Seeing Mars With X-Ray Vision
Thanks to the Mars Express spacecraft, we are getting a whole different view of Mars which is revealing ancient secrets hidden beneath the red surface.
(Mars Daily) Scientists are finding an older, craggier face of Mars buried beneath the surface, thanks to pioneering sounding radar co-sponsored by NASA aboard the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft. [...]
The technique uses echoes of waves that have penetrated below the surface.
“It’s almost like having X-ray vision,” said Dr. Thomas R. Watters of the National Air and Space Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, Washington. “Besides finding previously unknown impact basins, we’ve also confirmed that some of the subtle topographic depressions mapped previously in the lowlands are related to impact features.”
Although geologists will be excited about using the satellite to discover old Mars, hopefully scientists will use it to discover whether or not underground water tunnels exist on the red planet.
It could also prove quite useful in locating any valuable resources that may stimulate businesses to invest in a future quest towards Mars (after the moon of course).
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China Prepares First Phase For Lunar Encounter
The red dragon of the east is preparing to launch Chang’e I lunar orbiter in 2007, which will study the moon’s surface and help Earth’s citizens understand a little more about their lunar neighbor.
(MSNBC) Among several tasks, the orbiter will provide 3D images of the moon’s surface, chart elements on the moon, measure the thickness of the lunar soil, as well as monitor the space environment between the moon and Earth. [...]
The moon orbiter is to be followed in later years by a remote-controlled lunar rover that would perform experiments and send data back to Earth. In the third phase, an automated probe will be dispatched to the Moon that carries drilling gear to dig up lunar samples for return to Earth.
Although they have not clearly specified, China is probably preparing to establish colonies on the lunar surface, in order to take advantage of the resources within the soil.
Despite have a budget that is puny compared to NASA’s, China seems to be a lot more aggressive when it comes to space. What gives?
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India To Reach The Moon In 2008?
It appears that India has settled the debate on whether to send robots or humans into space. Unfortunately they have decided to go with the robots (as this author was rooting for the humans).
India will be planning a lunar mission around 2008, and will launch a satellite to locate not only valuable resources but water as well.
(Moon Daily) Discussing the aforesaid programme of ISRO, chairman PRI council, ISRO-DOS, Prof UR Rao said: “The mission aims to search for surface or sub-surface water-ice on the moon, specially at the lunar pole and to carry out high resolution mapping of topographic features in 3D. It would also look into the mineral composition of the moon.” Rao, who is also Chancellor of Ambedkar University, was in the city on Tuesday.Though Mission Moon would commence from 2006 and would culminate on 2008, space agencies of US (NASA), European Space Agency, Japanese and Chinese space agencies are working together to unravel some lesser known facts about the moon.
Getting India involved with space exploration is critical since one in six people on Earth reside in that nation of a billion faces. Although they are not sending any people to the lunar surface, their research should prove invaluable as it will help us locate the best spots for a lunar colony (and hopefully end the debate of where to establish one first).
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China's Seed Breeding Satellite Returns
It looks as if the satellite China previously launched into outer space has returned bearing “fresh fruit,”–scientifically that is.
(Space Daily) China’s seed-breeding satellite, Shijian-8, successfully landed in Sichuan Province, southwest China, at 10:43 a.m. Beijing time on Sunday after a 15-day flight in space. The recoverable satellite was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwest China desert on Sept. 9. [...]Scientists from the Space-breeding Center of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science used the mission to carry out experiments aimed at discovering what happens to the germination and sprouting of plants when they are exposed to zero gravity.
After being exposed to cosmic radiation and zero gravity, some seeds may mutate and produce higher yields and improved quality when planted back on earth, scientists said.
It is interesting that the Chinese are exploring “space agriculture” and using the gained knowledge to benefit their farms on planet Earth. Although China’s interest may sound silly to some, this technique of altering grain in space may become critical for future colonies of Mars and Jupiter since they lack the nutrient rich top soil common on Earth.
Of the three main space powers sending human beings into space, China seems to be the most aggressive at using space to benefit its people directly. Although NASA has the skills to get us to the stars, China has the will to get us there, and the future alliance between the two may benefit the human race for years to come.
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Habitat For Humanity…In Space
With all of the talk of “space tourism,” very few businesses have a legitimate reason for visiting the stars other than viewing the Earth from space.
But what separates Robert Bigelow from the space tourism industry is that he desires not to merely take people on a short visit in space, but to build a space hotel for them to check into.
(Space.com) At a luncheon speech today in San Jose, Calif., at the AIAA Space 2006 Symposium, Bigelow said his third module, dubbed Sundancer, would have a mass of 8,618.4 kilograms and be equipped with life support systems, attitude control, three windows, on-orbit maneuverability, reboost and de-orbit capability.He plans to place it at an altitude of 250 nautical miles at an orbital inclination of 40 degrees. Bigelow said that while Sundancer will be a scale model of the large, human-rated habitat he eventually plans to launch into orbit, it will nonetheless have 180 cubic meters of habitable space.
If Bigelow is able to get the space hotel up and operational, he will probably have to find an affordable way to bring those people into space (as $20 million plus may not be worth it to most people).
Although Lockheed Martin is partnering up with Bigelow Aerospace in order to provide a space ship to the hotel, they may want to consider the magnetic sled as a possible option as well (as it may be less expensive than sending a rocket into space).
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Observing Mars Underground
The Mars Orbiter which recently established its presence around the red planet seems to be equipped with ground piercing radar that can detect ice (and hopefully water) on Mars a kilometer below the surface.
(Mars Today) The orbiter’s Shallow Subsurface Radar, provided by the Italian Space Agency, will search to depths of about one kilometer (six-tenths of a mile) to find and map layers of ice, rock and, if present, liquid water. [...]“We will use the Shallow Radar to map buried channels, to study the internal structure of ice caps and to see boundaries between layers of different materials,” said Dr. Roberto Seu of the University of Rome La Sapienza, leader of the instrument’s science team. “The data will provide our first detailed look just under the Martian surface, where ices might reside that would be accessible for future explorers.”
Mapping where potential water ice is on Mars will be crucial if we are intent on surviving on that hostile world. If Mars holds an abundance of water beneath its surface, then we can build the necessary robots to bring it to the surface.
Although Mars may lack the necessary resources to make it attractive to businesses and governments, its greatest resource may be water which is worth more than gold in this solar system.
Update: Added image.
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Mars Orbiter Calls The Red Planet Home
The Mars Orbiter, which has been stationed around Mars since March has finally settled into orbit around the red giant after carefully adjusting its position lest it crash onto the surface below (not a good thing).
It will join other satellites orbiting Mars as well as two rovers below and hopefully capture the Martian landscape in unprecedented detail.
(MSNBC) The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter fired its thrusters for 12 minutes Monday to adjust to its final position six months after it arrived at the planet. Its altitude ranges between 155 to 196 miles above the surface.
“Getting to this point is a great achievement,” said Dan Johnston, deputy mission manager at the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the $720 million mission.
Detailing Mars’s surface will benefit scientists as they select a future landing site and (hopefully) a colony site as well.
Mars has yet to play a critical role in history, as it is humanities test to whether they can terraform a world into a second Earth, an important task if they are to survive outside of the solar system.
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China Farming In Outer Space?
I have mentioned this before previously, but it seems that several days ago China has finally launched their satellite which will expose grain to radiation in order to (hopefully) produce a better crop within their farmlands.
(Earth Times) China today launched a satellite from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, which is carrying 215 kilograms of seeds of plants and fungus, Xinhua reports. The seed-breeding satellite called “Shijian-8″ is apparently designed to test how space-enhanced produce can increase the efficiency of the country’s food production.
The Shijian-8 was launched aboard a Long March 2C rocket. China National Space Administration informed that the mission was to enable scientists to figure out a process to cultivate “high-yield and high-quality plants.”
China is becoming more aggressive about its space program, and with their recent partnership with Russia they may retake the Moon before NASA does.
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China Farming In Space?
Apparently the red dragon nation is preparing to launch another satellite which will conduct experiments on breeding plants in outer space.
(Earth Times) BEIJING: China is expected to launch its first satellite for breeding plant seeds in September. The satellite will be launched from the Jiuquan satellite launch center, according to officials of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. It will make a 15-day space flight.
The satellite, named Shijian-8, would carry over 2,000 varieties of plant seeds in nine categories and 180 groups, including seeds of grains, cash crops and plants, as well as seeds of fungi and molecular biomaterials that have been sequenced.
Before anyone claims that “natural food” is the way to go, they should examine the results with China’s tampering. By exposing these seeds to radiation, China has been able to grow not only more food, but healthier grain as well, making it easier to feed their growing population.
(Earth Times) According to scientists, when seeds are exposed to special environment and subjected to phenomena like cosmic radiation and micro-gravity, they are likely to mutate and offer higher yields and better quality. [...]
China has already established space seed breeding centres in regions such as Beijing, Shanghai and Heilongjiang province. A government official said between 2001 and 2004, space-bred rice and wheat varieties had been planted in about 566,600 hectares of land, producing an additional 340,000 tons of grain.
Experiments show that vitamin content of vegetables grown from space seeds is 281.5 per cent more than in ordinary vegetables and microelements of ferrum, zinc and carotene are also higher than normal.
According to the article, China has done this several times, and it apparently is paying off by producing higher yields of crop. If more experiments like these are successful, it may be wise for future colonies with barren (or no) soil to simply grow their food in orbit rather than on the surface.
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Lunar Chinese Satellite In 2007
(Hat Tip: Out of the Cradle)
One small step for China, one giant leap for Asia kind.
(Xinhaua) China is scheduled to send its first satellite to the moon in April 2007 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, in a one-year lunar mission dubbed Chang’e Project.
Apart from the moon exploration project, China also plans to launch four satellites by the end of this year. These include “Xinnuo 2,” a large-capacity satellite for communications. Two others are for scientific research and one for weather forecasting.
Many people have debated on whether or not the Chinese have it within their budget to even reach the moon, comparing its respective economy against the US and Russia.
Whether they have the economy or not is uncertain–what is known however is that China is determined to establish itself as a space power, as their intentions are not to merely scan the lunar surface, but to conquer it.
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