Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Via NASA PAO
Two spacecraft engineers join a grouping of vehicles providing a comparison of three generations of Mars rovers developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The setting is JPL’s Mars Yard testing area.
Front and center is the flight spare for the first Mars rover, Sojourner, which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project. On the left is a Mars Exploration Rover Project test rover that is a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004. On the right is a Mars Science Laboratory test rover the size of that project’s Mars rover, Curiosity, which is on course for landing on Mars in August 2012.
Sojourner and its flight spare, named Marie Curie, are 2 feet (65 centimeters) long. The Mars Exploration Rover Project’s rover, including the “Surface System Test Bed” rover in this photo, are 5.2 feet (1.6 meters) long. The Mars Science Laboratory Project’s Curiosity rover and “Vehicle System Test Bed” rover, on the right, are 10 feet (3 meters) long.
The engineers are JPL’s Matt Robinson, left, and Wesley Kuykendall. The California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, operates JPL for NASA.
Did you know that you can follow Curiosity’s Mission LIVE at Space Center Houston? Learn more about our special presentation, Mission to Mars taking place daily in Blast-Off Theater. Save five dollars off admission when you buy online!
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WASHINGTON — A camera aboard one of NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) lunar spacecraft has returned its first unique view of the far side of the moon. MoonKAM, or Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students, will be used by students nationwide to select lunar images for study. GRAIL consists of two identical spacecraft, recently named Ebb and Flow, each of which is equipped with a MoonKam. The images were taken as part of a test of Ebb’s MoonKam on Jan. 19. The GRAIL project plans to test the MoonKAM aboard Flow at a later date.
In the video, the north pole of the moon is visible at the top of the screen as the spacecraft flies toward the lunar south pole. One of the first prominent geological features seen on the lower third of the moon is the Mare Orientale, a 560 mile-wide (900 kilometer) impact basin that straddles both the moon’s near and far side. The clip ends with rugged terrain just short of the lunar south pole. To the left of center, near the bottom of the screen, is the 93 mile-wide (149 kilometer) Drygalski crater with a distinctive star-shaped formation in the middle. The formation is a central peak, created many billions of years ago by a comet or asteroid impact.
Did you know you can visit the Moon at Space Center Houston? Check out our massive collection of spacecraft and space memorabilia in our world renowned Starship Gallery. This impressive collection includes a “walk through” trainer for Skylab, the world’s largest collection of Moon rocks (outside of NASA), and a life diorama of the lunar surface! Save $5 off regular admission when you buy tickets online. Do something amazing!
]]>For three days (Jan 18-20) guests on the NEW Discount Tire NASA Tram Tour will once again witness history in the making! The Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV) is undergoing a three day “shakedown” as astronaut Alvin Drew and Geologist Jose M. Hurtado camp out inside.
On Friday, Jan. 20th, the public will be able to participate in a “Twitterview” by asking the crew questions about their three day mission! The event will start at 4:15pm (CST). Questions should be directed to @Desert_RATS with a #SVE hashtag.
Don’t miss your chance to see the mission live in person! The virtual asteroid mission can be seen by the public on our NEW NASA Tour! Details.
(Via NASA PAO)
Astronaut Al Drew and geologist Jose M. Hurtado of the University of Texas in El Paso will spend three days and two nights living inside the Space Exploration Vehicle, or SEV’s, cabin.
The public is invited to ask the crew questions via Twitter @Desert_RATS for a Twitterview the crew will participate in at 4:15 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20. Questions should be marked #SEV. RATS stands for Research and Technology Studies.
The SEV will be placed on an air-bearing floor to allow it to virtually float, much the way a hockey puck floats on an air hockey table. This will allow the crew to see how the SEV would handle in a microgravity environment and evaluate the view from the vehicle’s windows.
For more information about the future of crewed spaceflight, check out the NEW Discount Tire NASA Tram Tour! Peek into advanced NASA labs and see the spaceships of tomorrow! Save $5 off admission when you buy tickets online!
]]>(Via NASA PAO)
NASA’s Research and Technology Studies (RATS) team will conduct its 2012 events in two phases. The first phase is further separated into two, three-day parts, conducted at Johnson Space Center’s (JSC) Building 9.
NASA’s Research and Technology Studies (RATS) team will conduct its 2012 events in two phases. The first phase is further separated into two, three-day parts, conducted at Johnson Space Center’s (JSC) Building 9.
Phase 1 will take place Dec. 13-15, 2011, and Jan. 18-20, 2012. This phase will focus on determining functionality and habitability of the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV). The MMSEV has a flexible architecture, allowing it to rove on a planetary surface atop a wheeled chassis, or fly in space using advanced in-space propulsion systems.
For three days and two nights during the Dec. and Jan. simulations, the two-person crews will eat, sleep, and exercise in the MMSEV cabin, housed in JSC Building 9. Throughout the day, they will trade responsibilities as EVA (extravehicular activity) and IV (intra-vehicular) crewmembers. During the EVAs, the crews will egress the vehicle through the suitports, then perform a variety of simulations that future crews could potentially conduct on a mission to a near-Earth asteroid.
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