United Arab Emirates plans to set up the first mini city on Mars by 2117

United Arab Emirates (UAE)has given the world Burj Khalifa which the tallest building and now plans to set up the first mini city on Mars, the Red Planet by 2117. This will be a part of its 100-year national program to understand the red planet in a better way.
This was announced at the World Government Summit by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum in the presence of representatives of 138 governments.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 16 February 2017.

The Mars 2117 Project of UAE is expected to explore methods of how people can reach Mars and how they would create food and energy on the red planet which are the essentials of survival. UAE's aim is to spearhead international efforts to turn this dream into a reality.
Many countries have attempted and the world's overall success rate in this endeavor since the 1960s is less than 50-50 with NASA having the best success rate at around 70 per cent. Since 1960s, it has sent 21 missions to Mars and only six have succeeded.


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Prompt action by ISRO saves Mangalyaan from sure death

Prompt action by ISRO prevented what would have been the end of India's Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft and added three years to its life. This was because the Mangalyaan was in the path of an upcoming eclipse which would have lasted for more than eight hours. If not checked in time, the eclipse would have drained the spacecraft's battery and the battery supports virtually all its operations.
If that happened, it would have been the end of the orbitor.
Fortunately, engineers of ISRO prevented the catastrophe.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 8 February 2017.

It was an operation was remotely executed by ISRO engineers in Bangalore who activated on-board thruster rockets to tweak the spacecraft's orbit and avoid the problem.
During eclipse, the shadow of Mars falls on the spacecraft its solar panels do not receive any sunlight and stops to function. At such times, the on-board battery takes over to run all the spacecraft's electronics and instruments. However, the battery's storage capacity is only for an hour and 40 minutes and, at some point during the eight-hour eclipse, the battery would have run out.


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Mars mission very much on the cards - six scientists are getting ready in Hawaii

Mars mission is very much on the cards and a team of six scientists are getting ready in Hawaii to acclamatise themselves with the rigors of undertaking a journey to the Red Planet situated nearly 56 million kilometers from planet Earth.
These scientists have entered a dome that is perched on top of a remote volcano in Hawaii. The University of Hawaii has indicated that they will spend the next eight months in isolation to simulate life for astronauts traveling to Mars.
This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 21 January 2017.

The study has been designed to help NASA understand human behavior and performance during long space missions in anticipation of a manned mission to the red planet. The crew will perform geological fieldwork and basic daily tasks in the 1,200-sq.ft. dome that is located in an abandoned quarry 8,200 feet above sea level on the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island.
There is very little vegetation in the area and the scientists will have no contact with the outside world and communications with a mission control team will be time-delayed to match the 20-minute travel time of radio waves passing between the Earth and the Mars.
Their daily routine would include food preparation from only shelf-stable ingredients, exercise, research and fieldwork aligned with NASA’s planetary exploration expectations.
The mission is funded by NASA and is known as the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (Hi-SEAS). It is the fifth of its kind intended to create guidelines for journeys to Mars.


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Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to sow lettuce

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), have taken to farming in preparation of Mars mission at a future date. They have made a beginning by planting their third on-orbit crop of red romaine lettuce. It was done by NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough who initiated the Veg-03 experiment. This is one of his first science assignments as a new crew member aboard the orbiting laboratory.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 26 October 2016.

The astronauts are making use of plant growth system called 'Veggie' for their experiment. The Veg-03 crop will be the the team's first on-orbit attempt at a new, repetitive harvest technique termed ‘Cut-and-Come-Again'. As explained by Nicole Dufour, NASA's Veggie project manager, once the plants are approximately four weeks old, a selection of leaves can be harvested for a bit of fresh lettuce and possibly science samples. Some leaves will be left in as-is condition along with the core of the plant, and it will continue to grow and produce more leaves.
The experiment will, in the long run, increase the on-orbit crop yield, and allow for more opportunities to supplement the diet of astronauts with fresh, nutritious food from the same plants. This is an important goal of the ‘pick-and-eat' food concept.
Astronauts on future long-duration space missions will have to grow their own food to supplement their diets.
Incidentally, using the Veggie plant growth facility aboard the station, Veg-03 builds on the successes of previous studies, including Veg-01, which resulted in the first-ever on-orbit harvest and sampling of fresh produce during the summer of 2015. Various techniques that will emerge from Veggie crops will assist NASA to prepare for the Journey to Mars.


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President Barack Obama vows to help send people to Mars in the next 15 years

Colonization of Red Planet Mars is being talked about and President Barack Obama has vowed to help send people to Mars within the next 15 years. He has indicated that the U.S. government would link up with private companies 'to build new habitats that can sustain and transport astronauts on long-duration missions in deep space.'
He has set a tentative goal of sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to Earth. The ultimate objective is to remain there for an extended time.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 11 October 2016.

President Obama also went on to say that the US is working with its commercial partners to build new habitats that can sustain and transport astronauts on long-duration Mars mission in deep space. Such missions will help learn how humans can live far away from Earth - that is something that will be vital for the long journey to Mars.
Already the California-based SpaceX, headed by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, also has plans to send people to Mars in the coming years. But, it has recently faced an unsuccessful launch last month that cost the company a $200-million satellite.
anyway, a journey to Mars would take about nine months, depending on rocket velocity. A high-speed trip could take as little as 130 days. But, the issue of taking enough food and water into space to feed astronauts on a months or years-long mission to deep space is going to be a major logistical problem.


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NASA sends team to the bed of Atlantic Ocean to get a feel of Martian environment

Having set its eyes on Mars, NASA has sent a team of astronauts to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on a 16-day mission - the objective is to prepare them for future deep space missions and the journey to Mars. These “aquanauts” have been sent to train undersea in simulated space mission because the bottom of a blue ocean has extreme environments similar to the surface of Mars, the Red Planet.
This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 24 July 2016.

The expedition has been named NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 21. It will consist of an international crew and they will have to explore tools and techniques being tested for future space exploration by living in simulated spacecraft conditions and, simultaneously, conducting simulated spacewalks outside of their undersea habitat. This habitat is named Aquarius and the Aquarius Reef Base is located 62 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
The main purpose of isolating crew members at the bottom of the ocean is to simulate life and work for astronauts in microgravity environments like the International Space Station, or in spacecraft that will, in future, make journeys to asteroids and planets.


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SpaceX to land a robot Dragon on Mars in 2018

Mission Mars is set to happen earlier than expected because SpaceX has readied plans to send an unmanned Dragon spacecraft to Mars as early as 2018 and, it would be a first step in achieving founder Elon Musk's goal to fly people to another planet. If successful, SpaceX will beat all other world space agencies in landing a new robot on Mars.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 28 April 2016.

NASA aims to send human mission to Mars in the 2030s and it will provide technical support for SpaceX's first foray, known as Red Dragon. However, it will not extend any financial assistance to SpaceX's Mars mission. However, SpaceX is upgrading the capsules to carry astronauts, with test flights to the station scheduled for 2017, under a separate NASA contract worth up to $2.6 billion.
NASA has indicated that SpaceX could provide valuable entry, descent and landing data for NASAs journey to Mars. The SpaceX program is intended to develop technologies needed for human transportation to Mars, a long-term aim for Musk's privately held company. It will make available details of its Mars program at the International Astronautical Congress in September.
The Dragon 2 is designed to land anywhere in the solar system and the Red Dragon Mars mission is the first test flight. SpaceX, at present, transports cargo versions of its Dragon capsule to and from the International Space Station under a $2 billion resupply services contract with NASA.


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China eyes Mars Mission by 2020

China has drawn up plans to send a rover to Mars around 2020 to explore the Red Planet and, also, launch 150 long range carrier rockets in the next five years as a part of its ambitious space missions. Director of the National Space Administration has indicated that the Mars probe will orbit the red planet, land and deploy a rover all in one mission - it is expected to be a mission difficult to achieve.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 22 April 2016.

India has already earned accolades for becoming the first Asian country after it sent Mangalyan to the red planet and, thus,entered the august league nations like the US, European Union and Russia which have sent successful missions to Mars. China did make an attempt to launch its Mars probe Yinghuo-1 in 2011 along with Russian Fobos-Grunt from Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan but, unfortunately, it was declared lost.
Along with the Mars mission of 2020, China has plans to launch about 150 of its Long March carrier rockets over the next five years. It will be a part of its 13th five-year plan period (2016-2020). In that period, there will be about 30 launches (of the Long March series) every year. This has been announced by assistant president of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
He indicated that there were 86 Long March missions in the five years from 2011 to 2015, and 48 from 2006 to 2010. Obviously, it can be said that China is fast catching up with other countries after being a relative latecomer in human space endeavours.
Incidentally, it has launched the SJ-10 retrievable scientific research satellite earlier this month - it was to mark the 226th mission of the Long March rocket family. Incidentally, the pace of launches is accelerating because, while the first 100 Long March missions took 37 years, the next 100 came within just seven years.
Moreover, China's second orbiting space lab, Tiangong-2, will be launched in fall this year and it is scheduled to dock with manned spacecraft Shenzhou-11 in the fourth quarter.


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The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) is a revolution in space flight

Astronauts in the ISS will soon get their first ever inflatable room up there in space. Blow-up air mattresses will be a thing of the pat as the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) takes over. It will be the first inflatable habitat to get attached to the International Space Station (ISS) and it is scheduled to launch by an unmanned SpaceX rocket.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 8 April 2016.

In the age of mission to Moon, Mars and distant planets, expendables like BEAM (also known as 'inflatables') will be useful because they are lightweight and take up minimal space on a rocket, they expand after being deployed in space and provide a comfortable area for astronauts to live and work. The first BEAM will remain there for two years.
The unmanned SpaceX Falcon rocket will carry a capsule full of supplies with the pioneering pod in its trunk. Bigelow Aerospace who is behind the experiment will get a ride to the International Space Station (ISS) with another private space company.
The inflatable pod demo is the first step towards paving the way for moon bases and Mars expeditions, as well as orbiting outposts that will cater to scientists and tourists in just a few more years.


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Red Planet Mars in the limelight – NASA announces results of its competition

#NASA #MarsMission #marsexploration With the intention of generating an interest in the Red Planet Mars among the commoners, NASA had announced a competition in September 2014 and its results have come out now as reported in zeenews.india.com dated 21February 2014.
The competition was the Mars Balance Mass Challenge in which NASA had asked for design ideas for small science and technology payloads that could provide dual purpose as ejectable balance masses on spacecraft that would be entering the Martian atmosphere.
There were a total of 219 submissions from 43 countries as revealed by NASA chief technologist David Miller and the first prize of $20,000 has been awarded to Texas-based Ted Ground. His idea was to study the Martian atmosphere by releasing material that could be seen and studied by other Martian spacecraft in orbit and on the ground.
Moreover, an honorable mention and a prize of $5,000 went to a team of engineers from Grand Rapids, Michigan – their idea was to study Martian weather by looking at wind patterns near the planet's surface.
NASA feels that the two winning ideas would pave the way for bringing to the forefront more such innovative ideas into Mars missions.
As George Tahu, program executive for Mars Exploration at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC has remarked – ‘we want citizens to join us on the journey to Mars’.
Incidentally, the submissions ranged from analyzing Martian weather or the Martian surface, to demonstrating new technologies such as 3D printing or parachutes, apart from pre-positioning supplies for future human missions on the planet's surface.

Trip to Mars will result in premature aging

#ISS #NASA #marsmission #astronaut #faseb Researchers fear that spaceflight could be associated with premature aging of the immune system as reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 3 February 2015, researchers have claimed. It is a fact that long-term space flight does have detrimental effects on the human body, including muscle and bone loss. And now, with trip to Mars on the horizon, researchers feel that the time has come to chalk out ways to counteract the negative effects on the immune system so that the crew is kept fit and healthy.
Details of the research has been published in the journal Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) – it was conducted by several French institutions including Lorraine University in Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy.
It is understood that the team used a ground-based model called hindlimb unloading (HU) on mice – it simulates some of the effects of spaceflight on the animals. The mice are suspended with the rear legs in the air, while their front legs remain on the ground.
In March of this year, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will carry out a year-long stay aboard the International Space Station to check out how astronauts would cope with such a prolonged stay in space – till now, the ISS crew used to spend a maximum of six months aboard the station before returning to Earth.

NASA gears up for Mars mission – two astronauts to remain one-year on the ISS

#NASA #ISS #ScottKelly #MikhailKornienko #Marsmission NASA has identified two astronauts who would remain on the International Space Station ISS continuously for a period of one year in preparation of manned mission to Mars. The two are NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko. They are scheduled to launch in March 2015 and would remain on the ISS till March 2016.
This purpose of this mission is to observe how human bodies change throughout the year so that it can be understood how the body is affected by long-term spaceflight. Normally, astronauts remain on the ISS for limited tenures and are rotated every six months – but, this would be a one-year mission and would be undertaken to study long term effects.
This would mark the first time a crew would have spent a continuous year on the space station, and researchers plan to take advantage of it. The scientists and doctors on the ground will be monitoring the way Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko adapts to the ISS environment.
One aspect would be their eyesight - Kornienko and Kelly's eyes will be monitored for any changes to their eyesight.
When they return to Earth, officials will examine them on their ability to perform certain tasks that might be needed once a group arrives on Mars for the first time after a long spaceflight. The probable tasks could be the light construction of a habitat, or moving items around. They could experience a bit of dizziness and other symptoms that could be induced by arriving back in an environment of higher gravity.

Mars calling – working on alternate method to get to the Red Planet

#Hohmanntransfer #marsmission The temptation to go to the Red Planet is forcing scientists to work overtime and come up with alternate methods to go to Mars. While the traditional missions involve large rockets for both blasting off and slowing down during landing, researchers feel that there may be a simpler, cheaper way.
Their thinking is that instead of blasting off to the red planet and using rockets to slow themselves down, future craft could use planetary gravity fields to 'drift' into the Martian atmosphere. That is a new and revolutionary theory of putting the gravity of Mars to latch on to the spacecraft and pull it down.
Such a method, termed as ballistic capture, could be a great help to open the Martian frontier for more robotic missions, future manned expeditions and even colonization efforts. It seems NASA has expressed an interest in this method. As James Green, director of NASAs Planetary Science Division has commented - 'it's an eye-opener … it could be a pretty big step for us and really save us resources and capability, which is always what we're looking for.'
Traditional missions use rockets to shoot for the location Mars will be in its orbit where the spacecraft will meet it - known as a Hohmann transfer. The process would be to put the spacecraft into a Mars-like orbit so that it flies ahead of the planet, and keeps slowing down until it is pulled in by the gravitational force. This unique method could one day be used for manned missions to Mars – only, it would add several more months to mission times.