Thursday 16 April 2015
Awesome 2nd Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer Explodes Across the Internet!
OK, this is the last post on AstrobioWire. From now on, all space related stuff will be posted on WireLike (see above link). So... let's go out with a bang! The new trailer is here, and the internet has already gone crazy for the latest little taste of the upcoming third trilogy of the franchise that first got me interested in space exploration as a kid (for real). Enjoy:
Thursday 19 March 2015
Alien Rainbow: Astrobiology Gets a New Spectrum of Life Signatures
An international collaboration by scientists has created a catalogue of signatures of life that astrobiologists could use to hunt for signs of habitation throughout the cosmos.
The signatures all come from simple organisms found on Earth that could have analogues elsewhere in space.
Lisa Kaltenegger from Cornell University’s Institute for Pale Blue Dots said, “This database gives us the first glimpse at what diverse worlds out there could look like. We looked at a broad set of life forms, including some from the most extreme parts of Earth.”
The NASA Ames Research Center was heavily involved in the project, which has been described in a paper entitled “Surface Biosignatures of Exo-Earths: Remote Detection of Extraterrestrial Life.”
If any of the organisms included in the database were dominant on another world, their pigmentations in the atmosphere could be used to identify those worlds as having life, as well as to identify what kind of life it might be.
As it is explained in the paper, “Much of the history of life on Earth has been dominated by microbial life. It is likely that life on exoplanets evolves through single-celled stages prior to multicellular creatures. Here, we present the first database for a diverse range of life — including extremophiles (organisms living in extreme conditions) found in the most inhospitable environments on Earth — for such surface features in preparation for the next generation of telescopes that will search for a wide variety of life on exoplanets.”
The amazing array of life signatures that could be remote-detected on exoplanets spans 137 cellular organisms and can be found here: http://biosignatures.astro.cornell.edu
It is hoped that the catalogue of organisms, which includes extremophiles from some of Earth’s harshest environments, could be useful in the search for extraterrestrial life, and that it could help to answer the question that has been with humanity since we first gazed at the stars and wondered, “Are we alone?” Image credit and original press release: https://cornell.box.com/exoearths
Thursday 12 March 2015
Stolen Oceans: Mars Lost its Water to Space
About half of the red planet's northern hemisphere would have been cloaked in an ocean around 4 billion years ago, according to Geronimo Villanueva from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Lead author of the paper, Villanueva stated in a press release for ESO:
“Our study provides a solid estimate of how much water Mars once had, by determining how much water was lost to space. With this work, we can better understand the history of water on Mars.”
Two different forms of water were studied using ESO's imaginatively named Very Large Telescope and a number of other instruments: our familiar water (H2O) and semi-heavy water (HDO). By examining the ratio between these two types of water over a period of 6 Earth years, the team was able to calculate exactly how much water may have been lost from Mars' surface.
The conclusion? About the same amount that's in the Earth's Arctic Ocean.
Second author on the paper, Michael Mumma, said, “With Mars losing that much water, the planet was very likely wet for a longer period of time than previously thought, suggesting the planet might have been habitable for longer.”
Indeed, the lost ocean on Mars would have covered more of the red planet's surface (19%) than our own Atlantic Ocean does of Earth's (17%).
The finding underlines just how far modern astronomical technology has come. Co-author Ulli Kaeufl illustrated this, saying, "I am again overwhelmed by how much power there is in remote sensing on other planets using astronomical telescopes: we found an ancient ocean more than 100 million kilometres away!"
The study has major implications for astrobiologists; a more habitable ancient Mars means that there is an increased likelihood that we will find evidence of life on our neighbouring planet.
By Jon Fern
Follow @jfernwriter
Image: artswallpapers.net
Tuesday 16 December 2014
NASA May Have Found First Evidence of Alien Life
By Jon Fern, Science Editor
Follow @jfernwriter
NASA has found venting plumes of methane on Mars, strongly suggestive of the existence of biological processes on our nearest planetary neighbor.
Chris Webster of NASA said "Strictly speaking, our observations are evidence for methane production on Mars, and in themselves cannot directly provide evidence of microbial life.
"However, from our positive detection of methane on Mars, we cannot rule out the possibility that both the low background level and the high methane values originate in part from microbial activity (methanogenesis).
"Our observations indicate that either the source shut off or the wind field at the source location changed to direct the emission away from us.
"At this time, we have no idea what we will see in the future, or if we will ever see high values again."
 |
| NASA: Methane spike |
In a press conference, a spokesperson said "It's not an argument that we have found evidence of life on Mars, but it's one of the hypotheses that we must consider as we go forward into the future.This is really exciting news for us."
You can watch a live feed of the announcement by NASA here.
The following is NASA's official press release regarding the methane spike, which you can also find on their website here.
Curiosity Detects Methane Spike on Mars
Dec. 16, 2014: NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the atmosphere around it and detected other organic molecules in a rock-powder sample collected by the robotic laboratory’s drill.
"This temporary increase in methane -- sharply up and then back down -- tells us there must be some relatively localized source," said Sushil Atreya of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Curiosity rover science team. "There are many possible sources, biological or non-biological, such as interaction of water and rock."
This image illustrates possible ways methane might be added to
Mars' atmosphere (sources) and removed from the atmosphere (sinks).
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has detected fluctuations in methane
concentration in the atmosphere, implying both types of activity occur
on modern Mars. A longer caption discusses which are sources and which are sinks. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SAM-GSFC/Univ. of Michigan
Curiosity also detected different Martian organic chemicals in powder drilled from a rock dubbed Cumberland, the first definitive detection of organics in surface materials of Mars. These Martian organics could either have formed on Mars or been delivered to Mars by meteorites.
Organic molecules, which contain carbon and usually hydrogen, are chemical building blocks of life, although they can exist without the presence of life. Curiosity's findings from analyzing samples of atmosphere and rock powder do not reveal whether Mars has ever harbored living microbes, but the findings do shed light on a chemically active modern Mars and on favorable conditions for life on ancient Mars.
This graphic shows tenfold spiking in the abundance of methane
in the Martian atmosphere surrounding NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, as
detected by a series of measurements made with the Tunable Laser
Spectrometer instrument in the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars
laboratory suite. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Researchers worked many months to determine whether any of the organic material detected in the Cumberland sample was truly Martian. Curiosity’s SAM lab detected in several samples some organic carbon compounds that were, in fact, transported from Earth inside the rover. However, extensive testing and analysis yielded confidence in the detection of Martian organics.
"This first confirmation of organic carbon in a rock on Mars holds much promise," said Curiosity participating scientist Roger Summons of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. "Organics are important because they can tell us about the chemical pathways by which they were formed and preserved. In turn, this is informative about Earth-Mars differences and whether or not particular environments represented by Gale Crater sedimentary rocks were more or less favorable for accumulation of organic materials. The challenge now is to find other rocks on Mount Sharp that might have different and more extensive inventories of organic compounds."
Researchers also reported that Curiosity's taste of Martian water, bound into lakebed minerals in the Cumberland rock more than three billion years ago, indicates the planet lost much of its water before that lakebed formed and continued to lose large amounts after.
SAM analyzed hydrogen isotopes from water molecules that had been locked inside a rock sample for billions of years and were freed when SAM heated it, yielding information about the history of Martian water. The ratio of a heavier hydrogen isotope, deuterium, to the most common hydrogen isotope can provide a signature for comparison across different stages of a planet's history.
"It's really interesting that our measurements from Curiosity of gases extracted from ancient rocks can tell us about loss of water from Mars," said Paul Mahaffy, SAM principal investigator of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of a report published online this week by the journal Science
The ratio of deuterium to hydrogen has changed because the lighter hydrogen escapes from the upper atmosphere of Mars much more readily than heavier deuterium. In order to go back in time and see how the deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio in Martian water changed over time, researchers can look at the ratio in water in the current atmosphere and water trapped in rocks at different times in the planet’s history.
Martian meteorites found on Earth also provide some information, but this record has gaps. No known Martian meteorites are even close to the same age as the rock studied on Mars, which formed about 3.9 billion to 4.6 billion years ago, according to Curiosity’s measurements.
The ratio that Curiosity found in the Cumberland sample is about one-half the ratio in water vapor in today's Martian atmosphere, suggesting much of the planet's water loss occurred since that rock formed. However, the measured ratio is about three times higher than the ratio in the original water supply of Mars, based on assumption that supply had a ratio similar to that measured in Earth's oceans. This suggests much of Mars' original water was lost before the rock formed.
Credits and more information:
Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASACuriosity is one element of NASA's ongoing Mars research and preparation for a human mission to Mars in the 2030s. Caltech manages the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and JPL manages Curiosity rover science investigations for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The SAM investigation is led by Paul Mahaffy of Goddard. Two of SAM instruments key in these discoveries are the Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer, developed at Goddard, and the Tunable Laser Spectrometer, developed at JPL.
The results of the Curiosity rover investigation into methane detection and the Martian organics in an ancient rock were discussed at a news briefing Tuesday at the American Geophysical Union's convention in San Francisco. The methane results are described in a paper published online this week in the journal Science by NASA scientist Chris Webster of JPL, and co-authors.
A report on organics detection in the Cumberland rock by NASA scientist Caroline Freissenet, of Goddard, and co-authors, is pending publication.
For copies of the new Science papers about Mars methane and water, visit:http://go.nasa.gov/1cbk35X
For more information about Curiosity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/
Learn about NASA’s Journey to Mars at http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasas-journey-to-mars/
Image credit: Dust devils on Mars via Softpedia
Wednesday 3 September 2014
Earth Dodged a Bullet: The Solar Superstorm Nobody Told You About
The July 2012 solar superstorm almost struck Earth. Source: NASA
A recent communication from NASA describes how close the Earth came to getting a debilitating blast from the Sun two years ago. A double coronal mass ejection (CME) narrowly missed the Earth, shooting out radiation that would have knocked out all telecommunications devices on the planet, along with all electrically powered equipment.
Described as a solar superstorm, the July 2012 CMEs would have caused lasting damage: "If it had hit, we would still be picking up the pieces," says Daniel Baker of the University of Colorado. Although it somehow failed to make the news in 2012, the event was described in a paper produced by NASA scientists at the time entitled "A major solar eruptive event in July 2012: Defining extreme space weather scenarios".
"I have come away from our recent studies more convinced than ever that Earth and its inhabitants were incredibly fortunate that the 2012 eruption happened when it did," Baker said in the recent press release from NASA. "If the eruption had occurred only one week earlier, Earth would have been in the line of fire."
A report by the National Research Council into the socio-economic impact of such an event warned of "extensive social and economic disruptions."
It went on to add, "Power outages would be accompanied by radio blackouts and satellite malfunctions; telecommunications, GPS navigation, banking and finance, and transportation would all be affected.
"Some problems would correct themselves with the fading of the storm: radio and GPS transmissions could come back online fairly quickly.
"Other problems would be lasting: a burnt-out multi-ton transformer, for instance, can take weeks or months to repair. The total economic impact in the first year alone could reach $2 trillion, some 20 times greater than the costs of a Hurricane Katrina."
So what is the probability that a flare this big could actually hit Earth? Physicist Pete Riley published a recent paper in Space Weather called "On the probability of occurrence of extreme space weather events" in which he explained that there is a 12% chance that a flare of this magnitude will strike Earth in the next ten years.
And according to Ashley Dale, writing in Physics World, violent superstorms occur every 150 years - and we're five years overdue.
With odds like these, it may be a good idea to be prepared. According to advice available from the US Government, families should have a communications plan, and households should have emergency kits on hand. Check out the ready.gov website for more ways in which you can be prepared for an extreme space weather event. You can also keep an eye on solar storm warnings with NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.
Thursday 28 August 2014
Press Release: NASA Completes Key Review of World’s Most Powerful Rocket in Support of Journey to Mars
August 27, 2014
RELEASE 14-229
NASA Completes Key Review of World’s Most Powerful Rocket in Support of Journey to Mars
Artist concept of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) 70-metric-ton configuration launching to space. SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever built for deep space missions, including to an asteroid and ultimately to Mars.
Image Credit: NASA/MSFC
NASA officials Wednesday announced they have completed a rigorous review of the Space Launch System (SLS) -- the heavy-lift, exploration class rocket under development to take humans beyond Earth orbit and to Mars -- and approved the program's progression from formulation to development, something no other exploration class vehicle has achieved since the agency built the space shuttle.
"We are on a journey of scientific and human exploration that leads to Mars," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "And we’re firmly committed to building the launch vehicle and other supporting systems that will take us on that journey."
For its first flight test, SLS will be configured for a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit. In its most powerful configuration, SLS will provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons), which will enable missions even farther into our solar system, including such destinations as an asteroid and Mars.
This artist concept shows NASA’s Space Launch System, or SLS, rolling to a launchpad at Kennedy Space Center at night. SLS will be the most powerful rocket in history, and the flexible, evolvable design of this advanced, heavy-lift launch vehicle will meet a variety of crew and cargo mission needs.
Image Credit:
NASA/MSFC
This decision comes after a thorough review known as Key Decision Point C (KDP-C), which provides a development cost baseline for the 70-metric ton version of the SLS of $7.021 billion from February 2014 through the first launch and a launch readiness schedule based on an initial SLS flight no later than November 2018.
Conservative cost and schedule commitments outlined in the KDP-C align the SLS program with program management best practices that account for potential technical risks and budgetary uncertainty beyond the program's control.
“Our nation is embarked on an ambitious space exploration program, and we owe it to the American taxpayers to get it right,” said Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot, who oversaw the review process. “After rigorous review, we’re committing today to a funding level and readiness date that will keep us on track to sending humans to Mars in the 2030s – and we’re going to stand behind that commitment.”
"The Space Launch System Program has done exemplary work during the past three years to get us to this point," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the Human Explorations and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We will keep the teams working toward a more ambitious readiness date, but will be ready no later than November 2018.”
The SLS, Orion, and Ground Systems Development and Operations programs each conduct a design review prior to each program’s respective KDP-C, and each program will establish cost and schedule commitments that account for its individual technical requirements.
"We are keeping each part of the program -- the rocket, ground systems, and Orion -- moving at its best possible speed toward the first integrated test launch,” said Bill Hill, director Exploration Systems Development at NASA. "We are on a solid path toward an integrated mission and making progress in all three programs every day."
“Engineers have made significant technical progress on the rocket and have produced hardware for all elements of the SLS program,” said SLS program manager Todd May. “The team members deserve an enormous amount of credit for their dedication to building this national asset.”
The program delivered in April the first piece of flight hardware for Orion’s maiden flight, Exploration Flight Test-1 targeted for December. This stage adapter is of the same design that will be used on SLS’s first flight, Exploration Mission-1.
Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans has all major tools installed and is producing hardware, including the first pieces of flight hardware for SLS. Sixteen RS-25 engines, enough for four flights, currently are in inventory at Stennis Space Center, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, where an engine is already installed and ready for testing this fall. NASA contractor ATK has conducted successful test firings of the five-segment solid rocket boosters and is preparing for the first qualification motor test.
SLS will be the world's most capable rocket. In addition to opening new frontiers for explorers traveling aboard the Orion capsule, the SLS may also offer benefits for science missions that require its use and can’t be flown on commercial rockets.
The next phase of development for SLS is the Critical Design Review, a programmatic gate that reaffirms the agency's confidence in the program planning and technical risk posture.
For more information about SLS, visit:
-end-
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All text copyright NASA 2014
View the original press release here.
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