- House Committee Announces Bipartisan NASA Bill
- Lifting the Veil on a Dark Galaxy
- Astronomers Breathe New Life into Venerable Instrument
- Final Soyuz TMA-M Crew Completes Winter Survival Training
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Posted: 07 Feb 2015 04:15 AM PST
Members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on Friday announced details of the NASA Authorization Act of 2015, legislation intended to reaffirm Congress’s commitment to NASA as a multi mission agency with programs in science, aeronautics, exploration, and human spaceflight, and make clear that Mars should be NASA’s primary goal. The bill will be introduced in the House the week of February 9th. Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) was joined by Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), Space Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), Space Subcommittee Ranking Member Donna Edwards (D-Md.), and Space Subcommittee Vice-Chair Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) in praising the bipartisan bill. “For more than 50 years, NASA has made the impossible possible and taken humankind to places we never before dreamed we would go. NASA is the only agency that exists to support our nation’s space exploration and advancement," Smith said. "In Congress, we have the responsibility of ensuring that NASA has the resources and direction it needs to continue its mission for the next 50 years."
The NASA Authorization Act of 2015 authorizes funding consistent with the Consolidated and Further Appropriations Act of 2015. The bill continues the consistent guidance Congress has given to NASA for nearly a decade by reaffirming a stepping stone approach to exploration.
The bill focuses NASA’s efforts to develop a capability to access the International Space Station so that America can once again launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil. It also increases support for the Space Launch System and the Orion Crew Vehicle – systems being developed to take astronauts to deep-space destinations like Mars – in an attempt to keep the programs on schedule for a 2017 launch date.
“The NASA Authorization Act of 2015 maintains sustainability of purpose and budget for NASA’s programs. It balances our long-term goal of sending humans to Mars and the furthest reaches of our solar system, with the immediate needs of providing access for our astronauts to the International Space Station. It ensures NASA remains the world’s premiere space agency," Smith said.
The bill also supports a healthy science directorate that reflects the input from the scientific community and an aeronautics research directorate that contributes to our nation’s aerospace economy.
“Building on previous NASA Authorization Acts, this bipartisan legislation affirms NASA’s responsibility to be a multi-mission agency, one that includes productive programs in science, aeronautics, human spaceflight and human exploration. NASA is a crown jewel of our nation’s R&D enterprise," Johnson said. "NASA’s space and aeronautics programs advance our technological competence and scientific understanding, challenge our industries and workforces in ways that promote their global competitiveness, and inspire the next generation to dream big and gain the skills to turn those dreams into action. That last point cannot be overstated, our children are our future science and technology workforce. They need to be prepared. This NASA bill is the product of intense bipartisan collaboration over the past year, and I am proud to be a cosponsor.”
“In the last Congress, this bill was approved unanimously by the House Science Committee and passed in the House by a vote of 401-2. The strong support this bill has enjoyed reflects the American public’s strong interest in our nation’s space endeavors. Next week, the House will have an opportunity to once more reaffirm its commitment to our nation’s space programs," Smith added.
The bill also provides greater public accountability and transparency, requires NASA to enforce more cost estimating discipline for its programs, strengthens the NASA Advisory Council, and provides for additional tools to protect against waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.
“I am pleased that the House will take up and consider a widely-supported, bipartisan NASA Reauthorization bill so early in this year’s session. It shows that once again the House is willing to lead on sustaining our nation’s space program," Palazzo said. "Congress has once again demonstrated support for SLS and Orion. While last year’s bill, like so many other pieces of legislation, died in the Senate, I look forward to working with Chairman Ted Cruz and Senate leadership to get this year’s version over the finish line. It’s time we finally returned to being able to launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil.”
Credit: science.house.gov
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Posted: 07 Feb 2015 01:48 AM PST
A cluster of young, pulsating stars discovered at the far side of the Milky Way may mark the location of a previously unseen dark-matter dominated dwarf galaxy hidden behind clouds of dust. A team, led by Sukanya Chakrabarti from Rochester Institute of Technology, analyzed near-infrared data collected by the European Southern Observatory’s survey VISTA to find four young stars approximately 300,000 light years away. These young stars are Cepheid variables – “standard candles” that astronomers use to measure distances. According to Chakrabarti, these are the most distant Cepheid variables found close to the plane of the Milky Way. The paper announcing the discovery appears in Astrophysical Journal Letters and is available online.
The stars appear to be associated with a dwarf galaxy Chakrabarti predicted in 2009 based on her analysis of ripples in the Milky Way’s outer disk. Chakrabarti’s earlier study predicted the location of the dark-matter dominated dwarf galaxy. Radiation emitted by the Cepheid variable stars allowed her to derive accurate distances and test her prediction. Chakrabarti analyzed VISTA’s database of tens of millions of stars to find these clustered Cepheid variables in the Norma constellation, all within one degree of each other.
“These young stars are likely the signature of this predicted galaxy,” said Chakrabarti, assistant professor in RIT’s School of Physics and Astronomy. “They can’t be part of our galaxy because the disk of the Milky Way terminates at 48,000 light years.”
Invisible particles known as dark matter make up 23 percent of the mass of the universe. The mysterious matter represents a fundamental problem in astronomy because it is not understood, Chakrabarti said.
“The discovery of the Cepheid variables shows that our method of finding the location of dark-matter dominated dwarf galaxies works,” she said. “It may help us ultimately understand what dark matter is made up of. It also shows that Newton’s theory of gravity can be used out to the farthest reaches of a galaxy, and that there is no need to modify our theory of gravity.”
VISTA’s infrared eyes allow scientists to study unexplored regions close to the galactic plane that are inaccessible to optical surveys. Optical wavelengths cannot penetrate the dust and gas in these regions. This next-generation sky survey helps scientists look at the structure of the galaxy and distant stars at low latitudes. Infrared surveys may help resolve current discrepancies between observations and the current cosmological paradigm by giving us a more complete view of the structure of the Milky Way, Chakrabarti said.
“I decided to see if I could actually find the thing,” Chakrabarti said. “It was a difficult prediction to test because it was close to the plane, and therefore difficult to see in the optical. This new survey, VISTA, was able to help us to lift the veil and see these young pulsating stars.”
Credit: rit.edu
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Posted: 06 Feb 2015 02:51 PM PST
How do astronomers determine the shapes of objects that are too far away to photograph? One method is by using spectropolarimetry, an observational technique that measures the way light waves align after they scatter through clouds of gas and dust in space. The Half-wave Spectropolarimeter (HPOL) is an instrument designed by Wisconsin astronomer Dr. Kenneth Nordsieck in 1989 to conduct these measurements. During HPOL's 15-year lifetime at the University of Wisconsin's Pine Bluff Observatory (PBO), astronomers worldwide used data from HPOL to study the gas and dust surrounding planets, comets, stars, and supernovae, as well as the interstellar medium within our Milky Way Galaxy.
HPOL's specialty was variable stars, whose properties change over time because of eruptions, pulsations, or interactions with companions. Studying such objects requires monitoring them continuously over long periods of time. HPOL made this kind of monitoring possible with its dedicated and continuous operation at the 0.9-m PBO telescope outside Madison, WI. Unfortunately, it ceased operations at PBO in 2004 after several equipment failures.
In 2007, astronomers from the University of Wisconsin, the University of Toledo, the University of Denver, and the University of Oklahoma teamed up to bring HPOL out of retirement and move it to Toledo, OH. A Toledo group led by Dr. James Davidson, Dr. Karen Bjorkman, and Dr. Jon Bjorkman installed new components, upgraded the control software, and mounted HPOL on the 1-m telescope at the University of Toledo's Ritter Observatory. The consortium members then conducted an extensive study of the upgraded instrument's performance at its new location; their results appear in a recent issue of the Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation (Davidson et al. 2014, JAI, 03, 1450009). They obtained multiple observations of polarized standard stars using the new HPOL, which show excellent agreement with comparable observations made at PBO. In some cases the instrument achieves even smaller measurement uncertainties than it did before, despite a brighter sky in the more urban Toledo location.
"I'm delighted with the results from the new HPOL," said Dr. Jennifer Hoffman, an astronomer at the University of Denver, consortium member, and co-author on the JAI study. "Having this instrument available again opens up exciting new possibilities for astronomers who use spectropolarimetry, especially those of us who study variable or transient objects." The first new scientific results from the refurbished instrument were recently published in Astronomy & Astrophysics (Lomax et al. 2015, A&A, 573, A43). HPOL is now fully operational at Ritter Observatory; the consortium welcomes target suggestions from the astronomical community.
The paper can be found in the Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation.
Credit: worldscientific.com
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Posted: 06 Feb 2015 01:52 PM PST
On Feb 3., three members of the Expedition 48 crew to the International Space Station (ISS) completed a 2-day winter survival training in a snowy Russian forest. NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), practiced the skills necessary for the landing of the descent module of Russian Soyuz manned spacecraft in extreme conditions of wooded and marshy areas in winter. The trio will fly to space in May 2016 on board the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft. It is the final Soyuz TMA-M which will be replaced by the upgraded Soyuz-MS.
Soyuz lands in nominal case in the steppes of Kazakhstan. However, the crews are well trained to go down in other areas which are of course dependent on the orbits, where the Soyuz is on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. So the landing could also happen in deserts, icy or water areas. The emergency services may be required in up to 36 hours to rescue the astronauts from other places of earth.
To cover this situation, it is a mandatory for all space travelers to handle the different situations of the areas where they could get a landing under control. The space travelers must have survival training.
During the training the expedition 48 crew has worked out the landing in the descent module, the removal of suits, making different types of fires (general and signal), construction of shelters from cold and wind, cooking and eating. They also have learned how to communicate with the search and rescue service and how to provide medical assistance to possible victims.
"Training for the Soyuz spacecraft started in Russia this year. In this program, I am learning about the Soyuz’s systems, from studying the operation procedures to training with simulators. In the practical training, I am mainly learning how to handle potential trouble scenarios," Onishi said last year. "There is also training for the Russian module of the International Space Station. At the same time, in the United States, I am learning about the systems of the U.S. modules, as well as the Japanese and European ones. Once I finish this, as in Russia, the training will focus on handling emergency situations."
The survival course is supervised by the experts of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City outside Moscow, who control the process of training, together with trainers, doctors and psychologists. At the end of the tests, they assess the work and the actions of the drill’s participants.
Rubins and Onishi will fly to space for the first time, while Ivanishin flew to the ISS on board Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft in Nov. 2011.
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