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October 22nd, 2016
Book Tour Update: Mars – Our Future on the Red Planet
Event date: Saturday, October 29, 2016 – 7:30pm
Kepler’s Books
1010 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650-324-4321
For more information, go to:
http://www.keplers.com/event/leonard-david-conversation-dr-chris-mckay
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Curiosity Front Hazcam Right B image taken on Sol 1495, October 20, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Scientists are delighted with the progress of the Curiosity Mars rover, given that the robot has successfully created a new drill hole.
Curiosity is now in Sol 1497.
According to planning reports, Sol 1496 was to start with a Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) passive observation of the dump pile of material from “Quela”, the rover’s previous drill hole.
Sebina – new drill hole
ChemCam also has passive observations of the tailings from the new hole at “Sebina”, followed by active observations using its laser.
Reports Ryan Anderson of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, Curiosity’s Mastcam is perform observations of the tailings and dump pile, plus an image to monitor the sand and dust on the rover deck, and a couple of atmospheric observations.
Head held high – drill head that is! Curiosity’s Mastcam Left image, taken on Sol 1495, October 20, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Also in the 1496 plan, the drill sample from “Sebina” is slated to be dropped off in Chemistry & Mineralogy X-Ray Diffraction/X-Ray Fluorescence Instrument (CheMin). The robot’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) is to take pictures of the drill hole and the CheMin inlet.
Overnight, CheMin will analyze the sample while the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) analyzes the drill tailings, Anderson adds.
Weekend plans
For Sols 1497-1499, the plan calls for a very busy weekend of rover duties.
“We’ve got quite a plan in store for the weekend, with every single instrument doing something, multiple arm activities, and a drive,” Anderson points out. “Curiosity’s battery will be run all the way down to 35 percent which is quite rare,” he adds, “but necessary when there’s a lot to do!”
Sol 1497 is to start off with ChemCam observations of the targets “Okambonde” and “Nokaneng” and supporting images from Curiosity’s Mastcam.
“Next we lift APXS off of the tailings pile it had been analyzing and take some MAHLI images of the print that it left,” Anderson reports. The rover’s MAHLI is also set to take some pictures of the first dump pile from the “Sebina” drill hole and APXS will analyze that dump pile overnight.
Curiosity’s Mastcam Left image taken on Sol 1496, October 21, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Sky flats
Also on Sol 1497, ChemCam has some “sky flats” with Curiosity taking pictures of the sky to serve as a smooth reference image to use when processing Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) photos.
On Sol 1498 MAHLI is slated to take pictures of the APXS print left in the Sebina dump pile, the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) UV sensor, and then will take its own sky flats!
ChemCam has a passive observation of the Sebina dump pile, followed by active observations of the dump pile, the drill tailings, and the targets “Coemba” and “Luma Cassao.”
Rover deck shots
Mastcam will provide supporting images for the ChemCam and do some more monitoring of sand and dust on top of the rover deck.
In the morning of Sol 1499, the robot’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite has an engineering test, and Navcam and Mastcam have a bunch of atmospheric observations.
Curiosity Mastcam Left image taken on Sol 1496, October 21, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
“Later in the day, ChemCam will observe “Nokaneng” again. Originally this observation was going to be on a different target, but it turned out that the rover’s arm was going to be in the way,” Anderson reports.
Mastcam is also to acquire pictures of the “Quela” dump pile, another ChemCam support image of “Nokaneng” and some more atmospheric observations.
Short drive
“Finally, we’ll do a short drive. Originally the plan was to continue along our traverse toward Mt. Sharp, but the team decided to change the drive a bit to get into position for some imaging next week,” Anderson notes.
Curiosity’s Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) is scheduled to take an image of the surface after the drive. The robot’s Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) and the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instruments will continue their normal ongoing data collection.
Curiosity Mastcam Left image taken on Sol 1496, October 21, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
“Phew! It was a marathon of a planning day,” Anderson concludes, “but it’s good to be getting the most science possible out of our hard-working rover!”
As always dates of projected rover activities are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.
Credit: NASA
Today, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is announcing the “Harnessing the Small Satellite Revolution” initiative, building on a growing wave of private sector interest in miniaturized spacecraft for applications ranging from communications and remote sensing to satellite inspection and repair.
Today, astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly are visiting the White House to talk to the President about developing innovative new space technologies. One critical area for technology development is making satellites more affordable, adaptable, and adept at providing the sorts of real-time information that will help advance knowledge out in space and on Earth.
Among aspects of the new initiative, NASA is to establish a Small Spacecraft Virtual Institute at the space agency’s Ames Research Center in the heart of Silicon Valley early in 2017. The Virtual Institute will provide a “one-stop shop” for technical knowledge in the rapidly burgeoning small spacecraft technology fields.
For more information, go to:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/10/21/harnessing-small-satellite-revolution
Also, go to:
Shenzhou-11 crew is now onboard the Tiangong-2 space lab for 30 days.
Credit: CCTV
China space travelers, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong, are busy at work onboard the Tiangong-2 space lab, starting their routine work and exercise programs.
In-space activities by the crew are being monitored by technicians at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.
Harvesting lettuce
One early task was to plant lettuce seeds so the twosome can harvest a batch of lettuce before they leave the space lab in a month’s time.
Jing and Chen are living according to Beijing time, working six days a week according to a schedule that researchers have developed to help them healthy.
Shenzhou-11 crew consists of two male astronauts, veteran space traveler, Jing Haipeng (left) and newcomer to space, Chen Dong.
Crew photos: ChinaSpaceflight.com
“We perfected the schedule of working and sleeping. They now work six days and have one day off. This schedule will give them more freedom to adjust their work flexibly,” said Huang Weifen, deputy chief designer of the Manned Spaceship Astronaut System in a CCTV interview.
Spacey silkworms
The Chinese astronauts have also fed silkworms with Jing bringing out the first silkworm, handling it in microgravity.
The six silkworms will help Chinese scientists study the silkworms’ growing process in space, and allow them to compare this with how they grow on Earth.
After tending the silkworms, Jing and Chen began using a specially designed running machine for exercise. Jing was first to utilize the new facility, both making use of belts to stabilize themselves on the running machine.
Life onboard
Also on the technology agenda was carrying out noise and other physical capacity tests onboard the Tiangong-2 space lab.
To view scenes of life onboard the orbiting lab, go to:
http://l3-pv.news.cctvplus.com/2016/1021/8034825_Preview_1477042891963.mp4
Curiosity Mastcam Right image taken on Sol 1494, October 19, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The NASA Curiosity Mars rover is now in Sol 1496.
New imagery shows the rover carrying out drilling duties on Mars.
There is also new news from the Curiosity Mars rover: a follow-up image taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) showed that the Quela dump pile had been moved by the wind again!
Windblown sand and dust
Reports Ken Herkenhoff of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona:
“The MAHLI team is concerned that windblown sand and dust might damage or contaminate the camera’s optics, so they decided to open the MAHLI dust cover only for images taken from 25 centimeters or more above the surface.”
Curiosity MAHLI image taken on October 20, 2016, Sol 1495. The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) is located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
That said, Herkenhoff noes, there are no concerns and a full drill hole was planned at Sebina on Sol 1495, with close-up MAHLI images taken through the dust cover window.
Drill hole imagery
As usual, the other Curiosity cameras will take images of the drill hole after the arm is moved out of the way.
The drill sample will then be processed and transferred to the scoop for inspection by the rover’s Left Mastcam.
“It’s a full plan that again requires significant power, but the tactical team was able to squeeze in a few change- detection images to watch for further changes in the dump pile,” Herkenhoff adds.
Artist’s impression of Schiaparelli, the ExoMars entry, descent and landing demonstrator module, as it approaches the Martian surface.
Credit: ESA/ATG medialab
What occurred during yesterday’s attempted landing of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli lander is under analysis by experts.
Perhaps offering new insight on the apparent mishap at Mars – NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and the Opportunity rover.
Detailed telemetry
The lander was dispatched from the now safely orbiting Mars mothership, ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter.
Artist’s impression depicts Europe’s ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter and separation of the entry, descent and landing demonstrator module, named Schiaparelli.
Credit: ESA/ATG medialab
But something happened during Schiaparelli’s descent. Signals recorded by both Earth-based assets and Europe’s Mars Express orbiter stopped shortly before the module was expected to make a soft touchdown on the Red Planet.
Detailed telemetry recorded by the Trace Gas Orbiter from Schiaparelli during its plunge to the planet has been partially analyzed.
Credit: ESA
What’s known?
That evaluation confirms that the Schiaparelli entry and descent stages occurred as expected, with events diverging from what was expected after the ejection of the back heat shield and parachute. This ejection itself appears to have occurred earlier than expected, but analysis is not yet complete, according to an ESA statement.
Furthermore, the Schiaparelli thrusters were confirmed to have been briefly activated “although it seems likely that they switched off sooner than expected, at an altitude that is still to be determined,” adds the ESA statement.
On patrol – NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) can image the whereabouts and condition of ESA’s Schiaparelli lander.
Credit: NASA/JPL
NASA assets
To help piece together what took place over Mars – and the true condition of Schiaparelli – two NASA assets can play a role.
One of those is NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and its super-powerful camera system. Another on-the-ground asset is the Opportunity rover. Although a literal long-shot, the robot explorer did take images of the expected entry of the ESA lander.
Opportunity rover’s current location at Spirit Mound. Did it catch the Schiaparelli sky show?
Courtesy: James Rice/MER/JPL
Ground imagery
“Coordinated release with ESA is planned for any of these observations — by MRO or Opportunity — that show Schiaparelli, said Guy Webster, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory spokesman. “The Opportunity raw images go public as soon as they get to Earth, of course,” he told Inside Outer Space.
“Observations by MRO of various portions of the Schiaparelli landing ellipse have been planned during the two weeks after the landing, into early November, seeking to image the lander,” Webster said.
Rover long-shots
Exploring the area nearby the Schiaparelli landing ellipse is the Opportunity rover.
Approximate region in box where Schiaparelli lander might have been visible above horizon by Opportunity – admittedly a long-shot.
Credit: James Rice/MER/JPL
“We appear to have five images between earliest parachute deployment time and latest backshell jettison time, and do not see anything that looks like Schiaparelli,” said Mark Lemmon on the Opportunity tactical shift rover control group.
Lemmon is also associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas.
“We were advised that it [Schiaparelli] was more likely coming in short than long,” Lemmon told Inside Outer Space.
Curiosity Front Hazcam Left B image taken on Sol 1494, October 19, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now in Sol 1494.
Ken Herkenhoff of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona reports that winds at the Curiosity site unexpectedly influenced the “Quela” dump pile.
Images taken by rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and the Chemistry & Camera Remote Micro-Imager showed the pile was offset from the center of the pile.
Curiosity ChemCam Remote Micro-Imager photo taken on Sol 1493, October 18, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
Dump pile movement
“After looking at more of the recent images,” Herkenhoff reports, “it became clear that the dump pile had been moved by winds!” A plan was put together, but delayed, to repeat the ChemCam passive observation and an Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) study on the dump pile at its new position.
“Hopefully the wind won’t blow away the dump pile,” Herkenhoff adds, “before APXS can measure its chemical composition!”
Drill campaign
Last weekend’s plan was the official start of a Curiosity drill campaign on the target “Sebina,” so the robot will be staying at its location through the week, notes Ryan Anderson, also of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center.
Curiosity Mastcam Right image taken on Sol 1492, October 17, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
On Sol 1492, the rover did a lot of remote sensing, starting off with an early morning suite of atmospheric observations using Navcam and Mastcam.
Anderson reports that the rover’s Mastcam took a 360 degree mosaic from the Mars machinery’s current location.
Since touching down in August 2012, Curiosity has driven over 9 miles (15 kilometers).
President Barack Obama delivers a speech at the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Thursday, April 15, 2010. Obama visited Kennedy Space Center to deliver remarks on a new course the Administration is charting for NASA and the future of U.S. leadership in human space flight.
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
In the waning days of his administration, U.S. President Obama has been paying unusual attention to space, recently highlighting his accomplishments and further goals for exploration of the solar system.
What’s up with that?
President Obama looks through a telescope during the 2009 White House Astronomy Night.
Credit: Chuck Kennedy
Take a read of my new Scientific American article:
Blue Planet/Red Planet Politics: Obama’s Giant Leap for Legacy
Go to:
Credit: ESA
Landing Update:
“We appear to have five images between earliest parachute deployment time and latest backshell jettison time, and do not see anything that looks like Schiaparelli,” said Mark Lemmon on the Opportunity tactical shift rover control group. He is associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas.
“We were advised that it [Schiaparelli] was more likely coming in short than long,” Lemmon told Inside Outer Space.
Landing day
On October 19th, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars 2016 entry, descent and landing demonstrator module is set to burrow through the Martian atmosphere and land in a relatively flat area in Meridiani Planum, close to the equator in the southern hemisphere.
Within possible viewing range of ESA’s Schiaparelli’s landing site is NASA’s Opportunity rover, on Mars duty since its landing in 2004.
Credit: ESA
Locked and uploaded
In the hope of catching a glimpse of the overhead action, Opportunity is locked and uploaded with special instructions.
Word is that Opportunity operators will try to image Schiaparelli’s entry, descent and landing (EDL) with the rover’s Pancam.
“It is likely that the descent with the parachute will be obscured from Opportunity’s viewpoint by Endeavour’s rim because the landing site is to the west of the rover’s current location,” explains Ray Arvidson, Mars Exploration Rover deputy principal investigator at Washington University St. Louis.
“If the descent extends more to the east of the targeted location we may see the parachute,” Arvidson told Inside Outer Space. “Thus we are sequencing Pancam images of the possible descent path,” he said.
Approximate region in box where Schiaparelli lander may be visible above horizon by Opportunity if vehicle goes long.
Credit: James Rice/MER/JPL
Mid-afternoon on Mars
Schiaparelli was released by its mothership – ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter – on October 16th. Atmospheric entry of the lander is expected 14:42 GMT / 16:42 CEST, landing 14:48 GMT / 16:48 CEST).
Schiaparelli’s EDL would occur in mid-afternoon of Opportunity’s Sol 4528.
Any rover imagery of the incoming ESA vehicle would arrive on Earth late Wednesday afternoon, Arvidson said, “but it is unlikely we will be able to image the parachute, given the targeted landing site.”
Remote chance
Meanwhile, Opportunity has been busily exploring Endeavour Crater in its 10th extended mission, explains astrogeologist Jim Rice, part of the geology theme group for the Mars Exploration Rover project and senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona.
Opportunity rover’s current location at Spirit Mound. Will it catch the Schiaparelli sky show?
Courtesy: James Rice/MER/JPL
“We will attempt to image Schiaparelli as it arrives in our neck of the woods on October 19th,” Rice told Inside Outer Space. “But if the entry and descent of Schiaparelli is nominal, the Opportunity rover will not see anything because its path will be blocked by the topography of the western rim of Endeavour crater,” he said.
“However, there is a remote chance we could see it above the crater rim if the descent trajectory is long toward the east,” Rice added. “Bottom line is that we will be giving it our best effort and, hopefully, we get lucky.”
Opportunity odds
So what are the odds of Opportunity spotting the Schiaparelli sky show?
“It is exciting to think about the possibility of seeing a visitor coming,” said Mark Lemmon on the Opportunity tactical shift rover control group. He is associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas.
Lemmon told Inside Outer Space that there is a realistic possibility, but not a likelihood, of seeing part of Schiaparelli’s parachute descent – maybe one chance in seven.
ESA’s Schiaparelli landing at Meridiani Planum on Mars on October 19, 2016.
Credit: ESA/ATG medialab
Pixel-sized chute
“The parachute would be, at best, around pixel-sized. If there is enough residual glow in the heat shield, that could be a second pixel,” Lemmon said. “We are balancing the desire to maximize the odds of getting at least a few images of Schiaparelli with the constrained downlink we have available that sol [Martian day].”
“If we were talking about a flat plain, and without dusty season, we’d be trying to prune down our options,” Lemmon said. That is, image the entry phase, turn to image the parachute phase, maybe use multiple directions since the lander ellipse is so big – from west on a bit past north, in angle, he said.
Rim shot
But the Opportunity rover is in a hole.
The Schiaparelli entry is not viewable, Lemmon said. If the European probe lands in the middle of the landing ellipse, or comes in short, nothing will be viewable. If the probe goes long, to the east, it might come over the crater rim from the rover’s point of view, and also be closer to the rover.
“We are watching the horizon,” Lemmon said. “Previously, we figured about one chance in seven of having the parachute go through the frame. We’d likely point to maximize the chance of seeing anything, but there may be arguments for one part of the descent over another.”
Lemmon added that any sharp-shooting of an incoming Schiaparelli has to cope with the Martian dust, as the sky is comparable in brightness to the parachute.
Artist’s impression of Schiaparelli, the ExoMars entry, descent and landing demonstrator module, as it approaches the Martian surface.
Credit: ESA/ATG medialab
Extra perspective
“Because of that, we think we have to use [Opportunity’s] Pancam’s higher sensitivity to small objects and its filters, rather than Navcam’s larger field of view,” Lemmon said. “We’re still collecting information about the descent expectations, weather, and local horizon, and will use all of that for our final plans.”
Lemmon said that the ESA Schiaparelli team has been very interested in the images. Those images would be an “extra perspective” on Schiaparelli’s position, winds, maybe heat shield deployment.
Artist impression of the Schiaparelli module on the surface of Mars.
Credit: ESA
“The images are not central to what they need,” Lemmon said, “but if we get them it would be a great bonus. We have a shot at watching an incoming spacecraft from the surface of another planet…good times!”
Credit: CCTV
China’s space lab Tiangong-2 is in good condition and ready to receive the piloted Shenzhou-11 spacecraft that successfully launched from Jiuquan satellite launch center on Monday (Beijing time).
Tiangong-2 has been in orbit for 30 days since its launch on September 15, 2016.
Beijing Aerospace Control Center adjusted the space lab for the last time early Sunday to prepare it to dock with Shenzhou-11. The control center also made some preparation so that the astronauts can live and work under safe conditions in the space lab.
Docking orbit
The docking orbit is at an altitude of nearly 245 miles (393 kilometers) above the Earth. Shenzhou-11 will be on its own in orbit for 2-days before docking with Tiangong-2.
Credit: CCTV America
“We have conducted relevant tests of the pressure, temperature and toxic gas in Tiangong-2,” explains Chen Xianfeng, a director at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. “By doing so, the astronauts will have normal working and living conditions after they get inside it. After testing, we have identified that there is no toxic gas. We have ensured that Tiangong-2 is fully operational, ready to dock with Shenzhou-11.”
Craft in good condition
According to Yan Donglai, engineer in Kashgar space observation station: “Looking at the measurement and control systems seen by the mission control center, the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft is currently in a good condition. The circuit is working smoothly between the spacecraft and observation deck, and meanwhile, images of the cabin crew and area outside sent from the craft seem to be normal.”
The Kashgar space observation deck was the first site to observe the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft, shortly after its launch on Monday.
Credit: CCTV
30-day mission
As China’s sixth piloted space mission, the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft carried into Earth orbit astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong. It is the third space mission for Jing, 50, and the first for Chen, 38.
The plan calls for them to reside in the Tiangong-2 space lab for 30 days and carry out a number of experiments. Experience gained is geared to putting in place China’s space station in the 2020s.
Video resources
For a series of CCTV-plus videos on the launch and the Shenzhou-11 mission, go to:
http://cd-pv.news.cctvplus.com/2016/1017/8034513_Preview_2103.mp4
http://l3-pv.news.cctvplus.com/2016/1017/8034537_Preview_1476702245180.mp4
http://l3-pv.news.cctvplus.com/2016/1017/8034543_Preview_1476706326274.mp4
