NASA News 9 June 2015

Here is some unusual news. In the 1990s Tom Cruise of all people told NASA their website might be good for research and scientists, but it was three clicks from oblivion for the average person. He went on to say he would lend them the people who design the movie sites and they would take the info which was already there and make it more user friendly for the rest of us. NASA took him up on this and he was responsible for the beginnings of the website which we all use now.
Lately we have seen a few interesting robotic missions from NASA such as the Dawn Mission to Ceres the dwarf planet and flights to asteroids, but as I said these have been robotic missions. Now we are hearing NASA is considering human exploration of asteroids. They are also looking for design ideas for their robotic missions. As time goes by more advances are made which in turn increase the usefulness of NASA’s equipment. One problem however is NASA needs reliable computers so they use tried and true technology which is not the same as saying they use the newest technology. The different aspects of asteroid exploration is now known as the NASA Asteroid Initiative and encompasses both robotic and human asteroid exploration. The Asteroid Redirect Mission known as ARM is where humans come in. NASA is proposing moving an asteroid into orbit around the moon and putting humans on it to explore it. The latest word on this as this article was written is that NASA is going to retrieve a boulder from a bigger asteroid and put that into orbit. They are looking at 2008 EV5, Bennu and Itokawa, as the source for the boulder.

NASA has offered a 2.25 million dollar prize to any company which can build a 3D-printed habitat for deep space exploration, including the trip to Mars. The problem NASA wants to solve is the problem of having to carry habitat materials aboard a spacecraft with limited space. It would help them tremendously if the shelter could be printed out when they reach their destination. This would leave space aboard the spacecraft for other much needed supplies. NASA has said the ability to create a human habitat from indigenous materials and other materials which would be considered waste, would be invaluable. Phase one of the contest ends on 27 September 2015 and it is for architectural concepts and the top 30 entries will be considered with the winner receiving $50,000.

The New Horizons space probe is due to flyby Pluto on July 14, 2015. After its mission is finished NASA is considering allowing it to be loaded with a message. The project is known as One Earth Message. It is being led by the same person Jon Lomberg, who designed the golden records which were placed on the Voyager spacecraft before they were launched in 1977. The idea is to tell any aliens who might encounter the craft about humans and the planet earth. NASA wants people from all parts of the world to submit ideas, along with photos and sounds. The project is being funded by Crowdsourcing.
A NASA expert has said the future of California is going to be more like the landscape in the latest Mad Max movie. It will be deserts along with dust storms. Apparently the movie shows what our future might be, but does it have to be that way?

NASA has welcomed 3D-printing with open arms. The Marshall Space Flight Center contains many different 3D-printers. They can print out plastic or metal objects and parts. NASA engineers have said their goal is to make the process of 3D-printing better. They want to make it faster and cheaper. They also want to understand the process better. NASA is using 3D-printers to manufacture rocket parts among other things. If used properly a 3D-printer can make parts that are even stronger than parts manufactured by a different method. NASA says there are risks with new technology and they want to resolve them as soon as they can.

There are those who still say global warming is a lie. Maybe they should read the latest report form NASA. It states a study from the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters speaks about more bad news in this area. The Larsen B Ice Shelf at Antarctica is about to disintegrate. We are talking about the last remaining 625 square mile section. The scientists are stating it will be gone before the end of the decade. Ice shelves protect glaciers from melting into the ocean. If the ice shelves melt the glaciers will eventually drift into the ocean raising sea levels. The Larsen B ice shelf is over 10,000 years old. During the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere the South Pole was experiencing warmer than usual summers and this is thought to be the root of the problem. NASA has found two of the three glaciers which feed the ice sheet are thinning out and moving faster. These are all warming signs.

SpaceX has earned the certifications necessary to launch NASA science missions. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket will be used for almost all the NASA missions. The exceptions will be the most costly robotic missions. The first mission is going to be the launching of the United States and France oceanography satellite in July of this years (2015). The missions the Falcon 9 will launch are officially known as “medium risk.” This means the Falcon 9 rocket is now classified by NASA as a “Category 2” vehicle. To launch the most expensive and complicated robotic rockets require a “Category 3” certification such as the one possessed by United Launch Alliance and Orbital ATK. SpaceX is responsible for six successful resupply missions to the International Space Station, but the space station program does not require certification.

NASA is hoping its Dawn spacecraft will be able to clear up a couple of mysteries. One is what are the bright spots on Ceres? Another is how many moons does Pluto have and what does its surface look like?Β  Five moons have been found so far but they are extremely small. There are still people who want Pluto’s classification to be put back to planet instead of dwarf planet.
NASA is going to test what looks like a flying saucer but it is named a Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD). NASA says the purpose of the vehicle is a more efficient slowing down of a vehicle. I am sure someone will say this is really a UFO type vehicle.