Important Innovations

Fleet of Rovers Being Developed to Carry People & Cargo on the Moon & Mars                                        Source:  Venturi Astrolab California's Venturi Astrolab California-based startup Venturi Astrolab has developed an interplanetary rover to transport people and cargo on the surface of the Moon and eventually on Mars.  The company has plans to build a fleet of rovers to meet NASA and commercial space companies' needs as humans become an interplanetary race.  Venturi Astrolab says the rovers will help establish and build bases on the Moon and the planets.  They add the rovers will "solve the local transportation problems" on the Moon.  The rovers are called FLEX for Flexible Logistics and Exploration. Capabilities and Technologies FLEX is incredibly flexible and dexterous.  It can crouch down, pickup payloads on the lunar surface and carry them to designated locations.  It can maneuver semi-autonomously and be controlled remotely. It can even be modi

Fleet of Rovers Being Developed to Carry People & Cargo on the Moon & Mars                                        Source:  Venturi Astrolab California's Venturi Astrolab California-based startup Venturi Astrolab has developed an interplanetary rover to transport people and cargo on the surface of the Moon and eventually on Mars.  The company has plans to build a fleet of rovers to meet NASA and commercial space companies' needs as humans become an interplanetary race.  Venturi Astrolab says the rovers will help establish and build bases on the Moon and the planets.  They add the rovers will "solve the local transportation problems" on the Moon.  The rovers are called FLEX for Flexible Logistics and Exploration. Capabilities and Technologies FLEX is incredibly flexible and dexterous.  It can crouch down, pickup payloads on the lunar surface and carry them to designated locations.  It can maneuver semi-autonomously and be controlled remotely. It can even be modi

  World 1st: Pure, Usable Oxygen Extracted on Mars                                        Source:  NASA - MOXIE MOXIE Science Rover Did the Job NASA's Mars Mission has achieved another world first.  It has extracted breathable, pure oxygen from the thin Martian atmosphere.  This extraordinary feat was accomplished by a piece of technology onboard the Perserance rover.  MOXIE, a small science rover that is the size of a toaster - extracted and converted carbon dioxide into oxygen.  MOXIE stands for Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment. Impressive Technology MOXIE uses electrolysis to separate molecules of oxygen from molecules of carbon dioxide, using extreme heat.  95% of the Martian atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide.  The initial oxygen created was small:  about enough to provide ten minutes worth of oxygen to an astronaut.  But it is the first time in history that a natural resource, directly usable by human, has been extracted on another planet. Scaling Up

   World Aviation History is Made                               Source:  NASA - Ingenuity 1st Image First Helicopter That Flew on Another Planet NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has succeeded in achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.  It used its navigation camera, which autonomously tracks the ground beneath Ingenuity during flight, to take its first black and white image from the air.  The small rotocraft has made world history with its first flight.  It is part of a long series of NASA achievements that were thought to be technologically impossible. First Flight Ingenuity is solar-powered.  During its first flight, it reached a height of ten feet and hovered steadily for thirty seconds before landing smoothly back on Mars after 39.1 seconds of flight.  The flight test was totally autonomous.  Because of Mars' nearly 200 million mile distance from Earth, NASA can not control Ingenuity with a joystick.  Ingenuity's flight was powered and piloted

  Perseverance Rover Monitoring the Martian Weather                     Source: NASA Perseverance & Ingenuity on Mars WX Critical For Ingenuity Helicopter Flights  History continues to be made by NASA, its Perseverance Rover and Ingenuity drone helicopter on Mars.  Perseverance has provided NASA with its first full weather report from Mars.  Weather conditions are critical for NASA to make informed decisions on Ingenuity's schedule of flight testing.  Ingenuity is the world's first helicopter to land on Mars and, for that matter, on any planet outside of the Earth. The weather data is also mission critical for making decisions on the Perseverance rover's series of missions.  And the weather data tremendously expands understanding of the Martian atmosphere for NASA scientists. Average Temperatures Far Colder Than Earth Weather conditions are a deciding factor on when Ingenuity takes flight, which could be as early as Sunday. Perseverance's first weather report showed

  New, Spectacular Detailed Photos of the Red Planet                                                       Source:  NASA Mastcam-Z, Two Camera System on Mars NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is sending back first-of-a-kind, detailed pictures of Mars.  The images are coming from Perseverance's Mastcam-Z camera system.  It's part of the highly advanced technologies which NASA has built into the Perseverance rover Mars mission, which are creating a series of historic space firsts. Search For Ancient Life on Mars The pictures beaming back from Mars are being taken within the 28 mile wide Jezero Crater, where researchers say a river delta existed billions of years ago.  It is a very promising location to search for ancient microbial life on Mars.  Searching for ancient Martian life is a primary mission for Perseverance and the Mastcam-Z system serves as the technological eyes of the search. Highly Advanced Camera Technology Mastcam-Z is a two camera system that can zoom in, focus,

  NASA's Tiny Helicopter Ingenuity Sends Mars Status Report                                                                        Source:  NASA Perseverance and Ingenuity NASA's Perseverance rover's travelling companion to Mars, mini-helicopter Ingenuity, has sent a positive status report to NASA Mission Control.  Ingenuity sent it by phone.  Ingenuity is a small helicopter drone that will detach from Perseverance and attempt the first drone flight on another planet.  It weighs 4 pounds and is specifically designed to fly in the Martian atmosphere which is 100 times thinner than the Earth's atmosphere.  The helicopter is equipped with a camera and will take images of the Martian surface. Next Steps Perseverance will take the next 30 to 60 days to find an area suitable for Ingenuity to take off and land on.  In the next several days, the mission is to get Ingenuity's batteries fully charged.  The power source is Perseverance's radioisotope power reactor.  NASA h

  Perseverance   Mission Impossible Just Accomplished                                         Source:  NASA Perseverance Perseverance Free to Roam Mars For Two Years NASA's most advanced rover has defied the stiff Martian  odds and successfully landed on Mars.  Cheers erupted late today in the NASA control room as the Perseverance rover, NASA's most technologically advanced rover that the team built for ten years, touched down safely on the Red Planet.  Hundreds of major technological maneuvers had to go right for this historic accomplishment.  The most important:  what NASA calls "the last 7 minutes of terror" when Perseverance was out of contact with NASA because of an 11 minute delay in radio wave communications with the Red Planet.  Perseverance was on its own maneuvering down to the surface of Mars on a rocket powered jet pack and finally lowered down by cables.  It is a technological wonder that worked! Bold and Ambitious Space Exploration This is NASA's mos

  Perseverance To Land On Mars February 18                                             Source:  NASA's Perseverance Robotic Geologist To Explore Mars NASA's highly advanced robotic rover Perseverance will land on Mars on Thursday.  The potential discoveries are huge as Perseverance is the most advanced rover NASA has built.  Perseverance will serve as a geologist on Mars, collecting rocks, minerals and soil samples.  The mission's purpose is to search for any signs of ancient life on Mars.  The rover will also have a small helicopter onboard to conduct the first drone flights on another planet. Amazing Technological Journey Perseverance has travelled onboard a spacecraft for the 300 million mile journey to Mars.  It will exit the spacecraft in a capsule for the descent into the Martian atmosphere.  The capsule will travel at a blistering 12,000 mph.  It will have to endure temperatures of 2,370 degrees F.  Then, rover will release by supersonic parachute travelling 750 mph

  UAE, China, US Satellites in Mars Orbits                                  Source:  UAE Hope Mission to Mars US Perseverance Probe Arriving on Mars Next Week Mars is getting a lot of visitors arriving for Valentine's Day, mid February and staying for a few months beyond.  The United Amirate Emirates (UAE) mission Hope arrived yesterday and is in a stable orbit around Mars. Now, China's Tianwen-1 synced into another successful orbit around the Red Planet.  And, last but not least, NASA's Perseverance Rover spacecraft will touchdown on Mars next week.  Touchdown is expected on February 18, 2021.  Talk about a crowded destination in space.  There is a bit of intergalactic traffic converging on Mars and the scientific results could be spectacular. UAE Mission Autonomous The UAE spacecraft now in orbit is the size of a SUV.  And what is such a great technological achievement for the UAE, the Hope vehicle (al-Amal or hope in Arabic) used its autonomous, onboard computers to put

  Nuclear Rockets Are The Fastest Way To Mars                                                            Source: Nuclear Spacecraft Artist Image                                        Source:  USNC-Tech Nuclear Space Rocket Technology Under Development By 2035, NASA wants to land astronauts on Mars.  And NASA wants to get the astronauts to the Red Planet as quickly as possible to minimize exposure to space radiation and reduce travel risks.  To achieve that, the space agency wants the Mars mission launched on a nuclear powered space rocket.  It would reduce the travel time to Mars, which is 140 million miles from Earth, to three months instead of nine months on current rocket technology.  The total Mars mission would take less than 2 years instead of more than 3 years. Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Seattle-based Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies (USNC-Tech) is developing a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) rocket engine to do the job.  The company says the technology is more powerful and twi

  Starship Performs Well, Then Explodes on Landing                                                                                Source:  SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Learns and Moves Forward SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle is the centerpiece of CEO Elon Musk's dreams to take humanity on affordable trips to the Moon and Mars.  On December 9, 2020, the Starship prototype launched for a test flight.  The vehicle performed well and reached an altitude of  41,000 feet - it's highest as of that date.  And it performed record setting, acrobatic flips in the air before landing.  The test flight went perfectly until the landing, when the test vehicle blew up in a fiery explosion.  No one was hurt.  Entrepreneur/inventor/CEO Elon Musk had a uniquely scientific take on the episode.  He learned from the fiery landing, made conclusions based on data the test provided and found ample reasons to move forward.  His reactions provide insights into the way one of America's most successful inn

  CEO Elon Musk's Starship to Mars Source:  SpaceX Flight Test to 40,000 Feet Starship is Space X CEO Elon Musk's space vehicle designed to carry humans to the Moon and Mars.  The prototype has been tested twice before in so-called "hop" tests to 500 feet.  This week, Musk has been cleared by the FAA to test the vehicle at 40,000 feet, an altitude higher than most planes climb.   Musk Downplaying the Critical Test Interestingly, Musk is downplaying the critical test of the vehicle's aerodynamic design and flight capabilities.  He's calling it a learning experience. On the SpaceX website, Musk said "With a test like this, success is not measured by reaching specific objectives but by how much we can learn."  He predicts a 30% chance of its reaching 40,000 feet. Starship is SpaceX's Centerpiece to Travel to Mars & the Moon Starship is Musk's next generation, reusable launch vehicle.  It is the centerpiece of Musk's plans to make space t

  CEO Elon Musk's Roadster Approaches Mars                                                                           Source:  SpaceX and Tesla "Starman" Behind the Wheel, Inside a Rocket SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's red, $100,000 Tesla Roadster had made its closest approach to Mars.  The Roadster driver "Starman", which is a mannequin in a spacesuit, are part of a payload inside the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Colonizing Mars One of entrepreneur Elon Musk's major goals is to colonize Mars and make all of us an interplanetary civilization. SpaceX says the Falcon Heavy rocket vehicle with the Roadster inside made their first close approach to Mars and was within 5 million miles of the planet.   Harvard Astronomer Tracking Harvard astronomer Jonathan Dowell is tracking the journey.  He says the SpaceX spacecraft is in an elliptical orbit around the Sun.  The vehicle is 37 million miles from Earth and has travelled 1.3 billion miles sin

First Arab Mission to Mars Source:  Launch of H-2A rocket with Hope onboard Source:  NASA Artist Rendering Spectacular Launch and Congratulations from NASA A Japanese H-2A rocket launched the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Hope Mission to Mars this morning.  Within an hour of the flight, the rocket's upper stage released the Hope Mission satellite.  Hope is using its solar panels to power its systems, including its communications system. Hope notified controllers at the Space Center in Dubai of the successful separation.  The Dubai Center is overseeing the orbiter's 306,957,369 mile journey at 75,185 miles per hour speeds to Mars. First Arab Interplanetary Mission This is the first Arab interplanetary mission.  The Hope mission is designed to demonstrate the UAE's scientific, technological and space capabilities.  Hope is a 2,976 pound satellite designed and developed at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) in the UAE.  It will arrive at Mars in February 20

Red Planet Gets a Visitor from the United Arab Emirates Source:  Hope Mars Mission  1st Arab Interplanetary Mission The United Arab Emirates is set to launch its Hope Mission to Mars tomorrow morning, July 20.  This is the first Arab interplanetary mission.  It's designed to demonstrate the UAE's diversified scientific and technology capabilities beyond its global oil production capabilities.  And, it is expected to contribute a great deal to scientific knowledge of the Red Planet. Japan Launch Site The Hope Probe will launch from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center for a 7 month exploratory mission to observe Mars.  The journey is designed to provide valuable new science about Mars.  The Hope satellite will orbit the planet, map it and send back data about it atmosphere, showing both daily and seasonal atmospheric conditions. Green Solar Space Vehicle  An hour after the launch, Hope will start using solar panels to power its systems, including its communicatio

NASA's Ingenuity On Duty February 2021 Sourcee:  NASA Ingenuity Paired with Rover Perseverance The world's first Mars helicopter - NASA's Ingenuity - will start operations in Mars' Jezero Crater in February 2021.  It will be ferried there by NASA's Perseverance Rover.  This is the first ever helicopter that will be flying in another world.  It was developed by NASA along with Lockheed Martin and it's small, weighing just 4 pounds. The duo are expected to be launched from Cape Canaveral, FL aboard a rocket to Mars by NASA between July 30 and August 15, 2020.  It's a great new mission of rocket science. Delicate Maneuverings Once established on Mars, the Perseverance-Ingenuity travel maneuvers next February will be delicate.  Ingenuity will be attached horizontally under Perseverance for the February 18th landing at Jezero Crater on Mars.  The landing clearance is tight.  For 2 months, they'll stay together and hunt for a flat, unobstructed

Curiosity Rover Takes an Action Picture Source:  NASA, JPL Caltech Space Shots NASA's Curiosity Mars rover snapped a picture of itself after drilling a hole into a rock structure on Mars.  The picture documents the tough job in rough terrain that this remarkable piece of robotic technology is performing.  Curiosity made its way up the steep rocky incline called the Greenheugh Pediment, as seen in the picture behind the rover. Space Renaissance 21st Century This is part of an 86 image series taken by the camera on the Curiosity Rover's robotic arm.  For Curiosity, today is day 2,687 roving the harsh and mysterious environment of the Red Planet and sending back images and samples to NASA  Part of that mission is to determine if life ever existed on Mars and if deep within the surface of Mars there is water that could sustain life.

Essential Element of Crude Oil Just Discovered on Mars Source:  Mars Stock Image Where There Is Oil, There Could be Life Two astrobiologists have found the basic elements of oil on Mars.  Jacob Heinz of Berlin's Technische Universität and Dirk Schulze-Makuch of Washington State University in Saint Louis have found organic compounds called "thiophenes" that are present in crude oil and coal on Earth.  The thiophenes were discovered in dried mud that NASA's Curiosity Rover dug up in Mars' Gale Crater. This is a remarkable scientific discovery that raises the intriguing question, once again, about life existing on Mars. Oil and Life Where there is oil, there many times is life.  The issue now confronting the scientists is how the thiophenes on Mars were created.  Most often  the creation of thiophenes is a "biotic" process that involves living elements.  If that is the case, according to scientist Schulze-Makuch, "there was early life on

First Arab Nation to Launch Interplanetary Mission Source:  Emirates Mars Probe/University of Colorado UAE To Launch Mars Probe to Document Martian Climate and Atmosphere The United Arab Emirates has big space ambitions and plans.  It is going to launch a mission to Mars in 2020, making it the first Arab nation to launch an interplanetary mission.  The Hope Mars probe will deploy the Hope Satellite to study the climate on Mars. Destination Mars 2021 When the Hope satellite reaches Mars in 2021, it will show how Mars' climate conditions change throughout the year.  The satellite will be launched from Japan in June 2020.  It will reach Mars in February 2021 and collect data for two years.  The mission could be extended through 2025.  Interesting, a female scientists is a key player behind the mission.  Sarah Al Amiri is deputy project manager of the Mars Mission and Chairperson of the UAE Council of Scientists.  90% of the workers on the Emirates Mars Mission a