Space Exploration Archives

June 4, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Mars Garden Wins at a Flower Show

I just think this is the coolest thing. But then, maybe I’ve gone a little crazy for gardening recently. A garden designed to simulate a future habitation on Mars won a Gold Medal at the Chelsea Flower Show, operated by the UK’s Royal Horticultural Society. Finally, space exploration is getting a little respect.

The exhibit is called “600 Days with Bradstone”, and it’s a simulated garden that Martian astronauts might construct to help them cope with a long journey on the Red Planet. The designer consulted with the European Space Agency to understand the physical constraints for a domed garden on Mars. Rocks were quarried from Scotland that look realistically like Martian rocks.

After a hard day’s work on the dusty surface of Mars, astronauts could enjoy a lush green garden, surrounded by plants with multiple beneficial properties, like coffee, olives, wheat and calendula. The garden also includes familiar plants that help remind the astronauts of their home.

ESA believes that future missions to Mars will require regenerative systems that can adapt and evolve over time, instead of traditional life support systems which can’t operate at peak efficiency for the long durations required for a Mars mission.

Original Source: ESA News Release

May 25, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Astronauts Will Get Some Warning When the Space Storm’s Coming

One of the great risks of space travel is the threat from solar radiation storms. An unlucky group of astronauts traveling to the Moon could get caught unprotected as a hail of charged particles and radiation blast through the spacecraft. But now NASA researchers think the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) will be able to give astronauts some warning before the big storm hits.

SOHO is normally used for scientific observations of the Sun. But it’s equipped with an instrument called the Comprehensive Suprathermal and Energetic Particle Analyzer (COSTEP), which counts particles coming from the Sun, and measures their energies.

One of the main predictors are electrons, which aren’t dangerous in themselves, but are the first wave of a coming storm. The electrons are lighter than the other particles, so they’re carried out ahead of the heavier, and more dangerous particles. By analyzing hundreds of solar storms, the researchers were able to match electrons with a predicted density of ions.

When SOHO is experiencing one of these electron storms, astronauts traveling to the Moon will be experiencing it as well. And the more dangerous ions and heavier particles are about to arrive. This advance notice will allow the astronauts to retreat to a safer location in the spacecraft and ride out the storm, suffering the minimum radiation damage.

This technique was able to predict all 4 major storms in 2003, providing advance warnings from 7 to 74 minutes.

Original Source: NASA News Release

May 1, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

NASA’s Looking for Better Gloves

NASA’s next Centennial Challenge is set to begin on May 2-3, 2007. This time, the agency is looking for suggestions from the public on how they can make better gloves for astronauts. The competition will award $200,000 to the team that can design and manufacture the best glove that meets a set of minimum criteria. The contest will take place at the New England Air Museum at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Connecticut and it’s free for the public to attend.

To meet the minimum requirements, a glove must be large enough to fit 95% of male wrists, incorporate hardware that matches NASA space suit connection, provide a range of motion for all the digits, and withstand high pressure and suffer no damage.

Each glove will be pressurized to 4.3 psid, and then instruments will measure how easily it moves through all the different movements that an astronaut will need to use. Each glove will receive points for wrist flexion, wrist extension, wrist abduction, wrist adduction, and flexion of each finger and thumb individually and together. The gloves will then be pressurized up to see how well they can handle higher pressures.

The team that beats NASA’s current glove design by the highest margin will win the prize.

Original Source: NASA News Release

March 23, 2007December 21, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Solar System Shipping Routes

Once a permanent base is set up on the Moon, it’s going to need lots of supplies shipped up from Earth. And these shipments, like water, food and air, absolutely, positively have to get there on time, or people die.
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March 1, 2007December 8, 2022 by Fraser Cain

NASA Cutbacks Will Delay Moon Missions

The New York Times is reporting that recent cutbacks to NASA’s budgets will probably push back the human return to the Moon. Instead of retiring the Space Shuttle and sending the first spacecraft back to the Moon in 2014, the first missions won’t be until 2015 instead, according to NASA administrator Michael Griffin.
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February 22, 2007December 21, 2015 by Fraser Cain

New Engine Could Let Spacecraft Do More with Less Fuel

One of the main problems with spacecraft is the cost to get them into orbit. For every kilogram you can shave off their weight, you get additional cost savings in launch expenses. A team of researchers from Georgia Tech think they have a solution to help spacecraft operate with 40% less fuel.
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October 10, 2006March 24, 2012 by Fraser Cain

Gardening for the Moon

When astronauts return to the Moon and visit Mars in the coming decades, they’ll want to bring as little as possible from Earth. That means living off the land wherever possible. Wouldn’t it be great if they could grow their own food? Researchers from Texas A&M University have grown lettuce in special cylinders that provide the plants everything they need to grow – but in a very low pressure environment.
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August 21, 2006 by Fraser Cain

NASA Invests in SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler

NASA has announced a $500 million investment in two aerospace companies: SpaceX and Rocketplane-Kistler to help develop vehicles capable of resupplying the International Space Station after the Space Shuttle is retired. The funding is split between the two companies, and requires them to meet a series of milestones as they develop their vehicles between now and the end of the decade. 20 companies originally submitted proposals to win the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration program contact.
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June 26, 2006 by Fraser Cain

Test Firing for Vega’s Second Stage

ESA’s new Vega launcher completed another milestone this week with the test firing of its Zefiro 23 second stage solid motor. The test was done at the Italian Ministry of Defence’s test centre on Sardinia. The 7.5 metre (25 foot) engine delivered more than 100 metric tonnes (220,000 pounds) of thrust, consuming its fuel in 75 seconds. Vega is designed to launch smaller payloads into lower orbits, and will serve the small satellite launch market.
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June 15, 2006March 29, 2013 by Fraser Cain

Main Engine Tests for New European Rocket

Development of Europe’s new Vega launcher is ready for a series of important tests. This new launcher is designed to launch smaller, lighter payloads than the much larger Ariane fleet of rockets. Engineers are now getting ready to test its first stage, a solid-fuel rocket motor that includes a steerable nozzle. If all goes well, the first launch of the Vega is scheduled for 2007 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
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