Caption: So boring it doesn't deserve a caption (NASA/SOHO)
You know when you have those unremarkable days, those periods of time you experience you know you’ll forget tomorrow? It’s either “just another” day at work, another commute, or a Sunday where you had a beer, fell asleep, only to wake up again to realise it was too late to get up so you stayed in bed till Monday? (And no, I don’t make a habit of that. I’m sure to have at least two beers.) Most days aren’t like that for me, usually I can think of one noteworthy event that sets apart one day from the next, but sometimes it’s as if Stuff Happens™ doesn’t.
It would appear the Sun is having an extended period of time where Stuff Happens™ is at a premium, so you have to make the most of when something really does happen. In this case, the Sun released a crafty CME, thinking we wouldn’t see it… Continue reading “When the Sun is So Boring, Anything Becomes Interesting”
As the Sun set over Florida, NASA ground staff hurried to complete preparations for space shuttle Discovery’s launch just before 8pm EST on Sunday. Fortunately, the countdown went as planned and Discovery is now on its way to install the remaining solar panels in the International Space Station’s solar array. The launch itself was strangely captivating, probably because this was the sixth launch date that has been set (continuously postponed due to valve problems and, most recently, a hydrogen leak). However, there was another reason that interested me, a bat had been discovered, hanging onto the the shuttle’s external fuel tank, refusing to budge…
At 19:47 EST, the STS-119 mission began with the successful launch of Space Shuttle Discovery from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission had been delayed by a week due to a hydrogen leak outside Discovery’s external fuel tank (compounding the extended delay caused by valve problems), but the fault was repaired, allowing NASA to perform a flawless launch today.
Space Shuttle Discovery's trail catches the sunset above Florida (Spaceflight Now UStream)
STS-119 will install the fourth and final set of solar arrays to the ISS. In May, the space station crew will grow to six, so additional solar power will be required. Interestingly, once completed, the station will become the second brightest object in the night sky.
For the 94th week of the greatest carnival in the blogosphere, the Carnival of Space is being hosted by Lunar Librarian Ken Murphy over at the superb space blog Out of the Cradle. He has done an astounding job with this edition as there are yota-tonnes of asteroids, exoplanets, stars, galaxies, dark matter and all sorts of space exploration goodness.
For Astroengine’s part, I geeked out and threw my musings about virtual reality being physical reality and how future astronauts might be exploring a virtual representation of a physically accurate… physical Mars… or something. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense, so go to “Reality, Virtual” for more.
When I said this on Twitter today, it struck up a lot of support. It actually came out as a throwaway comment in Wednesday’s Astroengine Live when I was having a rant about the misconception that space exploration is a luxury and not a necessity. If I was debating this now, I’d probably be somewhere between “necessity” and “luxury”. On the one hand it would be nice to have a very wealthy space agency, carrying out unimaginable science throughout the Solar System, colonies on the Moon and Mars, mining asteroids and setting up an interplanetary transportation system. On the other hand, none of these things will be possible unless there is huge (global) public support and political will… Continue reading “Space Exploration Isn’t an Economic Stimulus. It’s a Humanity Stimulus”
Having been a reader of Discovery Space for a while now, I was excited to hear from the Discovery’s ace producer Dave Mosher, that the site had undergone a fairly radical face-lift. The excited the web designer inside me couldn’t wait to see what had been done, but it was also a relief that the superb space science reporting hadn’t changed, it had been re-packaged to make it easier to navigate. Also, as Dave expertly steers the site through the ocean of space journalism, blogging and reporting, I am very pleased to see his space blog, Space Disco, has pride of place right at the top of the site.
All that is needed now are some funky social options (perhaps some Twitter, Facebook and Google gadgets–you know me, I love my gadgets!) and Discovery Space will really hit my cosmic funny bone. Great job Dave, your hard work and leadership is really shining through, like a GRB on a dark night! (Sorry, I had to think up a geeky analogy.)
A sinkhole in Tractus Fossae, created by tectonic activity (HiRISE/NASA)
It might not look like much from space, but this depression in the Martian landscape might be considered to be a priceless feature when viewed by future Mars colonists.
In December 2008, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) flew silently over the Tharsis bulge, the location of a series of ancient volcanoes. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) captured what appears to be a deep hole. This kind of feature has been seen before, like a Martian pore, deep and foreboding. Usually these sinkholes aren’t as deep as they look, but they are deeper than the surrounding landscape. They are also similar to their terrestrial counterparts in that they have very steep sides (unlike the gentle, eroded slopes of crater rims) and they are caused by a lack of material below. On Earth, sinkholes often form due to water flowing beneath, removing material, causing the overlying rock/soil to slump, forming a sudden hole. In the example above, the sinkhole (or “collapse pit”) was caused by tectonic activity. In this case, it is likely that the material dropped into a void left over by magma-filled dykes (lava tubes from old volcanoes).
A stretched and image processed version of the sinkhole; the bottom of the hole is visible (HiRISE/NASA)
The result is a hole with very steep sides. It has been suggested that these sink holes may be useful to future Mars colonists, as they can use the natural feature for shelter. On Mars, humans would be subject to an increased dosage of radiation (due to the tenuous Martian atmosphere and lack of a global magnetic field), so it is preferable to find any form of natural shelter to build your habitat. The depth of this kind of sinkhole will afford some protection, and drilling into the cavern side would be even better. Perhaps even put a dome over the top? No need to build walls around your building then. Also, there’s the interesting–if a little frightening–prospect of accessing underground lava tubes. Therefore, colonists won’t need to dig very far to create a subterranean habitat with all the radiation protection they’ll ever need (the insulation would also be impressive).
Although this scenario might be a little far-fetched, and probably only suitable for an established human presence on Mars (after all, the numerous valleys would probably suffice for most permanent habitats drilled into cliff faces), it does go to show that the current missions in orbit around Mars are doing a great job at seeking out some possible housing solutions for our future Mars settlers…
SpaceX Falcon 9 on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral (SpaceX)
On Feb. 24, 2009, a quarter of a billion dollars fell into the Antarctic Ocean.
NASA’s recently completed Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO), failed 12 and a half minutes into flight when its upper rocket stage didn’t separate.
The $270 million satellite never made it into space. It did make quite a splash though, filmed for the world to see.
In today’s economic climate, NASA does not need failures like OCO. On Feb. 26, the Obama administration allocated $18.7 billion to NASA in the 2010 budget. “Although that is only half a percent of the total U.S. budget,” says aerospace analyst and founder of the blog spacepolitics.com Dr. Jeff Foust, “to a person like you or me, it’s a lot of money to spend on an agency with problems.” Continue reading “No Bucks for NASA Without Buck Rogers”
Apologies for slipping beyond the event horizon of my sizeable work-pile last week. I think the mass of paperwork stacked on my desk easily breeched the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit, plunging any Astroengine Live effort into the black hole that is my office. In short, last week was a bad week. This week holds much more promise, so Astroengine Live will be on the air TODAY at 4pm PST, 5pm MST, 6pm CST, 7pm EST…. and midnight GMT (are you loving my timezone prowess?).
As I am fortunate not to be too concerned about superstition, I’m going to roll with my 13th show, laughing in the face of this “unlucky” number. I’d love to say I’ll have a “13” themed show, but I don’t, so don’t go expecting anything clever. As there are two weeks of fun space stuff to talk about, I think I’ll grab some of the more interesting stories and delve into the details… promptly losing the thread and yacking on about something totally unrelated. Still, be sure to tune in and participate where you can! After all, this show is mainly about my listeners finding fun stuff they want me to talk about, so be sure to email me or Tweet me and I’ll give you a shout!
Get Involved!
Have any articles or stories you want to contribute? Have an opinion on anything in the world of space? Email me on astro@wprtradio.com and I’ll be sure to give it a mention. Eventually, I hope to have telephone call-ins, but for now, email will do.
Of course, there was a lot of other subjects besides, including the regular trip to the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, and a rundown of the movers and shakers of the Carnival of Space and some random thoughts. I think this episode was better than the previous week’s show (#11) that got slammed by the proverbial cricket bat of FAIL when nothing went right. In fact, I am still trying to find the time to assemble the pieces of the audio that got chopped when the laptop, Internet, microphone, earphone, chair, rabbit, desk and brain all conspired against the “Live” part of “Astroengine Live” by taking me off the air more than once. I haven’t even listened to the playback yet, I can’t face it. However, as Jack and I discussed on Paranormal Radio a couple of weeks ago, failure comes with the territory of doing anything live. So what the hell, I’ll keep pushing onwards (and not necessarily upwards)!
Anyway, to tune into Show 12, the “Unmasking Europa” and not-so-technically-inept episode, you can use the radio widget in the top-right hand corner of the Astroengine Live page or tune into iTunes to catch it!
astroengine.com 