NO UPDATES UNTIL JULY 16!
The FLORIDA SPACErePORT will be on holiday.
The FLORIDA SPACErePORT will be on holiday.
NASA Awards Grant to UF/UCF Researchers (Source: UF)
Researchers from UF and UCF have been awarded $340K by NASA to investigate a possible source of methane on Mars from the degradation of organic compounds by UVR irradiation. Using a fully operational Mars chamber at Kennedy Space Center capable of simulating a Mars surface environment, several experiments will be performed. These experiments will be designed to (a) confirm that methane can be formed by UV degradation processes under a diversity of Martian conditions, (b) study the UV breakdown products of various carbonaceous materials under Martian conditions, (c) determine the effects that regolith composition might have on the UV-photochemical reactions, and (d) estimate rates of methane production on a global scale given the possible starting materials and regolith compositions.
Mars Mission May Be Moved Up (Source: Aerospace Daily)
NASA is looking for a way to accelerate its long-planned Mars sample return mission, possibly by fitting upcoming landers like the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory with sample caches that could be retrieved and delivered back to Earth later. A new Mars astrobiology strategy recommended by the National Research Council's Space Studies Board sets "analysis of a diverse suite of appropriate samples" as the highest priority Mars-science objective. In keeping with that recommendation, NASA's Science Mission Directorate has ordered studies that could lead to the launch of a sample-return mission to the Red Planet as early as the 2018 planetary launch window.
Humbled By the Enormity of Space (Source: FOX)
Imagine being reduced to a rounding error. Imagine your whole life. Your parents' lives. Their parents' lives, reduced to a flash, an instant, an afterthought. Imagine space. At the risk of sounding a little too deep, imagine this NASA spacecraft set to launch Monday. Its mission: to journey to the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter — asteroids likely formed more than 4.5 billion years ago. That figure didn't wow me, as much as NASA's little footnote afterwards: 4.5 billion, "give or take a couple of 100 million years." "Give or take a couple of 100 million years" — as if it was a small rounding error. 200 million years ago dinosaurs roamed this place. It took another 198 million years before anything close to human form started popping up on this place
Expanded Search for Extraterrestrial Life Urged (Source: New York Times)
The hunt for extraterrestrial life should be dramatically expanded, a panel of scientists convened by the country’s leading scientific advisory group said, to include what they call “weird life,” organisms that lack DNA or other molecules found in life as we know it. “The committee’s investigation makes clear that life is possible in forms different from those on Earth,” the scientists concluded. Their report, “The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems,” was published by the National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences and posted on the NAS web site, http://www.nationalacademies.org. Other experts hailed the report as an important rethinking of the search for life. “It’s going to help us a lot to make sure we go exploring with our eyes wide open,” said Michael Meyer, the Mars exploration program lead scientist at NASA.
NASA Origins Program to Support UF Exoplanet Tracker Pilot Program (Source: UF)
Dr. Jian Ge from the University of Florida's Department of Astronomy received word from the NASA Origins Program that they will support part of the science investigation of the pilot planet survey program at the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) telescope using the Keck Exoplanet Tracker (ET) instrument over the next three years. This multi-object instrument has the potential to discover tens of thousands of new extrasolar planets, based on current detection statistics.
UF/UCF Space Research Initiative Awards for FY 2008 (Source: UF)
Each year UF and UCF sponsor a joint program, the "Space Research Initiative" which provides funding to collaborators from UF and UCF faculty to pursue topics of interest to the space research community in Florida and throughout the U. S. This year's awards include $169K for a project related to Brown Dwarf and Extrasolar Planets; $149K for a Mid-Infrared Polarimeter for NASA's airborne telescope (SOFIA); $212K for a Next-Generation Cryogenic Infrared Focal Plane Array Controller; $200K for Experimental and Computational Mechanics of Shape Memory Alloys; and $245K for Development of an Extremely High Precision Doppler Instrument for Detection of Terrestrial Like Planets with the APO 3.5m Telescope.
UF Among Winners in Florida/NASA Matching Grants Program (Source: UF)
The University of Florida received 7 awards under the recent Florida/NASA Matching Grants Program, including: Computational Approach for Rapid Space Mission Planning; Nano Composites for Lightweight Cryogenic Tanks in Crew Exploration and Crew Vehicles; Modeling and prediction of Rocket Exhaust Interaction with Martian Surfaces; Microbial Mats, Solar Radiation and the Genetic Response; Hyperspectral Ground-base Optical Imaging at the Diffraction Limit; Ultra-high Energy Density Integral Capacitors with Small Form Factor for Space Applications; and Development of Space Science Curriculum Package to Support New Florida FCAT Science Standards. For more information about this year's grant awards, visit http://fsgc.engr.ucf.edu.
Wyle to Prepare Virgin Galactic's First Passengers for Spaceflight Voyage (Source: Wyle)
Virgin Galactic, which expects to become the world's first commercial spaceline, has contracted Wyle to provide chief medical officer, medical data analysis, and program management services to advise and guide the preparation of its first passengers for spaceflight. Wyle's Life Sciences Group, which has more than four decades experience supporting NASA's human space program, provides medical screening and qualification, training, data and risk management, and mission and ground operations support to space transportation providers and operators, spaceports, and regulators through its Commercial Human Spaceflight Services unit. The contract places Wyle at the forefront of the evolving commercial
human spaceflight industry.
Congressional Interest in Education May Stem Looming Workforce Crisis (Source: AIA)
There aren't enough students studying technology subjects to address the looming work force shortage, according to AIA President and CEO John Douglass. Congressional -- and industry -- support of science, technology, engineering and mathematics educational programs, collectively known as STEM, will help motivate students to pursue careers in the aerospace industry.
NASA Announces Aeronautics Research Opportunities (Source: NASA)
NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate has amended its NASA Research Announcement to solicit additional research proposals. The "Research Opportunities in Aeronautics 2007" announcement solicits proposals for the Hypersonics project in several new areas. The Hypersonics project will focus the research on some of the toughest challenges in the field. They include the development of materials for airframe and propulsion applications that can withstand severe temperatures for extended periods of time. The research also will look to develop predictive models for compressible flow, turbulence, heating, ablation, combustion, and their interactions. Specific evaluation criteria, deadlines and points of contact for these research topics and other project areas are available in the announcement at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com.
Where We're Headed (Source: USA Today)
Mars. Rogue asteroids. It's exciting stuff. And this time around, it's not just NASA. Phoenix, Selene, Chandrayaan-1, Dawn, Kepler...here are ttrips to keep your eye on. Visit http://usaweekend.com/07_issues/070708/070708space.html for a description on why they're important.
Dawn Mission Delayed Until Monday (Source: Florida Today)
Mechanical problems with a tracking aircraft prompted NASA to push back the planned launch of the agency's Dawn spacecraft until at least Monday. Liftoff now is being targeted for a window that will extend from 3:56 p.m. to 4:25 p.m. Monday at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport's Launch Complex 17B. A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket had been slated to launch the Dawn spacecraft on Saturday, but thunderstorms and lightning delayed a critical fuel-loading operation on Thursday, triggering a delay until Sunday.
Researchers from UF and UCF have been awarded $340K by NASA to investigate a possible source of methane on Mars from the degradation of organic compounds by UVR irradiation. Using a fully operational Mars chamber at Kennedy Space Center capable of simulating a Mars surface environment, several experiments will be performed. These experiments will be designed to (a) confirm that methane can be formed by UV degradation processes under a diversity of Martian conditions, (b) study the UV breakdown products of various carbonaceous materials under Martian conditions, (c) determine the effects that regolith composition might have on the UV-photochemical reactions, and (d) estimate rates of methane production on a global scale given the possible starting materials and regolith compositions.
Mars Mission May Be Moved Up (Source: Aerospace Daily)
NASA is looking for a way to accelerate its long-planned Mars sample return mission, possibly by fitting upcoming landers like the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory with sample caches that could be retrieved and delivered back to Earth later. A new Mars astrobiology strategy recommended by the National Research Council's Space Studies Board sets "analysis of a diverse suite of appropriate samples" as the highest priority Mars-science objective. In keeping with that recommendation, NASA's Science Mission Directorate has ordered studies that could lead to the launch of a sample-return mission to the Red Planet as early as the 2018 planetary launch window.
Humbled By the Enormity of Space (Source: FOX)
Imagine being reduced to a rounding error. Imagine your whole life. Your parents' lives. Their parents' lives, reduced to a flash, an instant, an afterthought. Imagine space. At the risk of sounding a little too deep, imagine this NASA spacecraft set to launch Monday. Its mission: to journey to the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter — asteroids likely formed more than 4.5 billion years ago. That figure didn't wow me, as much as NASA's little footnote afterwards: 4.5 billion, "give or take a couple of 100 million years." "Give or take a couple of 100 million years" — as if it was a small rounding error. 200 million years ago dinosaurs roamed this place. It took another 198 million years before anything close to human form started popping up on this place
Expanded Search for Extraterrestrial Life Urged (Source: New York Times)
The hunt for extraterrestrial life should be dramatically expanded, a panel of scientists convened by the country’s leading scientific advisory group said, to include what they call “weird life,” organisms that lack DNA or other molecules found in life as we know it. “The committee’s investigation makes clear that life is possible in forms different from those on Earth,” the scientists concluded. Their report, “The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems,” was published by the National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences and posted on the NAS web site, http://www.nationalacademies.org. Other experts hailed the report as an important rethinking of the search for life. “It’s going to help us a lot to make sure we go exploring with our eyes wide open,” said Michael Meyer, the Mars exploration program lead scientist at NASA.
NASA Origins Program to Support UF Exoplanet Tracker Pilot Program (Source: UF)
Dr. Jian Ge from the University of Florida's Department of Astronomy received word from the NASA Origins Program that they will support part of the science investigation of the pilot planet survey program at the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) telescope using the Keck Exoplanet Tracker (ET) instrument over the next three years. This multi-object instrument has the potential to discover tens of thousands of new extrasolar planets, based on current detection statistics.
UF/UCF Space Research Initiative Awards for FY 2008 (Source: UF)
Each year UF and UCF sponsor a joint program, the "Space Research Initiative" which provides funding to collaborators from UF and UCF faculty to pursue topics of interest to the space research community in Florida and throughout the U. S. This year's awards include $169K for a project related to Brown Dwarf and Extrasolar Planets; $149K for a Mid-Infrared Polarimeter for NASA's airborne telescope (SOFIA); $212K for a Next-Generation Cryogenic Infrared Focal Plane Array Controller; $200K for Experimental and Computational Mechanics of Shape Memory Alloys; and $245K for Development of an Extremely High Precision Doppler Instrument for Detection of Terrestrial Like Planets with the APO 3.5m Telescope.
UF Among Winners in Florida/NASA Matching Grants Program (Source: UF)
The University of Florida received 7 awards under the recent Florida/NASA Matching Grants Program, including: Computational Approach for Rapid Space Mission Planning; Nano Composites for Lightweight Cryogenic Tanks in Crew Exploration and Crew Vehicles; Modeling and prediction of Rocket Exhaust Interaction with Martian Surfaces; Microbial Mats, Solar Radiation and the Genetic Response; Hyperspectral Ground-base Optical Imaging at the Diffraction Limit; Ultra-high Energy Density Integral Capacitors with Small Form Factor for Space Applications; and Development of Space Science Curriculum Package to Support New Florida FCAT Science Standards. For more information about this year's grant awards, visit http://fsgc.engr.ucf.edu.
Wyle to Prepare Virgin Galactic's First Passengers for Spaceflight Voyage (Source: Wyle)
Virgin Galactic, which expects to become the world's first commercial spaceline, has contracted Wyle to provide chief medical officer, medical data analysis, and program management services to advise and guide the preparation of its first passengers for spaceflight. Wyle's Life Sciences Group, which has more than four decades experience supporting NASA's human space program, provides medical screening and qualification, training, data and risk management, and mission and ground operations support to space transportation providers and operators, spaceports, and regulators through its Commercial Human Spaceflight Services unit. The contract places Wyle at the forefront of the evolving commercial
human spaceflight industry.
Congressional Interest in Education May Stem Looming Workforce Crisis (Source: AIA)
There aren't enough students studying technology subjects to address the looming work force shortage, according to AIA President and CEO John Douglass. Congressional -- and industry -- support of science, technology, engineering and mathematics educational programs, collectively known as STEM, will help motivate students to pursue careers in the aerospace industry.
NASA Announces Aeronautics Research Opportunities (Source: NASA)
NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate has amended its NASA Research Announcement to solicit additional research proposals. The "Research Opportunities in Aeronautics 2007" announcement solicits proposals for the Hypersonics project in several new areas. The Hypersonics project will focus the research on some of the toughest challenges in the field. They include the development of materials for airframe and propulsion applications that can withstand severe temperatures for extended periods of time. The research also will look to develop predictive models for compressible flow, turbulence, heating, ablation, combustion, and their interactions. Specific evaluation criteria, deadlines and points of contact for these research topics and other project areas are available in the announcement at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com.
Where We're Headed (Source: USA Today)
Mars. Rogue asteroids. It's exciting stuff. And this time around, it's not just NASA. Phoenix, Selene, Chandrayaan-1, Dawn, Kepler...here are ttrips to keep your eye on. Visit http://usaweekend.com/07_issues/070708/070708space.html for a description on why they're important.
Dawn Mission Delayed Until Monday (Source: Florida Today)
Mechanical problems with a tracking aircraft prompted NASA to push back the planned launch of the agency's Dawn spacecraft until at least Monday. Liftoff now is being targeted for a window that will extend from 3:56 p.m. to 4:25 p.m. Monday at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport's Launch Complex 17B. A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket had been slated to launch the Dawn spacecraft on Saturday, but thunderstorms and lightning delayed a critical fuel-loading operation on Thursday, triggering a delay until Sunday.
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