Robotic Arm Injury

In a recent experiment to brush and grind a rock on Mars's surface, Opportunity's robotic arm stalled due to a failure in one of its joint. The joint, which controls left-right motion, stopped working while taking microscopic images of the surface. However, the rover has continued to perform its other tasks without failure and operators of the rover will adapt to the new restriction on movement.

Lyot

Planet hunters have been trying for years to find and classify other solar systems, specifically those which might contain Earth-like planets. Many planets have actually been found using various techniques, but these are Jupiter-size planets. One technique is to measure the change in a star's position as a massive body orbits around it. The star will orbit around its center of mass at a radius dependent on the planet's mass, which translates to a few arcseconds on our telescopes. Another technique is to measure the decrease in flux from the star's light as a planet passes in front of it.
Obviously these methods are limited and provide only somewhat accurate data on very large planets on rare occasions.
A new instrument, Lyot, which is to be installed on the Palomar 200" telescope near LA and San Diego will use a different technique. Using a breadboard of variable mirrors and a lot of other fancy toys, Lyot will be able to block out a star's light down to about 1.5%. This significant decrease in flux will allow astronomers to measure the light from planets down to Earth-sized planets from Palomar by blocking out other light, similar to shielding your eyes when looking at something near the sun.

Russians Testing for Mars Mission

Russian scientists have set up a series of tests to be performed in order to test the human capacity for a manned mission to Mars. The first test lasted for two weeks and allowed crew members to live in isolation for two weeks and perform experiments and test equipment. The next test, scheduled to begin in 2008, will involve a crew of 5 living as if they were on Mars for anywhere from 520 to 700 days in a controlled lab environment.
For the tests, all aspects of Martian lifestyle will be taken into account including food, supplies, communication, etc. A preliminary 105-day test will precede the full test in early 2008.

Spirit Stuck

The Mars rover Spirit has recently become stuck during its move to "home plate" where the rover is supposed to winter. The rover apparently snagged a wheel on a buried rock which put the rover into a compromising position. Attempts to get the rover moving have been mostly unsuccessful as it has been experiencing 90% slip rates as it attempts to move up the dusty hill. Operators are currently working on ways to get the rover moving again. The article can be found here.

Pushups on Mars

According to the website Your Weight on Other Worlds, I would weigh 49 pounds on Mars. Do you have any idea how many pushups I would do? I mean real pushups (the ones with no knees on the ground or breaks during a set). I would do a lot (more then 10) and it would be impressive.

Sunny slopes needed for Mar's "Spirit"

The Mars rover "Spirit" needs to find relocate to a sunny slope to survive the martian winter. The rover needs to get a on a slope 20-25 degrees so it can aim its solar panels at the sun. The rovers mission to the slope is being made difficult as one of it's six wheels has been disabled and it needs to travel in reverse while dragging the immobilized wheel. Although the martian winter isn't expected to start until April 2008, the rover team wants to get the rover into position by January so that they don't have to worry about difficulties getting to the slope.

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/11/mars-rover-spir.html

NASA Releases Plan for Manned Mission

NASA released details for sending humans to Mars within the next 10 years. The plan is to send the crew on a 30-month round trip to the Red Planet. In January 2004, President George W Bush unveiled his space travel plan of sending humans back to the Moon by 2020 and to Mars in the relatively near future. The mission is now planned to begin in February 2031 as the spacecraft takes the six to seven month trip to Mars. The cost is enormous for the project and has been estimated at $20 billion to $450 billion. The specifics have not been established and the current plan is just the "best strategy" for landing humans on the surface. The cargo lander and the surface habitat will be launched separately landing before the crew does in 2028 and 2029. Astronauts will be able to grow their own fruit and vegetables on the way and they could spend up to 16 months on the Martian surface. They could use nuclear energy to power their habitat. The crew members would need to be incredibly self-sufficient because it would be near impossible to resupply them with food or equipment. The spacecraft will also be equipped with a life support system that would provide a medium for recycling air and water. The biggest risk lies in the ability to protect the astronauts from the high levels of cosmic radiation they will be exposed to in deep space and on the surface of Mars. NASA will most likely use the lunar mission as a means of testing some effects on the astronauts.

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