NASA's current planetary-protection policies reflect a bygone era of space exploration and need to be updated, a new report argues.
Planetary protection refers to the effort to keep the solar system as pristine as possible. The main goals are to minimize the odds that our spacecraft infect other worlds, such as Mars, with Earth microbes (a process known as forward contamination) and to reduce the risk of alien bugs getting loose on our planet after sample-return missions (back contamination).
NASA's planetary-protection guidelines follow those established by an international scientific organization called the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), which began such work way back in 1958. The U.S. space agency's policies have changed some over the decades, but NASA recognized that additional revisions are likely needed now to deal with the fast-changing exploration landscape.
Other things to check out:
Dream of Visiting a Black Hole? Maybe Don't, Fun NASA Video Suggests | Space
If you've ever thought about what it might be like to visit a black hole , NASA has shared a few videos and postcards that may have you reconsidering.
NASA's Black Hole Safety video explains what a black hole is, how to find one and a safe distance to keep from falling into one — a boundary known as the event horizon , beyond which nothing can return.
* * *
NASA shared a series of postcards warning travelers about the dangers of visiting a black hole.
"A black hole is a physical object in space, just like everything else," the video explains . "It's made up of a tiny but massive point where gravity and density are infinite, a line beyond which everything, including light, can only fall into that tiny point."
NASA's event horizon postcard warns travelers about visiting a black hole with a nod to "spaghettification," also called the noodle effect! Videos for NASA Needs To Get With The Times When 0:59 NASA Updates Space Suit Design for All-Female Spacewalk YouTube!! The closer an object gets to a black hole, the stronger its gravitational pull becomes! 3:42 First All-Female Spacewalking Team Christina Koch and Jessica Meir Make History YouTube!! Spaghettification refers to the vertical stretching and horizontal compression of objects that fall into a black hole.
Air Products partners with NASA to fuel trips to space, thanks to one-of-a-kind product made in
The federal space agency said in a news release that the helium, in gas and liquid form, will support several programs, including the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft! 1:53 NASA First All Female Spacewalk Is Happening This Week: Here's Everything You Need to Know Newsweek!! NASA said it uses helium as an "inert purge gas for hydrogen systems," a "pressurizing agent" for ground and flight fluid systems, a cryogenic agent for cooling, and in precision welding applications.
Air Products spokesman Art George said the uses for purging and pressurizing require the company's helium pumping system, which is the only one of its kind in the industrial gas industry! Get NASA out of the rocket business - USA TODAY www.usatoday.com ...get - ...rocket-business ...Get NASA out of the rocket business. ...the space agency has, at different times , toiled on various smaller, ...But the story need not end there, with history repeating itself and the space ...!! Air Products researchers developed the proprietary pumping system at the company's Trexlertown headquarters, George said.
NASA said the contract with Air Products began Oct. 1 and runs two years, followed by three one-year options that would extend the deal to Sept. 30, 2024. The agency also awarded a $35.2 million contract to Messer LLC of Bridgewater, New Jersey.
NASA Astronauts Complete the First All-Female Spacewalk - The New York Times
NASA reached a milestone on Friday when two Americans, tasked with replacing a power controller, ventured out of the International Space Station: the astronauts, Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, became the first to take part in an all-female spacewalk.
The walk, which lasted seven hours and 17 minutes and included a brief call with President Trump, was not purposefully planned by the agency! Artemis: Astronaut Jeanette Epps is a NASA option for ...www.businessinsider.com /female- nasa ...However, it's not certain if Congress will give NASA the funding it needs to get Artemis off the ground on- time . Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .!! As NASA explained it, one was bound to happen eventually because of the increasing number of female astronauts.
But news of the milestone attracted far greater interest than spacewalks normally do, and on Friday, American officials celebrated it as a historic achievement. They pointed to the agency's ambitious goals to put the first woman and the next man on the moon, and then to forge a path to Mars.
"You're doing an incredible job," Mr. Trump told the astronauts on Friday during a call to the space station. "This is a first step, because we're going to the moon, and then we're going to Mars."
Many things are taking place:
NASA Just Unveiled the Space Suit to be Worn by the First Woman on the Moon - Scientific American
“Ultimately the goal is this: We’re going to Mars,” Bridenstine said. “And in order to go to Mars, we need to use the moon as a proving ground.”
“Kristine is wearing a spacesuit that will fit all of our astronauts when we go to the moon,” Bridenstine said, motioning to Kristine Davis, a spacesuit engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, who wore one of the two prototype suits on stage at the event.
The second suit unveiled Wednesday, the Orion Crew Survival System, is a bright orange pressure suit that will be worn by astronauts when they launch into space on the Orion capsule and return to Earth. It was demonstrated at the event by NASA spacesuit engineer Dustin Gohmert.
One specific improvement is the sizing and fit, NASA engineers said. The xEMU suit is designed to accommodate a wide variety of sizes and NASA intends for it to fit better, be more comfortable and allow astronauts to move around more easily in the suit.
NASA’s resilient Van Allen Probes shut down – Spaceflight Now
Ground controllers transmitted commands to shut down the second of NASA’s Van Allen Probes on Friday, three months after turning off an identical satellite to conclude a seven-year mission that explored the donut-shaped radiation belts surrounding Earth.
The Van Allen Probes were running low on fuel after maneuvers earlier this year to lower their orbits, allowing the satellites to naturally fall back into Earth’s atmosphere and burn up in about 15 years.
The two satellites repeatedly flew through the ever-changing clouds of electrons and charged particles surround Earth. Most satellites avoid prolonged exposure to the radiation belts, but the treacherous region was home for the Van Allen Probes.
“This mission spent seven years in the radiation belts, and broke all the records for a spacecraft to tolerate and operate in that hazardous region, all with no interruptions," said Nelofar Mosavi, Van Allen Probes project manager at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “This mission was about resiliency against the harshest space environment.”
NASA Needs to Get With the Times When It Comes to Planetary Protection, Report Finds https://t.co/7WWgVAtGl4 https://t.co/fBPBIkdNuB SPACEdotcom (from NYC) Mon Oct 21 12:34:36 +0000 2019
As we get ready to land humans on the Moon again, a common language to talk about our future space tech needs is mo… https://t.co/0rsvWWFZWz NASA_Technology (from Washington, DC) Wed Oct 16 19:30:01 +0000 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment