America in Space-July 2008

Posted Sunday, July 13, 2008, at 8:09 PM

PHOTO (courtesy NASA)-39 years ago this month, the Lunar Module of Apollo 11 made the first manned landing on the Moon. Shortly after being the first man to step on the Moon, Neil Armstrong made this photo of his crewmate, Buzz Aldrin stepping on the lunar surface. In 2020, NASA plans to return humans to the Moon with the Ares rocket carrying the new Orion spacecraft, now under construction.

Beginning this blog, I will also post the monthly column, America in Space, that I send to about 70 newspapers and appears in the Piggott Times print edition. Feel free to comment or ask any questions. I also answer questions on space travel and astronomy, as well as on music (conducting) and time management on the national website, www.allexperts.com.

America in Space-July 2008 by Kenneth Renshaw, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, Piggott, Arkansas

METEORITE ANNIVERSARY, RECENT NASA MISSIONS

Late on the evening of June 29, US time (7:17 AM Russian time, June 30) was the 100th anniversary of what was probably the most massive meteorite strike in recent history. That morning in Siberia, Russia, near the Tunguska River, what was probably a comet or asteroid (it is still debated what really happened) exploded about 28 thousand feet above the ground, striking the atmosphere at about 33,500 miles per hour, creating a temperature at that altitude of 44,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The comet or asteroid was probably about 120 feet in diameter, and detonated with the power of 185 Hiroshima atomic bombs. Trees were leveled for dozens of miles, with the trees at ground zero actually standing with their limbs stripped, with no crater and little recoverable debris (indicating a high-altitude explosion). This was similar to the scenario in 1945 when Hiroshima was actually bombed. Although this size strike only occurs once every few hundred years, no one can guarantee it won't occur tomorrow. Astronomers are working on identifying all hazardous projectiles in space, although none of the hundreds of earth-crossers found currently have our name on it for the near future. Every several million years, a truly gigantic asteroid strikes Earth, about 5-10 miles across, causing mass extinctions. One hit about 65 million years ago on the Yuchitan Peninsula (Mexico), possibly spelling the end of the dinosaurs. A much smaller 1-Hiroshima one hits the Earth's atmosphere about every year without causing damage or fatalities, being at a high altitude. The 1908 Tunguska strike resulted in few, if any human fatalities, but a modern strike over the US would kill millions.

Meteorites also strike the Moon and other planets, sometime knocking rocks and soil from these objects into space. Lunar and Martian rocks from these blasts have been confirmed to eventually hit the Earth. I have in my possession small samples of meteorites that have been chemically confirmed to have originated on the Moon and Mars. If you are in the NE Arkansas area, they are currently on loan at the Matilda Pfeiffer Museum in Piggott, Arkansas for public viewing, along with a sample of the historic 1930 Paragould, Arkansas meteorite fall (820 lbs.).

A more modern anniversary in space history occurred this month. 39 years ago July 20, man first landed and walked on the Moon, when the lunar module of Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface. Seven years later, on the same date, the first unmanned Viking lander successfully touched down on Mars--July 20, 1976.

Now, for a quick overview of the space and astronomy news for this month:

1.	Mars and Saturn are in a close conjuction in the western sky this month. Look for 2 bright "stars" about 9:30 PM in the West. The brighter white object is Saturn, about 940 million miles away, with NASA's Cassini orbiting it (not visible from Earth, of course). The dimmer reddish object is Mars, about 203 million miles away, with 3 orbiters around it, 2 rovers on the surface, and the recent Phoenix lander near the North Pole. Mars and Saturn were the closest for 14 more years on July 11, at ž degree apart.
2.	Jupiter is near opposition (opposite the Sun, rising at sunset in the East), an object much brighter than Mars or Saturn.
3.	Phoenix, landing on Mars this past May 25, is digging up soil and water ice for its chemical analysis ovens (TEGA), and wet chemistry labs. Microscopes and other tools are also studying the surface of Mars, near the North Pole. Phoenix will study and photograph the planet for about 90 days before the upcoming frigid winter will render the lander dead. It is from 20 to 120 degrees below zero Fahrenheit on the surface now.
4.	On June 30, the highly successful four-year primary mission of the Cassini orbiter ended at Saturn. NASA has begun a two-year extended mission at the ringed planet, focusing on the moons Titan, with its thick atmosphere, and Enceledus, with its guysers of water vapor and ice.
5.	The rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, are both in excellent shape, studying Mars 14 times as long as the predicted 90-day mission time. Main problems are routine wear and tear of the instruments and a stalled right front tire on Spirit.
6.	Several months after the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet, the IAU dubbed Pluto and the icy objects beyond Pluto in the Kuiper Belt as "Plutinos", provided the objects are large enough for the gravity to make them spherical. Petitions are circulating on the internet for the IAU to reverse its decision last year, and make Pluto a "planet" again.
7.	The OSTM/Jason 2 was launched last month, joining the Jason 1 in orbit around the Earth to make more accurate measurements of ocean height (and therefore, heat content). This will aid in the prediction of the weather, analyzing the ocean's role in weather, and study how bad the global warming problem is.
8.	NASA has made the final plans for all the remaining Shuttle missions, before the 3 manned spacecraft are retired from use in 2010. There are 8 flights planned (one later this year to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, with the remaining 7 for the completion of the construction of the International Space Station). Following a 4-year period without manned flights, the new Orion program will commence in 2014, making trips to the space station, the surface of the Moon (in about 2020), and possibly the surface of Mars (in about 2030).
9.	It has been discovered that the exceptionally flat and lower terrain of the northern hemisphere of Mars is the result of a prehistoric strike of a meteorite. It is therefore the largest crater in the entire Solar System.
10.	For over 400 years, a red spot has been observed on Jupiter, the largest planet. This is a massive hurricane on the planet, twice the size of the Earth, and, on terrestrial scales, Category 14 (the fastest on Earth is Category 5, with Katrina hitting New Orleans at "only" Category 4). A few years ago, a second smaller red spot was discovered to have developed, even faster than spot 1, but "only" the size of the Earth. A third spot was discovered earlier this year. Last month, spot 1 overran spot 3, and swallowed it up, so there are again 2 of these storms.

NASA and space exploration

By Kenneth Renshaw

- Recent posts
- Archives
- Blog RSS feed

- Comments RSS feed

- Login

Kenneth Renshaw NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador/Saturn Observation Campaign Kenneth is one of 494 volunteer educators and astronomers who donate their time to educate America's youth, and the general public, about astronomy and the U.S. space program. Organized in 1999 by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab,it focuses on spacecraft built by the JPL such as Voyager, Mars Rover, Galileo, Cassini as well as the Hubble Space Telescope. Renshaw is one of four ambassadors in Arkansas, and makes presentations to all age and experience groups from pre-school to university science level. His official NASA website it www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/profiles/Kenneth_Renshaw.htm His email address is renshaw@newwavecomm.net

Hot topics

Matilda Pfeiffer Museum Presents Program on the Paragould Meteorite
(3 ~ 12:51 AM, Feb 26)

International Year of Astronomy
(0 ~ 2:19 PM, Jan 15)

The Space Station and Shuttle Fly Over Piggott
(0 ~ 10:01 PM, Nov 28)

Crater on planet Mercury named after writer with Piggott connection
(0 ~ 1:17 PM, Jul 15)

Update-Space Shuttle
(0 ~ 4:50 PM, Jul 14)