Category: Space Sunday

It’s now nine years since NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity arrived on the Red Planet. To celebrate, the rover is about to enter a new phase of exploration as it continues to climb the slopes of “Mount Sharp” (more correctly, Aeolis Mons), the 5 km high mound that rises from the centre of Gale Crater.

Through July and August, the rover has been passing through a “transitional field” between a region on the mound that is dominated by the presence of clay minerals and one dominated by sulphates. While doubt has recently be cast on how large a role water has played in the crater’s (and particular “Mount Sharp’s”) formation, the change from clay minerals to sulphates is nevertheless important, as it marks a point where very different processes were at work on Mars as a result of the planet’s changing climate.

The rocks here will begin to tell us how this once-wet planet changed into the dry Mars of today, and how long habitable environments persisted even after that happened.

– Abigail Fraeman, MSL deputy project scientist

This is an area the MSL science team have been anxious to reach; roughly 460 metres above the crater floor where the rover landed in August 2012, it has been a target for Curiosity since before the rover arrived on Mars, as it could hold the key to the impact of climate change elsewhere on Mars where it is thought water may once have been present.

The transition between environments comes as Curiosity celebrates nine years of operations on Mars. To mark this NASA recently released a video of images captured by the rover during July, as it approached the transitional area. Because it is currently winter within Gale Crater, a time when the amount of dust in the tenuous Martian atmosphere is especially low, the images used in the video are exceptional clear and detailed images that even reveal the crater walls in detail, even though they are over 70 km away.

Another rover with cause to celebrate is China’s Zhurong rover, currently operating on Utopia Planitia. Somewhat smaller than the NASA rover, Zhurong arrived on Mars at the start of an initial 90-sol (92 day)mission are a part of China’s TIanwen 1 interplanetary mission. Since its arrival, the rover has been moving south from its lander vehicle, carrying out a range of science operations.

China has perhaps not been as pro-active as NASA in their social media output on the mission, but Zhurong has performed exceptional well, returning some 10 gigabytes of data to mission control on Earth whilst travelling almost a kilometre, visiting other elements of the mission along the way, such and the backshell and parachute that protected it through entry into the the Martian atmosphere and helped to decelerate in its descent ready for landing. So well, in fact that the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has announced the mission is to be extended through a second 90-sol period.

The rover has most recently reached an area believed to have once been the shoreline of ancient coastal waters in the region, marking it as a particular area of scientific interest. In particular, the rover is being directed to drive to a feature described as a “groove” just over 1.6 km from its current position.

Hopefully, by providing data on this area for our scientists, we can get a deeper understanding of the geology of Mars, and then even see if we can find evidence of the existence of an ancient ocean in Utopia Planitia. If it is possible for us to see from the top to the bottom [of the groove], or if there are disparities of rock types and compositions, we could learn about what has happened in its geological history. So, this is what we’re going to focus on in the near future

– Liu Jianjun, chief designer of the Tianwen 1 ground application system

Meanwhile, in Jezero Crater, NASA’s ingenuity Mars helicopter drone has completed its 12th – and most challenging – flight.

On August 16th, 2021, the helicopter took off on a reconnaissance flight again in support of the Mars 2020 rover Perseverance.  The flight was one of the longest to date, with Ingenuity covering over 450 metres and lasted 169 seconds over terrain, dubbed  “Séítah South”, regarded as “risky” due to its varied nature.

Flying over Séítah South carries substantial risk because of the varied terrain. When we choose to accept the risks associated with such a flight, it is because of the correspondingly high rewards. Knowing that we have the opportunity to help the Perseverance team with science planning by providing unique aerial footage is all the motivation needed.

– From the Ingenuity flight log

The flight saw the helicopter return to the “round trip” approach seen in initial flights, travelling out over a region where, if it had been forced to make an emergency landing, could have resulted in it suffering damage or loss, and then back again. The route was selected so as to allow Ingenuity recorded the terrain in sufficient stereoscopic detail  that mission planners might determine a route into the terrain for Perseverance. and have the rover drive itself safely to specific points of interest.

Taking the rover into  “Séítah South” is regarded as riskier than flying Ingenuity over it, but the region is also full of intriguing rocks that the science team believe the risk is worth the potential returns.

Currently, Mars is approaching a period of solar conjunction – meaning it is on the far side of the Sun relative to Earth, and about to pass “behind” the Sun as seen from Earth, and event that happens once every two years. During this period, and the time leading up to it an immediately after it, ionized gas radiating out from the Sun’s corona can interfere with radio signals between Earth and vehicles operating on the surface of Mars or in orbit around it, increasing the risk of miscommunications and possible damage to, or loss off, those vehicles.

To avoid this, the fleet of spacecraft currently in orbit around Mars from the USA, UAE, Europe and China will be order to enter “safe” modes during the first two weeks of October, shutting down all major operations until such time as communications can be safely resumed. At the same time, the rovers active on the surface of Mars will switch to autonomous modes of operation, reducing their science operations until such time and full communication between them and the orbits spacecraft and the spacecraft and Earth can be re-established.

Continue reading “Space Sunday: roving on Mars, Starship flights, and suing NASA” →

Things have been getting a little rocky – pardon the pun – for the US rover missions on Mars of late.

On August 5th (Sol 164 for the mission) the Mars 2020 mission had been expected to recover its first sample from within Jezero Crater, some of which would be subject to analysis and the rest held for future deposit on the surface of Mars to be retrieved by a future NASA / ESA sample-return mission.

All seemed to go well with the operation – Perseverance deployed its robot arm and used the drill to cut some 7cm into the selected target rock, dubbed “Paver Rock”, a part of the “Crater Floor Fractured Rough” region of the crater floor. However, data received by mission managers after the drilling operation have been completed revealed the tube to be empty.

Gathering samples with Perseverance is a lot more complicated that with Curiosity. In particular, rather than the drill gathering a sample within itself, it is designed to hold a sample tube, which has to be delivered into the bit, and then removed from it and transferred into the rover’s body. Following the drilling operation, part of the process involves extending a probe into the sample tube to confirm it contains material – and it was lack of any return from this probe that alerted the mission time that the sample attempt may have failed.

The lack of data lead to checks on the sample gathering systems, and a detailed examination of the bore hole and the detritus around it using two of the other instruments on the turret – SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals) and Watson (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering). These examinations revealed something unexpected and a first for sample gathering operations on Mars.

In short, SHERLOC and WATSON revealed that as the drill bit cut into the rock, it produced a powder so fine, it could not be held within the the sample tube inside the drill bit, and as the bit was withdrawn the gathered material simply fell back out, joining excess material within the hole and the detritus surrounding it.

As a result, the mission team have opted not to make a second attempt at sample gathering with the current target rock. Instead, the rover is to be directed on to its next target, a rock formation in the “South Seitah” region of Jezero Crater, which it will reach in early September.

Meanwhile, half a world away, Curiosity is celebrating the ninth anniversary of its arrival on Mars. The first of NASA’s nuclear-powered Mars, Curiosity has been continuing its journey of discovery within Gale Crater, although some of the findings made as a result of the data gathered have recently been subject to new evaluation by the University of Hong Kong, leading to some interesting conclusions.

In has long been presumed that the major factor in the formation of Gale crater’s landforms has been water in the form of a series of shallow lakes that laid down sedimentary clays and similar over time, with wind playing a much later role in things, such as sculpting “Mount Sharp”, the large mound at the centre of the crater  – and discoveries made by the rover throughout its sojourn through the crater and up “Mount Sharp” have tended to support this view. However, the UHK study suggests that the roles may have been reversed – that while the crater was once the home of water, the dominant factor in the development of the landscape within the crater was in fact the wind.

The conclusion was reached after an extensive study of Curiosity’s findings in the search for elements considered “mobile” – which are indicative of water being present in their deposit, and elements that are “immobile”, which are not water soluble, and which are generally formed in dry regions, where winds play a significant role. The UHK study, led by Dr. Jiacheng Liu suggests that immobile elements exist in much higher concentrations at high levels in the rock than would be the case if water had been present during their formation.

This doesn’t mean the crater was never the home of a lake; rather, Dr. Lui suggest that Curiosity has been studying overlays much of the evidence for the ancient lakes, and was largely form by wind action depositing layers of material over time, which were then compressed into layer and then further sculpted by the wind, rather than water-based sedimentation later sculpted by winds. He also suggests that the “mobile” elements the rover has found may not be the result of water-base depositing within the crater, but were rather created elsewhere on Mars, and again carried into the crater by windows a dust storms.

If correct, this is important because while it does challenge the idea that water did play a role early in the history of Gale Crater, it does tend to confirm the idea wind and atmosphere played an equally important role in its history, which in turn always for a more varied picture of the geological history of the surface of Mars to be built up, one potentially far more diverse and active then previously believed. to be the case.

Boeing Returns Starliner to Factory for Fixes

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, designed to transport crews to and from the International Space Station (ISS) from US soil, now looks like it wouldn’t be able to complete its second test flight until 2022.

The flight – called OFT-2 for “orbital flight test 2” had been due to lift-off on August 3rd. However, as I reported last time around, the launch was postponed after it was discovered valves designed to control the vehicle’s thruster system has all fused in their “closed” position, resulting in the launch attempt being cancelled and the orbiter and its Atlas 5  being rolled back to the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where Boeing hoped to effect repairs.

While 9 of the 13 valves were fixed, four remained stuck, and it was discovered the cause of the problem appeared to be nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), used as thruster propellant, permeating Teflon seals in the valves to react with moisture, creating nitric acid that fused the valves shut. This, and the four remaining stuck valves prompted Boeing to announce that the capsule would be returned to their facilities where a more extensive review of the situation can be carried out, both to repair the remaining valves and determine why the NTO permeated the valve seals – something not seen in testing, and hoe moisture accessed the valves.

It is not clear how long this review will take, or whether it will require further changes to be made to the flight test vehicle to prevent any recurrence. However, the launch schedule at Canaveral Space Force Station means there a very few slots into which a further attempt at launch could be slipped before the end of the year, and Boeing have been talking in the review taking “several months” to complete.

Rocky NASA / Roscosomos Relations Continue

In 2018, the IISS suffered a small-scale loss of pressure. It was not the first such event, and it never put the crew at risk. However, investigations into the cause eventually uncovered a small hole in the skin of the orbital compartment of Soyuz MS-09 crew vehicle docked at the station. This hole was subsequently repaired by the cosmonauts on the ISS, and the vehicle ultimately made a successful return to Earth.

The cause of the hole – around 2mm across – has never been fully explained, although it seemed to many it was likely the result of a error being made during the vehicle’s assembly. However, not long after the situation, Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin started to point fingers, suggesting the hole was the result of attempted sabotage by one of the non-Russian crew then aboard the ISS. This claim has now resurfaced.

On Thursday, August 12th, Tass published an article quoting a “high ranking official” at Roscosmos – possibly Rogozin himself – that the hole on MS-09 was the result of attempted sabotage – and the report pointed a finger at the only woman on the crew at that time: NASA astronaut Dr. Serena Auñón-Chancellor, who was serving as the Expedition 56 Flight Engineer.

To give credence to the claim, the report breaks with a long-standing NASA protocol of not commenting on astronaut health issues by revealing that on her return to Earth, Dr. Auñón-Chancellor had to be treated for a blood clot in a vein in her neck; the insinuation here being that the condition caused her to have a breakdown whilst on the station, resulting in her sabotaging the Soyuz in order to force a return to Earth. Auñón-Chancellor has denied the claim, and has been joined by NASA senior management from Administrator Bill Neilson on down in rebutting the Tass report.

Serena is an extremely well-respected crew member who has served her country and made invaluable contributions to the agency, and I stand behind Serena — we all stand behind Serena and her professional conduct and I did not find this accusation credible.

Kathy Lueders, NASA Associate Administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.

Overall, the accusation would appear to be a retaliation for continued criticism over the recent “Nauka incident”, which a newly-docked Russian module at the station fire its thrusters to push the station into a slow rotation that took some time to correct (see here and here for more), and likely the result of a failure on the part of Russian ground controllers to correctly “safe” the module’s propulsion systems.

However, whether intended as a deflection or not, the the article stands in stark contrast to recent US claims that the Russian / American space partnership is healthy. And if the comments did come from Rogozin, they will be the latest in a series of remarks he has made in his two tenures in leading Roscosmos that appear to be intentionally aimed at straining US / Russian relations.

In 2014, Rogozin threatened an end to Russian cooperation on the ISS as a result of annoyance with US management of the station, and in 2020, he summarily rejected an invitation by America for Russia to join the Artemis programme, indicating Russia would rather work in partnership with China. More recently, he has suggested that Russia could abandon the ISS altogether after 2024, and instead concentrate on a new space station – and that as part of this, Roscosmos might repurpose one of the modules they are fabricating for the ISS to form the core of their new station, allowing it to commence operations “by 2030”.

NASA Lunar Spacesuits “Won’t be Ready” for 2024

The Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) spacesuits that NASA astronauts will need to walk on the Moon won’t be ready form operational use until 2025, further ending any idea of a US return to the Moon by the end of 2024.

The new suit has been in development since 2007, but has encountered a number of design challenges over the years, as well as encountering technical and funding issues. To date, just over one-third of the funds needed to develop the suit have been awarded to NASA, and in 2020 it had to undergo a complete redesign in order to remove a further 10 K from its overall mass.

With the impact of the CIVID pandemic also impacting work on the suit, the NASA IG reports that in practical terms the suit cannot be ready for lunar use until early-to-mid 2025.

And the suit isn’t the only element of the Artemis programme unlikely to meet the 2024 deadline; as reported in these pages, it is highly unlikely the Human Landing System (HLS), the vehicle that will deliver crews to the surface on the Moon and return them to orbit, will be ready within the next three years, whilst the Space Launch System – required to launch crew-carrying Orion vehicles to the Moon – is seeing its test flights slip back in their project time frames.

SpaceX has been stepping up the pace of work at its Boca Chica Starbase facility, home of the Starship and Super Heavy booster development programme, in recent weeks.

Towards the end of July, the company started transferring personnel from its headquarters in Hawthorne, California to Starbase in what was seen as a start of gearing-up for flight activities out of Boca Chica. This operation came alongside continuing construction work at Starbase and the initial testing of the prototype B3 Super Heavy booster, which included a static-fire test of three Raptor sea-level engines. Since then, the pace of developments at Boca Chica has been dramatic – particularly in the last week and a half.

In that time, the first flight-capable Super Heavy booster was moved down to the launch facilities, whilst Starship 20 (SpaceX has dropped the “SN” designation), the vehicle that will sly with it in an attempt to reach orbit later this year, completed its major assembly, stacking the two cylindrical tank sections one atop the other an onto the vehicle’s engine skirt, and then adding the upper ring sections and nose cone.

This work included the installation of two of the news aft aerodynamic fins that are around 20% smaller than those used on earlier test vehicles, offering a reduction in mass, and the installation of six Raptor motors – 3 sea-level engines (believed to be the three motors used in the Booster 3 static fire test) and three fixed vacuum engines – although all six may have only been installed for testing purposes.

At the same time, the massive 370-tonne launch table – the ring of hydraulic clamps, actuators, bolt mounts, etc., that will hold a booster/starship combination securely on the launch pad, was hoisted up on to the ring of the launch platform’s legs and installed. This paved the way for the 70-metre tall, 9-metre wide Booster 4, complete with a contingent of 29 Raptor motors – 20 fixed in a ring around the rocket’s circumference, and 9 centre motors that can be gimballed to provide directional thrust – to be hoisted up onto the launch platform and secured into the launch table.

Then, on Thursday, August 5th, in a move that almost caught people off-guard, SpaceX proceeded to roll-out Starship 20 from the production site and transport it to the launch facilities.

This prompted a lot of speculation amongst starship fans that the launch could be coming in days – something that just wasn’t going to be the case. The fact that the vehicle lacked a full complement of heat shield tiles, the launch facilities aren’t complete, nor is the consumable feed feed, and so on, all make it clear the system is still months from any launch. Plus, the FAA environment assessment hasn’t been completed, so SpaceX don’t have federal clearance to attempt an orbital launch.

Apparently, there had been plans to use cranes to perform a “test stacking” of S20 in top of B4, but these were scrapped for the day due strong wind gusts. Instead, attention turned to mounting the aforementioned missing heat shield tiles to S20.

However, on Friday, August 6th, S20 was raised some 95 metres into the air and then gently lowered onto the reinforced interconnect at the top of the Super Heavy. In doing so, the two vehicles became the largest launch system ever raised – 120 metres tall from engine bells to tip of the nose cone (that’s around 10ft shy of 400 ft). With the launch table taken into account, the stack of vehicles rose some 140 metres above the ground.

Work on the stack then paused while, close by, GSE tank 3 was also hoisted aloft and moved into position on its mounting ring at the tank farm, where it will later be sheathed by a grey cryogenic cooling sleeve. With this work done, the massive “Frankencrane” that  has been assembling the launch support tower, once more lifted S20 aloft and then lowered it back onto its autonomous transport so it could be rolled back to the production facilities to undergo further work.

Starliner: No Go for Launch

The long-awaited launch of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner vehicle on its uncrewed second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) has been indefinitely delayed n a further blow to the troubled programme.

Scheduled to lift-off on Tuesday, August 3rd, the launch was scrubbed after the Boeing launch team received warning of “unexpected valve position indications” within the capsule’s propulsion system. Initially, it had been hoped that a further attempt could be made on Wednesday, August 4th. However, Further checks on the vehicle, Boeing announced a suspension of all launch attempts, and that the vehicle would be rolled back to its service structure to allow further checks to be made on the vehicle.

Designed to partner the SpaceX Crew Dragon – already operational – in ferrying crews to and from the International Space Station (ISS), Starliner first flew on an uncrewed mission in December 2019 in what was supposed to be a final check-out prior to commencing crewed operations. However shortly after the vehicle reached orbit it suffered a software glitch that caused repeated incorrect firings of its manoeuvring motors, leaving it with insufficient fuel to make a rendezvous and docking with the ISS. Hence the need for the OFT-2 flight.

That this has now been postponed following 18 months of reviews and changes to both systems on the vehicle and the procedures used in readying it for flight, is nothing short of embarrassing for Boeing and NASA alike – the CST-100 contract being the most expensive in the Commercial Crew Programme.

Continue reading “Space Sunday: the ups and downs of vehicle development” →

In my last Space Sunday update, I wrote about the comings and goings at the International Space Station (ISS), including the launch of the long-overdue Russian Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM), which at the time of that article was on its way to rendezvous and docking with the station having been lifted into orbit by a Proton M launcher on July 21st.

Designed to provide further dedicated space for Russian activates on the ISS, the 20-tonne module combines additional living space with working space, cargo storage, a dedicated external robotic arm that is capable of “walking” around the module using its two manipulator / mounts, courtesy of the European Space Agency), and an attitude control system to supplement those already on the station. It is the largest component Russia has provided for the ISS, and its launch – whilst 14 years overdue – is part of an effort by Russia to boost its space programme.

However, not long after the module reached orbit there were reports it was encountering some issues with a number of systems – including the thrusters. Neither Roscosmos nor NASA commented on these reports, and they apparently did not delay the planned rendezvous and docking at the station.

This took place at 13:29 UTC on Thursday, July 29th, when Nauka made an initial “soft dock” with the station following a fully automated approach to the ISS, monitored by cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky aboard the station, who sat at a control station that would enable him to take over manual control of the module should it become necessary. Nauka docked at a port on the Zvezda module that had been vacated earlier in the week by the 20-year-old Pirs docking / mini- science module. This had been towed away from the station by a departing Progress automated resupply vehicle, with both Pirs and the Progress vehicle burning up on re-entering the Earth’s denser atmosphere. The soft dock was followed by a confirmed “hard” dock, and things then appeared to be set.

However, at 16:34 UTC, the module’s thrusters started firing of their own accord. No warning was given, and the firings were enough to cause the station to lose attitude control eight minutes later, rolling as much as 45º out of orientation. The cause of the problem was not initially known; however in subsequent updates, Roscomos blamed the issue on a software glitch and / or human error.

There was such euphoria after docking, people relaxed to some extent. Perhaps one of the operators didn’t take into account that the control system of the block [Nauka] will continue to adjust itself in space. And it determined a moment three hours after docking and turned on the engines.

– Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin, speaking on Russian radio

Rogozin also suggested the problem didn’t last that long, stating it was “quickly countered by the propulsion system” on the Zvezda module. However, NASA reports that overall, the station remained out of orientation for some 47 minutes before returning to its proper attitude.

That was a pretty exciting hour!

– NASA’s human spaceflight chief Kathy Lueders

During this time there were two drops in communications between the station and the ground, and the period of control loss was enough for NASA mission managers to advise the US / international crew on the station to ready the Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour for possible departure as a precautionary measure, the order remaining in place until it had been confirmed Russian ground controllers had inhibited Nauka’s thrusters to prevent any recurrence. However, whilst the order was given US ISS program manager Joel Montalbano emphasised there was never any significant danger for personnel on the station, and the ISS did not appear to suffer any damage.

With the ISS back under control, the crew and mission controllers Earthside commenced a period of careful check-out of the station and all of its systems, with the Russian crew members working to open the airlock doors to Nauka and check the module’s interior. While this work has continued through the weekend, both Russia and the US have been keen to emphasise that things aboard the ISS are pretty much business as usual once more.

There was, however, one casualty following the situation: the planned launch of the CST-100 Starliner, due to make its second attempt of its uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the station ahead of being certified for crew operations. Starliner’s launch had been set for Friday, July 30th, the day after the Nauka docking. However, the decision was taken to delay the launch, and the vehicle and its Atlas V launcher were rolled back from the pad on July 30th.

Scheduling conflicts with other launches from Cape Canaveral mean that Starliner’s launch will now not take place until Tuesday, August 3rd at the earliest – and that is subject to how the weather behaves.

Currently, the launch is set for 17:20 UTC on the 3rd, but there is around a 40% chance things could get derailed by thunderstorms. However, once fuelled and ready, the Atlas V is capable of an “instantaneous” launch should a break occur in the weather, and launch managers are hoping the worst of the weather will hold off until after the launch window. Should a scrub be called for the 5rd, a further window will open on Wednesday, August 4th.

Continue reading “Space Sunday: ISS difficulties, HLS and making a moon” →