Daily Archives: December 9, 2021

Ingenuity flew for the 17th time at Mars on Sunday, Dec. 5. After the helicopter executed the planned 614-foot (187-meter) traverse to the northeast, the radio communications link between Ingenuity and the Perseverance Mars rover was disrupted during the final descent phase of the flight. Approximately 15 minutes later, Perseverance received several packets of additional Ingenuity telemetry indicating that the flight electronics and battery were healthy.

All available telemetry during and after the flight suggests that the activity was a success and that the loss of link was due to a challenging radio configuration between Perseverance and Ingenuity during landing. However, before planning our next flight, we need transfer the missing data from Flight 17 from helicopter to rover, and then to Earth, so we can confirm vehicle health.

Based on the telemetry we have, the vehicle performed nominally across the board during its 117-second flight 33 feet (10 meters) above the surface of Mars. The telemetry cut out during the final third of our descent, roughly 10 feet (3 meters) off the surface. Examining how radio links behave in relation to nearby surface features can help explain why the loss of link occurred near landing.

Radio Links

Orientation of Mars Helicopter Base Station Antenna for Flight 17:This annotated graphic depicts the orientation of NASAs Perseverance Mars rover during the 17th flight of the agencys Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on Dec. 5, 2021. The green dot on the rover indicates the location of its Mars Helicopter Base Station antenna, which communicates with the rotorcraft. The red line depicts how the rear of the rover presented an obstacle to communications during the final moments of Flight 17. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.Download image A radios signal strength depends significantly on how clear the path, or line-of-sight (LOS), is between the transmitter and receiver antennas. That path can be obstructed by the ground itself if the helicopter lands in a depression or on the other side of a hill, or it can be obstructed by elements of the rovers structure if the helicopter happens to be on the rovers port (left) or stern (back) side. In this case not only was Ingenuity challenged with communicating across the rovers structure and Multi-MissionRadioisotopeThermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) (see red LOS vector in graphic of rover), but it was also tasked with flying to a landing site which placed a 13-foot (4 meter) hill called Bras (named after a commune in France). in the LOS between the two antennas. With a cruise altitude of 33-feet (10 meters), Bras presented little obstruction to our radio link during the majority of the flight. But as Ingenuity began to descend, the line of sight between the rover and helicopter antennas began to become obstructed/shadowed by Bras.

When we originally planned Flight 17, we believed that the rover was going to be parked in a specific location and oriented in a certain direction. However, Perseverances plans change day to day to maximize overall science return. By the time Flight 17 was ready for execution, Perseverance had driven to a new location and parked along a challenging heading for radio communications (the red LOS in Figure 2).

Since the start of the helicopters operations demonstration, we have accepted the potential for radio loss on landing due to the nature of our more challenging flights. Ingenuity was designed to handle these situations by automatically powering down after a flight and awaiting further instructions on subsequent sols, which we expect to be the case following Flight 17. These challenges are part of the lessons learned in integrating aerial exploration activities within the complexity of daily rover operations.

Flight Assessment

We believe the flight was a success because nothing in what we see from the available helicopter suggests otherwise. Telemetry is nominal leading right up to the moment that the radio link halted.

Even more telling are the data packets received 15 minutes after the time landing should have occurred. These packets included samples of our battery voltage indicating a +76 millivolts, or a +1.2% state-of-charge increase over 15 minutes. In other words, the battery was being charged by the helicopters solar array. This high level of battery charging could only be possible with an upright vehicle, with its solar array pointing to the Martian sky.

Next Steps

The first opportunity to downlink the missing data from Flight 17 will be no earlier than Wednesday, after which the team will finalize its health assessment. This flight was designed to continue our journey back to the Octavia E. Butler landing site by flying halfway across South Sitah. We are planning on Flight 18 to occur in the next two weeks, which would bring Ingenuity another ~200 meters northeast, just shy of the northern edge of S. Stah.

As Ingenuity ventures farther and dares mightier flights in the future, we expect to again encounter loss of radio link on landing, similar to what occurred on Sunday. We will do all that we can in planning to prevent them (when possible), but temporary loss of radio link is a natural part of helicopter operations at the Red Planet.

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Flight 17 Discovering Limits - NASA Mars - NASA Mars Exploration

Some planets orbit their stars so closely that they have extremely high surface temperatures and extremely rapid orbits. Most of the ones astronomers have found are Hot Jupiters planets in the size range of Jupiter and with similar compositions as Jupiter. Their size and proximity to their star make them easier to spot using the transit method.

But theres another type of planet that also orbits very close to their stars and has extremely high surface temperatures. Theyre small, rocky, and they orbit their star in less than 24 hours. Theyre called ultra-short-period (USP) planets and TESS found one that orbits its star in only eight hours.

And the planets density is almost equivalent to pure iron.

The planet orbits a red (M-type) dwarf star named GJ 367 about 31 light-years away. Its named GJ 367b and its about 70% as large as Earth and about 55% as massive. Astronomers call it a sub-Earth.

The discovery is detailed in a new paper published in Science. Its title is GJ 367b: A dense ultra-short period sub-Earth planet transiting a nearby red dwarf star. The first author is Kristine Lam, currently a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the German Aerospace Center (DLR.)

Were finding a Mars-sized planet that has the composition of Mercury, said study co-author Roland Vanderspek, a principal research scientist at MIT. Its among the smallest planets detected to date, and its spinning around an M dwarf on a very tight orbit.

Sub-Earths can be very difficult to detect around other stars because theyre so small. Their small size makes their transit signals extremely weak, and their low masses mean they barely tug on their host stars. In this case, the detection was a little easier because the star it orbits is also a small M-dwarf.

Sub-Earths usually have no atmosphere because their stars strip it away. They have neither enough mass nor a strong enough magnetic field to retain their atmospheres.

Why is this planet missing its outer atmosphere? How did it move close in? Was this process peaceful or violent?

GJ 367b is no different.

Its surface is showered with about 576 times more radiation than Earth is and theres no way an atmosphere can withstand that intensity. All that solar radiation means the surface temperature is around 1500 C (2700 F; 1775 K.) Any atmosphere would have been stripped away by all that energy, and of course, no living thing could withstand it either.

It has no atmosphere and no chance of supporting life, but its an extremely interesting exoplanet for another reason: its density.

Because the planet is so close to its star, astronomers were able to measure some of the planets other properties, something difficult to do with other USPs. Though TESS found the planet initially, follow-up observations with the HARPS (High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher) instrument at the ESOs La Silla Observatory determined that the planet is rocky and likely has a core of solid iron and nickel, similar to Mercury. Those observations also helped determine the planets size and mass.

From there they determined that the iron core makes up 86% of GJ 367bs interior.

While the interior structure of the exoplanet is similar to Mercury, the planet and its situation are like nothing in our own Solar System. And its discovery begs a bunch of questions.

Understanding how these planets get so close to their host stars is a bit of a detective story, said TESS team member Natalia Guerrero. Why is this planet missing its outer atmosphere? How did it move close in? Was this process peaceful or violent? Hopefully, this system will give us a little more insight.

We know that planets can migrate from the original position they formed in. Jupiter did so. The working theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis. Briefly, the nebular hypothesis states that after a star forms, the leftover material forms a protoplanetary disk that planets form from. But the nebular hypothesis places some limitations on where planets can form.

Planets cant form as close to their star as GJ 367b is. Theres less material available for planetary formation that close to the star, and the temperatures are too high for material to condense into solids. Rocky planets like GJ 367b cant form there. According to the paper, the surface temperature is high enough to begin to melt and vaporize any silicates or metallic iron. They must form further out and migrate in somehow.

Planetary migration is a complex topic and there are different types of migration. Basically, planetary migration takes place when theres still a significant disk of gas around a young star. As the planets move through the gas, they exert a gravitational influence on the gas itself. That triggers an equal and opposite force on the planet, which can change its angular momentum. Depending on the particular circumstances, there can be either an inward or an outward migration.

What happened in GJ 367bs solar system is unclear, but astronomers will likely study it further.

Its like theres a sign saying, Look here for extra planets!

GJ 367 is an M-type star or red dwarf. Theyre known to often host multiple small planets, with some estimates saying they host an average of 2.5 planets of less than four Earth radii, with orbital periods less than 100 days. And since M-dwarfs are low mass themselves, its somewhat easier to detect planets around them. Due to the small stellar radius, the transit signal produced by a planet orbiting an M dwarf is larger than a planet of the same size orbiting a solar-type star (G dwarf), the authors write in their paper.

A similar principle holds true for radial velocity measurements. The radial velocity (RV) signal induced by a planet is also larger for an M dwarf host than for a G dwarf, due to the lower stellar mass, the authors write. M dwarfs, therefore, provide an opportunity to search for exoplanets with small radii and low masses. However, M dwarfs also have higher stellar activity, which adds some difficulty to accurate RV measurements.

Since this star is so close by, and so bright, we have a good chance of seeing other planets in this system. Its like theres a sign saying, Look here for extra planets! said team member George Ricker, a senior research scientist in MITs Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.

M dwarfs may be unlikely to support life on nearby planets because they can flare so powerfully. That flaring would sterilize any planet that wasnt already too close to being too hot for life, like GJ 367b. But if the star hosts other planets further out, could they be habitable?

For this class of star, the habitable zone would be somewhere near a month-long orbit, said Ricker.

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Originally posted here:

TESS Finds a New Mars-Sized Planet (With the Density of Mercury) - Universe Today

STENNIS SPACE CENTER (WGNO) On Tuesday NASAs Stennis Space CenterNASAs Administrator and Deputy Administrator stopped by to check out what they have been working on, which includes efforts that include missions to the moon and Mars.

Theres a lot that goes into launching into outer space, but before the astronauts can blast off the countdown starts at Stennis Space Center.

Engines like this are going to roar to life, Bill Nelson, NASAs Administrator said.

NASAs Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator pam Melroy were on-site checking out Stennis out-of-this-world operations.

This is our exciting point in our nations space history, a lot is happening right here, he said.

NASA is building the most powerful rocket in the world to power Artemis missions to the moon and eventual flights to Mars. The engines are being tested at Stennis.

Melroy toured Stennis and got to see the engines that launched her into space several times.

I feel this is a convergence for me. It for me is the past and the future, so it is really cool, she said.

In addition to the rocket engines, NASA scientists are hard at work in the autonomous systems lab working on software and habitats which operate without any human intervention.

We will continue to push the boundaries and Stennis will stay right in the middle of it.

Todays visit highlighted the benefits that both NASA and Stennis would receive under President Bidens Build Back Better Act, funding that NASA secured, in recently passed funding law that will help Stennis repair damage caused by Hurricane Ida.

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Rocket engines being tested at Stennis Space Center to power rockets to moon and Mars - WGNO New Orleans

Cesar is introducing a refrigerated pet food productavailable exclusively at select Walmart locations.

The new Cesar Fresh Chef line are refrigerated cut-and-serve rolls for dogs made with human-grade ingredients and no artificialflavors, no artificial colors, and no artificial preservatives.

Refrigerated pet food is the fastest-growing segment of pet food products on the market, saidJosh Evertsen,senior vice president of customer development at Mars Petcare.

"Now pet parents who know and love the Cesar brand for its culinary-forward recipes have more feedingchoices, Evertsen says in a release.

All recipes are made with whole-food ingredients including fresh beef or chicken as the first ingredients. Two flavors are available Beef & Chicken Recipe with Peas & Carrots, and Chicken Recipe with Peas & Carrots, in slice and serve rolls in 1.3 lbs. and 3.2lbs.

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The increasedhumanization of pets is driving innovation, saysMelody Richard, merchandising vice president, pets, Walmart U.S. Customers want new products that promote pet health and wellness, she adds.

Cesar Fresh Chef will be sold exclusively at more than 800 Walmart stores nationwide.

The pet food brand previously collaborated with on-demand food and retaildelivery app Postmates in July to offer Bestie Bowls featuring "yours" and "theirs" meal duos for pets.

Each delivery included Cesar Wholesome Bowls Canine Cuisineproducts, a line of culinary-inspired wet dog food, crafted with real meat and fresh vegetables, as well as an exclusive bowl of human food created byFood Network host, chef andauthor,Jeff Mauro.

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Originally posted here:

Mars Petcare's Cesar Brand Partners With Walmart 12/09/2021 - MediaPost Communications

How do you prepare for a mission to the moon or Mars? You cant take a quick jaunt to get the lay of the land, so you need to find the next best thing. And there isnt much better than our very own slice of an alien world right here on Earth: Iceland.

Famously used by the Apollo astronauts in the 1960s to prepare for their historic lunar excursions, Icelands unique features and terrain make it an ideal testbed for missions to other worlds. You have subsurface ice. You have lava tubes. You have areas of intense volcanic activity, says Daniel Leeb, executive mission director of the Iceland Space Agency (ISA), a private research organization not affiliated with the Icelandic government. Iceland has the most diverse set of terrestrial analogs in close proximity to one another that exist anywhere on Earth.

In 2019, researchers with the ISA made use of these traits to perform a dry run for a mission to Mars. Participants donned a spacesuit called Mars Suit 1 (MS1), made by the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and performed activities that future astronauts might one day have to contend with on the Red Planet. The suit provided that otherworldly experience, with feet very much on terra firma.

Now researchers have returned to Iceland with an upgraded version of the suit, dubbed the MS1.5, to be put through its paces too. This time the goal of the research, conducted by the ISA in partnership with the private company AdventureX, was to test some of the suits components with NASAs Artemis program in mind, which is hoped to send humans back to the lunar surface later this decade.

Activities included climbing in and out of lava tubes and collecting samples from the walls, such as bacteria, that might be a staple of lunar missions. The upgraded suit also tested new carbon dioxide sensors and a biometric undergarment that recorded data from the astronauts, including their heart rate and breathing rate. Some issues arose; the visor experienced condensation from the temperature swings, for example, which will likely be more extreme on the moon.

Read more from the original source:

Need to Test a Space Suit? Head to Iceland - WIRED

Surviving Mars recently received the Below & Beyond: Content Update 2. The developers implemented some gameplay improvements and bug fixes in this update.

This update made a small change to the Landing system. From now on, rovers and drones loaded into the Lander Rockets will drop resources that are still being carried. You can now see Asteroid Landers take off when they automatically launch at the last second when an asteroid becomes out of range.

The developers also fixed an issue where the Lander Rocket occasionally gets a waiting for maintenance status after a request, while it was still able to return to Mars if the asteroid goes out of range.

Gameplay Improvements

The Cargo UI shows an explanation of how the auto mode works for Asteroid Landers and the Elevator.

Waste Rock can now be transported.

Truly Universal Depot: The Universal Depot now includes the DLC resources, depending on which DLCs you have; Seeds if you have Green Planet and Exotic Minerals if you have Below & Beyond.

Changed the Recon & Expansion tech tree order; Underground Domes and the Recon Center are unlocked earlier, while the Drone Hub Extender is unlocked later.

Added an asteroid-specific skin for the RC Dozer.

Bug Fixes

Fixed the lander rocket having the status not enough full even when the tank is full

Fixed fuel filling the lander rocket resetting to 0 when editing the payload

Fixed Micro-G mining buildings not taking resource grade into account

Fixed MDS lasers not working if the player is on another map

Fixed "Rocket can't land during dust storms" warning showing on Asteroids for Landers in orbit

Fixed cargo rockets duplicating if they are sent on an expedition and the launch is canceled

Fixed cave-ins spawning on walls

Fixed cave-ins spawning at the same angle so that the player sees the pattern

Fixed cave-ins disappearing when canceling the clear operation using the RC Dozer

Fixed drones getting stuck on the Bottomless Pit after the Bottomless Pit Lab is salvaged

Fixed freezing when the Underground Marsquake is occurring in the mid and late-game stage

Fixed Colonist and Tourism top bar tooltip defining colonists as "stored"

Fixed the bottom textures of a Dome remaining after prefabbing

Fixed the Exotic Minerals icon not showing in the Production tab for the asteroid's extractors

Fixed Underground Domes not changing color when changing building colors

You can read more about the update here.

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Surviving Mars Below & Beyond: Content Update 2 Bug Fixes and Gameplay Improvements - Player.One