The surprising signal from Mars Odyssey is that oceans of ice lie in wait just under the surface of the Red Planet. Scientists have found Martian terrain that is hydrogen-rich, an indicator of water ice. The most abundant reservoirs of that near-surface water stretch from the planet’s poles to within about 50 degrees of the equator. The amount of hydrogen detected is huge. So much so that one brimming bucket of ice-rich polar soil, when heated, can yield more than half a bucket of water. That’s big news for Mars water reclamation experts. As a watering hole to sustain an expeditionary crew, Mars must now be approached with an eye on how to tap into the invaluable resource. Scientists and engineers have begun charting how this watery commodity can nourish the human drive to distant Mars.
German Mars Society Balloon Mission Moves Ahead
The Mars Society Germany, supported by numerous companies, universities and the German Space Agency DLR, is currently leading an effort to design, build and fly Germany’s first interplanetary mission; a super-pressure balloon born aerial reconnaissance survey of the planet Mars. The mission, known as Archimedes, will fill the current gap between orbital and surface missions, and combine long-range mobility of planetary dimensions with close up surface measurements and imaging.
‘Solar cloth’ offers moveable power
Textiles which incorporate solar cells could allow some travellers to dispense with batteries altogether, predict scientists. Researchers at the School of Textiles at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland say they may be able to produce fabrics carrying solar cells. These, they suggest, could be rolled up and carried to remote locations – perhaps to be used as a source of power for fireman or soldiers. However, the limited space available on clothing means that jackets which provide power for mobile phones and laptops may still be some way off.
Advanced Propulsion Comes Of Age
NASA is known worldwide for routinely putting people into Earth orbit. The agency is also revered as the only organization that has flung humans at escape velocity speeds to the Moon. However, NASA could also be known as an agency that’s going nowhere fast. Even NASA’s new chief, Sean O’Keefe, is keen about the need for speed. The agency is stuck in slow gear, he gripes, scooting about in spacecraft today at velocities not much greater than when John Glenn first sped into Earth orbit over 40 years ago. To help put some “momentum” into NASA, the agency is pushing forward on a nuclear propulsion and power initiative.
Nuclear Reactor’s Neutron Beams Reveals Hidden Life of Rocks University of California Davis
Geologists at the University of California, Davis, are using neutron beams from a nuclear reactor to see inside rocks. The method could be used to look for traces of life in rocks from Mars or very ancient rocks from the Earth. “Normally, we’d make a three-dimensional image by cutting the rock in slices. With this method, we can do it without destroying the rock,” said UC Davis geology professor Charles Lesher. Researcher Martin Wilding, geology assistant professor Dawn Sumner and Lesher have already used the method, called neutron tomography, to find bacteria living inside rocks collected in the Mars-like environment of Antarctica’s dry valleys and Israel’s Negev desert. They’re also using it to study the structure of volcanic rocks and glasses, and of “black smoker” chimneys collected from the deep ocean floor. Neutron tomography could also be used for biology experiments, such as filming water movement inside plants, Wilding said. “We’re just scratching the surface of what we can do,” he said.
Going to Extremes: Parallels in Sea and Space Exploration
The extreme environments and otherworldly realms of sea and space may appear to have little in common, but their surprising similarities have prompted NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to host a gathering of sea and space professionals. The three-day working symposium, LINK 2002, is being held at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., May 20-22, and many of the conference events will be webcast. “Today, we study the Earth as a whole system. Oceanography on a global basis is made possible by being able to observe the ocean from space,” said Dr. Ghassem R. Asrar, NASA Associate Administrator for the Earth Science Enterprise. “The deep ocean and deep space are both extreme environments into which we send humans and machines. This conference provides an opportunity to put the two communities together to build relationships and learn from one another.”
Glassy-eyed Optimists or Material Geniuses? Automotive Design & Production
In the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Mr. Scott and Dr. McCoy trade the formula for “transparent aluminum” to a plastics maker for a large quantity of his material so they can save some whales
Mars Shuttle Possible in 2018?
Though it will likely be decades before a human sets foot on the Martian surface, former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and scientists at Purdue University already are working on a shuttle they hope will one day take people from Earth to the Red Planet and back. The interstellar bus line would involve two massive spacecraft that could house up to 50 people on their six-month shuttles between the two planets. The craft would continuously cycle between Earth and Mars using gravity as their primary power source, with an occasional shot from a booster rocket. “If we’re going to go to Mars with human beings, we need to do it in an evolutionary way, so that we can continue doing it,” said Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon.
Guinness Records Names JPL’s Aerogel World’s Lightest Solid
A new version of aerogel, the particle-collecting substance on NASA’s Stardust spacecraft, has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the solid with the lowest density. Dr. Steven Jones of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a materials scientist who created the aerogel used by Stardust, also created a lighter version that weighs only 3 milligrams per cubic centimeter (.00011 pounds per cubic inch.) The team received the official certificate yesterday. NASA used aerogel for thermal insulation on the Mars Pathfinder mission. It will also be used on the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover, and may aid a proposed fundamental-physics testing mission and the Mars Scout Program.
Microwaves Could Lead To Energy-Saving Chemical Technologies
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have recently published computer simulations predicting that heating chemicals with microwaves can lead to new, environmentally-friendly technologies. These involve separations of mixtures absorbed in sponge-like solids, by heating only one component in the mixture with microwaves, thus forcing that component to leave the sponge. Such processes can lead to energy savings because the method avoids heating the entire system.