Daily Archives: May 1, 2020

After spending over 200 days in space, the Expedition 62 returned to earth to discover a new normal brought on by coronavirus COVID-19. return to earth USA TODAY

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting every aspect of everyday life, it's easy to forget about what else is going on in the world and that includes significant historical moments and fun holidays. One of them is May 1 Space Day, which is Friday.

24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of the coolest and most unforgettable moments in space exploration after reviewing material from NASA, news articles from decades ago and information from the National Archives and Records Administration.

If Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Amerigo Vespucci, and Vasco Da Gama helped Western civilization in the Age of Discovery reach new worlds, in the Space Age, Yuri Gagarin, John Glenn, Valentina Tereshkova, and Neil Armstrong took humanity to Earth's orbit and beyond. Those space pioneers launched our world into a realm that had been pondered by astronomers, philosophers, religious figures, science fiction writers and poets.

The Space Age paralleled the Cold War, and when the Soviet Union succeeded in launching Sputnik into space in 1957, it was seen as much a threat to U.S. national security as a scientific triumph. Sputniks success was the starting gun of the space race that put the prestige of nations on the line.

The competition for supremacy in space made national heroes of Gagarin, Glenn, Tereshkova, and Armstrong, among many other astronauts and cosmonauts in the 20th century. They would gain fame as astronauts on the Mercury and Apollo missions during the 1960s here are 30 special skills astronauts need to master to do their job.

Google's MyMaps: Feature gets huge boost during crisis, for mapping test sites to child care for responders

Apple's new iPhone SE: Smartphone costs just $399. Heres what you need to know.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

1. Sputnik I

Date: Oct. 4, 1957

The Soviet Union began the space race by launching humankind's first artificial satellite. The 23-inch diameter sphere transmitted signals to Earth for 22 days and continued in orbit until burning up on Jan. 4, 1958 . The launch of Sputnik shook up the United States, which feared a technology gap between itself and the Soviet Union and began to revamp the nation's science and engineering education. A year later, NASA was created.

2. First creature in space

Date: Nov. 3, 1957

A stray husky-spitz mix named Laika was the first living creature to orbit the Earth. She was also the first fatal casualty in the Space Age. According to documents at the National Air and Space Museum, Laika reached orbit alive aboard Sputnik 2 and orbited the Earth in 103 minutes. But the temperature inside the capsule soared above 90 degrees after the fourth orbit following the loss of the heat shield, and Laika died soon afterward. The capsule continued to orbit for five months.

3. US launches first satellite

Date: Jan. 31, 1958

The United States joined the space race when Explorer 1 was launched into orbit on Jan. 31, 1958. The satellite lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida under the direction of legendary German-born scientist Wernher Von Braun. Explorer 1, which was 80 inches long and 6.25 inches in diameter, revolved around Earth in a looping orbit that took it as close as 220 miles of Earth and as far away as 1,563 miles. Explorer orbited the Earth more than 58,000 times before burning up on March 31, 1970.

4. First creatures return from space

Date: May 28, 1959

Less than two years after Laika perished while orbiting the Earth, two monkeys, Able and Baker, became the first living beings to return to our planet alive. Able, a female rhesus monkey, and Baker, a female squirrel monkey, were sent into space by the United States aboard a Jupiter missile. The flight lasted about 15 minutes and the spacecraft's speed topped 10,000 miles an hour. The monkeys suffered no ill effects from the flight that included a period of weightlessness. The success of the mission encouraged scientists to believe manned space travel was possible. Able died during a medical procedure shortly after the flight but Baker became a celebrity and received as many as 150 letters a day from schoolchildren.

5. Yuri Gagarin

Date: April 12, 1961

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly into space and return to Earth safely, beating the United States by several weeks. Gagarin circled the planet in 108 minutes aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft that traveled at 17,000 miles an hour. The launch of Sputnik and the triumph of putting a man into space were twin shocks to American pride and ratcheted up the competition in the space race.

The new space race: Many countries and companies seek resources on the moon and Mars

Space tech: Inventions we use every day that were actually created for space exploration

Alan Shepard flew the Freedom 7 spacecraft on a suborbital 15-minute flight that reached a peak altitude of 116 miles and a top speed of 5,180 miles an hour. And unlike Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, whose capsule was automatically controlled, Shepard was able to take control of his spacecraft for short periods.(Photo: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons)

6. First US man in space

Date: May 1, 1961

The United States had hoped to be the first nation to put a man into space, but the Soviet Union won that race with Gagarin accomplishing that feat. Several weeks later, Alan Shepard flew the Freedom 7 spacecraft on a suborbital 15-minute flight that reached a peak altitude of 116 miles and a top speed of 5,180 miles an hour. Unlike Gagarin, whose capsule was automatically controlled, Shepard was able to take control of his spacecraft for short periods.

7. Kennedy's speech on space exploration

Date: May 25, 1961

Several weeks after Alan Shepard became the first American in space, President John F, Kennedy gave a speech before both houses of Congress, committing the nation to space exploration. Kennedy's clarion call for an ambitious space program included landing Americans on the moon and returning them safely to Earth by the end of the decade as well as other space projects.

8. Glenn orbits Earth

Date: Feb. 20, 1962

Less than a year after Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth, John Glenn became the first American to do so, completing three orbits around the planet aboard the Friendship 7 capsule. Glenn was already a military hero by the time he was chosen to be an astronaut for Project Mercury. After he completed his mission, he went on to a successful political career as senator from Ohio. He made history again at the age of 77 in 1998 by becoming the oldest person to fly into space when he flew on the space shuttle.

9. First woman in space

Date: June 16, 1963

Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is not a household name in the United States, but she is revered in Russia because she was the first woman to fly in space 20 years before Sally Ride became the first American woman to do so. Tereshkova orbited Earth 48 times in her space capsule, the Vostok 6. That was her only trip into space. She received the highest honors from the Soviet Union and was bestowed the United Nations Gold Medal of Peace. Tereshkova toured the world and became a staunch advocate for Soviet science.

10. First space walk

Date: March 25, 1965

Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to walk in space, after leaving the Voskhod spacecraft that carried two passengers. Leonov walked in space for about 10 minutes. His suit expanded minutes after he stepped into space owing to the lack of pressure, and he was unable to fit through the hatch when he tried return to the spacecraft. Leonov had to release a valve to partially depressurize his suit to allow him to get back into the spaceship. Three months later, Ed White would become the first American to walk in space.

The spacecraft Mariner 4 was the first to fly to Mars and the first to transmit pictures of Mars.(Photo: manjik / Getty Images)

11. First pictures of Mars

Date: June 14, 1965

The spacecraft Mariner 4 was the first to fly to Mars and the first to transmit pictures of Mars. Mariner 4 spent all of 25 minutes taking 21 photographs of the red planet from distances ranging between 6,200 miles and 10,500 miles above the planet. Those first, blurry images of Mars's craters and barren landscape suggested to some scientists that the planet was similar to our moon and dispelled hope that it had ever held life.

12. Soviets land spacecraft on moon, Venus

Date: Feb. 3, 1966

1966 would prove to be a significant year for the Soviet space program. In February of that year, the USSR would land an unmanned spacecraft called Luna on the moon that sent back transmissions to Earth. Less than a month later, on March 1, the Soviet Union would succeed in landing a spacecraft on Venus. The Venera 3 impacted Venus, the first spacecraft to land on another planet, but the communications systems failed before any data could be retrieved.

13. US lands spacecraft on moon

Date: June 2, 1966

The United States, still playing catch-up in the space race, landed its first spacecraft, the unmanned Surveyor 1, on the moon in June. The mission was considered a success, and the technology needed to achieve landing and operations on the lunar surface succeeded. Surveyor 1 performed engineering functions and took photos. It sent televised images of the spacecraft's footpad and the lunar surface.

14. Soviet spacecraft first to orbit moon

Date: Sept. 15, 1968

The Russian spacecraft Zond 5 became the first spacecraft to orbit the moon and return to Earth. Aboard the Zond 5 were turtles, mealworms, seeds, bacteria, and other living things. After the spacecraft landed in the Indian Ocean, all of the biological passengers were safely recovered. The flight was seen as a precursor to manned lunar landing.

15. Apollo 8

Date: Dec. 21-28, 1968

Apollo 8 was among the most famous of America's space missions the first manned spacecraft to leave Earth's gravity and reach the moon. The mission conducted a number of tests that were crucial to the lunar landing the following year. The crew photographed the lunar surface, both the far side and nearside, as well as Earth. The mission' "Earthrise" photo would become among the most famous of the 20th century. The astronauts had six live television transmissions, including the Christmas Eve broadcast in which they read from the book of Genesis, at the time the most-watched TV broadcast ever.

16. Men walk on moon

Date: July 20,1969

American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on a celestial entity other than Earth on July 20, 1969, fulfilling President John F. Kennedy's hope of landing humans on the moon before the end of the decade. Armstrong's quote as he stepped on the lunar surface, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," has become immortal. It was one of America's proudest moments, witnessed by hundreds of millions of people on television around the world. Armstrong and Aldrin spent two and a half hours on the surface collecting rocks and soil samples and, among other tasks, measuring by laser the exact distance between the moon and Earth. Armstrong and Aldrin were the first of 12 men, all Americans, who have walked on the moon.

The first space station, Salyut 1, was launched by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971.(Photo: NASA / Wikimedia Commons)

17. First space station

Date: April 19, 1971

The first space station, Salyut 1, launched by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971, achieved significant progress in humankind's ability to live and work in space. The cylindrical-shaped Salyut 1 was adapted for use with the manned Soyuz spacecraft and was about 65 feet long and 13 feet in diameter at its widest section. Salyut spent 175 days in space before crashing into the Pacific Ocean. The three-man Soviet crew that went aboard Salyut 1 for 23 days later died while returning to Earth when their Soyuz spacecraft accidentally lost its air.

18. US orbits Mars

Date: Nov. 13, 1971

Mariner 9, an unmanned NASA probe, became the first spacecraft to circle another planet after it completed an orbit around Mars. The photographs sent back from the Mariner 9 showed Mars to have varied geology and weather, according to a NASA summary of the mission, including ancient river beds, extinct volcanoes, canyons, weather fronts, ice clouds, and morning fogs.

19. Russians land on Mars

Date: May 28, 1972

On May 28, 1972, the Soviet spacecraft Mars 3 made the first soft landing on another planet when it touched down on Mars. Mars 3 had arrived at the red planet the previous December. The landing craft failed after relaying 20 seconds of video data to the orbiter. The orbiter continued to relay data to Soviet scientists until August 1972, measuring surface temperature and atmospheric conditions.

20. Skylab I

Date: May 14, 1973

The United States launched its first orbiting laboratory, Skylab I, on May 14, 1973. Skylab proved to be a success, despite technical glitches at the start. Skylab orbited the Earth for six years before it deteriorated and fell into the Indian Ocean and western Australia. Skylab hosted three crews of three astronauts who lived on the station for a total of 168 days in orbit. They conducted experiments in biomedical and life sciences and solar astronomy. Skylab also was important in understanding how humans endure extended time in space.

21. US-Soviet astronauts link up in space

Date: July 17-19, 1975

Cold War adversaries achieved detente in space in 1975, when U.S. astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts came together for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The Soyuz craft bore cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov, while the Apollo carried astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand, and Donald Slayton. The two spacecraft docked in space for two days. After the vehicles came together, the space travelers shook hands and embraced and exchanged presents, plaques, and flags from their respective nations. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was the first mission in which the two nations began cooperating in space.

22. Viking 1 and 2

Date: July/September 1976

NASA launched the Viking 1 and 2 spacecraft in 1975, and both landed on Mars the following year, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the red planet. The photos that the two spacecraft returned to Earth deepened the knowledge about the planet's atmosphere and geology, with a greater understanding of water vapor in the Martian atmosphere. Viking 1 and 2 conducted biology experiments intended to look for signs of life. These experiments provided no indication of living microorganisms near the landing zones.

23. Voyagers I and 2 send back Jupiter images

Date: August and September 1977

Voyagers 1 and 2 were launched two weeks apart by NASA in 1977. NASA wanted to take advantage of a unique alignment of planets that happens once every 176 years. Such an alignment could slingshot each spacecraft from one planet to the next, aided by a planet's gravity. Voyager 1 would become the first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter and Saturn. It transmitted its first pictures of Jupiter back to Earth in April 1978, when it was 165 million miles away. Voyager 1 was the first to journey into interstellar space in 2012. Voyager 2 flew past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Since their launch, the spacecraft have been traveling along different flight paths and at different speeds.

24. Space shuttle takes off

Date: April 12, 1981

NASA's shuttle Columbia became the first winged spaceship to orbit Earth and return to airport landing. Columbia flew 28 missions and spent more than 300 days in space. Its early missions focused on repairing and deploying satellites and telescopes. Later, NASA shifted Columbia's priorities to science. Tragedy struck the shuttle on Feb. 1, 2003, when the spacecraft and crew were lost after the Columbia burned up during reentry. The disaster shut down the shuttle program for more than two years.

The first American woman in space, Sally Ride entered space aboard the space shuttle Challenger. She would make two shuttle flights.(Photo: Sandy Huffaker / Getty Images)

25. First US woman into space

Date: June 18, 1983

Sally Ride became first American woman in space, about 20 years after Soviet cosmonaut Tereshkova became the first woman in space. Ride, who held a doctorate in physics, was selected as one of NASA's first six female astronauts. She entered space aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Ride would make two shuttle flights. Among the tasks she performed in flight were operating the shuttle's robotic arm.

26. Voyager 2 transmits images from Uranus

Date: Jan. 24, 1986

Voyager 2, launched into orbit with Voyager 1 in 1977, began transmitting images from Uranus in 1986. The massive planet showed some evidence of boiling oceanic water. Voyager 2 also found 10 new moons and two new rings around Uranus. Voyager 2 would become the only spacecraft to study all four of the solar system's outer planets at close range.

27. Voyager 2 transmits images from Neptune

Date: Aug. 1, 1989

Voyager 2 was built to examine the farthest reaches of the solar system, and this included the planet Neptune. The spacecraft is the only human-made object to have flown to that planet. During its journey, Voyager 2 found five moons and four rings around Neptune. It was discovered that Neptune's largest moon, Triton, was the coldest known planetary body in the solar system. The planet also was more active than previously believed, with winds exceeding 680 miles per hour. Hydrogen was the most common element in the atmosphere.

28. Hubble space telescope

Date: April 25, 1990

See the article here:

The final frontier: The 40 most important events in the history of space exploration - USA TODAY

President Donald Trumps space policy has certainly evolved since the campaign when he was telling people that he doubted sending people to Mars was a good idea with American infrastructure needing to be rebuilt. During his presidency, Trump has set America on a course back to the moon. He has also started encouraging space commercialization, including the mining of the moon and other celestial bodies.

In 2015 before Trump took office President Barack ObamaBarack Hussein ObamaTo energize young voters, Biden must recapture spirit of 2008 campaign Michelle Obama records robocalls urging DC residents to stay home amid pandemic How Democrats can help Biden make the sale MORE signed into law the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, which Congress passed, thanks in large part to the efforts of Texas Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzHillicon Valley: Experts worry U.S. elections vulnerable due to COVID-19 | Report finds states need more federal election funds | Republican senators to introduce coronavirus-related privacy bill Republicans to introduce bill to ban government employees from using Huawei, ZTE products On The Money: 3.8M more Americans file for unemployment benefits | Stocks cap off best month since 1987 even as coronavirus leaves millions jobless | Pelosi floats almost T for states in next relief package MORE (R). The Act, among other things, mandated that American space miners would retain ownership of the resources they extracted.

On April 6 President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump to travel to Camp David on Friday Overnight Defense: Sexual assaults increase across military | Army defends bringing cadets back for Trump graduation speech Overnight Health Care: Pelosi floats almost T for states | US intel investigating COVID-19's origins | Trump outlines efforts to protect nursing homes MORE signed an executive order confirming the principles of the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act. The EO repudiated the 1979 Moon Treaty, which the United States never ratified, and stated:

Americans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space, consistent with applicable law. Outer space is a legally and physically unique domain of human activity, and the United States does not view it as a global commons. Accordingly, it shall be the policy of the United States to encourage international support for the public and private recovery and use of resources in outer space, consistent with applicable law.

The Trump administration is pressing ahead with getting an international agreement confirming the right of private companies to mine space resources, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.

As a follow up to the executive order, the administration has been quietly preparing the Artemis Accords, which it plans to present first to Americas partners on the International Space StationCanada, Europe, Japan and Russiaand later to other nations.

Just as an aside, because of recent events, China should be excluded from the list of nations to be part of the Artemis Accords for the time being. However, Taiwan should be included.

Other possible countries beyond the ISS partners that could join the Artemis Accords include Israel, India, South Korea, Australia and the United Arad Emirates. Australia would be obliged to withdraw from the Moon Treaty if it accepts an offer to join the Accords.

NASA has been tasked with returning to the moon and establishing what the space agency calls a lunar base camp to do science and to practice missions to Mars. However, the policy encouraging mining the moon and, by extension, other celestial bodies such as asteroids, recognizes a fact that has held back space exploration since the beginning.

The Apollo program to land men on the moon and the ISS have been seen as expensive hobbies by politicians who write the checks. Leaving aside studies such as the one conducted in the 1970s by Chase Econometrics that demonstrate space exploration returns many times the investment, the fact remains that science and national prestige from the space program are considered optional and not vital.

President Trump and like-minded people in Congress such as Sen. Cruz have recognized that space exploration must be made to pay in order to be sustainable. If returning to the moon creates wealth, then it becomes not just something that is nice to do but a thing that must be done for the benefit of the United States and its allies and, by extension, for all humankind.

This vision of the future goes beyond a small, lunar base camp. A town will grow up on the south pole of the moon, a center of science and commerce. While some will go exploring to wrest the secrets of the universe from the moon, others will extract our nearest neighbors hidden riches. Those riches include industrial metals such as titanium and aluminum, platinum group metals, rare earths, helium 3, which could be used for future fusion power plants, and water ice, which could be refined into rocket fuel for expeditions further into the solar system, to asteroids heavy with more riches and to Mars, the far away realm of explorers dreams for many decades.

The moons mineral wealth will fuel a new age of space exploration, a space-based industrial revolution, and, perhaps, an era of clean, limitless energy. It is a future better and more prosperous than the past or present.

Mark Whittington, who writes frequently about space and politics, has published a political study of space exploration entitled Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon? as well as The Moon, Mars and Beyond. He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner. He is published in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Hill, USA Today, the LA Times, and the Washington Post, among other venues.

View post:

How the United States plans to make space exploration pay | TheHill - The Hill

Special Report

John Harrington

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting every aspect of everyday life, its easy to forget about what else is going on in the world and that includes significant historical moments and fun holidays. One of them is May 1 Space Day.

24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of the coolest and most unforgettable moments in space exploration after reviewing material from NASA, news articles from decades ago and information from the National Archives and Records Administration.

If Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Amerigo Vespucci, and Vasco Da Gama helped Western civilization in the Age of Discovery reach new worlds, in the Space Age, Yuri Gagarin, John Glenn, Valentina Tereshkova, and Neil Armstrong took humanity to Earths orbit and beyond. Those space pioneers launched our world into a realm that had been pondered by astronomers, philosophers, religious figures, science fiction writers and poets.

The Space Age paralleled the Cold War, and when the Soviet Union succeeded in launching Sputnik into space in 1957, it was seen as much a threat to U.S. national security as a scientific triumph. Sputniks success was the starting gun of the space race that put the prestige of nations on the line.

The competition for supremacy in space made national heroes of Gagarin, Glenn, Tereshkova, and Armstrong, among many other astronauts and cosmonauts in the 20th century. They would gain fame as astronauts on the Mercury and Apollo missions during the 1960s here are 30 special skills astronauts need to master to do their job.

Click here to see the most unforgettable moments in space exploration.

Here is the original post:

The 40 Most Important Events in the History of Space Exploration - 24/7 Wall St.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, and SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk, right, speak to press in front of the Crew Dragon that is being prepared for the Demo-2 mission.

NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine believes the billions his agency has invested in Elon Musk's SpaceX have been well worth it as the company prepares to launch astronauts for the first time this month.

"The investments that we have made into SpaceX and the investment SpaceX has made in itself have really resulted in I think something that is going to be very beneficial, not just for human space exploration, but beneficial for the economy," Bridenstine said during a press conference on Friday.

NASA has awarded SpaceX with several contracts over the past two decades, ranging from development of new spacecraft to transporting cargo to the International Space Station. Under the Commercial Crew program, NASA awarded SpaceX more than $3.1 billion to fund development of its Crew Dragon capsule. Boeing also received over $4.8 billion of investment from NASA to develop a competing spacecraft called Starliner.

However, while SpaceX isset to launch NASA astronauts in its spacecraft on May 27, Boeing's Starliner is about a year behind in development after significant software issues during a test flight. The Commercial Crew program is NASA's replacement for the Space Shuttle, which retired in 2011.Although the program is about two years behind in delivering on its original goals, Bridenstine said he believes it has overall been cost effective.

"Commercial Crew is going to demonstrate cost savings if you compare it to the Space Shuttle ... We're very pleased with the level of investment that we've made and what we're getting for that investment," Bridenstine said.

The two spacecraft developed for Commercial Crew will give NASA a ride for its astronauts to get to the International Space Station. For about the past decade, NASA has paid Russia to fly astronauts to the ISS.

"We need to have the capability of accessing space, not just for NASA, but for all of humanity," Bridenstine said.

Musk has said previously that SpaceX has spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" of its own cash in developing the spacecraft. Asked on Friday specifically how much, president and COO Gwynne Shotwell deferred.

"SpaceX invests heavily in our products but candidly I can't tell you what the investment has been in Dragon 2. Not because I don't want to. I don't know what the number is," Shotwell said.

She added that SpaceX "hasworked closely with NASA since 2006," as flying people to space is the core of the company's mission.

"All that work is culminating to this historic event that we have upcoming here in just a few weeks," Shotwell said.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.

Read the original:

NASA's billions of investment in SpaceX have been 'very beneficial,' agency chief says - CNBC

Vaneeza Rupani by Her Bookshelf: Vaneeza Rupani, the 11th grader who named the Mars Helicopter (Ingenuity), at home in Northport, Alabama. Credit: Rupani Family. Download image

As a longtime fan of space exploration, Vaneeza Rupani appreciates the creativity and collaboration involved with trying to fly on another planet.

Vaneeza Rupani, an 11th grader at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Alabama, is the person behind the Mars Helicopter's new name. Chosen by NASA from the finalists for the agency's "Name the Rover" contest for the Mars 2020 mission, Ingenuity is an apt description for the history-making spacecraft, which launches with NASA's Perseverance rover this summer. Here, we ask Rupani what it's like to be part of a pioneering experiment.

What was going through your head when you heard that the name you submitted for the rover would be used for the helicopter instead?

I was very, very excited. To have a name I suggested used in any capacity is amazing. This helicopter is an incredible project, and I am thrilled to have a part in its journey.

Why do you think "Ingenuity" would be a good name for the helicopter?

Ingenuity would be a good name for the helicopter because that is exactly what it took to design this machine. The challenges faced trying to design something capable of flight on another planet can only be overcome with collaboration and creativity. It takes the ingenuity of an incredible group of people to create something with so many complex challenges.

What excites you most about the Mars Helicopter?

The fact that it will be the first craft to fly in a controlled way on another planet is super-exciting. Proving this is possible will open up multitudes of opportunities in space exploration. This milestone of adding an aerial element to the exploration of other worlds is extremely exciting!

Why do you think space exploration is important?

Space exploration is important because it gives us important insight into the history of planets. It tells us how different environments have changed over time and how they have reacted to different events. This information can then be used to protect Earth from any environmental dangers it may face, making space exploration extremely important to Earth's health and survival.

Bonus question for Vaneeza's mom, Nausheen Rupani: Whats an interesting story you can share about your daughter that's related to space?

Vaneeza had an interest in space science since her Montessori years. On their way to school every day, she and her dad would pretend they were in a spaceship. They would imagine seeing planets (buildings), stars (traffic lights), etc. on their way and give them names.

Space and the science of engineering that answers our questions about it have always fascinated Vaneeza since she learned to express herself. The tradition continues ... every night, we have a "fact of the day" session, where she shares new information she has learned.

We are immensely proud of Vaneeza and know she will make it big.

News Media Contact

DC Agle / Jia-Rui CookJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California818-3939-9011 / 818-354-0724david.c.agle@jpl.nasa.gov / jccook@jpl.nasa.gov

Alana JohnsonNASA Headquarters, Washington202-358-1501alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

Read this article:

Q&A with the Student Who Named Ingenuity, NASA's Mars Helicopter - NASA Mars Exploration

Airbus

Returning to Earth after long periods of time in space on the International Space Station can be a strange experience for astronauts. After months in microgravity, even an act as simple as walking may be accompanied by feelings of dizziness, nausea, and vertigo.

Astronauts liken it to the worlds worst hangover as their vestibular systems struggle to re-acclimatize to Earth gravity.Some report dropping things as they are so used to being able to let go of objects and have them continue to float close by. Others, despite their physical fitness, find that they are surprised by the extreme weight of even a lightweight iPad after long periods of handling tablets in weightlessness.

These physical effects are well-known. But what about the mental side effects of time in isolation, or near-isolation, in space? This is less publicized. But its clear that space can have a big impact here, too.

If you meet [astronauts] after they return, they can act strangely, Judith-Irina Buchheim, a researcher at the University Hospital Mnchen in Munich, Germany, told Digital Trends. Its quite hard to pinpoint, but you notice that something apparently happens. They may have difficulty in readapting, or they become very thoughtful. We see behavioral changes.

Buchheims area of interest involves stress and the physiological changes that can manifest in the human body. For the past several years, she has focused on people voluntarily living and working in isolation, whether thats astronauts on the ISS or researchers in the Antarctic. She has also been working closely with groups including IBM to help feed these insights into an ambitious project to create a robot assistant to help astronauts in space. Robots, that is, like CIMON (Crew Interactive Mobile companion).

CIMON is an autonomous, free-flying beachball-looking smart device with a touchscreen smiley face. It was developed by IBM and Airbus, with funding from the German Aerospace Center, and has been deployed on the ISS since 2018.The robots latest iteration, CIMON-2, was sent up to the space station at the end of last year aboard a resupply mission.

CIMON assists astronauts by carrying out tasks, such as finding objects or documenting tasks. But its creators believe it could do a whole lot more, too. They think it could be a communication platform to keep astronauts company, half-psychotherapist, half-Wilson-in-Cast Away-style buddy.Were interested in making a machine that can behave empathically, and can also provide advice, Buchheim said. I think a computer that can do that has a lot of potential.

The idea of building a friendly robot for space missions has been a staple of science fiction for years. Star Wars R2-D2 and C-3PO, Forbidden Planets Robby the Robot, and other fictitious robots have not always been the most efficient or competent of assistants, but they have been lovable support characters in their own right.In other cases, whether its Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation or the Arnold Schwarzenegger T-800, they are introduced as functional tools, only for this quality to recede in importance as their humanity comes to the fore. Why, then, should real-life astronauts not have access to the same space sidekicks?

The isolation of being up there [in space] is something that can take a toll on astronauts, Buchheim said. But they dont like to talk about it. Weve done studies with questionnaires where we ask do you feel stressed?, do you feel isolated?, do you feel alone?, do you feel sad?, and things like that. Astronauts in general dont like to report that. Why? Because theyre heroes; theyre very special people. They have been part of a very long selection process. They have to prove that they are healthy, that they are resilient, and that they are able to perform tasks under very, very stressful conditions. So to be honest about themselves, to be honest about psychological problems, is quite a thing for them.

This was one of the impetuses of the CIMON projects emotional support research. Plenty of psychological profiling is carried out to ensure that astronauts will be able to work together in space. But there are, inevitably, challenges. Language and cultural differences exist, as do the potential for whatever squabbles and challenges exist in any workplace. Some astronauts may be trained psychologists, but what if the crews psychologist needs someone to talk to?

As Buchheim explains, in some ways the importance of this research wont become apparent until the next phase of space exploration. The ISS is close enough to Earth that astronauts can look out of the viewing windows and see their home planet. Communications with the ground station are almost instant.But once we move further away from Earth maybe to the moon, but we are also planning interstellar flights [this could become more significant], she said.

On a trip to Mars, communication times with Earth would drop to around 30 minutes. That means recorded messages to friends and family only. It also means a half-hour wait for feedback in the event of an urgent problem. This, along with more cramped environments for long-haul space flight, could place an added strain on team dynamics. Psychological effects like groupthink could wind up excluding particular crew members who struggle to have their voices heard. CIMON, which would not be part of the hierarchy of the crew, would exist as a neutral platform to talk with.

CIMON could be a platform that [astronauts] like to talk to because hes not part of the team, Buchheim said. If an astronaut doesnt want to share personal feelings for example, if its a team leader who doesnt want to show weakness or open up to the team that [they are] afraid of what might happen maybe its easier for this person to share the problem with CIMON and keep the data files like a diary.

The idea that a highly trained adult might find solace in speaking to artificial intelligence could sound unlikely or even dismissive of the complexity of actual human communication. But theres plenty of reason to believe it could help.

In the 1960s, computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology created ELIZA, a prototypical chatbot designed to function as a computer psychotherapist. ELIZA was intended to engage users in seemingly intelligent conversations via text. Users were asked to type in sentences, which ELIZA would then reflect back to them, either questioning or supporting their statement. Although ELIZA had no actual understanding of the topics being discussed, and was simply following a template, Weizenbaum expressed surprise that students in his lab would willingly pour their hearts out to the program. What was meant, in some senses, as a wry parody of real psychotherapists wound up being the recipient of serious concerns about everything from failing classes to broken relationships.

More than half a century later, these technological capabilities have advanced significantly. High-level voice recognition is something thats found in just about every smartphone thanks to breakthroughs in machine learning. Emotional analysis through image recognition is increasingly prevalent. And projects like IBMs Project Debater, capable of carrying out debates with expert human debaters, is way beyond what Joseph Weizenbaum could have imagined in the 60s.

One of CIMONs abilities is something called Watson Tone Analyzer, which can pull out emotive words from the conversations it has with astronauts and use this to modify its responses. An astronaut saying that they feel bad will result in a different line of conversation than them saying they would like to have some fun.

We want CIMON to be empathic, Buchheim said. Seven tones is not much, but it is the beginning. Anger, fear, sadness, being distressed, being inquisitive all of these tones can be detected, and they will trigger a response in CIMON.

Unlike ELIZA, CIMON aims to provide input into conversations, rather than simply be a passive listening machine whose only activity is to prompt further insights from the user. A diary function is nice, but at the end of the day you want to get something back, Buchheim said. You want to get advice, like you would from a good friend.

Theres still much to do, but the team believes that they are developing technology which could be a game-changer. And who knows? As the project goes on, Buchheim said the insights could be used to inform technologies closer to home which could help those who are stressed or living in isolation. (Which, lets face it, is a whole lot of people right now!)

Were always trying to think of ways to transfer this knowledge to Earth, she said.

Read this article:

How do we help astronauts deal with isolation? Floating robo-therapists - Digital Trends

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. Incredible moments from Apollo 13 live on in a hidden gem museum in New York.

Space.com recently visited the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island, New York, where exhibits highlight moments in aviation history ranging from the peak of the Pan Am airline to NASA's Apollo program. There, we spoke to curator Joshua Stoff who took us through some of the most incredible pieces saved from Apollo, specifically the Apollo 13 mission.

First, Stoff showed us a lunar module simulator in which Apollo astronauts once trained to fly down to the lunar surface. "It's basically the inside of the ascent stage, and this was at Cape Kennedy, and this is what all the astronauts trained on for every lunar landing," Stoff said. "It's opened up like a clamshell, it would've been closed up with projectors and cameras and screens behind the windows so when they worked the controls it would simulate coming down and landing on the moon."

Video: Space Traveler: Apollo missions at the Cradle of Aviation MuseumRelated: Apollo 13 in Real Time website offers new insight into mission

Now, while the Apollo 13 astronauts did train in this piece of equipment, they never used it to land on the moon and instead crammed inside of the actual lunar module to use it as a "life raft" around the moon.

Inside the simulator, you can even see the lithium hydroxide canisters which filter carbon dioxide out of the air in the lunar module. During the troubled Apollo 13 mission, the crew had to grab extra canisters out of the command module the "mothership" that stays in lunar orbit while the lunar module goes to the surface and alter them with duct tape and plastic bags to make them fit in the lunar module so they could keep breathing the air.

The Apollo 13 crew had to get creative in the lunar module because the three astronauts were using the craft, which was built for only two astronauts, as a "life raft." After the oxygen tank explosion which forever changed the course of the mission, the crew shut the power down on the command module and all squeezed into the lunar module. But, with one extra person breathing the air carbon dioxide levels started to rise. So, since the extra canisters from the command module didn't fit, to create a functioning air filtration system they had to get creative and alter them to fit the lunar module.

The museum also features a number of other pieces of Apollo history. There is a parachute that traveled to the moon and back with Apollo 17 and lunar module 13, which was built for the Apollo 19 mission but never made it to the moon. Apollo 19 was supposed to launch to the moon in 1973, but it never flew after NASA canceled the Apollo program. Lunar module 13 is one of only three original lunar modules still on our planet.

There is even a mockup of an old Northrop Grumman cleanroom in the museum, which holds lunar module test article 1, or LTA1, the first lunar module ever built. "It never had the outer skin put on it or the legs," Stoff said, adding that "this is where they worked out all their techniques for building the spacecraft and ran all pressure tests, electrical tests. So it's basically a real lunar module without the skin on it, which is really cool because people can see the inside."

The cleanroom additionally pays homage to some of the researchers and workers who helped to bring these spacecraft to fruition, some of whom currently volunteer at the museum, teaching the public about the time working at NASA on these historic technologies.

While you can't check out the museum's incredible collection of historic spaceflight items in person right now because of travel restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, the museum has a free virtual tour which you can take online here.

So virtually take yourself, your friends and your family to the museum and explore the history of human space exploration.

Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Read the original post:

Exploring Apollo 13 at the Cradle of Aviation museum in New York - Space.com

The space industry has experienced major changes in recent years: more federal contractors play the field, the U.S. is diverting NASA funds from space exploration to private-public partnerships, and the administration established the U.S. Space Force. Given these developments, 2020 sits poised to be a watershed year with rapid innovation in 5G and 6G, advances in private satellite technology and increased demand for global high-speed connectivity.

The expanding low Earth orbit, or LEO, access for new satellite communications players signals an opportunity for growthand for the democratization and commercialization of space. With this in mind, federal agencies are adopting private-sector advancements that will impact the future of communications.

Federal Investments in Space

Satellites are just as cyber-vulnerable as any other technology, but the current focus on profitability, launch providers and mega-constellations are putting cybersecurity low on the priority list. Instead, it should be integrated across the value chain from conceptualization and development to launch and operation. After all, weve seen how poor cyber readiness can negatively impact even the most prepared government agencies and corporations.

While NASA is most commonly associated with space operations, eight U.S. federal organizations have space budgets, including the Defense and Energy departments, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey and others. These agencies use satellites in a variety of ways: think telecommunications in globally dispersed workforces, up-to-the-minute information on natural disasters or armed conflicts, research on population growth and density, awareness of weather patterns and more. Satellites provide a global, wide-lens perspective that can be invaluable to the government.

The Emergence of LEO

LEO satellites provide agencies with additional advantages because they move at a quicker rate and have lower latency due to their location in orbit, which helps agencies communicate more quickly to citizens and warfighters.

Nevertheless, all satellites have a complex structure and the various systems and programs required for operationnavigation, communications channels, onboard sensors, power generatorscreate a vast attack surface. And because these systems and components must work in harmony, its often nearly impossible to isolate or combat a threat without compromising the entire ecosystem. The world has already seen several instances of satellite interference by governments executing cyberattacks and blocking communications including jamming and spoofing capabilities in the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Ukraine by Russia.

Once an adversary has gained access to a satellites system, its easier for the bad actor to follow the communications path between a satellite and its home base, gain entry and infiltrate networks and systems up the chain. To ensure that an attack is prevented or mitigated, agencies should emphasize resilience and implement forward-looking technology solutions.

Building Resilience in the Cyber Supply Chain

To protect against cyberattacks, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. But resilience is the best bet to ensure mission continuity and support rapid reconstruction of existing capabilitiesor deployment of an alternative. Resilience uses cyber threat intelligence to guide decisions, support agility and evaluate acceptable risk. Most agencies can achieve resilience simply by following current federal standards (including National Institute of Standards and Technology guidelines) and analyzing the data they are collecting from adversaries. Additionally, agencies can train their workforce to respond to attacks and test satcom systems for vulnerabilities.

In addition to building resilience, the emergence of a virtualized architecture is poised to fundamentally change the satcom industry in 2020. Transport virtualization allows users to seamlessly switch between waveforms and operate across networks, bands, satellites, orbits and constellations with commercial-off-the-shelf hardware. This capability will simultaneously address readiness, resilience, agility, logistics and operations while allowing satellites and their communications to hide in plain sight.

Transport virtualization will strengthen cybersecurity in satcom by increasing user visibilityallowing threats to be identified and isolated quicker so that an affected program can be frozen, and attackers wont be able to spread. In addition, virtualization will solve major connectivity challenges, allowing agencies to connect to satellites at different bands and orbits, effectively changing connection without having to switch between proprietary hardware and software.

The emergence of large-scale commercial LEO access facilitates the expansion of satcom into a new space frontier. For the U.S. to fully capitalize on these developments, agencies can embrace strategic partnerships to leverage the cutting edge in space operations while building resilient, secure satellites.

Tera Garner is acybersecurity specialist at Envistacom.

See the rest here:

Why Satellite Cybersecurity Must Be Prioritized in the New Frontier - Nextgov