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Thursday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities under way around the world. NOAA recovers GOES 13, a weather satellite that scans the Atlantic for hurricane activity. New Horizons, the world’s first mission to distant Pluto, faces a debris threat as it approaches in mid-2015. New studies bolster theories that suggest the moon was formed from the debris of a long ago collision between the Earth and a Mars-sized object; however, questions remain. NASA’s Curiosity rover raises questions about the origin of some shiny material on the planet’s surface. Felix Baumgartner’s amazing parachute leap could save lives; the retired military officer whose long standing record was broken should know. One lawmaker points to a NASA food research project as wasteful. At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA readies the last of its retired shuttle orbiters, Atlantis, for its early November trip to a nearby visitors center for public display.
1. From Spacepolicyonline.com: GOES 13, a NOAA satellite that monitors Atlantic hurricane activity encountered a problem last month that threatened to take it out of service. The problem was traced to vibration. The weather sentry recently resumed its surveillance.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/goes-13-back-in-business
2. From The San Antonio News-Express: Launched seven years ago, NASA’s New Horizons mission is racing toward a first ever encounter with distant Pluto in mid- 2015. However, since its launching, scientists have grown concerned that New Horizons may encounter a debris field generated by moons and possible rings. The issue is outlined at the American Astronomical Society meeting this week in Reno, Nev.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Hazards-await-S-A-led-space-mission-to-Pluto-3953378.php
3. From Space.com via Science: New studies bolster the proposition that a Mars-sized object collided with the early Earth to produce the moon.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/18106-moon-formation-earth-giant-impact.html
A. From The Los Angeles Times: The collision theory of the moon’s origin still faces a significant challenges involving Earth/moon chemistry and the Earth’s spin rate.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-moon-history-20121018,0,316262.story
4. From New Scientist: On Mars, NASA’s Curiosity rover encounters some strange material as it studies the rock and soil. First speculated to be something of Earthly origin dropped by Curiosity, the material may be native to Mars, further study suggests.
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2012/10/mystery-particles-on-mars-reveal.html
5. From USA Today: The national newspaper offers a collection of reactions to Felix Baumgartner’s record parachute jump in Roswell, N.M., last weekend. The feat continues to create a buzz.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2012/10/17/space-dive-baumgartner/1639199/
A. From the Associated Press via The Houston Chronicle: Felix Baumgartner’s stratospheric leap could help to save the lives of future space and suborbital space travelers, according to a NASA researcher.
http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Skydiver-s-feat-could-influence-spacesuit-design-3957405.php
B. From The Orlando Sentinel: Baumgartner’s jump eclipsed parachute records established in 1960 by then Air Force officer Joe Kittinger. Kittinger, now 84, was on hand in New Mexico to help his successor along.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/os-beth-kassab-joe-kittinger-record-101812-20121017,0,4109059.column
6. From Spacepolitics.com: A NASA research project to test the food for astronauts on a lengthy mission to Mars draws fire from Congressional critics of wasteful expenditures, as does Third Rock Radio and other public engagement activities.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2012/10/17/mars-food-and-other-space-waste-highlighted-in-report/
7. From Spaceflightnow.com: NASA positions the retired orbiter Atlantis in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center for its Nov. 2 tow to the center’s visitor complex. Atlantis is the final NASA orbiter slated for decommissioning.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts135/121017rollover/
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