DOCSLIB.ORG

For Mars Lander Scientists, Nothing to Say but It's OK

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
For Mars Lander Scientists, Nothing to Say but It's OK 6D · MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2004 · USA TODAY Science Panoramic cameras Panoramic cameras Roaming rovers Provides high-resolution color panoramas of the Martian surface. Its resolution is more than three The two NASA rovers — Spirit and Opportunity — will take panoramic images of Mars. times more powerful than previous rovers’. Images The cameras will provide 360-degree views of the terrain. These will allow scientists to will help select rock and soil targets for future study. select promising geological targets. Then the rovers will drive to those locations to perform scientific investigations during their 90-day mission. Each 380-pound rover could travel as far as 100 yards in one day. Navigation cameras The long journey Images help scientists decide what rock and soils to After six months and 25 days, analyze. Minithermal the first Mars exploration emission rover has arrived on Mars. spectrometer (at rear) Records the thermal spectra of various Arrivals rocks and soils, including infrared. Calibration targets Opportunity Spirit Fine-tunes observations High-gain antenna Jan. 25 Jan. 3 from imagers and science Dish points toward Earth to communicate instruments. with Deep Space Network. Mars orbit Solar arrays Provide power for driving the rover, operating the science instruments, heating the electronics box and recharging batteries. Earth Sun orbit Magnet arrays Collect airborne dust for analysis. Rock abrasion tool (RAT) Grinds rock to remove dust and weathered rock. Departures Mössbauer spectrometer Spirit Opportunity Checks for composition of Warm electronics box iron-bearing minerals in rock. July 10 June 10 Body of the rover is a heated container that protects vital electronics. 6-foot man 4-foot- 9-inch rover Rocker-bogie mobility system Microscopic Each wheel has an independent imager motor allowing easy mobility. Alpha particle X-ray Produces close-up spectrometer views of rocks Checks for elements that and soils to make up rocks and soils. determine their characteristics. Movements and agility Scientists based in NASA’s Jet TOP VIEW Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., control the rover’s movements. The team will analyze its data Rover’s transmissions, and while the rover rotational sleeps through the night, refine plans six-wheel for the next sol’s (a Martian day) drive activities. Rover scans for surface hazards Top speed for the rover is a cau- The suspension allows the rover Though it can withstand a 45- By moving the front wheels in and and gathers data to transmit to tious 2 inches per second, allow- to minimize rocking as it travels, degree tilt without overturning, back wheels out, the rover can Earth. It moves for 10 seconds, ing scientists to select the safest and safeguards its instruments the rover has 30-degree limita- rotate on a dime. The center stops and studies for 20 seconds. route. from shock. tions in its programming. wheels are drive only. Sources: NASA, JPL, Florida Today, GNS research By Jerald Council, Jef Dauber and Janet Loehrke, Gannett News Service For Mars lander scientists, nothing to say but it’s OK home away from home — an area they will And Spirit will study those rocks — at Beatles tune sets study for months. times using an arm to reach out and touch Scientists are thrilled with what they them for analysis — to try to answer ques- Spirit grooving have seen. “Home sweet home,” says tions about water and life on Mars. Steve Squyres, lead investigator. “This is Squyres chuckled at the thought of be- our new neighborhood.” ing able to reach out and touch a Martian across Red Planet Michael Watkins, one of the navigators, rock within just a few days: “That would called Spirit’s landing a “bull’s-eye” be- be cool.” By Dan Vergano and Robert Davis cause the craft entered the atmosphere He said Spirit’s neighborhood appears USA TODAY just 660 feet away from its target in the “a lot easier to drive on” than that faced by Connecticut-sized Gusev Crater. the Viking and Pathfinder probes. “It’s re- Everybody knows there’s nothing doing But exactly where the probe ended up markably devoid of big boulders. That is Everything is closed it’s like a ruin on the surface was still part of the scien- just glorious, because big boulders are Everyone you see is half asleep tific debate Sunday. Scientists must pin- something we have trouble driving over.” And you’re on your own you’re in the street point the location before sending signals. Which way to drive is one of the big Good morning, good morning . They zeroed in by comparing pictures questions facing the scientific team. Spirit took just before it landed with im- Better pictures will lead the way. Today — The Beatles ages that have been taken over the years the team expects to begin getting images (Good Morning, Good Morning ) by other craft orbiting Mars. that are 14 times sharper than Spirit’s “We know with great certainty that we early pictures. ppp are in the place where we absolutely “We will have to be a little bit cautious. wanted to be,” Squyres said. This is someplace that we’ve never been Tired but ecstatic, scientists began ex- That spot has more to do with accessi- before, so we are going to tread carefully,” ploring their new playground on Mars bility to rocks than breathtaking views. Squyres said. Sunday by blasting The Beatles in their “What we wanted was someplace Asked whether the dust devils pose a California control room and celebrating where Mother Nature has cleaned off the threat to Spirit, Squyres chortled. “As far new pictures from the Red Planet. rocks for us,” Squyres said, showing a pic- as a dust devil coming in and flipping our Their probe, Spirit, was awakened as the ture of the planet’s surface. “Those mar- rover over, nuh-uh. Ain’t going to happen,” scientists played Good Morning, Good velous snakelike features are dust-devil he said. In fact, the team hopes to spot one Morning and studied pictures the craft tracks. Dust devils (whirlwinds of dust) are with its sophisticated cameras to make “a took as it descended onto the planet Sat- good at swirling dust up off the surface and dust-devil movie.” NASA/JPL via AP urday night. The images provided the sci- cleaning up rocks.” “We hit the sweet spot,” he said. “There “Home sweet home”: The Mars probe Spirit has begun transmitting pictures from the entists with their first glimpse of their Rocks hold clues to the planet’s past. is some great stuff on the horizon.” Red Planet and is expected to begin sending higher-quality shots sometime today. The hows, whys and wheres of the latest Mars exploration NASA has cleared a giant hurdle in landing a rover A: Most likely bad luck and fewer re- Q: Does Spirit’s landing mean that the sources, Withers says. Any number of ac- Opportunity rover scheduled to land on Mars. USA TODAY’s Dan Vergano and Robert Davis cidents might have occurred, but Beagle 2 Jan. 24 also will land safely? lacked the stabilizing rockets Spirit had to A: Not surprisingly, NASA officials are look at this new chapter in space exploration. combat winds, and its airbags were not cautious and say Spirit’s landing went far the heavy-duty ones used by NASA, which better than expected. But new stabilizing Q: Where is Spirit right now? landing at best, NASA scientists say, so might have left it vulnerable to damage. rockets and landing camera systems per- A: As intended, Spirit appears close to Jan. 13 would be the soonest for “egress,” formed better than expected, “which the middle of Gusev Crater, a huge bowl in NASA-speak, from the landing craft. Q: What are scientists looking for gives everybody very high confidence,” that may have once held a lake. Scientists When Spirit landed, it was folded up with with Spirit? says Louis Friedman, head of the Planetary do know it rests upright — a very good its instruments turned off, so engineers A: Finding sedimentary rocks in what is Society, a space exploration advocacy thing — atop its landing craft and the de- and scientists are busy testing systems believed to be a dried lake in Gusev Crater group whose companion event to the flated airbags that cushioned its landing. and limbering up the rover while plotting would be a first step. The rover might have Spirit landing in Pasadena drew a stand- what path it should take on its three- to enter smaller craters to look for these ing-room-only crowd of 2,000. Q: What is it doing? month exploration. By Tuesday the rover layers of rock. A grinder would show cam- A: The priority now is pinpointing the should be up on its wheels. A 29-inch-high eras and other instruments whether Mars’ Q: What are the “Sol” days that scien- rover’s position and its exact heading so rock is on the right side of the landing water came from hot springs, a salty sea or tists mention when they say what time that its high-power antenna — a lollipop- craft, blocking one avenue to roll off, but some other source. Volcanic dust might it is on Mars? shaped object on its top — can be pointed overall the platform is tilted only about 2 NASA/JPL via AP have covered any sedimentary rock in the A: A Sol is a Martian day: 24 hours, 39 toward Earth. That antenna will allow sci- degrees, convenient for egress. Safe landing: Rover as seen on Saturday crater, and scientists hope examination of minutes, 35 seconds. About 40 members entists to communicate directly with Spir- by its navigation camera.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Meteorites on Mars Observed with the Mars Exploration Rovers C
    JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 113, E06S22, doi:10.1029/2007JE002990, 2008 Meteorites on Mars observed with the Mars Exploration Rovers C. Schro¨der,1 D. S. Rodionov,2,3 T. J. McCoy,4 B. L. Jolliff,5 R. Gellert,6 L. R. Nittler,7 W. H. Farrand,8 J. R. Johnson,9 S. W. Ruff,10 J. W. Ashley,10 D. W. Mittlefehldt,1 K. E. Herkenhoff,9 I. Fleischer,2 A. F. C. Haldemann,11 G. Klingelho¨fer,2 D. W. Ming,1 R. V. Morris,1 P. A. de Souza Jr.,12 S. W. Squyres,13 C. Weitz,14 A. S. Yen,15 J. Zipfel,16 and T. Economou17 Received 14 August 2007; revised 9 November 2007; accepted 21 December 2007; published 18 April 2008. [1] Reduced weathering rates due to the lack of liquid water and significantly greater typical surface ages should result in a higher density of meteorites on the surface of Mars compared to Earth. Several meteorites were identified among the rocks investigated during Opportunity’s traverse across the sandy Meridiani plains. Heat Shield Rock is a IAB iron meteorite and has been officially recognized as ‘‘Meridiani Planum.’’ Barberton is olivine-rich and contains metallic Fe in the form of kamacite, suggesting a meteoritic origin. It is chemically most consistent with a mesosiderite silicate clast. Santa Catarina is a brecciated rock with a chemical and mineralogical composition similar to Barberton. Barberton, Santa Catarina, and cobbles adjacent to Santa Catarina may be part of a strewn field. Spirit observed two probable iron meteorites from its Winter Haven location in the Columbia Hills in Gusev Crater.
    [Show full text]
  • Overview of the ASPIRE Project June 12-16, 2017 - the Hague, NL
    14th International Planetary Probes Workshop Overview of the ASPIRE Project June 12-16, 2017 - The Hague, NL. Clara O’Farrell, Ian Clark & Mark Adler Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology © 2017 California Institute of Technology. Government Sponsorship Acknowledged. ASPIRE Disk-Gap-Band (DGB) Parachute Heritage MSL (2012) MER (2004) • Developed in the 60s & 70s Viking (1974) for Viking – High Altitude Testing – Wind Tunnel Testing – Low Altitude Drop • Successfully used on 5 Mars missions – Leveraged Viking development Viking BLDT Test MER Drop Test MSL Wind Tunnel Test Image credit: mars.nasa.gov June 12-16, 2017 14th International Planetary Probes Workshop 2 jpl.nasa.gov Aerospace in recent DGB designs: Clark & Tanner, IEEE Broadcloth stress Conference Paper 2466 (2017): (per unit length) Broadcloth ultimate load estimated by treating the disk as a pressure vessel: Disk diameter have been eroding jpl.nasa.gov 3 180 Actual Flight Load ASPIRE 160 Parachute Design Load Broadcloth Ultimate Load DGB Heritage & Design Margins Strength margins may 140 f b l 120 • 3 0 1 x , 100 d a o L e 80 t u h c a r 60 a P 40 parachutes well below those achieved in supersonic tests 20 stresses seen in subsonic testing may not bound the 14th International Planetary Probes Workshop -Densityringsail Supersonic0 Decelerators Project saw failures of two 9. 19 12 12 12 S V V V V P S O P M 1 . P ik ik ik ik at pi p ho S m 7 2 2 2 E i i i i h r p e L m m m m D n n n n f it o n M - g g g g in rt i 1 M M M M II A A I I d u x .
    [Show full text]
  • Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration1
    June 24, 2012 Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration1 ‐ Report of a Workshop at LPI, June 12‐14, 2012 – Stephen Mackwell2 (LPI) Michael Amato (NASA Goddard), Bobby Braun (Georgia Institute of Technology), Steve Clifford (LPI), John Connolly (NASA Johnson), Marcello Coradini (ESA), Bethany Ehlmann (Caltech), Vicky Hamilton (SwRI), John Karcz (NASA Ames), Chris McKay (NASA Ames), Michael Meyer (NASA HQ), Brian Mulac (NASA Marshall), Doug Stetson (SSECG), Dale Thomas (NASA Marshall), and Jorge Vago (ESA) Executive Summary Recent deep cuts in the budget for Mars exploration at NASA necessitate a reconsideration of the Mars robotic exploration program within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD), especially in light of overlapping requirements with future planning for human missions to the Mars environment. As part of that reconsideration, a workshop on “Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration” was held at the USRA Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, TX, on June 12‐14, 2012. Details of the meeting, including abstracts, video recordings of all sessions, and plenary presentations, can be found at http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/marsconcepts2012/. Participation in the workshop included scientists, engineers, and graduate students from academia, NASA Centers, Federal Laboratories, industry, and international partner organizations. Attendance was limited to 185 participants in order to facilitate open discussion of the critical issues for Mars exploration in the coming decades. As 390 abstracts were submitted by individuals interested in participating in the workshop, the Workshop Planning Team carefully selected a subset of the abstracts for presentation based on their appropriateness to the workshop goals, and ensuring that a broad diverse suite of concepts and ideas was presented.
    [Show full text]
  • Mars Exploration Rovers: 4 Years on Mars
    https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20080047431 2019-10-28T16:17:34+00:00Z Mars Exploration Rovers: 4 Years on Mars Geoffrey A. Landis This January, the Mars Exploration Rovers "Spirit" and "Opportunity" are starting their fifth year of exploring the surface of Mars, well over ten times their nominal 90-day design lifetime. This lecture discusses the Mars Exploration Rovers, presents the current mission status for the extended mission, some of the most results from the mission and how it is affecting our current view of Mars, and briefly presents the plans for the coming NASA missions to the surface of Mars and concepts for exploration with robots and humans into the next decade, and beyond. Four Years on Mars: the Mars Exploration Rovers Geoffrey A. Landis NASA John Glenn Research Center http://www.sff.net/people/geoffrey.landis Presentation at MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, January 18, 2008 Exploration - Landis Mars viewed from the Hubble Space Telescope Exploration - Landis Views of Mars in the early 20th century Lowell 1908 Sciaparelli 1888 Burroughs 1912 (cover painting by Frazetta) Tales of Outer Space ed. Donald A. Wollheim, Ace D-73, 1954 (From Winchell Chung's web page projectrho.com) Exploration - Landis Past Missions to Mars: first close up images of Mars from Mariner 4 Mariner 4 discovered Mars was a barren, moon-like desert Exploration - Landis Viking 1976 Signs of past water on Mars? orbiter Photo from orbit by the 1976 Viking orbiter Exploration - Landis Pathfinder and Sojourner Rover: a solar-powered mission
    [Show full text]
  • Zlib Home Site
    zlib Home Site http://zlib.net/ A Massively Spiffy Yet Delicately Unobtrusive Compression Library (Also Free, Not to Mention Unencumbered by Patents) (Not Related to the Linux zlibc Compressing File-I/O Library) Welcome to the zlib home page, web pages originally created by Greg Roelofs and maintained by Mark Adler . If this page seems suspiciously similar to the PNG Home Page , rest assured that the similarity is completely coincidental. No, really. zlib was written by Jean-loup Gailly (compression) and Mark Adler (decompression). Current release: zlib 1.2.6 January 29, 2012 Version 1.2.6 has many changes over 1.2.5, including these improvements: gzread() can now read a file that is being written concurrently gzgetc() is now a macro for increased speed Added a 'T' option to gzopen() for transparent writing (no compression) Added deflatePending() to return the amount of pending output Allow deflateSetDictionary() and inflateSetDictionary() at any time in raw mode deflatePrime() can now insert bits in the middle of the stream ./configure now creates a configure.log file with all of the results Added a ./configure --solo option to compile zlib with no dependency on any libraries Fixed a problem with large file support macros Fixed a bug in contrib/puff Many portability improvements You can also look at the complete Change Log . Version 1.2.5 fixes bugs in gzseek() and gzeof() that were present in version 1.2.4 (March 2010). All users are encouraged to upgrade immediately. Version 1.2.4 has many changes over 1.2.3, including these improvements:
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded for Personal Non-Commercial Research Or Study, Without Prior Permission Or Charge
    MacArtney, Adrienne (2018) Atmosphere crust coupling and carbon sequestration on early Mars. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/9006/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten:Theses http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] ATMOSPHERE - CRUST COUPLING AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION ON EARLY MARS By Adrienne MacArtney B.Sc. (Honours) Geosciences, Open University, 2013. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW 2018 © Adrienne MacArtney All rights reserved. The author herby grants to the University of Glasgow permission to reproduce and redistribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in any part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature of Author: 16th January 2018 Abstract Evidence exists for great volumes of water on early Mars. Liquid surface water requires a much denser atmosphere than modern Mars possesses, probably predominantly composed of CO2. Such significant volumes of CO2 and water in the presence of basalt should have produced vast concentrations of carbonate minerals, yet little carbonate has been discovered thus far.
    [Show full text]
  • Initial Results from the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer
    S PIRIT AT G USEV C RATER S RESEARCH ARTICLE PECIAL Initial Results from the Mini-TES Experiment in S Gusev Crater from the Spirit Rover ECTION P. R. Christensen,1* S. W. Ruff,1 R. L. Fergason,1 A. T. Knudson,1 S. Anwar,1 R. E. Arvidson,2 J. L. Bandfield,1 D. L. Blaney,3 C. Budney,3 W. M. Calvin,4 T. D. Glotch,1 M. P. Golombek,3 N. Gorelick,1 T. G. Graff,1 V. E. Hamilton,5 A. Hayes,6 J. R. Johnson,7 H. Y. McSween Jr.,8 G. L. Mehall,1 L. K. Mehall,1 J. E. Moersch,8 R. V. Morris,9 A. D. Rogers,1 M. D. Smith,10 S. W. Squyres,6 M. J. Wolff,11 M. B. Wyatt1 The Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) on Spirit has studied Several targets have been observed with the the mineralogy and thermophysical properties at Gusev crater. Undisturbed soil use of 5ϫ spatial oversampling and spatial spectra show evidence for minor carbonates and bound water. Rocks are olivine- deconvolution techniques to improve spec- rich basalts with varying degrees of dust and other coatings. Dark-toned soils tral isolation (8), together with multiple observed on disturbed surfaces may be derived from rocks and have derived RAT brushings to clean larger areas. mineralogy (Ϯ5 to 10%) of 45% pyroxene (20% Ca-rich pyroxene and 25% Undisturbed surficial materials. Un- pigeonite), 40% sodic to intermediate plagioclase, and 15% olivine (forsterite disturbed surfaces in the vicinity of the 45% Ϯ5 to 10). Two spectrally distinct coatings are observed on rocks, a possible station are ϳ5% surface cover of clasts that indicator of the interaction of water, rock, and airfall dust.
    [Show full text]
  • Active Gullies and Mass Wasting on Equatorial Mars
    EPSC Abstracts Vol. 12, EPSC2018-457-1, 2018 European Planetary Science Congress 2018 EEuropeaPn PlanetarSy Science CCongress c Author(s) 2018 Active Gullies and Mass Wasting on Equatorial Mars Alfred S. McEwen (1), Melissa F. Thomas (1), Colin M. Dundas (2) (1) LPL, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA, (2) USGS, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA Abstract Previously-reported equatorial topographic changes include slumps on the colluvial fans below active Mid- to high-latitude gully activity has been directly RSL sites in Garni Crater [5] and in Juventae Chasma observed at hundreds of locations on Mars [1]. Here [7]. These slumps all occurred near the coldest time we describe equatorial locations (25 latitude) with of year for these locations, Ls 0-120, which is gully-like or other topographic changes in before- opposite to the seasonality of RSL. and-after images from HiRISE. This activity is concentrated in sulfate-rich sedimentary units, which We are in the process of searching HiKER pairs over places constraints on the age and mechanical steep equatorial slopes, as well as acquiring new properties of these deposits. Hydrated sulfates may HiKER images. From the effort to date we have found that equatorial changes are most common in be the largest equatorial reservoir of H2O on Mars, and their friability makes them more attractive for in- sedimentary layers that may be rich is sulfates situ resource utilization (ISRU). according to mapping by orbital spectrometers [8], and have concentrated our search in these regions. 1. Introduction The most impressive changes we have found are on Mid- to high-latitude gully activity can be explained bright layered mounds in Ganges Chasma.
    [Show full text]
  • Arthur C. Clarke 2001: a Space Odyssey
    Volume 33, Issue 2 AIAAAIAA HoustonHouston SectionSection www.aiaa-houston.orgwww.aiaa-houston.org April 2008 Arthur C. Clarke 1917 - 2008 2001: A Space Odyssey - 40 Years Later Yesterday’s Tomorrow Artwork by Jon C. Rogers and Pat Rawlings AIAA Houston Horizons April 2008 Page 1 April 2008 T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S From the Acting Editor 3 HOUSTON Chair’s Corner 4 2001: A Space Odyssey - 40 Years Later: Yesterday’s Tomorrow 5 Horizons is a quarterly publication of the Houston section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. International Space Activities Committee (ISAC) 14 Arthur C. Clarke: A Prophet Vindicated by Gregory Benford 16 Acting Editor: Douglas Yazell [email protected] Book Review (Subject: Ellington Field in Houston) & Staying Informed 18 Assistant Editors: Scholarship & Annual Technical Symposium (ATS 2008) 19 Jon Berndt Dr. Rattaya Yalamanchili Lunch-and-Learn Summary: Mars Rovers by Dr. Mark Adler/JPL 20 Don Kulba Robert Beremand Dinner Meeting Summary: John Frassanito & Associates 21 Lunch & Learn: Sailing the Space Station with Zero-Propellant Guidance 22 AIAA Houston Section Executive Council Membership 23 Chair: Douglas Yazell Inaugural Space Center Lecture Series: Harrison Schmitt of Apollo 17 24 Chair-Elect: Chad Brinkley Past Chair: Dr. Jayant Ramakrishnan Yuri’s Night Houston by AAS, co-sponsored by AIAA Houston Section 26 Secretary: Sarah Shull Constellation Earth, Michel Bonavitacola, AAAF , Toulouse, France 27 Treasurer: Tim Propp Calendar 30 JJ Johnson Sean Carter Cranium Cruncher and a Pre-College Event: Engineer for a Day 31 Vice-Chair, Vice-Chair, Operations Branch Technical Branch Odds and Ends: EAA Houston Chapter 12, James C.
    [Show full text]
  • CURRICULUM VITAE Bradley J
    CURRICULUM VITAE Bradley J. Thomson Assistant Professor Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences Phone: 865.974.2699 University of Tennessee Fax: 865.974.2368 1621 Cumberland Ave., Room 602 Email: [email protected] Knoxville, TN 37996-1410 Website: https://lunatic.utk.edu EDUCATION Ph.D. Geological Sciences, Brown University, 2006 Dissertation title: Recognizing impact glass on Mars using surface texture, mechanical properties, and mid-infrared spectroscopic properties Advisor: Peter H. SchultZ M.Sc. Geological Sciences, Brown University, 2001 Thesis title: Utopia Basin, Mars: Origin and evolution of basin internal structure Advisor: James W. Head III B.S. Harvey Mudd College, 1999, Geology major at Pomona College Thesis title: Thickness of basalts in Mare Imbrium Advisor: Eric B. Grosfils PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Assistant Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS), University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN, 2020–present Research Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS), University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN, 2016–2020 Senior Research Scientist, Boston University Center for Remote Sensing, 2011–2016 Co-Investigator, Mini-RF radar on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, 2009–present Co-Investigator, Mini-SAR radar on Chandrayaan-1, 2008–2009 Senior Staff Scientist, JHU Applied Physics Lab, 2008–2011 NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, Jet Propulsion Lab, 2006–2008 Science Theme Lead for mass wasting processes HiRISE camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 2007–2010 Postdoctoral Fellow, Lunar and Planetary
    [Show full text]
  • Broschüre Zu MIMOS II
    MMOS Mössbauerspektrometer auf dem Mars Mössbauer spectrometer on Mars Einleitung Mars ist von allen Planeten im Sonnen­ Um zwei Landestellen genau zu unter­ system der Erde am ähnlichsten. Unser suchen, startete die NASA 2003 die „Mars­ Nachbarplanet verfügt über eine dünne Exploration­Rover­Mission“. Die beiden Atmosphäre, die Temperaturen auf Rover „Spirit“ und „Opportunity“ sind nach der Marsoberfläche erreichen bis zu „Mars Pathfinder“ bereits robotische 20 °C und ein Tag auf dem Mars („Sol“) Mars­Erkunder der zweiten Generation. Als dauert nur 39 Minuten länger vorrangige Ziele der Mission wurde definiert, als ein Tag auf der Erde. an zwei Stellen auf der Marsoberfläche nach Hinweisen auf mögliche Wasser­ Der Mars ist daher ein begehrtes aktivität in der Vergangenheit zu suchen und Forschungsobjekt, um mehr über mögliche aus den Ergebnissen Rückschlüsse auf die Entwicklungsszenarien eines erdähnlichen Entwicklung des Marsklimas und möglicher­ Planeten zu lernen. weise einst vorhandene lebensfreundliche Bedingungen auf dem Mars zu ziehen. Eine Frage ist von besonderem Interesse: Warum konnten auf der Erde lebensfreund­ Als Teil ihrer wissenschaftlichen Nutzlast liche Bedingungen entstehen, aber nicht auf tragen beide Rover das miniaturisierte dem Mars? Da Wasser die Grundlage aller Mössbauerspektrometer MIMOS II, dessen bekannten Lebensformen bildet, folgen die Aufgabe der Nachweis von Eisenmineralen Forscher mit ihren Untersuchungen den ist. Einige dieser Minerale können mit Spuren von Wasseraktivität auf dem Mars. dem Vorhandensein von Wasser bei ihrer Seit mehr als vier Jahrzehnten sind dazu Entstehung in Verbindung gebracht werden. Bilder und spektroskopische Daten sowohl Die mineralogische Charakterisierung aus dem Marsorbit als auch von der der Landestellen gibt zusätzlich Aufschluss Oberfläche aufgenommen worden.
    [Show full text]
  • Art on Mars: a Foundation for Exoart
    THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA AUSTRALIA by TREVOR JOHN RODWELL Bachelor of Design (Hons), University of South Australia Graduate Diploma (Business Enterprise), The University of Adelaide ART ON MARS: A FOUNDATION FOR EXOART May 2011 ABSTRACT ART ON MARS: A FOUNDATION FOR EXOART It could be claimed that human space exploration started when the former Soviet Union (USSR) launched cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into Earth orbit on 12 April 1961. Since that time there have been numerous human space missions taking American astronauts to the Moon and international crews to orbiting space stations. Several space agencies are now working towards the next major space objective which is to send astronauts to Mars. This will undoubtedly be the most complex and far-reaching human space mission ever undertaken. Because of its large scale and potentially high cost it is inevitable that such a mission will be an international collaborative venture with a profile that will be world- wide. Although science, technology and engineering have made considerable contributions to human space missions and will be very much involved with a human Mars mission, there has been scant regard for artistic and cultural involvement in these missions. Space agencies have, however, realised the influence of public perception on space funding outcomes and for some time have strived to engage the public in these space missions. This has provided an opportunity for an art and cultural involvement, but there is a problem for art engaging with space missions as currently there is no artform specific to understanding and tackling the issues of art beyond our planet.
    [Show full text]