Astronauts vote from space

At a distance of over 250 miles above Earth’s surface, astronauts on the International Space Station are still managing to catch election fever.  In a video message sent from the space station, Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer and Science Officer Greg Chamitoff described how they proudly took part in their civic duty and urged all Americans to do the same.

 

“If we can do it, so can you,” the astronauts told voters in their video, which can be viewed here, courtesy of the Telegraph online.

 

A bill that gives astronauts the ability to vote electronically from space was passed in 1997 by the Texas State Legislature.  As many know, NASA headquarters are in Houston, and most American astronauts to call the city their home.

 

“It’s like a really, really absentee ballot,” commented Alexa Seidl, a Political Science Student at the University of Washington.  Seidl went on to say that she now finds it difficult to believe anyone has a good excuse not to exercise their right to vote in this year’s election.

 

Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain have both made the point to comment on the importance of NASA.  In a speech today in Florida, McCain said that to cut the federal deficit he would put a “freeze government spending on all but the most important programs.”  He included NASA in his list of important programs. 

McCain’s comments and the astronaut voting bill demonstrate how space technology and innovations are considered vital to the United States and the world.

 

Follow Up:  The Hubble Space Telescope’s camera is back up and running, as this picture from NASA shows.  (The picture is of two gravitationally paired galaxies interacting.)

NASA’s Hubble Fix Reveals More Problems

            Engineers for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope were stumped by more technical problems this week.  Glitches and human errors have plagued the telescope since its launch eighteen years ago.

 

            “It seems like Hubble always has some sort of problem,” said Courtney Sutcliff, a former astronomy student at the University of Washington.  She also remarked that some believe the time has come to retire the telescope, which was originally intended to be used only a few years.

 

            Last month, Hubble’s main computer crashed.  The computer is designed to send extensive data to Earth.  After weeks of work, Hubble engineers were able to switch the telescope to its backup computer, only to be immediately surprised by another setback.

 

            The new problem is a broken power unit on one of Hubble’s cameras.  The telescope is famous for capturing spectacular space photos, like this crab nebula picture from NASA, back to Earth.

 

            Art Whipple, a Hubble manager, told eFlux Media that “The soonest we [NASA] would be back doing full science would be late [this] week.”  He went on to say that the Hubble team is currently deciphering and organizing massive amounts of data that the backup computer is downloading.  The computer is working in overdrive to make up for time lost while the telescope was out of order.

 

            The Hubble Space Telescope has been serviced by astronauts four times, and has so far cost around $6 billion to build and maintain.

 

            If you want to know more, NASA.com has extensive information on the Hubble Space Telescope.

MESSENGER Flies by Mercury

NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging spacecraft, also known as MESSENGER, flew by the planet Mercury for its second time last week.  MESSENGER was able to capture multiple pictures of Mercury’s surface, like this one from Information Week.  The images give astronomers a close-up look at a never before seen side of the planet.

 

MESSENGER principal investigator Sean Solomon told Astronomy Magazine that all of MESSENGER’s instruments “returned data as planned” from the side of the Mercury opposite the one the MESSENGER viewed in its first flyby last January. 

 

            Among the interesting features viewed was the crater Kuiper.  NASA originally spotted Kuiper in the 1970s, but it can be seen more clearly than ever in the MESSENGER’s new images.  Discover Magazine’s webpage has an excellent close-up of Mercury’s craters.  Kuiper is the largest crater at the top of the image.

 

New traits of Mercury’s surface, made clear from the MESSENGER images, are rays extending from what appears to be a young crater.  Astronomers believe rays are material ejected from all young craters.  (Earth’s moon is known to have similar rays.)  Because radar “bounces” indicated material present other than rock on Mercury’s surface, scientists expected to find the rays.  However, this is the first time the rays have actually been visible in images.  You can clearly see them extending from a crater in this other image from Discover Magazine.

 

The MESSENGER will make one more pass by Mercury before falling into orbit around it in March 2011.  Orbiting will allow the MESSENGER to closer study and obtain data from the planet.

China Accomplishes Successful Spacewalk Mission

The People’s Republic of China accomplished its first successful spacewalk in late September.  The achievement adds China to the exclusive “space-conquering” club whose members include only Americans and Russians. 

 

The spacecraft, entitled Shenzhou VII, left Earth at 9:07p.m., on Sept. 25, taking three astronauts on a mission to walk in space.  At 4:40p.m. Beijing time on Sept. 27, astronaut Zhai Zhigang left the Shenzhou VII (though he was attached by safety cords) and floated in the cosmos for about 18 minutes while the module orbited Earth.  

 

“I am here greeting the Chinese people and the people of the world,” said Mr. Zhai.

 

The mission marks the beginning of China’s new space program, which also includes launching a space station and landing on the moon by 2020.  The New York Times has an in-depth article that details more of China’s space plans.

 

The accomplishment is yet another indication of China’s rising prominence in the international system, and the United States and Russia have taken it as motivation to enhance their own space programs.  Symbolically, space achievements represent the power, wealth, and technology of nations.

 

Both presidential candidates in the United States have recently addressed what they deem to be the importance of our NASA space programs.  This article from nasawatch.com describes and reports on Senator Obama’s opinions on the importance of NASA and its accomplishments. 

 

Most leaders recognize that a flourishing space program is essential if the U.S. wishes to remain the world’s most powerful country, demonstrating yet another example of why we should pay attention to space advancements and news.