ISS Expedition 29 L-1 Day

The next three crew members to the Interenational Space Station launch from Kazahkstan on Sunday 13 Nov at 11:14p EST. The Soyuz TMA-22 will carry NASA Astronaut Daniel C. Burbank, and Russian Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoli Ivanishin to the ISS for rendezvous and docking after midnight on Wednesday 16 Nov. This is the last scheduled flight of the TMA-22. The next launch, scheduled for 21 Dec, will be a TMA-22-M.

Photo Gallery of TMA-22 rollout from NASAHQPhoto

The ISS will be at full crew of six for a about a week, when Mike Fossom will hand over command to Dan Burbank and returns to Earth with Sergey Volkov, Russia and Satoshi Furukawa, Japan on 21 Nov.

The ISS will be making passes over the Eastern US in the early mornings before sunrise beginning on 14 Nov and lasting into early Dec. Several passes, depending on cloud cover, should be good opportunities to see the ISS. I will make some recommendations in a subsequent post.

MSL/Curiosity Briefing

L-15 Days Mission Briefing from NASA HQ in Washington DC. 10 Nov 2011

Doug McCuistion, Mars program director, left, Ashwin Vasavada, MSL deputy project scientist, and Pete Theisinger, MSL project manager, share a laugh during a news briefing, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Curiosity, NASA's most advanced mobile robotic laboratory, will examine one of the most intriguing areas on Mars. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission is set for launch from Florida's Space Coast on Nov. 25 and is scheduled to land on the Red Planet in August 2012 where it will examine the Gale Crater during a nearly two-year prime mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

The briefing began with the quote, "[MSL/Curiosity is] The largest most capable rover to date." There was no lack of enthusiasm throughout the briefing, and if you weren't already excited about this mission, you certainly would be after this.

Doug McCuistion began his description of Curiosity with, "It's not your father's rover. It's the most complex machine ever placed on another planet. It is the best of US imagination and innovation. With Curiosity, we will excite and inspire the nation. Curiosity is a flagship mission for the agency (NASA). As important as Hubble." 

MSL is a truly international effort with science and engineering contributions to the mission from Germany, Spain, France, the US, Russia, and Canada.

Ashwin Vasavada remarked that Curiosity is "a Mars scientist's dream." Curiosity is the biggest rover ever, standing about six feet tall and carrying a six foot robotic arm and to fully equipped science laboratories. The arm sports a jackhammer drill that will allow the first ever sampling of the inside of Martian rocks. The rock dust can then be analyzed in one of the onboard labs to look for organic material and minerals that could support life. Curiosity also has HD cameras and closeup cameras that will allow scientist an unprecedented view of Mars. A laser eye sensor will allow Curiosity to take measurements of rocks at a distance of up to 20 feet from the rover.

Curiosity is scheduled to land in Gale Crater in August of 2012. Gale was chosen because its structure and composition and "likely contains the entire history of Mars." The crater is 100 miles in diameter with a 3 mile high mountain of layered rock in the center. The crater and its mountain show signs of being formed in the presence of liquid water, with layers of clay, sulfites, and dust.

I personally, think that the descent stage is the coolest piece of engineering I've seen on any spacecraft. Pete Theisinger spoke to the design of the lander in response to the question, "The sky crane seems, well, um, scary." Theisinger explained, the rover, at 900 kg (2000 lbs) is too big for an air bag landing, so it had to be propulsive. There are two options, propulsion on top, or propulsion below. If the propulsion unit were under the rover, the challenge is how to get something the size and weight of an automobile off the top of it. That left the sky crane as the most viable option. The capsule containing Curiosity and lander is 4.5 m in diameter, larger than an Apollo capsule. The transit to Mars will take 8 1/2 months at a speed of about 12,000 mph. Once on the Martian surface, Theisinger remarked, "It will take time to learn how MSL will work on Mars." Once the operational protocals have been developed in the Martian environment, Vasavada's team of scientists can get to work collecting data for the 2+ year mission. The rover will move at a speed of about 0.1 mph on the Martian surface. This slow rate will ensure it is able to navigate over and around obstacles safely as safe operation is limited by how far Curiosity can see.

Vasavada reminded us all that, "We are looking for habitable environments, not life itself." Curiosity and MSL contain "fabulous organic detection system," however, so "finding life would be a home run." 

In response to the question, "How likely Mars had/has life?" McCuistion joked, "Not sure any of us want to take that question." He went on to say, "Mars keeps surprising us. No one expected to find briny liquid water or 'blueberries' (hematite crystals). There is evidence of liquid water in Gale Crater in the Martain past and that is why it was chosen as the landing site."

MSL/Curiosity will directly help to prepare for a human mission to Mars. With a smaller landing ellipse, robotic handling of samples, launching and landing larger masses, measurements of the Martian atmosphere and radiation exposure over long-term missions, NASA will gain critical knowledge. 

Are you ready for launch? I know I am. I don't think I've been this excited about an unmanned mission since the first Viking photos came back when I was in Middle School. I cannot wait to participate in the NASATweetup on 22 November to learn more about this amazing mission! 

Mars, or bust!

Curious about Curiosity? Good basic info & pictures about the next Mars rover mission here: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

Thanks to SpaceTweeps @stephist, @deliciousblur, @chrisastro, and @therealdjflux for helping me curate the briefing for this blog post.

Thinking About Mars

A lot of Mars activity this week. the Mars Science Laboratory was stacked on its launch vehicle at KSC launch complex 41, and the Mars500 mission "landed."

 

In the mean time, my 4th grade science class has been exploring the basic elements of a sustainable ecosystem. My students decided that the essential components of the ecosystem were energy from the sun, nitrogen in the soil, water, carbon dioxide, and oxygen. With these elements, the ecosystem could support algae and bacteria in a sustainable system. How is this relevant to Mars, you ask? Earth is a special planet where these elements have come together in just the height combination to support life. My students were curious to know if we knew of life anywhere else. I asked them how they could find a planet that might support life. Almost immediately, students suggested that looking for planets the right distance from a sun that had evidence of water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and nitrogen. What life would you look for? Bacteria and algae! 

 

Mars Science Laboratory and the Curiosity rover will be doing just that. With 10 different experiments on board, Curiosity will explore the are around the Gale crater looking for evidence that Mars has, or could now or in the future, support life. Adjacent to the Gale crater is a mountain formation that appears to have been built in layered deposition in an aquatic environment. 

 

MSL/Curiosity is scheduled for launch on Friday, November 25th. In the coming weeks I will be sharing more about the mission and the work my students are doing. On Wednesday, November 23rd I will be participating in a NASA TweetUp at Kennedy Space Center in conjunction with the launch. 

MSL/Curiosity Stacked!

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) was moved from NASA Kennedy Space Center's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) to Space Launch Complex 41 during the early morning of Nov. 3 and hoisted atop the Atlas V rocket. MSL was hoisted atop the payload transporter in the PHSF on Nov. 2 after being integrated into the Atlas V rocket payload fairing.

Curiosity has 10 science instruments to search for evidence about whether Mars has had environments favorable for microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release the gasses so that its spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth.

Curiosity Mission Trailer video

More information about Curiosity is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/msl or http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl.

STS-135 NASA TweetUp at NASA HQ

On Thursday, October 13th, I had the privilege of participating in a NASA TweetUp. The TweetUp was held at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. This was a gathering of 150 Twitter followers of @NASATweetUp and STS-135 CMDR Chris Ferguson (@Astro_Ferg) and MS1 Sandy Magnus (@Astro_Sandy). Organized by Stephanie Schierholtz (@Schierholz) NASA's Social Media Director, the attendees represented 25 different states, Germany, India, Canada, and Australia.

Stephanie Schierholz opens the TweetUp

Upon entering NASA HQ, Stephanie was there to greet each attendee in person and presented each of us with our official NASA "swag bags" containing an assortment of NASA and STS-135 momentos. My personal favorites: The Space Shuttle 30th Anniversary lapel pin, made from metal that flew on a space shuttle, and the STS-135 mission sticker, and of course my NASATweetUp ID badge. And what would a TweetUp be without the SpaceTweeps? Having time to connect face-to-face is, as the old commercial says, priceless. SpaceTweeps are an interesting and diverse group. Sharing time discussing the space program, swapping shuttle launch stories, sharing about our lives, and speculating on the future of NASA and human space flight were all lively conversations.

It's official! TweetUp badge and NASA HQ.

SVPTweetUp Alumni

SpaceTweeps

The TweetUp program included the presentation of the STS-135 Mission Highlights film, featuring a soundtrack by RUSH and a song they had composed to mark the occasion of the launch of STS-1. Ferguson and Magnus shared several anecdotes of their mission and training flow, ranging from the humorous, to serious science and space geekdom. They engaged in a Q&A session, taking questions from the floor at the end of the presentation. The great thing about the event, is that Ferguson and Magnus clearly understood that this was an "inside" audience. The stories they shared were not the same ones we had heard in the various interviews throughout the mission flow. In a couple of cases, they shed more light on stories we had heard. The infamous T-31 sec "been cap" glitch and hold for example. Ferguson commented that, "this wasn't something that had been in the SIMS. It wasn't something that had ever happened." "I was incredulous." The image of the four of them on the flight deck trying to figure out what was going on, much like all of us were doing watching the launch, was  a great one. The image of Ferguson in his CMDR voice, telling everyone on the flight deck to be quiet so he could hear brought images of a family car trip to mind." Ferguson commented further on the hold, "Once I understood what the problem was, I could see it was clear, but [launch control] wouldn't take my word on it."

Magnus shared stories of the difficulties growing up as a young girl with dreams of being an astronaut. "I kept it secret, because I didn't think anyone would understand." Her story affirms how important it is that we provide young girls with positive female role models. Women that they can see as the embodiment of their own dreams. 

I was chosen to ask the final question of the TweetUp. I had several questions for Ferguson and Magnus, ranging from space/STEM geek questions about mission minutiae, to their thoughts and hopes for the next steps with NASA for them personally as well as programatically. The final question had to be something summative and lasting.

MW: "What do you see as the most important skills for children to develop in preparation for their future?"

CF & SM: "Becoming a life-long learner. Adaptability."

Considering more than 60% of our students will take a job that does not yet exist, I think these are great recommendations.

NASATweetup with STS135

Thursday is Tweetup day! I get to visit NASA HQ in Washington DC to join 150 other SpaceTweeps and STS135 Commander Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus. Ferguson and Magnus are two of the four final shuttle astronauts. I've been following them for the better part of a year now, as they went through their training flow, witnessed the launch from Kennedy Space Center on July 8, and met them (briefly) at an autograph signing event at the Intrepid in August. I am looking forward to meeting them and hearing first hand their memories of the mission and their hopes and dreams for our space exploration future. It will also be really fun to meet some of the people I only know through Twitter. It should be a great event.

Satellite passes for Thursday, September 22, 2011

Thursday, September 22, 2011
(GMT-04:00)

Satellite Name (Peak Magnitude)
	Pass	Time	El	Az	Range
Sunset:		6:53:08 PM
Midnight:		12:00:00 AM
ISS (-3.0)
	Start:	5:14:43 AM	46°	210°(SW)	331 mi
	Peak:	5:15:30 AM	71°	141°(SE)	258 mi
	End:	5:18:41 AM	10°	57°(NE)	886 mi
Sunrise:		6:43:40 AM

Pass predictions by GoSatWatch
www.gosoftworks.com