50 years ago, humanity’s first steps on another world

WASHINGTON — Fifty years ago on Saturday, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans in history to set foot on the moon, an event watched on television by half a billion people.

Their lunar module, named “Eagle,” touched down at 2018 GMT (4:18pm ET) on July 20, 1969.


A little over six hours later, at 0256 GMT, Armstrong placed his left foot on the lunar surface, declaring: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

NASA has been in overdrive for several weeks to mark the anniversary, with exhibits and events nationwide but most notably at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida and the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

On Saturday, Vice President Mike Pence is due to deliver a speech from the Kennedy Space Center, from where Armstrong, Aldrin and Michael Collins, the third crew member took off. All three men were born in 1930.

Pence sent shockwaves through the industry in his last major space speech in March, when he advanced the deadline to return humans to the moon by four years, from 2028 to 2024.


It is within this charged context, with President Donald Trump publicly questioning NASA’s plans to return to the moon to test technology for Mars, that the U.S. is celebrating the anniversary of the epoch-making Apollo 11 mission.

‘World in my window’

Collins, 88, has remained the more active of the surviving Apollo veterans, and frequently shares lyrical recollections of the mission.

Speaking at a Washington event on Thursday, he said that while the Moon itself was breathtaking seen up close, it was the view of Earth that has stayed with him and shaped his perspective.

“When we rolled out and looked at (the Moon), oh, it was an awesome sphere,” he said.


“The sun was behind it, so it was illuminated by a rim of gold which made the strangest appearances of the craters and crater pits, the contrast between the whiter than white and darker than dark.”

As magnificent as that view was, it was “nothing compared to this other window out there,” Collins continued.

“Out there was this little pea about the size of your thumbnail at arm’s length: blue, white, very shiny, you get the blue of the oceans, white of the clouds, streaks of rust we call continents, such a beautiful gorgeous tiny thing, nestled into this black velvet of the rest of the universe.”

While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were on the surface, ex-fighter pilot Collins remained in lunar orbit where he was in touch with ground control, providing them updates on his position.

“I said to Mission control, ‘Hey, Houston, I’ve got the world in my window.’

Cold War victory

By placing men on the moon, the U.S. achieved the ultimate victory in the space race after losing the initial heats to the Soviet Union, which was first to put a satellite and then a man in space.

The undertaking, announced by president John F. Kennedy in 1961 and partly spurred by the Bay of Pigs crisis, involved enormous spending rivaled in scope only by the construction of the Panama Canal and the Manhattan Project.

It was a resounding achievement not just from a technical perspective but also diplomatic, as the two superpowers jostled for global prestige in the Cold War.

Trump has relaunched the race to re-conquer the moon — this time with the first woman — and to journey onwards to the Red Planet.

But the deadlines — 2024 and 2033 respectively — appear unrealistic and have caused turbulence within the space agency.  /muf

source: technology.inquirer.net

NASA plans to send mini-helicopter to Mars

The US space agency said Friday it plans to launch the first-ever helicopter to Mars in 2020, a miniature, unmanned drone-like chopper that could boost our understanding of the Red Planet.

Known simply as “The Mars Helicopter,” the device weighs less than four pounds (1.8 kilograms), and its main body section, or fuselage, is about the size of a softball.

It will be attached to the belly pan of the Mars 2020 rover, a wheeled robot that aims to determine the habitability of the Martian environment, search for signs of ancient life, and assess natural resources and hazards for future human explorers.

Mars 2020 is planned for launch in July 2020 with an arrival on the surface of Mars expected in February 2021.

“NASA has a proud history of firsts,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a statement.

“The idea of a helicopter flying the skies of another planet is thrilling.”

No nation has ever flown an helicopter on Mars before.

Thin atmosphere

The undertaking began in August 2013 as a technology development project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

In order to fly in Mars’ thin atmosphere, the space helicopter has to be super light, yet as powerful as possible.

“The altitude record for a helicopter flying here on Earth is about 40,000 feet (12,100 meters),” said Mimi Aung, Mars Helicopter project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“The atmosphere of Mars is only one percent that of Earth, so when our helicopter is on the Martian surface, it’s already at the Earth equivalent of 100,000 feet up (30,500 meters),” she added.

Engineers built the copter’s twin, counter-rotating blades to “bite into the thin Martian atmosphere at almost 3,000 rpm — about 10 times the rate of a helicopter on Earth,” said a NASA statement.

The helicopter is equipped with “solar cells to charge its lithium-ion batteries, and a heating mechanism to keep it warm through the cold Martian nights.”

Controllers on Earth will command the Mars Helicopter, which was designed to receive and interpret commands from the ground.

Plans are being laid for a 30-day flight test, with five flights going incrementally further each time, up to a few hundred yards (meters).

Its first flight calls for a brief vertical climb of 10 feet (three meters), followed by hovering for a half minute.
NASA views the copter as a “high-risk, high-reward technology demonstration,” it said.

If successful, it could be a model for scouting on future Mars missions, able to access places the human-built rovers cannot reach.

If it fails, it will not impact the Mars 2020 mission.

“The ability to see clearly what lies beyond the next hill is crucial for future explorers,” said NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the science mission directorate.

“We already have great views of Mars from the surface as well as from orbit. With the added dimension of a bird’s-eye view from a ‘marscopter,’ we can only imagine what future missions will achieve.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

Largest asteroid in a century to whiz by Earth on Sept 1

MIAMI, United States — The largest asteroid in more than a century will whiz safely past Earth on September 1 at a safe but unusually close distance of about 4.4 million miles (7 million kilometers), Nasa said.

The asteroid was discovered in 1981, and is named Florence after the famed 19th century founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale.

“Florence is the largest asteroid to pass this close to our planet since the first near-Earth asteroid was discovered over a century ago,” said a US space agency statement.

It is one of the biggest asteroids in the Earth’s vicinity, and measures about 2.7 miles (4.4 kilometers) wide — or about the size of 30 Egyptian pyramids stuck together.

“While many known asteroids have passed by closer to Earth than Florence will on September 1, all of those were estimated to be smaller,” said Paul Chodas, manager of Nasa’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.

Scientists plan to study the asteroid up close when it passes, using ground-based radar imaging in California and Puerto Rico.

“The resulting radar images will show the real size of Florence and also could reveal surface details as small as about 30 feet (10 meters),” said Nasa.

This pass will be Florence’s closest “since 1890 and the closest it will ever be until after 2500,” added the US space agency.

Asteroids are small, natural rocky bodies that orbit the Sun.

Large asteroid collisions with Earth are rare.

A car-sized asteroid hits Earth’s atmosphere about once a year and burns up before reaching the surface.

“About every 2,000 years or so, a meteoroid the size of a football field hits Earth and causes significant damage to the area,” said Nasa.

“Finally, only once every few million years, an object large enough to threaten Earth’s civilization comes along.”

Scientists are confident that Florence will not be one of them. CBB

source: technology.inquirer.net

NASA urges people to wave at moon during Aug. 21 eclipse

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently confirmed the presence of the “Great American Eclipse,” which will engulf the skies across the United States on Aug. 21.

A grand phenomenon of this magnitude certainly deserves to be documented, which is why the space agency is using its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to capture its essence.

According to a recent NASA press release, people along the line of “totality” are urged to wave their hands and cheer as the LRO’s camera captures an image of the Moon’s shadow on Earth.

“I’m really excited about this campaign because it is something so many people can be a part of,”  Andrea Jones, LRO public engagement lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said. “So much attention has been focused on the lucky folks who will get to experience eclipse totality, but everyone in an entire hemisphere of the Earth can wave at the Moon as LRO takes our picture!”

NASA also made it known that the Moon will be far enough from Earth during the eclipse, which will make the resolution of the images at only 2.5 miles per pixel.

“While people should not expect to see themselves in the images, this campaign is a great way to personalize the eclipse experience,” said Noah Petro, LRO deputy project scientist at Goddard. He added that the camera wouldn’t be able to capture people or buildings, but would still cover continents, clouds and large surface features.

Although people are invited to celebrate the extremely rare occurrence, NASA advised those who will be in the 70-mile-wide path to use proper eclipse glasses when staring at the Sun—even as it begins to vanish.  Khristian Ibarrola  /ra

source: technology.inquirer.net

Tornadoes slam southeast Louisiana, injuring dozens

NEW ORLEANS — Brittany Ross remembers she was savoring the smell of her aunt’s simmering white beans when the storm that injured about 40 people in southeastern Louisiana hit.

“The place started shaking, kind of twisting,” she said Tuesday as she stood amid the wreckage at a small trailer park in eastern New Orleans.

The tornado, she said, lifted the trailer off the ground and slammed it down.

Ross, 26, her aunt and two others crawled out of the wreckage amid flying debris — uninjured, but suddenly homeless.

The tornadoes that struck Ross’ home and other parts of southeastern Louisiana destroyed homes and businesses, flipped cars and trucks, and left thousands without power, but no deaths were reported, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said.

The governor took an aerial tour and made a disaster declaration before meeting with officials in New Orleans. The worst damage was in the same 9th Ward that was so heavily flooded in 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.

Edwards, a Democrat, said he was heartbroken to see some of the same people suffering again, and promised that the state will provide the affected residents with the resources they need as quickly as possible.

He said seven parishes were hit by tornadoes in an afternoon of tumultuous weather across southeastern Louisiana.

The storm ripped apart homes, toppled a gas station canopy, snapped tall power poles and flipped a food truck upside-down. It left shards of metal hanging from trees, and trapped a truck driver as power lines wrapped around his cab.

The wall of severe weather also delivered heavy rain and hail to Mississippi and Alabama.

Artie Chaney said her granddaughter had just pulled up to the house from school.

“(Hail) rocks were falling on the car, and I was looking out the side door and saw the clouds moving fast. I heard this sound. We looked up in the air and we could see debris in the distance and before we knew it, it was just barreling down on us,” Chaney recalled.

“We ran in the house; the lights went out. We ran down the hallway to the middle bedroom and then we just heard glass shattering. We thought we weren’t gonna make it. It seemed like it lasted a long time. It was a horrible experience. We were just so grateful to God that nobody was hurt.”

Chaney said, her voice breaking as she looked at the damage, “We went through all of Katrina, with no damage. I didn’t think I’d be starting over again.”

The Baton Rouge area also got hit. Ascension Parish Sheriff’s spokeswoman Allison Hudson said three people suffered minor injuries and several homes and buildings were damaged in the historic part of Donaldsonville, about 20 miles southwest of the capital.

In Killian, just east of Baton Rouge, the mayor said several houses were destroyed and several others damaged, but an elderly couple suffered the only injuries he knew of: one, a broken leg; the other, a broken arm.

“How you manage to get blown completely across the street with cinderblocks flying and no worse than a couple broken limbs — apparently the good Lord was looking after them,” Mayor Craig McGehee said.

An official at NASA’s Michoud facility in New Orleans said it suffered some structural damage but the deep-space equipment being built there does not appear to have been harmed.

Steve Doering said the hardware and tooling used in the Orion and Space Launch System projects were not damaged, but Michoud will have to make a “significant effort” to cover everything up so any subsequent bad weather doesn’t affect it while the building’s roof and walls are repaired.

Two Mississippi counties reported wind damage, but no injuries, from suspected tornadoes. Other areas of Mississippi saw heavy rain and hail from the storm system that spawned multiple tornadoes in Louisiana. –Kevin McGill

* * *

Associated Press writers Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Janet McConnaughey, Chevel Johnson, Rebecca Santana and Gerald Herbert in New Orleans contributed to this report.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

WATCH: Zuckerberg streams live chat with men in space

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg took the leading social network on a new journey Wednesday, with a live-streamed chat with astronauts on the International Space Station.

In a Facebook Live video broadcast shown at the NASA page of the social network, Zuckerberg praised the work going on at the station and launched a few questions, some submitted to him online.

Zuckerberg effused that while Facebook’s mission has long been to connect everyone in the world, “connecting folks who are out in space is about as extreme and cool as it gets.”

The conversation between earthbound Zuckerberg and three members of the ISS crew lasted approximately 20 minutes and ranged from types of experiments being done in space to what food tastes like to them and what they do for fun.

Experiments included effects of zero gravity on combustion, fluids, and even the human body.

Learning how to keep people and the station in top shape in space is an important step toward being able to further explore the cosmos, according to astronauts.

Insights shared included that being in space seemed to mess with the sense of taste, prompting astronauts at the station to spice up food, of which there is a variety.

ISS commander Timothy Kopra noted that treats sold in markets as astronaut ice cream are not that at all, but mentioned a Space X capsule some time back did drop off some real ice cream that was nearly gone.

When asked about Facebook in space, Kopra said that he has enjoyed sharing pictures and musings at the social network.

For fun, astronauts said, they stare out the window a lot and marvel at the beauty of Earth, and play with zero gravity. The trio somersaulted in unison to make the point.

“It would not have been a first Live to outer space without some astronauts flipping around in zero gravity,” Zuckerberg quipped.

“It is amazing this thing worked.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

NASA must take more care about rocket parts after accident, probers say

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - Independent NASA accident investigators said the U.S. space agency should “perform a greater level of due diligence for major system components” in rockets that deliver cargo to the International Space Station following a 2014 explosion.

The recommendation came in the investigators' report on the explosion of Orbital ATK's Antares rocket that destroyed a load of cargo for the space station. It may spur calls for more oversight of NASA's use of commercial contracts to deliver cargo - and soon crew members - to the space station.

NASA shared development costs for those programs with its commercial partners, while earlier rockets were fully government-funded.

Separate accident investigations are underway to determine the cause of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket failure on June 28, 2015, which claimed another load of station cargo.

NASA hired both Orbital and privately held Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, to fly cargo to the station after the space shuttles were retired. The U.S. space agency is working on a similar program with SpaceX and Boeing to fly crew.

Orbital, in a report obtained by Reuters from the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday, said the Oct. 28, 2014 Antares explosion was most likely caused by an engine manufacturing defect, while NASA said it could also have been caused by a design issue or debris in the engine.

Both investigations said a fire and explosion in the rocket engine’s liquid oxygen turbopump caused the booster to fail about 14 seconds after liftoff from Wallops Island, Virginia.

Orbital said the cause of the failure was most likely a manufacturing defect in a turbopump in one of the rocket’s two AJ-26 engines, a Soviet-era motor refurbished and resold by Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc.

Aerojet in September paid Orbital $50 million to settle the dispute.

Orbital plans to replace the AJ-26 engines with a new Russian-made engine manufactured by Russia's NPO Energomash. First flight of the refurbished Antares is expected in 2016.

The use of Russian engines is controversial – they have been banned from use in rockets carrying military payloads – but analyst Marco Caceres, with Teal Group, says NASA has no choice if they want competition. “We know the Russians build excellent engines, but we don’t know how the quality control is,” he said. “To a certain extent, it’s a moot point because NASA doesn’t have a lot of choices.” The NASA investigators said a manufacturing defect was possible in the Antares case, noting that a defect also was found in a separate AJ-26 engine that exploded during testing in May 2014. But they said it was not clear the defect alone could have caused the explosion.

The NASA probe found two other potential causes of the failure: an engine design that made the turbopump “vulnerable to oxygen fires and failures,” and silica and titanium debris found in the engine.

The probe said any one of the three potential causes, or a combination of them, could have triggered the explosion. Investigators also said Orbital and Aerojet did not have full insight into the design and operational record of the engines, which were manufactured 40 years ago for a Soviet moon program.  — Reuters

NASA Mars rover finds clear evidence for ancient, long-lived lakes

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida  - Three years after landing in a giant Martian crater, NASA's Curiosity rover has found what scientists call proof that the basin had repeatedly filled with water, bolstering chances for life on Mars, a study published on Thursday showed.

The research offered the most comprehensive picture of how Gale Crater, an ancient, 87-mile (140-km) wide impact basin, formed and left a 3-mile (5-km) mound of sediment standing on the crater floor.

Early in its mission, Curiosity discovered the gravel remnants of streams and deposits from a shallow lake.

The new research, published in the journal Science, showed that the crater floor rose over time, the result of sediments in water settling down, layer after layer, for what may have been thousands of years, California Institute of Technology geologist John Grotzinger said.

"We knew that we had a lake there, but we hadn't grasped just how big it was," Grotzinger said.

Water from north of the crater regularly filled the basin, creating long-lasting lakes that could have been a haven for life. Scientists suspect the water came from rain or snow.

"If one discovers evidence of lakes, that's a very positive sign for life," Grotzinger said.

Eventually, the crater filled with sediments. Then the winds took over and eroded the lakebed, leaving behind just a mound at the center. That mound, named Mount Sharp, is why Curiosity was sent to Gale Crater to look for ancient habitats suitable for microbial life.

Scientists have learned that Mars had all the ingredients thought to be necessary for life.

Exactly how Mars managed to support long-lived surface water is a mystery. Billions of years ago, the planet lost its global magnetic field, which allowed solar and cosmic radiation to gradually blast away its protective atmosphere. Under those conditions, liquid water evaporates quickly.

"If you have a body of standing water that lasts more than hours to days without boiling off, that is a huge surprise," Grotzinger said.

Current computer models of Mars fall well short of an atmospheric blanket thick enough to support the long-lived lakes, the researchers noted.

Grotzinger suspects that Mars may have had greenhouse gases or some other chemistry that so far has gone undetected.

Last week, another team of scientists published research showing that trickles of briny water seasonally flow on present-day Mars, carving narrow streaks into cliff walls throughout the equator. The source of the water is not yet known.  — Reuters

NASA scientists answer questions about alien life and water on Mars

To mark the discovery of liquid water on Mars, scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) held an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on reddit where they answered questions from the public.

Just a leaky faucet's worth of water

Just how much water are we talking about here? According to the scientists, it’s just a small amount—comparable to the amount that drips from your faucet if you don’t close it tightly. “We think this is a very small amount of water—maybe just enough to wet the top layer of the surface of Mars,” they said. “Think of this as a ‘seep’ not a flow.”

At present, NASA’s rovers can’t approach the regions where they suspect water is present because they’re considered “special regions.” To enter the area, extra precautions are required to prevent contamination by Earth life.

Preventing contamination by Earth life

Scientists are keenly aware of the possibility of microscopic alien life, and are very careful to make sure that Earth life doesn't contaminate and overrun the potentially fragile Martian ecosystem.

For one thing, rovers need additional sterilization before they can come closer. Scientists also take samples of microbes on the spacecraft before launch for comparison with any future discoveries.

Other Mars-related projects NASA has in mind are InSight in 2016—a lander designed to detect Mars-quakes—and a rover in 2020.

The AMA took place from 2-3 p.m. ET (2-3 a.m. Tuesday in the Philippines). Scientists who participated were Rich Zurek, Chief Scientist of NASA’s Mars Program Office and Project Scientist at the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter project; Leslie K. Tamppari, Deputy Project Scientist, MRO; Stephanie L. Smith, NASA-JPL social media team; and Sasha E. Samonchina, NASA-JPL social media team. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Meteor shower on Monday night, but bright moon may spoil view

An expected bright moon threatens to spoil stargazers' view of a meteor shower Monday night, state astronomers said.

PAGASA space sciences and astronomy section head Engineer Dario dela Cruz said the Perseids meteor shower may peak starting Monday night with up to 120 meteors per hour.

But dela Cruz, in an interview on dzBB radio, said only about 30 meteors per hour may be visible due to the interference from the bright moon.

"Mamaya sa silangan bago mag-hatinggabi hanggang magdamag inaasahan natin itong shower na ito na magbibigay ng 120 meteors per hour. Pero dahil sa maliwanag ang buwan, posibleng makakita tayo ng 30," he said.

He said that while the meteor show will continue on Tuesday night, there will not be as many meteors visible by then.

Earlier, PAGASA said the bright moon can "cast an interfering glare across the nights of maximum activity, reducing visibility from 120 meteors per hour (the typical Perseid peak rate) to less than 30."

Similarly, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the "nearly full moon" may "upstage the show" by the Perseids.

NASA said the Perseids are active from July 17 to Aug. 24 this year.

"The Perseid meteor shower is known as one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing fast and bright meteors that frequently leave trains, but in 2014, a nearly full moon will upstage the show," it said.

Perseids are considered to be the best meteor shower of the year as the meteors are "very fast and bright" and often leave long "wakes" of light and color.

NASA added Perseids are known for their fireballs, larger explosions of light and color.

"This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material. Fireballs are also brighter, with magnitudes brighter than -3," it said.

NASA suggested that stargazers view the Perseids in the Northern Hemisphere before dawn or as early as 10 p.m.

"Find an area well away from city or street lights. Come prepared with a sleeping bag, blanket or lawn chair. Lie flat on your back with your feet facing northeast and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible. After about 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors," it said. —Joel Locsin/KG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Unique camera from NASA's moon missions sold at auction

VIENNA - The only camera to return from NASA's moon missions in 1969-1972 was sold at an auction in Vienna Saturday for 550,000 euros ($760,000), far outdoing its estimated price.

The boxy silver-colored camera, which was sold to a telephone bidder, was initially valued at 150,000-200,000 euros.

The Hasselblad model was one of 14 cameras sent to the moon as part of NASA's Apollo 11-17 missions but was the only one to be brought back.

As a rule, the cameras -- which weighed several kilograms (pounds) and could be attached to the front of a space suit -- were abandoned to allow the astronauts to bring back moon rock, weight being a prime concern on the missions.

"It has moon dust on it... I don't think any other camera has that," Peter Coeln, owner of the Westlicht gallery which organized the auction, said of the rare piece.

The camera, which was being sold by a private collector, was used by astronaut Jim Irwin to take 299 pictures during the Apollo 15 mission in July-August 1971.

A small plate inside is engraved with the number 38, the same number that appears on Irwin's NASA snapshots.

Close to 600 objects were on sale on Saturday. The Westlicht gallery is the world's largest auction house for cameras and has overseen the sale of some of the most expensive photographic equipment in history, including a 1923 Leica camera prototype that sold for 2.16 million euros, a world record. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com