Spacecraft on EARTH Magazine

Comment: In space, timing is everything

Fri, 21 Jul 2017 10:21:30 -0400

Ryan Anderson stands beside a full-scale model of Curiosity. Credit: courtesy of Ryan Anderson.

T-minus five…four…three…two…one…liftoff!

It’s fitting that missions to explore our solar system begin with all eyes on a countdown clock, because timing is everything in space exploration. From idea to launch, a planetary mission is the result of years — or even decades — of planning and work, with many milestones and deadlines along the way. But a mission’s success hinges on key events that happen in fractions of a second.

Red Planet Roundup: February 2017

Wed, 25 Jan 2017 14:11:41 -0500

The bright spots in this ultraviolet view of Mars, assembled from images collected by the MAVEN orbiter in July, are clouds that rapidly formed over Mars' largest volcanic peaks. Credit: NASA/MAVEN/University of Colorado.

With two rovers patrolling the surface of Mars, six spacecraft orbiting above it, and scientists here on Earth studying the Red Planet from afar, new findings are announced often. Here are a few of the latest updates.

Rosetta: Off to decipher a comet's secrets

Tue, 10 Jun 2014 12:58:25 -0400

Artist's impression of Rosetta's signal being received on Earth after 31 months in silent, deep-space hibernation. Credit: ESA-J. Mai; opposite page: ESA, image by AOES Medialab

“Hello World.”

Bids in space: When should we outsource government science?

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Government research and development has its limits: Time, money and bureaucracy can all hamper the timely progress of research. As a result, many federal agencies are looking to private companies to help drive new innovation and keep costs down — but it’s never that simple. Two current hot-button topics — returning humans to space and geoengineering — highlight a range of issues related to how private and public investment in science can coexist. This month, we focus on NASA.

Opening up space travel to everyone

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Three glowing gas rings around supernova 1987A. P. Challis

Jason Marsh is done waiting around for someone else to transport him into space.

Marsh, a system administrator near Washington, D.C., is preparing to launch a new website for his Open Space Movement (OSM — currently here), a nonprofit project that aims to be a platform for developing and funding aerospace technology — and will be open to anyone who wants to join in.

Protecting planets from us - and us from them

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Apollo 11 astronauts in isolation garments. NASA

Rangers 6 through 9 made it to the moon, but were unsterilized - thus, their crash landings could have contaminated the moon. NASA

Although Apollo 11 astronauts and their ship were supposed to be quarantined to protect against possible pathogens in moon dust, the capsule door opened into the Pacific Ocean after landing. NASA

NASA scientists examine dust from comet Wild 2 in a clean room. Pathogens in the dust could still contaminate the scientists: Their eyes (soft, moist tissue) are exposed. NASA

The Space Shuttle Discovery on its way to the International Space Station. NASA

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin stands with the American flag on the moon. The astronauts' footprints are visible in the lunar soil. NASA

The two Viking landers were the only NASA spacecraft sent to Mars that received a full heat sterilization. NASA

A technician puts finishing touches on the Sputnik 1 satellite in the assembly shop in fall 1957. NASA

The Outer Space Treaty and planetary contamination

Is there life out there? Finding life has been a goal of the exploration of other celestial bodies since humans first imagined leaving our atmosphere — and that life may come in forms we do not immediately recognize. The search itself carries an inherent danger, however: We must not contaminate these pristine worlds with earthly microbes — lest we “rediscover” earthly microbes on a different planet, completely frustrating the science and devaluing the investment in the mission. If celestial bodies like Mars, the moon, comets, and Jupiter and Saturn’s icy moons do harbor microbial life, crash-landing a spacecraft on them could have serious consequences.