SPACE
& SCIENCE NEWS: January 2004
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Shuttle clouds station's future
(Jan 22, 2004)
The long-awaited finale to the US portion of the International Space
Station (ISS) was to be just weeks away from launch by now, with the
partner modules, including Europe's Columbus laboratory, finally at
the front of the line for rides to orbit. The Columbia accident on
1 February 2003 indefinitely delayed those plans. And now, a US decision
to retire the space shuttle fleet in six years has stripped away any
last vestige of a clear future for the troubled ISS program.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Big chill killed off Neanderthals
(Jan 22, 2004)
It is possibly the longest-running murder mystery of them all. What,
or even who, killed humankind's nearest relatives, the Neanderthals
who once roamed Europe before dying out almost 30,000 years ago? Suspects
have ranged from the climate to humans themselves, and the mystery
has deeply divided experts. Now 30 scientists have come together to
publish the most definitive answer yet to this enigma. They say Neanderthals
simply did not have the technological know-how to survive the increasingly
harsh winters. And intriguingly, rather than being Neanderthal killers,
the original human settlers of Europe almost suffered the same fate.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Rover's stunning image of lander
(Jan 21, 2004)
Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit has looked back at its landing pad and taken
a stunning colour picture of the platform where it started its Martian
adventure. Colours in the image have been adjusted but scientists
have not yet determined the "true" colour of the Martian rocks. The
rover will now pause by the rock Adirondack as it decides to use a
grinder to examine the rock's interior.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
New-found Mars meteorite hints at past
water
(Jan 21, 2004)
A rock found in the Atlas Mountains of southern Morocco in 2001 has
been confirmed as Martian in origin. The meteorite's chemical signature
was checked out by researchers at the UK's Southampton Oceanography
Centre. The team that found it was led by experienced meteorite hunters
Carine Bidaut and Bruno Fectay, who have now found six rocks from
Mars – a record. The meteorite would have been blasted off the
Red Planet by an impact and may hold clues to Mars' watery past.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Rover returns data on Mars soil
(Jan 21, 2004)
NASA's Mars Rover Spirit has delivered its first data on the minerals
present in the soil of the Red Planet. Spirit has used two of its
key scientific devices for the first time: its Mossbauer spectrometer
and its alpha particle X-ray spectrometer. The results so far reveal
the presence of the mineral olivine, which is a possible product of
volcanic activity. Spirit will now pause to conduct tests on the mineral
make-up of the football-sized rock Adirondack. Spirit used its science
instruments to examine a patch of Martian soil about 3 centimetres
(1.2 inches) across (shown in photo).
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Rocky task for Mars rover
(Jan 20, 2004)
NASA's Spirit rover is set to reach out with its arm and examine a
sharply angled rock – dubbed by scientists "Adirondack" –
that sits on the surface of Mars. Tuesday's date with the football-sized
rock is the latest task assigned to the rover, which will use its
microscopic imager and two spectrometers capable of detailing the
minerals and elements that make up the rock. Spirit should then drill
into the rock, perhaps as early as Wednesday, to reveal its interior.
Scientists believe the rock is made of a volcanic material `You can
think of it as a time capsule that contains a history of its formation,"
said Dave Des Marais, of NASA's Ames Research Center and a member
of the mission science team.
Read
more. Source: CNN |
Europe's stunning Red Planet view
(Jan 19, 2004)
The first image of the Red Planet taken by Europe's Mars Express probe
since it arrived in orbit has been released. The picture shows a part
of the Valles Marineris, a giant canyon that runs across the middle
of the planet. The image, taken from an altitude of 275 km, was obtained
by the probe's High Resolution Stereo Camera and shows detail down
to 12 metres. Mars Express will spend the next year studying the Martian
atmosphere, the planet's structure, and its geology. Dr John Murray,
of the Open University, UK, who is on the camera team, told BBC News
Online: "This is the first 3D camera sent to Mars. "It is 10 times
better than anything sent before. We have high hopes for it and how
it will advance our understanding of Mars." He added: "These first
images are the culmination of more than 10 years of work. In a matter
of minutes, we are able to map an area greater than Great Britain
and Ireland showing details down to a few metres in diameter.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Spirit moves into Martian rock garden
(Jan 19, 2004)
Easy pickings is what NASA's Spirit rover has found on Mars. Over
the weekend, the robot was steered to a select rock at the Gusev Crater
landing site, inching up to the target for detailed camera inspection.
The scientific pace of Spirit is picking up. Once it wheeled off its
landing base last Thursday, the robot parked itself on Mars and began
to survey the scene. Rover control here at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL) spotted a set of candidate rock types within a short driving
distance for up-close scrutiny. Scientists identified three rocks
as possible driving targets. Two were dubbed "Sushi" and "Sashimi"
and sat in an area that was tagged the Wasabi region.
Read
more. Source: space.com |
First Mars Express photos
(Jan 18, 2004)
Spectacular images taken by the European Mars Express orbiter have
been posted on this German website. They show Valles Marineris (accompanying
image) and lava flows on Acraeus Mons in unprecedented detail. Mars
Express is capable of resolving detail, under some circumstances,
as small as 2 meters. The first official photos are due to be released
by ESA on June 20.
Read
more. Source: Mars Society, Germany |
Why Hubble is being dropped
(Jan 17, 2004)
Without doubt the Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most important
telescopes ever built. Its science is remarkable, its images iconic
and it had much more to give. So why is it being abandoned? Few were
expecting such an announcement about the demise of Hubble. Just a
few weeks ago Steven Beckwith, the director of Hubble's home institution,
the Space Telescope Science Institute in Maryland, told BBC News Online
that he was looking forward to the next servicing mission and the
upgrade Hubble would receive. With Hubble's replacement – the
James Webb Telescope – not due in orbit until 2012 at the earliest,
he hoped that Hubble could survive until the handover. So why is NASA
abandoning one of the most productive scientific instruments of all
time? The main reason is safety. It is said that the decision was
made solely by Nasa's chief, Sean O'Keefe, and that it was not related
to President George Bush's new space plan for a return to the Moon
and missions to Mars. Money was not an issue.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
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