In as far as scientific community is concerned, no one can say with any certainty that there is life on Mars, the planet - not the candy bar. This reality, however, hasn't impeded the state of Delaware from appointing an Ambassador to Mars. Really.
Last week, the Governor of Delaware, Jack Markell, named one Dr. Noureddine Melikechi, vice-president for research at Delaware State University, as the state's "Ambassador to Mars" in recognition of his achievements as role in the launch of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory planned for November 25..
In a letter to Dr. Melikechi, the governor sang the praises of his state.
“As Delaware’s new Ambassador to Mars, we would very much appreciate it if you could let any Martian tourists or investors know that Delaware is conveniently located on the East Coast with a great port, strong community, excellent workforce and top-notch research facilities."
As expected in his role as governor, he also went on to promote his states local tourist attractions.
“We have beautiful beaches, important historic sites and, of course, tax-free shopping.”
I mean, one would assume or at least imagine or guess that there would be some type of Mars/Earth/Delaware reciprocity and that Martian visitors could or would or might want to take advantage of the state's beaches, not to mention tax free shopping. Of course before all of this can take place, there have to be signs of life. But I digress.
“We appreciate your commitment to scientific excellence, your significant contributions to our state’s reputation as a cradle of innovation, and the esteem your work is bringing to the First State” the governor wrote.
According to NASA, the MSL Curiosity rover has 10 science instruments to search for evidence that Mars had "environments favourable for microbial life, including the chemical ingredients for life."
The Governor provided a copy of Delaware’s new State Travel Guide to Dr. Melikechi. Although the guide is available at http://www.visitdelaware.com/, Melikechi will bring a paper copy in case Martian operating systems are not compatible with our technology.
He will be traveling to Cape Canaveral where he and his colleagues will be working in preparation for the launch.
Interesting promotional idea. If this catches on, can other states be far behind? Next thing you know, somebody will come up with a Martian to English dictionary...
Read the governor's letter here: http://news.delaware.gov/2011/11/18/governor-markell-names-ambassador-to-mars/
Showing posts with label NASA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NASA. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Friday, September 02, 2011
What's that in the sky? Is it a bird...a bee...or space debris?
There are things on this planet that worry me. Not the kind of worry that keeps me up nights but concern me nonetheless. My latest worry is space debris and whether it will stay up in the sky.
I'm not the only one since U.S. scientists have warned NASA that the orbiting space junk situation is getting serious. I mean - really serious. A report issued by the National Research Council indicates that debris could cause fatal leaks or destroy valuable sattelites. Furthermore, the Council is calling for international regulations to limit junk and conduct more research into the possibility of launching large magenetic nets or giant umbrellas. Good idea although perhaps a bit late.
So let's look at these...unique ideas and their viability, at least from my vantage point.
What type of magnetic nets are we talking about and how would they be launched? How would the magnets be propelled around planet earth to scoop up the debris? If magnets and presumably magnetic force is involved, the debris at least in theory, would stick to the magnet(s). So if this works, we could inevitably have an enormous collection/blob of space debris sticking to each other while orbiting the universe. What happens, say, if it gets too heavy and falls earth-ward? Where would it land and more importantly, on whom would it land?
The other alternative, the umbrella has me puzzled. An umbrella as we know it flips open and is a protection against rain or snow or whatever. This would have to be one huge umbrella to be used against floating debris and what of the debris that is already floating around? Or...perhaps - just speculation on my part - a strong magnet first attracts the space debris after which a gigantic/monster of an umbrella opens up to protect the earth from descending junk. That's what it comes down to in the end: space junk.
Thinking further, perhaps we ordinary folk should offer the experts some suggestions. We can't due any worse
- a big - really big - remote battery-controlled vacuum cleaner
- pass on the assignment to Santa, who could make a diversionary pickup on his way delivering toys on Christmas Eve
I dunno but I'm sure people reading this could provide some ideas how to retrieve space junk. Pass them along and share them, people!
Meanwhile, these are some of the solutions that experts have come up with. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/story/2011-08-31/Solutions-sought-for-growing-space-junk-problem/50207662/1
In as far as cleanp-up efforts are concerned, in 2007, China conducted an anti-satellite weapon test which destroyed a decommissioned weather satellite, smashing the object into 150,000 pieces larger than 1cm. Two years later, two satellites - one defunct and one active - crashed in orbit, creating even more debris. I dunno...
There are presently 2,000 pieces of debris large enough to track from the ground, but smaller objects could still cause serious damage. Kind of makes one want to carry an umbrella and look skywards, no?
There have been some near-misses with space debris narrowly missing the space station forcing its six crew to go to their escape capsules and prepare for an emergency evacuation back to Earth.
Even more scary is that the report makes no recommendations about how to clean up the field of debris, however but an earlier study refers to the Pentagon's science think-tank, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa).
The Darpa report, dubbed "Catcher's Mitt", suggested a range of technologies, including harpoons, nets and an umbrella-shaped device that would sweep up the debris. Harpoons? One miss and... The ultimate aim is to push the debris further towards the earth where it would burn up, or into a higher but safer orbit. Does this worry you as much as it worries me?
I'm not the only one since U.S. scientists have warned NASA that the orbiting space junk situation is getting serious. I mean - really serious. A report issued by the National Research Council indicates that debris could cause fatal leaks or destroy valuable sattelites. Furthermore, the Council is calling for international regulations to limit junk and conduct more research into the possibility of launching large magenetic nets or giant umbrellas. Good idea although perhaps a bit late.
So let's look at these...unique ideas and their viability, at least from my vantage point.
What type of magnetic nets are we talking about and how would they be launched? How would the magnets be propelled around planet earth to scoop up the debris? If magnets and presumably magnetic force is involved, the debris at least in theory, would stick to the magnet(s). So if this works, we could inevitably have an enormous collection/blob of space debris sticking to each other while orbiting the universe. What happens, say, if it gets too heavy and falls earth-ward? Where would it land and more importantly, on whom would it land?
The other alternative, the umbrella has me puzzled. An umbrella as we know it flips open and is a protection against rain or snow or whatever. This would have to be one huge umbrella to be used against floating debris and what of the debris that is already floating around? Or...perhaps - just speculation on my part - a strong magnet first attracts the space debris after which a gigantic/monster of an umbrella opens up to protect the earth from descending junk. That's what it comes down to in the end: space junk.
Thinking further, perhaps we ordinary folk should offer the experts some suggestions. We can't due any worse
- a big - really big - remote battery-controlled vacuum cleaner
- pass on the assignment to Santa, who could make a diversionary pickup on his way delivering toys on Christmas Eve
I dunno but I'm sure people reading this could provide some ideas how to retrieve space junk. Pass them along and share them, people!
Meanwhile, these are some of the solutions that experts have come up with. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/story/2011-08-31/Solutions-sought-for-growing-space-junk-problem/50207662/1
In as far as cleanp-up efforts are concerned, in 2007, China conducted an anti-satellite weapon test which destroyed a decommissioned weather satellite, smashing the object into 150,000 pieces larger than 1cm. Two years later, two satellites - one defunct and one active - crashed in orbit, creating even more debris. I dunno...
There are presently 2,000 pieces of debris large enough to track from the ground, but smaller objects could still cause serious damage. Kind of makes one want to carry an umbrella and look skywards, no?
There have been some near-misses with space debris narrowly missing the space station forcing its six crew to go to their escape capsules and prepare for an emergency evacuation back to Earth.
Even more scary is that the report makes no recommendations about how to clean up the field of debris, however but an earlier study refers to the Pentagon's science think-tank, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa).
The Darpa report, dubbed "Catcher's Mitt", suggested a range of technologies, including harpoons, nets and an umbrella-shaped device that would sweep up the debris. Harpoons? One miss and... The ultimate aim is to push the debris further towards the earth where it would burn up, or into a higher but safer orbit. Does this worry you as much as it worries me?
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Look up - is it...could it be...flying cheddar?
Let's say you're walking along minding your own business enjoying everything the summer has to offer when suddenly you spot a colored object flying and/or floating in the sky. The object doesn't emit any sound so an airplane is out. Upon closer examination it appears to be yellow-ish or orange-ish, wedge shaped and the question arises as to whether aliens are becoming more creative and assuming the guise of cheese. There is a simple and much more weird explanation along with essential background information.
Y'see... the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers group wanted to be the first to send a piece of cheese into space. You read it right: cheese into space.
Shades of Monty Python!
So on Tuesday, July 28, they launched a 300g wedge of cheddar cheese into space, suspended under a weather balloon. This makes one (at least me) wonder if this could be the real explanation for the UFO landing in Roswell, New Mexico. It really wasn't a UFO but a wedge of cheddar cheese. It's possible!
Furthermore, not your mozzarella or French brie or good, old American cheese but a chunk of British cheddar.
The aim was to send the cheese 18.5 miles into earth's upper atmosphere where they anticipated (and hoped presumably) the cheese would explode and float back to earth via parachute.
If this had worked you can imagine the reaction of people experiencing raining cheese.
As is frequently the case, things didn't work out exactly as planned since the GPS tracking system broke down along the way and the cheesemakers have lost the cheddar chunk. As in gone. Vanished. Pfft.
They're assuming its location is somewhere along a 200-mile corridor in southern England but they're not sure. The launch was made to mark the 40th anniversary of NASA's lunar landings.
This is the same group by the way, that used a webcam to enable people to watch a slab of cheddar age in 2007. Talk about excitement!
Meanwhile if you come accross the cheese, you might want to alert the organizers:
http://www.farmhousecheesemakers.com/
Or just open a bottle of wine and enjoy.
Y'see... the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers group wanted to be the first to send a piece of cheese into space. You read it right: cheese into space.
Shades of Monty Python!
So on Tuesday, July 28, they launched a 300g wedge of cheddar cheese into space, suspended under a weather balloon. This makes one (at least me) wonder if this could be the real explanation for the UFO landing in Roswell, New Mexico. It really wasn't a UFO but a wedge of cheddar cheese. It's possible!
Furthermore, not your mozzarella or French brie or good, old American cheese but a chunk of British cheddar.
The aim was to send the cheese 18.5 miles into earth's upper atmosphere where they anticipated (and hoped presumably) the cheese would explode and float back to earth via parachute.
If this had worked you can imagine the reaction of people experiencing raining cheese.
As is frequently the case, things didn't work out exactly as planned since the GPS tracking system broke down along the way and the cheesemakers have lost the cheddar chunk. As in gone. Vanished. Pfft.
They're assuming its location is somewhere along a 200-mile corridor in southern England but they're not sure. The launch was made to mark the 40th anniversary of NASA's lunar landings.
This is the same group by the way, that used a webcam to enable people to watch a slab of cheddar age in 2007. Talk about excitement!
Meanwhile if you come accross the cheese, you might want to alert the organizers:
http://www.farmhousecheesemakers.com/
Or just open a bottle of wine and enjoy.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Got some spare urine?
Most of us don't concern ourselves as to what happens to our urine once its deposited into the toilet bowl. We flush and forget about the end result. NASA, however, would like to share some and it's all in the name of science.
"A NASA contractor is seeking urine from space-program workers to test the toilets on the Orion space capsule.
Space program contractor Hamilton Sundstrand is seeking urine from workers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, as part of its work on the new Orion space capsule that eventually would take astronauts to the moon, according to an internal memo posted on the Web site Nasawatch.com. The need is voluminous: 30 liters a day, which translates into nearly 8 gallons. Even on weekends."
Seems that NASA itself collects urine samples from workers to help design better space toilets.
The Connecticut-based company building the Orion toilet needs the large volume of urine (about the daily output of 30 people) to work on urine acidity problems, said spokesman Leo Makowski.
The memo seeking daily contributions from July 21 to July 31 was not meant to go public, he said.
So I'm thinking here: since this has gone public and there are people reading this that might want to help out - in the name of scientific progress of course - one wonders how they would go about doing it...donating their urine. Would they say...fill up a cup, wrap it up in a box and send it by mail in care of NASA? A typical letter from a donator would probably include something to the effect:
Dear NASA and to whom-this-may-concern,
Please find my donation of one cup of urine to be used towards your on-going research. As a person interested in space-related issues, it's the least I can do.
Bon voyage,
I.M. Lazee
Chair Tester
Also, do "contributors" receive some type of acknowledgement:
"Dear DOF - Donator of Urine,
We would like to thank you for your generous gift of urine. Your contribution was instrumental on (insert date) whereby it was used for scientific research towards the pressing issue of what to do with stored urine on the moon. As an aside we always accept multiple donations if you feel so moved."
Yours truly,
I.C. Pee
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/07/16/nasa.urine.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
"A NASA contractor is seeking urine from space-program workers to test the toilets on the Orion space capsule.
Space program contractor Hamilton Sundstrand is seeking urine from workers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, as part of its work on the new Orion space capsule that eventually would take astronauts to the moon, according to an internal memo posted on the Web site Nasawatch.com. The need is voluminous: 30 liters a day, which translates into nearly 8 gallons. Even on weekends."
Seems that NASA itself collects urine samples from workers to help design better space toilets.
The Connecticut-based company building the Orion toilet needs the large volume of urine (about the daily output of 30 people) to work on urine acidity problems, said spokesman Leo Makowski.
The memo seeking daily contributions from July 21 to July 31 was not meant to go public, he said.
So I'm thinking here: since this has gone public and there are people reading this that might want to help out - in the name of scientific progress of course - one wonders how they would go about doing it...donating their urine. Would they say...fill up a cup, wrap it up in a box and send it by mail in care of NASA? A typical letter from a donator would probably include something to the effect:
Dear NASA and to whom-this-may-concern,
Please find my donation of one cup of urine to be used towards your on-going research. As a person interested in space-related issues, it's the least I can do.
Bon voyage,
I.M. Lazee
Chair Tester
Also, do "contributors" receive some type of acknowledgement:
"Dear DOF - Donator of Urine,
We would like to thank you for your generous gift of urine. Your contribution was instrumental on (insert date) whereby it was used for scientific research towards the pressing issue of what to do with stored urine on the moon. As an aside we always accept multiple donations if you feel so moved."
Yours truly,
I.C. Pee
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/07/16/nasa.urine.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
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