Category Archives: NASA

asteroid, NASA

Visit to an Asteroid

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NASA to Launch New Science Mission to Asteroid 1999 RQ36

Well, it’s official. A new planetary science mission called OSIRIX-REx will be launched in 2016 to visit an asteroid in 2020, pluck up some samples from its surface, and return them to Earth. NASA  just made the announcement about this mission, which has the lengthy name “Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer”, or OSIRIS-REx. It will be the first U.S. mission to carry samples from an asteroid back to Earth and studies of this asteroid will have far-reaching implications, not only in our understanding of their formation (and the information they carry about conditions in the early solar system), but also will help astronomers better predict the orbital paths of asteroids that come close to our planet.

Conceptual image of OSIRIS-REx. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

So, what can an asteroid tell us? These chunks of leftover debris from the solar system’s formation some 4.5 billion years ago, contain the original material from the solar nebula from which the Sun and planets formed. Study that material and you can learn a huge amount of information about conditions in the nebula at the time the solar system was born. Along with comets, which were formed largely in the outer reaches of the solar system, asteroids are essentially treasure caches of material that “remembers” what it was like back in the early epochs of solar system history.

Asteroid 1999 RQ 36 is about the size of five football fields and is very likely rich in carbon and other elements that are useful in the creation of life. Organic molecules have been found in meteorite and comet samples, indicating some of life’s ingredients can be created in space. Scientists want to see if they also are present on RQ36.

Aside from doing a little “gardening” on the asteroid’s surface, the mission will also measure something called the “Yarkovsky effect.”   It’s a small shove that the Sun’s radiation gives to an asteroid. The way it works is that an asteroid’s surface absorbs sunlight, just as Earth’s surface does. The asteroid’s surface then radiates that heat back out to space, and in the process, that gives a little “push” to the body.  Now, this wouldn’t ordinarily be of  much concern for asteroids that never get close to our planet. But, occasionally some do, and knowing the effect of the Sun’s warming on such a body helps astronomers predict their orbital paths (and possibly whether one could be a threat to our planet).

It’s interesting work because while we’ve studied most of the other planets and many of their moons, observations and visits to asteroids and comets are a bit rarer in planetary science.

astronomy, atlantis, NASA

Space Exploration Begins Right Here

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With the Folks on the Ground

Atlantis leaving the OPF. Image copyright Carolyn Collins Petersen.

One of the more poignant experiences I had during launch week at the Kennedy Space Center was the chance to watch “orbiter rollover.”  No, it’s not a ground maneuver where the orbiter flips on its back.  It’s really just the transfer of a space shuttle from one building to another. But, in this case, it was a really momentous transfer — the last one for Atlantis.  She was moved from the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF), where she was made ready for flight and had all its payload installed, to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where it was mated to its solid rocket boosters and external tank. During the move, employees who had worked on the orbiter preps came out and had their pictures taken with Atlantis. At one point,they marched along with her, carrying a banner that said, “We’re Behind You, Atlantis!”

Atlantis leaving the OPF. Image by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

I heard someone say that this was a time of “finals”.  The final launch of Endeavour. The final time Atlantis would leave the OPF.  The final time she would enter the VAB. And, inevitably, the final time Atlantis would launch.

And, it’s also a time of rituals like the little parade we saw. Very human things to do, and entirely understandable.

It was very personal and a wee bit sad to see these employees say goodbye to Atlantis.  And, not just because in some sense they were also saying goodbye to their jobs. It’s also goodbye to a way of life, to a program that has lasted for 30 years, taking people to space routinely.  The people I saw waving goodbye to Atlantis are specialists. They made their living from space exploration, and their salaries paid for food, cars, homes, clothing, schooling, and all the other necessities of life.  Space exploration for the past 30 years — at least with the shuttles — began right here on the ground, with these people who took pride in what they did and are willing to stand behind the work they do on each and every shuttle that goes up.

So, the next time I hear somebody whining and sighing about how all that money gets spent in space, and doesn’t do anybody any good here on the ground, I’m going to show them this picture, and point out this pride, this loving attention that these people paid to their Atlantis.

Teams leading Atlantis to the VAB. Image by Carolyn Collins Petersen. Copyright 2011.

It wasn’t just hardware that our tax dollars bought: it was the expertise of these good and wonderful people who made the shuttles go. And, they spend their salaries right here on the ground, helping us realize some of our dreams of space exploration. To all of them, I (and I think all of us owe them this) say “Thank YOU!”