Space talk at the Figge Art Museum

From Quad-Cities Online:  Space talk at the Figge Art Museum

Art talk highlights the challenges of reaching space

Davenport, IOWA (July 2012) The Figge Art Museum presents the art talk "Physics 101: The Challenges of Reaching Space" at 7 pm Thursday, August 2.Brett McCarty will lead the talk and focus on the obstacles that NASA has had to overcome in their quest to explore outer space. The talk is offered in conjunction with the special exhibition NASA | ART: 50 Years of Exploration and is free with Figge membership or paid admission.

Mr. McCarty's talk will look at some of the scientific and economic challenges that have faced the NASA program, including the high cost of sending material to space, the challenges of gravity, the biological effects of zero-gravity, sustaining life in orbit and the hazards of radiation and space debris. The talk will also focus the technologies and studies that assisted in NASA's missions to space.

Participants can also expect to have Mr. McCarty dispel some commonmisconceptions during the talk. "Despite the popular belief, the gravity in space is not actually 'zero gravity.' Instead, it is more accurately described as micro-gravity and orbiting the earth is actually like skydiving only you never hit the earth," explained Mr. McCarty.

Brett McCarty is an adjunct physics instructor, specializing in condensed matter physics, at St. Ambrose University. He received his master's in science from Iowa State University.

About NASA | ART: 50 Years of Exploration

In celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2008, NASA collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum on the exhibition NASA | ART: 50 Years of Exploration. Drawn from the collections of NASA and the National Air and Space Museum, the exhibition features 72 works of art commissioned by the NASA Art Program. Established soon after theinception of the U.S. space program in 1958, NASA's Art Program provides a unique way to communicate the accomplishments, setbacks, and sheer excitement of space exploration to the public. The selected works span the entire history of NASA and include paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, and other media by such artists as Annie Leibovitz, Nam June Paik, Robert Rauschenberg, Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol, William Wegman and Jamie Wyeth.

NASA | ART at the Figge Art Museum is generously sponsored by the ALCOA Foundation, John Deere, Genesis Health Systems and Cobham, plc.

NASA | ART was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in cooperation with the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. The Smithsonian Community Grant program, funded by MetLife Foundation, is a proud sponsor of "NASA | ART" public programs.

 

NASA rover closing in on Mars to hunt for life clues

From Reuters:  NASA rover closing in on Mars to hunt for life clues

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA's Mars rover was on its final approach to the red planet on Sunday, heading toward a mountain that may hold clues about whether life has ever existed on Mars, officials said.

The rover, also known as Curiosity, has been careening toward Mars since its launch in November. The nuclear-powered rover the size of a compact car is expected to end its 352-million-mile (567-million-km) journey on August 6 at 1:31 a.m. EDT.

The landing zone is a 12-mile-by-4-mile (20-km-by-7-km) area inside an ancient impact basin known as Gale Crater, located near the planet's equator. The crater, one of the lowest places on Mars, has a 3-mile-high (5-km-high) mountain of what appears to be layers of sediment.

Scientists suspect the crater may have once been the floor of a lake.

If so, they believe that sediments likely filled the crater, but were carried away over time, leaving only the central mound.

Readying to travel the last stretch to its landing site, Curiosity fired its steering thrusters for six seconds early Sunday, tweaking its flight path by 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) per second.

"I will not be surprised if this was our last trajectory correction maneuver," chief navigator Tomas Martin-Mur, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement.

Curiosity is expected to hit the top of the Martian atmosphere at 1:24 a.m. EDT on August 6. If all goes as planned, seven minutes later the rover will be standing on its six wheels on the dry, dusty surface of Mars.
Landing is by no means guaranteed. To transport the one-ton rover and position it near the mound, engineers devised a complicated system that includes a 52-foot (16-metre) diameter supersonic parachute, a rocket-powered aerial platform and a so-called "sky crane" designed to lower the rover on a tether to the ground.
NASA last week successfully repositioned its Mars-orbiting Odyssey spacecraft so that it would be able to monitor Curiosity's descent and landing and radio the information back to ground controllers in as close to real time as possible.

Earth and Mars are so far apart that radio signals, which travel at the speed of light, take 13.8 minutes for a one-way journey.

 

NASA space program clears milestone review

From UPI.com: NASA space program clears milestone review

An artist rendering of the various configurations of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). Credit: NASA 

 

WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- NASA says the rocket system that will launch humans farther into space than ever before has reached a milestone by passing a major agency revue.

The Space Launch System Program completed a combined System Requirements Review and System Definition Review, which set requirements of the overall launch vehicle system, meaning SLS moves to its preliminary design phase, the agency reported.

The review set technical, performance, cost and schedule requirements to provide on-time development of the heavy-lift rocket.

The SLS is intended to launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads and provide the capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

This new heavy-lift launch vehicle will make it possible for explorers to reach beyond our current limits, to nearby asteroids, Mars and its moons and to destinations even farther across our solar system," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington.

"The in-depth assessment confirmed the basic vehicle concepts of the SLS, allowing the team to move forward and start more detailed engineering design."

SLS reached the review milestone less than 10 months after the program's inception.

"This is a pivotal moment for this program and for NASA," SLS Program Manager Todd May said. "This has been a whirlwind experience from a design standpoint.
 

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye in Fight For Space Kickstarter

From Wired.com:  Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye in Fight For Space Kickstarter

I cried on July 8, 2011, when the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched as the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program. I kept wondering why it had to come to an end and how things had gotten to a point where funding missions to space just wasn’t that important. What happened? How can we change it?

Paul Hildebrandt has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund his documentary, Fight For Space: Exploring the Future of Manned Spaceflight, which will answer those questions. It will look at how the United States space program lost its edge and why it’s so very important that we get it back.

Hildebrandt has already spent time travelling the country to meet with some notable advocates of space exploration. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, astronaut Leroy Chiao, as well as astronomers, congressmen, engineers, and authors will all be included in the final documentary. They appear in the trailer and it’s hard not to get all fired up listening to them speak.

The goal here is not to solve the problem, but to start a discussion. There are complex social, political, and economic factors that each play a role in where our space program is today, and only by understanding them can we hope to have the program rebound and inspire future generations. It’s a difficult but not impossible task to excite children about the possibilities of space exploration as the whole nation was when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon.
If you’re passionate about space exploration and long for the day when we travel beyond the moon to Mars, then head over to the Fight For Space Kickstarter page to learn more, donate, and make this valuable documentary a reality.

 

Space Exploration as Entertainment

From The Atlantic: Space Exploration as Entertainment

(If you can't see the video above, you must visit the link via a computer rather than Kindle)
Two weeks from today, NASA's latest Martian visitor, the Mars Science Laboratory (aka Curiosity) will land on the Red Planet and begin broadcasting updates from its surface.
Or so NASA hopes.

The landing will be fraught with danger to the spacecraft as it tries to keep from burning up as it slows itself down in the thin Martian atmosphere. It probably will make a safe landing, but it may not.
Last month, the space agency put out a trailer to dramatize the fear and excitement scientists have about the descent. If you haven't seen it, you can check it out above, in all its heart-pounding glory.
You might watch this and think, "Why is NASA trying to get all Hollywood on us?" I'd just remind you that space exploration broadcasts have always been very successful entertainment. Let us not forget that as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were preparing to set human feet on the surface of the moon for the very first time, they were actually talking about how to set up the cameras to capture the moment. Of course, 500 million people back on Earth were tuned in, so it's probably a good thing they got the f-stop right.

Sally Ride, first US woman in space dead at 61

From Yahoo News: Sally Ride, first US woman in space dead at 61

..Sally Ride, the first American woman to journey into space, died on Monday after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, her foundation announced. She was 61.
Ride first launched into space in 1983 aboard the Challenger shuttle, taking part in the seventh mission of US space shuttle program.
US President Barack Obama called her a "national hero and a powerful role model" who "inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars."
"Sally's life showed us that there are no limits to what we can achieve and I have no doubt that her legacy will endure for years to come," he added, in a statement offering condolences to Ride's family and friends.
NASA administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement Ride "literally changed the face of America's space program" and that "the nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers, and explorers."
The agency's deputy administrator Lori Garver added that the trailblazing astronaut was a "personal and professional role model to me and thousands of women around the world."
Tributes quickly poured in on the micro-blogging website Twitter including from women who remembered learning as young girls of Ride's pioneering flight.
"I was seven in the summer of 1983. Sally Ride was simply everything," read one. Another declared: "RIP Sally Ride -- you inspired me to believe that, as a female, anything was possible. May your journey to the stars be swift.
In an interview marking the 25th anniversary of the mission, Ride said she was so dazzled that she only later "came to appreciate what an honor it was to be selected to be the first (US woman) to get a chance to go into space."
Ride, born May 26, 1951, in southern California, earned degrees in physics and English from Stanford University.
She applied to be an astronaut at US space agency NASA in 1977, after seeing an ad in her university's student newspaper. It was the first time the space agency had allowed applications from civilians -- or from women.
Ride was one of 35 people, including just six women, chosen from a pool of 8,000 applicants.
She flew in two space missions, logging nearly 350 hours in space. However, after the Challenger explosion that killed all seven crew members, her third planned mission was grounded in 1986.
Ride served on the commission to investigate the accident, and was then assigned to NASA headquarters. She retired from the agency in 1987.
On her foundation's website, Ride said of her historic foray into space: "The thing I'll remember most about the flight is that it was fun."
According to the foundation, Ride became an advocate "inspiring young people, especially girls, to stick with their interest in science, to become scientifically literate, and to consider careers in science and engineering."
She founded Sally Ride Science in 2001, directed NASA-funded education projects, and also co-authored seven science books for children.
Ride is survived by Tam O'Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years, as well as by her mother, sister, niece and nephew.



..

Space shuttle Enterprise makes museum debut

From NBC News:  Space shuttle Enterprise makes museum debut

NEW YORK — New York City, meet space shuttle Enterprise.

On Thursday, the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on Manhattan's west side opened its new "Space Shuttle Pavilion" to the public, giving tourists and the Big Apple's residents a chance to "up-close and personal" with NASA's first prototype orbiter on board the flight deck of the converted aircraft carrier.
"As a pioneer of space exploration, an on-going American saga that the Intrepid herself played a critical role as a recovery vessel during the Mercury and Gemini programs, Enterprise embodies this museum's mission to honor our heroes, to educate the public and inspire our youth," said Bruce Mosler, co-chairman of the Intrepid.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden joined a dozen of his fellow shuttle-era astronauts — including three of the four pilots who flew Enterprise during its atmospheric approach and landing test program in 1977 — for Thursday's grand opening ceremony and ribbon cutting that was staged just outside of the shuttle's pressurized pavilion on board the Intrepid.

"I knew bringing a space shuttle to New York City was the right thing to do," Bolden told collectSPACE. "You know, it is the capital of the world when you really stop and think about it. Everybody comes to New York, so it is the right place to be." 

The museum is built into the retired U.S.S. Intrepid World War II aircraft carrier. Enterprise's exhibit sits at the front of Intrepid's flight deck, the shuttle's nose pointing toward the Hudson River.
"Placing a shuttle on top of a World War II aircraft carrier is not an easy feat, and I might be able to say we are now the only ones in the world who've made that happen," said Susan Marenoff-Zausner, the Intrepid's president.

Exhibiting Enterprise Enterprise, which never flew in space, is presented in a darkened display with dramatic blue lighting, evoking the atmosphere of flight. Backlit images and flat panel video displays surround the winged orbiter, sharing its history, the history of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program, and the advancements in aviation and aerospace that led to its development.

Visitors are welcome to walk up to, around and under the shuttle — a feature that is unique to the Intrepid's display as compared to the other exhibits for NASA's other retired orbiters. Enterprise's underbelly, which is lined with foam replicas of the space-worthy shuttles' heat shield tiles, is just 10 feet above the floor.
A raised platform at the front of the vehicle allows guests to come nose-to-nose with the Enterprise, as well as look into its crew cabin's windows and down the length of the 122 foot prototype spacecraft.

"Enterprise's arrival opens a new chapter in the story of the Intrepid museum," Ken Fisher, Intrepid's co-chairman, said. "This truly fulfills the 'space' portion of our museum's name and offers an unprecedented and unmatched tool to educate our visitors, especially our young ones."

Shuttle stars The opening of the pavilion reunited astronauts Joe Engle, Richard Truly and Fred Haise, who flew Enterprise in pairs during its eight piloted test flights made between June and October 1977.

The space shuttle's fourth pilot, Gordon Fullerton, suffered a massive stroke in 2009 and was unable to travel to New York City. His wife, Marie, represented him at the opening ceremony.

"As a naval aviator, this is truly a great place to be," said Haise, speaking on behalf of his fellow Enterprise pilots. "One our compatriots, Dick Truly, this was his first ship."

Truly, who later went on to command two shuttle missions before becoming NASA Administrator, first flew F-8 single engine jets off the Intrepid during his first tour of duty with the Navy.
During the opening ceremony, Marenoff-Zausner, together with Mosler and Fisher, presented the Enterprise veterans with plaques commemorating that their names would be displayed alongside the shuttle in the form of star-shaped displays.

Also on hand for the ceremony were astronauts with ties to the Big Apple, including Karol "Bo" Bobko, who served as prime chase plane pilot for Enterprise's approach and landing test (ALT) program. Bobko was born in New York City.

NASA celebrated the pavilion's opening by bringing to the Intrepid more than 40 exhibits and activities as part of the Samsung Electronics-sponsored "SpaceFest," which the Intrepid is hosting through Sunday.

The journey continues Thursday's public opening of the Space Shuttle Pavilion is only the first step in the Intrepid's plans for Enterprise.

"The wonderful pavilion and the story that it tells is not the final leg of this journey, that is still to come," Fisher said. "The home, as wonderful as it is, is only temporary."

"The entire Intrepid team is working hard to raise the funds and develop a plan for the permanent home for Enterprise, on the grounds of this museum but not on the flight deck," he added.

The permanent facility, which is expected to open in 2 to 3 years, will enable the Intrepid to share Enterprise's story in even greater detail and to welcome even more people.

"But we're extremely proud of the exhibit we're dedicating today that allows us to showcase Enterprise immediately," Fisher explained. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but our earlier plan for Enterprise involved keeping her essentially in storage out at JFK Airport until a more permanent home could be built."

"I think having it here now and opening it today is a much better idea," Fisher said.