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Mars, the First Results from the Cassini-Huygens Probe Which Landed on Titan and Robotic Space Missions

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Mars, the First Results from the Cassini-Huygens Probe Which Landed on Titan and Robotic Space Missions OH 404 new.qxd 20/02/2006 11:49 Page 1 OpenHouse Newspaper for staff of The Open University Issue number 404 Jan - Feb 2006 Military Coup by Peter Taylor-Whiffen THOUSANDS of members of the Armed Forces will be numbers are expected to increase by a total of 400 studying Open University MBA courses after the OU learners across all three defence services within five signed a 22-year deal to provide courses for the years. military. A Ministry of Defence statement said: “Individuals at The university will work in partnership with Cranfield all levels from the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and University to deliver postgraduate education to military the Civil Service will benefit from this investment and the personnel through the Ministry of Defence’s Defence higher level education and training it provides for.” College of Management and Technology (DCMT) – and it’s And Defence Minister Don Touhig added: “We expect expected at least 400 servicemen and women will sign up our Armed Forces to operate in an increasingly complex every year. and demanding environment. We can’t ask this of our “It’s very good news indeed,” said the OU’s Head of Service personnel, and the civilians who support them, Strategic Partnerships, Edmund Dixon. “It’s the reward unless we invest in their ongoing training and for a lot of hard work tendering and then further development. impressing the MoD when we made a shortlist.” “This contract provides access to the very best Cranfield has worked with the DCMT, at Shrivenham, postgraduate education and the flexibility to help equip Wiltshire for many years but its previous contract ended our people to meet these challenges.” last year and other universities were invited to apply. Edmund Dixon said the agreement would bring several “Cranfield saw e-learning and distance learning as the benefits to the OU. “We already have thousands of future and we took the opportunity to work out an students in the services and they know the benefits of agreement with them,” said Edmund. “The MoD has the flexibility of study that we offer,” he said. “Not only renewed its contract with Cranfield and the deal means will this bring even more servicemen and women into the we are a sub-contractor – but we also have a back-up deal OU, it will enable us to build on the already excellent direct with the Ministry in case for any reason it stops relationship we have with Cranfield.” working with Cranfield.” And he added: "This success indicates what can be The success was ensured by academic input from achieved by strategic partnerships. Some of them take OUBS, the Faculty of Technology, the Finance Division, time to establish, and require some tough negotiation, Student Services, Region Two (Oxford) and the Corporate but the benefits here are not only a 22-year contract, but Time on their hands: military personnel in the UK could soon benefit from a new Registration team – the Corporate and Employer also the vital aspect of the OU being seen as the provider partnership between the OU, Cranfield University and the Ministry of Defence Services team in Marketing and the OU Library. Student of choice.” The Open University is going further and further into space. The Edinburgh Science Festival in April will hear two scientists from the OU’s Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute (PSSRI), Professor John Zarnecki and Dr Ashley Green, talking about a new mission to Mars, the first results from the Cassini-Huygens probe which landed on Titan and robotic space missions. open house has a sneak preview Back to Mars THE Open University is off again on another equipped with a drill capable of digging down “The rover will be able to cover one spectrometer which will measure, for the mission to Mars – on the most ambitious two metres, making ExoMars the first kilometre a day – by comparison, the US first time, the amount of deadly UV radiation exploration ever planned of the red planet. mission to probe significantly beneath the rovers currently operating on Mars have bathing the surface of Mars. The ExoMars, which is part of the European planet’s surface, where scientists believe done about six or seven miles over the two measurements could tell scientists how far Space Agency (ESA) Aurora exploration evidence of life years they have below the surface life would have to go to programme, aims to put a research station is most likely to “It is potentially the most important been there.” escape the UV, which damages the DNA in and a “high-speed” rover vehicle on the exist. research for us in the next decade” Scientists living cells. Martian surface in 2013, to spend around “ExoMars has from PSSRI will PSSRI is co-leader in the meteorological five years studying our neighbouring planet. three unique selling points: longevity, be working on three of the research project which will measure air pressure, As well as the longest study of Mars it will mobility and depth,” says John Zarnecki, instruments for ExoMars. They will be taking temperature, wind speed and direction and be the most in-depth – the rover will be Professor of Space Science. the lead in building the ultraviolet (UV) other aspects of the Martian weather. “We turn to page 2 TOUR DE BRITAIN WIN A £20 BOOK TOKEN ALSO... In this issue How green are you? Complete our sudoku puzzle • News 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 • Curriculum Conference pages 8 & 9 open house asks staff at created by Maths professor • The Voice of Region • Letters page 11 Walton Hall and the regions Robin Wilson page 5 • In the Hot Seat page 11 Page 10 Page 3 • On the buses page 7 • The Interview page 12 OH 404 new.qxd 20/02/2006 11:49 Page 2 See more news on the Intranet OU Life COMMENT NEWS //intranet.open.ac.uk/oulife/news French connection THERE’S a small village near Cambridge whose village Back to Mars sign says “W------; TWINNED WITH PARIS”. Apparently a continued from page 1 few years ago the parish council wrote to the then mayor of Paris Jacques Chirac saying that they’d like to hope to be able to do this over several twin with Paris and if they didn’t hear back they’d seasonal cycles,” said Professor assume it was ok. They didn’t get a reply – hence the Zarnecki. "Mars has definite seasons sign. and we want to see how it varies. A I was reminded of this Fennish eccentricity recently Martian year is about two Earth years, when it was announced that the OU had received so six Earth years will give us three several million pounds from a foundation to support Martian seasons.” developments in distance education in Africa. I’m sure The third project PSSRI will work on this money will be well-used, but it did strike me that to is the drill which will throw light on the be a small distance education college being helped by evolution of Mars by revealing whether the OU might be like being a mouse helped by an there is heat coming from its centre. A elephant, and I wondered if maybe there were other hot core would show that Mars is like ways in which OU people could get involved at less Earth, still in a state of flux. formal levels. Funding “Why not twin central OU staff, “We are hoping ExoMars will bring tutors and students with their significant funding into the OU, opposite numbers in Africa?” perhaps several million over the next five or 10 years,” said John Zarnecki. “It Artist’s impression of the ExoMars Rover which will probe beneath the Martian surface is potentially the most important © 2004 University of Wales, Aberystwyth and EADS Astrium Ltd. I first thought of twinning regional centres with research for us in the next decade.” African institutions and I’ve suggested that idea to The Aurora programme, of which more ambitious. Its ultimate goal is to although this will be some decades in regional colleagues. But then why stop there? Why not ExoMars is only one stage, is even put European astronauts on Mars, the future. twin central OU staff, tutors and students with their opposite numbers in Africa? Maybe a distance education student in Africa could receive moral and maybe a little financial support from his or her equivalent in the OU – and perhaps the same for tutors, academics and administrators and other staff. I was I, Robot reminded of two old friends of mine I taught with in Ghana who have subsequently supported their IF WE ever find traces of life outside Earth, it will probably be explorer equipped with eyes and hands and brain. “What the ex-steward’s family through their higher education over a robot that makes the discovery – according to Dr Ashley Mars robots take several weeks to do, a trained geologist nearly 30 years. Green of the Robotics Outreach Group. could do in a couple of hours,” said Dr Green. I don’t know what mechanisms could set up such a While human beings have only ever set foot on one But with humans unlikely to be on Mars before the 2030s, scheme – maybe the Open University Students extra-terrestrial body – the moon – robotic probes, orbiters, even according to the most optimistic projections, it is Association (OUSA) or the Alumni could take part with landers and rovers have visited and studied every planet in robots which are spearheading the search for life. The advice from OU Worldwide. But I do know that without our solar system, except Pluto, to which a NASA mission has Cassini-Huygens mission, which carried the Titan probe, was interest from OU people nothing will happen.
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