By Irene Klotz
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 18 - The Mars rover Curiosity has had a second computer glitch, extending an unplanned work break for the NASA robot that discovered the first life-friendly chemistry beyond Earth, scientists said on Monday.
Engineers had hoped to resume Curiosity science operations on Monday following a problem with the rover's main computer two weeks ago.
But a second computer problem surfaced on Sunday night as the rover was attempting to radio data files back to Earth, said lead scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology.
'This is not something that is rare or even uncommon,' Grotzinger said at a webcast news conference during the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston.
The problem, however, is expected to keep Curiosity's next batch of science results on hold for a few more days, Grotzinger told Reuters.
Before the glitch, the rover had radioed back to Earth its first analysis of rock samples drilled from the inside of slab of bedrock in the rover's Gale Crater landing site.
The rover touched down on August 6 to learn if the planet most like Earth has or ever had the chemical ingredients to support microbial life. The early results, announced last week, were a definitive yes.
Scientists also announced additional evidence on Monday that Curiosity is located in an area once flush with water, a key ingredient for life.
Infrared images and an instrument that fires neutrons into the ground to probe for hydrogen detected minerals that form in water near the mudstone that Curiosity drilled and chemically analyzed.
The rover's camera and its Russian-made neutron probe found more evidence for water in the so-called Yellowknife Bay area, where the rover is presently located, than at sites studied earlier in the mission.
'I see the difference between Yellowknife and the area which is just before Yellowknife ... showing the different distribution of water. This is a significant variation,' Maxim Litvak of the Space Research Institute in Moscow told reporters.
The rover is seven months into a planned two-year, $2.5 billion mission at Gale Crater, a giant impact basin located near the Martian equator. Scientists eventually want to explore a 3-mile (5-km) mountain of what appears to be layered sediments rising from the crater floor.
(Editing by Jane Sutton and Cynthia Osterman)
Monday, March 18, 2013
NASA Helps Break Guinness World Record for Biggest Astronomy Lesson
With their eyes turned up at the Texas night sky, NASA and 526 space fans have set a new Guinness World Record for the largest outdoor astronomy lesson in Austin.
The huge group gathered on the lawn of the Long Center for the Performing Arts at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival on March 10 to learn about how astronomers use light and color to understand cosmic objects, from the moon to distant galaxies.
'Astronomy awakens the natural curiosity and awe in all of us,' Frank Summers, an astrophysicist from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, said in a statement. 'Many people think that astronomy and physics is only complicated math equations. They don't recognize how natural it is and how much they already know.'
Summers and Dan McCallister, an education specialist at STScI, used colored filter glasses to show how light can be broken down into its different wavelengths. They explained how certain wavelengths are selected for specific studies of an astronomical object. In the background of the lesson was a full-scale model of NASA's next giant space observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope, which is the size of a tennis court and as tall as a four-story building. The real space observatory is slated to launch in 2018.
Sunday's event was organized by NASA, STScI and Northrop Grumman, which are all involved in the Webb Telescope mission. It was intended to highlight how amazing space telescope pictures help answer big questions about the universe.
'Astronomy tries to answer the questions that everyone wonders about like, 'how did we get here?'' Alberto Conti, an astrophysicist and Webb Telescope innovation scientist at STScI, who was also at SXSW, added in a statement. 'Astronomy showcases the physical laws of nature. It shows all of the processes. You can learn a lot about physics and nature by studying it.'
The record for the largest astronomy lesson was previously held by Mexico, which hosted a similar event including 458 participants, organized by Juarez Competitiva, on Oct. 14, 2011.
Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
The huge group gathered on the lawn of the Long Center for the Performing Arts at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival on March 10 to learn about how astronomers use light and color to understand cosmic objects, from the moon to distant galaxies.
'Astronomy awakens the natural curiosity and awe in all of us,' Frank Summers, an astrophysicist from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, said in a statement. 'Many people think that astronomy and physics is only complicated math equations. They don't recognize how natural it is and how much they already know.'
Summers and Dan McCallister, an education specialist at STScI, used colored filter glasses to show how light can be broken down into its different wavelengths. They explained how certain wavelengths are selected for specific studies of an astronomical object. In the background of the lesson was a full-scale model of NASA's next giant space observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope, which is the size of a tennis court and as tall as a four-story building. The real space observatory is slated to launch in 2018.
Sunday's event was organized by NASA, STScI and Northrop Grumman, which are all involved in the Webb Telescope mission. It was intended to highlight how amazing space telescope pictures help answer big questions about the universe.
'Astronomy tries to answer the questions that everyone wonders about like, 'how did we get here?'' Alberto Conti, an astrophysicist and Webb Telescope innovation scientist at STScI, who was also at SXSW, added in a statement. 'Astronomy showcases the physical laws of nature. It shows all of the processes. You can learn a lot about physics and nature by studying it.'
The record for the largest astronomy lesson was previously held by Mexico, which hosted a similar event including 458 participants, organized by Juarez Competitiva, on Oct. 14, 2011.
Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
- 8 Baffling Astronomy Mysteries
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Scientists to Unveil New Planetary Science Discoveries This Week
Nearly 2,000 astronomers have converged in Texas this week to reveal the latest discoveries on the moon, Mars and other destinations across the solar system.
The gathering marks the start of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas, near Houston, an annual conference to discuss new discoveries by scientists and unmanned spacecraft.
'This is the premiere conference for planetary scientists, and has been a significant focal point for planetary science research since its beginning in 1970, when it was known as the Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference,' officials with the Lunar and Planetary Institute of Houston said in a statement. The institute organizes the five-day conference each year.
NASA officials said the U.S. space agency's unmanned Mars and moon missions will be featured prominently in the conference this week. [Spacecraft Now Exploring Deep Space (Photo Gallery)]
'Presentations will include recent science findings from the rover Curiosity on Mars, and an update on NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter missions,' NASA officials said in an announcement.
NASA will webcast two press conferences on Monday and Tuesday (March 18 and 19) to discuss the Curiosity rover's Mars discoveries and the Grail moon probes. Today's press conference begins at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) and will focus on the Curiosity rover, which has confirmed that Mars was habitable for microbial life in the ancient past. NASA unveiled that discovery last week.
You can watch the Curiosity press conference live on SPACE.com here, courtesy of NASA and the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Curiosity landed on Mars in August to begin a two-year primary mission to determine if Mars could have ever supported life. The rover accomplished that goal in just seven months, NASA officials said.
On Tuesday, NASA will hold another press conference at 1 p.m. EDT to discuss the Grail mission to map the moon's gravity. The two Grail spacecraft launched 2011 and orbited the moon together in order to measure the lunar gravitational field with unprecedented detail. The probes completed their mission last year, ending the expedition with spectacular back-to-back crashes into the lunar surface.
The conference will also include updates on the latest planetary science discoveries by scientists around the world, as well potential future missions to explore the solar system by NASA and other space agencies.
Visit SPACE.com each day this week for news from the 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
The gathering marks the start of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas, near Houston, an annual conference to discuss new discoveries by scientists and unmanned spacecraft.
'This is the premiere conference for planetary scientists, and has been a significant focal point for planetary science research since its beginning in 1970, when it was known as the Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference,' officials with the Lunar and Planetary Institute of Houston said in a statement. The institute organizes the five-day conference each year.
NASA officials said the U.S. space agency's unmanned Mars and moon missions will be featured prominently in the conference this week. [Spacecraft Now Exploring Deep Space (Photo Gallery)]
'Presentations will include recent science findings from the rover Curiosity on Mars, and an update on NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter missions,' NASA officials said in an announcement.
NASA will webcast two press conferences on Monday and Tuesday (March 18 and 19) to discuss the Curiosity rover's Mars discoveries and the Grail moon probes. Today's press conference begins at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) and will focus on the Curiosity rover, which has confirmed that Mars was habitable for microbial life in the ancient past. NASA unveiled that discovery last week.
You can watch the Curiosity press conference live on SPACE.com here, courtesy of NASA and the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Curiosity landed on Mars in August to begin a two-year primary mission to determine if Mars could have ever supported life. The rover accomplished that goal in just seven months, NASA officials said.
On Tuesday, NASA will hold another press conference at 1 p.m. EDT to discuss the Grail mission to map the moon's gravity. The two Grail spacecraft launched 2011 and orbited the moon together in order to measure the lunar gravitational field with unprecedented detail. The probes completed their mission last year, ending the expedition with spectacular back-to-back crashes into the lunar surface.
The conference will also include updates on the latest planetary science discoveries by scientists around the world, as well potential future missions to explore the solar system by NASA and other space agencies.
Visit SPACE.com each day this week for news from the 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
- Amazing Mars Rover Curiosity's Martian Views (Latest Photos)
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SpaceX's Reusable 'Grasshopper' Rocket Makes Highest Flight Yet
A private experimental rocket that could lay the foundation for a fully reusable launch system has passed its most ambitious test yet, flying 24 stories high and then sticking its landing.
SpaceX's Grasshopper rocket ascended 263 feet (80 meters) into the Texas sky during its fourth-ever test flight on March 7, doubling its highest hop to date. Grasshopper hovered for 34 seconds before heading back down and landing softly at the center of its launchpad, SpaceX officials said.
This latest test flight, conducted at SpaceX's rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas, was unmanned. But a dummy dressed as Johnny Cash rode along on the rocket's exterior, which explains why SpaceX set its video of the Grasshopper flight to Cash's famous song 'Ring of Fire.'
'Hey Johnny, how was the ride?' SpaceX officials said Thursday (March 14) via the company's official Twitter feed in a post that also linked to a screenshot showing the rocket-riding 'Mannequin in Black.'
SpaceX wants to make spaceflight much cheaper by developing fully and rapidly reusable rockets. Grasshopper is key to making this goal a reality, officials said.
'With Grasshopper, SpaceX engineers are testing the technology that would enable a launched rocket to land intact, rather than burning up upon reentry to the Earth's atmosphere,' company officials said in a statement after the rocket's fourth test flight.
Grasshopper stands about 10 stories tall and incorporates the first-stage tank of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which launched the company's robotic Dragon capsule on its second contracted cargo run to the International Space Station for NASA earlier this month.
Grasshopper is powered by a single engine (compared to nine for the Falcon 9). It lands vertically on four metallic legs.
The experimental rocket's test campaign has achieved exponential altitude increases with every successive flight.
Grasshopper's first flight, which took place last September, reached a height of 8.2 feet (2.5 m). The rocket then flew to altitudes of 17.7 feet (5.4 m) and 131 feet (40 m) in November and December, respectively.
The California-based SpaceX holds a $1.6 billion NASA contract to make 12 unmanned supply runs to the space station. Dragon is slated to end its current mission on March 25, when it will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.
The company is also developing a manned version of Dragon and is one of several firms competing to fly NASA astronauts to and from the orbiting lab.
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.
SpaceX's Grasshopper rocket ascended 263 feet (80 meters) into the Texas sky during its fourth-ever test flight on March 7, doubling its highest hop to date. Grasshopper hovered for 34 seconds before heading back down and landing softly at the center of its launchpad, SpaceX officials said.
This latest test flight, conducted at SpaceX's rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas, was unmanned. But a dummy dressed as Johnny Cash rode along on the rocket's exterior, which explains why SpaceX set its video of the Grasshopper flight to Cash's famous song 'Ring of Fire.'
'Hey Johnny, how was the ride?' SpaceX officials said Thursday (March 14) via the company's official Twitter feed in a post that also linked to a screenshot showing the rocket-riding 'Mannequin in Black.'
SpaceX wants to make spaceflight much cheaper by developing fully and rapidly reusable rockets. Grasshopper is key to making this goal a reality, officials said.
'With Grasshopper, SpaceX engineers are testing the technology that would enable a launched rocket to land intact, rather than burning up upon reentry to the Earth's atmosphere,' company officials said in a statement after the rocket's fourth test flight.
Grasshopper stands about 10 stories tall and incorporates the first-stage tank of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which launched the company's robotic Dragon capsule on its second contracted cargo run to the International Space Station for NASA earlier this month.
Grasshopper is powered by a single engine (compared to nine for the Falcon 9). It lands vertically on four metallic legs.
The experimental rocket's test campaign has achieved exponential altitude increases with every successive flight.
Grasshopper's first flight, which took place last September, reached a height of 8.2 feet (2.5 m). The rocket then flew to altitudes of 17.7 feet (5.4 m) and 131 feet (40 m) in November and December, respectively.
The California-based SpaceX holds a $1.6 billion NASA contract to make 12 unmanned supply runs to the space station. Dragon is slated to end its current mission on March 25, when it will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.
The company is also developing a manned version of Dragon and is one of several firms competing to fly NASA astronauts to and from the orbiting lab.
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.
- SpaceX's Reusable Grasshopper Rocket Makes Fiery Leap | Video
- The Rockets and Spaceships of SpaceX (Photos)
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- SpaceX's Quest For Rocketry's Holy Grail - SPACE.com Exclusive Video
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Astronaut Celebrates St. Patrick's Day in Space
You don't need gravity to have a great St. Patrick's Day, just ask astronaut Chris Hadfield on the International Space Station.
Hadfield, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, is celebrating the Irish holiday in orbit by wearing a green shirt and a bright green bow tie today (March 17) while photographing Ireland from space.
'Maidin mhaith from the International Space Station! Happy Saint Patrick's Day to the Irish all around the globe. Good morning!' Hadfield wrote in one of several Irish-themed Twitter posts today. Maidin mhaith is Gaelic for 'Good Morning.'
Hadfield also snapped a photo of Tralee, Ireland, as the space station passed over the region this morning and even recorded a cosmic version of the traditional Irish song 'Danny Boy.' Tralee was the first patch of green land Hadfield saw as the space station soared over the Atlantic Ocean today. [Astronaut Chris Hadfield's Amazing Space Photos]
'Danny Boy strikes home with me now more than ever. I've recorded a version for today in orbit,' Hadfield wrote. He posted his version of Danny Boy on the Soundcloud.com audio website.
Hadfield is an accomplished guitarist and is the first astronaut to record an original song in space. Last month, he was one of several astronauts to perform with the Irish band The Chieftains during a Feb. 15 concert in Houston. NASA astronauts Cady Coleman and Dan Burbank joined the Chieftains live on stage during the concert, with Hadfield prerecording his portion for the show.
Coleman also performed with the Chieftains from space during a mission to the International Space Station that ran from December 2010 to May 2011. She took five different flutes to the space station and also performed an Irish song in space for St. Patrick's Day.
Hadfield commands the Expedition 35 mission on the International Space Station and took charge the orbiting lab last week when the previous Expedition 34 crew returned to Earth. He is the first Canadian ever to command the space station.
The space station's Expedition 35 crew consists of Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko. The three men launched to the space station in December and are due to return to Earth in May.
Hadfield and his crew will welcome three more crewmembers on March 28, bringing the space station back up to its full six-person crew size.
You can listen to Chris Hadfield's version of Danny Boy on SoundCloud.com here.
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+.Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
Hadfield, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, is celebrating the Irish holiday in orbit by wearing a green shirt and a bright green bow tie today (March 17) while photographing Ireland from space.
'Maidin mhaith from the International Space Station! Happy Saint Patrick's Day to the Irish all around the globe. Good morning!' Hadfield wrote in one of several Irish-themed Twitter posts today. Maidin mhaith is Gaelic for 'Good Morning.'
Hadfield also snapped a photo of Tralee, Ireland, as the space station passed over the region this morning and even recorded a cosmic version of the traditional Irish song 'Danny Boy.' Tralee was the first patch of green land Hadfield saw as the space station soared over the Atlantic Ocean today. [Astronaut Chris Hadfield's Amazing Space Photos]
'Danny Boy strikes home with me now more than ever. I've recorded a version for today in orbit,' Hadfield wrote. He posted his version of Danny Boy on the Soundcloud.com audio website.
Hadfield is an accomplished guitarist and is the first astronaut to record an original song in space. Last month, he was one of several astronauts to perform with the Irish band The Chieftains during a Feb. 15 concert in Houston. NASA astronauts Cady Coleman and Dan Burbank joined the Chieftains live on stage during the concert, with Hadfield prerecording his portion for the show.
Coleman also performed with the Chieftains from space during a mission to the International Space Station that ran from December 2010 to May 2011. She took five different flutes to the space station and also performed an Irish song in space for St. Patrick's Day.
Hadfield commands the Expedition 35 mission on the International Space Station and took charge the orbiting lab last week when the previous Expedition 34 crew returned to Earth. He is the first Canadian ever to command the space station.
The space station's Expedition 35 crew consists of Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko. The three men launched to the space station in December and are due to return to Earth in May.
Hadfield and his crew will welcome three more crewmembers on March 28, bringing the space station back up to its full six-person crew size.
You can listen to Chris Hadfield's version of Danny Boy on SoundCloud.com here.
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+.Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
- Holidays in Space: An Astronaut Photo Album
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Russia and Europe Team Up for Mars Missions
Russia and the European Space Agency have officially teamed up to send a series of spacecraft to search for signs of life on Mars.
European space officials and Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) signed a deal Thursday (March 14) to launch a Mars orbiter mission in 2016 and a rover in 2018 as part of what is now a joint ExoMars program.
The Mars exploration agreement outlines the two agencies' responsibilities for the upcoming unmanned missions. In 2016, ESA will provide the Trace Gas Orbiter to study the atmosphere of Mars to measure its chemical composition, as well as an entry, descent and landing demonstrator module.
For the 2018 mission, ESA will provide the carrier and the ExoMars rover, which will search for signs that life on Mars existed in the past or present, collecting samples from as deep as 6.5 feet (2 meters) beneath the surface of the Red Planet.
'It will be the first Mars rover able to drill to depths of 2 m, collecting samples that have been shielded from the harsh conditions of the surface, where radiation and oxidants can destroy organic materials,' ESA officials said in a statement.
Roscosmos, meanwhile, will supply the rockets to launch both Mars missions, as well as the 2018 descent module and surface platform. Both space agencies will provide scientific instruments and will work together on the scientific goals of the missions, according to ESA officials.
ESA director-general Jean-Jacques Dordain called Thursday's agreement a 'momentous occasion' for the ExoMars program after meeting with the head of Roscosmos, Vladimir Popovkin, at the ESA headquarters in Paris. Dordain said in a statement that the agreement 'will demonstrate the competitiveness of European industry, be important for preparing a solid participation of ESA in future international exploration missions and address the key question of whether life ever arose on Mars.'
NASA pulled out of the ExoMars program last year due to budget cuts in its planetary science program, but ESA officials said the U.S. space agency will still contribute some communications and engineering support for the new Mars missions.
Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original story on SPACE.com.
Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
European space officials and Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) signed a deal Thursday (March 14) to launch a Mars orbiter mission in 2016 and a rover in 2018 as part of what is now a joint ExoMars program.
The Mars exploration agreement outlines the two agencies' responsibilities for the upcoming unmanned missions. In 2016, ESA will provide the Trace Gas Orbiter to study the atmosphere of Mars to measure its chemical composition, as well as an entry, descent and landing demonstrator module.
For the 2018 mission, ESA will provide the carrier and the ExoMars rover, which will search for signs that life on Mars existed in the past or present, collecting samples from as deep as 6.5 feet (2 meters) beneath the surface of the Red Planet.
'It will be the first Mars rover able to drill to depths of 2 m, collecting samples that have been shielded from the harsh conditions of the surface, where radiation and oxidants can destroy organic materials,' ESA officials said in a statement.
Roscosmos, meanwhile, will supply the rockets to launch both Mars missions, as well as the 2018 descent module and surface platform. Both space agencies will provide scientific instruments and will work together on the scientific goals of the missions, according to ESA officials.
ESA director-general Jean-Jacques Dordain called Thursday's agreement a 'momentous occasion' for the ExoMars program after meeting with the head of Roscosmos, Vladimir Popovkin, at the ESA headquarters in Paris. Dordain said in a statement that the agreement 'will demonstrate the competitiveness of European industry, be important for preparing a solid participation of ESA in future international exploration missions and address the key question of whether life ever arose on Mars.'
NASA pulled out of the ExoMars program last year due to budget cuts in its planetary science program, but ESA officials said the U.S. space agency will still contribute some communications and engineering support for the new Mars missions.
Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original story on SPACE.com.
Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
See Jupiter and Moon Pair Up on St. Patrick's Day
On Sunday evening, revelers can cap their St. Patrick's Day by enjoying a view of a rendezvous involving two of the brightest objects in the night sky: the moon and the planet Jupiter.
About 45 minutes after sunset on Sunday (March 17), the eye-catching celestial duo will be visible in the southwest sky, roughly two-thirds up from the horizon to the point directly overhead (called the zenith).
The moon will be a wide crescent at the time, 34 percent illuminated by the sun, and will sit below Jupiter. At its closest pass - which will occur at around 10:30 p.m. local daylight time along the U.S. East Coast, and around 7:00 p.m. local time for the West Coast - Earth's natural satellite will be just 2 degrees from the giant planet. (For reference, your clenched fist held at arm's length measures about 10 degrees.)
After its closest approach, the moon, moving at its own apparent diameter per hour, will appear to slowly move away from Jupiter to the east (left). [Amazing Night Sky Photos by Stargazers (March 2013)]
Even without the moon, Jupiter readily attracts attention. It's the brightest 'star' of the night, coming into view high in the southwest during the early stages of twilight. The first-magnitude star Aldebaran flickers into view next, about 5 degrees to the lower left of Jupiter, its orange color helping it to stand out from the deepening dark-blue sky.
Last to appear are the famous Pleiades and Hyades star clusters as the sky darkens from purple to black. The entire array of the moon, planet, bright star and star clusters sits within the constellation of Taurus (The Bull).
Binoculars are perfect for observing the whole Taurus get-together. Even the most ordinary pair will show dozens of Pleiades and Hyades stars, and at least one, two, or three of Jupiter's four bright Galilean moons (Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa).
Be sure to check out Jupiter on the evening of March 24, when any small telescope will show it closely flanked above and below by two seventh-magnitude background stars in Taurus, masquerading as an extra pair of renegade Galilean satellites.
In a telescope, Jupiter is best observed during early evening when it's still high and its image reasonably calm. Viewing at such times shows the king of planets as a great big belted ball with tantalizing glimpses of detail.
As the evening grows late, the whole assemblage wheels lower in the west and sets soon after midnight.
Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo of Jupiter and the moon in the night sky, or any other celestial object, and you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please send images and comments, including location information, to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com
About 45 minutes after sunset on Sunday (March 17), the eye-catching celestial duo will be visible in the southwest sky, roughly two-thirds up from the horizon to the point directly overhead (called the zenith).
The moon will be a wide crescent at the time, 34 percent illuminated by the sun, and will sit below Jupiter. At its closest pass - which will occur at around 10:30 p.m. local daylight time along the U.S. East Coast, and around 7:00 p.m. local time for the West Coast - Earth's natural satellite will be just 2 degrees from the giant planet. (For reference, your clenched fist held at arm's length measures about 10 degrees.)
After its closest approach, the moon, moving at its own apparent diameter per hour, will appear to slowly move away from Jupiter to the east (left). [Amazing Night Sky Photos by Stargazers (March 2013)]
Even without the moon, Jupiter readily attracts attention. It's the brightest 'star' of the night, coming into view high in the southwest during the early stages of twilight. The first-magnitude star Aldebaran flickers into view next, about 5 degrees to the lower left of Jupiter, its orange color helping it to stand out from the deepening dark-blue sky.
Last to appear are the famous Pleiades and Hyades star clusters as the sky darkens from purple to black. The entire array of the moon, planet, bright star and star clusters sits within the constellation of Taurus (The Bull).
Binoculars are perfect for observing the whole Taurus get-together. Even the most ordinary pair will show dozens of Pleiades and Hyades stars, and at least one, two, or three of Jupiter's four bright Galilean moons (Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa).
Be sure to check out Jupiter on the evening of March 24, when any small telescope will show it closely flanked above and below by two seventh-magnitude background stars in Taurus, masquerading as an extra pair of renegade Galilean satellites.
In a telescope, Jupiter is best observed during early evening when it's still high and its image reasonably calm. Viewing at such times shows the king of planets as a great big belted ball with tantalizing glimpses of detail.
As the evening grows late, the whole assemblage wheels lower in the west and sets soon after midnight.
Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo of Jupiter and the moon in the night sky, or any other celestial object, and you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please send images and comments, including location information, to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Celebrated Keck Telescopes Seek Funding on 20th Anniversary
A celebration of the W.M. Keck Observatory's 20th anniversary this week will also include a plea for more money to keep the iconic telescopes running in the next year.
'We're a little concerned because of what's going on in Washington,' said Debbie Godwin, director of advancement for Keck's foundation.
Roughly $6.5 million, more than a quarter of the Keck Observatory's annual budget, comes from the U.S. National Science Foundation, but that could change due to across-the-board federal cuts coming under the sequestration process, Godwin said.
Half of the Hawaiian observatory's $23 million budget comes from the University of California and the California Institute of Technology. Representatives from each institution sit on Keck's board of directors. [10 Amazing Keck Discoveries]
It's not the universities but rather the philanthropists that Keck hopes will fill the shortfall. Normally, the observatory's minders 'would really be over the moon if we received $5 million of philanthropy a year,' Godwin said.
But this year, she said, they'll really have to step that up. Godwin added that the directors are optimistic the 20th anniversary celebrations will convince philanthropists to be generous.
'We are hoping that this anniversary will put a clarion call that says this is something of value in our world,' she said.
Larger telescopes coming
At 20 years old, Keck is an invaluable tool for hunting down exoplanets, exploring galaxies on the edge of the universe and occasionally snapping pictures of moons and planets in Earth's own solar system.
The twin telescopes, each with 32-foot (10 meter) diameters, are the largest optical scopes around. They boast an extensive legacy of discovery, ranging from co-discovering methane on Mars to charting the acceleration of the universe.
Competition is fierce for observing time at Keck, with a typical research project receiving a couple of nights annually. Last year, the telescopes generated 315 research papers - almost a paper for every observing night of the year, Godwin pointed out.
Look 10-20 years further down the line, though, and Keck will be a small telescope amid newer and larger observatories.
For example, the European Extremely Large Telescope in Chile should come online around 2022. Its 129-foot (39.3 meter) mirror will be more than four times the size of one Keck telescope.
Godwin anticipates demand for Keck will begin to fade around then, but that decreased traffic will be a boon to astronomers now jostling for observing time.
Instead of brief runs, interested scientists may be able to use the telescope for days at a time. Astronomers could do complementary runs to the Thirty Meter Telescope, a giant observatory planned for Hawaii. This scope will observe in wavelengths ranging from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared and could come online as early as 2020. [The 10 Biggest Telescopes on Earth]
'We'll not be obsolete for many decades,' Godwin said.
Future-proofing
Like any technological marvel, Keck has to keep innovating to stay near the top of the game. The telescopes each use a laser-guided system that allows them to focus their mirrors properly on distant targets, correcting for distortions in the atmosphere.
In 2015, the observatory plans to put in a new laser system for the Keck II telescope. It's the first instrument entirely funded by private philanthropy.
Coinciding with the anniversary, Keck's foundation will also launch fundraising for the cosmic web imager. This spectrograph instrument would probe the structure of the universe.
While that instrument is still on the drawing board, Keck's foundation hopes to have it online within five years. Construction will require about $1 million from private donors.
Since the dates that new instruments will come online are not guaranteed, the staff working on the observatories sometimes need to adapt the older ones to new uses.
One example comes from studies of the field of ultra-faint galaxies, a collection of hobbit-like galaxies scattered around the Milky Way that are the least luminous ones known. However, they also contain the most dark matter, a mysterious substance that makes up most of the matter in the universe.
Keck's existing spectrograph was not designed to pick up these objects, as nobody knew the dim galaxies existed, said Yale University astronomer Marla Geha. That spectrograph does, however, perfectly balance the needs of adequate resolution and light collection to pick up these wispy objects.
Geha, who was observing at Keck while SPACE.com spoke with her Tuesday (March 12), said she is currently using the telescope to peer at stars in these galaxies and measure the stellar chemistries.
'These stars are some of the oldest stars we know in the universe, and [contain] the least amount of metals,' she said. The oldest stars tend to have fewer metals, since heavier elements were formed in supernova explosions, which took place later in the universe when stars aged and died.
The ultra-faint galaxies 'probably formed all those stars within the first billion years of the universe,' Geha added. The galaxies 'are really quite old, and there's no other galaxy out there that has quite as old stars.'
Adaptive observatory
The staff at Keck also lets astronomers try new techniques, allowing them to make discoveries that would not have been possible when using the hardware in its existing configuration, said astronomer Adam Kraus.
Kraus, who is a Hubble Fellow at Harvard University, praised Keck's 'adaptive optics' system, which adjusts the mirror to correct for turbulence in the atmosphere, producing sharper images.
However, adaptive optics can sometimes create ghost images of the star. That's not ideal for finding alien planets.
Last year, Kraus and his collaborators put an aperture mask in the light path of one of the Keck telescopes. The mask, punched with holes, allowed light to pass through several smaller paths.
'It lets us ferret out these remaining imperfections,' Kraus said. That makes it easier to see exoplanets under certain conditions, such as if they are bright and close to the star.
In this case, Kraus and his team made a major discovery: spotting an alien planet being born in a dusty disc around its star. No one had ever seen a planet in the process of formation before.
'It's a very nimble and flexible observatory,' he said.
Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.
'We're a little concerned because of what's going on in Washington,' said Debbie Godwin, director of advancement for Keck's foundation.
Roughly $6.5 million, more than a quarter of the Keck Observatory's annual budget, comes from the U.S. National Science Foundation, but that could change due to across-the-board federal cuts coming under the sequestration process, Godwin said.
Half of the Hawaiian observatory's $23 million budget comes from the University of California and the California Institute of Technology. Representatives from each institution sit on Keck's board of directors. [10 Amazing Keck Discoveries]
It's not the universities but rather the philanthropists that Keck hopes will fill the shortfall. Normally, the observatory's minders 'would really be over the moon if we received $5 million of philanthropy a year,' Godwin said.
But this year, she said, they'll really have to step that up. Godwin added that the directors are optimistic the 20th anniversary celebrations will convince philanthropists to be generous.
'We are hoping that this anniversary will put a clarion call that says this is something of value in our world,' she said.
Larger telescopes coming
At 20 years old, Keck is an invaluable tool for hunting down exoplanets, exploring galaxies on the edge of the universe and occasionally snapping pictures of moons and planets in Earth's own solar system.
The twin telescopes, each with 32-foot (10 meter) diameters, are the largest optical scopes around. They boast an extensive legacy of discovery, ranging from co-discovering methane on Mars to charting the acceleration of the universe.
Competition is fierce for observing time at Keck, with a typical research project receiving a couple of nights annually. Last year, the telescopes generated 315 research papers - almost a paper for every observing night of the year, Godwin pointed out.
Look 10-20 years further down the line, though, and Keck will be a small telescope amid newer and larger observatories.
For example, the European Extremely Large Telescope in Chile should come online around 2022. Its 129-foot (39.3 meter) mirror will be more than four times the size of one Keck telescope.
Godwin anticipates demand for Keck will begin to fade around then, but that decreased traffic will be a boon to astronomers now jostling for observing time.
Instead of brief runs, interested scientists may be able to use the telescope for days at a time. Astronomers could do complementary runs to the Thirty Meter Telescope, a giant observatory planned for Hawaii. This scope will observe in wavelengths ranging from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared and could come online as early as 2020. [The 10 Biggest Telescopes on Earth]
'We'll not be obsolete for many decades,' Godwin said.
Future-proofing
Like any technological marvel, Keck has to keep innovating to stay near the top of the game. The telescopes each use a laser-guided system that allows them to focus their mirrors properly on distant targets, correcting for distortions in the atmosphere.
In 2015, the observatory plans to put in a new laser system for the Keck II telescope. It's the first instrument entirely funded by private philanthropy.
Coinciding with the anniversary, Keck's foundation will also launch fundraising for the cosmic web imager. This spectrograph instrument would probe the structure of the universe.
While that instrument is still on the drawing board, Keck's foundation hopes to have it online within five years. Construction will require about $1 million from private donors.
Since the dates that new instruments will come online are not guaranteed, the staff working on the observatories sometimes need to adapt the older ones to new uses.
One example comes from studies of the field of ultra-faint galaxies, a collection of hobbit-like galaxies scattered around the Milky Way that are the least luminous ones known. However, they also contain the most dark matter, a mysterious substance that makes up most of the matter in the universe.
Keck's existing spectrograph was not designed to pick up these objects, as nobody knew the dim galaxies existed, said Yale University astronomer Marla Geha. That spectrograph does, however, perfectly balance the needs of adequate resolution and light collection to pick up these wispy objects.
Geha, who was observing at Keck while SPACE.com spoke with her Tuesday (March 12), said she is currently using the telescope to peer at stars in these galaxies and measure the stellar chemistries.
'These stars are some of the oldest stars we know in the universe, and [contain] the least amount of metals,' she said. The oldest stars tend to have fewer metals, since heavier elements were formed in supernova explosions, which took place later in the universe when stars aged and died.
The ultra-faint galaxies 'probably formed all those stars within the first billion years of the universe,' Geha added. The galaxies 'are really quite old, and there's no other galaxy out there that has quite as old stars.'
Adaptive observatory
The staff at Keck also lets astronomers try new techniques, allowing them to make discoveries that would not have been possible when using the hardware in its existing configuration, said astronomer Adam Kraus.
Kraus, who is a Hubble Fellow at Harvard University, praised Keck's 'adaptive optics' system, which adjusts the mirror to correct for turbulence in the atmosphere, producing sharper images.
However, adaptive optics can sometimes create ghost images of the star. That's not ideal for finding alien planets.
Last year, Kraus and his collaborators put an aperture mask in the light path of one of the Keck telescopes. The mask, punched with holes, allowed light to pass through several smaller paths.
'It lets us ferret out these remaining imperfections,' Kraus said. That makes it easier to see exoplanets under certain conditions, such as if they are bright and close to the star.
In this case, Kraus and his team made a major discovery: spotting an alien planet being born in a dusty disc around its star. No one had ever seen a planet in the process of formation before.
'It's a very nimble and flexible observatory,' he said.
Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.
- Keck Observatory: Cosmic Photos from Hawaii's Mauna Kea
- Stacking Up the 10 Biggest Telescopes on Earth
- The Universe: Big Bang to Now in 10 Easy Steps
Lowell Observatory Launches Crowdsourcing Campaign to Restore Classic Telescope
An historic telescope could be on its way to an upgrade.
The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., launched a two-month-long 'crowdfunding' campaign Wednesday (March 13) to help raise money to restore its vintage Clark Telescope.
Now designated a National Historic Landmark, the 24-inch refracting telescope was once used to map the moon, study Mars and observe the expanding cosmos .
'The telescope was built in 1896 and it hasn't been completely taken apart since 1897,' Kevin Schindler, the outreach manager for Lowell said.
Officials with the observatory are hoping to raise at least $256,718 to help keep the telescope in working order.
For the past 20 years, the Clark Telescope has been used as a tool for public outreach, not research, Schindler said. More than 1 million people have looked through the eyepiece of the telescope to observe various celestial bodies in the night sky, he added.
All that wear and tear, however, has left the telescope in bad health.
'It's really getting to the critical point,' Schindler said. 'We don't want it to get any worse. If we're going to close it, we want to have a plan in place.'
Today, when the telescope is pointed at one particular object in the sky, it does not stay in place, Schindler added. Although officials at the observatory are hoping to restore the telescope back to working order, they are not interesting in modernizing it.
Both the dome and the telescope need work, Shindler said, but they do not want to change its 'historic flavor.' The kitchen chair on the observing ladder used by the observatory's namesake astronomer Percival Lowell and other quirky objects were added to the telescope throughout the years will remain in place.
In all, the renovation is expected to take about nine months from start to finish.
Officials at Lowell picked Wednesday as the kickoff date for a variety of reasons, Schindler said. March 13 would have been Lowell's 158th birthday, and it was also the anniversary of the announcement that marked the discovery of Pluto in 1930. Uranus was found on the same day in 1781 as well.
As of the writing of this story, the campaign has raised more than $5,870. For more information on the Clark Telescope project, visit the Restore the Clark IndieGoGo website.
Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., launched a two-month-long 'crowdfunding' campaign Wednesday (March 13) to help raise money to restore its vintage Clark Telescope.
Now designated a National Historic Landmark, the 24-inch refracting telescope was once used to map the moon, study Mars and observe the expanding cosmos .
'The telescope was built in 1896 and it hasn't been completely taken apart since 1897,' Kevin Schindler, the outreach manager for Lowell said.
Officials with the observatory are hoping to raise at least $256,718 to help keep the telescope in working order.
For the past 20 years, the Clark Telescope has been used as a tool for public outreach, not research, Schindler said. More than 1 million people have looked through the eyepiece of the telescope to observe various celestial bodies in the night sky, he added.
All that wear and tear, however, has left the telescope in bad health.
'It's really getting to the critical point,' Schindler said. 'We don't want it to get any worse. If we're going to close it, we want to have a plan in place.'
Today, when the telescope is pointed at one particular object in the sky, it does not stay in place, Schindler added. Although officials at the observatory are hoping to restore the telescope back to working order, they are not interesting in modernizing it.
Both the dome and the telescope need work, Shindler said, but they do not want to change its 'historic flavor.' The kitchen chair on the observing ladder used by the observatory's namesake astronomer Percival Lowell and other quirky objects were added to the telescope throughout the years will remain in place.
In all, the renovation is expected to take about nine months from start to finish.
Officials at Lowell picked Wednesday as the kickoff date for a variety of reasons, Schindler said. March 13 would have been Lowell's 158th birthday, and it was also the anniversary of the announcement that marked the discovery of Pluto in 1930. Uranus was found on the same day in 1781 as well.
As of the writing of this story, the campaign has raised more than $5,870. For more information on the Clark Telescope project, visit the Restore the Clark IndieGoGo website.
Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
- 117-Year-Old Lowell Observatory Launches IndieGoGo Restoration Campaign | Video
- Inside Arizona's Lowell Observatory (Photo Gallery)
- Photos of Pluto and Its Moons
- Amazing Mars Rover Curiosity's Martian Views (Latest Photos)
Queen Elizabeth II Congratulates 1st Canadian Space Station Commander
If becoming the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station weren't exciting enough by itself, Chris Hadfield now has the best wishes of Queen Elizabeth II to go along with it.
The queen - who reigns over the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms, including Canada - offered her congratulations to Hadfield, who took charge of the orbiting lab's new Expedition 35 today (March 13).
'I am pleased to transmit my personal best wishes, and those of all Canadians, to Colonel Christopher Hadfield as he takes command of the International Space Station on Wednesday,' Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement. 'Our thoughts and best wishes are with him and the entire crew, as are our prayers for an eventual safe return to family, friends and fellow Canadians.'
Hadfield assumed command of the orbiting lab from NASA astronaut Kevin Ford during a ceremony this afternoon.
'Thank you very much for giving me the keys to the family car,' Hadfield said during the ceremony, which featured the playing of 'O Canada' in his honor. 'We're going to put some miles on it, but we'll bring it back in good shape.'
Ford and Russian cosmonauts Evgeny Tarelkin and Oleg Novitskiy will head home to Earth Friday (March 15) - one day later than planned due to bad weather at their landing site - marking the official end of the station's Expedition 34 and the start of Expedition 35.
Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko will have the station to themselves until March 28, when three new crewmembers will arrive aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
Hadfield is the first citizen of a Commonwealth nation - the group of 54 countries that have maintained ties after the British Empire came to an end - to hold the space station's keys. He's just the second-ever commander who is neither a NASA astronaut nor a Russian cosmonaut. (Belgian spaceflyer Frank De Winne led Expedition 21 in 2009).
The guitar-strumming Hadfield had already made a mark on the space station before taking charge. Shortly after arriving in December, he played the first original song ever recorded on the space station. And in February, Hadfield performed a duet with Barenaked Ladies singer Ed Robertson, a fellow Canadian, who did his part from Earth.
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.
The queen - who reigns over the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms, including Canada - offered her congratulations to Hadfield, who took charge of the orbiting lab's new Expedition 35 today (March 13).
'I am pleased to transmit my personal best wishes, and those of all Canadians, to Colonel Christopher Hadfield as he takes command of the International Space Station on Wednesday,' Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement. 'Our thoughts and best wishes are with him and the entire crew, as are our prayers for an eventual safe return to family, friends and fellow Canadians.'
Hadfield assumed command of the orbiting lab from NASA astronaut Kevin Ford during a ceremony this afternoon.
'Thank you very much for giving me the keys to the family car,' Hadfield said during the ceremony, which featured the playing of 'O Canada' in his honor. 'We're going to put some miles on it, but we'll bring it back in good shape.'
Ford and Russian cosmonauts Evgeny Tarelkin and Oleg Novitskiy will head home to Earth Friday (March 15) - one day later than planned due to bad weather at their landing site - marking the official end of the station's Expedition 34 and the start of Expedition 35.
Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko will have the station to themselves until March 28, when three new crewmembers will arrive aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
Hadfield is the first citizen of a Commonwealth nation - the group of 54 countries that have maintained ties after the British Empire came to an end - to hold the space station's keys. He's just the second-ever commander who is neither a NASA astronaut nor a Russian cosmonaut. (Belgian spaceflyer Frank De Winne led Expedition 21 in 2009).
The guitar-strumming Hadfield had already made a mark on the space station before taking charge. Shortly after arriving in December, he played the first original song ever recorded on the space station. And in February, Hadfield performed a duet with Barenaked Ladies singer Ed Robertson, a fellow Canadian, who did his part from Earth.
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.
- 'Star Trek' Actors Beams Hellos to Astronaut in Space (Photos)
- Jewel in the Night: Astronaut's 1st Song in Space | Video
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Thursday, March 14, 2013
Space Station Crew's Landing Delayed by 'Horrible' Earth Weather
An American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts are stuck in space for one more day after freezing rain and fog on Earth prevented them from landing in Central Asia on Thursday (March 14), NASA officials say.
The foul weather, which one Russian space agency official described simply as 'horrible,' means NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin had to delay their return from the International Space Station for at least 24 hours. The three men have been living in space for 141 days and were preparing to enter their Soyuz spacecraft for a landing on the frigid steppes of Kazakhstan tonight.
'We are waving off landing,' NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said during live mission commentary. 'No Soyuz landing tonight.'
The rain and fog in Kazakhstan is not a threat to the Soyuz spacecraft and crew, Navias said. But the recovery helicopters essential for retrieving the astronauts after landing would not be able to make it to their staging grounds for the landing because of bad weather conditions. [See photos of the Expedition 34 space station mission]
'I talked to our colleagues in Kazakhstan last night and the weather is really horrible, and a decision was made not to risk, and we suggest that we delay the landing.' chief Russian flight director Vlademir Solovyev said through a translator on NASA TV.
Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin were originally scheduled to undock their Russian-built Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft at the International Space Station tonight at 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT), with an expected landing of 11:56 p.m. EDT (0356 GMT).
Landing is now scheduled to occur on Friday (March 15) at 11:06 p.m. EDT (0206 March 16 GMT), NASA officials said.
This is not the first time weather has affected a Soyuz spacecraft's landing. In 2009, another Soyuz craft had its return to Earth delayed by a day because snowy conditions on the ground made the landing potentially unsafe.
Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin have spent nearly five months on board the station. The mission is Ford's second spaceflight and the first trip to space for Novitskiy and Tarelkin.
When Ford and his two crewmates depart the station, three other spaceflyers - Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, Russian Roman Romanenko and American Tom Marshburn - will remain aboard orbiting lab to await a new set of crewmembers.
That new crew will launch on March 28 to ferry cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov, Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy to the space station.
NASA has relied on Russia's Soyuz crafts ferry astronauts between the Earth's surface and orbit since the retirement of the agency's shuttle program in 2011. Officials with the space agency hope to instead depend on privately built unmanned and crewed spacecraft to bring people and cargo to and from the space station.
Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookand Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
The foul weather, which one Russian space agency official described simply as 'horrible,' means NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin had to delay their return from the International Space Station for at least 24 hours. The three men have been living in space for 141 days and were preparing to enter their Soyuz spacecraft for a landing on the frigid steppes of Kazakhstan tonight.
'We are waving off landing,' NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said during live mission commentary. 'No Soyuz landing tonight.'
The rain and fog in Kazakhstan is not a threat to the Soyuz spacecraft and crew, Navias said. But the recovery helicopters essential for retrieving the astronauts after landing would not be able to make it to their staging grounds for the landing because of bad weather conditions. [See photos of the Expedition 34 space station mission]
'I talked to our colleagues in Kazakhstan last night and the weather is really horrible, and a decision was made not to risk, and we suggest that we delay the landing.' chief Russian flight director Vlademir Solovyev said through a translator on NASA TV.
Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin were originally scheduled to undock their Russian-built Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft at the International Space Station tonight at 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT), with an expected landing of 11:56 p.m. EDT (0356 GMT).
Landing is now scheduled to occur on Friday (March 15) at 11:06 p.m. EDT (0206 March 16 GMT), NASA officials said.
This is not the first time weather has affected a Soyuz spacecraft's landing. In 2009, another Soyuz craft had its return to Earth delayed by a day because snowy conditions on the ground made the landing potentially unsafe.
Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin have spent nearly five months on board the station. The mission is Ford's second spaceflight and the first trip to space for Novitskiy and Tarelkin.
When Ford and his two crewmates depart the station, three other spaceflyers - Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, Russian Roman Romanenko and American Tom Marshburn - will remain aboard orbiting lab to await a new set of crewmembers.
That new crew will launch on March 28 to ferry cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov, Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy to the space station.
NASA has relied on Russia's Soyuz crafts ferry astronauts between the Earth's surface and orbit since the retirement of the agency's shuttle program in 2011. Officials with the space agency hope to instead depend on privately built unmanned and crewed spacecraft to bring people and cargo to and from the space station.
Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookand Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
- Space Station's Expedition 35 Mission in Photos
- Space Station's Expedition 34 Mission in Photos
- Quiz: The Reality of Life in Orbit
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