NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Update: Study of 'Ruiz Garcia' Rock Completed (with images)

"Opportunity Status for sol 2527-2532: Opportunity completed the in-situ (contact) investigation on the surface target Ruiz Garcia at Santa Maria crater. On Sol 2520 (Feb. 25, 2011), the rover used the robotic arm (Instrument Deployment Device, or IDD) to collect a microscopic imager (MI) image mosaic of Ruiz Garcia. Then, it placed the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) down on the target for multi-sol integration. On Sol 2531 (March 8, 2011), the rover backed away from the target and drove about 8.7 meters (29 feet) north to set up for the final wide-baseline stereo imaging, the last imaging before leaving Santa Maria crater."

Wings In Orbit: An Inside Look at the Shuttle, Aviation Week

"Published by the Johnson Space Center and the Government Printing Office, Wings In Orbit is scheduled for an April 8 release through major book stores, including Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, as well as at http://www.shopNASA.com."

The NASA Shuttle Book No One Will Ever See (Updated), December 2010, earlier post

Can you send me a PDF of the book? "It is in final editing and review. It is not copyright protected except for those parts where the authors got permissions to reproduce. It will be available on the NASA web site as a 508 compliant (html) and PDF at the same time as the book release, probably in March."

Can I get the original publication art such that I can republish this book? "We are asking and will let you know ASAP."

Keith's note: Well, it is March, 4 months later, and NASA never got back to me about the publication art. This government-developed book is (was) for sale on Amazon.com - which now says "Price: $70.00 - Temporarily out of stock." But you can buy copies from associated retailers via Amazon.com. GPO sells it too. Borders and Barnes and Noble do not seem to be offering it for sale - yet. Despite claims to me from NASA PAO that the book would be put online for download when it goes on sale (Amazon and GPO have it for sale) it is not online at NASA.gov. I have no doubt that Wayne Hale et al did a splendid job on the book. Indeed, I would like to read it online - just as NASA told me that I would be able to do - and not have to pay $70.

NASA commitment to Senate wishes questioned, Space.com/MSNBC

"Nelson had no luck getting NASA officials to pin down the date by which the agency could begin testing Orion atop the core elements of the congressionally mandated rocket. "I want to know how soon you can get testing the initial heavy-lift capability with the proposed funding levels," Nelson told Doug Cooke, NASA associate administrator for exploration systems. Cooke demurred, citing ongoing studies, but said the agency "is trying to get test flights as early as 2016," the year the law says the initial capability must be operational. Cooke also said the president's latest budget request, which increases spending for commercial crew transportation and space technology research, reflects the administration's agenda."

NASA Launches New Website, Celebrates Women's Contributions To Science And Exploration

"NASA will debut its new Women@NASA website during a Women's History Month event at the agency's Headquarters in Washington at 1 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 16. Approximately 200 local students from elementary through high school level will attend and learn about the significant and varied roles women have played in the agency's history."

Go to http://women.nasa.gov/

GOP Lawmakers Appeal for Manned Exploration Funds Space News

"To be clear, we believe that NASA's budget can be reduced," the lawmakers wrote, urging Ryan to take aim at climate-monitoring programs poised for a funding boost over the next five years under the $18.72 billion budget blueprint U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled Feb. 14. "Within the NASA budget specifically, we believe there is an opportunity to cut funding within the Earth Science account where an overabundance of climate change research is being conducted."

$18,000 in Prizes Offered by Yuri's Night in "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition

"Yuri's Night is excited to commemorate the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight by launching two contests: the "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition, which calls on talented graphic designers, artists, and other creative individuals to create a powerful and inspiring print campaign that will move people to think about and support humanity's future in space, and the "International Space Sweepstakes," a free global drawing."

European Space Missions to Go It Alone After NASA Yanks Support, Science

"European space scientists are scrambling to rethink--and redesign--massive potential missions after it was confirmed that NASA, whose budget is in disarray, won't contribute significant funding to any of the efforts. NASA's decision "means in principle that none of the three missions is feasible for ESA [European Space Agency]," notes Xavier Barcons of the Cantabria Institute of Physics in Spain."

NASA Money Woes Batter Planetary Flagship Budget, Space News

"NASA could be forced to impose a roughly $1 billion cap -- including launch costs -- on any new planetary flagship mission it undertakes this decade, far less than the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) recommended for this class of probe in its most recent survey of planetary priorities and more in line with what the agency spends on medium-sized missions."

European Space Agency to go it alone on next generation space mission, Nature

"The European Space Agency has postponed its selection of a large space mission to launch in the 2020-2021 timeframe, following advice from NASA that the US is unlikely to be able to contribute its share of funding to the winning selection. The selection of the so-called L-class mission had been expected to take place this June, but is now set for February 2012. "The decision was made very reluctantly," says David Southwood, Director of Science and Robotic Exploration at ESA Headquarters in Paris, France,"NASA could not meet our timetable to launch."

Future of NASA Planetary Flagship Missions in Doubt, SpacePolicyOnline

"During a meeting with the Planetary Science Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council today, however, PSD Director Jim Green made clear that the total amount of funds he thinks he will have for a flagship mission is only $1 billion. The rest of the funds would have to come from an international partner."

Jim Green's Charts

Appropriations Committee Introduces Three Week Continuing Resolution - Bill will Prevent Government Shutdown, Cut $6 Billion in Spending

"House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers today introduced a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government at current rates for three weeks -until April 8 - while cutting $6 billion in spending. The legislation (H.J. Res 48) is the second short-term funding extension to prevent a government shutdown while Congressional negotiations continue on a long-term plan to keep the government running through the end of the fiscal year. ... - $63 million - NASA - Cross Agency Support".

Bill Gerstenmaier on the DC Variable, NASA PM Challenge

"Dramatic changes in information and news circulate through blogs, and social media has impacted NASA greatly. While the initial reaction may be to control these outlets, Gerstenmaier has taken a different approach. It has not been uncommon for him to finish a Flight Readiness Review for the shuttle and have a report out about it before leaving the building. Instead of suppressing communication within the reviews, he has invited his public affairs officer to attend and tweet updates. Doing this has enabled him to tell a better NASA story and actually stay in front of the blogs. "Instead of trying to slow down communication, recognize that communication is diverse and fast. How can you now participate in it and use it to your advantage?"

United Launch Alliance Successfully launches Fourth NRO Mission in Six Months

"A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office lifted off from Space Launch Complex-37 here at 6:38 p.m. EST today. Designated NROL-27, the mission is in support of national defense. This marks the fourth NRO launch accomplished by ULA since Sept. 20, 2010 and occurred just six days after the Atlas V launch of the OTV-2 mission Previously, ULA launched NROL-41 on an Atlas V from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. on Sept. 20, 2010. Then it launched NROL-32 on a Delta IV Heavy from here Nov. 21, 2010 and on Jan. 20, ULA launched NROL-49 on a Delta IV Heavy from VAFB."

As budget debate continues, Bolden says space technology spending safe, Space Politics

"Bolden said he was trying to convince Congress that it's not feasible for NASA to move ahead directly to a 130-metric-ton launch vehicle for the Space Launch System authorized by Congress. "We're not going to build a 130-metric-ton heavy-lift vehicle. We can't," he said. "We continue to negotiate and discuss with the Congress why that is not necessary."

Digital Soyuz Return Could Be Rocky, Jim Oberg, IEEE Spectrum

"The new "digital" version of the Soyuz spacecraft is having some decidedly analog problems on its maiden voyage. Astronauts will test on-orbit repairs done to its troubled control systems ahead of a scheduled landing next Wednesday. The tests will determine whether the Soyuz can perform a gentle guided descent or instead must rely on a backup emergency "ballistic" landing, involving a much rougher deceleration and landing several hundred kilometers short of the main recovery zone. ... NASA quietly disclosed the situation Thursday on its website in a routine and little read daily "On-Orbit Status Report" for the International Space Station."

NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 10 March 2011

WALLOPS: Comment sought on moving main gate of NASA, Delmarva.com

"NASA is seeking comments from the public on its draft Environmental Assessment (EA) of potential impacts from proposed improvements at the Wallops Flight Facility main base entrance. NASA is proposing to improve the main base entrance to increase personnel safety and decrease congestion. .... The draft EA is available on the internet at: http://wff.nasa.gov/code250/MERP_DEA.html A description of means for submitting comments may be found on the website. Public comments on the draft EA are requested by April 12, 2011."

Keith's note: I am not sure how the "public" would ever know about this if it were not for newspapers since Wallops makes no mention of this on their website. I guess the locals are happy that they have newspapers with websites that do NASA's PR work. Oh yes, the web link from Code 250 in this article does not seem to be working.

Reader note: "For future reference, most if not all of NASA's URL's must have "www" prepended (e.g., nasa.gov doesn't work, http://www.nasa.gov does). Until this gets fixed by the Wallops' webmaster, try http://www.wff.nasa.gov/code250/MERP_DEA.html."

LOIRP LPSC Student Poster: New Lunar Crater Search Using LROC-NAC vs LOIRP Lunar Orbiter Images

"While some candidate craters were observed that appeared in LROC data but not in Lunar Orbiter data, these were all very near the edge of discernable feature size and are almost certainly explained by various differences between the images (e.g. sun angle or viewing geometry). While our initial search did not find any discernable new cratering, we have shown that data from the original analog Lunar Orbiter tapes, as recovered by the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery project, possesses the characteristics necessary to discern new craters at reasonably small sizes. If the entire Lunar Orbiter data set was recovered in this manner it may be possible for future researchers to apply automated methods to detect changes with much better chances of success."

NASA To Host Open Source Summit March 29-30 In California

"NASA will host a summit about open source software development on March 29-30 at the agency's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT on both days. NASA's first Open Source Summit will bring together engineers, policy makers and members of the open source community. Participants will discuss the challenges within the existing open source policy framework and propose modifications to facilitate NASA's development, release and use of software."

Voyager 1 Performs 70 Degree Roll Maneuver 17 Billion Kilometers From Earth

"To enable Voyager 1's Low Energy Charged Particle instrument to gather these data, the spacecraft performed a maneuver on March 7 that it hadn't done for 21 years, except in a preparatory test last month. Voyager engineers performed a test roll and hold on Feb. 2 for two hours, 15 minutes. When data from Voyager 1 were received on Earth some 16 hours later, the mission team verified the test was successful and the spacecraft had no problem in reorienting itself and locking back onto its guide star, Alpha Centauri."

Northrop Grumman Foundation Announces 2011 Weightless Flights of Discovery Program at National Science Teachers' Association Conference

"The Northrop Grumman Foundation announced today that the Foundation is accepting teacher applications for the 2011 Weightless Flights of Discovery program, a unique professional development initiative that places teachers on microgravity flights to test Newton's Laws of Motion and energize students during their formative middle school years. The announcement was made during the National Science Teachers Association's (NSTA) National Conference on Science Education, held in San Francisco this week."

Work Begins on Exploration Park at NASA KSC, Space Florida

"Site work has begun on Exploration Park, the high-tech research and office park being developed by The Pizzuti Companies in partnership with Space Florida. Tom Harmer, senior vice president for The Pizzuti Companies, said the initial work includes clearing the site, transporting fill dirt and initial site grading. Work on this phase of the project is expected to take approximately eight weeks to complete, Harmer said."

Keith's note: Have a look at these ground-based images by Thierry Legault of the ISS including an individual performing an EVA. But ... scroll down. If you are one of those people who can fuse two images (left and right) by crossing your eyes (I am) then you will see that this is a stunning animation -- quite an accomplishment. Alas, I am baffled as to why NASA.gov never links to his stuff.

Hours before most commuters start their engines and head to work, James Hughes is already calling the other side of the world from his office in Dearborn, MI. Because of a six-hour time difference between most of his engineering sites abroad, including the Ford Merkenich small car center in Cologne, Germany, many of his meetings begin prior to 6 am ET.