Oct 30 2012

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 12-380 NASA SEEKS PARTNERS TO EXPLORE JOHNSON STRUCTURAL TESTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

HOUSTON -- NASA has released a Request for Information (RFI) to explore the potential interest and use of its unique facilities, labs and technical expertise for structural testing at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The facilities and capabilities could support commercial, government and academic activities, and possibly lead to new technology developments. The RFI is seeking responses from prospective partners interested in using Johnson's extensive testing facilities to provide high-performance solutions for a variety of structural testing in diverse industries, including aerospace. These solutions can help businesses meet their challenges by helping engineers develop deeper insight in their materials and building processes. Structure testing capabilities at Johnson include a full range of end-to-end test labs and tools, and the expertise of NASA scientists and engineers in analyzing data and operations. Core areas include material properties and advanced manufacturing techniques research, as well as rapid prototyping or fabrication of aircraft, spaceflight vehicle systems and industrial structures. Johnson's structural analyses are able to evaluate many different types of designs and can be conducted with environmental conditioning to analyze composites in extreme environments and verify design predictions that may support industry goals. New partnerships using Johnson structural testing facilities and expertise would be consistent with NASA's missions and are expected to be on a reimbursable basis.

RELEASE: 12-383 NASA ROVER'S FIRST SOIL STUDIES HELP FINGERPRINT MARTIAN MINERALS

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has completed initial experiments showing the mineralogy of Martian soil is similar to weathered basaltic soils of volcanic origin in Hawaii. The minerals were identified in the first sample of Martian soil ingested recently by the rover. Curiosity used its Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument (CheMin) to obtain the results, which are filling gaps and adding confidence to earlier estimates of the mineralogical makeup of the dust and fine soil widespread on the Red Planet. "We had many previous inferences and discussions about the mineralogy of Martian soil," said David Blake of NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., who is the principal investigator for CheMin. "Our quantitative results provide refined and in some cases new identifications of the minerals in this first X-ray diffraction analysis on Mars." The identification of minerals in rocks and soil is crucial for the mission's goal to assess past environmental conditions. Each mineral records the conditions under which it formed. The chemical composition of a rock provides only ambiguous mineralogical information, as in the textbook example of the minerals diamond and graphite, which have the same chemical composition, but strikingly different structures and properties. CheMin uses X-ray diffraction, the standard practice for geologists on Earth using much larger laboratory instruments. This method provides more accurate identifications of minerals than any method previously used on Mars. X-ray diffraction reads minerals' internal structure by recording how their crystals distinctively interact with X-rays. Innovations from Ames led to an X-ray diffraction instrument compact enough to fit inside the rover. These NASA technological advances have resulted in other applications on Earth, including compact and portable X-ray diffraction equipment for oil and gas exploration, analysis of archaeological objects and screening of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, among other uses. "Our team is elated with these first results from our instrument," said Blake. "They heighten our anticipation for future CheMin analyses in the months and miles ahead for Curiosity." The specific sample for CheMin's first analysis was soil Curiosity scooped up at a patch of dust and sand that the team named Rocknest. The sample was processed through a sieve to exclude particles larger than 0.006 inch (150 micrometers), roughly the width of a human hair. The sample has at least two components: dust distributed globally in dust storms and fine sand originating more locally. Unlike conglomerate rocks Curiosity investigated a few weeks ago, which are several billion years old and indicative of flowing water, the soil material CheMin has analyzed is more representative of modern processes on Mars. "Much of Mars is covered with dust, and we had an incomplete understanding of its mineralogy," said David Bish, CheMin co-investigator with Indiana University in Bloomington. "We now know it is mineralogically similar to basaltic material, with significant amounts of feldspar, pyroxene and olivine, which was not unexpected. Roughly half the soil is non-crystalline material, such as volcanic glass or products from weathering of the glass." Bish said, "So far, the materials Curiosity has analyzed are consistent with our initial ideas of the deposits in Gale Crater recording a transition through time from a wet to dry environment. The ancient rocks, such as the conglomerates, suggest flowing water, while the minerals in the younger soil are consistent with limited interaction with water." During the two-year prime mission of the Mars Science Laboratory Project, researchers are using Curiosity's 10 instruments to investigate whether areas in Gale Crater ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, and built Curiosity and CheMin.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-210 NASA TELEVISION AIRS SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS' FINAL MOVE

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Television will provide live coverage of events surrounding space shuttle Atlantis' move to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida for permanent public display. At 2 p.m. EDT Thursday, Nov. 1, NASA TV's media channel will air a news briefing about the transformation of Kennedy Space Center to a multiuser spaceport. The briefing participants are: -- Lisa Colloredo, associate manager, Commercial Crew Program -- Scott Colloredo, chief architect, Ground Systems Development and Operations Program -- Bruce Reid, Kennedy Space Center mission manager for Landsat Data Continuity Mission -- Jody Singer, deputy manager, Space Launch System Program At 3:30 p.m., NASA TV's media channel will air a briefing about the future of human spaceflight. The participants are: -- Robert Cabana, director, Kennedy Space Center -- Bill Hill, assistant deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development -- Ed Mango, manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program On Friday, Nov. 2, NASA TV will begin coverage at 7 a.m. as Atlantis departs Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The shuttle will make the 10-mile journey from the VAB to the visitor complex atop a 76-wheel flatbed vehicle called the Orbiter Transportation System, stopping along the route for a retirement ceremony at about 10 a.m. Ceremony participants include: -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden -- Robert Cabana, NASA Kennedy Space Center director -- Current and former astronauts of Atlantis' final mission, STS-135 -- Bill Moore, chief operating officer, Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Following the ceremony, Atlantis will travel to Space Florida's Exploration Park for a presentation and viewing opportunity for visitor complex guests before departing for its new home. NASA TV coverage of the move will conclude when Atlantis reaches the visitor complex at about 6 p.m. NASA retains the title to Atlantis and is providing it to the visitor complex for the public to view. Engineers have been preparing the shuttle for public display as part of NASA's transition and retirement processing of the shuttle fleet. A grand opening of Atlantis' new home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is planned for July 2013.