Rover's Panorama Taken Amid 'Murray Buttes' on Mars

This 360-degree panorama was acquired by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover . via NASA http://ift.tt/2du2EL1

ESA opens its ears to citizens of Europe

In September, the European Space Agency gathered 2,000 people around the continent to discuss their future in space.

from Planetary Society Blog http://ift.tt/2cQ22SK
via IFTTT

David Webb

Keith's note: I learned last night that David Webb has died. I first met David 30 years ago when I was just entering the space business. He was always willing to offer advice, a spare bedroom when I visited DC, and offer introductions to people in the business. I was not alone in receiving his mentorship. Indeed, over the years, I suspect that everyone in the space community benefited from his interests and activities. A look at his Wikipedia entry may seem voluminous but it is woefully incomplete. He was a gentle soul. Ad Astra.

David C. Webb, Wikipedia

from NASA Watch http://ift.tt/2dPtywG
via IFTTT

NASA TV Coverage Set for Orbital ATK Resupply Mission to Space Station

NASA commercial cargo provider Orbital ATK is scheduled to launch its sixth mission to the International Space Station at 9:13 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 13. Live launch coverage will begin at 8:15 p.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

October 04, 2016
from NASA http://ift.tt/2dGVLFy
via IFTTT

ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/03/2016

Sally Ride Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools (EarthKam) Set Up: ISS CDR set up the Sally Ride EarthKam equipment in the Node 2 window which begins a week-long imaging session. The objective of Sally Ride EarthKam is to integrate Earth images with inquiry-based learning to enhance curricula in support of national and state education standards; to provide students and educators the opportunity to participate in a space mission and to develop teamwork, communication, and problem solving skills; to engage teams of students, educators, and researchers in collaborative investigations using remotely-sensed data; and to incorporate the active use of Web-based tools and resources in support of the learning process.  Fine Motor Skills (FMS): FE-5 performed a weekly FMS session which involves the crew performing a series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet. This investigation is critical during long-duration space missions, particularly those skills needed to interact with technologies required in next-generation space vehicles, spacesuits, and habitats. The crewmember’s fine motor skills are also necessary for performing tasks in transit or on a planetary surface, such as information access, just-in-time training, subsystem maintenance, and medical treatment.  Water Monitoring Suite – Microbial Monitoring System (WMS-MMS): FE-6 performed two MMS runs today.  Both samples were obtained from the Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) water analysis sample bag and analysis was performed on ISS unfiltered water.  The first run utilized a low DNA concentration pouch, the second a high DNA concentration pouch. The WMS is a set of hardware that monitors microbes, silica and organic material in the water supply on the ISS. The hardware ensures crew members can test and monitor the safety of their water supplies on future space missions, especially on long-duration missions to Mars, asteroids or other destinations where Earth-based testing would be difficult or impossible. ENERGY (Astronaut’s Energy Requirement for Long-Term Space Flight): Over the weekend FE-5 completed Day 3 and Day 4 of the ENERGY experiment and continued with Day 5 today. The 11 day ENERGY experiment will require FE-5 to continue diet logging and wear of the Armband Activity Monitor for the duration of the experiment. In addition, FE-5 took urine and water samples on Saturday and repeated those activities again today. The Energy investigation measures an Astronaut’s Energy Requirements for Long-Term Space Flight, a crucial factor needed for sending the correct amount of the right types of food with space crews. Astronauts often lose body mass with extended stays in space for reasons that remain unclear, although increased exercise as a microgravity countermeasure may be a factor. Knowing details of astronaut metabolism and activity, combined with other conditions, will help ensure that crews are properly nourished on long missions.  Tropical Cyclone: FE-5 set up a camera in Cupola window 1 to provide images of Hurricane Matthew, which was rated as a Category 4 cyclone as of this morning.  The Tropical Cyclone investigation is used to capture images of tropical cyclones and hurricanes that are rated at Category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson scale.  A pseudo-stereoscopic method is used to determine the altitudes of the cloud tops near the center (eye) of a cyclone by precisely tracking the apparent positions of cloud features with respect to the Earth and how those positions change over time as an observer (the ISS in this case) passes over the storm.  The photographic images will be used to demonstrate that pseudo-spectroscopy can be used to measure the cloud altitudes to sufficient precision so that, when combined with other remote-sensing data, an accurate determination of the intensity of hurricane or cyclone can be made. Cygnus Robotics On-Board Training (OBT):  FE-5 and FE-6 studied materials for Cygnus rendezvous and capture.  They will also perform several 30m Approach, 2m Approach and Capture Point (CP) Hold runs using the Robotics On-Board Training (ROBoT).  Cygnus Proximity Communication System (PROX) System Checkout:  FE-5 checked out commanding function of the Cygnus Portable Computer System (PCS) Hardware Command Panel (HCP).  This checkout verified that commands from PCS HCP are received by PROX.  Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. ENERGY Diet Log of Breakfast Personal CO2 Monitor iPad Application Restart Microbial Monitoring System Hardware Gather Acoustic Dosimeter Setup Day 1 Microbial Monitoring System MWA Preparation ВКС Laptops Antivirus software refresh EarthKAM Joint Research Node 2 Prep Fine Motor Skills Experiment Test – Subject Replacement of expired Germetic Sealant 17КС.300Ю9276-0 repair set with the new one Microbial Monitoring System Sample Setup Cygnus PROX Switch ON Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Laptop Setup MELFI-3 to MELFI-1 Sample Transfer Hard To Wet Surfaces Image Transfer Hard To Wet Surfaces Stow ENERGY Water Sample Progress 432 [AO] stowage for disposal and IMS Ops Energy Urine Sample Collection Microbial Monitoring System Sample Glacier MELFI Transfer Profile of Mood States (POMS) Questionnaire Recharging Samsung tablet in 47S СОЖ maintenance Microbial Monitoring System Data Transfer Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Waste Water Bag (WWB) Changeout Personal CO2 Monitor Doff Cygnus PCS HCP Selfcheck (Side B) EarthKAM Node 2 Setup and Activation-Russian ENERGY Diet Log of Lunch In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Pre-Treat Tank Remove & Replace Cygnus PCS HCP Selfcheck (A Side) DOSIS Mode Switching from Mode 1 to Mode 2 Health Maintenance System (HMS) Crew Medical Restraint System (CMRS) – Checkout Recharging Samsung tablet in 47S – end On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) Session 1 Exercise data D/L via OCA ENERGY Diet Log of Dinner Completed Task List Items PMM Cleanup [Completed Saturday] Food Consolidation Part 1 [Completed Saturday] Food Consolidation Part 2 [Completed Sunday] N1 FWD Seal Clean [Completed Sunday] CBEF Cable Config [Completed Sunday] ELF Sample Holder Check [Completed Sunday] Ground Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Prox Checkout for Cygnus Lab MCA Zero Cal [Cancelled] N3 MCA Zero Cal Battery 4B2 Reconditioning  Three-Day Look Ahead: Tuesday, 10/04: EMU 3006 Checkout, Soyuz Imagery, Cygnus Offset […]

October 04, 2016 at 12:00AM
from NASA http://ift.tt/2cPMi1R
via IFTTT

How Big Can a Black Hole Get?

Bad Optics At The Space Foundation

Keith's note: According to its website "the Space Foundation is the foremost advocate for all sectors of space, and is a global, nonprofit leader in space awareness activities, educational programs and major industry events, including the annual Space Symposium, in support of its mission "to advance space-related endeavors to inspire, enable and propel humanity."

If you look at the Space Foundation's 2013 IRS 990 form they had a total revenue of $7,001,175 for that year. If you read the form closely you will see that the de facto purpose of the Space Foundation is to have a big annual meeting to generate lots of money to pay for things. Not that unusual. For the meeting covered by the 2013 statement they took in $5,617,868 of program service revenue. The remaining $1.4 million of their annual revenue came from contributions and investments.

Of that $7,001,175 revenue in 2013 $3,703,910 (i.e. more than 50% of revenue) was spent on salaries. CEO Elliot Pulham got a total of $292,678. A total of $252,109 was spent on travel and $63,822 was spent on conferences, conventions, and meetings. To be certain the Space Foundation does engage in lots of educational activities. Yet they only gave out $16,900 in grants. Everything else is apparently spent in-house.

Having worked for several education non-profit organizations and been on board of directors of several others, its always been clear to me that the whole idea is to be providing a service to the public. That's why this corporation has been granted tax-exempt status by the IRS. One of the things that non-profits - especially those with a focus on education - are supposed to do is to keep costs down, not allow luxury perks, and to focus resources on the avowed purpose of the non-profit whenever possible.

However, If you look at the Space Foundation 990 form Schedule J Part III for 2013, 2012 , and 2011 they all say "First-Class Travel Part I, Line la Elliot Pulham, CEO of the organization, received first class travel benefits for airline flights during the year. The benefits to Mr Pulham were non-taxable". No other Space Foundation employee is called out for receiving first class travel benefits.

Why is anyone at a non-profit education organization getting first class travel in such a frequent manner that it needs to be called out year after year to the IRS? Moreover, why is the CEO of the Space Foundation bragging about all of his First Class travel perks on Facebook to members of the space community? see posts: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Then there's Pulham's utterly inappropriate NSFW comments about Hillary Clinton - again, sent out to all of people who follow him on Facebook.

The Space Foundation is one of the pre-eminent non-profits representing the space industry to government and the general public. They seek substantial financial donations from the space community every year to support the advocacy activities cited on their website. Is this public behavior in synch with the lofty goals of the Space Foundation?

from NASA Watch http://ift.tt/2dnLFf7
via IFTTT