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Wednesday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting on space related activities from around the world. NASA’s Messenger spacecraft beams back its first images of Mercury after swinging into orbit last week. NASA’s seven-year-old Spirit rover, bogged in the sand on Mars, maintains an unwelcome radio silence. Museums across the nation ramp up their efforts to obtain a retired shuttle orbiter for public display. Technicians assemble the last set of shuttle solid rocket boosters for the late June launch of Atlantis. The voting is under way on which songs will awaken the astronauts aboard Endeavour’s final two days in space. Endeavour’s two week mission is nearing an April 19 lift off.
1. From Space.com: NASA’s Messenger spacecraft, which maneuvered into orbit around Mercury on March 17, transmits to Earth its first photos of the planet closest to the sun.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/11254-nasa-photos-mercury-orbit-messenger-spacecraft.html
2. From the Associated Press via the Houston Chronicle: NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has not responded to a month long effort by the space agency to make contact. Spirit, which landed on Mars in January 2004, has been stuck in the Martian sand since 2009. Controllers had hoped the rover would awaken sometime in the last several weeks as the Martian winter came to an end. NASA will try for another month before turning all attention to operations of Spirit’s twin rover, Opportunity.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7495484.html
3. From Collectspace.com: Museums across the United States ramp up their efforts to obtain a retired space shuttle orbiter for public display. NASA plans to announce selections on April 12.
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-032911a.html
A. From Florida Today: Preparing shuttle Discovery public display in a yet-to-be-named museum is a nine-month process. The task requires removing hazardous materials as well as hardware that could still be of value to NASA. Discovery returned from her last mission on March 9.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110330/NEWS02/103300342/Shuttle-Discovery-embarks-exhibition-journey?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home
4. From Spaceflightnow.com: At the Kennedy Space Center, technicians stack the final set of shuttle solid rocket boosters. The twin boosters are assigned to shuttle Atlantis, which is currently headed toward a June 28 lift off on the final space shuttle mission.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts135/110329srb/
5. From CNN.com: The competition is under way to select the “wake up” music for the astronauts who will fly aboard the shuttle Endeavour. A public poll will select the final two days of the 14-day flight.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/29/space.shuttle.song.contest/
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