'My Voyager' by artist Peter Hennessey

If you think about it, spacecraft are kind of ethereal in that once they are launched into space, we don't ever see them again. Australian artist Peter Hennessey has created life-size wooden sculptures of several different spacecraft, giving people the chance to see and touch these objects that are immediately recognizable but which we will never actually experience. Hennessey says he wanted to "reverse the virtualization of physical things" by creating life-size reproductions of the spacecraft such as the Voyager space probe, Apollo Lunar Rover, the Hubble Space Telescope, and more. From Hennessey's website: "By 're-enacting' space traveling, scientific and military objects in plywood, galvanized steel and canvas, the artist creates 'stand-ins' that allow the viewer to contemplate their physical, symbolic and historical resonances as well as the political processes that they represent."

I just think they are really cool, and I'd love to see them – Hubble has to be huge! See below.

(...)
Read the rest of Life-size Wooden Spacecraft Sculptures (243 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Apollo, art, Hubble, moon rover, Voyager

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For the first time, astronomers have been able to directly follow the motion of an exoplanet as it moves to the other side of its host star. Credit: ESO/A.-M. Lagrange

For the first time, astronomers have been able to directly follow the motion of an exoplanet as it moves from one side of its host star to the other. The planet has the smallest orbit so far of all directly imaged exoplanets, lying almost as close to its parent star as Saturn is to the Sun. The star, beta Pictoris is only 12 million years old, and so this exoplanet confirms that gas giant planets can form very rapidly—in only a few million years—within such circumstellar disks, and experts say that this discovery validates the theory that these unique, gaseous disk structures can be used as a sort of “fingerprint” to characterize their embedded planets.

(...)
Read the rest of Exoplanet Confirms Gas Giants Can Form Quickly (563 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beta Pictoris, Beta Pictoris b, ESO, Extrasolar Planets

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Comet Hale-Bopp. Credit: E. Kolmhofer, H. Raab; Johannes-Kepler-Observatory, Linz, Austria

Most comets are thought to have originated great distances away, traveling to the inner solar system from the Oort Cloud. But new computer simulations show that many comets – including some famous ones – came from even farther: they may have been born in other solar systems. Many of the most well known comets, including Hale-Bopp (above), Halley, and, most recently, McNaught, may have formed around other stars and then were gravitationally captured by our Sun when it was still in its birth cluster. This new finding solves the mystery of how the Oort cloud formed and why it is so heavily populated with comets.
(...)
Read the rest of Many Famous Comets May be Visitors from Other Solar Systems (539 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Comets

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A South Korean rocket carrying a climate observation satellite apparently exploded 137 seconds into its flight early Thursday. The two-stage Naro rocket operated normally during and after liftoff from the country's space center, Minister of Education, Science and Technology Ahn Byong-man said. But then communications with the rocket were lost.

This is the country's second major space setback in less than a year.
(...)
Read the rest of South Korean Rocket Explodes 137 Seconds Into Flight (209 words)

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Post tags: launches, South Korea, Space Flight

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Rhea poses with Saturn's rings; Janus and Prometheus are off in the distance. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute. Click for larger version

Oh, wow — what a gorgeous image! Just the latest from our resident artist in space, the Cassini spacecraft. Rhea, saturn's second largest moon sits in front of the rings, joined by two smaller moons in the background. Rhea (1528 kilometers, 949 miles across) is in the center foreground. Janus (179 kilometers, 111 miles across) can be seen beyond the rings on the right of the image. Prometheus (86 kilometers, 53 miles across) is visible orbiting between the main rings and the thin F ring on the left of the image. Lit terrain seen on Rhea is on the area between that moon's trailing hemisphere and anti-Saturn side. This view looks toward the northern, sunlit side of the rings from just above the ringplane.

If you like contrast images, there's a great one below.
(...)
Read the rest of Latest Wall Art from Cassini (58 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: ATLAS, Cassini, Janus, Prometheus, Rhea, Saturn

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Yesterday in Paris, ESA’s Herschel and Planck science missions were honoured by the French Association for Aeronautics and Astronautics. The association’s Grand Prix 2010 award for “outstanding space endeavours” was bestowed upon these groundbreaking missions.

Cassini orbiting Saturn. Credit: NASA

Sometimes people ask what they, as a regular citizen can do to help NASA. Emily Lakdawalla at the Planetary Society Blog posted this today, and this is definitely something to write to members of Congress about. NASA is running out of plutonium-238, which is used to power deep space probes, but it's unclear whether Congress will provide the $30 million that has been requested for the Department of Energy to start new production.

Plutonium-238 has powered dozens of spacecraft, including the Voyager probes, the Galileo mission to Jupiter, and the Cassini spacecraft that is currently sending back such amazing images of Saturn's rings and moons. Because of spacecraft powered by plutonium-238, we now know — among other things — that there are volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io and geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus.
(...)
Read the rest of Needed: Plutonium-238 (349 words)

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Post tags: NASA, Space Exploration

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This post is going to serve double duty. First of all, I forgot to mention that the answer for last week's WITU Challenge has been posted, so if you are wondering if it was either some sort of blobby nebula or a Klingon Bird of Prey decloaking, (thanks, IVAN3MAN) you can find the answer on last week's WITU post.

Now, for this week, take a look at the image above and see if you can name where in the Universe this image is from. Give yourself extra points if you can name the spacecraft responsible for the image. We provide the image today, but won’t reveal the answer until later. This gives you a chance to mull over the image and provide your answer/guess in the comment section. Please, no links or extensive explanations of what you think this is — give everyone the chance to guess.

UPDATE: The answer has now been posted below.
(...)
Read the rest of Where In The Universe #108 (54 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Where In the Universe?

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Bert's sister sent him a link to NASA's Fly Your Face in Space, which he passed to me.
It looks like you can have your picture fly on one of the last two shuttle flights and get a certificate for your keeping.
- LRK -

 ----------------
http://faceinspace.nasa.gov/
 Fly Your Face in Space

NASA wants to put a picture of you on one of the two remaining space shuttle missions and launch it into orbit. To launch your face into space and become a part of history, just follow these steps:

First...Select the Participate button at the bottom of this page and upload your image/name, which will be flown aboard the space shuttle.  Don't have a picture to upload? No problem, just skip the image upload and we will fly your name only on your selected mission!

Next...Print and save the confirmation page with your flight information.

Later...Return to this site after the landing to print your Flight Certificate - a commemorative certificate signed by the Mission Commander. You can also check on mission status, view mission photographs, link to various NASA educational resources and follow the commander and crew on Twitter or Facebook.

----------------

If you go to the "Education" tab you will be presented with a number of links to NASA items of General Interest and items for Students and Educators.
- LRK -

----------------
http://faceinspace.nasa.gov/education.aspx
Face In Space

Links
snip
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At the bottom of the above page is a link for a complete list of NASA social networking sites
- LRK -

----------------
http://www.nasa.gov/connect/
Connect and Collaborate with NASA

Connect With NASA on Social Networking Sites
Connect with NASA at...
Collaborate with NASA

snip
----------------

In looking at some of the Collaboration links I see it is already NOT politically correct to mention Lunar activities. :-(
OK, to go to Mars.
- LRK -

----------------
http://beamartian.jpl.nasa.gov/
NASA Be A Martian - Age of Virtual Exploration & the Human-Robotic Partnership

snip
----------------

Not OK to Inspire (Lunar activities)
- LRK -

----------------
http://moontasks.larc.nasa.gov/
The contest is open and will award prizes for the lunar-centric challenge that is due May 15, 2010. In light of NASA's new mission priorities, we will change the contest next fall to reflect non-lunar centric challenges.

Student Challenge:  We have expanded the contest beyond rover exploration of the lunar surface. The new challenge is to design tools and instrumentation for human and robotic exploration on the moon. The NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and the Exploration Technology Development Program encourage college students to design tools and instruments needed for future human and robotic exploration of the moon. Student projects will tackle real problems required for successful lunar missions. An expanded list of example problems will be posted to Design Challenge page soon. Check back often for new FAQ and other information.

Contest News
* NASA rover fact sheets

Moon Work Contestants visit Desert RATS near Flagstaff, AZ In September, the top three scoring teams from the 2009 Moon Work contest attended the NASA Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) lunar analog test site at Black Point Lava Flow north of Flagstaff, AZ. After touring the equipment stations at the site, the students gave a brief overview of their contest projects to a group of scientists, engineers and technicians. Joe Kosmo, D-RATS project manager, gave each of the teams an engraved award plaque to commemorate their achievement.
View more Desert RATS photos.

snip
----------------

I wonder if it will be ok to send robots to the Moon or will there be no need for these activities?
Oh, oh, don't tell anyone where they hid the box with the simulated regolith.  We wouldn't want any testing of lunar devices going on year round, no, no, --- no testing.
- LRK -

----------------
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/ipp/innovation_incubator/centennial_challenges/regolith/index.html
Centennial Challenges - NASA's Prize Program for the "Citizen Inventor"

Regolith Excavation Features
College Team Wins NASA Lunar Robot Prize

Paul’s Robotics, a team led by college student, Paul Ventimiglia of Worcester Polytechnic Institute won the $500,000 first prize in the 2009 Regolith Excavation Challenge that concluded on Oct. 18.

snip

In this challenge, teams design and build robotic machines to excavate simulated lunar soil (regolith). Excavating regolith will be an important part of any construction projects or processing of natural resources on the Moon. The robots are tested in box containing eight tons of simulated lunar regolith that is about 4 meters square and about one-half meter deep. In order to qualify for a prize, a robot must dig up and then dump at least 150 kg of regolith into a container in 30 minutes. The teams with the robots that move the most regolith will claim the three cash prizes. NASA is looking for new ideas for excavation techniques that do not require excessively heavy machines or large amounts of power. None of the teams in the 2007 or 2008 competitions were able to meet the winning criteria. Following the 2008 event, a suggestion was made to find a permanent facility for the box with the simulated lunar regolith and that home was found in the Research Park at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA.  The 2009 competition held in October in that new facility, which will also be available year-round for testing of lunar devices.

snip
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I don't suppose the Information Technology (IT) Summit will have to worry about communicating with the Moon.  Been there, done that. . . .  :-(
- LRK -

----------------
-- First NASA IT Summit to Gather Industry Leaders and Explore Tech Innovations
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=31011

"NASA's first Information Technology (IT) Summit will bring together government and industry leaders to explore the outer reaches of information technology. The summit, which takes place August 16-18 at the Gaylord National Harbor in Maryland, will gather 750 participants and more than 100 expert presenters with themes on collaboration, social networking, innovation, infrastructure, operations and IT security and privacy."
----------------

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
Comments accepted here - http://lunar-update.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=32693
 LRO Image of Apollo 17 Landing Site

STATUS REPORT
Date Released: Thursday, October 29, 2009
Source: NASA HQ

LRO maneuvered into its 50-km mapping orbit on September 15. The next pass over the Apollo 17 landing site resulted in images with more than two times better resolution than previously acquired. At the time of this recent overflight the Sun was high in the sky (28� incidence angle) helping to bring out subtle differences in surface brightness.  The descent stage of the lunar module Challenger is now clearly visible, at 50 cm per pixel (angular resolution) the descent stage deck is 8 pixels across (4 meters), also note that the legs are also now distinguishable. The descent stage served as the launch pad for the ascent stage as it blasted off for a  rendezvous with the command module America on 14 December 1972.

snip
==============================================================
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/home/index.html
Exploration at NASA

At the core of NASA's future in space exploration is a return to the moon, where we will build a sustainable, long-term human presence.

As the space shuttle approaches retirement, NASA is building the next fleet of vehicles to service the International Space Station and return humans to the moon, and possibly to Mars and beyond. In support of these efforts, ESMD is performing field tests, designing surface systems and conducting advanced human research to ensure that future missions are safe, sustainable and affordable.

A New Space Enterprise
On February 1, 2010 the President’s Budget Request proposed a new direction for human spaceflight. In response, NASA formed study teams to investigate options for implementing these plans, if and when authorized by Congress.

Read more - http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/new_space_enterprise/home/index.html
snip
==============================================================
http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/synopsis.cgi?acqid=141491
 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION SYNOPSIS FOR EXPLORATION PRECURSOR ROBOTIC MISSIONS

Synopsis - May 21, 2010
   Modification 01 - Posted on Jun 02, 2010

snip
Ooops, due by June 11 - LRK -
http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId={17678C2E-A038-F828-ADA4-A3700DF824B4}&path=open
http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/viewrepositorydocument/cmdocumentid=232584/Robotic%20Precursor%20RFI%20Amend%201.pdf
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

==============================================================

The Luna Ring, a belt of solar collecting panels along the Moon's equator. Credit: Shimizu

Space based solar power? How about a Moon-based solar collector that would beam energy back to Earth. This is just one idea proposed by a 200-year-old Japanese construction company, Shimizu that prides itself in forward-thinking technology and structure development. For this "Luna Ring," an array of solar cells would extend like a belt along the entire 11,000 km lunar equator, and laser power transmission facilities would beam a high-energy-density laser towards receiving stations on Earth.

See more on the Luna Ring, plus plans for orbiting hotels, Moon bases, mega-pyramid cities, and more, below.
(...)
Read the rest of Japanese Firm Designing Futuristic Space Mega-Projects (493 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | 24 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: mega engineering, Technology

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Ten past and present ESA astronauts will be at the ILA international aerospace show at Berlin’s Schoenefeld on Friday 11 June. At the same time, ESA will continue its presence on its shared stand.

Follow the updates for the Hayabusa Re-entry.
Watch those looking up by whatever means available.
- LRK -

------------------------------------------------
NASA's DC-8 Laboratory Heads to Australia for Hayabusa Re-entry - 06.07.10
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/status_reports/dc-8_status_06_07_10_prt.htm

A planeload of scientists and specialized instruments aboard NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory is scheduled to depart NASA’s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility at Palmdale, Calif., for Australia Tuesday evening, June 8, to catch a glimpse of the fiery return of a Japanese spacecraft to Earth on June 13.

The group of astronomers from NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other institutions are flying to Melbourne, Australia to make final preparations for the highly anticipated return of JAXA's Hayabusa spacecraft, which may bring back to Earth a sample of the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa. Hayabusa is expected to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and land in the Woomera Test Range in southern Australia late Sunday night, June 13.

The team of 27 astronomers will have their instruments focused out the DC-8's specialized windows as it cruises at an altitude of 39,000 feet, far above light pollution and clouds. Using their suite of spectroscopic and radiometric imaging instruments, they hope to get a clear reading on what happens during the fiery re-entry process when the spacecraft descends like an artificial meteor at more than 27,000 mph.

At the same time, ground-based observation teams will attempt to reconstruct the as-flown trajectory to correlate with the airborne imaging data.

Following its launch in 2003, Hayabusa arrived at Itokawa in September 2005 and observing the asteroid's shape, terrain, mineral composition, gravity and other aspects over the next 2  1/2  months. Hayabusa briefly touched down on Itokawa's surface that November to sample surface material.

NASA’s primary goal during the airborne mission is to study the re-entry of Hayabusa's 40-pound sample return capsule to enable heat shield designers and engineers gain technological insight for the development of NASA's future exploration vehicles.

Astronomers made similar airborne studies from NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory for the September 2008 re-entry of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle "Jules Verne," as well as the January 2006 Stardust sample return re-entry over Utah. During those missions, scientists studied the levels of radiation, light and out-gassing of the descending spacecraft, to better understand meteor and heat shield radiation mechanisms.

NASA's Science Mission Directorate is supporting the airborne observation of the Hayabusa SRC re-entry via the In-Space Propulsion Technology Project.

snip
http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1876386/dc8_flying_laboratory_heading_to_australia_for_hayabusa_reentry/
------------------------------------------------

More information and images.
- LRK -

------------------------------------------------
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/multimedia/imagegallery/DC-8/index.html
Dryden Flight Research Center

DC-8 Image Gallery

DC-8
ED10-0145-34

Hayabusa re-entry imaging mission project scientist Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute and NASA's Ames Research Center and Christina Giannopapa of the Netherlands' Eindhoven University prepare lenses for one of the specialized cameras for installation on NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory

snip
------------------------------------------------

Daily updates to Hayabusa.
- LRK -

------------------------------------------------
http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/home/hayabusa-live/
2010/06/09 12:53 JST: TCM-4 operation started, precise guidance to WPA
Category: 2010_English
Posted by: HayabusaLive
JAXA would like to announce that TCM-4 operation has commenced (12:30 June 9th, 2010 (JST)). It will take around 2 hours 30 minutes for ion thrusters to accelerate.

Hayabusa system is going well.

*TCM : Trajectory Correction Maneuver
*WPA : Woomera Prohibited Area

2010/06/09 12:53 JST: TCM-4 WPAへの精密誘導開始について
Category: News_jp
Posted by: HayabusaLive
はやぶさの運用に関して、6月9日 12:30（日本時間）にTCM-4を開始しました。
イオンエンジン噴射加速に約2時間30分を予定しています。

探査機の状態は良好です。

※TCM: Trajectory Correction Maneuver （軌道補正マヌーバ）
※WPA : Woomera Prohibited Area （豪州）

2010/06/09 09:00 JST: Today’s Hayabusa
Category: Location_jp
Posted by: HayabusaLive
Hayabusa is currently 1,989,730 km away from the Earth, located at 8h44m00s RA and
29.79 deg DEC (Constellation of Cancer), as of 00:00:00 UT, 09 Jun. 2010.
From Hayabusa’s point of view,
the Earth can be seen in a direction of Microscopium.

2010/06/09 09:00 JST: 本日の はやぶさ君
Category: Location_jp
Posted by: HayabusaLive
2010年06月09日00時00分00秒
（日本時間では、06月09日の09時00分00秒）現在のはやぶさ君は、
地球からの距離1,989,730 km、
赤経8h44m00s、赤緯29.79度(かに座)にいます。
はやぶさ君から見て地球の方向には、けんびきょう座が見えます。

2010/06/08 19:44 JST: TCM-4 operation decision
Category: 2010_English
Posted by: HayabusaLive
JAXA would like to announce that it was authorized to implement TCM-4.

It is scheduled to conduct on June 9th 12:30 (JST).

*TCM: Trajectory Correction Maneuver

2010/06/08 19:44 JST: TCM-4実施判断について
Category: News_jp
Posted by: HayabusaLive
はやぶさの運用に関して、TCM-4を実施することが決定しましたのでお知らせいたします。

なお、TCM-4は、6月9日 12:30（日本時間）開始を予定しております。

※TCM: Trajectory Correction Maneuver （軌道補正マヌーバ）

snip
------------------------------------------------

I guess we will have to make the most of what our robot/spacecraft friends can do.
And if you enjoy Power Point Presentations, we probably will be seeing more of them..
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/new_space_enterprise/home/workshop_home.html
May 25 - 26, 2010 Moody Gardens Hotel & Convention Center Galveston, TX
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
Comments accepted here - http://lunar-update.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/muses_c/index_e.html
snip
HAYABUSA, which was launched on May 9, 2003,achieved its goal of arriving at the Itokawa asteroid and performing scientific observations. As a result, its mission was featured in the scientific magazine "Science" as a first Japanese mission to illustrate various new findings about the asteroid including its gravity and surface conditions. HAYABUSA is now under preparations for its return trip to the Earth in 2010.

snip
==============================================================
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/06/20100605_hayabusa_e.html
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would like to announce that TCM-3 operation was successfully completed (1:44 p.m. June 5th, 2010 (JST)).
By this operation, Hayabusa was guided from Earth's outer rim toward WPA in Australia.

http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/muses_c/index_e.html
Launch Date 13:29, May 9, 2003 (JST)

HAYABUSA (MUSES-C) has been developed to investigate asteroids.
HAYABUSA explored an asteroid named "Itokawa," after the late Dr. Hideo Itokawa, the father of Japan’s space development program. HAYABUSA is traveling through space using an ion engine.

snip
==============================================================
http://hayabusa.jaxa.jp/e/index.html
HAYABUSA - The Final Approach  -

snip
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

==============================================================

It’s harsh, demanding, isolated and even hostile, but a unique place: Concordia research station in Antarctica. ESA is now looking for someone with medical training to join the next crew to overwinter in Concordia.

Wish the Japanese luck in retrieving the capsule.
- LRK -

------------------------------------------------
http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/muses_c/index_e.html
June 5, 2010 Updated
HAYABUSA heading to Australia
JAXA confirmed that the third trajectory correction maneuver (TCM-3) was successfully carried out for the Asteroid Explorer "HAYABUSA" at 1:44 p.m. on June 5 (Japan Standard Time.) This operation completed the guidance of the HAYABUSA from the Earth's outer rim to the Woomera Prohibited Area in South Australia.

snip
------------------------------------------------

http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/06/20100605_hayabusa_e.html
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would like to announce that TCM-3 operation was successfully completed (1:44 p.m. June 5th, 2010 (JST)).
By this operation, Hayabusa was guided from Earth's outer rim toward WPA in Australia.

http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/muses_c/index_e.html
Launch Date 13:29, May 9, 2003 (JST)

HAYABUSA (MUSES-C) has been developed to investigate asteroids.
HAYABUSA explored an asteroid named "Itokawa," after the late Dr. Hideo Itokawa, the father of Japan’s space development program.  HAYABUSA is traveling through space using an ion engine.

snip
------------------------------------------------

How long did it take the Japanese to send a spacecraft to an asteroid and back, about 7 years.
And that is with the assistance of an ion engine.
- LRK -

-------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/muses_c/index_e.html
snip
HAYABUSA, which was launched on May 9, 2003,achieved its goal of arriving at the Itokawa asteroid and performing scientific observations. As a result, its mission was featured in the scientific magazine "Science" as a first Japanese mission to illustrate various new findings about the asteroid including its gravity and surface conditions. HAYABUSA is now under preparations for its return trip to the Earth in 2010.
snip
-------------------------------------------------------------

Hmmmmm, In Russia we are practicing for a 520 day mission to Mars and back and here we have a mission to an Asteroid that took 7 years.  I wonder if we will practice that on the ground with humans who will want to twiddle their fingers for seven years to look at an asteroid up close and personal?

Radiation suits in order, hide in the water supply, tend the garden, recycle, recycle, recycle, for what, to say been there, done that?
Will we pick an asteroid that has a lot of nickel or platinum and bring it back to Earth orbit where it can be mined.  Or land it on the Moon where we won't be waiting, since we have been there already and done that.
- LRK -

http://www.permanent.com/a-geolog.htm
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http://chview.nova.org/station/ast-mine.htm
While asteroids are rich in the metals and minerals needed for needed for building space facilities, comets are rich sources of the water and carbon-based molecules needed to maintain life. According to John Lewis (a University of Arizona planetary scientist), for example, the smallest Earth-crossing asteroid 3554 Amun  (see orbit) is a mile-wide (2,000-meter) lump of iron, nickel, cobalt, platinum, and other metals; it contains 30 times as much metal as Humans have mined throughout history, although it is only the smallest of dozens of known metallic asteroids and worth perhaps US$ 20 trillion if mined slowly to meet demand at 2001 market prices.
snip
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=amun;orb=1  3554 Amun (1986 EB)
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=amun;orb=1;cov=0;log=0;cad=1#cad
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- LRK -

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http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0604/Falcon-9-launch-takes-place-after-aborted-attempt
Falcon 9 launch takes place after aborted attempt

 By Clara Moskowitz, SPACE.com Senior Writer / June 4, 2010

The brand new commercial Falcon 9 rocket soared into orbit from Florida on its maiden flight Friday, the first test for a new era of private vehicles that could one day send cargo – and possibly astronauts – into space.

snip
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Falcon 9 will at least get cargo to the ISS but then ESA can already do that and so will the Japanese and the Russians have been doing it for us for awhile.
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMDYOK26DF_index_0.html
http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/rockets/h2b/index_e.html
http://onorbit.com/node/1246
- LRK -

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http://www.spacex.com/falcon9.php
Falcon 9 User's Guide (2.9 mb)

The Falcon launch vehicle family is designed to provide breakthrough advances in reliability, cost, flight environment and time to launch.  The primary design driver is and will remain reliability, as described in more detail below. We recognize that nothing is more important than getting our customer's spacecraft safely to its intended destination.

Like Falcon 1, Falcon 9 is a two stage, liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) powered launch vehicle. It uses the same engines, structural architecture (with a wider diameter), avionics and launch system.

snip
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I wonder how I say, "to the moon" in Chinese?
I guess I should get my Chinese dictionaries down and dust them off. or use Google -
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http://translate.google.com/#en|zh-CN|to%20the%20Moon

to the moon
到月球
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- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
Comments accepted here - http://lunar-update.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
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-- Hatch closed! 18-month Mars500 mission has begun
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=30962
-- Mars500: Goodbye Sun, goodbye Earth, we are leaving for Mars!
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=34244

"Mars500, the first full-length simulated mission to Mars, started today in Moscow at 13:49 local
time (11:49 CET), when the six-man crew entered their 'spacecraft' and the hatch was closed.
The experiment will end in November 2011"

The mood was serious, intense but very determined in the Mars500 facility at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow this afternoon, as the crew of the Mars500 talked to the press and and then walked into the modules that will be their home for next 520 days.

snip
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http://spaceandtelecomlaw.unl.edu/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=152502&name=DLFE-7251.pdf
Asteroid Mining Article References
Minerals of Interest Date: 2008.08.07

snip
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http://www.nss.org/settlement/asteroids/sonter.html
The Technical and Economic Feasibility of Mining the Near-Earth Asteroids

M J Sonter. Presented at 49th International Astronautical Federation Congress, Sept 28 - Oct 2, 1998, Melbourne, Australia. Posted withpermission of the author.

snip
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Washington (AFP) June 4, 2010 - A privately owned rocket successfully blasted off on its first flight Friday, marking a significant milestone for the space industry in the race to develop commercial carriers.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket blasted off in mid-afternoon from Cape Canaveral in Florida, reaching Earth orbit as planned nine minutes into the flight.

"All in all, this has been a good day for SpaceX and a promising development for the US space program," said Robyn Ringuette of SpaceX, who provided commentary on the launch from the firm's headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

The two-stage rocket delivered the Dragon capsule, a mockup of the company's spacecraft aimed to eventually facilitate human space travel, into orbit after a 9.5-minute trip.

The first and second stage of the white, 180-foot (55-meter) tall rocket separated successfully just three minutes and six seconds into the flight.

"Congratulations to Space X on today's launch of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement.

"Space X's accomplishment is an important milestone in the commercial transportation effort and puts the company a step closer to providing cargo services to the International Space Station."

Technical glitches initially delayed the launch, including an automatic computer override of the system that led SpaceX to abort its first attempt.

The launch represented a key test in developing commercial launchers capable of ferrying cargo and astronauts to the orbiting International Space Station (ISS).

It came as President Barack Obama seeks to convince a reluctant Congress of the merits of his decision in February to cancel the Constellation program -- designed to return US to the moon by 2020 -- which effectively killed the Ares 1 rocket.

He has turned to the private sector to help fill the gap after the space shuttle fleet is grounded later this year, and before a new generation of spacecraft is developed.

Obama has proposed spending six billion dollars over five years to help the private sector develop reliable and affordable launchers to transport cargo and US astronauts to the International Space Station.

During the transition period, the United States will depend on Russian Soyuz rockets for access to the ISS -- unless the private sector can propose viable launchers.

The president visited SpaceX installations at Cape Canaveral during an April visit to the Kennedy Space Center.

SpaceX leaders emphasized that the Falcon 9 launch was just the first in a series of test flights.

"As a former Apollo astronaut, I think it's safe to say that SpaceX and the other commercial developers embody the 21st century version of the Apollo frontier spirit," said Rusty Schweickart, who served as an astronaut aboard the Apollo 9 lunar mission.

Former space shuttle astronaut Byron Lichtenberg said he expected that many more astronauts would travel in space thanks to the Falcon 9's success.

"Lower cost launches means more flights, which means more astronauts," he added.

"We've only had 500 astronauts in the history of the Space Age, but I hope to see thousands more in the decades to come."

NASA has already signed contracts with SpaceX -- or Space Exploration Technologies Corporation -- a start-up founded eight years ago by multimillionaire Elon Musk, who made his fortune by helping found and eventually sell online pay system PayPal.

The NASA contracts, signed in late 2008 and worth 3.1 billion dollars, are to deliver cargo to the ISS between 2011 and 2016.

The US space agency has also signed contracts with another company, Orbital Sciences Corp. Its Taurus II rocket is set for its first flight in 2011.

SpaceX and other upstarts would be up against industry giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which together operate United Launch Alliance (ULA), whose stable includes Atlas V and Delta 4 rockets that have logged considerable flight hours.

Washington (AFP) June 4, 2010 - SpaceX founder Elon Musk is a hard-charging former Internet entrepreneur who has channeled a dot.com fortune into a series of ambitious ventures -- from space flight to electric cars to solar energy.

Besides SpaceX, whose Falcon 9 rocket blasted off on its maiden voyage on Friday, Musk, 38, is the co-founder of electric carmaker Tesla Motors and SolarCity, a company which makes solar panels for homes and businesses.

Born in South Africa to a South African father and a Canadian mother, Musk moved to Canada in his late teens and then to the United States, earning bachelor's degrees in physics and business from the University of Pennsylvania.

After graduating from the prestigious Ivy League institution, Musk abandoned plans to pursue further studies at Stanford University and started Zip2, a company which made online publishing software for the media industry.

He banked his first millions before the age of 30 when he sold Zip2 to US computer maker Compaq for more than 300 million dollars in 1999.

Musk's next company, X.com, eventually became PayPal, the online payments firm bought by Internet auction giant eBay for 1.5 billion dollars in 2002.

Over six feet (1.8 meters) tall with a high forehead and a piercing gaze, Musk acknowledges that his personal intensity has been a key to his success.

"I believe in really pushing super hard and not giving up," Musk said in an interview with Time magazine for its latest issue on the 100 most influential people in the world.

"As long as I can see a path to success I'll keep going so long as I have the resources to do so," he said.

In 2002, Musk launched SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies Corp., where he serves as chief executive and chief technology officer, with plans to develop low-cost rockets.

The US space agency NASA has contracted SpaceX to help deliver cargo and astronauts to the Internernational Space Station while a new generation of space vehicles is being developed to replace the space shuttle.

Musk hopes to eventually send a manned mission to Mars but space flight is just one of his many passions.

Jon Favreau, director of "Iron Man," calls Musk a modern-day "Renaissance man."

In an article for Time, Favreau said that he and actor Robert Downey Jr. modeled the main character in the movie -- "genius billionaire Tony Stark" -- after the Silicon Valley star.

Musk told Time that his goal was to be "involved in things that are going to make a significant difference to the future of humanity.

"That was the motivation for getting involved in the Internet and then sustainable energy with Tesla and SolarCity," he said.

Musk founded Palo Alto, California-based Tesla in 2003 to manufacture "affordable electric vehicles for mainstream consumers."

Tesla's first vehicle, the Tesla Roadster, is a high-performance sports car which costs over 100,000 dollars and can go nearly 250 miles (400 kilometers) on a single charge.

Its owners include California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hollywood star George Clooney. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page are investors in the company.

In January, Tesla announced plans for an intial public offering of stock and Toyota said last month it was acquiring a 50-million-dollar stake in Tesla and teaming up to jointly develop electric vehicles.

Tesla is also making a "Model S" five-passenger sedan. Expected in 2012, the Model S is to sell for around 50,000 dollars.

Tesla has yet to turn a profit, however, and the company has reportedly eaten up much of Musk's once vast fortune. Musk has also poured 100 million dollars of his own money into SpaceX over the years.

Musk's financial situation has come to light in his divorce case from his Canadian-born wife, science fiction writer Justine Musk.

According to technology blog VentureBeat, Musk wrote in a February filing in their divorce case that he "ran out of cash" late last year and has been living off personal loans from friends since October 2009.

Justine Musk, mother of their five sons, which include triplets, has been chronicling the divorce proceedings on her blog, "Love, soul & vision."

One post she sarcastically titled "Golddigger" outlined her demands from her "billionaire and utterly brilliant" husband, including a request for 10 percent of his stock in Tesla and five percent of his SpaceX shares.

Baikonur, Kazakhstan (SPX) Jun 04, 2010 - International Launch Services (ILS), a leading launch services provider for the global commercial satellite industry, successfully carried the BADR-5 satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit today on an ILS Proton for Arabsat of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Arabsat is the largest satellite operator in the Middle East and North Africa and has been ranked the ninth largest satellite operator in the world.

This was the fourth ILS Proton launch and the 6th overall Proton launch this year. The BADR-5 satellite, built by EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, was also the 23nd consecutive successful Proton launch in 23 months.

The ILS Proton Breeze M launched from Pad 39 at the Cosmodrome at 4:00 a.m. today local time (6:00 p.m. EDT, 11:00 p.m. GMT). After a nine-hour, 13-minute mission, the Breeze M successfully released the BADR-5 satellite, weighing 5420 kg, into geosynchronous transfer orbit.

This was the 357th launch for Proton since its inaugural flight in 1965, and the 60th ILS Proton launch overall. The Proton Breeze M launch vehicle was developed and built by Khrunichev Research and Production Space Center of Moscow, one of the pillars of the Russian space industry and the majority shareholder in ILS.

The BADR-5 satellite was built on Astrium's E3000 platform with a Thales Alenia Space supplied communications payload. BADR-5 will be collocated with the BADR-4 and BADR-6 Direct-to-Home satellites at Arabsat's 26 degrees East longitude video "hot spot".

BADR-5 will provide the highest level of service within the MENA region. The satellite carries 56 Ku-band transponders 4 Ka-band transponders and has been designed to have a minimum expected service time of 15 years. Frank McKenna, ILS President said, "It was an honor to be entrusted to launch BADR-5, a powerful satellite and the first of Arabsat's 5th generation satellites to expand the communications capabilities for the region.

"Working with our long term partners at Astrium, Arabsat and Thales and our partner Khrunichev, this program was flawlessly coordinated from contract to launch. Our congratulations and thanks go out to the entire team for their tireless efforts and exceptional performance with this on time launch on ILS Proton. "

"This was our 14th launch with ILS," said Evert Dudok, CEO of Astrium Satellites, "and our experience with ILS and Khrunichev over the years has clearly demonstrated that they are a high performing team. As a world leader in telecommunication satellites, we are particularly pleased to be a key part of this important new step for this Arabsat mission of expansion and growth."

Mr. Khalid Balkheyour, Arabsat President and CEO said, "The launch of BADR-5 on ILS Proton was a significant event, kicking off the expansion of our fleet with the first of the new 5th generation Arabsat satellites with an unprecedented service for the MENA region.

"A special thank you to our collective teams at ILS, Khrunichev, Astrium and Thales. This satellite was launched on-time with perfect execution and will support our leadership role in the providing telecommunication services to the Arab world."

Xichang, China (XNA) Jun 04, 2010 - China successfully launched its fourth orbiter into space at 23:53 Wednesday, as a part of its indigenous satellite navigation and positioning network known as Beidou, or Compass system.

The launch was disclosed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology via a statement posted on its official website Thursday.

The satellite was launched from the Long March 3 carrier rocket.

It will join another three satellites in orbit to form a network that will eventually consist of 35 satellites, said the statement.

According to the plan, the system will provide navigation, time and short message services in the Asia and Pacific region around 2012. It will be capable of providing global navigation services by 2020.

China started to build up its own satellite navigation system to break its dependence on the U.S. GPS in 2000, when it sent two orbiters as a double-satellite experimental positioning system, known as the Beidou system.

Source: Source: Xinhua

Huntsville AL (SPX) Jun 04, 2010 - A Soviet robot lost on the dusty plains of the Moon for the past 40 years has been found again, and it is returning surprisingly strong laser pulses to Earth.

"We shined a laser on Lunokhod 1's position, and we were stunned by the power of the reflection," says Tom Murphy of UC San Diego, who leads the research team that's putting the old robot back to work. "Lunokhod 1 is talking to us loudly and clearly."

Almost forgotten in the lore of the Apollo-era space race, Lunokhod 1 was one of the greatest successes of the old Soviet lunar exploration program. In 1970, Time magazine described the robot's historic landing:

"Three hours after reaching the Moon aboard the latest unmanned Russian Moon probe, Luna 17, Lunokhod I (literally "moonwalker") lumbered down one of two ramps extended by the mother ship and moved forward ... thus taking the first giant step for robotkind on another celestial body."

The remote-controlled rover traveled almost 7 miles during its 11 month lunar tour, relaying thousands of TV images and hundreds of high-resolution panoramas of the Moon back to Earth. It also sampled and analyzed lunar soil at 500 locations.

Then Lunokhod-1 was lost - until last month when NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter found it again. The recovery is described in an earlier NASA press release.

On April 22, Murphy and his team sent pulses of laser light from the 3.5 meter telescope at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, zeroing in on the target coordinates provided by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. A laser retroreflector on Lunokhod 1 intercepted the pulses and sent a clear signal back to Earth.

"We got about 2,000 photons from Lunokhod 1 on our first try. After almost 40 years of silence, this rover a lot to say," notes Murphy.

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Apollo astronauts placed three other retroflectors on the Moon to allow laser ranging of the Moon's orbit. Assisted by a fourth reflector on Lunokhod 2, a twin of Lunokhod 1 that landed in 1973, these mirrors constitute the only Apollo science experiment still operating.

Eric Silverman, now retired from the University of Texas, was in charge of the lunar laser ranging activities at the McDonald Observatory from 1969 until 1982.

"During that time," he recalls, "we successfully ranged all three of the Apollo corner reflectors and the Lunakhod 2 reflector. We also tried to range on the first lunar rover but had only one possible (but not definite) detection on Dec 31, 1970. Our lack of knowledge of the location of the rover and the pressures of keeping up with the Apollo program caused us eventually to lose interest in Lunakhod 1."

"When I read that Tom Murphy had discovered returns from the lost rover I was very surprised and elated," says Silverman.

Murphy's initial reaction was disbelief: "The signal was so strong, my first thought was that our detector was acting up! I expected the rover's reflector to be degraded and dull after all this time, so I thought, 'this couldn't possibly be it.' But it was."

"This reflector is even strong enough to let us get measurements in lunar daylight - a first for this experiment!"

Silverman continues: "The fact that Lunokhod 1's reflection is now stronger than that of its twin is a mystery. This may yield important clues as to why all of the reflectors are weaker than in the first decade after landing."

With Lunokhod 1 back in the fold, the laser ranging study can get up to full throttle for the first time.

The scientists are using laser ranging to push hard on Einstein's gravity theory "to see if we can break it," says Murphy.

"Our telescope shoots out laser pulses that travel from Earth to the Moon and ping the reflectors. Because these are all 'corner-cube reflectors,' they send the pulse straight back where it came from. We scoop up as many of the returning photons as possible."

The round-trip travel time pinpoints the Earth-Moon distance. With repeated measurements, over months and years, the scientists can trace the Moon's orbit with millimeter precision.

Einstein's theory of gravity (the Theory of General Relativity) holds that the mass and energy in massive objects like the sun make space curve, and this curving tells objects around the massive body how to move. The curvature actually makes the Earth and Moon fall toward the sun.

By measuring the Moon's fall through curved spacetime, the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation--APOLLO for short--may yet find a crack in Einstein's great edifice of General Relativity. That's how science moves forward.

So far, lunar ranging results support Einstein. But a funny looking old rover may shine, or at least reflect, new light on the subject.

Moscow, Russia (RIA Novosti) Jun 04, 2010 - Russia's Proton-M launch vehicle powered by the Breeze-M upper stage blasted off from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakstan on Friday to orbit the Arabsat-5 telecommunications satellite.

"The launch went off in normal mode, as scheduled," a spokesman for the Federal Space Agency said.

The satellite is scheduled to separate approximately 9 hours and 13 minutes after liftoff.

The launch was carried out under a contract between the International Launch Services (ILS) and ARABSAT satellite operator. ILS, owned by the Khrunichev Center, RSC Energia and U.S. firm Space Transport Inc., provides spacecraft launch services for Proton-M heavy carrier rockets.

This was the sixth Proton launch and fourth ILS Proton Launch this year.

This was also the 357th Proton launch in its history, the 60th Proton launch since ILS began commercial launches in 1006. It also was the 3rd Arabsat Launch with ILS, and the 12th Eurostar Satellite Launched on ILS Proton.

The Arabsat-5 (commercial name BADR-5) will be co-located with BADR-4 and BADR-6 Direct-To-Home satellites, launched in 2006 and 2008, respectively.

It is the Eurostar E3000 platform satellite, weighting 5,420 kg (11,949 lbs), is equipped with 46 Ku-band transponders and 4 Ka-band transponders, with an anticipated life span of 15 years. The satellite was built by France's Thales Alenia Space on behalf of EADS Astrium of Paris, France.

Source: RIA Novosti