Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Archive for March, 2020

 

If all goes as scheduled for NASA’s Mars 2020 mission, a first-time experiment for the Red Planet is the production of on-the-spot oxygen.

The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) represents the first time that NASA is demonstrating In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) on the surface of another planetary body. MOXIE will produce oxygen from atmospheric carbon dioxide on Mars.

To predict performance of MOXIE but avoid subjecting flight hardware to unsafe conditions, a dynamic model has been developed that simulates MOXIE’s operation on Mars. The approach became a fast and inexpensive way to test MOXIE. Also, the modeling of this instrument is similarly unique. The results of this model have been validated against data from Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s MOXIE testbed activities.

Core technology

MOXIE modeling is detailed in a recent paper: “Simulating oxygen production on Mars for the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment,” written by Eric Hinterman of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and former astronaut, Jeffrey A. Hoffman, an MIT professor in the department and a director of the Human Systems Laboratory. Hoffman is also MOXIE’s Deputy Principal Investigator.

“The team has conducted a significant amount of testing on MOXIE over the past few years that has brought its core technology a long way,” Hinterman told Inside Outer Space. “Demonstrating it on Mars is a valuable proof of concept, but the real learnings have come during the development process here on Earth!”

MOXIE is roughly 0.5% of the scale that would be necessary to produce oxygen for breathing and utilization as a propellant for a human Mars mission, Hinterman and Hoffman explain in their paper. On Mars, the hardware will produce greater than 99.6% pure oxygen through solid oxide electrolysis.

MATLAB

A dynamic model was developed that simulates MOXIE’s operation. Simulink, a package contained within the MATLAB programming language, was chosen as a convenient way to build a dynamic representation of MOXIE.

MATLAB (matrix laboratory) is a special app that makes it easy for users to create and edit technical work.

The MOXIE model is a combination of theoretical and empirical values regarding the gas flows, thermal transfers, electrochemistry, and control loops that are representative of the true MOXIE system.

In addition, a graphical user interface (GUI) was developed to allow members of the MOXIE science team to easily understand and operate the complex model.

Fill-er-up

“MOXIE is an important step in the effort to put humans on Mars,” explain Hoffman and Hinterman. “It will demonstrate the usefulness of the Martian atmosphere in producing oxygen for rocket propellant. This application of ISRU on Mars is critical to reducing the cost of a human mission to the planet, one of the main barriers that is faced by human exploration of space today,” they note.

In a JPL posting, Michael Hecht, MOXIE’s Principal Investigator at MIT adds: “When we send humans to Mars, we will want them to return safely, and to do that they need a rocket to lift off the planet. Liquid oxygen propellant is something we could make there and not have to bring with us. One idea would be to bring an empty oxygen tank and fill it up on Mars.”

To find out more on “Simulating oxygen production on Mars for the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment,” go to Acta Astronautica, Volume 170, May 2020, Pages 678-685 at:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576520301168

Curiosity’s drill successfully dug into the “Edinburgh” target over last weekend, reports Michelle Minitti, a planetary geologist at Framework in Silver Spring, Maryland, “the first sandstone the drill has attempted to conquer since the engineering team hacked a new drilling method back in 2018.”

Minitti adds that it is now time for Curiosity to check her work! “Curiosity will drop three small portions of rock powder from the drill onto various rover surfaces, and then Mastcam will image those portions.”

This is a good way to check the sample in the drill before it is delivered to Chemistry & Mineralogy X-Ray Diffraction/X-Ray Fluorescence Instrument (CheMin) and the rover’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite (SAM).

Main goal

Portion characterization is the main goal of the plan, but the science team added other observations to the plan. ChemCam hit a slight hiccup on the last sol of the weekend plan, but one that was straightforward to recover from at the start of a new plan, Minitti points out.

ChemCam will first recover observations from the weekend including a passive spectral observation of the Edinburgh drill tailings piled up around the drill hole, and a long distance Remote Micro Imager (RMI) telescope mosaic across the “Greenheugh pediment” target “Three Lochs.”

Mosaics

“ChemCam will then get an analysis from its titanium calibration target. Navcam will acquire a mosaic covering the top of the pediment and Mt. Sharp to enable the team to target future Mastcam and ChemCam observations as far as our rover eyes can see,” Minitti says.

The skies are getting plenty of attention, as well.

“Navcam will acquire movies looking for dust devils at two different times of day,” Minitti concludes, “as well as images to consistently monitor the amount of dust in the atmosphere. Navcam will also throw in a movie looking for clouds for good measure!”

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now carrying out Sol 2713 tasks.

New imagery shows the rover’s drill operation on Edinburgh bedrock and surrounding views:

 

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2712 tasks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A three Sol weekend centered on drilling target “Edinburgh” and several Sol 2712 images reflect that activity:

Dear Neil Armstrong – Letters to the First Man from All Mankind by James R. Hansen, Purdue University Press; October 2019; Hardback; 400 pages, $34.99.

This is a wonderful book, documenting the over-whelming amount of cards and letters received by Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the Moon in July 1969.

Within 7 chapters, Hansen has selectively sampled and edited the world’s outpouring of praise, but also the type of requests Armstrong received, be it for photographs or his autograph, to invites to talk to school classes with the proviso he bring some equipment. One letter asked for a pair of his old glasses, regardless of their condition, to be placed in the Famous People’s Eye Glasses Museum.

“In choosing which messages to include, I have done my best to put myself in the frame of mind of Neil Armstrong and the kind of goodwill messages that would likely have impressed him the most in July 1969 as well as today,” the author writes in the book’s preface.

There’s a thoughtful foreword by astronaut Al Worden (who died just a few days ago), noting that “without a doubt the ability to keep a cool head is a preeminent characteristic of great test pilots…Neil Armstrong certainly demonstrated that as witnessed by the way he both saved Gemini 8 and landed the lunar module on July 20, 1969.”

Hansen points out that there isn’t an exact count of the number of letters, telegrams and cards Armstrong received from all over the globe. In one chapter, the author underscores the communiqués from people living in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc – though most Soviets were unaware of their own Moon mission failures to plant footprints of cosmonauts on the lunar landscape, yet unabashedly praised Armstrong for the heroic accomplishment.

I personally found the chapter “Reluctantly Famous” quite revealing. “Neil hated the iconography that came to surround and define him,” Hansen writes. “He did his best to correct and deflect the epic and monumental elements that society and culture built into his legacy, which he knew greatly distorted who he actually was…”

The volume includes an appendix “Secretaries, Assistants, and Administrative Aides for Neil Armstrong, 1969-2012” and a notes section that adds clarity to that puzzling “one small step for “a” man” historic declaration from humankind’s first moonwalker.

An expert in aerospace history and the history of science and technology, Hansen has published numerous books, including the seminal First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong the only authorized biography of Neil Armstrong and a book that spent three weeks as a New York Times Best Seller in 2005 and 2018 and garnered a number of major book awards.

Once again, the reader of this book will find a very satisfying, unique appreciation of not only Armstrong, but also the impact that the momentous first Moon landing had on the world community of onlookers.

For more information on this book, go to:

http://www.thepress.purdue.edu/titles/format/9781557538741

Also, take a look at this informative author interview from CBS News This Morning at:

https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs_this_morning/video/dPd2W7MpimxSJRFKuWA5eKmRMrfJWgmj/the-endearing-angry-and-heartbreaking-letters-the-world-sent-to-neil-armstrong-after-apollo-11/

Testing is underway at the Wenchang Space Launch Center for launching China’s new-generation crewed spaceship. The prototype of the spacecraft is developed for the country’s space station and subsequent space missions.

According to China Central Television (CCTV), compared with the crew-carrying Shenzhou spacecraft, the new generation of piloted spacecraft is larger, can carry both astronauts and cargo, and can be reusable.

The un-crewed prototype spacecraft will appraise a range of technologies and lay the technical foundation for sending and carrying back Chinese astronauts to and from China’s space station in the future.

Unpiloted test flight

According to an earlier report on CCTV, the orbit height of the unpiloted test flight will be about 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) – an altitude never reached by China’s Shenzhou series manned spacecraft.

“The new spacecraft uses new heat-resistant material and structure, which is only a third in density compared to the Shenzhou spacecraft, but the heat resistance is three to four times greater,” said Huang Zhen, chief assistant designer of the new manned spacecraft.

“We also upgraded our control on the return trip, which means we will further improve the accuracy of the landing point, and at the same time make sure the astronauts can withstand the impact,” Huang told CCTV.

The test ship will be launched by the Long March-5B rocket. There will also be verification on a new landing method using grouped parachutes and airbags, as well as reusability-related technologies.

Epidemic prevention

Meanwhile, a leading group for epidemic prevention and control has also been set up to ensure that work standards are not lowered and development plans are not delayed while fully implementing the requirements for epidemic prevention and control and overcoming the difficulties in personnel and work caused by the COVID-19 epidemic.

Yang Qing, chief designer of the new-generation manned spacecraft of China Academy of Space Technology told CCTV: “We are now developing a new generation of prototype for manned spaceship. To cope with the epidemic outbreak, we have arranged minimum staff members to fulfill the task on the premise of guaranteeing the high work standards. All the work we carried out here will be notified and confirmed by other staff by telecommunication so as to ensure the work quality.”

For a CCTV video showing preparation of the new-generation spacecraft, go to:

http://pv.news.cctvplus.com/2020/0322/8138437_Preview_8442.mp4

A China Global Television Network (CGTN) detailing the core module and China’s space station plans can be viewed here at:

https://news.cgtn.com/news/33637a4e316b7a6333566d54/index.html

For a CCTV video on China’s new spaceship, go to:

https://youtu.be/ZWQEpIhJfmk

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2710 tasks. The coronavirus pandemic has meant increased teleworking of Mars science teams to operate the robot on the Red Planet.

“In light of recent events, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has transitioned to teleworking for most employees. For the last few weeks, we have been making preparations so that our rover operations can be carried out with the JPL-based members of the team working remotely,” reports Rachel Kronyak, a planetary geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “Luckily, most of the science team has been working remotely for years!”

So, for most of the Mars science team, “it’s business as usual, which has helped smooth our transition to full teleworking,” Kronyak adds.

Weekend plan

Recently the team planned a 3-sol weekend plan. Despite the ramp up to fully remote operations, a jam-packed plan of activities has been scripted, centering around drilling target “Edinburgh!”

The weekend plan for Sol 2710 is kicked off with a long science block full of both geological and environmental-focused observations.

During the science block, Curiosity is to perform a Mastcam multispectral observation of the “Eshaness” target. This target has previously been surveyed by the rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) and also underwent a buffing via the Dust Removal Tool (DRT).

Also scheduled is collecting Chemistry and Camera Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (ChemCam LIBS) data on two nearby targets including a soil target “Digg” and bedrock target “Eaglesham,” along with corresponding Mastcam documentation images.

Environmental observations

To wrap up the science block, Kronyak notes, Curiosity will make some standard atmospheric observations, including a Navcam dust devil survey, a Mastcam solar tau (observing aerosol (i.e. dust and such) scattering properties in the air), and a Mastcam crater rim extinction image.

“We have another science block in the early morning of Sol 2711, during which we’ll perform a similar suite of environmental observations as well as a Mastcam 360-degree mosaic,” Kronyak reports. “These hefty mosaics are especially useful during our drill campaigns, as they provide great context for our drilling operations and the broader geology around us.”

The current plan has the rest of Sol 2711 dedicated to drilling the target “Edinburgh.”

Drill tailings

Following a much-deserved night of sleep, Curiosity will wake up on Sol 2712 for the last science block of the weekend plan, Kronyak explains.

During the science block, the rover will take dust devil survey and line-of-sight images with its Navcam. Next, the rover will use ChemCam’s passive mode (no laser) to observe the Edinburgh drill tailings as well as use the Remote Micro Imager (RMI) telescope to take a long-distance mosaic of the target “Three Lochs,” an area further up the Greenheugh pediment.

“We’ll round out the plan by using Mastcam to take a multispectral observation of the Edinburgh drill tailings and take a stereo mosaic to expand our coverage of the ‘Hilltop’ area, first imaged on Sol 2705,” Kronyak says.

“We managed to plan a very full weekend plan for Curiosity, and had a very smooth day of planning for Curiosity’s operations team,” Kronyak concludes. “It’s full steam (or rather, drill) ahead! Stay safe, and continue to explore Mars with us!”

A common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB) test was conducted from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii on March 19.

The U.S. Navy and U.S. Army jointly executed the launch of, which flew at hypersonic speed to a designated impact point.

Also taking part in the experiment, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) monitored and gathered tracking data from the flight experiment to help in developing systems designed to defend against adversary hypersonic weapons.

This event is considered a major milestone towards the Department of Defense goal of fielding hypersonic warfighting capabilities in the early- to mid-2020s.

Next phase

“Today we validated our design and are now ready to move to the next phase towards fielding a hypersonic strike capability,” said Vice Adm. Johnny R. Wolfe, Director, Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, which is the lead designer for the C-HGB.

The test built upon the successful Flight Experiment 1 in October 2017, in which the C-HGB achieved sustained hypersonic glide at its target distance, according to a Department of Defense (DoD) statement.

Strike range

Hypersonic weapons, capable of flying at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), are highly maneuverable and operate at varying altitudes.

“This provides the warfighter with an ability to strike targets hundreds and even thousands of miles away, in a matter of minutes, to defeat a wide range of high-value targets. Delivering hypersonic weapons is one of the department’s highest technical research and engineering priorities,” the DoD statement explains.

The C-HGB – when fully fielded – will comprise the weapon’s conventional warhead, guidance system, cabling, and thermal protection shield. The Navy and Army are working closely with industry to develop the C-HGB. Each service will use the C-HGB, while developing individual weapon systems and launchers tailored for launch from sea or land.

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now carrying out Sol 2709 duties.

A sampling of recent imagery from the robot spotlights its surroundings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Road map

A recently released map shows the route driven by NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity through the 2702 Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission on Mars (March 13, 2020).

Numbering of the dots along the line indicate the sol number of each drive. North is up. The scale bar is 1 kilometer (~0.62 mile).

From Sol 2700 to Sol 2702, Curiosity had driven a straight line distance of about 9.93 feet (3.03 meters), bringing the rover’s total odometry for the mission to 13.62 miles (21.93 kilometers).

The base image from the map is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera (HiRISE) in NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Not only did Apollo landing crews get fogged out by the blown dust making touchdowns troublesome, substantial amounts of rock and debris was sent flying during the rocket-powered landings.

New experiments suggest there’s an issue of coming and going lunar traffic, but what to do about the problem? Scientists are working on the workarounds that appear needed if operating and living on the Moon is to become routine.

Take a read about this issue in my new Space.com story:

How will NASA deal with the moon dust problem for Artemis lunar landings?

The Apollo experience holds many lessons

https://www.space.com/nasa-moon-landing-dust-concerns.html