Posted on by Ray Sanders

NASA to Test New Atomic Clock

Artist's rendering of a vacuum tube, one of the main components of an atomic clock. Credit: NASA

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When people think of space technologies, many think of solar panels, propulsion systems and guidance systems. One important piece of technology in spaceflight is an accurate timing device.

Many satellites and spacecraft require accurate timing signals to ensure the proper operation of scientific instruments. In the case of GPS satellites, accurate timing is essential, otherwise anything relying on GPS signals to navigate could be misdirected.

The third technology demonstration planned by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is the Deep Space Atomic Clock. The DSAC team plans to develop a small, low-mass atomic clock based on mercury-ion trap technology and demonstrate it in space.

What benefits will a new atomic clock design offer NASA and other players in near-Earth orbit and the rest of our solar system?

The Deep Space Atomic Clock demonstration mission will fly and validate an atomic clock that is 10-times more accurate than today’s systems. The project will demonstrate ultra-precision timing in space as well as the benefits said timing offers.

The DSAC will fly on an Iridium spacecraft and make use of GPS signals to demonstrate precision orbit determination and confirm the clock’s performance. As mentioned previously, precise timing and navigation are critical to the performance of many aspects of deep space and near-Earth exploration missions.

The DSAC team believes the demonstration will offer enhancements and cost savings for new missions, which include:

  • Increase Data Quantity: A factor of 2 to 3 increase in navigation and radio science data quantity by allowing coherent tracking to extend over the full view period of Earth stations.
  • Improve Data Quality: Up to 10 times more accurate navigation, gravity science, and occultation science at remote solar system bodies by using one-way radiometric links.
  • Enabling New Missions: Shift towards a more flexible and extensible one-way radio navigation architecture enabling development of capable in-situ satellite navigation systems and autonomous deep space radio navigation.
  • Reduce Proposed Mission Costs: Reduce mission costs for using the Deep Space Network (DSN) through aperture sharing and one-way downlink only time.
  • Benefits to GPS: Improve clock stability of the next GPS system by 100 times.

    • One example use for the DSAC is for a future mission that is a follow-up to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). A spacecraft equipped with the DSAC could avoid reliance on two-way communications using NASA’s Deep Space Network to perform orbital determination.

    One of the benefits of avoiding said reliance on two-way communications would allow the mission to only require the DSN for one-way communication to transmit scientific data to Earth. Reducing the reliance on two-way communications would provide an additional benefit of cost savings.

    In the previous example, the DSAC team estimates an $11 million dollar reduction in network operational costs, as well as a 100% increase in the amount of usable science and navigation data that could be received.

    Overview of Deep Space Atomic Clock (DASC) mission. Image Credit: NASA

    The Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) office in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate is collaborating with the NASA Office of the Chief Technologist in sponsoring this technology demonstration.

    If successful the DSAC flight demonstration mission will bring the improved atomic clock technology to a technological readiness level that will allow it to be used in a wide variety of future space missions.

    Read our earlier articles about the other technology demonstrations planned:

    NASA To Test Solar Sail Technology
    NASA To Test Laser Communications Systems

    Source: NASA Technology Demonstration Mission Announcements

    Posted on by Ray Sanders

    NASA to Test New Solar Sail Technology

    The Solar Sail demonstration mission. Credit: NASA

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    Solar sails, much like anti-matter and ion engines appear at first glance to only exist in science fiction. Many technologies from science fiction however, become science fact.

    In the example of solar sails, perfecting the technology would allow spacecraft to travel through our solar system using very little fuel.

    NASA has been making strides with solar sail technology. Using the NanoSail-D mission, NASA continues to gather valuable data on how well solar sails perform in space. The Planetary Society will also be testing solar sail technology with their LightSail-1 project sometime next year.

    How will NASA (and others) test solar sail technology, and develop it into a common, reliable technology?

    The second of three recently announced technology demonstrations, The Solar Sail Demonstration, will test the deployment of a solar sail in space along with testing attitude control. The solar sail will also execute a navigation sequence with mission-capable accuracy.

    In order to make science fiction into reality, NASA engineers are testing solar sails that could one day provide the propulsion for deep space missions. Spacecraft using solar sails would travel in our solar system in a similar manner to a sailboat through water, except spacecraft using solar sails would rely on sunlight instead of wind. A spacecraft propelled by a solar sail would use the sail to capture photons emitted from the Sun. Over time, the buildup of the solar photons provides enough thrust for a small spacecraft to travel in space.

    NASA’s solar sail demonstration mission will deploy and operate a sail area 7 times larger than ever flown in space. The technology used in the demonstration will be applicable to many future space missions, including use in space weather warning systems to provide timely and accurate warnings of solar flare activity. The solar sail demonstration is a collaborative effort between The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA and contractor L’Garde Inc.

    NASA lists several capabilities solar sails have to offer, such as:

  • Orbital Debris: Orbital debris can be captured and removed from orbit over a period of years using the small solar-sail thrust.
  • De-orbit of spent satellites: Solar sails can be integrated into satellite payloads so that the satellite can be de-orbited at the end of its mission.
  • Station keeping: Using the low propellantless thrust of a solar sail to provide station keeping for unstable in-space locations.
  • Deep space propulsion: Payloads free of the Earth’s pull can be continuously and efficiently accelerated to the other planets, or out of the solar system, such as proposed in Project Encounter.

    • As an example, the GeoStorm project considers locating solar storm warning satellites at pseudo Lagrange points three times further from the Earth by using the solar sail to cancel some solar gravitational pull, thus increasing warning time from ~15 minutes to ~45 minutes.

    Providing a satellite with a persistent view of northern or southern latitudes, i.e., a “pole-sitter” project. This allows the observational advantages of today’s geosynchronous satellites for orbits with view angles of the northern and southern high-latitudes.

    A solar sail system, measuring 66 feet on each side was tested in 2005 in the world's largest vacuum chamber. Image Credit: NASA

    If you’d like to learn more about solar sails, Caltech has a nice “Solar Sailing 101” page at: http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~diedrich/solarsails/intro/intro.html

    Source: NASA Technology Demonstration Mission Updates

    Posted on by Ken Kremer

    Daring Russian Sample Return mission to Martian Moon Phobos aims for November Liftoff

    Russian Phobos-Grunt spacecraft set to Launch in November 2011.The flight version of the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft minus its main solar panels is being lowered into a vacuum chamber at NITs RKP test facility in Peresvet, north of Moscow, for thermal, vacuum and electric tests around beginning of June 2011. Credit: NPO Lavochkin

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    In just over 3 weeks’ time, Russia plans to launch a bold mission to Mars whose objective, if successful , is to land on the Martian Moon Phobos and return a cargo of precious soil samples back to Earth about three years later.

    The purpose is to determine the origin and evolution of Phobos and how that relates to Mars and the evolution of the solar system.

    Liftoff of the Phobos-Grunt space probe will end a nearly two decade long hiatus in Russia’s exploration of the Red Planet following the failed Mars 96 mission and is currently scheduled to head to space just weeks prior to this year’s other Mars mission – namely NASA’s next Mars rover, the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory (MSL).

    Blastoff of Phobos-Grunt may come as early as around Nov. 5 to Nov. 8 atop a Russian Zenit 3-F rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch window extends until about Nov. 25. Elements of the spacecraft are undergoing final prelaunch testing at Baikonur.

    Flight version of the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft during assembly in preparation for critical testing in thermal and vacuum chamber at NITs RKP facility closely imitating harsh conditions of the real space flight. Credit: NPO Lovochkin

    Baikonur is the same location from which Russian manned Soyuz rockets lift off for the International Space Station. Just like NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, the mission was originally intended for a 2009 launch but was prudently delayed to fix a number of technical problems.

    “November will see the launch of the Phobos-Grunt interplanetary automatic research station aimed at delivering samples of the Martian natural satellite’s soil to Earth’” said Vladimir Popovkin, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, speaking recently at a session of the State Duma according to the Voice of Russia, a Russian government news agency.

    Phobos-Grunt spacecraft

    The spacecraft will reach the vicinity of Mars after an 11 month interplanetary cruise around October 2012. Following several months of orbital science investigations of Mars and its two moons and searching for a safe landing site, Phobos-Grunt will attempt history’s first ever touchdown on Phobos. It will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the surface of the tiny moon and collect up to 200 grams of soil and rocks with a robotic arm and drill.

    Russian Phobos-Grunt spacecraft prepares for testing inside the vacuum chamber. Credit: NPO Lavochkin

    After about a year of surface operations, the loaded return vehicle will blast off from Phobos and arrive back at Earth around August 2014. These would be the first macroscopic samples returned from another body in the solar system since Russia’s Luna 24 in 1976.

    “The way back will take between nine and 11 months, after which the return capsule will enter Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 12 kilometers per second. The capsule has neither parachute nor radio communication and will break its speed thanks to its conical shape,” said chief spacecraft constructor Maksim Martynov according to a report from the Russia Today news agency. He added that there are two soil collection manipulators on the lander because of uncertainties in the characteristics of Phobos soil.

    Phobos-Grunt was built by NPO Lavochkin and consists of a cruise stage, orbiter/lander, ascent vehicle, and Earth return vehicle.

    The spacecraft weighs nearly 12,000 kg and is equipped with a sophisticated 50 kg international science payload, in particular from France and CNES, the French Space Agency.

    Also tucked aboard is the Yinghou-1 microsatellite supplied by China. The 110 kg Yinghou-1 is China’s first probe to launch to Mars and will study the Red Planet’s magnetic and gravity fields and surface environment from orbit for about 1 year.

    “It will be the first time such research [at Mars] will be done by two spacecraft simultaneously. The research will help understand how the erosion of Mars’ atmosphere happens,” said Professor Lev Zelyony from the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, according to Russia Today.

    Phobos-Grunt mission scenario. Credit: CNES
    Phobos seen by Mars Express. Credit: ESA

    Read Ken’s continuing features about Phobos-Grunt, Curiosity and Opportunity starting here:
    Assembling Curiosity’s Rocket to Mars
    Encapsulating Curiosity for Martian Flight Test
    Dramatic New NASA Animation Depicts Next Mars Rover in Action
    Opportunity spotted Exploring vast Endeavour Crater from Mars Orbit
    Twin Towers 9/11 Tribute by Opportunity Mars Rover
    NASA Robot arrives at ‘New’ Landing Site holding Clues to Ancient Water Flow on Mars
    Opportunity Arrives at Huge Martian Crater with Superb Science and Scenic Outlook
    Opportunity Snaps Gorgeous Vistas nearing the Foothills of Giant Endeavour Crater
    Opportunity Rover Heads for Spirit Point to Honor Dead Martian Sister; Science Team Tributes

    Posted on by Ray Sanders

    NASA to Test Laser Communications System

    Conceptual image of The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration. Credit: NASA

    [/caption]Quite often, communication rates with remote spacecraft have been a limiting factor when exploring our solar system. For example, it can take up to 90 minutes to transfer one high-resolution image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to scientists on Earth.

    Improving data communication rates would allow scientists to collect additional data from future missions to Mars, Titan or other destinations in our solar system.

    How does NASA plan to overcome the current limitations in communication with spacecraft outside Earth orbit?

    One of three recently announced technology demonstrations, The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, will help demonstrate and validate laser-based communications. One of many goals for the LCRD is to provide spacecraft in Earth orbit ( and beyond ) a faster and reliable method of communication than standard radio communications currently in use.

    A laser-based communication will allow NASA and other government agencies to perform missions that require higher data rates. In the cases where less data is required, the laser-based systems would consume less power, mass and precious volume inside a spacecraft. Given roughly equal mass, power, and volume, the laser-based communications system offers much higher data rates than a radio-based communications system.

    NASA’s goals for the LCRD are to:

    Enable reliable, capable, and cost effective optical communications technologies for near earth applications and provide the next steps required toward optical communications for deep space missions

    Demonstrate high data rate optical communications technology necessary for:

  • Near-Earth spacecraft (bi-directional links supporting hundreds of Mbps to Gbps)
  • Deep Space missions (tens to hundreds of Mbps from distances such as Mars and Jupiter)
  • Develop, validate and characterize operational models for practical optical communications
  • Identify and develop requirements and standards for future operational optical communication systems
  • Establish a strong partnership with multiple government agencies to facilitate crosscutting infusion of optical communications technologies
  • Develop the industrial base and transfer technology for future space optical communications systems

    • High-rate communications 10-100 times more capable than current radio systems will also allow for greatly improved connectivity and enable new generations of remote missions that are far more capable than today’s missions. NASA’s LCRD will also provide the satellite communication industry with technology not available today. Laser-based space communications will enable missions to use high-definition video and and pave the way for a possible “virtual presence” on a remote planet or other bodies in the solar system.

    While the laser-based communications technology featured in the LCRD will allow more data to be sent from spacecraft to scientists on Earth, the communication delays (a few seconds for the Moon, and over twenty minutes for Mars) will still require careful mission planning.

    Diagram of LCRD mission. Image Credit: NASA

    The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) is led by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) office in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate is collaborating with the NASA Office of the Chief Technologist in sponsoring this technology demonstration.

    If you’d like to learn more about NASA’s LCRD, you can read more at: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/laser-comm.html

    Source: NASA Technology Demonstration Updates

    Posted on by Ken Kremer

    Amazing New View of the Mt. Everest of Vesta

    Oblique View of Vesta's South Polar Region - Rheasilvia. This image of the asteroid Vesta, calculated from a shape model, shows a tilted view of the topography of the south polar region. The image has a resolution of about 1,000 feet (300 meters) per pixel, and the vertical scale is 1.5 times that of the horizontal scale. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA/PSI

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    NASA has just released an amazing new view of the mysterious south pole of Vesta that offers an oblique perspective view of the central mountain peak which is three times as high as Mt Everest. This topographic view , shown above,is completely unique to viewers from Earth and is provided courtesy of NASA’s exotic Dawn Asteroid Orbiter – newly arrived in July 2011.

    The mountain peak rises about 15 miles (22 km) above the average height of the surrounding pockmarked terrain at Vesta’s south polar region – formally named Rheasilvia – and is located in the foreground, left side of the new image. A portion of the crater rim with a rather steep slope – known as a scarp – is seen at the right and may show evidence of Vestan landslides.

    This oblique image derived from the on board Framing Camera was created from a shape model of the 530 km diameter asteroid. It has been flattened to remove the curvature of Vesta and has a vertical scale adjusted to 1.5 times that of the horizontal scale.

    The origin of Vesta’s south polar region is hotly debated among the mission’s science team who will reveal their current theories at a briefing set for October 12 – watch for my upcoming report.

    Dawn will remain in orbit at Vesta for 1 year until July 2012 and then fire up its revolutionary ion propulsion system to depart for Ceres, the largest Asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter.

    Asteroid Vesta from Dawn
    NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image of the giant asteroid Vesta with its framing camera on July 24, 2011. It was taken from a distance of about 3,200 miles (5,200 kilometers). Dawn entered orbit around Vesta on July 15, and will spend a year orbiting the body. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

    Read Ken’s continuing features about Dawn and Vesta starting here
    Dramatic 3 D Imagery Showcases Vesta’s Pockmarked, Mountainous and Groovy Terrain
    Rheasilvia – Super Mysterious South Pole Basin at Vesta
    Space Spectacular — Rotation Movies of Vesta
    3 D Alien Snowman Graces Vesta
    NASA Unveils Thrilling First Full Frame Images of Vesta from Dawn
    Dawn Spirals Down Closer to Vesta’s South Pole Impact Basin
    First Ever Vesta Vistas from Orbit – in 2D and 3D
    Dawn Exceeds Wildest Expectations as First Ever Spacecraft to Orbit a Protoplanet – Vesta

    Posted on by Jason Major

    What is Vision? (A Save The James Webb Support Video)

    Promotional poster supporting the JWST

    Do you love astronomy? Do you appreciate science? Do you have a curiosity about the nature of our Universe, how it came to be and what our place is within it? If you are even reading this I assume your answers to all of those questions is a resounding “yes!” and so I present to you an excellent video created by Brad Goodspeed in support of the James Webb Space Telescope:

    “I made Vision because I thought the argument for science could benefit from a passionate delivery,” Brad told Universe Today. “Deep down we’re all moved by the stars, and that passion needs to be expressed by methods outside of science’s typical toolbox.”

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    Funding for this next-generation telescope is currently on the line in Washington. While a markup bill was passed last month by the House of Representatives that allows for continued funding of the JWST through to launch, it has not yet been ratified by Congress. It’s still very important to maintain support for the JWST by contacting your state representatives and letting them know that the future of space exploration is of concern to you.

    A petition against the defunding of the JWST is currently active on Change.org and needs your signature (if you haven’t signed it already.) Signing ends at midnight tonight so be sure to click here to sign and pass it along as well! (You can share this shortened link on Twitter, Facebook, etc.: http://chn.ge/oy4ibI)

    You can also show your support and follow the JWST progress by following Save the James Webb Space Telescope on Facebook and on saveJWST.com.

    The JWST will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System. It is currently aiming for a 2018 launch date.

    “We don’t get to the future by yielding to our most current fears… by being shortsighted.”

    Video courtesy of Brad Goodspeed.

    Posted on by Ken Kremer

    Assembling Curiosity’s Rocket to Mars

    The first stage of the Atlas V rocket for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission is lifted into an upright position for placement inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 configuration will be used to loft MSL into space. NASA/Jim Grossmann

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    Assembly of the powerful Atlas V booster that will rocket NASA’s Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory rover to Mars is nearly complete. The Atlas V is taking shape inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

    The rocket is built by United Launch Alliance under contract to NASA as part of NASA’s Launch Services Program to loft science satellites on expendable rockets.

    At Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers guide an overhead crane as it lifts the Centaur upper stage for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V in the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF). Once in position, it will be attached to the Atlas V booster stage, already at the pad. Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

    The Atlas V configuration for Curiosity is similar to the one used for Juno except that it employs one less solid rocket motor in a designation known as Atlas 541.

    4 indicates a total of four solid rocket motors are attached to the base of the first stage vs. five solids for Juno. 5 indicates a five meter diameter payload fairing. 1 indicates use of a single engine Centaur upper stage.

    Blastoff of Curiosity remains on schedule for Nov. 25, 2011, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. The launch window for a favorable orbital alignment to Mars remains open until Dec. 18 after which the mission would face a 26 month delay at a cost likely to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

    Curiosity is set to touchdown on Mars at Gale Crater between August 6 & August 20, 2012. The compact car sized rover is equipped with 10 science instruments that will search for signs of habitats that could potentially support martian microbial life, past or present if it ever existed.

    At the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the Centaur upper stage for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V is in position in the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF). It then will be attached to the Atlas V booster stage, already at the pad. The Atlas V is slated to launch NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission - the compact car-sized Curiosity Mars rover. Credit: NASA
    With a unique view taken from inside Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, an overhead crane lifts the Centaur upper stage for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V. Once in position in the VIF it will be attached to the Atlas V booster stage, already at the pad. NASA/Jim Grossmann
    Workers guide an overhead crane as it lifts the Centaur upper stage for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V into the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF). NASA/Jim Grossmann
    An overhead crane lifts the Centaur upper stage for the Atlas V. NASA/Jim Grossmann
    The final solid rocket motor (SRM) hangs in an upright position for mating to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. NASA/Jim Grossmann
    A crane lifts the 106.5-foot-long first stage of the Atlas V rocket for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission through the open door of the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41. Credit: NASA/Cory Huston
    Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory Rover - inside the Cleanroom at KSC. Credit: Ken Kremer

    Meanwhile NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover is nearing 8 continuous years of Exploration and Discovery around the Meridiani Planum region of the Red Planet.

    Read Ken’s continuing features about Curiosity and Opportunity starting here:
    Encapsulating Curiosity for Martian Flight Test
    Dramatic New NASA Animation Depicts Next Mars Rover in Action
    Opportunity spotted Exploring vast Endeavour Crater from Mars Orbit
    Twin Towers 9/11 Tribute by Opportunity Mars RoverNASA Robot arrives at ‘New’ Landing Site holding Clues to Ancient Water Flow on Mars
    Opportunity Arrives at Huge Martian Crater with Superb Science and Scenic Outlook
    Opportunity Snaps Gorgeous Vistas nearing the Foothills of Giant Endeavour Crater
    Opportunity Rover Heads for Spirit Point to Honor Dead Martian Sister; Science Team Tributes

    Posted on by Ken Kremer

    Encapsulating Curiosity for Martian Flight Test

    NASA’s Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory Rover inside the entry aeroshell. At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the "back shell powered descent vehicle" configuration, containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, is being placed on the spacecraft's heat shield. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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    With just over 6 weeks to go until the liftoff of Curiosity – NASA’s next Mars rover – prelaunch processing at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida is rapidly entering the home stretch. Technicians placed the folded rover inside the complete aeroshell to match the Martian entry configuration components together and conduct preflight testing of the integrated assembly at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at KSC. The aeroshell is comprised of the heat shield and back shell and encapsulates Curiosity during the long voyage to Mars.

    The job of the aeroshell is to protect the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) from the intense heat of several thousand degrees F(C) generated by friction as the delicate assemblage smashes into the Martian atmosphere during the terrifying entry and descent to the surface.

    Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory Rover - inside the Cleanroom at KSC. Credit: Ken Kremer

    The rover itself has been mated to the back shell powered descent vehicle, known as the PDV or sky crane. The rocket powered descent stage (PDV) is designed to maneuver through the Martian atmosphere, slow the descent and safely set Curiosity down onto the surface at a precise location inside the chosen landing site of Gale Crater.

    Technicians still have several more weeks of hardware testing and planetary protection checks ahead before NASA’s minivan sized Martian robot is encapsulated inside the aeroshell for the final time.

    Rotating Curiosity's Back Shell Powered Descent Vehicle
    At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the "back shell powered descent vehicle" configuration of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory is being rotated for final closeout actions. At this time Curiosity and its rocket-powered descent stage have already been integrated, and are now encapsulated inside the spacecraft's back shell. The configuration of rover integrated with the descent stage is the "powered descent vehicle." The back shell, a protective cover, carries the parachute and several other components used during descent. The yellow disks visible at the top of the configuration are the descent stage's radar antennas that will be used to calculate the rover's descent speed and altitude. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    Another major task still to be completed is mating the aeroshell to the cruise stage and then fueling of the cruise stage, which guides MSL from the Earth to Mars, according to Guy Webster, press spokesman for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory which manages the MSL project for NASA.

    The launch of the $2.5 Billion Curiosity rover atop an Atlas V rocket is slated for Nov. 25, the day after Thanksgiving, and the launch window extends until Dec. 18. Arrival at Gale crater is set for August 2012.

    Curiosity is by far the most scientifically advanced surface robotic rover ever sent beyond Earth and will search for environmental conditions that could have been favorable to support Martian microbial life forms if they ever existed in the past or present.

    Final Closeout Actions for Curiosity's Heat Shield and Back Shell
    At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the "back shell powered descent vehicle" configuration, containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, is being rotated for final closeout actions. The flat, circular object in the foreground of the image is the spacecraft's heat shield. The heat shield and the back shell will together form an encapsulating aeroshell that will protect the rover from the intense heat and friction that will be generated as the flight system descends through the Martian atmosphere.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    Watch for my upcoming report from inside the cleanroom with Curiosity.
    Read Ken’s continuing features about Curiosity and Opportunity starting here:
    Opportunity spotted Exploring vast Endeavour Crater from Mars Orbit
    Twin Towers 9/11 Tribute by Opportunity Mars RoverNASA Robot arrives at ‘New’ Landing Site holding Clues to Ancient Water Flow on Mars
    Opportunity Arrives at Huge Martian Crater with Superb Science and Scenic Outlook
    Opportunity Snaps Gorgeous Vistas nearing the Foothills of Giant Endeavour Crater
    Dramatic New NASA Animation Depicts Next Mars Rover in Action
    Opportunity Rover Heads for Spirit Point to Honor Dead Martian Sister; Science Team Tributes

    Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

    Find Out What the Astronauts on the Space Station Are Doing Right Now

    A view of the Capcom station in ISS Mission Control at Johnson Space Center. Credit: NASA

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    Want to know what science experiments the astronauts are working on in the International Space Station today? Interested in looking over the shoulder of the flight controllers in Houston? There’s a new website that allows you to follow all the activities on the space station in real time, from seeing exactly what each crew member is doing, to watching live video from space, to seeing the displays on consoles in the ISS Mission Control at Johnson Space Center. Called Space Station Live!, the new interactive website is part of NASA’s Open Government Initiative, an “effort to increase public access to government information and services through live data feeds and data sets.”

    The website is still in beta, so there are a few bugs (the video feed is sometimes blank and not all the links work all the time) but the data available and interactive features are enough to make a space nerd swoon. And soon, there will be apps available so all the data will be accessible with mobile devices, according to NASA Spaceflight.com. There is historical information on the assembly of the International Space Station, a large diagram showing the current configuration ISS, access to operational handbooks, an audio feed of the communications between the station and mission control, and much more. Of course, all the sensitive and classified information and materials are not available, but this is a brand new and unprecedented way for NASA to share real-time data with the public. There are also educator resources and soon there will be a programming interface to allow teachers to integrate live data and science from the ISS in their classroom projects.

    A good place to start is in the crew timeline area, which provides information for each crew member, what time it is on the ISS, a video feed, and information on the ISS orbital status (is the ISS in orbital daylight or darkness?)

    Have fun!

    Posted on by Jason Major

    Building the Future of Spaceflight

    Here’s a very cool “music video” showing the ongoing progress being made on the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the next-generation vehicle for human space travel beyond low-Earth orbit.

    Although the MPCV may resemble Apollo-era capsules, its technology and capability are light years apart. The MPCV features dozens of technology advancements and innovations incorporated into the spacecraft’s subsystem and component design.

    From careful assembly of the smallest parts to the dramatic tests of the rocket launch abort system, this video shows how much expertise, talent and just plain hard work is being invested in the future of human spaceflight by NASA as well as many industry-leading experts around the country!

    Read more about the Orion MPCV program here.