Space Coalition Blog

New Fantastic Photo: High Noon at Apollo 11's Tranquility Base

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:49:00 -0600

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) high-powered camera system has flown over the Apollo 11 landing site. Thanks to a low-altitude flyover of the landing spot, new details of the Apollo 11 exploration zone can been seen, far better than earlier imagery taken by LRO.

At this lower altitude flown by LRO, very small details of Tranquility Base can be discerned.

For example, the footpads of the Eagle lunar lander are clearly discernible; components of the Early Apollo Science Experiments Package (EASEP) are easily seen. So too are boulders from West crater lying on the surface to the east stand out, and the many small craters that cover the Moon are visible to the southeast.

Take your own look at this new imagery! Go to:

http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/news/?archives/135-High-Noon-at-Tranquility-Base.html

By Leonard David/CSE

Planetary Society Sets Sail on New Solar Sail Project

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:12:00 -0600

The Planetary Society today announced LightSail, a plan to sail a spacecraft on sunlight alone by the end of 2010.

The new solar sail project, boosted by a one-million-dollar anonymous donation, was unveiled at an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C on the 75th anniversary of the birth of Planetary Society co-founder Carl Sagan, a long-time advocate of solar sailing.

The new project will launch three separate solar sails over the next several years.

The Planetary Society will build LightSail-1 with three Cubesat spacecraft. One Cubesat will form the central electronics and control module, and two additional Cubesats will house the solar sail module. Cameras, additional sensors, and a control system will be added to the basic Cubesat electronics bus.

Lightsail-2 will demonstrate a longer duration flight to higher Earth orbits.

LightSail-3 will go to the Sun-Earth Libration Point, L1, where solar sails could be permanently placed as solar weather stations, monitoring the geomagnetic storms from the Sun that potentially endanger electrical grids and satellite systems around Earth.

James Cantrell, CEO of Strategic Space Inc, is Project Manager of LightSail-1.

Stellar Exploration will build the spacecraft in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Other team participants include the Cubsesat development group at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, and a team at Russia's Space Research Institute.

For more information, go to:

http://www.planetary.org/about/press/releases/2009/1109_Planetary_Society_to_Sail_Again_with.html

By LD/CSE

Astronaut Godwin Reaches Out to Students

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:04:00 -0600

From KansasCity.com

It was a starstruck moment - their first autograph - but it wasn't a pop idol who excited these Overland Park girls.

It was a small-town Missouri woman who worked in space.

"I think it's amazing that I've gotten an autograph from someone so special, a female astronaut," said 11-year-old Disha Kuchangi, a student at Bentwood Elementary School.

"I really like science, and I'm interested in space and everything. It's so mysterious," said Disha's friend Namita Kulkarni, 11, also a Bentwood student. "This is my very first autograph of anyone."

Disha and Namita were among a group of friends clutching signed photographs of Linda M. Godwin, the keynote speaker at the Sally Ride Science Festival on Sunday. The E.F. Swinney gymnasium at the University of Missouri-Kansas City was buzzing as several hundred girls examined meteors, learned the chemistry behind making slime and got Godwin's autograph.

Bear Ride, whose sister Sally Ride was the first American woman to travel into space in 1983, said the San Diego-based program is all about urging girls in fifth through eighth grades with budding talents in science and math to keep at it. The festival has been held at 90 university campuses nationwide since it began in 2001.

"Sally always has had a passion for supporting kids, especially girls, and reaching them at an age before peer pressure makes it difficult for them to stay with math and science," Ride said of her sister.

Godwin, 57, a native of Jackson, Mo., launched her dream as a girl watching the American space program unfold in the 1960s. She followed it through her undergraduate studies at Southeast Missouri State University and then got a doctorate in physics from the University of Missouri in 1980.

Click here for more

NASA Looks to Commercial Space

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:16:00 -0600

NASA Technology Innovation is a bi-annual magazine discussing the application of NASA-generated technology in aerospace, medical, robotic, and other industries.

The publication is a product of the Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP), which provides needed technology and capabilities for NASA's Mission Directorates, Programs and Projects through investments and partnerships with industry, academia, government agencies, and national laboratories.

The new cover story, "Commercial Space: Critical to NASA's Future Success," discusses the greater role private investment will play in funding future space exploration activities.

To take a look at this issue, you can download the publication at:

http://link.abpi.net/1.php?20091109A5

By LD/CSE

Space Worms to Help in Muscle Atrophy Research

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:35:00 -0600

Some 4,000 passengers are riding along with the crew of space shuttle Atlantis when it departs Earth later this month.

The extra spaceflight participants are thousands of microscopic worms.

Those worms are flying to help experts in human physiology understand more about what triggers the body to build, and also lose muscle.

The experiment is headed for the International Space Station (ISS), to be carried out onboard the ISS in the Japanese Experiment Module known as ‘Kibo’.

Professor Atsushi Higashitani from Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan is the Principal Investigator of the CERISE (C. Elegans RNAi In Space Experiment).

Muscle atrophy is one of the major health concerns for astronauts but this research will also help scientists understand more about the condition which also affects the bedridden, people with muscular dystrophy and diabetes, people immobilized by casts and the elderly.

Working with Japan on the experiment is the U.K’s University of Nottingham’s Institute of Clinical Research in Derby.

The university’s experiment will be part of the Japanese CERISE payload and is being funded as part of a $1 million U.S. National Institute of Health grant to investigate the genetic basis of muscle atrophy and the Medical Research Council.

By Leonard David

MAVEN of Mars

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0600

From NASA

Once upon a time - roughly four billion years ago - Mars was warm and wet, much like Earth. Liquid water flowed on the Martian surface in long rivers that emptied into shallow seas. A thick atmosphere blanketed the planet and kept it warm. Living microbes might have even arisen, some scientists believe, starting Mars down the path toward becoming a second life-filled planet next door to our own.

But that's not how things turned out.

Mars today is bitter cold and bone dry. The rivers and seas are long gone. Its atmosphere is thin and wispy, and if Martian microbes still exist, they're probably eking out a meager existence somewhere beneath the dusty Martian soil.

What happened? Why did Mars dry up and freeze over? These haunting questions have long puzzled scientists. A few years from now we might finally know the answer, thanks to a new orbiter NASA will send to Mars called MAVEN (short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution).

"The goal of MAVEN is to figure out what processes were responsible for those changes in the climate," says Bruce Jakosky, Principal Investigator for MAVEN at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

One way or another, scientists believe, Mars must have lost its most precious asset: its thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide. CO2 in Mars's atmosphere is a greenhouse gas, just as it is in our own atmosphere. A thick blanket of CO2 and other greenhouse gases would have provided the warmer temperatures and greater atmospheric pressure required to keep liquid water from freezing solid or boiling away.

Over the last four billion years, Mars somehow lost most of that blanket. Scientists have proposed various theories for how that loss happened. Perhaps an asteroid impact blew most of the atmosphere into space in one catastrophic event. Or maybe erosion by the solar wind - a stream of charged particles emanating from the sun - could have slowly stripped the atmosphere away over eons. The planet's surface might also have absorbed the CO2 and locked it up in minerals such as carbonate.

Click here for more

Japan Planning Solar Power Station

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:19:00 -0600

From Discovery

It may sound like a sci-fi vision, but Japan's space agency is dead serious: By 2030, it wants to collect solar power in space and zap it down to Earth, using laser beams or microwaves.

The government has just picked a group of companies and a team of researchers tasked with turning the ambitious, multi-billion-dollar dream of unlimited clean energy into reality in coming decades.

With few energy resources of its own and heavily reliant on oil imports, Japan has long been a leader in solar and other renewable energies and this year set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets.

But Japan's boldest plan to date is the Space Solar Power System (SSPS), in which arrays of photovoltaic dishes several square kilometers (square miles) in size would hover in geostationary orbit outside the Earth's atmosphere.

"Since solar power is a clean and inexhaustible energy source, we believe that this system will be able to help solve the problems of energy shortage and global warming," researchers at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, one of the project participants, wrote in a report.

"The sun's rays abound in space."

The solar cells would capture the solar energy, which is at least five times stronger in space than on Earth, and beam it down to the ground through clusters of lasers or microwaves.

These would be collected by gigantic parabolic antennae, likely to be located in restricted areas at sea or on dam reservoirs, said Tadashige Takiya, a spokesman at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

The researchers are targeting a one gigawatt system, equivalent to a medium-sized atomic power plant, that would produce electricity at eight yen (cents) per kilowatt-hour, six times cheaper than its current cost in Japan.

The challenge -- including transporting the components to space -- may appear gigantic, but Japan has been pursuing the project since 1998, with some 130 researchers studying it under JAXA's oversight.

Last month Japan's Economy and Trade Ministry and the Science Ministry took another step toward making the project a reality, by selecting several Japanese high-tech giants as participants in the project.

The consortium, named the Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer, also includes Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Fujitsu and Sharp.

The project's roadmap outlined several steps that would need to be taken before a full-blown launch in 2030.

Click here for more

Opportunity Got a Rock

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:11:00 -0600

From Universe Today

Opportunity has come upon another big rock on Mars. But what is it? Another meteorite? A big clump of ejecta from an old impact? There's lots of other debris scattered around this area as well. The rock has been named "Marquette Island," staying with the island theme for the other meteorites Oppy has come across, and the rover may take the "opportunity" to get closer to this rock and check it out, given the sand dunes surrounding it don't provide too much of an obstacle. So maybe next week we'll find out what it is.

Click here for more

U.S. and Europe Blueprint Joint Mars Exploration Initiative (UPDATED)

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:36:00 -0600

Europe and the United States appear to have worked out a joint agreement enabling the two space nations to coalesce their respective Mars exploration programs.

According to a BBC News report today, a “letter of intent” has been okayed in Washington, D.C. – a joint communiqué between the European Space Agency and NASA that scopes out a 2016-2018 series of cooperative missions to the red planet.

According to the BBC, the Mars Joint Exploration Initiative calls for:

2016 - A European-led orbiter to study trace gases, including methane, in Mars’ atmosphere. This spacecraft would also plop a meteorological station on the surface of the red planet.

2018 – Rovers built by Europe and America would be sent to Mars.

2020 – A lander network is under consideration that would be placed on Mars, geared on the geophysics and environment of the martian environment.

One outcome of such a collaboration might be the building up of engineering and economic muscle to initiate a return sample program from Mars – an initiative that some now estimate as a $9 billion effort.

According to a statement provided to this Coalition reporter by Dwayne Brown, NASA spokesman:

Ongoing discussions with ESA on Mars exploration took another important step on November 5, with the signing of a Statement of Intent by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain.

"The statement of intent directs NASA's Science Mission Directorate and ESA's Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration to continue their technical analysis and pursue a more detailed definition of respective responsibilities for a joint initiative for the exploration of Mars."

By Leonard David

Uplifting News! Space Elevator Winner Claims $900,000 NASA Cash Prize

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:29:00 -0600

The scene was NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Mojave, California.

Three qualified teams were vying for cash prizes in NASA's Centennial Challenges Power Beaming program: Kansas City Space Pirates, LaserMotive of Kent, Washington, and a team from the University of Saskatchewan (USST).

Claiming $900,000 in prize money on November 6 was LaserMotive, demonstrating that its robotic machine, powered by a laser on the ground, could climb nearly 3,000 feet of cable hanging from a helicopter.

LaserMotive's device successfully traveled up the lengthy cable, a valuable test of key hardware needed to climb from Earth into outer space.

The concept of a space elevator has been the stuff of science fiction for decades.

However, the NASA-sponsored contest is helping transform fiction into friction. That is, the Space Elevator Games is pushing into reality the concept of devices able to shimmy up a 60,000 mile long cable.

This power beaming challenge is a practical demonstration of wireless power transmission. Teams have built mechanical devices (climbers) that can propel themselves up a vertical cable. The power supply for the device is not self-contained but remains on the ground. The technical challenge is to transmit the power to the climber and transform it into mechanical motion, efficiently and reliably.

There is no doubt that much work remains before such a concept of a space elevator is put into place. But thanks to the competition, the idea is, quite literally, on a roll!

The Spaceward Foundation manages this competition for NASA. Check out their site for the latest information on the competition and valuable information on the work to create a space elevator.

For the Spaceward Foundation, go to:

http://www.spaceward.org

For more information on LaserMotive, go to:

http://www.lasermotive.com/blog/

By LD/CSE

Memories from the launch of Apollo 12...by Gerry Griffin

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:13:00 -0600

Apollo 12, the second mission to land on the moon, was launched from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on November 14, 1969. I was the lead Flight Director in Mission Control in Houston, and my team was on duty for the launch. And what a launch it was! Within the first minute of flight, the Saturn rocket triggered a lightning discharge through itself and down to the earth. This caused severe power problems in the command module, triggering nearly every warning light on the control panel to light up and much of the instrumentation we saw on the ground to malfunction. We finally figured out how to get power restored in the command module, and, thank goodness, the Saturn had its own control system that never wavered. Apollo 12 went on to the moon and was a very successful mission.

On Saturday, November 7, 2009, the 40th anniversary of Apollo 12 will be celebrated near the Kennedy Space Center. There will be astronauts from Apollo and the Space Shuttle along with a few other people...like me! It will be a special treat to see everyone and reminisce about Apollo 12. I am really looking forward to it. This will be my second trip in 10 days to the Kennedy Space Center. I was there for the beautiful and highly successful launch of the Ares 1-X flight test on October 28 from Launch Pad 39B…just down the road from 39A, where Apollo 12 left for the moon. Ares 1-X was the first test in the development of a new launch vehicle to replace the Space Shuttle for getting astronauts into and out of earth orbit. Ares 1’s big brother, Ares V, will come along later and give us the capability for humans to get back to the business of exploring space beyond earth orbit. Ironically, the Ares 1-X launch brought back memories for me of Apollo 12! The Ares 1-X launch was originally scheduled for October 27, but was delayed because of a potential electrical problem caused by the weather! In this case, it wasn’t the potential of lightning being triggered by the Ares 1-X. Rather, it was a phenomenon called “triboelectrification,” which can be caused when a rocket passes through a cloud. Think of it like static electricity…something like walking across a carpet in the winter and touching something metallic. As a rocket passes through certain kinds of clouds, the friction can cause a static buildup around it that could block radio signals from the ground and vice versa. That’s not good. But finally, late in the launch window on October 28, the skies opened up and Ares 1-X made its successful flight.

So, here we are, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Apollo 12’s journey to explore the moon, and at the same time, celebrating the successful flight of Ares 1-X, the first small step in the development of a new launch system that will allow us to continue what Apollo started…the exploration of space. Pretty neat.

Gerry Griffin is a former Apollo program Flight Director, Associate Administrator for Legislative Affairs, Deputy Director of the Kennedy Space Center and Dryden Flight Research Center and Director of the Johnson Space Center. He is a current member of the Coalition for Space Exploration Board of Advisors.

Alert! Space Station: Close Encounters of the Space Debris Kind

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:22:00 -0600

Updated - The six person crew of the International Space Station (ISS) got the word by ground control: all clear as a chunk of space junk zippped by the orbiting complex.

Earlier, there was indication that the crew would have to move into two Soyuz capsules attached to the orbiting facility, for safety's sake in the event the ISS was struck by the object. That procedure did not occur.

The initial worry was that the crew may be in some danger due to a close flyby of the orbiting space garbage – seemingly, now a constant worry by ISS controllers.

The close approach of orbital debris to the ISS took place roughly at 10:48 p.m. Eastern time Friday night.

The bit of space clutter is thought to be associated with Russia's Cosmos 2421, which broke-up last year.

There are some 20,000 pieces of space junk that are tracked by the U.S. Strategic Command. A high priority of that tracking is to protect human-occupied spacecraft such as the ISS.

LD/CSE

Draft of Letter to President Obama by Kosmos (FL) and Calvert (CA) circulating on the Hill

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:49:00 -0600

Support America's Human Space Flight Program
Urge President Obama to Fulfill Augustine Committee's Recommendation to Increase Funding for NASA
Current Cosigners
C. Brown (FL), Capps (CA), Fudge (OH), Grayson (FL), G. Green (TX), Griffith (AL), A. Hastings (FL), Honda (CA), Jackson-Lee (TX), Klein (FL), Kosmas (FL), Kratovil (MD), B. Markey (CO), Meek (FL), Napolitano (CA), Nye (VA), Perlmutter (CO), Schiff (CA), Van Hollen (VA), Wasserman Schultz (FL), and Wexler (FL)
Barton (TX), R. Bishop (UT), K. Brady (TX), Calvert (CA), Cao (LA), Carter (TX), Chaffetz (UT), Culberson (TX), R. Forbes (VA), R. Hall (TX), Jenkins (KS), Lundgren (CA), McCaul (TX), McKeon (CA), C. Miller (MI), Olson (TX), Posey (FL), Rooney (FL), L. Smith (TX)

Dear Colleague,

With the recent release of the Final Report by the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee (Augustine Committee), we invite you to join us in sending a letter to President Obama urging him to make the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) a national priority and work with the Congress to provide the funding necessary to ensure a robust human space flight program (the Summary and Final Augustine Committee reports can be found at www.nasa.gov/offices/hsf/home/index.html).

The Augustine Committee's findings that our nation cannot conduct meaningful human exploration beyond low-Earth-orbit under current budget guidelines should serve as a wake up call. For too long, NASA has been given funds that do not match its mission. This insufficient funding has delayed the development of NASA's next generation spacecraft, leading to an extended gap in domestic access to space.

To enable a human space exploration program that our nation can truly be proud of, the Augustine Committee recommends an increase of at least $3 billion annually over the FY10 budget profile. Although this level would not fully restore the funding originally budgeted for NASA's next generation human space flight program, it will allow for meaningful exploration and ensure we maximize the return on our investment.

NASA's human space flight program and the impending gap impacts nearly every state, with contractors and suppliers large and small spread out across the nation. To find out NASA's impact on your state and district, please visit http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/npdv/map.cgi.

We must ensure the President works with Congress to take this unique and fleeting opportunity to show a true commitment to NASA in order to sustain our global leadership in science and technology, address national challenges, and inspire our youth to pursue math and science.

We face many critical decisions in the coming months that will affect America's human space flight program for decades to come and hope you will join us in urging the President to take action in a timely manner. Deadline to co-sign is Noon on Tuesday, November 17th. Please contact Carrie Chess with Congresswoman Kosmas at carrie.chess@mail.house.gov or 5-2706 or Deena Contreras with Congressman Calvert at deena.contreras@mail.house.gov or 5-1986 to sign on or if you have questions.

Sincerely,

Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
November X, 2009

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Obama:

As Members of Congress who greatly value the contributions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to our nation, we appreciate the hard work of the U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee. With its final report available now, we look forward to renewed communications between the Administration and Congress about America's human space flight program. We write in strong support of receiving a Fiscal Year 2011 budget request which truly supports this core element of NASA's mission.

While evaluating options for future of human space exploration, the Augustine Committee concluded that regardless of the direction or the details of the program, an increased level of long-term, sustainable funding must be a major component. The Review Committee's finding that, "Human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit is not viable under the FY 2010 budget guideline" demonstrates that NASA's underfunded budgets over the past several years have slowed the pace of exploration, depleted resources, and frustrated the development of new space systems. We believe an increased level of funding is essential to ensure NASA has the resources needed to meet the mission challenges of human space flight.

Currently, NASA is funding the development of the next generation human space flight systems with partners that bring decades of experience in developing and operating complex space systems while also encouraging new entrants to the space flight industry. The $3 billion annual increase recommended by the Committee would not fully restore the funding originally budgeted for the next generation programs. However, the increase would make a considerable difference in our ability to have a space exploration program to ensure that our nation maintains its global leadership position. A significant investment must be made given NASA's contributions to America's economic and national security.

The International Space Station (ISS) should remain operational as long as it can be productive without being constrained by an arbitrary, budget-driven termination date. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008 designated the ISS as a U.S. National Laboratory to conduct research for other Federal agencies and the commercial sector. Extending the ISS, at least through 2020, is necessary in order to maintain and improve important international partnerships, maximize the return on our nation's investment, and spur discoveries that will enable exploration of our universe and improve life here on Earth.

As you may know, NASA is supported by tens of thousands of highly skilled and experienced men and women who make up the civil servant and contractor workforce. These space professionals are a critical national resource and contribute to a vital industrial base that supports civil, military, and commercial space. If we allow a gap in human space flight our nation will have lost valuable skills that will be costly and difficult to replace. In addition, we also will have given up on our hard-won space preeminence over other nations, including Russia and China, who will surely step in to fill the void.

We wish to impress upon you the significant and fleeting opportunity we have to ensure that our nation continues its preeminence in human space flight. Instituting a cohesive and comprehensive plan with clear direction for NASA's future policies depends on leadership and the commitment to follow through with adequate funding. This can only be accomplished if it is established as a national priority through Presidential leadership.

We know that you share with us the enthusiasm that is generated by a bold human space flight program. We look forward to receiving your Administration's proposal and working with you to ensure a robust, cutting edge and inspirational human space flight program worthy of our great nation.

Sincerely,

----------

Click here for the PDF version

Spirit Gears Up for Escape

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:58:00 -0600

From Nature.com

After being stuck in soft soil on Mars for six months, Spirit, one of two NASA rovers on the red planet, is about to attempt an escape.

"It's likely that this process will take months and we don't even know if we'll be successful," says John Callas, project manager for Spirit and its twin rover Opportunity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Spirit landed on Mars in January 2004 for what was originally planned as only a three-month mission.

The attempted drive out of the soft, floury soil that Spirit drove into accidentally in May this year comes after a seven-member review panel took a close look at the recovery effort on 28 October. The panel recommended that the rover project team should try to extract Spirit as soon as possible. Time is of the essence - as winter approaches, power from Spirit's solar panels wanes. "The coming winter could pose a risk to the rover," says Callas.

Back in May, as Spirit drove across a sloping area near the planet's equator called Home Plate, the solid crust gave way to reveal soft ground beneath, and Spirit's five (out of six) functional wheels couldn't get enough grip to drive out. Instead, the rover sank deeper like a car spinning its wheels in deep snow. The sixth wheel hasn't worked since March 2006.

Click here for more

Book Review - Planetology

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:16:00 -0600

Planetology: Unlocking the Secrets of the Solar System by Tom Jones and Ellen Stofan; National Geographic Books; Washington, D.C.; (Hard Cover) $35.00; 2008.

Here's a book that captures both familiar and off-world landscapes. The connection between the two is a powerful way to better understand our own Earth while gaining a greater appreciation for other worlds.

Veteran astronaut and member of the Coalition Board of Advisors, Tom Jones, teamed with planetary geologist, Ellen Stofan, to create a handsome, unique, and well-written volume.

The first chapter sets the stage, titled "Earth: Key to Knowing Other Worlds." The reader will find a gorgeous collection of pictures that shape a tutorial on planetology, one that draws upon the experiences of the authors. From volcanoes, wind, and frozen landscapes to Earth's catastrophic past, this book is peppered with great insight and told in an appealing way.

"Whether we use our own eyes and hands or send our robot probes to extend our senses, making sense of what we find will always bring us back to this island Earth, our textbook for knowing other worlds," the authors note.

In closing chapters, the reader will find intriguing perspectives on the search for life elsewhere and the ever-growing saga of exoplanet searching and, as the authors suggest, the ability to advance our view of a "planetary zoo" of exotic worlds that await discovery.

A tip of the space helmet visor to National Geographic Books! As they do so well, they have encapsulated this outward looking perspective of our beautiful solar system...and beyond.

For more information, go to:
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/books/science-and-space/planetology

By Leonard David

New NASA Germ Tech is Lightening Fast

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:23:00 -0600

From Discovery

NASA scientists have developed a speedy new technology that can detect pathogens in 15 minutes flat.

Developed by chemist Adrian Ponce for the planetary science division at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the new device is designed to minimize contamination of other worlds by ensuring outgoing spacecraft are clear of earthly germs.

"The technology works on the timescale of 15 minutes, from sampling to results," Ponce told Discovery News. That compares to two to three days for NASA's standard technique, which involves culturing, Ponce said.

Ponce's research may find a use on Earth, too. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is working with the chemist to turn the technology into a portable biocontamination detection instrument.

Hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and even electronics manufacturers -- anywhere unwanted germs congregate -- may one day benefit from the breakthrough.

Click here for more

Hubble is Back with a Vengeance

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:08:00 -0600

From Wired

The Hubble Space Telescope's new camera is returning incredibly detailed, stunning images of space. This close-up view of an area near the core of the iconic Southern Pinwheel galaxy, or M83, shows very rapid star birth.

The image to the right of the entire galaxy, taken from the ground by the European Southern Observatory's 2.2-meter telescope at La Silla, Chile, shows the location of the image above. Hubble's detailed view reveals that the spiral arms of the galaxy, about 15 million light-years from Earth, are lousy with clusters of infant stars, only a few million years old. The clusters show up as red because of the hydrogen gas they emit, and they have blown holes in the brownish dust tracks of the arms.

Click here for more

Student-built Mission to the Moon

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:06:00 -0600

The European Space Agency (ESA) has chosen Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) to manage a pan-European student built mission to the Moon.

Called the European Student Moon Orbiter (ESMO) program, the intent of the effort is to place the student-led effort into lunar orbit as soon as 2013.

Students from at least 10 universities throughout ESA's Member States and Cooperating States will learn about space science and engineering by taking part in this "hands on" project.

Getting a space-ready Moon orbiter designed and built will drawn upon the extensive background of SSTL, a smallsat pioneer and leader in the field.

Furthermore, SSTL was recently down-selected by the UK government's Science and Technology Facilities Council to lead the design phase for the MoonLITE mission.

MoonLITE is a program to launch a low-cost lunar orbiter carrying scientific lunar surface penetrators and a communications relay payload to the Moon in 2014.

By Leonard David

Unmanned NASA Plane Maps Under Arctic Ice

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:54:00 -0600

From RedOrbit

A NASA plane, outfitted with lasers and ground-penetrating radar, made it first flight over Antarctica in hopes of better understanding how melting ice could swamp the planet.

On a mission to fly as low as 1,000 feet (300 meters) over the icy continent, the DC-8 left for an 11 hour trip out of Punta Arenas, Chile on Friday.

Their goal: to understand just how warm ocean currents may be pulling the ice sheets seaward, melting their undersides.

According to a study published in the journal Nature, the ice sheets are collapsing as fast as nine meters a year. If they disappear, far greater ice masses that lie on the Antarctic bedrock could then melt into the sea, submerging coastal communities around the globe.

NASA has been using satellites to track the impact of climate change in the Antarctic, but the satellite will be phased out at the end of the year. Friday's flight is the first of many planned as part of Operation Ice Bridge, to bridge the gap in data that would otherwise result before the next satellite goes up in 2015.

Running their own instruments, investigators from the Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the University of Washington and the University of Kansas will also be on board.

Click here for more

Live Updates: Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X Prize Award Ceremony

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0600

Winners of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X Prize Challenge are receiving their checks at a special awards ceremony taking place today at the Rayburn House in Washington, D.C.

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden and Director of NASA Centennial Challenges, Doug Comstock, are speaking at the event.

Representatives of Team Masten Space Systems and Team Armadillo Aerospace are in attendance to accept the awards.

Live updates and photos from the event are being posted on:

http://twitter.com/ngllc09

LD/CSE

Teens Published in Astrophysics Journal

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:21:00 -0600

From Universe Today

High school students from Germany have now done what many scientists strive for: had their research work published by a science journal. The Astronomy & Astrophysics science journal published a paper co-authored by three students who observed the light variations of the faint (19th magnitude) cataclysmic variable EK Ursae Majoris (EK UMa) over two months. Led by astronomer Klaus Beuermann from the University of Göttingen, and the students' high school physics teacher, the team made use of a remotely-controlled 1.2-meter telescope in Texas. Astronomy & Astrophysics says the team "presents an accurate, long-term ephemeris," and that "they participated in all the steps of a real research program, from initial observations to the publication process, and the result they obtained bears scientific significance."

The students, Joshua Zachmann, Alexander-Maria Ploch, Sang Paik and their teacher, Jens Diese, made observations, analyzed the CCD images, produced and interpreted light curves, and looked at archival satellite data. Beuermann, the astronomer they worked with said, "Although it is fun to perform one's own remote observations with a professional telescope from the comfort of a normal school classroom, it is even more satisfying to be involved in a project that provides new and publishable results rather than to perform experiments with predictable outcomes."

Cataclysmic variable research is a field where the contributions of small telescopes has a long tradition. Cataclysmic variables are extremely close binary systems containing a low-mass star whose material is being stripped off by the gravitational pull of a white dwarf companion. Due to the transfer of matter between the stars, these systems vary dramatically in brightness on timescales in the whole range between seconds and years. This largely unpredictable variability makes them ideal targets for school projects, particularly since professional observatories are generally unable to provide enough observation time for regular monitoring.

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Ares 1-Y Test Canceled

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:11:00 -0600

From SpaceFlightNow

One week after the first major flight test of the agency's new Ares 1 rocket, NASA is closer to cancelling a demonstration launch called Ares 1-Y, potentially replacing it with a new, still undefined test flight in 2012 or 2013.

During a meeting last week, managers agreed to re-evaluate the proposed suborbital Ares 1-Y flight most recently scheduled for March 2014, according to a posting on a NASA Web site.

NASA spokesman Grey Hautaluoma confirmed the report, saying Ares 1-Y had slipped too late in the development of the Ares 1 rocket to be valuable to engineers.

"Ares 1-Y just didn't have enough fidelity to give them much useful data that late in the test program," Hautaluoma said.

Originally planned for 2012, the Ares 1-Y launch date had slipped until 2014, just one year before NASA says it will fly the first crewed Orion capsule on top of an Ares 1.

"It simply does not fit where we are headed," said Jeff Hanley, Constellation program manager. "The test vehicle was intended to meet evolving needs but the current configuration is too different from what the program requires to certify the Ares/Orion vehicle systems."

NASA is also studying a new flight, tentatively called Ares 1-X Prime, that would fly in 2012 or 2013 with new objectives to better support development of the Ares 1.

Managers are hopeful the Ares 1's five-segment first stage solid rocket motor could be ready for a test launch by that time. The five-segment booster was fired in a ground test for the first time in September, and another developmental motor will be ignited next summer.

Other details of the proposed Ares 1-X Prime mission are still on the drawing board, Hautaluoma said.

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Laser Powered Robot Wins Space Elevator Prize

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:42:00 -0600

From Space Florida

A robot powered by a ground-based laser beam climbed a long cable dangling from a helicopter on Wednesday to qualify for prize money in a $2 million competition to test the potential reality of the science fiction concept of space elevators.

The highly technical contest brought teams from Missouri, Alaska and Seattle to Rogers Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert, most familiar to the public as a space shuttle landing site.

The contest requires their machines to climb 2,953 feet (nearly 1 kilometer) up a cable slung beneath a helicopter hovering nearly a mile high.

LaserMotive's vehicle zipped up to the top in just over four minutes and immediately repeated the feat, qualifying for at least a $900,000 second-place prize.

The device, a square of photo voltaic panels about 2 feet by 2 feet (0.6 meters by 0.6 meters) and topped by a motor structure and thin triangle frame, had failed to respond to the laser three times before it was lowered, inspected and then hoisted back up by the helicopter for the successful tries.

LaserMotive's two principals, Jordin Kare and Thomas Nugent, said they were relieved after two years of work. They said their real goal is to develop a business based on the idea of beaming power, not the futuristic idea of accessing space via an elevator climbing a cable.

"We both are pretty skeptical of its near-term prospects," Kare said of an elevator.

The contest, however, demonstrates that beaming power works, Nugent said.

"Anybody who needs power in one place and can't run wires to it - we'd be able to deliver power," Kare said.

Earlier out on the lakebed, team member Nick Burrows had pointed out how it grips the cable with modified skateboard wheels and the laser is aimed with an X Box game controller.

It had never climbed higher than 80 feet (24 meters) previously, he said.

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NASA Phoenix Mars Lander: Dead or Alive?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:19:00 -0600

Word is that NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the space agency’s Phoenix Mars lander – sitting there amongst frost on the planet’s northern plains.

The lander plopped down on the red planet on May 25, 2008.

However, the Lockheed Martin-built Phoenix Mars Lander ceased communications last November, after successfully completing its mission and returning a bounty of science data to Earth.

Now the question: Can it be resurrected from the dead?

Space engineers and scientists think the chances may be slim…but there’s a likely attempt at relaying a wake-up call to the lander early next year.

But will it respond?

According to Peter Smith, the lead scientist for the Phoenix lander at the University of Arizona, Tucson:

“The Sun is not high enough in the sky yet to activate the solar panels and charge the batteries,” Smith told this Coalition reporter. “We will start searching for signals in January. It's too early to tell the health of Phoenix after a long, cold winter.”

Check out this site at: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_014393_2485

Bottom line for high hopes: Stay tuned!

By Leonard David

NASA Eyes First 'Replicator'

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:29:00 -0600

From MSNBC

Space explorers have yet to get their hands on the replicator of "Star Trek" to create anything they might require. But NASA has developed a technology that could enable lunar colonists to carry out on-site manufacturing on the moon, or allow future astronauts to create critical spare parts during the long trip to Mars.

The method, called electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF3), uses an electron beam to melt metals and build objects layer by layer. Such an approach already promises to cut manufacturing costs for the aerospace industry, and could pioneer development of new materials. It has also thrilled astronauts on the International Space Station by dangling the possibility of designing new tools or objects, researchers said.

"They get up there, and all they have is time and imagination," said Karen Taminger, the materials research engineer heading the project at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia.

Taminger's project has undergone microgravity tests aboard NASA's "vomit comet" aircraft. Now she hopes to get EBF3 scheduled for launch to the International Space Station, so that space trials can commence.

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Educators! Sign Up for Apollo Space Program Virtual Conference

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:46:00 -0600

Join NASA and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for the Apollo Space Program Virtual Conference for Educators, a FREE online conference taking place on Nov. 10, 2009, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

Forty years ago the Apollo Space Program met President Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the moon, one of the most significant achievements of the 20th Century.

Join experts as they present the challenges of the Apollo program and examine the remarkable technologies that made the moon landings possible.

Participate in interactive discussions that highlight the Apollo program and its impact on American and world history and our lives today. Explore ways to teach your students how to use primary source materials.

The online conference includes sessions of general interest and sessions for secondary teachers with ties to the NASA History Advanced Placement and Human Geography Advanced Placement projects.

Are you new to virtual conferencing? A virtual or online conference is similar to other professional conferences, only you access it online. Registration is free and open to everyone. All of the conference sessions are recorded and archived so they may be played at any time.

Note: Registration is required.

To learn more and to register online, visit:

http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/eventDetail.cfm?eventID=1609

By LD/BD

Building an Elevator to Space

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:15:00 -0600

From the New York Times

Rocketing into space? Some think an elevator might be the way to go.

That's the future goal of this week's $2 million Space Elevator Games in the Mojave Desert.

In a major test of the concept, robotic machines powered by laser beams will try to climb a cable suspended from a helicopter hovering more than a half-mile (one kilometer) high.

Three teams have qualified to participate in the event on the dry lakebed near NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards. Attempts were expected from early Wednesday through Thursday.

Funded by a space agency program to explore bold technology, the contest is a step toward bringing the idea of a space elevator out of the realm of science fiction and into reality.

Theorized in the 1960s and then popularized by Arthur C. Clarke's 1979 novel ''The Fountains of Paradise,'' space elevators are envisioned as a way to gain access to space without the risk and expense of rockets.

Instead, electrically powered vehicles would run up and down a cable anchored to a ground structure and extending thousands of miles up to a mass in geosynchronous orbit -- the kind of orbit communications satellites are placed in to stay over a fixed spot on the Earth.

Electricity would be supplied through a concept known as ''power beaming,'' ground-based lasers pointing up to photo voltaic cells on the bottom of the climbing vehicle -- something like an upside-down solar power system.

The space elevator competition has not produced a winner in its previous three years, but has become increasingly difficult.

The vehicles must climb a cable six-tenths of a mile into the sky and move at an average speed of 16.4 feet (five meters) per second.

The competition is sponsored by the nonprofit Spaceward Foundation with support from NASA's Centennial Challenges program.

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Launch Rehearsal and Uncertainty

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0600

From Florida Today

Atlantis astronauts on Tuesday suited up for a dress rehearsal of the sixth-to-last shuttle launch, a day after Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana asked employees to forge ahead amid uncertainty about life after the shuttle.

"I know all of us would like a definite answer to what the future holds for KSC, but no one can predict exactly what the future's going to be," Cabana wrote in an e-mail distributed Monday to roughly 15,000 employees. "We can plan ahead, however, and be prepared for whatever the future may bring."

Cabana offered employees his update after attending a meeting of agency executives last month in Washington, D.C., which senior KSC managers followed with a three-day retreat.

He said he had assigned teams to assess how the options for human spaceflight presented recently by a presidential review committee would affect KSC, with an emphasis on workforce transition.

The end of the shuttle program late next year or in 2011 is expected to result in about 7,000 job losses, or close to half the center's workforce. Most of those affected would be NASA contractors.

The first human flight of the shuttle's successor is planned no sooner than March 2015 under the most optimistic projections, and possibly not until 2017.

Cabana's e-mail update combined optimism about a bright future for the space program with a blunt reminder that "there's no escaping" the difficult transition ahead.

When the shuttle program ends "in the not too distant future," he said, "a significant portion of our team is going to be out of work."

The best hope for America's spaceport is to continue flying missions safely, said Cabana, a four-time shuttle flyer.

On Tuesday, scores of shuttle workers set out to do just that, running through a rehearsal of the countdown that NASA hopes will culminate in the 2:28 p.m. Nov. 16 launch of shuttle Atlantis.

Six astronauts dressed in pumpkin-orange launch-and-entry suits and rode the silver Astrovan to launch pad 39A, where they strapped into their shuttle seats just as they will on launch day.

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Next up: Orbital Resorts?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:22:00 -0600

That’s the stated goal of Galactic Suite Limited - a private space tourism company.

“We aim to build the world’s first space resort in orbit by 2012,” claims their website.

The plan for the space hotel is being shaped by architects in Barcelona, Spain, with Galactic Suite Ltd. headed by Xavier Claramunt, a former aerospace engineer.

Galactic Suite joins a growing list of firms that have advocated the creation of an orbiting space hotel. It’s an idea also studied by the Hilton hotel enterprise, the Japanese, as well as by U.S. billionaire and hotel chain-operator, Robert Bigelow, among others.

To date, Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas, Nevada has gone beyond talk.

That firm has launched two prototype inflatable modules that are now in Earth orbit. Bigelow Aerospace is now pressing forward on larger modules that could support space travelers in low Earth orbit…as well as pushing the technology required for space hotel designs.

If you’d like to keep an eye on the vision of new comer to the idea of a space resort, Galactic Suite, go to this website at:

http://www.galacticsuite.com/

By Leonard David

India's Expanding Space Ambitions

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:02:00 -0600

From MSNBC

In this seaside village, the children of farmers and fishermen aspire to become something that their impoverished parents never thought possible: astronauts.

Through community-based programs, India's space agency has been partnering with schools in remote areas such as this one, helping to teach students about space exploration and cutting-edge technology. The agency is also training thousands of young scientists and, in 2012, will open the nation's first astronaut-training center in the southern city of Bangalore.

"I want to be prepared in space sciences so I can go to the moon when India picks its astronauts," said Lakshmi Kannan, 15, pushing her long braids out of her face and clutching her science textbook.

Lakshmi's hopes are not unlike India's ambitions, writ small. For years, the country has focused its efforts in space on practical applications - using satellites to collect information on natural disasters, for instance. But India is now moving beyond that traditional focus and has planned its first manned space mission in 2015.

'Turning point'
The ambitions of the 46-year-old national space program could vastly expand India's international profile in space and catapult it into a space race with China. China, the only country besides the United States and Russia to have launched a manned spacecraft, did so six years ago.

"It's such an exciting time in the history of India's space program," said G. Madhavan Nair, a rocket scientist and the outgoing chairman of the national space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). "More and more bright young Indian scientists are calling us for jobs. We will look back on this as a turning point."

The ascendancy of India's space program highlights the country's rising ambitions on the world stage, as it grows economically and asserts itself in matters of diplomacy.

Politicians once dismissed the space program as a waste. Activists for India's legions of poor criticized additional funding for the program, saying it was needless decades after the American crew of Apollo 11 had landed on the moon. Now, however, the program is a source of prestige.

Last year, India reached a milestone, launching 10 satellites into space on a single rocket. Officials are positioning the country to become a leader in the business of launching satellites for others, having found paying clients in countries such as Israel and Italy. They even talk of a mission to Mars.

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