Nancy Atkinson, Author at Universe Today

February 22, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Ulysses Spacecraft Dying of Natural Causes

“One equal temper of heroic heart
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
—from the poem “Ulysses” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Ulysses spacecraft has been heroically studying our sun for more than 17 years, almost four times its expected lifetime. But now, the mission might be finally succumbing to the harsh environment of space. Mission managers say the spacecraft will likely “die” in the next month or two.

“Little remains; but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things;
To Follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.”
(more from “Ulysses”)

Ulysses is a joint mission between ESA and NASA that was launched in 1990 during space shuttle mission STS-41. Ulysses was the first mission to study the environment of space above and below the poles of the Sun. The spacecraft has returned a huge amount of data that has changed the way scientists view the Sun and its effect on the space surrounding it.

Ulysses is in a six-year orbit around the Sun. Its long orbital path carries it out to Jupiter’s orbit and back again. The further it ventures from the Sun, the colder the spacecraft becomes. If it drops to 2ºC, the spacecraft’s hydrazine fuel will freeze.

This has not been a problem in the past because Ulysses carries heaters to maintain a workable on-board temperature. The spacecraft is powered by the decay of a radioactive isotope and over the 17-plus years, the power it has been supplying has been steadily dropping. Now, the spacecraft no longer has enough power to run all of its communications, heating and scientific equipment simultaneously.

“We expect certain parts of the spacecraft to reach 2ºC pretty soon,”says Richard Marsden, ESA’s Ulysses Project Scientist and Mission Manager. This will block the fuel pipes, making the spacecraft impossible to maneuver.

The ESA-NASA project team had tried to solve this problem by temporarily shutting of the main spacecraft transmitter, which would provide 60 watts of extra power that could be channeled back to the heater and science instruments. Unfortunately, the transmitter failed to turn back on.

“The decision to switch the transmitter off was not taken lightly. It was the only way to continue the science mission,”says Marsden, who is a 30-year veteran of the project, having worked on it for 12 years before the spacecraft was launched.

After many attempts, the Ulysses project team now consider it highly unlikely that the X-band transmitter will be recovered. They believe the fault can be traced to the power supply, meaning that the extra energy they hoped to gain cannot be routed to the heater and science instruments after all.

So, the spacecraft’s fuel lines are gradually freezing. This spells the end of this highly successful mission.

“Ulysses is a terrific old workhorse. It has produced great science and lasted much longer than we ever thought it would,” says Marsden. “This was going to happen in the next year or two, it has just taken place a little sooner than we hoped.”

The team plan to continue operating the spacecraft in its reduced capacity for as long as they can over the next few weeks. “We will squeeze the very last drops of science out of it,” says Marsden.

“Death closes all; but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done…
‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world…
To sail beyond the sunset.”
—more from “Ulysses” by Tennyson

Original News Source: ESA Press Release

February 22, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

An Elegant Proposal for Near Earth Asteroid Deflection

Although the chances of an asteroid hitting Earth appear to be small for any given year, the consequences of such an event would be monumental. The science community has come up with some ideas and proposals for ways to mitigate the threat of an incoming asteroid hitting the Earth. Some proposals suggest almost Hollywood type theatrics of launching nuclear weapons to destroy the asteroid, or slamming a spacecraft into a Near Earth Object to blow it apart. But other ideas employ more simple and elegant propositions to merely alter the trajectory of the space rock. One such plan uses a two-piece solar sail called a solar photon thruster that draws on solar energy and resources from the asteroid itself.

Physicist Gregory Matloff has been working with NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Center to study the two-sail solar photon thruster which uses concentrated solar energy. One of the sails, a large parabolic collector sail would constantly face the sun and direct reflected sunlight onto a smaller, moveable second thruster sail that would beam concentrated sunlight against the surface of an asteroid. In theory, the beam would vaporize an area on the surface to create a ‘jet’ of materials that would serve as a propulsion system to alter the trajectory of the Near Earth Object (NEO.)

Changing the trajectory of a NEO exploits the fact that both the Earth and the impactor are in orbit. An impact occurs when both reach the same point in space at the same time. Since the Earth is approximately 12,750 km in diameter and moves at about 30 km per second in its orbit, it travels a distance of one planetary diameter in about seven minutes. The course of the object would be altered, or either delayed or advanced and cause it to miss the Earth.

But of course, the arrival time of the impactor must be known very accurately in order to forecast the impact at all, and to determine how to affect its velocity.

Additionally, the solar photon thruster’s performance would vary depending on the unique makeup of each NEO. For example, asteroids with a greater density, radius or rate of rotation would cause decreased performance of the solar photon thruster in acceleration and deflection.

Even though the solar photon thruster appears to be efficient in its performance, Matloff said that more than half of the solar energy delivered to the “hotspot” on the NEO would not be available to vaporize and accelerate the jet due to other thermodynamic processes such as conduction, convection, and radiation. As expected, a larger collector sail radius would increase the amount of energy available, and would increase acceleration of the NEO. Matloff said this system allows the sail craft to “tack” against the solar-photon breeze at a larger angle than conventional single solar sails can achieve.

This system of sails would not be attached to the NEO, but would be kept nearby the NEO “on station” either with its own thrusting capability or by auxiliary electric propulsion. More studies would be needed to ascertain if a supplementary propulsion system would be necessary.

The sails used in the study were both inflatable. However, Matloff believes it might be worth considering a small rigid thruster sail, which might simplify deployment and reduce occultation.

Said Matloff, “Hopefully, future design studies will resolve these uncertainties before application of NEO-diversion technology becomes necessary.”

February 20, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

STS-122: A Mission in Pictures

Welcome home to the crew of STS-122! Space shuttle Atlantis landed at 9:08 am EST on February 20, following the STS-122 mission to install the European Space Agency’s Columbus science module on the International Space Station. After such a successful mission, its now time to sit back and enjoy some of our favorite images from Atlantis’ journey to the ISS.

Atlantis launches on February 7, 2008. Weather forecasts predicted unfavorable launch conditions, but it turned out to be a beautiful day for liftoff.

A unique picture of the external fuel tank after separation from the shuttle. Residual crygenics vent from the tank, highlighted by sunlight against the backdrop of space.

Here’s a view you don’t see everyday: a closeup of the shuttle’s nose at station approach as the shuttle performs a flip maneuver that allows the station crew to take hi-resolution photos of the shuttle’s thermal protection system.

The ISS’s Canadarm 2 moves the new Columbus science module out of Atlantis’ payload bay to its home on the station, on the starboard side of the Harmony module. This picture was taken through a window of the ISS.

Astronaut Stanley Love frames a scene with his hands during the first EVA of the mission. It was a bonus spacewalk for Love. Love filled in for Hans Schlegel, who was ill and unable to participate in the EVA. The spacewalk went off without a hitch, and was “picture perfect.”

Rex Walheim, attached to a foot restraint on the station’s robotic arm, carries a large nitrogen tank assembly — used for pressurizing the station’s ammonia cooling system — during the second EVA of the mission.

Hans Schlegel, from Germany, works on the the new Columbus science module during STS-122’s second EVA.

Dan Tani gives himself a haircut with the ISS’s specialized hair clippers that includes a suction hose to collect the hair. Tani is getting ready to return home after a four month stay on board the ISS.

Leopold Eyharts, Expedition 16 flight engineer, holds a panel inside the newly attached Columbus laboratory of the ISS. The panel bears the names of European engineers who built Columbus.

A group photo of the Expedition 16 and STS-122 crews. From the left (bottom) are NASA astronaut Steve Frick, STS-122 commander; and Peggy Whitson, Expedition 16 commander. From the left (middle row) are NASA astronaut Daniel Tani, STS-122 mission specialist; European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Leopold Eyharts, Expedition 16 flight engineer; and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, Expedition 16 flight engineer representing Russia’s Federal Space Agency. From the left (top row) are NASA astronaut Stanley Love, ESA astronaut Hans Schlegel, NASA astronauts Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, all STS-122 mission specialists; and Alan Poindexter, STS-122 pilot.

And let’s not forget all the people back on the ground who make the space missions possible. This is a photo in Mission Control, Houston, of the Orbit 1 team for the STS-122 flight.

Rex Walheim squints in the sunlight during the third and final EVA of the STS-122 mission.

A view of the new configuration of the ISS, as the shuttle backs away from the station after undocking. The newest addition to the station, the Columbus science module, is visible, all shiny and new, on the upper part of the station, just under the Canadarm 2 robotic arm.

February 19, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Space Program At Risk, Panel Says

A panel of 50 space experts met recently to discuss NASA’s current direction with its Vision for Space Exploration. While the conference, “Examining the Vision: Balancing Science and Exploration” was seemingly billed as forum for discussing alternatives to the moon/Mars vision, attendees endorsed NASA’s current direction and then concluded what anyone with an eye on NASA already knew: NASA isn’t receiving adequate funds in line with the grand goal of sending humans to Mars.

The panel of scientists, engineers, and former astronauts and NASA administrators concluded that NASA is on the right path with its objectives of going to the moon as a stepping stone to reach Mars, but those goals are in danger because of chronic underfunding to the US space program.

“The nation’s space program is in peril,” said Stanford Professor Scott Hubbard, former director of NASA’s Ames Research Center, and an organizer of the conference. “You simply cannot continue doing more with less and meet these goals. That is a fact. This workshop achieved a consensus that NASA’s resources have not been commensurate with its mandated missions of exploration and science.”

The panel did say, however, that NASA should focus more on sending humans to Mars instead of building large bases on the moon. But also, former astronaut Kathryn Thornton said before the meeting, she felt the best way to get to Mars was going there directly. But the meeting changed her mind, she said, and she now believes there are benefits to using the moon as a way station, such as scientific research and testing rocket hardware and infrastructure.

Alternatives such as going to asteroids was discussed, but not endorsed by the panel. Also of interest is that the panel said science is not the major motivation for human spaceflight.

But the panel concluded that any human ventures out of low earth orbit should be international in nature. “The next administration should make the human spaceflight goal an international venture focused on Mars–both to bring in more public support and to sustain the program politically,” said Louis Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society.

In particular the attendees agreed to the following statements:

It is time to go beyond LEO with people as explorers. The purpose of sustained human exploration is to go to Mars and beyond. The significance of the Moon and other intermediate destinations is to serve as steppingstones on the path to that goal.
Bringing together scientists, astronauts, engineers, policy analysts, and industry executives in a single conversation created an environment where insights across traditional boundaries occurred.
Human space exploration is undertaken to serve national and international interests. It provides important opportunities to advance science, but science is not the primary motivation.
Sustained human exploration requires enhanced international collaboration and offers the United States an opportunity for global leadership.
NASA has not received the budget increases to support the mandated human exploration program as well as other vital parts of the NASA portfolio, including space science, aeronautics, technology requirements, and especially Earth observations, given the urgency of global climate change.

The panel gathered privately on Feb. 12-13, 2008 to discuss space policy options facing the new US administration that will take office in January 2009, and may offer more recommendations in the future.

Original News Sources: New Scientist, Planetary Society Press Release

February 18, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Rocky Planets May Form Around Most Sun-like Stars

Astronomers have found numerous Jupiter-like planets orbiting other stars. But because of the limits of our current technology, they haven’t yet found any other terrestrial Earth-like planets out in the universe. But new findings from the Spitzer Space Telescope suggest that terrestrial planets might form around many, if not most, of the nearby sun-like stars in our galaxy. So perhaps, other worlds with the potential for life might be more common than we thought.

A group of astronomers led by Michael Meyer of the University of Tucson, Arizona used Spitzer to survey six sets of stars with masses comparable to our sun, and grouped them by age.

“We wanted to study the evolution of the gas and dust around stars similar to the sun and compare the results with what we think the solar system looked like at earlier stages during its evolution,” Meyer said. Our sun is about 4.6 billion years old.

They found that at least 20 percent, and possibly as many as 60 percent, of stars similar to the sun are candidates for forming rocky planets.

The Spitzer telescope does not detect planets directly. Instead, using its infrared capability, it detects dust — the rubble left over from collisions as planets form — at a range of infrared wavelengths. Because dust closer to the star is hotter than dust farther from the star, the “warm” dust indicates material orbiting the star at distances comparable to the distance between Earth and Jupiter.

Meyer said that about 10 to 20 percent of the stars in the four youngest age groups shows ‘warm’ dust, but not in stars older than 300 million years. That is comparable to the theoretical models of our own solar system, which suggests that Earth formed over a span of 10 to 50 million years from collisions between smaller bodies.

But the numbers are vague on how many stars are actually forming planets because there’s more than one way to interpret the Spitzer data. “An optimistic scenario would suggest that the biggest, most massive disks would undergo the runaway collision process first and assemble their planets quickly. That’s what we could be seeing in the youngest stars. Their disks live hard and die young, shining brightly early on, then fading,” Meyer said.

“However, smaller, less massive disks will light up later. Planet formation in this case is delayed because there are fewer particles to collide with each other.”

If this is correct and the most massive disks form their planets first and then the smaller disks take 10 to 100 times longer, then up to 62 percent of the surveyed stars have formed, or may be forming, planets. “The correct answer probably lies somewhere between the pessimistic case of less than 20 percent and optimistic case of more than 60 percent,” Meyer said.

In October 2007, another group of astronomers used similar Spitzer data to observe the formation of a star system 424 light-years away, with another possible Earth-like planet being created.

More definitive data on formation of rocky planets will come with the launch the Kepler mission in 2009, which will search to find if terrestrial planets like Earth could be common around stars like the sun.

Original News Source: JPL Press Release

February 18, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Shuttle Crew Says Goodbye, Undocks from ISS

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After a successful visit to the International Space Station, the crew of space shuttle Atlantis said farewell and undocked from the station at 4:24 am EST Monday morning. Their busy nine-day stay included three spacewalks and the installation of the European Columbus science module, as well as a switch-out in crew. European astronaut Leopold Eyharts stays on the ISS while US astronaut Dan Tani returns home after a four-month expedition on the station.

“We just wanted to thank you again for being a great host and letting us enjoy your station for about a week,” shuttle commander Steve Frick radioed to the ISS before undocking. “We had a great time over there, we learned a lot and we really, really enjoyed working with your crew, one quarter of which we have here and we’re happy to take Dan home. But just again, to you and to Yuri and to Leo, thanks very much.”

“Well thank you guys,” station commander Peggy Whitson replied. “Itâ€™s a great new room you’ve added on and we really appreciate it. Get Dan home safe, and thanks!”

In an emotional farewell ceremony on Sunday, Tani reflected on his extended mission. The delay of Atlantis’ mission due to fuel sensor problems made his stay in space almost two months longer than originally planned. During his time on the station, Tani’s mother, who he called his “inspiration” was killed in a car accident. He said he can’t wait to get back home to be with his family.

But his recent experiences have given him great hope for the future.

“Today I feel very optimistic about our space program and our society because I’m here, I’ve spent time with a man from France, from Italy and from Germany and from Russia,” he said. “Nations that have not always been friendly are now cooperating and we’re doing great things.”

With shuttle pilot Alan Poindexter at the controls, the shuttle did a one-loop fly around of the station before departing. Atlantis’ crew is inspecting the shuttle’s heat shield to get the final OK for landing, which is scheduled for shortly after 9:00 am Wednesday morning, if the weather holds in Florida. Both the Kennedy Space Center and the backup landing site in California will be ready as NASA wants the shuttle to land that day to give the military enough time to destroy a damaged spy satellite.

The next shuttle flight is coming right up. Endeavour began its crawl to the launch pad early Monday in to prepare for a March 11 liftoff.

North American residents with clear skies Monday evening should be able to see both Atlantis and the ISS flying in tandem. See NASAâ€™s orbital tracking site or Heavenâ€™s Above for sighting times for your area.

February 14, 2008April 26, 2016 by Nancy Atkinson

I Heart the ISS: Ten Reasons to Love the International Space Station

The International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA

It’s been called a white elephant, an orbital turkey, a money pit, and an expensive erector set. Seemingly, there’s even people at NASA who think building it was a mistake. The International Space Station has been plagued with repeated delays, cost overruns, and bad press. Additionally, the ISS has never really caught the fancy of the general public and most likely there’s a fair percentage of the world’s population who have absolutely no idea there’s a construction project the size of two football fields going on in orbit over their heads.

But I’m going to be honest. I’ll come right out and say it: I really like the ISS. In fact, I’m crazy about it, and have been ever since Unity docked with Zarya back in 1998. Yes, my heart belongs to the space station, and since its Valentine’s Day, I’m going to profess my feelings here and now with ten reasons why I love the International Space Station:
(In no particular order:)

1. International Cooperation. Didn’t your heart swell with pride for the Europeans when the Columbus science module finally became part of the station this week? And you gotta love the Canadians for their reliable, heavy-duty Canadarm 2. The Russians have been steady partners in station construction and re-supply for years now. Japan’s science lab will be added on the next shuttle mission.

The ISS is the largest, most complex, international engineering project in history. In a world where violence and political animosity floods the daily news, it’s incredible that this structure is quietly being built by 16 different countries working together in relative harmony. If not for the international partners, the ISS probably wouldn’t have gotten off the ground. NASA Administrator Mike Griffin has said that the station’s most enduring legacy is the international partnership that created it.

2. Actually Building an Outpost in Space. The dream of almost every post-Apollo space enthusiast is to have a settlement or colony in space. As humble as it is, the ISS is exactly that. Humans have been living on board the station for over 7 years now. The experience of constructing and living aboard this complex structure in space is invaluable, and any future outpost will benefit from what’s been learned with the ISS.

3. The Personalities. Peggy Whitson, the first female station commander. Clay Anderson’s unique sense of humor. Suni Williams’ marathon and haircut for cancer patients. Mike Lopez-Alegria’s music. Mikhail Tyurin’s golf shot. Yuri Malenchenko’s wedding. Frank Culbertson’s September 11 perspective. Yury Usachev’s spinning antics. It goes all the way back to the three-way fist pump on Expedition One between Bill Shepherd, Sergei Krikalev, and Yuri Gidzenko. With the Expeditions lasting 4-8 months, we have the opportunity to get to know the astronauts and cosmonauts that live and work on board the ISS. If you watch the daily feeds from the ISS or listen to the periodic press conferences, you can become familiar with the different personalities of the station crews. The number one personality has to be Don Petit and his Saturday Morning Science.

4. You can see it almost every night. I’ve witnessed jaws dropping and eyes widening in wonder when people see the ISS for the first time gliding silently and swiftly across the night or early morning sky. I never tire of observing it. Find out when the station will fly over your backyard at NASA’s website or at the Heaven’s Above website.

5. No major problems so far. One of the real impressive things about the ISS is that all the components, built by different countries and contractors have fit together perfectly. Yes, there have been intermittent computer issues, a faulty smoke alarm and the torn solar arrays. But these problems have all been resolved in short order. The damaged SARJ (Solar Alpha Rotary Joint) is a looming issue that could be problematic. But there are some first-rate engineering minds working on this matter, and it appears they have time to come up with a solution. The station has never had a major calamity or had to be evacuated in over 7 years of continuous human occupation. Knock on a Whipple Shield.

6. The general public can participate. Schools and informal education centers can conduct live question and answer sessions with space station crews. Middle school students can choose locations on Earth for the ISS crew to take pictures as part of the EarthKAM project. Ham radio operators can talk regularly with astronauts and cosmonauts with the ARISS (Amateur Radio on the ISS.) College students can design projects to be researched on board the station. And of course if you have $40 million in spare change you can ride to the ISS on a Soyuz as a spaceflight participant.

7. Finally, we have science officers. The other dream of every post-Apollo space enthusiast (and Star Trek fans) is to have science officers to conduct real scientific research. The ISS has had science officers since 2002, but science hasn’t been in the forefront of the work on board the ISS. Yet.

8. Long term research. The ability of the ISS to serve as a platform for science has come under fire. But what other lab has been expected to produce scientific results while still under construction? With the addition of the European and Japanese science labs, and the expected increase in crew size from three to six in 2009, scientific research, the original purpose of the station, will finally be able to be conducted with consistency. The microgravity environment of the ISS allows the study of long-term effects of weightlessness on the human body, crucial for any future human exploration on the moon and Mars. Research will help fight diseases such as diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, and AIDS. The station provides a unique place to test technologies such as life support systems and new manufacturing processes, and gives us a long-term platform to observe and understand Earth’s environment and the universe.

9. Post docking fly-arounds. After each construction mission to the ISS, the shuttle’s post docking fly-around gives us a chance to see the new additions and latest configuration of the station. The astronauts say it’s a thrill to see how their handiwork on a specific mission fits into the big picture of the entire ISS, and it’s a thrill for us back on Earth to see the station’s new look, too. Plus the fly-around usually gives the shuttle pilot some actual stick time to fly the shuttle and a little time in the limelight.

10. What else would we be doing? Some people feel that the ISS’s tremendous budget has taken funds away from robotic exploration and other science. I can’t argue with that. But when it comes to human spaceflight, what else would we have been doing for the past 10-20 years? A space station was the logical next step after the shuttle. The main problem is that it took so long to decide on a plan, get it approved by Congress and get it in the works with international cooperation. But now, with construction and maintenance ongoing, we’re constantly and continually learning how to live and work in space. The ISS is a resource that will guide us on our future human endeavors in space. It’s more than just an obligation to finish and then be disregarded. The planning and funding for its future should encompass the maximum utilization of its fullest potential.

In my eyes, the International Space Station is a thing of beauty, a work of art, an engineering marvel, and a constant companion that I watch for every night as it orbits our planet. The ISS should be given all the respect — and love — it deserves.

February 9, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Medical Problem Delays Spacewalk

A medical issue with a member of the space shuttle crew has forced a change in personnel for the first scheduled spacewalk of the STS-122 shuttle mission to the International Space Station. The switch has also mandated that the spacewalk be delayed one day to Monday. NASA officials would not say which astronaut was experiencing any medical problems, but did confirm that Stan Love has replaced Hans Schlegel for the initial spacewalk.

“There was a medical issue with the crew,” said John Shannon, deputy shuttle program manager. “The flight surgeons do private medical conferences with the crew throughout the mission. The crew called down and asked for one during the rendezvous, which was a little bit of a surprise to us. They talked to the crew members, they understood what the issue was. I will just say it is not going to impact any of the objectives of this mission.”

In video shown on NASA TV, Schlegel showed no noticeable illness as the shuttle crew come on board the ISS after shuttle docking. Reports on news wires suggested that Schlegel lost his voice, but that claim was not corroborated by Shannon.

Communication during the spacewalk would be critical. Schlegel appeared to talk with the ISS crew as he entered the station, and floated easily through the Harmony node. About half of all people who fly in space experience Space Adaptation Syndrome, which include symptoms such as nausea, dizziness and headaches. But citing medical privacy policies, Shannon refused to answer any questions about the nature of the medical issue, or whether Schlegel would be available for the second spacewalk of the mission, now slated for Wednesday.

“You guys can fish all day, but I won’t bite,” Shannon said.

The spacewalk will help install the new Columbus science module, brought up in Atlantis’ payload bay. Installation of the module is the primary goal of this mission.

The shuttle docked at 12:17 pm EST on Saturday. As the shuttle approached the station, the ISS crew took photos of the shuttle to check for any damage to Atlantis. They were asked to take special note of a small tear in the insulation blanket of the Orbital Maneuvering System rocket pod along the tail of the shuttle. Shannon said the tear is probably not critical, but that it’s being looked at.

“Nobody is very excited about this one,” he said. “I don’t expect this to be an issue but the team will continue to work it.”

The insulation blankets on the OMS pods experience temperatures around 700 to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit during peak heating of re-entry. A similar tear on an earlier shuttle flight was repaired by a spacewalking astronaut using surgical staples. Three spacewalks are planned during Atlantis’ current mission and a staple gun is on board if needed.

On a final note, for any Prairie Home Companion fans out there, the shuttle crew wake-up call on Saturday morning was the Powdermilk Biscuit song.

Original News Source: NASA TV

February 9, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Testing a Europa Probe Prototype

While NASA doesn’t have any definite plans to send a probe to study Jupiter’s moon Europa, many planetary scientists consider the exploration of this enticing moon to be a high priority. Evidence from the Voyager and Galileo spacecraft suggests Europa contains a deep ocean of salty water under an icy outer shell. NASA is, however, helping to fund a prototype of an underwater autonomous vehicle to investigate ice covered lakes here on Earth, to demonstrate if such a vehicle could operate in an environment similar to Europa. The next test of the vehicle will take place Feb. 12-15, 2008 in Lake Mendota on the campus of the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

The Environmentally Non-Disturbing Under-ice Robotic Antarctic Explorer, also known as Endurance, will swim untethered under ice, and collect data to create three-dimensional maps of underwater environments. The probe also will look at the conditions in those environments and take samples of microbial life. Later this year, researchers plan to ship the probe to a permanently frozen lake in Antarctica for more operations. The probe is a follow-up to the Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer, a NASA-funded project that completed a series of underwater field tests in Mexico in 2007.

“We’re using extreme environments on Earth as our laboratory,” says Peter Doran, associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “Ice-covered lakes are good, small-scale analogs to what we might find on Europa.”

Mendota Lake is only 25 meters deep, while the lake in Antarctica, West Lake Bonney is 40 meters deep. Scientists believe that Europa’s ocean could be up to 100 kilometers deep.

Hot water drills will bore a hole for Endurance to enter the water. If all goes well, the probe will be tested again in 2009.

But many hurdles remain before an underwater vehicle could possibly head to Europa. Presently, Endurance is too massive to send on interplanetary travel. Scientists will also have to come up with a way to drill through Europa’s icy crust and lower the sub safely through the ice.

And before a probe would be sent to land on Europa, many scientists feel that an orbiting spacecraft would be the best way to study the moon. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is currently working on a concept called the Europa Explorer which would deliver a low orbit spacecraft to determine the presence (or absence) of a liquid water ocean under Europa’s ice surface. It would also map the surface and subsurface for future exploration.

Original News Sources: NASA Press Release, Washington University Press Release

February 7, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

STS-122 Space Shuttle Mission Rockets to Space

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Defying a bleak weather forecast, space shuttle Atlantis rocketed into space on Thursday, February 7, on its way to the International Space Station with a new science laboratory. The STS-122 mission had been delayed by a faulty fuel sensor, and was originally scheduled to launch last December. But today there were no problems with the sensor during fueling and the shuttle lifted off flawlessly at 2:45 p.m. EST. On board is a seven member crew and the European Space Agency’s $1.9 billion Columbus science module, Europe’s main contribution to the ISS. Atlantis will rendezvous with the station on Saturday, Feb. 9. The launch came seven years to the day after Atlantis carried NASA’ science laboratory named Destiny to the space station.

“It was a pretty clean launch,” astronaut Jim Dutton radioed the shuttle crew from mission control following the launch. “We did see, at about MET 2:13 (two minutes and 13 seconds after launch) a few piece of debris, they think at least three, that came off inboard of the LO2 (liquid oxygen) feedline just aft of the starboard bipod leg. The debris assessment team indicated they didn’t identify an impact at the time and it’s obviously under evaluation.”

The crew of Atlantis will now check out its systems and inspect the heat shield while chasing down the space station. There will be three spacewalks during the flight so astronauts can attach the Columbus lab and connect its power and fluid lines.

Atlantis’ liftoff came despite concerns that a weather front would interfere with the launch. But the weather cooperated for an on-time launch.

Installing Columbus, named after the 15th-century Italian explorer, is the main task for the 121st space shuttle mission.

“Columbus has discovered a new world, and I think that with Columbus we are discovering a totally new world,” Jean Jacques Dordain, ESA’s director general, said after the launch.

Atlantis’ seven-member crew includes two Europeans, Germany’s Hans Schlegel and France’s Leopold Eyharts. US astronauts are Commander Steven Frick, pilot Alan Poindexter, and mission specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, and Stanley Love.

“It’s great to have two laboratories in space,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASAâ€™s associate administrator for space operations.

The mission is scheduled to last 11 days.

Original News Source: NASA Press Release