This Is How We Talk!

This is how NASA comunicates with all the obiters, satelites, missions, and everything that we send up into the final frontier. It is ... NASA DSN! which is short for deep space network that is of course. But this is actually particularly used in conjunction with missions to Mars itself. The network consists of three diferent stations with there own satelites and are spaced evenly around the globe at 120 degrees apart. The locations are in Goldstone, in California's Mojave Desert; near Madrid, Spain; and near Canberra, Australia if you were interested in an awesome family vacation! the placement allows for constant communication with the satelites and missions and stuff so its really effective. Check It Out!



http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/communicationsWithEarth.html

An unlikely source for power

A research team out of NorthWestern University is taking care of two deep-space travel birds with one stone: 1.) We need a as many sources for electricity as we can get 2.) We need some means by which to process solid human waste.

Yes, that's right, the researchers have found a way to convert feces into electricity. Through the use of new microbial fuel cells they hope to make this weird though potentially very useful idea come to fruition. The article, at Space.com, has a charming quote about the inner workings of the fuel cell:

"Each fiber would consist of three layers, like three straws, one inside of another. Each layer corresponds to one of the layers of a fuel cell: the anode (outer), the electrolyte-membrane (middle), and the cathode (inner). A slurry of liquefied waste would be pumped past the outer layers where Geobacter microbes (or other similar bacteria) can grab electrons and move them to the anode, into the circuit, and then to the cathode."

This reads fairly reasonably until one gets to the line "A slurry of liguefied waste" which is just a terrible image. In any case this seemse like an outside the box kind of idea that could make a manned trip to mars that much more plausable.

HiRISE

HiRISE, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (they love their acronyms, and by golly they'll be good ones or the mission will fail), on board the MRO, is a survey mission of Mars to take high-resolution images of the surface. The applications of such a survey are far-reaching; the images allow scientists to see in detail the surface so they can analyze formations, surface excretions, polar caps, and vast amounts of geology things I don't know anything about.
But another important application of the imaging is the planning of robotic missions and follow-up. The camera has imaged enough of the surface that it has helped immensely in the choice of landing zones for Phoenix and MSL, and has even uncovered the remains of the previous Mars explorers, their parachutes and vehicles (some very covered with sand and sad-looking).
One neat story is that the landing site for Phoenix had looked smooth and hospitable in previous images, but HiRISE did a pass on it and showed that in fact it was full on huge boulders. A few months later, a more suitable site was found and Phoenix was thus saved from almost certain death.
Some images and a summary of the mission can be found here:
http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/HiRISE/
It's a little eerie at times, seeing how earth-like the Martian terrain actually is...

Ares and Orion

As the shuttle nears its retirement age - it will be phased out by 2010 - the new transport vehicle of choice continues development. The new rocket which will carry cargo and humans into space, the moon, and eventually to Mars (so they say), is called the Ares rocket. The Ares launch vehicles and the Orion crew vehicles make up NASA's Constellation program.
The Ares rocket will serve two purposes: one kind (Ares I) will be a crew launch vehicle using a single segmented solid rocket booster similar to the kind used on the shuttle and will be able to carry 55,000 pounds into low earth orbit. The second kind (Ares V) will be a cargo vehicle, using 5 liquid oxygen/hydrogen engines and two solid rocket boosters fueled by an external fuel tank similar to the one on the shuttle. It will be able to carry 286,000 pounds into low earth orbit.
The Orion vehicle is the new crew vehicle and will be used to rendezvous with the ISS, lunar lander modules, and re-entry into earth's atmosphere. While it won't go directly to Mars, it will be used to transport the crews to the carriers built in orbit.
The design is interesting: it employs an older "tried and true" exterior design and shape, but has all state-of-the-art technology. Summaries about the constellation program vehicles can be found here:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/index.html

Beyond Skyviewcafe

Here's a NASA site, kind of like skyviewcafe, that allows you to create images of just about every corner of the sky. However, you can go beyond the visible part of the spectrum and see systems in anywhere from gamma rays on down to radio waves. The interface is a little difficult as you need to either know the name of the system or the exact coordinates. Also there is an overwhelming number of options but with a little fooling around you can make an image, however knowing what you're seeing is much more difficult. Here's one I made just by fooling around. If I did it right it's a gamma ray image of the sirius system.
the website is at http://skyview.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Moon Base

An update on the development of moonbase technology was recently released, focusing on a few aspects of human habitation of the moon but with few details. As always (at least recently), NASA has been putting out calls to industries to come up with the best designs for things like habitats, rovers, suits, etc., but a few designs have come to the forefront.
A mobile base would allow astronauts to move their living space where their research required, and dual rovers would allow astronauts to always have a safe way to get "home" and would allow them to do moonwalks and lab work on the road.
Currently, the plan to actually transport all this stuff to the moon involves use of the proposed cargo rockets which carry no people but could deliver a payload safely to the surface of the moon, making the construction of a moon base much faster and easier for the astronauts.
The article can be found here:
http://www.moondaily.com/reports/Lunar_Outpost_Plans_Taking_Shape_999.html

Aeroshell

When sending a rover on voyage from Earth to Mars there is definitely room for improvement in EDL technology (Entry, Landing, and Descent). One piece of technology that aids in all three of these components is the Aeroshell. The Aeroshell is… well a shell, that surrounds the Lander, serving as both a shield and a navigating device.
The aeroshell is composed of two cone shaped pieces, the heat shield . When entering into Martian atmosphere the vesicle is exposed to a tremendous amount of heat, it is the flat front shell that protects Lander from burning up. Also the shell acts as a break due to the flat surface of the shell, the craft will slow down when it is exposed to atmospheric pressure. The back shell contains multiple gadgets which all aid in landing and descent, including a parachute, a Litton LN-200 Inertial Measuring unit, and a set of RAD and TIRS rockets.
For more details on the aeroshell visit http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/mission/spacecraft_edl_aeroshell.html.