The International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Sunday, April 29, 2012
NASA SELECTS 10 SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROJECTS
WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected ten proposals from small business and
research institution teams to continue work on innovative
technologies that could advance future missions. The Phase II winners
in the agency's Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program now
can enter negotiations for possible contract awards, with a total for
all projects of approximately $7.49 million.
High-technology firms in seven states submitted proposals in
partnership with research institutions in nine states. The STTR
Program uses a highly competitive, three-phase award system that
provides collaborative opportunities between qualified small
businesses, including women-owned and disadvantaged firms, and
research institutions to address specific technology gaps in NASA's
programs. STTR projects provide a foundation for future technology
developments and are complementary to other NASA research
investments.
Firms and research institutions that participated in Phase I of the
STTR submitted 44 Phase II proposals. Selection criteria included
technical merit and innovation, Phase I results, value to NASA,
commercial potential and company capabilities. Phase I is a
feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of
an idea and Phase II will expand on the results of last year's
projects, with up to $750,000 to support research for up to two more
years. Phase III is for the commercialization of the results of Phase
II and requires private sector or non-STTR federal funding.
STTR is part of NASA's Space Technology Program and is managed at the
agency's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., with
executive oversight by the Office of the Chief Technologist at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. Individual projects are managed by NASA's
field installations.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
NASA DAWN SPACECRAFT REVEALS SECRETS OF GIANT ASTEROID VESTA FROM: NASA
Photo: Asteroid Vesta. Credit: NASA
WASHINGTON -- Findings from NASA's Dawn spacecraft reveal new details about the giant asteroid Vesta, including its varied surface composition, sharp temperature changes and clues to its internal structure. The findings were presented today at the European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna, Austria and will help scientists better understand the early solar system and processes that dominated its formation.
Spacecraft images, taken 420 miles (680 kilometers) and 130 miles (210 kilometers) above the surface of the asteroid, show a variety of surface mineral and rock patterns. Coded false-color images help scientists better understand Vesta's composition and enable them to identify material that was once molten below the asteroid's surface. Researchers also see breccias, which are rocks fused during impacts from space debris. Many of the materials seen by Dawn are composed of iron- and magnesium-rich minerals, which often are found in Earth's volcanic rocks.
Images also reveal smooth pond-like deposits, which might have formed as fine dust created during impacts settled into low regions. "Dawn now enables us to study the variety of rock mixtures making up Vesta's surface in great detail," said Harald Hiesinger, a Dawn participating scientist at Münster University in Germany. "The images suggest an amazing variety of processes that paint Vesta's surface." At the Tarpeia crater near the south pole of the asteroid, Dawn revealed bands of minerals that appear as brilliant layers on the crater's steep slopes. The exposed layering allows scientists to see farther back into the geological history of the giant asteroid. The layers closer to the surface bear evidence of contamination from space rocks bombarding Vesta's surface. Layers below preserve more of their original characteristics. Frequent landslides on the slopes of the craters also have revealed other hidden mineral patterns.
"These results from Dawn suggest Vesta's 'skin' is constantly renewing," said Maria Cristina De Sanctis, lead of the visible and infrared mapping spectrometer team based at Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome.
Dawn has given scientists a near 3-D view into Vesta's internal structure. By making ultrasensitive measurements of the asteroid's gravitational tug on the spacecraft, Dawn can detect unusual densities within its outer layers. Data now show an anomalous area near Vesta's south pole, suggesting denser material from a lower layer of Vesta has been exposed by the impact that created a feature called the Rheasilvia basin. The lighter, younger layers coating other parts of Vesta's surface have been blasted away in the basin.
Dawn obtained the highest-resolution surface temperature maps of any asteroid visited by a spacecraft. Data reveal temperatures can vary from as warm as -10 degrees Fahrenheit (-23 degrees Celsius) in the sunniest spots to as cold as -150 degrees Fahrenheit (-100 degrees Celsius) in the shadows. This is the lowest temperature measurable by Dawn. These findings show the surface responds quickly to illumination with no mitigating effect of an atmosphere.
"After more than nine months at Vesta, Dawn's suite of instruments has enabled us to peel back the layers of mystery that have surrounded this giant asteroid since humankind first saw it as just a bright spot in the night sky," said Carol Raymond, Dawn deputy principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. "We are closing in on the giant asteroid's secrets." Launched in 2007, Dawn began its exploration of the approximately 330-mile- (530-kilometer-) wide asteroid in mid-2011. The spacecraft's next assignment will be to study the dwarf planet Ceres in 2015. These two icons of the asteroid belt have been witness to much of our solar system's history. Dawn's mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital Sciences Corp. in Dulles, Va., designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
NASA RELEASES CALL FOR PHASE II VISIONARY ADVANCED CONCEPTS
FROM: NASA
WASHINGTON -- The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program is
seeking proposals to continue promising studies for which it has
supported the first phase. These cutting-edge concepts have the
potential to transform future exploration missions, enable new
capabilities, or significantly alter current approaches to launching,
building, and operating aerospace systems.
"These transformative concepts have the potential to mature into the
new capabilities NASA needs for the challenging space missions in its
future," said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA's Space Technology
Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
NIAC projects are chosen based on their character as innovative and
visionary, technically substantiated, and very early in development
-- 10 years or more from use in a mission. NIAC's current diverse
portfolio represents multiple technology areas, including power,
propulsion, structures, and avionics.
"We are thrilled to be launching Phase II, so the 2012 NIAC portfolio
can feature the most exciting combination of new ideas and continued
development," said Jay Falker, NIAC program executive at NASA
Headquarters.
The call for proposals follows last summer's inaugural selection of
Phase I concepts, which are now under study. NIAC will be accepting
proposals of no more than 20 pages until June 6.
NASA expects to fund between five and nine Phase II studies this year.
The number of awards will depend on the strength of proposals and
availability of appropriated funds. Awardees will receive up to
$500,000 over two years to further analyze and develop their
innovative concepts and help create new avenues for future NASA
missions.
Selection announcements are expected in August. This limited
solicitation is only for continuing NIAC Phase I concepts. Phase II
proposals are eligible based on any current Phase I studies, or any
prior Phase I studies from the original NASA Institute for Advanced
Concepts that did not complete Phase II.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
NASA MISSION WANTS AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS TO TARGET ASTEROIDS
WASHINGTON -- A new NASA outreach project will enlist the help of
amateur astronomers to discover near-Earth objects (NEOs) and study
their characteristics. NEOs are asteroids with orbits that
occasionally bring them close to the Earth.
Starting today, a new citizen science project called "Target
Asteroids!" will support NASA's Origins Spectral Interpretation
Resource Identification Security - Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx)
mission objectives to improve basic scientific understanding of NEOs.
OSIRIS-REx is scheduled for launch in 2016 and will study material
from an asteroid.
Amateur astronomers will help better characterize the population of
NEOs, including their position, motion, rotation and changes in the
intensity of light they emit. Professional astronomers will use this
information to refine theoretical models of asteroids, improving
their understanding about asteroids similar to the one OSIRIS-Rex
will encounter in 2019, designated 1999 RQ36.
OSIRIS-REx will map the asteroid's global properties, measure
non-gravitational forces and provide observations that can be
compared with data obtained by telescope observations from Earth. In
2023, OSIRIS-REx will return back to Earth at least 2.11 ounces (60
grams) of surface material from the asteroid.
Target Asteroids! data will be useful for comparisons with actual
mission data. The project team plans to expand participants in 2014
to students and teachers.
"Although few amateur astronomers have the capability to observe 1999
RQ36 itself, they do have the capability to observe other targets,"
said Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Previous observations indicate 1999 RQ36 is made of primitive
materials. OSIRIS-REx will supply a wealth of information about the
asteroid's composition and structure. Data also will provide new
insights into the nature of the early solar system and its evolution,
orbits of NEOs and their impact risks, and the building blocks that
led to life on Earth.
Amateur astronomers long have provided NEO tracking observations in
support of NASA's NEO Observation Program. A better understanding of
NEOs is a critically important precursor in the selection and
targeting of future asteroid missions.
"For well over 10 years, amateurs have been important contributors in
the refinement of orbits for newly discovered near-Earth objects,"
said Edward Beshore, deputy principal investigator for the OSIRIS-REx
mission at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will provide
overall mission management, systems engineering and safety and
mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta is the mission's
principal investigator at the University of Arizona. Lockheed Martin
Space Systems in Denver will build the spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the
third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program. NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages New Frontiers for the
agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
TEACHING A SPACESHIP HOW TO FLY
A test model of the Orion spacecraft with its parachutes was tested the skies high above the U.S. Army’s Proving Grounds in Yuma, Ariz. on Feb. 29, 2012. This particular drop test examined the wake -- or the disturbance of the air flow behind Orion -- that is caused by the spacecraft. The U.S. Space Launch System, or SLS, will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond Earth orbit and the Orion capsule is a major part of this program. The Orion spacecraft will replace the space shuttle as NASA's vehicle for human space exploration and is designed to accommodate four to six astronauts traveling into space. It also will supplement commercial and international partner transportation services to the International Space Station. Designed to be flexible for crew or cargo missions, SLS will continue America's journey of discovery from the unique vantage point of space. Image Credit: NASA
Saturday, April 21, 2012
FIRST STAGE OF ANTARES ROCKET
The first stage of Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket stands in launch position during pathfinder operations at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Orbital’s Antares launch vehicle will be conducting missions for NASA under its Commercial Orbital Transportation Service Program and Cargo Resupply Services contract. Image Credit: NASA/P.Black
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