We are a curious species with amazing capacities to imagine and dream. We wonder about what we cannot see, are fascinated by what we do not know and are driven to explore. In keeping with our continuous quest for knowledge, President George W. Bush announced a new plan for NASA in Jan. 2004. A renewed focus on space exploration, he explained, would strengthen our leadership in the world, improve our economy and enhance the quality of our lives. The Vision for Space Exploration calls for human and robotic missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. To realize these ambitious goals, we will need more powerful and efficient propulsion and power-generation systems — systems that can thrust a spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit to the far reaches of the Universe.
NASA’s Rovers Continue Martian Missions
NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity is trying to escape from a sand trap, while its twin, Spirit, has been busy finding new clues to a wet and violent early Martian history. “Spirit has finally found the kind of geology you can really sink your teeth into,” said Dr. Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. He is principal investigator for the Mars rovers’ science instruments. According to Squyres, multiple layers of rock in the hills Spirit is exploring suggest successive deposits of water-altered explosive debris.
Building a Human Outpost on Mars Offers Challenges
Human missions to Mars will be much more difficult than missions to the moon. Round trip human missions to Mars will require about two years to complete, compared with the eight-day Apollo missions to the moon. Because humans will likely stay on Mars for much longer than they did on the moon, the development of the infrastructure required for a scientific outpost that can sustain humans for long periods of time is critical. Robert L. Ash, professor of aerospace engineering at Old Dominion University (ODU), will speak on “Challenges of Building a Human Outpost on Mars” at a colloquium at 2 p.m., Thursday, May 5, at NASA Langley’s H.J.E. Reid Conference Center.
Beam Me to Mars
“Are we there yet?” Everyone has faced this exasperating question from impatient companions on a long road trip. Imagine if the trip lasted six months. One way. It takes conventional rockets about six months just to get to Mars. Total roundtrip times can be as long as three years, because an extended stay on the Red Planet is required while the Earth and Mars progress in their orbits enough to be closely aligned again for the return trip. But an exciting NASA-funded research project could send astronauts racing to Mars up to six times faster. The solution — proposed by Dr. Robert Winglee of the University of Washington — sounds like science fiction. A spacecraft rides a beam of plasma, which is electrified and magnetized gas, all the way to Mars and back. The roundtrip journey could be wrapped up in about 90 days using Winglee’s Magnetized Beam Plasma Propulsion system, dubbed Magbeam.
Movie Clip Shows Whirlwinds Carrying Dust on Mars
NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is taking movies of dust devils — whirlwinds carrying dust — scooting across a plain on Mars. “This is the best look we’ve ever gotten of the wind effects on the martian surface as they are happening,” said Dr. Mark Lemmon, a rover team member and atmospheric scientist at Texas A&M University, College Station.
The Sands of Mars
Imagine this scenario. The year is 2030 or thereabouts. After voyaging six months from Earth, you and several other astronauts are the first humans on Mars. You’re standing on an alien world, dusty red dirt beneath your feet, looking around at a bunch of mining equipment deposited by previous robotic landers. Echoing in your ears are the final words from mission control: “Your mission, should you care to accept it, is to return to Earth–if possible using fuel and oxygen you mine from the sands of Mars. Good luck!”
Flying a Science Lab to Mars
How do you follow a flat-out success like the Mars Exploration Rovers, still cruising Mars after all these months? By thinking “bigger and better.” The Mars Science Laboratory, currently scheduled for launch in 2009, will land a rover three times as massive as Spirit or Opportunity and with ten scientific instruments, among them some never before flown in space. MSL will assess the habitat potential of its landing site, providing a bridge between MER and later direct searches for life on Mars.
NASA Testing Human-Robot Interactions in Utah Desert
Two NASA robots and two geologists are now simulating an expedition to another planet during a field test expected to continue until April 15 in Utah’s Southeast Desert, near Hanksville. During the ongoing ‘Mobile Agents Project,’ NASA engineers are working to improve human-robot interactions to help NASA accomplish its Vision for Space Exploration to return to the moon and venture to Mars. The wheeled robots are attempting to help the astronaut team to maintain connection with a wireless computer network. Scientists and engineers from NASA Ames and NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, are taking part in the test. Prototype ‘Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Robotic Assistants,’ developed at NASA Johnson, will follow geologists and respond to voice commands at the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station.
Press Briefing To Be Held April 19 for Prometheus Nuclear Program
A Notice of Intent (NOI) for NASA’s Prometheus Nuclear Systems and Technology program was released March 30 for public comment that ends May 31, 2005. A press briefing will be held at 10 a.m. EDT on April 19 at the NASA-KSC News Center to acquaint the media with the Prometheus program. NASA, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), intends to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) regarding research and development activities associated with space nuclear reactors for electric power production on a robotic spacecraft for potential future civilian NASA missions.
Durable Mars Rovers Sent Into Third Overtime Period
NASA has approved up to 18 more months of operations for Spirit and Opportunity, the twin Mars rovers that have already surprised engineers and scientists by continuing active exploration for more than 14 months. “The rovers have proven their value with major discoveries about ancient watery environments on Mars that might have harbored life,” said Dr. Ghassem Asrar, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “We are extending their mission through September 2006 to take advantage of having such capable resources still healthy and in an excellent position to continue their adventures.”