Different Paths to Mars
(Source: Space Review)
Elon Musk will unveil his plans for human missions to Mars this week,
but he’s not the only person talking about Mars exploration. Jeff Foust
reports there’s a new emphasis on Mars mission planning, as other
companies and organizations propose alternative approaches for getting
humans to the Red Planet. Click here.
(9/26)
Further Steps Toward the Frontier:
Recent Policy Efforts on Space Settlement (Source: Space Review)
Getting space settlement put into law as a goal for US space policy has
been a long-running goal of space advocates. Cody Knipfer argues that
there are encouraging signs of progress. Click here.
(9/26)
Unpopular Truths About Space Settlement
(Source: Space Review)
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, among others are developing the technical
capabilities to establish private enterprise space settlements. Alan
Wasser points out that actually establishing space settlements would be
infinitely easier to fund if they could be as potentially profitable as
their other businesses. Click here.
(9/26)
Why India's Commercial Space Program
is Thriving (Source: BBC)
India's ability to launch multiple satellites in a single mission has
put it on firm footing in the global market. Many private companies are
developing satellites that they need for their operations, but most
cannot afford to launch these independently. So they need to piggyback
on missions from agencies like Isro that have launch facilities.
"The need for launches is growing exponentially worldwide, primarily
because of new companies that are planning to launch entire commercial
constellations [groups] of satellites," says Susmita Mohanty, chief
executive of Earth2Orbit, a company that has been helping negotiate
launch deals between India's space agency and private firms.
Another thing that could be making India an attractive proposition is
the frequency of its launches and its ability to meet deadlines. "So
far we have been able to meet the time requirements of the customers,"
says Mr Kumar. India now plans to have as many as 12 launches a year, a
pace that's more than doubled since 2015.
Still, getting foreign satellites on board is not simple. (9/26)
Hubble Spots Possible Water Plumes
Erupting on Jupiter's Moon Europa (Source: NASA)
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged what may be
water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa.
This finding bolsters other Hubble observations suggesting the icy moon
erupts with high altitude water vapor plumes. The observation increases
the possibility that missions to Europa may be able to sample Europa’s
ocean without having to drill through miles of ice.
“Europa’s ocean is considered to be one of the most promising places
that could potentially harbor life in the solar system,” said Geoff
Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission
Directorate in Washington. “These plumes, if they do indeed exist, may
provide another way to sample Europa’s subsurface.”
The plumes are estimated to rise about 125 miles (200 kilometers)
before, presumably, raining material back down onto Europa's surface.
Europa has a huge global ocean containing twice as much water as
Earth’s oceans, but it is protected by a layer of extremely cold and
hard ice of unknown thickness. The plumes provide a tantalizing
opportunity to gather samples originating from under the surface
without having to land or drill through the ice. (9/26)
NASA: Odds Favor Successful SpaceX
Mars Mission (Source: Space.com)
Before NASA decided to help SpaceX on its journey to Mars, details of
which company chief Elon Musk plans to unveil on Tuesday, the U.S.
space agency reviewed the plan for SpaceX's first mission, slated to
launch in 2018, and decided it has a reasonably good chance of success.
For NASA, a successful mission means that SpaceX's Mars vehicle, called
Red Dragon, flies through the Martian atmosphere with its thrusters
firing in the direction of travel, a technology known as supersonic
retrograde propulsion. The feather in the cap would be a propulsive
landing on the Martian surface.
"This is a critical, critical technology for us," said Phil McAlister,
director of NASA's Commercial Spaceflight Division. "This is flight
data that would not be available to us by any other means." NASA is
working toward sending astronauts to Mars in the mid-2030s. Musk aims
to beat that by a decade. (9/26)
SpaceX Test-Fires Raptor Engines
(Source: The Verge)
SpaceX has conducted its first firing test of its Raptor engine, the
powerful propulsion system that the company aims to use to take humans
to Mars. SpaceX boss Elon Musk tweeted pictures of the tests late last
night, sharing one image that showed a steady stream of flame emanating
from the engine, and another showing "Mach diamonds" — patterns formed
in the exhaust plumes of supersonic craft.
Musk has been has been fairly vague on Raptor specifications so far,
but tweeted a few extra details after last night's tests, confirming
production goals and chamber pressure. Previously he indicated that
Raptor engines will deliver about 500,000 pounds of liftoff thrust —
about as much as the Space Shuttle's main engines — and will use liquid
methane rather than kerosene. Full-scale Raptor engines first arrived
at SpaceX's testing facility in Texas earlier this year. (9/26)
Gary Johnson Calls for Space
Colonization, Vows to Stay in Race (Source: WTOP)
Gary Johnson, the Libertarian presidential candidate and former
governor of New Mexico, said that the future of the human race will
depend upon learning to inhabit other planets. “We do have to inhabit
other planets. The future of the human race is space exploration,”
Johnson said in offering a response on how to address the challenges
posed by climate change. (9/26)
India Launches PSLV C-35 with Eight
Satellites (Source: The Wire)
A PSLV C-35 rocket, carrying India’s SCATSAT-1 meant for ocean and
weather studies and seven other satellites including from US and
Canada, today lifted off from the spaceport in Sriharikota. Besides
SCATSAT-1, the 44.4 m tall ISRO’s workhorse PSLV rocket is carrying two
Indian university satellites, three from Algeria and one each from US
and Canada. For the first time in its mission, the PSLV will launch its
payloads in two different orbits. There will be two Fourth Stage Engine
restarting for this purpose. (9/26)
Man in India Carrying Fake NASA ID
with Obama Signature Held (Source: Hindustan Times)
A college student in Dewas was arrested on Saturday on charge of
extorting money using a fake identity card of NASA bearing the
signature of US President Barack Obama. The police said 20-year-old
Ansar, a resident of Kamlapur, placed a few antennas and gadgets on the
roof of his house to mislead villagers that these help NASA get a
picture of the area.
Ansar also told people that he was selected for a NASA project and got
annual package of `1.85 crore. He was even felicitated by Kamlapur
Government Higher Secondary School on August 15 for his “outstanding
work”, and met some including politicians and bureaucrats. But he had
his luck run out when he met district superintendent of police
Shashikant Shukla. As Ansar wore the identity card during the meeting,
Shukla raised doubt on the signature. As he left the office, Shukla
called Bagli police station in-charge BS Gore and asked him to keep a
watch on Ansar. (9/26)
Going to Mars Could Mess Up the Hunt
for Alien Life (Source: National Geographic)
Twenty years ago, America celebrated its Independence Day by landing
several thousand invaders on the surface of Mars. On July 4, 1997, the
Pathfinder spacecraft touched down in a northern lowland called Chryse
Planitia carrying a small rover named Sojourner—as well as a large
amount of stowaways in the form of earthly microbes.
Did any of these microbes survive and reproduce, establishing
themselves as Earth’s first colonists on a distant world? Highly
unlikely, NASA assured us at the time, noting that scientists believed
“it would be difficult to sustain and cultivate life on Mars.” But, as
Jurassic Park famously pointed out, life often finds a way. Biologists
have been discovering all kinds of organisms on Earth capable of
thriving in extreme environments. (9/26)
Apollo 1 Memorial Proposed at
Arlington Cemetery (Source: CollectSpace)
Legislation introduced last week would establish an Apollo 1 memorial
at Arlington National Cemetery. The bill, introduced by Rep. Eddie
Bernice Johnson (D-TX), directs the Secretary of the Army, working with
NASA, to establish a "memorial marker" for the Apollo 1 crew at the
cemetery. Similar memorials are there for the astronauts lost on the
Challenger and Columbia shuttle accidents. (9/26)
Major Reform Sought for National
Security Space (Source: Space News)
The head of a key House subcommittee said he wants to carry out "major
reform" to national security space. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chairman
of the House Armed Services Committee's strategic forces subcommittee,
said last week he will seek those reforms in a fiscal year 2018 defense
authorization act, warning that the military is not "organized and
prepared to fight and win a war in space." His subcommittee is holding
a hearing on the issue Tuesday. (9/26)
Boeing Distributes $6 Million in
Education Grants, Says It Will Be In Washington for Decades
(Source: Puget Sound Business Journal)
Boeing showered $6 million in grants on more than 50 educational
institutions and nonprofits across Washington state Wednesday, seeking
to dispel fears that it plans to shift jobs overseas. “Boeing will be a
significant jobs provider in Washington for decades to come," Boeing
Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner said in a news release announcing
the grants. "Our hope and goal is that those future jobs will continue
to be filled by kids who grow up right here in the state.” (9/23)
Boeing CEO Rips Donald Trump Over
China Remarks (Source: Puget Sound Business Journal)
The chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and a former U.S.
ambassador to China have taken turns criticizing Donald Trump, saying
the Republican presidential nominee is misrepresenting U.S. trade with
China and Boeing's dealings in China in particular. Trump has made the
aircraft manufacturer's China activities an election issue, alleging
Boeing will move U.S jobs to China if he's not elected to stop major
corporations from shifting jobs offshore. (9/20)
How NASA Plans To Discover Other
Earths With The Help Of Starshade (Source: Fossbytes)
Every star like our very own star, the sun, have at least one planet
orbiting around it. Astronomers can currently detect planets outside
our solar system through indirect methods like observing the changes in
light from the distant stars when its planet passes across it. They
have been doing this for more than 15 years, but unfortunately have not
documented clear pictures of any exoplanets.
Firstly, even the closest star is several light years away. So when the
astronomers observe these stars from an astronomical distance, their
orbiting planets appear very close to the star. That defect disables
the telescope from detecting them.
Secondly, the stars are billion times brighter than their planets,
which makes viewing these planets nearly impossible. We reach for our
sunglasses when the blinding sunlight shines into our eyes and that is
exactly what NASA is doing. They are designing a huge pair of
sunglasses for its telescope which will help them in capturing pictures
of exoplanets. (9/25)
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