Telescopes: Can You See What I See?

The Hubble Space Telescope has been delivering us images from deep into space for years. It's soon to be successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), will be launched "later in the decade". The length of time required for testing is very important. The Hubble launched with flawed mirror technology that led to several expensive fixes while in orbit.

An example of NASA technology influencing things that we may use in our everyday life is below. From NASA:

For example, the optical measuring technology developed for the Webb, called "wavefront sensing" has been applied to eye health and has allowed improvements in measurement of human eyes, diagnosis of ocular diseases and potentially improved surgery.

The most powerful space telescope ever built, the Webb telescope will provide images of the first galaxies ever formed, and explore planets around distant stars. It is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

Check out a video on the Webb telescope by astronomer Tony Darnell below. If you can't see the video, click here.

Source: NASA via @LaurenAlloyce

NASA's Day of Remembrance on the 10th Anniversary of Columbia

Source: NASA

The STS-107 (Columbia) crew took part in the In-Flight Maintenance training, learning more about experiments that were a part of the mission. Seated in front (left to right) are Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, Commander Rick D. Husband, Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, Pilot William C. "Willie" McCool; in back are Mission Specialists David M. Brown and Michael Anderson. As a research mission, STS-107 carried the SPACEHAB Double Module in its first research flight into space and a broad collection of experiments ranging from material science to life science.

Today is the official day of remembrance for the Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia tragedies.  I've previously posted about Apollo and Challenger - today is the 10th anniversary of the loss of space shuttle Columbia, which perished upon reentry in 2001.  

Here's an excerpt from President Barack Obama's full statement:

As we undertake the next generation of discovery, today we pause to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice on the journey of exploration. 

Space exploration and the sacrifice these pioneers made benefits us all.

Here's an excerpt from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden's full statement:

So while the Day of Remembrance is in part a time of sadness, it is also a time of contemplation and thankfulness. It is a time to be thankful that these great men and women shared their lives with us; that they helped advance our nation and made life better on Earth; and that they are still united with us in that shared pursuit.

Want To Be In Orbit? Run

During a Q&A between a Canadian classroom and Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield on the International Space Station (seriously, just think about how awesome that is), one kid asked a question that I used to wonder a lot.  At the 13:30 mark, he asks: 

"Why does the space station have to travel so fast"?

As a kid  could understand moving at a high speed to leave the Earth, because I could never launch my Hot Wheels into orbit no matter how hard I threw them.  But why would you need the speed when you're already in space? Don't you just float and hang out?

Chris gives a great answer.  The space station stays in orbit only because it's going fast - 500 km / minute to be precise!

Chris then gives the example of jumping off of a roof. Obviously gravity brings you back down.  The faster you run on the roof, the further you'll travel forward but gravity will still bring you down.  

Now, imagine that you were able to run as fast as the space station - 500 km / min. You'd fly off the roof, and as gravity begins to bring you down the Earth would be curving below you.  This is essentially what being in "orbit" means - your'e going fast enough that you cancel out the "pull down" effect of gravity .

All of Earth's satellites are in free fall   An added bonus is that if you are inside of an object in free fall, you are weightless - hence why Chris is floating about in the video below.

If you can't see the video below, click here. Remember to skip to the 13:30 mark to see Chris answer this question.

Source: NASA YouTube Channel

9 Years on Mars ... and Counting

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.

While the Curiosity rover enjoys all of the Martian press (the aliens love it), the Opportunity rover celebrates its 9th anniversary this week.  The rover, along with its twin rover Spirit, was originally designed for a 90 day mission. 3,285 days later, Opportunity is still kicking and sending data millions of miles to Earth.  

From University Today:

The resilient, solar powered Opportunity robot begins her 10th year roving around beautifully Earth-like Martian terrain where where she proved that potentially life sustaining liquid water once flowed billions of years ago when the planet was warmer and wetter.

Opportunity is healthy and has driven over 22 miles (35 kilometers )- marking the first overland expedition on another planet.

Unfortunately, Spirit has not sent any signals so it may be dead in the water. But that's the very reason why NASA sent twin rovers to Mars in 2004 - redundancy is crucial when it comes to space exploration.

Think about the devices that you own - how many have lasted 10 years?  I've highlighted a few in my Yeah They Still Work (YTSW) series - Sony mini disc player, Double Dribble Tiger electronic game, cassette tapes, oh my!

Source: University Today

Celebrate the Astronauts of Apollo 1

NASA established the Mercury and Gemini missions in the 50s and early 60s. These missions were designed to launch men into space in preparation for an actual trip to another celestial body, which would be accomplished with the Apollo missions. Apollo 1 serves as a great example of the courage of scientists that risk their lives daily to further our understanding of the universe.

On Jan 27, 1964, Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee were set to fly on Apollo 1 in the mission then known as Apollo 204.. Unfortunately, the Command Module caught fire during launch pad testing with the astronauts inside. The subsequent report included recommendations that helped establish the safety procedures and redundant design that saved the lives of countless men and women over the past 49 years.

Most people are familiar with Apollo 11, where Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins successfully made it to the moon and back.  Tom Hanks and the movie Apollo 13 helped bring that mission involving the salvaging of a botched mission to the mainstream.  Apollo 1 should be held in the same regard, especially since the sacrifice of the three astronauts led to the massive improvements needed for NASA to achieve its job.