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January 18th, 2022
On the prowl at Vera Rubin ridge Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Research carried out by NASA’s Curiosity rover at Gale Crater point to the possible ultraviolet degradation of biologically produced methane.
The robot has permitted scientists to analyze carbon isotopes in sediment samples taken from half a dozen exposed locations, including an exposed cliff.
According to a just-published paper led by Christopher House, professor of geosciences at the Pennsylvania State University, researchers single out three plausible explanations for the carbon’s origin: cosmic dust, ultraviolet degradation of carbon dioxide, or ultraviolet degradation of biologically produced methane.
The researchers note in a new issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that: “All three of these scenarios are unconventional, unlike processes common on Earth.”
That third possible method of producing carbon-13 depleted samples has a biological basis.
Credit: NASA
Unusual carbon cycle
According to a Penn State research story, here on Earth, a strongly carbon-13 depleted signature from a paleosurface would indicate past microbes consumed microbially produced methane.
“Ancient Mars may have had large plumes of methane being released from the subsurface where methane production would have been energetically favorable. Then, the released methane would either be consumed by surface microbes or react with ultraviolet light and be deposited directly on the surface,” the research statement explains.
“However, according to the researchers, there is currently no sedimentary evidence of surface microbes on the past Mars landscape, and so the biological explanation highlighted in the paper relies on ultraviolet light to place the carbon-13 signal onto the ground,” the statement continues.
The image shows the Highfield drill hole on Vera Rubin Ridge. Drill powder from this hole showed carbon isotope values indicating a carbon cycle that includes either subsurface life, intense UV radiation penetrating the atmosphere, or Interstellar dust. The image was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager on sol 2247. Credit: NASA/Caltech-JPL/MSSS via Penn State.
“All three possibilities point to an unusual carbon cycle unlike anything on Earth today,” said House. “But we need more data to figure out which of these is the correct explanation. It would be nice if the rover would detect a large methane plume and measure the carbon isotopes from that, but while there are methane plumes, most are small, and no rover has sampled one large enough for the isotopes to be measured.”
House says that finding the remains of microbial mats or evidence of glacial deposits could also help clear things up. “We are being cautious with our interpretation, which is the best course when studying another world.”
To read the full research statement from Penn State, written by the university’s A’ndrea Elyse Messer, go to:
https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/newly-discovered-carbon-may-yield-clues-ancient-mars
Also, go to Paul Voosen’s Science magazine article — “Mars rover detects carbon signature that hints at past life source Dramatically “light” carbon could also be explained by atmospheric reactions or cosmic dust” at:
https://www.science.org/content/article/mars-rover-detects-carbon-signature-hints-past-life-source?
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Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)/China Media Group(CMG)/China Central Television(CCTV)/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China’s Chang’e-4 probe was launched on December 8, 2018, making the first-ever soft landing within the Von Kármán Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the Moon’s far side on January 3, 2019.
Von Kármán crater (186 kilometer diameter), a treasure house of geologic landforms. Image taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s LROC Wide Angle Camera.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
The Chang’e-4 lander deployed the Yutu-2 rover that has now wheeled over 1,000 meters of lunar landscape. The lander and rover have so far operated for three years since its landing at the far side of the Moon – much longer than its designed service life of three months, according to a China Central Television (CCTV) broadcast.
Chang’e-4 farside mission – lander and Yutu-2 rover.
Credit: CNSA/CLEP
Surpassed expectations
As for why the lunar mission has surpassed expectations, Fu Qiang, chief designer of the Chang’e-4 ground application system, told CCTV:
Fu Qiang, chief designer of the Chang’e-4 ground application system.
Credit: CNSA/CMG/CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“As early as the beginning of the design, we had required high reliability in selecting each component…therefore there was a guarantee of a long service life and high reliability.”
Since the lunar surface temperature is between 160 degrees Celsius and minus 180 degrees Celsius, a difference of more than 300 degrees Celsius, the designers created two rest modes for Chang’e-4—sleep mode and hibernation mode—so that it could better adapt to the harsh climate.
Credit: CNSA/CMG/CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“After 38 lunar days of testing, the program and procedure of our design work have proven to be very reasonable,” said Fu.
Radiation resistance
A lunar day is equal to 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is the same length.
Credit: CNSA/CMG/CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Because the Moon has no protective layer, lunar hardware can be affected by various space particles.
Radiation resistance was enhanced for Chang’e-4 and Yutu-2. These protections not only extend the service life of the spacecrafts but also guarantee the accuracy of the collected data.
The Chang’e-4 lander and the Yutu-2 rover are in good working condition, with the rover travelling northwest to a basalt region.
Credit: CNSA/CMG/CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Mystery hut
Recently, imagery taken by Yutu-2 caused a stir, with a “mystery” object spotted on the Moon.
Credit: CNSA/CMG/CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The object, shaped like a hut, was imaged by the robot. It was seen over 260-feet (80-meters) away from the rover’s location.
Close-up imagery of the feature show the “mystery hut” to be a rock situated on the edge of a crater.
Go to this video detailing the Chang’e-4 mission at:
Credit: Blue Origin/Dylan Taylor
Dylan Taylor is a “space angel,” an investor in NewSpace and last December he reached a new career high, quite literally. He flew onboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital rocketship on its NS-19 mission.
Credit: Blue Origin/Dylan Taylor
Blue Origin successfully completed its third human spaceflight on Saturday, December 11, 2021 the first with six passengers to make the trek.
Go to my exclusive Space.com interview with Taylor at:
Launching with Blue Origin: Q&A with spaceflight veteran Dylan Taylor
“Looking out the window, I think I said, ‘Oh my god … oh my god!’ It literally took my breath away.”
https://www.space.com/dylan-taylor-blue-origin-spaceflight-interview
Credit: CNSA/CLEP
China’s Yutu-2 far side lunar rover has taken over 1,000 photos since it landed on the Moon three years ago.
The robot is exploring the Von Kármán crater, a large lunar impact feature that is located in the South Pole-Aitken Basin.
Yutu-2 was deployed from the Chang’e-4 lander that touched down on the far side of the Moon on January 3, 2019.
Chang’e-4 lander taken by Yutu-2 rover.
Credit: CNSA/CLEP
According to a China Central Television (CCTV) report, the Yutu-2 has wheeled itself over 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) as of January 6, 2021.
“From the high-resolution photos taken by Yutu-2, we can see many typical landforms, such as some fresh craters, (the diameter of which) range from tens of meters to tens of centimeters. We also see many rocks of different sizes,” Ren Xin, deputy chief designer of the Chang’e-4 ground application system, told CCTV.
Ren Xin, deputy chief designer, Chang’e-4 ground application system.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Scientific data
The rover is equipped with six scientific payloads, including the panoramic camera and the infrared imaging spectrometer, aiming to explore the lunar topography and the composition of the lunar soil. It has already collected 3,800GB of scientific data.
The Yutu-2 would often take considerable time to survey the craters it encounters. Ren said it once spent nearly three lunar days to measure the details of one crater.
Ren Xin details Yutu-2 imagery to CCTV reporter.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The Yutu-2 has now completed tasks for its 38th lunar day and is currently hibernating for the lunar night. A lunar day is equal to about 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is of the same length. The solar-powered probe switches to dormant mode during the lunar night.
Next, Yutu-2 will travel northwest away from the landing point.
“Right now, [the rover] is heading northwest to a basalt region with no ejecta, around one kilometer away from the current position, which may take a longer time to reach,” Ren said.
Credit: CNSA/CLEP
Yutu-2 rover moves toward crater inspection.
Credit: CGTV/CNSA/CLEP
London-based Sen has announced that its first satellite able to stream Ultra High Definition videos of Earth is now in orbit.
Sen’s ETV-A1 was launched January 13 aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare. On board this launch were 105 commercial and government spacecraft, including CubeSats, microsats, PocketQubes, and orbital transfer vehicles.
The Sen satellite is equipped with four video cameras, designed to image Earth with different spatial resolutions, from continents and oceans to regions and cities.
Sen’s cameras are capable of streaming recorded and live Ultra High Definition (UHD) video including 8K video from its highest resolution camera which can see down to around 5 feet (1.5 meters) of the ground.
Planned constellation
ETV-A1 is the first in Sen’s planned constellation of video satellites in low Earth orbit.
Credit: Sen
“The successful launch of our first satellite represents a key milestone on our journey to democratize space using video,” said Charles Black, Founder & CEO of Sen in a company statement.
Sen’s mission is to stream real-time videos from space to billions of people, gathering news and information about Earth and space and making it universally accessible and useful.
Range of markets
Sen’s global Earth monitoring will address a range of markets, including: environmental, disaster and emergency response, meteorological, shipping, asset monitoring, news media, future and commodity traders, human and robotic space exploration.
Sen is a private company, funded by over 50 investors and founded in 2007 by Black.
Sen will capture its unique video content using both hosted video cameras and its own constellations of small satellites.
For more information, go to:
Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Left B image taken on Sol 3355, January 13, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3356 duties.
Ken Herkenhoff, a planetary geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, reports that a rover “bump” has moved the Mars machinery closer to “The Prow” outcrop. The short drive placed the front wheels very close to the base of the outcrop.
“From this new position, the arm can reach the top of the outcrop,” Herkenhoff adds, so the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) will be placed on a couple of upper outcrop targets named “Angasima” and “Kamuda” on Sol 3355.
Lens imager issue
Unfortunately, the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) had an issue reading data from their memory a couple sols ago, so MAHLI imaging is precluded while engineers take a closer look at MAHLI.
“Instead, the Right Mastcam will image the APXS target to allow the chemical measurement to be placed in geologic context,” Herkenhoff points out.
Curiosity Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) photo acquired on Sol 3355, January 13, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
Curiosity’s Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) will also sample the elemental chemistry of the outcrop at “Cerro la Luna” and use its Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) to acquire a high-resolution 5×2 mosaic of a bedrock exposure called “Paso de las Lagrimas.”
Next drive target
“Mastcam is also planning a stereo mosaic of the outcrop and will acquire mosaics of the next drive target and the Mirador butte toward the south. Navcam and Mastcam will be used to characterize the amount of dust in the atmosphere, which has increased lately, and Navcam will search for dust devils,” Herkenhoff reports.
Curiosity Rear Hazard Avoidance Camera Left B image taken on Sol 3355, January 13, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Before dawn on Sol 3356, Navcam will search for clouds.
“Later that morning, Navcam will again look at the content of dust in the atmosphere and search for dust devils, then watch for clouds just above the horizon,” Herkenhoff adds. “Then ChemCam will fire its laser at the “Quebrada de Jaspe” target on the right side of the outcrop and acquire an RMI mosaic of another bedrock target dubbed ‘Vale dos Cristais.’”
Heading east
The Right Mastcam will then document both of the ChemCam targets and the APXS targets. Mastcam will then take two stereo mosaics, extending coverage of The Prow, and Navcam will again look for clouds above the horizon.
“The rover will then pack up and drive toward the east, stopping along the way to image interesting outcrops using Navcam and Mastcam. After the drive and the usual post-drive imaging, MARDI will take another twilight image,” Herkenhoff concludes by noting: “Overall, a busy plan.”
Curiosity Mast Camera (Mastcam) Left and Right imagery taken on Sol 3354, January 12, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity’s location as of Sol 3354. Distance driven 16.76 miles/26.98 kilometers.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3355 duties.
Ashley Stroupe, a mission operations engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory reports that Curiosity has been doing a little bit of everything: some contact science, some targeted science, and a little driving.
Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Left B image acquired on Sol 3354, January 12, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The robot snagged a view of the small ledge in front of the Mars machinery named “The Prow,” “which shows some amazing layering. We also can see some disturbances in the sand that may be sliding caused by our approach,” Stroupe adds.
Curiosity Mast Camera Left image taken on Sol 3354, January 12, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity Mast Camera Left image taken on Sol 3354, January 12, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity Mast Camera Left image taken on Sol 3354, January 12, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity Mast Camera Left image taken on Sol 3354, January 12, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
A little tricky
Rover planners have been busy despite the plan looking deceptively simple.
The face of The Prow itself is just a bit out of reach, so instead Mars researchers are doing some Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) integrations on a small loose rock target called, “Ilu.”
“Rocks this small can be a little tricky because there is some uncertainty when we place the arm, though we have developed a lot of techniques that help us to get it right,” Stroupe notes.
“Once the APXS is complete and the arm is safely stowed again, we have a long set of targeted science observations with Mastcam, ChemCam [Chemistry and Camera], and Navcam,” Stroupe adds. “We are taking a large mosaic (including extensive stereo) of The Prow as well as imaging Ilu.”
Curiosity Mast Camera Left image taken on Sol 3354, January 12, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity Mast Camera Left image of “The Prow” taken on Sol 3354, January 12, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Contact science area
In the plan is using ChemCam Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to examine “Tramen,” and Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) to image “Contigo,” which are both on The Prow near the rover’s expected next contact science area.
ChemCam is also doing RMI imaging of “Mirador,” which is a butte about 49 feet (15 meters) south. Mars researchers are also continuing to monitor the increasing dust in the atmosphere with Navcam observations of the horizon and a Mastcam solar tau.
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 3354, January 12, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Potential parking spots
A scheduled drive is going to move Curiosity closer to The Prow so that contact science on the feature can be done in the next plan.
“While the drive is only a little over a meter, it is also a bit tricky. The rover planners needed to test out different potential parking spots to find the best place from which to place the arm, which took some iteration,” Stroupe reports.
“We will have to get very close to the ledge to be in the best spot to place the arm, but we also need to be careful to not get too close and let the wheels start climbing over the ledge. We are creeping up on it in small steps, each time the rover will check how far away it is in order to choose the next step,” Stroupe concludes.
Credit: Breakthrough Listen/Danielle Futselaar
There are key advantages of a radio telescope in lunar orbit, or on the surface of the lunar farside, for conducting the search for extraterrestrial intelligence – to give an ear for technosignatures from other starfolk.
A new research paper on the topic has been led by Berkeley SETI undergraduate intern Eric Michaud. Breakthrough Listen has submitted the white paper on lunar opportunities for SETI to the National Academy of Sciences Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey.
A related paper was also submitted to the NASA Artemis III mission Science Definition Team.
Credit: Breakthrough Listen
Primary advantage
Shielded from the buzz and crackle of radio interference emanating from Earth, a Moon-based telescope would be a powerful new tool in the arsenal of technosignature science. The concept would be able to detect radio frequencies that are inaccessible to Earth-based observatories due to our planet’s ionosphere.
“The primary advantage for SETI is that the body of the Moon provides an excellent shield against terrestrial radio frequency interference,” the paper explains.
Earth satellite interference
Critically, the paper points out, recent trends conspire to make such a mission “not only increasingly feasible, but also increasingly necessary.”
First of all, an ever greater number of satellites being put in Earth orbit, such as the SpaceX StarLink constellation, may contribute tens of thousands of new satellites to the already Radio Frequency Interference (RFI)-dense swarm around the Earth. “This will further complicate Earth-surface-based SETI observation campaigns,” the paper argues.
Starlink satellites.
Credit: SpaceX
However, the same economic and technological forces which are enabling this ramping up of satellite launches — the reduction in satellite launch costs and the popularization of smaller satellite buses — also makes a lunar SETI mission more feasible.
Small organizations now routinely place relatively inexpensive satellites into orbit.
Rough blueprint
The newly issued paper flags the HawkEye 360, a small company based out of Virginia. The group has managed to design, build, and launch three satellites for the purpose of detecting and precisely locating radio sources on the surface of the Earth.
Credit: HawkEye 360 is a Radio Frequency (RF) data analytics company
“These missions and others form a rough blueprint for, and signal the increasing feasibility of, sending a small instrument dedicated to SETI to the Moon. Such a mission would enable a detailed survey of the lunar RFI environment, and act as a proof of concept for more sophisticated missions in the future,” the paper suggests.
A lunar SETI mission,” the paper concludes, “would mark the beginning of a new era in the history of SETI, where an increasing human presence in space is accompanied by an expanding ability to discover extraterrestrial life other than our own.”
To read the full paper — Overview – Lunar Opportunities for SETI – go to:
http://seti.berkeley.edu/lunarseti/Lunar_Opportunities_for_SETI.pdf
Read the paper — SETI from the Lunar South Pole — at:
https://ericjmichaud.com/moon-south-pole.pdf
For more information concerning Breakthrough Listen, go to:
https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/initiative/1
Also, go to this informative video that details the initiative at:
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera image taken on Sol 3352, January 10, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3353 duties.
“On the second sol of the weekend plan, Curiosity took an unexpected break,” reports Michelle Minitti, a planetary geologist at Framework in Silver Spring, Maryland.
The robot stopped its arm motion on the way to deploying the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to image the wheels for their regular check up.
“As such, her arm is jutted up in the air,” Minitti adds, “and the rest of the rover stayed there the rest of the weekend. The science and engineering teams very much care that Curiosity is waving her hand in the air, and quickly set about recovering the arm so we could complete wheel imaging and our drive to ‘The Prow.’”
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3353, January 11, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Interesting bedrock and structures
Before take two of wheel imaging and the drive, Minitti explains that there was an opportunity to gather more data from the interesting bedrock and structures on this area.
On the plan was use of the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) to shoot “Sucre,” a horizon filled with resistant nodules, to see if the nodules belie a chemistry change.
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3353, January 11, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
ChemCam was then slated to acquire Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) mosaics of two different parts of The Prow, “Ptari” and “Panari,” “to give us more insight into the structure we are heading toward,” Minitti reports.
Curiosity’s Mastcam will support ChemCam by imaging Sucre and another target from the weekend, a dark, flat resistant feature that was targeted by ChemCam autonomously.
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3353, January 11, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Prominent layering
Mastcam is to keep additionally busy with stereo mosaics of “Indio” and “Mutum,” – “both areas with prominent layering that might help reveal the orientation of the bedrock, and a single image of ‘Maverick Rock,’ which earned its name from the complex mix of bedrock that appears present within,” Minitti adds.
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3353, January 11, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Throughout the plan, there’s monitoring of the environment below and above the robot with the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) experiment passive and active, regular Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) measurements, and use of the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), a Mastcam image to keep tabs on the amount of dust in the atmosphere, and Navcam images to look for dust devils and clouds.
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3353, January 11, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
“We expect that when we return for planning,” Minitti concludes, “we will have all these science goodies in the bag, as well as new wheel images and a new parking spot by The Prow. Stay tuned!”
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3353, January 11, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A new report from NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) flags a number of issues regarding the space agency’s astronaut corps.
The processes NASA uses to size, train, and assign astronauts to specific missions are primarily calibrated toward meeting the current needs of the International Space Station.
“However, the astronaut corps is projected to fall below its targeted size or minimum manifest requirement in fiscal year (FY) 2022 and FY 2023 due to attrition and additional space flight manifest needs,” the OIG report notes.
More concerning, the report adds, the Astronaut Office calculated that the corps size would exactly equal the number of flight manifest seats NASA will need in FY 2022. “As a result, the Agency may not have a sufficient number of additional astronauts available for unanticipated attrition and crew reassignments or ground roles such as engaging in program development.”
In light of the expanding space flight opportunities anticipated for the Artemis missions, “the corps might be at risk of being misaligned in the future, resulting in disruptive crew reorganizations or mission delays.
A number of recommendations are provided in the Final Report – IG-22-007.
To read the full report, NASA’s Management of Its Astronaut Corps, go to:
