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What the Moon-Mars Commission's Report Should Say...

The Moon-Mars Commission will release their final report within a few days. In my humble opinion, this is what it should say if we want the new space vision to succeed. For the last few months, I have watched live and later pored over nearly every moment of the Commission's public hearings. I have read the transcripts and the written testimony submitted by the many expert witnesses. Overall, I have found the experience very enlightening and informative. Were I sitting on the commission in front of those witnesses, I think I would feel well prepared to do what is necessary to write the report.

Everybody within NASA and the other national space agencies, everyone in the worldwide space and launch industries, and everyone who dreams of someday going into space is eagerly awaiting what the Commission's report will have to offer. Their recommendations will surely be adopted by NASA just as the important recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) have been.

The Commissioners will need to think big, to look outwards for the next few decades, and come up with a set of requirements or suggestions that will be as applicable today as they will be 20-30 years later. They will need to set the tone that will take humanity on the greatest journeys ever taken.

So, if I were on the Commission and writing their report, I would argue that the following five main recommendations are critical to be included. They form the foundation of an implementation plan that will be able to carry out this new space vision and sustain it.

Recommendation #1: NASA Needs Fundamental & Youthful Transformation
This is perhaps the most important of all; Without a transformation of NASA, this journey won't even begin. Frankly, the NASA of today is not the same as the NASA of Apollo. The historic time of the 1960's, now referred to as the "Golden Age of Space", has created an agency that rested on its laurels almost as soon as the original organizational goal of landing on the Moon by 1970 was achieved.

I personally don't feel that NASA should be dismantled as an agency, but certainly all options should be on the table for whoever will lead the transformation. Closing some of the sacred field centers, which are relentlessly guarded by congressmen fearing angry voters in their local districts, should certainly be an option. However, there is likely a way to do this fundamental reorganization by preserving existing brick & mortar institutions but changing the mentality and methodologies of the people who work in them.

NASA has become a giant bureaucracy, inhabited by career bureaucrats which are retiring at a record rate. NASA needs a dramatic infusion of youthful talent, much like the dot-com culture that existed in the late 90's but mostly evaporated when the Internet bubble burst. Many of those same talented young technophiles are still unemployed. The government should provide a wide range of incentives to get these young men & women reemployed, working for NASA and other space-related government agencies & companies.

Recommendation #2: Every branch of government needs to participate
This is a national vision, not a NASA vision. NASA will likely be the "lead federal agency" for the new vision, but certainly should not be the sole owner. Every government agency: local, state and federal, should take part in the vision and do what they can to participate in its success. NASA should be a part of going to space, not the exclusive agent of space for this country.

At a basic level, organizations like the National Science Foundation, US Geological Survey, NOAA, and all branches of the armed forces should directly participate in the research and development of new space technologies, including new launch vehicles, satellites, LaGrange point assets, and planetary bases. There is a lot of science to be done in the course of exploration, and our science-based agencies will need to participate.

The U.S. Military should be willing to spend the big bucks to develop new launch systems, since they will ultimately be dual-use vehicles that the military will want to use, even if NASA were to develop them independently. Plus, I recognize based on the current national situation, that the US Military budget will likely not be cut anytime soon, and they have far more resources than NASA does or likely ever will. Spending 30-50 billion to develop new launch technologies over several years for the Pentagon is relatively minor in their whole scheme. That said, they should be made to share any breakthroughs with NASA and private industry, so that everyone can benefit from cheaper access to space.

At a further level of cooperation, there exists a huge need to educate the public about space and excite them about the possibilities. Local and state governments should ensure that math & science education is strong (more on that later). Other federal agencies like the Department of Education should take the lead in public outreach for the new space efforts.

Recommendation #3: The program must be sustained, not just over 20-30 years, but forever
The idea that this project requires a "long-term commitment" is somewhat of an understatement. In fact, it would be visionary to attempt to reorganize parts of our society around space exploration, as ultimately that will be what happens once human beings occupy space on a routine basis. We need to make space a part of everyday life, tattoo it on our foreheads, and write it into our DNA. Once we go out into space, we will never go back, and critics need to understand that and understand the benefits of doing that.

NASA's current vision appears to go out to 2020, with human landings on the Moon and the continuation of robotic Mars exploration with Sample Return and further surface exploration. We need to look further, to a 50-100 year plan for space exploration. We need to set goals so far that they hurt, because that is how the real advances in technology and space exploration will be made. In the late 1990's an effort was discussed to create an interstellar precursor mission which would send a space telescope outside the orbit of Pluto. We need to do things like this; Mars and Jupiter are great, but I can't wait until we explore Alpha Centauri. We need a 100 year plan to do that.

Sustaining this vision will also require the existing worldwide space industry to grow exponentially. Much like computers have, space needs to become more and more profitable so that new companies are always being created to go after new opportunities. This should not be hard to do, because once cheap access to space is achieved, and people begin to colonize the moons, planets, and asteroids, the commercial opportunities will truly be limitless.

Recommendation #4: Resources need to be protected from the critics who would have us turn away from space
For decades, critics of spending government money on space have repeated the same mantra: Spend the money here on earth and fix our earth-bound problems first. While it is an attractive argument given the massive expenditures space requires, it is also a fallacy. Even if we could spend an infinite amount of money, there will always be social problems and unmet needs. That is part of human civilization, and turning away from space will only make things worse.

The arguments of critics must be countered decisively. We need to make people understand that going into space will help solve the many social problems. And it will also do much more; going into space can help to answer some of the most profound scientific questions which are relevant to every human being: Who are we? Where do we come from? Are there others like us? Space exploration can also help to make discoveries which will fundamentally improve the human condition, and advances in related fields such as medicine, manufacturing, and computer technology.

Another fact to counter the critics is, "If we don't do it, someone else will." Some of the same critics of space also want to see America succeed on the world stage. Space exploration led by America offers a powerful and peaceful demonstration of the benefits of our society. It is in many ways a much better solution than, for example, countering terrorism with more violence. What is more positive and influential to a young Arab boy or girl, watching America conquer Iraq or watching America conquer Mars?

Space resources need to be set aside and protected from governmental raiding. Much like Al Gore's "lockbox", we need to set aside the resources that are needed, and do it years it advance. Responsible fiscal management from NASA and the other partners is also part of this. Congress should have a zero-tolerance policy toward deviations and overruns in these space programs. (more on this later)

Recommendation #5: The American Math & Science education system is in disarray and needs to be reformed
American students were #1 in the world in the 1950's in math & science skills. Now every year we are closer to the bottom of industrialized nations. This problem has been ignored for decades and, for me at least, is extremely disturbing. The effects are profound: not only are people lacking in basic skills that are needed in a 21st century technical society, but also the problem endangers our economy and accellerates the exodus of technical jobs out of the country. The Hart-Rudman commission on terrorism threats even said that the decline in math & science education was the second largest national security threat that America faces.

The 21st century is about technology & America's economic and political leadership in the world depends on our ability to innovate and create new products & ideas, which will lead to industries that create technology jobs for Americans. The next generation of Americans, in school now, will create the new space industries of tomorrow. It is imperative that we give them all the tools they need to succeed in learning math & science.

Secondary Recommendations:
In addition to the most important five things that I feel the commission should recommend. There are some secondary recommendations some have suggested that I also agree should be included in the report.

National Space Council should be reconstituted
The National Space Council, headed by the Vice President, coordinates space policy direction for the nation. Lyndon Johnson, the first head of the National Space Council was a strong advocate of going to the Moon and was at least partially responsible for the growth & success of NASA.

The National Space Council was disbanded at the beginning of the Clinton Administration and should be reconstituted under George W. Bush and future Presidents. There should be legislation that provides for a Space Council so that doesn't happen again. Prominent members of the space community should be asked to join; people like Neal Degrasse Tyson, Buzz Aldrin, and Robert Zubrin.

Congress should have a zero-tolerance policy toward NASA financial mismanagement
The current NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe has done a great job of auditing NASA and returning it on a path to fiscal responsibility. Yet even he admits NASA has a long way to go. Congress did not act during the 1990s when previous financial scandals happened, under the watch of Administrator Dan Goldin. Congressmen became visibly angry many times during budget hearings, but never held NASA to account. Goldin earned the right to be fired from NASA many times, but never was. He actually became the longest running Administrator ever, even longer than James Webb. That is frankly embarrassing. If O'Keefe or lower managers in NASA repeat some of the same mistakes, they should be dismissed immediately.

NASA should get out of the way of the private sector
For too long, NASA has stifled creativity and entrepreneurialism on the part of non-governmental efforts to pioneer space. In the late 1990s, many firms such as Rotary Rocket and Beal Aerospace were working on bringing SSTO/RLV technologies to market, and NASA did everything to prevent their success. Firms like LunaCorp and TransOrbital were talking about private lunar missions and NASA did everything to stifle them, including spreading rumors of a new NASA moon probe, which ultimately amounted to nothing and caused their funding opportunities to dry up.

Let the commercial sector do what it excels at, namely cutting through bureaucracy and accomplishing goals on a short timeframe. Instead of stifling private sector efforts, NASA should do everything they can to help them. NASA should enhance and expand their programs to transfer technologies & methods developed internally to start-up companies.

During the Apollo days, most of the hardware and operations were conducted by private contractors. That model has worked before and should be returned to for future projects. Let NASA set the direction & goals, but let the private sector implement them and create wealth & commercial opportunities from them. That is a much faster way to get into space, and also much cheaper for the public.

The Public Needs to Take Ownership
As has been said many times during the Commission's hearings, the American & world public needs to "take ownership" of the space vision. What that means is that people need to get so excited about it that they want to go themselves, and they definately want it to succeed. That is not really hard to do because space sells itself.

NASA and the government, however, need to do everything possible to facilitate this happening. They need to "market" space and take the same actions that the many space activist groups have taken for public outreach. NASA representatives should regularly visit schools, universities, and local organizations (such as rotary clubs) to talk about space and get people excited. NASA should also create a volunteer corps which can assist in this mission, and assist in other activities that will promote space exploration.

The early retirement of the Hubble, and any other potential public relations disasters, must be avoided or dealt with in a professional manner. The way in which the decision to not service the Hubble with a space shuttle has been somewhat disastrous and a good example of "what not to do".

Science Should Drive Space Exploration
Space exploration is ultimately the search for the truth, as is science. The more that space exploration advances, the more science will advance. The converse of that can also be true. Science discoveries and unanswered questions can create goals and objectives for space exploration. Apollo-style "flags and footprints" missions are not as sustainable as science-driven missions where answers will spawn new questions.

In Conclusion
The final report of the Moon-Mars Commission will be historic and long-reaching. If many or all of these recommendations are included, and the report is influential within NASA and the worldwide community, then I believe the report will be effective at building a new space exploration initiative that can take us to the Moon, Mars, and Beyond.

If the report lacks a substantial number of these recommendations, I believe it will not be effective, and this will become an exercise that is largely academic. The Moon-Mars Commission report will be placed on a dusty shelf next to the Stafford Report, the Augustine Commission report, and the Post-Apollo Directions for the Future report, all of which discussed broad goals for the nation's space program that were never acted upon. I hope and pray that doesn't happen again.

James Burk is an independent space writer and the editor of ProjectConstellation.us and MarsNews.com

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April Fools 3: ESA Spacecraft Returns to Earth, Demonstrating Antimatter Propulsion

Taking less than 10 minutes to travel between Mars and Earth, ESA's Mars Sample Return Vehicle (MSRV) has successfully demonstrated a new form of antimatter propulsion, and has docked with the International Space Station, delivering the martian rock samples from the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. A MARSNEWS.COM EXCLUSIVE

The propulsion module, under secret development for the last four years, allowed the MSRV spacecraft to accellerate to 10% of the speed of light, and allowed the MSRV to travel millions of miles between the two planets in an extremely short period of time. Using traditional chemical propulsion, the transit times between Earth & Mars are typically from 6-9 months.

At a press conference that just concluded in Paris, France, NASA and ESA officials announced that today's events had been many years in the making, and required a lot of coordination between the two agencies to maintain secrecy. "We certainly were concerned that the funding for our respective Mars exploration programs would be cut, especially for undertaking such a daring mission," noted NASA's Administrator Sean O'Keefe, who had been monitoring the activities at ESA mission control. "If we are ever going to send people to Mars, the milestones accomplished during today's events would need to be hurdled. I just got a call from President Bush, and he offered his congratulations to both space agencies for today's successes."

"We are happy to say that today, we have taken a giant leap towards the human exploration of the Red Planet." remarked ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain. "Today's demostration of Antimatter propulsion is a profound statement by the human race, that the solar system is now our backyard, and we aim to explore it."

They also noted at the press briefing that the samples from Mars had been placed in quarantine in the ISS's Destiny lab module, and will be brought back to Earth during the next crew rotation.

Happy April Fools Day!

Ok, I guess you figured it out by now. I hope that at least we gave you a few brief moments of excitement today. Returning samples of the martian surface and the development of new forms of propulsion are both important aspects of the exploration of Mars, and we will continue to cover them in an honest & sober fashion (that is, every day except for today!)

We had been planning to feature this scenario since last year's harmless April Fools prank, when we reported that Bill Gates had announced a new private expedition to send Humans to Mars.

We hope you enjoyed this year's fun, and thanks for all the comments you have left. Maybe we went a bit overboard, but it sure was fun!]]>

April Fools 2: Secret French Spacecraft Picks Up Rover Samples

The sample canisters launched by the Mars Rovers earlier today have been successfully retrieved by a previously undisclosed Mars Sample Return Vehicle (MSRV) built by France. A MARSNEWS.COM EXCLUSIVE

In another stunning development, ESA officials have confirmed to MarsNews.com that the sample canisters launched by the twin Mars Exploration Rovers into Mars orbit have been successfully retrieved by a previously undisclosed Mars Sample Return Vehicle (MSRV) built by France. ESA's MSRV spacecraft arrived at Mars late last year as part of the Mars Express mission, and detached itself from its mother-ship (much like the failed Beagle 2 lander) shortly before entering orbit.

The MSRV carries a new propulsion system, which our contacts at ESA have remained tight-lipped about. Now that the sample return capsules have been retrieved, preparations are now being made to start up the reportedly high-tech propulsion system. "It will truly be a first," the anonymous project official told MarsNews.com today. "This system, if it works, will be a huge breakthrough and could definitely assist future solar system missions. But we have a few hours of checklists and other preparations to complete before we begin operating it."

ESA officials also confirmed to MarsNews.com that the MSRV vehicle is the explanation for the mysterious white streak seen in the below image, which was taken earlier this year by the rover Spirit. At the time, both NASA and ESA cast doubt on what the object was, even attempting to put forward the bizarre explanation that this was the Viking 2 orbiter.

The MSRV vehicle, previously kept a secret by ESA, almost had its cover blown last month.

According to the ESA officials, the name of the craft during development (loosely translated to English) was "French Orbiting Observing Launching System", a name given to hide its true objective as part of the Mars Sample Return project.

More details on this exciting mission as they become available. We anticipate another update from our contact at ESA later today.]]>

April Fools 1: Mars Rovers Launch Samples to Orbit

In a stunning development, reports from NASA/JPL indicate that samples of the martian surface, possibly containing life-bearing materials, have been launched into orbit during two separate events from the twin Mars Exploration Rovers. A MARSNEWS.COM EXCLUSIVE

In a stunning development, reports from NASA/JPL indicate that samples of the martian surface, possibly containing life- bearing materials, have been launched into orbit during two separate events from the twin Mars Exploration Rovers.

While initial reports are somewhat fragmented, it appears that each rover has utilized a solid rocket booster (located underneath its high-gain antenna) to launch rock and soil samples into a trajectory which is projected by JPL to result in an orbit around the Red Planet.

"Back in the mid-90s, NASA had always planned for the 2003 missions to return samples from Mars." explained Ed Weiler, NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Science, in an exclusive interview with MarsNews.com. "The Athena rover design always had this instrument built-in, and we decided that it would be easier and cheaper to leave it as-is, rather than make costly and time- consuming changes to the design. Doing so would have violated the spirit (at the time) of 'faster-better-cheaper'. Besides, it's much more exciting this way!"

Using this previously undisclosed capability, the rovers Spirit and Opportunity both successfully launched material that was previously collected using a sample collection tool mounted on the rovers' robotic arms.

Spirit's rocket payload consists of a small fragment of the rock "Adirondack", which was acquired shortly after the first use of its Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) on Sol 34, or February 7th on Earth. This small chuck of "Adirondack" was chosen due to its commonality with other geologic samples.

However, Opportunity's rocket payload may prove to be the more interesting of the two. During a RAT operation, Opportunity's sample collection instrument was able to capture 2-3 of the mysterious "blueberries" previously conjectured to be the mineral hematite. Yet, some scientists attached to the project feel that there may be an alternative explanation for the round granules.

"The 'blueberries' are named that way because they are actually blue." said a Frank Observer Of the Launch, which we interviewed at JPL. "What type of rock would actually be colored that shade? Hematite is usually a shade of gray here on the Earth. I think something else is going on, and I would stake my reputation on it!"

According to JPL mission managers, Opportunity's sample also contains some fragments of bedrock that were identified last week as being formed in salt water, the subject of a previous press briefing at NASA HQ. "It's certainly possible," the scientist continued, "that these blueberries could have a biological explanation."

MarsNews.com will bring you more details as they are uncovered. Expect another update around noon Pacific time... ]]>

Did Spirit Image Its Own Heatshield?

Did the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit apparently image its own heat-shield? The photo release caption makes no mention of it. "A Glimpse of What's to Come", the large version of the image apparently contains a glimpse of Spirit's own heatshield which lies across the crater "Bonneville" from the rover's current location.

Consult this overhead image of Gusev crater for context of where the heatshield crash-landed, on the northern rim of the crater. The rover Spirit is currently south of the crater, looking across in this image.

The photo release caption makes no mention of this, but its pretty clear to us that this reflective object is the heat shield. That, or something else that bears investigation.

Update: Today's photo release also apparently shows the reflective glint of the heat shield, yet still no mention is made in the photo caption.

Is JPL saving this for the next press conference?]]>

Five Years of MarsNews.com

The history and background of MarsNews.com - the NewsWire for the New Frontier. Written by founder and Editor James Burk. Five Years of MarsNews.com
March 1999 - March 2004

The Humble Beginnings of MarsNews.com
Back in February 1999, there were only a handful of sources for space news on the Internet, and none that specifically focused on Mars itself. As a member of the Mars Society's Internet Task Force, I often wondered if there was something that the organization could do to organize & present the few scraps of news about Mars that were scattered across the mainstream media news websites of the time, like Florida Today, the Houston Chronicle, the Mars Society's main website, and their New Mars journal. Occasionally, some of the more mainstream news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, ABCNews, CBS, and Fox News would post something about the Red Planet.

As a professional website designer, I felt that simply aggregating the news articles wasn't enough. The task required presentation of the information in a structured way and to provide contextual information, such as backgrounds of the various missions, and topics like terraforming and the potential for life on Mars.

As I began looking for a domain name to host the website, the most obvious choice presented itself for news about Mars... MarsNews.com! Amazingly, it was available, and I quickly locked up the domain by paying the registration fee.

Over the next two weeks, I designed and developed a Perl-based database application, which would be able to store news article links and information including the category they would be classified into. I had previously created similar web-based applications in the commercial world.

In addition to the technical aspects, I researched most of the current and planned missions to Mars, and created mission overview pages for each of them, adding some code to display the corresponding news articles by referencing the category they were classified into.

On March 5th 1999, the finished product (which I dubbed MarsNews 1.0) was ready for public consumption. I quickly posted messages to the Mars Society boards, as well as this message to Usenet.

The First Year
People all across the world greeted the new website with excitement and the traffic steadily increased over the new few weeks. The Mars Society leaders, including Dr. Robert Zubrin, were especially enthusiastic since this new website would increase the visibility of the organization. Zubrin highlighted it in a subsequent Special Bulletin sent to Society members worldwide. I quickly worked out a plan with the webmaster for the Mars Society's main site to include a news feed powered by MarsNews.com.

At the time, I was the President of the Puget Sound (Seattle, WA) chapter of the Mars Society, and my fellow chapter members were willing to do whatever they could to help out. I quickly enlisted my good friend Dustin Green (the chapter Vice President) to help maintain the daily news feed.

After only a couple of weeks, the site won its first award, being named the "Space Site of the Week" by the Space Careers website. Other awards were given over the next few months, culminating with a phone call from Popular Science Magazine. They had selected MarsNews.com to be one of their "Top 50 Best Science Websites" for the year, and only one of five sites in the Space Science category.

In August 1999, at the second annual conference for the Mars Society, I was given an "Outstanding Volunteer" award by Dr. Robert Zubrin and Maggie Zubrin, in part for my efforts to build & run MarsNews.com.

MarsNews.com Version 2.0
As the end of the year approached. I felt that the site had outgrown its original interface, and I began a project to streamline the site and make it more visually appealing. I was also mindful of the upcoming Mars Polar Lander mission, and remembered clearly how much Internet traffic NASA had received for the Mars Pathfinder mission, two years before.

The design I called Version 2.0 featured a narrower left-side navigation bar with links to every mission inline. The black "stars" background with white-background content areas and black text became the distinctive visual design for the site, which continues to the present day. Most of the backend software written for the first iteration remained unchanged, but many improvements were made in how the information was presented.

Polar Lander might have failed, but the new design was a smash hit, and we stuck with it over the next four years. While it was sometimes tedious to enter details of news articles into my simple web-form, and manually update the main page with FTP, we managed to succeed in doing so. As a result of the constant updates and occasional special coverage, our traffic steadily increased to around 600-1000 unique daily visitors/day.

Publishing and Broadcasting
Over the next couple of years, the content base for MarsNews.com grew and grew. In addition to the news articles that Dustin and I added to the database, we also offered a place for space science writers to publish their work.

Considering myself among them, I wrote articles about topics that I was interested in, including some investigative articles during a controversial time with the 2001 Mars Odyssey's data release. Some of my articles originally published on MarsNews.com later appeared on other online outlets and print journals.

Over time, the profile of the site was high enough that Dustin & I began appearing as guests on radio programs around the world. We both had always been interested in Mars, but only since maintaining MarsNews.com had our interest been so publicly recognized.

We also tried our hand at broadcasting ourselves, creating an Internet radio program called "Radio Free Mars" in cooperation with the Mars Society. While we no longer produce our portion of the program, the Mars Society's Canadian chapter has picked up the torch and is running strongly with their broadcasts.

The New MarsNews.com
To celebrate our fifth anniversity, we have completed a major redesign of MarsNews.com, and upgraded the site to new backend software, the award-winning Movable Type weblogging technology. The new design features faster load times, more mission information, and many new features. All content from the previous version of the site has been preserved, including our entire news article database. The NewsWire boasts articles going all the way back to 1996 on many topics of interest.

The NewsWire, our database of news articles, will continue to be the main feature of our site, but we will also continue to add other new content. As the Internet evolves, we will utilize new technologies in order to create additional improvements to the website.

Even before the new website launch, our traffic has steadily increased this year, due to the wildly successful Mars Exploration Rovers. We are currently receiving around 6,000-10,000 unique daily visitors, about ten times our average before the missions. We plan to make use of this increased interest in Mars by stepping up our coverage of ongoing missions. This new website design is only the beginning!

If you have any comments or suggestions, we would love to hear from you. Please let us know by contacting us.

After all, MarsNews.com is YOUR website.

James Burk is an independent space writer and the founder and Editor of MarsNews.com. An Internet pioneer and professional software developer, Burk is a longtime space activist; he has served as past President of the Seattle, Washington chapter of The Mars Society, and as the former Vice President of the Artemis Society International.

Dustin Green is the news editor of MarsNews.com, maintaining the daily NewsWire. Green, also a longtime Mars activist, works as a mechanical engineer. He followed Burk as President of the Seattle, Washington chapter of The Mars Society and also served on the volunteer team for the Raven Human-Powered Airplane.]]>

About the Redesign

MarsNews.com has been completely redesigned, and many new features have been added. Read this guide to understand the changes and how to make full use of all the new features and capabilities.

New Website Features

Mission Status Center
The Mission Status Center is a one-stop location for the latest information about current missions to Mars. Coverage for each of the five current missions includes mission status reports, the most recent news articles, and links to the mission overviews provided by MarsNews.com.

NewsWire Database
Tailored for news junkies, the NewsWire Database is made up of links to over four thousand news articles (from 1996 to the present) the NewsWire Database. The articles are organized into categories representing major topics for Mars exploration as well as individual missions. The article information includes a brief description of the article, and a direct link to the complete article on the original publisher's website.

Mars Weather Center
Using data provided by NASA/Ames's Mars Atmospheric Modelling Group, the Mars Weather Center provides daily updates on the temperature, amount of water vapor, and current position of Mars in relation to the Earth. An additional link is provided to access weekly dust abundance reports from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, provided by Malin Space Science Systems.

Articles by MarsNews.com
Articles published by MarsNews.com are now featured in a separate section of site. Readers can comment on individual articles, and the section provides a new publishing capability for MarsNews.com.

Event Calendar
Get the details on upcoming Mars-related events, such as mission, news, and entertainment happenings. Readers can also submit their own events.

Upgraded Features

New Website Backend
We have upgraded MarsNews.com to utilize the powerful and award-winning Movable Type weblogging technology. This will provide increased speed and reliablity, and offers many advantages over the original Perl-based backend, which powered the site during the first five years of operation.

Updated Focus Sections and Mission Overviews
All Focus Sections and Mission Overviews have been updated and some have been expanded. There is also new coverage of past missions, such as the Viking and Mariner programs.

Inline Commenting & Trackbacks
Readers can now comment on individual news entries, including every article in the NewsWire Database. "Trackbacks" (a feature provided by the Movable Type engine) allow other weblogs to link directly to individual entries on MarsNews.com, and a transitive link is created between the two websites.

RSS 2.0 Newsfeeds
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) newsfeeds allow other websites to publish our NewsWire content. RSS feeds are provided for each category of the NewsWire, as well as the Event Calendar, recent comments, and the latest articles from the front page. End-users can also read our RSS news feeds with alternative programs and devices.

We hope you enjoy all that the new website has to offer. Additional features will be developed over the next few weeks and months. If you have any suggestions for further improvements we can make to the site, please let us know by contacting us.

After all, MarsNews.com is YOUR website! ]]>

Spirit's Landing Site Awash in Green?

According to the European Space Agency's Mars Express probe, the place where Spirit touched down several weeks ago is awash in a shade of green.

Spirit's landing site at Gusev crater
(ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/G.Neukum)

February 1st: [Updated] According to the European Space Agency's Mars Express probe, the place where Spirit touched down several weeks ago is awash in a shade of green. In a photo release on their mission website, the exact position of the first Mars Exploration Rover (calculated & previously imaged by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor) is indicated by the white crosshairs. The image caption notes that "Scientists believe that the crater was covered by standing water, maybe in the form of a lake, early in the history of Mars."

NASA Spirit Rover Landing Site (Mars Express Image Release)

Feb 3rd Update: A few readers to MarsNews.com say this may indicate the presence of olivine, a green-hued volcanic mineral that decomposes rapidly when reacted to water. Others point out this correctly color-processed image of the same region from NASA's Mars Odyssey are of strikingly different colors. Developing...

(Color-balanced THEMIS image courtesy of Donald Davis, who has processed images appearing on the official THEMIS website for NASA's Mars Odyssey mission)

Feb 23rd Update: The ESA image has now been quietly changed to offer more of a brownish hue. In an email sent to a reader of WhatOnMars.com, a Mars Express project scientist explained that the initial greenish hue was due to the image's color calibration being incorrect. This seems to have diffused the controversy. ]]>

Background on Mars Memorial Stations

The landing site of the Opportunity rover has been designated as the "Challenger Memorial Station" to honor the seven lives lost during the 1986 mission. Here is some background on the other Mars Memorial Stations. NASA Release]

Shortly after Spirit, the other Mars Exploration Rover, landed last week, he made a similar designation for its landing site to be called the "Columbia Memorial Station" as a remembrance for last year's tragedy. [NASA Release]

Yesterday on the anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire in which three Apollo astronauts lost their lives, a hill complex surrounding Spirit's landing site was designated the "Apollo 1 hills" and individual hills were named for Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. [NASA Release]

Shortly after its landing in 1997, the Mars Pathfinder was designated as the "Sagan Memorial Station" after the late, great Carl Sagan. A presentation was made to his widow, Ann Druyan, during a Planetary Society event surrounding the landing of Pathfinder. [NASA Release]

In the past, the previous Viking landers were also given designations. In January 1982, the Viking 1 lander was designated the "Thomas Mutch Memorial Station" to honor the late leader of the Viking imaging team. A display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC contains a plaque which is designated to be affixed to the Viking 1 lander once astronauts are able to do so in person.

Much later, in 2001, then-NASA Administrator Daniel Golden designated the other Viking lander, Viking 2, as the "Gerald Soffen Memorial Station" in remembrance of another Viking project scientist who had recently passed away. [Space.com Release]

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Opportunity Lands on "Bizarre and Alien Landscape"

The Mars Exploration Rover team was astonished at the landscape found when Opportunity landed yesterday within a 20-meter crater, somewhere on Meridiani Planum. The Mars Exploration Rover team was astonished at the landscape found when Opportunity landed yesterday within a 20-meter crater, somewhere on Meridiani Planum. The region of mars was chosen due to its abundance of hematite, a mineral usually formed in long-standing bodies of liquid water.

"I am flabbergasted. I am astonished. I am blown away,� said Steven Squyres, the MER mission�s Principal Investigator. �I still don't know what we're looking at.�

Around four hours after landing, JPL began receiving the first images from the Opportunity rover, showing the flat, nearly featureless terrain. Other than the marks created by the airbags� retraction, the major feature of the landing site is the first bedrock outcropping ever seen on Mars.

The bedrock is geologically important because �you know where it came from,� according to Squyres. All other landing sites have been littered with rocks whose origin is ambiguous. The outcropping will be an early target when the rover traverses off the lander.

Previous landing sites look much different than Opportunity�s. Both Viking landers found rocky, desert-like plains upon landing. Mars Pathfinder was targeted at Ares Vallis, predicted to be an outflow channel where many rocks were deposited by catastrophic flooding. Spirit�s landing site, Gusev crater, resembles the Viking landing sites more than Pathfinder�s, with a limited amount of rocks, hopefully making it easier for the rover to traverse.

Early indications are that Opportunity landed in a crater, a �300 million mile hole in one� as Dr. Squyres put it. While the team is not 100% sure, the crater is approximately 20 meters wide and a couple meters deep. It should not pose any problems when the rover attempts to traverse out of it.

A much larger crater, seen on the descent images today, lies around half a mile away, and will likely be a longer-term target of the mission.

Opportunity is only the fifth successful landing on Mars since attempts first began in 1971. The first successful lander was Viking 1 in 1975, soon followed by its twin Viking 2. Mars Pathfinder in 1997 was the last successful Mars lander, prior to Spirit�s touch-down on January 3rd, 2004. All successful Mars landings have been attempted by the United States. The Soviet Union (with Mars 2 & 3 in 1971 and Mars �96 in 1996) and now the European Space Agency (with the Beagle 2) have both experienced landing failures.

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Mars Society Responds to Bush Space Initiative

In a major policy paper, the Mars Society speaks out in support of Bush's new space initiative. However, the Society notes that the real decision about going back to the Moon and on to Mars won't happen until 2009. Reprint or pass on as desired
For further information about the Mars Society, visit our website at www.marssociety.org, or contact info@marssociety.org.

On January 23, 2004, the following statement concerning the new Bush space policy was ratified by the Steering Committee of the Mars Society. The vote was 19 in favor, 3 abstentions, none opposed, and 5 not voting.

Bush Speech Opens Door
The Future is Up to Us

Statement of the Steering Committee of the Mars Society
January 23, 2004

On January 14, President George Bush gave a speech at NASA headquarters outlining a new strategic orientation for the American space agency. While some of the initial ideas for implementing the new space policy can and should be substantially improved upon, the policy overall clearly represents a significant and long-overdue step in the right direction for the American space program. The Steering Committee of the Mars Society therefore welcomes the new policy as presented in Presidential Directive entitled "A Renewed Spirit of Discovery," and strongly urges Congress to provide the funds requested for the initial steps requested for the program over the next fiscal year.

Our analysis of the important strengths and required areas for improvement of the new policy is presented below.

Analysis
As stated, the new Bush space policy offers both opportunities and pitfalls to those interested in furthering human exploration and expansion into space in general, and Mars in particular. While not representing the start of an actual Moon/Mars program, since nearly all serious spending for hardware systems other than the crew capsule is deferred to administrations coming into office in 2009 or beyond, it does in fact clear the ground for the initiation of such a program should the 2009 administration be so inclined. It also provides a certain amount of free energy that, if handled properly in the 2004- 2008 period, could be used to help insure the emergence of a powerful human exploration initiative within the time frame of the 2009 administration.

In his speech, Bush redefined the purpose of the American space program as the "establishment of a human presence throughout the solar system." This statement may seem to some like a mere rhetorical flourish, but it actually has important concrete programmatic significance, as it legitimizes NASA spending supporting technology development for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. Such spending was forbidden under the previous order of things, and for the past ten years technologists seeking funding for important human Moon/Mars exploration technologies had to justify them by arguing their value for other established programs, such as the JPL- led robotic exploration program or the ISS. This has made it impossible to obtain adequate funding for many technologies, such as planetary in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), and has led to disasters such as the promising JSC-led Transhab inflatable habitation program, which was derailed when the discovery that planetary exploration technology work was being done under ISS cover led to cancellation by congressional staff. It is for this reason that the Mars Society has had since its Founding Convention in 1998 campaigned for the establishment of a NASA line item for the support of human exploration technology development, so that such activity could take place openly. Bush's initiative fully accomplishes this objective, with healthy initial program funding. For this reason, if no other, Bush's move must be seen as an extremely positive development.

The new policy will also create a program organization at NASA headquarters, called Code T, which will significantly raise the level of NASA efforts to develop efficient plans for human planetary exploration. This is also a welcome development.

In addition, the Bush policy also provides a basis for including human exploration research requirements within the design of robotic planetary missions. In the late nineties, representatives of the human exploration missions office at JSC attempted to utilize flight opportunities aboard the JPL-led robotic Mars exploration landers, but as the JSC researchers had neither a mandate nor money, they had neither force nor funds to back up their requests, and were dealt with accordingly. Under the new space policy, both a mandate and funds should be available to support human exploration related research and technology flight experiments aboard robotic lunar and planetary spacecraft. This could allow such payloads to either fly as paying customers aboard the JPL/Code S sponsored science spacecraft, or alternatively, support the funding of human exploration program- controlled robotic landers whose primary mission would be to provide engineering data for the human exploration program, with other science payloads carried on a space-available basis.

The Bush policy also identifies where the funds required to support a true human exploration initiative willcome from, to wit the redirection of the existing Space Shuttle and ISS budgets. Currently, the Shuttle budget runs about $4 billion per year, while the ISS budget is between one and two billion. This total of $5-$6 billion per year is more than sufficient to get humans to both the Moon and Mars within ten years of actual program start. Thus the initiative can be done within the existing NASA budget of about $16 billion per year in 2004 dollars, a level found supportable by presidents and congressional majorities of both political parties for the past four presidential terms. Thus the financial basis for the program is clear, and is not a budget buster or in any way fantastical.

In his speech, the President invited all nations to join with the United States in pursuing the proposed program. We welcome this statement, as we fully agree that the exploration and settlement of the solar system is a great goal that can help bring humanity together, one that is worthy of, and requires, the mobilization of the best talents of all the peoples of the Earth.

For various political and diplomatic reasons, the Bush policy delays the phase out of the Shuttle and ISS until 2010, thereby delaying substantial human exploration program start until about that time. Thus the choice on whether or not to really start a Moon or Mars human exploration program, and what its pace or objectives should be, is effectively being placed in the hands of the 2009 administration.

The merit of this decision is debatable. A key point however, is that the 2009 administration will have a choice. By making clear that the fundamental purpose of the human spaceflight program is to allow humans to FLY ACROSS SPACE (the Apollo era vision) to explore other worlds, rather than to allow humans to EXPERIENCE SPACE (the Shuttle era vision), the Bush policy (should it be sustained by either his reelection or the concurrence on this issue of an alternative 2005 administration) effectively precludes the commitment of NASA to a second generation Shuttle ("Shuttle 2") as its next major program.

As recently as a few months ago, substantial factions within space policy circles in both congress and NASA projected such a Shuttle 2 program as the agency's next major project after ISS. Had that occurred the future would have looked like this: the present decade would be consumed with returning the Shuttle to flight and building ISS. The next decade would be devoted to extending the life of Shuttle and developing Shuttle 2. The 2020's would then be a repeat of the 1980's, attempting to make Shuttle 2 operational, leading to a decision in 2030 on the next major project, which probably would have been ISS-2. Thankfully, this "Groundhog Day" scenario for perpetual stagnation in space has now been foreclosed on.

The decision to punt the responsibility for implemention, and thus the control, of the program to the 2009 administration promises to make the next five years an extremely interesting time for space advocates. In his speech, Mr. Bush defined human expansion into the solar system as NASA's goal, and posed the idea of a lunar base initiated by 2020 as the strategy by which this objective might be approached. That is one plan, but the next five years will see other plans put forward for consideration by the political class as efficient means by which the desired overall goal can be achieved with maximum speed, reliability, and at minimum cost. The great debate on what our strategy for reaching the Moon and the planets should be has thus not been closed by Bush's speech, but opened.

The victory in this healthy battle of ideas will go to those people who convince the players, not merely of today, but of 2009 and beyond, of the merit of their concepts. The Mars Society welcomes this challenge, and will seek to actively participate in this discussion to contribute its technical expertise and to convey an understanding to the political class, the technical community, the press, and the public that within the context of the new space policy, that the near-term human exploration of Mars is feasible, affordable, and truly worthy of the efforts and risks required.

In transitioning from one kind of space program to another, every effort should be made to prevent unnecessary collateral damage to valuable parts of the old program. The decision announced by NASA headquarters late last week to abandon the planned Shuttle mission to upgrade and reboost the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is an example of the kind of mistake that needs to be avoided. The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and Widefield Camera 3 designed to bring the HST to its full potential have already been built and tested, and promise an enormous scientific return upon delivery to orbit. If the Bush plan were to stand down the Shuttle immediately, and save the $24 billion required to operate it through 2010 so as to initiate the Moon/Mars program with substantial funding immediately, that would be one thing. But given the decision to return the Shuttle to flight, canceling the Hubble upgrade would only save about $200 million, or 1% of the Shuttle program's budget, while destroying about 90% of its scientific value. This is extremely foolish.

Safety arguments won't wash either; if the Shuttle is safe enough to fly to the ISS, its safe enough to perform its mission to Hubble. Indeed, while Shuttle missions to the Hubble may lack the on-orbit safe-haven of the ISS, the low-inclination of Hubble flights enables launch aborts to warm tropical waters, where crew survival chances are much better than in the frigid north Atlantic abort sites required by ISS launches. Moreover, it is difficult to understand how an agency which is too risk adverse to undertake a Shuttle mission to Hubble could possibly be serious in considering a mission to the Moon or Mars.

The cancellation of the Hubble mission can thus only be described as a serious mistake, apparently committed in the name of the desire to appear "decisive" in breaking from the old paradigm in favor of the new. In addition to the harm done to astronomy, it would be a very bad thing for the infant new space policy to begin its life with a such a distasteful record. Under no circumstances should the alleged impending availability of the James Webb Space Telescope be accepted as a rationale for abandoning Hubble, either. That would be to repeat the mistake NASA made in abandoning the Saturn V for the supposedly superior Shuttle, or Skylab for the ISS - errors which set back the space program by decades of time of tens of billions of dollars. If NASA's leadership will not see reason on this issue, Congress should take forceful action to reverse this very bad decision.

Technological Issues
The right way to do a program whose objectives encompass both a permanent lunar base and the human exploration of Mars is to design a set of transportation hardware that can accomplish human Mars missions, a modified modular subset of which can be used to support lunar activities. Approaching the problem in this way can save a great deal of time and money, as only one hardware set needs to be developed instead of two. It also maximizes the value of the Moon as a testing ground for Mars, since under this approach to Moon missions will be done using the Mars hardware, and serve directly to shake it out. Provided this is the approach adopted, a program initiated in 2009 could easily achieve piloted lunar landing by 2015 and launch the first human Mars expedition by 2018. The build up of a permanent lunar base and continued Mars missions could then occur simultaneously. Since it is only possible to launch to Mars every other year in any case, the implications of a running concurrent programs are simply that the lunar program launch rate would be reduced somewhat during Mars launch years. Concurrent launch programs would also serve to minimize launch costs by maximizing the rate of production of the booster production lines, as the cost of running a launch vehicle manufacturing facility increases only marginally with a higher production rate. To use a mundane analogy, it takes very little extra labor to cook two steaks instead of one, provided you cook them both at the same time. In the production of launch vehicles this kitchen parable holds even more force, as labor costs overwhelmingly dominate those of materials.

Within the context of such a well-planned Moon/Mars program, there are certain technologies that are essential. We address only two of the most critical, heavy lift boosters and ISRU.

Heavy Lift Boosters
The key technical instrumentality required to make lunar bases and Mars missions feasible is a heavy lift vehicle with a hydrogen/oxygen upper stage capable of throwing payloads in the 50-tonne class on Trans-lunar or Trans-Mars injection. This is the capability demonstrated during the 1960's by the Saturn V. Once such a vehicle is available, roundtrip Lunar missions or one-way delivery of habitations and other heavy payloads to the lunar surface can be readily accomplished with a single launch. Piloted Mars missions can also be accomplished using multiple discrete Trans-Mars launches of such a system, with no on-orbit assembly, as shown by the Mars Direct plan (Zubrin and Baker, 1990), the Stanford Mission plan (Lusignian, et al 1992), or the JSC Design Reference Mission 3 (Weaver et al, 1994).

Such Saturn V class launch systems can be readily created at this point either by converting the Shuttle launch stack through elimination of the orbiter and its replacement with a LOx/H2 upper stage, or the creation of new, all-liquid propulsion booster systems. The Mars Society was recently shown plans by one major aerospace company for evolving its existing line of medium lift boosters to create a family of modular heavy lift boosters with payloads ranging through quarter, half, and full Saturn V capabilities. Based on this company's experience with previous successful launch vehicle developments, the entire development program to create the whole family of boosters could be accomplished in five years with a development cost of about $4 billion. The recurring launch cost for the Saturn V class system design was $300 million per launch, or less than $1000/lb for payload delivery to LEO. The methods of creating such booster families are obvious to experienced launch vehicle engineers, and we have no doubt that this company's competitors have plans for creating similar hardware sets with comparable development costs and schedules.

The claims by certain pundits opposed to any exploration initiative that a new heavy lift booster would cost tens of billions to develop can thus readily be shown to have no basis in fact. Such heavy lift vehicles would also have many applications outside of the human exploration program.

ISRU
Both lunar bases and Mars expeditions are strongly benefited through the use of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) techniques for the production of return propellant, human consumables, and vehicle fuels and oxygen for use in extended missions on a planetary surface. The mission mass savings for either lunar bases or Mars missions resulting from ISRU has been demonstrated in numerous studies, and significantly exceeds that offered by advanced propulsion concepts with much higher development and recurring system costs.

Effective ISRU require both chemical processing systems and reliable sources of power, for which space nuclear systems offer the greatest promise. We therefore strongly commend the administration for its Prometheus project to create such space nuclear systems. However we note that up until now, the sole applications considered by NASA for its space nuclear power systems have been spacecraft power and nuclear electric propulsion (NEP). Without dismissing the important value of NEP for outer solar system robotic missions and other missions involving large velocity changes undertaken across extended time frames, we note that the size of NEP units required to supply propulsion for human exploration missions are on the order of 10,000 kilowatts. In contrast, when used to produce chemical propellants on planetary surfaces, the required reactor size to support human exploration is reduced to about 100 kilowatts. This is because a much smaller reactor stationed on a planetary surface making propellant can emit energy over a long period of time prior to flight, store it as chemical propellant, which then can release the energy as fast as it is needed under flight conditions. The mission mass leverages achieved by such ISRU supported chemical propulsion options are greater than those offered by NEP, while for inner solar system missions, the flight times are less (two orders of magnitude less for Lunar applications). In addition, the ISRU-supported chemical systems can be used not only for orbital transfer, but for planetary ascent.

Thus while space nuclear power is enabling for ISRU, it is ISRU that greatly reduces the cost, and increases the value of space nuclear power in supporting human exploration. The two technologies should thus be pursued in parallel, and an appropriate fraction of the Prometheus budget applied towards bringing ISRU applications of space nuclear power to flight status, and to support robotic missions demonstrating such technology on the Moon and Mars.

Furthermore, requirements should be written into the Prometheus program to insure that the power systems developed are compatible for operation on the surface of the Moon and Mars, since their use on the planetary surface to produce propellants and consumables represents by far the most advantageous method of employing them to support near- term human space exploration, and their power is needed on the surface to support base operations in any case.

Both ISRU technology and heavy lift booster development should thus be central priorities of the Code T effort over the immediate period.

Other systems should be developed with similar concern for maximum commonality of hardware and technology across lunar and Mars mission applications.

Political Implications
The train of events set in motion by the new space policy will create a decision point circa 2009 that will offer three alternatives for future action. These are:
a) The 2009 administration could choose to abort the Moon/Mars program altogether, and simply use the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) as a capsule launched atop expendables as a way of continuing to visit the ISS. This would lead to a Mir-type extended ISS program, conducted at lower cost than possible using Shuttle launches, but with no discernable purpose. This would result in stagnation in space for however long such a programmatic decision prevailed, and probable retrogression on heavy lift, ISRU, and other programs necessary for human exploration.
b) The 2009 administration could decide to proceed in accordance with idea of building a lunar base, starting 2020, without concern for the Mars mission except to make claims that lunar experience will no doubt be useful later when others contemplate going to Mars. This would result in the development of mostly incompatible lunar program hardware (except the booster), making it necessary to start developing an entire new hardware set circa 2030, or possibly 2040, given the budgetary entanglements such a stand-alone lunar program would create, making it likely that the first Mars landing would not occur before the middle of the 21st Century. Alternatively, given the limited interest provided by repeated dead-end Lunar expeditions, the program could simply expire.
c) The 2009 administration could decide to launch a humans to Mars program, with the objective of reaching Mars within ten years, with expeditions to the Moon using a modified subset of the Mars flight hardware beginning around program year 7. Because only one hardware set would need to be developed instead of two, and because in aerospace cost equals people times time, this represents a much lower cost approach to achieving the goals set forth in the new space policy than alternative (b). Moreover, it is the only approach that will result in human explorers walking on Mars within the working lifetime of any adult today.

It is therefore imperative that everyone who wishes to see the human exploration of Mars become a reality do everything he or she can to fight for the bold course represented by option C. In the labs and engineering organizations, in the press, in the classroom and the committee room, in the Arctic and in the desert, in the halls of congress, and in every venue of public opinion ranging from books and technical papers to internet newsgroups and late night talk radio, each will need to play their part.

A door has been opened, and a battle of ideas that will determine the shape of the human future for many years to come has now been truly joined. Where it will lead is up to us. Contending visions that two weeks ago were mere hypothetical debates among space activists have now entered the center of political discourse. We welcome the challenge. For as reason is our witness and courage is our guide, we shall prevail.

For further information about the Mars Society, visit our webiste at www.marssociety.org

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"Human Beings Are Headed Into The Cosmos"

U.S. President George W. Bush today announced a new vision for human space exploration including the development of a new Crew Exploration Vehicle and a return to the Moon by 2020, most likely around 2015. Bush's announcement was made at NASA Headquarters and the President was introduced by NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and International Space Station Mission Commander Michael Foale who was onboard the ISS. Also present at the event were Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the Moon, several members of Congress, and several current NASA astronauts.

Details of the Announcement

The central focus and enabling piece of Bush's vision is development of a new Crew Exploration Vehicle, the "first of its type since the Apollo Command Module", with a test flight by 2008 and availability for operational use by 2014. The CEV will also satisfy the requirements of the Orbital Space Plane, which was planned to replace the Space Shuttle in transporting crew to the International Space Station. The CEV will be designed to allow astronauts to venture outwards to the Moon, Mars, and "worlds beyond".

Bush's announcement set the goal for NASA to return to the Moon by 2020, most likely around 2015. The purpose of a return to the Moon is to mine resources such as water and Helium-3; also to develop skills and technologies for future human exploration beyond the Moon. Missions to the moon will begin with short stays, much like Apollo, but gradually extend into longer periods until the first permanent base is constructed and inhabited.

The Space Shuttle will be retired by 2010, after the construction of the International Space Station is complete. The mission of the ISS will be refocused to highlight the biological research of the human body needed for extended trips into space. At some point not specified in the announcement, the U.S. participation in the ISS will be scaled back or even ended to focus more on exploration beyond low earth orbit.

Robotic exploration missions will be expanded under the new initiative, with a robotic lunar landing mission scheduled for 2008. Other orbiter, lander, and rover missions will be sent as "trailblazers" to Mars and other destinations. More specific details on these missions will likely be released over the coming months.

Missing Manned Mars Mission

The President didn't discuss specific details of a mission sending Humans to Mars, although he recognized that future advances in lunar settlements would allow NASA to launch "human missions to Mars & worlds beyond" more cheaply than from Earth.

The earliest timeframe for a manned mission to Mars falling into the vision would be around 2020, roughly twenty years from now. Yet some administration officials have stated in press reports that it won't happen until 2030 at the earliest. This will be a disappointment for many advocates of Mars exploration. The Mars Society's Dr. Robert Zubrin advocates the Mars Direct plan, a fast-track mission plan which could result the first human explorers landing on Mars in less than a decade.

NASA's Next Steps

The President directed NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe to review "all current space flight and exploration" projects so they can be focused toward the new initiative.

A formal Commission on the Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy, with both public and private representatives, will be chaired by former astronaut Pete Aldridge and will release its first report of an implementation plan for the initiative within four months.

NASA's current budget of $15.5 billion per year will receive a modest increase of $1 billion, spread over the next five years. However, most of the money used to pay for the new initiative will come from within NASA's current budget, by reallocating $11 billion over the next five years from current programs.

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Back To the Moon, On To Mars ]]>

Spirit Will Head for the Hills

Today, Spirit's mission team announced the plan for the rover's traverse after it leaves the lander, late tomorrow night. The nearest crater and a hill complex to the east are among its long-term targets. Next, the rover will head for the nearest crater, to explore the materials ejected from deep below the surface. Spirit may even attempt to drive up to the rim and look down into the crater. The nearest crater is only a few hundred meters away and will be relatively easy to visit since many of the rocks ejected by the impact event are on the other sides of the crater from the rover's present location.

The Rover's planned traverse, first visiting a crater, then heading southeast toward the hill complex.

After exploring the crater, the rover will then attempt to traverse the long distance to a complex of several hills approximately 3 kilometers east of the landing site. The distance is over 5 times more than the rover was designed for, so it's somewhat of a stretch goal, but just getting nearer to the hills will help mission scientists to better understand them.

Hill complex to the east of the landing site, now the long-term objective of the mission.

Spirit was engineered to last for 120 Sols of activity on the surface, and is was hoped to be able to traverse at least 600 meters. However, with everything working perfectly, it could be expected to last even longer. Barring any mechanical failure or problems with driving the rover, the limiting factor will be the ability for Spirit to continue to generate power from its solar panels, as they will eventually be coated with dust.]]>

Back To the Moon, On To Mars

The Bush Administration will announce on Wednesday a new vision for human space exploration meant to galvanize NASA, and finally bring the U.S. out of low earth orbit for the first time since the last Apollo mission in 1972. The details of the announcement are now filtering out. Bush will call for the construction of a permanent Moon base by 2013, in part to test technologies & methods for a mission sending Humans to Mars around 2020. New hardware will begin to be developed immediately for both goals.

Goodbye Shuttles, Hello CEV

The main focus of the International Space Station will shift to studies related to the new human exploration initiative, and American involvement will slowly be phased out. The three remaining Space Shuttles will be retired after ISS construction is complete. The US will rely exclusively on Soyuz, Progress, & Ariane flights for crew transfer & resupply to ISS.

An upgraded Orbital Space Plane, now titled the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), will take the shape of a capsule, and become the central component of future Moon/Mars exploration hardware. The first test flights of the CEV may occur as soon as 2007.

The CEV will initially be launched aboard a man-rated version of one of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles, the Boeing Delta 4 or Lockheed Martin Atlas 5. Yet neither of those choices would allow for a single direct launch to the Moon. Further heavy-lift systems may be developed to assist with the launching of materials to the Moon & Mars, or several individual launches would be required for a single manned attempt at the Moon.

Project Prometheus, NASA's relatively new program to develop nuclear propulsion for interplanetary missions, will be folded in the new efforts.

NASA will receive a down payment of $800 million for fiscal 2005, and Bush will seek a 5% increase in NASA's budget for upcoming years. NASA will be directed to shift most of its non-exploration projects (such as climate monitoring and aerospace research) to other government agencies to free up additional funds for the new initiative. NASA will also be directed to fold in any robotic exploration programs to the new efforts, ending the age-old debate on whether to fund human vs. robotic exploration.

Public Reaction

The reaction so far from Congress and the public has been mostly positive, but mixed. While many are welcoming the initiative as a long-awaited step in the right direction for human spaceflight, others are more cautious of the news.

The Mars Society's Dr. Robert Zubrin fears that the initial focus on the Moon may draw resources away from future plans for Mars, and considers the construction of a permanent Moon base somewhat of a detour from what some consider a long-term goal for human exploration of space, the eventual settlement of Mars.

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Dust Storms Mounting

Astronomers have spotted several localized dust storms brewing in Mars's northern hemisphere. These are currently combining to form a regional dust storm. They could further bloom into a global storm, affecting communications and solar power generation for the three upcoming Mars missions. Europe's Mars Express mission (along with its Beagle 2 lander) arrives on December 24th (US local time) and NASA's first Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, will land on January 3rd. The second rover, Opportunity, follows on January 24th.

Dust storms have affected missions before. Back in 1971, the US Mariner 9 orbiter and Soviet Mars 2 and 3 landers were faced with a global dust storm. Being completely automated, the Soviet landers catapulted themselves into the storm, crashing immediately due to the interferance. Mars 3 send back some darkened (mostly useless) photos. Meanwhile, Mariner 9 was able to insert into an orbit and wait out the storm, later snapping 7,329 total images, a record amount at the time.

Stay tuned to MarsNews.com for the latest on these important developments.

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