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May 6th, 2015
The uplift and downfall of Progress spacecraft.
Credit: Roscosmos
Round and round it goes…exactly when and where it will plummet to Earth is a guessing game.
On April 28, Russia’s uncrewed Progress M-27M supply ship streaked into orbit atop a Soyuz launcher, intended to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).
But shortly after liftoff, the vessel experienced technical difficulties. Subsequently, a Russian mission control team could not command the cargo vessel packed with nearly three tons of supplies.
Here’s the latest, with some surprises as reviewed in my new Space.com story.
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May 06, 2015 03:50pm ET
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Features called recurrent slope lineae (RSL) have been spotted on some Martian slopes in warmer months. Some scientists think RSL could be seasonal flows of salty water. Red arrows point out one 0.75-mile-long (1.2 kilometers) RSL in this image taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Orbiting spacecraft of Mars have imaged over the past several years dark, finger-like features – now called “recurring slope lineae” – or RSL for Martian short-hand.
These dark flows have been observed at low and middle latitudes on Mars.
RSL’s are a type of feature that creep down some Martian slopes in warmer months and then fade away in cooler months.
Scientists conjecture that RSL’s may be seasonal flows of salty water.
Indeed, new research reveals the prospect that NASA’s Mars rover, Curiosity, may be within range of active slope processes that resemble RSL, possibly caused by liquid water.
Gale is an expansive crater that measures about 96 miles (154 kilometers) across. Hundreds of exposed rock layers within Gale Crater form Mount Sharp, a mound as tall as the Rockies.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/UA
But what caution should be taken in investigating an RSL feature – in terms of planetary protection of Mars? Are they the best place to search for extant (existing) Martian life?
High-resolution repeat imaging
In the journal Icarus, an article is to appear this July — but now available via Icarus in press — titled “Slope activity in Gale crater, Mars.”
The paper is authored by Colin Dundas, a planetary scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Astrogeology Science Center at Flagstaff, Arizona and Alfred McEwen, of the University of Arizona, principal investigator for the super-powerful High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment onboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter now circling the Red Planet.
“High-resolution repeat imaging of Aeolis Mons, the central mound in Gale crater, reveals active slope processes within tens of kilometers of the Curiosity rover,” they report. “At one location near the base of northeastern Aeolis Mons, dozens of transient narrow lineae were observed, resembling features (Recurring Slope Lineae) that are potentially due to liquid water. However, the lineae faded and have not recurred in subsequent Mars years.”
Potential special regions
Dundas and McEwen state they have not identified confirmed RSL at Gale crater. The researchers note that it has been recommended by astrobiology specialists that RSL “be treated as potential special regions for planetary protection.”
Furthermore, repeat images acquired from above as Curiosity wheels toward the base of Aeolis Mons could spot changes due to active slope processes, “which could enable the rover to examine recently exposed material,” Dundas and McEwen add.
“There is no strong evidence for RSL in Gale,” McEwen told Inside Outer Space.
However, let’s say that Curiosity — or a future lander/rover — does face an RSL situation. What should be done given planetary protection concerns?
It’s McEwen’s opinion to drive up to it and monitor an RSL from as close as possible, he said. The robot is armed with science gear to take a look, he said, particularly using the ChemCam instrument suite to provide remote compositional information using the first laser-induced breakdown spectrometer (LIBS) on a planetary mission.
RSL occur on greater than 25 degree slopes, McEwen advised, “so the rover isn’t going to contact an RSL.”
Greenhouse effect
“The planetary protection is a huge issue especially as we keep finding more and more RSL sites,” now up to 172, said David Stillman, a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
This nearly global mosaic of observations made by the Mars Color Imager on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Nov. 18, 2012, shows a dust storm in Mars’ southern hemisphere. Small white arrows outline the area where dust from the storm is apparent in the atmosphere. From decades of observing Mars, scientists know there is a seasonal pattern to the largest Martian dust-storm events.
Locations of NASA’s Mars rovers Opportunity and Curiosity are labeled.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Stillman’s Mars research, for instance, has taken him to an RSL site in Valles Marineris, suggesting that it is recharged by an aquifer. The total amount of water liberated from the area equals 8 to 17 Olympic-sized swimming pools, he said, and the only way to annually recharge such a large volume of water is via an aquifer.
Stillman told Inside Outer Space that it is very interesting that the RSL-like features at Gale only occurred after the MY28 dust storm.
“While we didn’t even know what to look for in MY28 [Mars Year starting in mid-June and ending in early December 2007], we luckily imaged many RSL sites,” Stillman said. Nearly all of them, he said, had many more individual RSL and the RSL were much longer.
“We have a theory that the dust storm actually produced a slight greenhouse effect that increased subsurface warming,” Stillman concluded.
A video update on Stillman’s research is available here:
https://mediasite.jsg.utexas.edu/UTMediasite/Play/63825846207a41f8a92eb80bb5390a091d
For more information on the Dundas and McEwen Icarus paper, go to:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103515001372
This image was taken by Curiosity’s Navcam Left B on May 3, 2015 during Sol 974.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
According to Ken Herkenhoff of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Flagstaff, Arizona, NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars is now in a good position for contact science observations on an interesting outcrop of sedimentary rock.
On Sol 973, the rover is using several instruments to observe nearby targets “Albert” and “Charity,” and a distant target named “Empire.”
Also, the rover will use its Navcam will search for Martian clouds and dust devils.
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, on May 3, 2015, Sol 974 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA’s Curiosity rover is “factory loaded” with the biggest, most advanced suite of instruments for scientific studies ever sent to the Martian surface.
The record of the planet’s climate and geology is essentially “written in the rocks and soil” — in their formation, structure, and chemical composition.
This image was taken by Curiosity’s ChemCam: Remote Micro-Imager on May 2, 2015 during Sol 973.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
The rover’s onboard laboratory is dutifully studying rocks, soils, and the local geologic setting in order to detect chemical building blocks of life (e.g., forms of carbon) on Mars and is assessing what the Martian environment was like in the past.
On the funding chopping block, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Credit: NASA/GSFC
A scientific and public campaign is underway to keep operating NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Opportunity Mars rover.
Both have been zeroed out in the President’s FY16 budget for NASA. This is despite LRO and Opportunity being highly ranked in a recent “Senior Review” of planetary missions.
LRO was launched in 2009; Opportunity has been on duty on Mars since its landing in early 2004.
Still beaming after all these years – NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover.
Credit: NASA/JPL
But there is an even deeper issue that is being expressed by the letter-writing campaign.
That is, the role of the independent review process within NASA’s budget decisions.
Furthermore, why have senior reviews in the first place, followed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) decisions to cut those missions anyway?
Recommendations rejected
“It is hoped that a strong show of support from the planetary — and specifically the lunar community — will demonstrate to our elected officials the backing these planetary missions have,” explains lunar researcher, Clive Neal of the Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
In a letter to the scientific community, requesting signatures of support, the communiqué explains that “we were greatly surprised” by the President’s FY 2016 budget request for NASA, which proposed to defund continued operations of both Opportunity and the LRO.
On-duty eye on the Moon: Four different images taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter of a lunar crater (18 meter diameter) recently formed on the Moon; each scene is 560 meters wide. Being able to get observations before, during and after the impact is a valuable opportunity to better understand impact events.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
“This decision rejects the recommendations made by the planetary senior review process. These two missions were among the most highly ranked in the Report – only the Cassini mission at Saturn was judged as having a better science return,” the letter explains.
“We urge Congress to support the results of this independent review process and to augment NASA’s budget to continue operating its fleet of high-performing, scientifically valuable planetary spacecraft,” the letter concludes.
On-going research underway by NASA Opportunity rover, wheeling its way on the Red Planet in this Sol 4006 image.
Credit: NASA/JPL
Public outreach
Also engaged in activating a public response to these issues is The Planetary Society.
“Here at The Planetary Society, we’ve been gathering petitions from our members and the wider community for LRO/Opportunity since early March,” explains Casey Dreier, Director of Advocacy for the organization.
Dreier advised Inside Outer Space that the URL below is perfect for the public to get engaged about supporting these missions. It sends a message directly to representatives in Congress, he said, with a default letter (which can be modified) that contains a focus on the cancelled missions within the context of planetary exploration.
Letters will be sent to the congressional people that sit on the committees that oversee NASA’s budget.
NOTE: To have your voice heard on these issues, go to:
https://secure.planetary.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=183
Rock embedded into wheel of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity. The robot acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, on April 30, 2015, Sol 971.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has advanced through a sandy-floored valley, busily inspecting the lower slopes of a layered mountain, Mount Sharp.
The Mars machinery is busy investigating how the region’s ancient environment evolved from lakes and rivers to much drier conditions.
Sweeping view from Curiosity taken on April 23, 2015, Sol 964.
Credit NASAJPL-CaltechMSSS
New imagery shows the robot taking hits to its wheels, including a lodged rock in one wheel.
After landing on Mars Aug. 5, 2012 (California time), Curiosity spent much of its first 12 months on the Red Planet studying locations close to its landing site north of Mount Sharp.
Findings during that period and subsequent treks continue to gather evidence for ancient rivers and a lakebed environment that offer conditions favorable for microbial life – if Mars has ever hosted life.
Curiosity’s Front Hazcam: Left B image taken on April 30, Sol 971.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity’s ChemCam: Remote Micro-Imager taken on April 30, Sol 971.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
Navcam: Left B image from NASA’s Mars rover April 30, on Sol 971.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
European Space Agency has been looking at what it takes to construct a moon outpost.
Credit: ESA/ Foster + Partners
A new story from me posted today on Space.com.
The in-coming leader of the European Space Agency is keen on establishing an international base on the moon – a next-step outpost beyond the International Space Station.
Next European Space Agency Director General, Johann-Dietrich Wörner, discusses farside moon station at the The Space Foundation’s recently held 31st National Space Symposium.
Credit: Tom Kimmell Photography
Johann-Dietrich Wörner expressed his lunar base views at The Space Foundation’s National Space Symposium, held here April 13-16 – a gathering of global, commercial, civil, military and newspace experts.
For the full story, go to:
Europe’s Next Space Chief Wants a Moon Colony on the Lunar Far Side
by Leonard David, Space.com’s Space Insider Columnist
May 01, 2015 06:00am ET
http://www.space.com/29285-moon-base-european-space-agency.html
Progress M-27M — was launched April 28 from Area 31 of the Baikonur launch site.
Credit: OAO RSC Energia
Word is that Russian ground controllers have had “no joy” in attempting to establish control of the tumbling Russian Progress 59 supply ship.
The logistics spacecraft — Progress M-27M — was launched April 28 from Area 31 of the Baikonur launch site at 10:09:50 Moscow Time.
Progress M-27M being readied for launch.
Credit: OAO RSC Energia
The spacecraft was to use a “quick” 4-orbit flight profile of 6 hours duration to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS).
After launch, however, the Progress suffered a control problem, with this onboard video showing the spin-rate of the spacecraft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMiNjHjpunU
No word as yet on any solid prediction of a possible reentry of the Progress – if indeed the craft remains out-of-control.
There are reports of dozens of pieces of spacecraft debris associated with the Progress now in orbit – a meaningful suggestion that adds to the view the spacecraft is surely headed for an early, destructive reentry – negating its intended mission.
Onboard supplies
According to OAO RSC Energia, onboard the supply craft are propellant components, compressed oxygen, additional equipment needed to maintain the station in good working order, equipment for science experiments, medical supplies, personal belongings and food for the crew.
Altogether, more than 5,200 pounds (2,359 kg) of cargo is inside the Progress, including 3,075 pounds (1,395 kg) of dry cargo, 1,089 pounds (494 kg) of propellant, 925 pounds (420 kg) of water and 110 pounds (50 kg) of compressed gases.
The logistics spacecraft of the new series — Progress M-M — developed and built by RSC Energia is an upgraded version of the Progress M spacecraft.
OAO RSC Energia notes that the Progress is equipped with new devices for the motion control and navigation system and an improved onboard measurement system. All the devices are built around state-of-the-art electronic components and run the latest software. The upgrade made it possible to reduce the mass of the onboard equipment and thus enhance the capability to deliver payload to orbit.
Here is a video of the Progress launch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYy19APPj_c#t=19
Photo of the first X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle waits in the encapsulation cell of the Evolved Expendable Launch vehicle April 5, 2010, at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla. Half of the Atlas V five-meter fairing is visible in the background.
On the upcoming May flight of the space plane, a Hall thruster will be tested to provide significantly greater specific impulse, or fuel economy, and may lead to increased payload carrying capacity and a greater number of on-orbit maneuvers.
Courtesy photo via US Air Force
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) has announced that the Atlas V launch of the AFSPC-5 mission – the X-37B — has been confirmed on the Eastern Range for May 20, 2015.
The U.S. Air Force has confirmed the spacecraft is on track to meet this launch date.
Meanwhile, new details about an experiment onboard the 4th mission of the space plane program have been outlined by the Air Force Research Laboratory, Space and Missile Systems Center, and Rapid Capabilities Office.
Electric propulsion
Among other payloads, a Hall thruster experiment will fly on the X-37B.
The device is a modified version of the units that have propelled the Space and Missile Systems Center’s ( SMC) first three Advanced Extremely High Frequency military communications spacecraft.
What’s a Hall thruster?
It is a type of electric propulsion device that produces thrust by ionizing and accelerating a noble gas, usually xenon. While producing comparatively low thrust relative to conventional rocket engines, Hall thrusters provide significantly greater specific impulse, or fuel economy.
This results in increased payload carrying capacity and a greater number of on-orbit maneuvers for a spacecraft using Hall thrusters rather than traditional rocket engines, according to an update from the Air Force Materiel Command Wright-Patterson Air Force Base update.
Less fuel burn
Once in orbit, the X-37B toted experiment will include collection of telemetry from the Hall thruster operating in the space environment as well as measurement of the thrust imparted on the vehicle.
The resulting data will be used to validate and improve Hall thruster and environmental modeling capabilities. The in-space test will provide data to contrast ground test results to actual on-orbit performance.
Maj. Gen. Tom Masiello, AFRL commander said: “A more efficient on-orbit thruster capability is huge. Less fuel burn lowers the cost to get up there, plus it enhances spacecraft operational flexibility, survivability and longevity.”
The on-orbit test plans are being developed by AFRL and administered by the Rapid Capabilities Office.
NASA’s Orion spacecraft en route to Mars – what’s the radiation risk?
Credit: Lockheed Martin
One of the outcomes from a recent NASA Advisory Council (NAC) meeting is taking a hard look at radiation levels for those humans shipping out from Earth on a Mars mission.
The NAC held its discussions regarding a wide variety of issues on April 9-10 in Washington, D.C. The NAC advises NASA’s senior leadership on challenges and solutions facing the agency as it attempts to pioneer a new era of human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
A NAC letter to NASA’s Bolden, dated April 16, issued by NAC chair, Steven Squyres, made a recommendation regarding radiation impact on astronauts headed outbound to Mars.
Open communications
First of all, the Council recommended that NASA “openly communicate the radiation risks while proceeding with preparations to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.”
NASA should continue its work to mitigate radiation risks through improved knowledge and technology, the Council observed.
The Council encouraged NASA to “initiate a long-term medical care program for astronauts which includes long-term astronaut health monitoring to mitigate long duration exposure health consequences, and build a baseline for future long-term health and engineering decisions.”
Serious issue
The Council underscored the fact that radiation for deep space flight “is indeed a serious issue to be addressed as technology and understanding evolve.”
It is also clear, the Council added, “that it is not likely we can mitigate all radiation risks to fully meet current radiation health standards.”
The Council concluded, in writing their recommendation on radiation risk — “Consequences of No Action on the Proposed Recommendation” — that accurate information regarding NASA’s planned approach to the critically important issue of radiation safety “will not be adequately provided to all the relevant stakeholders.”
Read the complete NAC statement on this issue:
Credit: CBS News
This Sunday, April 26, there is a CBS News 60 Minutes segment on Air Force Space Command set to air…or take to space.
Titled “The Battle Above” the program will review U.S. and China locked in a high stakes contest over satellites that are critical to national security and everyday life.
The U.S. Air Force’s Space Command is tasked with defending the satellites upon which our daily life and national security have come to depend. Now, says a general — USAF Gen. John Hyten, the head of Air Force Space Command –Chinese weapons could pose a threat to those satellites.
Correspondent David Martin anchors the report on Sunday April 26 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
Defending spacecraft
USAF laser-guided telescope in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Credit: CBS News
According to a CBS News statement on the show:
“Martin provides a rare look at Space Command, the branch of the U.S. Air Force charged with launching and protecting U.S. satellites. The report includes stunning images of a massive, laser-guided telescope in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that can be used to surveil the satellites of potential adversaries like China.”
USAF Gen. Hyten explains that he believes China will soon be able to threaten U.S. satellites in “every orbital regime that we operate in,” from low Earth orbit a few hundred miles above the Earth, to geosynchronous orbit more than 20,000 miles up – where some of the military’s most important satellites circle the Earth.
“Now we have to figure out how to defend those satellites, and we’re going to,” Hyten says.
USAF Gen. John Hyten, the head of Air Force Space Command, at 31st National Space Symposium held earlier this month in Colorado Springs.
Credit: The Space Foundation
Dealing with anti-satellites
General Hyten is asked whether a U.S. military satellite can maneuver itself out of the way of an upcoming anti-satellite weapon?
“The answer is maybe,” Hyten says. “It depends on the satellite…when it was built… how old it is…when we know the threat is coming.’”
Martin reports that the U.S. has tested anti-satellite weapons in the past and, by most accounts, spends 10 times more on space than the Chinese.
A White House document obtained by 60 Minutes estimates the Pentagon spends about $25 billion a year on space – more than NASA or any other space agency in the world. The estimate includes spy satellites and other classified spending.
In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, told 60 Minutes that China is “committed to the peaceful use of outer space.”
Right of self-defense
Gen. Hyten says the U.S. wants peace but must be prepared for conflict.
“It’s a competition that I wish wasn’t occurring, but it is,” says Hyten. “If we’re threatened in space…we have the right of self-defense… and we’ll make sure we can execute that right.”
A preview of the show can be viewed at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/preview-the-battle-above/
Note: Check your local listings for the broadcast on your CBS affiliate. If you miss the broadcast, 60Minutes will normally post their stories on-line soon after they air at:
