Author Archive for Doug

Trench on Mars Ready for Next Sampling by NASA Lander

Published
by
Doug
on July 24, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

PHOENIX MISSION UPDATE
24 July 2008

NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has groomed the bottom of a shallow trench to prepare for collecting a sample to be analyzed from a hard subsurface layer where the soil may contain frozen water.

Images received Thursday morning confirmed that the lander’s robotic arm had scraped the top of the hard layer clean during activities of Phoenix’s 58th Martian day, or sol, corresponding to overnight Wednesday to Thursday.

The Phoenix team developed commands for sending to the spacecraft Thursday to complete two remaining preparations necessary before collecting a sample and delivering it to the lander’s Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA). One part of the plan for Sol 59 (overnight Thursday to Friday) would assure that the scoop is empty of any soil collected earlier. Another would complete a final cleaning of any volatile materials from the oven that will receive the sample.

In the past two weeks, the team has refined techniques for using a powered rasp on the back of the arm’s scoop to cut and collect shavings of material from the bottom of the trench. The trench, informally named “Snow White,” is 4 to 5 centimeters deep (about 2 inches), about 23 centimeters wide (9 inches), and about 60 centimeters long (24 inches) long.

Continue reading ‘Trench on Mars Ready for Next Sampling by NASA Lander’

Orbital, LockMart and General Dynamics Profits Up; Boeing Numbers Fall

Published
by
Doug
on July 23, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Orbital Sciences reports 2Q profit up 87 percent
Associated Press

“Orbital Sciences Corp. posted solid earnings growth for the second quarter Thursday, driven by strong sales in its advanced space programs and launch vehicle operations. The Dulles, Va., company reported earnings jumped 87 percent to $25.8 million, or 43 cents per share, for the second quarter, from $13.8 million, or 23 cents per share, in the second quarter of last year.”

Lockheed 2Q profit up 13 percent
Associated Press

“Lockheed Martin Corp. posted a 13 percent increase in second-quarter earnings Tuesday, beating Wall Street expectations and prompting the company to raise its yearly outlook as it made up a drop in fighter jet sales with strength in its other business units.”

Armored vehicles lift General Dynamics 2Q profit
Associated Press

“Feeding the Pentagon’s demand for armored vehicles helped drive up General Dynamics Corp.’s second quarter profit by 25 percent, lifting shares of the defense contractor, which also raised its outlook for the year on Wednesday. General Dynamics’ stock jumped nearly 7 percent, closing up $5.82 at $89.27 per share.”

Delays hurt Boeing’s 2Q profit, which falls 19 pct
Associated Press

“Delays hurt Boeing Co.’s second-quarter profit, which fell 19 percent because of late delivery of military aircraft and rising costs from the postponed introduction of its 787 jetliner. But the Chicago-based company, the world’s second-largest commercial airplane maker after Europe’s Airbus, reaffirmed its forecasts for 2008 and 2009, saying productivity gains would overcome the quarter’s setbacks.”

Odyssey Moon Names Clementine Veteran Paul Spudis as Chief Scientist

Published
by
Doug
on July 23, 2008
in News and Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

ODYSSEY MOON PRESS RELEASE

Dr. Paul D. Spudis has been named Chief Scientist of Odyssey Moon Limited, the first official contender for the $30M Google Lunar X PRIZE. Dr. Spudis is a prominent scientist in the international lunar community and served as deputy science team leader for the highly successful Clementine lunar mission and is the Principal Investigator of the Mini-SAR imaging radar experiment on the forthcoming Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon.

Dr. Spudis is an outspoken advocate of the Moon as a focus of scientific exploration and human settlement and has served on numerous advisory committees, including the US Presidential Commission on the Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy. The announcement was made during a NASA Lunar Science Institute conference at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.

A geologist and Senior Staff Scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, Dr. Spudis has an extensive background in geology and planetary science, including interpretation of remote-sensing and image data. Dr. Spudis will be applying his combined passions for science and lunar development to help Odyssey Moon deliver a valuable scientific mission while pursuing the $30 Million Google Lunar X PRIZE and an ongoing commercial lunar enterprise.

“Evidence indicates that abundant energy and material resources exist on the Moon, including deposits of ice within craters at the poles,” he said. “Returning to the Moon will teach us the skills we need to live and work productively on other worlds.”

Continue reading ‘Odyssey Moon Names Clementine Veteran Paul Spudis as Chief Scientist’

Soyuz Effort Accelerates at Kourou; Russian Rocket Lifts German Spy Sat

Published
by
Doug
on July 23, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

The Russians Are Coming…to launch rockets from European base
AFP

“Today, though, the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) is girding for a new era when it will host Russian rockets and Russian engineers who just a short while ago were Europe’s space rivals.

“On Sunday, a freighter is due to dock in Cayenne bearing a first consignment of 150 containers of equipment to fit out a launch pad at CSG where, from the second half of 2009, the first “European” Soyuz is scheduled to blast into space.”

Russian Rocket Launches German Reconnaissance Satellite
Spaceflight Today

“The capstone of a fleet of German military satellites rocketed into space from Russia early Tuesday, completing a series of five launchings of spacecraft designed to scout locations around the world.

“The SAR-Lupe 5 satellite, a 1,700-pound craft (771-kg) outfitted with cloud-piercing and night-vision radar, launched aboard a Russian Kosmos 3M rocket at 0240 GMT Tuesday (10:40 p.m. EDT Monday), according to news reports.”

Phoenix Pulls an All-Nighter

Published
by
Doug
on July 23, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

PHOENIX MISSION UPDATE

TUCSON, Ariz. – Phoenix early Tuesday finished its longest work shift of the mission. The lander stayed awake for 33 hours, completing tasks that included rasping and scraping by the robotic arm, in addition to atmosphere observations in coordination with simultaneous observations by NASA’sMars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

“Our rasping test yesterday gave us enough confidence that we’re now planning for the next use of the rasp to be for acquiring a sample to be delivered to TEGA,” said Phoenix project manager Barry Goldstein of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. TEGA is Phoenix’s Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, an instrument that heats samples in small ovens and uses a mass spectrometer to study the vapors driven off by the heating.

As preparation for that sample delivery in coming days, the Phoenix team developed plans to command the lander Tuesday evening to conduct 80 scrapings of the bottom of a trench informally named “Snow White.” The scraping is designed to freshly expose frozen material and ready the surface for using the rasp.

Picture caption: This animation combines two images of the trench informally named “Snow White” taken by the Surface Stereo Imager. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University

Scientists Meet at Ames to Plan Out Lunar Trips

Published
by
Doug
on July 23, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Scientists and engineers are meeting this week at NASA Ames Research Center in California to plan out humanity’s return to the moon.

NASA plans GPS-like system for return to the moon
Scientific American

NASA has coughed up $1.2 million for a navigation system that will help astronauts find their way around the lunar surface when they return in 2020. The Lunar Astronaut Spatial Orientation and Information System (LASOIS) is designed to function  much the same way as a global positioning system (GPS).

Scientists swap moon, Mars exploration plans
San Francisco Chronicle

“Christopher P. McKay, a NASA scientist at the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, has one overriding question for the future of human exploration on the moon and Mars.

“Could astronauts stay on the moon for any length of time where lunar gravity is six times weaker than it is on Earth or on Mars, where the gravity is an insupportably three times weaker than Earth’s?

“If those questions can’t be answered, McKay said, we may visit those distant places, but we won’t be able to stay.”

NASA: The Moon is not enough
The Register (UK)

“NASA and its international aeronautical cohorts have some serious explaining to do before they start rocketing folks to the Moon again.

“They better convince the public why it’s so important for our species to invest hand-over-fist just to root around some boring gray orbital dust ball - a dust ball we already stuck a flag in a full score and 19 years ago.

“Perhaps they’re preaching to the choir, but this week a gathering of scientists are giving this sort of time-tested anti-space exploration diatribe a workout at the NASA/AMES Research Center in Mountain View, California.”

Well Elon, It May All Be Up to You….

Published
by
Doug
on July 23, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Henry Spencer takes a look at the increasingly public problems with NASA’s Ares I and Ares V boosters, which are designed to carry the agency’s new Orion spacecraft to Earth orbit and the moon, respectively.

NASA thought it could easily adapt legacy shuttle hardware to the task. Not so much. Considerable upgrades were required, especially after Orion began to gain weight. That, in turn, caused the weight and cost of the rocket to grow as the schedule slipped. Meanwhile, Ares V might not be as cost effective to fly as NASA has stated.

Spencer believes that NASA’s savior could be its investment in the COTS program, which is providing funding to Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation to develop commercial transportation to the International Space Station. SpaceX is developing a human and cargo-rated versions of its Dragon spacecraft, which Musk says could also fly to the moon. Orbital’s program is building a robotic freighter.

“If COTS works out well and Ares continues to blunder on, I expect that Congress will quickly run out of patience and force NASA’s hand by cutting off Ares funding,” Spencer writes.

“The one ray of hope for NASA is that with the White House about to change hands, there will almost certainly be a new NASA administrator next year. Immediately upon assuming office, he or she might declare the Ares programme a write-off and order a major change of direction, blaming the problems on the previous administration. But this would have to be done quickly, while it’s still plausible to blame his or her predecessor.”

New Russian-European Spacecraft Design Unveiled; Upgraded ATV Proposed

Published
by
Doug
on July 22, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Manned spaceship design unveiled
BBC News

“It is designed to replace the Soyuz vehicle currently in use by Russia and will allow Europe to participate directly in crew transportation. The reusable ship was conceived to carry four people towards the Moon, rivalling the US Ares/Orion system….

“‘If ESA and the Russian Space Agency reach agreement, Europe will supply the service module of that co-operative spacecraft,’ [Anatoly] Zak told BBC News.

“This service module will use technology - such as the propulsion systems - developed for Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), an unmanned freighter recently sent to re-supply the International Space Station (ISS).”

ESA aims for manned capsule by 2020
Flight International

“A €300 million ($475 million) three-year Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Advanced Return Vehicle (ARV) development project, to be proposed to the European Space Agency’s November ministerial meeting, could become a stepping stone to a human transport system in 2020.

“ESA wants to evolve its expendable 20,000kg (44,000lb) ATV, which docked with the International Space Station for the first time in April, into an EADS Astrium Ariane 5-launched ARV. That cargo vehicle would be the basis for the manned system operating around 2020. ESA will design ARV with a view to man-rating it in future. The cargo version will be about 5,000kg lighter than the Ariane 5’s low-Earth orbit capability to allow for the future addition of a launch abort tower.”

Space Agencies Meet in Montreal to Coordinate Space Exploration Plans

Published
by
Doug
on July 21, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

JAXA Press Release

Representatives of 11 space agencies from around the world gathered in Montreal, Canada July 10 - 12 to continue the coordination of programs to extend human and robotic presence throughout the Solar System.

In May 2007, multilateral space agency discussions resulted in the release of “The Global Exploration Strategy - The Framework for Coordination.” This “framework document” - the product of a shared vision of space exploration focused on solar system destinations where humans may someday live and work - represented an important first step in coordinating space exploration efforts toward common goals. The Framework Document envisioned a coordination mechanism to facilitate international planning, leading to the establishment of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG).

During the Montreal ISECG meeting which was hosted by the Canadian Space Agency, the participating agencies made significant progress in a number of areas that will facilitate cooperation. Among accomplishments were the establishment of an ISECG secretariat, that will be initially hosted by ESA, plans for conducting effective public engagement, and development of tools for sharing information on exploration capabilities and mission plans across agencies.

Continue reading ‘Space Agencies Meet in Montreal to Coordinate Space Exploration Plans’

iMARS Working Group Issues Mission Design Report on Sample Return

Published
by
Doug
on July 21, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments


Credit: ESA

ESA News Release

The first robotic mission to return samples to Earth from Mars took a further step toward realisation with the recent publication of a mission design report by the iMARS Working Group. The report, defines key elements of the future internationally-funded mission involving the cooperation of ESA, NASA and other national agencies.

iMARS, which stands for the International Mars Architecture for the Return of Samples is a committee of the International Mars Exploration Working Group made up of scientists, engineers, strategic planners, and managers. The report, which comes after months of deliberation, outlines the scientific and engineering requirements of such an international mission to be undertaken in the timeframe 2020-2022.

The Mars Sample Return mission is an essential step with respect to future exploration goals and the prospect of establishing a future human mission to Mars. Returned samples will increase the knowledge of the properties of Martian soil and contribute significantly to answering questions about the possibility of life on the Red Planet. This mission will improve our understanding of the Mars environment to support planning for the future human exploration.