DOCSLIB.ORG

Spaceport News John F

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Spaceport News John F June 26, 2009 Vol. 49, No. 13 Spaceport News John F. Kennedy Space Center - America’s gateway to the universe www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/snews/spnews_toc.html INSIDE . Mission targets uncharted ‘water’ New facility By Steven Siceloff struments to try to find proof coming soon Spaceport News of ice or water vapor before it too slams into the lunar pair of spacecraft is surface to kick up a second heading to the moon plume. to gather informa- A “You see there’s this tion about potential landing strong interplay between sites and to find out whether science and exploration,” water exists on or near the said Mike Wargo, chief lunar surface. The missions lunar scientist for NASA’s are NASA’s first to the Page 2 Exploration Science Mis- moon in 10 years, and come sion Directorate. “We’re go- 40 years after astronauts ing to have a really compre- Crews work on first walked there. hydrogen leak hensive set of data sets that The Lunar Reconnais- NASA needs to return to the sance Orbiter, LRO, and moon.” Lunar Crater Observation The missions build on and Sensing Satellite, or past research of the moon, LCROSS, lifted off together including signs of ice picked atop an Atlas V rocket from up by the Lunar Prospec- Cape Canaveral Air Force tor spacecraft in 1999. Station on June 18 at LCROSS managers intend 5:32 p.m. to crash the spacecraft into Page 3 Although both space- the moon at one of the craft are headed to the Ares I-X update points where the Prospec- moon, their missions are tor saw the best chance for using far different methods water. to study Earth’s closest The places thought to neighbor. have water are at the moon’s LRO entered lunar poles, not the middle orbit Tuesday morning, four regions where the Apollo days after launch. Each of astronauts landed. Those ar- its instruments will survey eas get a lot of sunlight that the surface on their own, would boil any water away. producing a complete map But there are large craters at of the moon’s temperature Page 6 the poles where sun either scales, radiation levels and doesn’t shine much, or the precise elevations. Together, Heritage: crater walls create a large the information should give SSPF dedicated shadow over the floor that mission planners on Earth could protect water. in 1994 what they need to pick out Some of the craters do the best place for a lunar not climb above -200 de- outpost in the future. grees Celsius, said LCROSS The LCROSS mission Project Scientist Tony calls for the satellite to steer Colaprete. the empty 5,000-pound LCROSS has nine Centaur upper stage from instruments on board, NASA/Sandra Joseph -Tony Gray the Atlas V into the moon to including spectrometers and An Atlas V rocket carrying the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater blast up a plume of material. several specialized cameras. Observation and Sensing Satellite launches from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Page 7 Canaveral Air Force Station on June 18 at 5:32 p.m. LRO and LCROSS are the LCROSS will fly through first missions in NASA’s plan to return humans to the moon and begin establishing the plume with its own in- See WATER, Page 2 a lunar outpost by 2020. Page 2 SPACEPORT NEWS June 26, 2009 Propellants North Facility to break ground By Linda Herridge Spaceport News ennedy Space Cen- ter soon will break Kground on a new Propellants North Facility in the Launch Complex 39 area that will qualify for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Platinum designation. It is the highest designation a LEED facility can achieve, and will be the first for the center. According to Center Operations LEED Specialist Frank Kline, the new facility will feature a high- efficiency roof and walls, air conditioning with energy recovery technology; ef- ficient variable frequency motors, variable air volume boxes; high-efficiency light- ing fixtures; smart lighting NASA image controls with step dimming An artist’s rendition shows the proposed Propellants North Facility in Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39 area, which will qualify for the U.S. Green Building and occupancy sensors; Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Platinum designation. Energy Star appliances; water-conserving bathroom customers,” Kline said. “The ates, Inc. of Titusville, Fla., claimed and processed waste current ASHRAE (American fixtures; and high-velocity construction of this new and Green Building Services concrete from Kennedy’s Society of Heating, Refrig- hand dryers. facility reflects our dedica- of Orlando, Fla., completed demolition projects for facil- erating and Air-Conditioning The facility also will tion to the environment and the design in 2008. ity foundation and paving Engineers) standards,” Kline have natural daylight using the tax payer.” The construction con- subbase materials. said. high windows and correct Kline said currently tract was awarded to HW The roof will be con- The green facility will By Steven Siceloff solar orientation; high-ef- there are only 145 Plati- Davis Construction Inc. of structed of recycled metal house up to 64 managers, Spaceport News ficiency windows; and num-rated facilities in the Orlando. That company’s covered with a rainwater mechanics and technicians sustainable flooring using U.S. and only one other in most recent local project was harvesting system that will who fuel spacecraft at Ken- polished concrete and lami- Florida. the Shuttle Launch Experi- supply restroom fixtures. nedy. An 1,800-square-foot, nated bamboo. “NASA is next,” Kline ence at the Kennedy Space Xeriscape landscaping single-story shop will be set “Center Operations said. Center Visitor Complex. will use native species and aside for cryogenic transfer continually strives for The 10,730-square- The company will recycled crushed crawler- equipment storage. excellence as we develop foot facility will replace old reuse deconstructed Launch way rock for mulch. The new facility is first-rate facilities to support facilities built in the 1960s. Control Center firing room “The building will be 52 scheduled to be complete in our mission programs and Jones Edmunds and Associ- glazing and frames, and re- percent more efficient than late 2010. From WATER, Page 1 if astronauts can count on water stellation Program has identified 50 to map the moon completely. The already waiting at the moon, then potential landing sites that will be readings will be compared through- All will look at the flash and plume they may be able to use it to fuel intensively surveyed by LRO, said out at least a year of observations to from the Centaur’s impact and relay their engines for the return trip Rich Vondrak, project scientist for see how radiation, temperature and the information quickly before the to Earth instead of having to take the mission. sunlight change. spacecraft impacts as well. all their propellants with them at LRO also will be able to tell With all the new information The LRO spacecraft, NASA’s the start. The water also could be which parts of the moon see near- at hand, mission managers and Hubble Space Telescope and Earth- broken down and used as air for the continuous sunlight, another ele- astronauts expect to go much more based observatories will watch astronauts. ment crucial for astronauts hoping safely to the moon than previous debris clouds erupt and search them LRO’s work using seven to deploy solar arrays to power their space crews and go to different for signs of chemicals and water. instruments also is crucial to future lunar systems. places that have never been studied It’s an important study because missions by astronauts. The Con- It will take a month for LRO by astronauts before. June 26, 2009 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 3 Confident crews work to repair GUCP hydrogen leak By Linda Herridge and we’re confident we have Spaceport News a solution that’s going to work and allow us to go fly or the second time safely, then we’ll proceed in less than a week, forward,” Cain said. launch teams scrubbed F While teams at Kennedy space shuttle Endeavour’s work tirelessly to find the STS-127 mission because solution, the STS-127 astro- of a hydrogen gas leak at nauts are back in Houston the Ground Umbilical Car- continuing to train for their rier Plate, or GUCP, during tanking at Kennedy Space 16-day mission to the Inter- Center. national Space Station. Fueling of Endeavour’s The crew is set to deliver external fuel tank with more the final two segments of the than 500,000 gallons of su- Japan Aerospace Exploration per cold liquid hydrogen and Agency’s Kibo laboratory. liquid oxygen stopped at During five spacewalks, as- 1:02 a.m. June 17, while the tronauts will use the shuttle, station and Kibo robotic launch team evaluated the NASA/Tim Jacobs arms to attach platforms to situation. A vent valve was Workers check out and remove the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP on Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. opened and closed several A hydrogen leak during tanking June 12 and again on June 17, pushed the STS-127 mission launch to no earlier than July 11. the Japanese module that times and a fast flow of liq- will allow experiments to be uid hydrogen was restarted. be solved. GH2, flow control valves are The leak was is in a exposed to space. “It was a very chal- Endeavour’s launch was part of the main propulsion location where similar leaks STS-127 Commander lenging day,” said LeRoy officially scrubbed at system on the space shuttle.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)
    Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 13, EGU2011-5107-2, 2011 EGU General Assembly 2011 © Author(s) 2011 NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) Richard Elphic (1), Gregory Delory (1,2), Anthony Colaprete (1), Mihaly Horanyi (3), Paul Mahaffy (4), Butler Hine (1), Steven McClard (5), Joan Salute (6), Edwin Grayzeck (6), and Don Boroson (7) (1) NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA USA ([email protected]), (2) Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA USA, (3) Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO USA, (4) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA, (5) LunarQuest Program Office, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL USA, (6) Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA, Washington, DC USA, (7) Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lexington MA USA Nearly 40 years have passed since the last Apollo missions investigated the mysteries of the lunar atmosphere and the question of levitated lunar dust. The most important questions remain: what is the composition, structure and variability of the tenuous lunar exosphere? What are its origins, transport mechanisms, and loss processes? Is lofted lunar dust the cause of the horizon glow observed by the Surveyor missions and Apollo astronauts? How does such levitated dust arise and move, what is its density, and what is its ultimate fate? The US National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council decadal surveys and the recent “Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon” (SCEM) reports have identified studies of the pristine state of the lunar atmosphere and dust environment as among the leading priorities for future lunar science missions.
    [Show full text]
  • LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) Observation Campaign: Strategies, Implementation, and Lessons Learned
    Space Sci Rev DOI 10.1007/s11214-011-9759-y LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) Observation Campaign: Strategies, Implementation, and Lessons Learned Jennifer L. Heldmann · Anthony Colaprete · Diane H. Wooden · Robert F. Ackermann · David D. Acton · Peter R. Backus · Vanessa Bailey · Jesse G. Ball · William C. Barott · Samantha K. Blair · Marc W. Buie · Shawn Callahan · Nancy J. Chanover · Young-Jun Choi · Al Conrad · Dolores M. Coulson · Kirk B. Crawford · Russell DeHart · Imke de Pater · Michael Disanti · James R. Forster · Reiko Furusho · Tetsuharu Fuse · Tom Geballe · J. Duane Gibson · David Goldstein · Stephen A. Gregory · David J. Gutierrez · Ryan T. Hamilton · Taiga Hamura · David E. Harker · Gerry R. Harp · Junichi Haruyama · Morag Hastie · Yutaka Hayano · Phillip Hinz · Peng K. Hong · Steven P. James · Toshihiko Kadono · Hideyo Kawakita · Michael S. Kelley · Daryl L. Kim · Kosuke Kurosawa · Duk-Hang Lee · Michael Long · Paul G. Lucey · Keith Marach · Anthony C. Matulonis · Richard M. McDermid · Russet McMillan · Charles Miller · Hong-Kyu Moon · Ryosuke Nakamura · Hirotomo Noda · Natsuko Okamura · Lawrence Ong · Dallan Porter · Jeffery J. Puschell · John T. Rayner · J. Jedadiah Rembold · Katherine C. Roth · Richard J. Rudy · Ray W. Russell · Eileen V. Ryan · William H. Ryan · Tomohiko Sekiguchi · Yasuhito Sekine · Mark A. Skinner · Mitsuru Sôma · Andrew W. Stephens · Alex Storrs · Robert M. Suggs · Seiji Sugita · Eon-Chang Sung · Naruhisa Takatoh · Jill C. Tarter · Scott M. Taylor · Hiroshi Terada · Chadwick J. Trujillo · Vidhya Vaitheeswaran · Faith Vilas · Brian D. Walls · Jun-ihi Watanabe · William J. Welch · Charles E. Woodward · Hong-Suh Yim · Eliot F. Young Received: 9 October 2010 / Accepted: 8 February 2011 © The Author(s) 2011.
    [Show full text]
  • Martian Crater Morphology
    ANALYSIS OF THE DEPTH-DIAMETER RELATIONSHIP OF MARTIAN CRATERS A Capstone Experience Thesis Presented by Jared Howenstine Completion Date: May 2006 Approved By: Professor M. Darby Dyar, Astronomy Professor Christopher Condit, Geology Professor Judith Young, Astronomy Abstract Title: Analysis of the Depth-Diameter Relationship of Martian Craters Author: Jared Howenstine, Astronomy Approved By: Judith Young, Astronomy Approved By: M. Darby Dyar, Astronomy Approved By: Christopher Condit, Geology CE Type: Departmental Honors Project Using a gridded version of maritan topography with the computer program Gridview, this project studied the depth-diameter relationship of martian impact craters. The work encompasses 361 profiles of impacts with diameters larger than 15 kilometers and is a continuation of work that was started at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas under the guidance of Dr. Walter S. Keifer. Using the most ‘pristine,’ or deepest craters in the data a depth-diameter relationship was determined: d = 0.610D 0.327 , where d is the depth of the crater and D is the diameter of the crater, both in kilometers. This relationship can then be used to estimate the theoretical depth of any impact radius, and therefore can be used to estimate the pristine shape of the crater. With a depth-diameter ratio for a particular crater, the measured depth can then be compared to this theoretical value and an estimate of the amount of material within the crater, or fill, can then be calculated. The data includes 140 named impact craters, 3 basins, and 218 other impacts. The named data encompasses all named impact structures of greater than 100 kilometers in diameter.
    [Show full text]
  • Atlas V Launches LRO/LCROSS Mission Overview
    Atlas V Launches LRO/LCROSS Mission Overview Atlas V 401 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL Space Launch Complex-41 AV-020/LRO/LCROSS United Launch Alliance is proud to be a part of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The LRO/LCROSS mission marks the sixteenth Atlas V launch and the seventh flight of an Atlas V 401 configuration. LRO/LCROSS is a dual-spacecraft (SC) launch. LRO is a lunar orbiter that will investigate resources, landing sites, and the lunar radiation environment in preparation for future human missions to the Moon. LCROSS will search for the presence of water ice that may exist on the permanently shadowed floors of lunar polar craters. The LCROSS mission will use two Lunar Kinetic Impactors, the inert Centaur upper stage and the LCROSS SC itself, to produce debris plumes that may reveal the presence of water ice under spectroscopic analysis. My thanks to the entire Atlas team for its dedication in bringing LRO/LCROSS to launch, and to NASA for selecting Atlas for this ground-breaking mission. Go Atlas, Go Centaur, Go LRO/LCROSS! Mark Wilkins Vice President, Atlas Product Line Atlas V Launch History Flight Config. Mission Mission Date AV-001 401 Eutelsat Hotbird 6 21 Aug 2002 AV-002 401 HellasSat 13 May 2003 AV-003 521 Rainbow 1 17 Jul 2003 AV-005 521 AMC-16 17 Dec 2004 AV-004 431 Inmarsat 4-F1 11 Mar 2005 AV-007 401 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 12 Aug 2005 AV-010 551 Pluto New Horizons 19 Jan 2006 AV-008 411 Astra 1KR 20 Apr 2006 AV-013 401 STP-1 08 Mar 2007 AV-009 401 NROL-30 15 Jun 2007 AV-011 421 WGS SV-1 10 Oct 2007 AV-015 401 NROL-24 10 Dec 2007 AV-006 411 NROL-28 13 Mar 2008 AV-014 421 ICO G1 14 Apr 2008 AV-016 421 WGS-2 03 Apr 2009 Payload Fairing Number of Solid Atlas V Size (meters) Rocket Boosters Flight/Configuration Key AV-XXX ### Number of Centaur Engines 3-digit Tail Number 3-digit Configuration Number LRO Overview LRO is the first mission in NASA’s planned return to the Moon.
    [Show full text]
  • Widespread Excess Ice in Arcadia Planitia, Mars
    Widespread Excess Ice in Arcadia Planitia, Mars Ali M. Bramson1, Shane Byrne1, Nathaniel E. Putzig2, Sarah Sutton1, Jeffrey J. Plaut3, T. Charles Brothers4 and John W. Holt4 Corresponding author: A. M. Bramson, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Kuiper Space Science Building, 1629 E. University Blvd. Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA. ([email protected]) Affiliations: 1Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA. 2Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado, USA. 3Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA. 4Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA. Accepted for publication July 18, 2015 in Geophysical Research Letters. An edited version of this paper was published by AGU on August 26, 2015. Copyright 2015 American Geophysical Union. Citation: Bramson, A. M., S. Byrne, N. E. Putzig, S. Sutton, J. J. Plaut, T. C. Brothers, and J. W. Holt (2015), Widespread excess ice in Arcadia Planitia, Mars, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, doi:10.1002/2015GL064844. Key points: • Terraced craters: abundant in Arcadia Planitia, indicate subsurface layering • A widespread subsurface interface is also detected by SHARAD • Combining data sets yields dielectric constants consistent with decameters of excess water ice Abstract: The distribution of subsurface water ice on Mars is a key constraint on past climate, while the volumetric concentration of buried ice (pore-filling versus excess) provides information about the process that led to its deposition. We investigate the subsurface of Arcadia Planitia by measuring the depth of terraces in simple impact craters and mapping a widespread subsurface reflection in radar sounding data. Assuming that the contrast in material strengths responsible for the terracing is the same dielectric interface that causes the radar reflection, we can combine these data to estimate the dielectric constant of the overlying material.
    [Show full text]
  • Widespread Crater-Related Pitted Materials on Mars: Further Evidence for the Role of Target Volatiles During the Impact Process ⇑ Livio L
    Icarus 220 (2012) 348–368 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Icarus journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/icarus Widespread crater-related pitted materials on Mars: Further evidence for the role of target volatiles during the impact process ⇑ Livio L. Tornabene a, , Gordon R. Osinski a, Alfred S. McEwen b, Joseph M. Boyce c, Veronica J. Bray b, Christy M. Caudill b, John A. Grant d, Christopher W. Hamilton e, Sarah Mattson b, Peter J. Mouginis-Mark c a University of Western Ontario, Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration, Earth Sciences, London, ON, Canada N6A 5B7 b University of Arizona, Lunar and Planetary Lab, Tucson, AZ 85721-0092, USA c University of Hawai’i, Hawai’i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Ma¯noa, HI 96822, USA d Smithsonian Institution, Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA e NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA article info abstract Article history: Recently acquired high-resolution images of martian impact craters provide further evidence for the Received 28 August 2011 interaction between subsurface volatiles and the impact cratering process. A densely pitted crater-related Revised 29 April 2012 unit has been identified in images of 204 craters from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This sample of Accepted 9 May 2012 craters are nearly equally distributed between the two hemispheres, spanning from 53°Sto62°N latitude. Available online 24 May 2012 They range in diameter from 1 to 150 km, and are found at elevations between À5.5 to +5.2 km relative to the martian datum. The pits are polygonal to quasi-circular depressions that often occur in dense clus- Keywords: ters and range in size from 10 m to as large as 3 km.
    [Show full text]
  • Space Sector Brochure
    SPACE SPACE REVOLUTIONIZING THE WAY TO SPACE SPACECRAFT TECHNOLOGIES PROPULSION Moog provides components and subsystems for cold gas, chemical, and electric Moog is a proven leader in components, subsystems, and systems propulsion and designs, develops, and manufactures complete chemical propulsion for spacecraft of all sizes, from smallsats to GEO spacecraft. systems, including tanks, to accelerate the spacecraft for orbit-insertion, station Moog has been successfully providing spacecraft controls, in- keeping, or attitude control. Moog makes thrusters from <1N to 500N to support the space propulsion, and major subsystems for science, military, propulsion requirements for small to large spacecraft. and commercial operations for more than 60 years. AVIONICS Moog is a proven provider of high performance and reliable space-rated avionics hardware and software for command and data handling, power distribution, payload processing, memory, GPS receivers, motor controllers, and onboard computing. POWER SYSTEMS Moog leverages its proven spacecraft avionics and high-power control systems to supply hardware for telemetry, as well as solar array and battery power management and switching. Applications include bus line power to valves, motors, torque rods, and other end effectors. Moog has developed products for Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) Systems, such as high power DC converters, switching, and power stabilization. MECHANISMS Moog has produced spacecraft motion control products for more than 50 years, dating back to the historic Apollo and Pioneer programs. Today, we offer rotary, linear, and specialized mechanisms for spacecraft motion control needs. Moog is a world-class manufacturer of solar array drives, propulsion positioning gimbals, electric propulsion gimbals, antenna positioner mechanisms, docking and release mechanisms, and specialty payload positioners.
    [Show full text]
  • Orbital Evidence for More Widespread Carbonate- 10.1002/2015JE004972 Bearing Rocks on Mars Key Point: James J
    PUBLICATIONS Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets RESEARCH ARTICLE Orbital evidence for more widespread carbonate- 10.1002/2015JE004972 bearing rocks on Mars Key Point: James J. Wray1, Scott L. Murchie2, Janice L. Bishop3, Bethany L. Ehlmann4, Ralph E. Milliken5, • Carbonates coexist with phyllosili- 1 2 6 cates in exhumed Noachian rocks in Mary Beth Wilhelm , Kimberly D. Seelos , and Matthew Chojnacki several regions of Mars 1School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2The Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA, 3SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA, 4Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA, 5Department of Geological Sciences, Brown Correspondence to: University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA, 6Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA J. J. Wray, [email protected] Abstract Carbonates are key minerals for understanding ancient Martian environments because they Citation: are indicators of potentially habitable, neutral-to-alkaline water and may be an important reservoir for Wray, J. J., S. L. Murchie, J. L. Bishop, paleoatmospheric CO2. Previous remote sensing studies have identified mostly Mg-rich carbonates, both in B. L. Ehlmann, R. E. Milliken, M. B. Wilhelm, Martian dust and in a Late Noachian rock unit circumferential to the Isidis basin. Here we report evidence for older K. D. Seelos, and M. Chojnacki (2016), Orbital evidence for more widespread Fe- and/or Ca-rich carbonates exposed from the subsurface by impact craters and troughs. These carbonates carbonate-bearing rocks on Mars, are found in and around the Huygens basin northwest of Hellas, in western Noachis Terra between the Argyre – J.
    [Show full text]
  • Curiosity Assesses Conditions Favorable for Life
    Jet APRIL Propulsion 2013 Laboratory VOLUME 43 NUMBER 4 Curiosity assesses conditions Chemical analysis of rock shows key ingredients for development favorable for life of microbes on Mars By Mark Whalen This mosaic of images from Curiosity’s mast camera shows Mount Sharp, which rises more than 3 miles (5 kilometers) above the crater floor. It is the mission’s primary target after exploring Yellowknife Bay. Through its analysis of powder from a drilled rock, Deputy Project Scientist Joy Crisp said the near-term mentary rocks, abundant clay minerals and different JPL’s Curiosity rover has officially fulfilled its objec- emphasis will be on completing the analyses of the signatures of water alteration. “The gray interior of tive to assess whether past environmental conditions drilling of the rocks in the “John Klein” area—named in the rock we drilled into was a welcome surprise—if at Gale Crater were favorable for the development of honor of the former Mars Science Lab deputy project future rock drilling reveals similarly low oxidation microbial life on Mars. manager—and a more complete characterization of the levels, that should improve the likelihood of preserving Data returned by Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at concretions and veins in the rock. And there’s no hurry. organic compounds if any were there when the rocks Mars and Chemistry and Mineralogy instruments “We have no specific period of time scheduled for how were formed.” showed that the Yellowknife Bay area was the end long we will remain at Yellowknife Bay,” she said. “It Curiosity’s been making other surprising discoveries of an ancient river system or an intermittently wet depends on what we discover.” in addition to the primary goal of habitable environ- lakebed that could have provided chemical energy and The initial drilling has given the science and engineer- ments, noted Vasavada.
    [Show full text]
  • Seasonal Melting and the Formation of Sedimentary Rocks on Mars, with Predictions for the Gale Crater Mound
    Seasonal melting and the formation of sedimentary rocks on Mars, with predictions for the Gale Crater mound Edwin S. Kite a, Itay Halevy b, Melinda A. Kahre c, Michael J. Wolff d, and Michael Manga e;f aDivision of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA bCenter for Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel cNASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California 94035, USA dSpace Science Institute, 4750 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Boulder, Colorado, USA eDepartment of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA f Center for Integrative Planetary Science, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA arXiv:1205.6226v1 [astro-ph.EP] 28 May 2012 1 Number of pages: 60 2 Number of tables: 1 3 Number of figures: 19 Preprint submitted to Icarus 20 September 2018 4 Proposed Running Head: 5 Seasonal melting and sedimentary rocks on Mars 6 Please send Editorial Correspondence to: 7 8 Edwin S. Kite 9 Caltech, MC 150-21 10 Geological and Planetary Sciences 11 1200 E California Boulevard 12 Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. 13 14 Email: [email protected] 15 Phone: (510) 717-5205 16 2 17 ABSTRACT 18 A model for the formation and distribution of sedimentary rocks on Mars 19 is proposed. The rate{limiting step is supply of liquid water from seasonal 2 20 melting of snow or ice. The model is run for a O(10 ) mbar pure CO2 atmo- 21 sphere, dusty snow, and solar luminosity reduced by 23%.
    [Show full text]
  • Are We Martians? Looking for Indicators of Past Life on Mars with the Missions of the European Space Agency
    CESAR Scientific Challenge Are we Martians? Looking for indicators of past life on Mars with the missions of the European Space Agency Teacher's Guide 1 Are we Martians? CESAR Scientific Challenge Table of contents: Didactics 5 Phase 0 18 Phase 1 20 Activity 1: Refresh concepts 21 Activity 2: Getting familiar with coordinates 21 Activity 2.1: Identify coordinates on an Earth map 21 Activity 2.2: The Martian zero meridian 24 Activity 2.3: Identify coordinates on a Martian map 25 Activity 2.4: A model of Mars 27 Activity 3: The origin of life 28 Activity 3.1: What is life? 28 Activity 3.2: Traces of extraterrestrial life 29 Activity 3.2.1: Read the following article 30 Activity 3.2.2: Read about Rosalind Franklin and ExoMars 2022 30 Activity 3.3: Experiment for DNA extraction 31 Activity 4: Habitable zones 31 Activity 4.1: Habitable zone of our star 31 Activity 4.2: Study the habitable zones of different stars 34 Activity 4.3: Past, present and future of water on Mars 37 Activity 4.4: Extremophiles 39 Activity 5: What do you know about Mars? 40 Activity 6: Scientific knowledge from Mars’ surface 41 Activity 6.1: Geology of Mars 41 Activity 6.2: Atmosphere of Mars 44 Activity 7: Mars exploration by European Space Agency 45 Activity 7.1: Major Milestones of the European Space Agency on Mars 50 Activity 8: Check what you have learnt so far 52 2 Are we Martians? CESAR Scientific Challenge Phase 2 53 Activity 9: Ask for a videocall with the CESAR Team if needed 54 Phase 3 56 Activity 10: Prepare the Mars landing 57 Activity 10.1: Get used to Google Mars.
    [Show full text]
  • SMART-1 Highlights & Apollo Celebration
    EPSC Abstracts Vol. 13, EPSC-DPS2019-824-1, 2019 EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2019 c Author(s) 2019. CC Attribution 4.0 license. SMART-1 Highlights & Apollo Celebration B.H. Foing, G.Racca, A. Marini, O. Camino, D. Koschny, D. Frew, J. Volp, J.-L. Josset, S. Beauvivre, Y. Shkuratov, K. Muinonen, U. Mall, A. Nathues, M. Grande, B. Kellett, P. Pinet, S. Chevrel, P. Cerroni, M.A. Barucci, S. Erard, D. Despan, V. Shevchenko, P. McMannamon, A.Borst, M. Ellouzi, B. Grieger, M. Almeida, S.Besse, P. Ehrenfreund, C.Veillet, M. Burchell, P. Stooke , SMART1 project, STWT teams, (1) ESA ESTEC, postbus 299, NL-2200 AG Noordwijk, ([email protected]) (2) ILEWG ([email protected]) Abstract SMART-1 results have been relevant for lunar science 11-first mission preparing the ground for ESA and exploration, in relation with previous missions collaboration in Chandrayaan-1, Chang’ E1-2, landers (Apollo, Luna) and subsequent missions (Kaguya, and future international lunar exploration. Chang'E1-2, Chandrayaan-1, LRO, LCROSS, GRAIL, 12-first Earth and Moon family portraits of during cruise LADEE, Chang’E3-4 and future landers). We present and lunar eclipse (Figs 1-2) and Earthrise SMART-1 highlights that celebrate APOLLO legacy after 50 years. Overview of SMART-1 mission and payload: SMART-1 was the first in the programme of ESA’s Small Missions for Advanced Research and Technology [1,2,3]. Its first objective has been achieved to demonstrate Solar Electric Primary Propulsion (SEP) for future Cornerstones (such as Bepi-Colombo) and to test new technologies for spacecraft and instruments.
    [Show full text]