THE INTERGALACTIC - Kalpana Youth Foundation

Space Science Bulletin
THE INTERGALACTIC
www.kalpanayf.org
Issue-01, 1-15 March 2016
Biweekly
This is Digital Copy for Educational purpose Only, Not for Commercial use and Reprint
National Science Day 2016 celebration in
Nashik
Scott Kelly returned to Earth
Started NSS chapter in Nashik
IRNSS 1F successfully put into orbit
Nashik
YOUTH FOUNDATION
Space education and public outreach
Inside stories…
• National Science Day Celebration…………………………….
01
• Started National Space Society chapter in Nashik ………….
02
• Water rocket launching rig made by KYF member ………...
03
• Towards Self Reliance in Navigation ………………………...
04
• NASA invites ISRO for Mars Mission………………………..
06
• Scott Kelly Returned From ISS………………………………...
07
• European-Russian ExoMars mission ………………………...
08
• Mars Rover Opportunity doing it’s toughest work. ……….
10
• India’s Moon Mission –Chandrayaan-II …………………….
11
• THE PERSON OF CENTURY: Albert Einstein……………………….
12
• NASA Selects Scientists for Mars Rover Research Projects...
13
• Upcoming Space Events……………………………………...
14
Jaydeep Shah
Bhushan Ugale
Sudhakar Nagargoje
Pavan Kadam
Sushant Rajole
Hemant Adhav
Vijay Vaishampayan
Deepak Tarawade
Ketki Jakatdar
Deepak Sonawane
Mayuri Tatiya
Dhananjay Lakhe
Advisor : Apurva Jakhadi
THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
Science day celebration Nashik
Remembering
Indian
physicist
Sir
Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, to mark the
discovery of The Raman Effect on 28th
February 1928, National Science Day is
celebrated each year throughout India. Alike
every year, this year also in Nashik, National
Science Day was celebrated by Municipal
Corporation with Kalpana Youth Foundation
(KYF), Sunday Science School and Science
Forum, in a grand way.
At 8 a.m. in the morning, the official website
of Yashwantao Chavan Tarangan was
inaugurated in presence of Municipal
Commissioner Mr. Pravin Gedam, Mayor Mr.
Ashok Murtadak, Police Commissioner Mr.
Jagannathan, Deputy Mayor Mr. Gurmit
Bagga, Mr. Bhishmraj Bam, Mrs. Apurva
Jakhadi ( NASA Space Educator ), Mr. Avinash
Shirode ( ex ISRO engineer ), Mr. Jaydeep
Shah ( President KYF ).
Municipal corporation organized
Planetarium shows for students.
free
This was not all. A special guest lecture on
recent hot discovery of "Gravitational Waves"
sponsored by Municipal corporation and
Science Forum @ NDMVPs Engineering
College was icing on the cake. Dr. Girish
Pimpale sir a noted space activist delivered a
wonderful lecture to the audience. He briefly
explained the dedicated work done by the
scientific personal of all the countries to
discover the Gravitational waves. The
interesting lecture was followed by Questions
and answers session where Pimpale sir
answered each n every question of space
enthusiastic audience.
This event started a new collaboration of
many institutions collectively working to
spread scientific temper amongst citizens.
Later in afternoon a fantastic photo exhibition
of world's noted scientists was organised by
Sunday Science School. The students of this
school also exhibited many scientific
experiments to spread scientific awareness
among people.
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THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
National Space Society-Nashik Chapter
National
space Society’s chapter has started in
Nashik. Nashik chapter is headed by Avinash
Shirode, Ex-ISRO Engineer as President,Mrs.
Apurva Jakhadi, NASA Space Educator as Secretary
and Prof. Jaydeep Shah, President of Kalpana
Youth Foundation as Treasurer.
About National Space Society (NSS) :
The National Space Society (NSS), founded in 1987
in USA, has its head quarter at Washington D.C.,
USA. It is an independent, international nonprofit
educational and scientific organization specializing
in space advocacy. It is involved in space policy,
space medicine, space solar power, space
settlement and awareness programmes all over
the world. NSS is widely acknowledged as the
prominent citizen's voice on space. NSS has
several chapters in the United States and around
the world.
The society also publishes Ad Astra magazine, an
award-winning periodical chronicling the most
important developments in space.
The society's vision is: "People living and working
in thriving communities beyond the Earth, and the
use of the vast resources of space for the
betterment of humanity”. The Mission of NSS is to
promote social, economic, technological, and
political change in order to expand civilization
beyond Earth, to settle space and to use the
resulting resources to build a hopeful and
prosperous future for humanity. It works for
Survival Of Human Species and Earth's Biosphere,
New Habitats for Life, New Frontiers for Humanity,
Prosperity through Unlimited Resources, Improved
Standards of Living, Economic Opportunity,
Technological Development, Curiosity and The
Quest for Knowledge, Unrestricted Access to
Space, International Cooperation, Democratic
Values, Enhancement of Earth's Ecology and
Protection of New Environments.
The NSS Board of Governors include Dr. Buzz
Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut, Tom Hanks, Norman
Augustine, General Simon "Pete" Worden, and
many other notable stalwarts in the field of Space
technology.
The NSS Von Braun Award, the most prestigious
international award, was confered on Dr. A. P. J.
Abdul Kalam in 2013.
Nashik Chapter, with co-operation of Nashik Municipal Corporation Planetarium, ISRO, NASA,
DRDO and other educational institutions will conduct various programmes for public in general
and students in particular, such as:
Monthly lecture series inviting eminent speakers in the field of space, astronomy & science from
India and abroad, celebrating National Science Day, World Space Week (4-10th October),
Yuri Gagarin Day, Kalpana Chawala Memorial Day, World Students Day (Dr. Kalam’s Birthday),
poster & model competitions, essay & quiz competitions etc.
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THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
Water rocket launching rig made by KYF member
KYF
member Mr. Pavan Kadam
made water rocket launching rig and
tested it successfully on Saturday,5
March 2016 on stadium ground Ojhar
Township.
"Water rockets are like their model
rocket cousins, except that these are
powered by a combination of water
and air pressure instead of a
chemical propellant". said Pavan
Kadam a KYF member.
The pressure vessel, the engine of
the rocket, is usually a used plastic soft
drink bottle.
The bottle is partially filled with water
(typically a third full), and then inverted
so the nozzle points towards the ground.
The bottle is then pressurized with air
and then released.
Water and air are used in
combination, with the air providing a
means to store potential energy, as it is
easily compressed, and the water
providing momentum when ejected from
the rocket's nozzle.
Release mechanism of water bottle is
very important. It allows user to release
the rocket from safe distance and with
this we can also create dramatic count
down effect like real rocket launch. It is
useful for school children and teachers
or science educators. it is also
challenging sport for adults and science
enthusiasts as the rockets can be made
with materials like fiberglass a
composite material with high strength to
weight ratio. also high pressure can be
used. these rockets can soar the altitude
up to 500 meters. these rockets can be
mounted with a small on board camera,
03
altimeter and a parachute. Multi stage
can be further added.
“Water rocket is a good education tool
for students to demonstrate basic rocket
principle and Newton's third law" said
Hemant Adhav a KYF member.
“This rockets are easy to make, less
expensive, non polluting, safe and
portable" said Anup Bhavsar a KYF
member. Water rocket launching rigs
can be made in more quantity to educate
more students he said.
THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
Towards Self Reliance in Navigation
India Successfully put its sixth navigation satellite into the intended orbit on
10 march 2016. That is just one step away from having its own regional
navigation satellite system that will be on par with the US-based Global
positioning system. The applications of the system that is expected to be “
accurate and efficient” include terrestrial and marine navigation, disaster
management , vehicle tracking and fleet management etc.
Orbit
Geostationary at 32.5 Deg East Longitude
Lift-off Mass
1425 Kg
Dry Mass
589 Kg
Physical Dimensions
1.58 m X 1.50 m X 1.50 m
Power
Two solar panels generating 1660W, one Lithium-ion battery of 90
Ampere-Hour capacity
Propulsion
440Newton Liquid Apogee Motor, Twelve 22 Newton Thrusters
Control System
Zero momentum system, orientation input form Sun & Star
sensors and Gyroscopes; Reaction wheels , Magnetic Torques and
22 Newton thrusters as actuators
Mission Life
12 years
IRNSS is an independent regional
navigation
satellite
system
being
developed by India. It is design to provide
accurate position information service to
users in India as well as the region
extending up to 1500 Km from its
boundary, which is the primary service
area of IRNSS. The extended service area
lies between primary service area and
area enclosed by the rectangle from
latitude 30 deg south to 50 deg North,
longitude 30 deg East to 130 deg East.
IRNSS will provide two types of service, namely , Standard Positioning Service (SPS) , which is
provided to all the users and Restricted Service (RS), which is an encrypted service provided
only to the authorised users. The IRNSS System is expected to provide a position accuracy of
better than 20 m in the primary service area.
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THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1F
IRNSS
is the sixth navigation satellite of the seven
satellite constituting the IRNSS space segment. The two
solar arrays of IRNSS-1F consisting of Ultra Triple
Junction solar cells generate about 1600 watts of
electrical power. Sun and Star sensors as well as
gyroscopes provide orientation reference for the
satellite . Special thermal control schemes have been
designed and implemented for some of the critical
elements such as atomic clocks. The attitude and orbit
control system (AOCS) of IRNSS-1F maintains the
satellite’s orientation with the help of reaction wheels,
magnetic torquers and thrusters. Its propulsion system
contains of a Liquid apogee Motor (LAM) and thrusters
PSLV-C32
This was already the second rocket launched for India
in 2016. The first one was on January 20 when a PSLV
rocket put into orbit the IRNSS-1E satellite in text-book
style.
Till date India has launched Six regional navigational
satellites (IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, ID,1E and 1F) as part of a
constellation of seven satellites to provide accurate
position information service to users across the country
and the region, extending up to an area of 1,500km.
the full system comprises nine satellites -- seven in
orbit and two on the ground as stand-by
Each satellite costs about Rs. 150 crores and the PSLVXL version rocket costs about Rs. 130 crores. The seven
rockets would entail an outlay of about Rs. 910 crores.
The entire IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is
planned to be completed in 2016 itself.
The first satellite IRNSS-1A was launched in July 2013,
the second IRNSS-1B in April 2014, the third on October
2014, the fourth in March 2015, and the fifth in January
this year.
The seventh satellite IRNSS-1G is expected to be
launched in the second half of 2016.
Once the regional navigation system is in place, India
need not be dependent on other
images and info Ref:
www.isro.org, . financial express.com
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THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
A Proud Moment for Every Indian.!! NASA
invites ISRO for Mars Mission..
Impressed by India's frugal mission to
Mars that captured the imagination of the
scientific world for placing a satellite in the
Martian orbit on its maiden attempt, NASA
is now wooing ISRO to join as an equal
partner in its journey to put boots on Red
Planet.
We have learnt that at least three
different teams from NASA have visited
India in the last few days, all courting ISRO
into a tighter embrace. They seek India's
participation in the International Space
Station, America's forthcoming plans to
return to Mars and even put an Indian on
Mars."We sure are. On our journey to
Mars, we will like to lead it from NASA and
the US and we are looking for partners and
ISRO will be a fantastic partner," said Dr
Dava Newman, Deputy Administrator,
NASA.
NASA also seeks India's partnership on
flying humans to Mars by 2030 as
announced by President Barrack Obama towards which American astronaut of
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Indian origin Captain Sunita Williams has
also been making a fervent plea when
talking to stakeholders in New Delhi.
"It is more than just a possibility. We have
a pretty extensive plan to go to Mars." In a
way, a cooperation on Mars already exists.
America has rovers like Curiosity on the
Martian surface and satellites orbiting it
alongside India's Mangalyaan. Both sides
have been exchanging Martian data.
But will the partnership really be among
equals? "Co-equal, long term partner, a
partner in everything and in every sense of
the word," Ambassador Richard Verma, US
Embassy to India.
India is also slowly warming up to the
idea. "If NASA is wanting to partner, India
should grab the opportunity. Since if we
were to do it alone it would decades
longer," Dr AS Pillai, Distinguished
Professor.
Courtesy: Alexandra Albani (Facebook
page); NASA and ISRO.
THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
Scott Kelly returned
to the Earth
Scott Kelly and Kornienko, who both
spent 340 days in space, returned with Russia's
Sergei Volkov, who was stationed at the ISS for
over five months.
The "one-year crew" mission saw Kelly
break the record for the longest single stay in
space by a US astronaut, while Kornienko is now
fifth on the list for lengthiest mission by a
Russian cosmonaut.
The pair's near year-long stay in space -which started on March 27 last year -- was the
longest by any astronauts aboard the ISS and
seen as a vital chance to measure the effects of
a prolonged period in space on the human
body.
Kelly was also part of an experiment
comparing his development and changes in
space with his identical twin brother -- Mark -back on Earth.
"Spaceflight is the biggest team sport there is,
and it's incredibly important that we all work
together to make what is seemingly impossible
possible," Kelly said when handing over
command of the ISS to fellow NASA astronaut
Tim Kopra on Monday.
In his year aboard the space station Kelly has
been an avid Internet poster, capturing
stunning views on his Instagram page and
tweeting regularly to nearly a million followers
while traveling some 143 million miles (230
million kilometers).
In one particularly eye-catching stunt the
bald-headed astronaut posted a short video of
himself dressed up in a gorilla suit and floating
through the ISS in pursuit of a colleague.
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Health Effects:
The first investigation, on cognition, uses a
standard battery of cognitive tests to evaluate
how well different brain regions are working.
Data from the tests will be used to develop a
tool that can return feedback about an
astronaut's cognitive abilities in real time during
a mission, NASA officials said.
Similarly, the Reaction Self-Test is a fiveminute evaluation that lets astronauts track the
effects fatigue is having on their systems — for
instance, increased sleepiness and impulsivity
and decreased reaction time.
A neuro mapping investigation will show
these changes in the long term. Astronauts had
MRI images taken of their brains before takeoff,
and more scans will be performed after they
land to help determine how their brains handle
sensory, motor and cognitive tests, and
whether anything changes over the course of
the mission. It also uses in-flight tests to gauge
abilities such as motor control and visualization.
Cognitive abilities are also impacted strongly by
sleep, or lack thereof. The astronauts record
their sleep activity automatically via a
wristband, and models use that information and
data about light exposure to calculate their
bodies'
circadian
rhythms.
Subjective
descriptions of sleepiness and alertness help
paint an overall picture of the sleep astronauts
are getting and how it affects them, NASA
officials said.
THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
ExoMars mission has successfully launched to
find life on the red planet.
ExoMars 2016 lifted off on a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan at 09:31 GMT on 14 March
2016.
The first part of the two-phase, joint European-Russian ExoMars mission was blast off atop a Russian
Proton rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 14.
The ExoMars 2016 mission consists of the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and an entry, descent and landing
demonstrator module (EDM), known as Schiaparelli. TGO will make a detailed inventory of Mars’
atmospheric gases, with particular attention to rare gases like methane. There have been tentative and
fleeting detections of methane on Mars since 2003, which implies that there is an active, current
source. By monitoring its geographical and seasonal dependence, TGO will help to determine whether
the methane stems from a geological or biological source. TGO will also image the martian surface, and
search for water ice on and just below the surface of the planet. Schiaparelli will test key technologies
in preparation for ESA’s contributions to subsequent missions to Mars. The orbiter will also act as a
communications satellite for present and future missions to the Red Planet. ExoMars is a joint
endeavour between ESA and Russia’s Roscosmos space agency.
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THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
The Proton's payload consists of the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and a lander called Schiaparelli, both
of which should arrive at Mars in October after a seven-month cruise. TGO will sniff the Red
Planet's air from orbit using four scientific instruments, hunting for possible signs of life.
"The orbiter will perform detailed, remote observations of the Martian atmosphere, searching for
evidence of gases of possible biological importance, such as methane and its degradation
products," European Space Agency (ESA) officials wrote in a mission description. 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 Mars missions, 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 the 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."
Ref: www.esa.ent
Images: www.telegraph.co.uk
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THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
Mars Rover Opportunity doing it’s Toughest work
NASA's Opportunity Mars rover is tackling some
of the toughest terrain the robot has
encountered in its twelve years on the Red
Planet.
Opportunity began climbing up a 30-degree
slope known as Knudsen Ridge late last month, in
an effort to reach and study Mars rocks that may
have been exposed to liquid water billions of
years ago.
The six-wheeled robot has managed very well
on the slope — the steepest Opportunity has
dealt with since March 2004, just two months
after it touched down on the Red Planet.
"Opportunity showed us how sure-footed she
still is," rover project manager John Callas, of
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
California, said in a statement. "The wheel slip
has been much less than we expected on such
steep slopes."
Knudsen Ridge sits atop the southern arm of
Marathon Valley (which received its name
because it was there that Opportunity's
odometer passed 26.2 miles, or 42.2 kilometers
— the length of a marathon race here on Earth).
Opportunity's handlers want the robot to
examine the crumbly rocks within Knudsen
Ridge's "red zones," stretches that stand out
from the surrounding tan bedrock. The rover
already eyed some red-zone rocks in some of
Marathon Valley's lower reaches, but team
members want to get a look at "purer
exposures" of the stuff.
"We're hoping to take advantage of the steep
topography that Mars provides us at Knudsen
Ridge to get to a better example of the red-zone
material," Opportunity principal investigator
Steve Squyres, of Cornell University in Ithaca,
New York, said in the same statement.
Opportunity landed on Mars in January 2004, a
few weeks after its twin, Spirit. Both rovers
embarked on a hunt for signs of past water
activity on the Red Planet — and both quickly
found plenty of such evidence. Many of the rocks
examined by Opportunity close to its landing site
suggested the area had been exposed to acidic
water.
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But NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has
spotted signs of clay minerals (a kind of
phyllosilicate) in the Marathon Valley region.
Phyllosilicates suggest past interaction with more
neutral, possibly life-friendly water, researchers
said.
"The locations of red zones in Marathon Valley
correlate closely with the phyllosilicate signature
we see from orbit," Squyres said. "That alone is
not a smoking gun. We want to determine what
it is about their chemistry that sets them apart
and what it could have to do with water."
Spirit and Opportunity were originally tasked
with three-month missions, but the golf-cart-size
rovers kept rumbling along far past their
warranty dates. Spirit stopped communicating
with Earth in March 2010 and was declared dead
a year later, while Opportunity is still exploring; it
has been motoring around the rim of the 14mile-wide (22 km) Endeavour Crater since
August 2011. (Knudsen Ridge lies along the
crater's western rim.)
Opportunity has travelled farther on the surface
of another world than any other vehicle in
history. The rover's odometer currently reads
26.51 miles (42.66 km).
Opportunity is showing some signs of its
advanced age. Last year, the rover began
experiencing problems with its flash memory —
the kind that can store data even when the
power is off.
"The only data being received from Opportunity
is what can be transmitted each day before the
solar-powered rover shuts down for energyconserving overnight 'sleep,'" NASA officials
wrote in the same statement.
http://www.space.com/32073-mars-roveropportunity-climbing-ridgephoto.html#sthash.XNbJ3X0E.dpuf
THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
ISRO’s Moon Mission : “Chandrayaan-II”
Indian
space Research Organisation (ISRO)
chairman A S Kiran Kumar on Sunday signaled
country's readiness for Chandrayaan II mission,
which will be India's second mission to the
moon. Chandrayaan II is an advanced version of
the previous Chandrayaan-1 mission. It consists
of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover configuration. It
is planned to be launched as a composite stack
into the Earth Parking Orbit (EPO) of 170 X
18,500 km by GSLV-Mk II.
Kiran Kumar, who was in the city in connection
with the international conference on startups,
incubators and entrepreneurship and National
Science Day at Yenepoya University, said the
orbiter carries the combined stack up to moon
till the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI). The combined
stack is then inserted into a lunar orbit of 100
km x 100 km. The Lander is separated from the
Orbiter in this orbit. The Orbiter with scientific
payloads will orbit around the moon. The Lander
will soft land on the moon at a specified site and
deploy the Rover. The scientific payloads on
board the Orbiter, Lander and Rover are
expected to perform mineralogical and
elemental studies of the lunar surface. During
2010, it was agreed that Russian Space Agency
#ROSCOSMOS will be responsible for lunar
Lander and #ISRO will be responsible for Orbiter
and Rover as well as Launch by GSLV.
Later, due to a shift in the programmatic
alignment of this mission, it was decided that
the Lunar Lander development would be done
by ISRO and Chandrayaan-2 will be totally an
Indian mission. Kiran Kumar, who is credited
with development of key scientific instruments
aboard the #Chandrayaan I and #Mangalyaan
space crafts, gave an insight on achievements
and contributions made by the scientists at ISRO
including the Chandrayaan I and Mangalyaan.
ISRO chief told students that ISRO makes
available the data collected by them to the
students for research work at their website.
Students had an inquisitive interactive session
with Kiran Kumar after his address. Yenepoya
Abdulla Kunhi, Chancellor, Yenepoya University
graced the occasion. Shree Kumar Menon,
director.
Mickey Mouse 'Found' on Planet
Mercury
A NASA spacecraft has captured a spectacular photo of
Mercury craters arranged in a shape that looks just like
Disney's iconic cartoon mouse.
The photo comes from NASA's Messenger spacecraft in
orbit around Mercury and shows a giant crater topped
with two smaller impact basins to create the
recognizable shape
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THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
THE PERSON OF CENTURY: Albert Einstein
"I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious“
-Albert Einstein
This line greatly summarizes Einstein for us.
He is perhaps the greatest minds that ever
lived !
Einstein helped to create two pillars of
modern science- Relativity and Quantum
mechanics. In 2016, finally, astronomy grew
ears!! The collision of two black holes 1.3
billion years ago, sent gravitational waves
out through the universe, the same waves
that Einstein theorized the existence of 100
years prior in 1916. Albert Einstein didn't
have the luxuries of the LIGO technology
but rather just a pencil and a piece of paper
to work out the numerous equations.
His contributions are epic milestones,
foundation steps to a whole new era of
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physics. Even today his inventions captures
the imagination of scientists. His way of
doing physics: simple, but profound. He is
one of the most famous, iconic ,influential
and universally admired persons in human
history. There is no wonder that Einstein's
greatness is so highly sung. Its because of
him that the future of dark side looks
bright!!
14th March 1879, was the day when he was
born. Albert Einstein would have been 76
years of at the time of death or 137 years
old today. So on the eve of his 137th
birthday and on the occasion of 100 years of
Relativity, we remember this great scientist
and bow down to the curious child in him !!!
THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
NASA Selects Scientists for Mars Rover Research
Projects.
NASA has selected 28 researchers as
participating scientists for the Curiosity Mars
rover mission, including six newcomers to
the rover's science team.
The six new additions work in Alabama,
Colorado, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan
and Tennessee. Eighty-nine scientists around
the world submitted research proposals for
using data from Curiosity and becoming
participating scientists on the Mars Science
Laboratory Project, which built and operates
the rover. The 28 selected by NASA are part
of a science team that also includes about
120 other members, mainly the principal
investigators and co-investigators for the
rover's 10 science instruments, plus about
320 science-team collaborators, such as the
investigators’ associates and students.
An initial group of Mars Science Laboratory
participating scientists was chosen before
Curiosity's 2012 landing on Mars, and
several of those scientists were selected
again in the latest round. Participating
scientists on the mission play active roles in
the day-to-day science operations of
Curiosity, involving heavy interaction with
rover engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion
13
Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
manages the mission for NASA.
JPL
During Curiosity's prime mission, which was
completed in 2014, the project met its main
goal by finding evidence that ancient Mars
offered environmental conditions with all
the requirements for supporting microbial
life, if any ever existed on Mars. In
Curiosity's
first
extended
mission,
researchers are using the rover on the lower
portion of a layered mountain to study how
Mars' ancient environment changed from
wet conditions favourable for microbial life
to harsher, drier conditions. For more
information about Curiosity,
visit:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl
http://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasaselects-scientists-for-mars-rover-researchprojects
THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01
.
Up coming Events
March 19
SOYUZ TMA-20M (ISS)
Location: Baikonur
Cosmodrome LC-1
The Expedation 47 crew (Ovchinin, Skipochka and
Williams ) will launch to the International Space
Station in March of 2016 with the Soyuz TMM-20M
spacecraft .If everything goes as planned , the
spacecraft will remain docked to the ISS for a period
of about six months.
Time: 3:26 PM ALMT
(UTC+6)
March 22
CYGNUS ORB-6 (CRS-5) (ISS)
Location: Cape Canaveral
AFS SLC -41
This mission will be the fifth International Space
Station resupply flight carried out by an Orbital AKT
Cygnus to be launched atop a United Launch Alliance
Atlas V 401 rocket. If carried out as planned this
should be the second of two planned flights to the ISS
via the Atlas V.
Launch Vehicle: ATLAS V
401
Time: 10:52 PM EDT (UTC4)
March 31
IRNSS -1G (ISRO)
Location: Satish Dhavan
Space Centre FLP.
The IRNSS -1G satellite will be next in the Indian
Regional Navigation satellite System network.IRNSS is
an independent regional navigation satellite system
being developed by India . It is designed to provide
accurate position information service to users in India
as well as the region extending up to 1500 km from
its boundary . The satellite will be launched with PSLV
rocket in XL
Launch Vehicle:PSLV -XL
TimeTBD
14
THE INTERGALACTIC: Issue-01