Would Columbus have reached the New World if his ships could not carry enough water for their crews? Would Lewis and Clark have made it to the Pacific if they had no fresh water along the way? The answer is probably no, because water is just as precious to explorers as it is to everyone on Earth. Water is one of the most crucial provisions astronauts need to live and work in space, whether orbiting Earth, working at a lunar base or traveling to Mars. That’s why NASA is following several different but complementary avenues at four agency centers to develop dependable ways of recycling water.
November 9th, 2004
Scientific Paper Submitted from Space Focuses on Ultrasound Tests
A scientific manuscript submitted by International Space Station (ISS) astronauts while in space was published today. The research findings show minimally trained operators using remote guidance can perform ultrasound in space. The results of the shoulder ultrasound exams done in space for the first time will advance the care of space travelers on long-duration missions and may find additional uses helping treat medical emergencies on Earth. The article is available today in the on-line version of Radiology and will appear in print in the February 2005 issue.
October 31st, 2004
NASA’s Mars Rovers Pass the 50,000-Picture Mark
A view of the sundial-like calibration target on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, with a bit of martian terrain in the background, is the 50,000th image from the twin rovers that have been exploring Mars since January. The images stock a treasury of scientific information on scales from microscopic detail to features on the horizon scores of kilometers or miles away, and even include glimpses of Mars’ moons, Earth and the Sun. They also provide an always-current understanding of the surrounding terrain for use by the team of rover wranglers planning each day’s activities on Mars.
October 29th, 2004
Methane: A Scientific Journey from Obscurity to Climate Super-Stardom
The first survey in 1971 on the possibility of inadvertent human modification of climate stated that “Methane has no direct effects on the climate or the biosphere [and] it is considered to be of no importance”. The gas did not even appear in the index of the major climatology book of the time (Lamb’s Climate Past, Present and Future). Yet in the 2001 IPCC report, large parts of multiple chapters are dedicated to examining the sources, sinks, chemistry, history and potential future of this humble molecule. New papers are published every month relating paleo-climate changes to methane variability and discussing the possibility of significantly reducing future anthropogenic climate change by aggressively managing methane emissions. New hypotheses such as the “clathrate gun hypothesis” place methane variability at the centre of the debate on rapid climate change. What has fueled the rapid rise of methane from an obscure trace gas to a major factor in past, present and future climate change? As is usual in science, it is the conflation of multiple lines of evidence, that only when taken together do the connections and possible feedbacks seem obvious.
October 21st, 2004
Mars Exploration Rover Mission Status
A problem that affects the steering on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has recurred after disappearing for nearly two weeks.
Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., are working to fully understand the intermittent problem and then implement operational work-arounds. Meanwhile, Spirit successfully steered and drove 3.67 meters (12 feet) on Oct. 17.
Rover engineers are also analyzing a positive development on Spirit’s twin, Opportunity: a sustained boost in power generation by Opportunity’s solar panels.
October 20th, 2004
Spirit investigating ancient rocks
Spirit had a productive week investigating the rock “Tetl.” On sol 277, Spirit attempted a drive to the next rock target, “Uchben,” which means “ancient” in the old Mayan language. Halfway into that drive, Spirit experienced a repeat problem in the steering motor control system that engineers first saw on sol 265. Engineers repeated diagnostic tests for the problem on sol 278. Those tests showed that the electronics relay in question is still functional, but appears to operate intermittently. Spirit is otherwise healthy and is in a safe location.
October 8th, 2004
NASA’s New Astronauts Meet The Press
Fresh from flight training and their first head-over-heels sample of weightlessness, NASA’s astronaut candidates are available to meet with the news media Thursday in Houston at 3 p.m. EDT. The class includes three educator astronauts, three military pilots, a Navy SEAL, an astrophysicist, two physicians, and an engineer. Also training with the 11-member astronaut candidate class are three Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronauts.
October 8th, 2004
Mars Rovers Probing Water History At Two Sites
NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity have been exploring Mars about three times as long as originally scheduled. The more they look, the more evidence of past liquid water on Mars these robots discover. Team members reported the new findings at a news briefing today. About six months ago, Opportunity established that its exploration area was wet a long time ago. The area was wet before it dried and eroded into a wide plain. The team’s new findings suggest some rocks may have gotten wet a second time, after an impact excavated a stadium-sized crater.
September 29th, 2004
Mars Drill to Seek Knowledge, Resources
The futuristic drilling rig under development at Johnson Space Center (JSC) is designed to be used on the Moon or on Mars. Its first target will be knowledge — geology and perhaps biology — of planetary bodies gathered from cores it will deliver. The resources it eventually will seek sound mundane, but will be vitally important. Water from beneath the surface of Mars is a possible example.
September 21st, 2004
Spirit’s Travels During its First 238 Martian Days
This map shows the complete traverse of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit through the rover’s 238th martian day, or sol (Sept. 3, 2004). This was shortly before the rover stopped driving for about two weeks while Mars was nearly behind the Sun from Earth’s perspective. The background image consists of frames from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. Inset images along the route are from Spirit’s navigation camera. From its landing site, Spirit drove up to the rim of “Bonneville” crater on the far left and to the north rim of “Missoula” crater. Then it commenced a long drive across the plains, deviating to avoid large hollows. Upon arrival at the base of the “Columbia Hills”, Spirit drove north for a short distance before beginning its ascent onto the “West Spur,” where it is currently located.