The End of an Era

Yesterday the Atlantis Shuttle left the Earth's orbit for the last time. Interestingly enough, the Shuttle was bringing a Russian component to the International Space Station (ISS), its 11th and final voyage to the Station. Of course, with the end of the U.S. Space Shuttle program, we will need the Russians to get us back and forth to the ISS for a number of years into the future.

Overall, the Atlantis Shuttle has been quite a workhorse with 25 years of service and 115 million miles to its name. So farewell to a big part of America's space mission. Only two more Shuttle flights to go; Discovery in September and Endeavor in November. While the nature of future craft is still cloudy, let's hope we can still build such sturdy craft to get us to where we want to go.

Asteroid 24 Themis

If the Obama administration is looking for an asteroid worth a human visit, how about 24 Themis? As recently reported in the journal Nature, this asteroid between Mars and Jupiter was recently found to contain water and maybe even some organic molecules. This adds further support to the idea that asteroids and comets brought life to our planet.

Another asteroid probably more worthy of a visit is Ceres. A prior Nature article noted that various images from the Hubble telescope led scientists to believe the asteroid Ceres may contain more fresh water than Earth. Ceres is 580 miles (930 km) in diameter (about the size of Texas) and represents about 25-30 percent of the asteroid belt's total mass. In fact, for about a century the asteroid was classified as a planet (see image for size comparisons with the Earth and the moon). NASA already has a spacecraft expected to encounter Ceres in 2015 (as well as the asteroid Vesta in 2011) - the Dawn Mission. Will humans follow?

Iceland and Memories of the Moon

With all of this talk about the volcanic ash from Iceland covering Europe, it may be worth remembering the role of Iceland in our first moon mission. This National Park Surface page notes "Since much of the moon's surface is covered by volcanic materials, it was very important that they know something about the lava they would encounter. This was the reason that the astronauts visited such places as Hawaii, Iceland, and Craters of the Moon."

Planetary Society Supports the President's Vision

The Planetary Society released its own statement following President Obama's speech at NASA, stating:

The Planetary Society's leadership believes this new plan will take humans beyond Earth orbit to interplanetary space sooner than was possible under the old program, and it will take us farther and to more destinations than was ever planned with the Constellation program.

We commit our energy and resources to help turn this NASA plan from words to reality. Congress must now act upon the President's proposal. We recognize that it will be a long, hard fight, that there are entrenched interests that must be overcome, that business-as-usual must be surmounted, and, and that it will require breaking through technological barriers. But if human space explorers are to reach their destination of Mars within the next few decades -- a cherished dream of Society Members -- this is the only realistic way to get there.

Go here for the full statement.

The President Speaks

Here is the official version of the President's visit to NASA's Kennedy Space Center to discuss his vision for America's space program (go here for a video of the speech):

Astronauts will soar spaceward in commercial spacecraft while NASA develops technology so humans can venture to Mars and out into the solar system, President Barack Obama told a space conference Thursday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Laying out his plans, President Obama committed NASA to a series of development milestones he said would lead to new spacecraft for astronauts to ride to the International Space Station, a modified Orion capsule developed as an emergency return spacecraft, and a powerful new rocket. He also promised a host of new technologies that would protect space travelers from radiation and other unique hazards.

"Early in the next decade, a set of crewed flights will test and prove the systems required for exploration beyond low Earth orbit," the president said. "And by 2025, we expect new spacecraft designed for long journeys to allow us to begin the first-ever crewed missions beyond the moon into deep space. We’ll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history. By the mid-2030s, I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth. And a landing on Mars will follow. And I expect to be around to see it."

The president spoke to 200 senior officials, space and industry leaders, and academic experts inside the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy in the same area that was used to process Apollo spacecraft for the missions to the moon in the 1960s and 70s.

Standing in front of one of the space shuttle main engines that launched former U.S. Senator and astronaut John Glenn into orbit, President Obama said, "It was from here that men and women, propelled by sheer nerve and talent, set about pushing the boundaries of humanity's reach.

"The question for us now is whether that was the beginning of something, or the end of something. I prefer to believe it was the beginning of something."

The president's fiscal year 2011 budget proposal increases NASA's budget by $6 billion throughout the next five years to fund the plans.

Noting "the sense that folks in Washington -- driven less by vision than by politics -- have for years neglected NASA’s mission and undermined the work of the professionals who fulfill it," the president said the budget increase changes that.

The president's address comes at a critical juncture for NASA because the space shuttle fleet is scheduled to be retired after three more missions. The president said it will be quicker and less costly to let private companies develop new spacecraft for astronauts rather than continue with NASA's Constellation Program, which was deemed too expensive and behind schedule.

"Pursuing this new strategy will require that we revise the old strategy. In part, this is because the old strategy -- including the Constellation Program -- was not fulfilling its promise in many ways," the president said. "That’s not just my assessment; that’s also the assessment of a panel of respected non-partisan experts charged with looking at these issues closely."

President Obama's plan largely mirrors the "flexible path" option offered by a blue-ribbon panel established by the president last year to help decide the best map for future space exploration.

The outline does not do away with all the research and development from Constellation . Noting the success of the agency's development of the Orion crew capsule, Obama called on NASA to develop a version of that spacecraft so it can be launched without a crew to the International Space Station. It will be based there as an emergency craft for astronauts living on the orbiting laboratory.

The speech kicked off the Conference on the American Space Program for the 21st Century.

Norm Augustine, chairman of the blue-ribbon panel called the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, that evaluated Constellation and came up with the "flexible path" option, endorsed the presidential strategy as the conference got under way.

Saying NASA is largely "trapped" in low Earth orbit, Augustine said industry, with NASA's guidance, can do its part for the plan.

The president acknowledged the need to get the decision right.

"Now, the challenges facing our space program are different, and our imperatives for this program are different than in decades past," the president said. "But while the measure of our achievements has changed a great deal over the past fifty years, what we do -- or fail to do -- in seeking new frontiers is no less consequential for our future in space and here on Earth."

The plan, the president said, would free NASA's designers and engineers to develop spacecraft, large rockets and new technologies that can extend the frontier of human space exploration to asteroids and even Mars.

About $3.1 billion of the additional funding would go into research and development for a heavy-lift rocket. A design for a large booster would be chosen in 2015 with the goal of launching the spacecraft a few years later. The bigger rocket could be used to loft payloads too large for most boosters, including giant fuel depots that would be parked in distant orbits so spacecraft could refuel on their way to asteroids, the moons of Mars and eventually Mars itself.

In addition to more funding, President Obama said his initiative brings more jobs than previous schedules.

"My plan will add more than 2,500 jobs along the Space Coast in the next two years compared to the plan under the previous administration," he said. "I’m proposing a $40 million initiative led by a high-level team from the White House, NASA, and other agencies to develop a plan for regional economic growth and job creation. And I expect this plan to reach my desk by Aug. 15. It’s an effort that will help prepare this already skilled work force for new opportunities in the space industry and beyond."

Taken together, the space strategy proves America is poised for a future as bright as its remarkable past, the president said.

"Fifty years after the creation of NASA, our goal is no longer just a destination to reach," Obama said. "Our goal is the capacity for people to work and learn, and operate and live safely beyond the Earth for extended periods of time, ultimately in ways that are more sustainable and even indefinite. And in fulfilling this task, we will not only extend humanity’s reach in space -- we will strengthen America’s leadership here on Earth."

Written by: Steven Siceloff, NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center

Columbus All Over Again

I think back to Columbus and the Vikings when the President mentions bypassing the moon for some more distant goal. Of course, I am all for a trip to Mars, but did we ever really hold down the moon as an outpost on the way into the solar system? We know the story of America. The vikings under Leif Eriksson were the first land in North America back around the year 1,000 and establish a small colony. However, they stayed for only a year and never fully established a presence, allowing other Europeans to permanently occupy the territory 500 years later.

Are we making the same mistake with the Chinese? In our search for an asteroid or eventual Mars landing are we handing the moon over to other countries such as China and India to set up moon colonies and take greater possession of something we occupied for a very short time 40 years ago? How will we feel if we see Chinese flags and possibly even EU flags across the moon, while we are still grounded here on Earth hitching a ride to the Space Station on a Russian rocket.

It does not give me a warm feeling, and I can see no clearer indication of the closing of the American Century. And I hope the naming of the first Mars probes "Viking" is not another cruel joke regarding our future on Mars.

The Story of Spirit - One Year into a Sand Trap

So what's going on with NASA's rover Spirit, stuck in the Martian sands since last April? Part of a pair of rovers that landed on Mars in 2004 (the second being Opportunity-sorta the names we apply to battles in the Middle East), one of the craft's six wheels became stuck in sands on the way to view the Von Braun and Goddard volcanic features. Now, about one year later, attempts to solve the problem continue to no avail. It really is a fascinating story if you think about it. Teams of scientists testing ideas in a sandbox to fix a ongoing problem on planet.

One needs to remember that Spirit was only supposed to operate for 90 days, so here we are in year six and it is still doing some great science. As you may also recall, in its second year one of Spirit's front wheel stopped working and thereafter the little craft was driving backwards dragging along one of its broken "legs." And even this dead wheel expanded science by creating shallow trenches that told us more about the surface of Mars, including potential evidence of water on the surface. So we are talking about one tough little vehicle that keeps on ticking. By the way, one more wheel died a few months back, so Spirit may not be going anywhere even if it could recover from the sand trap.

So where is it now? Well, NASA wants to continue to use Spirit to conduct "stationary science." However, with the Martian winter starting (the fourth for Spirit), the craft has been put into hibernation with just the right tilt allowing its sand-covered solar panels to recharge the batteries under a weaker winter sun. Spirit will hopefully communicate again when it is ready and its power source is in better shape.

Go here for a good video biography of the little craft that could from NASA. And visit the Spirit's Mission Manager Reports for the ongoing status of the rover.

Why Not the Moon?

Back in early 2008 I highlighted a poster from NASA asking "Why the Moon?" It provided a lot of good reasons for our revisiting the moon related to (1) human civilization, (2) scientific knowledge, (3) exploration preparation, (4) global partnerships, (5) economic expansion, and (6) public engagement. I wonder how many of those causes have been dropped, or whether we will get the same results from an asteroid. I am not sure if we want to eventually settle on an asteroid as we did the moon.

Astronauts and Apples

Sometimes I wonder if America's fascination is more with the small items they can fit in their pocket rather than the big events that have marked the progress of man. Most kids today seems more impressed with the iPod, iPhone and now the iPad, rather than the fact that each year the United States and its partners are sending men and woman into space to watch over this great globe and prepare for even greater things. Maybe if we had an iShuttle kids would pay attention. I have to give NASA credit for trying to keep up. Twittering astronauts, as well as NASA applications for the iPhone, shows the Agency understands these trends.

My concern is that the cools things today are still the miniaturized items rather than the big things. We seem to be getting the medium confused with the message. In the parlance of the Internet economy, what we need is more content. The brave men and women pushing at the edges of space (and our knowledge of space), be it in manned or robotic vehicles, are all about content. That is why I am worried about a White House that waits until the second year of an administration to even talk about America's plans for space. We do not want more committees. Rather, we are looking for leadership. Only that will get all of us, particularly the kids, to look up from our iphones and stare into the heavens again. Let's hope we see some of this leadership next month when the President travels to Florida to discuss his vision for our space mission.

An Unpopular Decision

The President's decision to walk away from the current moon project is not going over well. Not surprisingly, the congressional representatives in Florida are not too happy to be losing high paying jobs in a bad economy. The Tampa papers were talking about Florida's loss of 7,000 Space Shuttle related jobs, even as the private sector comes in to take up some of the slack (estimated at about 1,700). But the concerns go beyond this as well.

Charles Krauthammer is particularly incensed, stating "Of course, the administration presents the abdication as a great leap forward." He goes on to say, "It would be swell for private companies to take over launching astronauts..but they cannot do it." It is always interesting to watch a staunch conservative supporting federal spending (in this case) and stepping all over the private sector. He even jabs at the Russians and private markets together, explaining that they understand the nature of monopoly under capitalism. But his concern is still understandable. "By the end of the year, there will be no Space Shuttle, no U.S. manned space program, no way for us to get into space...In the interim, space will be owned by Russia and then China."

The families of astronauts also chimed in, asking the Administration to recommit to a 2020 moonshot. The Astronauts Memorial Foundation, in a letter to the President, stated

In order to honor those astronauts and their families who have sacrificed for all of the benefits of human exploration, and to allow Americans continued pride in our space program, we urge you to vigorously support uninterrupted continuation of U.S. human space flight systems, including the Space Shuttle, and to maintain NASA’s leadership in space exploration.

Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has also introduced legislation to fund NASA in order to keep NASA vibrant for the time being rather than rely on the Russians for trips to the Space Station.

Instead of sending up a white flag for our nation's premier science agency, I believe we must close the gap in human spaceflight. To do so, I have introduced legislation allowing NASA to extend the shuttle's service while work continues on development of the next generation of space vehicle. My legislation will make the retirement of the shuttle dependent on the availability of a replacement ship or until NASA determines that the space shuttle's capabilities are not needed to keep the space station viable. The measure will also provide acceleration of the nation's human spaceflight programs to ensure we continue to have future access to space.

Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt simply stated "It's bad for the country...This administration really doe not believe in American exceptionalism."

However, not all astronauts are on the same side on this issue. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin states "Many said the president's decision was misguided, short-sighted and disappointing. Having the experience of walking on the moon's surface on the Apollo 11 mission, I think he made the right call. If we follow the president's plan, our next destination in space, Mars, will be within our reach."

We shall hear more from the President on April 15th. I hope he can recharge the nation and lay down a supportable doctrine.

Lost in Space?

Presidents have made a number of space-related statements over the years that inspired the Nation:

President Kennedy (1961): We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. -- President John F. Kennedy's May 25, 1961 Speech before a Joint Session of Congress (see story here)

President George H. W. Bush (1990): We stand at a halfway point. . . . Thirty years ago, NASA was founded and the space race began. And 30 years from now, I believe man will stand on another planet. -- President George H.W. Bush in a commencement address at Texas A&I University. Looking beyond the travails of a national budget crisis, President Bush outlined a timetable for human exploration of Mars, calling for an American flag to be planted on the surface of the red planet no later than the year 2019, the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing (see story here)

President George W. Bush (2004): Mankind is drawn to the heavens for the same reason we were once drawn into unknown lands and across the open sea. We choose to explore space because doing so improves our lives and lifts our national spirit. -- President George W. Bush, in a speech at NASA headquarters, unveiled an ambitious plan to return Americans to the moon by 2020 and use the mission as a steppingstone for future manned trips to Mars and beyond (see story here).

President Obama (2010): No quote to date on latest policy. However, last month, the Administration announced plans to redirect America's space program by eliminating NASA's $100-billion plans to return astronauts to the moon and using much of that money for new rocket technology research (see story here).

So there we have it. First we reach the moon, then we reach for Mars, then we look closer to home and go back to the moon, and finally we throw in the towel and refuse to provide any particular destination. In a time of great economic turmoil, Americans should still be able to dream. So much for hope.

This Week in Space

The Spaceflight Now website has recently added a webcast called "This Week in Space," which has some interesting content. If you can ignore the odd backgrounds and poor video quality, you will find a good set of stories on the U.S. space program. It bills itself as follows: A new show dedicated to keeping space lovers up to speed on the stories and issues making news off the planet.

Only two webcasts are available at this time; December 22, 2009 and January 15, 2010. Each are worth a quick look or, better yet, you can subscribe to the program on the website or iTunes and get every episode.

A Bit of Fun...

Milestones in 2009

The magazine NetworkWorld had a good list of NASA's 2009 projects worth highlighting here because it shows the diversity of the U.S. space program. The article notes

2009 was a critical year for NASA. The space agency saw its very existence reviewed by the United States Human Space Flight Plan Committee and it watched as its venerable space shuttle fleet ticked off five of its remaining 10 missions. But there were plenty of other projects that took center stage such as the development of the next generation heavy lift rocket, Ares, and the extension of the agency's Antarctica's sea ice monitoring program as well as its ongoing Mars operations.

Here are some other projects mentioned in the article, some of which I hope to follow-up on throughout 2010.

• NASA partnered with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop a plan for reusable commercial spaceships.
• NASA offered $50 million in stimulus money to develop private commercial spacecraft - the Commercial Crew and Cargo Program plans to develop safe, reliable, and cost-effective capabilities to transport cargo to low-Earth orbit and eventually astronauts to the International Space Station.
• NASA's Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellites (LCROSS) crashed into the moon in October 2009 confirming the presence of water on the surface.
• NASA's Mars rover Spirit became stuck in a sand trap in a place NASA calls "Troy" on April 23, 2009 - however, the little guy continues to conduct experiments.
• NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) agreed to cooperate on a future trip to Mars.
• NASA's Centennial Challenges program awarded $1.65 million in prize money to two aerospace companies that successfully simulated landing a spacecraft on the moon, as was as lifting off again. The $1 million first prize went to Masten Space Systems and the $500,000 second prize went to Armadillo Aerospace.
• NASA and Goodyear developed an airless tire for large, long-range vehicles transporting heavy loads across the surface of the moon.

Not a bad year at all, and plenty to do in 2010.

Water, Water Everywhere

Last week NASA had two reports on extraterrestrial water in our solar system. First, NASA reported that water molecules had been definitely found on the surface of the Moon. The amount of water was estimated to be about 32 ounces of water for every ton of surface material. The second NASA report on water was associated with Mars. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter located water just below Mar's surface at a latitude which was much further south than anticipated. New craters revealed the water near the surface. Amazingly, NASA's Viking Lander 2 might have discovered this water back in 1976 had it dug just 4 inches deeper.

Tavis Smiley Interviews NASA's Administrator

Just this past weekend I listened in on Tavis Smiley's radio interview of NASA's new Administrator General Charles Bolden. It was a good interview, but what surprised me the most was Bolden's statement that the United States may not be the first nation to put a man on Mars. I had not heard this before from such a high level in the Administration, let alone from the man who is supposed to make it happen. I find this a little sad. Yes, we are all one global village, but what we need is determination and drive, not an attitude of "Oh well, I am sure someone will do it." Let's hope we find a little bit of that can-do spirit real soon before we go back in for budget talks.

You can download the interview here.

The Future of the Moon Shot

The recent study of the Human Space Flight Review Committee, released by NASA, indicates our ambitions are outstripping our resources. To quote,

The U.S. human spaceflight program appears to be on an unsustainable trajectory. It is perpetuating the perilous practice of pursuing goals that do not match allocated resources. Space operations are among the most complex and unforgiving pursuits ever undertaken by humans. It really is rocket science. Space operations become all the more difficult when means do not match aspirations. Such is the case today.

The report covers a number of topics, including plans to return to Moon and the fate of the International Space Station (ISS). In terms of the Moon, the Committee appears to support the idea of using the Moon landing as a good test on our way to eventually visiting Mars. In fact, robotic exploration of other solar system bodies first (called "Flexible Path") may also have more benefits for awhile before storming Mars. The report states

Mars is the ultimate destination for human exploration; but it is not the best first destination. Both visiting the Moon First and following the Flexible Path are viable exploration strategies. The two are not necessarily mutually exclusive; before traveling to Mars, we might be well served to both extend our presence in free space and gain experience working on the lunar surface.

If NASA follows these recommendations it is possible the Mars plans will be pushed even further into the future.

Concerning the ISS, the report believes the station should remain in orbit longer than planned. After all, it will be a $100 billion asteroid at some point, but maybe we can wait awhile.

Finally, the report recommends more commercial involvement and relevant competitions to spur development. I like this idea. To quote,

Commercial services to deliver crew to low-Earth orbit are within reach. While this presents some risk, it could provide an earlier capability at lower initial and lifecycle costs than government could achieve. A new competition with adequate incentives should be open to all U.S. aerospace companies. This would allow NASA to focus on more challenging roles, including human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, based on the continued development of the current or modified Orion spacecraft.

All in all, the Committee's findings make a lot of sense. Much of the debate comes down to resources, and given the state of the U.S. economy and plans for future government programs, such as health care, we are unlikely to see a huge rush to fund expanded space programs. NASA will be lucky to hold onto its current budget.

Not So Inspiring

Well, now that we have read the words of President Kennedy, maybe we can find something similarly inspiring from our current President. Or maybe not. As Douglas MacKinnon notes in his editorial, President Obama is not so keen on space and, as a result, "...the promise of space may be lost to us for decades." What did Obama say? Back in 2007 then-Senator Obama said, as part of proposing cuts to NASA's budget, "We're not going to have the engineers and scientists to continue space exploration if we don't have kids who are able to read, write and compute." While I concur that the education of the next generation of America is critical, this does not replace the need for a space program but rather gives it new energy. Such national projects as a mission to another planet is what can inspire kids to achieve great things. It's not one or the other, but instead a combination of efforts (i.e. education, safety-nets, important national achievements, etc.) that can make a nation great. I hope now-President Obama realizes this.

The Anniversary

Here is an excerpt from President John Kennedy's May 25, 1961 speech delivered before a joint session of Congress. Take a look at the entire speech after reading this and you will see the theme was the continual battle with the Soviet Union for military dominance. The space program was just one small part of this strategy.

Finally, if we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny, the dramatic achievements in space which occurred in recent weeks should have made clear to us all, as did the Sputnik in 1957, the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere, who are attempting to make a determination of which road they should take. Since early in my term, our efforts in space have been under review. With the advice of the Vice President, who is Chairman of the National Space Council, we have examined where we are strong and where we are not, where we may succeed and where we may not. Now it is time to take longer strides--time for a great new American enterprise--time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth.

I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary. But the facts of the matter are that we have never made the national decisions or marshalled the national resources required for such leadership. We have never specified long-range goals on an urgent time schedule, or managed our resources and our time so as to insure their fulfillment.

Recognizing the head start obtained by the Soviets with their large rocket engines, which gives them many months of leadtime, and recognizing the likelihood that they will exploit this lead for some time to come in still more impressive successes, we nevertheless are required to make new efforts on our own. For while we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will make us last. We take an additional risk by making it in full view of the world, but as shown by the feat of astronaut Shepard, this very risk enhances our stature when we are successful. But this is not merely a race. Space is open to us now; and our eagerness to share its meaning is not governed by the efforts of others. We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share.

I therefore ask the Congress, above and beyond the increases I have earlier requested for space activities, to provide the funds which are needed to meet the following national goals:

First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to develop alternate liquid and solid fuel boosters, much larger than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for other engine development and for unmanned explorations--explorations which are particularly important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who first makes this daring flight. But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon--if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.

Secondly, an additional 23 million dollars, together with 7 million dollars already available, will accelerate development of the Rover nuclear rocket. This gives promise of some day providing a means for even more exciting and ambitious exploration of space, perhaps beyond the moon, perhaps to the very end of the solar system itself.

Third, an additional 50 million dollars will make the most of our present leadership, by accelerating the use of space satellites for world-wide communications.

Fourth, an additional 75 million dollars--of which 53 million dollars is for the Weather Bureau--will help give us at the earliest possible time a satellite system for world-wide weather observation.

Let it be clear--and this is a judgment which the Members of the Congress must finally make--let it be clear that I am asking the Congress and the country to accept a firm commitment to a new course of action, a course which will last for many years and carry very heavy costs: 531 million dollars in fiscal '62--an estimated seven to nine billion dollars additional over the next five years. If we are to go only half way, or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty, in my judgment it would be better not to go at all.

Now this is a choice which this country must make, and I am confident that under the leadership of the Space Committees of the Congress, and the Appropriating Committees, that you will consider the matter carefully.

It is a most important decision that we make as a nation. But all of you have lived through the last four years and have seen the significance of space and the adventures in space, and no one can predict with certainty what the ultimate meaning will be of mastery of space.

I believe we should go to the moon. But I think every citizen of this country as well as the Members of the Congress should consider the matter carefully in making their judgment, to which we have given attention over many weeks and months, because it is a heavy burden, and there is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful. If we are not, we should decide today and this year.

This decision demands a major national commitment of scientific and technical manpower, materiel and facilities, and the possibility of their diversion from other important activities where they are already thinly spread. It means a degree of dedication, organization and discipline which have not always characterized our research and development efforts. It means we cannot afford undue work stoppages, inflated costs of material or talent, wasteful interagency rivalries, or a high turnover of key personnel.

New objectives and new money cannot solve these problems. They could in fact, aggravate them further--unless every scientist, every engineer, every serviceman, every technician, contractor, and civil servant gives his personal pledge that this nation will move forward, with the full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space.

For the full text of the speech, click here.

Peaceful Space Programs?

The United States has moved anti-missile systems to Hawaii to ward off stray North Korean missiles, while the North Korean leader continues to claim that they are part of a peaceful space mission. Is there such a thing today? And was there ever?

In the Wall Street Journal review of Craig Nelson's book Rocket Men (see below), we read of a quote by then Vice President Lyndon Johnson stating, "Control of space means control of the world. From space the masters of infinity would have the power to control the Earth's weather, to cause droughts and floods, to change the tides and raise the level of the sea, divert the Gulf stream and change the temperature to frigid." And we think North Korea is a little bit crazy? The Vice President sounds like Dr. Evil in Austin Powers. Maybe you remember this bit:

Shit. Oh hell, let's just do what we always do. Hijack some nuclear weapons and hold the world hostage. Yeah? Good! Gentlemen, it has come to my attention that a breakaway Russian Republic called Kreplachistan will be transferring a nuclear warhead to the United Nations in a few days. Here's the plan. We get the warhead and we hold the world ransom for... ONE MILLION DOLLARS!

40 Years Later - Rocket Men

I guess I should not be surprised with the number of books out there on the 40th anniversary of our landing a man on the Moon. Its a feat yet to be equaled by any other nation, and certainly a high point to a decade that saw the assassination of President, as well as his brother, the shooting of Martin Luther King, and the slow erosion of American influence as we slogged through Vietnam. But what a way to exit the 1960s!

One of these books is Craig Nelson's Rocket Men. His story about Apollo 11 is getting some great reviews. Here is how Fred Bortz describes it in The Dallas Morning News:

The book is divided into three parts. Part I introduces the astronauts, their families and the Apollo launch and mission control teams. Part II presents a distinctive view of NASA’s evolution from its origin to the day of that momentous launch. Part III picks up after Apollo 11’s liftoff and continues to the moon and beyond. It closes with a poignant and thought-provoking discussion of the biggest question faced by the astronauts and agency alike: What do you do after you’ve been to the moon?

Nelson faced his own daunting mission in telling the Apollo story in a fresh way. He rises to the occasion with meticulous research, skillful storytelling rich in detail and a narrative as stimulating and disciplined as Apollo 11’s trajectory through space and history.

For example, the book’s lengthy but exquisitely controlled opening sentence puts readers on the scene on May 20, 1969, as the 30-story-tall Saturn V rocket “was painstakingly trundled five miles across the raging heat and searing green of central Florida’s eastern coast by an eleven-man Kennedy Space Center crew aboard the world’s largest land vehicle, a six-million-pound, tank-wheeled crawler out of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building, itself so massive that … clouds would form under its 525-foot ceiling … and it would rain.”

To introduce Part II, Nelson writes: “The standard version of the history of NASA has always been that, alarmed and deflated by Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin, the United States created a wholly civilian agency that, through the vital legacy of its youngest president, won the space race ‘in peace for all mankind.’ Besides the fact that almost all these assertions are either misleading or expressly false … [t]he actual story is much richer and the achievements more profound.”

Part III is full of heart-pounding detail that reaches its peak as Armstrong searches for a boulder-free area when unknown lunar mass concentrations cause Eagle to overshoot its planned landing spot. Nelson begins by putting the oral history in context. “From a height of two thousand feet while traveling twenty feet per second, Armstrong tried to orient himself to the landscape below from his studies of the Apollo 10 photographs, but Eagle was now too low to the ground, and too far off-course,” he writes. Then he leaves the rest of the story to flight director Gene Kranz, Buzz Aldrin, Armstrong and Armstrong’s wife, Jan.

Whether or not we need to go back to the Moon is its own question, but the fact that we made it there at all is a marvel and a turning point in human history.

Who Wants to Go to the Moon?

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Michio Kaku discusses the race for the Moon and how China, Japan and India all have plans to land on the surface of the Moon sometime around 2020. Not to be outdone, the European Space Agency (ESA) plans a manned mission to Mars in 2030 called the Aurora Program. (Note: The ESA's own site is calling for an "international human mission" to Mars by 2025, so it seems ESA does not plan to go on its own). Even so, Mr. Kaku seems to be worried about a "traffic jam" on the surface of the Moon. An interesting idea (and less worrisome than an explosion that pushes the Moon away from Earth ala Space 1999).

Mr. Kaku also calls a trip the Moon "symbolic," citing its lack of military value, lack of air and water, and expensive-to-retrieve minerals. Finally, he worries about the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, wondering if it is up to the task when all these visits start of occur. Here are the basics:

1. the exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and shall be the province of all mankind;
2. outer space shall be free for exploration and use by all States;
3. outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means;
4. States shall not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or station them in outer space in any other manner;
5. the Moon and other celestial bodies shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes;
6. astronauts shall be regarded as the envoys of mankind;
7. States shall be responsible for national space activities whether carried out by governmental or non-governmental activities;
8. States shall be liable for damage caused by their space objects; and
9. States shall avoid harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies.

It still seems pretty relevant today, but maybe a recommitment to these principles might make sense just to make sure everyone has read the fine print. Overall, a new space race is not such a bad idea if it stimulates new approaches and technologies that can advance mankind in the Heavens and here on Earth.

Phobos or Bust?

The New York Times had an interesting interview with Buzz Aldrin in its Sunday magazine. Asked about a return to the Moon, Aldrin thought we should be aiming higher. For instance, the Russians are planning a trip to Phobos, one of Mars' "moons," as a stepping stone to the Martian surface. Aldrin noted "Russia perhaps is still entertaining the possibility that the moons of Mars might have access to ice or water." An interesting approach. Aldrin would rather send robots to the Moon and men to Mars, which is the very reverse of the current American plans. Maybe he is onto something.

NASA Administrator Named

Just to follow up on an earlier posting, President Obama has named General Charles Bolden as the new Administrator of NASA. According to the NASA press release, General Bolden has a pretty impressive background:

Gen. Charles Bolden, Nominee for Administrator of NASA Charles Bolden retired from the United States Marine Corps in 2003 as the Commanding General of the Third Marine Aircraft Wing after serving more than 34 years, and is currently CEO of JackandPanther LLC, a privately-held military and aerospace consulting firm. Gen. Bolden began his service in U.S. Marine Corps in 1968. He flew more than 100 sorties in Vietnam from 1972-73. In 1980, he was selected as an astronaut by NASA, flying two space shuttle missions as pilot and two missions as commander. Following the Challenger accident in 1986, Gen. Bolden was named the Chief of the Safety Division at the Johnson Space Center with responsibilities for overseeing the safety efforts in the return-to-flight efforts. He was appointed Assistant Deputy Administrator of NASA headquarters in 1992. He was Senior Vice President at TechTrans International, Inc. from 2003 until 2005. Gen. Bolden holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis and a M.S. in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.

Of course, none of this says anything about the General's vision for NASA, so we will have to wait a little longer to hear about this.

More on Moon Dust

Brian O'Brien, an Australian physicist, has figured out the secret of moon dust, or what is officially called regolith. Mr. O'Brien worked on the Apollo program back in the 1960s and his curiosity related to the Moon's surface continued all this time. Now it seems the amount of sunlight on the Moon's surface impacts the stickiness of the regolith. It appears the sun's radiation on the surface puts a positive charge on the regolith, causing it to stick to anything from a space suit to NASA instruments. What does this mean for future missions? Well, NASA will need to find a way to overcome this positive charge. Of course, one option is to work on the dark side of the Moon, but I am not sure anyone likes that idea just yet.

In fact, NASA has been running regolith competitions for years to "promote the development of mechanical designs to excavate lunar regolith." NASA keeps adding money to the pot but no one has really come up with a winning design. The 2009 competition will be August 15-16. The rules for competing can be found here. Just think of it as an advance version of the Pinewood Derby.

HD 189733b

Okay, the name is not as memorable as Mars or the ice planet of Hoth, but HD 189733b is the first distant world where traces of carbon dioxide has been detected. And while it might be a fiery giant about 64 light years away, it provides some new insights into another solar system. HD 189733b is said to be about the same size as Jupiter, though it orbits much close to its sun. For more on the specifics of this exoplanet, visit Universe Today.

Who Will be NASA's Administrator?

One of the names that had been bouncing around as the new Administrator is retired Air Force Major General Scott Gration, one of his advisors during the campaign. However, not everyone was happy with this name, including Senator Nelson from Florida.

So, what is the situation today? Well, the Major General will be going to Sudan after being selected as a special envoy. President Obama stated "Standing alongside Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Rice, his appointment is a strong signal of my Administration’s commitment to support the people of Sudan while seeking a lasting settlement to the violence that has claimed so many innocent lives." Interestingly enough, the Major General was born in Congo. This is good news for Sudan, but what about NASA?

Also, maybe this is not where the Major General wants to be. The New Republic notes that "...Gration originally had his heart set on running NASA. Obama tried to put him there until defense lobbyists scotched the idea."

So who else is on the NASA list? Other names have been U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden, a former space shuttle commander; Charles Kennel, who chairs the National Academy of Science's Space Studies Board; Alan Stern, former NASA associate administrator for science; Scott Hubbard, former director of NASA's Ames Research Center; Wesley Huntress, former NASA associate administrator for space science; and Steve Isakowitz, who was recently reappointed chief financial officer at the Energy Department.

According to The Washington Post, President Obama said he will make a selection any day now. We shall see, since he had orginally planned to this before the inauguration. The Congress is certainly getting impatient, as the letter below demonstrates.

Bipartisan Letter Expressing Need for an Administrator Who Will Minimize the Spaceflight Gap

Dear President Obama:

We write to you as Members of Congress with an abiding interest in the important contributions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA has been a leading catalyst for innovation and technology development and has enjoyed over 50 years of broad public interest and strong bipartisan political support. The agency’s work is linked to larger issues facing our country such as national security, climate change and American competitiveness. Currently, NASA faces numerous time-sensitive challenges and needs decisive leadership.

One of the most important issues facing NASA and our nation is the impending retirement of the Space Shuttle, and the subsequent five year gap in independent U.S. access to the International Space Station before the Ares 1 and Orion systems can be deployed. This issue has been identified by the Government Accountability Office as one of thirteen ‘urgent’ items for your administration to address. As you know, this issue is linked to our economic recovery since the gap could result in layoffs for several thousand highly skilled aerospace engineers and technicians over the next two years.

We believe it is imperative for NASA to have a leader who understands the implications of a five year or longer hiatus in America’s independent access to space. The new NASA Administrator should grasp the broad strategic and international aspects of NASA’s mission, as well as the technical, budgetary and programmatic tradeoffs that lie ahead. We urge you to keep these issues in mind as you search for a NASA Administrator candidate with the right background, integrity and focus on minimizing the spaceflight gap and preserving the agency’s cutting edge science and aeronautics programs. Maintaining a focused policy and providing the necessary funding to allow NASA to succeed are essential to the technological advances and scientific discoveries that benefit all Americans.

We fully recognize the difficult challenges our nation faces, and we believe that a focused and properly funded NASA can aid our national economy and contribute to our shared goals of sustaining our technological edge and competing on a global stage.

We look forward to working with you and a new Administrator to ensure a robust, successful NASA. We stand ready to work together with you and continue providing the nation’s civilian space and aeronautics agency our steadfast support.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

Sincerely,

Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL)
Ken Calvert (R-CA)
Robert Aderholt (R-AL)
John Culberson (R-TX)
Al Green (D-TX)
Parker Griffith (D-AL)
Ralph Hall (R-TX)
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
Michael McCaul (R-TX)
Pete Olson (R-TX)
Bill Posey (R-FL)
Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Lamar Smith (R-TX)
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL)

Source: Office of Rep. Suzanne Kosmas

Where is NASA Going?

As of today, if you review the NASA organizational chart you will see an acting Administrator (Christopher Scolese) and a missing Deputy Administrator. So, when do we see some new leadership at NASA, and will the priorities change? A January article in The Economist magazine called "Mars Rising?" that spelled out a few arguments for a change in the U.S. space policy, including a greater reliance on robots. What concerns me more is a possible Obama Adminstration preference for satellites looking back onto Earth rather than keeping our eyes on the Heavens. I would prefer to place the Earth-focused projects into another agency so NASA's mission can be primarily other-worldly. We have plenty to explore and better understand on this planet, including the oceans that cover most of our world, but we should have the resources to stare back at our navel and reach for distant locations.

Anyway, here is the article in full for those who are interested:

Mars rising?

Jan 22nd 2009
From The Economist print edition

Why NASA should give up its ambitions to send men into space

AS LONG as people have looked up at the night sky, they have wondered whether humanity is alone in the universe. Of places close enough for people to visit, Mars is the only one that anybody seriously thinks might support life. The recent confirmation of a five-year-old finding that there is methane in the Martian atmosphere has therefore excited the hopes of exobiologists—particularly as the sources of three large plumes of the gas now seem to have been located. These sources are probably geological but they might, just, prove to be biological.

The possibility of life on Mars is too thrilling for mankind to ignore. But how should we explore such questions—with men, or machines? Since America is the biggest spender in space, its approach will heavily influence the world’s. George Bush’s administration strongly supported manned exploration, but the new administration is likely to have different priorities—and so it should.

Bug-eyed monsters

Michael Griffin, the boss of American’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a physicist and aerospace engineer who supported Mr Bush’s plan to return to the moon and then push on to Mars, has gone. Mr Obama’s transition team had already been asking difficult questions of NASA, in particular about the cost of scrapping parts of the successor to the ageing and obsolete space shuttles that now form America’s manned space programme. That successor system is also designed to return humans to the moon by 2020, as a stepping stone to visiting Mars. Meanwhile, Mr Obama’s administration is wondering about spending more money on lots of new satellites designed to look down at the Earth, rather than outward into space.

These are sensible priorities. In space travel, as in politics, domestic policy should usually trump grandiose foreign adventures. Moreover, cash is short and space travel costly. Yet it would be a shame if man were to give up exploring celestial bodies, especially if there is a possibility of meeting life forms—even ones as lowly as microbes—as a result.

Luckily, technology means that man can explore both the moon and Mars more fully without going there himself. Robots are better and cheaper than they have ever been. They can work tirelessly for years, beaming back data and images, and returning samples to Earth. They can also be made sterile, which germ-infested humans, who risk spreading disease around the solar system, cannot.

Humanity, some will argue, is driven by a yearning to boldly go to places far beyond its crowded corner of the universe. If so, private efforts will surely carry people into space (though whether they should be allowed to, given the risk of contaminating distant ecosystems, is worth considering). In the meantime, Mr Obama’s promise in his inauguration speech to “restore science to its rightful place” sounds like good news for the sort of curiosity-driven research that will allow us to find out whether those plumes of gas are signs of life.

Keep Track of the New Planets

Now that the Kepler spacecraft is on its way, we need some way to keep track of all the new planets we hope to discover. Well, do not fear because The Planetary Society is here to help. The Society has set up a new Catalog of Exoplanets to store information on all the new discoveries. This Catalog will include essential information about each exoplanet, such as : (1) planet's location and home star; (2) mass; (3) orbital period; (4) method by which it was detected; and (5) date of discovery.

The Society notes that

Researchers have discovered more than 300 exoplanets to date. Most are gas giants hundreds of times the mass of the Earth, many orbiting very close to their home stars. But as the sensitivity of the search and the range of detection methods have increased, so has the variety of known exoplanets. Planetary systems composed of as many as five planets have been discovered, some of them sharing similarities with our own solar system. Planet-hunters are also detecting smaller and smaller planets, as small as twice the diameter of the Earth. As detection techniques improve, scientists are closing in on the exoplanet we are all waiting for: an alien “Earth” orbiting a distant star.

Life on Other Planets?

It's good to hear NASA's Kepler spacecraft is safely on its way into its 6-year mission to study the heavens and find other Earth-like planets. The Delta II rocket carried Kepler aloft on March 6th with no problems. Kepler is expected to study between 100,000 and 170,000 sunlike stars in the Milky Way galaxy in the hopes of finding orbiting planets. To do this, Kepler will analyze shifts in each star's brightness.

According to NASA, the mission is as follows:

The scientific objective of the Kepler Mission is to explore the structure and diversity of planetary systems. This is achieved by surveying a large sample of stars to:

1. Determine the percentage of terrestrial and larger planets there are in or near the habitable zone of a wide variety of stars;
2. Determine the distribution of sizes and shapes of the orbits of these planets;
3. Estimate how many planets there are in multiple-star systems;
4. Determine the variety of orbit sizes and planet reflectivities, sizes, masses and densities of short-period giant planets;
5. Identify additional members of each discovered planetary system using other techniques; and
6. Determine the properties of those stars that harbor planetary systems.

This is quite a mission and it should be interesting to read about the results in the years to come.

$70 Million Per Astonaut?

Last month NASA awarded a $3.5 billion cargo contract to Orbital Sciences Corp. and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). This should help get the United States through the 2010-2015 period when the shuttles are offline and a new system is being developed. However, to get our astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) during this same period the Russians will be charging $70 million per astronaut. That is one expensive trip. I would rather we consider a private firm such as Space Adventures, which successfully placed Richard Garriott onto the ISS in October 2008. Given the current budget situation, we should be partnering as much as possible with the private sector. We will need the creativity and ingenuity of all interested parties to meet all of the expected challenges.

Note: The image above is the SpaceX Dragon to be used to carry cargo. The craft has also been designed to carry crew, though that is not the mission at this time.

NASA Will Be Part of Parade

Well, while we do not know where the space program fits into the Obama budget priorities (see my earlier posting), at least we know that NASA will be part of the inaugural parade on Tuesday. According to a NASA press release, "The crew of NASA's recent STS-126 space shuttle mission and other agency officials will join representatives from across the country and our armed forces in this historic parade down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington following swearing-in ceremonies on the steps of the Capitol." A protype rover related to the 2020 Moon mission will also be present for the celebration. Maybe this is the reminder the President will need, though for some reason the President may have a few additional items on his mind.

Other 2008 Events - India

On October 22nd of this year the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched its first probe to our Moon - the Chandrayaan-1. This 2,875-pound spacecraft is scheduled to spend up to two years mapping lunar terrain and studying the satellite's minerals from an orbit about 62 miles high. The probe carries 5 scientific payloads from Indian institutions and another 6 from other countries, including the United States.

This artist's concept shows the Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan 1. Credit: ISRO

NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper is aboard the Chandrayaan-1. This device, called the M3, is a 15-pound imaging spectrometer from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The M3 will map the moon's mineral resources (including water at the poles) through high resolution visible and near-infrared wavelengths. NASA officials will then use these maps to plan future Moon mission landing sites.

Other instruments include:

• C1XS - an Europen Space Agency (ESA)-funded payload jointly developed by the U.K. lab, the University of Helsinki and ISRO. C1XS will survey the chemical compounds on the moon by detecting the X-ray signature of surface elements.
• RADOM - a Bulgarian radiation detector.
• SIR 2 - a German near-infrared spectrometer. Financed by ESA, this device will provide information similar to the M3 but on a much narrower spectral band.
• MiniSAR - a U.S. payload from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, specifically planned to accompany M3 to look for signs of water ice near the Moon's poles.
• SARA - an ESA-funded probe, which includes component parts from Sweden, Switzerland, Japan and India. The probe will monitor solar wind particles impacting the lunar surface.

One of India's own devices is a 64-pound impactor to be dropped from the orbiting spacecraft for a nosedive into the moon. Hopefully, this crash landing will also provide valuable data on the Moon's composition.

So, the race is on and luckily the United States is part of this Indian mission so it can plan for it own return to the Moon. And India joins a small club of countries that have been to the Moon - the U.S., Russia, ESA, Japan and China. Rumors are that India plans to put a rover on the moon in 2011 and possibly follow this with a manned mission.

Time to Take a Look Again...

Okay, I have been gone for awhile, so now that I am back and we have a new President, we must be back on track for Mars, right? Let's take a look. How many times is Mars mentioned in President-Elect Obama's Plan for America? I went to his Change.gov and visited the "Technology" section but could not find a single sentence on the Moon or Mars. In fact, I searched the entire site and could not find anything on Mars. Does this mean we are Earth-bound for another generation? This is not clear, but it appears stem cells and patent protection will be more important in the near future than exploring the great unknown. Fortunately, the plan has one section called Invest in the Sciences stating his Plan would "Double federal funding for basic research over ten years, changing the posture of our federal government to one that embraces science and technology." I guess we can fit the space program in there somewhere. I am not sure how that will do against other topics such as addressing the dropout crisis and diverse media ownership, but we shall see.

Note: To be fair, in his December 20, 2008 YouTube address, he did use the word "Moon" once, as shown below: 

Right now, in labs, classrooms and companies across America, our leading minds are hard at work chasing the next big idea, on the cusp of breakthroughs that could revolutionize our lives. But history tells us that they cannot do it alone. From landing on the moon, to sequencing the human genome, to inventing the Internet, America has been the first to cross that new frontier because we had leaders who paved the way: leaders like President Kennedy, who inspired us to push the boundaries of the known world and achieve the impossible; leaders who not only invested in our scientists, but who respected the integrity of the scientific process.

Let the Space Race Continue!

Once again we are looking to private initiative to find a new way into space, and $30 million is a nice incentive. Launched in September 2007, the Google Lunar X PRIZE is an international competition to safely land a robot on the surface of the Moon, travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send images and data back to the Earth. Teams must be at least 90% privately funded and must be registered to compete by December 31, 2010. The first team to land on the Moon and complete the mission objectives will be awarded $20 million; the full first prize is available until December 31, 2012. After that date, the first prize will drop to $15 million. The second team to do so will be awarded $5 million. Another $5 million will awarded in bonus prizes. The final deadline for winning the prize is December 31, 2014.

And the interest is impressive. Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, announced the teams at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California. “I’m very pleased to welcome our first 10 fully registered teams to the Google Lunar X PRIZE. Only 6 months after the announcement of this competition, the response has been incredible – we’ve received over 560 expressions of interest from more than 53 nations."

With the U.S. government, China, Japan and others pushing for the moon as well, it is a positive sign to see a truly open international competition to open up the moon. Just as we had our period of settling the western spaces in America, it seems the new slogan could be "Go up, young man".