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Tag: NASA JPL

  • NASA Study Grades Climate Models, Finds Higher Temperatures Likely

    NASA today announced the results of a new study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It shows that climate model projections that predict a greater rise in global temperature are more likely to be accurate than those predicting a lesser rise. NASA stated that the findings could provide a “breakthrough” in predicting the range of global warming expected in the future. The study was published this week in the journal Science.

    The study looked at 16 leading climate models and observed how well each reproduces observed relative humidity in Earth’s tropic and subtropic regions. They compared the models with data from NASA satellite instruments called the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the Clouds an Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES), as well as a NASA data analysis named the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). The study’s findings show that the climate models that more accurately show observed relative humidity also show the greatest amounts of warming as a result of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.

    “There is a striking relationship between how well climate models simulate relative humidity in key areas and how much warming they show in response to increasing carbon dioxide,” said John Fasullo, research scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “Given how fundamental these processes are to clouds and the overall global climate, our findings indicate that warming is likely to be on the high side of current projections.”

    The study focused on dry subtropics, NASA stated, because seasonal drying and the associated decrease in clouds are similar to patterns projected by climate models. “If we can better represent these regions in models, we can improve our predictions and provide society with a better sense of the impacts to expect in a warming world,” said Fasullo.

    NASA stated that because established physical laws that guide the atmosphere are difficult to translate into software, each climate model differ slightly in its predictions. In particular, those associated with clouds are too small because satellite failure, observational errors, and “other inconsistencies” make a consistent global cloud census difficult. Satellites such as the AIRS, though, are more reliable at measuring water vapor and estimating the global distribution of relative humidity.

    “These results were hiding in plain sight,” said AIRS Eric Fetzer, an AIRS project scientist who was not involved in the study. “We have known for 30 years that clouds complicate climate forecasts, but instead of looking directly at clouds, this study examines clear regions. Their conclusions indicate that better model physics for clear areas will lead to improved climate forecasts, but warming is likely to be at the high end of current forecasts.”

    (Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech)

  • Jovian Trojan Asteroids’ Secrets Uncovered by NASA’s WISE

    NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) may have been decommissioned last year, but the data it has provided is continuing to reveal clues about our solar system.

    NASA today announced that researchers using data from WISE have discovered a bit more about the mysterious asteroids called Jovian Trojans. The Trojans orbit the sun on the same path as Jupiter and travel in “packs,” with one group orbiting ahead of Jupiter, and one trailing behind.

    The observations of the WISE data by the NEOWISE team (the asteroid-hunting portion of the WISE mission) show that the Trojans are made up of dark, reddish rocks and have a matte, non-reflective surface. Also shown is that the leading pack of Trojans outnumbers the pack that trails Jupiter. In addition, scientists have been able to determine that the packs are “strikingly” similar to each other and do not include any objects from elsewhere in the solar system. The Trojans do not resemble asteroids from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter or objects from the Kuiper belt on the outskirts of the system.

    “Jupiter and Saturn are in calm, stable orbits today, but in their past, they rumbled around and disrupted any asteroids that were in orbit with these planets,” said Tommy Grav, a WISE scientist from the Planetary Science Institute. “Later, Jupiter re-captured the Trojan asteroids, but we don’t know where they came from. Our results suggest they may have been captured locally. If so, that’s exciting because it means these asteroids could be made of primordial material from this particular part of the solar system, something we don’t know much about.”

    The NEOWISE team has analyzed the colors and classified 400 Trojans so far. Grav stated that the Trojans are D-type asteroids, which are dark burgundy, though some are C- and P-type grey-bluish asteroids.

    “More research is needed, but it’s possible we are looking at some of the oldest material known in the solar system,” said Grav.

    These results were presented today at the 44th annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. Two studies outlining the results have been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.

    (Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech)

  • Mars Rover Curiosity Preparing to Analyze Martian Dirt

    NASA researchers have begun preparing Mars rover Curiosity to scoop up Martian soil for testing. The rover was designed to be capable of placing soil into its analytical instruments, but these capabilities have not been tested since its arrival on the red planet.

    “We now have reached an important phase that will get the first solid samples into the analytical instruments in about two weeks,” said Michael Watkins, mission manager. “Curiosity has been so well-behaved that we have made great progress during the first two months of the mission.”

    Scientists and engineers with NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission will perform mineral analysis of Martian soil to reveal past environmental conditions on the planet, and conduct chemical analysis on the soil to check for ingredients necessary for life.

    The coming preparations include testing Curiosity’s scooping skills. After that, the rover will use a hammering drill to powder rocks for sampling. Today the rover took the first step to preparing for its first scoop, using one of its wheels to scuff the surface and expose the soil underneath. The NASA photo of the result can be seen above.

    During the coming weeks, Curiosity will scoop up soil with its clamshell-shaped scoop, shake it inside its sample-processing chambers, then discard it. It will do this twice to scrub the internal surfaces of its chamber, making sure any residual material from Earth is removed. The third scoop it takes will be split up, with some of it placed in an observation tray and inspected using cameras mounted on its mast, while another portion will be placed into its chemistry and mineralogy (CheMin) instrument to determine its mineral composition. A fourth scoop will be placed in the rover’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument, which will identify chemical composition.

    “We’re going to take a close look at the particle size distribution in the soil here to be sure it’s what we want,” said Daniel Limonadi, lead systems engineer for Curiosity’s surface sampling and science system. “We are being very careful with this first time using the scoop on Mars.”

    NASA has named the site of Curiosity’s scooping tests ‘Rocknest’. The sandy, dusty area is around 8 feet by 16 feet. Curiosity is currently on its way to an area named Glenelg, where researchers have spotted several converging types of interesting terrain.

    (Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech)

  • Mars Rover Opportunity to Thoroughly Examine Matijevic Hill

    While Mars rover Curiosity might be getting all the attention these days, Mars rover Opportunity is still active during it’s ninth year on Mars. Starting this week, Opportunity will spend weeks or months investigating the unique geological feature of a site NASA has named “Matijevic Hill.”

    The Opportunity rover will be investigating the hill’s small spherical objects that are similar to the iron-rich spheres researchers have nicknamed “blueberries.” The spheres on Matijevic Hill have a different composition than the blueberries, which were found at Opportunity’s landing site and are believed to have been formed by mineral-laden water inside rocks.

    “Right now we have multiple working hypotheses, and each hypothesis makes certain predictions about things like what the spherules are made of and how they are distributed,” said Steve Squyres, Opportunity’s principal investigator. “Our job as we explore Matijevic Hill in the months ahead will be to make the observations that will let us test all the hypotheses carefully, and find the one that best fits the observations.”

    The Matijevic Hill site is named after Jacob Matijevic, who led the engineering teams for he Mars Exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity. When he passed away last month, Matijevic was chief engineer for surface operations systems for NASA’s latest Mars rover, Curiosity. The Curiosity team also honored Matijevic with a feature on Mars, naming a rock Curiosity stopped to examine after him.

  • Snow on Mars Found by NASA Orbiter

    Snow on Mars Found by NASA Orbiter

    NASA researchers announced last week that data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has given the “clearest evidence yet” of dry ice snowfalls on Mars. Dry ice, as it is commonly known, is frozen carbon dioxide.

    “These are the first definitive detections of carbon-dioxide snow clouds,” said Paul Hayne of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “We firmly establish the clouds are composed of carbon dioxide – flakes of Martian air – and they are thick enough to result in snowfall accumulation at the surface.”

    Hayne is the lead author of the study which lays out the evidence for the Martian snowfall. The study will be published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

    It was announced back in June that scientists had been able to determine the presence of carbon dioxide clouds. Now it seems clear that there is actually some carbon dioxide snowfall on the red planet.

    According to NASA, the snowfall occurred around Mars’ south pole during its winter. The data analyzed by researchers comes from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars Climate Sounder, taken in the Mars winter of 2006-2007. The south pole of Mars is the only place on the planet that dry ice stays on the surface year-round.

    “One line of evidence for snow is that the carbon-dioxide ice particles in the clouds are large enough to fall to the ground during the lifespan of the clouds,” said study co-author David Kass of JPL. “Another comes from observations when the instrument is pointed toward the horizon, instead of down at the surface. The infrared spectra signature of the clouds viewed from this angle is clearly carbon-dioxide ice particles and they extend to the surface. By observing this way, the Mars Climate Sounder is able to distinguish the particles in the atmosphere from the dry ice on the surface.”

    (Image Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech)

  • Mars Rover Sends New Photos of the Martian Landscape

    The Mars rover Curiosity has already sent back some preliminary photos of its newly named Bradbury Landing site. It also recently completed its first test drive, leaving its tracks in the Martian surface for the first time.

    This week new images from the rover have been released. The photos show more of the surface of Mars that surrounds Curiosity. The photo above, taken with Curiosity’s 100mm MastCam, depicts Mars’ Mount Sharp. A Mars rover team member said that Mount Sharp is one of the places Curiosity will be going on its two-year mission. Check out the rest of the images below the article.

    NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) also announced this week that the first recorded human voice has been broadcast from Mars. Curiosity radioed back the pre-recorded words of NASA Administrator Charles Bolden as he discussed the success of the mission and what it means for human exploration.

    “The knowledge we hope to gain from our observation and analysis of Gale Crater will tell us much about the possibility of life on Mars as well as the past and future possibilities for our own planet,” said Bolden. “Curiosity will bring benefits to Earth and inspire a new generation of scientists and explorers, as it prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future.”

    Curiosity pic 1

    Curiosity pic 2

    Curiosity pic 3

    Curiosity pic 4

    (Images courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

  • Ray Bradbury Honored With Mars Rover Landing Site

    NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced yesterday that it has dubbed the landing site of the Mars rover Curiosity “Bradbury Landing” in honor of sci-fi author Ray Bradbury. It was the Curiosity science team that chose to honor Bradbury, who passed away back in June, and the announcement coincided with what would have been Bradbury’s 92nd birthday.

    “This was not a difficult choice for the science team,” said Michael Meyer, NASA program scientist for Curiosity. “Many of us and millions of other readers were inspired in our lives by stories Ray Bradbury wrote to dream of the possibility of life on Mars.”

    The honor seems fitting, considering Bradbury’s most popular work was The Martian Chronicles, which portrayed a human invasion of Mars. Bradbury attended several NASA space mission events throughout his life, and this week’s announcement was commemorated by the agency with a video of Bradbury reading his poem “If Only We Had Taller Been” at a symposium just before the Mariner 9 orbiter reached Mars in 1971.

    Apart from the landing site name, NASA also announced yesterday that Curiosity has successfully taken its first test drive. The rover tested its mobility by driving, turning, and reversing. The short trip took the rover about 20 feet from where it originally landed, and the tracks it left in the Martian surface can be seen in the photo above.

    “We have a fully functioning mobility system with lots of amazing exploration ahead,” said Matt Heverly, the mission’s lead rover driver.

    Curiosity still has several more days of testing ahead. Curiosity Project Manager Pete Theisinger said, “Curiosity is a much more complex vehicle than earlier Mars rovers. The testing and characterization activities during the initial weeks of the mission lay important groundwork for operating our precious national resource with appropriate care.”

    (Photo courtesy NASA/JPL)

  • NASA’s Newest Video Details Curiosity Mars Descent

    NASA is in the middle of a very important mission right now as they are always in the middle of something these days. This mission is a little different as it is one that will put a new rover onto the surface of Mars. The rover “Curiosity” is a new kind of rover that is a lot heavier than past rovers are so the guys at the NASA JPL had to come up with a new and creative way to put this rover on the surface of Mars.

    The descent starts a tie frame known as the seven minutes of terror. Because once the Rover starts it’s descent, it is 14 minutes until NASA knows what happens to it. It could be running and successful, or completely destroyed. This is very risky and in the comments section for the video on NASA’s website, someone asked that very question of why are they using the new system. NASA’s response was, “it’s too heavy to use previous techniques. It’s very risky and bold. The odds are against us, but it’s the best way to do it given the size and weight of the vehicle. Seven minutes of terror!”

    I want to feel good about this mission because I’m fairly certain that the smartest and most resourceful people in the entire world work at NASA. But this seems like a very expensive risk. The purpose of this mission is very important to our future as humans. The rover’s objectives include searching for past or present life, studying the Martian climate, studying Martian geology, and collecting data for a future manned mission to Mars.

    Fingers crossed that they are able to find little Martian bacteria!

    Check out this crazy video and realize that this is a huge gamble and it might be a while till we are able to send another one if it fails:

  • Huge South Pole Moon Crater Could Hold Frozen Water

    The moon still holds some mysteries. One of those being whether or not there is any discernible amount of ice on the surface. While we have been to the moon, we have only visited a very small area. The way of knowing without actually going there are hit and miss too. For instance, the Japanese spacecraft Kaguya saw no discernible signs of ice within Shackleton Crater, but NASA’s LCROSS probe analyzed Cabeus Crater near the moon’s south pole and found it measured as much as 5 percent water by mass.

    The way they check this is by having a spacecraft illuminate the interior of the crater with infrared laser light, measuring how reflective it was. The scan of The crater’s floor was more reflective than that of other nearby craters, suggesting it had ice. “Water ice in amounts of up to 20 percent is a viable possibility,” study lead author Maria Zuber told SPACE.com. Don’t get your hopes up, though she cautioned. The amount of ice in Shackleton Crater “can also be much less, conceivably as little as zero.”

    Zuber noted that the measurements only look at a micron-thick portion of Shackleton Crater’s uppermost layer. “A bigger question is how much water might be buried at depth,” Zuber said, adding that NASA’s GRAIL mission will investigate that possibility. And with that possibility we get the reality of a permanent base on the moon. If there is water in massive amounts, which some suspect there could be. We would have the ability to make rocket fuel and potable water for human settlement.