Allan Rock, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for the Canadian Space Agency, announced today the awarding of a $400,000 contract to MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) of Richmond, B.C., to support the Canadian Space Agency in defining Canada’s contribution to European missions to Mars, and the NASA-led Mars Science Laboratory mission. Landing safely on the Red Planet is a critical element of any Mars mission. The study to be undertaken by MDA will include an assessment of the design, development and use of laser-based sensor technology to land spacecraft on the surface of Mars. As a world leader in robotic technologies, Canada will also be considering its role in the development of a robotic mining device that will extract samples of the planet’s subsurface and prepare them for scientific study.
Heat-To-Electricity Device Could Help Third World
Scientists looking for a way to provide cheap electricity for people in some of the poorest parts of the world have found a way of running a light bulb off a wood-burning stove. Working with Rida Nuwayhid at the American University in Beirut, Mike Rowe and Gao Min at Cardiff University in Wales have developed a thermocouple device that converts some of the otherwise wasted heat from the stove into a weak electric current.
Register for Robotics Series
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NASA Tests Advanced Spacesuit, Robot Helper At Meteor Crater
Scientists will trek into the Arizona desert near Flagstaff this month to study how robots and humans can best interact using spoken language, and to gather data for comparing human and robotic performance. Humans wearing an advanced Mark III spacesuit working alongside an Extra Vehicular Activity Robotic Assistant (ERA) rover will perform tasks representative of future exploration at two sites in the Arizona desert during the first two weeks of September. Exploration tasks will include geophone instrument deployment and field mapping. These tests are a part of NASA strategy to apply advanced technology and cooperative information to improve scientific productivity at a variety of potential locations.
NASA developing more efficient power for space flights Cosmiverse.com
With a manned Mars voyage suggested for next decade and space probes going ever farther from Earth, conventional propulsion systems are proving way too inefficient and NASA has gone looking for more exotic ways to fly.
Space Coast could be hub of research for next launch technology: magnetic levitation Florida Today
The Space Coast holds the key to what may be the future of launch technology, as researchers collaborate to perfect magnetic levitation. Hector Gutierrez of Florida Tech sends a magnetic levitation car zooming down a laboratory track. It sounds like science fiction: Using magnetic forces, a spacecraft hovers above a miles-long track as it slams forward at astounding speeds before shooting off into space.
Obituary: William L. Brown / Westinghouse engineer worked on reactor for Mars mission Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
William L. Brown Sr. of Bethel Park was a clothes presser at a Mount Washington cleaners who later became an engineer at Westinghouse’s nuclear division. Although Mr. Brown had no degree, he won an entry-level job at Westinghouse because of natural talent and know-how, said his son William L. Jr. of Ross. He was the oldest of six children, who grew up in Mt. Lebanon. He started sweeping the floor at Phillips’ Cleaners in Mount Washington, a shop frequented by local politicians and broadcasters. The owner taught him how to press clothes, and he continued working at the cleaners and at Westinghouse for many years. He was eventually promoted to engineer at Westinghouse, and at one point was involved in developing a small-scale nuclear reactor to be used for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration mission to Mars, which never occurred.
Space Power
Scientists ponder the question, “What advances in power technology are required to send human and robotic explorers throughout the solar system?” Human missions beyond Earth’s neighborhood will require power not only for onboard systems, but also for propulsion and for systems to support humans when they arrive wherever they’re going. “To pursue ambitious human missions across the solar system, perhaps returning to the Moon, perhaps going on to Mars, will require hundreds to a thousand kilowatts on the surface and hundreds to thousands of kilowatts for transportation systems,” says John Mankins, chief technologist for the Advance Systems Program at NASA headquarters. You can’t just plug into the nearest electrical outlet, he added. You have to bring your own power source. Ideally, you’d like to find something that could provide power for both propulsion and operations.
Fabricating the future The Christian Science Monitor
Smart fabrics that play music, sniff out chemicals, and send data about your location and well-being are slowly weaving their way into daily life. Dr. Maggie Orth’s new technology is part of an emerging wave: weaving all sorts of intelligence into textiles, including the ability to detect dangerous chemicals, sanitize themselves, and serve as communication networks. Applications run the gamut, from health and sporting goods to sophisticated combat uniforms. It’s a field
CanaDrill could go to Mars Calgary Herald
First the Canadarm, now the CanaDrill. Canada’s newest role in space is taking shape in Sudbury, where a bunch of mining experts began asking: “Since Canadians are so good at drilling for gold and nickel, why not go and drill on Mars?” This is a serious proposal, worth $625,000 so far to the Canadian Space Agency. The CanaDrill is conceived as a robotic drill, battery powered and diamond tipped, that would fly to Mars on an unmanned NASA lander similar to the wildly successful Mars Pathfinder of 1997.