Astronaut Kelly Returns to Earth

Tomorrow astronaut Scott Kelly will land in Kazakstan, completing almost a year aboard the International Space Station. He has broken the U.S. record for time in space and is ready to be back home, but he should expect plenty of poking and prodding to learn more about the impact of space on his body and mind.

I expect the coverage of Super Tuesday will drown out much of the news of his return, yet I also expect NASA will leak out test results for months and play up the mission. Competing with Trump is hard, but we need stories about real heroes doing the real work to keep America strong and in the forefront of space travel. 

It is possible that after one look at the newspapers Mr. Kelly will ask for a seat on the next mission. Will NASA have room for millions more Americans? The idea of a Martian colony never sounded so nice.

Babylonian Astronomy

So it seems Jupiter's orbit was being accurately measured and monitored at least 1,500 years earlier than initially believed. That right, the Babylonians were ahead of their times and only later did Oxford scientists pick up where they left off. 

An article in Nature notes:

The inscriptions on the tablets show that they measured the daily apparent velocity of Jupiter (as seen from Earth) at different dates in its orbit. Then they used these velocities and times to deduce the distance that Jupiter must have travelled during the intervening period. That calculation is equivalent to the geometrical notion of plotting velocity against time, and calculating the area under that plot.

This discovery was made by science historian Mathieu Ossendrijver at the Humboldt University in Berlin. The  tablets now belong to the British Museum in London. One can only wonder what else sits quietly in a dark corner of the museum awaiting discovery.

The X-Planes Are Coming

Are we back in the age of France's Concorde? Do we need rapid transportation among the major global cities, but also something that uses less fuel and does less damage to the environment? 

It sounds like a good idea, and NASA's new X-plane project, part of an announcement this Monday at Ronald Reagan Airport, may be just what we need. It makes sense to take care of our home world as we keep our eyes peeled for new worlds. 

An Orbiting Moon Base?

Maybe those newly hired NASA astronauts will have a place to visit. Science.com notes there is talk about a habitat in a stable orbit around the Moon.

The project is part of NASA's Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) Projects.  Using the Orion deep-space crew capsule, crews would visit and stay at the habitat for months at a time to prepare for a Mars mission. From here the crew could also conduct experiments with robots on the lunar surface. 

Best of all - the orbit will be stable for thousands of years unlike the International Space Station (ISS), which is a meteor waiting to happen. And no orbiting space junk will threaten the craft. However, the habitat would also be about 1,000 times further away than the ISS. That makes astronaut and resupply missions more complex.  

All said, it seems we are moving back towards the Moon after this Administration initially wrote it off. One can only wonder if the next President will build on this plan or tear it up as well.  

Plenty of Candidates with No Place to Go

NASA recently announced it had 18,300 applications for its next astronaut class (the posting closed December 14th). This is an impressive number and the highest applicant count ever for what will be 8-14  positions. The final selection will not take place until the middle of 2017.

So where will these newly-minted astronauts go? It is still unclear. Even the future of the space station is unclear, though it seems we will be flying astronauts there through 2024 (hopefully on US-made rockets).  And with a new president coming onboard next year, the manned-mission path may zig or zag again. 

Of course, the private entity Mars One had about 4,200 applicants for its mission to Mars.  Yet no one really thinks the final candidates will be seeing Mars anytime soon, if ever. 

We need more than applicants - we need a clear mission with dates as well as a commitment to finding.  NASA reminds me of an airline hiring pilots when it lacks its own planes and has no plans to leave the airport even if it did. 

A Model for a Martian Base?

A recent book by architectural writer Ruth Slavid, Ice Station: The Creation of Halley VI - Britain's Pioneering Antarctic Research Station, highlights the features of this habitat in a very inhospitable area of our globe.  The Amazon book summary states:

For more than fifty years, Halley Research Station—located on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea—has collected a continuous stream of meteorological and atmospheric data critical to our understanding of polar atmospheric chemistry, rising sea levels, and the depletion of the ozone layer.  Since the station’s establishment in 1956, there have been six Halley stations, each designed to withstand the difficult climatic conditions. The first four stations were crushed by snow. The fifth featured a steel platform, allowing it to rise above snow cover, but it, too, had to be abandoned when it moved too far from the mainland, making its habitation precarious.

Ms. Slavid wrote about this station in July 2010 in The Architectural Review, pointing out the harsh living conditions:

Temperatures regularly plummet to below -50˚C, winds can reach over 100mph and nearly a third of the year is spent in total darkness. Each year the ice shelf moves 700m and over a metre of snowfall accumulates on its surface, gradually entombing and crushing built structures.

Halley VI was completed in 2012 and will hopefully stand for many more years. But does it offer a model for the cold surface of Mars? I would imagine it's lessons are more about isolation than construction. For instance, radiation exposure, as well as the absence of water and breathable air, would the bigger concern on Mars. That said, the ice station shows humans are very adaptable to new locations and challenges. Something we will certainly need for Mars.

The New Stonehenge for Future Generations?

Anthony French wrote an interesting piece in The Space Review titled "Preserving Our Space Heritage" that asks whether or not we are doing enough to hold onto the milestones of our entry into the space age.  He notes:

UNESCO lists such recent developments as the Sydney Opera House (built 1973) as World Heritage Sites. Why not the Kennedy Space Center? Why not a place from where six manned missions reached the Moon? Or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, from where the Pioneer and Voyager missions that left the solar system lifted off? Are footsteps on the Moon a lesser achievement than the construction of an admittedly architecturally-striking, but relatively standard, concert venue? At least in Russia the authorities tout Soviet space achievements and the associated museum-housed hardware with the respect it deserves, if not the official recognition of its status.

I have visited and read about some of the Russian space museums and was more saddened by the condition of the facilities than uplifted by the material, but I understand Mr. French's point.  We have some amazing collections from our space program in museums across the country, but the launch sites themselves are something else.  Better preservation of these sites should be considered as well. 

The Case of the Astronaut Harassed Via Twitter

A recent story on Motherboard discloses an incident where a NASA astronaut was harassed via twitter by a woman in the United Kingdom.  The woman seemed upset that the astronaut was dating a younger woman and went on to make comments that lead to an investigation by NASA's Office of Inspector General.  The article notes:

The case is particularly notable for its thoroughness: The woman was visited at her home by British law enforcement at the behest of NASA, photos of her and her mental health and police records were shared between law enforcement agencies, and she was put on a Customs and Border Patrol watch list that would have immediately alerted authorities if she tried to enter the United States. To be clear, these are highly unusual steps for law enforcement to take in a harassment case.

I suppose there is nothing too unusual here since many celebrities are harassed in many ways.  Of course, once it involves sensitive government employees it may obtain more interest. 

NASA has been a big user of Twitter, and sites this this one happen to be a great way to share information with the public.  I hope a few bad apples do not get in the way of continued communication from the program and its astronauts. 

Einstein's Theory Verified: Gravitational Waves

So scientists have found evidence of gravitational waves, as predicted by Einstein 100 years ago as part of his theory of general relativity, but what are they?  And how do you find them? 

The second part is easy - all you need are two black holes next to each other.  Yes, the very objects Einstein also predicted yet cannot be seen - black holes - are essential to finding the gravitational wave. 

But back to the first question.  Gravitational waves are ripples in space time.  And what is space time?  Well, that would be a combination of the regular three dimensions plus the fourth dimension of time. 

And where did they spot these gravitational waves?  They came from two intersecting black holes 1.3 billion light years away. 

And how did we notice these waves?  We measured them with special equipment illustrated below by Science magazine.  That's right, we are measuring something 1/10,000th the width of a proton - don't try this at home.

I recommend two videos that explain this latest discovery, both from PBS's online series Space Time.  The first was broadcast last year titled Have Gravitational Waves Been Discovered?!? and the second was just released titled LIGO's First Detection of Gravitational Waves!  All your questions will be answered.

More from Senator McCain on Russian Rockets

Senator McCain continues to rail against congressional weakness in the face of Russian rocket imports.  In a Wall Street Journal editorial earlier this week, he noted:

Then the 2,000-page, unamendable, trillion-dollar omnibus spending bill was released in December. Congressional allies of ULA, including Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, sneaked a provision—behind closed doors and with no debate—into the bill that will effectively allow ULA to buy an unlimited number of Russian rocket engines.

So we will be funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to Moscow while Russia occupies Crimea and destabilizes Ukraine; menaces the Baltic States and some of America’s other NATO allies in Europe; violates the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty; sends weapons to Iran; and bombs U.S.-backed forces in Syria to prop up the murderous regime of Bashar Assad. All this for the benefit of ULA’s rocket plant in Alabama and one if its parent companies, Boeing, based in Illinois.

After shaming his peers, Senator McCain goes on to state "This must not stand." 

I wish Senator McCain success in moving the rocket business back home.  Sadly, the large space companies are more capitalistic than American-centered, and will be happy to fund any foreign government to help their bottom line.  The Congress should know better and understand the importance of a home-grown rocket industry.  We should look at all of the space and defense needs through this prism to ensure our national security comes first.  

My Favorite Super Bowl Ad

Last night there were a number of good Super Bowl commercials, but my favorite (followed by Christopher Walken and Kia) was the Audit R8 commercial with retired astronaut.  It was encouraging to see a space program mentioned during the national game, yet it would have been even better if we were inspiring a new generation to reach higher than the road.  Comfortable cars are one thing, but the dangers and excitement of space are something else.  I look forward to a SpaceX or Blue Origin commercial sometime soon. 

By the way, the tribute to the fictional retired astronaut came at a time of the loss of a real astronaut - Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the Moon and the last member of the Apollo 14 crew.  NASA Administrator Charles Bolden stated the following:

Edgar spoke poetically about seeing our home planet from the moon saying: ‘Suddenly, from behind the rim of the moon, in long, slow-motion moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate sky-blue sphere laced with slowly swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. It takes more than a moment to fully realize this is Earth … home.’

Car commercials cannot match the stories of real heroes.  

Star Wars: Watching China, Russia, and Others

It would be unfortunate if money that could be used for space exploration is sidelined for space defense operations against other nations, but that is a real possibility as some prepare for battles in space.  Take this scenario from a recent story in The Washington Post: 

A Chinese fighter jet accidentally crashes into a Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane while attempting to buzz it over the South China Sea, killing all on board both aircraft. Fearing U.S. retaliation, China goes a relatively unexpected route: It uses surface-to-air missives to shoot numerous U.S. satellites out of the heavens in quick succession. 

Certainly a scary scenario and now something that will absorb more defense dollars. Of course, the Pentagon has been planning for such attacks for some time now.  For instance, in a 2007 report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission titled An Assessment of China's Anti-Satellite and Space Warfare programs, Policies and Doctrines,we read: 

In each of their books, Chinese Colonels Li, Jia and Yuan all advocated covert deployment of a sophisticated antisatellite weapon system to be used against United States in a surprise manner without warning. Even a small scale antisatellite attack in a crisis against 50 US satellites [assuming a mix of targeted military reconnaissance, navigation satellites, and communication satellites] could have a catastrophic effect not only on US military forces, but of the US civilian economy. It is not clear from US open sources how rapidly--if at all--United States could launch “spare” satellites to replace a few dozen that had been incapacitated in orbit by a Chinese attack. US sources refer to many [very expensive] countermeasures such as maneuvering satellites in orbit to escape destruction, using constellations of small satellites, rapid replacement with spares, and even prompt counter strikes on the Chinese launchers.

In addition to a direct attack, the paper notes the Chinese could potentially cause damage and not be singled out for retaliation:

Many of the concepts recommended include both jamming and attacking ground stations, rather than the permanent destruct ruction of US satellites.  In both cases, the Chinese authors imply the United States may lack the “forensic” ability to know which nation had neutralized US space systems through covert attack, jamming or destruction of ground stations by missile or Special Forces raids. 

Satellite attacks were noted as early as 2007, including:

• On October 20, 2007, Landsat-7, a U.S. earth observation satellite jointly managed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey, experienced 12 or more minutes of interference. This interference was only discovered following a similar event in July 2008 (see below).
• On June 20, 2008, Terra EOS [earth observation system] AM–1, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration-managed program for earth observation, experienced two or more minutes of interference. The responsible party achieved all steps required to command the satellite but did not issue commands.
• On July 23, 2008, Landsat-7 experienced 12 or more minutes of interference. The responsible party did not achieve all steps required to command the satellite.
• On October 22, 2008, Terra EOS AM–1 experienced nine or more minutes of interference. The responsible party achieved all steps required to command the satellite but did not issue commands.

In February 2015 testimony before the Commission, Richard D. Fisher Jr., Senior Fellow, Asian Military Affairs, at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, stated:

Based on an accumulation of data, it is possible to conclude that the PLA’s apparent goal is to exercise denial and then dominance in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and then to extend control into the Earth-Moon system. Since the early 1990s China has developed four, possibly five, attack-capable space-combat systems. China may be the only country developing such variety of space weapons to include: ground-based and air-launched counter-space weapons; unmanned space combat and Earth-attack platforms; and dual-use manned platforms.

Control of the "Earth-Moon system"?  It sounds like something from science fiction stories, and yet it is a real concern.  And now we have to worry about the North Koreans potentially putting more satellites over our heads, with an "observation" satellite being launched as early as this Monday. So the race is on and it could be very destructive for everyone.

The Secretary of Defense announced new funding priorities this week, including more troops near Russia.  He also mentioned China and North Korea, while saying this about space defense:

I also want to mention space because at times in the past, space was seen as a sanctuary, new and emerging threats make clear that that's not the case anymore and we must be prepared for the possibility of a conflict that extends in space.  Last year we added over $5 billion in new investments to make us better postured for that.  And then in 2017 we’re doing even more, enhancing our ability to identify, attribute and negate all threatening actions in space.  For so many commercial space endeavors, we want this domain to be just like the oceans and the Internet: free and safe for all. 

There are some in this world who don't want that to happen – who see America's dominance in these and other areas and want to take that away from us in the future so that we can't operate effectively around the globe.  So we’re not waiting to invest until the threats are fully realized.  We're investing now so we stay ahead of them. 

Let's hope the deterrence holds and no one tries to top the other.  A space war could litter our sky with debris and limit, threaten scientific missions, and turn our space budgets into war budgets.  We need to be looking at Earth as a starting point and not a graveyard of our space ambitions. As the late Carl Sagan noted when viewing an image of the Earth from afar:

Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.  To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

Update:  As noted, North Korea tested the patience of the international community with the launch of a long-range rocket on Sunday, February 7th.  The Associated Press noted:

The firing came about two hours after an eight-day launch window opened Sunday morning. It follows North Korea's widely disputed claim last month to have tested a hydrogen bomb. Washington and its allies will consider it a further provocation and push for more tough sanctions. The United States and Japan quickly requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Sunday morning, saying Pyongyang violated a council ban on ballistic missile launches.

Plenty of Water on Pluto

NASA reported new findings from the New Horizons mission indicating a fair amount of water exists on Pluto's surface. The water-ice bedrock on the dwarf planet had already been known, but surface water is something else.  

NASA noted:

The new map shows exposed water ice to be considerably more widespread across Pluto's surface than was previously known — an important discovery. But despite its much greater sensitivity, the map still shows little or no water ice in the informally named places called Sputnik Planum (the left or western region of Pluto’s “heart”) and Lowell Regio (far north on the encounter hemisphere). This indicates that at least in these regions, Pluto's icy bedrock is well hidden beneath a thick blanket of other ices such as methane, nitrogen and carbon monoxide.

I am glad Pluto is back in the news since we have something concrete (or ice-solid) to study on an observed planet, dwarf or otherwise, rather than a speculative planet.

Great Image: Blue Interstellar Dust

Near the Orion Nebula you can find the beautiful blue interstellar dust illuminated by newly formed stars.  I cannot see the "running man" that others may see in this image, but may you do.  Here is a little more information on this formation from NASA:

The 1970s are sometimes ignored by astronomers, like this beautiful grouping of reflection nebulae in Orion - NGC 1977, NGC 1975, and NGC 1973 - usually overlooked in favor of the substantial glow from the nearby stellar nursery better known as the Orion Nebula. Found along Orion's sword just north of the bright Orion Nebula complex, these reflection nebulae are also associated with Orion's giant molecular cloud about 1,500 light-years away, but are dominated by the characteristic blue color of interstellar dust reflecting light from hot young stars. In this sharp color image a portion of the Orion Nebula appears along the bottom border with the cluster of reflection nebulae at picture center. NGC 1977 stretches across the field just below center, separated from NGC 1973 (above right) and NGC 1975 (above left) by dark regions laced with faint red emission from hydrogen atoms. Taken together, the dark regions suggest to many the shape of a running man.

 Image Credit:   Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, Univ. Arizona