Tag Archives: rover

A New Curiosity

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There is a strange looking car parked in the west end of the National Air and Space Museum in downtown Washington, DC. For now, it is only visible behind its security screen from the second floor landing above. From that vantage, the vehicle’s six wheels, robotic arm, mast, and other protrusions are clearly visible. But since this is the Air and Space Museum, it must be more than just a normal car.

Soon the barriers will be gone and the public will be able to view the vehicle up close and personal. And what they will see is a model of the next Mars rover, NASA’s 2011 Mars Science Laboratory. The rover, dubbed “Curiosity” will be launched to Mars later this year and will begin its mission to explore whether places on the Red Planet were ever habitable. Information on the mission can be found at: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. The rover carries a suite of instruments geared towards understanding conditions on the planet and a full description of the payload can be found at: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/instruments/.

NASA Mars Rover Curiosity at JPL, Side View. The rover for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, named Curiosity, is about 3 meters (10 feet) long, not counting the additional length that the rover's arm can be extended forward. The front of the rover is on the left in this side view. The arm is partially raised but not extended. Rising from the rover deck just behind the front wheels is the remote sensing mast. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The landing site for Curiosity will be one of four final candidate sites all deemed to possess a variety of features suited to evaluating whether Mars could have been habitable in the past. It is expected that NASA will announce the landing site in the coming weeks. Much more information on the landing sites proposed for Curiosity can be found at: http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/index.html.

The model of Curiosity will be on display through Labor Day of this year.

See the model of Curiosity and learn more about its mission at this year’s Mars Day! on July 22.

John Grant is a geologist in the Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies and co-chair of the Mars Landing site steering committee leading the MSL landing site selection process.

A “New Mars” Comes to the National Air and Space Museum

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The Exploring the Planets Gallery in the National Air and Space Museum’s National Mall Building recently underwent a major update to the section devoted to scientific exploration of Mars. This new exhibit features the results of the Mars Exploration Rovers, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Express, and other recent spacecraft that have revolutionized our ideas about the surface, atmosphere, ice deposits, and ancient water on the Red Planet.

Mars Portion of the Exploring the Planets Gallery

New Mars Section of the Exploring the Planets Gallery at the National Air and Space Museum

Visitors will find fantastically detailed images of the surface taken from orbit by the HiRISE camera, a full-scale model of a Mars Exploration Rover, instruments used by the Viking spacecraft to make the first searches for life, views inside the polar caps provided by radar sensors, a watch that runs on “Martian time,” and a chunk of rock that landed in Antarctica after being blasted from the surface of Mars by an impact. The new exhibit puts all this information together to reveal Mars as a complex and still-puzzling world that holds valuable clues to the development of our own planet and those around other stars.

We welcome comments on the new exhibit. Please note that installation of a few items, such as the Mars rover model, have been delayed due to the weather-related problems at the Museum’s storage facility.

Bruce Campbell is a geologist in the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the National Air and Space Museum

Fourteen Days on “The Moon” in Arizona

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It’s a quarter of a million miles to the Moon, we’ve got fully charged batteries, half a pack of space food, it’s daytime, and we’re wearing spacesuits. Hit it.

NASA's Lunar Electric Rover (LER). Photo courtesy NASA.

Last week I returned home from the adventure of a lifetime, a simulation of a mission on the Moon where I lived and worked inside NASA’s Lunar Electric Rover (LER) for 14 days during NASA’s Desert RATS (Research and Technology Studies) analog field test.  For the last 12 years, Desert RATS has been testing new concepts for spacesuits, robots, vehicles and tools in rugged environments that are similar to the surfaces of the Moon and Mars.  This year, Desert RATS tested how a crew of two would live and work inside a small pressurized rover (the LER), dock with various equipment and robots, and use of the rear-entry suitport for donning and doffing spacesuits.  These concepts are being tested in an effort to provide Astronauts new ways to explore the lunar surface efficiently and effectively for long duration missions.  The LER provides the crew the necessary shelter and safety to live away from their original landing site, while the suitport saves valuable time and resources by allowing Astronauts to slide in through the backpack of the spacesuits, which are attached to the outside of the rover, and be on the surface in less than 15 minutes.

Brent Garry climbs through LER suitport.

For our mission, Astronaut Mike Gernhardt and I explored Black Point Lava Flow, north of Flagstaff, Arizona.  These 14 days were packed with activities that would be completed by a crew during a real mission.  Days 1 and 2 were spent checking out the vehicle and supplies, rendezvousing with ATHLETE, and docking with the Portable Utility Palette (PUP).  Days 3 through 10 were spent studying the local geology, where we followed a series of traverses planned by the Science Team.  Using only a black and white satellite image of the area for planning, specific locations were selected for us to visit and collect samples based on a series of science questions and prioritized objectives.  Since I was the crew geologist, this was obviously my favorite part of the mission.  My favorite view was at the far end of the lava flow looking over a river valley towards the rock formations to the east.  On days 11 through 14, we docked with a portable habitat being carried by ATHLETE, moved regolith around with the LANCE, and rescued another two person crew from a broken down LER.  Four of us spent 24 hours inside one LER simulating a rescue mission on the Moon.  Surprisingly, there was still a lot of room inside with four people.  We each took turns driving and sleeping through the night.  By the time the mission was completed, Mike and I had driven over 120 kilometers (75 miles) and spent over 300 hours inside the LER.

Brent on an EVA to collect samples. Photo courtesy NASA.

Daily life inside the LER was very fun and it was convenient to have everything you needed literally within arms reach.  Each morning we tagged up with Houston to go over our daily plan and had our breakfast.  Our meals consisted of real space food and dehydrated camping food.  There was a “sink” with hot and cold water to make our meals with, which were actually really tasty.  The bathroom was a glorified camping toilet, nothing fancy, just some special plastic bags.  Our personal gear and food was stowed in lockers within the side hatches and beneath the floor boards and bunks.  We exercised for at least one hour each day using a stationary bicycle machine and resistance bands.  Special clothing with silver lined threads to kill odors allowed us to reuse the same set of shirts and shorts for the entire mission.  At night, we unfolded curtains attached to the walls and ceiling to create individual sleep stations which were both dark and sound proof.  After a good night sleep, we woke up and did it all over again.

This mission would not have been possible without an absolutely amazing ground support team who followed us every step of the way and served as the mission control back in “Houston”.  This experience truly shows that human exploration of the Moon takes more than just the crew, but relies heavily on a dedicated and hard working team back on the ground to make it all possible.

Brent Garry is a Planetary Geologist in the National Air and Space Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies.

Countdown to the Moon, Thursday, July 16

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Regular summer visitors to the National Air and Space Museum are familiar with the Museum’s popular event, Mars Day. This year, Mars is taking a backseat to allow us to honor the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing with Countdown to the Moon Day.

The Moon in 3-D. This anaglyph shows the area around the Apollo 11 landing site (yellow dot). It can be viewed in three dimensions using red/blue 3-D glasses (red lens over your left eye). More 3D images of the Moon (and glasses) will be on hand as well as staff scientists who will describe lunar geology and spacecraft landing site selection.

The day will be filled with interesting and fun hands-on activities. See the lunar landscape in 3-D; talk with scientists active in lunar research; learn about NASA’s new spacecraft for exploring the Moon; see the materials that protected astronauts on perilous re-entries; hear all about lunar dust; and talk to a geologist who has been a test driver of the new generation of lunar rovers. For youngsters ages 3-8, there will be Moon-related stories.

Meet Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean at Countdown to the Moon Day.

Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean in his studio.

As a special attraction, Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean will be on hand to welcome you to a new exhibition of his art and related artifacts, and sign copies of his book, Alan Bean: Painting Apollo, First Artist on Another World.

Don’t miss this opportunity to speak with the Museum’s experts on this day dedicated to the Moon!

Countdown to the Moon Day is on Thursday, July 16 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the National Mall Building in downtown Washington, DC.  Visit the Countdown to the Moon Day site for more 3D anaglyphs and event information.

Kathleen Hanser is a Writer-Editor in the Office of Communications at the National Air and Space Museum.