Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category
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March 13th, 2018
Credit: Astrobotic Technology, Inc.
It’s called CubeRover – a novel and new small rover platform for the Moon.
Astrobotic, in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, has been selected by NASA for a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (or SBIR) Award to develop this 4.4 pound (2-kilogram) rover platform capable of small-scale science and exploration on the Moon and other planetary surfaces.
“CubeRover stands to give more people access to the Moon than ever before,” said Andrew Horchler, principal investigator of the program at Astrobotic. “Countries and organizations without multi-billion-dollar budgets now have a means of exploring other worlds for the first time,” he said in an Astrobotic press statement.
Rapid development
In Phase II the team presses forward with a rapid, two-year development to deliver a flight-ready rover to NASA. The team intends to fly the first CubeRover on Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander to the Moon in 2020.
Credit: Astrobotic Technology, Inc.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Astrobotic Technology, Inc. is a lunar logistics company established to deliver payloads to the Moon for companies, governments, universities, non-profits, and individuals.
Credit: Astrobotic Technology, Inc.
NASA catalyst
The company is an official partner with NASA through the Lunar CATALYST program, has 24 prior and ongoing NASA contracts, a commercial partnership with Airbus DS, a corporate sponsorship with DHL, 11 deals for its first mission to the Moon, and 130 customer payloads in the pipeline for upcoming missions, according to the group.
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Curiosity Mastcam Left image acquired on Sol 1989, March 11, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now carrying out Sol 1991 science duties.
Reports Ryan Anderson, a planetary geologist at the USGS in Flagstaff, Arizona:
“After a successful weekend plan, the team decided that for the sol 1991-1992 plan, we would trade a longer-distance drive in favor of some ‘touch and go’ contact science. This ensures that we have a good record of the variations in chemistry and rock texture as we drive along the Vera Rubin Ridge.”
Drive ahead
The plan starts with a short Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) observation of the target “Seaforth Head” along with Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) photos of the same target.
Curiosity Navcam Left B image taken on Sol 1989, March 11, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Anderson adds that the robot’s Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) and Mastcam also join in the fun, analyzing Seaforth Head as well as the target “Canisp.”
After those observations are finished, Curiosity will drive about 50 feet (15 meters) and collect the usual post-drive images.
Curiosity Navcam Left B image taken on Sol 1989, March 11, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Nice vantage point
The plan for Sol 1992, calls for an untargeted science block full of ChemCam activities.
“ChemCam will use autonomous targeting to analyze a patch of bedrock, and then will observe the titanium calibration target,” Anderson notes. “After that, ChemCam will take advantage of the clear skies and nice vantage point,” he adds, on the top of the Vera Rubin Ridge, to do a big 10×2 Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) mosaic of part of the Peace Vallis fan.
“Mastcam will observe the same area with its right eye to provide color and context for the RMI. The plan wraps up with a Navcam movie to watch for clouds,” Anderson concludes.
Curiosity Navcam Left B image acquired on Sol 1989, March 11, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Atmospherics
In an earlier report, Anderson pointed out that Sol 1990 was dedicated to lots of atmospheric observations. “Mastcam has some observations of dust in the atmosphere in the early morning and early afternoon, and Navcam will watch for clouds at those times as well. Navcam also has some early morning observations of the atmospheric ‘phase function’: basically, how bright the sky is at different angles from the sun. Navcam will also watch for dust devils in the afternoon.”
Chang’e-4 Moon lander and rover. Image credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences
For the first time, the Moon’s far side will be on the receiving end of a robotic lunar lander – China’s Chang’e-4.
Zhao Xiaojin, secretary of the CPC (Communist Party of China) committee at the China Aerospace Science and Technology (CAST), explains that the two-phase Chang’e-4 mission is being readied for launch in the first and second half of this year.
Earth-Moon L2 relay link.
Credit: CNSA
Relay satellite
“In the first half of 2018, we will first launch a relay satellite to Lagrange L2 Point, where the satellite can keep communication with both the far side of the Moon and the Earth. Therefore, we can control the lunar probe for data transmission using this relay satellite,” Zhao told China Central Television (CCTV) earlier this month.
Launch of the far side Chang’e-4 lunar lander is slated for the second half of 2018. It will not only do a soft landing on the far side of the Moon, “but also conduct in-situ and patrol exploration at the landing site,” Zhao said.
Steep and vertical landing
China’s Chang’e-4 lunar probe was the backup of the Chang’e-3 lunar probe which successfully landed on Moon in 2013, dispatching a lunar rover.
Zhao told CCTV that the landing mode and working condition of the Chang’e-4 lunar probe are very different from the Chang’e-3 lunar probe.
“Chang’e-3 lunar probe used a slow and arc-shaped landing, while as for Chang’e-4 lunar probe we have to adopt a steep and almost vertical landing,” Zhao explained. “Chang’e-4 lunar probe will have huge improvements on its capabilities because we have adopted new technologies and new products. For example, Chang’e-3 lunar probe could not work during the night, but Chang’e-4 lunar probe can do some measurement work at night,” Zhao added.
Group shot…China’s Chang’e 3 lander and Yutu rover.
Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Track record
The Chang´e-3, named after a Chinese lunar goddess, was China’s first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon. It consisted of a lander and a moon rover called “Yutu” (Jade Rabbit).
The Chang´e-3 mission was labeled as the second phase of China´s lunar program, which includes orbiting, landing and returning to Earth lunar samples. It follows the success of the Chang´e-1 and Chang´e-2 missions in 2007 and 2010.
Exploration of polar regions
Last year, Pei Zhaoyu, deputy director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) told attendees at the 7th IAA-CSA Conference on Advanced Space Technology that China will implement three missions in the polar regions of the Moon and set up scientific research stations there to offer a platform for future lunar probes.
“We will carry out three missions at the Moon’s polar regions to research the geological structure and mineral composition of its south pole and we will take samples back from the Moon during one of these missions. By building scientific research stations on the Moon, we want to provide a platform for larger scale and more rich lunar probe activities in the future,” Pei told CCTV.
China’s Chang’e 5 lunar sample return mission was on the books for 2017.
Via China Space website
Sample return
China’s blossoming robotic Moon exploration agenda did suffer a setback last year due to a July launch failure of the country’s most powerful rocket on its second flight, the Long March 5. That heavy-lifter is needed to hurl China’s Moon sampling and return to Earth mission.
For more information on the repercussions of that booster issue, go to:
China’s Delayed Moon Mission Sparks Debate over Lunar Samples
The Chang’e 5 spacecraft could return invaluable new moon rocks to Earth, but who will get to study them?
Also, go this Gallery Military video on the Chang’e-4 mission:
Credit: SXSW 2018/screengrab
Elon Musk sits with film director and friend Jonathan Nolan to answer questions from the audience at SXSW 2018, an event being held in Austin, Texas.
The SpaceX chief rocketeer addresses his moves on the Moon and Mars, governance of the first Mars colony, along with concerns about the future of artificial intelligence, the Earth’s energy balance, and his view of the “Dark Ages” that loom large in his future.
Film director Jonathan Nolan poses question to Elon Musk during SXSW 2018, an event being held in Austin, Texas. Credit: SXSW 2018/screengrab
Musk sees a multi-planet species as necessary to re-migrate to a ravaged Earth in the future.
Elon reveals that SpaceX is now busy at work and is making progress on the firm’s interplanetary transport vehicle, the BFR, that could well see test hops by mid next year, he explains.
Musk is joined by his brother Kimbal Musk that also includes singing of the Three Amigos- Bar Scene (My Little Buttercup).
Musk is joined by his brother Kimbal Musk that also includes singing of the Three Amigos- Bar Scene (My Little Buttercup). in SXSW 2018 event.
Credit: SXSW 2018/screengrab
This video is available at:
Credit: SpaceX/Screengrab
“Life cannot just be about solving one sad problem after another. There need to be things that inspire you, that make you glad to wake up in the morning and be part of humanity. That is why we did it. We did for you.”
When Falcon Heavy lifted off, it became the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two. With the ability to lift into orbit nearly 64 metric tons (141,000 lb)—a mass greater than a 737 jetliner loaded with passengers, crew, luggage and fuel–Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost.
Credit: SpaceX/Screengrab
Following liftoff, the two side boosters separated from the center core and returned to landing site for future reuse. The video shows the close-call landing of core booster on drone ship.
Credit: SpaceX/Screengrab
Falcon Heavy put a Tesla Roadster and its passenger, Starman, into orbit around the sun. At max velocity Starman and the Roadster will travel 11 km/s (7mi/s) and travel 400 million km (250 million mi) from Earth.
Credit: SpaceX/Screengrab
The video was made by HBO series Westworld co-creators, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy and was shown during the SWSW 2018 festival being held in Austin, Texas.
Go to this video at:
U.S. Vice President Pence briefs President Trump on the National Space Council.
Credit: White House
Vice President Mike Pence Briefed U.S. President Trump and the Cabinet on March 8 regarding the National Space Council – led by Pence.
“This Administration is leading in space,” Pence tweeted, “by bringing together private sector & federal gov’t – huge advances! We’ll continue to strengthen national security & unleash innovation, which creates high-paying jobs in America. #space.”
Credit: White House
White House science & technology
Since President Trump’s inauguration, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has built a robust team of over 50 staff members, including a corps of scientists and engineers, policymakers, and academics to advise the President on science and technology (S&T), support the President’s agenda, and ensure that S&T efforts across the Executive Branch are effectively coordinated.
OSTP advisors
OSTP policy advisors are providing expert advice and developing policies on a wide range of topics, including space and aeronautics, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, biotechnology, cybersecurity, digital economy, disaster preparedness, healthcare, infectious diseases, information technology, medicine, nanotechnology, nuclear energy, ocean science, quantum information sciences, and telecommunications, among others.
Credit: White House/OSTP
Report
A newly issued White House document provides a selection of the S&T achievements by the Trump Administration to date, including space program agenda items.
View the full report here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Administration-2017-ST-Highlights.pdf
Curioisty Mastcam Left image acquired on Sol 1985, March 7, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Seasons make a big difference for Mars vistas, reports Roger Wiens, Curiosity’s Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) principal investigator and geochemist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The Red Planet is halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox in the southern hemisphere where the robot now resides.
“The atmosphere around the globe is the clearest in southern winter. Once spring starts, turbulence increases and dust storms begin,” Wiens points out.
Curiosity is now performing Sol 1987 science tasks.
Curiosity Navcam Left B photo taken on Sol 1986, March 8, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Clear skies
Curiosity science teams are taking advantage of the clear skies to take long-distance ChemCam Remote Micro Imager (RMI) telescope mosaics of the terrain on Mt. Sharp and on the crater rim.
“We are especially interested in a Mt. Sharp unit characterized by features that look like yardangs, which are typically wind-sculpted elongated features in a landscape that is experiencing erosion,” Wiens adds. “We’re also very interested in the apparent fluvial channels seen descending from the crater rim.”
Curioisty Navcam Left B image acquired on Sol 1985, March 7, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The rover’s Navcam has already been used to image at least two channels.
“We are curious…when was the last time that water flowed down these channels? Was it steady flow, or catastrophic? Is there evidence of snow and ice,” Wiens questions, “or was the water more likely delivered as rain?”
Curiosity Front Hazcam Left B photo taken on Sol 1986, March 8, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Gravel underfoot
Under clear skies, Curiosity has recently driven close to 100 feet (30 meters) and is now stationed on a gravelly patch of ground.
“The rover is heading northeast along the top of Vera Rubin Ridge. With only gravel underfoot, the arm instrument teams decided to forgo contact science at this location,” Wiens explains.
On the plan is for the robot to use ChemCam and Mastcam to observe small bedrock targets “Sgurr nan Gilean” and “Braemar.” Mastcam will use optical filters to observe the latter target.
Slight downhill drive
After a planned long northerly and slightly downhill drive aiming for nearly 270 feet (82 meters), Curiosity is slated to image the surroundings, done by Hazcam, Navcam, and Mastcam. It will include a Mastcam clast survey.
Also on the plan, the Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS) software will use the Navcam images to pick a target for ChemCam investigation.
On the second sol of this plan ChemCam will take long-distance images of the yardang unit on Mt. Sharp and of the Peace Vallis area.
Navcam will take several movies to look for dust devils and thin clouds. The rover’s Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN), Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), and Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) will also take data.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
New traverse map
Meanwhile, a new map has been issued that shows the route driven by NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity through the 1985 Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission as of March 8, 2018.
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 1962 to Sol 1985, Curiosity had driven a straight line distance of about 93.78 feet (28.59 meters), bringing the rover’s total odometry for the mission that began in August 2012 to 11.33 miles (18.23 kilometers).
The base image from the map is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera (HiRISE) in NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Credit: CMSA
A third edition of the Global Exploration Roadmap has been issued, a report that includes a step-by-step explanation of China’s future space station objectives for the 2020s.
The newly issued Roadmap outlines the interests of 14 space agencies that belong to the ISECG, a group that includes the China National Space Administration.
Two phases
As cited in the ISECG 2018 report:
In September 2010, the Chinese government approved the implementation of their space station project.
China’s Space Station project is organized in two phases:
- the first phase includes the Space Laboratory;
- the second phase includes construction of a Space Station.
The Tiangong 2 Space Laboratory was launched in September 2016. Then, the Shenzhou-11 crewed spacecraft and cargo spacecraft docked with the lab.
Credit: CMS
Core, specialized modules
The China Space Station consists of a core module and two specialized modules with the complex having an orbital inclination of 42 degrees and an altitude of approximately 547-724 miles (340-450 kilometers), explains the ISECG report.
China’s space station has a design life of 10 years with the ability to extend service life through maintenance.
After the construction is completed, two or three astronauts will live and work continuously for long durations, with the station supporting a maximum of six people during periods of crew rotation.
The station is equipped with an external robotic arm and other equipment to support station construction, maintenance and operations.
Deployed micro-satellite monitored the combined Tiangong-2/Shenzhou-11 vehicles.
Credit: CCTV
Sub-phases
China’s Space Station phase is divided into three sub-phases.
In the key technical verification phase, the test core module is launched and multiple pilot and cargo spacecraft launches test the core module to validate astronaut long-term presence, regenerative life support systems, flexible solar wing and drive mechanism, and overall control of a large flexible structure and space station assembly.
Following this key technical verification phase, the two specialized modules are launched completing the construction phase.
During this period, a number of Shenzhou crewed and cargo spacecraft will be launched to support the completion of construction tasks and carry out scientific and technological experiments simultaneously.
When the Space Station construction tasks are completed, the operations phase begins.
The Tianhe core module for China’s Space Station undergoes ground testing.
Credit: CCTV/Screengrab
Research and exploration activities
The astronaut crew will conduct long-duration missions to conduct scientific and technological research and exploration activities.
On the basis of the existing three-module configuration, an additional docking interface is available with the capability of docking an additional permanent element.
China’s Space Station can accommodate other countries’ spacecraft access that meets the standards of China’s space station and can also be equipped with an external experimental platform and experimental equipment.
As explained in the ISECG report, additional modules may be added to the Chinese Space Station in the future.
International cooperation
The main scientific research and application directions of the Chinese Space Station are:
- space medicine,
- space life science and biotechnology,
- microgravity fluid physics,
- space material science,
- microgravity basic physics,
- space astronomy and astrophysics,
- space environment and space physics,
- aerospace components,
- space geosciences and applications,
- space-based information technology,
- new aerospace technologies and applications.
Credit: CMSE/Wei Yan Juan
International cooperation, the ISECG report explains, can be based on module level cooperation, on other countries’ spacecraft visits, on astronaut joint flights, and on cooperation in space science and space applications research.
To read this China update within the 2018 ISECG report, go to pg. 13:
https://www.globalspaceexploration.org/wordpress/wp-content/isecg/GER_2018_small_mobile.pdf
Credit: ISECG
Agencies participating in the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) are advancing a long-range international exploration strategy to expand human presence into the Solar System, which begins with the International Space Station, proceeds to the Moon, and leads to human missions to explore Mars.
A third edition of the Global Exploration Roadmap has been issued, following the first roadmap released in September 2011 and updated in August 2013.
Credit: ISECG
This new iteration includes updated agency plans and programs and aims to “facilitate stakeholder engagement within countries and across space agencies to realize human and robotic exploration of destinations where humans may one day live and work,” according to the ISECG.
Agency plans
This third edition of the Global Exploration Roadmap, first released in September 2011 and updated in August 2013, includes updated agency plans and programs and aims to facilitate stakeholder engagement within countries and across space agencies to realize human and robotic exploration of destinations where humans may one day live and work.
This new edition of the Global Exploration Roadmap reaffirms the interest of 14 space agencies to expand human presence into the Solar System, with the surface of Mars as a “common driving goal.”
Credit: ISECG
Coordinated effort
The report reflects a coordinated international effort to prepare for space exploration missions beginning with the International Space Station (ISS) and continuing to the lunar vicinity, the lunar surface, then on to Mars.
The expanded group of agencies within the ISECG spotlights the growing interest in space exploration and the importance of cooperation to realize individual and common goals and objectives.
To read this highly informative 2018 report, go to:
https://www.globalspaceexploration.org/wordpress/wp-content/isecg/GER_2018_small_mobile.pdf
A House Subcommittee on Space carried out a hearing on March 7: An Overview of the NASA Budget for Fiscal Year 2019
The sole witness was NASA’s Robert Lightfoot, Jr., Acting Administrator.
Moon: proving ground
In an opening Statement Space Subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin (R-Texas) noted that Mars has been, and will remain, the first interplanetary destination for humanity.
“And along the way, NASA has been encouraged to carry out any mission necessary, including cis-lunar activities, to advance future interplanetary exploration,” Chairman Babin said.
“There are many benefits to this strategy. The moon offers a proving ground closer to home for advancing the technologies necessary for deep space exploration. The opportunities for commercial and international participation could greatly enhance a lunar mission. And the more frequent operational cadence will better prepare astronauts, mission crews and the commercial partners for future missions.” Babin noted.
Range of questions
Subcommittee members served up a wide range of questions for NASA’s Lightfoot on Moon and Mars exploration plans to a variety of topics, including the James Webb Space Telescope and other future missions, including the space agency’s plans for fending off asteroids.
To view a video of the hearing, go to:
The written testimony of NASA’s Lightfoot is available at:
The full opening statement by Babin is posted at:
