Posted on by Fraser Cain

Beagle 2 Just Didn’t Have the Money to Succeed

This inquiry focussed upon the way in which the UK Government supported the Beagle 2 consortium in the development of a lander for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express mission and the implications of the project for future Government space policy.

We found that the Government was admirably enthusiastic about this exciting but high risk project. However, it was unable to respond to its relatively sudden emergence to find the guaranteed financial backing that was needed to support the development of a lander against extremely tight time and mass constraints. As a result of this, and the failure of sponsorship income to materialise, the project could not proceed to its development and testing phases as early as it should, with a consequent detrimental impact on its chances of success. We have called for improvements in the Government’s capacity to respond to major financial commitments at short notice.

The decision for the lander to be developed separately from the orbiter has been acknowledged to be wrong. It reduced the scope for flexible and co-ordinated management of the mission. It also contributed to tensions in the relationship between the Beagle 2 consortium, ESA and other contractors, which increased as technical difficulties with the lander created doubts in some quarters at ESA about the viability of the lander. The decision was in line with existing ESA policy. It was also reinforced by a desire on the UK side for the lander to be distinctively British and a reluctance by ESA Member States to take any financial responsibility for a UK-led project. These concerns must be overcome in future, ESA-managed, missions.

We found that oversight of the Beagle 2 project, both by ESA and the UK Government, was lacking. When the project ran into difficulties, both sides belatedly intervened to introduce more certainty to the financial and management arrangements, but failed to ensure that the most important weaknesses in the mission were adequately addressed.

The Beagle 2 project had wider goals than the search for life on Mars. Technologies developed by UK teams have potential uses in other fields, such as medicine. We welcome the emphasis the Government has given to the science in society and educational objectives behind its support for the project, which helped justify the financial commitment made. The Beagle 2 project also placed the UK in a strong position to contribute to future ESA space exploration missions. These benefits should not be wasted. In this context, we welcome the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council’s (PPARC) decision to fund early UK participation in ESA’s Aurora space exploration programme. Long term participation will be expensive however. In view of the benefits accruing to the wider scientific community and UK science more generally, we have recommended that the Government does not leave it to PPARC alone to fund future UK involvement.

Original Source: Beagle 2 Failure Report

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Stromlo Opens Up Again After the Fire

A new page is set to be written in Australian scientific history with the establishment of new buildings at Mt Stromlo Observatory.

Staff at the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics are celebrating not just the commencement of the $36 million first stage of the historic observatory?s redevelopment; but also the announcement that the site will re-open to the public on Saturday, 30 October 2004, with self-guided tours of the site and a night sky viewing program.

?After getting an average of 70,000 visitors per year and conducting some of the world?s leading astronomical research from Mt Stromlo, the fires of January 2003 were a huge blow not just for our staff, but for the global astronomical community,? the Research School?s Director, Professor Penny Sackett, said.

?Now, 21 months after the fire, it is really exciting to commence construction of the first stage of the new Stromlo. This stage will involve the construction of an Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre, the rebuild of a destroyed multi-million dollar optical instrument and the construction of a new telescope. Plans for the second stage of redevelopment are already well advanced.

?A huge volume of work has preceded this moment. Plans for each building have had to comply with heritage considerations and with much data about the history of the site lost in the fires, that process has taken quite a lot of time.

?We are also hopeful that insurance issues will be settled soon, enabling us to plan for the full redevelopment of the Observatory.

?It is vital to recognise that despite the fires and subsequent delays in reconstruction, Mt Stromlo has continued to be a major international centre for astronomical research. Our staff have used telescopes at the ANU Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran and other telescopes around the world for their research and continue to make some of the most exciting discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics.?

The 2003 fires destroyed a superbly-equipped workshop complex, seven houses, five telescopes and a historic administration building. Demolition of parts of several buildings was allowed to commence in August after permission was granted by the Department of Environment and Heritage and the National Capital Authority, pending final approval of the redevelopment plan. The demolition process has now made the site safe for public access.

?It is fantastic to once more be able to welcome the public back to Mt Stromlo. We weren?t able to make the site safe for public visits until demolition and reconstruction plans were approved. The commencement of our night viewing program on Saturday marks an important milestone in our recovery, allowing the public to experience some of the same excitement about the Universe that we feel in our daily work at the Observatory.?

Funding for the redevelopment will come from a Federal Government grant, donations and partial payments from insurance companies. Money donated by the public will be used to fund domes that will house small telescopes for public viewing of the night sky, one of which is a historic telescope salvaged from the heritage Commonwealth Solar Observatory building.

The key ingredients of the first stage of redevelopment are:

? The Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre, which will replace the workshops destroyed in the blaze, offering expanded design, manufacturing and testing capabilities for precision optical instruments, opportunities for higher degree student participation in technical projects, and a research and development program focusing on Extremely Large Telescopes.

? The world?s fastest sky-mapping telescope, the SkyMapper, to be installed at the ANU Siding Spring Observatory, but controlled from Mt Stromlo through an ultra-fast broadband link. SkyMapper will complete the first digital all-sky map of the Southern Sky.

? The $6 million Near-infrared Integral-Field Spectrograph, being rebuilt for the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii in partnership with Auspace.

Construction of Stage Two will commence as further insurance money is received in compensation for the fires. ANU is still in active discussions with three insurers over full payment for damage of Mt Stromlo.

Mt Stromlo will be open from 10am-3pm on Saturday 30 October and 10am-5pm on Sunday 31 October. Mt Stromlo will then open to the public every Wednesday to Sunday between 10am-5pm. Saturday night sky viewing (Saturday Stargazing) will commence on Saturday 30 October. Bookings essential, call Natalie T: 02 6125 0232.

Original Source: ANU News Release

Posted on by Fraser Cain

What’s Up This Week? Nov 1 – 7, 2004

Image credit: NASA
Monday, November 1 – As the new month begins, we’ve already began to feel the impact of the shorter daylight hours and I am sure many of you have noticed the migration of the birds. What better time to explore the infamous “Wild Duck” cluster than in the short span of time we have tonight before the Moon rises?

Discovered in 1681 by German astronomer, Gottfried Kirch, at the Berlin Observatory, M11 was later cataloged by Charles Messier in 1764 and first dubbed the “Wild Ducks” by Admiral Smyth. To our modern telescopes and binoculars, there is little doubt as to how this rich galactic cluster earned its name – for it has a distinctive wedge-shaped pattern that closely resembles a flight of ducks. This fantastic open cluster of several thousand stars (about 500 of them are magnitude 14 or brighter) is approximately 250 million years old!

Image credit: NASA
M11 is easily located by identifying our last week’s study object – Altair. By counting two stars “down” the “body” of Aquila and stopping on Lambda you will find your starhop “guide”. Near Lambda you will see three stars, the centermost is Eta Scuti. Now just aim! Even small binoculars will have no problem finding M11, but a telescope is required to start resolving individual stars. The larger the telescope’s aperture the more stars will be revealed.

Image credit: NASA
Tuesday, November 2 – Tonight will be a great opportunity before the Moon rises to try your hand at finding Uranus and Neptune. Uranus will be fairly easy to spot in small binoculars just due west Sigma Aquarii. At a respectable magnitude 5.8, it will appear to this low power view as a blue/green “star”, but telescopes will reveal its 3.5″ disc with no problem. At magnitude 7.9, Neptune is harder to find, but not impossible in moderately dark skies.

The key to finding Neptune is to locate bright Alpha and Beta in Capricornus’ northwest corner. From there, drop due south to find a close grouping of three stars. Now go due west until you spot moderately bright Theta about central in the constellation. Theta will be your guide and you will find Neptune west/northwest of it by using a more detailed locator chart. Neptune will appear as a small (2.3″ diameter) blue-grey disk to higher power, but that’s pretty remarkable considering it’s over four and half billion kilometers away from the Sun!

Don’t think that’s challenge enough? Then large telescope owners and webcam “hot shots” are encouraged to try for Neptune’s most visible moon, Triton, at magnitude 13. Best of luck!

Image credit: NASA
Wednesday, November 3 – For those of you who have awaited the chance to find Saturn easily? Then tonight is your night. Rising by local midnight the waning Moon will be your guide to finding Saturn – for the “Ring King” will appear about 6 degrees south. (If you can’t stay up that late? Don’t worry! The pair will still be there before dawn.)

Saturn is absolutely magnificent in even the smallest of telescopes. Its amazing ring system and bright moon Titan are easily perceived at modest magnification and even larger binoculars will reveal its planetary nature. Larger telescopes will appreciate Saturnian features such as the Cassini division and shadow of the planet against the ring system.

Moon viewer’s will also appreciate tonight’s highlighted view of the Apennine Mountain range. Stretching a massive distance of 750 km (450 miles) the Apennine Mountain range makes up the south east wall of Mare Ibrium. Truly a delight!

***image6***On November 3, 1957 the Russian Space Program launched its first “live” astronaut into space – Laika. Carried on board Sputnik 2, our canine hero was the first living creature to reach orbit. The quickly developed Sputnik 2 was designed with sensors to transmit ambient pressure, breathing patterns and heartbeat of its passenger along with a television camera monitor. The craft also monitored ultraviolet and x-ray radiation as well to further study the impact of space flight upon human occupants. Unfortunately, the technology of the time offered no way to return Laika to Earth, so she perished in space. On April 14, 1958, Laika and Sputnik 2 returned to Earth in a fiery re-entry ending after 2,570 orbits.

***image7***Thursday, November 4 – Prepare yourself for this week’s exciting astronomical event! Before local sunrise this morning, bright Venus and returning Jupiter will make a dazzling appearance in the eastern sky as they appear around one half a degree apart! This spectacular display will delight viewers of all ages and skill levels. Very visible to the naked eye, this bright pairing will offer outstanding photographic opportunities and well as a memorable observing experience through either telescopes or binoculars.

This morning will be the peak of the Southern Taurid meteor shower. Already making headlines around the world for producing fireballs, the Taurids will be best visible in the earlier evening hours before moonrise. The radiant for this shower is, of course, the constellation of Taurus and red giant Aldeberan, but did you know the Taurids are divided into two streams? It is surmised that the original parent comet shattered as it passed our Sun around 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. The larger “chunk” continued orbiting and is known as periodic comet Encke. The remaining debris field turned into smaller asteroids, meteors and larger fragments that often pass through our atmosphere creating astounding “fireballs” known as bolides. Although the fall rate for this particular shower is rather low at 7 per hour, these slow traveling meteors (27km or 17 miles per second) are usually very bright and appear to almost “trundle” across the sky. With the chances high all week of seeing a bolide, this makes a bit of quiet contemplation under the stars a worthy evening.

While you are out meteor watching, take the opportunity to check out the Moon. Tonight’s highlighted features will be craters Pltomaeus, Alphonsus and Arzachel.

***image8***Friday, November 5 – Did you miss your opportunity to see Venus and Jupiter yesterday? Then don’t despair for the pair will still be very visible in the pre-dawn skies this morning as well. They’ve just changed positions slightly! Two additional challenges for this morning is the appearance of Mars low on the horizon and the return of Comet LINEAR C/2003 K4.

Viewers with an open horizon to the east/south east are strongly encouraged to take out even the smallest of binoculars or telescopes and attempt to find Comet K4 in the basic center of the constellation of Corvus. The four primary stars of Corvus are easy to recognize and finding the comet should be a cinch. The two southernmost stars are Beta and Epsilon – almost directly between them and slightly to the north is Theta. It is around this star your will find the comet! Starting November 1, K4 will be north of Theta and will be slightly southwest of it on this date. At predicted magnitude 5, this bright comet is on the verge of naked-eye visibility and will be a snap to find with binoculars.

For Moonwatchers tonight, take the opportunity to revisit the “Straight Wall”. While we learned about Rupes Recta during the waxing phase two weeks ago, the waning phase will create the finest appearance of the “Straight Wall” this month.

***image9***Saturday and Sunday, November 6 and 7 – Thanks to the later rise of the Moon this weekend, right now would be a great time to think “all about Andromeda”. The first of our objects for tonight can be a naked-eye observation from a dark sky site, an easy catch with binoculars even from urban locations and absolutely outstanding in telescopes. Of whom do I speak so highly? Why, of the Great Andromeda Galaxy of course!

For those of you just beginning in astronomy, you owe it to yourself to find a dark sky location and try locating a galaxy whose light left almost 3 million years ago with just your eyes! Although I have provided you with a map, it’s not always as easy to use one as it may seem. If you are having difficulties, try this simple trick. About an hour or so after the Sun sets and the skies are completely dark, go out and face east. About halfway between the horizon and the zenith, look for a wide pattern of four stars that resemble a large diamond. This is the Great Square of Pegasus! To the left of you, look for the flattened M of the constellation of Cassiopeia. Now, returning to the Great Square, focus on the left hand star and point at it. Moving left, count this as one bright star. Going left, two – a much dimmer one, and more left, three, a bright one – and stop. Above this star (and toward Cassiopeia) you will see another star, and above that? A hazy, fuzzy patch of glow that is the Andromeda Galaxy! As far back as 905 A.D., this galaxy has been known as “The Little Cloud” and appeared on ancient star charts long before the telescope was even dreamed of. It also appeared on Dutch starmaps as far back as 1500, but wasn’t cataloged by Messier until August 3, 1764. One of the first telescopic descriptions actually dates back to 1612! Even the great Edmond Halley in 1716 credited its discovery incorrectly to French astronomer Bullialdus in 1661, even though it had been reported 150 years earlier.

***image10***As a part of our own “Local Group” of eleven galaxies, the Andromeda galaxy is our nearest large neighbor. Both it and our own Milky Way are approaching each other at about 100 km per second. But not to worry – the M31 is still almost 2.9 million light years away!

Now, focus binoculars on the area and be prepared to journey across space and time…

Small telescopes and binoculars at low power will have no trouble seeing the M31’s bright nucleus and 4 degrees of extension. Larger binoculars and mid-range telescopes will find that the Andromeda contains a triple treat, as the M32 and M110 galaxies also accompany it. For those of you with large telescopes who scoff at such a simple target as the Andromeda? Then I highly encourage you to “power up” and study the NGC206 on the M31’s southern flank. This region of nebulosity and starbirth is a challenge object worthy of your optics and you’ll be studying a DSO in another galaxy!

While you’re in the neighborhood? Take the time to study the map and visit with Gamma Andromeda. Almach is a wonderful double star, and its yellowish primary and blue-green secondary are easily split by modest telescopes. Again, for those of you with larger telescopes and precision optics there’s another challenge here. Almach’s secondary star is also a double!

Until next week fellow stargazers? Keep looking up! I wish you clear skies and light speed… ~Tammy Plotner

Posted on by Fraser Cain

China Announces Upcoming Spaceflight Plans

China joined Russia and America in putting a human into space over a year ago, and they’re getting ready to do it again. Officials from the China Aerospace Science and Technology (Cast) agency announced their upcoming plans to put more people into space next year. If all goes well, they’ll launch two astronauts this time, and keep them in space for 5 days. Engineers are working to improve the Shenzhou spacecraft’s performance, power generation, and environmental controls to support two astronauts. China is also planning on sending a robotic probe to orbit the Moon within 2 years, and another to land on it by 2010.

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Why Time Might Flow in One Direction

Image credit: University of Chicago
The big bang could be a normal event in the natural evolution of the universe that will happen repeatedly over incredibly vast time scales as the universe expands, empties out and cools off, according to two University of Chicago physicists.

?We like to say that the big bang is nothing special in the history of our universe,? said Sean Carroll, an Assistant Professor in Physics at the University of Chicago. Carroll and University of Chicago graduate student Jennifer Chen will electronically publish a paper describing their ideas at http://arxiv.org/.

Carroll and Chen?s research addresses two ambitious questions: why does time flow in only one direction, and could the big bang have arisen from an energy fluctuation in empty space that conforms to the known laws of physics?

The question about the arrow of time has vexed physicists for a century because ?for the most part the fundamental laws of physics don?t distinguish between past and future. They?re time-symmetric,? Carroll said.

And closely bound to the issue of time is the concept of entropy, a measure of disorder in the universe. As physicist Ludwig Boltzmann showed a century ago, entropy naturally increases with time. ?You can turn an egg into an omelet, but not an omelet into an egg,? Carroll said.

But the mystery remains as to why entropy was low in the universe to begin with. The difficulty of that question has long bothered scientists, who most often simply leave it as a puzzle to answer in the future.

Carroll and Chen have made an attempt to answer it now.

Previous researchers have approached questions about the big bang with the assumption that entropy in the universe is finite. Carroll and Chen take the opposite approach. ?We?re postulating that the entropy of the universe is infinite. It could always increase,? Chen said.

To successfully explain why the universe looks as it does today, both approaches must accommodate a process called inflation, which is an extension of the big bang theory. Astrophysicists invented inflation theory so that they could explain the universe as it appears today. According to inflation, the universe underwent a period of massive expansion in a fraction of a second after the big bang.

But there?s a problem with that scenario: a ?skeleton in the closet,? Carroll said. To begin inflation, the universe would have encompassed a microscopically tiny patch in an extremely unlikely configuration, not what scientists would expect from a randomly chosen initial condition. Carroll and Chen argue that a generic initial condition is actually likely to resemble cold, empty space?not an obviously favorable starting point for the onset of inflation.

In a universe of finite entropy, some scientists have proposed that a random fluctuation could trigger inflation. This, however, would require the molecules of the universe to fluctuate from a high-entropy state into one of low entropy?a statistical longshot.

?The conditions necessary for inflation are not that easy to start,? Carroll said. ?There?s an argument that it?s easier just to have our universe appear from a random fluctuation than to have inflation begin from a random fluctuation.?

Carroll and Chen?s scenario of infinite entropy is inspired by the finding in 1998 that the universe will expand forever because of a mysterious force called ?dark energy.? Under these conditions, the natural configuration of the universe is one that is almost empty. ?In our current universe, the entropy is growing and the universe is expanding and becoming emptier,? Carroll said.

But even empty space has faint traces of energy that fluctuate on the subatomic scale. As suggested previously by Jaume Garriga of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and Alexander Vilenkin of Tufts University, these flucuations can generate their own big bangs in tiny areas of the universe, widely separated in time and space. Carroll and Chen extend this idea in dramatic fashion, suggesting that inflation could start ?in reverse? in the distant past of our universe, so that time could appear to run backwards (from our perspective) to observers far in our past.

Regardless of the direction they run in, the new universes created in these big bangs will continue the process of increasing entropy. In this never-ending cycle, the universe never achieves equilibrium. If it did achieve equilibrium, nothing would ever happen. There would be no arrow of time.

?There?s no state you can go to that is maximal entropy. You can always increase the entropy more by creating a new universe and allowing it to expand and cool off,? Carroll explained.

Original Source: University of Chicago News Release

Posted on by Fraser Cain

NASA Announces May 2005 For Shuttle Flight

The Space Shuttle fleet is housed and processed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla. The order the Space Shuttles are listed does not necessarily reflect the chronological order of future missions.

Discovery (OV-103)
Powered-up orbiter system testing in the Orbiter Processing Facility continues to progress on schedule for Discovery’s Return to Flight mission (STS-114) to the International Space Station. The Space Flight Leadership Council met today and determined the new launch planning window is May 12 to June 3, 2005.

Technicians continue testing and checkout of both the Remote Manipulator System, or Space Shuttle robotic arm, and the starboard manipulator positioning mechanisms. Installation of the new wing leading edge sensors and relay units continues. Ku band target tracking tests are complete.

Atlantis (OV-104)
Atlantis remains in its extensive power-down period, during which technicians are performing Return to Flight modifications. The majority of the baseline wire inspections are complete. Structural inspections and arc track wire inspections continue throughout the vehicle.

With all radiators mounted for flight, technicians completed installations of the radiators’ flex hoses in support of orbiter power up. Work is progressing well with the flex hose conversion to hard lines in the waste water management system, and the flex hose modifications in the potable waste water system.

Flex hoses are used throughout the vehicle for numerous purposes where there is movement between two fixed ends, or where flexibility is desired for ease of installation and/or replacement.

Endeavour (OV-105)
Space Shuttle Endeavour is in its Orbiter Major Modification period, which began in December. Electrical modifications continue in the crew module. Three-String Global Positioning System wire routing in the avionics bay and flight deck continues.

Clean up continues from the bead blasting performed to remove minuscule corrosion from the wing leading edges. Bead blasting is a process using a pressurized pneumatic gun containing silica carbide, plastic pellets or glass beads to remove primer, paint and corrosion from orbiter vehicle surfaces.

Workers also are beginning to set up the protective tents in preparation for painting the wings prior to reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels.

Previous Space Shuttle processing status reports are available on the Internet at:
NASA KSC News

For information about NASA’s Return to Flight efforts on the Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/news/highlights/returntoflight.html

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov

Original Source: NASA News Release

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Rovers Have Returned 50,000 Pictures

Image credit: NASA/JPL
A view of the sundial-like calibration target on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, with a bit of martian terrain in the background, is the 50,000th image from the twin rovers that have been exploring Mars since January.

The images stock a treasury of scientific information on scales from microscopic detail to features on the horizon scores of kilometers or miles away, and even include glimpses of Mars’ moons, Earth and the Sun. They also provide an always-current understanding of the surrounding terrain for use by the team of rover wranglers planning each day’s activities on Mars.

There are now more than twice as many images from the two rovers as from NASA’s three previous Mars surface missions combined: Viking Lander 1, Viking Lander 2 and Mars Pathfinder. “The cameras on Spirit and Opportunity have been reliable, sharp eyes for our adventure of exploring some amazing places on Mars,” said Dr. Justin Maki of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., an imaging scientist on the rover team. “The pictures continue to be stunning. One big difference from earlier Mars surface missions is that the rovers continue to show us new places and new sights.”

All raw images that reach Earth from the rovers are posted online at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all. Captioned pictures, including the 50,000th image and panoramas assembled from many individual raw images, are posted at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/.

Both rovers have successfully completed their three-month primary missions and their first mission extensions. They began second extensions of their missions on Oct. 1.

Counting stereo instruments as separate right and left cameras, each rover carries nine cameras.

The stereo panoramic cameras have taken most of the images. Spirit’s accounts for 35 percent of the all images from the rovers so far; Opportunity’s, 32 percent. Color pictures from these cameras combine individual frames taken through different filters. Mosaic image products stitch together many contiguous frames for a larger view. A single 360-degree color panorama uses more than 100 individual images. Usually when a panoramic camera is used, it takes a series of shots of the calibration target through different filters to aid in accurate interpretation of the other shots it takes. It is no surprise that Spirit’s calibration target happened to be the subject in the 50,000th image, since it has become the single most photographed subject on Mars.

Spirit’s front hazard-avoidance camera (also two cameras for stereo views) has the next highest fraction of the rovers’ image catalog at 9 percent. That signifies the importance of this low-slung camera in Spirit racking up 3.6 kilometers (2.3 miles) of driving so far. Opportunity has driven 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) and its front hazard-avoidance camera has taken 3 percent of all rover images. Totals for the rear hazard- avoidance cameras are about one-fifth of the number from the front cameras on each rover.

Each rover’s stereo navigation camera sits up on the mast with the panoramic camera but takes wider-angle images without filters. Spirit’s navigation camera has taken 7 percent, and Opportunity’s 6 percent, of all rover images.

Some days when Spirit was driving long distances, Opportunity was busy examining bedrock exposures and soil patches with its microscopic imager. That camera on Opportunity has taken 4 percent of all rover images; the one on Spirit, 2 percent. Each spacecraft had a 10th camera on the bottom of its lander, which contained the rover during the descent through Mars’ atmosphere. Those descent cameras each took three images, as planned, during the final minute before impact.

NASA’s Viking Lander 1 returned 3,542 images while it operated for 79 months beginning in 1976. Viking Lander 2 returned 3,043 images while it operated for 43 months, also beginning in 1976. Mars Pathfinder returned 16,635 images from its lander and 628 from its Sojourner rover during 12 weeks of operation in 1997.

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA. Images and additional information about the project are available from JPL at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov and from Cornell University at http://athena.cornell.edu.

Original Source: NASA/JPL News Release

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Venus and Jupiter’s Upcoming Conjunction

A planetary conjunction occurs when two or more planets appear to be very close together in the night sky as seen from Earth. Conjunctions between Venus and Jupiter are fairly common, occurring as often as three times a year. But on the morning of November 5th, just before dawn, Venus and Jupiter will be less than one degree apart in the sky in the constellation of Virgo the Maiden. A degree is about the width of one finger held at arms distance. The pair will be at their closest at 1:58 UTC on the 5th, when they are 33 arc-minutes apart, or about 0.42 degrees.

This year’s conjunction is rare for two reasons. First, the two planets are less than one degree apart; and second, they are more than fifteen degrees from the sun. Large number conjunctions, such as the one that occurred in 1995, are less than fifteen degrees from the sun and therefore lost in the sun’s glare. The conjunction on November 5th is also special because it is the last close conjunction between Venus and Jupiter until September 1st 2005.

A conjunction very much like the one occurring on the 5th occurred in August of the year 3 B.C. This historic conjunction occurred on August 12th at 03:00 UTC and was widely visible from the Middle East. That year Venus and Jupiter were only 10 arc-minutes or 0.16 degrees apart in the constellation of Leo the Lion. With such a narrow separation, light reflected from the two would seem to merge into one as seen with the unaided eye.

Some scholars have speculated that this close conjunction may have been interpreted as a sign by a group known as the Magi. The Magi, or wise men, were priests of an ancient religion known as Zoroastrianism. Could this close conjunction have been what sent the wise men traveling to a far of city known as Bethlehem? Unfortunately we can’t draw any definitive conclusions. There are no known written records that tell exactly what the Magi saw, or how they interpreted it.

Regardless of what the Magi saw, modern computer software confirms that there was a very close conjunction between Venus and Jupiter in the year 3 B.C. The conjunction of 2004, while not as close, should be no less spectacular sight in the sky. Telescope or binocular users should have no difficulty fitting both planets into one field of view. This conjunction is also an excellent opportunity for aspiring (or seasoned) astro-photographers.

Exposures of from 1/15s to 1/60s are good for those using SLR’s with standard 50mm lenses. A zoom lens of 180mm can reduce the required shutter speed to a range of 1/60s to 1/250s depending on conditions. But as with any kind of astro-photography, the key is multiple exposures at various shutter speeds and apertures.

A planetary conjunction is a rare and beautiful sight. Because Venus and Jupiter are both so bright in the sky, the Venus-Jupiter conjunction of 2004 should not be missed. With a little imagination we can transport ourselves back in time to the Middle Eastern Skies before the Common Era, when a bright conjunction dominated the pre-dawn skies.

Rod Kennedy is a technician and education outreach coordinator at the Casper Planetarium, Wyoming’s first planetarium. He received his Chemistry degree from the University of Northern Colorado, and has been interested in astronomy for 10 years.

Posted on by Fraser Cain

More Findings About Methane on Mars

A University of Michigan scientist is part of a European Space Agency team that has detected methane gas on Mars, and the findings will be published in the online Web journal Science Express today.

Sushil Atreya, professor and director of the Planetary Science Laboratory in the College of Engineering says the detection of methane is the clearest indicator of the possibility of life on the Red Planet yet.

“Biologically produced methane is one of many possibilities,” Atreya said. “Methane is a potential biomarker, if a planet has methane we begin to think of the possibility of life on the planet. On Earth, methane is almost entirely derived from biological sources.”

Mars resembles Earth more than any other planet in our solar system, and studying its atmosphere gives us a greater understanding of our own.

How the methane got to Mars is the big question, and there are several possible sources, Atreya said. The most exciting scenario is that methanogens?microbes that consume the Martian hydrogen or carbon monoxide for energy and exhale methane?dwell in colonies out of sight beneath the surface of the red planet.

“These are anaerobic so they don’t need oxygen to survive, if they are there,” Atreya said. “If they are there, they would be underground.”

Speculation is tempting, but many more experiments are necessary before drawing any conclusions.

“While it’s tantalizing to think there are living things on Mars, we aren’t in a position to say that is what is causing the methane,” Atreya said.

A comet could have struck the planet, which would leave methane behind, but that only happens once every 60 million years or so, Atreya said. A more likely scenario is hydrothermal process involving chemical interaction between rock and water in aquifers below the Martian permafrost.

The instrument that sniffed out the methane is called a planetary Fourier spectrometer, and it is one of seven instruments on board the Mars Express spacecraft. The spectrometer measures the Sun’s infrared light that has been absorbed, emitted and scattered by the molecules in the Martian atmosphere. Every molecule has a unique spectral property?think of it as an infrared fingerprint?including methane.

The spectrometer detected an average 10 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) of methane on Mars, a small amount compared to the approximately 1700 ppbv on Earth. The methane gas was distributed unevenly over Mars’ surface, which tends to support the theory that an internal, on-site source, rather than a comet, is the source generating the methane, said Atreya.

Mars Express launched in June 2003, and it is the first Western European trip to another planet.

Original Source: University of Michigan News Release

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Hibernate on a Trip to Mars

Manned missions beyond the Moon are no longer wild dreams. For example, the objective of ESA’s Aurora programme, after exploring Mars with robotic missions, is to send astronauts to the red planet.

Engineers are already considering the space systems that will be required, from the spacecraft and propulsion systems to the life support systems, for journeys that will last 6-9 months.

With automatic systems in control, astronauts would face the challenge of living in a confined space with not much to do for an extremely long period. “Might as well sleep it off!”

Studies initiated by ESA’s Advanced Concepts Team have gone one step further. Wouldn’t it be nice if astronauts could hibernate!

Euronews has met two biologists who are conducting, as ESA consultants, investigations into the physiological mechanisms that mammals use to hibernate.

There are marked differences between species. A dormouse goes into a deep sleep with its body temperature dropping close to zero and its metabolism dramatically suppressed. During its ‘winter sleep’, a brown bears hibernates at near normal body temperature. Its heart rate drops by a quarter and it will spend 3-7 months in a state of torpor, neither eating, drinking, defecating or urinating.

For the past two years, Prof. Marco Biggiogera, at the Animal Biology Department at the University of Pavia in Italy has been studying how an opiate derivative inhibits the activity of living cells.

“The molecule DADLE is similar to others we have in the human brain and resembles one of the hibernation triggering proteins in hibernators. It can reduce the energy required by cells, whether isolated in cultures, or present in other animals or organisms,” explains Prof. Biggiogera.

“We would very much like to understand its basic mechanisms, and with this knowledge attempt to recreate a state of hypo-metabolism in an animal, and perhaps even one day in a human, although this is really far away.”

Also involved in this study is the University of Verona. There the DADLE molecule is injected in a rodent, specially equipped with sensors to measure its body temperature, heart rate and other vital activities. After comparing the animal’s behaviour with that of a normal rat, the test subject’s main organs are scanned to observe any changes.

“Our preliminary results show that four hours after a DADLE injection, the body temperature drops notably and the rat is considerably less active,” says Prof. Carlo Zancanaro.

“Eventually we could adapt these hibernation triggering processes, using chemicals or by other means, to animals such as rats who do not normally hibernate. But concerning humans, we are still at an extremely early stage.”

The research could also lead to far-reaching applications in the medical field such as prolonging the useful life of a transplant organ or even heart-transplant operations while patients are in a state of hypo-metabolism.

Reducing the physical and psychological requirements of an astronaut crew to a minimum without jeopardising its safety would greatly simplify many aspects of a long-duration space mission.

For instance, less food and water would be required, as would the amount of pressurised space and other environmental features the astronauts would require to maintain their psychological health. This would allow large reductions in spacecraft mass, relaxing the requirements on the propulsion subsystem.

Additionally, the astonaut’s ability to hibernate would have a significant benefit in abort and emergency scenarios. Of course, a suitable and lightweight ‘hibernaculum’ to shelter astronauts during their ‘long sleep’ would have to be designed.

Hibernation for humans is an ethically controversial concept, and critics may consider it as a mad scientist’s dream. Prof. Biggiogera replied with a smile: “Without such dreamers, humanity would still be in the Middle Ages.”

Original Source: ESA News Release