon said. “The actual proposal from the Augustine committee is a gradual increase to that level over four years through 2014, with only a little less than $1 billion proposed for next year.”

Congressional sources say lawmakers are anxiously awaiting the administration’s response to the Augustine panel’s final report, though some question whether Congress would support the flexible path exploration option.

Augustine was pressed during a September congressional hearing  to offer a compelling reason to abandon NASA’s current exploration program rather than fund it at a higher level, for example.

However, the Augustine panel indicated during public meetings held over the summer that in order to keep Constellation on track for a first flight of Ares 1-Orion by 2015 and a return to the moon by 2020, NASA would need a total of $50 billion above current projections over the next decade.

“If you really want to do Constellation and keep it on the current schedule, or close to it, that’s what you’re looking at,” one administration official said.

via space.com

The excerpt above republishes the conclusion of the story. The introduction lays out the panel’s recommendations around several options for next steps for Congress and the Obama administration, based on its finding that NASA is currently underfunded to carry out its stated mission. . . by about a billion dollars a year in the coming years. Among the options the panel seems to lean toward “the flexible path” idea. It posits that, rather than a return to the moon or Mars in the immediate future, the US space program should start to explore the nearby areas of space as a way on gaining the learning and technology to eventually get to Mars. The panel did not recommend any one option, but a series of plans that could be carried out with about $3 billion in additional funding. Without adequate monies, the panel concluded that the US space program will not be able to leave low earth orbit any time soon.

Finally, here is the Augustine Committee/NASA press release on the subject:

Posted via web from Southwest Postings