Archive for 2015
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October 20th, 2015
Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) was used on October 19, 2015, Sol 1138 to produce this photo.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Operators of NASA’s Curiosity rover have scored another successful drill hole on Mars.
Curiosity Navcam Left B image taken on Sol 1138, October 19, 2015.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
“Over the weekend Curiosity drilled another hole on Mars at the “Greenhorn” target,” explains Lauren Edgar, a research geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. “Everything went smoothly and we have another beautiful sample to analyze!”
Now on tap is transferring the sample to the Chemistry & Mineralogy X-Ray Diffraction (CheMin) instrument, leading to analysis of the new specimen of Mars.
Image taken by ChemCam: Remote Micro-Imager on Sol 1139, October 20, 2015.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
Observations by Curiosity of the drill hole and surrounding rocks are underway.
Edgar adds that the Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) is slated to fire its laser and analyze the elemental composition of vaporized materials from targets “Gypsy,” “Tumbleweed,” and “Wrangle” to assess the variability of silica associated with these fracture zones.
Curiosity NavCam image showing drilling operation on Mars.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Also scheduled is transferring the “Greenhorn” drill sample to be sieved and dropped off to CheMin for an overnight analysis.
“It will be interesting to see,” Edgar reports, “how this sample compares to the “Big Sky” target!”
Posted in 
Manned Orbiting Laboratoy (MOL), an evolution of the earlier “Blue Gemini” program, which was conceived to be an all-Air Force parallel of NASA’s Gemini efforts.
Credit: U.S. Air Force
Several space pioneers are slated to share their experiences later this month regarding the Cold War Air Force program: The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL).
In the 1960s, the U.S. Air Force initiated a human spaceflight program to carry out experiments in space in a laboratory orbiting the Earth for an extended period of time. MOL was to use USAF-modified NASA Gemini spacecraft to put two crewmen in a space station.
MOL provided a platform for a highly secret program to gain Cold War intelligence on the Soviet Union and other adversaries.
Four former MOL crew members — 17 astronauts were chosen for the program — are scheduled to take part in a presentation “The Dorian Files Revealed: The Manned Orbiting Laboratory Crew Members’ Secret Mission in Space.” A National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Keyhole -10 camera was codenamed “Dorian.”
The free event is set for October 22 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
The first of three MOL astronaut groups.
Credit: U.S. Air Force
MOL men
The MOL astronauts set to share their insights are:
■ Karol Bobko – Following the MOL program, Bobko went to NASA where he served as a pilot on one space shuttle mission and as a commander on two others. He retired from the Air Force as a colonel and then continued his career in the private sector.
■ Albert Crews – He was selected as an astronaut in the first group for the MOL program. He transferred to NASA Flight Crew Directorate at the Johnson Space Center in June 1969 when the MOL program was cancelled. He remained a pilot for NASA until his retirement, flying such aircraft as the Super Guppy outsize cargo transport, the WB-57F atmospheric research aircraft and the OV-095 SAIL space shuttle simulator.
■ Bob Crippen – He too was assigned to NASA after the MOL cancellation, and he played several critical roles in NASA’s manned space program, including serving as the pilot of the first space shuttle mission and the commander of three other missions. He eventually rose to oversee the shuttle program. After retirement as a captain in the U.S. Navy, Crippen continued working in space programs with Lockheed.
■ Richard Truly – He was assigned to NASA after the cancellation of the MOL program. There he played critical roles in several manned space programs, including serving as a space shuttle commander. Truly was tapped to lead the return to space after the Challenger explosion. He went on to lead NASA as its administrator from 1989-1992. After retiring from government service, he has continued to have an active career in space programs and other endeavors. He retired as a Navy vice admiral.
Declassified elements of MOL
According to a museum press statement, during the presentation, the National Reconnaissance Office will also reveal information about recently declassified elements of the MOL program.
Inside look at the MOL.
Credit: U.S. Air Force
In an update to the program, it has been announced that two former MOL astronauts — James Abrahamson and Lachlan MacLeay — are unable to participate in the event.
Following the cancellation of the MOL program in 1969, Abrahamson continued his U.S. Air Force service. He was eventually assigned to NASA where he oversaw shuttle operations and was selected as the first director of the Strategic Defense Initiative missile defense program in President Reagan’s administration. He retired from the USAF as a lieutenant general and continued his career in the private sector.
After MOL, MacLeay returned to the USAF as a pilot, including a stint as a combat commander during the Vietnam War era. He retired as a colonel and went on to work for Hughes on missile systems.
Resources
Special thanks to Marcia Smith’s SpacePolicyOnline News for flagging this important space history event. Her website notes the museum has indicated the event will not be available via webcast. However, audio will be posted on its website a week or two later and DVDs will eventually be available for loan.
For more information regarding this October 22 event, go to:
Also, go to this informative NOVA documentary website, “Astrospies” that aired via PBS in 2008 at:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/astrospies/profiles.html
As well as:
Curiosity Mars rover used its Front Hazcam Right B camera to take this image on Sol 1134, October 15, 2015.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Curiosity Mars rover is now in Sol 1136 operations.
Due to a Deep Space Network upload command issue, some activities at week’s end were delayed and the rover spent a day resting and recharging, readying itself for weekend science duties.
Scheduled work includes a full drill hole on the “Greenhorn” target, explains Lauren Edgar, a research geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Curiosity Mastcam Right image taken on October 15, 2015, Sol 1134.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity is acquiring several ChemCam and Mastcam observations on the targets “Nisku,” “Skull Creek,” “Hawk Creek,” and “Opeche” to investigate the variability in silica associated with these fracture zones, Edgar reports.
“We’ll also take several Mastcam images to look for changes in fine-grained deposits to evaluate local winds,” Edgar adds.
Previously, a Sol 1134 mini-start hole on “Pilgrim” went well.
This Sol 1134 image shows the mini-start hole on “Pilgrim” taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on October 15, 2015.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Also on the schedule for that Sol was a Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite atmospheric observation and a targeted science block.
“The goal of the SAM activity is to look for methane, one Mars year after the previous high detections. So we’ll let SAM take a big whiff to see if we can detect anything,” Edgar notes.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying a National Reconnaissance Office payload launches skyward on Oct. 8, 2015 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Also deployed were 13 CubeSats.
Credit: U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Kyla Gifford
A CubeSat recently released in Earth orbit that was to demonstrate high speed optical transmission of data from Earth orbit has run into trouble.
The Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration (OCSD) satellite was built and managed by The Aerospace Corporation, funded through NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology Program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).
The Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration (OCSD) project uses CubeSats to test new types of technology in Earth orbit.
Credit: NASA/Ames Research Center
OCSD was among thirteen NASA and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)-sponsored CubeSats that were launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on October 8 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The booster hurled into orbit a classified NROL-55 spacecraft.
All CubeSats were flown on the NRO’s Government Rideshare Advanced Concepts Experiment (GRACE), which is an auxiliary payload aboard the NROL-55 mission.
Source of the anomaly
The OCSD carries a compact 6 Watt laser to demonstrate high speed optical transmission of data from Earth orbit to the ground.
“After the CubeSat launched last Thursday, initial contacts and checkout of the satellite went well,” said Richard Welle, Director of the Microsatellite Systems Department at The Aerospace Corporation.
Last weekend, during extensive software upgrades, Welle told Inside Outer Space that the small satellite went through one of its normal reboot sequences in the middle of a software change in the attitude-control system (ACS) processor.
“When the satellite restarted, the ACS processor not only booted into a mode that disabled that processor altogether, it also limited the performance of several other processors. We have reproduced the anomaly in the ground unit, and understand the source of the anomaly,” Welle said.
Beam steering
Is the anomaly solvable?
“At this time, it does not appear that the problem can be fixed in the satellite currently flying,” Welle responded.
According to a NASA/Ames Research Center October 13 statement: “The OCSD satellite is communicating by radio with the ground, but the attitude control system must function properly in order to demonstrate the optical communications system. NASA is discussing the issue with Aerospace as they investigate the problem.”
CubeSats are equipped to evaluate optical laser communications and close proximity maneuvering in Earth orbit.
Credit: The Aerospace Corporation
The OCSD’s mission was to assess the ability to precisely point itself as it demonstrates data transfer by laser. That onboard laser is hard‐mounted to the spacecraft and beam steering is accomplished through precision pointing of the spacecraft as a whole.
Second OCSD mission
The bursts of laser data from the satellite were to be received high atop Mt. Wilson in California, north of Pasadena, at The Aerospace Corporation’s Mt. Wilson Optical Communications and Atmospheric Measurements (MOCAM) station. It houses a 12-inch (30‐centimeter) diameter Cassegrain telescope outfitted with a photodiode detector.
The second OCSD mission — using two satellites — is slated for launch early in 2016. Lessons learned from the earlier flight are to be rolled into the second mission. But along with laser communications testing, the dual CubeSats are also to perform proximity operations.
Each OCSD CubeSat weighs just 5 pounds (2.5 kilograms) and measures about 4 inches x 4 inches x 6.7 inches (10 centimeters x 10 centimeters x 17 centimeters).
NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE image of recurring slope lineae in Melas Chasma, Valles Marineris. Arrows point out tops and bottoms of a few lineae.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
The revelation that dark streaks flowing downhill on Mars are likely signs of liquid water on the red planet have sparked debate on how best to investigate them.
Dubbed Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL), the new RSL findings may well bolster the odds that life is alive and well today on Mars. Moreover, RSL might be a literal draw for future human explorers as those sites could lead to underground aquifers on the planet.
Look, but do not touch? NASA’s Curiosity rover is on the prowl within Gale Crater/Mt. Sharp area that appears to have Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL).
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Evidence of running water on the surface of Mars has many implications. One contentious issue is safely surveying RSL up-close and not corrupting these features with Earth-transported bacteria – a planetary protection issue.
For my new Space.com story on these fascinating features, go to:
Mars Water Discovery Sparks Exploration Debate
by Leonard David, Space.com’s Space Insider Columnist
October 16, 2015 07:30am ET
http://www.space.com/30840-mars-water-life-search-debate.html
Location of four candidate landing sites for Europe’s ExoMars 2018 mission. Later this month, scientists and engineers will meet to choose which two, of four possible landing sites for the ExoMars 2018 mission, should be retained as candidates.
Credit: ESA/CartoDB
At month’s end, there’s a winnowing down of landing sites for Europe’s ExoMars 2018 mission.
There are now four sites under discussion: Mawrth Vallis, Oxia Planum, Hypanis Vallis and Aram Dorsum.
These landing sites are all located relatively close to the Martian equator and to each other. All sites show evidence of having been influenced by water in the past, with large exposures of ancient rocks now accessible at the surface.
Final two sites
Two of the four candidate sites will be downselected October 20-21 for continued analysis. The final decision regarding which of these two sites will be the primary landing site and which the backup will be made during 2017.
ESA’s ExoMars Rover
Credit: ESA
Keep in mind that the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars is a joint two-mission effort between ESA and Russia’s Roscosmos space agency.
— The Trace Gas Orbiter and an entry, descent and landing demonstrator module — known as Schiaparelli — will be launched in March 2016, arriving at Mars seven months later.
— The ExoMars rover and surface platform will depart in 2018, with touchdown on Mars in 2019.
Search underground
The ExoMars rover will search for evidence of Martian life, past or present, in an area with ancient rocks where liquid water was once abundant.
A drill on the rover is being designed to extract samples from up to 6.5 feet (2 meters) below the surface. Given that the surface of Mars is considered hostile to living organism, the search underground has more of a chance of finding preserved evidence, according to ESA.
The drill’s main function is to penetrate the soil, acquire a core sample, extract it and deliver it to the inlet port of the Rover Payload Module. In that module the sample will be distributed, processed and analyzed by the Analytical Laboratory Drawer.
Go to this interactive map visualization tool that shows the candidate landing sites for ESA’s ExoMars rover:
Credit: NASA/JPL/CalTech
The NASA Curiosity Mars rover is dumping and “thwacking” away on the Red Planet, explains Lauren Edgar, a research geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Sol 1133 on Mars involved the rover dumping the “Big Sky” sample and “thwacking” CHIMRA (the Collection and Handling for in-Situ Martian Rock Analysis) to clean out any remnants of the sample.
This action was taken in preparation for the next drill sample, Edgar says, that will likely be the Greenhorn” target in today’s plan. In addition to these arm activities, the plan also included several ChemCam and Mastcam observations of “Greenhorn” and “Gallatin Pass” to assess chemical variations across a fracture.
Meanwhile, a new Curiosity selfie has been released showing the robot at “Big Sky.”
In addition, a set of new research papers has been issued via the Oct. 13, 2015 issue of Science magazine:
— Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars
— A Habitable Fluvio-Lacustrine Environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars
These can be viewed here:
http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/science/researchpapers/
Credit: World View Enterprises, Inc
Just in time for the upcoming holidays!
The high-roller Neiman Marcus Christmas Book includes the opportunity to be a part of a World View test flight.
World View is offering edge of your seat, edge of space travel via high-altitude balloon.
Credit: World View Enterprises, Inc
“World View offers a gentle, comfortable, and life-changing travel experience to the edge of space for private citizens,” explains the Tucson, Arizona-based company.
Fantasy gift
The exclusive World View package is featured as “Fantasy Gift” in the Iconic Neiman Marcus Christmas Book.
Credit: Neiman Marcus
The annual Neiman Marcus book includes products for the ultimate wish list, from exquisite “His and Hers” gifts to highly anticipated luxury automobiles.
Two-part adventure
For $90,000, the up-and-going, two-part adventure begins in 2016 with a behind the scenes invitation to a World View test flight.
“In 2017, you and five companions will experience 360 degree views of Earth as a high-altitude balloon lifts your luxury pressurized capsule 100,000 feet above our planet,” the catalog explains.
This package also includes luxurious accommodations at the Miraval Resort in Tucson, Arizona. Each package comes with a private tour of Biosphere 2 with an original “biospherian” member and now World View CEO, Jane Poynter.
In-flight bar, bathroom
Passengers will experience multiple hours of flight and have access to wireless internet, an in-flight bar and a lavatory.
Credit: World View Enterprises, Inc
“These modern accommodations are possible thanks to World View’s high-altitude balloon technology, which allows for a smooth and gentle journey without extreme g-forces from rockets,” explains World View.
With the purchase of the World View Exploration at the Edge of Space, Neiman Marcus will donate $1,500 to The Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation. Gift limited to ten Neiman Marcus customers.
Credit: World View Enterprises, Inc
For more information, visit:
http://www.worldviewexperience.com
You can peruse this special offer in the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book at:
Contemplating a future on Mars?
Credit: The Martian, 2015 Twentieth Century Fox
Stephen Petranek’s new book is titled How We’ll Live on Mars, issued by TED Books.
But as far as moving to Mars…you better pack a shovel, the author suggests.
One of the main problems is that the thinner Martian atmosphere ensures that the surface of Mars gets pelted with dangerous levels of radiation day after day.
Petranek discusses this problem in a recently issued video, and also outlines other strategies for not dying a painful death on Mars.
The posting comes via “Big Think” – a knowledge forum.
For this video and other related items go to:
http://bigthink.com/videos/stephen-petranek-on-how-to-survive-the-radiation-on-mars
The U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Space held a hearing on Friday, October 9th focused on the impact of the president’s budget on programs being built for a trip to Mars and other deep space destinations.
Witnesses discussed NASA’s plans for future major tests and milestones of the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion crew vehicle, as well as how the administration’s budget request affects these programs.
Doug Cooke (left) and Dan Dumbacher testify before House Subcommittee on Space.
Credit: Subcommittee on Space
The hearing took place a day after release of NASA’s Journey to Mars report which contained no budget, schedule, or deadlines.
Testifying at the hearing:
— Doug Cooke, Owner, Cooke Concepts and Solutions; Former Associate Administrator, Exploration Systems, NASA
Cooke’s testimony is available at:
— Dan Dumbacher, Professor of Engineering Practice, Purdue University; Former Deputy Associate Administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA
Dumbacher’s testimony is available at:
NOTE: Archived video of the hearing is available on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtoUE3dJ-mLUo5dwGs7hXOw
Also there’s a detailed charter/backgrounder on deep space exploration issues available at:
