You are not logged in.
NASA fans should look out for the Alice, a spectrometer on ESA Rosetta's Orbiter. It was paid for by NASA is a derivative of the Pluto UV that NASA will use on NewHorizons. There were already joint campaigns between Rosetta and New Horizons. Using the instrument NASA should be able to see composition of Pluto's atmosphere, it has a pinhole aperture to shut down the intensity of sunlight without blinding NH's detectors.
Looks like another great crew and Daniel Tani rotating with Léopold Eyharts while Peggy and Yuri remain for the long duration stay. We should see the Columbus lab flying while a payload is going to be returned to Earth as NASA gets that broken gyro problem.
Could comets have brought water and organic materials to Earth?
http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page= … 1670&lng=1
Europe's Rosetta mission is on route to find out. The spacecraft swings by the Earth this month, gaining speed on its 10- year quest.
The ambitious race to catch a comet and probe the history of our solar system, in this editon of Space.
Mars has almost a 24 hr day, it has a thin atmosphere giving some protection from cosmic radiation and has been used successfully for aerobraking of spacecraft. It has reasonable surface gravity which should provide help for bone health during long duration flights. Mars has lots of water underneath, enough to fill an entire Ocean....now you see why Mars is a better choice than the Moon.
Once again the media should check their facts. Orion 1 is the first Orbital flight of Orion (Constellation is the name of the program not a space vehicle or launcher) and it's planned for March 2013. Shuttle will be retired at the end of 2010, that's about two and half years, not five.
Yeah the Media have some of their numbers wrong, but it would be foolhardy to hype up the success of the VSE, yes they tested TEM-13 burn but there are still many tasks ahead. I'm not sure how much weight I'd put behind 'briefings' because these are subject to change all the time as they try to put a bit of spin on things. According to other briefings JWST would be flying in 2011 and Shuttle was going to provide cheap access to space
PDF link missions
PDF linked missions
Some of these other report say the 2013 date is just a test launch, it could be a success and it could be a disaster but whatever the result it is a mission test and will not be manned. The Project Constellation Lunar Surface Module and the Ares Heavy Lift won't be flight tested until the 2018-2019 date, before then Griffin's plan is to use the Stick to truck payloads and astronauts to the ISS. Dates seem to be slipping as NASA overcomes problems and remains undecided on the alternative Ares-4 rocket, the Orion spacecraft might not be flying to the space station until the beginning of 2015. Post 2008 its hard to predict how the next President will react to the VSE, Griffin might be supprted or he could be gone. The next President might have some good or bad ideas, he/she could love it and greatly push forward for the Moon and Mars but without political support and adequate funding Ares-V could be canceled by the time we see a return of the US manned launcher.
Mars Express scientists find a different Mars underneath
MARSIS found evidence that these buried impact craters – from about 130 to 470 kilometres in diameter – are present under much of the northern lowlands. The findings appear in the 14 December issue of the journal Nature.
More from Marsis
Mars Express probes the Red Planet’s most unusual deposits
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM0J2FWB8F_index_0.html
The radar system on ESA’s Mars Express has uncovered new details about some of the most mysterious deposits on Mars: The Medusae Fossae Formation. It has given the first direct measurement of the depth and electrical properties of these materials, providing new clues about their origin.
The market will take care of itself. Look at all the oil in Alaska. Soon they'll start pmping it all out and the price will go down again or at least stabilise.
It sounds like a good idea but the answer isn't that simple. Oil in Saudi Arabia is of higher purity, it is also easier to get oil out of the ground there. The Oils of Alaska and Canada do have big reserves but they are not as pure and the rigs for extracting them are undeveloped. You also have to take into account the product of a fluid's kinematic viscosity times its density which can prevents the oil from flowing out easily, in Canada, Europe and Russia there are already a number of abandoned wells. Oil is there in Alaska but the cost of extracting it is much higher than drilling for Oil in the Gulf states.
NASA points to foreign competition to spark support
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/spa … 0181.story
But three years after President Bush charged NASA to return to the moon by 2020, Constellation exists only on engineers' drawing boards and in dreams. There's a five-year gap between the last shuttle launch in 2010 and Constellation's first orbital flight. And there's no assurance that the new president who takes office in 2009 -- let alone the American public -- will endorse a repeat trip to the moon.
Oil is hitting new record above US$95 a barrel, this is not good for the dollar but it should stabilize soon with the right Fed moves. We all expected the US Feds interest rates and we all know that the next President be the a Democrat or Republican is probably going to be forced to raise taxes, which is always unfortunate but sometimes necessary. If you read Greenspan's book you'll see how he said the President ignored his advice to veto "out-of-control" bills that were sending the US deeper into deficit
Successful Planck RF Telescope Test at 320 GHz
I am not sure why it says 2013... all of the modules used in that version of the launcher should be developed and tested by 2010.
Six thousand people to be resettled to make way for new space launch center
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90781/6292880.html
The new launch center is expected to be completed in 2012 and formally put into use in 2013.
The site would be mainly used for launching synchronous satellites, heavy satellites, large space stations, and deep space probe satellites, according to a plan published in late September.
NASA's plan to cut the Moon rover and other cuts have mostly been ordered to stop.
[url=http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070416_business_monday.html]Lawmakers Rebuff NASA's Plan to Kill Robotic Lunar Lander
[/url]
Maybe the are going to forget the robotic one and move directly to a manned version
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/explo … cture.html
but lack of funding will become a serious problem for the VSE
Oil prices jumped to fresh historic highs on Monday, breaching 93 dollars for the first time on mounting concerns about tight energy supplies worldwide, analysts said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071029/ts … gyoilprice
Oil prices have rocketed by about 50 percent over the past year although adjusted for inflation, they remain below levels reached after the 1979 Iranian revolution.
Current prices would have to go just above 100 dollars to reach outright as well as nominal highs, according to economist calculations.
"What we see (in Monday's trade) is a continuation of the trend that was in place Friday," said David Moore, a commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"Geopolitical tensions, issues regarding tensions between Turkey and Kurdish rebels (in Northern Iraq) ... those sort of factors have added to oil prices," he added.
Tension between Turkey and Kurdish militants in northern Iraq has fuelled concerns that energy supplies from the Middle East -- where Iran's nuclear programme has already triggered sanctions from western nations -- could be disrupted.
Given the current situation, prices are likely to rise further and 100 dollars for oil cannot be ruled out, Moore said.
"I wouldn't be surprised if in the very short term we see oil prices continue to move a little bit higher," he said.
"It is certainly possible they will move higher ... I personally don't believe we will see oil prices at 100 dollars but it is not impossible given the situation."
Also pushing up oil prices on Monday were reports that Mexico had cut some crude output because of a storm, said Dariusz Kowalczyk, a senior investment strategist with CFC Seymour.
Kowalczyk also predicted that prices were headed north given the prevailing conditions.
"I think pretty much at this point anything goes," he said.
The dollar's continued weakness was also bolstering oil prices.
Ron Paul is honest, he's too honest, brutally honest on his opinions. He's running on the idea for changing the fed, he's running on returning to the constitutional values on America's founding fathers and he's running on an anti-war ticket. He thinks US meddling since WWII in the ME has brought the US here into the quagmire. Paul appeals to voters because he says he's a true conservative, not a neo-conservative
Here's an opinion on him which brands him a nutcase, they also mention NASA
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/15/World … s_on.shtml
"I cringe whenever I hear Ron talk," said Bruce Bartlett, a former Paul congressional aide and Treasury Department official. "But that's part of his charm. It's the thing that validates he's genuine. Clearly, no sensible person who is trying to win would say any of these things."
In Congress, Paul opposes resolutions that try to tell another country what to do. He has been called "Dr. No" for so often being the lone dissenter in the 435-member House. He would not express support for freedom in Hong Kong (426-1), a call for free elections in Azerbaijan (416-1) or Belarus (419-1), nor condemn Kim Jong Il for the North Korean government's abduction of foreign citizens (362-1).
He voted against awarding a congressional gold medal to Rosa Parks (424-1) and also has fought medals for Pope John Paul II (416-1) and Ronald Reagan (350-8). Paul does not oppose the honor; he thinks the $30,000 expense is a waste.
Serving a House district with a sizable farm industry, Paul opposes subsidies. In a district near the Johnson Space Center, Paul objects to funding NASA.
"There aren't Ron Paul dams and bridges and overpasses across the district," said Kerry Neves, the Republican Party chairman in Galveston County, which is part of Paul's district.
And though his "rugged honesty," as one Republican Party official put it, is endearing him to a menagerie of political misfits and castoffs, it may be trouble when it comes time to run for reelection in the House. Three Republicans are planning to challenge him in a primary, including a former aide who recently called Paul a "nutcase."
Great news, another 3 billion miles to go ! A fly-by of II Pallas might be possible but I haven't read anything form NASA or JPL on this.
Successful launch for Chang'e 1!
To opinions on the Chinese moon missions
China eyes the Moon
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20071025/85450654.html
China gave more specific shape to its ambitions last September. From 2012, a Chinese lunar rover will start functioning on the Moon. The next steps will be to bring samples of lunar soil back to Earth, mount a manned expedition, and eventually establish a base - following the same pattern as other countries. Only without much fuss, and as a matter of routine.
That Beijing will fulfill its plans is beyond doubt.
Ni hao, Moon
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/dis … d=10026231
Jiao Weixin of Peking University says China would not have the technical ability to put a man on the moon for another 20 years, well beyond America’s target return date.
Ares-1 faced hitches and the first LSAM flight is not until February 2019, so it will be at least 2019 not 2016 until NASA returns to the Moon, putting people on Mars by 2021 seems even more improbable. As it stands the visions lack that real push and real energy, and NASA has not made full potential use of the private sector and commercial flights.
What the next leader after Bush could do for private companies is look at a number of commercial areas. Change the structure at the top and allow more companies to come in, this technique worked well at JPL during a period of poorer performance in the 70s.
If Boeing had stuck a KFC/Starbucks inflatable module onto the space station people would have been buzzing for tickets to get into space. NASA and its mega budgets got bloated during Apollo and it filled out with bureaucracy. Rutan was based on government research preformed by the X aircraft and look at the money himself and Branson are going to make. Ron Paul has some good ideas but what I think a guy like Ron Paul doesn't get is 'Private' isn't the answer for everything, making something private doesn't mean it will always succeed and sometimes its the Big Government backed programs which have produced the best results. Can you imagine how the American public would feel if they see some astronaut guy in a live broadcast from the Moon speaking Chinese or something ? Kennedy thought that America needed the new home grown engineers and scientists that a Moon program would produce, he also understood what kind results a US government backed program would produce and Kennedy knew there would be a great political victory over the Soviets.
Ron Paul is Republican but his beliefs are different to the Republicans like Giuliani and Thompson, some of his arguments come across as fiery libertarian party slogans saying the United States should follow Founding Fathers' ideals. He's also a fan of Lowering US taxes and smaller US government in people's lives, I'm not sure he would be economically good for NASA.
Lots of US politicians think NASA has wasted money but the agency is also a source of American pride. Many Republicans and Democrats have strong local ties, especially among local NASA workers. I'm not sure Ron Paul gets NASA and what it has achieved but some of the other ideas he has are good. He wants to make changes to the US economy, made comments about the property market and said it wasn't the gold that bind US currency which was getting weaker. The reason the dollar is falling is because of the deficit and countries like India, China were financing US debt by buying dollars
Great launch, it looked great and looks like they understood how to fix that ice buildup problem. They have a lot of work ahead with Harmony node 2 and solar wings on the station, a number of EVAs are timetabled for the next few days I hope it all goes well and they return home safe.
He's got some good ideas for the States but I think he's too radical especially on things like NASA. Ron Paul seems to fly on an anti big government ticket so except cuts if he gets elected, private sector will contribute things to exploration but want they can do will be limited in size, even the biggest of private companies can not afford the Moon or colonization Mars.
You are, by the way, linking to a site by that gaetano goofball, Yang
Yang is perfectly able to read my article and understand by himself that it is a concept, not a project by ESA (that, however, may have something like it in its drawers)
"my" ArianeX may born sooner than CLV and in half time than CaLV
also, the moon mission suggested with the ArianeX is more rational than ESAS plan
the real problems to start a plan like this are... funds, political decisions and courage... three things that our governments lack
.
Jupiter or Saturn? Dark Energy or X-rays? ESA Picks Space Mission Short List
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007 … -satu.html
Today's short list has been narrowed down from a list of 50 proposals, and includes:
-Laplace: A launch of three orbital platforms, in conjunction with NASA, that would study Jupiter's Europa moon with an eye towards possible habitability, as well answer other questions about the relationship of the giant planet to its moons.
-Tandem: An orbiter and several land probes aimed at Saturn's Titan and Enceladus, building on data gained from Cassini's recent visits, and studying the origins, interiors, and astrobiological potential of the two moons. This too would be be a joint project with NASA if selected.
-Cross-scale: A 12-spacecraft project launched into near-Earth space, making simultaneous measurements of plasma (electrically charged gas particles surrounding the planet), studying shocks, turbulence, and energy propagation. This would be a joint project with the Japanese Space and Exploration Agency (JAXA)
-Marco Polo: A mission that would land on a near-Earth asteroid, and bring back a sample, with the aim of studying the origin and evolution of these bodies, and of Earth itself. Also a JAXA joint project.
-Dune and SPACE: Two separate observatory proposals for studying dark matter and dark energy.
-Plato: A joint ground- and space-based mission that would focus on finding and studying the characteristics of planets orbiting distant stars, more efficiently and with more detail than is possible today.
-Spicia: A next-generation space-based infrared telescope, used to answer questions about planetary formation and the universe's origin. Another JAXA cooperation.
-XEUS, or X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy: An X-ray telescope that could study the growth of massive black holes, the evolution of galaxies, and other big questions about the universe's origin and evolution.
Boosting The Accuracy Of Rosetta's Earth Approach
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 … 102623.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2007) — On October 18 at 18:06 CEST, the thrusters of ESA’s comet chaser, Rosetta, were fired in a planned, 42-second trajectory correction manoeuvre designed to 'fine tune' the spacecraft's approach to Earth. Rosetta is now approaching Earth for its second planetary swing-by of 2007.
Rosetta is going to be the first spacecraft to visit planet Mars and then planet Earth again
McCain Is Back
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article … 22,00.html
I am not suggesting that John McCain is a plausible front runner for the Republican nomination. Republicans tend not to like people like McCain: too wild, too willing to work with Senators like Ted Kennedy (gasp!) and Russ Feingold (gulp!) on legislation. Then again, what are the options? There is no plausible front runner. Each of the Republicans is flawed and flailing. The despair and hilarity as the various candidates try to squeeze into the conservative base's straitjacket, like the stepsisters struggling to fit into Cinderella's slipper, have been the gaudiest political show of 2007.
Cool animations: Critical operations for BepiColombo
BepiColombo - ESA's first mission to Mercury - will be conducted in cooperation with JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and is scheduled for launch later in 2013. Scroll down to view a series of highly detailed, realistic animations showing the critical operational phases.
The mission will consist of two separate spacecraft: ESA is building the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), and the Japanese space agency JAXA will contribute the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO). MPO mission operations will be controlled from ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre, while MMO operations will be controlled from the Sagamihara Space Operation Center, near Tokyo.