Category Archives: Mars

Activism, Mars, Space Settlement

Panel session on leveraging public interest in deep space missions at Dupont Summit, Dec. 6 + A Venus mission proposal

The organization SpaceSoc seeks to promote A Realistic Space Settlement Future. The group is sponsoring a panel discussion at the upcoming Dupont Summit event in D.C. : How can Mars human space settlement advocacy be better? Get YOUR view INCLUDED at a Dec 6 Wash, DC conference. – SpaceSoc

3:00 – 3:50 pm
Chair: Rahmin Bender, Policy Studies Organization
SpaceSoc’s Public Campaign to Take Humans to Mars
Tom E. Diffenbach, SpaceSoc
Anmol Singh, SpaceSoc

Lifeboat Foundation’s Response to NASA’s Asteroid Initiative Public Engagement Request
Kevin Berry, Legendary Projects
You can suggest topics for the panel to focus on:

How can Mars human space settlement advocacy be better? That’s a question you can answer as part of SpaceSoc’s Mars4U roundtable at the Dupont Summit – also live online – on Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy on Dec 6 in Washington, DC, USA. The Dupont Summit is an annual conference of the Policy Studies Organization (PSO), an affiliate of the American Political Science Association and International Political Science Association. PSO bridges political research with political practice.

Continue to the questionnaire… 

More about the panel session: SpaceSoc’s Public Campaign to Take Humans to Mars  (pdf)

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Short of radical terraforming, the hellish surface of Venus is no place for settlements. However, floating habitats atop its dense atmosphere might one day be possible. Jon Goff writes about one plan (JBIS paper – PDF) for the first human mission to Venus : Random Thoughts: Inspiration Venus? – Selenian Boondocks.

Activism, Mars, Space Systems

Plans for Mars + Participation in a Space Legislative Blitz

There are several plans currently being promoted by non-government groups for getting humans to and on Mars. Here is a list with brief outlines of four such plans along with a list of reasons for going to Mars in the first place: The Many Plans for Mars (Issue #25) – Mars Society Education Forum.

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The Mars Society and a dozen other space activist groups are planning a Space Exploration Alliance Legislative Blitz  on February 23rd-25th in Washington, D.C They welcome your participation :  Get Involved in Mars/Space Advocacy, Participate in 2014 SEA Legislative Blitz – The Mars Society.

The 2014 Legislative Blitz comes at a time when our space program is at a crossroads, both in terms of funding and direction. The voices of the space advocacy community must be heard now as perhaps never before. The 2014 Legislative Blitz will call upon Congress to ensure that our nation’s space program is a compelling national priority.

Come join space advocates from around the country to let Congress know that there is strong constituent support for an ambitious space program. You will find this experience to be exciting and rewarding. There will be an information/training session on Sunday, February 23rd, with materials for meetings on Monday, February 24th and Tuesday, February 25th.

This event will not be successful without your help. Please JOIN US from February 23-25, 2014, so that YOUR voice can be heard. See you in Washington, D.C.

Register Here 

Mars, Multiple media

Video: A quick history of the surface of Mars

A NASA Goddard animation showing how Mars may have evolved:

Billions of years ago when the Red Planet was young, it appears to have had a thick atmosphere that was warm enough to support oceans of liquid water – a critical ingredient for life. The animation shows how the surface of Mars might have appeared during this ancient clement period, beginning with a flyover of a Martian lake. The artist’s concept is based on evidence that Mars was once very different. Rapidly moving clouds suggest the passage of time, and the shift from a warm and wet to a cold and dry climate is shown as the animation progresses. The lakes dry up, while the atmosphere gradually transitions from Earthlike blue skies to the dusty pink and tan hues seen on Mars today.

Chinese space, Mars

China to launch lunar lander/rover

The Chinese Chang’e 3 lunar lander/rover combo is set to launch this Monday, December 2nd at 1:20 am local time (Sunday, 12:20 pm EST, 5:20 pm GMT) from the the Xichang space center in Sichuan province in southwestern China. It will land on the Moon on December 14th.

The  rover is named Yutu or Jade Rabbit  (see earlier post here) .

This would be the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon since the Soviet Union put the Luna 24 rover on the Moon  in 1976.

Indian space, Mars, Space Systems

Indian probe to fire engine for Mars [Update]

The Indian  Mangalyaan Mars Orbiter spacecraft will soon begin to fire its engine for 23 minutes, which will put the probe on an earth escape trajectory that will allow it to intercept Mars on Sept. 24, 2013. The burn should start at  12.49 am IST (Sun.) or 2:19 pm EST (Sat.), 19:19 pm GMT.

[ Update: The engine firing was a success:

Mars Orbiter Spacecraft Successfully placed in Mars Transfer Trajectory

The critical manoeuvre to place India’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in the Mars Transfer Trajectory was successfully carried out in the early hours of today (Sunday, December 1, 2013). During this manoeuvre, which began at 00:49 today, the spacecraft’s 440 Newton liquid engine was fired for about 22 minutes providing a velocity increment of 648 meters/second to the spacecraft. Following the completion of this manoeuvre, the Earth orbiting phase of the spacecraft ended. The spacecraft is now on a course to encounter Mars after a journey of about 10 months around the Sun.

It may be recalled that Mars Orbiter spacecraft was launched into an elliptical parking orbit with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 248 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 23,550 km by India’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV on November 5, 2013. Following this, the apogee height of the spacecraft’s orbit was successively raised through a series of manoeuvres to nearly 1,93,000 km. Besides, health checks of the Mars Orbiter spacecraft as well as its payloads were performed. Since its launch, all systems on-board Mars Orbiter spacecraft are performing normally.

The spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Spacecraft Control Centre at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bangalore with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennae at Byalalu.
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Since its launch on November 5th, the spacecraft has fired its on board engine six times to enlarge its orbit around earth. It will need to fire its engine again at that time to go into orbit around the Red Planet.