Mars Inspires New US Spy Plane

The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently started a program called Rapid Eye to develop a rocket-delivered unmanned spy plane. This plane would be used to fly high over natural disaster sites or other "hot spots." 

According to the Director of DARPA, Tony Tether, the "got this idea from NASA." NASA for years has wanted to fold an airplane inside a rocket and send it on a mission to Mars. 

I am sure that other international countries are ecstatic about the fact that the US is in the process of developing yet another spy plane that can be used for purposes other than monitoring natural disasters. 

If you want to read more about this new project click here. 

Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars

And excerpt from the Space Studies Board

"There are also legal issues that must be addressed, involving international restrictions as well as federal, state, and local statutes that may come into play. There are currently no binding international agreements concerning forward or back contamination. The task group recommends as essential that efforts be made (1) to assess the legal limits (and implied liabilities) in existing legislation that relates to martian exploration and (2) to pursue the establishment of international standards that will safeguard the scientific integrity of research on Mars. Furthermore, the task group recommends that NASA make a strong effort to obtain international agreement for a planetary protection policy."

International Cooperation for SBSP?

I posted a few weeks ago about the United States possibly pursuing space-based solar power and maybe even testing technology within 5 years.

Bernie sent me a new article that discusses how India, Japan, and especially China are in desperate need of new sources of energy and truly NEED to pursue space-based solar power. According to the author, China is essentially maxed out on its hydroelectric potential and unless it builds even more coal plants, might have to resort to a wide-scale nuclear push. But as the article points out, nuclear isn't that cheap and causes reasonable concern due to safety. Resources like wind and ground solar are not able to meet China's exploding demand for new energy, so the author concludes that the only real alternative for China is to develop SBSP, which is far more efficient than Earth-based solar. Plus the supply is endless.

Ultimately, it would benefit both the US and China for the two countries to cooperate and work together in testing this technology because they both need it pretty badly. I am in the process of researching SBSP for my second paper, but so far it looks like a great idea and hopefully they will develop the project further.

Water and Valcanoes on Mars

According to Discovery Canada there is new evidence that suggests that Mars has both dormant volcanoes and water beneath the soil. NASA's spirit rover recently turned up a bizarre "white substance" beneath some Martian soil. The rover took x-ray photos of the soil and sent them back down to earth. Professors at Guelph University believe that the samples contain 16% water and are remnants of evaporated oceans and pools.

This is just another piece of information that points to evidence of life on Mars. It is nice to see that neighbors Canada and the USA are pooling resources to help with this pursuit.

International Workshop on the Exploration of Phobos and Deimos

The International Workshop on the exploration of Phobos and Demos will be held in Moffett Field, California, on November 5-8, 2007. The will be the first international conference that is held focusing specifically on Mars two moons. The conference is open to scientists, engineers, space exploration professionals, and even students. If you want more information you can visit the website by clicking here. 

Russia Tests Life From Mars Theory

One theory that scientists have been trying to test for a long time is wether life could have arrived on Earth from Mars. The theory is that meteorites could have brought life from Mars to Earth. The University of Aberdeen set out to test this theory by attaching a rock to an unmanned Russian spacecraft. The tested the effects of traveling through the atmosphere to gauge if life could have survived. 

Scientists concluded that life could have probably only survived in large meteorites. Th heat was would have been too extreme on small meteorites. While this does not affirm or negate the theory, scientists now have even more information available for their disposal. 

Spirit and Oppertunity Extended

On Tuesday it was announced that NASA will be extending the mission of Mars probes Spirit and Opportunity for the 5th time. The probes touched down for the first time in January of 2004. The anticipated 90 day mission could now very likely extend into 2009.

The two probes have provided NASA with valuable information on the geology of Mars and present and past environmental conditions. To date the Spirit has driven 4.51 miles and sent back more that 102,000 images. The Opportunity has driven 7.19 miles and sent back 94,000 images.

While neither of these vehicles will win any speed races, they both continue to produce long after their mission was supposed to end.

A Grapefruit Shaped Spacecraft?

There was an article recently published in the "Times of India" that discusses the importance of the shape of a manned Mars spacecraft. According to an engineer at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia, the best shaped that has been discovered so far would be a "grapefruit spiked with cherries on sticks."

The theory is that this shape could help decrease the amount of hazardous radiation that astronauts are exposed to while in space. 

It is nice to see that the NASA engineers are hard at work and that the international community is taking an interest. It is interesting that more and more people start taking interest when the US makes claims like "we are going to send a spacecraft to Mars that resembles a fruit salad." If you want to read more on this bizarre story click here. 

From Sputnik to Outright Cooperation?

NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency have reached an agreement to place two Russian scientific instruments on two NASA robotic missions. One of the instruments will be on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (heading to the moon), scheduled to launch in 2008, and the other on the Mars Science Laboratory, scheduled to launch in 2009. 

Russia is putting a Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector on the Lunar Reconnaissance orbiter to help search for evidence of water and determine the amount of radiation that astronauts will be exposed to on later manned missions. The instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory is a Neutron instrument that will measure hydrogen to help decipher how neutrons interact with the Martian surface. 

To read more click here.

NASA and England Cooperate

English based software company 3SL recently beat out software giants IBM and Siemens for the contract to create a pivotal piece of the NASA manned mission to Mars. 3SL will direct and design the America's Constellation programme. 

3SL is considered by many to be a "shrimp" of a company compared to IBM and Siemens. The small technology company is based in Barrow-in-Furness. 3SL is now in charge of coordinating the design and manufacturing Orion, a new spacecraft that will replace the Space Shuttle and carry people to the moon by 2020. 

This is a big day for English business and the NASA program. This story is just another example of how the United States will be forced to work with the international community to make setting foot on Mars a reality. 

Increased NASA Funding

The Senate recently passed an amendment to the 2008 commerce bill. NASA has been granted an additional $1 billion to compensate for the financial burden caused after the Columbia accident and Hurricane Katrina. This means that the total 2008 CJS bill provides $17.5 billion for NASA. The space shuttle is fully funded at $4 billion and the space station at $2.2 billion.

The funny thing about this story is that the Bush administration is now threatening to veto the bill because the Senate has included $3.2 billion in additional spending above the request made by the White House.

You have to love a country where the President is willing to veto something because he was given more than he asked for.

To read more click here.

Tune into "Mars Rising"

William Shatner will narrate a six-part Discovery documentary series on the challenges that are involved in making it to Mars. Unlike some other documentaries, "Mars Rising" will attempt to truly get at the heart of what is involved in making it to Mars and the plethora of challenges that stand in humanities way. 

Shooting for this series was done in 90 different locations. Over 300 people in Russia, Chile, China, Europe, the U.S., and the Canadian Arctic were interviewed. The series begins in January, 2004, when President George W. Bush challenged the U.S. to get a team to Mars be 2033. It then proceeds to chronicle all of the challenges and problems that pursued. 

This series appears to be approaching the issue of sending a team to Mars as an international problem and should be quite enjoyable. The show airs tonight (Sunday Oct. 7) at 8 and 9. It will continually weekly through Nov. 4. Make sure to tune in!

Russia Taking Strides into Space

Russia definitely has space on its mind. This article highlights how Russia is ambitiously planning many missions to space including Mars and Phobos. They have plans for 20 scientific projects. The head of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos), Anatoly Perminov said, "In particular, we have plans to build special-purpose spacecraft fitted with scientific equipment. The research will focus on fields like astrophysics, and planetary science." This shows that the Russians are very interested in taking the lead in moving toward the future as they have already bugun working with the United States for space endeavors.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_To_Carry_Out_Up_To_20_Space_Projects_By_2015_999.html

Russia and US to work together

Russia and the United States have decided to work as a team to search for water on the moon and mars. The two countries signed a pact agreeing that the US would use3 Russian technology to continue the hunt for water on Mars. Russian technology will also be used when another NASA mission lands on Mars in 2010. Perhaps space is someplace that countries can meet in the middle and leave past differences behind to look for a allied future.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071003/ts_nm/space_nasa_russia_dc

Russia and US heading to Mars

NASA is receiving help from Russia to scan both the moon and Mars. The equipment will help scan for water on the moon. As for Mars, Russia will lend equipment for a rover that is sent to launch sometime in 2009. The equipment NASA is receiving from Russia is totaling around four million dollars.

Happy 50th Birthday Sputnik!

Fifty years ago today, on October 4, 1957, Sputnik (above left) was launched by the Soviet Union. This commemorative occasion was discussed today in an article on ScienceDaily. Sputnik was the world's first artificial satellite and it's name literally means "fellow traveler". The satellite was about the size of a basketball and weighed only 183 pounds. The launch of Sputnik, was the first of many scientific advancements and NASA claimed "As a technical achievement, Sputnik caught the world's attention and the American public off-guard." People began to fear that if they could launch a satellite, they could easily attack with ballistic missiles. Less than a month after the launch of Sputnik, the Russians launched Sputnik II (above right). This satellite carried a heavier payload and a dog named Laika (below). The Americans didn't enter the space race until January 31, 1958, when we launched Explorer I, a satellite that would eventually discover the magnetic radiation belts that surround the Earth. Sputnik also helped move the U.S. in the right direction, when NASA was created in its response on October 1, 1958. Since then, NASA has sent humans to the moon, sent satellites and spacecrafts all over the universe and is now extensively exploring Mars.

Collaboration of international forces to define Mars

This article focuses on the collaboration of international forces such as Russia, Spain and Canada,to create missions such as NASA’s Mars Odyssey (launched in 2001), the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express (2003), NASA’s Mars exploration rovers (2003) and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2005). It is a two part article focusing on international exploration of Mars. These "missions are designed to study everything from planetary geology, mineral composition, water supply, radiation and atmosphere, to whether the Red Planet can support life."

http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=March&x=20070321113432lcnirellep0.5797344

U.S./Russia Planning Joint Space Missions

The United States and Russia met today to advance a plan to collaborate on unmanned missions to the Moon and to Mars. After working together for so long on projects like MIR and the ISS, it makes sense for the US and Russia to work together on other types of missions - since presumably Russia is looking for the same data that we are, why should one country foot the entire bill?

An orbiter is planned to be launched to the Moon in October of next year that will orbit the poles, looking for good places to land people or rovers in later trips. Among other things, the trip will be looking for possible water under the surface. The orbiter will be made by NASA, while a lot of the technology used to analyze the geography and chemistry of the surface was designed by Russia.

In 2009, NASA plans to send a rover to Mars that will also use the Russian technology. Like the moon mission, an important goal of the rover will be searching for water.

Fine Dining on Mars with an International Flair

NASA recently discovered that astronauts will be able to grow their own vegetarian meals on the upcoming mission to Mars. The chief scientist and lead chef on the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station mission confirmed this report. Kim Binstead, claims that while she took part in a 100 days Mars simulation in the Arctic the crew was able to cook for themselves using long shelf life food and a small indoor garden. One of the groups favorite recipes was textured vegetable protein sweet and sour meatballs. Yummy!!!

International Act of Aggression?

Japan, China, and Russia are all in the planning stages of sending space shuttles to the moon. There are a number of international issues that arise over this activity. Issues of ownership, laws, and ethics must all be examined before further action is taken.

Is the moon a territory of the United States? The US landed on the moon and planted the American flag. Was this not an obvious sign that they were claiming the land?

Would China landing on the moon be a sign of aggression against the United States? Do other states need to ask the United States for permission to land on the moon? Is it time that states come together and decide what international laws will govern space activity? 

While there are not definite answers to any of these questions they are interesting issue to think about.