Mars Science Laboratory Mission and Science Investigation

Scheduled to land in August of 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mission was initiated to explore the habitability of Mars. This includes both modern environments as well as ancient environments recorded by the stratigraphic rock record preserved at the Gale crater landing site. The Curiosity rover has a designed lifetime of at least one Mars year (～23?months), and drive capability of at least 20?km. Curiosity’s science payload was specifically assembled to assess habitability and includes a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer and gas analyzer that will search for organic carbon in rocks, regolith fines, and the atmosphere (SAM instrument); an x-ray diffractometer that will determine mineralogical diversity (CheMin instrument); focusable cameras that can image landscapes and rock/regolith textures in natural color (MAHLI, MARDI, and Mastcam instruments); an alpha-particle x-ray spectrometer for in situ determination of rock and soil chemistry (APXS instrument); a?laser-induced breakdown spectrometer to remotely sense the chemical composition of rocks and minerals (ChemCam instrument); an active neutron spectrometer designed to search for water in rocks/regolith (DAN instrument); a weather station to measure modern-day environmental variables (REMS instrument); and a sensor designed for continuous monitoring of background solar and cosmic radiation (RAD instrument). The various payload elements will work together to detect and study potential sampling targets with remote and in situ measurements; to acquire samples of rock, soil, and atmosphere and analyze them in onboard analytical instruments; and to observe the environment around the rover. The 155-km diameter Gale crater was chosen as Curiosity’s field site based on several attributes: an interior mountain of ancient flat-lying strata extending almost 5?km above the elevation of the landing site; the lower few hundred meters of the mountain show a progression with relative age from clay-bearing to sulfate-bearing strata, separated by an unconformity from overlying likely anhydrous strata; the landing ellipse is characterized by a mixture of alluvial fan and high thermal inertia/high albedo stratified deposits; and a number of stratigraphically/geomorphically distinct fluvial features. Samples of the crater wall and rim rock, and more recent to currently active surface materials also may be studied. Gale has a well-defined regional context and strong evidence for a progression through multiple potentially habitable environments. These environments are represented by a stratigraphic record of extraordinary extent, and insure preservation of a rich record of the environmental history of early Mars. The interior mountain of Gale Crater has been informally designated at Mount Sharp, in honor of the pioneering planetary scientist Robert Sharp. The major subsystems of the MSL Project consist of a single rover (with science payload), a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, an Earth-Mars cruise stage, an entry, descent, and landing system, a launch vehicle, and the mission operations and ground data systems. The primary communication path for downlink is relay through the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The primary path for uplink to the rover is Direct-from-Earth. The secondary paths for downlink are Direct-to-Earth and relay through the Mars Odyssey orbiter. Curiosity is a scaled version of the 6-wheel drive, 4-wheel steering, rocker bogie system from the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) Spirit and Opportunity and the Mars Pathfinder Sojourner. Like Spirit and Opportunity, Curiosity offers three primary modes of navigation: blind-drive, visual odometry, and visual odometry with hazard avoidance. Creation of terrain maps based on HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) and other remote sensing data were used to conduct simulated driving with Curiosity in these various modes, and allowed selection of the Gale crater landing site which requires climbing the base of a mountain to achieve its primary science goals. The Sample Acquisition, Processing, and Handling (SA/SPaH) subsystem is responsible for the acquisition of rock and soil samples from the Martian surface and the processing of these samples into fine particles that are then distributed to the analytical science instruments. The SA/SPaH subsystem is also responsible for the placement of the two contact instruments (APXS, MAHLI) on rock and soil targets. SA/SPaH consists of a robotic arm and turret-mounted devices on the end of the arm, which include a drill, brush, soil scoop, sample processing device, and the mechanical and electrical interfaces to the two contact science instruments. SA/SPaH also includes drill bit boxes, the organic check material, and an observation tray, which are all mounted on the front of the rover, and inlet cover mechanisms that are placed over the SAM and CheMin solid sample inlet tubes on the rover top deck.     

Towards a theory of spacepower

There is as yet no widely accepted theory of spacepower, although links to the development of seapower theory are generally acknowledged. An ongoing NDU study is building a framework to explicate the fundamental aspects of spacepower and its relation to the pursuit of a variety of objectives. Two distinct “ages” of the current space era can be discerned, the first based on Cold War competition and the need for prestige, the second based on the requirement for information in a globalized world. The most important features of future space activity are likely to be economic development, and national and international security. Developing a spacepower theory will provide an opportunity to maximize the benefits of space for global society.     

Fundamental parameters of low mass X-ray binaries II: X-ray persistent systems

The determination of fundamental parameters in X-ray luminous (persistent) X-ray binaries has been classically hampered by the large optical luminosity of the accretion disc. New methods, based on irradiation of the donor star and burst oscillations, provide the opportunity to derive dynamical information and mass constraints in many persistent systems for the first time. These techniques are here reviewed and the latest results presented.     

Space platform albedo measurements as indicators of change in arid lands

The change in albedo of arid lands is an indicator of changes in their condition and quality, including density of vegetative cover, erosion, deposition, surficial soil moisture, and man-made change. In general, darkening of an arid land surface indicates an increase in land quality while brightening indicates a decrease in quality, primarily owing to changes in vegetation.Landsat multiband images taken on different dates can be converted to black-and-white albedo images. Subtraction of one image from another, pixel by pixel, results in an albedo change map that can be density sliced to show areas that have brightened or darkened by selected percentages. These maps are then checked in the field to determine the reasons for the changes and to evaluate the changes in land condition and quality.The albedo change mapping technique has been successfully used in the arid lands of western Utah and northern Arizona and has recently been used for detection of coal strip mining activities in northern Alabama.     

The Kalman Filter Applied to Aerospace and Electronic Systems

The evolution of the application of the Kalman filter in the aerospace arena is traced. The major programs that were the driving forces for the filter's acceptance are noted, as are the specific threads of activity for refining and enhancing the initial contribution. These efforts brought the fundamental ideas presented by Kalman to the point where actual application was possible. Clearly the concepts of the Kalman filter are now "mature." This is also noted and substantiated.     

Overview of Commercial Satellite Communications

The period from Arthur Clarke's 1945 prediction of geosynchronous satellite communications covering the entire planet until satellites were stationed over the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans was less than 25 years. In the following 15 year period, satellite communications has affected all of us. Most international calls are carried by satellite. Much of the television that we watch has been relayed, processed, or distributed by satellite. In fact, many of us who live in cabled cities can choose among 50 channels or more for viewing on a particular night, largely brought to us by satellite. Some morning papers, radio programs, and basic weather data appear coast to coast rapidly because of the satellite. Even while we sleep, computers in an increasing number of business offices are talking to each other by satellite. Virtually the whole world, from the busiest urban center to the most remote island, can be interconnected by satellite communications networks capable of providing economical and reliable transmission of communications signals, including voice, data, electronic mail, and video. The satellite's advantages of distance insensitivity, point-to-multipoint capability, and improved quality over long distances are unique. These facts have led Clarke to speculate on the future impact of satellite communications in The View from Serendip (1977): I submit . . . that the eventual impact of the communications satellite upon the whole human race will be at least as great as that of the telephone upon the so-called developed societies.     

Does the rapid appearance of life on Earth suggest that life is common in the universe?

It is sometimes assumed that the rapidity of biogenesis on Earth suggests that life is common in the Universe. Here we critically examine the assumptions inherent in this if-life-evolved-rapidly-life-must-be-common argument. We use the observational constraints on the rapidity of biogenesis on Earth to infer the probability of biogenesis on terrestrial planets with the same unknown probability of biogenesis as the Earth. We find that on such planets, older than approximately 1 Gyr, the probability of biogenesis is > 13% at the 95% confidence level. This quantifies an important term in the Drake Equation but does not necessarily mean that life is common in the Universe.     

Operating model satellite for space education

Satellite technology is still a deep mystery for most of the people in the world, because there is little access to satellites, even through the media. A process has been devised to build a low-cost educational cardboard model of a communication satellite, using light beams to simulate the radio links. The construction of the model follows closely the construction process of a real satellite, and can help to understand the general technology, while producing an attractive “toy.”