Jul 18 2012
From The Space Library
RELEASE: 12-238 NASA'S SPITZER FINDS EVIDENCE FOR AN EXOPLANET SMALLER THAN EARTH
WASHINGTON -- Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have detected what they believe is a planet two-thirds the size of Earth. The exoplanet candidate, called UCF-1.01, is located a mere 33 light-years away, making it possibly the nearest world to our solar system that is smaller than our home planet. Exoplanets circle stars beyond our sun. Only a handful smaller than Earth have been found so far. Spitzer has performed transit studies on known exoplanets, but UCF-1.01 is the first ever identified with the telescope, pointing to a possible role for Spitzer in helping discover potentially habitable, terrestrial-sized worlds. "We have found strong evidence for a very small, very hot and very near planet with the help of the Spitzer Space Telescope," said Kevin Stevenson from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Stevenson is lead author of the paper, which has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. "Identifying nearby small planets such as UCF-1.01 may one day lead to their characterization using future instruments." The hot new planet candidate was found unexpectedly in Spitzer observations. Stevenson and his colleagues were studying the Neptune-sized exoplanet GJ 436b, already known to exist around the red-dwarf star GJ 436. In the Spitzer data, the astronomers noticed slight dips in the amount of infrared light streaming from the star, separate from the dips caused by GJ 436b. A review of Spitzer archival data showed the dips were periodic, suggesting a second planet might be blocking out a small fraction of the star's light. This technique, used by a number of observatories including NASA's Kepler space telescope, relies on transits to detect exoplanets. The duration of a transit and the small decrease in the amount of light registered reveals basic properties of an exoplanet, such as its size and distance from its star. In UCF-1.01's case, its diameter would be approximately 5,200 miles (8,400 kilometers), or two-thirds that of Earth. UCF-1.01 would revolve quite tightly around GJ 436, at about seven times the distance of the Earth from the moon, with its "year" lasting only 1.4 Earth days. Given this proximity to its star, far closer than the planet Mercury is to our sun, the exoplanet's surface temperature would be more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (almost 600 degrees Celsius). If the roasted, diminutive planet candidate ever had an atmosphere, it almost surely has evaporated. UCF-1.01 might therefore resemble a cratered, mostly geologically dead world like Mercury. Paper co-author Joseph Harrington, also of the University of Central Florida and principal investigator of the research, suggested another possibility; that the extreme heat of orbiting so close to GJ 436 has melted the exoplanet's surface. "The planet could even be covered in magma," Harrington said. In addition to UCF-1.01, Stevenson and his colleagues noticed hints of a third planet, dubbed UCF-1.02, orbiting GJ 436. Spitzer has observed evidence of the two new planets several times each. However, even the most sensitive instruments are unable to measure exoplanet masses as small as UCF-1.01 and UCF-1.02, which are perhaps only one-third the mass of the Earth. Because knowing the mass is required for confirming a discovery, the paper authors are cautiously calling both bodies exoplanet candidates for now. Of the approximately 1,800 stars identified by Kepler as candidates for having planetary systems, just three are verified to contain sub-Earth-sized exoplanets. Of these, only one exoplanet is thought to be smaller than the Spitzer candidates, with a radius similar to Mars, or 57 percent that of Earth. "I hope future observations will confirm these exciting results, which show Spitzer may be able to discover exoplanets as small as Mars," said Michael Werner, Spitzer Project Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. "Even after almost nine years in space, Spitzer's observations continue to take us in new and important scientific directions." JPL manages Spitzer for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.
RELEASE: 12-239 NASA COMPLETES ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL ORION PARACHUTE TEST
HOUSTON -- NASA completed another successful test Wednesday of the Orion crew vehicle's parachutes high above the Arizona desert in preparation for the spacecraft's orbital flight test in 2014. Orion will carry astronauts deeper into space than ever before, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and ensure a safe re-entry and landing. A C-17 plane dropped a test version of Orion from an altitude of 25,000 feet above the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in southwestern Arizona. This test was the second to use an Orion craft that mimics the full size and shape of the spacecraft. Orion's drogue chutes were deployed between 15,000 feet and 20,000 feet, followed by the pilot parachutes, which deployed the main landing parachutes. Orion descended about 25 feet per second, well below its maximum designed touchdown speed, when it landed on the desert floor. "Across the country, NASA and industry are moving forward on the most advanced spacecraft ever designed, conducting drop and splashdown tests, preparing ground systems, designing software and computers and paving the way for the future of exploration," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Today's parachute test in Yuma is an important reminder of the progress being made on Orion and its ultimate mission -- enabling NASA to meet the goal of sending humans to an asteroid and Mars." Orion parachutes have so-called reefing lines, which when cut by a pyrotechnic device, allow the parachute to open gradually, managing the initial amount of drag and force on the parachute. The main objective of the latest drop test was to determine how the entire system would respond if one of the reefing lines was cut prematurely, causing the three main parachutes to inflate too quickly. Since 2007, the Orion program has conducted a vigorous parachute air and ground test program and provided the chutes for NASA's successful pad abort test in 2010. All of the tests build an understanding of the chutes' technical performance for eventual human-rated certification. In 2014, an uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Exploration Flight Test-1. The spacecraft will travel 3,600 miles above Earth's surface. This is 15 times farther than the International Space Station's orbit and farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans has gone in more than 40 years. The main flight objective is to understand Orion's heat shield performance at speeds generated during a return from deep space. In 2017, Orion will be launched by NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS will enable new missions of exploration and expand human presence across the solar system.
RELEASE: 12-240 INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS EXPAND NASA'S SUMMER EDUCATION REACH
WASHINGTON -- NASA's Office of Education has selected more than 200 organizations across the country to receive Summer of Innovation (SoI) mini-grants. Each award has a maximum value of $2,500. This investment is designed to expand NASA's education network and help the agency keep middle school students engaged in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities throughout the summer break and beyond. Last month, NASA announced it was seeking collaborators to infuse NASA-themed STEM content into existing summer and after school programs for middle school students. The agency received more than 500 proposals in response to this solicitation. The awardees selected include non-profit educational organizations, public and private schools, youth foundations and science centers. The projects funded are varied and include proposals to establish after school STEM programs, provide simulated aviation training, design and build robotic arms and make food suitable for space travel. These SoI mini-grant activities are expected to reach an audience of as many as 20,000 students and 3,400 educators. The 2012 Summer of Innovation mini-grants are managed and administered for NASA by the National Space Grant Foundation.
RELEASE: 12-242 NASA ADMINISTRATOR OFFERS CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF FORMER KENNEDY CENTER DIRECTOR FORREST MCCARTNEY
WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden issued the following statement Wednesday on the death of former Kennedy Space Center Director Forrest McCartney: "On behalf of the entire NASA family, I wish to express our condolences on the passing of Retired United States Air Force Lt. General and former Kennedy Space Center Director Forrest S. McCartney. After 35 years of distinguished service in the Unites States Air Force, McCartney was named Kennedy Space Center director in 1987, only months after the fateful Challenger accident had shocked the nation and put the shuttle program on hiatus. McCartney's visionary leadership resulted in the shuttle's return-to-flight and a stellar safety record during his five-year tenure. In the 50-year history of Kennedy Space Center there have been only 10 directors. Forrest McCartney was one of the finest. As an engineer, a patriot and a leader, McCartney leaves an indelible mark on America's space program. His service to his country and to Kennedy earned him distinguished service medals from both the Air Force and NASA. We are grateful for his many contributions and we honor his legacy by rededicating ourselves to the values of exploration, education and inspiration that were the hallmarks of his life. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Ruth and the McCartney family." -end-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-132 NASA ADMINISTRATOR BOLDEN TO HELP OPEN INTREPID SPACE SHUTTLE PAVILION
WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will attend the Thursday opening of the Space Shuttle Pavilion at New York's Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Bolden, who on April 12, 2011, announced Intrepid would receive space shuttle Enterprise, will join museum officials and three of the four original Enterprise pilots at an 11 a.m. EDT ceremony on Intrepid's Flight Deck, located at Pier 86 (46th Street and 12th Avenue) in Manhattan. Immediately following the ceremony, officials will participate in a ribbon cutting in front of the pavilion, officially marking the opening of Enterprise to the public. Bolden and Intrepid officials will be available for media interviews after the ribbon cutting, and the pavilion will be open to media from noon until 5 p.m. Enterprise was NASA's first space shuttle, a prototype that conducted critical tests in Earth's atmosphere in 1977. These pioneering tests paved the way for the successful orbital flights of later shuttles, beginning with the first flight of the space shuttle Columbia in 1981.
