Some updates on plans for sending humans back to the moon, courtesy of Rob Coppinger over at Flight Global….
ESA considers cislunar space station for lunar exploration
“The European Space Agency, Russia and Japan are all considering a cislunar orbital complex that could consist of a habitation section and a resource module that would provide power and fuel and possibly be a safe haven for Orion crew exploration vehicle crews.”
NASA begins work to solve boil-off problem
“NASA has started the contractor selection process for its lunar surface thermal control system study that could find a solution to the biggest hurdle in its plans to return to the Moon: stopping propellant loss.”
ESA in favour of commercial lunar communications
Bernhard Hufenbach, ESA’s human spaceflight directorate’s head of strategy and architecture office, speaks enthusiastically of commercial communications services for a lunar outpost.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has unveiled the first flight model of its H-II Transfer Vehicle, which is set to deliver cargo to the International Space Station in summer 2009, Aviation Week reports.
The 10-meter long, 16.5-metric ton cargo ship will be the heaviest vehicle ever launched by Japan. It will be lofted into orbit by the country’s new Mitsubishi H-IIB rocket. The HTV is capable of supplying the station with about 6 metric tons of equipment and supplies. It will supplement Russia’s Progress and Europe’s ATV freighters.
ESA PRESS RELEASE
ESA’s Mars Express radar sounder, MARSIS, has looked beneath the martian surface and opened up the third dimension for planetary exploration. The technique’s success is prompting scientists to think of all the other places in the Solar System where they would like to use radar sounders.
No matter how accurate a camera is, it can only map a planet’s surface. To retrieve information about the underground realm, planetary scientists in the past would have thought it necessary to land on the surface and start digging.
But that would only be good for a single spot on a large planet and the first few decimetres of the surface. To get the global picture of the subsurface they need a radar sounder, such as the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS), to find the best spots for the future landers to go and dig.
MARSIS is built to map the distribution of liquid and solid water in the upper portions of martian crust. If reservoirs of water are detected, it will help us understand the hydrological, geological, climatic and possibly biological evolution of Mars. The radar experiment works because every time a radar wave crosses a boundary between different substances, it generates an echo that the orbiter detects.
Continue reading ‘ESA Breaks on Through to the “Third Dimension” on Mars’
Spaceflight Now has a great feature on the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, a NASA mission set for launch in October. LCROSS, built on a relative shoestring budget of $79 million, will guide a spent Centaur rocket stage into the moon in a search for frozen water.
“The Centaur, playing an unprecedented role in a space mission, will be used as a projectile to dive into a crater shrouded in darkness near one of the moon’s poles,” Spaceflight Now’s Stephen Clark writes. “An array of space-based telescopes and ground observatories will be used to analyze the material ejected from deep within the target crater in an effort to determine the extent of hypothesized water ice deposits there.”
SPACEHAB PRESS RELEASE
Houston, Texas, April 21, 2008 – SPACEHAB Incorporated, a provider of commercial space services, along with Florida Governor Charlie Crist, recently announced the Company’s partnership with the state of Florida to establish a space-based, biotech corridor that stretches from the International Space Station (ISS) to Earth-based Florida facilities and resources such as the Space Life Sciences Lab at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
The announcement was made at NASA’s Future Forum at the University of Miami Bank United Center on April 18, 2008, marking the establishment of a new “Space Age” industry to produce valuable products in space that show great promise to save and enhance lives on Earth.
“Florida is committed to fostering a thriving aerospace industry and is quickly becoming known as one of the nation’s top biotech centers,” said Governor Crist. “The partnership reinforces our dedication to the biotech industry. This is an exciting opportunity to stimulate progress in this new market and in Florida’s economy.”
Continue reading ‘Spacehab, Florida Announce New Biotech Initiative’
The Xinhua news agency reports that Shanghai engineers have built and tested three prototypes of lunar rovers in advance of a planned 2013 landing.
“The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology had made significant progress in key technologies for the locomotion system,” Xinhau reports.
You can see a picture of one prototype here. The 1.5-meter tall, 200-kilogram rover is designed to travel at an average speed of 100 meters per hour.
GENERAL DYNAMICS PRESS RELEASE
GILBERT, Ariz., April 22 - General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, has been selected by NASA to build the spacecraft for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). Under the terms of the $116 million delivery order, General Dynamics will be responsible for the design and fabrication of the LDCM spacecraft bus, integration of the government furnished instruments, satellite-level testing, on-orbit satellite check-out and continuing on-orbit engineering support. General Dynamics will also provide a spacecraft/observatory simulator.
Landsat will obtain data and imagery for use in agriculture, education, business, science and government. The LDCM observatory will include evolutionary advances in technology and performance, providing 60 percent more Earth coverage data per day than the current Landsat observatory.
“General Dynamics is committed to supporting NASA, and understands the importance of the Landsat mission,” said David Shingledecker, vice president and general manager of integrated space systems for General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. “We look forward to working closely with the Goddard Space Flight Center for the continued success of the Landsat mission.”
Continue reading ‘NASA Chooses General Dynamics for New Landsat Spacecraft’
Three of America’s largest defense and aerospace companies all reported increased first quarter profits this week.
“Boeing Co., the world’s second biggest commercial airplane manufacturer, reported a better-than-expected 38 percent jump in its first-quarter earnings, as it improved efficiency and recorded more orders for its aircraft,” the Associated Press reported. “The results, announced Wednesday by the Chicago-based aerospace and defense company, sent Boeing shares to a two-month high.”
Lockheed Martin reported profits rose 6 percent on sales of space systems, missiles and information technology systems. The Bethesda, Maryland-based company reported profits of $730 million, or $1.75 per share, beating analysts’ expectations of $1.63 per share.
The nation’s fourth largest defense contractor, General Dynamics, reported a 32-percent increase in first quarter earnings. The company’s net profit was $572 million, or $1.43 per share, up from $434 million or $1.07 per share. Profits rose on increased sales in combat systems, marine systems and the aerospace segment.
NASA also announced that it has awarded General Dynamics a $116 million contract for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). The company’s Advanced Information Systems unit will be responsible for designing and fabricating the LDCM spacecraft bus, integrating instruments, satellite-level testing, on-orbit satellite check-out, and continuing on-orbit engineering support. General Dynamics also will provide a spacecraft/observatory simulator.
Rand Simberg has an interesting analysis of the emerging space policies of the three major U.S. presidential candidates over at Popular Mechanics. It’s an interesting analysis that’s worth reading in detail.
“For voters already behind NASA’s targeted human spaceflight, don’t get your hopes up—none of the three major candidates are likely to fund the current plan, because they’ll all face the budgetary pressures implied by an aging population and a burgeoning federal deficit,” Simberg concludes.
This high-resolution image, taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows the rock debris that Brown scientists believe was left by a glacier that rose at least one kilometer from the surrounding plain and flowed downward onto the canyon. Photo Credit: NASA
BROWN UNIVERSITY PRESS RELEASE
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The prevailing thinking is that Mars is a planet whose active climate has been confined to the distant past. About 3.5 billion years ago, the Red Planet had extensive flowing water and then fell quiet - deadly quiet. It didn’t seem the climate had changed much since.
Now, in a research article that graces the May cover of Geology, scientists at Brown University think Mars’ climate has been much more dynamic than previously believed. After examining stunning high-resolution images taken last year by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the researchers have documented for the first time that ice packs at least 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) thick and perhaps 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) thick existed along Mars’ mid-latitude belt as recently as 100 million years ago. In addition, the team believes other images tell them that glaciers flowed in localized areas in the last 10 to 100 million years - akin to the day before yesterday in Mars’ geological timeline.
This evidence of recent activity means the Martian climate may change again and could bolster speculation about whether the Red Planet can, or did, support life.”We’ve gone from seeing Mars as a dead planet for three-plus billion years to one that has been alive in recent times,” said Jay Dickson, a research analyst in the Department of Geological Sciences at Brown and lead author of the Geology paper. “[The finding] has changed our perspective from a planet that has been dry and dead to one that is icy and active.”
Continue reading ‘Mars Glaciers Bolster Evidence for Life’
