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February 15, 2018

NASA sends piece of Mars back to Mars

Rohit Bhartia of NASA's Mars 2020 mission holds a slice of a meteorite scientists have determined came from Mars(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

In the ultimate example of sending coals to Newcastle, NASA is sending a piece of Mars back to the Red Planet on the Mars 2020 rover mission. The space agency's including a meteorite that had its origin on Mars may seem odd, but the purpose is completely practical as the sample will act as a calibration target for one of the mission's main instruments.
Spending all the time, money, and labor needed to send a spacecraft to the surface of Mars is pointless if the instruments included on the lander don't send back an accurate account of what they see. For this reason, each Mars landing mission includes a set of calibration targets that serve the same purpose as a test pattern card does on Earth in making sure video equipment is properly adjusted.
An example of this is on the Curiosity rover, which has a calibration paletteconsisting of a US 1909 penny for adjusting the sharpness of the rover's camera, color chips, a metric standardized bar graphic, and a stair-step pattern for depth calibration. Mars 2020 will carry a similar palette, but it will also include a fragment of the meteor Sayh al Uhaymir 008 (SaU008) for adjusting a high-precision laser on the rover's arm.

Close-up of a slice of a meteorite scientists have determined came from Mars

The laser, called the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC), is designed to illuminate features on rock samples as fine as a human hair and analyze them using Raman and fluorescence spectroscopies. To achieve the necessary precision, NASA engineers want to use a calibration sample that is as near to the Martian rocks as possible, so they reasoned that the best choice would be an actual piece of Mars that was blasted off the planet in an ancient asteroid strike and landed on Earth millions of years ago.
"We're studying things on such a fine scale that slight misalignments, caused by changes in temperature or even the rover settling into sand, can require us to correct our aim," said Luther Beegle of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "By studying how the instrument sees a fixed target, we can understand how it will see a piece of the Martian surface."
According to NASA, the idea behind SHERLOC is to use the laser to cause carbon-based compounds to fluoresce in a manner similar to that produced by a conventional UV lamp, and then examine the resulting spectrogram for signs of life. The meteor sample will help the instrument to better pick out the texture and organic chemicals found.

A slice of a meteorite scientists have determined came from Mars, placed inside an oxygen plasma...

One of only 200 confirmed Martian meteorites found on Earth, Sayh al Uhaymir 008 was provided by the National History Museum in London and was selected because it not only provides good calibration characteristics, but is also robust enough to survive the journey from Earth to Mars without damage.
However, NASA says that this is not the first bit of Mars that it has sent home. The first was onboard the now inactive Mars Global Surveyor, which carries a chunk of a meteorite known as Zagami, but that is still in orbit around the planet. Meanwhile, another instrument on Mars 2020, the SuperCam, will have its own Martian meteorite calibration target. In addition, the rover will carry samples of materials that could be used in spacesuits and other equipment on future manned Mars expeditions.
"The SHERLOC instrument is a valuable opportunity to prepare for human spaceflight as well as to perform fundamental scientific investigations of the Martian surface," said Marc Fries, a SHERLOC co-investigator. "It gives us a convenient way to test material that will keep future astronauts safe when they get to Mars."

Source: NASA, NewAtlas

February 05, 2018

Construction begins on first manned Orion spacecraft

by Unknown, in universe

At the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana, Lockheed Martin technicians have started building the first manned Orion(Credit: NASA)

NASA's first of a new generation of manned deep space exploration craft has begun to take shape at the space agency's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. This week, Lockheed Martin technicians and engineers welded together the first two components of the Orion crew capsule for Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2), which will carry astronauts beyond low Earth orbit for the first time in almost 50 years.
So far, only one operational Orion capsule reached space when the unmanned Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) lifted off atop a Delta IV Heavy booster on December 5, 2014. A second, more advanced Orion is currently being prepared for Exploration Mission-1. It's scheduled to fly in 2019 using the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, but again, without a crew.
Though the EM-2 Orion will be a major step in the American program to establish a Deep Space Gateway station, return to the Moon, and eventually make a manned landing on Mars, it isn't much to look at at the moment. The first construction step involved welding the command capsule's forward bulkhead to the tunnel section, to form the top of the spacecraft. In all, seven large machined aluminum alloy pieces will form the pressure vessel, which is the main hull of the craft.
"Orion has tremendous momentum. We're finishing assembly of the EM-1 Orion spacecraft in Florida, and simultaneously starting production on the first one that will carry crew," says Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin vice president and program manager for Orion. "This is not only the most advanced spacecraft ever built, its production will be more efficient than any previous capsule. For example, look at the progress we've made on the EM-2 pressure vessel compared to the first one we built. The latest version is 30 percent lighter and has 80 percent fewer parts. That equates to a substantially more cost-effective and capable spacecraft."

Early artist's rendering of the Orion crew capsule in lunar orbit. Work is now underway on the real thing.(Credit: Lockheed Martin Corp. )

Lockheed says that construction will continue through September as the three cone panels, large barrel, and aft bulkhead are added on. It will then be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center for final assembly and testing.
"The EM-1 and EM-2 crew modules are very similar in design, but we've made a lot of improvements since we built EM-1, including processes, scheduling, and supply chain, all contributing to a lower cost and faster manufacturing," says Paul Anderson, director of Orion EM-2 production at Lockheed Martin. "Each of these spacecraft are important, but we realize that the EM-2 capsule is special as it's the first one to carry astronauts back out to the Moon, something we haven't done in a long time. It's something we think about every day."

Source: Lockheed Martin, NewAtlas

December 18, 2017

President Trump orders NASA back to the Moon

by Unknown, in USA

Representatives of Congress and the National Space Council joined President Donald J. Trump, Apollo astronaut Jack Schmitt and current NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson for the signing of Space Policy Directive 1(Credit: NASA)

US astronauts are headed back to the Moon after President Donald J. Trump ordered NASA to focus on manned space missions. Today at a White House ceremony, the President signed White House Space Policy Directive 1, which directs NASA to work with commercial and international partners to send American astronauts to our satellite as the first step to going to Mars and beyond.

Today's signing marks another shift in US space policy, which has been seeking to recapture the success of the tightly focused Apollo program of the 1960s. In recent decades, NASA's manned spaceflight efforts have been marked by a series of false starts, neglect, and sudden changes with each incoming administration. In addition to setting new goals, the directive will influence NASA's Fiscal Year 2019 budget request.

In July, President Trump revived the National Space Council headed by Vice President Michael Pence to advise and implement the President's policy of redirecting US space efforts away from Earth studies and toward deep space exploration. The Council was disbanded in 1993 after protracted infighting during the George H W Bush administration.

According to the new directive, the NASA administrator will "lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the Solar System and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities."

The signing was attended by Representatives of Congress and the National Space Council; Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon; Senator Harrison Schmitt, the second to last astronaut to leave the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission; Peggy Whitson, who holds the record for the most numbers of days in space for any American astronaut; and Christina Koch, a member of the US astronaut class of 2013.

"The directive I am signing today will refocus America's space program on human exploration and discovery," said President Trump. "It marks a first step in returning American astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1972, for long-term exploration and use. This time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprints – we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, and perhaps someday, to many worlds beyond."

The White House video below shows the signing ceremony.

Source: NASA, NewAtlas.

December 18, 2017

Scientists listen for signs of alien technology coming from asteroid ‘Oumuamua'

by Unknown, in system

Artist's impression of the asteroid ‘Oumuamua, also known as A/2017 U1(Credit: European Southern Observatory/M. Kornmesser)

You can't get much more mysterious than the interstellar asteroid 'Oumuamua, but is it mysterious enough to be an artificial probe designed by a spacefaring alien civilization? Researchers at the Breakthrough Listen initiative want to find out, and have begun observing the asteroid in an effort to determine if it's a naturally occurring object (unfortunately that's the far more likely scenario) or something else entirely.

When astronomers first discovered 'Oumuamua on October 19, the asteroid had already made its closest approach to the Sun, and was racing towards the outer reaches of the Solar System. Data collected on the asteroid allowed scientists to piece together its orbital trajectory to a high degree of accuracy.

The orbital data, in conjunction with the knowledge that 'Oumuamua was hurtling through the solar system at a top speed of around 196,000 mph (315,431 km/h) led scientists to conclude that the object was not gravitationally bound to our Sun, and was instead a transient visitor from interstellar space.

The fact that 'Oumuamua represents the first detection of an extrasolar object visiting our solar system is incredible enough in its own right, but the bizarre shape of the asteroid has some questioning whether it was more than it seemed.

According to this line of thinking, the 400 meter (1,312 ft)-long cigar-like shape of 'Oumuamua would make some sense in the context of an alien probe. Its streamlined profile would minimize the drag and damage caused by collisions with the clouds of gas and cosmic dust that populate the interstellar medium through which it may have been travelling for hundreds of millions of years prior to reaching our solar system.

Breakthrough Listen, which is engaged in an ambitious mission to search one million nearby stars, and 100 galaxies for evidence of technologically advanced alien species, has tasked the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, located in West Virginia, with collecting data on the asteroid across four radio bands, from 1 – 12 GHz, over the course of an initial 10-hour period.

'Oumuamua, which is currently located about 186 million miles (300 million km) from Earth, has never been observed in these radio bands. Despite the vast gulf of space separating telescope from would-be-probe, Breakthrough Listen stated in a press release that the GBT would be able to detect a signal from an omnidirectional transmitter with the power of a cellphone less than a minute after it left its source. In other words, if E.T. is trying to radio us from 'Oumuamua, we stand a pretty decent chance of hearing them.

So, best-case scenario – we find out that we are not alone in the universe, finally answering a question that has occupied humanity since we first looked to the stars as more than remote islands of light in the firmament, and began to understand their true nature.

Of course, if this phenomenally unlikely scenario comes to pass, it could also end up being a worst-case scenario, depending on whether our new neighbors are in the market for a resource-rich blue marble.

Then there is the far more likely outcome, in which scientists are about to get their hands on a treasure trove of new data on an awesomely weird visitor to our solar system before it slips away into the cold expanse of interstellar space, never to be seen again.

Source: Breakthrough Initiatives, NewAtlas

December 18, 2017

NASA's piezo-powered "smart path" lights up and beams fun facts to visitor's phones

by Unknown, in wifi

Visitors to NASA's Kennedy Space Center will soon be greeted by a huge high-tech path, made up of piezoelectric tiles that light up and harvest their own energy(Credit: Francisco Valdes, Georgia Tech)

In today's concrete jungle, pavement takes up a lot of space, so we might as well cram some smarts in there. Previously we've seen ground coverings that light up, absorb solar energy, generate electricity from the footsteps of pedestrians, and even emit Wi-Fi signals. Now NASA is combining a little of all of those in a high-tech new path due to greet visitors to the Kennedy Space Center.

The US$2 million installation is made up of about 1,000 tiles spread across 40,000 square feet (3,700 sq m). These tiles form mosaic images of Earth, Mars, the Moon and the International Space Station, but it's what's inside that counts.

Each tile contains circuit boards, six small solar panels, a battery, LEDs, a Bluetooth and a Wi-Fi transmitter, micro controllers and a piezoelectric element. All of this is encased in cavities in thin, high-performance concrete and topped off with a strong glass tile. Piezoelectric systems generate energy from mechanical stress, and in this case that means footsteps.

Each tile in NASA's high-tech new path contains circuit boards, six small solar panels, a battery,...

"No one has made anything like this — an outdoor tile system using a piezoelectric element to trigger customized and off-the-shelf electronics and coupling them for human interactions," says Ilan Stern, senior research scientist at Georgia Tech, which is collaborating with NASA on the project. "When you step on the load-bearing glass tile, it compresses the piezoelectric element, creating an electrical charge that lights up the cavity's 125 LEDs."

Along with lighting up in a variety of colors, the tiles can also beam a wireless signal to the phones of passersby to deliver nuggets of wisdom on NASA's space missions, the mechanics of piezoelectric technology, and other things.

"The piezoelectric element also powers a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signal to visitors' smartphones, which can play audio, providing information about their geolocation and for potential wayfinding," says Stern. "The audio provides information such as how much energy is being generated throughout the park during the day."

The system is completely self-powered, but not just by the piezo elements: The solar arrays are constantly absorbing energy from the Sun as well, and it's all stored in a rechargeable lithium battery for nighttime use.

Ultimately, the aim of the project is to showcase "smart city" applications of the technology. Installations like these could be used to power local devices like street lights, guide visitors to points of interest, or collect real-time information about traffic and road surface conditions.

"We need a more flexible use of the electric grid," says Stern. "Our goal is to develop more self-powered, self-generating systems with added storage that will give us more choices in energy usage and minimize waste. As much as possible, we should convert wasted mechanical energy—human and vehicle movement — into usable energy generation and storage."

Source: Georgia Tech, NewAtlas

November 14, 2017

Planeten schützen für die NASA

by Unknown, in Weltraum

Suchen Sie einen Vollzeitjob? Haben Sie einen Abschluss als Physiker oder Ingenieur? Gehen Sie gern auf andere zu - und seien es Mikroben? Sind Sie US-Bürger? Dann hätte die NASA einen Job für Sie.

Die NASA sucht einenPlanetary Protection Officer, zu deutsch: einen Planetenschutzbeauftragten. Diese Stellenausschreibung der US-Weltraumbehörde sorgte umgehend für Schlagzeilen, zumal sie als Voraussetzung aufführt: "Häufiges Reisen kann erforderlich sein." Erstkontakt zu Außerirdischen oder Hollywoods Actionstars erwähnt die Anzeige zwar nicht, aber der pensionierte NASA-Astronaut Mark Kelly drehte die Diskussion in diese Richtung: Er nominierte Bruce Willis, wahrscheinlich wegen seiner Rollen in Filmen wie "Armageddon - Das jüngste Gericht" oder "Das fünfte Element".

Ein Neunjähriger schickte sogar einen handgeschriebenen Begleitbrief an die NASA, den ein Freund der Familie im sozialen Netzwerk Reddit teilte. Trotz seines jungen Alters, so der Knirps, sei er eine passende Besetzung für den Job. "Einer der Gründe ist, dass meine Schwester immer sagt, ich sei ein Alien", betonte der Viertklässler und selbsternannte "Hüter der Galaxie". Er habe auch die Science-Fiction-Serie "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." im Fernsehen verfolgt und hoffe, auch den Film "Men in Black" bald zu sehen. "Ich bin super mit Videospielen. Ich bin jung, also kann ich noch lernen, wie ein Außerirdischer zu denken", stellte er zuversichtlich fest.

Während der Junge Jack Davis sein Angebot möglicherweise ernst meinte, galt das sicher nicht für diese spöttische Arbeitsplatzbeschreibung aus Deutschland:

Eher kleine Lebensformen

Mit einer ausgewachsenen Invasion Außerirdischer umzugehen, würde vermutlich in die Zuständigkeit der Stelle fallen, die ein Jahresgehalt von umgerechnet 105.000 bis 157.000 Euro abwirft. Aber vermutlich würden in einem solchen Fall andere Regierungsstellen die Führung übernehmen - vor allem das Militär.

Die NASA hat tatsächlich wesentlich kleinere Lebensformen im Blick, vor allem Mikroben. Der Planetary Protection Officer hat zwei Hauptaufgaben: Die Erde auf Zeichen möglicherweise gefährlichen außerirdischen Lebens zu untersuchen - wie etwa kleine Schuttstücke aus dem All - sowie umgekehrt sicherzustellen, dass NASA-Missionen nicht unbeabsichtigt andere Planeten mit Erdmaterie kontaminieren.

Die bisherige Planetenschutzbeauftragte und promovierte Botanikerin Catharine Conley versieht diesen Job seit 2006. "Als NASA-Planetary Protection Officer bin ich verantwortlich dafür, dass die Vereinigten Staaten sich an Artikel IX des Weltraumvertrages halten", erklärt sie in einem NASA-Interview. "Dieser Artikel schreibt vor, dass die Erforschung von Planeten jede Verunreinigung von Himmelskörpern des Sonnensystems zu vermeiden hat. Außerdem müssen wir jede Schädigung der Erde verhindern, die von mitgebrachtem außerirdischem Material ausgehen könnte."

Wir haben Leben entdeckt! Nein, Moment...

In anderen Worten: Die Amtsinhaber sollen die NASA vor ihrem schlimmsten PR-Alptraum bewahren - freudige Schlagzeilen wie "Erdähnliches Leben auf weit entferntem Planeten entdeckt!", denen eine überstürzte Entschuldigung folgt: "Bei genauerem Hinsehen scheint es so, als hätten wir diese Lebensformen irrtümlich selber dort ausgesetzt."

Diese Gefahr besteht zum Beispiel bei der Raumsonde Cassini, die den Saturn umkreist und ihre 20-jährige Mission bald beenden wird. Der Treibstoff wird langsam knapp, und die NASA hat jüngst den Rest davon zusammengekratzt, um die Sonde mit hoher Geschwindigkeit auf einen Kollisionskurs mit dem Planeten zu schicken, der sie beim Aufprall sicher zerstören wird. Das soll das Risiko minimieren, dass Cassini abdriftet und auf den Saturn-Mond Enceladus stürzt. Enceladus hat unter seiner Oberfläche ein Salzwassermeer, das tatsächlich Leben beherbergen könnte. Sollte die Sonde in den Mond krachen, könnte sie Mikroben von der Erde freisetzen, die dann in der Wärme wachsen, die ihr Plutoniumantrieb abgibt. Cassini soll am 15. September auf den Saturn aufschlagen.

Zu diesem Zeitpunkt könnte ein neuer Planetary Protection Officer die Geschäfte von Conley übernommen haben. Die Bewerbungsfrist für den Posten, der gemäß den Regeln des Öffentlichen Dienstes nur US-Bürgern offensteht, endet am 14. August. Der Amtsinhaber bekommt eine Sicherheitsstufe und muss diverse technische Fähigkeiten mitbringen.

Auch auf das Szenario des Erstkontakts greift die NASA in der Ausschreibung zurück: Vorweisen müssen die Kandidaten "nachweisbare diplomatische Fähigkeiten, die Win-Win-Lösungen während besonders schwieriger und komplexer multilateraler Verhandlungen ermöglichen. Das beinhaltet Koalitionen, um gemeinsame Ziel zu erreichen." Zugegeben: Diese höchst komplexen Gespräche werden wohl am ehesten zwischen NASA-Abteilungen und anderen Weltraumbehörden stattfinden - aber es schadet ja nicht, Ihrer Fantasie freien Lauf zu lassen...

Artikel von Deutsche Welle / Mark Hallam, 6. August 2017

http://www.dw.com/de/planeten-schützen-für-die-nasa/a-39985197

November 06, 2017

NASA finds evidence of ancient global ocean on Ceres

by Unknown, in univers

The color-coded map (right) shows the gravity measurements of the dwarf planet Ceres, which reveals data about its internal structure(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA)

Once thought to be a unique feature of Earth, evidence has been found to suggest that water does, or once did, exist on the Moon, Venus, Mars, Pluto, Enceladus, Titan, Charon and Ceres. Two new studies have focused on the lattermost of these, using data gathered by NASA's Dawn mission to determine that the dwarf planet's salty, icy crust could be the remains of an ancient global ocean – and there may still be some liquid water locked up deep beneath the surface.
Since Dawn entered Ceres' orbit in March 2015, the probe has spotted ice in dark craters at the poles, examined the mystery of its bright spots, and detected clear signs of organic molecules. Now two new studies of the dwarf planet's internal composition and structure suggest it was once covered in a global ocean. If that's the case, the missing water is locked in the planet's crust, which is made up of ice, salts and hydrated materials, while some traces may still exist in a liquid state deeper down.
"More and more, we are learning that Ceres is a complex, dynamic world that may have hosted a lot of liquid water in the past, and may still have some underground," says Julie Castillo-Rogez, co-author on both studies.
The first of the new studies aimed to determine the internal structure and composition of the dwarf planet, using shape and gravity data gathered by Dawn. The scientists compared models of Ceres' gravity with what Dawn observed, and found discrepancies over four major landmarks: three craters called Occator, Kerwan and Yalode, and a large mountain named Ahuna Mons. That suggests these landmarks are the result of gravity anomalies, and lends weight to the idea that Ceres is currently geologically active.
Studying Ceres's crust, the team discovered something strange: its density is close to that of ice, but it's far too strong for ice to be the main component. And that's where the second study comes in: that team modeled how the dwarf planet's surface would have changed over time, to determine what its crust is made of.
According to the model, the crust is most likely a mixture of ice, salts, rock and clathrate hydrates – a crystalline solid where water molecules surround and trap gas molecules. Altogether, this combination is about as dense as plain old ice but can be up to 1,000 times stronger, explaining both the crust's composition as well as the fate of the ancient ocean.
But that's not the whole story. The topographical model also revealed that Ceres' surface was once more mountainous, but these features have smoothed out over the last few billion years. For that to occur, the crust must be sitting on top of a slushy layer, which likely contains some liquid water.
The first study was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, while the second appeared inEarth and Planetary Science Letters.