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Hello! My name is Ian O'Neill and I've been writing for the Universe Today since December 2007. I am a solar physics doctor, but my space interests are wide-ranging. Since becoming a science writer I have been drawn to the more extreme astrophysics concepts (like black hole dynamics), high energy physics (getting excited about the LHC!) and general space colonization efforts. I am also heavily involved with the Mars Homestead project (run by the Mars Foundation), an international organization to advance our settlement concepts on Mars. I also run my own space physics blog: Astroengine.com, be sure to check it out!
If, like me, you are a fan of first-person computer games and space exploration, you may be more than a little excited to hear about this news. A group of companies are currently working with NASA to create a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) based around the space agency’s endeavours. They will use a game engine more familiar driving first-person shooters than online roleplay adventures; the tried and tested Unreal Engine 3 technology.
The Internet has a growing number of vast space-based MMORPGs, but NASA is hoping to use one of the most advanced gaming engines to develop an engrossing first-person online adventure, where players can choose their own mission to explore space, interact with other players and build settlements on other worlds. All this will take place in a scientifically accurate vision of a near-future Universe in 2035…
“Players will pick a profession like a roboticist, space geologist, astrobiologist or mechanical engineer and work together as a team as they explore space and complete missions, establishing bases and outposts and traveling to the farthest reaches of the solar system,” explained Jerry Heneghan, founder and CEO of Virtual Heroes, one of the companies involved with developing the NASA MMORPG Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond. “The game will offer both individual challenges and team-based objectives to encourage players to use real-life applications of science, math and engineering to unlock new in-game vehicles, spacesuits, robotics and mining apparatus that will propel them further into space.”
MMORPGs are increasingly popular gaming platforms, where players can participate in seemingly boundless virtual universes. Popular examples of MMORPGs are World of Warcraft (which dominates with a monthly subscriber base of 11.5 million people), Second Life, EverQuest and space-based rollplayer games such as EVE Online and Star Trek Online.
Ever wanted to take a spin on the Moon?
Now NASA is hoping to create a very popular online gaming/educational experience that will not only entertain, but get young people interested in a career in science and engineering. What’s more, it is hoped the game will incorporate the Unreal Engine 3 Editor so that players can design their own content, from spaceships and stations to mission profiles. The developers will also include scenarios, such as the threat of near-Earth asteroid impacts and other reality-based events as the online community develops. This will provide a problem-solving/adventure element, while keeping the science grounded in science fact.
There are concerns that a NASA space reality platform may not be very popular, as other in-space universes offer space fantasy, with epic spaceship battles and alien encounters. Also, the technical detail in carrying out “mundane” astronaut tasks may be a turn-off; virtual universes depend on exploration rather than educational tasks. Hopefully NASA and MMORPG developers will strike a healthy balance between education and entertainment.
Exploring Mars with NASAs MMORPG
However, I’m very excited to see Astronaut appear online sometime next year.
The OCO launches on board a Taurus booster from Vandenberg Air Force Base (NASA TV)
[/caption]This morning (Tuesday), shortly after 2am PST (10am GMT), the launch of Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) mission resulted in failure. According to reports from NASA, a “launch contingency” was declared shortly after the Taurus rocket upper stage finished firing T+12 minutes, 30 seconds into the flight. The rocket nose cone fairing failed to separate as expected, therefore the satellite could not be released. Further news is pending, but it appears that the failed Taurus XL upper stage plus OCO satellite remains in orbit. The OCO mission is declared lost…
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) was launched by a Taurus XL rocket at 1:55:30 am PST from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, set for a polar orbit at an altitude of 438 miles (704 km) to begin an important and detailed study into the carbon dioxide content of our atmosphere. The satellite was designed to provide NASA with an insight to the sources of human and natural carbon emissions, as well as pin-pointing our planet’s carbon “sinks”. Unfortunately, the opportunity to gather valuable data with this about the global impact of carbon emissions with the advanced OCO mission has been lost.
At 2:16 am (PST), NASA launch commentator George Diller confirmed that a launch contingency had been implemented:
“This is Taurus launch control. It appears that we have had a launch contingency. We don’t have the exact nature of the loss of mission, but NASA launch director Chuck Dovale has directed that the launch contingency plan be implemented. We will try to bring you any additional information as soon as we have it.” — Chuck Dovale (courtesy of Spaceflight Now)
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (NASA)A few minutes later, Diller went into some more detail about the failure to get the OCO into orbit. The casing (or fairing) failed to separated successfully, trapping the satellite inside the Taurus XL upper stage. NASA scientists continued to ascertain what condition the spacecraft was in, but any hopes of a successful outcome to the contingency were dashed when Diller said, “Right now, we do know that we have not had a successful launch tonight and will not be able to have a successful OCO mission.”
A terribly sad night for NASA and a terrible set-back to efforts to understand the full impact of human activity on the Earth’s atmosphere.
Special thanks to @govertschilling and @Zurack for their help with notifying me of the situation and forwarding me links via Twitter.
Did the asteroid that hit the Earth, creating the Moon, originate from one of Earth's Lagrangian points? (ESA)
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Two solar telescopes launched to study coronal mass ejections and the solar wind have been sent to do an entirely different task. Currently, the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) probes are flying in opposite directions; one directly in front of Earth’s orbit and the other directly behind. This unique observatory is intended to view the solar-terrestrial environment in unprecedented detail, allowing us to see the Sun from two vantage points.
This might sound like an exciting mission; after all, how many space-based observatories have such a unique perspective on the Solar System from 1 AU? However, both STEREO probes are currently moving further away from the Earth (in opposite directions), approaching a gravitational no-man’s land. STEREO is about to enter the Earth-Sun Lagrangian points L4 and L5 to hunt for some sinister lumps of rock…
The Lagrangian points of a two-body system, such as the Earth and the Sun.Lagrangian points in planetary systems are islands of gravitational stability. They are volumes of space where the gravity of two massive bodies cancel out. The first two Lagrangian points in the Earth-Sun system are fairly obvious. The L1 point is located directly between the Earth and Sun, about 1.5 million km from the surface of the Earth, the point at which the gravitational pull of the Sun and Earth cancel each other out.
The L2 point is located at approximately the same distance, but on the opposite side of the Earth. In this case, the Earth is constantly eclipsing the Sun. The L3 point is on the opposite side of the Sun from the Earth, at approximately 1AU. Now this is where it starts to get a little strange. The L4 and L5 points are located 60° in front and 60° behind the Earth’s orbit. The 4th and 5th Lagrangian points are also the most gravitationally stable regions, primordial debris lurks, trapped in the Lagrangian prisons. Although the L1 point is often considered to be the most stable of the Lagrangian points (as it’s directly locked between the gravity of the Sun and Earth), even space observatories (such as SOHO and ACE) have to carry out complex orbits to remain in place. Otherwise the delicate balance will be lost and they will drop away from L1.
L4 and L5 are in fact the most stable locations, balanced by a complex cage of competing gravitational components from the Earth and the Sun. It is thought that these two regions have trapped lumps of rock and dust all the way through the evolution of the Solar System, making them a very interesting place to send a space mission. And the two solar probes of STEREO are currently racing toward L4 and L5, about to explore the gravitational dead zone, whether they like it or not.
It is a known fact that other planets in the Solar System possess these islands of gravitational calm, and asteroids have been observed sitting in stable locations in front and behind of Jupiter’s orbit for example (called “Trojans” and “Greeks”). Does Earth have a swarm of asteroids sitting in its L4 and L5 points? Scientists believe this is a certainty. However, no asteroids have ever been observed.
Although millions of kilometres across, L4 and L5 can only be observed at dawn and dusk. Any possibility of spotting a large asteroid diminishes rapidly as they are obscured by the Sun. So, the STEREO space telescopes are going to take the dive into L4 and L5 to see, first hand, what lies in wait.
Artist impression of the STEREO probes going their separate ways (NASA)Early on in the STEREO mission, scientists discussed the possibility of stopping the spacecraft inside the two islands of calm to provide an advanced warning of incoming charged particles from coronal mass ejections during solar maximum. However, slowing the craft down would have cost the mission too much fuel, so the decision was made to let the solar telescopes pass straight through. It will take a few months to complete the journey through the huge Solar System badlands, but it will serve a valuable purpose, STEREO has become NASA’s makeshift asteroid hunting mission.
Although STEREO wasn’t designed for this work, the mission already has a team of volunteer near-Earth asteroid hunters at the ready and their optics are more than capable of looking out for large lumps of rock invisible from Earth.
“The close-up investigation of L4 and L5 is completely new. That makes it something we should be driving,” says Richard Harrison of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, UK and a member of the STEREO project. “Wouldn’t it be spectacular if we actually backed past an asteroid? Saw it come creeping into view around the camera.” Now that would be a huge discovery.
This isn’t simply out of academic curiosity however. The Earth’s Moon is thought to have been formed after a huge cosmic impact with a small planetary body. The problem comes when trying to explain where the offending planetary body could have come from; too far away and it will have had too much energy. Rather than punching into the side of the Earth it would have shattered our planet. So the body must have formed a lot closer to our planet.
Did this body evolve in either the L4 and L5 points? If it did, and then somehow got kicked out of the gravitational island, perhaps careering toward the Earth, causing the cataclysmic impact that seeded the formation of the Moon.
It is exciting to think that STEREO may make some ground-breaking discoveries not Sun related. I just hope they don’t bump in to any chunks of rock, it could be pretty crowded out there…
Jules Verne arrives at the ISS. Johannes Kepler is next... (NASA)
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The next Automated Transfer Vehicle (A T V) to be launched to supply the International Space Station (ISS) has been officially named. Currently being assembled in Germany, the next ATV will honour the great 17th Century German scientist, Johannes Kepler.
The very first ATV was named after the legendary French science fiction writer, Jules Verne, and launched on an extended 5 month mission to the orbiting outpost where it delivered supplies, gave the station a helpful re-boost and then carried out an extreme garbage disposal effort, burning up over the Pacific Ocean on September 5th, 2008.
After it is launched on a similar resupply mission in 2010, the same fate awaits ATV Johannes Kepler. Or does it…
The ATV is Europe’s most advanced spacecraft ever built. Last year, Jules Verne wowed the world as it was launched into orbit, completed a flyby of the station (at a distance of 30 km) and then carried out a series of tests (including the critical Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre) before waiting in a parking orbit, 2000 km from its destination.
This was a particularly busy time for the ISS as Jules Verne had to wait for Space Shuttle Endeavour to finish its mission (STS-123) to attach the Japanese Kibo module and Canadian robotic arm. After Endeavour returned to Earth, the ATV was clear to dock on April 3rd.
So next year, it will be ATV Johannes Kepler’s turn to carry out a fully automated docking procedure with the space station to deliver food, water, propellant and oxygen. As with Jules Verne, Johannes Kepler is expected to provide a re-boost option, pushing the ISS to a slightly higher orbit.
However, Johannes Kepler might be saved from the fiery re-entry its predecessor had to endure. The European Space Agency, overjoyed at the success of Jules Verne, has asked the space industry for advice on how the ATV might be upgraded, to allow for the safe return of cargo to Earth and possible astronaut transportation. A feasibility study was approved at a meeting in The Hague in November 2008.
Interestingly, there will be another mission already in space in 2010 bearing the same name as the second ATV. The exoplanet-hunting Kepler telescope is set for launch next month.
Liquid water may have been discovered by the late Phoenix Mars Lander. This astonishing (and controversial) claim comes from some very intriguing images of the lander’s leg shortly after Phoenix landed on the Red Planet last year. The series of black and white images appear to show droplets of water hanging off the robot’s bodywork in the shade; it seems possible that the water droplets were splashed from the surface during Phoenix’s rocket-assisted landing. Far from being static blobs, they appear to grow, much like water droplets here on Earth as water vapour is absorbed from the atmosphere.
But wait a minute, isn’t the Martian atmosphere too thin and too cold to accommodate liquid water? That’s where the perchlorate comes in…
If liquid water has been found to exist on the surface of Mars, there will be huge implications for our understanding of the planet. Most tantalizingly, liquid water, on or near the planet’s surface, could aid the survival of microbial life, reinvigorating the search for extraterrestrial life on out interplanetary neighbour. But on a planet where the atmospheric pressure is 100 times less than on Earth, and temperatures reached a maximum of -20° Celcius during the Phoenix mission, why isn’t this “liquid water” candidate frozen?
The perchlorate discovery in the Martian soil was announced by the Phoenix team in August 2008, after an explosion of intense Internet conjecture caused by the “potential for life” announcement by an Aviation Week article days earlier. It turned out that the Phoenix instrumentation had found quantities of a toxic chemical called perchlorate known to be a hindrance to life as we know it. Although follow-up reports were slightly more positive about the presence of the chemical (a possible energy source for microbial life), the mood was fairly sombre. On a planet as unforgiving as Mars, any bad news is a severe knock for the hope of finding life.
However, regardless of perchlorate’s toxic effects on life, it may be helping out another one of life’s resources to stay in liquid form. If perchlorate is dissolved in significant quantities, water could remain as a liquid down to temperatures as low as -70°C. So could it be that the dissolved perchlorate salt is acting as a very impressive anti-freeze?
Nilton Renno from the University of Michigan and Phoenix team member, thinks it could be. “According to my calculations, you can have liquid saline solutions just below the surface almost anywhere on Mars,” he said.
Renno’s team carried out a series of laboratory experiments and found that the lander’s thrusters would have melted the top millimetre of ice in the regolith. The resulting water droplets may have been splashed onto the landers leg. If the concentration of perchlorate was high enough, the water could have remained in a liquid state during the Mars daytime. As time progressed, atmospheric water vapour may have been absorbed, hence the growing and shifting blobs of liquid on the leg. There is also the possibility that the droplets were splashed from pools of perchlorate-rich water already in a liquid state on the surface.
However, not everyone is convinced. Fellow Phoenix team member Michael Hecht from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, thinks that the photographs actually show water ice, not liquid water. The “frost” changed shape as vapour from the air coalesced and froze to the leg. Renno points out that this is unlikely as any ice on the leg would be more likely to sublime, rather than grow, but Hecht believes this could happen if the leg was colder than its surroundings.
Renno’s team will be continuing tests on samples of perchlorate-rich water under Mars-like conditions for the next few months to understand the dynamics of water under these extreme conditions. What makes this even more interesting is that some microbial life on Earth has the ability to survive in very salty fluids, perhaps microbial alien life on Mars evolved in a similar environment where there were pools of liquid water maintained at extremely low temperatures by high concentrations of perchlorate salt…
The CDF detector at Fermilab's Tevatron accelerator (Fermilab)
[/caption]The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is billed as the next great particle accelerator that will give us our best chance yet at discovering the illusive exchange particle (or boson) of the Higgs field. The discovery (or not) of the Higgs boson will answer so many questions about our universe, and our understanding of the quantum world could be revolutionized.
But there’s a problem. The LHC isn’t scheduled for restart until September 2009 (a full year after the last attempt) and particle collisions aren’t expected until October. Even then, high energy collisions won’t be likely until 2010, leaving the field wide open for competing accelerator facilities to redouble their efforts at making this historic discovery before the LHC goes online.
The Tevatron, at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Illinois, is currently the most powerful accelerator in the world and has refined high energy particle collisions so much, that scientists are estimating there is a 50% chance of a Higgs boson discovery by the end of 2009…
If this was a USA vs. Europe competition to discover the Higgs particle, the Tevatron would have a clear advantage. Although it’s old (the first configuration was completed in 1984), and set to be superseded by the LHC in 2010, the Tevatron is a proven particle accelerator with an impressive track record. Accelerator techniques and technology have been refined, making high energy hadron collisions routine. However, Fermilab scientists are keen to emphasise that they aren’t trying to beat the LHC in the search for the Higgs boson.
“We’re not racing CERN,” said Fermilab Director, Pier Oddone. He points out that there is a lot of collaborative work between Fermilab and CERN, therefore all scientists, no matter which continent they are on, are all working toward a common goal. In reality, I doubt this is the case. When searching for one of the most coveted prizes in modern quantum physics, it’s more of a case of ‘every lab for itself.’ Scientists in Fermilab have confirmed this, saying they are “working their tails off” analysing data from the Tevatron.
“Indirectly, we’re helping them,” says Dmitri Denisov, DZero (one of the Tevatron’s detectors) spokesman, of his European competition. “They’re definitely feeling the heat and working a little harder.”
For the Standard Model to be complete, the Higgs particle must be found. If it does exist, physicists have put upper and lower bounds on its possible mass. Standing at a value between 114 and 184 GeV, this is well within the sensitivity of the Tevatron detectors. It should be a matter of time until the Higgs particle is discovered and physicists have calculated that if the Higgs particle can be created during a Tevatron high-energy proton-antiproton collision. They even give the Tevatron a 50:50 chance of a Higgs particle discovery by the New Year.
Last summer, both key particle experiments (CDF and DZero) focused on detecting Higgs particles with a mass of 170 GeV (at this value a particle would be easier to detect from the background noise). However, no Higgs particles were detected. Now physicists will expand the search above and below this value. Therefore, if the Higgs boson exists, it would be useful if it has a mass as close as possible to 170 GeV. Estimates suggest a 150 GeV Higgs boson could be discovered as early as this summer, well before the LHC has even been repaired. If the mass of the Higgs boson is around the 120 GeV mark, it might take Tevatron scientists until 2010 to verify whether a Higgs boson has been detected.
Hawaii wants to have space tourism companies on the islands for faster transportation (NASA/Ian O'Neill)
[/caption]Private spaceflight companies seem to be getting closer and closer to the dream of launching a new breed of tourist on sub-orbital sightseeing tours. Since the late ’90’s the company Space Adventures has been sending millionaires on “trips of a lifetime”, but their most popular destination, the International Space Station, will stop hosting spaceflight participants at the end of this year as the Russian Soyuz spaceship wont have any more spare seats (as the crew on the station increase from three to six).
However, there are other private spaceflight companies beginning to realise the profits that could be made in space, not by dropping people off on the space station, but by launching them on short sub-orbital joyrides. They are building their own spaceships and even before the first rocket has ignited, there is growing competition for a piece of the space tourism market. Ticket prices have tumbled from the tens of millions (for a few days in orbit) to $200,000 (for a couple of hours on board a Virgin Galactic flight) to $95,000 (on board XCOR’s Lynx spaceplane for 30 minutes).
So, where should these companies launch their space tourists from? Although the space above the Mojave and New Mexico deserts are likely to be thundering to life within the next few years, a slightly more exotic destination is currently vying for a position in this burgeoning industry. Hawaii could be perfectly located not only for suborbital tourism, but for a revolution in global travel…
“Space tourism is the next generation of humankind reaching for the stars,” said Jim Crisafulli, of the Hawaii State Office Aerospace Development.
The official is obviously referring to the conventional take-off and landing spaceplane designs by the likes of Rocketplane Global’s XP Vehicle and XCOR Aerospace’s Lynx. The XP, for example, uses conventional aircraft jet engines to attain a certain height and then the onboard rocket engine takes over, quickly taking the passengers to an altitude of 100km, allowing a few minutes of weightlessness. Judging by the Hawaii news source, the Hawaii officials appear to be referring to Rocketplane Global, as the online video shows an animated movie of the XP taking off much like a conventional jet.
“What these are, are basically converted jet aircraft that take off and land at airports like normal jet aircraft. But once they get up to about 30,000 feet fire a rocket at the back of the plane, and this will take it up 62 miles,” Crisafulli added.
However, before you get caught up in dreams of sipping your Mai Tai on the beach, watching the palm trees sway with deep blue Pacific water lapping the golden sands of Maui, only to see a spaceplane rip through the skies, the Hawaii authorities have to justify the cost of an expensive Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) licence to allow a Hawaii spaceport.
Although tickets to space are getting cheaper, the first flights will still be expensive. After all, who has nearly $100,000 to $200,000 to spend on a short suborbital flight? However, optimistic estimates place a price of $5,000 per ticket in 5-7 years when these spaceplanes are bigger, carrying up to 100 people into space.
“I know that’s still a little pricey, but to be able to experience space in the process is just tremendous and we think there will be a fairly significant market for this,” said Crisafulli.
Apparently four US spaceflight companies have approached Hawaii with requests to do business in the centre of the Pacific Ocean, so it appears the space visionaries think there is money to be made in this exotic location.
There may also be another, more practical reason for pushing to gain FAA approval for suborbital flight; it could revolutionize transportation to and from the isolated US state. “Having a flight from Hawaii to California maybe take 1 hour or 90 minutes, and a flight from Hawaii to Japan could take less than an hour,” said Senator Will Espero.
On Tuesday, a communications satellite in the Iridium fleet suffered complete obliteration at the hands of a defunct Russian satellite Cosmos 2251. Although satellites have been hit by space junk in the past (four times since 1996), this is the first time a satellite has suffered a direct hit… from another satellite. The aftermath of the collision was messy and US Space Command is tracking hundreds of pieces of debris. There is some concern the ex-satellite parts could collide with other active satellites or even the International Space Station (although the odds are still well within safety margins for the crew), but much effort is being put into tracking and modelling the new space junk additions.
If you thought AGI was quick at assembling those superb satellite animations only a day after the event, you’ll be even more impressed with the company who lost their expensive piece of kit. Iridium has a replacement satellite. A spare. Already in orbit. And plans are afoot to “plug the hole” in the satellite phone network. Now that’s what I call service!
The Iridium constellation - a robust satellite network (AGI)It’s probably to be expected, especially when considering competition in the communication industry, but it is an amazing feat to have a backup plan enacted only a couple of days after losing an expensive satellite. But this isn’t only a plan, it’s a satellite, already in orbit, waiting to be powered up and redirected to its predecessor’s old orbit (or at least fulfil it’s coverage on the ground).
Although Iridium was concerned about patchy service for some customers, the satellite network’s mesh design will lower the likelihood of any service outages. So put your satellite phone away, the signal should still be strong.
“The Iridium service hole patch addresses a significant portion of outages that customers otherwise might have experienced,” said Iridium spokesperson Liz DeCastro. “Due to the mesh design of the Iridium network, the company expects further impact to customers to be limited.”
So it sounds as if it’s a sturdy network that can easily deal with one lost component, but the best was yet to come in the press release. “The company also is taking the necessary steps to replace the lost satellite with one of its in-orbit spares, and the operational planning stage is underway,” DeCastro added.
Naturally, Iridium is investigating the incident, saying that they are working “with the appropriate government agencies”. At this time it is unclear whether Iridium will be seeking compensation from the Russian government, but this is a possibility. After all, dead satellites should either be de-orbited or moved from the paths of operational satellites. Unfortunately for Iridium 33, Cosmos 2251 was left at an altitude used by commercial satellite companies.
There may be no LEO traffic control, and there is certainly no “right of way” in space, the responsibility to dispose of space junk lies with the satellite’s last owner. In this case, that would be Russia.
Herbig Haro object HH47 (a stellar jet), observed with the Hubble Space Telescope
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Some of the most beautiful structures observed in the Universe are the intricate jets of supersonic material speeding away from accreting stars, such as young proto-stars and stellar mass black holes. These jets are composed of highly collimated gas, rapidly accelerated and ejected from circumstellar accretion disks. The in-falling gas from the disks, usually feeding the black hole or hungry young star, is somehow redirected and blown into the interstellar medium (ISM).
Much work is being done to understand how accretion disk material is turned into a rapid outflow, forming an often knotted, clumpy cloud of outflowing gas. The general idea was that the stellar jet is ejected in a steady flow (like a fire hose), only for it to interact with the surrounding ISM, breaking up as it does so. However, a unique collaboration between plasma physicists, astronomers and computational scientists may have uncovered the true nature behind these knotted structures. They didn’t become knotted, they were born that way…
“The predominant theory says that jets are essentially fire hoses that shoot out matter in a steady stream, and the stream breaks up as it collides with gas and dust in space—but that doesn’t appear to be so after all,” said Adam Frank, professor of astrophysics at the University of Rochester, and co-author of the recent publication. According to Frank, the exciting results uncovered by the international collaboration suggest that far from being a steady stream of gas being ejected from the circumstellar accretion disk, the jets are “fired out more like bullets or buckshot.” It is therefore little wonder that the vast stellar jets appear twisted, knotted and highly structured.
A member of the collaboration, Professor Sergey Lebedev and his team at the Imperial College London, made an attempt to replicate the physics of a star in the laboratory, and the experiment matched the known physics of stellar jets very well. The pioneering work by Lebedev is being lauded a possibly the “best” astrophysical experiment that’s ever been carried out.
Using an aluminium disk, Lebedev applied a high-powered pulse of energy to it. Within the first few billionths of a second, the aluminium began to evaporate, generating a small cloud of plasma. This plasma became an accretion disk analogue, a microscopic equivalent of the plasma being dragged into a proto-star. In the centre of the disk, the aluminium had eroded completely, creating a hole. Through this hole, a magnetic field, being applied below the disk, could penetrate through.
It would appear that the dynamics of the magnetic field interacting with the plasma accurately depicts the observed characteristics of extended stellar jets. At first, the magnetic field pushes the plasma aside around the disk’s hole, but its structure evolves by creating a bubble, then twisting and warping, forming a knot in the plasma jet. Then, a very important event occurs; the initial magnetic “bubble” pinches off and is propelled away. Another magnetic bubble forms to continue the process all over again. These dynamic processes cause packets of plasma to be released in bursts and not in the steady, classical “fire hose” manner.
“We can see these beautiful jets in space, but we have no way to see what the magnetic fields look like,” says Frank. “I can’t go out and stick probes in a star, but here we can get some idea—and it looks like the field is a weird, tangled mess.”
By shrinking this cosmic phenomenon into a laboratory experiment, the investigators have shed some light on the possible mechanism driving the structure of stellar jets. It appears that magnetic processes, not ISM interactions, shape the knotted structure of stellar jets when they born, not after they have evolved.
Why has "one small step for man" turned into "one giant leap backward" for NASA? (NASA)
[/caption]It reads like the annual progress report from my first year in university. He lacks direction, he’s not motivated and he has filled his time with extra-curricular activities, causing a lack of concentration in lectures. However, it shouldn’t read like an 18 year-old’s passage through the first year of freedom; it should read like a successful, optimistic and inspirational prediction about NASA’s future in space.
What am I referring to? It turns out that the Houston university where President John F. Kennedy gave his historic “We go to the Moon” speech back in 1962 has commissioned a report, recommending that NASA should give up its quest for returning to the Moon and focus more on environmental and energy projects. The reactions of several astronauts from the Mercury, Apollo and Shuttle eras have now been published. The conclusions in the Rice University report may have been controversial, but the reactions of the six ex-astronauts went well beyond that. They summed up the concern and frustration they feel for a space agency they once risked their lives for.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to how we interpret the importance of space exploration. Is it an unnecessary expense, or is it part of scientific endeavour where the technological spin-offs are more important than we think?
John F. Kennedy speaking at Rice University in 1962. How times have changed (NASA)The article published in the Houston Chronicle website (Chron.com) talks about the “surprising reactions” by the six former astronauts questioned about Rice University’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy recommendation for NASA. However, I’d argue that much of what they say is not surprising in the slightest. These men and women were active in the US space agency during some of the most profound and exciting times in space flight history, it is little wonder that they may be a little exacerbated by the current spaceflight problems that are besieging NASA. The suggestion that NASA should give up the Moon for more terrestrial pursuits is a tough pill to swallow, especially for these pioneers of spaceflight.
It is widely accepted that NASA is underfunded, mismanaged and falling short of its promises. Many would argue that this is a symptom of an old cumbersome government department that has lost its way. This could be down to institutional failings, lack of investment or loss of vision, but the situation is getting worse for NASA. Regardless, something isn’t right and now we are faced with a five year gap in US manned spaceflight capability, forcing NASA to buy Russian Soyuz flights. The Shuttle replacement, the Constellation Program, has even been written off by many before it has even carried out the first test launch.
So, from their unique perspective, what do these retired astronauts think of the situation? It turns out that some agree with the report, others are strongly opposed to it, whereas all voice concern for the future of NASA.
Kathryn Thornton, before a Shuttle mission (NASA)Walt Cunningham flew aboard Apollo 7 in 1968. It was the first manned mission in the Apollo Program. At an age of 76, Cunningham sees no urgency in going back to the Moon but he is also believes the concerns about global warming are “a great big scam.” His feelings about global warming may be misplaced, but he is acutely aware of the funding issue facing NASA, concerned the agency will “keep sliding downhill” if nothing is done.
Four-time Shuttle astronaut Kathryn Thornton, agrees that the agency is underfunded and overstretched and dubious about the Institute’s recommendation that NASA should focus all its attention on environmental issues for four years. “I find it hard to believe we would be finished with the energy and environment issues in four years. If you talk about a re-direction, I think you talk about a permanent re-direction,” Thornton added.
Gene Cernan, commander of the 1972 Apollo 17 mission, believes that space exploration is essential to inspire the young and invigorate the educational system. He is shocked by the Institute’s recommendation to pull back on space exploration. The 74 year old was the last human to walk on the Moon and he believes NASA shouldn’t be focused on ways to save the planet, other agencies and businesses can do that.
“It just blows my mind what they would do to an organization like NASA that was designed and built to explore the unknown.” — Gene Cernan
Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan covered with moondust (NASA)John Glenn, first US astronaut to orbit the Earth and former senator, is appalled at the suggestion of abandoning projects such as the International Space Station. Although Glenn, now 87, agrees with many of the points argued in the report, he said, “We have a $115 billion investment in the most unique laboratory ever put together, and we are cutting out the ability to do research that may have enormous value to everybody right here on the Earth? This is folly.”
Sally Ride, 57, a physicist and the first American woman to fly into space believes the risky option of extending the life of the Shuttle should be considered to allow US manned access to the space station to continue. The greater risk of being frozen out of the outpost simply is not an option. However, she advocates the report’s suggestion that NASA should also focus on finding solutions to climate change. “It will take us awhile to dig ourselves out,” she said. “But the long-term challenge we have is solving the predicament we have put ourselves in with energy and the environment.”
Franklin Chang Diaz, who shares world’s record for the most spaceflights (seven), believes that NASA has been given a very bad deal. He agrees with many of the report’s recommendations, not because the space agency should turn its back on space exploration, it’s because the agency has been put in an impossible situation.
“NASA has moved away from being at the edge of high tech and innovation,” said Chang Diaz. “That’s a predicament NASA has found itself in because it had to carry out a mission to return humans to the moon by a certain time (2020) and within a budget ($17.3 billion for 2008). It’s not possible.”
In Conclusion
This discussion reminds me of a recent debate not about space exploration, but another science and engineering endeavour here on Earth. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has its critics who will argue that this $5 billion piece of kit is not worth the effort, where the money spent on accelerating particles could be better spent on finding solutions for climate change, or a cure for cancer.
You did NOT just say that! Brian Cox's expression says it all... (still from the BBC's Newsnight program) In a September 2008 UK televised debate on BBC Newsnight between Sir David King (former Chief Scientific Advisor for the UK government) and particle physicist Professor Brian Cox, King questioned the the importance of the science behind the LHC. By his limited reasoning, the LHC was more “navel-searching”, “curiosity-driven” research with little bearing on the advancement of mankind. In King’s view the money would be better spent on finding solutions to known problems, such as climate change. It is fortunate Brian Cox was there to set the records straight.
Prof. Cox explained that the science behind the LHC is “part of a journey” where the technological spin-offs and the knowledge gained from such a complex experiment cannot be predicted before embarking on scientific endeavour. Indeed, advanced medical technologies are being developed as a result of LHC research; the Internet may be revolutionized by new techniques being derived from work at the LHC; even the cooling system for the LHC accelerator electromagnets can be adapted for use in fusion reactors.
The point is that we may never fully comprehend what technologies, science or knowledge we may gain from huge experiments such as the LHC, and we certainly don’t know what spin-offs we can derive from continued advancement of space travel technology. Space exploration can only enhance our knowledge and scientific understanding.
If NASA starts pulling back on endeavours in space, taking a more introverted view of finding specific solutions to particular problems (such as finding a solution to climate change at the detriment to space exploration, as suggested by the Rice University report), we may never fully realise our potential as a race, and many of the problems here on Earth will never be solved…
“Players will pick a profession like a roboticist, space geologist, astrobiologist or mechanical engineer and work together as a team as they explore space and complete missions, establishing bases and outposts and traveling to the farthest reaches of the solar system,” explained Jerry Heneghan, founder and CEO of Virtual Heroes, one of the companies involved with developing the NASA MMORPG Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond. “The game will offer both individual challenges and team-based objectives to encourage players to use real-life applications of science, math and engineering to unlock new in-game vehicles, spacesuits, robotics and mining apparatus that will propel them further into space.”
