Deep Space Extra… NASA and Lockheed Martin test the water impact forces on astronauts returning to Earth from deep space aboard the Orion crew capsule.
Human Deep Space Exploration
NASA crash-test dummies suit up for action
ECNMag.com (5/19): At NASA’s Langley Research Center, engineers are evaluating the internal forces that will be imparted on astronauts as their Orion spacecraft contacts the ocean waters after descending to Earth by parachute when returning from future deep space missions. Crash test dummies are standing in for human test subjects. “This gives us a better understanding of localized responses at the head and neck to protect against common impact injuries like concussion and spinal fracture,” said Mark Baldwin, crew lead for NASA Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin.
How virtual reality will make future Mars missions easier for astronauts
MaineNewsonline.com (5/19): One such technology is virtual reality eyeware. The equipment makes Earth bound experts available to space travelers in order to provide just in time instruction or assistance with complex activities. Presentations of virtual reality technologies were a part of the Humans to Mars Summit in Washington DC earlier this week.
Space Science
Mars, Earth, Sun line up perfectly in sky this weekend
Associated Press via New York Times (5/19): Sky-watchers may gaze to the southeast as the sun sets each night for a brighter Mars well into June. A full moon, on May 21, will add to the experience. Early Sunday, the sun, Earth and Mars line up, a once every two years occasion known as Mars opposition. And the red planet is about 48 million miles from Earth, and closing until May 30, when the two planets will be separated by 46.8 million miles.
Mega tsunamis rocked Mars oceans billions of years ago
Space.com (5/19): Thermal Images of the Martian northern hemisphere reveal traces of large tsunami events, perhaps 3.4 billion years ago, that lend more evidence for a large ocean on the red planet in the past and climate conditions supporting biological activity, according to researchers from the U.S. and Europe. The tsunamis were triggered by meteor strikes.
Curiosity sees seasonal trends on Mars
Sky and Telescope (5/19): Now entering its third Martian year on the red planet, NASA’s Curiosity rover is logging seasonal climate transitions, charting daily changes in temperature, humidity and atmospheric methane — data that will be useful in assessing what was once a potentially habitable environment.
Jupiter is smashed by over 6 huge fireballs per year
Discovery.com (5/19): Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet, is smashed at least six times a year by giant meteors, according to scientists, who presented their observations to an astronomy conference in Nice, France.
Low Earth Orbit
China to launch 30 Beidou navigation satellites in next 5 years
Xinhuanet (5/19): The satellite launches will complete an independent Chinese global navigation network. China currently operates a regional satellite navigation system constellation. Increased international contributions will advance the utility and accuracy of the network, Ran Chengqi, director of the Chinese Satellite Navigation Office, told a professional gathering in his homeland this week.
Balloons. NASA is using balloons to study space
Wired (5/19): An experimental Positive Pressure Balloon launched by NASA from New Zealand this week on a long high altitude mission may provide researchers with an alternative to launching some experiments into orbit. The mission’s goal is 100 days aloft and many trips around the Earth while traveling over the Earth’s mid latitudes. Two science instruments are aboard, one of them a space observatory.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
India readies reusable launch vehicle testbed for flight
Spaceflightnow.com (5/19): India’s space agency plans the test flight of a prototype reusable winged space vehicle on Monday. A solid rocket booster launch will raise the space plane into the upper atmosphere for a glide to a simulated landing in the Bay of Bengal. An operational version would be used to launch satellites into orbit.