Posted on by Ian O'Neill

The Politics of Space: Obama Wants to Increase NASA Funding

Obama wants NASA to plug the 5-year gap between the Shuttle and Constellation (NASA/AP)

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Over the weekend, Democratic senator Barack Obama made a public statement during his presidential campaign trail in Titusville, Florida. Whilst responding to a question about oceanic research, Obama elaborated on his plans for the future of NASA. Previously, there have been hints that a possible Obama Presidency would see a reduction in space funding in favour of a boost in education spending. However, Saturday’s statement was followed by some detailed text on Obama’s campaign blog outlining his priorities for the US dominance in space, the possibility of extending the Shuttle’s operations and speeding up development of the Constellation program…

Many will argue that NASA is operating on a shoestring budget as it is under the current Republican US government, so when reports circulated that the Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama wasn’t prioritising NASA spending, many became concerned about the bleak future for the space program should Obama be voted in. Republican candidate John McCain has always said that if he is voted in that NASA funding would continue to be a priority.

However, in the most detailed statement yet about his vision for the future of NASA, Obama has stated, “we have an administration that has set ambitious goals for NASA without giving NASA the support it needs to reach them.” This sentiment will be shared by many, not least by NASA officials, who have become very worried about the US position in space. Dr. Michael Griffin, NASA’s Director, is fully aware of the international competition the US space agency is facing. In a recent interview with the BBC, Griffin was realistic about China beating the US back to the Moon. “Certainly it is possible that if China wants to put people on the Moon, and if it wishes to do so before the United States, it certainly can. As a matter of technical capability, it absolutely can.” he said.

Ultimately, NASA is overstretched and under-funded, but will Obama’s promises be followed through after the election campaign trail? Regardless, Obama has some big policy plans indicating his increased interest in space exploration. Firstly, he is highly critical of the current funding situation and voices his concern about the Shuttle-Constellation “5-year gap”:

“And we have to do more than provide short-term relief. We have to secure our long-term prosperity and strengthen America’s competitiveness in the 21st century. One of the areas where we are in danger of losing our competitive edge is our space program. When I was growing up, NASA inspired the world with achievements we are still proud of. Today, we have an administration that has set ambitious goals for NASA without giving NASA the support it needs to reach them. As a result, they’ve had to cut back on research, and trim their programs, which means that after the Space Shuttle shuts down in 2010, we’re going to have to rely on Russian spacecraft to keep us in orbit.”

These points are shared by others. U.S. Senator Bill Nelson recently headed a rally at Cape Canaveral in response to the announced Shuttle retirement job losses, voicing his opinion that once the Shuttle is shelved, NASA will rely on Russia for human space flight. This would have the effect of losing skilled spacecraft engineers in the US, only to provide jobs in Russia. Obama confronts this concern and highlights Nelson’s aims for the future of Cape Canaveral employees:

“We cannot cede our leadership in space. That’s why I will help close the gap and ensure that our space program doesn’t suffer when the Shuttle goes out of service by working with Senator Bill Nelson to add at least one additional Space Shuttle flight beyond 2010; by supporting continued funding for NASA; by speeding the development of the Shuttle’s successor; and by making sure that all those who work in the space industry in Florida do not lose their jobs when the Shuttle is retired – because we cannot afford to lose their expertise.”

Wrapping up his online statement, Obama appears to be devoted to future manned missions to the “Moon, Mars and beyond,” with increased spending toward robotic missions. He also links strong space technology development with improvements in the US economy and world inspiration:

“More broadly, we need a real vision for space exploration. To help formulate this vision, I’ll reestablish the National Aeronautics and Space Council so that we can develop a plan to explore the solar system – a plan that involves both human and robotic missions, and enlists both international partners and the private sector. And as America leads the world to long-term exploration of the moon, Mars, and beyond, let’s also tap NASA’s ingenuity to build the airplanes of tomorrow and to study our own planet so we can combat global climate change. Under my watch, NASA will inspire the world, make America stronger, and help grow the economy here in Florida.” – US Sen. Barack Obama

Whilst many may be suspicious of any Presidential candidate’s visions before they are voted in, it is a relief to know Obama has the drive to increase NASA spending and understands that this will have far-reaching benefits for the US and the world.

Aside: Is it me or are the anti-Obama “Paid for by John McCain 2008” ads on every website these days? Perhaps Obama needs to do some “space advocacy” ads to focus on some of the positive aspects of his campaign…

Source: Obama ’08

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Perchlorate on Mars Could be Potential Energy Source for Life; Phoenix Team Fires Back at Allegations

The trench known as Snow White on Sol 43 (NASA/JPL/UA)

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It’s been a busy few days for the Phoenix Mars lander rumour-mill. On Friday, an article was published in Aviation Week reporting an undisclosed source from the NASA team analysing results from the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) had come forward saying Phoenix scientists were in communication with the White House. Apparently there had been new, “provocative” results to come from the MECA, possibly a bigger discovery than last Thursday’s announcement about the scientific proof of water in the Martian regolith. Naturally, the blogosphere went crazy in response to this news. Yesterday, the Phoenix team issued a press release focussing on conflicting results from the MECA and Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) instruments. A MECA sample was found to contain a toxic substance known as perchlorate, usually an oxidizing by-product from industrial processes here on Earth. However, a recently analysed sample from the TEGA turned up no supporting evidence for perchlorate. The study is ongoing. Today, the Phoenix team organized a press conference to discuss a more positive view on the possible discovery of perchlorate, and fired back at recent allegations that science was being withheld from the public…

The Phoenix mission has had an outstanding record of transparency and communicating its science into the public domain. So, one can understand the frustration mission scientists felt when “outrageous” stories (according to Peter Smith, Phoenix principal investigator) were circulated by Aviation Week alleging secrecy about Phoenix findings, strongly indicating that something huge had been discovered and the White House had to be notified. “We want to set the record straight…we’re not with-holding anything” NASA spokesman Dwayne Brown declared at the special press briefing today. The Phoenix team went on to say that the sketchy details in the Aviation Week article led to the huge amount of “speculation” that was thrown around in follow-up stories.

Indeed, there was a significant finding in the works, but the scientists needed more time to analyse the results before issuing a press release on finding perchlorate in the MECA sample. Although the Aviation Week article did specifically say Phoenix was not capable of discovering life, it didn’t stop a number of reports indicating that life had been discovered on the Red Planet (hence the need to communicate the discovery with the President’s Science Advisor first). These speculative claims reached fever-pitch, prompting Phoenix’s Twitter feed to state “Heard about the recent news reports implying I may have found Martian life. Those reports are incorrect.” The speed at which these rumours spread was startling and probably took NASA completely off-guard. This is probably why the perchlorate discovery was announced before a complete and rigorous study could be carried out.

So is perchlorate the death-nail for the possibility of finding suitable conditions for life to be seeded? According to Phoenix scientists, oxidizing chemicals are not always ‘bad news’ for life. “It does not preclude life on Mars. In fact it is a potential energy source,” said William Boynton of the University of Arizona. Indeed, perchlorates have been found in Chile’s highly arid Atacama Desert, a location often used as an analogue for the Martian landscape. Organics in nitrate deposits associated with perchlorates have been found in these harsh conditions, possibly indicating life may form in similar circumstances on Mars.

Although the Phoenix scientists are fairly upbeat about this new finding, other scientists not associated with the mission are cautious. At first glance, perchlorate “is a reactive compound. It’s not usually considered an ingredient for life,” said Brown University geologist John Mustard. Regardless, we will have to wait until all the results are in, especially from the follow-up TEGA sample. Jumping to conclusions are obviously not very helpful to the Phoenix team currently trying to decipher what they are seeing from experiments being carried out by a robot, 400 million miles away.

Sources: Space.com, Phoenix, Space News Examiner

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Live Now on Paranormal Radio: “The Lucifer Project”

Paranormal Radio banner

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In response to the recent articles on the Universe Today detailing the “Lucifer Project” doomsday scenario, I’ve been invited back as a guest on Paranormal Radio with Captain Jack. The twist is, that the show is starting now (6pm PST, 9pm EST)! Apologies for the late announcement.

The articles:

Listen live to Paranormal Radio. I’ll update this post with the recording of the show when it becomes available…

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Elon Musk: “I Will Never Give Up” After Falcon 1 Loss

Falcon 1 Launch attempt in 2007 (SpaceX)

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In a defiant message to his employees after Saturday’s Falcon 1 loss, Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) said, “I will never give up and I mean never.” This statement, along with some positive details about what went right with the launch of the 47 tonne rocket, he outlined his plans for the future direction of the corporation. Interestingly, he also overviewed what went wrong with Flight 3 as it ascended through the atmosphere. According to Musk, the first Merlin 1C rocket stage performed perfectly, but the problem occurred during stage separation, causing the first and second stages to be held together for too long. An inquiry is under way…

Watching the live video feed from the Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific a few hours ago was a frustrating experience. As reported by another reader of the Universe Today, the feed was low quality and pretty choppy, especially during the T-10 second countdown. But I was very excited all the same to see the Falcon 1 Merlin 1C engine light up (for two frames), blast out a puff of exhaust… only for it to stop and abort. This was at 8pm PST. According to Max Vozoff, SpaceX mission manager, some parameter was 1% out of “normal” operating limits so the Falcon 1 rocket shut down. Quickly, engineers were on the scene evaluating what had gone wrong. In an amazingly quick turn around, Vozoff had announced the ground crews were good to go and a new countdown would commence.

Within the hour, we were back to T-10 seconds and the Merlin engine blasted to life once more, this time with a lot more conviction. Before the female voice at mission control could say “two, one,” Falcon 1 had blasted off and powered away from the launchpad. It was an awesome sight (even if the video had become more choppy than before, probably due to online demand). The delight at mission control could be heard and the atmosphere was alight with enthusiasm.

But during the flight, 35 km off the ground and 140 seconds later, the video stream was suddenly cut. According to some viewers there was some anomalous rotation oscillations. Soon, we were back at mission control looking at the concerned faces of Max Vozoff and Emily Shanklin. Vozoff was listening to instructions from the flight controllers and eventually composed himself to say the following statement:

“We are hearing from the launch control center that there has been an anomaly on the vehicle. We don’t have any information about what that anomaly is at this time. We will, of course, be doing an assessment of the situation and providing information as soon as it becomes available.” – Max Vozoff.

The anomaly, according to Musk, was with the stage separation not occurring when it should. The Merlin 1C engine in the first stage (which was completely designed from scratch by SpaceX) performed “picture perfect,” but the second stage rocket wasn’t able to prove itself as the launch had to be aborted. At this time, I am uncertain whether Falcon 1 was remotely destroyed or whether it was allowed to plunge into the ocean (although the latter option seems unlikely). We’ll know at a later date as to the details of this anomaly.

For now, our thoughts go out to the SpaceX scientists and engineers who have exhaustively put all their efforts into this third flight of the rocket (the previous two test flights also failed to varying degrees). For now, I’ll leave you with the full text of Elon Musk’s statement to his employees:

The full text of Saturday’s statement:

Plan Going Forward

It was obviously a big disappointment not to reach orbit on this flight [Falcon 1, Flight 3]. On the plus side, the flight of our first stage, with the new Merlin 1C engine that will be used in Falcon 9, was picture perfect. Unfortunately, a problem occurred with stage separation, causing the stages to be held together. This is under investigation and I will send out a note as soon as we understand exactly what happened.

The most important message I’d like to send right now is that SpaceX will not skip a beat in execution going forward. We have flight four of Falcon 1 almost ready for flight and flight five right behind that. I have also given the go ahead to begin fabrication of flight six. Falcon 9 development will also continue unabated, taking into account the lessons learned with Falcon 1. We have made great progress this past week with the successful nine engine firing.

As a precautionary measure to guard against the possibility of flight 3 not reaching orbit, SpaceX recently accepted a significant investment. Combined with our existing cash reserves, that ensures we will have more than sufficient funding on hand to continue launching Falcon 1 and develop Falcon 9 and Dragon. There should be absolutely zero question that SpaceX will prevail in reaching orbit and demonstrating reliable space transport. For my part, I will never give up and I mean never.

Thanks for your hard work and now on to flight four.

–Elon–

Source: SpaceX

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

SpaceX Surprise Launch of Falcon 1, Suffers “Anomaly” at an Altitude of 35 km, Rocket and Payload Assumed Lost

The SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket is being prepped for launch (SpaceX)

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It was announced that the private space company, SpaceX, had set today as their launch window for their Falcon 1 rocket system to orbit the Earth. The press release reads:

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has scheduled the launch of the Falcon 1 Flight 3 mission for Saturday, August 2nd. The launch window will open at 4:00 p.m. (PDT) / 7:00 p.m. (EDT) and remain open for five hours. If launch is delayed for any reason, SpaceX has range availability to resume countdown through August 5.

Lift-off of the vehicle will occur from SpaceX’s Falcon 1 launch site at the Kwajalein Atoll, about 2500 miles southwest of Hawaii. Falcon 1 launch facilities are situated on Omelek Island, part of the Reagan Test Site (RTS) at United States Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) in the Central Pacific.

Update: Approximately 140 seconds into the flight, Falcon 1 suffered an undisclosed anomaly. The vehicle had just switched to inertial guidance mode. At the last check, it was travelling at a velocity of 1050 m/s at an altitude of 35 km. It is assumed Falcon 1 is lost. Webcast has now been closed.


The Falcon 1 rocket system
The California-based space systems company was founded by Elon Musk in 2002 to provide a commercial alternative to launching payloads into space. SpaceX is currently carrying out a series of test flights of their Falcon 1 rocket, which is a two-stage, liquid oxygen and kerosene fuelled launch vehicle. Falcon 1 has already undergone two test flights, one in March 2006 and the second was in March 2007. The first launch failed only 29 seconds into the flight after the main engine failed, causing the loss of the rocket. The 2007 launch had more success and reached a velocity of 11,000 miles/hour, but unfortunately did not attain orbital velocity. It lost control at around 300 miles altitude and was lost. Today marks the third test flight, and hopes are high that lessons have been learnt and Falcon 1 will be successfully inserted into a stable low Earth orbit.

The Falcon 1 first stage is powered by a single Merlin 1C Regenerative engine that SpaceX developed. This is the first time the Merlin 1C will be used. The second stage is powered by a single Kestrel engine (again, developed by the company).

If successful, this third test flight will be celebrated as the first new orbital rocket to be developed and launched for over ten years; it will also be the first new US hydrocarbon engine for an orbital booster to be flown in 40 years and only the second US engine of any kind in more than a quarter of a century. What makes this historic endeavour even more impressive, is that once Falcon 1 reaches orbit (hopefully within today’s launch window), SpaceX will be the world’s first private company to develop an operational liquid fuel rocket to orbit the Earth

UPDATE (8:43pm): The webcast presenters announced an “anomaly” during Falcon 1’s ascent. We await news about this event, but it is assumed Falcon 1 is lost.

More information from today’s press release: SpaceX

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

The White House is Briefed: Phoenix About to Announce “Potential For Life” on Mars

The surface zones where samples have been excavated by Phoenix (NASA)

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It would appear that the US President has been briefed by Phoenix scientists about the discovery of something more “provocative” than the discovery of water existing on the Martian surface. This news comes just as the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) confirmed experimental evidence for the existence of water in the Mars regolith on Thursday. Whilst NASA scientists are not claiming that life once existed on the Red Planet’s surface, new data appears to indicate the “potential for life” more conclusively than the TEGA water results. Apparently these new results are being kept under wraps until further, more detailed analysis can be carried out, but we are assured that this announcement will be huge…

So why is there all this secrecy? According to scientists in communication with Aviation Week & Space Technology, the next big discovery will need to be mulled over for a while before it is announced to the world. In fact, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory science team for the MECA wet-chemistry instrument that made these undisclosed findings were kept out of the July 31st news conference (confirming water) so additional analysis could be carried out, avoiding any questions that may have revealed their preliminary results. They have also made the decision to discuss the results with the Bush Administration’s Presidential Science Advisor’s office before a press conference between mid-August and early September.

Although good news, Thursday’s announcement of the discovery of water on Mars comes as no surprise to mission scientists and some are amused by the media’s reaction to the TEGA results. “They have discovered water on Mars for the third or fourth time,” one senior Mars scientist joked. These new MECA results are, according to the Phoenix team, a little more complex than the water “discovery.” Scientists are keen to point out however, that this secretive news will in no way indicate the existence of life (past or present) on Mars; Phoenix simply is not equipped make this discovery. What it can do is test the Mars soil for compounds suitable to support life. The MECA instrument does have microscopes capable of resolving bacterial-scale life forms however, but this is not the focus of the forthcoming announcement, sources say.

This new MECA discovery, combined with TEGA data will probably expose something more compelling, completing another piece of the puzzle in the search for the correct conditions for life as we know it to survive on Mars. Critical to this search is to understand how the recently confirmed water and Mars regolith behave together under the Phoenix lander in the cold Martian arctic.

The MECA instrument had already made the landmark discovery that Mars “soil” was much like the soil more familiar on Earth. This finding prompted scientists to indicate that the minerals and pH levels in the regolith could support some terrestrial plants, indicating this would be useful for future Mars settlers.

What with the discovery of water, and the discovery that Mars soil is very much like the stuff we find on Earth, it is hard to guess as to what the MECA’s second soil test has discovered. What ever it is, it sounds pretty significant, especially as NASA and the University of Arizona are taking extraordinary steps to avoid any more details being leaked to the outside world. I just hope were not getting excited over something benign…

So what will this compelling discovery be? Leave your guess below…

Source: Aviation Week

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Lunar Missions Postponed by US Military X-37B Spaceplane Launch

Artist impression of the Boeing X-37B (USAF)

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It looks like a US Air Force robotic orbiter will push back the planned launch date of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). The double satellite launch, originally set for November this year, will now take place sometime early 2009. They will make way for the test flight of the orbital Boeing X-37B spaceplane, commandeering the Atlas V rocket flight originally intended for NASA. According to the Air Force, the November X-37B test flight will be a study into “risk reduction, experimentation, and operational concept development for reusable space vehicle technologies.” (There might also be some urgency due to the Shuttle decommissioning in 2010…)

The X-40 undergoing a test flight in 1998 (NASA)
The X-40 undergoing a test flight in 1998 (NASA)

The X-37B’s predecessors have undergone exhaustive testing. Based at Edwards Air Force Base, California, the US military has been testing automated spaceplanes for many years. NASA has also been heavily involved in the program. Originally tasked with developing a Space Manoeuvre Vehicle (SMV) that could either be launched by the Shuttle or by rocket, the US Air Force wanted an automated orbital vehicle that could carry out a multitude of tasks in space for up to a year. The X-40 design evolved and by 1998, the vehicle was being dropped from helicopters and allowed to land like a conventional aircraft (automatically). The X-40 military program was then passed to NASA to use as the basis of the X-37 program. After a long period of development, the X-37A was used in conjunction with Scaled Composites WhiteKnightOne (pictured below).

The X-37A carried by WhiteKnightOne in 2005 (Alan Radecki)
The X-37A carried by WhiteKnightOne in 2005 (Alan Radecki)

Now the brand new Boeing X-37B is ready to be launched to begin its first automated orbital operations, re-enter and land conventionally. The Atlas V rocket will blast off from Cape Canaveral and the X-37B will hopefully land on schedule at Edwards Air Force Base. The X-37B is 27 ft (8 m) long with a 15 ft (4.5 m) wingspan and resembles a blindfolded mini-Shuttle (it really does! See the picture at the top of the article).

Although there will be a lot of anticipation for the X-37B test flight, it is a shame for the lunar mission scientists who are currently preparing the LRO and LCROSS for their trip to the Moon. The LRO’s objective is to orbit the Moon, analysing the surface to aid future manned missions. LCROSS has something a little more spectacular planned; it will create two impact plumes during it’s kamikaze mission in aid of detecting present water in the lunar rock.

Sources: Gizmodo, Aviation Week, Design Systems

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

John Glenn Speaks Out Against Future Moon Base

Moonbase rover concept - could be used for long-term missions (NASA)

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NASA’s first man to orbit the Earth, John Glenn has said a plan to set up a Moon base to facilitate the manned exploration of interplanetary space is a very bad idea. Under the current US government direction, NASA hopes to (eventually) establish the manned outpost for future launches to Mars and beyond, thus avoiding the huge gravity well of the Earth. But Glenn has cited the plan as “questionable,” pointing out that to pack the huge amount of equipment on board the future Ares V rocket will be “enormously expensive.” So what’s the alternative? Build a vehicle in Earth orbit and accelerate it to the Red Planet…

Legendary astronaut and former senator John Glenn isn’t one to keep his opinions to himself, especially when the future of the US space agency is on the line. Back in May, Glenn sent a strong message to Washington: Extend the life of the Shuttle and re-commit to long-term investment in the International Space Station (after all, extending the Shuttle’s lifetime is a bit better than some of the alternatives). His warnings come at a time when there is increased concern about NASA’s “five-year gap” in its ability to ferry astronauts into space from Shuttle decommissioning in 2010 and first scheduled Orion module/Ares rocket launch in 2015. Glenn is not the only ex-astronaut speaking out about NASA’s future. Buzz Aldrin, second man on the Moon and Apollo 11 lunar module pilot, also came forward in June with his worries that NASA will be overtaken by the space efforts of the international community.

So why is John Glenn against the establishment of a lunar base? He was addressing US President George Bush’s vision to set up a Moon base so it can be prepared as a launch pad to further explore space. “It seems to me the moon is questionable as a way station [to Mars],” Glenn said when addressing a congressional committee on July 30th. The hearing was held for a House Science and Technology Committee, in light of NASA’s 50 years of operation and future direction of the agency. “If that’s what we’re doing – which I don’t believe it is – but if that’s what we’re thinking about doing, that is enormously expensive,” he continued. From a financial standpoint, such a lunar outpost will be prohibitively expensive as thousands of tonnes of equipment will need to be launched to the Earth’s only natural satellite.

The alternative would be to build a large space vehicle in Earth orbit and then accelerate it toward Mars, bypassing the need for a lunar outpost. “That to me would be the cheapest way to go,” he added.

Source: Aviation Week

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Electrical Activity on Titan Confirmed: The Spark for Life?

False colour image of Titan's atmosphere. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute/ESA

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Titan not only has an atmosphere it has hydrocarbon lakes, oceans, sand dunes and now research has just been published proving Saturn’s moon is sparkling with electrical activity. Scientists are in general agreement that organic molecules, the precursors to life on Earth, are a consequence of lightning in the atmosphere. Now, using data from the Huygens probe that descended through Titan’s atmosphere in 2005 and continued transmitting for 90 minutes after touchdown, Spanish scientists have “unequivocally” proven that Titan has electrical storms too. The presence of electrical activity in the atmosphere is causing much excitement as this could mean that organic compounds may be found in abundance on the Titan surface.

The fruits from the Cassini-Huygens mission are coming thick and fast. Only yesterday, Nancy reviewed the discovery of liquid hydrocarbon lakes by Cassini’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). Although possible lakes have been theorized, it is only now that there is observational proof of the existence of such features. Now, three years after the Huygens probe dropped through Titan’s atmosphere, scientists have made another crucial discovery: Titan experiences electrical activity in its atmosphere. Now Titan has all the necessary components for life; it has an atmosphere with electrical activity, increasing the opportunity for prebiotic organic compounds to form, thus increasing the possibility for life to evolve.

According to Juan Antonio Morente from the University of Granada, Titan is already considered a “unique world in the solar system” since the early 20th Century when Spanish astronomer José Comas y Solá made the discovery that the Saturn moon had an atmosphere. This is what makes Titan special, it has a thick atmosphere, something that is not observed on any other natural satellite in the Solar System.

“On this moon clouds with convective movements are formed and, therefore, static electrical fields and stormy conditions can be produced. This also considerably increases the possibility of organic and prebiotic molecules being formed, according to the theory of the Russian biochemist Alexander I. Oparín and the experiment of Stanley L. Miller [who managed to synthesise organic compounds from inorganic compounds through electrical discharges] That is why Titan has been one of the main objectives of the Cassini-Huygens joint mission of NASA and the European Space Agency” – Juan Antonio Morente.

Morente and his team analysed data from Huygens’ Mutual Impedance Probe (MIP) that measured the atmospheric electrical field. The MIP instrument was primarily used to measure the atmosphere’s electrical conductivity but it also acted as a dipolar antenna, detecting the natural electric field. The MIP was therefore able to detect a set of spectral peaks of extremely low frequency (ELF) radio signals (known as “Schumann resonances”). These ELF peaks are formed between the moon’s ionosphere and a huge resonant cavity in which electromagnetic fields are confined.

The detection of these signals have led the Spanish researchers to state that it is “irrefutable” evidence of electrical activity on Titan, not dissimilar to static charge that builds up in the terrestrial atmosphere, leading to electrical storms.

Source: Scientific Blogging

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Social Networking Site Bebo Wants to Contact Aliens

Hypergravity
Red dwarf Gliese 581 and the Earth-like planet Bebo is hoping to contact. Credit: AFP

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Social networking sites are the backbone of “Web 2.0” and now one of the most popular sites, Bebo (popular with a younger demographic), hopes to reach out to extraterrestrial civilizations. Why? Well, the power of social networking sites like Bebo, Facebook and MySpace is that you can keep in touch with friends, make new friends and electronically hang out with people with similar interests. So Bebo will invite its users, celebrities and politicians to post messages that “consider the planet from a fresh perspective” and raise awareness of environmental pressures on Earth. In this day and age of democratically selecting news on the Internet (much like another Web 2.0 phenomenon, social bookmarking; like Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit etc.), rather than letting mainstream media select “what news is important,” Bebo users will vote the top 500 messages to be transmitted to a small red dwarf star, Gliese 581 in the hope of communicating what really matters to Bebo users. Plus they might extend the Bebo network to some new alien friends…

Transmitting messages to outer space is no new thing. Recently we’ve sent Beatles songs to Polaris and we’ve transmitted “Space Spam” to Ursa Major. But through the power of social networking, Bebo is sending the best 500 messages to a star with an orbiting planet, a possible candidate where life (or indeed an advanced civilization) may have evolved. The planet called Gliese 581c is classified as a “super-Earth” and it is located approximately 20 light years from us. The main point behind this effort isn’t necessarily to contact extraterrestrial civilizations however, it is to raise awareness about the concerns young people have for the environment.

“I understand that in the majority of cases these messages may be naïve, but I also hope that we will receive a creative and fresh look at the subject.” – Dr Alexander Zaitsev

To achieve this, Bebo has teamed up with Oli Madgett of RDF Digital, a subsidiary of RDF Media and will be using the expertise of one of the world’s experts in interstellar radio communication, Dr Alexander Zaitsev. Once the 500 messages have been selected, they will be sent to Gliese 581c via a Ukrainian radio telescope, normally used to identify and track near-Earth asteroids.

The voting will commence on Bebo from August 4th until September 30th and the 500 messages, acting like a digital time capsule (after all, the message will take 20 years to reach its destination), will be transmitted on October 9th.

The British production company will cover the £20,000 ($40,000) bill for the four and a half hour transmission from the National Space Agency in Ukraine.

Although sending radio transmissions to the outer reaches of space may seem like a long-shot when trying to communicate with extraterrestrials, this alternative approach will help to raise awareness for the concerns that young people have for the future of Earth, let alone an increase for interest space exploration. The intent is certainly a positive step toward giving the adults of tomorrow a voice and an opinion.

Source: Guardian