Fwd: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Thursday – August 21, 2014 and JSC Today and west nile virus alert

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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: August 21, 2014 10:15:30 AM CDT
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Thursday – August 21, 2014 and JSC Today and west nile virus alert

 

Subject: West Nile in 77058 zip code

 

With the reported increase in mosquito activity in the local area, we wanted to put out some information regarding mosquitos.

 

The attached PowerPoint presentation is a CDC Fact Sheet that discusses the West Nile Virus and the mosquito precautions to take.  Additionally, the Harris County Health Department notified Nassau Bay yesterday, that they have confirmed West Nile Mosquito activity in the zip code 77058.  Mosquito spraying will be increased in the city and the Harris County Mosquito Control will also be scheduling aerial spraying.  Although spraying will help combat the mosquito activity, residents are urged to use personal protection when outdoors. 

 

Thank you,

Brandy M. Ingram

Industrial Safety Specialist, VPP Coordinator & JSAT Co-Chair

 

 

 

 

Thursday, August 21, 2014

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JSC TODAY CATEGORIES Headlines -  The Mission is Simple: Mars -  On-Campus Lane Closure August 27 -  Submit a Solution on NASA@work -  Re-entry Filmed from the Inside -  Joint Leadership Team Web Poll Organizations/Social -  ASIA ERG CLM Meet and Greet Event Jobs and Training -  Project Management & Systems Engineering Forum -  Cleanroom Classes: Sept. 3 at the SAIC Building -  Career Power - Optimize Your Career Development -  JSC Library Training - Aug. 26 Community -  Success Might be Just Across the Street -  SWAPRA Meeting on Wednesdy, Sept. 10

Retreat of Yakutat Glacier

 

Headlines The Mission is Simple: Mars We are all working hard, because we know that going to Mars is better than not going to Mars. But what do kindergarteners think? JSC interns have created a new video that has astronaut Mike Fincke asking kids vital questions about spaceflight. See what crazy and fun things they have to say, and share, share, share.  You can find the video here. JSC Coop Students x35111 [top] On-Campus Lane Closure August 27 On Wednesday, Aug. 27, the two north bound lanes of Second Street, (between B45 and B46) will be closed from 7 a.m. to approximately 2:30 p.m. Traffic will be diverted via cones and controlled by construction flaggers. Northbound and southbound traffic will be down to one lane. There will also be two approach closures into the B45 west parking lot. Traffic will have to enter the parking lot from the northern most and southern most entries. Thank you for your patience with this ongoing closure. Adrianna Kukan x46944 [top] Submit a Solution on NASA@work Try something New! NASA@work currently has two active challenges that need your inputs. Check out our active challenges and submit your solution to start participating on NASA@work today: NASA@work Incentive Program: Submit Your Theme Ideas and Challenge Seeking Automated Entity and Entity Relationship Extraction from Web Content. Are you new to NASA@work? NASA@work is an agency-wide, collaborative problem-solving platform that connects the collective knowledge of experts (like you) from centers across NASA. Challenge Owners post problems and members of the NASA@work community participate by responding with their solutions to posted problems. Anyone can participate. Visit the website for more information. Kathryn Keeton 281-826-9792 https://nasa.innocentive.com [top] Re-entry Filmed from the Inside The European Space Agency's (ESA) un-crewed cargo vehicle, ATV-5, has just docked and the excitement is already building for its re-entry scheduled for January. Why? Because we are going to get video of its fiery destruction from the inside during re-entry. Read more about the ESA break-up camera here. Liz Warren x35548 [top] Joint Leadership Team Web Poll I can't wait until early next year and the new whiz-bang clinic opens in the old, repurposed library. I may fake an injury just to check it out. There are a lot of Manchester United fans here at JSC. I'm a little surprised—I thought we were classier than that. This week I have a bike share question for you. If we had a well-run bike-share program here at JSC, would you use it? Frequently? Occasionally? Never? Sometimes I get irritated by the simplest things. My officemates got a little irritated with me today, so I decided to post an irritating question. Which selection in question two bugs you the most? Bathroom cell phone use? No eye contact? Facebook games? Farm your Ville on over to get this week's poll. Joel Walker x30541 http://jlt.jsc.nasa.gov/ [top]    Organizations/Social ASIA ERG CLM Meet and Greet Event The ASIA Employee Resource Group (ERG) Career, Leadership and Mentoring (CLM) cordially invite you to our inaugural "Meet and Greet" event. It will take place on Wednesday Aug. 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Building 1, Room 620. We will introduce our ERG CLM resources and will have several JSC senior managers share their experiences as mentors in the JSC YODA Program. As with all our ASIA ERG events, there is ample opportunity for networking and we will have a pot-luck lunch format (bring a side dish or dessert). Event Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM Event Location: B1-620 Add to Calendar Hanh Do x48496 [top]    Jobs and Training Project Management & Systems Engineering Forum The next Project Management & Systems Engineering Forum will be Thursday, Aug. 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Building 1, Room 966. Mr. Ross Jones, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), will be presenting the topic: "Recent Systems Engineering Initiatives at JPL." Mr. Jones will share the ongoing efforts in Model Based Systems Engineering as well as Systems Engineering behaviors, training, and practices at JPL. All civil servant and contractor project managers and systems engineers are invited to attend. Event Date: Thursday, August 28, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM Event Location: Building 1, Room 966 Add to Calendar Danielle Bessard x37238 [top] Cleanroom Classes: Sept. 3 at the SAIC Building SMA-SAFE-NSTC-0095 Practices & Guidelines for Cleanroom & Related Operations: This course provides the technician/engineer with practical guidelines to modern cleanroom practices. https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_... SMA-SAFE-NSTC-0088 Cleanroom Protocol & Contamination Control: This course addresses the operation and uses of cleanrooms and the associated cleanroom protocols to minimize contamination. The student will learn how to prevent contamination from spreading to the product or test article in and upon removal from the clean environment. https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_... SMA-SAFE-NSTC-0087 Particle Count Training: This two-hour course provides the technician/engineer with the basic skills and knowledge for performing a particle count for determination of particle cleanliness level. A written/practical examination will also be offered. https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_... All cleanroom classes to be held in the SAIC Building, Room 344 Shirley Robinson x41284 [top] Career Power – Optimize Your Career Development Career Power is an engaging learning experience that guides individuals in managing their own development and careers by using activities, discussions, and skill-building exercises. Employees can manage their future with Career Power, a lifelong process for today's workforce. Outcomes: Apply the Career Power model to design their own development strategy Identify future trends and see the implications for their own career Discover values, skills and interests; manage their personal brand Set career direction with multiple options Draft a development plan; complete their IDP; and prepare and practice for career conversations Course Details: Date: Thursday, Sept. 18 Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Location: Building 12, Room 134 For: Civil Servant and Contractor Employees SATERN ID#: 74461 Use this direct link to register in SATERN. https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=REGISTRATI... Nicole Hernandez x37894 [top] JSC Library Training - Aug. 26 The Scientific & Technical Information Center (STIC) or JSC Library provides access to engineering, technical and scientific databases. These resources contain e-books, abstract and full-text journals and conference proceedings. It is also the official repository for 5-digit JSC documents. Make searching for these resources a lot easier by joining the library for a training session from 2 - 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 26. To register, visit the library website. Provided by JSC's Information Resources Directorate. Event Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2014   Event Start Time:2:00 PM   Event End Time:3:00 PM Event Location: Online Add to Calendar Ebony Fondren x32490 http://library.jsc.nasa.gov [top]    Community Success Might be Just Across the Street To co-opt an old familiar adage, behind every successful organization are other successful organizations. Two such organizations, which tirelessly support the continued success of JSC are uniquely positioned to help in the local/regional/national stakeholder communities of JSC and is located just across the street in Nassau Bay. Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP), a member-driven 501(c)(6), provides local leadership to stimulate regional economic development/employment by engaging ~270 member companies, business professionals, local governments and educational institutions in Southeast Texas. BAHEP founded the Bay Area Houston Advanced Technology Consortium (BayTech) 501(c)(3), that brings together academia, industry, JSC, and Texas to pursue research and development funding partnerships to support technology development and new opportunities for this region towards facilitating quick and easy access to JSC's unique capabilities and facilities through existing Space Act Agreements. Additional BAHEP-BayTech information, ongoing activities, capabilities and staff is available online or by going "just across the street". James Lewis 281-468-4607 http://www.bayareahouston.com/ [top] SWAPRA Meeting on Wednesdy, Sept. 10 South Western Aerospace Professional Representatives Association (SWAPRA) is kicking off its fall schedule with an exciting presentation by General Joseph W. Ashy (USAF Ret.) discussing his perspective on the geopolitical and military state of the world and how it affects the United States and the greater Houston area. On Wednesday, Sept. 10, SWAPRA will host General Ashy at the Bay Oaks Country Club beginning at 11:30 a.m. General Ashy has a unique insight into the military and political situation of the world through his efforts supporting the unified and service commanders through the Institute for Defense Analysis Independent Strategic Assessment Group process. The BOCC Luncheon cost for non-members is $35 at the door or $25 with pre-paid RSVP by 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 8. Contact David L. Brown (281) 483-7426 or david.l.brown@nasa.gov to RSVP or RSVP directly to Chris Elkins at (281) 276-2792 or celkins@atec.com Event Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2014   Event Start Time:11:00 AM   Event End Time:1:30 PM Event Location: Bay Oaks Country Club Add to Calendar David L. Brown x37426 [top]

 

JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles. Disclaimer: Accuracy and content of these notes are the responsibility of the submitters.

 

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

Sea Plankton on Space Station? Russian Official Claims It's So

 

Miriam Kramer – Space.com

 

A Russian official claims that samples collected by cosmonauts show evidence of sea plankton on the outside of the International Space Station, news agencies are reporting.

 

Cosmonauts Complete Spacewalk But Most Dangerous EVA Ever Could Lie Ahead

 

Erin Ruberry – Science Channel

 

Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev completed a 5-hour, 11-minute spacewalk Monday, launching a Peruvian nanosatellite and installing and retrieving various science experiments from the International Space Station's exterior.

 

Chris Hadfield's memoir to become TV sitcom

 

Andrew Ryan - The Globe and Mail

 

It looks like space really wasn't the final frontier for Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.

 

Deadline reports that ABC has committed to the creation of a family comedy inspired by Hadfield's 2013 bestseller An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. According to the ABC announcement, the proposed series will focus on a post-mission astronaut readjusting to life on terra firma, which "might be the hardest mission he's ever faced."

 

Buzz Aldrin takes the ALS Bucket Challenge NASA style

 

Leade Gore – Alabama Live

 

Famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin is among the latest to take part in the now famous ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and his version is slightly out of this world. Wearing a t-shirt that says "Get Your Ass to Mars," Aldrin said he was nominated for the challenge by Star Trek actor and internet celebrity George Takei. Aldrin, the second man to ever walk on the moon, then uses a stein to dump the cold water on his head.

 

 

SLS searching for missions to solve flight rate dilemma

 

Chris Bergin – NASA Spaceflight

 

Space Launch System (SLS) managers are continuing to look at potential – and as yet unfunded – science missions to provide their monster rocket with a viable number of flights. The flight rate dilemma was recently highlighted when it was admitted NASA had looked into "how slow" a launch rate could be viable for the rocket that is expected to make her debut in 2018.

 

NASA wants robot swarms to mine the moon and Mars

 

Nidhi Subbaraman – Beta Boston

 

Today they're scuttling around the parking lot of the Kennedy Space Center looking for barcoded scraps of paper. But one day, NASA hopes to use similar robots to comb the surface of the moon, or Mars, or an asteroid, looking for fuel or other valuable material underground.

 

Roscosmos Plans to Beef Up Russia's Segment of the International Space Station

 

The Moscow Times

 

Russia's space agency says it plans to continue expanding its segment of the International Space Station, or ISS, in 2017, amid concerns that Moscow will pull out of the program in 2020 due to fraying relations with its major partner in space, the U.S., over the crisis in Ukraine, Interfax reported Wednesday.

 

Look at what two years on Mars did to the Curiosity Rover

 

Sean O'Kane

 

NASA's Curiosity rover just recently finished its second year exploring Mars, and the red planet's harsh environment has taken its toll. Rocky terrain, tricky sand dunes, and exposure to Martian dust storms have left the SUV-sized robot looking a little worse for wear as it continues its march towards its eventual goal, Mount Sharp.

 

Two Russian rocket engines arrive in U.S. as planned -ULA

 

Reuters

 

WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Two Russian-built rocket engines arrived in the United States on Wednesday aboard a giant Antonov cargo plane despite fears that tensions between the United States and Russia could disrupt the supply of engines needed to launch U.S. satellites into space.

 

Stunning Astronaut Photos Capture Beauty of Earth from Space

 

Miriam Kramer – Space.com

 

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman seems to be having a great time living in space, and he is using social media to share his experience with the world. Wiseman has taken some truly amazing pictures of Earth and the cosmos from the International Space Station since he boarded the orbiting outpost in May. The astronaut usually uses Twitter to beam back pictures from his life in space.

 

Cubesats to the Moon (Mars and Saturn, Too)

 

Mark Betancourt – Air & Space Smithsonian

 

When it's ready for launch, your typical spacecraft is transported to the launch vehicle in a special truck, or on its own airplane, or in a railway car. It usually has to be packed in something at least the size of a shed. Carl Brandon, a physics professor at Vermont Technical College, stowed his in the overhead compartment of a commercial airliner.

 

 

COMPLETE STORIES

Sea Plankton on Space Station? Russian Official Claims It's So

 

Miriam Kramer – Space.com

 

A Russian official claims that samples collected by cosmonauts show evidence of sea plankton on the outside of the International Space Station, news agencies are reporting.

 

Cosmonauts on the orbiting outpost have allegedly discovered trace amounts of sea plankton and other microscopic organisms living on the outside of the station, exposed to the vacuum of space, according to a news story quoting space station official Vladimir Solovyov.

 

However, NASA has not confirmed the reports. "As far as we're concerned, we haven't heard any official reports from our Roscosmos colleagues that they've found sea plankton," NASA spokesman Dan Huot said. Roscosmos is Russia's Federal Space Agency. [5 Bold Claims of Alien Life]

 

The unconfirmed claims — reported by ITAR-TASS — were reportedly the result of a long-term study done using specialized equipment by Russians on the station, according to the news agency.

 

Although the cosmonauts did sample the outside of the space station and a window on one of the modules this week, they were not necessarily looking for traces of microbes, according to NASA.

 

"I'm not sure where all the sea-plankton talk is coming from," Huot told Space.com. "The Russians did take samples from one of the windows on the Russian segment, and what they're actually looking for is residues that can build up on the visually sensitive elements, like windows, as well as just the hull of the ship itself that will build up whenever they do thruster firings for things like re-boosts. That's what they were taking samples for. I don't know where all the sea plankton talk is coming from."

 

It's possible that the plankton, if confirmed, could be a contaminant launched into space with the space station module, said NASA scientist Lynn Rothschild.

 

Previous studies have found that microorganisms can survive in outer space.

 

For example, tardigrades — a microscopic invertebrate found all over the world — can dehydrate and fall into a hibernation that allows them to survive in space, Rothschild said. Tardigrades (also called "water bears") are part of a group classified as "extremophiles" — organisms that can survive in even the harshest environments.

 

"Note that there is a long history of U.S. and European missions proving that microbes could survive in low Earth orbit for extended periods of time," Rothschild told Space.com via email.

 

Researchers have also discovered microbes in Earth's upper atmosphere. In 2013, scientists reported that they found a large number of many kinds of microorganisms in the atmosphere 5 to 10 miles (8 to 16 kilometers) above the planet's surface, according to Space.com sister site Live Science.

 

Bacterial life has even been found 24.8 miles (40 km) up into the atmosphere, according to a 2013 interview with Tina Santl Temkiv, an environmental chemist at Aarhus University in Denmark, by Space.com's sister site Live Science.

 

NASA officials keep an eye on bacteria growing inside spacecraft. Biofilms — colonies of bacteria — grow on the interior of the International Space Station, and scientists are working to understand how the microgravity environment affects their growth. Astronauts grew bacteria in fake urine during a flight of NASA's space shuttle Atlantis and found that it grows strangely when compared to biofilms of the same species cultivated on Earth.

 

"The unique appearance and structure of the P. aeruginosa biofilms formed in microgravity suggests that nature is capable of adapting to nonterrestrial environments in ways that deserve further studies, including studies exploring long-term growth and adaptation to a low-gravity environment," Cynthia Collins, who led the study, said in a 2013 NASA statement. "Before we start sending astronauts to Mars or embarking on other long-term spaceflight missions, we need to be as certain as possible that we have eliminated or significantly reduced the risk that biofilms pose to the human crew and their equipment."

 

 

Cosmonauts Complete Spacewalk But Most Dangerous EVA Ever Could Lie Ahead

 

Erin Ruberry – Science Channel

 

Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev completed a 5-hour, 11-minute spacewalk Monday, launching a Peruvian nanosatellite and installing and retrieving various science experiments from the International Space Station's exterior.

 

Artemyev shared photos from his second spacewalk on Twitter, including a stunning shot of sunset from outside the ISS:

 

The tiny Chasqui-1 satellite measures just 4 inches by 4 inches by 4 inches and weighs only 2.2 pounds. According to NASA,

 

"Shortly after the spacewalk began at 10:02 a.m., Artemyev manually deployed Chasqui 1, a Peruvian nanosatellite designed to take pictures of the Earth with a pair of cameras and transmit the images to a ground station. The project is part of an effort by the National University of Engineering in Peru to gain experience in satellite technology and emerging information and communication technologies."

 

While spacewalks may seem routine these days, an extra-vehicular activity is still the most dangerous activity an astronaut can do in space... and spacewalks of the future could get even more menacing. Tonight on "Man vs. the Universe" (10/9c), learn about scientists' efforts to stop an asteroid from crashing into Earth. One method calls for catching an impending asteroid in a giant bag, then sending astronauts on the most dangerous spacewalk ever.

 

 

Chris Hadfield's memoir to become TV sitcom

 

Andrew Ryan - The Globe and Mail

 

It looks like space really wasn't the final frontier for Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.

 

Deadline reports that ABC has committed to the creation of a family comedy inspired by Hadfield's 2013 bestseller An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth.

 

According to the ABC announcement, the proposed series will focus on a post-mission astronaut readjusting to life on terra firma, which "might be the hardest mission he's ever faced."

 

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Hadfield, the pride of Sarnia, Ont., was the first Canadian to officially command a space mission and came down to Earth himself in May, 2013, following a five-month stint aboard the International Space Station.

 

Perhaps more famously, it was during that same mission, which was his third spaceflight, that Hadfield garnered a massive global following on social media courtesy of his videos and musical performances recorded in zero-gravity conditions.

 

Most notably, Hadfield's eerily fitting cover version of the David Bowie song Space Oddity has been viewed more than 22-million times on YouTube. (Hadfield removed the video from YouTube earlier this summer for copyright reasons.)

 

In his book, Hadfield wrote eloquently about how his experiences in space could be applied to everyday life.

 

"What happened to me is interesting to me, but what really matters is what does it mean to someone else?" said Hadfield in an interview shortly after the book's release. "It is really about how you bring it back and make the experience as relevant that matters."

 

Hadfield retired from active astronaut duty after his last mission and currently splits his time between professorial duties at the University of Waterloo and speaking engagements.

 

Hadfield will serve as a consulting producer on the new, still-untitled series being mounted for ABC by TV veterans Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, who have previously adapted two other memoirs into TV series.

 

The primetime series $#"! My Dad Says and Surviving Jack were both based on autobiographical tomes penned by Halpern and enjoyed fleeting existences on CBS and Fox, respectively.

 

No casting decisions have been announced for the pilot of the Hadfield sitcom, but if the project eventually makes it to air, it won't be the only astronaut-themed show on American prime time television.

 

NBC has already sanctioned the sitcom Mission Control, which is executive-produced by the Anchorman team of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay and stars Krysten Ritter as a "tough but brilliant aerospace engineer" leading a team of quirky NASA scientists in the sixties.

 

ABC is also planning the series The Astronaut Wives Club, based on the book by Lily Koppel. Booked for a 10-episode run in spring of 2015, the drama will tell the true-life story of the women left behind by America's first astronauts in the sixties.

 

Meanwhile, Chris Hadfield's second book, You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes, will be released this October. The book recounts an entire orbit around earth by combining Hadfield's commentary with the photos he took while on-board the space station.

 

Still boldly going, just like a good Canadian.

 

 

Buzz Aldrin takes the ALS Bucket Challenge NASA style

 

Leade Gore – Alabama Live

 

Famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin is among the latest to take part in the now famous ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and his version is slightly out of this world.

 

Wearing a t-shirt that says "Get Your Ass to Mars," Aldrin said he was nominated for the challenge by Star Trek actor and internet celebrity George Takei. Aldrin, the second man to ever walk on the moon, then uses a stein to dump the cold water on his head.

 

He then challenges NASA Director Charlie Bolden, singer Bruno Mars and actor Tim Allen, who provides the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the "Toy Story" movies.

 

 

SLS searching for missions to solve flight rate dilemma

 

Chris Bergin – NASA Spaceflight

 

Space Launch System (SLS) managers are continuing to look at potential – and as yet unfunded – science missions to provide their monster rocket with a viable number of flights. The flight rate dilemma was recently highlighted when it was admitted NASA had looked into "how slow" a launch rate could be viable for the rocket that is expected to make her debut in 2018.

SLS Flight Rate:

 

As SLS continues to make very good progress during her transition from the design phase to the actual bending of metal at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), the rocket's projected flight rate remains a huge challenge that needs to be fixed to ensure her immense capability is fully utilized.

 

As has been the case for a number of years now, only two missions are currently manifested, while her projected schedule in the 2020s remains threadbare.

 

Z53The issue of the flight rate for SLS was known even before the rocket was officially announced, with a stuttered start mainly caused by political language.

 

The requirement for debuting SLS in 2017 had little to do with the rocket's Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) exploration aspirations. It was the 2010 Authorization Act that called on SLS and Orion to provide a back up role to the Commercial Crew Program – actually calling for a 2016 operational debut, per the Act – in the event of a severe delay to what is now known as the USCV-1 (US Crew Vehicle -1) mission.

 

Ironically, SLS' multi-billion dollar strain on the NASA budget has indirectly starved Commercial Crew funding, resulting in USCV-1 slipping to at least the end of 2017.

 

Also adding to the irony was the fact SLS and Orion were never likely to provide such a back up role, due to the obvious requirement the first SLS mission having to be uncrewed for safety reasons. The last time a crew rode on the debut of a NASA vehicle was in 1981, during Columbia's STS-1 launch.

 

Notably, such a SLS and Orion mission to the ISS would have likely cost more money than it would to accelerate the Commercial Crew USCV-1 launch date.

 

The fallout of this political requirement for SLS to launch in 2017 was never solved, even when NASA made it clear Orion had been fully refocused on BEO missions. The result was a four year gap between the debut flight of SLS and the second mission, a flight that will involve a crew for the first time.

 

Although this schedule remains the case via public statements by NASA, internally Exploration Mission -1 (EM-1) has slipped to at least the middle of 2018.

 

Notably, the slip is specific to Orion's schedule issues, with some sources noting SLS may still launch in 2017 on a test flight with either a dummy payload or a boilerplate Orion. However, this is just one of several options under consideration.

 

What remains the most likely scenario is a 2018 launch of EM-1, with Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2) accelerated to the end of 2020, as continues to be portrayed by internal documentation.

 

Z3As if to convolute matters further, the second flight may change call signs, allowing for another test flight, this time with the powerful Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). Officials have noted it is unlikely they will allow a crew to ride on the new stage until it has been flight tested.

 

Also, changing the current EM-2 mission – a crewed asteroid sample mission – into the third flight of SLS would make some sense, due to the initial requirement of a robotic mission – called the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM) – to capture the asteroid and place it into an orbit near to the Moon.

 

Z6It is highly unlikely that the ARRM objectives could be achieved in time for the second SLS launch in 2020. However, SLS-2 could be called upon to launch the ARRM spacecraft, as previously suggested by NASA managers.

 

Once SLS is into the 2020s, the launch rate should see the rocket launching at least once per year, ramping up to a projected three times per year for the eventual Mars missions. However, the latter won't be until the 2030s.

 

With no missions manifested past the EM-2 flight, the undesirable question of just how "slow" a launch rate would be viable for SLS and her workforce has now been asked.

 

"Everyone recognizes that safety issues can be induced with a fast launch rate; however, if the launch rate is too slow, people skills, processes, and equipment can degrade," as was noted at the latest Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) meeting. "Generally, there is an optimum launch rate with some limits on 'too fast' or 'too slow.'"

 

Z4It was then revealed to the meeting that "The (SLS) Program has considered this conceptually and has some ideas on how slow is too slow."

 

It is understood that NASA believes one launch every two years is "too slow" and over two launches per year is "too fast" for missions in the 2020s, based on current SLS production limitations.

 

In response, the ASAP encouraged the SLS Program to pursue this question and determine what the boundaries are, before references were once again noted about potential science missions.

 

"Budget limits will put pressure on launch rates," the meeting notes continued. "One thing that may help the launch rate is the growing interest by the science community in using the SLS for science missions.

 

"One possibility that has arisen is the Europa mission. Missions like this can help fill the gaps and provide a safe and cost-efficient launch rate beyond a human mission to Mars."

 

However, it has been on the radar of SLS managers as one of the more steadfast attempts to attract science missions to their manifest, with previous L2 notes showing they have been working alongside the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on a notional science mission to the Europa. However, this was an exercise, as opposed to the opening plans for an action mission.

 

Since then, a Europa mission has continued to be cited in both L2 and public documentation, including the more recent NASA Advisory Council (NAC) overview on SLS' status.

 

"Europa exploration was identified as a high priority in the 'Visions and Voyages' planetary science decadal survey. SLS can provide direct injection to Jupiter, eliminating several years of planetary gravity assists to reduce flight time to Europa from 6.3 years to 2.7," noted the latest NAC presentations.

 

"Additional benefits of SLS for Europa Clipper include reduced operational costs, reduced mission risk, and greater mass margin."

 

Known as the "Three Degrees Of Freedom (3-DOF) Reference and Loads Trajectories" evaluations, a Design Analysis Cycle (DAC) noted "Design Reference Missions (DRMs) addressed include the Europa mission configuration (27500)," per L2 notes.

 

Incidentally, it also involved two "Lunar mission configurations (27002 cargo and 28002 crew)," which sources note is related to any potential change to the current political direction, one that is currently shunning a return to the Lunar surface.

 

"Two loads trajectories (maximum dynamic pressure and maximum acceleration) were also generated for each DRM. The 3 reference and 6 loads trajectories will be presented to the Structures and Environments (StE) Ascent Flight Systems Integration Task Team (AFSITT)."

 

Also previously shown to be under evaluation is SLS' involvement in a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission.

 

The evaluations depicted, the "2024+ Single Shot MSR on SLS is based on "launch cadence and availability providing a single-shot Mars Sample Return opportunity."

 

This would not be a primary mission for SLS, with the "Mars SEP (Solar Electric Power/Propulsion) Orbiter" riding as a secondary payload. The cited alternatives of using a Falcon Heavy or a Delta IV-Heavy would see it become their primary payload, if selected.

 

Based on such a projected timescale for the mission, the opportunity falls into the domain of SLS-5 or SLS-6, should the current manifest remain unchanged.

 

Such notional overviews involve Orion being used on the second leg of the mission, picking up the samples in space.

 

The idea was again touted in the recent NAC documentation, this time claiming the alternative vehicles would require multiple launches to achieve.

 

"Additional benefits of SLS for Mars Sample Return include reduced mission time, increased sample mass, and reduced mission cost, complexity and risk."

 

Such claims are repeated for various other notional missions, including large probes to various deep space destinations. However, no such mission will become a reality without funding.

 

Officials have yet to note how factoring in the cost of the SLS program impacts on the likelihood of such science missions ever becoming a reality.

 

 

NASA wants robot swarms to mine the moon and Mars

 

Nidhi Subbaraman – Beta Boston

 

Today they're scuttling around the parking lot of the Kennedy Space Center looking for barcoded scraps of paper. But one day, NASA hopes to use similar robots to comb the surface of the moon, or Mars, or an asteroid, looking for fuel or other valuable material underground.

 

The robots are simple "swarmies," and carry a webcam, WiFi antenna, and GPS device. The goal, NASA explains, is to deploy a group of them to each search a section of land, then report back to each other if and when they find something.

 

This divide-and-conquer approach is one that ants use, to cover large areas in the most efficient manner. It's also a more reliable approach: If one bot in a group is lost, the mission isn't in jeopardy.

 

The robots are a long way from taking a trip to space—for now, the researchers in charge are developing algorithms that will guide the bots in their work.

 

Eventually, the testing will include RASSOR, a robot that looks like a laptop on wheels, that NASA is developing to mine.

 

 

Look at what two years on Mars did to the Curiosity Rover

 

Sean O'Kane

 

NASA's Curiosity rover just recently finished its second year exploring Mars, and the red planet's harsh environment has taken its toll. Rocky terrain, tricky sand dunes, and exposure to Martian dust storms have left the SUV-sized robot looking a little worse for wear as it continues its march towards its eventual goal, Mount Sharp.

 

Below is a before-and-after look at a variety of instruments and features on Curiosity and the wear they've endured during the rover's first two years, made from images uploaded by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Each image is either from the MAHLI imager or the Mastcam, and is also labeled with the Sol number (sol = one Martian solar day, the mission is currently on Sol 724) during which each image was taken.

 

(PHOTOS)

 

 

Roscosmos Plans to Beef Up Russia's Segment of the International Space Station

 

The Moscow Times

 

Russia's space agency says it plans to continue expanding its segment of the International Space Station, or ISS, in 2017, amid concerns that Moscow will pull out of the program in 2020 due to fraying relations with its major partner in space, the U.S., over the crisis in Ukraine, Interfax reported Wednesday.

 

In May, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin — who oversees the space industry — said Russia was not interested in accepting a NASA proposal to extend the life of the space station beyond its current 2020 end date. The Federal Space Agency, or Roscosmos, has yet to comment officially on these remarks, but Russia's ISS program manager said two weeks ago that the government had not yet given Roscosmos permission to accept the proposal because of the situation in Ukraine, SpaceNews reported.

 

Regardless of the future of the station, a proposed federal space plan for 2016-2025 envisions an expansion of the existing Russian segment of ISS in 2017, Interfax reported, citing a copy of the document. That year, Russia would launch its long-delayed Multipurpose Laboratory Module, as well as a new hub module and docking module — allowing five ships to dock with the station.

 

The overall cost of Russia's ISS extension will be almost 4 billion rubles ($110 million).

 

Roscosmos declined to comment on the proposal, which has yet to receive government approval.

 

 

Two Russian rocket engines arrive in U.S. as planned -ULA

 

Reuters

 

WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Two Russian-built rocket engines arrived in the United States on Wednesday aboard a giant Antonov cargo plane despite fears that tensions between the United States and Russia could disrupt the supply of engines needed to launch U.S. satellites into space.

 

"Today, United Launch Alliance received two RD-180 engines at our factory in Decatur, Alabama, that will support critical near-term U.S. missions," said Jessica Rye, spokeswoman for the joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp. ULA uses the Russian engines to help launch a range of NASA and other government satellites into space.

 

Rye said the deliveries occurred as scheduled, bringing the company's current inventory of RD-180 engines to 15. Three additional rockets are due to arrive this fall, she said.

 

Tensions between Moscow and Washington over Russia's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine have raised concerns that Russian rocket engine deliveries could be interrupted, sparking fresh efforts by United Launch Alliance (ULA) and the U.S. Air Force to explore alternate sources to power the Atlas 5 rocket.

 

For now, Washington remains dependent on the Russian engines since it could take years and billions of dollars to design and build a U.S.-built alternate engine, according to U.S. government officials and industry executives.

 

Wednesday's delivery of two more RD-180 engines showed that so far Russian officials are allowing engine deliveries to proceed despite at least one threat tweeted by a senior Russian official that Moscow could halt shipments of engines destined for U.S. military satellite launches.

 

But Rye said ULA was proceeding with feasibility studies with multiple companies about building a new U.S. rocket engine.

 

"While the RD-180 has been a remarkable success, we believe now is the right time to invest in a domestic engine," she said, noting that the U.S. government had also made clear its support for development of a domestic engine.

 

The engines delivered on Wednesday were not earmarked specifically for civilian or military launches but will add to the overall current inventory, which officials have said will last for about two years.

 

ULA has an $11 billion contract with the U.S. Air Force for 36 launches, but privately held Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, has sued in U.S. federal claims courts to be allowed to compete for more of that work.

 

SpaceX is working through the certification it needs from the Air Force to compete for such orders with its Falcon 9 rocket, and plans to debut a heavy-lift Falcon rocket next year.

 

Certifying SpaceX to fly U.S. military missions would help alleviate concerns about a future ban on Russian engine exports.

 

Former Air Force Space Commander William Shelton, who retired this month, last month said he expected the Air Force to complete its certification of SpaceX rockets by December.

 

The Air Force is working on a review of possible alternatives to continued use of the RD-180 rocket engines.

 

 

Stunning Astronaut Photos Capture Beauty of Earth from Space

 

Miriam Kramer – Space.com

 

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman seems to be having a great time living in space, and he is using social media to share his experience with the world.

 

Wiseman has taken some truly amazing pictures of Earth and the cosmos from the International Space Station since he boarded the orbiting outpost in May. The astronaut usually uses Twitter to beam back pictures from his life in space.

 

"Enjoying the view on a Sunday afternoon," Wiseman wrote in a post on Twitter (@Astro_Reid) on Aug. 17. "Hard to believe this is real." The image attached to the post shows the astronaut gazing out the cupola, a seven-sided Earth-gazing window on the bottom of the space station. [See more amazing photos of Earth from space]

 

Sometimes Wiseman's images show cities from space or science experiments on the station, but other posts foster engagement with space fans by asking about the origins of objects and geological formations he spots from the lab.

 

"Anyone been to this circular island chain near India? I want to know more about this!" Wiseman wrote in an Aug. 13 post. The post included a photo of a blue chain of islands partially obscured by cloud cover.

 

Almost immediately, Twitter users from around the world started to answer Wiseman's question. It turns out the circular island chain is actually the Maldives. "I was born and raised there," Mauzoom Ali said in reply to Wiseman. "It's an atoll of Maldives. Called Huvadhu Atoll. And its [sic] the largest Atoll on earth."

The circular Maldive islands from space

 

Wiseman also asked his more than 216,000 Twitter followers to help him identify some odd green lights in the ocean outside of Bangkok, and the crowd happily replied. Many of the NASA astronaut's fans suggested that the green lights are actually attached to fishing boats off the coast of the country.

 

The green lights attract phytoplankton, which, in turn, attract fish to the boats, according to a Wall Street Journal blog shared by a Twitter user in response to Wiseman's query.

Thailand from space with green ship lights

 

Wiseman has also released some breathtaking, artistic photos of the planet. He has recently started tagging the artful images with the hashtag #EarthArt. In one such photo, the Bahamas are awash in different shades of blue and yellow.

 

He also recently posted an image taken during nighttime from the station on a 3-second shutter delay. A multitude of stars and Earth's atmosphere are visible in the photo.

 

Space fans can also see the photographic ghost of the station in the image posted on Aug. 18. Two objects that look like satellites are actually the edges of the space laboratory's giant solar panels. Wiseman captured the objects due to the longer exposure time set on his camera and the movement of the station.

 

NASA's Steve Swanson, European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst and cosmonauts Maxim Suraev, Oleg Artemyev and Alexander Skvortsov join Wiseman on the space station. Wiseman is expected to stay onboard the station until November.

 

(PHOTOS)

 

Cubesats to the Moon (Mars and Saturn, Too)

 

Mark Betancourt – Air & Space Smithsonian

 

When it's ready for launch, your typical spacecraft is transported to the launch vehicle in a special truck, or on its own airplane, or in a railway car. It usually has to be packed in something at least the size of a shed. Carl Brandon, a physics professor at Vermont Technical College, stowed his in the overhead compartment of a commercial airliner.

 

"It took me about two minutes to go through security," he says. When they heard what had just gone through the X-ray machine, the TSA agents at Burlington's airport flocked to him. "They all wanted to hear about the CubeSat," says Brandon.

 

Vermont Tech's satellite—its first ever—is one of hundreds of tiny spacecraft projects under development that may change how we explore the solar system. This particular one won't travel far, but after being launched into Earth orbit last November, the Vermont Lunar CubeSat began testing navigational equipment that, in theory, could guide it to the moon. If all goes well, in a few years Brandon and his team will try to turn theory to reality with a slightly larger version.

 

Slightly larger, in this case, would mean 10 by 10 by 30 centimeters, about the size of a loaf of bread. The satellite now in orbit is a cube only 10 centimeters on a side, but it has the same kind of equipment you'd expect on a much larger spacecraft: star-tracking camera, GPS, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, solar panels, computer, and radio transceiver.

 

Small spacecraft are nothing new—the first satellite launched by the United States in 1958, Explorer 1, weighed only about 30 pounds. But with electronics getting more compact—a trend driven largely by demand for things like smartphones—smallsats can now perform functions, such as photographing Earth from space, that used to be possible only with large, expensive spacecraft (see "Spysats for Everyone," Sept. 2013). For some jobs, little spacecraft may even be better.

 

Case in point: Saturn's rings. The $3 billion Cassini spacecraft, which has gathered the most detailed information about Saturn to date, can't risk coming close enough to the rings to study the icy particles they're made of. One wayward particle and boom, there goes Cassini. Some researchers have suggested sending a large spacecraft to hover above the rings and take detailed images, but the fuel requirements for such maneuvers would be enormous, says Matthew Tiscareno, who works with Cassini's imaging team at Cornell University in New York.

 

That's why he and other colleagues at Cornell propose something simpler, smaller, and about 1,000 times cheaper. A swarm of tiny spacecraft, not unlike Vermont Tech's Lunar CubeSat, could be injected directly into Saturn's rings, where they would orbit along with the ice particles. Those CubeSats could then release hundreds of even smaller spacecraft, called chipsats, that would "tag" individual ice particles, recording basic information about their composition, density, and motion within the rings.

 

In some ways, this would be the ideal way to study the rings: gathering lots of data from lots of little sources. You actually don't want something bigger, says Tiscareno. "If you had a spacecraft the size of a Volkswagen or—you know, Cassini's the size of a schoolbus—it would disrupt the environment that it's trying to measure a lot more than a CubeSat would." Not all the tiny spacecraft would likely survive bumping around inside Saturn's rings, but even if only one in four sent back data, he says, the mission would be a success. It's the buckshot approach to planetary science.

 

The first CubeSats (called picosatellites if they weigh less than a kilogram) were developed in 1999 by Jordi Puig-Suari and Bob Twiggs at California Polytechnic State and Stanford universities, respectively. The inventors wanted a project that would allow students to build functioning satellites within just a couple of school years. Later, students at Cal Poly designed a Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer, or P-POD, which packs several CubeSats together for easy release in orbit. The P-POD fits inside the unused volume on rockets delivering other, larger payloads to space.

 

Compactness is one advantage of the CubeSat form, but the real benefit is cost. Vermont's CubeSat cost about $50,000, several orders of magnitude less than a typical NASA spacecraft, which means that CubeSats have a much better chance than bigger satellites do of actually flying. "The new age that's dawning right now comes at a time when billion-dollar flagship missions are not being funded at the rate that they were in the past," says Paula Pingree, an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who has designed electronics and instruments for expensive missions like Cassini and now oversees several of JPL's CubeSat projects. "The CubeSat opportunity does give us a chance to get that access to space," she says.

 

Thinking small also spurs creativity, according to Robert Staehle, another seasoned JPL engineer, who has spearheaded a project to brainstorm planetary CubeSat missions. "The fact that you have this limited-size box is part of the engine of innovation," he says. "If you can't figure out how to get it in the size box it is, then you're not going [to space]. And that has been a tremendous forcing function of innovation." Cheaper, simpler spacecraft give engineers the freedom to fail. It's okay to lose a few CubeSats if they can be easily replaced, and learning from failure is often how technology gets better faster.

 

Now it's up to CubeSat aficionados to show that small satellites can take on big jobs, like planetary exploration. Among the most attractive potential missions are those that require more than one spacecraft in more than one place. Besides infiltrating Saturn's rings, swarms of CubeSats could fan out and explore hundreds of near-Earth asteroids, or create a network to observe electrical storms on Mars or view regions on the sun not visible from Earth.

 

CubeSats would also make good add-ons to larger missions. They could ride along on the mothership, then be deployed to do jobs too dangerous for the main spacecraft, like flying kamikaze into a comet's tail or into the plume of a volcano on Jupiter's moon Io. CubeSats could even be linked together at their destination to form a single, more capable spacecraft. The California Technical Institute is developing a self-assembling space telescope made up of six CubeSats and another hexagonal-shaped nanosatellite.

 

That's another thing about CubeSats: The affordability of these spacecraft is drawing more—and more diverse—engineering talent to the field. What had long been the exclusive domain of NASA, big aerospace companies, and a few well-funded universities is now within reach of schools like St. Louis University in Missouri and Salish Kootenai College in Montana; students can be involved with developing a working spacecraft through every stage, from concept to launch. Countries that have never before made space headlines, like Colombia, Hungary, Estonia, and Peru, also are putting up their first satellites—all CubeSats.

 

Small startup companies are getting in on the action too. Pumpkin, Inc., based in San Francisco, sells a CubeSat Kit that lets engineers add their own payload and systems to a small, standardized bus. Raptor Space Services in Mountain View, California, is working on a vehicle to carry CubeSats from the International Space Station to higher orbits.

 

"[Small satellites] are probably the most exciting area of the space business right now," says Robert Hoyt, who started Seattle-based Tethers Unlimited in 1994, just as the CubeSat revolution was about to begin. With grants from NASA and the Department of Defense, the company is developing tools to boost the capabilities of CubeSats, including a foldable, high-output solar power array and a deployable dish antenna that greatly increases communications range—both of which can be stowed in CubeSat-size compartments until they're deployed.

 

New methods of financing space projects are helping to expand the number of players in the field. Ben Longmier, an aerospace engineering professor at the University of Michigan, recently led a couple of Kickstarter campaigns to fund development of his CubeSat propulsion system, a plasma thruster fueled by water and other propellants. While the initial campaign failed to meet its fundraising goal, it gained the project a lot of exposure, and the second time around Longmier and his team raised almost twice their $50,000 goal.

 

The CubeSat revolution will need many such creative minds to pull off cheap planetary exploration. The challenge with sending shoebox-size spacecraft into deep space is how to fit all the necessary equipment for propulsion, long-range communications, radiation protection, data processing, and power—and still have room for cameras and spectrometers.

 

In the DIY culture of CubeSat builders, simple (read "cheap") is good. "Why spend a million dollars when you can use a toaster oven?" says Ali Roland, who worked as an undergraduate on St. Louis University's Close Orbital Propellant Plume Element Recognition (COPPER) satellite. Roland and others use a toaster oven to "bake" CubeSats before launch to prevent the chemical outgassing that can interfere with instruments in space. But given all the pitfalls of operating in space, success is far from guaranteed. COPPER was launched in November (along with Vermont Tech's Lunar CubeSat) as a first step toward developing automatic imaging systems that could help CubeSats recognize and dock with one another. Unfortunately, right after launch, the team lost contact with their spacecraft.

 

At JPL, Staehle is well aware of the time and money that go into preventing such failures on NASA planetary missions. Yet he hopes CubeSats will create new ways of approaching familiar problems. His favorite potential application is a low-tech sample return from Phobos, the larger of Mars' two moons. Because the moon's gravity is relatively weak, there's no need for rocket thrust to escape the surface. Staehle proposes using a simple spring. One CubeSat would land on the surface, scoop up sediment in a small container, and spring the container into orbit, where another CubeSat would catch it and retrieve it for return to Earth, in a kind of robotic alley-oop. Staehle says the idea started as a joke at his CubeSat project's weekly meeting: "Somebody said, 'Well, you can't do a Phobos sample return with CubeSats,' and everyone laughed in agreement. Then somebody said, 'Well wait a minute, let's look at this.' In the space of 10 minutes, the whole idea came together at a very conceptual level."

 

Another JPL-led project, the Lunar Flashlight, would search for ices in lunar polar craters by using its solar sail (which is primarily for propulsion) as a mirror to shine sunlight into shaded regions, then scan the area with a spectrometer.

 

Each CubeSat project seems to come up with another invention. An MIT team is working on an inflatable radio antenna that transmits 10 times faster and seven times farther than existing CubeSat antennas. Others at MIT are working on a penny-size thruster that shoots ionized particles out of hundreds of microscopic metallic tips. It would generate very little thrust in the short term, but plenty over a multi-year cruise to the outer solar system.

 

The main challenge for small spacecraft today is proving that they can be trusted on long-range, high-stakes missions. "You can do a fair amount of testing on the ground," says Hoyt, "but nobody's really going to trust it until it's flown."

 

That proof, in turn, depends on launch opportunities. Many tests of interplanetary-grade technology can be conducted in low Earth orbit, and NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) program, part of the agency's broader CubeSat initiative, finds free rides for academic CubeSats on rockets that are already going to orbit. For other tests—say, confirming that your CubeSat's avionics are adequately protected from deep-space radiation—you have to go further. Russ Cox, a space entrepreneur who organizes an annual conference on sending CubeSats to the moon, says, "If we are going to be doing anything in deep space, we are going to learn how to do it at the moon first."

 

Here's where the flight opportunities start to get rare. NASA's new Space Launch System, still under construction, is slated to carry 12 CubeSats, including the Lunar Flashlight, on its first test flight to the moon. But that launch won't happen until 2017 at the earliest. Meanwhile, the agency is considering awarding a few million dollars in prize money for CubeSat missions to the moon and beyond.

 

The first CubeSat to make it beyond Earth orbit may be JPL's Interplanetary NanoSpacecraft Pathfinder In Relevant Environment (INSPIRE), two identical CubeSats that will be placed into a solar orbit. The team will load each with a miniaturized X-Band radio transponder and a couple of off-the-shelf processing boards to see how they perform. And, to test the ability of a nanosatellite to gather data in deep space, each CubeSat will carry a magnetometer to gauge the solar wind, a star-tracker for orientation, and an imager. INSPIRE's launch date hasn't been set, but is expected within the next two years.

 

What if the experiments don't work? It's possible that some things simply can't be done with a tiny spacecraft, including exploring the solar system.

 

"It's a big question right now where that threshold is," says Pingree. She points out that on small satellites, there's no room for backup systems, and miniaturized instruments may be more prone to failure. The longer and farther a spacecraft travels, the more important those factors become.

 

Until these questions are answered, most of the long-range CubeSat dreams of planetary scientists and engineers will remain conceptual. Perhaps the most ambitious dream is the student-led, crowd-funded Time Capsule to Mars, which aims to land a CubeSat containing millions of digitized photos and personal messages on the surface of Mars. For now, it's in the baby steps of teams like those from Vermont Tech and St. Louis University that the revolution pushes forward.

 

"It's no one group that's making this actually be successful," says Andy Klesh, who heads up the INSPIRE project. "We need everybody to kind of move along with us."

 

One of INSPIRE's goals will be to snap a photo of Earth from afar, a kind of visual proof that CubeSats belong in deep space. "If we were actually able to take an Earthrise image—just like Apollo took the Earthrise image from the moon—from this spacecraft, I think that would really be an eye-opening experience for many people, saying these CubeSats can do a lot more than what we thought they could," says Klesh.

 

Cox believes the main force limiting development of CubeSats for interplanetary missions is the space industry's conservative nature. "There really isn't anything getting in anybody's way, other than history, other than the fact that you could not do this five years ago," he says.

 

On that cold night last November, Carl Brandon watched Vermont Tech's CubeSat launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Standing alongside two of his undergraduate students (the bulk of his team) and his nine-year-old son, Jack, he had the feeling that the nature of space exploration is changing. As the Minotaur 1's solid fuel booster thundered off the pad, the students, Dan and India, gave each other an understated but heartfelt high-five.

 

Jack watched until the rocket disappeared, then asked, "Now what?"

 

Now, we see if it works.

 

 

 

 

END

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