LOOKING FOR ORGANICS ON MARS

Mars Rover On Earth.  Credit:  NASA.

 FROM:  NASA

Organics are carbon-based molecules – key ingredients to life. If Curiosity finds organics in ancient rocks, thereʼs a better chance Mars once had good conditions for small life forms called microbes.

But, finding organics is hard! Thatʼs because organics easily break down when exposed to harsh things like extreme radiation and chemical oxidants that gave the Martian surface its rusty color.

A great place to look for ancient organics today is in rock layers. Organics that were quickly trapped and buried in layers of mud or in sediments that sank to the bottom of a body of water could have an especially good chance of being preserved.

Scientists think Curiosityʼs landing site, Gale Crater, contains those special layers, created in ancient times when water was present. The water dried up long ago, but rock layers that remain today could still preserve organics inside.

If Curiosity finds organics, it wouldnʼt prove life existed, but it sure would improve the odds that Mars once had the right ingredients for life!

U.S. Department of Defense Armed with Science Update

U.S. Department of Defense Armed with Science Update

NASA RESEARCHES ALTERNATIVE JET FUEL

FROM: NASA
NASA Begins Flight Research Campaign Using Alternate Jet Fuel

WASHINGTON -- NASA researchers have begun a series of flights using the agency's DC-8 flying laboratory to study the effects of alternate biofuel on engine performance, emissions and aircraft-generated contrails at altitude.

The Alternative Fuel Effects on Contrails and Cruise Emissions (ACCESS) research involves flying the DC-8 as high as 40,000 feet while an instrumented NASA Falcon HU-25 aircraft trails behind at distances ranging from 300 feet to more than 10 miles.

"We believe this study will improve understanding of contrails formation and quantify potential benefits of renewable alternate fuels in terms of aviation's impact on the environment," said Ruben Del Rosario, manager of NASA's Fixed Wing Project.

ACCESS flight operations are being staged from NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., and will take place mostly within restricted airspace over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

During the flights, the DC-8's four CFM56 engines will be powered by conventional JP-8 jet fuel, or a 50-50 blend of JP-8 and an alternative fuel of hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids that comes from camelina plants.

More than a dozen instruments mounted on the Falcon jet will characterize the soot and gases streaming from the DC-8, monitor the way exhaust plumes change in composition as they mix with air, and investigate the role emissions play in contrail formation.

Also, if weather conditions permit, the Falcon jet will trail commercial aircraft flying in the Southern California region, in coordination with air traffic controllers, to survey the exhaust emissions from a safe distance of 10 miles.

The flight campaign began Feb. 28 and is expected to take as long as three weeks to complete.

ACCESS follows a pair of Alternative Aviation Fuel Experiment studies conducted in 2009 and 2011 in which ground-based instruments measured the DC-8's exhaust emissions as the aircraft burned alternative fuels while parked on the ramp at the Palmdale facility.

A second phase of ACCESS flights is planned for 2014. It will capitalize on lessons learned from the 2013 flights and include a more extensive set of measurements.

The ACCESS study is a joint project involving researchers at Dryden, NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

The Fixed Wing Project within the Fundamental Aeronautics Program of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate manages ACCESS.

NASA - Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae

NASA - Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae

Bringing Sentinel-3 together

Bringing Sentinel-3 together

Präzise Zuglaufverfolgung per Satellit

Präzise Zuglaufverfolgung per Satellit

Weltraumteleskop Herschel: Mission in Kürze abgeschlossen

Weltraumteleskop Herschel: Mission in Kürze abgeschlossen

NASA - NASA Locations

NASA - NASA Locations

ESO 456-67

FROM: NASA
Hubble Observes Glowing, Fiery Shells of Gas


It may look like something from "The Lord of the Rings," but this fiery swirl is actually a planetary nebula known as ESO 456-67. Set against a backdrop of bright stars, the rust-colored object lies in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer), in the southern sky.

In this image of ESO 456-67, it is possible to see the various layers of material expelled by the central star. Each appears in a different hue - red, orange, yellow, and green-tinted bands of gas are visible, with clear patches of space at the heart of the nebula. It is not fully understood how planetary nebulae form such a wide variety of shapes and structures; some appear to be spherical, some elliptical, others shoot material in waves from their polar regions, some look like hourglasses or figures of eight, and others resemble large, messy stellar explosions - to name but a few.

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA

MARS MINING

FROM: NASA

NASA is developing the RASSOR mining robot to collect soil, or regolith, on the moon or Mars so it can be processed into rocket fuel, breathable air and other commodities. By using materials available at other locations in the solar system, astronauts don't have to carry it all from Earth.

Persuitnodiging: Satelliet Proba-V verlaat België - laatste bezichtiging op dinsdag 5 maart

Persuitnodiging: Satelliet Proba-V verlaat België - laatste bezichtiging op dinsdag 5 maart

Ein Kurzfilm über das Europäische Satellitenkontrollzentrum in Darmstadt

Ein Kurzfilm über das Europäische Satellitenkontrollzentrum in Darmstadt

Un sudario de polvo y gas

Un sudario de polvo y gas

Hoe laat is het? ESA helpt de tijd nauwkeurig te bepalen

Hoe laat is het? ESA helpt de tijd nauwkeurig te bepalen

HOT FIRE TEST AT WALLOPS VIDEO

FROM: NASA, ORBITAL SCIENCES
Antares Hot Fire Test at Wallops

NASA commercial partner Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Va., successfully conducted an engine test of its Antares rocket Friday, Feb. 22, from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Va.