After decades of peering into the cosmos, the Hubble Space Telescope is experiencing a major computer issue and is running in safe mode.
On June 13, NASA detected a problem when Hubble’s computer halted. Attempts to restart it failed, with a degrading memory module identified as the problem. Further attempts to bring the memory module online also failed.
NASA says the computer running Hubble’s instruments is a 1980s computer, with a full backup system as well. There are four memory modules that either computer can access, but attempts to have the primary computer switch to the backup modules failed.
When the operations team attempted to switch to a back-up memory module, however, the command to initiate the backup module failed to complete. Another attempt was conducted on both modules Thursday evening to obtain more diagnostic information while again trying to bring those memory modules online. However, those attempts were not successful.
It remains to be seen if NASA engineers will need to switch to the backup computer, but the longer the issue persists the more likely the switch will happen.
It is fully redundant in that a second computer, along with its associated hardware, exists on orbit that can be switched over to in the event of a problem. Both computers can access and use any of four independent memory modules, which each contain 64K of Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) memory. The payload computer uses only one memory module operationally at a time, with the other three serving as backups.
If engineers are not able to fix the problem remotely, NASA may need to send astronauts to the telescope to fix it.
They may not be Guardians of the Galaxy, but Space Force has chosen “Guardians” for the name of its personnel.
Space Force is the sixth branch of the US military, sharing the same relationship with the Air Force as the Marines do with the Navy. The new military branch was formed as more countries and corporations are turning their attention to the final frontier. Space Force’s goal is to protect US interest as space becomes both commercialized and militarized.
Space Force made the announcement via its Twitter feed:
Space pioneer Elon Musk said on a podcast today with Kara Swisher that becoming a multi-planet species is fundamentally important to ensuring the long-term survival of life as we know it:
Being A Multi-Planet Species Is Important To Our Survival
We are able to lower the cost of access to space so we are certainly saving taxpayers a lot of money. We’re advancing the technology of launch by having reusable rockets. Reusability is very important for improving access to space. It’s really just kind of insane to have a rocket be expendable. You build this incredibly exquisite machine and then it comes down and smashes in the ocean. Then there is like debris at the bottom of the ocean. This is crazy.
Ultimately, you want many companies competing (in space) to serve the greater good or serve the customer essentially. You want multiple companies to advance the future of space flight so that we can ultimately become a multi-planet species and a spacefaring civilization. This is fundamentally important to ensuring the long-term survival of life as we know it. We must become a multi-planet species.
I am not trying to be doom and gloom here but the fossil record does show that there have been many extinction events over the millenia. These are from meteors, super volcanoes, and just from natural planet variation. It does become very severe but at a pace that would seem slow to us. Then eventually the sun is going to expand and engulf and incinerate Earth. This is for sure going to happen but not anytime soon.
It’s Sad That In 2020 We Can’t Even Go Back To The Moon
Several years ago I had some private dinners with Jeff Bezos talking about space. He has a similar view that we need to be a spacefaring civilization and multi-planet species. I have some minor disagreements with him. I don’t think that we want to be living on a space station. I think we want to be living on a planet. But whatever, if you have advanced rockets you can decide whether you want to live on a space station or live on Mars.
Right now, we have a long way to go because we can’t even get back to the Moon. I think it is sad that we were able to go to the Moon in 1969 and here we are in 2020 and can’t even go back to the Moon. We definitely want to make sure that civilization is improving over time.
“Using modern data the scientists behind a new paper proposed that there should be around 36 different CETI’s (Communicating Extra-terrestrial Intelligent Civilizations) in the Milky Way Galaxy,” says popular science YouTube star Anton Petrov. “For this particular study, they took what we know about planet Earth to try and discover similar other locations somewhere in the galaxy where obviously similar conditions could lead to other life as we have on earth.”
Anton Petrov, host of the YouTube channel “What Da Math” with over 526,000 subscribers, discusses a new scientific paper that finds there are likely at least 36 intelligent earth-like civilizations in our galaxy:
New Solution To the Fermi Paradox
A new paper finds another solution to the Fermi paradox by proposing the reworking of the so-called Drake equation. This is the famous equation that tries to calculate how many potential extra-terrestrial intelligent civilizations there should be in our vicinity. Most of the time the results (of studies like this) suggest that there should be actual civilizations around us or at least somewhere in the galaxy.
But every once in a while we do have to rework the equation simply because we collect more data in regards to various exoplanets out there. As of 2020, we’ve discovered over 4,000 different exoplanets and we now have a pretty good picture of how many different types of planets there are and also what kinds of stars usually have these terrestrial planets and how many of these stars do often have terrestrial planets in the habitable zone.
Study Finds 36 Intelligent Civilizations In Our Galaxy
Using the modern data the scientists behind this paper proposed that there should be around 36 different CETI’s (Communicating Extra-terrestrial Intelligent Civilizations) in the Milky Way Galaxy. A lot of their ideas are based on the modern understanding of the galactic formation and the formation of stars in different galaxies. Most importantly, it involves the idea of metalicity. Metalicity in astronomy refers to pretty much everything except for hydrogen and helium. Hydrogen and helium are non-metals where everything else is considered to be metals.
We know that planetary formation depends on metallicity. The more metallic the star is the more likely it is going to have terrestrial planets and even other planets orbiting around it. Stars that are low in metallicity will either have gas giants or might not even have planets at all. When it comes to metallicity in galaxies we even have this term known as the galactic habitable zone. Essentially, in a typical galaxy we think that the inner part of the galaxy is not really habitable. First of all it has low metallicity and secondly it is usually very active and has a lot of different flares going on, usually from the black hole itself.
Scientists Seek To Discover Earth Replicas
Most of the stars on the outskirts are the only areas where we could possibly find terrestrial planets capable of supporting life. So in order for us to find life somewhere, we need to be looking at areas of high metallicity and away from the black hole. All of this comes into consideration when trying to work out this new 2020 edition of the Drake Equation.
For this particular study, they took what we know about planet Earth to try and discover similar other locations somewhere in the galaxy where obviously similar conditions could lead to other life as we have on earth. They are looking at stars that are four to five billion years old and that are in habitable zones and have metallicity that is similar to the ones in our own solar system. Basically, what the scientists behind this paper are trying to discover are the replicas of the solar system in our own galaxy.
Potentially 200 Intelligent Civilizations In Milky Way
The scientist behind this paper make a very important assumption that it is very likely that many civilizations do go extinct. Before they go extinct they make an assumption that every civilization will have at least 100 years of communication using very similar devices to what we have here. Basically, electromagnetic communication using radio waves to communicate to the rest of the world and of course the rest of the galaxy.
They make the assumption that somewhere out there there are similar species to humans that are trying to reach out and are trying to search for extraterrestrial intelligence living on planets very similar to planet Earth around stars similar to our own Sun. One of their more strict assumptions is that their planet has to be about 4.5 to 5.5 billion years old and they’re also in a very similar stage of advancement and in a very similar stage of their intelligence to humans.
If you take all of these numbers into consideration we actually come up with a number that is about 36. The lowest number (per the study) of intelligent civilizations is 4 and the highest number is over 200. If all of them are equally distributed across the galaxy this means that the nearest such civilization to us is going to be at a distance of about 17,000 light-years away. The closest distance potentially being 7,000 light-years.
Study Finds 36 Intelligent Civilization In Our Galaxy – Anton Petrov
President Trump signed an executive order further solidifying U.S. policy toward mining and resource acquisition in space.
According to Space.com, the executive order has been in the works for roughly a year, and is “called Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources.” The order follows the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, not the 1979 Moon Treaty that was largely ignored by the U.S. and other space-capable nations. Under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, mining and resource gathering in space is allowed.
“As America prepares to return humans to the moon and journey on to Mars, this executive order establishes U.S. policy toward the recovery and use of space resources, such as water and certain minerals, in order to encourage the commercial development of space,” said Scott Pace, deputy assistant to the president and executive secretary of the U.S. National Space Council.
With the U.S. once again making space exploration a priority, including a planned moon based within the decade, this executive order provides clear guidelines for U.S. space organizations.
Philae, European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Rosetta mission probe, has soft-landed on a comet. This is the first time in history this has been done.
It didn’t take Google long to whip up a Doodle to celebrate this amazing feat.
“Our ambitious Rosetta mission has secured a place in the history books: not only is it the first to rendezvous with and orbit a comet, but it is now also the first to deliver a lander to a comet’s surface,” said Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA’s Director General. “With Rosetta we are opening a door to the origin of planet Earth and fostering a better understanding of our future. ESA and its Rosetta mission partners have achieved something extraordinary today.”
“After more than 10 years travelling through space, we’re now making the best ever scientific analysis of one of the oldest remnants of our Solar System,” said Alvaro Giménez, ESA’s Director of Science and Robotic Exploration. “Decades of preparation have paved the way for today’s success, ensuring that Rosetta continues to be a game-changer in cometary science and space exploration.”
Here’s an ESA video featuring some highlights.
Rosetta was launched on March 2, 2014. It traveled 6.4 billion kilometers through the Solar System before arriving at the comet in August. ESA has a lot more on the mission here.
NASA today revealed that Mars rover Curiosity will soon make a short stop to examine some more Martian rocks. The rover will examine an area of interest to researchers due to its different intersecting rock textures.
“The orbital images didn’t tell us what those rocks are, but now that Curiosity is getting closer, we’re seeing a preview,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), “The contrasting textures and durabilities of sandstones in this area are fascinating. While superficially similar, the rocks likely formed and evolved quite differently from each other.”
Curiosity is now just 86 meters from the area, which has been named “the Kimberley” after a region of the same name in Australia. The sandstone rocks in the region are different from the mudstone that the rover has so far examined in its journey. The rover’s drill may even be used to collect rock power samples in the area.
Curiosity is currently on a months-long journey to the base of a Martian mountain named Mount Sharp. There the rover research team hopes to gather data on the different layers of martian rock and soil exposed a the base of the mountain.
Along the way Curiosity has been stopping at planned waypoints on its route to perform extra scientific observations. The stop in the Kimberly is one of these planned diversions, as was a stop back in September 2013 at a location named “Darwin,” where the rover examined sandstone pebbles that may have been formed by flowing water.
More recently the Curiosity team has been with a few technical hurdles encountered during the rover’s research. Shortly before the holiday season the rover experienced an unexpected electrical failure. Just last month the rover surmounted a small hill to reach an area that researchers hoped would save the rover’s wheels from accelerating wear and tear that has been observed in recent weeks.
“The wheel damage rate appears to have leveled off, thanks to a combination of route selection and careful driving,” said Richard Rainen, Curiosity mechanical engineering team leader at JPL. “We’re optimistic that we’re doing OK now, though we know there will be challenging terrain to cross in the future.”
NASA today confirmed that the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is still functional following a reboot into safe mode on March 9. According to the agency the orbiter rebooted itself after an unscheduled swap of its main computer to a backup. In addition, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter also swapped to a backup radio transponder during the event, which researchers are now using to communicate with the satellite.
The orbiter team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is currently restoring the spacecraft to full operational status, but have not yet determined the cause of the computer swap. This marks the fifth time the orbiter has booted into safe mode following an unplanned computer swap. The cause of the previous swaps has also not been determined.
“The spacecraft is healthy, in communication and fully powered,” said Dan Johnston, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project Manager at JPL. “We have stepped up the communication data rate, and we plan to have the spacecraft back to full operations within a few days.”
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been gathering data from its orbit around Mars for almost exactly eight years, including observations of snow and dust storms on the Martian surface. In addition to its science operations the satellite is used to relay data from NASA’s two functioning Mars rovers, Opportunity and Curiosity. The orbiter’s operations have been temporarily suspended following the computer swap and the rovers are currently using NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter to communicate with Earth.
The physics behind spaceflight are well understood, but what exactly being in orbit does to the human body is still being uncovered. To help out with this research NASA today announced that it now has plans to study the physiological effects of microgravity using twins.
The agency’s Human Research Program and the National Space Biomedical Research has selected 10 “short-term” studies for the unique program. The studies will look at the molecular, genetic, and other effects of space travel. The studies come out of 10 different research institutions in seven states which will receive a portion of $1.5 million allotted for the twin astronaut research program.
The study will observe the changes seen in Mark and Scott Kelly, identical twin brothers that also happen to be astronauts. Though Mark is retired as an astronaut, Scott is scheduled to board the International Space Station (ISS) in March 2015 and stay on board for one year.
Before and during the mission and after Scott returns to Earth both he and Mark will provide blood samples to be used in the study. The brothers will also submit themselves to physicals and psychological tests during these times.
As odd as it sounds, the opportunity to use these identical twins for research was a popular one for researchers. According to NASA, 40 different research proposals were submitted and reviewed before NASA narrowed them down to the best 10. Researchers are hoping for the study will provide insight into the human effects of spaceflight, possibly reducing the health risks that astronauts currently face. According to NASA such studies often end up providing data that helps Earthbound human healthcare as well.
NASA this week revealed that Mars rover Curiosity has successfully crossed over a Martian sand dune and is now continuing on its way. The rover drove a total of 41.1 meters on Sunday, February 9. This puts Curiosity’s total distance traveled on Mars just shy of the 5 kilometer milestone at 4.97 kilometers.
Curiosity had crossed over a small, 1 meter high sand dune on February 6. The event was significant for the rover because it puts the vehicle on a flat surface relatively free of sharp rocks for its journey to a site called KMS-9. Once there the rover will drill into selected rocks to obtain powder samples.
The Mars Science Laboratory team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) took a long pause at the end of January to research the area past the dune. Satellite images had shown the area to be flat and clear, but the team took the time to image the landscape with the rover to be safe.
The team is being extra-careful of the surfaces that Curiosity traverses after an inspection of the rover’s wheels in December found that damage to the wheels has accelerated in recent months. Sharp rocks are being avoided, if possible, since they could increase the damage to the wheels.
Curiosity is currently on a months-long journey to the base of a Martian mountain named Mount Sharp. Along the way the rover is stopping at checkpoints and interesting scientific targets, taking samples that can be compared to those first gathered near the rover’s landing site.
This week NASA and the Centre national d’études spatiales (the French space agency, CNES) signed an agreement to work towards a future Mars lander set to launch in 2016.
The mission is known as the Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight) mission. The goal of the project is to
The InSight mission is currently scheduled to launch in March 2016. After arriving at Mars half a year later a lander will be deployed to the red planet’s surface. Once there, the lander will use a tool known as the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument to study the interior of Mars.
The SEIS instrument is capable of measuring tectonic activity and meteorite impacts on Mars. Researchers hope the data gathered by the lander will help inform research into how rocky planets first form.
“This new agreement strengthens the partnership between NASA and CNES in planetary science research, and builds on more than 20 years of cooperation with CNES on Mars exploration,” said Charles Bolden, NASA administrator. “The research generated by this collaborative mission will give our agencies more information about the early formation of Mars, which will help us understand more about how Earth evolved.”
NASA is the latest agency to sign on for the SEIS project. The German Aerospace Center, the UK Space Agency, the Swiss Space Office, and the ESA all have a hand in the project, and the InSight mission includes researchers from all over Europe, North America, and Japan.
Following a few hiccups and a software upgrade during the holiday season, Mars rover Curiosity is now back to doing what it does best.
NASA today revealed that Curiosity is currently on its way to drill another rock sample. The rover is currently stopped at an area named Dingo Gap so that researchers can determine an optimal route over a small Martian sand dune. The agency also revealed that the rover has driven 3.04 miles since landing on Mars.
The Curiosity team is now attempting to find a path that reduces risk to the rover’s wheels from sharp rocks. After having Curiosity take pictures of its own wheels late last year, researchers found that damage to the rover’s wheels has accelerated in recent months. The decision over whether or not to cross the 3 feet-high dune is now being debated with the risk to Curiosity’s wheels in mind.
“The decision hasn’t been made yet, but it is prudent to go check,” said Jim Erickson, project manager for Curiosity at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). “We’ll take a peek over the dune into the valley immediately to the west to see whether the terrain looks as good as the analysis of orbital images implies.”
Curiosity is still on a months-long journey to the base of a Martian mountain named Mount Sharp. There researcher hope to study multiple exposed layers of rock to help determine what Mars may have been like in the past. In the meantime, once over or around the dune Curiosity will attempt to drill a rock at a site named KMS-9.
“This area is appealing because we can see terrain units unlike any that Curiosity has visited so far,” said Katie Stack, a Curiosity science team collaborator at the California Institute of Technology. “One unit has striations all oriented in a similar direction. Another is smooth, without striations. We don’t know yet what they are. The big draw is exploration and seeing new things.”
Astronomers today announced that water vapor has been detected around Ceres. Ceres is the largest object in our solar system’s asteroid belt and has been classified as a dwarf planet, like Pluto.
The discovery is the first time water vapor has been detected around an object in the asteroid belt. The findings, published in the journal Nature, could provide significant data on how our solar system formed. The water vapor on Ceres was detected using the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Herschel space observatory.
“Herschel’s discovery of water vapour outgassing from Ceres gives us new information on how water is distributed in the Solar System,” said Göran Pilbratt, a Herschel project scientist at ESA. “Since Ceres constitutes about one fifth of the total mass of asteroid belt, this finding is important not only for the study of small Solar System bodies in general, but also for learning more about the origin of water on Earth.”
Astronomers currently believe that Ceres has some ice on its surface, and these new observations show that nearly all of the water vapor detected on Ceres is coming from two locations on its surface. These regions are slightly darker than average for Ceres’ surface, indicating that they may absorb more sunlight, leading to water vapor through a process called sublimation. Another hypothesis holds that cryovolcanoes on Ceres’ surface may be spewing water vapor.
“We estimate that approximately 6 kg of water vapour is being produced per second, requiring only a tiny fraction of Ceres to be covered by water ice, which links nicely to the two localised surface features we have observed,” said Laurence O’Rourke, co-author of the paper and a principal investigator for the Herschel program.
The European Space Agency (ESA) today announced that the Rosetta spacecraft has successfully reactivated. The probe has been traveling in a suspended state beyond the orbit of Jupiter since June 2011.
Rosetta’s internal alarm functioned as planned and the spacecraft was able to reboot itself this morning before sending a signal to Earth. Later this year the spacecraft will approach comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as it soars toward the sun.
“We have our comet-chaser back,” says Alvaro Giménez, director of Science and Robotic Exploration at ESA. “With Rosetta, we will take comet exploration to a new level. This incredible mission continues our history of ‘firsts’ at comets, building on the technological and scientific achievements of our first deep space mission Giotto, which returned the first close-up images of a comet nucleus as it flew past Halley in 1986.”
Rosetta will be the first spacecraft to attempt a landing on the surface of a comet. The spacecraft will provide data on the Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet for over one year, giving researchers plenty of data with which to uncover the objects’ mysteries.
Rosetta is expected to rendezvous with the comet in August. In the meantime, researchers will be checking the spacecraft’s systems and readying it for a “major maneuver” that will take place in May.
While people on Earth were finishing up their Christmas shopping last week, NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity was receiving its own Christmas gift in the form of new software.
According to NASA, Curiosity has now received its third software upgrade since landing on Mars over one year ago. The upgrade took about a week to transition the rover to the 11th version of its flight software, which expands the rover’s more capabilities.
This software upgrade was successful, though the transition was rolled back in November following a failed update. During that upgrade, Curiosity experienced an unexpected reboot into its safe mode. Researchers later determined that the error was caused by file error and soon resumed normal operations while preparing for the December update.
With the rover’s software up to date, Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team members are also preparing to inspect each of Curiosity’s wheels. The rover will take pictures of its own wheels using its arm. Researchers will be looking at the condition of each wheel to help them plan future jaunts across the red planet’s surface while minimizing damage to the wheels.
“We want to take a full inventory of the condition of the wheels,” said Jim Erickson, project manager for the MSL Project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). “Dents and holes were anticipated, but the amount of wear appears to have accelerated in the past month or so. It appears to be correlated with driving over rougher terrain. The wheels can sustain significant damage without impairing the rover’s ability to drive. However, we would like to understand the impact that this terrain type has on the wheels, to help with planning future drives.”
Curiosity is currently on a months-long journey to the base of a Martian mountain named Mount Sharp. Once there, researchers hope to compare exposed layers of rock to the rock formations seen near the rover’s landing site.
New research published this week in the journal Science Express has revealed that there is water vapor in the atmosphere of Jupiter‘s moon Europa. The vapor was detected by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope over the moon’s south pole.
Though the water vapor has been detected on Europa, the exact cause of the vapor has yet to be determined. The report’s authors believe that the likeliest cause is eruptions of water on the moon’s surface. Scientists have believed for years that Europa has oceans of water underneath its outer crust of ice.
“By far the simplest explanation for this water vapor is that it erupted from plumes on the surface of Europa,” said Lorenz Roth, lead author of the paper and a researcher at the Southwest Research Institute. “If those plumes are connected with the subsurface water ocean we are confident exists under Europa’s crust, then this means that future investigations can directly investigate the chemical makeup of Europa’s potentially habitable environment without drilling through layers of ice. And that is tremendously exciting.”
Roth and his colleagues believe that cracks in Europa’s ice crust could be the source of the water vapor. Such a phenomenon has already been seen on the surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
Europa’s water vapor is slightly different in that the vapor action was only detected when the moon was further away from its host planet. This suggests that Jupiter’s gravity is causing large tidal shifts on Europa, which could provide more evidence that Europa has water oceans underneath its surface.
For now the information on Europa’s water vapor plumes is limited. Researchers were able to detect them only very faintly using Hubble’s imaging spectrograph, which recorded the ultraviolet light that serves as the evidence for water in the moon’s atmosphere.
“We pushed Hubble to its limits to see this very faint emission. These could be stealth plumes, because they might be tenuous and difficult to observe in the visible light,” said Joachim Saur, co-author of the paper and a planetary scientist at the University of Cologne.
Mars rover Curiosity has been on Mars now for over one year. In that time the rover has performed a variety of science observations, revealing to scientists even more about the surface of the red planet. Today, NASA announced that data collected by curiosity has led to a host of new findings, including six new papers published this week in Science Express.
The biggest reveal from the research is that Curiosity has helped researchers date a Martian rock. Rocks from Mars have certainly been dated in the past, but never one that was gathered and tested while on the planet itself.
The rock dated was the one in the “Cumberland” region that Curiosity explored earlier this year. The rock was the second that Curiosity had examined using its drill. Using radiometric and exposure age dating from the rover, researchers are estimating that the rock is somewhere between 3.86 billion and 4.56 billion years old.
“The age is not surprising, but what is surprising is that this method worked using measurements performed on Mars,” said Kenneth Farley, author of the paper on the rock dating and a geochemist at the California Institute of Technology. “When you’re confirming a new methodology, you don’t want the first result to be something unexpected. Our understanding of the antiquity of the Martian surface seems to be right.”
In addition to the rock dating, Curiosity has taken the first radiation hazard readings on the Martian surface and detected what might be organic compounds in the Martian soil. The rover has also already completed its primary mission by determining that Mars once had conditions that could have supported some forms of life.
NASA believes that all of these discoveries will help to set the stage for a future manned mission to mars. In particular, Curiosity’s radiation measurements have raised questions over how much exposure to cosmic rays astronauts sent to Mars might have to endure. NASA is currently working towards the goal of sending a manned mission to Mars by the end of the 2030s.
“Our measurements provide crucial information for human missions to Mars,” said Don Hassler, the lead author of a report on Curiosity’s radiation measurements and the science program director at the Southwest Research Institute. “We’re continuing to monitor the radiation environment and seeing the effects of major solar storms on the surface at different times in the solar cycle, will give additional important data. Our measurements also tie into Curiosity’s investigations about habitability. The radiation sources that are concerns for human health also affect microbial survival as well as preservation of organic chemicals.”
NASA today officially announced that Mars rover Curiosity has fired its infrared laser more than 102,000 times. The 100,000th blast came back near the end of October, when the rover shot over 300 blasts at a rock named “Ithaca” from a distance of over four meters. Curiosity has now blasted over 420 different Martian targets using its laser.
“Passing 100,000 laser shots is terribly exciting and is providing a remarkable set of chemical data for Mars,” said Horton Newsom, ChemCam co-investigator and a senior research sceintist at the Institute of Meteoritics at the University of New Mexico.
Researchers use the laser to blast a small spot on Martian rocks, creating an ionized gas that can be analyzed with Curiosity’s Chemistry and Camera instrument to determine the chemical make-up of the sample. According to NASA, the laser is used to blast targets with 30 pulses, which creates a pinhead-sized marking. Each blast lasts for only five one-billionths of a second and delivers more than one million watts.
Curiosity is currently back on-track for a months-long journey to the base of a Martian mountain named Mount Sharp. There researchers are hoping to compare exposed rock layers to the geology already observed near the rover’s landing site.
The rover’s progress last month was stymied by two separate incidents that cause the rover’s science operations to be temporarily suspended. In early November Curiosity experienced a software glitch that caused an unexpected reboot. Just days after having the issue corrected, the rover experienced a “soft short” that lowered its operating voltage significantly.
(Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems)
NASA today released new images of Saturn taken by the Cassini spacecraft. The images are the highest-ever resolution photos of the planet’s north pole.
The images depict the so-called “hexagon” jet stream located near the north pole of Saturn. The formation is so-named because of its six sides. The hexagon is a gigantic storm covering the pole that can reach wind speeds of up to 150 meters per second. The images depict a top-down view of Saturn and show the full 30,000 kilometer diameter of the storm. As a comparison, the diameter of earth is only around 12,700 kilometers.
“The hexagon is just a current of air, and weather features out there that share similarities to this are notoriously turbulent and unstable,” said Andrew Ingersoll, a Cassini imaging team member at the California Institute of Technology. “A hurricane on Earth typically lasts a week, but this has been here for decades — and who knows — maybe centuries.”
Images of the hexagon taken in the visible light spectrum were unveiled by NASA earlier this year. The images being taken are now possible due to Saturn passing its equinox in 2009.
These newest images were taken using the Cassini probe’s high-resolution cameras over the course of 10 hours. Researchers were then able to analyze the photos using false color, allowing them to pick out the different substances that make up the giant storm. They observed smaller vortices within the storm that spin the opposite direction as the main storm, as well as differences in the concentration of haze particles within the storm.
“Inside the hexagon, there are fewer large haze particles and a concentration of small haze particles, while outside the hexagon, the opposite is true,” said Kunio Sayanagi, a Cassini imaging team associate at Hampton University. “The hexagonal jet stream is acting like a barrier, which results in something like Earth’s Antarctic ozone hole.”
NASA today announced that Mars rover Curiosity resumed its exploration of Mars this weekend. The rover’s exploration had been suspended last week following an unexpected electrical issue.
This is the second time in November that Curiosity has been reactivated following an unexpected technical glitch. The first occurred when the rover unexpectedly booted into safe mode after a software conflict.
This latest malfunction saw Curiosity’s voltage drop significantly, down to 4 volts from the steady 11 it had been operating at since shortly after launch. NASA last week attributed the drop to a soft short in which voltage could be leaking through a partially conductive material. NASA stated today that the likely cause of the voltage drop was an internal short in Curiosity’s Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator.
On Saturday, November 23, the rover was found to have returned to its original 11 volt level. Researchers are confident that the drop has not affected the ability of Curiosity to complete its mission, as the rover has a floating bus designed to operate under a range of voltage differences. Having witnessed similar shorts on other machines, however, researchers believe that Curiosity’s voltage could drop again in the future.
After conducting diagnostic tests on curiosity, NASA resumed science operations with the rover this weekend. Its first task was to deliver a powdered rock sample into a testing lab on the rover. The sample had been kept by Curiosity in its arm since drilling a Martian rock six months ago. The rover is currently on a months-long journey to the base of a mountain named Mount Sharp where the rover will investigate the rock layers exposed at that site.
NASA today announced that Mars rover Curiosity‘s planned research has been suspended temporarily. The rover is still functional, but has been put on hold while researchers examine an electricity issue that has been detected.
This news comes just a week after Curiosity resumed operations following an unexpected software glitch in early November.
This new suspension came after NASA researchers detected a voltage change in the rover on Sunday, November 17. Mars Science Laboratory team members measured a change in voltage difference between the rover’s chassis and its power bus. The difference first occurred intermittently before the voltage difference dropped to 4 volts from the 11 volts it has been at during its year on Mars. Researchers will be testing Curiosity’s systems in the coming days to determine the source of the voltage drop.
“The vehicle is safe and stable, fully capable of operating in its present condition, but we are taking the precaution of investigating what may be a soft short,” said Jim Erickson, Mars Science Laboratory project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
A soft short would mean that voltage is leaking through a material that is only partially conductive. Such a situation would explain the change in voltage, but might also indicate a larger issue with the instrument or system where the short originated. NASA stated that another soft short had occurred for Curiosity shortly after it landed last year, dropping the rover’s working voltage difference between the chassis and the power bus to 11 volts.
This latest short has not harmed the rover and did not even trigger its emergency safe mode. Curiosity is also capable of operating within the new lower voltage, though future shorts could seriously impair the rover’s capabilities.
