As it struggles to come to terms with the loss of its manned space program and begins to divert funds to other missions, NASA has extended the Cassini-Huygens Mission at Saturn until 2017. Cassini has been returning beautiful photos of the ringed planet as well as important data on the composition and behavior of its moons since 2004. The probe arrived at Saturn in June of 2004 carrying the European-built Huygens probe designed to land on Titan. In January of 2005, Huygens became the first man-made object to penetrate the atmosphere and land on the surface of Titan. The first photos of Titan’s surface revealed a hazy world sculpted by lakes of liquid methane and mountains made of rock-hard ice and exposed a place that is considered by many scientists to be the closest example we have to what our own little world looked like in its primordial stages of development. The 2011 extension known as Cassini-Solstice will be the second extension since the probe arrived and is sure to continue a Cassini tradition of giving us incredible views of the jewel of our solar system.

CASSINI-HUYGENS 2010 MISSION HIGHLIGHTS 

• Rhea Flyby – March 2
• Titan Flyby – April 5, May 20, June 5, June 21, July 7, September 24, November 11 
• Enceladus Flyby – April 28, May 18, August 13, November 30, December 21

Saturn is primed to put on a dazzling show for professional and amateur astronomers this year. Right now, it is rising through Virgo in the eastern sky just after 2245 EST. While the ringed planet always makes for wonderful observing with even the most modest of telescopes, it will be perfectly positioned to show off its magnificant rings around April. To celebrate the event, the Cincinnati Observatory will be hosting “Saturnday” on April 17-April 24 to give the general public an opportunity to see it through a professional-grade telescope. The cost of the event is $6 per person. You can visit the observatory’s website to learn more information. Weather permitting, nightShifted Astronomy will be set up in the Dayton area around that time. Watch the blog and events calendar for details.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Cassini-Equinox

NASA’s Constellation Program is in trouble and it really is no surprise to anyone who knows how NASA or the United States Government operates. When Constellation was announced as a main component of President Bush’s Vision for Space Exploration in 2004, it was to be the “Apollo Program on Steroids” that would return us to the Moon and eventually land humans on Mars. Space advocates cheered for the idea of a new rocket, but honeymoon was pretty much non-existent as the cheers gave way to petty bickering between space travel advocacy groups and scientists over the design, cost, and proposed destination of the new system. In fact, nightShifted Astronomy shares some of the guilt in the petty bickering as we were a contributing member to The Planetary Society until they published a report suggesting that Constellation skip the Moon and go directly to Mars. I do not regret pulling my membership because I feel that they do not truly represent the desires of the people when it comes to space exploration initiatives, but it did happen and we do have to live with being part of the mess.

Now, Constellation is under intense review by the Obama White House and every day it seems that the program is growing closer and closer to joining the oblivion inhabited by so many other NASA projects (see The Countless Many Who Cried Spacewolf and The Sharks are Circling). The Augustine Commission, which was appointed to review the Constellation Program and specifically, its Ares I and V rocket designs, gave very little support to NASA and its program. This does not bode well for an agency competing more and more with commercial rocket companies. There is a huge amount of contempt for the new designs and it has unfortunately put NASA’s future in limbo. Everyone that depends on the United States Space Program for their livelihoods is on high alert as they wait for an announcement from President Obama about the future of the agency. Keith Cowing, the ultimate NASA watchdog has more information at NASAWatch.

I believe that it would be reasonable to cancel the Ares I rocket because I feel that there is enough evidence available to show that it is a gross waste of hardware and is an unnecessary redesign of technology that is already available in mass quantities today. I have spoken before about getting human ratings for Delta rockets and other ICBM-type missiles and I still believe that it would be our best bet. I really like the DIRECT Launcher proposal which takes hardware from the Space Shuttle Program and combines it with the Orion capsule. DIRECT makes perfect sense if the Government decides to cancel the Ares I rocket. However, I think that a full-on cancellation of the Constellation Program would be a blow to our nation’s space program of unfathomable consequences. The U.S. Government and NASA have let us down too many times in the realm of space exploration and there are already very few people listening to what they have to say. Another failure, especially one of this magnitude, would be nothing more than the death rattle of a glorious agency strangled by partisan politics and overburdened by meaningless bureaucracy.

Image Credits: NASA/DIRECT

I apologize in advance for the angry rant, but it is long overdue. A recent piece in The Guardian and the pathetic Space.com article mentioned below have compelled me to say what most of us are thinking: We need a space exploration project that fulfills our hopes and dreams instead of crushing them under the weight of government bureaucracy. Simple, right? Are you wondering what type of hallucinogens your humble host has been smoking tonight? Well friends, you can relax because I am not hallucinating, I am just getting fed up with stories like this. Congratulations to the group of college students who used a 3D rendering program to design a sub-par add-on module for the International Space Station. You are a credit to space exploration and certainly have inspired many to reconsider their apathy toward low-Earth orbit. I am really saddened by this story because it is not a newsworthy event. Artists design 3-dimensional renderings of space stations, spacecraft, alien cities, solar systems, and other space-related objects every day. Many of these are based on real, modern technology that offer much more than the so-called “hotel in space”.

I am a firm believer that it is stories like these that add to the apathy that exists toward any space exploration endeavors. It seems as though we’re introduced to some “fascinating” new technology or space hardware design every few weeks only to see them disappear without a trace. Bigelow Aerospace and its Genesis modules are the only designs I can think of in the last few years that seemed like complete BS, but were ultimately built and launched. It is much like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Yes, I know that it is a HUGE cliché to use this comparison, but it must be done. With a new design for a spacecraft or a station released every few weeks, but nothing new in the way of completed contracts or launches, people will naturally begin to assume the worst when it comes to these designs. I am already there. I read this article and already assigned my own opinion to its chances for completion before I was finished: Zero. None. Nada. We’re NEVER going to see this design attached to the International Space Station. It does not matter what the reasoning is, but the fact is that it just will not happen. I am tired of seeing this “marvels” that will “change the way we think about living in space” come and go without changing how we actually live in space! This is nothing new, however. Remember Space Station Freedom (see pic on right)? I think it is time for NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to start cruising the forums at some 3D art websites for ideas on practical designs for future spacecraft. After all, the terrible design of this little “space hotel” has just as much chance of being constructed and launched to the ISS as a prototype fighter plane from a Gary Tonge painting. Zero. None. Nada.

The Guardian article is on target, but the Space.com article is a waste of time. The sense of wonder and adventure that exploring the stars used to bring to people’s lives is mostly gone. It is, in my opinion, going to take a successful space program of some kind to reignite the dream of reaching the cosmos for many people. Bar charts and 3D renderings are not enough. Give me enough time and I can build you a 3D rocket and a timeline for launching it into orbit. If you want to donate $1.2 billion to this blog, I’ll even make sure that it is repeatedly pushed back until one of my friends convinces me to cancel it and pocket the money. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Image Credit: Imperial College of London/NASA

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken some incredible photos of the Apollo 14 landing site where Alan Shepard became the first man to golf on the Moon. Shepard and Edgar Mitchell landed in the Antares Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) on February 5th, 1971 in a rocky region known as Fra Mauro. Moon landing enthusiasts may remember that Fra Mauro was the intended landing site of Apollo 13 before the oxygen tank ruptured and forced the spacecraft to return home. At the time of the Apollo 14 landing, the astronauts were unable to locate the Cone Crater while walking on the ground because of a lack of distinguishing landmarks. The IMAX film Magnificent Desolation addressed the dangers of walking far away from the lunar landing sites because of the inability to judge the height and depth of the terrain due to its monochromatic appearance. Shepard and Mitchell believed themselves to be relatively close to the crater when they decided to stop their search, but it wasn’t until decades later that we discovered exactly how close they were (65 ft)! The detail captured in these photos is surreal! At first glance, they appear to be the usual photos of the Moon’s barren surface, but closer examination reveals the Antares lander along with the tracks made by the astronauts on during their search for the nearby Cone Crater. I got chills when I first saw these images. We have hundreds of photos of astronauts walking on the Moon, but to see the tracks and the hardware of such a historic event in high resolution photos from orbit is a new kind of awesome. Click the thumbnail of the lunar surface on the right for a high resolution, labeled version of the image. Click here for an ultra high resolution version of the image. Beware that the image is very large (1.5 MB) and will take a long time to download on slower network connections. Fra Mauro can be difficult to spot by itself with a telescope, but nearby Copernicus Crater makes finding the Apollo 14 landing site much easier. Click here (250 KB) to view a Starry Night screenshot that will help you pinpoint the photographed area.

Because of the often heated nature and the fringe science associated with the discussion of the Apollo Moon Hoax Theory, I debated on whether I was going to mention the topic in this post. I am somewhat reluctant to post anything about the discussion because of what normally accompanies it, but ultimately decided to touch briefly on what I feel this photo offers to the discussion. It’s no secret that some people find it easier to believe that a global conspiracy played out in the 1960s that convinced the world that Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, but was all played out in a movie studio hidden away in the desert. Astronauts, astronomers, scientists, engineers, and other high ranking government officials were supposedly involved in a scheme designed to convince the Soviet Union that we could reach the Moon despite the fact that we theoretically couldn’t do it. In reality land, the whole thing is one big fluff story meant to discredit the amazing work of the men and women at NASA during the Apollo Program and to generate publicity for a group of people who have lost their grip on reality.

Each time a piece of evidence is presented to Apollo Hoax advocates, they counter with additional claims of fraud and deceit. I’m sure that this photo will be no different. Don’t be surprised to see conspiracy theorists crying foul over these photos and claiming that NASA has doctored them as part of the continuing conspiracy. It’s just part of a normal, vicious cycle that will ultimately have no end. Even if we return to the Moon and find our old Apollo hardware perfectly preserved, there will still be detractors who are convinced that everyone is lying to them. I don’t have the time, patience, or expertise to counter every potential argument about the Apollo Moon landing. Instead, I direct you to Phil Plait’s original Bad Astronomy website (before he went off the deep end) for a complete breakdown of the Apollo Moon Hoax claims.

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

While many people in the United States are watching the formation of the first tropical storms of the 2009-2010 hurricane season, scientists working on the Cassini-Equinox (formerly Cassini-Huygens) mission are analyzing an India-sized storm cell on Saturn’s moon Titan. The storm cell was discovered in April 2008 at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii and appears to cover a “tropical” area of the moon that is not known for generating excessive cloud cover. These storms are way cool because they are believed to cause a significant amount of methane rainfall and play a significant part in the geographical formations on the planet’s surface. Imagine a hurricane of liquid methane washing up on the shores of Ft. Lauderdale and you’ll have an idea of what these storms are like.

For years, Titan has been a source of inspiration and curiosity. Many scientists and science fiction writers have written about what it would be like to exist on the surface of Saturn’s largest moon. Covered by a dense atmosphere of methane and nitrogen, it is believed that Titan’s storm regularly rain down liquid methane into massive lake and river formations. This interaction of methane on Titan is particularly fascinating as it gives us an opportunity to see the existence of a chemical compound in a uniquely alien environment. Astronomers have theorized that Titan is very similar to primordial Earth and often look to it for ideas about the history of our own planet. In 2005, the Huygens probe separated from the Cassini orbiter and traveled through the dense Titan atmosphere; ultimately returning photos of the planet’s surface.

Titan is one of the few Saturn moons that can be seen with a small telescope. With an apparent magnitude of 8.6, it is one of the brightest in the Saturn system. Unfortunately, Saturn is below the Northern Hemisphere horizon. It rises around 9:00 a.m. and is best visible around 3:15 p.m. when the Sun is still high in the sky. It will return to the night sky in late November.

In non-astronomy related news, I would like to take a moment to send my condolences to the residents of The Promenade at Beavercreek Apartments in Beavercreek, OH not far from where I work. One of the luxury apartments was gutted by a massive fire this afternoon. I only mention it because this happened very close to where I live and work. I can only imagine the horror that these people experienced as they sit around watching helplessly as the fire consumed their homes. This fire was much more massive than the photos and news recordings make it out to be. I saw it on my way home from work and it was terrifying to see the fire coming up from over a treeline from so far away. My thoughts are with the families that lived there.

Image Credit: NASA

There’s a new rocket in town! At Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the Ares I-X, a test model of the proposed Constellation Program rocket that will carry the Orion CEV into orbit has been completed and is on track for an October 31 launch. It is the first new space vehicle to be constructed in the VAB in 25 years! Ares I, also known as “The Stick”, is a two-stage rocket based on designs that combine modern technology with modified Apollo-era propulsion systems. The completed rocket stands at 325 feet tall and is quite an impressive sight; standing almost twice as high as a Space Shuttle launch stack.

Program setbacks and a spiraling budget aside, safety of the Ares I’s design has been a paramount concern since it was revealed. The slim construction, weight of the Orion CEV, and the length of time between designing the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket boosters and the Ares launch vehicles have caused great concern for critics and advocates of the new program. A report early in the concept phase of constructions theorized that the Ares I would suffer from severe vibration problems that would ultimately render the vehicle unusable. The October 31 launch will send the Ares I-X into a suborbital arc that will hopefully give NASA scientists an opportunity to gather valuable data about the rocket’s stability as well as a chance to test out its safety and recovery system. NASA hopes that the Ares I-X flight will provide the data necessary to make the vehicle safe enough to achieve a human flight rating. A NASA fact sheet outlining the entire Ares I-X test flight is available here (1MB PDF).

With the mounting criticism of the Constellation Program’s spiraling budget (which isn’t large compared to the Apollo Program), there is a very real possibility that Ares I-X may never actually launch. We can only hope that advocates for space exploration in the halls of Congress give NASA what it needs to successfully complete the program and help us escape from low-Earth orbit. I personally see at least one launch of the Ares rocket stack happening, but I’m not sure if the program has enough momentum and support from the U.S. Government and the general public to actually launch a human being into orbit. My question, however, is that if the Constellation Program will ultimately not carry us into space…then what, if anything, will?

Image Credit: NASA

Regular readers know that I’m not a NASA hater, but it’s difficult to hide the fact that NASA has made human space travel a touchy subject over the past few years. Despite its incredible success with unmanned projects like the Mars Exploration Rovers, Cassini-Huygens to Saturn, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and others, NASA is facing increasingly vocal critics of its Constellation Program as well as its plan to end United States involvement with the International Space Station in 2015. It isn’t as if NASA hasn’t faced criticism for of the program since its inception, but things are starting to get heated both in public discussion and in Congress. I believe that the agency has accomplished some amazing feats through its history, but can we really blame the sharks for circling after NASA has repeatedly failed to produce a successor to the Space Shuttle Program despite spending billions on research and development? Remember how the VentureStar Program and the prototype Lockheed Martin X-33 were destined to be mankind’s gateway to the stars? I’m sure that whatever aerospace museum inherited the prototype models for VentureStar are appreciative of the billions spent on research and development for their exhibit.

The news about NASA and its human space exploration initiatives is not all doom and gloom. The Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program is a somewhat intelligent idea by NASA to get aerospace companies involved with the International Space Station and planetary exploration initiatives. In the COTS program, NASA encourages private companies to development launch and recovery systems with promises to contract those systems for use in International Space Station projects. Some prominent names in the COTS world include Rocketplane Kistler, SpaceX, and the Orbital Sciences Corporation.

While these are all great companies that have built impressive hardware and are making progress toward commercial space operations, there is one company that always gets me excited about the future of space travel and you may have heard of them before: Bigelow Aerospace. Nestled in the heart of the Las Vegas desert, Bigelow Aerospace is a private company that successfully launched two inflatable “Genesis” modules into orbit in 2006 and 2007. These modules were compressed into a lightweight delivery system and sent into orbit aboard Russian Dnepr missiles. Now, a Bigelow representative has approached NASA with a lightweight alternative to the bulky Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. Orion Lite would be a crew command module similar to the Orion CEV but much lighter and could be launched on top of an Atlas 5 rocket instead of the proposed behemoth Ares V. Bigelow’s capsule is stripped down and designed for low-Earth orbit operations, but could be modified by existing Orion technology to reach the Moon and Mars.

It is possible that Orion Lite’s ability to ride on an Atlas 5 rocket could eliminate the need for Ares V development, but it is not the only proposed alternative launch system. My personal favorite is an initiative called DIRECT. Founded by a former Boeing engineer, DIRECT is a program that aims to build a launch system derived from existing Space Shuttle technology. The launch system would use the exact same solid rocket boosters (SRBs) and external fuel tank, but would place the Orion CEV on the tank’s forward quarter as opposed to the piggyback style configuration o the Space Shuttle. The direct system is an excellent concept design that allows for numerous configurations and future system upgrades. Unfortunately, I don’t think that DIRECT has ever been given any serious consideration as an alternative to Constellation.

Image Credit: The Direct Launcher Group, Bigelow Aerospace, Lockheed Martin

There’s no doubt in my mind: nuclear weapons and the destructive power they wield are horrifying. While outsiders can watch old footage of villages being leveled and forests burned to the ground as these weapons were being developed, only those unfortunate few that have experienced the devastation of a nuclear blast firsthand know the true pain and suffering that comes with the use of these weapons. To date, the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the Earth’s only victims of a nuclear weapons attack which was carried out by the United States in World War II. Tomorrow marks the 64th anniversary of the Hiroshima explosion as the Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” into a crowded intersection in the heart of the city. The Boston Globe’s Big Picture feature has some incredible photos from before and after the destruction of the city. I recommend that you take a moment to look at these photos and absorb the power of the weapon which leveled a city and killed almost 70,000 people in an instant.

The photo above is a sampling from the collection and it shows the flash shadow of a control valve that occurred as a result of the bomb’s heat blast. The black area on the wall is an outline of the valve and is actually paint that was protected from the blast. The rest of the white area surrounding the shadow was heavily burned along with everything else in the area. This photo was taken almost 7,000 feet from ground zero.

My reasons for posting this here on nightShifted Astronomy are twofold. The first is to emphasize the deadly power of these weapons. I understand that war and conflict is something that is ingrained into our nature and that it is not something we can easily get rid of. However, we can work together as cooperative, unique nations to reduce the number of these weapons across the world and ultimately to do away with them altogether.

In addition to my hippie, peace-loving motives behind this post, I also wanted to point out the impact that nuclear technology has had on the space exploration community. While nuclear weapons are extremely dirty and dangerous pieces of technology, nuclear energy and nuclear propulsion are, thanks to decades of research and development, surprisingly clean and efficient. The Galileo space probe that explored Jupiter for a number of years was powered by the radioactive decay of plutonium-238 and the Voyager probes each carried a significantly larger amount of the radioactive element. Nuclear powered space craft look to become a significant part of mankind’s exploration of the cosmos, and why not? There will always be those individuals who see the world “nuclear” and associate it only with its destructive powers, but in the end we have taken a technology that was essentially designed to destroy and used it to create a power source that opens up a whole new universe of possibilities and may help us ultimately colonize other worlds. Check out the Hiroshima photos and then give the Galileo and Voyager probes a thought for a moment. We have come a long way indeed.

Image Credit: U.S. National Archives/Boston Globe/NASA