NASA's Hibernating Mars Rover May Not Call Home

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA mission controllers have not heard from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit since March 22, and the rover is facing its toughest challenge yet - trying to survive the harsh Martian winter.

The rover team anticipated Spirit would go into a low-power "hibernation" mode since the rover was not able to get to a favorable slope for its fourth Martian winter, which runs from May through November. The low angle of sunlight during these months limits the power generated from t [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art21527/nasa-s-hibernating-mars-rover-may-not-call-home.html

Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report

Spacecraft: Glory
Launch Vehicle: Taurus XL 3110
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Nov. 22, 2010
Launch Time: 2:09 a.m. PST
Altitude/Inclination: 440 miles/98.2 degrees

The Taurus rocket is in Orbital Sciences Hangar 1555 located on north Vandenberg Air Force Base where integration of the vehicle's flight hardware components continues.

Electrical testing is under way. Testing of the Taurus XL guidance system has been successfully completed. The flight compute [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art21531/expendable-launch-vehicle-status-report.html

China leads in outer space pollution - Russian space agency

MOSCOW - China has topped the list of the world's major polluters of the near-Earth space environment, followed by the United States and Russia, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said on Friday.

All together, the three main space powers produce 93% of space debris, according to a statement published on the agency's website.

"According to estimates, 40% of space debris is produced by China. The U.S.'s share accounts for 27.5%, and Russia's [share] for 25.5%, with 7% falling on othe [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art21534/china-leads-in-outer-space-pollution-russian-space-agency.html

Compasskirt

I love geeks. I love clever people. I love sciencey stuff.

So this fills my heart with squishiness: a skirt with rows of lights that illuminate when facing north:

Make those LEDs red and every astronomer could use it. Not to mention campers, hikers, and let’s face it, nerds like all of us. I would dance all night with someone wearing this.

Want one? She’s selling kits so you can make one yourself!

Of course, in 2012^* when the poles flip the skirt will light up when facing south. Oh! I know! You could wear it backwards. Problem solved.

Tip o’ the compass needle to that bon vivant, Josh A. Cagan.

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^* This is a joke, OK? A joke. If you actually think I am being serious about 2012, then I suggest you check your tin foil beanie for breaches.

Full story at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BadAstronomyBlog/~3/PFN7b1lM104/

Picture of the Day - Brilliant Star in a Colourful Neighbourhood

A spectacular new image from ESO?s Wide Field Imager at the La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the brilliant and unusual star WR 22 and its colourful surroundings. WR 22 is a very hot and bright star that is shedding its atmosphere into space at a rate many millions of times faster than the Sun. It lies in the outer part of the dramatic Carina Nebula from which it formed.



Very massive stars live fast and die young. Some of these stellar beacons have such intense radiation passing throug [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art21508/picture-of-the-day-brilliant-star-in-a-colourful-neighbourhood.html

Martian Dust Devil Whirls Into Opportunity's View

In its six-and-a-half years on Mars, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity had never seen a dust devil before this month, despite some systematic searches in past years and the fact that its twin rover, Spirit, has seen dozens of dust devils at its location halfway around the planet.

A tall column of swirling dust appears in a routine image that Opportunity took with its panoramic camera on July 15. The rover took the image in the drive direction, east-southeastward, right after a drive  [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art21511/martian-dust-devil-whirls-into-opportunity-s-view.html

Station Crew Prepares for Next Spacewalk

The Expedition 24 crew members were busy Wednesday preparing for the next spacewalk of their mission while conducting post-spacewalk procedures following Tuesday?s successful excursion outside the International Space Station.

Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson worked in the Quest airlock to gather tools and configure the spacesuits they will wear during the expedition?s second spacewalk scheduled August 5.



Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson will install a power cable [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art21515/station-crew-prepares-for-next-spacewalk.html