sign in sign up
<<
Home , Mariner Mark II, Mat Kaplan

THE JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2 planetary.org

WE DID IT! LIGHTSAIL’S WILD RIDE

A NEW SPACE TELESCOPE C SHOEMAKER GRANT WINNERS C A PRACTICAL MARS STRATEGY DOUG STETSON managed ’s LightSail test program. A Perfect Launch… And A Dramatic, Triumphant Finish for LightSail’s Test Flight

EXACTLY TWO HOURS after a perfect morning that the solar sail deployment system can suc- launch on Wednesday, May 20, our LightSail cessfully unfurl the 32-square-meter Mylar test flight was released from its sail. This mission sets the stage for LightSail’s carrier into free flight. This moment marked primary flight in September 2016, when it To read Jason Davis’ mission a major milestone for The Planetary Society will conduct a full, multimonth demonstra- wrap-up, check out .ly/lsreentry and made good on the vision shared by tion of controlled solar sailing in Earth orbit. our founders and the thousands of Society Together, the two LightSail flights serve as a members who have supported solar sailing critical pathfinder for future solar sail missions for more than a decade. to the Moon and other planetary destinations. In fact, NASA is already planning two such missions for later this decade, and other space agencies, as well as private organizations, are eagerly following LightSail’s progress.

DRAMA, THEN MISSION SUCCESS! As is typical of most space missions, the suc- cesses of the first few days were followed by moments of question and concern. We lost contact with the spacecraft for several days on two occasions, and in each case it took some creative detective work to understand the situation and re-establish communica- tions. Finally, the command was given to deploy the sail—we tried three times, and on the final attempt, on Sunday, June 7 we saw the motor spin and the sail finally start ABOVE On the morning Things got only better as, about an hour to deploy. This was confirmed by the beauti- of May 20, The Planetary later, the spacecraft deployed its antenna and ful image received on Tuesday, June 9. That Society’s dreams came true sent its first radio transmissions, confirming “mission success” photo has since been pub- when an Atlas V carried our LightSail test spacecraft that it was healthy and ready for its mission. lished worldwide, proving that the LightSail into the blue sky above As you probably know by now, the mission system is truly ready for prime time next year. Cape Canaveral, Florida. was not without moments of real concern The mission operations team led by profes- and uncertainty— but in the end, LightSail sors David Spencer of Georgia Tech and John fulfilled every goal of this test mission and set Bellardo of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, along us firmly on the path toward true solar sailing with their students and the spacecraft team at next year. Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation in Pasadena,

went above and beyond to ensure the success Photo: United Launch Alliance PIONEERING SOLAR SAILING of LightSail test flight. Their achievement really Our firstLightSail flight may have been “only” belongs to all The Planetary Society members a test, but it was a very important test. This who have been so committed to the vision of brief, low-altitude flight tested the space- solar sailing and its promise of low-cost explo- craft’s hardware and software and confirmed ration throughout the .

2 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 CONTENTS JUNE SOLSTICE 2015

COVER STORY A Perfect Launch… 2 Doug Stetson reports on LightSail’s dramatic test flight. Pushing Back the Frontier Jason Davis recounts The Planetary Society’s 6 history of advocating for a mission.

A Wider View Jason Rhodes describes WFIRST, the new space 13 telescope on NASA’s drawing board.

Crowdfunding Success 17 Richard Chute reports on our wildly successful Kickstarter campaign. DEVELOPMENTS IN SPACE SCIENCE Protecting Our World 20 Bruce Betts introduces the new NEO Shoemaker Grant winners.

ADVOCATING FOR SPACE Humans Orbiting Mars 22 Casey Dreier discusses a new strategy.

DEPARTMENTS 4 Your Place in Space celebrates a season of success.

12 Factinos Bright spots on Ceres.

18 Volunteer Spotlight Kate Howells highlights our volunteers in Mexico City.

19 Happening on Mat Kaplan talks to the people who make space exploration happen. 19 On Planetary.org

21 What’s Up? The Perseids, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars!

ON THE COVER: LightSail captured this shimmering self-portrait from Earth orbit on June 8, 2015. In a June 10 press statement, Planetary Society Chief Operations Officer Jennifer Vaughn summed up the project by saying, “This test mission has been a high-intensity, high- Photo: United Launch Alliance profile dress rehearsal. Through the ups and downs of ourLightSail test flight, our members, backers, and supporters around the world have cheered us on. LightSail is a tangible symbol of citizen participation in space exploration. Behind the simple beauty of an image of a shiny sail in space lit by the Sun is the collective effort of tens of thousands of enthusiasts who got this project built, launched, and tested. This successful test flight belongs to all of us.” Image: The Planetary Society

CONTACT US The Planetary Report (ISSN 0736-3680) is published quarterly at the Editor DONNA E. STEVENS The Planetary Society editorial offices of The Planetary Society, 60 South Los Robles Avenue, Art Director LOREN A. ROBERTS for HEARKEN CREATIVE 60 South Los Robles Avenue Pasadena, CA 91101-2016, 626-793-5100. It is available to members of The Copy Editor AXN ASSOCIATES Pasadena, CA 91101-2016 Planetary Society. Annual dues in the United States are $37 (U.S. dollars); Technical Editor JAMES D. BURKE General Calls: 626-793-5100 in Canada, $40 (Canadian dollars). Dues in other countries are $57 (U.S. Science Editor BRUCE BETTS E-mail: [email protected] dollars). Printed in USA. Third-class postage at Pasadena, California, and at Chief Operating Officer JENNIFER VAUGHN Internet: planetary.org an additional mailing office. Canada Post Agreement Number 87424. Director of Communications ERIN GREESON

Viewpoints expressed in articles and editorials are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent positions of The Planetary Society, its officers, or its advisers. © 2015 by The Planetary Society. All Rights Reserved. The Planetary Society and The Planetary Report: Registered Trademarks ® The Planetary Society. Planetary Radio and Planetfest™ The Planetary Society. YOUR PLACE IN SPACE

COFOUNDERS BILL NYE is chief executive 1934–1996 officer of The Planetary Society. BRUCE MURRAY 1931–2013

LOUIS D. FRIEDMAN Executive Director Emeritus

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman of the Board DANIEL T. GERACI Founder & co-CEO Arithmos Financial Innovations The Big Picture

President JAMES BELL The Society Takes Small Steps Toward Ambitious Goals Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University

Vice President HEIDI HAMMEL THE STAFF AND I WERE mesmerized at Cape space science and exploration in the biggest of Executive Vice President, Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Canaveral in May, overjoyed as we watched pictures by taking measured, near-term steps. Chief Executive Officer BILL NYE the successful launch of our LightSail test LightSail’s successful test flight reflects our Science Educator flight. Four and a half weeks later, I went out commitment—and yours. Thank you. Secretary C. WALLACE HOOSER onto the roof of my building in New York To further our progress up there, we Associate Professor of Radiology, University of Texas and stared into the night sky. I oriented my created a Kickstarter campaign to fund next Southwestern Medical School

G. SCOTT HUBBARD gaze with what apparently is a very accurate year’s primary LightSail flight. If you followed Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, compass or azimuth indicator application on the test flight, you know there are several Stanford University my smartphone. I shrugged, because there key problems to be solved. The Kickstarter Treasurer LON LEVIN were a few high cirrus clouds, and the bright campaign will ensure that our engineers have SkySevenVentures

ALEXIS LIVANOS lights of the big city made the whole sky glow the resources they need to track down these Research Professor, Faculty Associate anyway. I figured I’d be weathered out again— tricky software issues, so that next year’s Engineering & Applied Science, California Institute of Technology there would be nothing to see. launch aboard a Space-X Falcon Heavy will JOHN LOGSDON Professor Emeritus, Space Policy Institute, About 20 seconds after what I believed was put us on orbit for a fantastic mission during The George Washington University the expected first moment, there it was—our which we will demonstrate sailing by the BIJAL “BEE” THAKORE Regional Coordinator for Asia Pacific, LightSail, just a pinprick of light in the glowing pressure of light. Space Generation Advisory Council sky. It was moving pretty fast at this point in If you’ve been to our website in the last few NEIL deGRASSE TYSON Astrophysicist and Director, Hayden Planetarium, the mission. As atmospheric drag started to months, I hope you noticed the video showing American Museum of Natural History bring it down closer to Earth, its orbital speed Carl Sagan’s 1976 appearance on The Tonight FILLMORE WOOD Vice President and Regional Counsel, naturally increased. I followed it, transfixed. It Show with Johnny Carson. In it, he’s showing BP, retired

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL was just our spacecraft and me. Johnny a model of a solar sail that was being ROGER-MAURICE BONNET Executive Director, It had been a tough few weeks for our team, proposed to catch up with Comet Halley. International Space Science Institute following a tough few years and a few tough The model was square and very shiny, just YASUNORI MATOGAWA Associate Executive Director, program management decisions. Yet, there like LightSail. Before cofounding the Society, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

MAMORU MOHRI it was, right on course. I’d been on the roof a Bruce Murray and worked Director, National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation few other times trying to get a glimpse of it. So, with the team developing this mission at the RISTO PELLINEN when I finally saw it…well, it’s a little hard to Jet Propulsion Laboratory. LightSail is part of Director of Science in Space Research, Finnish Meteorological Institute express how much this test flight has meant to a 40-year legacy. It’s an honor to be part of it. ADVISORY COUNCIL BUZZ ALDRIN our organization and to me. RICHARD BERENDZEN JACQUES BLAMONT ARRIVES AT PLUTO ROBERT. D. BRAUN DAVID BRIN A 40-YEAR LEGACY Your Society began advocating for this mission JAMES CANTRELL FRANKLIN CHANG-DIAZ Ever since I joined the board of directors back way back in the twentieth century. We encour- FRANK DRAKE OWEN GARRIOTT in 1997, the Society has been talking about a aged our members and supporters to write GARRY E. HUNT BRUCE JAKOSKY successful solar sail flight. AlthoughCosmos 1, cards and letters to lawmakers. We visited con- THOMAS D. JONES SERGEI KAPITSA our first solar sail mission, did not work out, gressional offices. Many of you (including Neil CHARLES E. KOHLHASE JR. LAURIE LESHIN you all stuck with us. So, we stuck with you. deGrasse Tyson and me) were at the launch of JON LOMBERG ROSALY LOPES HANS MARK We have finally succeeded with the first of New Horizons in 2006. It still holds the record BOB MCDONALD JOHN MINOGUE two missions to demonstrate the surprisingly for the fastest spacecraft ever launched, and it ROBERT PICARDO JOHN RHYS-DAVIES difficult business of packing that much sail still took 9.5 years with a velocity boost from KIM STANLEY ROBINSON DONNA L. SHIRLEY into that small a spacecraft and deploying it Jupiter to get to the Plutonian system. On page KEVIN STUBE LORNE TROTTIER successfully into orbit. We work to advance 6 is Jason Davis’s report on the Society’s long

4 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 YOUR PLACE IN SPACE

history of working to make this summer’s things in space. Casey Dreier tells us more in Pluto flyby a reality. his column on page 22. It’s important to keep in mind that our Mars HUMANS TO MARS scientists and engineers estimate that what our I’ve received some thoughtful messages very best robots do in a week, a human geolo- from a few of you expressing concern about gist, for example, could accomplish in less wasting resources and intellect on planning than 15 minutes. If we could get humans there, human space missions that will never happen. they would make discoveries at an amazing That’s why we held our Humans Orbiting Mars rate. Furthermore, our experience on the workshop in spring. The Planetary Society Moon demonstrates the extraordinary value does not support missions that are unrealis- of having humans in situ. When humans land THIS IS YOUR tic and very unlikely to be funded. Heretofore, on Mars, it will engage the world’s citizens in a ORGANIZATION, such missions have been promoted by enthu- way that nothing else has. AND WE WANT TO siastic politicians, engineers, and managers HEAR FROM YOU. from the era, when the NASA budget 2015 SHOEMAKER NEO GRANT WINNERS What do you think about The peaked at about 4.5 percent of the federal In April, we issued our Gene Shoemaker Near- Planetary Society’s mission budget. As you may know, NASA’s budget is Earth Object (NEO) Grants for 2015. We award and vision? What is your currently 0.4 percent of the federal budget. funds to investigators and researchers who opinion of our programs One may judge this state of affairs as appro- are doing the vital work of keeping our home and strategies? How do you priate or inappropriate, but it is the way it is. world from getting struck by a dangerous feel about being a member? And, it is the way it will be for any future one incoming asteroid or comet. The seriousness E-mail your thoughts to may foresee. of this business comes home to me every time [email protected] With this in mind, The Planetary Society I see dinosaurs depicted in advertising, or in or write to Members’ is advocating for an achievable, executable, a new loaded-with-special-effects movie. This Dialogue, The Planetary reasonable human mission to Mars orbit in year’s winners and their prizes are announced Society, 60 S. Los Robles 2033. Humans can make this trip with existing in Bruce Betts’s column on page 20. Avenue, Pasadena, CA, 91101. rockets and other hardware that is already Thanks! in development. Certain managers at NASA ACCOMPLISHING OUR MISSION TOGETHER are currently constrained by politics to argue The LightSail missions, the Humans Orbiting for what they call “mission agnostic” expen- Mars proposal, the search for near-earth ditures of funds. We at the Planetary Society objects, and our successful advocacy work for feel this approach is wasteful and will lead the New Horizons mission are all part of our us nowhere—or at least nowhere new. Initial mission to advance space science and explo- analysis suggests that this plan and mission ration. We take the small near-steps with the architecture could fit within the NASA budget, decades-long view in our plans. Together we or “funding profile,” for the next two decades. are accomplishing these things. With your It is a measured, reasoned approach rather strong support, we are all coming to know than a hopeful, unrealistic proposal. I assert more about our place in space. that we can do this, because we work with the best in the business; the men and women who know what it really takes to accomplish

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 5 JASON DAVIS is a digital editor for The Planetary Society. He reports on space exploration at planetary.org.

Pushing Back the Frontier How The Planetary Society Helped Send a Spacecraft to Pluto

BILL NYE FELT a little uncomfortable. The postcards in Nye’s arms came from Maybe his signature bow tie was a little ten thousand members of The Planetary tight that day. Maybe he was still adjust- Society. All urged Congress to overturn ing to regular life following the end of his NASA’s decision. Flanking Nye was The “Science Guy” television show. Or maybe Planetary Society’s then-executive director ABOVE People, from it was because he was hefting a huge bag Louis Friedman, who cofounded the space scientists to school children, of postcards through U.S. Senate offices in advocacy group with Carl Sagan and Bruce love Pluto. The fact that Washington, D.C. Murray in 1980. Nye was vice president of New Horizons has finally reached the Pluto system is It was October 2000. Scientists and space the board of directors—but he hadn’t really testament to our collective fans had lobbied for more than a decade signed up for the job. It was more like he was unwillingness to let it remain to send a spacecraft to Pluto, the last unex- drafted. “This was a job you got when you unexplored. The Planetary plored classical planet in our solar system. leave the room when everybody’s drinking,” Society has always been Each time a proposed mission made it past he recalled. “You come back, and they say,

there, helping in the fight Photo: The Planetary Society; Illustration: NASA the drawing board, it was scrapped for po- ‘You’re the vice president!’” to save one proposed Pluto mission after another. In this litical or budgetary reasons. The latest space- Nye and Friedman planned to highlight montage, Pluto is flanked craft proposal, , made it public interest in a Pluto mission by hauling Montage: NASA/Mark Showalter by its large moon, . all the way to the instrument selection phase. the postcards around Capitol Hill, delivering But with costs pushing the $1.1 billion* mark, half to Representative Dana Rohrabacher NASA canceled the Pluto mission—again. and half to Senator Bill Frist—both of whom

*All cost figures in this article have been converted to 2014 dollars.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Jason Davis posted a version of this article to his blog on July 7, 2015 at planet.ly/plutofrontier

6 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 chaired powerful space science committees. “Voyager-Pluto was a real possibility,” said The Congressional mail dump was just Jonathan Lunine, a Cornell University as- one salvo in a long, bitter fight over Pluto ex- tronomer who helped define Pluto mission ploration which culminated with the launch objectives in the 1990s. Lunine, speaking to of the New Horizons spacecraft in 2006. And reporters at a 2014 New Horizons briefing, though it was an Atlas V rocket that ultimately said the decision to fly past Titan was critical sent New Horizons out of Earth orbit, the in gaining support for future Saturn missions. mission would not have been possible “Without the Voyager-Titan mission, it would without the dogged persistence of countless have been very hard to make the case for scientists, space fans, and advocacy groups. the Cassini-Huygens mission—arguably one Among the latter was The Planetary Society, of the most successful planetary missions in always striving to help NASA to push back history,” he said. our solar system’s frontier. EARLY MISSION CONCEPTS THE LAST UNEXPLORED PLANET By 1990, scientists were starting to float In 1989, whizzed past , ideas for Pluto missions. An early, auda- skimming the ice giant’s atmosphere by just cious concept called for a miniature space-

LEFT Bill Nye and Louis Friedman deliver postcards to Floyd Des Champs of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Science, and staffers, in the office of Senator Bill Frist.

RIGHT In 1990, scientists spun a lightweight version of the Voyager spacecraft into a concept called Pluto 350. 5,000 kilometers. With that encounter, eight craft weighing only 40 kilograms, slated The craft’s name was inspired of our nine classical had been visited for a speedy 5- to 6-year trip. The idea was by its dainty weight of 350 by spacecraft. Two years later, the U.S. Postal scrapped when shrinking down a set of kilograms (770 pounds). Service released ten stamps commemorat- usable science instruments for the small ing the history of planetary exploration. craft proved to be unfeasible. Each planet—along with Earth’s moon—got a That same year, another Pluto concept stamp featuring a spacecraft that visited that appeared in the pages of The Planetary Report. world. Pluto’s stamp had no spacecraft. Its The article, “Pushing Back the Frontier: A caption simply read, “Not yet explored.” Mission to the Pluto-Charon System,” was It almost didn’t turn out that way. When co-authored by NASA’s Robert Farquhar, Photo: The Planetary Society; Illustration: NASA Voyagers 1 and 2 were sent on their respective and , a planetary scientist from tours of the solar system, NASA considered the University of Colorado, Boulder. Stern sending to Pluto after the space- unveiled a slimmed-down version of Voyager Montage: NASA/Mark Showalter craft’s Saturn encounter. But the flyby path with four science instruments and a total that would bend Voyager’s trajectory toward weight of 350 kilograms. Bearing a price tag Pluto precluded a visit to Saturn’s moon, of $543 million, the spacecraft would launch Titan, a tantalizing world in its own right and by 2003 and reach Pluto in 14 years. The the only moon in our solar system known to concept became known as Pluto 350, named have a stable atmosphere. after the spacecraft’s target weight.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 7 Pluto 350 never came to vehicle was slated for NASA’s ABOVE Space scientist and artist Dan Durda has been fruition, but Farquhar and upcoming Cassini mission, a part of New Horizons Stern’s article appeared in the which would orbit Saturn and since before it was proposed homes of one hundred thousand drop a probe into Titan’s atmosphere. to NASA. His digital model Planetary Society members. It was the NASA considered sending a Mariner of the final spacecraft is start of a long campaign for Pluto explora- Mark II to Pluto. The spacecraft’s probe technically accurate, down to tion that ultimately culminated with the ap- would separate en route, passing Pluto a little the placement of the screws. pointment of Stern as the principal investiga- more than three Earth days after the primary BELOW In 1992, The tor of the New Horizons mission. vehicle. Since Pluto’s rotational period is Planetary Society lobbied “The Planetary Society gave continued, six and a half days, the planet’s previously NASA to support a third strong support for a whole variety of Pluto unlit side would be facing the Sun, allowing mission concept called missions that never made it off the drawing Mariner Mark II to map Pluto’s entire globe. Pluto Fast Flyby. When NASA balked at the cost, the board,” said Stern. And while everyone from In terms of cost and complexity, Mariner Society looked to Russia school children to the National Academy of Mark II was a drastic departure from Pluto for a cheaper launch. The Sciences ended up helping get the spacecraft 350. Launching on a mammoth Titan rocket, Russians proposed adding off the ground, “The Planetary Society was it weighed two tons and came with a price a small atmospheric probe. always there—no question.” tag of $3.2 billion. It didn’t take long for NASA was intrigued, but By 1991, a new spacecraft design called NASA to realize Pluto mission concepts were the loss of in 1993 soured them Mariner Mark II was being developed for headed in the wrong direction. on a Pluto mission. missions to the outer solar system. The OUR BOLD HUNT FOR A CHEAPER RIDE In 1992, a third Pluto mission concept ma- terialized and brought back the ambitious miniature spacecraft from 1990. Dubbed Pluto Fast Flyby, a pair of small, lightweight probes would launch atop two of the beefy Titan rockets proposed for Mariner Mark II. One spacecraft would arrive a year ahead of the other, giving scientists into Pluto’s seasonal changes. Model: Dan Durda, FIAAA; Illustration: Michael Carroll As it was for Pluto Fast Flyby’s minia- turized predecessor, shrinking down the science instruments proved difficult. The two spacecraft gained weight, creeping up to 140 kilograms each. And the cost of the Titan

launchers alone was $1.3 billion, giving the Photo: Alan Stern mission a total price tag of about $2.1 billion. While Pluto Fast Flyby was cheaper than Mariner Mark II, it still wasn’t cheap enough

8 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 PLUTO

for NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin. In costs. The project was called “Fire and Ice,” a a 1994 issue of The Planetary Report, Louis literal description of the probes’ destinations Friedman reported that Planetary Society of- and an allusion to thawing relations between ficials met directly with Goldin to lobby for Russia and the United States. In a letter to the mission. “Dan Goldin expressed great The Planetary Society, Huntress wrote: interest in the Pluto proposal,” Friedman “I believe the interest demonstrated by wrote, “but tempered his enthusiasm with your membership in such a bold venture concern that the cost of the mission would is shared by the majority of the American prevent it from ever being done.” public. We believe that too, and if we work With the launch vehicle consuming more with the Russians to lower costs and pool ex- than half the mission cost, The Planetary pertise, an exciting program like Fire and Ice Society went looking for cheaper rides. They could be popular enough to succeed.” found one: Russia’s Proton rocket, available at the bargain price of just $47 million. AN EMBARRASSING MISHAP “At the time we floated this proposal,” But at the time Huntress lauded The Plan- wrote Friedman, “NASA was not permitted etary Society’s initiative, NASA’s planetary to consider joint missions or Proton launches. science program was reeling from an embar- ‘Well,’ we thought, ‘maybe NASA couldn’t rassing mishap. In August 1993, the agency in- consider such things—but The Planetary explicably lost contact with Mars Observer—a Society could.’” Mars-bound probe that was just three days “CLYDE” By the time the Society approached away from entering Martian orbit. Had Mars Russia, the Pluto Fast Flyby concept had Observer arrived safely, it would have been been trimmed to a single vehicle. Russia the first successful spacecraft at Mars since STAMP proposed adding a small probe that would the Viking missions in 1976. plunge through Pluto’s tenuous atmosphere Alan Stern, who was making his own before crashing into the surface. On Valen- push for NASA to team up with the Russians, tine’s Day 1994, the Society delivered the believes the loss of Mars Observer dampened proposal to NASA. Wes Huntress, the head of NASA’s enthusiasm for a Pluto mission. NASA’s space science division, was intrigued. “These events began to sour then-NASA Ad- Furthermore, he saw an to pair ministrator Goldin on Pluto Fast Flyby,” Pluto Fast Flyby with another long-delayed wrote Stern in a paper summarizing the ABOVE , spacecraft: Solar Probe. history of Pluto mission concepts. Pluto’s discoverer, said that Solar Probe was a daring mission to if a spacecraft ever made it capture direct measurements of our Sun’s PLUTO’S NEIGHBORS HELP OUT to Pluto, he’d like his ashes to ride along with it. Alan corona. Getting there required a gravity assist With the project stalled again, fresh support Stern honored that wish by at Jupiter, where the spacecraft would whip arrived from an unexpected source: Pluto’s requesting a small amount of back toward the inner solar system. Since neighbors. In 1992, astronomers began dis- Clyde’s ashes from his family. Model: Dan Durda, FIAAA; Illustration: Michael Carroll Pluto Fast Flyby also required a Jupiter gravity covering new worlds beyond Neptune’s orbit. He then affixed those ashes to assist, Huntress wanted both missions to fly The list grew, confirming the existence of the the bottom of New Horizons, on Proton rockets. The similarities between so-called , a band of icy objects along with the 1991 United States postage stamp that the two trajectories might ultimately save at the edge of our solar system. Pluto, it said “Pluto: Not Yet Explored.”

JASON DAVIS’ interest in spaceflight started early. He recalls watching Discovery’s 1988

Photo: Alan Stern return-to-flight mission following the Challenger accident and playing a videocassette of the launch over and over, memorizing countdown and ascent procedures. Jason is now is a digital editor for The Planetary Society. He covers the Society’s LightSail mission, as well as other science and technology projects, at planetary.org.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 9 PLUTO

ABOVE Pluto’s four small seemed, was one of the largest members of campaign that ultimately sent Bill Nye, Louis moons—, , , this new group. Scientists had many ques- Friedman, and a small mountain of mail to and —appear in this tions about these new Kuiper Belt objects— Capitol Hill. “The Planetary Society really LORRI image from mid- questions that could be answered only by made a cause célèbre out of it,” said Stern. May. Below, the orbits of all Pluto’s moons, including visiting spacecraft. Congress took notice. Representatives Charon, are overlaid. In 1995, NASA rebranded the languishing James Walsh and Alan Mollohan, the ranking Pluto Fast Flyby mission as Pluto Express, members of the House Appropriations Com- ABOVE RIGHT This montage and upped the weight allowance to 175 kilo- mittee, sent a letter to Goldin asking why of Jupiter and Io is made grams. The mission’s name evolved to Pluto Pluto Kuiper Express had been canceled. from images taken by New Horizons as it flew by the Kuiper Express, reflecting the goal of having The NASA Advisory Council also voiced its Jovian system in early the spacecraft visit an additional Kuiper support for a Pluto mission. By the end of the 2007. Jupiter is an infrared Belt object after the Pluto flyby. “However,” year, NASA announced it would accept new color composite taken by wrote Stern, “in late 1996 Pluto Kuiper Pluto mission proposals. the spacecraft’s Linear Express mission studies were drastically cut The tide reversed in early 2001, when Etalon Imaging Spectral back by Administrator Goldin and no instru- the newly inaugurated President George Array (LEISHA). Io is an approximately true color ment selection was initiated.” In 2000, NASA W. Bush’s administration released its first composite taken by the canceled the mission, which had grown in budget request. There was no line item for Images: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI Long-Range Reconnaissance cost to $1.1 billion. a Pluto mission—effectively canceling it. The Images: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI Imager (LORRI). Planetary Society called for congressional A CAUSE CÉLÈBRE hearings. The scientific community applied It was the fourth time in ten years that a Pluto behind-the-scenes pressure. And by Septem- concept was nixed. The Planetary Society ber, about $40 million had been added back sprang into action, mobilizing the postcard into the budget for spacecraft development

10 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 and launch vehicle selection, keeping the program should be a mission to Pluto. NASA Pluto campaign alive. and the Bush administration could no longer In the meantime, NASA narrowed the oppose the mission. “They couldn’t turn number of spacecraft proposals to two. One down the National Academies,” said Stern. concept, dubbed New Horizons, came from a The Planetary Society and other groups team led by Alan Stern, now the director of lobbied Congress to restore New Horizons space studies at the Southwest Research In- funding for the fiscal year 2003 budget stitute in San Antonio, Texas. Mission control request. Wesley Huntress, the NASA associ- would be located at the Johns Hopkins Uni- ate administrator who had supported the versity Applied Physics Laboratory in Balti- Society’s 1994 Valentine’s Day proposal to fly more, Maryland. to Pluto via a Russian rocket, was now the So- That November, Stern attended the annual ciety’s president. Huntress wrote Congress meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences in support of increasing NASA’s budget to of the American Astronomical Society, held accommodate the Pluto mission. The Plane- BELOW/TOP This preliminary in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. tary Society followed Huntress’s appeal with reconstruction of Pluto and Charon, taken by the He received a phone call from NASA inform- a petition of ten thousand signatures. spacecraft’s Ralph color ing him that New Horizons had been selected Finally, in 2003, when the 2004 budget imager, is the first color for further development. “A win party was request was released, $167 million was al- picture ever made of the Pluto held on Bourbon Street that night in the New located to the . The system by an approaching Orleans French Quarter,” wrote Stern, “but fate of New Horizons was secure. Humanity spacecraft. New Horizons will eventually return color the details remain understandably fuzzy.” would get an up-close look at Pluto. images that show features as small as a few miles across. A FINAL PUSH FOR FUNDING PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF But the fight still wasn’t over. In 2002, the “Status check.” BELOW/BOTTOM Pluto fiscal year 2003 budget request was released. “Go Atlas.” comes into focus in this And although Congress had allocated $40 “Go Centaur.” LORRI image taken on July 3, only 11 days before New million for Pluto mission studies during the It was a peaceful January afternoon in Horizons’ closest approach. previous year, NASA’s new budget showed a 2006 on the Florida coast. An Atlas V rocket zero for Pluto—again. sat quietly on the pad at Cape Canaveral Air It wasn’t all bad, though. The new budget Force Station Launch Complex 41. Suddenly, also announced the creation of a new line a deluge of water flooded the pad’s flame of midsize missions called New Frontiers. trench, and the engine ignition sequence More expensive than small, Discovery- whirred to life. class missions but cheaper than Flagship “Five, four, three, two, one,” counted a programs, a New Frontiers-class spacecraft NASA television commentator. “We have could cost up to $855 million. New Frontiers ignition, and liftoff of NASA’sNew Horizons missions would be prioritized according to spacecraft on a decade-long voyage to visit the Decadal Survey, a report outlining the the planet Pluto—and then beyond.” country’s top priorities for space science. Armed with its maximum contingent of The Decadal Survey is produced every ten five solid rocket boosters, the Atlas V rose years by the National Research Council, the quickly. It pierced the clouds within seconds. Images: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI Images: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI working group of the U.S. National Academy With the help of an additional third-stage of Sciences. The next Survey would cover ex- engine, New Horizons became the fastest ploration goals from 2003 through 2012. object ever to leave Earth orbit. It arrived Early versions of the report were pub- at Jupiter just one year later, picking up a lished in 2002. The message was clear: gravity assist that put it on course for a July the top priority for NASA’s New Frontiers 2015 Pluto flyby.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 11 PLUTO FACTINOS

Ceres in View

RECENT IMAGES are giving us a closer look at Ceres’ mysterious white spots. A new view of the bright spots, located in a crater about 90 kilometers (56 miles) across, shows even more small spots in the crater ABOVE Once New Horizons FROM A MAILBAG TO LIFTOFF than were previously visible. In this image, finishes its pass of the It has been 25 years since Alan Stern’s Pluto taken June 9, 2015 from an altitude of 4,400 Plutonian system, it will have 350 mission concept was unveiled in the kilometers (2,734 miles), a cluster of least enough fuel left to travel pages of The Planetary Report. From peti- eight spots can be seen next to the largest another billion kilometers to reach Kuiper belt object tions and postcards to engineering design bright area, which scientists think is approx- “Potential Target 1,” or and persistent scientists, it truly took a imately 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) wide. The PT1, in January 2019. village to raise a spacecraft. Dawn team believes that a highly reflective Stern thinks the history of New Horizons material is responsible for these spots—ice is an important tale for scientists and space and salt are leading contenders—but they advocates who have eyes on their own am- are considering other options as well. Illustration: Ron Ceres Miller; image: NASA/JPL/Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA bitious missions. “I think the really interest- —from NASA/JPL ing human story,” he said, “for people who might want to tackle something like getting a Illustration: Ron WFIRST Miller; spacecraft illustration: NASA spacecraft to Uranus or Neptune, is that you have to really want it. There are many more good ideas than there is money to go around.” For The Planetary Society, New Horizons To read more about the bonanza of fascinating shows that persistence pays off. Never un- Ceres data coming in from Dawn, see Emily Lakdawalla’s recent derestimate that a group of dedicated space blog at planet.ly/ceresfun fans can, as Bill Nye says, “change the world.” and Chief Engineer and Mission Director It’s a principle that hearkens back to the Soci- Marc Rayman’s Dawn Journal ety’s origins, he said. “This mission to Pluto at planet.ly/ceresgeology is really part of the Carl Sagan legacy—to explore the solar system.”

12 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 JASON RHODES is an observational cosmologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

A Wider View NASA’s Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope

NASA IS HARD AT WORK preparing for the community studies mission concepts and key 2018 launch of the James Webb Space Tele- science questions, and then issues recom- scope ( JWST), successor to the venerated mendations to the government agencies that (HST), which cel- support astrophysics research (NASA, the ebrated its 25th birthday in April. Looking National Science Foundation, and the Depart- beyond JWST, NASA has identified the Wide ment of Energy). Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) as Three of the most compelling mission con- ABOVE From understanding its next ambitious flagship space telescope. cepts submitted for evaluation had very dif- the dark energy driving the If approved in 2016, WFIRST could be ferent science goals, but similarities in their expansion of the universe Illustration: Ron Ceres Miller; image: NASA/JPL/Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA ready for launch in 2024, on a mission to hardware implementations, such as a prima- to imaging another “,” the advanced understand dark energy, perform wide infra- ry mirror of about 1.3 meters in diameter and capabilities of NASA’s red surveys of the galaxy and extragalactic a large infrared camera. The Decadal Survey Illustration: Ron WFIRST Miller; spacecraft illustration: NASA proposed Wide Field sky, revolutionize our understanding of the concluded that the science goals of the three Infrared Survey Telescope demographics of planetary systems, and take mission concepts could be accomplished by a (WFIRST) will broaden our a huge step forward in the technology we’ll single space telescope. The top recommenda- knowledge of the cosmos. Here, the blue sky above an need to find and study another “pale blue dot” tion for large (greater than $1 billion) space Earth-like planet’s equator planet around a nearby star. astronomy projects was that NASA pursue is bisected by the edge-on such a mission. By the end of 2010, NASA had view of its thin ring system. WFIRST’S GENESIS assembled a team of scientists and engineers WFIRST was born in the crucible of the 2010 to begin planning for WFIRST. National Research Council Astronomy and As- While the team assembled by NASA was trophysics Decadal Survey, a once-every-ten- starting to put together a detailed design for years process in which the U.S. astrophysics WFIRST, negotiations elsewhere within the

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 13 time magnification lensed images source star

planet

lens star

What is microlensing?

Microlensing takes advantage of the fact that matter bends space and curves the path of light, allowing massive objects to act as magnifying lenses. By taking images of many thousands of stars in the densely populated central bulge of the galaxy, and measuring their brightness, we can wait for a chance superposition of a lens RIGHT As a result of (foreground) star with a source (background) star. The mass of the lens star briefly microlensing, the brightness magnifies the image of the source star as it passes in front of it, just as a glass lens of a distant star measured would. When that happens, we measure an apparent brightening of the star. At the by a telescope will increase same time, two images of the background star appear, although these images are too and then decrease with time close together for us to distinguish (even with WFIRST); these images are not key to (shown by the red curve at the detection process. top), when a star and/or In some cases, the foreground star will have a planet and that planet will briefly planet passes in front of it. act as another lens to the source star, causing a small, fast blip in the slowly changing “light curve,” or measurement, of the total light gathered from the star. This small blip indicates the presence of the planet, and the relative shapes of the blip together with the total microlensing light curve can tell us about the relationship between the masses of the stars and the planet as well as the distance between the lens star and the planet. Chart: MatthewChart: Penny, Ohio State University/J.D. Myers at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center/Loren A. Roberts

agency were taking shape which promised to Telescope Asset (AFTA), and the incarnation profoundly change WFIRST’s configuration. of WFIRST that uses this welcome gift is often In early 2011, the National Reconnaissance called WFIRST-AFTA. The second telescope

Office (NRO), a U.S. intelligence agency, do- will remain in storage until NASA finds an- Microlensing graphic: David Bennett, University of Notre Dame/Loren A. Roberts nated to NASA two unused space telescopes other suitable application and the necessary that had been built a decade earlier, but were funding to put it to good use. never flown. These advanced telescopes have mirrors 2.4-meters across, the same size as ONE ADVANCED TELESCOPE, FOUR GOALS HST and nearly twice the diameter initially Given HST’s 25 years of service, one might planned for WFIRST. NASA accepted the tele- wonder what will be the advantage of another scopes but didn’t reveal their existence to the space telescope of the same size. The answer public (or the WFIRST team!) until June 2012. lies in WFIRST’s incredible field of view, or This high-tech “swords into plowshares” how much of the sky WFIRST can see at once. initiative greatly increased the capabilities At near-infrared wavelengths, which are sci- of WFIRST, giving it four times its previously entifically interesting but relatively difficult planned light collecting area and twice the to observe using ground-based telescopes, resolution. The first donated NRO telescope HST has a 1 megapixel camera, but WFIRST was designated the Astrophysics Focused will have an array of sensors with a whop-

14 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 WFIRST

ping 288 megapixels! In its 25 years, HST has Kepler and WFIRST Complement Each Other surveyed a few tens of square degrees of the sky (out of over 40,000 square degrees of 10,000 sky). WFIRST, on the other hand, will be able

to survey thousands of square degrees per 1,000 year. While JWST, HST’s successor, will have a much bigger (6.5 meters) mirror, its field of view will be similar to HST. WFIRST’s amaz- 100 ing field of view will allow it to survey large

areas of the sky, a requirement for three of 10 the four WFIRST key science goals.

1 GOAL 1: UNDERSTANDING DARK ENERGY in Earth masses mass Planet WFIRST In 1998, two teams of astronomers simultane- KEPLER ously discovered that the expansion of the 0.1 universe is getting faster, rather than slowing down, as previously assumed. The teams’ dis- covery of this accelerating expansion earned 0.01 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 free-floating them a shared 2011 Nobel Prize in physics. Semimajor axis in Astronomical Units “Dark energy” is the catch-all name scientists give to whatever force or property of space time is causing the expansion to accelerate. While we know very little about this mysteri- GOAL 2: INFRARED SURVEYS OF THE SKY ABOVE Whereas the Kepler ous dark energy, astronomers now believe it Initial press reports about WFIRST concen- spacecraft is most sensitive to to be the dominant component of the total trated mainly on dark energy, which, while detecting planets close to their parent stars, WFIRST would mass/energy of the universe. exciting, is only one of the areas in which be most sensitive to detecting WFIRST will use three techniques to study WFIRST is expected to make a big impact. planets far from their stars, as Chart: MatthewChart: Penny, Ohio State University/J.D. Myers at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center/Loren A. Roberts the effects of dark energy. The first is to -ex WFIRST will set aside 1.5 years of observing shown in this plot of distance amine exploding stars, or supernovae, which time for guest observers. Astronomers from from parent star versus outshine the roughly 100 billion other stars in all over the world will be able to compete for exoplanet mass. Kepler’s candidate planet detections their host galaxies for a brief time. By study- time on WFIRST to use its unique infrared are shown as orange dots; the ing these explosions, we can see across great capabilities to survey the sky. Experts will re- green dots are simulations of

Microlensing graphic: David Bennett, University of Notre Dame/Loren A. Roberts distances, essentially peering back two-thirds view the proposals and assign time to pursue WFIRST’s future detections. of the way back to the Big Bang to see how the the most scientifically compelling observa- WFIRST will also be able to universe has expanded under the influence tions. WFIRST is expected to make profound find planets not bound to of dark energy. WFIRST will also examine the contributions to many areas of astronomy by parent stars. The dark gray dots represent exoplanets positions of galaxies in space, as dark energy allowing the best ideas to be implemented. not detected by Kepler. Just leaves a telltale signature on the spatial clus- for fun, Earth and other tering of galaxies. Finally, WFIRST will use GOAL 3: SEARCHING FOR EXOPLANETS planets have been added. weak gravitational lensing, in which the pres- The third and fourth facets of WFIRST involve ence of matter bends the path of passing light the study of exoplanets. WFIRST’s microlens- (much like in microlensing; see sidebar). Weak ing survey will detect over 2,000 planets, in- lensing refers to the small distortions in the cluding analogs to all the planets in our solar measured shapes of distant galaxies caused system except Mercury, which is too close to by mass between us and those galaxies. These its star. WFIRST is complementary to NASA’s distortions tell us about that intervening mass Kepler planet-finding mission, in thatKepler and how it is affected by dark energy. excelled at finding warm planets (those

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 15 WFIRST

INNERMOST DETECTION PLANET C RADIUS

LEFT This simulation of a coronagraph image illustrates how masking out a star’s bright light allows observation of the relatively faint light of its two planets. The donation PLANET B of the Astrophysics Focused STAR’S Telescope Asset (AFTA) DUST DISK allows a coronagraph to be added to WFIRST, enabling scientists to look for exoplanets from space. near their parent stars), and WFIRST excels at finding cool planets (those farther from TOP RIGHT A coronagraph their stars) and even free floating planets not is not the only way to block orbiting a star. Thus, WFIRST will complete the a star’s light to allow direct imaging of an exoplanet. demographic survey of planets in our galaxy NASA has been studying begun by Kepler and tell us how common concepts for an external various planet are across a full range of sizes, option such as a “starshade.” temperatures, and distances to the host star. This free-flying spacecraft This plays into NASA’s long-term goal of under- could be maneuvered precisely into place to let the standing the frequency of planets in the habit- light from a planet shine able zone, the region around a star that allows past its outer edge while for liquid water. Scientists believe an Earth- the inner part blocks the size planet in the habitable zone is our best bet Coronagraph image: Tom Green, NASA/; starshade illustration and photo: NASA/JPL star’s light. The starshade’s for finding life outside our solar system. “petals” create a softer edge that would result in less bending of light. To watch an GOAL 4: USING A CORONAGRAPH TO LOOK animation of the starshade AT EXOPLANETS (illustrated here) being Microlensing, which allows us to detect WFIRST to enable direct imaging of nearby deployed, as well as a video exoplanets but not see them directly, was the exoplanets, which is technically challenging of this starshade prototype’s extent of WFIRST’s expected exoplanet capa- because they are very close to stars (by astro- Animation: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab deployment test at JPL, go to planet.ly/starshade bilities as envisioned by the Decadal Survey in nomical scales) and much fainter than their 2010. While that’s exciting, scientists would host stars. Thus, a coronagraph has to block OPPOSITE PAGE To also like to be able to directly image exo- out as much light as possible from the central watch a brief animation of planets to study them in greater detail. With star so that instruments can capture the rela- WFIRST in space, go to the donation of the AFTA hardware, this has tively feeble light from the planet. planet.ly/wfirst become a possibility. The larger AFTA tele- The Decadal Survey put the development scope allowed NASA to add a coronagraph to of technology for imaging exoplanets at the

JASON RHODES is an observational cosmologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is working toward understanding the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy using space telescopes like WFIRST and ’s Euclid mission. When not developing space missions he enjoys running and spending time with his wife Alina, a fellow cosmologist at JPL.

16 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 OUR FIRST KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN RICHARD CHUTE is The Planetary Society’s director of development.

Crowdfunding Success THIS SPRING WE JUMPED into the crowd- funding scene in a big way by putting our LightSail project on the fundraising website kickstarter.com. Our results have wildly exceeded expectations, with more than $1 million raised and more than 23,000 donors at the time of this writing. While this is great news for LightSail, there are other reasons crowdfunding is an even top of its priority list for “medium size” (hun- bigger deal for The Planetary Society. Our dreds of millions of dollars) investments in science and technology program has long space astronomy. The addition of a corona- served as an incubator for new technolo- graph to WFIRST will allow this recommen- gies, and the crowdfunding community is an dation to be met, not only by developing the ideal place to find people who love to back technology in the laboratory but also through this kind of innovation. We plan to work with flying it in space. The expected contrast ratio our Science and Technology Director Bruce of the WFIRST coronagraph will be a thou- Betts to develop Kickstarter campaigns for sand times better than anything that has been projects like the Planetary Deep Drill, which accomplished—and great progress toward this is underway this year. goal has already been made in the past two Just as importantly, the Kickstarter years in laboratory tests. If we are successful, campaign has connected us with tens of we will be able to directly detect planets the thousands of new members and support- Coronagraph image: Tom Green, NASA/Ames Research Center; starshade illustration and photo: NASA/JPL size of Neptune and larger with WFIRST. ers. We expect that many will become new loyal members of The Planetary Society and IMAGING ANOTHER PALE BLUE DOT supporters of our mission to advance space The WFIRST coronagraph is but a stepping science and exploration. stone to an even more exciting mission in One of the most exciting aspects of the the future. If we can successfully demon- campaign was the way in which it became a

Animation: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab strate the use of a coronagraph on WFIRST story in its own right. The public response to for imaging exoplanets, we will open the door the LightSail project became the subject of ABOVE Our initial goal for a subsequent mission with a larger tele- many news reports on TV, radio, Web, and was $200,000. As shown scope and more powerful coronagraph. Such in print. In fact, the donations came in so by this screen capture a mission would be able to take images (and fast and furiously that Kickstarter made the of our Kickstarter page, the campaign spectra) of Earth-size planets in the habitable LightSail campaign their home page for a day. finished at $1,241,615! zones of nearby stars. This would allow us The outpouring of support raises the profile to look for the presence of both water and of space exploration with our elected leaders, oxygen—possible signs of life—in the atmo- ultimately helping us achieve our awareness spheres of these planets. WFIRST thus will and advocacy goals. be an important step on the way to finding In the coming year, we will launch one or another pale blue dot and understanding the more new Kickstarter campaigns. We hope prevalence of life in the universe. you will watch for them and participate!

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 17 SOCIETY TRAVEL KATE HOWELLS is The Planetary Society’s Volunteer Network Manager.

Total Solar : Bali and Sulawesi, Indonesia FEBRUARY 26–MARCH 10, 2016

Join us in Indonesia to see the Total Solar Eclipse on March 9, 2016! The trip will conclude in legendary Bali, where we will learn about Mexico City Outreach Coordinator the Balinese culture, see the monkey forest, visit historic temples, Celso Mosqueira and friends and celebrate our adventure! You’ll also visit the world’s finest orangutan reserve for close looks at these magnificent primates, along with proboscis monkeys, gibbons, and more! The trip includes an optional extension to Kadidiri Island, situated in the Togian Volunteers Working Islands, Indonesia’s finest marine reserve. There we will snorkel, kayak, and explore its underwater wonderland. $5,895 + AIRFARE Around the World THE PLANETARY SOCIETY’S volunteers continue to do fan- tastic outreach work around the world, sharing the joy of discovery with people in their communities. Alaska Aurora During the weekend of March 21 and 22, the Society’s outreach coordinator for Mexico City, Celso Mosqueira, Borealis gathered a group of space enthusiasts (and enthusiasts in the Adventure making) to participate in a local astronomy society’s Messier MARCH 3–9, 2016 Marathon. Amateur astronomers all over the planet regularly Experience the Northern Lights in the snowy wonderland that is take on this challenge, aiming their telescopes at the skies for Alaska in winter. We will ride by train to Fairbanks, passing awesome one night to try to spot the 110 Messier objects—bright galaxies, Mt. McKinley, North America’s highest peak. In Fairbanks we’ll attend nebulae, and star clusters catalogued by 18th century astron- the yearly World Ice Art Festival and learn about the Aurora Borealis omer Charles Messier. at the University of Alaska’s Geophysical Institute. At night, we’ll watch Celso and his son Diego brought their team of stargazers the Northern Lights from three of Alaska’s best viewing locations, including the Alpencrest Observatory. Plus, we’ll see sled dogs and together to learn about astronomy and observing techniques learn about mushing, visit the local curling club, watch Alaskan wildlife, before turning to their telescopes to search for as many of and much more! Messier’s famous objects as possible. There were clouds, an $2,795 + AIRFARE astronomer’s worst enemy, but Celso and his team were able to spot galaxies, star clusters, nebulae, and the planets Jupiter To get started on your adventure, go to planetary.org/expedition to and Saturn—sights that invariably amaze and inspire. download more information. Celso and outreach coordinator Jose Costa of Natal, Brazil, You can also contact Taunya at Betchart Expeditions to learn more: also spearheaded our first major translation project, coordi-

[email protected] nating the Society’s global volunteer network to create sub- Photo: Courtesy of Celso Mosqueira 408-252-4910 (International) titles in the world’s most common languages for the Society’s 800-252-4910 (USA only) Random Space Fact videos. 408-252-1444 (Fax) Thanks to our extraordinary team of volunteers, we can Betchart Expeditions connect more than ever with people around the planet. To 17050 Montebello Rd., Cupertino, CA 95014 USA check out what our volunteers are up to and learn how you [email protected] betchartexpeditions.com can get involved, go to planetary.org/volunteer.

18 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 QUICK SCANS

HAPPENING ON

PLANETARYplanetary.org/radio RADIO LANDING ON MARS The bigger you are, the harder it gets. Curiosity’s Chief Engineer Rob Manning returns to tell us about one of NASA’s best hopes for getting spacecraft—that may one day carry humans—onto the planet’s surface. planet.ly/manning

THE PLANETARY DEFENSE CONFERENCE – PLANETARY RADIO LIVE! Planetary Radio Live was the only public event at the just-completed Planetary Defense Conference in Italy. Hear from William Ailor, Fabrizio Bernardi, Paul Chodas, and more! planet.ly/prpdc15

THE RISE OF PLUTO The science and images have already started to flow from New Horizons, according to the mission’s Principal Investigator Alan Stern. planet.ly/stern

SPIRALING CLOSER TO CERES It’s the biggest between here and Pluto, and it has a new permanent resident, named Dawn. We spend time with Chief Engineer Marc Rayman. planet.ly/rayman

AN UPDATE ON CASSINI Our most frequent guest, Cassini Project Scientist Linda Spilker, returns with another update on the magnificent mission at Saturn, including evidence for hydrothermal vents in the oceans of Enceladus! planet.ly/spilker

Find these shows and our entire archive of Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio! ON PLANETARY.ORG PRETTY PICTURES NEWS ENOUGH ROCK PHILAE AWAKENS! LAYERS? Emily Lak- Emily reported on up-to-the- dawalla finds even more minute changes in Philae’s layers of rock while sifting AFFORDABLE MISSIONS status as it came back online. through Curiosity images. planet.ly/philaeawake EUROPA Van Kane explores EXITING SPACECRAFT planet.ly/rocklayers SAYING GOODBYE TO JPL’s newest plans for getting MESSENGER Worldwide, to Europa. planet.ly/goeuropa people said farewell to Messenger as it crashed into AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHY Mercury. planet.ly/farewell SPACE IMAGES Photo: Courtesy of Celso Mosqueira Astrophotographer ASTROBIOLOGY REAL-TIME SUNSET RETOOLING NASA’S Adam Block shows some THE SWEET ON MARS SPACEPORT incredible photos, and MYSTERY OF LIFE Glen Nagle created a Jason Dworkin examines how 6-minute “simulation” based explains what makes them prepares for the first flight of

OSIRIS-REx might answer big on Curiosity’s sol 956 sunset unique and impressive. the Space Launch70K System in questions. planet.ly/sweetlife images. planet.ly/sunset planet.ly/adamblock 2018. planet.ly/newrocket

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 19 DEVELOPMENTS IN SPACE SCIENCE BRUCE BETTS is director of science and technology for The Planetary Society.

Protecting Our World Highlights from This Year’s Planetary Defense Conference

PLANETARY DEFENSE has PDC is held every two cations Erin Greeson, pre- been a fundamental focus of years and brings together sented a paper about our The Planetary Society since the world’s experts on all broader NEO-related public aspects of the asteroid education and communica- threat to Earth. I also served tion efforts. Media Producer on the organizing commit- Merc Boyan and his partner tee, and it was nice to see it CaLisa Lee shot video at the all come to fruition. conference, and we filmed I like to describe that several Random Space Fact there are five issues we videos, including some NEO- need to address to prevent related and some Roman-re- asteroid impact, and all five lated, on site in Rome. Watch were covered at the PDC: them at planetary.org/rsf. find, track, characterize, Planetary Society Volun- deflect, and internation- teer Network Manager Kate ally coordinate and educate. Howells and coauthors Jim The Planetary Society is Burke, Madhu Thangavelu, active in each of these steps. and Clemens Rumpf present- Particularly relevant to ed a poster entitled, “Inter- tracking and character- national NEO Education and izing, we announced our Public Outreach.” new Shoemaker NEO Grant You’ll find much more winners (details below) at a about the conference at public Planetary Radio live planet.ly/5steps. ABOVE In this artist’s view, shortly after its founding 35 event at the Italian Space two asteroids speed past years ago. This year, in mid- Agency (ASI). At that event, 2015 SHOEMAKER NEO Earth by a hair-raisingly April, The Planetary Society hosted by Mat Kaplan, we GRANT WINNERS close margin. Since its earliest was a primary sponsor had a panel of experts talk Over 18 years, The Plan- days, The Planetary Society has been working to make of the 2015 International about the near-Earth object etary Society has awarded

sure these rocky marauders Academy of Astronautics’ (NEO) threat. Listen to the 49 Shoemaker NEO Grants, Illustration: European Space Agency/P. Carril continue to pass us by. Planetary Defense Confer- event on Planetary Radio at totaling about $323,000, to ence (PDC) at European planet.ly/prpdc15. 39 awardees from 16 differ- Space Research Institute I presented a conference ent countries on five conti- (ESRIN), a European Space paper about the Shoemaker nents. We announced the Agency facility in Frascati, NEO Grants and, along with very impressive winners Italy, outside of Rome. The our director of communi- of the 2015 grants at the Thanks!Planetary Society members have helped make these grants—and many other projects—possible! Thank you.

20 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 WHAT’S UP? by Bruce Betts

IN THE SKY

The Perseid meteor shower peaks August 12-13, with increased Protecting Our World activity several days before and after the peak. With little Highlights from This Year’s Planetary Defense Conference interference from moonlight this year, the Perseids should yield 60 to 80 meteors per hour, visible from a dark site. A total lunar eclipse is visible September 27-28 throughout most of North and South America, Europe, Africa, and western Asia. Very bright Venus and Jupiter join Mars for a busy predawn East by late summer. PDC. They are: Illinois, is among the world’s Saturn is in the evening South, then West throughout the summer. LUCA BUZZI, who most prolific follow-up ob- operates the G. V. Schia- servers of NEOs. His grant parelli Observatory near is for a new, more sensitive Varese in northern Italy. His CCD for the institute’s 1.3-me- RANDOM observatory focuses on NEO ter-diameter telescope. SPACE FACT astrometric (sky position) JULIAN OEY, the director

follow-up. His grant will of Blue Mountains Observa- The force of sunlight pushing on the 32-square-meter sail of enable the purchase of a tory in New South Wales in the LightSail spacecraft is about the same as the downward CCD camera for the obser- Australia, received a grant force of a housefly sitting on your hand. The advantage for vatory’s new 0.84-meter- to obtain a CCD for the spacecraft propulsion is that the force is constant and just keeps diameter telescope. observatory’s largest (24 pushing, unlike the large but brief forces of chemical rockets. MAURICE CLARK was inches diameter) telescope. given a grant to assist with DONALD PRAY specializes moving a telescope from in determining light curves Texas to the western Aus- for binary asteroids at Sug- TRIVIA CONTEST tralian town of Koorda, an arloaf Mountain Observatory extraordinarily good observ- in Massachusetts. Donald’s ing site that also provides grant will help purchase a Our December Solstice contest winner is Douglas F. Crane of good geographic coverage. new CCD camera to replace Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Congratulations! THE QUESTION The funds will assist with an old, failing camera. WAS: In November 2014, ESA’s Rosetta Philae lander became construction of an observa- The Planetary Society the first to soft-land on a comet. On what spacecraft mission did a human-made object slam into a comet in 2005? THE tory at the site. thanks our expert advisory/ ANSWER: NASA’s Deep Impact mission slammed a 370-kilogram DANIEL COLEY, who review panel: Planetary copper impactor into a comet at 37,000 kilometers per hour specializes in determining Society NEO Grant Coordi- (23,000 mph) and watched the impact that resulted. rotation periods for NEOs, nator Timothy Spahr, Alan as well as the Hungaria and Harris of MoreData!, and Try to win a free year’s Planetary Society membership and Jupiter Trojan minor planets. Carl Hergenrother of the a Planetary Radio T-shirt by answering this question: His grant will purchase a new University of Arizona. We What five spacecraft are on escape trajectories from

Illustration: European Space Agency/P. Carril CCD camera to replace a failing also gratefully thank you, our solar system, i.e., they will leave and never return? instrument at the Center for our members, who make Solar System Studies (CS3) in these grants possible. More E-mail your answer to [email protected] or mail your answer to The Planetary Report, 60 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101. Make sure you include Landers, California. information on the Shoe- the answer and your name, mailing address, and e-mail address (if you have one). By entering this contest, you are authorizing The Planetary Report to publish your name ROBERT HOLMES at maker NEO Grants and grant and hometown. Submissions must be received by September 1, 2015. The winner will the Astronomical Research winners can be found at be chosen by a random drawing from among all the correct entries received. planetary.org/neogrants For a weekly dose of “What’s Up?” complete with humor, a weekly trivia contest, and Institute (ARI) in Westfield, . a range of significant space and science fiction guests, listen toPlanetary Radio at planetary.org/radio.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 21 ADVOCATING FOR SPACE CASEY DREIER is director of advocacy for The Planetary Society.

Humans Orbiting Mars Looking at a Realistic Plan

THE STREETS ARE quiet. The has been busy studying the report by the National Acad- attention of the world is, experiences of those who emies—which declared that briefly, on four people very orbited first. The spacecraft current budgets and plans far away: an international hardware, now checked out for are crew of nearing for use in the Mars system, completely unrealistic—our the Red Planet. The world can now be focused on goal was to explore a sustain- is waiting to hear if the crew getting people to the surface. able, executable, and afford- successfully entered Martian The orbit-first mission has able plan for NASA to get orbit after nearly eight whetted public appetite humans to Mars. months traveling in inter- for the adventure of Mars— planetary space. Everyone on everyone is eager for the NEW HARDWARE AND NEW Earth is quietly committing next step. In the late 2030s, ACCESS the time to memory: 2033, humans go for landing. We are in a time of great the year we made it to Mars. change in NASA’s human But not land on it. Not yet. HUMANS ORBITING MARS spaceflight program. For the The crew makes a suc- This was the scenario pre- first time in forty years, there cessful entry into Mars sented to an invitation- is new hardware—notably the orbit, and stays there. Soon only workshop hosted Space Launch System, after arrival, they dock with by The Planetary Society Crew Capsule, and a growing Phobos. They spend nearly a in Washington, D.C. in capability by the commercial year with the Martian moon, March. We called it the launch sector—that provides collecting samples, explor- “Humans Orbiting Mars” access to new destinations ing its craters, and seeking workshop. In attendance beyond Earth for humans. So to understand its odd history. were distinguished repre- the question is, how can we For a list of the consensus points reached by attendees On Mars itself, multiple sentatives of the aerospace build a true program of Mars of The Planetary Society’s rovers scout out future industry, scientific com- exploration that is sustain- Humans Orbiting Mars landing sites and explore munity, policy world, and able over the decades? workshop, go to the terrain. The astronauts NASA itself. Society board The centerpiece of our planet.ly/homresults on Phobos control them in members Scott Hubbard workshop was a Mars

To learn more about the near-real time. Without the and John Logsdon chaired program architecture concept plan presented by JPL 15-minute lag of the commu- the meeting. Hubbard is the developed by a study team at the Humans to Mars nications signal from Mars former director of NASA’s at the Jet Propulsion Labo- Summit in May 2015, go to to Earth, the astronauts Ames Research Center and ratory ( JPL) that aimed planet.ly/exploremars operate the rovers much the first “Mars Czar” at to do just that. Their goal faster than the science teams NASA. Logsdon founded was to reduce the number back home. the Space Policy Institute at of “miracles” needed for Illustration: NASA After more than a year in George Washington Univer- a successful program by orbit, the astronauts return sity and served as its director embracing as much existing home. The next crew, the for more than 30 years. technology as possible. This crew that will land on Mars, Inspired by last year’s lowers risk, which lowers

22 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 cost. It means utilizing solar electric propulsion (cur- rently under development for the Asteroid Redirect Mission), the Space Launch LEFT A variety of robotic System (ready in 2018), and explorers swiftly transmit the Orion crew capsule data to a crew of astronauts in Mars orbit. The Planetary (ditto). The only new piece of Society’s Humans Orbiting hardware necessary is a long- Mars workshop brought duration human habitation leaders in space exploration module, which is already together to study a plan which in early concept studies. looks at a realistic, affordable Their concept has hardware strategy for getting humans to the Mars system in 2033. shakedown missions near the Moon throughout the orbit-first mission, its public sooner we commit to a real 2020s, followed by an orbit- engagement potential, and Mars strategy, the stronger first mission in 2033, and the funding reality that our chances for success. then, beginning in 2039, an NASA faces in the coming The workshop and its con- extended series of landings decades. The initial results sensus points will form the that increase in complexity. from the workshop were basis of a longer report we’ll Does this concept save very encouraging; the con- release later this year. This money? Well, according to sensus was that JPL had report will help inform the the Aerospace Corporation, developed a credible frame- Society’s future advocacy which provided the cost esti- work for getting humans to work in the realm of human mates for last year’s National Mars, affordably. spaceflight. But I’m also Academies report, it appears While much will change asking for feedback from that an orbit-first plan could as we go forward, the our most important constitu- fit within the current human Society believes this orbit- ency: you, our members. spaceflight budget if it grows first approach to the human What do you think? with inflation and NASA exploration of Mars is Should humans orbit first? ends its primary role in the extremely promising. NASA What’s the right balance International Space Station needs to commit to Mars between a practical and (ISS) as planned in 2024. soon. There will still be new ambitious program of hardware needed, new pro- human exploration? E-mail A SUSTAINABLE, EXECUT- cedures, techniques, and me at casey.dreier@plan- ABLE, AFFORDABLE PLAN abilities to develop and test etary.org. You may also send Illustration: NASA At the workshop we took a on the ISS and near the letters to planetaryreport@ hard look at this concept. Moon. And there will be planetary.org for possible We discussed the poten- problems, surely, that will inclusion in a future issue of tial science return from an have to be overcome. But the The Planetary Report.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2015 23 THE PLANETARY SOCIETY 60 SOUTH LOS ROBLES AVENUE PASADENA CA 91101-2016 USA

Celebrate Our History— and Our New Home

It’s hard to believe our organization is old enough to have history, but it’s true! The Planetary Society has definitely come of age and is now marking 35 years of promoting space science and exploration.

In other words, it’s time to celebrate!

This fall we will host a public celebration on Saturday, October 24 to commemorate our history and to dedicate our new headquarters. In addition, we will honor a very special group of supporters, our charter members, with a reception to be held on Friday evening, October 23.

More details will be forthcoming soon, but you will definitely want to Image: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team mark your calendars and plan to join us for this magnificent occasion.

And for those who have participated in our Buy-A-Brick fundraising campaign (there’s a little time left before our August 1 deadline—for more information, visit planetary.org/bricks), you’ll be able to drop by and see your brick installed just outside our entry.

It will be a great day for The Planetary Society as we hearken back to the vision of our founders, Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman, and look forward to a stellar future.

Join us!

Regards,

Richard Chute Director of Development [email protected] 626-793-5100 x214