TOTAL IDIOTS a Majority inCongress--- THE Shuttle OPERATIONAL in 2011---RE DARPRA Ranting How Great Shuttle !! is!!!!

We had it all a few years ago, now DARPA wants it & all experts said keep it in 2011 !!
Appears one part ( or more) of gov. Has no idea what the other is doing!

Reusable spaceplane tops DARPA's budget request, again - SpaceNews.com

http://spacenews.com/reusable-space-plane-tops-darpas-budget-request-again/


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America needs this capability-- read DARPA plans

Fwd: Hawking: Russia ahead of America in the space race

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: March 29, 2016 at 8:14:06 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Hawking: Russia ahead of America in the space race

 

Stephen Hawking: I was impressed that Russia was ahead of America in the space race

Science & Space

March 28, 12:30 UTC+3
World-famous theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking in an exclusive interview with TASS

 

Stephen Hawking in an exclusive interview has told TASS of future colonization of Mars, prospects for Russia-US cooperation in space and the challenges the humanity may face

- Once you posed an open question on the internet: "In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?" It was ten years ago in 2006. Since then, have you found the answer?

- For our long term survival, it is important that we are able to escape the boundaries of our fragile planet. There are many threats to our continued existence on Earth. From nuclear war, catastrophic global warming, and genetically engineered viruses, and the number is likely to increase in the future, with the development of new technologies, and new way things can go wrong. We need to spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth, would not mean the end of the human race.

- Some researchers claim that a mysterious Planet X or Nibiru could pose a real threat to the Earth. What do you think?

- The last collision with a major asteroid was 70 million years ago. There are more immediate dangers to our survival.

- According to "My Brief History", you visited the Soviet Union seven times. What has been the most memorable for you during those trips?

- The first time was with a student party in which one member, a Baptist, distributed Russian language Bibles and asked us to smuggle them in. We managed this undetected but on our way out the authorities had discovered what we had done and detained us for a while. However to charge us with smuggling Bibles would have caused an international incident and unfavorable publicity so they let us go after a few hours. The other six visits were to visit Russian scientists who were not allowed to travel to the West.

- After the Soviet Union's collapse, you have not been to Russia. Would you like to visit this country again, for example, with your daughter Mrs. Lucy Hawking who studied Russian at Oxford University?

- I enjoyed my previous visits to Russia and I would like to visit again. 

- Russia will celebrate the 55th anniversary of the first manned flight into space - the Cosmonautics Day or International Day of Human Space Flight. What were your feelings at that moment on April 12, 1961?

- I was impressed that Russia was ahead of America in the space race.

- It has been over 25 years since the Russian Federation took up the torch as a space power. Could you assess its current potential for space exploration?

- The Americans rely on Russia for travel to and from the International Space Station. I think the future is in such international cooperation.

- You backed an ambitious project The Breakthrough Initiatives last year. It is funded by the Russian businessman Yuri Milner and aims to search for extraterrestrial life. Almost immediately some sceptics described it as "a waste of money". What is the likelihood that the project will be successful?

- I am a supporter of the Breakthrough Initiatives, founded by Yuri Milner, to search for extraterrestrial life. By analyzing data from radio telescopes and laser transmissions, they hope to find signs of intelligence, that Earth is not the only source of life in the universe. Such a discovery would revolutionize our view of the Cosmos.

- Progress does not stand still. Roscosmos and NASA are working on a manned flight to Mars project. What is your opinion about its practical importance considering that Mars is not suitable for human life?

- NASA, and other space agencies around the world, are focused on Mars. It is our closest earth-like planet, with soil and an atmosphere. Although colonizing the Moon would be simpler, it is only 3 days away, Mars represents a more interesting challenge, and would require the colony to be truly self-sufficient. Within 100 years, I have no doubt, there will be humans living on Mars. To do this we need investment, allowing us to advance our knowledge, on how to survive the dangers of cosmic radiation, body deterioration, and how to deal with the lack of vital supplies beyond Earth.

- The fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 was even one of the theme of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Theoretically, it involves the development of robots and the abolition of human labour. If robots replace us in the nearest future, what will we have to do in that case?

-If machines produce everything we need, the outcome will depend on how things are distributed. Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if the machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution. So far, the trend seems to be toward the second option, with technology driving ever-increasing inequality.

- You are a famous scientist as well as a successful science popularizer. Which of these scientific activities do you like best?

- I am a scientist first. I am very proud that I have been able to contribute to our understanding of the universe. I am also glad that my work has reached a popular audience, because I believe it is important that the public should know, and have the chance to understand, the seemingly mysterious work of scientists.

- Tell us about your day-to-day routine​.

- Due to my condition, I have a lengthy getting up routine in the mornings, and so I usually arrive into work late morning. My work day is broadly split into scientific research and public outreach.  

- How do you prefer to relax?

- In the evenings, I like to relax by entertaining, listening to music, or watching films and current affairs on the television. Despite this I am often restless at night and sleep poorly.

- Professor Hawking, what is your dream?

- I have always dreamed of space flight. But for so many years, I thought it was just that, a dream. Confined to Earth, and in a wheelchair, how could I experience the majesty of space, except through imagination, and my work in theoretical physics. I never thought I would have the opportunity, to see our beautiful planet from space, or gaze outward into the infinity beyond. This was the domain of astronauts, the lucky few, who get to experience the wonder and thrill of space flight. But I may have the chance to go into space with Virgin Galactic.

Interviewed by Igor Brovarnik

 

British scientist Hawking says Mars will be colonized by humans in next 100 years

Science & Space

March 28, 13:23 UTC+3
"Although colonizing the Moon would be simpler, it is only 3 days away, Mars represents a more interesting challenge," Stephen Hawking said in an interview with TASS

 

CAMBRIDGE, March 28. /TASS/. Mars will be colonized by humans in the next 100 years, famous British scientist Stephen Hawking said in an exclusive interview with TASS on Monday.

"NASA, and other space agencies around the world, are focused on Mars. It is our closest earth-like planet, with soil and an atmosphere. Although colonizing the Moon would be simpler, it is only 3 days away, Mars represents a more interesting challenge, and would require the colony to be truly self-sufficient," Hawking said.

"Within 100 years, I have no doubt, there will be humans living on Mars. To do this we need investment, allowing us to advance our knowledge, on how to survive the dangers of cosmic radiation, body deterioration, and how to deal with the lack of vital supplies beyond Earth," he concluded.

 

British physicist Hawking dreams of space flight

Science & Space

March 28, 14:04 UTC+3
Since 1960s, Hawking, who is one of the most influential scientists of the last century, has been suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis that has gradually paralyzed him

 

CAMBRIDGE, March 28. /TASS/. World-famous theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking said in an exclusive interview with TASS on Monday that he dreams of space flight and hopes to get this opportunity soon.

"I have always dreamed of space flight. But for so many years, I thought it was just that, a dream. Confined to Earth, and in a wheelchair, how could I experience the majesty of space, except through imagination, and my work in theoretical physics. I never thought I would have the opportunity, to see our beautiful planet from space, or gaze outward into the infinity beyond," Hawking said.

"This was the domain of astronauts, the lucky few, who get to experience the wonder and thrill of space flight. But I may have the chance to go into space with Virgin Galactic (the company plans to develop commercial spaceflights)," he said.

Since 1960s, Hawking, who is one of the most influential scientists of the last century, has been suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis that has gradually paralyzed him. He communicates using a single cheek muscle attached to a speech-generating device.

***

The full text of the interview is available here.

 

 

© 2016 TASS

 

---

 

NASA Exploring Cheaper Shuttle Replacement - YouTube

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=68v_IrZz3NA


Sent from my iPad

Capability declining!

How space is changing the U.S. Air Force's day-to-day operations - SpaceNews.com

http://spacenews.com/how-space-is-changing-the-u-s-air-forces-day-to-day-operations/


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Fwd: This Week in The Space Review - 2016 March 28

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Begin forwarded message:

From: Jeff Foust <jeff@thespacereview.com>
Date: March 28, 2016 at 12:23:41 PM CDT
To: <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>
Subject: This Week in The Space Review - 2016 March 28
Reply-To: Jeff Foust <jeff@thespacereview.com>

This Week in The Space Review View this email in your browser This Week in The Space Review March 28, 2016 Welcome to The Space Review's weekly newsletter! Big Bird and the Big Mother: US intelligence community monitoring of the Soviet lunar program after Apollo Even after Apollo 11 successfully landed men on the Moon, ending the Moon race, the Soviet Union continued to develop its N-1 rocket for several years. Dwayne Day examines how the US monitored those activities using a new generation of reconnaissance satellites.   InSight's second chance A NASA mission to land on Mars was supposed to launch this month, but problems with an instrument cancelled those plans. Jeff Foust reports on plans to fix the problem and launch the mission in 2018, although with cost impacts that could affect other missions.   ExoMars: a long awaited reboot of the Russian planetary program Earlier this month, a Russian Proton rocket launched the ExoMars mission, a joint venture with Europe. Svetoslav Alexandrov discusses how ExoMars is revitalizing Russia's Mars exploration plans, although not in a way all Russian space enthusiasts support.   Improving South Asian space cooperation Pakistan recently rejected a proposal by India to provide a communications satellite to help a group of South Asian nations. Vidya Sagar Reddy examines what India should do to better promote space cooperation among its neighbors in the region.   Review: Blue Gemini What might have happened if the Air Force had continued its manned space program in the 1960s? David Johnston reviews a novel that offers a credible alternative history of those efforts.   We appreciate any feedback you may have about these articles as well as any other questions, comments, or suggestions about The Space Review. We're also actively soliciting articles to publish in future issues, so if you have an article or article idea that you think would be of interest, please email me. Until next week, Jeff Foust Editor, The Space Review jeff@thespacereview.com Copyright © 2016 The Space Review, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you previously signed up to receive these weekly newsletters from The Space Review. Our mailing address is: The Space Review 12205 Village Square Ter Suite 101 Rockville, MD 20852 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Neil deGrasse Tyson to Elon Musk: SpaceX Is "Delusional" About Mars -- The Motley Fool

Delusional re EO ops too! Bm



http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/27/neil-degrasse-tyson-to-elon-musk-spacex-delusional.aspx


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Billions wasted on illegals/ refugees BUT CAN'T AFFORD Shuttle---Gross INEPTNESS!

All experts say we need & s/b flying the shuttle indefinitely! Read the articles!


We have a bunch of totally inept people in Congress!

Fwd: Outsourcing crystal growth...to space

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: March 17, 2016 at 11:29:20 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Outsourcing crystal growth...to space

15-Mar-2016

Outsourcing crystal growth...to space

American Institute of Physics

 

Researchers in Japan have grown crystals and measured the growth rate on the ISS by interferometry to better examine the effects of microgravity.

Review of Scientific Instruments

 

 

 

15-Mar-2016

Outsourcing crystal growth...to space

Researchers in Japan have grown crystals and measured the growth rate on the ISS by interferometry to better examine the effects of microgravity

American Institute of Physics

IMAGE: (a) The white ring is a ceramic helical insert on which the screw sample holder is placed. The scale bar is 10 mm. (b) The body of the growth cell is... view more

Credit: K. Tsukamoto et al/Tohoku University

Washington, D.C., March 15, 2016 - Sometimes, distance can lend a new perspective to a problem. For Japanese researchers studying protein crystal growth, that distance was 250 miles up -- the altitude at which the International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth. To better isolate the growth of protein crystals from the effects of gravity, the group of Katsuo Tsukamoto in Tohoku University's Department of Earth and Planetary Science in Sendai, Japan, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency grew crystals in a specially-designed chamber onboard the ISS.

The researchers monitored the very slow growth and dissolution rate -- approximately one centimeter per second of the crystals by laser interferometry. This was the first time the technique had been used onboard the ISS to measure the growth rate of the crystals at various temperatures. To observe this, Yamazaki and his colleagues developed unique growth cells suitable for long-term projects, for about six months.

"We are interested in the growth mechanisms of a space-grown protein crystal -- a lysozyme crystal -- as a model crystal to understand why space-grown crystals sometimes do show better quality than the Earth-grown crystals," said Tomoya Yamazaki, a PhD student in Tsukamoto's lab.

Tsukamoto and his colleagues, which includes collaborators at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Japan Space Forum, Olympus Optical Corporation, detail their elegant growth method this week in Review of Scientific Instruments, from AIP Publishing.

The experimental process, known as NanoStep, was performed in the Japanese Experimental Module (KIBO) of the International Space Station in 2012. Tsukamoto and his colleagues had previously measured the growth rates of protein crystals under simulated microgravity by using a Russian recoverable satellite and aircraft in parabolic flights.

The researchers took precise measurements of the growth rate of the lysozyme crystals versus their driving force, supersaturation - the natural logarithm of the protein's concentration divided by its solubility -- with measurements of the solution's refractive index distribution obtained through interferometry. This also yielded crucial information about the growth mechanism.

The researchers opted to modify the supersaturation of the solution by increasing or decreasing the growth cell's temperature, which can easily be done remotely. This took place over a range of 10 -- 40 degrees Celsius, which necessitated building a closed growth cell to withstand the stresses caused by the thermal expansion of the growth solution.

The closed, cube-like growth cell was constructed out of quartz glasses with different thickness, an essential component for laser interferometry due to its high chemical and mechanical resistances with a protein seed crystal glued to the top of the sample holder. To relieve the thermal stress on the glass, the researchers attached tubes made out of an elastomer, low-moisture-permeability thermoelastic polymer. This was selected to mitigate evaporation of water in the crystal growth solution, which consisted of 30 or 35 mg/ml of lysozyme and 25 mg/ml sodium chloride in 50 mM sodium acetate buffer solution. They also employed a special spring tension system to reduce stress by keeping the gap between the glass cell and thermal control modules constant amid thermal expansion.

The growth cell could also be used to fine-tune the measurements of extremely small growth or dissolution rates of insoluble minerals on the order of 0.001 nanometers per second of insoluble minerals. For example, it could measure calcium carbonate crystals, where margins of error could become massive across a geological time scale - such as predicting the dissolution of clay minerals surrounding nuclear waste stored underground for 100,000 years.

While the researchers expected growth rates of the crystal solution to be slower because of the suppression of solution convection, the results instead showed an increased growth rate.

This may be due to the suppression of transport speed of impurity molecules with larger diameter to the growing crystal, as analyzed the growth rate versus supersaturation relations. This will appear in forthcoming papers.

Extended projects for the researchers using the same apparatus to test the growth of different crystals, such as glucose isomerase crystals, are currently in preparation.

###

The article, "Development of compartment for studies on the growth of protein crystals in space," is authored by T. Yamazaki, K. Tsukamoto, I. Yoshizaki, S. Fukuyama, H. Miura, T. Shimaoka, T. Maki, K. Oshi, and Y. Kimura. It will appear in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments on March 15, 2016 (DOI: 10.1063/1.4942961). After that date, it can be accessed at: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/rsi/87/3/10.1063/1.4942961

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Review of Scientific Instruments publishes original research and review articles on instruments in physics, chemistry, and the life sciences. The journal also includes sections on new instruments and new materials.http://rsi.aip.org

 

 

 

© American Institute of Physics

 

---

 

Fwd: United Launch Alliance Confirms Engine Issue on Latest Atlas Rocket Launch

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: March 25, 2016 at 9:52:14 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: United Launch Alliance Confirms Engine Issue on Latest Atlas Rocket Launch

spacenews.com

 

United Launch Alliance Confirms Engine Issue on Latest Atlas Rocket Launch

By Jeff Foust, SpaceNews Writer | March 25, 2016 07:00am ET

 

 

WASHINGTON — The upper stage of the Atlas V that launched a Cygnus cargo spacecraft March 22 fired for more than a minute longer than planned, apparently to compensate for the premature shut down of the rocket's first stage engine.

 

United Launch Alliance confirmed March 24 that the Centaur upper stage used on the launch of the Cygnus OA-6 mission burned for longer than scheduled, although the company did not provide a reason for the extended engine firing.

 

"The Centaur burned for longer than planned," ULA spokeswoman Lyn Chassagne said in a statement provided to SpaceNews. "The team is evaluating the occurrence as part of the standard post-flight data analysis." She later said that burn lasted about 60 seconds longer than planned. [See Launch Photos ffor Orbital ATK's Cygnus OA-6 Mission]

 

While United Launch Alliance declared the Atlas 5 launch from Cape Canaveral a success, placing the Cygnus in its planned orbit, industry sources and broadcast telemetry suggest that success required an extended burn by the Atlas' Centaur upper stage.

 

According to a mission summary released by ULA in advance of the launch, the Centaur was scheduled to shut down its RL10 engine 18 minutes and 9 seconds into the mission. However, telemetry of the launch, shown on NASA Television, showed that the engine continued to fire beyond that time, shutting down about 19 minutes and 20 seconds into the mission.

 

That extended burn appeared to catch launch commentators off-guard, who had advised on more than one occasion that engine shutdown was expected at the planned time. There was no public commentary about the extended burn during the live broadcast beyond a statement that the Centaur continued to "perform very well."

 

At a post-launch press conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center early March 23, Vern Thorp, ULA's program manager for NASA missions, suggested that the additional burn was a routine discrepancy from original projections for the burn.

 

"The pre-launch predictions of exactly when the events are going to occur are based on a preliminary trajectory. Typically it's been developed a few weeks before the launch," he said. "It's not unusual for things to vary a little bit based on the actual conditions of the launch."

 

But in addition to the extended burn of the Centaur, launch telemetry broadcast on NASA TV indicates that the RD-180 engine in the first stage of the Atlas V shut down prematurely. That telemetry shows booster engine cutoff taking place about 4 minutes and 10 seconds into the mission, about five seconds before the scheduled cutoff time according to the ULA mission summary.

 

Chassagne confirmed that the first stage burn was six seconds shorter than planned, but did not provide any details about what may have caused the stage to shut down early. Industry sources suggest that the Centaur burn may have extended to make up for any underperformance by the first stage, such as a premature shutdown.

 

That extended Centaur burn to put the Cygnus spacecraft into the proper orbit contributed to an early shut down of a later burn, after spacecraft separation, to deorbit the stage. Chassagne said that burn ended eight seconds early, causing any debris that survived reentry to splash down in "an uninhabited area of ocean east of the planned landing location" in the ocean south of Australia.

 

ULA noted that, despite the irregularities, it still considered the launch a success. "The Atlas V's robust system design, software and vehicle margins enabled the successful outcome for this mission," Chassagne said.

 

"Centaur nailed the orbit," Thorp said at the press conference, noting that the orbit the Centaur placed the Cygnus in was within a "fraction of a kilometer" of the planned orbit. "We got Cygnus where it wants to go."

 

"Like every mission, we're going to go do a very detailed post-flight review," he added, "to make sure everything performed properly. But from everything we've seen so far, the mission was pretty nominal."

 

Four years after final service call, Hubble Space Telescope going strong

Shuttle will ultimately needed to keep Hubble going!



http://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/home/spacenews/files/1ae7cac0d167055e41e1f0da7b0ac6a3-588.html


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Fwd: Reviewers approve early design work on new Vulcan rocket

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: March 25, 2016 at 9:55:22 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Reviewers approve early design work on new Vulcan rocket

spaceflightnow.com

 

Reviewers approve early design work on new Vulcan rocket

 

http://spaceflightnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Vulcan_441_Side413201562153PM63-1024x639.png

Vulcan is visualized here in its 441 configuration. Credit: United Launch Alliance

 

CAPE CANAVERAL — Work to create a new all-American rocket, the United Launch Alliance Vulcan-Centaur, has passed its first major hurdle for its first flight in three years, officials announced Thursday.

 

The Preliminary Design Review for the next-generation vehicle was recently completed and verified that the rocket will satisfy the criteria for the diverse military, civil and commercial missions it will launch.

 

"The completion of the Vulcan Centaur rocket's PDR is the first of several major and very exciting milestones in the launch vehicle's development," said Tory Bruno, ULA president and chief executive officer. "We have a strong path to get to a 2019 flight test of this new, highly-capable American launch vehicle."

 

The rocket as currently designed will be powered by a pair of BE-4 liquefied natural gas main engines, made by Blue Origin, for 1.1 million pounds of thrust.

 

ULA continues to carry the Aerojet Rocketdyne AR-1 kerosene engine as a backup option if the BE-4 is not available in time. A final decision of which engine to pursue will come late this year or early next.

 

The American-powered first stage stems from the fervor to replace the Russian RD-180 engines used by Atlas 5 and use domestic powerplants.

 

Sitting atop the Vulcan first stage will be the venerable Centaur upper stage that currently flies on Atlas. The Centaur heritage dates back five decades.

 

Up to six strap-on solid-fuel boosters from Orbital ATK will tailor each Vulcan to its given payload, continuing the successful dial-a-rocket approach used by Atlas.

 

"Vulcan Centaur will revolutionize spaceflight and provide affordable, reliable access to space with an American main engine," said Mark Peller, ULA's program manager for major development.

 

A later iteration of Vulcan will replace Centaur with the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage, or ACES, that will offer extended mission durations and be powerful enough to replace the Delta 4-Heavy for its most-challenging NRO missions to directly into geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth.

 

The rocket will fulfill the entire spectrum of Defense Department payloads in terms of weight and orbits.

 

Vulcan rockets will be launched from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral in Florida and Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

 

How can our reps in Congress be as inept as they are-- re ALL experts recommend keeping Shuttle!

Re Lost in Space, GWS Abbey , Washington Examiner, sums it up.

The USA needs this capability for National Security of the USA!

Vehicle in museum & our capabilities continue to decline! Very few seem concerned! We pay russia 90 million per ride!

As the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) heads into its final week of operations, United Space Alliance (USA) Vice President and SSP manager Howard DeCastro has spoken about how the retirement of the fleet makes no sense, from a technical, ISS support and national security standpoint. A last ditch reversal of the decision, likely via a NASA/commercial arrangement, would require a “miracle”, due to political obstructions.

Fwd: China's aim to explore Mars

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: March 21, 2016 at 2:12:50 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: China's aim to explore Mars

 

 

China Exclusive: China's aim to explore Mars

 

2016-03-21 15:54:29

BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- China is preparing to launch a Mars probe in 2020, and it is expected to arrive on the red planet in 2021, aerospace expert Ye Peijian has said.

"Although we are not the first Asian nation to send a probe to Mars, we want to start at a higher level," said Ye, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The probe will include an orbiter, a lander and a rover. The orbiter will conduct global surveys of Mars, and the entry device will land a rover on the surface. Parachute and reverse thrust engine technologies will probably be used in the landing, according to Ye.

"We have less than five years till the launch, but we are confident. The probe is being developed by the team that completed the Chang'e-3 lunar probe," says Ye, leader of the team with the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).

A 3D demonstration video from CAST shows how the Mars probe will fly about 10 months before closing on the red planet. Controllers on Earth will guide it into a large elliptical orbit and the orbiter and lander will separate. The orbiter will stay in orbit for at least a year to photograph key areas and monitor the planet's environment.

Unlike the lunar lander of the Chang'e-3 probe, the Mars lander will carry a gasbag, a parachute and reverse thrust engines, which will together secure a safe landing, according to experts from CAST.

Zheng Yongchun, an associate researcher with the National Astronomical Observatory, says that combining orbiting exploration and a roving probe in one mission is a rational choice for starting Mars exploration at a high level.

"The best and most direct method to look for evidence of life on Mars is to explore the surface. Mars will be a key focus of China's deep space exploration in the future," Zheng says.

But communicating with the Mars probe is still a great challenge. China needs to develop a long-life, powerful relay communication device on the orbiter, says Zheng.

So how will the Mars rover differ from lunar rover Yutu (or Jade Rabbit), which China sent to the moon at the end of 2013?

In an exclusive interview, Jia Yang, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e-3 lunar probe, tells Xinhua the Mars rover will have a better autonomous capability as Mars is much further away than the moon. The distance between Mars and Earth ranges from 55 million kilometers to 400 million kilometers.

"The Mars rover should be able to sense the environment, plan its route, conduct scientific exploration and detect faults autonomously. It should be a mobile intelligence," Jia says.

Two-way signal transmissions between Mars and the Earth could be as long as 40 minutes. So most of the time, the rover will deal with things on its own. Ground controllers will solve the complicated problems, Jia says.

Chinese space experts say they still face a lot of technological hurdles in developing the Mars rover, which should be stronger than the lunar rover Yutu.

Since Mars is further from the sun than the Earth's moon, its solar panels should be as large as possible to generate more electricity, Jia says.

"Although the temperature change on Mars is less drastic than that on the moon, the Mars rover still needs an 'overcoat' to keep warm," Jia says.

Sandstorms often form on the red planet during summer, which inspired the story in the Hollywood blockbuster "The Martian." During the sandstorms, the solar energy will drop dramatically. Chinese space experts will design a "sleep" mode for such occasions, says Jia.

A prototype model of the Mars rover was displayed at the Airshow China 2014. It was about 2 meters long, with six wheels. Its size, weight and technologies were close to those of the American Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Unlike the rover Curiosity, which uses a nuclear battery, the Chinese Mars rover will use solar power.

"Exploring the red planet and deep space will cement China's scientific and technological expertise. The knock-on effect is that innovations and independent intellectual property rights will surge, and, as a result, China's core competence will increase, pushing development in other industries," says Jia.

"As China continues with its lunar mission, glimpsing further and further into deep space, it will play a bigger role in solving key frontier scientific questions," Jia says. 

Editor: ZD 

 

Copyright ©2016 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.

 

---

 

Post re DARPA & words Praising The Shuttle!! DARPA wants IMPROVED SHUTTLE!!!!

Go to show you how idiotic Congress decision to kill shuttle was--- DARPA wants an improved version!!!

Fwd: The Write Stuff

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Space & NASA - Orlando Sentinel" <noreply+feedproxy@google.com>
Date: March 23, 2016 at 7:12:45 AM CDT
To: bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com
Subject: The Write Stuff
Reply-To: "Space & NASA - Orlando Sentinel" <online@orlandosentinel.com>

The Write Stuff

---

• Cargo supply mission launches to International Space Station
• NASA shows off access arm, "last place on earth" for astronauts on Space Coast
• Orbital ATK set for cargo launch to Space Station tonight

Cargo supply mission launches to International Space Station Posted: 22 Mar 2016 08:15 PM PDT Fresh supplies shipped out late Tuesday for the International Space Station, where the shelves finally are getting full after a string of failed deliveries. Launching beneath the light of a nearly full moon, the unmanned Atlas V rocket provided late-night sparkle as it headed north with its precious...

NASA shows off access arm, "last place on earth" for astronauts on Space Coast Posted: 22 Mar 2016 06:04 AM PDT The components that will help NASA once again launch humans into space from the Space Coast are starting to come together. Officials with the space agency, United Launch Alliance and Boeing on Monday in Oak Hill gave reporters a look at the access arm and "White Room" astronauts will use to board...

Orbital ATK set for cargo launch to Space Station tonight Posted: 22 Mar 2016 01:45 PM PDT If you're up late tonight in Central Florida, take a look to the east. United Launch Alliance has a launch window that will open at 11:05 p.m. for a mission that will send supplies to astronauts on the International Space Station. The window will close at 11:35. The company's 188-foot-long Atlas...

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Fwd: New gravity map gives best view yet inside Mars

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: March 22, 2016 at 7:54:15 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: New gravity map gives best view yet inside Mars

 

21-Mar-2016

New gravity map gives best view yet inside Mars

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

 

A new map of Mars' gravity made with three NASA spacecraft is the most detailed to date, providing a revealing glimpse into the hidden interior of the Red Planet.

Icarus

 

 

 

 

March 21, 2016

New Gravity Map Gives Best View Yet Inside Mars

A new map of Mars' gravity made with three NASA spacecraft is the most detailed to date, providing a revealing glimpse into the hidden interior of the Red Planet.

"Gravity maps allow us to see inside a planet, just as a doctor uses an X-ray to see inside a patient," said Antonio Genova of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts. "The new gravity map will be helpful for future Mars exploration, because better knowledge of the planet's gravity anomalies helps mission controllers insert spacecraft more precisely into orbit about Mars. Furthermore, the improved resolution of our gravity map will help us understand the still-mysterious formation of specific regions of the planet." Genova, who is affiliated with MIT but is located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is the lead author of a paper on this research published online March 5 in the journal Icarus.

https://youtu.be/iDTDNIh4Qhw

Scientists have used small fluctuations in the orbits of three NASA spacecraft to map the gravity field of Mars.

Credits: NASA/GSFC/Scientific Visualization Studio

High-resolution images and video

The improved resolution of the new gravity map suggests a new explanation for how some features formed across the boundary that divides the relatively smooth northern lowlands from heavily cratered southern highlands. Also, the team confirmed that Mars has a liquid outer core of molten rock by analyzing tides in the Martian crust and mantle caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and the two moons of Mars. Finally, by observing how Mars' gravity changed over 11 years – the period of an entire cycle of solar activity -- the team inferred the massive amount of carbon dioxide that freezes out of the atmosphere onto a Martian polar ice cap when it experiences winter. They also observed how that mass moves between the south pole and the north pole with the change of season in each hemisphere.

A map of Martian gravity looking down on the North Pole (center). White and red are areas of higher gravity; blue indicates areas of lower gravity.

Credits: MIT/UMBC-CRESST/GSFC

The map was derived using Doppler and range tracking data collected by NASA's Deep Space Network from three NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars: Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (ODY), and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Like all planets, Mars is lumpy, which causes the gravitational pull felt by spacecraft in orbit around it to change. For example, the pull will be a bit stronger over a mountain, and slightly weaker over a canyon.

Slight differences in Mars' gravity changed the trajectory of the NASA spacecraft orbiting the planet, which altered the signal being sent from the spacecraft to the Deep Space Network. These small fluctuations in the orbital data were used to build a map of the Martian gravity field.

A map of Martian gravity looking down at the South Pole (center). White and red are areas of higher gravity; blue indicates areas of lower gravity.

Credits: MIT/UMBC-CRESST/GSFC

The gravity field was recovered using about 16 years of data that were continuously collected in orbit around Mars. However, orbital changes from uneven gravity are tiny, and other forces that can perturb the motion of the spacecraft had to be carefully accounted for, such as the force of sunlight on the spacecraft's solar panels and drag from the Red Planet's thin upper atmosphere. It took two years of analysis and computer modeling to remove the motion not caused by gravity.

"With this new map, we've been able to see gravity anomalies as small as about 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) across, and we've determined the crustal thickness of Mars with a resolution of around 120 kilometers (almost 75 miles)," said Genova. "The better resolution of the new map helps interpret how the crust of the planet changed over Mars' history in many regions."

For example, an area of lower gravity between Acidalia Planitia and Tempe Terra was interpreted before as a system of buried channels that delivered water and sediments from Mars' southern highlands into the northern lowlands billions of years ago when the Martian climate was wetter than it is today. The new map reveals that this low gravity anomaly is definitely larger and follows the boundary between the highlands and the lowlands. This system of gravity troughs is unlikely to be only due to buried channels because in places the region is elevated above the surrounding plains. The new gravity map shows that some of these features run perpendicular to the local topography slope, against what would have been the natural downhill flow of water.

A Martian gravity map showing the Tharsis volcanoes and surrounding flexure. The white areas in the center are higher-gravity regions produced by the massive Tharsis volcanoes, and the surrounding blue areas are lower-gravity regions that may be cracks in the crust (lithosphere).

Credits: MIT/UMBC-CRESST/GSFC

An alternative explanation is that this anomaly may be a consequence of a flexure or bending of the lithosphere -- the strong, outermost layer of the planet -- due to the formation of the Tharsis region. Tharsis is a volcanic plateau on Mars thousands of miles across with the largest volcanoes in the solar system. As the Tharsis volcanoes grew, the surrounding lithosphere buckled under their immense weight.

The new gravity field also allowed the team to confirm indications from previous gravity solutions that Mars has a liquid outer core of molten rock. The new gravity solution improved the measurement of the Martian tides, which will be used by geophysicists to improve the model of Mars' interior.

Changes in Martian gravity over time have been previously measured using the MGS and ODY missions to monitor the polar ice caps. For the first time, the team used MRO data to continue monitoring their mass. The team has determined that when one hemisphere experiences winter, approximately 3 trillion to 4 trillion tons of carbon dioxide freezes out of the atmosphere onto the northern and southern polar caps, respectively. This is about 12 to 16 percent of the mass of the entire Martian atmosphere. NASA's Viking missions first observed this massive seasonal precipitation of carbon dioxide. The new observation confirms numerical predictions from the Mars Global Reference Atmospheric Model – 2010.

The research was funded by grants from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission and NASA's Mars Data Analysis Program. 

Bill Steigerwald

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

William.A.Steigerwald@nasa.gov

Last Updated: March 21, 2016

Editor: Bill Steigerwald

 

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March 21, 2016

New Gravity Map Gives Best View Yet Inside Mars

This Mars map shows variations in thickness of the planet's crust, the relatively thin surface layer overlying the mantle of the planet. It shows unprecedented detail derived from new mapping of variations in Mars' gravitational pull on orbiters.Credit: NASA/GSFC/Scientific Visualization Studio
› Full image and caption

A new map of Mars' gravity made with three NASA spacecraft is the most detailed to date, providing a revealing glimpse into the hidden interior of the Red Planet.

"Gravity maps allow us to see inside a planet, just as a doctor uses an X-ray to see inside a patient," said Antonio Genova of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge. "The new gravity map will be helpful for future Mars exploration, because better knowledge of the planet's gravity anomalies helps mission controllers insert spacecraft more precisely into orbit about Mars. Furthermore, the improved resolution of our gravity map will help us understand the still-mysterious formation of specific regions of the planet." Genova, who is affiliated with MIT but is located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is the lead author of a paper on this research published online March 5 in the journal Icarus.

https://youtu.be/iDTDNIh4Qhw

The improved resolution of the new gravity map suggests a new explanation for how some features formed across the boundary that divides the relatively smooth northern lowlands from heavily cratered southern highlands. Also, the team confirmed that Mars has a liquid outer core of molten rock by analyzing tides in the Martian crust and mantle caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and the two moons of Mars. Finally, by observing how Mars' gravity changed over 11 years - the period of an entire cycle of solar activity -- the team inferred the massive amount of carbon dioxide that freezes out of the atmosphere onto a Martian polar ice cap when it experiences winter. They also observed how that mass moves between the south pole and the north pole with the change of season in each hemisphere.

The map was derived using Doppler and range tracking data collected by NASA's Deep Space Network from three NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars: Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (ODY), and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Like all planets, Mars is lumpy, which causes the gravitational pull felt by spacecraft in orbit around it to change. For example, the pull will be a bit stronger over a mountain, and slightly weaker over a canyon.

Slight differences in Mars' gravity changed the trajectory of the NASA spacecraft orbiting the planet, which altered the signal being sent from the spacecraft to the Deep Space Network. These small fluctuations in the orbital data were used to build a map of the Martian gravity field.

The gravity field was recovered using about 16 years of data that were continuously collected in orbit around Mars. However, orbital changes from uneven gravity are tiny, and other forces that can perturb the motion of the spacecraft had to be carefully accounted for, such as the force of sunlight on the spacecraft's solar panels and drag from the Red Planet's thin upper atmosphere. It took two years of analysis and computer modeling to remove the motion not caused by gravity.

"With this new map, we've been able to see gravity anomalies as small as about 62 miles (100 kilometers) across, and we've determined the crustal thickness of Mars with a resolution of almost 75 miles (around 120 kilometers)," said Genova. "The better resolution of the new map helps interpret how the crust of the planet changed over Mars' history in many regions."

For example, an area of lower gravity between Acidalia Planitia and Tempe Terra was interpreted before as a system of buried channels that delivered water and sediments from Mars' southern highlands into the northern lowlands billions of years ago when the Martian climate was wetter than it is today. The new map reveals that this low gravity anomaly is definitely larger and follows the boundary between the highlands and the lowlands. This system of gravity troughs is unlikely to be only due to buried channels because in places the region is elevated above the surrounding plains. The new gravity map shows that some of these features run perpendicular to the local topography slope, against what would have been the natural downhill flow of water.

An alternative explanation is that this anomaly may be a consequence of a flexure or bending of the lithosphere -- the strong, outermost layer of the planet -- due to the formation of the Tharsis region. Tharsis is a volcanic plateau on Mars thousands of miles across with the largest volcanoes in the solar system. As the Tharsis volcanoes grew, the surrounding lithosphere buckled under their immense weight.

The new gravity field also allowed the team to confirm indications from previous gravity solutions that Mars has a liquid outer core of molten rock. The new gravity solution improved the measurement of the Martian tides, which will be used by geophysicists to improve the model of Mars' interior.

Changes in Martian gravity over time have been previously measured using the MGS and ODY missions to monitor the polar ice caps. For the first time, the team used MRO data to continue monitoring their mass. The team has determined that when one hemisphere experiences winter, approximately 3 to 4 trillion tons of carbon dioxide freezes out of the atmosphere onto the northern and southern polar caps, respectively. This is about 12 to 16 percent of the mass of the entire Martian atmosphere. NASA's Viking missions first observed this massive seasonal precipitation of carbon dioxide. The new observation confirms numerical predictions from the Mars Global Reference Atmospheric Model - 2010.

The research was funded by grants from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission and NASA's Mars Data Analysis Program. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Odyssey missions.

For images and video, refer to:

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/mars-gravity-map

 

Media Contact

William Steigerwald / Nancy Neal Jones
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-5017 / 301-286-0031
william.a.steigerwald@nasa.gov / nancy.n.jones@nasa.gov

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278
guy.w.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown / Laurie Cantillo
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726 / 202-358-1077
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov / laura.l.cantillo@nasa.gov

2016-079  

 

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