Mother Nature Network: Stephen Hawking and Buzz Aldrin join forces for space exploration
Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and former astronaut Buzz Aldrin are teaming up to develop and promote a unified vision of how humanity can continue to expand its presence in space.
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking and Buzz Aldrin — who in 1969 became the second person to set foot on the moon — have joined forces in an effort "to better mankind's future in space" after a recent meeting in Southern California, according to an announcement.
Details of their plans are sketchy at the moment, but the pair are dreaming big, with nothing less than the survival of humanity on their minds.
A vision for space
In a joint statement, Aldrin and Hawking said that their collaboration "seeks to define and obtain a Unified Space Vision that will continue the expansion of a human presence in space and ensure the perpetuation of the species."
The definition and promulgation of such a vision will help humanity better manage its affairs on Earth, they added. And it will help lay the foundation for the establishment of human colonies throughout the solar system.
Such big tasks are beyond the abilities of any one country, so cooperation is key, according to Aldrin and Hawking.
"This unified vision will encourage global leadership," they said. "As nations approach the endeavor jointly, rather than in the competitive playing field of the past, each nation will contribute its own special strengths and resources."
Aldrin, who piloted the Apollo 11 lunar module and stepped onto the moon's surface just after Neil Armstrong, has remained involved in the nation's space affairs well into retirement. [Photos: Our Changing Moon]
Two minds, one space goal
Aldrin has been a vocal supporter, for example, of President Obama's vision for space exploration, which would task NASA with getting astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars in the 2030s, rather than focus on returning to the moon.
Despite suffering from the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; also known as Lou Gehrig's disease), Hawking remains one of the world's most prominent astrophysicists. He has also publicly pondered humanity's place in the universe — especially whether or not we are alone.
Hawking made some waves last year by suggesting in a televised science program that our species shouldn't be so unqualifyingly eager to make contact with advanced alien civilizations. There's no guarantee that such aliens will be friendly, he stressed — it's possible they may want to strip-mine our planet for resources rather than make friends.
The recent meeting between the two space pioneers apparently made a big impression on Aldrin.
"I've always tremendously admired Stephen Hawking and the impact of his work on increasing our understanding of the universe," Aldrin said. "Our three-hour encounter was of the most wonderful and unusual kind, with a bit of delving into the mysteries of stars."
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Discovery Comes Home Today- For Last Time
OzarksFirst.com: Discovery Comes Home Today- For Last Time
Fair weather is expected today at Kennedy Space Station in Florida where shuttle Discovery is set to touch down at noon.
The 13 day mission is the last one expected for Discovery.
It's the end of a nearly 27-year flying career as the shuttle Discovery is coming back to earth for a final time.
"And I think that everybody knows that our shuttle fleet was named after great ships of exploration. We wanted to carry on that heritage, the legacy of that name, and I think this Discovery has done that with flying colors," says astronaut Michael Barratt.
Ferrying 250 astronauts back and forth, while orbiting the earth more than 5,500 times.
That's nearly 143 million miles.
"Five or ten years from now, they're going to look back and go, 'How did we ever build a vehicle that could do all these things?" predicts astronaut Alvin Drew.
NASA will spend several months decommissioning Discovery, then send it to the Smithsonian Institution.
"The public can see the shuttle through the various lenses of all of the thousands of people across the country that worked on the space shuttle program and get a true picture of what it was like to work on this vehicle," Discovery commander Steven Lindsey.
Discovery is the first of NASA's three shuttles to be retired.
Many at NASA contend the fleet still has lots of flying lifetime left.
But with the end of the program, scores of jobs at NASA and its contractors will be lost.
"As a program, especially a large program like the space shuttle program is winding down, a lot of folks are being laid off and going on to work in other programs and other areas," says Kirk Shireman, NASA's program director.
As the space program winds down, two shuttle launches remain; Endeavour next month and Atlantis at the end of June.
Fair weather is expected today at Kennedy Space Station in Florida where shuttle Discovery is set to touch down at noon.
The 13 day mission is the last one expected for Discovery.
It's the end of a nearly 27-year flying career as the shuttle Discovery is coming back to earth for a final time.
"And I think that everybody knows that our shuttle fleet was named after great ships of exploration. We wanted to carry on that heritage, the legacy of that name, and I think this Discovery has done that with flying colors," says astronaut Michael Barratt.
Ferrying 250 astronauts back and forth, while orbiting the earth more than 5,500 times.
That's nearly 143 million miles.
"Five or ten years from now, they're going to look back and go, 'How did we ever build a vehicle that could do all these things?" predicts astronaut Alvin Drew.
NASA will spend several months decommissioning Discovery, then send it to the Smithsonian Institution.
"The public can see the shuttle through the various lenses of all of the thousands of people across the country that worked on the space shuttle program and get a true picture of what it was like to work on this vehicle," Discovery commander Steven Lindsey.
Discovery is the first of NASA's three shuttles to be retired.
Many at NASA contend the fleet still has lots of flying lifetime left.
But with the end of the program, scores of jobs at NASA and its contractors will be lost.
"As a program, especially a large program like the space shuttle program is winding down, a lot of folks are being laid off and going on to work in other programs and other areas," says Kirk Shireman, NASA's program director.
As the space program winds down, two shuttle launches remain; Endeavour next month and Atlantis at the end of June.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
William Shatner, aka Capt. Kirk, surprises Discovery space shuttle crew with wake-up call
New York Daily News: William Shatner, aka Capt. Kirk, surprises Discovery space shuttle crew with wake-up call
The crew of the space shuttle Discovery got a wake-up call from a familiar voice Monday urging them to boldly go where no man has gone before.
"Space, the final frontier," actor William Shatner began in his 3:23 a.m. call to the snoozing astronauts.
Reprising his role as James Kirk, caption of the fictional Starship Enterprise from the original "Star Trek" TV series, Shatner milked the melodrama of the moment.
"These have been the voyages of the space shuttle Discovery," the 79-year-old actor intoned. "Her 30-year mission: To seek out new science. To build new outposts. To bring nations together on the final frontier. To boldly go, and do, what no spacecraft has done before,"
As Shatner spoke, the "Theme from Star Trek" played in the background.
Alas, the Discovery won't be boldly going anywhere after this, it's final scheduled mission.
It has made 39 flights and 13 journeys to the International Space Station. But it's going to be mothballed after it lands at Florida's Kennedy Space Center at noon Wednesday.
And the nearly three-decade shuttle program is scheduled to end later this year.
The crew of the space shuttle Discovery got a wake-up call from a familiar voice Monday urging them to boldly go where no man has gone before.
"Space, the final frontier," actor William Shatner began in his 3:23 a.m. call to the snoozing astronauts.
Reprising his role as James Kirk, caption of the fictional Starship Enterprise from the original "Star Trek" TV series, Shatner milked the melodrama of the moment.
"These have been the voyages of the space shuttle Discovery," the 79-year-old actor intoned. "Her 30-year mission: To seek out new science. To build new outposts. To bring nations together on the final frontier. To boldly go, and do, what no spacecraft has done before,"
As Shatner spoke, the "Theme from Star Trek" played in the background.
Alas, the Discovery won't be boldly going anywhere after this, it's final scheduled mission.
It has made 39 flights and 13 journeys to the International Space Station. But it's going to be mothballed after it lands at Florida's Kennedy Space Center at noon Wednesday.
And the nearly three-decade shuttle program is scheduled to end later this year.
NASA Still Considering a New Report of Life from Space
BlogCritic.org, SciTech: NASA Still Considering a New Report of Life from Space
A NASA scientist, Richard Hoover, an astrobiologist at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, claims to have found tiny fossils inside meteorites recovered from the Spanish Ebro Delta waterway. He found the remains of the micro-organisms during an internal inspection of three of the oldest meteorites to have yet been discovered. Hoover claims that the microbes could not be of earthly origin, because if they were there would be traces or evidence of nitrogen in and around the objects from space. A meteorite is a meteor that has slammed into earth for a final rest.
I concede some skepticism. The theory of “panspermia,”which suggests that life on our Earth originated elsewhere, has never been my cup of tea. Life had to develop somewhere, so, why not here? I see it as the suggestion of a sort of astronomical inferiority complex. But I also concede some interest in the idea that life in all its forms transmits through space; not with a single starting point, but with some unknown evolution, distributing itself through the universe. This idea is within the sphere of interest of astrobiology, and NASA astrobiologists continue to assess the possibility.
Hoover asserts that the fossils are the remains of extraterrestrial life forms that grew on the parent bodies of the meteorites when liquid water was present, long before the meteorites entered the Earth's atmosphere. A finding of bacteria, if indeed from deep space, is a radical notion. Bacteria are not life forms that thrive in isolation. Bacteria as a rule live in the guts of animals and humans, or on the roots of certain plants, and, in our experience, convert nitrogen to something more usable. The bacteria we know are among those sustaining mechanisms that break down waste organic material, dispose of it, and make for a viable environment. Bacteria are extremely flexible, owing perhaps to their millions of years of development, and have a capacity for rapid growth, reproduction, and a very long age span. The oldest known bacteria fossils are about three and a half billion years old.
David McKay, another NASA researcher, claimed Martian life inside a meteorite found in Antarctica in 1984. Scientists tell us that five trillion Martian rocks have over time fallen to Earth. They estimate that tons of Martian material must have come to land on Earth, although only a few Martian meteorites have been found.
Rudy Schild, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics and editor of the Journal of Cosmology, which carried Hoover's report, said: "The implications are that life is everywhere, and that life on Earth may have come from other planets." Dr. Hoover says, "I believe these findings indicate that life is not restricted to Earth, but is broadly distributed, even outside our solar system."
A NASA scientist, Richard Hoover, an astrobiologist at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, claims to have found tiny fossils inside meteorites recovered from the Spanish Ebro Delta waterway. He found the remains of the micro-organisms during an internal inspection of three of the oldest meteorites to have yet been discovered. Hoover claims that the microbes could not be of earthly origin, because if they were there would be traces or evidence of nitrogen in and around the objects from space. A meteorite is a meteor that has slammed into earth for a final rest.
I concede some skepticism. The theory of “panspermia,”which suggests that life on our Earth originated elsewhere, has never been my cup of tea. Life had to develop somewhere, so, why not here? I see it as the suggestion of a sort of astronomical inferiority complex. But I also concede some interest in the idea that life in all its forms transmits through space; not with a single starting point, but with some unknown evolution, distributing itself through the universe. This idea is within the sphere of interest of astrobiology, and NASA astrobiologists continue to assess the possibility.
Hoover asserts that the fossils are the remains of extraterrestrial life forms that grew on the parent bodies of the meteorites when liquid water was present, long before the meteorites entered the Earth's atmosphere. A finding of bacteria, if indeed from deep space, is a radical notion. Bacteria are not life forms that thrive in isolation. Bacteria as a rule live in the guts of animals and humans, or on the roots of certain plants, and, in our experience, convert nitrogen to something more usable. The bacteria we know are among those sustaining mechanisms that break down waste organic material, dispose of it, and make for a viable environment. Bacteria are extremely flexible, owing perhaps to their millions of years of development, and have a capacity for rapid growth, reproduction, and a very long age span. The oldest known bacteria fossils are about three and a half billion years old.
David McKay, another NASA researcher, claimed Martian life inside a meteorite found in Antarctica in 1984. Scientists tell us that five trillion Martian rocks have over time fallen to Earth. They estimate that tons of Martian material must have come to land on Earth, although only a few Martian meteorites have been found.
Rudy Schild, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics and editor of the Journal of Cosmology, which carried Hoover's report, said: "The implications are that life is everywhere, and that life on Earth may have come from other planets." Dr. Hoover says, "I believe these findings indicate that life is not restricted to Earth, but is broadly distributed, even outside our solar system."
Who Wants a Pre-Owned Shuttle? Everyone.
The New York Times: Space & Cosmos: Who Wants a Pre-Owned Shuttle? Everyone.
Condition: 27 years old, 150 million miles traveled, somewhat dinged but well maintained.
Price: $0.
Dealer preparation and destination charges: $28.8 million.
So, does anyone want to buy a used space shuttle?
Yes, it turns out. This old vehicle — the space shuttle Discovery — is an object of fervent desire for museums around of the country, which would love to add it or one of its mates, the Endeavour and the Atlantis, to their collections. (Financing terms can be arranged with NASA.)
The Discovery is to return from orbit on Wednesday, concluding its 39th flight and its space-faring career, but it will make at least one more ascent — piggyback on a 747 airplane — to its resting place for public display. NASA will announce the final destinations for the three soon-to-be-retired shuttles on April 12, the 30th anniversary of the first space shuttle launching.
Some of the competing institutions have been campaigning energetically.
The visitor center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston hired a marketing firm and set up a Web site, bringtheshuttlehome.com. Houston, the marketers argue, is the location of NASA’s Mission Control, which guides the shuttles during flight. For the Texans, owning a space shuttle would be “the modern-day equivalent of housing Columbus’ famed ships — the Nina, the Pinta or the Santa Maria,” the Web site states.
The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan has collected more than 150,000 names on a petition urging that one of the shuttles be placed there. “New York City would make an ideal home for one of these retiring shuttles,” the campaign asserts, noting that the spacecraft would be “prominently displayed” on Pier 86 in Manhattan.
The Museum of Flight in Seattle has perhaps gone the furthest: this week, it erected the first wall of a new $12 million wing to house the shuttle it may never get. The museum’s “shuttle boosters” Web site argues that Seattle has “the right stuff” because the Boeing 747 was built there and 27 shuttle astronauts have called Washington home. (Officials at the Seattle museum say they have planned for the possibility of not getting a shuttle and would fill the space with other space artifacts.)
No one knows if these efforts, or dueling letters from various members of Congress, are exerting any sway on the top decision-maker at NASA, Major General Charles F. Bolden Jr., who has said that he alone will decide where the shuttles end up.
NASA says that 21 institutions have submitted proposals.
“We’re waiting,” said Susan Marenoff, president of the Intrepid Museum. “We’re hoping.”
Other hopefuls include the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the launching site of all of the shuttle missions; the California Science Center in Los Angeles; and the Museum of the United States Air Force, near Dayton, Ohio, which got a boost from President Obama’s budget request for 2012 seeking $14 million to send a shuttle there.
“There are more favorites than there are shuttles,” said Robert Pearlman, editor of CollectSpace.com, a Web site geared to space history enthusiasts.
After the Discovery lands, only two shuttle flights remain. The Endeavour is scheduled to launch in April, and the Atlantis in June. Then the three will become museum pieces, with delivery expected next year. Each weighs about 170,000 pounds and is 122 feet long, with a wingspan of 78 feet.
There is also a fourth orbiter, the Enterprise, which was used for early glide tests but never went to space. The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has the Enterprise on display at its spacious Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport.
A couple of years ago, NASA inquired if any museums or other institutions had an interest in acquiring one of the three flying space shuttles. Potential bidders were told that educational programs had to accompany the exhibits, and that the shuttles had to reside in an indoor, climate-controlled environment. (NASA does not want to repeat the mistake at the end of the Apollo era, when the remaining Saturn V rockets rusted and decayed outdoors.)
Since then, NASA has been mostly silent.
“We’ve not been contacted since we submitted,” said Richard E. Allen Jr., chief executive of Space Center Houston, the visitor center at Johnson.
After it lands, the Discovery will go through a month of routine post-flight rituals, like the removal of payloads. But then, instead of beginning preparations for another flight, workers will start primping it for its new life as a tourist attraction. That work — which accounts for most of the $28.8 million that NASA is charging — will include cleaning or removing parts that have been contaminated by toxic propellants, and will likely take nine months to a year.
The Discovery will probably end up at the Air and Space Museum. NASA offered it there three years ago, but the Smithsonian has been reticent about whether it will accept. A museum spokeswoman offered only a short statement: “The museum is involved in discussions with NASA about transfer of the orbiter and other artifacts from the shuttle program. The final disposition of shuttle artifacts will be the decision of NASA.”
After concerns that the Smithsonian could not afford $28.8 million, Congress, in a budget bill passed in December, included a clause that specifically excuses the Smithsonian from those costs. If NASA offered a shuttle to the Smithsonian, the bill decreed, it would be “at no or nominal cost.”
The visitor complex at the Kennedy Space Center has proposed what would probably the most ambitious display: While most of the museums would have the orbiter sitting on the ground and build a fancy hangar around it, Kennedy would like to suspend it horizontally as if it were in Earth’s orbit, with the payload doors open and the robotic arm sticking out. It would the centerpiece of a $100 million, 64,000-square-foot exhibit that would open in the second half of 2013.
“We want to show it in flight,” said William Moore, the chief operating officer of the visitor center, which operates under contract with NASA without government funding, “and so the exhibit is really based around the shuttle working, because it’s a working vehicle and has done a lot of great things.”
Mr. Moore said he was confident that his institution would be one of the recipients. “You should be sure to call me back on April the 13th about how we feel when we get an orbiter,” he said.
However, for all his confidence, Mr. Moore admitted that he had no idea what General Bolden was thinking. “We read the newspaper a lot,” he said. “NASA has been very close-lipped about this. We really don’t have any inside scoop at all.”
Condition: 27 years old, 150 million miles traveled, somewhat dinged but well maintained.
Price: $0.
Dealer preparation and destination charges: $28.8 million.
So, does anyone want to buy a used space shuttle?
Yes, it turns out. This old vehicle — the space shuttle Discovery — is an object of fervent desire for museums around of the country, which would love to add it or one of its mates, the Endeavour and the Atlantis, to their collections. (Financing terms can be arranged with NASA.)
The Discovery is to return from orbit on Wednesday, concluding its 39th flight and its space-faring career, but it will make at least one more ascent — piggyback on a 747 airplane — to its resting place for public display. NASA will announce the final destinations for the three soon-to-be-retired shuttles on April 12, the 30th anniversary of the first space shuttle launching.
Some of the competing institutions have been campaigning energetically.
The visitor center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston hired a marketing firm and set up a Web site, bringtheshuttlehome.com. Houston, the marketers argue, is the location of NASA’s Mission Control, which guides the shuttles during flight. For the Texans, owning a space shuttle would be “the modern-day equivalent of housing Columbus’ famed ships — the Nina, the Pinta or the Santa Maria,” the Web site states.
The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan has collected more than 150,000 names on a petition urging that one of the shuttles be placed there. “New York City would make an ideal home for one of these retiring shuttles,” the campaign asserts, noting that the spacecraft would be “prominently displayed” on Pier 86 in Manhattan.
The Museum of Flight in Seattle has perhaps gone the furthest: this week, it erected the first wall of a new $12 million wing to house the shuttle it may never get. The museum’s “shuttle boosters” Web site argues that Seattle has “the right stuff” because the Boeing 747 was built there and 27 shuttle astronauts have called Washington home. (Officials at the Seattle museum say they have planned for the possibility of not getting a shuttle and would fill the space with other space artifacts.)
No one knows if these efforts, or dueling letters from various members of Congress, are exerting any sway on the top decision-maker at NASA, Major General Charles F. Bolden Jr., who has said that he alone will decide where the shuttles end up.
NASA says that 21 institutions have submitted proposals.
“We’re waiting,” said Susan Marenoff, president of the Intrepid Museum. “We’re hoping.”
Other hopefuls include the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the launching site of all of the shuttle missions; the California Science Center in Los Angeles; and the Museum of the United States Air Force, near Dayton, Ohio, which got a boost from President Obama’s budget request for 2012 seeking $14 million to send a shuttle there.
“There are more favorites than there are shuttles,” said Robert Pearlman, editor of CollectSpace.com, a Web site geared to space history enthusiasts.
After the Discovery lands, only two shuttle flights remain. The Endeavour is scheduled to launch in April, and the Atlantis in June. Then the three will become museum pieces, with delivery expected next year. Each weighs about 170,000 pounds and is 122 feet long, with a wingspan of 78 feet.
There is also a fourth orbiter, the Enterprise, which was used for early glide tests but never went to space. The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has the Enterprise on display at its spacious Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport.
A couple of years ago, NASA inquired if any museums or other institutions had an interest in acquiring one of the three flying space shuttles. Potential bidders were told that educational programs had to accompany the exhibits, and that the shuttles had to reside in an indoor, climate-controlled environment. (NASA does not want to repeat the mistake at the end of the Apollo era, when the remaining Saturn V rockets rusted and decayed outdoors.)
Since then, NASA has been mostly silent.
“We’ve not been contacted since we submitted,” said Richard E. Allen Jr., chief executive of Space Center Houston, the visitor center at Johnson.
After it lands, the Discovery will go through a month of routine post-flight rituals, like the removal of payloads. But then, instead of beginning preparations for another flight, workers will start primping it for its new life as a tourist attraction. That work — which accounts for most of the $28.8 million that NASA is charging — will include cleaning or removing parts that have been contaminated by toxic propellants, and will likely take nine months to a year.
The Discovery will probably end up at the Air and Space Museum. NASA offered it there three years ago, but the Smithsonian has been reticent about whether it will accept. A museum spokeswoman offered only a short statement: “The museum is involved in discussions with NASA about transfer of the orbiter and other artifacts from the shuttle program. The final disposition of shuttle artifacts will be the decision of NASA.”
After concerns that the Smithsonian could not afford $28.8 million, Congress, in a budget bill passed in December, included a clause that specifically excuses the Smithsonian from those costs. If NASA offered a shuttle to the Smithsonian, the bill decreed, it would be “at no or nominal cost.”
The visitor complex at the Kennedy Space Center has proposed what would probably the most ambitious display: While most of the museums would have the orbiter sitting on the ground and build a fancy hangar around it, Kennedy would like to suspend it horizontally as if it were in Earth’s orbit, with the payload doors open and the robotic arm sticking out. It would the centerpiece of a $100 million, 64,000-square-foot exhibit that would open in the second half of 2013.
“We want to show it in flight,” said William Moore, the chief operating officer of the visitor center, which operates under contract with NASA without government funding, “and so the exhibit is really based around the shuttle working, because it’s a working vehicle and has done a lot of great things.”
Mr. Moore said he was confident that his institution would be one of the recipients. “You should be sure to call me back on April the 13th about how we feel when we get an orbiter,” he said.
However, for all his confidence, Mr. Moore admitted that he had no idea what General Bolden was thinking. “We read the newspaper a lot,” he said. “NASA has been very close-lipped about this. We really don’t have any inside scoop at all.”
Planetary exploration report sets funding sights on Mars
Science Fair: Planetary exploration report sets funding sights on Mars
Planetary scientists called for Mars exploration as a top priority, budget woes permitting, followed by a visit to Jupiter's moon, Europa, in a survey of the next decade's most promising space missions.
The National Research Council's "Visions and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022," report calls for the multi-billion dollar flagship missions that would "provide a steady stream of important new discoveries about the solar system," according to a statement. Such decadal surveys, made with review by expert panels and independent cost estimates of missions, are the way astronomy as a discipline calls for new spacecraft. Noting budget shortfalls at NASA, the survey contains back-up recommendations for planetary exploration missions.
And that may be the best case. "The U.S. Administration and Congress are not providing the once-promised support for space exploration," says The Planetary Society in a statement commenting on the survey. "The budget assumed by the decadal survey will not be provided."
With full funding of NASA, the report calls for three large missions :
Mars Astrobiology Explorer Cacher (MAX-C) -- "a mission to Mars that could help determine whether the planet ever supported life," should be the top priority if NASA can keep its cost to $2.5 billion, about $1 billion less than the report panel's estimate.
Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO)-- an explorer of Jupiter's ice-crusted Europa, estimated at $4.7 billion.
Uranus Orbiter and Probe mission "to investigate that planet's interior structure, atmosphere, and composition" started by 2022 for $2.7 billion.
In the case that the space agency doesn't see its exploration budget increased, the panel suggests NASA fund two smaller missions to planets, eschewing the more expensive Mars lander and Europa orbiter.
"In these tough economic times, some difficult choices may have to be made. With that in mind, our priority missions were carefully selected based on their potential to yield the most scientific benefit per dollar spent," said astronomer Steven Squyres of Cornell University, the chair of the committee that wrote the report, in a statement.
Planetary scientists called for Mars exploration as a top priority, budget woes permitting, followed by a visit to Jupiter's moon, Europa, in a survey of the next decade's most promising space missions.
The National Research Council's "Visions and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022," report calls for the multi-billion dollar flagship missions that would "provide a steady stream of important new discoveries about the solar system," according to a statement. Such decadal surveys, made with review by expert panels and independent cost estimates of missions, are the way astronomy as a discipline calls for new spacecraft. Noting budget shortfalls at NASA, the survey contains back-up recommendations for planetary exploration missions.
And that may be the best case. "The U.S. Administration and Congress are not providing the once-promised support for space exploration," says The Planetary Society in a statement commenting on the survey. "The budget assumed by the decadal survey will not be provided."
With full funding of NASA, the report calls for three large missions :
Mars Astrobiology Explorer Cacher (MAX-C) -- "a mission to Mars that could help determine whether the planet ever supported life," should be the top priority if NASA can keep its cost to $2.5 billion, about $1 billion less than the report panel's estimate.
Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO)-- an explorer of Jupiter's ice-crusted Europa, estimated at $4.7 billion.
Uranus Orbiter and Probe mission "to investigate that planet's interior structure, atmosphere, and composition" started by 2022 for $2.7 billion.
In the case that the space agency doesn't see its exploration budget increased, the panel suggests NASA fund two smaller missions to planets, eschewing the more expensive Mars lander and Europa orbiter.
"In these tough economic times, some difficult choices may have to be made. With that in mind, our priority missions were carefully selected based on their potential to yield the most scientific benefit per dollar spent," said astronomer Steven Squyres of Cornell University, the chair of the committee that wrote the report, in a statement.
Monday, March 7, 2011
25th Space Studies Program to Convene on the Florida Space Coast
SpaceRef: 25th Space Studies Program to Convene on the Florida Space Coast
ISU is proud to announce that it will hold its 25th annual Space Studies Program (SSP) session at the Florida Institute of Technology and the NASA Kennedy Space Center, in Melbourne, Florida, USA from
June 4 to August 3, 2012.
The selection of the United States Space Coast seems a natural fit to convene the 25th session of the Space Studies Program as the US gateway to exploring, discovering and understanding our universe.
"Few places on Earth symbolize both the history of space flight and the exciting transition to new missions and methods for its future as well as Central Florida. We are thrilled to partner with the Florida Institute of Technology and Kennedy Space Center to help a new generation of space pioneers prepare for the voyage ahead" says Michael Simpson, ISU President.
Located in Melbourne, on Florida's central east coast, the Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech) is an independent technological university that provides quality education, furthers knowledge through basic and applied research, and serves the diverse needs of our local, state, national and international constituencies.
"The Florida Tech community is looking forward to the 25th annual Space Studies Program," said T. Dwayne McCay, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Florida Tech. "For more than 50 years, the educational mission of our university have been closely linked to NASA and space-related research. As our world prepares for the next steps in space, Florida Tech is pleased to support the ongoing efforts that will lead us all to new frontiers of discovery."
NASA's mission is to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research. Since its inception, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has played an integral role in the work performed by NASA. For three decades, NASA's Space Shuttle fleet safely carried hundreds of astronauts on dozens of successful missions, which resulted in immeasurable scientific gains. Every manned space flight mission, including all of the Space Shuttle missions, was launched from KSC.
KSC Center Director, Bob Cabana, quote: "Kennedy Space Center is looking forward to hosting the 2012 session of the ISU Space Studies Prog
ram in partnership with the Florida Institute of Technology. This is an amazing opportunity, not only for the students participating in the Space Studies Program, but for employees of KSC to share their knowledge and experiences with an international network of leading space experts and professionals."
ISU provides an interdisciplinary education in the context of an intercultural and international environment to support the development of future leaders in the world space community. The SSP offers its participants a unique and comprehensive education covering all aspects of space programs and enterprises including space physical sciences, space systems engineering, policy and law, business and management, space and society, satellite applications, and space life sciences and human spaceflight.
Each summer ISU offers this intense nine-week course designed for post-graduate university students and professionals of all experience levels and disciplines. The site of the SSP changes annually, making it a unique educational concept and building on the fundamental ISU tenant of an international experience.
Angie Bukley, ISU Associate Dean and SSP Director points out: "The superior academic and research facilities at Florida Tech coupled with those of KSC will provide the perfect learning laboratory for the SSP12 participants. We are profoundly pleased with the level of support that the Florida Tech faculty and KSC scientists have committed to the program. SSP12 will certainly be memorable both for its location and for the quality of the academic experience."
The SSP core lecture series serves as the foundation on which the more in-depth activities undertaken in the seven departments are built. The team projects provide the participants with an international and intercultural team working experience wherein they must not only refine the topic as a team, but also produce professional quality reports and final presentations, all in the span of a few weeks.
"The Florida Institute of Technology was founded in 1958 to provide advanced education to scientists, engineers and technicians working at what is now NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center. Nowadays, the University offers a variety of degrees both undergraduate and graduate in engineering, science, aeronautics, mathematics, business and psychology. ISU-SSP-12 is a major endeavor to the fertilization of the excellent collaboration between Florida Tech and KSC," said Dr. Guy A. Boy, Chair of the ISU-SSP-12 Florida Tech/KSC Organizing Committee.
ISU is proud to announce that it will hold its 25th annual Space Studies Program (SSP) session at the Florida Institute of Technology and the NASA Kennedy Space Center, in Melbourne, Florida, USA from
June 4 to August 3, 2012.
The selection of the United States Space Coast seems a natural fit to convene the 25th session of the Space Studies Program as the US gateway to exploring, discovering and understanding our universe.
"Few places on Earth symbolize both the history of space flight and the exciting transition to new missions and methods for its future as well as Central Florida. We are thrilled to partner with the Florida Institute of Technology and Kennedy Space Center to help a new generation of space pioneers prepare for the voyage ahead" says Michael Simpson, ISU President.
Located in Melbourne, on Florida's central east coast, the Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech) is an independent technological university that provides quality education, furthers knowledge through basic and applied research, and serves the diverse needs of our local, state, national and international constituencies.
"The Florida Tech community is looking forward to the 25th annual Space Studies Program," said T. Dwayne McCay, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Florida Tech. "For more than 50 years, the educational mission of our university have been closely linked to NASA and space-related research. As our world prepares for the next steps in space, Florida Tech is pleased to support the ongoing efforts that will lead us all to new frontiers of discovery."
NASA's mission is to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research. Since its inception, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has played an integral role in the work performed by NASA. For three decades, NASA's Space Shuttle fleet safely carried hundreds of astronauts on dozens of successful missions, which resulted in immeasurable scientific gains. Every manned space flight mission, including all of the Space Shuttle missions, was launched from KSC.
KSC Center Director, Bob Cabana, quote: "Kennedy Space Center is looking forward to hosting the 2012 session of the ISU Space Studies Prog
ram in partnership with the Florida Institute of Technology. This is an amazing opportunity, not only for the students participating in the Space Studies Program, but for employees of KSC to share their knowledge and experiences with an international network of leading space experts and professionals."
ISU provides an interdisciplinary education in the context of an intercultural and international environment to support the development of future leaders in the world space community. The SSP offers its participants a unique and comprehensive education covering all aspects of space programs and enterprises including space physical sciences, space systems engineering, policy and law, business and management, space and society, satellite applications, and space life sciences and human spaceflight.
Each summer ISU offers this intense nine-week course designed for post-graduate university students and professionals of all experience levels and disciplines. The site of the SSP changes annually, making it a unique educational concept and building on the fundamental ISU tenant of an international experience.
Angie Bukley, ISU Associate Dean and SSP Director points out: "The superior academic and research facilities at Florida Tech coupled with those of KSC will provide the perfect learning laboratory for the SSP12 participants. We are profoundly pleased with the level of support that the Florida Tech faculty and KSC scientists have committed to the program. SSP12 will certainly be memorable both for its location and for the quality of the academic experience."
The SSP core lecture series serves as the foundation on which the more in-depth activities undertaken in the seven departments are built. The team projects provide the participants with an international and intercultural team working experience wherein they must not only refine the topic as a team, but also produce professional quality reports and final presentations, all in the span of a few weeks.
"The Florida Institute of Technology was founded in 1958 to provide advanced education to scientists, engineers and technicians working at what is now NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center. Nowadays, the University offers a variety of degrees both undergraduate and graduate in engineering, science, aeronautics, mathematics, business and psychology. ISU-SSP-12 is a major endeavor to the fertilization of the excellent collaboration between Florida Tech and KSC," said Dr. Guy A. Boy, Chair of the ISU-SSP-12 Florida Tech/KSC Organizing Committee.
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