Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

University Returns $3 Million in Savings to NASA

Here’s something you don’t read everyday: The University of Colorado at Boulder returned nearly $3 million in cost savings to NASA for the SORCE mission, the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment, which studies how the sun’s variation influences Earth’s climate and atmosphere. The university designed, built and controls the mission. Tom Woods, principal investigator of SORCE said the cost savings were the result of a small, efficient management team, thorough pre-launch testing of prototype instruments and tight schedule adherence during the development phase. “We have a long history at LASP (Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, in Boulder) in mission and instrument development and spaceflight management and operations, and our experience clearly showed here,” said Woods. “We didn’t cut any corners, we made the best use of the available budget, and we are extremely pleased to be able to return this substantial cost savings back to NASA.”

The SORCE mission was launched by NASA in 2003. Its total budget of $100 million from 1999 to 2008 included the design and development of the satellite’s five instruments, as well as five-and-one-half years of operations, and did not include launch costs. A $2,997,000 check for the cost savings from SORCE development and operations was presented to NASA officials on June 17.

According to Woods, the cost savings during flight operations were largely due to the “sharing” of Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) personnel who also operate three other NASA satellites — ICEsat, QuikSCAT and AIM — from the CU Research Park in Boulder.
According to NASA, CU-Boulder is the single largest recipient of NASA university research dollars in the nation. In fiscal year 2007, CU-Boulder received $46.9 million from NASA and an additional $3 million in federal funds for space research from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

SORCE is part of NASA’s Earth Observing System and has greatly expanded measurements of the sun’s radiation, covering wavelengths from soft x-ray bands and ultraviolet light through the visible and near-infrared wavelengths, said Woods. Accurate measurements of solar variation are essential for predicting the sun’s influence on climate and the atmosphere and quantifying how humans are changing the environment, he said.

The SORCE mission was recently extended through 2012, providing LASP with an additional $18 million for satellite operations and data analysis. NASA ranked the SORCE mission as excellent across the board for quality, timeliness, cost and leadership, a ranking achieved by only 4 percent of all NASA missions.

Original News Source: PhysOrg

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Seals Use Astronomy as Navigation Aid

A baby Harp Seal, looking upward (Care2.com)

Yes, we’ve heard bees use the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate by. We’ve also heard about some bird species following the Sun to find the location of their evening roost. But what do we know about the animals living at sea? Do they use astronomical aids to help them find their way around the planet? Mammals such as whales are known to exhibit “skyhopping” behaviour when they surface from the water to have a look around, but seals go one step further; they can recognise and orientate themselves with the stars…

It was one of the first methods us humans used for navigation when sailing across the middle of a featureless ocean, we’d pick out known stars and constellations and relate them to our location on the planet’s surface. Explorers used astronomy to guide them to new lands, captains used the stars to direct their battleships toward the enemy and trade routes were repeatedly used thanks to star navigation. In its most basic form, star navigation could be carried out by linking stars with the location on the horizon when they rise, as was traditionally done by Polynesian sailors to colonize vast numbers of islands in the Pacific.

In a revealing study, researchers at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense have discovered that seals have the ability to recognise stars and groups of stars inside a modified planetarium. A five-metre round pool plus two harbour seals were covered with a dome with 6000 point light sources to simulate the Northern Hemisphere’s starry sky. Björn Mauck and his team found that if they selected an individual star with a laser pointer, they could train the seals to swim toward that star and then rewarded them with a treat if they did it correctly. Then the researchers would randomly orientate the dome, and without the help of a laser pointer, the seals would continue to swim toward the correct star.

“Seals and many other animals are exposed to the starry sky every clear night, and thus certainly have sufficient opportunities to learn the patterns of stars.” – Björn Mauck

This study strongly suggests that these two harbour seals have an amazing, natural ability to recognise the distribution of stars on a clear night.

So when you next see a seal popping to the ocean surface, it might not be simply checking out its surroundings, it might be trying to look for Sirius in the constellation of Canis Major…

Paper abstract: “Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) can steer by the stars“, Mauck et al., 2008
Source: New Scientist

Posted on by Jerry Coffey

Orbit of Jupiter

Orbit of the planets. Image credit: NASA/JPL

The orbit of Jupiter, like that of all the planets, is elliptical instead of circular. At perihelion(closest approach) Jupiter comes within 741 million km, or 4.95 astronomical units(AU), of the Sun. An astronomical unit is the average distance from the Earth to the Sun and is used to make astronomical distances easier to communicate. At its most distant point, called aphelion, Jupiter is 817 million km, or 5.46 AU from the Sun. The average between perihelion and aphelion is called the semi-major axis. Jupiter’s semi-major axis is 778 million km, or 5.2 AU.

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun, but it is the third brightest object in the night sky here on Earth. Since Jupiter is farther from the Sun, you would expect it to take longer to orbit, but did you know that it takes 11.86 Earth years, or 4331 Earth days for Jupiter to complete one orbit? Jupiter travels at 47,002 km/h through ts orbit. Its orbit is inclined 6.09 degrees from the the Sun’s equator. Several of the planets have seasons, similar to Earth’s, but Jupiter does not. It rotates too fast for seasonal variations(Jupiter rotates every 10 hours).

Jupiter has several companions in its orbit. By companions, I mean moons. There are 64 known moons in orbit around Jupiter with a few more being suspected. The largest four(Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) are are called the Galilean satellites. They are diverse and interesting worlds of their own. Io is the most volcanically active body in our Solar System. Europa is covered in water ice which may be covering an ocean of slushy water. Ganymede is larger than Mercury and it is the only moon in the Solar System that generates its own magnetic field. Callisto’s surface is heavily cratered and some of the larger craters may have been in place shortly after the creation of the Solar System, yet some small craters show indications of recent geologic activity. Four of Jupiter’s moons are thought to be the source of its rings. Adrastea and Metis contribute to the main ring and the halo ring. Amalthea and Thebe contribute to two separate gossamer rings.

The orbit of Jupiter is beyond comparison in our Solar System. The Jovian influence can be felt well beyond its orbit. There is so much within that orbit that scientists can make an entire career out of studying the Jovian system.

Here’s an article on Universe Today about how Jupiter might have caught one of its moons while orbiting the Sun, and more detailed information about how long a year is on Jupiter.

Here’s Hubblesite’s News Releases about Jupiter, and more information on Jupiter in NASA’s Solar System Exploration pages.

We’ve also recorded an entire show just on Jupiter for Astronomy Cast. Listen to it here, Episode 56: Jupiter, and Episode 57: Jupiter’s Moons.

Source:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Jupiter&Display=Facts

Posted on by Jerry Coffey

Does Jupiter Have Rings

Jupiter's rings. Image Credit: University of Maryland

We all known that Saturn has rings, but does Jupiter have rings? Yes, it does. Four planets have a rings system: Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. Saturn is best know because it has the brightest and most extensive rings system in the Solar System.

The rings around Jupiter had never been seen before Voyager 1 arrived in 1979. Since then the rings have been observed by the largest telescopes on Earth, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the New Horizons spacecraft. So far, only four rings have been observed: the halo ring, the main ring, the Amalthea gossamer ring, and the Thebe gossamer ring.

Jupiter’s rings and moons exist within an intense radiation belt of electrons and ions trapped in the planet’s magnetic field. These particles and fields comprise the Jovian magnetosphere or magnetic environment, which extends 3 to 7 million km toward the sun, and stretches in a windsock shape at least 750 million km, which puts it inside of Saturn’s orbit.

The main ring is about 7,000 km wide and has an abrupt outer boundary 129,130 km from the center of the planet. The main ring encompasses the orbits of two small moons, Adrastea and Metis, which may act as the source for the dust that makes up most of the ring. The ring needs a constant source of dust because small particles can only exist for 100 to 1000 years. The dust is thought to rise from moons within the rings due to micrometeoroid impacts. The main ring merges gradually into the Halo ring. The halo is a broad, faint torus of material about 20,000 km thick and extending halfway from the main ring down to the planet’s cloudtops.

On the outer edge of the main ring and opposite of the halo ring, is the broad and extremely faint Amalthea gossamer ring. This ring extends out beyond the orbit of the moon Amalthea. Scientists believe that it is composed of dust particles smaller than 10 microns. 10 microns is about the size of cigarette smoke particles. It extends to an outer edge of about 129,000 km from the center of the planet and inward to about 30,000 km. The origin of the ring is probably from micrometeorite bombardment of the tiny moons orbiting within the ring. Last, is the Thebe gossamer ring. This is the faintest of the Jovian rings and extended from the orbit of the moon Thebe at about 226,000 km towards the planet, ending at about 129,000 km. The exact inner edges of the two gossamer rings are hard to define because they overlap the brighter main ring.

So, the answer to ”does Jupiter have rings” is yes, it has four known rings. Be sure to read about the ring systems of Neptune and Uranus as well.

Here’s a news article from Universe Today about the rings of Jupiter, and information about New Horizon’s observations of Jupiter’s rings.

Here’s NASA’s Solar System explorer information about Jupiter’s rings, and a cool image from Astronomy Picture of the Day of Jupiter’s rings.

We’ve also recorded an entire show just on Jupiter for Astronomy Cast. Listen to it here, Episode 56: Jupiter, and Episode 57: Jupiter’s Moons.

Source:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Jupiter&Display=Rings

Posted on by Jerry Coffey

How Strong Is Jupiter’s Gravity?

Clouds on Jupiter. Image credit: NASA/JPL

Jupiter is the most massive planet in our Solar System and; therefore, the gravity of Jupiter is the most intense in the Solar System. The gravity of Jupiter is 2.5 times what it is here on Earth.

In the 1990s Jupiter’s gravity tore apart Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 and pulled the broken pieces into the to planet. This marked the first time that humans had direct observation of two extraterrestrial Solar System bodies colliding. Jupiter had actually captured the asteroid between 20 and 30 years prior to impact and it had been orbiting the planet since. In 1992, the asteroid entered Jupiter’s Roche limit and was broken apart by the planet’s tidal forces. The asteroid resembled a string of pearls until its fragments impacted the surface July 16-22 of 1994. The fragments were as large as 2 km each and hit the surface at 60 km/s. The impacts allowed astronomers to make several new discoveries about Jupiter.

Astronomers found several chemicals within the Jovian atmosphere that had not been seen prior to the impacts. Diatomic sulfur and carbon disulfide were the most interesting. This was only the second time that diatomic sulfur had been detected in any astronomical object. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were detected for the first time on Jupiter. You can read up on other discoveries made during and shortly after these impacts by reading this article and this pdf from C.A. Olano.

Some scientists, including Jacques Laskar of the Paris Observatory, as well as Konstantin Batygin and Gregory Laughlin of the University of California, Santa Cruz believe that Jupiter’s gravity may lead to the destruction of Mercury. After running some simulations the group found that Jupiter is perturbing Mercury’s already eccentric orbit. They arrived at four possible end results: Mercury will crash into the Sun, Mercury will be ejected from the solar system altogether, Mercury will crash into Venus, or Mercury will crash into Earth. None is pleasant for Mercury and the last would be even less pleasant for humans. Not to fear though, none of these possible outcomes will happen in the next 5-7 billion years anyway.

The gravity of Jupiter affects every planet to one degree or another. It is strong enough to tear asteroids apart and capture 64 moons at least. Some scientist think that Jupiter destroyed many celestial objects in the ancient past as well as prevented other planets from forming. How’s that for a powerful neighbor?

Here’s an article from Universe Today about how Jupiter’s gravity might actually wreck the Solar System, and here’s an article about how big planets like Jupiter could get.

Use this site to calculate your weight on other worlds, and here’s more information about Comet P/Shoemaker Levy 9.

We’ve also recorded an entire show just on Jupiter for Astronomy Cast. Listen to it here, Episode 56: Jupiter, and Episode 57: Jupiter’s Moons.

Sources:
http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9/
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1996EM%26P…73..147H

Posted on by Jerry Coffey

What is the Diameter of Jupiter?

Jupiter seen from Voyager. Image credit: NASA/JPL

The diameter of Jupiter at its equator is 142,984 km. Since it rotates very quickly, completing a full rotation in just 10 hours, it is an oblate spheroid and bulges at the equator. If you measure the diameter through the poles it is 9,276 km smaller at 133,708 km. Solely based on diameter, Jupiter is 11.2 times the size of the Earth and larger than any other body in our Solar System other than the Sun.

The diameter of Jupiter is amazingly large for our Solar System, but is easily eclipsed by some extrasolar planets. According to Dr. Sean Raymond at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy at the University of Colorado the largest terrestrial(rocky like Earth) planets can be up to 10 times the size of Earth. Since Jupiter is a gas giant, let’s compare apples to apples and talk about the largest known gas giant in the universe. As of this time(August, 2011) the largest gas giant known is TrES-4. This planet is 1,400 light years away in the constellation Hercules. It has been measured to be 1.4 times the size of Jupiter, but it only has 0.84 times Jupiter’s mass. A gas giant can get about 14 times more massive than Jupiter before they ignite fusion and become brown dwarf stars.

A common question that people ask is ”can Jupiter ever become a star?”. That is a reasonable question given its size and mass. Fortunately for humans, the answer is no. Jupiter would need to add about 80 times its current mass in order to ignite fusion. While the planet occasionally accretes more matter, there is not enough available in our Solar System to add that much mass. If it did ignite, it would scorch our world

Jupiter interests scientists for many reasons. Its moons are a major draw for research. The planet has 64 moons that have been confirmed and a few more that have rarely been observed. The moons in the Jovian system account for 50% of all of the moons in our Solar System. A few of those moons are larger than some dwarf planets and others show evidence of subsurface oceans. Scientist are not sure if they are oceans of water as we know it, but they do believe that they exist.

The diameter of Jupiter is an awesome number in itself, but, once you consider the planet as a whole, you see that knowing the diameter is just scratching the surface. Hopefully, it is enough to spark an interest in researching the planet further.

Here’s more information on the diameter of Earth, if you’d like to compare and see how big Jupiter really is. Jupiter’s big, but extrasolar planets are thought to be able to get even bigger. Here’s an article about how big planets can get.

As I’ve mentioned above, Jupiter is the biggest planet in the Solar System, and here’s Hubblesite’s News Releases about Jupiter.

We’ve also recorded an entire show just on Jupiter for Astronomy Cast. Listen to it here, Episode 56: Jupiter, and Episode 57: Jupiter’s Moons.

Sources:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Jupiter&Display=OverviewLong
http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/news/tres4.cfm

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Super-Earths: How Much Are They Like Earth?

With yesterday’s announcement about finding a batch of so-called “super-Earths” – rocky alien worlds a few times more massive than our own – as well as another announcement back in May that 45 relatively low mass planets had been found, it’s obvious astronomers are constantly improving on their techniques to find new worlds. While the vast majority of the almost 300 previously discovered exoplanets are Jupiter-like gas giants, the new discoveries of large numbers of small planets – and especially that at least three of them orbit one star — suggests that they are abundant in our galaxy, and may outnumber Jupiter-sized giants by 3 to 1. But how much like Earth are these alien worlds?

Super-Earths are planets that have than ten times or less the mass of Earth. The three planets around the star HD 40307 have masses of 4.2, 6.7, and 9.4 times the mass of the Earth. They orbit their star with periods of 4.3, 9.6, and 20.4 days, respectively. That’s a short orbital period, meaning they are very close to the star. Since they are close to the star, astronomers believe its likely they are terrestrial, rocky-type planets rather than gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn. But also, being so close to the star means they are very warm – perhaps 1000 degrees Celsius. This would not be a pleasant or probable environment for life as we know it to take a foothold. But we don’t know for sure, and since we are curious creatures, we want to know more about these planets.

The observatory that made the discovery of the 3 planets around HD40307, as well as the 45 planets that were announced back in May is the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) survey based at the European Southern Observatory in La Silla, Chile. Astronomers spotted them by recording how each planet’s gravitational tug makes its parent star wobble.

But now astronomers know these planets are there, they can try other methods of studying the planets to glean some detailed information about what these planets are like. For years, astronomers have been waiting for a super-Earth to be found with an orbit that “transits” its parent star: in other words, it passes directly in front of the star as viewed from Earth. When exoplanets have short orbital periods, the likelihood of being able to observing transits increases. These new planets fit that category.

Being able to observe transits would give astronomers data to help figure out many of the planet’s characteristics, from measuring its radius to deducing its internal structure to “seeing” its atmosphere.

Getting information about the planet’s atmosphere would be especially exciting. By watching for changes in a star’s spectrum as it filters a fraction of the star’s light during a transit, the presence of methane and water vapor in the gaseous atmosphere could be revealed.


A few satellites are capable of watching for a transit, among them the Canadian MOST satellite. Another is the recycled Deep Impact spacecraft that is hosting the EPOCh (Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization) mission. So far, 4 new planets have been found with this spacecraft, using the transit method, and the goal of the mission is to find an exoplanet smaller than Earth. Also, EPOCh hopes to be able to identify features on an exoplanet, such as continents and oceans. Exciting prospect, indeed.

It’s only a matter of time until astronomers will be able to tell us how Earth-like these newly found Super Earths are.

Sources: New Scientist, Bad Astronomy, EPOCh

Posted on by Tammy Plotner

Telescope Review – Celestron NexStar 102 SLT

Celestron NexStar 102 SLT

Are you looking for a sweet little telescope that can take abuse and keep coming back for more? Designed for the advanced beginner, or for those interested in a highly portable telescope referred to as “Grab and Go”, the Celestron NexStar 102 SLT automated telescope goes through a year-long Tammy Test and graduates with honors…

First off, I’m not too keen on the idea of a GoTo telescope – much less a refractor. In my early years I found refractors to be uncomfortable to use, easy to dew, and just plain not as much deep sky fun as a reflector. As for the GoTo? I genuinely feel you do yourself a disservice by not learning to use an equatorial mount and a star chart. Misgivings aside, it was time to take a look at new technology and see what a year’s worth of use would do to it.

Assembling the Celestron NexStar 102 SLT

Unlike the variety of telescopes I’ve used over the years with complicated equatorial mounts and drive units, the Celestron NexStar is swift and efficient. The tripod is lightweight aluminum, and stands up to time. Despite repeated uses and even overtightening, the legs extend quickly and lock securely using the hand turn knobs. No wing nuts here to get dropped and lost in the dark. The center accessory tray bracket is permanently connected and folds down when the tripod is opened. What’s more, the knob that connects the accessory tray is captive – it can’t get lost. Even though these particular parts are some type of polymer, they are extremely durable and even the occasional cross-threading doesn’t strip them out.

At the top of the tripod is the mount cradle. Again, extremely simple and captively elegant. There is simply no “wrong way” to attach the mount to the tripod and no way to lose the parts that connect it. The mount itself is fully contained. Nothing is exposed to chance or wear. As for durability? Surprise, surprise. The drive motors are contained inside the mount and despite being dropped hard enough to make the exterior cover come off, it popped right back on and absolutely no damage was done.

Once the mount is connected, the telescope optical tube assembly (OTA) comes next. Again, captive screws mean even arthritic hands will not fumble these parts. The OTA attaches to the mount with what is called a “clamshell”. It’s a hinged affair that you simply fold over the telescope body and tighten down.

Last, but not least, are the accessories. Supplied with the Celestron NexStar SLT is a red dot finder that slides on easily on a dovetail mount, a cheap – but serviceable – 1.25″ star diagonal, and two excellent SMA eyepieces. The controller is easily attached into a port on the side of the mount with what looks like a telephone jack and the battery pack is internal to stop cord wrap. Set up time? Twenty minutes the first time… Less than five when you get used to it.

Aligning and Using the Celestron NexStar 102 SLT

So, here’s where my misgivings with GoTo units usually start. I’ve played with a lot of encoders and a lot of different units over the years and I’d usually get frustrated because it would take longer to get the units working than it took just to starhop. In the case of the Celestron NexStar, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn’t take a whole lot of learning to use the system. Simply use the keypad to level the scope pointed north (remotely close is fine), and set the date, time and location. Press Go, and the little beast is off and running on its own – seeking out an alignment star. Use the keypad to move the red dot center on the star and enter again. Now, go to the eyepiece, center the star as much as possible and enter. Guess what? That’s all it takes.

The more accurate you are with your time, location (latitude and longitude) and centering – the more accurate the scope becomes. Even loosely set, and I do mean loosely here, folks… A low power, wide field eyepiece will bring almost everything into the field of view on the first try. After that, it’s a joy ride of selecting objects from the data base. If it tries to go to something below the horizon? It will tell you. If it might tangle itself trying to go to what you tell it? It won’t let you. If you try to slew it towards the Sun? A little hand reaches right out of the keypad and slaps you upside the head. It knows better! And it learns… Oh, yes… It learns each time you center a new object up and corrects itself.

What Can You See With the Celestron NexStar 102 SLT?

Everything in the database? No way, Jose. Before you go getting all excited about a 4,000 celestial objects database, remember you are using a 4″ telescope here. We’re talking about a limiting stellar magnitude of around 12 here, so objects much fainter than about magnitude 10 or 11 under average skies are about as good as you’re going to get. However, if you ask it to go to an object, it says it’s there and you don’t see it? Try looking at the on-screen data. Chances are you’re trying for something that is beyond this sweet little telescope’s grasp.

Lunar and planetary performance is outstanding. Being a refractor, it could be no less. Because the Celestron NexStar 102 is driven, it’s possible to drop in some ridiculously high power and get a decent image. Double stars are crisp and clean, and here’s the kicker… Deep sky (nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters) are surprisingly well resolved for such small aperture. When I can pick out the dark dust lane in the Sombrero Galaxy with a 4″ aperture? I’m delighted. When open star clusters sparkle? I’m enchanted. When globular clusters try to resolve? I’m fascinated. When nebulae smoke out of the sky? I’m hooked. A little scope that can!

Final Words On The Celestron NexStar 102 SLT: What’s Good And What Isn’t

The supplied 1.25″ eyepieces are excellent – but the diagonal needs an upgrade. On a happy note, it comes with a 2″ focuser, so do yourself a favor when you’re ready to step up your optics to the next level and go with the bigger accessories. If you can’t afford the full 2″ line, at least start with the 2″ diagonal and use a reducer to accept the 1.25″ eyepieces. You’ll have this scope for a long time and the upgrade is worth it.

Word of warning… It’s a battery eater. Even the high buck batteries don’t last. Having battery power is great when you’re in the field where no electrical outlet is available, but it won’t be long until you’re purchasing a power tank. Happy note? You can connect it to your car battery via the lighter, and the AC converter is very inexpensive.

Dew? Yep. It’s a refractor’s worst enemy. But, surprisingly, Celestron thought of that and the dew shield is included. Just remember, that won’t keep the fog monster away from your eyepieces, but taking care to cover them during the critical point means being able to stay outside and play a lot longer.

Again, don’t ever forget this is a small aperture telescope and it’s not going to reveal every heavenly treasure you dream of and what you see is going to be small. It does rich field, so picture yourself looking at the Ring Nebula about as big as a Cheerio on a dinner plate, ok? But small aperture has it’s advantages… The whole thing only weighs 14 pounds, so it is incredibily easy to take with you as a carry on, or to sling over your shoulder and walk. There’s definitely something to be said about a scope that you can carry everything, including your eyepiece case, folding chair and cooler in one trip!

Usability factor? Don’t give the Celestron NexStar 102 to a small child – but do give it to anyone old enough to read and follow a few simple instructions. Durability factor? It’s been carried around in a car trunk for weeks at a time, strapped on the back of a motorcycle, knocked over at a public outreach event, and traveled to many star parties and still performs flawlessly. It is not a Takahashi, but Celestron produces quality optics and you will not be disappointed with your investment in this $500 telescope.

I wasn’t.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

NASA Says Launchpad Damage Shouldn’t Impact Shuttle Schedule

About 5,300 special heat-resistant bricks broke off a flame trench wall of launchpad 39 A at Kennedy Space Center during the space shuttle launch on May 31, hurling some bricks more than 1,800 feet. Engineers assessing the damage said on Monday they are confident the flame trench can be repaired in time for NASA’s next mission, the Oct. 8 launch of shuttle Atlantis on a flight to service the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA allowed journalists to survey the damage to the pad, as well as a heavily damaged security fence around the pad perimeter, with bricks scattered across a wide area around the pad.

The flame trench diverts exhaust to flow out both sides of the launchpad. The missing bricks exposed an irregular area of the concrete wall measuring roughly 20 feet by 75 feet. New bricks cannot be manufactured in time to support the Hubble mission, but engineers believe the trench can be repaired by stripping away additional bricks around the damage area, erecting a steel mesh framework and then spraying on a thick coating of a heat resistant covering.


NASA still does not know exactly what caused the flame trench to come apart and why it broke now, after decades of use. The launch pads were built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1960s for the Saturn rockets that sent the Apollo missions to the moon.

The space agency is inspecting its other launch pad, 39 B, to see whether it, too, has flaws. Both launchpads will be needed for the Hubble mission, as a second shuttle needs to be ready to go, as post-Columbia flight guidelines require a backup shuttle to serve as a recue ship for any mission not going to the International Space Station, where the crew could take refuge if any damage occurred that would prohibit the shuttle from landing.

Previously, NASA said, the worst damage to a launch pad was the loss of 800 bricks from the flame trench at Pad B during Challenger’s doomed liftoff in 1986.

News Sources: AP, CBS News Space Place

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Phoenix Finds No Water on Mars Surface… So Far

Color-coded elevation map shows the "Dodo-Goldilocks" trench dug by the Robotic Arm on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander (NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University/NASA Ames Research Center)

The results are now in from the first sample of Mars regolith to be baked in Phoenix’s oven. It’s not good news… there’s no water. After a difficult time of actually delivering the sample to the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) – a.k.a. the “oven” – scientists were hopeful for a clear science run. They were finally able to sift the clumpy regolith through the TEGA screen last week. However, the sample was waiting on the deck of Phoenix for some time until tests could be carried out on the sample; it seems probable that any water ice will have sublimed into the thin atmosphere. This first null result by no means suggests the area is devoid of water, Phoenix has many more water-finding tricks up its sleeves yet…

On June 11th, Phoenix mission control breathed a sigh of relief as they found a solution to the problem of getting the clumpy Mars regolith through the oven screen. Over the weekend they were able to carry out the first tests on the sample and it appears that everything functioned as it should when the sample was heated to 35°C (95°F). At this temperature any water in the sample will have melted. In the second phase of the test, the sample was heated up to 175°C (350°F). No water vapour was detected.

“We saw no water coming off the soil whatsoever” – William Boynton, TEGA team leader, University of Arizona.

Scientists are in no way surprised or discouraged about this early result. The regolith sample sat atop the lander’s TEGA hatch for several days whilst scientists tried to find an answer as to why no particles had fallen into the oven. It is believed that any water ice in the sample will have quickly vaporized in the Martian sunlight and thin atmosphere. As the atmospheric pressure is so low on Mars, exposed water ice cannot melt into liquid water, it will sublime straight to water vapour (by-passing the liquid phase).

Over the coming days, scientists will instruct Phoenix to fire up the TEGA again to heat the sample to 1000°C (1800°F). This will vaporize minerals that might be chemically bound to H2O, CO2 or SO2 and then use instrumentation to measure the vented gases. Scientists are very confident that, although water has not been directly detected today, they will detect evidence of its existence in the next round of tests.

Whilst the drama unfolds in the lander’s oven, Phoenix continues its excavation work on the surface with its robotic arm. It has just expanded a trench (a 3D visualization can be seen at the top of this post) by linking the two trenches “Dodo” and “BabyBear” into a new united “Dodo-Goldilocks” trench. This is the location where scientists noticed white sediment last Friday, so they will be keen to learn whether this is water or salt.

Source: Space.com