A quintet of Saturn's moons come together in the Cassini spacecraft's field of view for this portrait. From left to right: Janus, Pandora, Enceladus, Mimas and Rhea. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
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Check out this gorgeous new portrait of a Saturnian moon quintet taken by Earths’ emissary – NASA’s Cassini Orbiter. The moons are majestically poised along a backdrop of Saturn’s rings, fit for an artist’s canvas.
Janus, Pandora, Enceladus, Mimas and Rhea are nearly lined up (from left to right) in this view acquired by Cassini at a distance of approximately 684,000 miles (1.1 million kilometers) from Rhea and 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers) from Enceladus.
The newly released image was taken by Cassini’s narrow angle camera on July 29, 2011. Image scale is about 4 miles (7 kilometers) per pixel on Rhea and 7 miles (11 kilometers) per pixel on Enceladus.
Cassini will stage a close flyby of Enceledus – Satarn’s geyser spewing moon – in about two weeks, swooping within 99 km
Moon Facts from JPL:
Janus (179 kilometers, or 111 miles across) is on the far left. Pandora (81 kilometers, or 50 miles across) orbits between the A ring and the thin F ring near the middle of the image. Brightly reflective Enceladus (504 kilometers, or 313 miles across) appears above the center of the image. Saturn’s second largest moon, Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across), is bisected by the right edge of the image. The smaller moon Mimas (396 kilometers, or 246 miles across) can be seen beyond Rhea also on the right side of the image.
This view looks toward the northern, sunlit side of the rings from just above the ring plane. Rhea is closest to Cassini here. The rings are beyond Rhea and Mimas. Enceladus is beyond the rings.
The simple graphic below shows dozens of Saturn’s moons – not to scale. So far 62 have been discovered and 53 have been officially named.
Saturn’s moons. Click on link below to learn more about each moon. Credit: NASA/JPL
Learn more about Saturn’s moons at this link
Soyuz Lands with the Moon as backdrop. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Video Caption: Soyuz Trio Lands in Kazakhstan – The Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Ron Garan and his fellow Expedition 28 flight engineers returned safely to Earth on Sept. 16 with a landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan. Garan and cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko, and Alexander Samokutyaev had been on the International Space Station since April 6. Their journey home was delayed just over a week by the failure of the Progress 44 cargo craft to reach the station. Remaining on the orbiting laboratory is NASA’s Mike Fossum and his two Expedition 28/29 colleagues, Russian Sergei Volkov, and Satoshi Furukawa of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency
Check out this collection of dramatic videos of the departure, descent and safe touchdown of the trio of Russian and American space flyers aboard the Soyuz TMA 21 spacecraft in the remote steppes of Kazakhstan on Sept. 16, 2011.
The first video above is a compilation of all the key events from the Soyuz spacecraft undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) to landing and gives the complete picture. Be sure to watch the Soyuz flying away like a bird with the gorgeous Earth in the background. Observe the crew being extracted like fish from the capsule.
The rest of the videos are shorter and break down the story to focus on the key individual events of the crews remaining final hours aboard the station and in space.
This video records the “Change of Command” as Mike Fossum takes over the helm of the ISS
Video Caption: NASA’s Fossum Given ISS Command – In a ceremony conducted 230 miles above the Earth on Sept. 14, the “helm” of the International Space Station was handed over by Expedition 28 Commander Andrey Borisenko to NASA astronaut, Mike Fossum, who takes command of the orbiting laboratory on Expedition 29.
Hatch Closure and Bidding Farewell
Video Caption: Hatch Closes as Soyuz Crew Bids Farewell – The Expedition 28 crew of Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev, NASA Flight Engineer Ron Garan and off-going station Commander Andrey Borisenko said their goodbyes to the remaining residents of the International Space Station before closing the hatch on their vehicle and preparing to undock for their return home to Earth on Sept. 16
This video highlights the ISS undocking sequence
Video Caption: Soyuz Undocks from ISS – The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft that’ll carry Commander Alexander Samokutyaev, NASA Flight Engineer Ron Garan and off-going station Commander Andrey Borisenko back to Earth undocks from the International Space Station and begins its return journey home.
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Read Ken’s Soyuz landing story for further details:
Expedition 28 Soyuz Crew Lands Safely in Kazakhstan
Expedition 28 Lands. The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 28 Commander Andrey Borisenko, and Flight Engineers Ron Garan, and Alexander Samokutyaev in a remote area outside of the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Friday, Sept. 16, 2011. NASA Astronaut Garan, Russian Cosmonauts Borisenko and Samokutyaev are returning from more than five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 27 and 28 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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The three man Soyuz TMA-21 crew of cosmonauts and astronauts comprising of Commander Alexander Samokutyaev, Expedition 28 commander Andrey Borisenko and NASA flight engineer Ronald Garan made a pinpoint landing following a flawless descent and touched down safely in the southern steppes of Kazakhstan at 12:00 AM EDT today, Sept. 16, (10 AM local time), thereby wrapping up a nearly six month tour of duty at the International Space Station.
The Soyuz capsule landed on its side as it is frequently wont to do, about three hours after sunrise. The soft landing engines fired within seconds of touchdown to cushion the shock.
Soyuz TMA-21 lands safely in Kazakhstan on Sept. 16 with Russian-American trio of spaceflyers. Credit: NASA TV
A phalanx of twelve Russian search and recovery helicopters swooped in quickly after landing. The Russian forces had established two way communications and visual sighting with the space flyers in the last minutes of the descent.
Russian America Soyuz TMA-21 Crew after safe landing on Sept 16, 2011 and extraction from capsule. Expedition 28 Commander Andrey Borisenko, left, Flight Engineers Alexander Samokutyaev, center, and Ron Garan, sit in chairs outside the Soyuz Capsule just minutes after they landed in a remote area outside the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Friday, Sept. 16, 2011. NASA Astronaut Garan, Russian Cosmonauts Borisenko and Samokutyaev are returning from more than five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 27 and 28 crews. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Russian recovery team quickly reach the Soyuz TMA21 capsule after safe landing. Credit: NASA TV
Weather was perfect with very low winds, few clouds and warm temperatures of nearly 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Altogether the trio spent 164 days in space, 162 of those were aboard the ISS. Their Soyuz capsule had docked at the ISS on April 7, 2011 following a two day trip after liftoff on April 5 from the Baikonur Cosmodome aboard a capsule dubbed Gagarin. The spaceship was named in honor of Yuri Gagarin, first human to orbit the Earth on the 50th anniversary of his courageous one orbit flight in April 1961 that inaugurated the Era of human spaceflight.
This crew lived aboard the ISS for the arrival of the final two history making flights of the Space Shuttle program as well as the anniversaries of Gagarin and America’s first astronaut in space, Alan Shepard. Soyuz TMA 21 undocks from the ISS.
The helicopter recovery team arrived at the Soyuz capsule with seconds of touchdown and began erection of an inflatable medical tent. The Soyuz was rolled to facilitate the safe and proper extraction of the crew.
The astronauts and cosmonauts were quickly extracted from the capsule by the ground crew, checked by doctors and placed in recliners for the two hour trip back to a staging base in Karaganda, Kazakhstan for a traditional Kazakh welcome. Thereafter the crew will split up. Garan will be returning immediately to the US on a flight back to the Mission Control in Houston, Texas. Soyuz departs
Just hours earlier this evening, the trio bagan the process of departing the ISS. They donned their Sokol launch and entry pressure suits, floated into the return capsule and closed the hatches between the Soyuz and the ISS.
Following leak checks the crew unhooked latches and undocked the Soyuz from the Poisk module at 8:38 p.m. while flying over northern China. Three minutes later thrusters were fired for 15 seconds to separate the two vehicles.
Left behind on the station was the Expedition 29 crew comprising Commander Mike Fossum from the US, cosmonaut Sergei Volkov from Russia and Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa.
Soyuz landing in Kazakhstan on Sept 16, 2011. Credit: NASA TV
As the ISS and Soyuz were flying in tandem, the crew executed the 4 minutes 14 sec “de-orbit burn” which took place exactly on time at 11: 05 p.m. EDT. The critical Soyuz thruster burn slowed the ship by some 258 MPH and enabled the capsule to drop out of orbit, setting up the descent down through the Earth’s atmosphere.
Then the computer commanded pyrotechnic separation of the three Soyuz modules took place some 87 miles above Earth about 22 minutes later at 11:33 p.m., occurring just three minutes prior to re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere over the heart of Africa. Getting ready to open Soyuz hatch. Credit: NASA TV
The crew landed inside the central descent module less than an hour after completing the burn and less than 30 minutes after module separation.
The ISS will now be tended by only a three man crew for the next two months. That’s an unusually long time to maintain a reduced crew. But it’s all due to the recent failure of the third stage of the Russian Soyuz-U rocket lofting the Progress 44 cargo ship on Aug 24. The failure has been traced to a clogged fuel line. Russia is working to determine exactly how and why this could have happened and taking steps to prevent a repeat which would have disastrous consequences.
The next Soyuz blastoff is provisionally set for Nov.14 with a station arrival on Nov. 16. The three man crew of Anton Shkaplerov, Anatoly Ivanishin and NASA flight engineer Dan Burbank had originally been slated for Sept 22. But it was pushed back following the Progress launch failure.
Mike Fossom’s crew is scheduled to depart just 2 days later. Thus any further Soyuz launch delay wil require the ISS to be at least temporarily “de-manned” for the first time since continuous crewed operations started a dozen years ago.
Opening Soyuz hatch to cramped quarters. Credit: NASA TV
Construction on the first space-bound Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Module began with the first weld at the Michoud Assembly Facility on Sept. 9. 2011. This capsule will be used during Orion’s first test flight in space which could occur as early as 2013, possibly atop a Delta 4 Heavy booster. Credit: NASA
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Production of NASA’s first space-bound Orion crew module has at last begun at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans – that’s the same facility that for more than three decades was responsible for manufacturing the huge orange colored External Tanks for the just retired Space Shuttle Program.
The first weld of structural elements of the Orion crew cabin was completed by Lockheed Martin engineers working at Michoud on Sept. 9, 2011. This marks a major milestone on the path toward the full assembly and first test flight of an Orion capsule.
This state of the art Orion vehicle also holds the distinction of being the first new NASA spacecraft built to blast humans to space since Space Shuttle Endeavour was assembled at a California manufacturing facility in 1991.
This capsule will be used during Orion’s first test flight in space which could occur as early as 2013. Credit: NASA
Eventually, Orion crew modules with astronaut crews will fly atop NASA’s newly announced monster rocket – the SLS – to exciting new deep space destinations beyond low Earth Orbit; such as the Moon, Asteroids and Mars.
“This marks the beginning of NASA’s next step to send humans far beyond Earth orbit,” said Orion program manager Mark Geyer. “The Orion team has maintained a steady focus on progress, and we now are beginning to build hardware for spaceflight. With this milestone, we enter the home stretch toward our first trip to space in this new vehicle.”
The first unmanned Orion test flight – dubbed OFT-1 – could come as early as 2013 depending on the funding available from NASA and the US Federal Government.
Welding the First Space-Bound Orion at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans by NASA and Lockheed Martin contractor team. Credit: NASA
NASA is still deciding which rocket to use for the initial test flight – most likely a Delta 4 Heavy but possibly also the new Liberty rocket proposed by ATK and EADS.
The framework welds were completed using the same type of friction stir welding (FSW) process that was implemented to construct the last several of the 135 Space Shuttle External Tanks at MAF that flew during the shuttle program.
Friction Stir Welding creates seamless welds in the Aluminum – Lithium alloys used for construction that are far stronger and more reliable and reproducible compared to conventional welding methods.
The first Space-Bound Orion will look similar to this initial Orion Ground Test Article (GTA) prototype crew cabin built in 2010 at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, LA after individual segments were bound together by Friction Stir Welding techniques. Note the astronaut crew hatch and windows. The GTA is now undergoing testing and integration at Lockheed’s facilities in Denver, Colorado. Credit: Ken Kremer
Orion spacecraft will be manufactured at Michoud in New Orleans, Louisiana, then sent to the Operations & Checkout Facility at Kennedy Space Center for final assembly and integration prior to launch.
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for Orion. The vehicle was recently renamed the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) after being resurrected following its cancellation by President Obama as a key element of NASA’s now defunct Project Constellation “Return to the Moon” program.
NASA's Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle
The Orion MPVC Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle ground test article (GTA) is shown at the Lockheed Martin Vertical Test Facility in Colorado. The GTA’s heat shield and thermal protection backshell was completed in preparation for environmental testing. Credit: NASA/Lockheed Martin
The first crewed Orion won’t launch until the 2nd flight of the SLS set for around 2020 said William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate, at an SLS briefing for reporters on Sept. 14.
Lockheed has already built an initial version of the Orion crew capsule known as the Orion Ground Test Article (GTA) and which is currently undergoing stringent vibration and acoustics testing to mimic the harsh environments of space which the capsule must survive.
Watch for my upcoming Orion GTA status report.
Sketch of the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle. Credit: NASA Artists concept of the STS blasting off with the Orion Crew Module from the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA
Artist's concept of the new SLS on the launch pad. Credit: NASA
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NASA has officially unveiled the plan for their next large-scale rocket: the Space Launch System, or SLS, will provide heavy-lift capabilities for cargo and spacecraft to go beyond low-Earth orbit and is proposed as a safe, sustainable and efficient way to open up the next chapter in US space exploration.
SLS is designed to carry the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Module, NASA’s next-generation human spaceflight vehicle that is specifically designed for long-duration missions. (Construction of the first space-bound MPCV began last week on September 9.)
Utilizing a modular design that can accommodate varying mission needs, SLS will also be able to provide service to the International Space Station.
“President Obama challenged us to be bold and dream big, and that’s exactly what we are doing at NASA. While I was proud to fly on the space shuttle, tomorrow’s explorers will now dream of one day walking on Mars.”
– NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
SLS will have an initial lift capacity of over 70 metric tons – about 154,000 pounds (70,000 kg). That’s three times the lift capability of the space shuttles! In the event of a Mars mission that can be upgraded to 130 metric tons – about the weight of 75 SUVs.
Artist image of SLS launch. Credit: NASA
The first developmental flight is targeted for the end of 2017.
SLS will be the first exploration-class vehicle since the giant Saturn V rockets that carried the Apollo astronauts to the Moon. Using rocket technology developed during the shuttle era and modified for the canceled Constellation program, combined with cutting-edge manufacturing processes, SLS will expand the boundaries of human spaceflight and extend our reach into the solar system.
“This launch system will create good-paying American jobs, ensure continued U.S. leadership in space, and inspire millions around the world,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. “President Obama challenged us to be bold and dream big, and that’s exactly what we are doing at NASA. While I was proud to fly on the space shuttle, tomorrow’s explorers will now dream of one day walking on Mars.”
Artist's rendering of Kepler-16b Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt
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In a news conference today, Kepler mission scientists announced the first confirmed circumbinary planet ( a planet that orbits a binary star system). The planet in question, designated Kepler-16b has been compared to the planet Tatooine from the Star Wars saga.
Would it be possible for someone like Luke Skywalker to stand on the surface of Kepler-16b and see the famous “binary sunset” as depicted in Star Wars?
Despite the initial comparison between Kepler-16b and Tatooine, the planets really only have their orbit around a binary star system in common. Kepler-16b is estimated to weigh about a third the mass of Jupiter, with a radius of around three-quarters that of Jupiter.
Given the mass and radius estimates, this makes Kepler-16b closer to Saturn than the rocky, desert-like world of Tatooine. Kepler-16b’s orbit around its two parent stars takes about 229 days, which is similar to Venus’ 225-day orbit. At a distance of about 65 million miles from its parent stars, which are both cooler than our sun, temperatures on Kepler-16b are estimated in the range of around -100 C.
The team did mention that Kepler-16b is just outside of the habitable zone of the Kepler-16 system. Despite being just outside the habitable zone, the team did mention that it could be possible for Kepler-16b to have a habitable moon, if said moon had a thick, greenhouse gas atmosphere.
Tatooine appears to have twin stars like our sun, versus the orange (type K) and red (type M) stars of Kepler-16During the press conference John Knoll, visual effects supervisor at ILM, mentioned: “When I was a kid, I didn’t think it was going to be possible to make discoveries like this.” Knoll also added, “The science is stranger and cooler than fiction!”
The Kepler mission detects exoplanet candidates by using the transit method which detects the dimming of the light emitted from a star as a planet crosses in front of it. In the case of Kepler-16b, the detection was complicated by the two stars in the system eclipsing each other.
The system’s brightness showed variations even when the stars were not eclipsing each other, which hinted at a third body. What further complicated matters was that the variations in brightness appeared at irregular time intervals. The irregular time intervals hinted that the stars were in different positions in their orbit each time the third body passed. After studying the data, the team came to the conclusion that the third body was orbiting, not just one, but both stars.
“Much of what we know about the sizes of stars comes from such eclipsing binary systems, and most of what we know about the size of planets comes from transits,” added Kepler scientist Laurance Doyle of the SETI Institute. “Kepler-16 combines the best of both worlds, with stellar eclipses and planetary transits in one system.” Doyle’s findings will be published in the Sept. 15th issue of the journal Science.
The Kepler mission is NASA’s first mission capable of finding Earth-size planets in or near the habitable zone – the region around a star where liquid water can exist on the surface of an orbiting planet. A considerable number of planets and planet candidates have been detected by the mission so far. If you’d like to learn more about the Kepler mission, visit: http://kepler.nasa.gov/
Ray Sanders is a Sci-Fi geek, astronomer and space/science blogger. Visit his website Dear Astronomer and follow on Twitter (@DearAstronomer) or Google+ for more space musings.
JWST's mirror segments are prepped for testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. NASA/Chris Gunn.
The 2012 fiscal year appropriation bill, marked up today by the Senate, allows for continued funding of the James Webb Space Telescope and support up to a launch in 2018! Yes, it looks like this bird is going to fly.
JWST's mirror segments are prepped for testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. NASA/Chris Gunn.
The James Webb Space Telescope 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. JWST will be a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror.
Thanks to everyone who contacted their representatives and expressed their support of the JWST, to all the websites out there that made it particularly simple to do so, and of course to all the state representatives who stood behind the program and didn’t allow it to get mothballed. The space science community thanks you and the current and future generations of astronomers, physicists, cosmologists and explorers thank you.
“In a spending bill that has less to spend, we naturally focus on the cuts and the things we can’t do. But I’d like to focus on what we can do. The bill invests more than $12 billion in scientific research and high impact research and technology development, to create new products and new jobs for the future.”
– CJS Subcommittee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski
In addition to continued funding for the telescope the 2012 bill also allots the National Aeronautics and Space Administration $17.9 billion (a reduction of $509 million or 2.8 percent from the 2011 enacted level) and preserves NASA’s portfolio balanced among science, aeronautics, technology and human space flight investments, including the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle, the heavy lift Space Launch System, and commercial crew development.
In this tighter economy, all of the agencies funded under the bill are also called on to be better stewards of taxpayers’ dollars, and waste and overspending will be much more closely monitored.
NOTE: While the JWST program has been specifically included in today’s markup, the bill itself still needs to be approved by the full appropriations committee and then go to the Senate floor for a vote. It then must be reconciled with the House version before receiving final appropriation. Still, this is definitely one step closer to getting the JWST off the ground! Read more on ScienceInsider here.
You can show your continued support for the JWST by liking the Save the James Webb Space Telescope Facebook page and – even more importantly – by contacting your congressperson and letting them know you care!
GRAIL Lunar gravity mappers rocket to the moon atop a Delta II Heavy booster on Sept. 10 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com)
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Check out our gallery of more thrilling launch photos of NASA’s twin GRAIL spacecraft departing Earth on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 9:08 a.m. EDT from Pad 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Although GRAIL’s liftoff was delayed a few days by excessively high upper level winds, it was well worth the wait and put on a spectacular show as the booster thundered away from Space Launch Complex 17. This Delta II rocket was almost certainly the last ever Delta to blastf off from the Florida Space Coast.
Blastoff of Delta II Heavy rocket and twin spacecraft on Sept. 10 from Pad 17B at Cape Canaveral at 9:08 a.m. EDT. View from Press Site 1. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com)
The GRAIL spacecraft continue to function well at the start of their nearly four month journey to the Moon wher they will map the moon gravity in unprecedented detail and provide new insight into the formation and evolution of the rocky bodies of the inner Solar System.
Sept. 10 Blastoff of Delta II and GRAIL gravity mappers. Credit: Ken Kremer (kenkremer.com)Sept. 10 Blastoff of Delta II and GRAIL gravity mappers. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com)Sept. 10 Blastoff of Delta II and GRAIL gravity mappers. Credit: Ken Kremer (kenkremer.com)Sept. 10 Blastoff of Delta II and NASA’s GRAIL spacecraft. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com)Sept. 10 Blastoff of Delta II and GRAIL gravity mappers. Credit: Ken Kremer Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com)Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com)Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com)Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com)Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com)GRAIL and Delta II rocket soar to space on Sept 10 from Pad 17B at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer (kenkremer.com)
An amazing corn maze with a NASA theme, at Cornbelly's in Lehi, Utah, one of seven around the US in 2011. Image courtesty of The MAiZE Inc.
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Imagine looking out your airplane window (or alien spacecraft portal) and seeing a giant Mars Exploration Rover or an astronaut a half-kilometer long etched in …. a corn field? That’s exactly what is happening this fall, as seven farms across the US are participating in a special collaboration with NASA called Space Farm 7 to celebrate the space agency’s achievements and progress in space, as well as providing education and activities about agriculture. The farmers have created some absolutely amazing and intricate crop-circle-like formations that double as corn mazes, giving kids and families the chance to get lost — if you will — in space.
“You don’t always see an astronaut in a corn field,” said Adam Pugh from The Rock Ranch in Georgia, who approached NASA last year with the idea, “and there’s not an obvious connection between corn and NASA. But I thought it would be cool if we could work with NASA and highlight some of the NASA anniversaries going on and use our cornfield as an outdoor classroom to re-enthuse the new generation of youth about space exploration and get them fired up about looking towards the stars.”
Take a look at these awesome corn mazes, all unique and with a special NASA theme.
NASA-themed corn maze at Belvedere Plantation in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Image courtesy The MAiZE Inc.
“I’ve got kids that are nine-, four- and two- years old,” said Pugh, talking with Universe Today from the agri-tourism farm he operates, “and the only thing they know about astronauts is Buzz Lightyear. I felt it would be great if we could teach kids about the real astronauts and the real heroes that have done so much through space exploration to give us things we enjoy today like cell phones, solar panels and all the great things that space exploration has given to us.”
The farms that are part of Space Farm 7 create corn mazes every year, as part of their harvest-time autumn festivities, Pugh said, and this year seven farms have a space-themed maze. “Most of the places started as pumpkin patches or small farms and have all gotten into agri-tourism, an increasingly popular idea which uses an agricultural setting as a place for education or tourism. It’s all part of a growing trend of people buying local for their produce, meats and dairy products.”
Corn maze at Dell'Osso Farms in Lathrop, California. Image courtesty of The MAiZE Inc.
Pugh said farmers have noticed a disconnect between today’s youth and agriculture. “We have kids coming on our field trips who have no idea where milk or eggs come from – they just think they come from the store,” he said. “But real effort and skill goes into creating the food that we all enjoy. Our purpose is to not only entertain these folks and get them to spend quality time together and exercise but also educate them and help them realize where their food comes from.”
The SpaceFarm 7 celebration is very timely as this year NASA celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first American in space, the 30th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle mission and the 20th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope’s deployment in space.
NASA has ten regional research centers located in the United States, and the individual Space Farms have each been paired up with their nearest space center in order to highlight that region’s contribution to NASA.
NASA-themed corn maze at Dewberry Farm in Brookshire, Texas. Image courtesty of The MAiZE Inc
Layla Dowdy from NASA’s Public Affairs Office said NASA is supporting this awesome outreach project with exhibits, and speakers, as well as an online national contest where winners earn a visit to Kennedy Space Center and the chance to dine with an astronaut. To enter, visit www.spacefarm7.com and vote on your favorite of the seven maze designs. A winner will be randomly selected at the end of October.
The celebrations at each of the farms will include a visiting astronaut or other NASA officials, as well as activities such as hobby-rocket launches, hands-on space education activities, and demonstrations from local astronomy clubs, in addition to the regular activities the agri-tourism farms have.
“We’re providing all sorts of neat opportunities for families to experience space exploration, in ways which are normally not accessible unless you travel to Houston or Kennedy Space Center,” Pugh said. “We’re bringing the education materials to people all over the US, and our shared objective with NASA is to reach 1 million kids.”
“We just want to encourage families to get outdoors and enjoy quality time together,” Pugh added. “Our whole purpose is to be good stewards of the land and share that with folks.”
Activities at The Rock Ranch include zip lines, paddle boats, pony rides and other fun outdoor activities where people can “enjoy nature and farmland,” Pugh said.
Corn maze at Liberty Ridge Farm in Schaghticoke, New York. Image courtesty of The MAiZE Inc
The mazes typically average 8 acres in size, said Kamille Combs from The MAiZE Inc, a company that helps farmers design and create their corn mazes.
Combs provided the opening dates for the 7 mazes across the US:
Look for more information on the Space Farm 7 website and get out and enjoy the mazes if one is near you.
Corn maze at The Rock Ranch; The Rock, Georgia. Image courtesty of The MAiZE IncCorn maze at Vala's Pumpkin Patch in Gretna, Nebraska. Image courtesty of The MAiZE Inc
Memorial Image Taken on Mars on Sept. 11, 2011. This view of an American flag on metal recovered from the site of the World Trade Center towers shortly after their destruction on Sept. 11, 2001, was taken on Mars by NASA’s Opportunity rover on Sept. 11, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the towers. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University/Arizona State University
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On this somber occasion marking the 10th anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11, NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover has taken new images of itself on 9/11/11 showing a piece of metal recovered from the wreckage of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City that was carried all the way to the planet Mars as a commemorative memorial to the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001.
On Sept. 11, 2011 (Martian Sol 2713), Opportunity snapped the memorial image above showing the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) and an American Flag – evoking the memory of the Twin Towers – from a slope on a Martian hill named Cape York which in turn is a segment of the rim of a gigantic crater named Endeavour.
Opportunity is still roving the red planet’s surface, nearly 8 years after safely landing on Jan 24, 2004. After an epic trek she recently arrived at the gigantic 14 mile wide Endeavour crater .
Opportunity took the new image of the RAT and 9/11 US Flag memorial on Mars on the exact day timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
The image shows the arm extended for inspection of target on a rock called “Chester Lake”, according to NASA officials. Opportunity is driving in a northerly direction up the Cape York hill on her scientific expedition of the crater’s rim.
Memorial Close-up Image Taken on Mars on Sept. 11, 2011
Close-up image taken on 9/11/11 of a piece of metal with the American flag on it of a NASA’s Opportunity rover on Mars is made of aluminum recovered from the site of the World Trade Center towers in the weeks after their destruction on Sept. 11, 2001. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University/Arizona State University
Both towers of the World Trade Center in New York City were destroyed by the terrorists on that terrible day and nearly 3000 precious people were killed during horrifying historic events that changed America and the World forever.
The RAT was built for NASA and both rovers by Honeybee Robotics which at that time was located less than a mile away from the WTC near the southern tip of Manhattan.
Steve Gorevan, the founder and chairman of Honeybee and a member of the rover science team, told me in a past interview that he was on his way to work and out on the city streets within a few blocks of the Twin Towers when he suddenly heard the sounds of the jet engines just before the first tower was struck.
Gorevan and the Honeybee employees watched the tragic events unfold from their company’s offices and rooftop the rest of the day. Following the terror attacks, Gorevan said access to Honeybee was restricted for weeks and the firm was on a tight deadline to deliver the RAT’s to NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California where the rovers were being assembled.
The idea for somehow placing a Martian memorial on the rovers was presented. Gorevan told me that he was able to secure metallic pieces from the WTC wreckage through the Office of the then NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani a few weeks after the attacks.
Memorial Image Taken on Mars on Sept. 11, 2011 of Robotic Arm at Work showing US Flag 9/11 Memorial on the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT). Image taken on Sol 2713 as the robot investigates a rock outcrop called Chester Lake. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Aluminum shards were delivered by the Mayor’s office to Honeybee along with a note indicating their authenticity. These were soon fashioned into an aluminum shield that was placed on each RAT along with a US Flag. The shield serves as a cable guard.
Gorevan says the twin towers memorial was purposely kept quiet for some time until well after both rovers landed out of respect for the victims’ families.
Opportunity is healthy and continuing her exploration of Endeavour crater which harbors geologic formations and rocks unlike any previously investigated by either of the Mars Exploration (MER) rovers.
Along the rim of Endeavour crater rover scientists hope to discover and analyze clay minerals which formed in pH neutral water billions of years ago and a habitable environment much more favorable to the formation of life compared to all the other spots studied by either rover thus far.
Both rovers far exceeded their original 90 days warranties with many years of added bonus time for science exploration.
Endeavour Crater Panorama from Opportunity, Sol 2681, August 2011
Opportunity arrived at the rim of Endeavour on Sol 2681, August 9, 2011 and climbed up the ridge known as Cape York. Odyssey crater is visible at left. Opportunity drove north from here to snap a new 9/11 memorial image on Sept 11, 2011 marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Mosaic Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Marco Di Lorenzo/Kenneth Kremer
