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Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category

 

NASA’s Curiosity rover is just entering Sol 1307, recently experiencing some power and driving problems.

The robot’s drive on Sol 1303 stopped during wheel steering, apparently due to a short in the rover’s nuclear power source.

Reports Ken Herkenhoff of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona: “On Sol 1305, the rover straightened its wheels in preparation for a drive, but then the fault that prevented driving earlier this week occurred again, and the vehicle did not move. The engineers are preparing to send parameter changes that will eliminate mobility actuator sensitivity to the transient power spikes.”

 

Rocks within arm’s reach

Meanwhile, the plan for Sol 1307 is to deploy the rover’s robotic arm to accomplish contact science of rocks in front of Curiosity.

But first, Herkenhoff reports that the Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) and Mastcam will examine a bedrock target named “Divundu” and rock target “Kapako.”

Curiosity’s Mastcam is slated to acquire a full multispectral set of images of a distant bright ridge called “Ruacana.”

Dust brush

Also on tap is use of the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to acquire a couple images of Divundu before dust removal brushes are used on the target.

MAHLI is then to acquire a full suite of images of the brushed spot and smaller sets of images of a rock named “Gaio” and a bedrock target called “Lucira.”

The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) is to be placed on Gaio and then on Divundu for detailed study of the rocks.

 

 

Mosaic of Mt. Sharp

Herkenhoff adds that early on the morning of Sol 1308, the Right Mastcam will acquire a mosaic of the north side of Aeolis Mons (“Mt. Sharp”).

Later that morning, Navcam will search for clouds and dust devils, and Mastcam will image the crater rim to determine how much dust is in the air within Gale crater.

In the afternoon, the arm will be stowed before Mastcam acquires a multispectral observation of the Divundu brush spot before the rover attempts to drive again.

After taking the usual post-drive images, the rover will go to sleep and recharge its batteries in preparation for Monday’s set of activities, Herkenhoff notes.

Dates of planned rover activities are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.

 

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is pushing forward on reusable launch vehicle technology.

According to ISRO, the winged Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration Program (RLV-TD) is a series of technology demonstration missions for realizing a two stage to orbit (TSTO) fully re-usable vehicle.

RLV-TD is viewed as a flying test bed to evaluate various technologies: hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air-breathing propulsion.

Suborbital splashdown

According to a March 29^th news item in The Hindu, the premier flight of the program is slated for as early as mid-May. Riding atop a solid-propelled booster rocket, the craft will fly to over 40 miles (70 kilometers) altitude then released to plow through the atmosphere to a splashdown in the Bay of Bengal.

The first in the series of experimental flights, explains ISRO, is the hypersonic flight experiment (HEX) followed by the landing experiment (LEX), return flight experiment (REX) and scramjet propulsion experiment (SPEX).

K. Sivan, Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, led the RLV-TD development program and spearheaded its design, qualification, aerodynamic characterization and hardware development.

 

 

Vikram Sarabhai Space Center is the major centre of ISRO, where the design and development activities of satellite launch vehicles and sounding rockets are carried out and made ready for launch operations.

A new documentary film – Passage to Mars — details the Northwest Passage Drive Expedition, a NASA-supported, multi-stage 750-plus kilometer crewed vehicular traverse on land and on sea-ice along the fabled Northwest Passage in the Arctic.

Destination for the expedition: Devon Island in the High Arctic, an otherworldly place known as “Mars on Earth.”

The primary goal of the expedition was to deliver the NASA Haughton-Mars Project’s (HMP) Okarian, a specially modified Humvee to be used on Devon Island as a Mars pressurized rover simulator.

Positive message

This impressive documentary film spotlights scientific objectives in astrobiology, geology, geophysics, planetary protection, climate change, and human Mars exploration studies.

“We wanted to have a record of our expedition on film, create a tool to help promote Humans to Mars, and inspire the next generation of explorers with a positive message,” explains expedition leader, Pascal Lee, planetary scientist at the Mars Institute and the SETI Institute, and director of the HMP at NASA Ames Research Center.

The expedition includes Mars Institute team members Joe Amarualik, John Schutt, and Jesse Weaver. The documentary film crew included award-winning film director Jean-Christophe Jeauffre of Jules Verne Adventures and director of photography Mark Carroll.

Epic odyssey

Passage to Mars is the saga of a crew of six aboard NASA experimental vehicle HMP Okarian, attempting to cross 2,000 miles of Arctic sea-ice to reach NASA outpost on the remote island of Devon – a place on Earth where humans prepare for Mars.

 

This unprecedented adventure, planned to last a few weeks, becomes a two-year epic odyssey of hope, fear and survival. Shot on the breathtaking sea ice on Earth, and on Mars, as captured by robots, this true story is a vibrant, thought-provoking hymn to our thirst for discovery.

“Gripping! Captures the truth of exploration! The will to survive against the odds,” says legendary film director, James Cameron.

 

Opening

The film will premiere in Los Angeles, California at Laemmle Theaters the week of May 31 to June 5, 2016.

Passage to Mars opens May 31at Ahrya Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills, California. All screenings are to be followed with discussion by: Film director Jean-Christophe Jeauffre; NASA Expedition leader Pascal Lee; film crew; and special guests.

Here’s the link to view the screening schedule details and to obtain tickets:

http://www.laemmle.com/films/40657

Watch this impressive trailer for Passage to Mars at:

https://vimeo.com/153978048

 

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now in Sol 1303 as of this posting.

A new map has been released indicating the rover’s Location for Sol 1301.

The map shows the route driven by Curiosity through the 1301 Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission on Mars (April, 04, 2016).

Numbering of the dots along the line indicate the sol number of each drive. North is up. From Sol 1298 to Sol 1301, Curiosity had driven a straight line distance of about 14.69 feet (4.48 meters).

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

 

In other newly released imagery, the Mars machinery continues to take stunning and picturesque photos from its recent post-drive location.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now in Sol 1301, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has pulled up near the edge of the Naukluft plateau, driving across “Stimson” bedrock.

Reports Ryan Anderson, a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona: The over the weekend plan called for a Sol 1300 trio of Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) observations of the bedrock target “Bero” and fracture targets “Iona”, and “Arco” along with Mastcam documentation.

This was followed up by Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and Mastcam images of Bero before and after brushing off the dust. MAHLI also has some images of “Gudaus” and measurements using the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) are on tap to evaluate the composition of Gudaus and Bero.

 

Interesting layers

In the early morning on Sol 1301, Mastcam was slated to take four mosaics of various portions of the Stimson unit.

“These include areas with fractures and nodules, as well as some interesting layers in a nearby outcrop,” Anderson adds.

After that, the plan calls for a Curiosity drive about 165 feet (50 meters) and collect standard post-drive images.

 

Peace Vallis

On Sol 1302, Anderson explains, Navcam and Mastcam are to acquire atmospheric observations, and ChemCam has a long-distance observation of Peace Vallis, the large valley carved into the northern rim of the crater. Peace Vallis is an outflow channel in Gale Crater.

Mastcam is to then round out the day with a large 360 degree panorama from the rover’s end-of-drive location.

Dates of planned rover activities are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.

Jeff Bezos, the rocketeer and Amazon.com billionaire, reports today that his Blue Origin team has aced yet another flight of their New Shepard suborbital vehicle.

“We’ll share mission video including aerial as soon as we’re able to get it processed,” Bezos posted on Twitter. The rocket flight was done from the Blue Origin spaceport in West Texas.

Bezos noted that the team pushed the envelope on their vehicle, restarting the rocket’s BE-3 high thrust engine just 3,600 ft from ground. The vehicle would impact in 6 seconds if that engine didn’t restart and ramp up fast, he tweeted.

“Flawless BE-3 restart and perfect booster landing,” Bezos added.

Onboard experiments

Two university microgravity experiments were onboard the vehicle. One investigation came from the Southwest Research Institute, a box of rocks experiment that offered insight into rocks on the surface of an asteroid; the other came from the University of Central Florida that delves into impacts between objects in microgravity.

The Southwest Research Institute experiment designed to better understand the rocky soil on small, near-Earth asteroids flew aboard Blue Origin’s reusable New Shepard space vehicle. Principal Investigator: Dr. Dan Durda.

Go to video:

https://youtu.be/dugpPEp2y78

A University of Central Florida experiment designed to mimic impacts between objects in microgravity also flew on Blue Origin’s reusable New Shepard space vehicle. Principal Investigator: Dr. Joshua Colwell.

Go to video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVKBj4LmOm4

 

Today’s flight was a repeat performance of the New Shepard design. It has rocketed to the edge of space on two earlier occasions in November 2015 and January 2016.

Step by step

The New Shepard system is a fully reusable vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) space vehicle. Built to carry “pay per view” passengers, after launch the vehicle soars to over 100 km above Earth—beyond the internationally recognized edge of space. “You’ll help extend the legacy of space explorers who have come before you, while pioneering access to the space frontier for all,” the Blue Origin website notes.

The system consists of a pressurized capsule atop a booster. The combined vehicles launch vertically, accelerating for approximately two and a half minutes, before the engine cuts off.

The capsule then separates from the booster to coast quietly into space. After a few minutes of free fall, the booster performs an autonomously controlled rocket-powered vertical landing, while the capsule lands softly under parachutes, both ready to be used again.

 

 

 

Overall, the New Shepard program is one that Bezos boasts is a mix of “Launch…Land… Repeat” and also intellectually fueled by a touch of Latin: Gradatim Ferociter! – or “step by step, ferociously.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Shepard flew on April 2, 2016 reaching an apogee of 339,178 feet or 103 kilometers. It was the third flight with the same hardware. “We pushed the envelope on this flight, restarting the engine for the propulsive landing only 3,600 feet above the ground, requiring the BE-3 engine to start fast and ramp to high thrust fast,” explains the Blue Origin team.

For the video, go to:

https://www.blueorigin.com/news/news/pushing-the-envelope#youtubeYU3J-jKb75g

 

 

The prospect that a planet lurking in the “out there” may trigger comet showers roughly every 27 million years that then wipes out life on Earth is receiving increased attention.

Not long ago, Caltech researchers suggested that a still-to-be-found Planet X is about 10 times the mass of Earth and could currently be up to 1,000 times more distant from the Sun.

Adding more fuel to the apocalyptic prognosis is Daniel Whitmire, a retired professor of astrophysics at the University of Arkansas, now working in the university’s Department of Mathematical Sciences.

Whitmire recently published “Periodic mass extinctions and the Planet X model reconsidered” in the January issue of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Whitmire and his colleague, John Matese, first published research on the connection between Planet X and mass extinctions in the journal Nature in 1985 while working as astrophysicists at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Dislodged comets

Whitmire and Matese’s theory is that as Planet X orbits the Sun, its tilted orbit slowly rotates and Planet X passes through the Kuiper belt of comets every 27 million years, knocking comets into the inner solar system.

The dislodged comets not only smash into the Earth, they also disintegrate in the inner solar system as they get nearer to the Sun, reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth.

Whitmire says what’s really exciting is the possibility that a distant planet may have had a significant influence on the evolution of life on Earth.

“I’ve been part of this story for 30 years,” Whitmire explains. “If there is ever a final answer I’d love to write a book about it,” he adds in a university press statement.

The paper, “Periodic mass extinctions and the Planet X model reconsidered” can be found at: http://mnrasl.oxfordjournals.org/content/455/1/L114.abstract?sid=afad37d0-2eba-4eea-ad57-29ba70b5476d

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For related stories on Inside Outer Space, go to:

Comet Threat Warning: Environmental Upheaval

https://www.leonarddavid.com/comet-threat-warning-environmental-upheaval/

Death Threat from Planet 9?

https://www.leonarddavid.com/death-threat-from-planet-9/

The Curiosity rover on Mars has entered Sol 1299.

A drive of the machinery on Sol 1296 was halted after just (13 feet) 4 meters of progress, reports Ken Herkenhoff of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. The reason for the halt was due to the rover’s suspension on its left side was more tilted than expected, he explains.

“Suspension checks are routinely included in drive sequences, to keep the vehicle safe,” Herkenhoff says, and Curiosity is indeed safe.

The Sol 1298 plan included a drive to the same location as previously orchestrated.

 

 

Rock targets

“We were also able to squeeze in some pre-drive remote science:  Chemistry and Camera and Mastcam were slated to observe rock targets named “Blaubock 2” and “Chapeu Armado.”

Herkenhoff also notes that Sol 1299 observations were to be untargeted because they will occur after the drive, and include Mastcam, ChemCam, and Navcam measurements of the sun and sky.

 

 

 

 

 

Steep slope

Meanwhile, NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover — the veteran Red Planet prowler that has been working hard since landing in January 2004 – tackled a climb on the steepest slope ever undertaken by any Mars machine.

The March 10 drive surpassed Opportunity’s own previous record for the steepest slope ever driven by any Mars rover. This was the third attempt to reach a science target and came up a few inches short.

 

Wheel rotations

Ground teams commanded Opportunity to carry out more wheel rotations than would usually be needed to travel the intended distance. But wheel slippage was so great that the vehicle traveled just a few inches.

The rover team decided to skip that target and move on.

According to a Jet Propulsion Laboratory statement, in eight drives between the steepest-ever drive and March 31, Opportunity first backed downhill, northward, for about 27 feet (8.2 meters), then drove about 200 feet (about 60 meters) generally southwestward and uphill, toward the next target area.

The U.S. government’s General Accountability Office (GAO) has released an informative and detailed look at 18 major NASA projects.

This report is a GAO annual snapshot of how well NASA is planning and executing its major acquisition projects. In March 2015, GAO found that projects continued a general positive trend of limiting cost and schedule growth, maturing technologies, and stabilizing designs, “but that NASA faced several challenges that could affect its ability to effectively manage its portfolio.”

Commercial crew

Four projects were assessed for the first time this year: The Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission (ARRM), Europa, Exploration Ground Systems (EGS), and Ionospheric Connection (ICON).

The just-released GAO report also assessed NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

You’ll find some interesting perspectives on other programs as well, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, Mars 2020, the Space Launch System, and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.

 

 

 

 

Regarding the outcome of the report, Cristina Chaplain, a director in GAO’s Acquisition and Sourcing Management team explains:

“The bottom line is that this is good news for NASA. They’ve been taking very good steps to lower acquisition risks.
But they really need to sustain this in the largest projects. They’re going to be very tested in the next few years. There’s going to be a new administration. And all these projects are going to be hitting their most difficult phases of development. So these practices need to be there when NASA is tested the most.”

 

For your own accountability scoring regarding NASA and its on-going set of programs, go to:

NASA: Assessments of Major Projects (GAO-16-309SP, March 30).

Report: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-309SP

Highlights: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/676178.pdf

Podcast: http://www.gao.gov/multimedia/podcasts/676129

Small is beautiful…and in space, nano along with micro is big news.

SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. (SEI) in Atlanta, Georgia has issued its annual assessment of markets for nano/microsatellites. The appraisal spotlights this sector and notes its growth in recent years, led by large constellation plans from the commercial industry.

SEI projections indicate more than 400 nano/microsatellites will need launches annually in the year 2022 and beyond.

Limited launch opportunities in 2015 meant that there is a growing backlog of small satellites looking to launch in 2016 and beyond.

News for the masses

The group is currently tracking 780 future (2016 – 2018) nano/microsatellites with masses between 1 kilogram and 50 kilograms in various stages of planning or development.

Historical launches and publicly announced plans for future launches, as well as estimated market growth, explains SEI serve as a basis for projection of the quantity of nano/microsatellites that will launch between 2016 and 2022.

This report bounds the upper range of interest in microsatellites at 50 kg given the relative large amount of satellite development activity in the 1-50 kg range by comparison to the 50-100 kg range.

Study messages

A few takeaway messages from the study:

• The commercial sector will increase its proportional representation over the next three years, to the extent that it will soon account for the majority of spacecraft launched in the 1 – 50 kg class.
• More than 70% of future nano/microsatellites will be used for Earth observation and remote sensing purposes (compared to 37% from 2009 to 2015).
• As key companies move toward operations, a smaller proportion of technology development/demonstration nano/microsatellites will be built in the next few years.
• While still widely used by academia, 1 – 3 kg CubeSats will comprise less than 30% of the market in the future (compared to 71% from 2009 to 2013).
• Over 60% of future nanosatellites (1 – 10 kg) will be in the increasingly popular 4 – 6 kg mass class (compared to only 23% from 2009 to 2013).
• Low cost piggy-back opportunities on medium and heavy-lift launch vehicles have attracted small satellite payloads; Many small dedicated launchers under development could change this trend.

 

 

Good space citizens

Given this projected growth of small satellites, what’s the worry regarding the potential for adding to space debris woes, and is there need for more regulation of the nano/microsatellite community?

Bill Doncaster, SEI senior systems engineer who helped develop the 2016 Nano/Microsatellite Market Forecast, told Inside Outer Space:

“At SpaceWorks we’re very bullish on the potential for sustained growth in this segment,” Doncaster said. He explains that SEI views the small satellite operators and their launch providers as being proactive at managing the orbital life for these programs.

“A majority of small satellites are currently going to low earth orbits, deploying off the International Space Station, for example, where their orbit decays within a year, maybe three at most, and so the number of active objects tracks with launches,” Doncaster explained. “Generally, as long as the operators continue to be good space citizens we don’t see the need for additional regulations.”

SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. specializes in independent technical concept development, economic analysis, market research, technology impact assessment, and systems analyses for future space systems and projects.

The study summary is available in presentation form as a free download on the website: www.spaceworksforecast.com