A NASA X-43A prototype scramjet aircraft performed a successful test on Saturday, reaching a top speed of Mach 7. The X-43A was mounted to the front of a Pegasus rocket which was dropped from a B-52 bomber. The rocket carried it to an altitude of 29,000 metres and then the X-43A fired its scramjet for 10 seconds, extinguishing its hydrogen fuel supply. It flew for a few more minutes to record aerodynamic data. Another test flight is scheduled for later this year.

Once Spirit wraps up its observations of Crater Bonneville, it will begin the long journey to reach the Columbia Hills, located 2.3 kilometres away. The trip is likely to take 2-3 months, because the rover will stop along the way to analyze anything of interest; some potential targets are a few smaller craters and some trails left by dust devils. The rover's final task at Bonneville will be to analyze some light-coloured rock on the crater's rim. Spirit has been on the surface of Mars for 12 weeks now.

Space Adventures announced today that Gregory Olsen will be their next private space tourism client. He's expected to launch for the International Space Station on board a Soyuz rocket some time in 2005, maybe before. Dr. Olsen is the head of Princeton-based Sensors Unlimited and paid an estimated $20 million for the trip. Olsen is hoping to do some science while on board the station, testing his company's equipment and performing some experiments on crystal growth; but his main goal is to use the trip to help build enthusiasm for space exploration with young people.

Theorists are working madly to develop the new "Theory of Everything" that will tie together all the forces in the Universe into one unified explanation. Experimenters are also working to come up with ways to test these various theories, and narrow down the ones that actually predict what happens in Nature. One upcoming experiment called LATOR will test how the Sun's gravity bends light emitted by mini-satellites - it will be so precise that many theories will be invalidated if it doesn't find deviations from Einstein's predictions.

The European Space Agency has successfully tested a new tracking system that will allow its new automated cargo ship dock to the International Space Station. The "videometer" (VDM) is a device attached to the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) which uses eye-like sensors to track the position and orientation of the station to dock with it. The device was tested in a 600-metre long building, with the VDM guiding a simulated vehicle approaching a station mockup. It locked on at 313 metres and guided the simulated vehicle into dock perfectly on the first test.

A series of 30 images of Saturn taken by Cassini from February 15-19 have been blended together into a mini-movie that shows 5 complete rotations of the ringed planet. The images were taken using Cassini's 889 nanometer filter, which shows light reflected high in Saturn's atmosphere, so they reveal the highest altitude clouds. Atmospheric motions can clearly be seen in the planet's southern regions.

As you've probably heard, NASA has cancelled a future mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. This means that Hubble will likely stop functioning in the next few years. If you're interested in convincing NASA to continue missions to Hubble, you'll want to contact your member of congress and encourage them to sponsor H. Res 550. Here's the full text of the resolution. Right now there are 41 members of congress who support the resolution, but organizers want to get to 100 to make an impact. They need to sign the resolution by April 1, 2004. You can call your member of congress by calling the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121. Ask to speak to his or her Legislative Assistant in charge of space policy, and then explain to that person that the congressman should become a cosponsor of H. Res 550.

If you want more Hubble wallpapers, then you need to make the call. :-)

Fraser Cain
Publisher
Universe Today

Researcher Dr. Mike Duke has been working for several years to create a rover that could use lunar dust to create propellant for use by future explorers. Over the course of four years, Duke and his team have created a robotic excavator that can scoop up soil. In the future, this excavator could deliver the soil to a Moon-based extraction system that would process the soil to draw out hydrogen. In a future scenario, propellant created on the Moon could be launched back into space to refill spacecraft relatively inexpensively.

NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory has found unexpectedly large quantities of magnesium in an exploded star called N49B. N49B exploded as a supernova approximately 10,000 years ago, and it seems to have ejected a mass of magnesium equal to the mass of our Sun - this would make the original star 1,000 times larger than the Sun. High concentrations of magnesium usually correspond to high concentrations of oxygen in a star, but this wasn't the case with N49B. So how did the extra magnesium get there?

The spiral shape of the Martian icecaps has puzzled astronomers since they were discovered. No place on Earth, or in the rest of the solar system has this structure. But what causes them? The icecaps are illuminated by the Sun at a low angle, so the light only hits one side of crevices. Some of the ice turns directly to water vapour and floats across the crevice; it refreezes on the part of the crevice in shadow. This slowly moves ice around on the icecap. A researcher from the University of Arizona has created a simulation which matches the observed structure of the Martian icecaps, including the irregularities.

Greece and Luxembourg have been approved to join the European Space Agency; they should become full members of the agency on December 1, 2005. Greece applied to join the agency in October 2003, and Luxembourg in December 2003. The ESA council unanimously accepted their applications. Until their full acceptance, the two countries have been granted observer status, so they can attend ESA meetings and familiarize themselves with procedures and working practices.

The European Space Agency's Envisat satellite took this latest image of the mouth of the Yangtze River; the longest river in Asia, and the third longest river in the world. The image was taken using Envisat's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), which is designed to measure ocean colour. This image shows how the Yangtze's sediment discharges into the East China Sea, and colours the coastline.

Opportunity took a last look back at the 22-metre "Eagle Crater" that it called home for two months while providing incredible evidence of Mars' watery past. This panoramic photo shows just how flat the Meridiani Planum region is. The area is surrounded by windblown sand, which indicates that wind is the primary geologic process going on here. There are two interesting depressions in the ground that Opportunity will examine before heading off to another crater.

The European Space Agency's SMART-1 spacecraft completed its 250th orbit this week on its long, slow journey to the Moon. The spacecraft's solar-powered ion engine is being turned on for 1.5 hours at the low point of each orbit. This slowly (and efficiently) raises the spacecraft in larger and larger orbits until it finally gets caught by the Moon's gravity - then it will decrease its orbit until it's going around the Moon. This whole journey will take 16 months, with SMART-1 arriving in lunar orbit in March 2005.

NASA has scheduled March 27 for the next flight for the experimental X-43A research vehicle. The unpiloted 4-metre prototype will be carried to supersonic speeds on the front of a Pegasus rocket. It will then fly under its own power using an air-breathing scramjet engine to reach Mach 7. A scramjet scoops oxygen from the air as it flies, and uses this to combust its fuel. This is the second test of a X-43A prototype; the first was destroyed because of a problem with the Pegasus booster.

NASA announced today that Opportunity has found evidence that the rocks around it were built up at the bottom of an ancient Martian salty ocean. The rover has found evidence of cross-bedding, where inclined layers of rocks are formed through sedimentation. Scientists aren't sure how long ago the sediments were created, so they're planning to send Opportunity to another outcropping of rock to make more observations. These kinds of rock formations are ideal for finding fossil evidence of past life; unfortunately, Opportunity's instruments aren't sensitive enough to see fossils if they're there.

Dark matter is a mystery. Astronomers know it's there because they can measure the effect of its gravity on stars and galaxies, but they can't see it. One theory about the nature of dark matter is that it's composed of theoretical subatomic particles called Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPS). A team from Italy believed they detected these WIMPs back in 1998, but other scientists were skeptical. A researcher from the University of Utah has proposed that the Italians search for different streams of particles coming from different galaxies to validate their original experiment.

Astronomers have measured the light from a supernova, and believe that it was inside a very unusual star system when it exploded. The team used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile to analyze the light from supernova 2002ic, and determined that it was inside a flat, dense, clumpy disk of dust and gas that was previously blown out by a companion star. It seems similar to objects known as protoplanetary nebulae, which are found in our own Milky Way.

NASA's Opportunity has crawled out of the crater it landed in, and turned back to survey its old home. Getting out of the hole wasn't as easy as NASA originally thought it was going to be. The Opportunity made an attempt to drive out of the crater, but the slope was so steep it slipped back down. Operators finally found a route that was gentle enough for the rover to get out and onto the plains above. The 22-metre crater has been named "Eagle Crater"

Amateur astronomer Jay McNeil made a lucky discovery last month when he noticed a new smudge of dust in the constellation of Orion using his 3-inch telescope - it turned out McNeil had discovered a nebula surrounding a newborn star that was illuminated when the star flared up. After his discovery, observatories around the world turned their larger instruments on "McNeil's Nebula" to get a better understanding of what's happening in this stellar nursery. This latest image was taken by the 8-metre Gemini observatory in Hawaii.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft took this latest picture of Saturn this week when it was 59.9 million kilometres away. The photo was taken using Cassini's BL1 broadband spectral filter. A full colour composite picture is built up by adding together images taken in the blue, red and green spectrums. Three of Saturn's moons can be seen in the image: Enceladus, Mimas, and Rhea. Cassini will be releasing new images once a week until it reaches Saturn in July 2004.

When they look at Io, one of Jupiter's moons, researchers think they could be seeing that the Earth might have looked like in its early history, before the development of plate tectonics - 200 to 500 million years after the planet formed. Volcanically active Io is being constantly pulled by Jupiter and another of its moons, Europa, so plate tectonics have never taken hold. On Earth, volcanic hotspots form at the edges of plates, but on Io they are circular.

Beginning tonight, and lasting for about two weeks, all five planets visible to the unaided eye will be in the sky - a nighttime planetary grouping that won't be back again until 2036. To get the best view, head somewhere with a clear view to the Western horizon (you should still be able to see all the planets, even from a light-polluted urban environment). Mercury is just above the horizon (near the Moon tonight), Venus is the bright star high in the Western sky, Mars is a reddish star just above Venus, Saturn is almost directly overhead, and Jupiter is the brightest object in the Eastern sky.

A Boeing Delta II rocket launched the 50th Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite on Saturday. The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 1753 UTC (12:53 pm EST), after a brief delay because of a problem with the upper stage's nitrogen system. The Lockheed Martin-built satellite joins 27 others already in orbit, to provide navigational information to both civilians and the military.

Billionaire Paul Allen has committed $13.5 million to support the construction of the first and second phases of the Allen Telescope Array. Construction of the array is now underway at the Hat Creek Observatory, 466 km northeast of San Francisco; the first phase will include the development of 32 6.1-metre radio telescopes. The second phase will see an additional 174 built. Eventually there will be a total of 350 identical dishes built. Once the first 32 dishes are completed, the array can begin scientific operations.

While watching the night sky with its panoramic camera, NASA's Spirit rover saw something surprising - a streak of light that was probably the brightest object in the sky. But what was it? It could have been a meteorite, or an old, dead spacecraft that orbited overhead. Based on the direction of the trail, the only spacecraft in that orbit, moving at that velocity would be Viking 2.

Scientists think they have an explanation for the "dust bowl" droughts of the 1930s, which helped to cause the Great Depression in the United States. Using a climate model called NASA's Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP), researchers were able to see how unusual temperatures in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans could divert the path of the jet stream, which normally dumps rain in the US Great Plains. This lack of water created a feedback loop which reinforced the drought, which is why it lasted for nearly a decade.

NASA's Opportunity rover has determined that the small mineral spherules, which scientists have been calling "blueberries", contain hematite. This furthers the theory that the region was once drenched with liquid water. On Earth, hematite crystals with the same size as the spherules usually form in a wet environment. Doing a chemical analysis on the spherules was difficult because they're too small for any of Opportunity's instruments. The rover had to find a spot which was covered with spherules to analyze.

Make sure you keep your eyes turned to the night sky for the next couple of weeks - you'll be able to see all five planets visible to the unaided eye. Mercury is down near the Western horizon, and sets quickly after sunset. Venus is also the West, and the brightest object in the sky after the Moon. Mars is a small reddish star above Venus. Saturn is nearly directly overhead, and Jupiter is the next brightest object, low in the Eastern horizon after sunset. You won't need a telescope to see them all, but if you can get your hands on one, you're in for an even better view.

NASA and the US Department of Energy announced this week that they will be working together to develop a nuclear reactor system for space exploration. One goal for this partnership will be to develop the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) mission, which will visit and examine Jupiter's three icy moons. The reactor will provide the electricity for a high-powered ion engine, which will allow JIMO to get into orbit around each moon and then out again.

The ESA's Mars Express has confirmed that water ice exists at Mars' southern pole. Astronomers have known for years that the northern cap contained water ice, but the chemical analysis of the south pole only showed carbon dioxide. Observations from the spacecraft's OMEGA instrument showed that both carbon dioxide and water ice are present in the southern cap. Mars Express will use another instrument, MARSIS, to determine how thick the ice caps are to help calculate just how much water ice is present.

The closest asteroid ever recorded to pass by the Earth was discovered on Monday evening by NASA's LINEAR asteroid survey. Asteroid 2004 FH, which is only 30 metres across, will fly past the Earth at a distance of only 43,000 km - well within the orbit of the Moon. Objects of this size are believed to pass the Earth once every two years or so, but they're usually undetected. 2004 FH will make its closest approach at 2208 UTC (5:08 pm EST), and should be visible to areas of Europe and Asia with binoculars.

When NASA's Stardust spacecraft flew through the tail of Comet Wild-2, it took some of the most detailed images ever seen of a comet. Analysts have taken a short exposure of the comet's surface and overlaid it onto a longer exposure that showed the comet's jets. This combined image allows scientists to understand which surface features are creating the jets, to better understand why Wild-2 is so incredibly pockmarked with craters, rifts and holes. Stardust will return to Earth in 2006 with its precious cargo of cometary particles.

The ESA's Integral gamma-ray observatory has resolved the diffuse glow from the heart of the Milky Way into hundreds of individual sources, solving a mystery that has stumped astronomers for more than 30 years. Astronomers believed that the gamma ray glow came from the interactions of atoms, but this couldn't explain why the glow was so strong. Integral was able to see the individual celestial objects, and the data suggests that they might be binary systems, where a black hole or neutron star is orbiting another star.

Space tourism company Space Adventures announced this week that they're shopping around for a potential spaceport location. They're considering sites around the world, and the facility would include a launch pad (or runway) for sub-orbital flights, a spaceflight training centre, and other activities. Space Adventures has already taken over 100 reservations for sub-orbital flights; they just need a vehicle.

New research funded by NASA indicates that some models of climate change might be overestimating what impact water vapour will have in raising average temperatures. This new study, based on data gathered by the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), verified that water vapour increases in the atmosphere as surface temperatures rise, but not as much as previously theorized. Water vapour is a significant greenhouse gas, so this new research will help scientists make much better predictions about future climate changes.

The NASA/ESA Ulysses spacecraft's power is starting to run down, and soon it won't have enough to keep itself warm. When the spacecraft was first launched in 1990 to study the Sun, its reactor produced 285 watts of power, but now almost 14 years later, it's down to 207 watts. If it gets too much lower, the spacecraft won't be able to operate the heaters that keep the fuel flowing. Without this fuel, it won't be able to orient its main antenna towards the Earth to transfer data.

Oxygen is one of the most important elements on Earth to life, and it comprises a fifth of our atmosphere. It's a volatile element, so it can't exist in large quantities unless something, like life, is continually producing it. The mainstream view is that plants evolved oxygen photosynthesis early on, and then produced large amounts of oxygen. Another view, tested under laboratory conditions, is that when volcanic rocks weather, they release oxygen into the atmosphere. Perhaps it's a combination of these factors that built up our oxygen.

NASA's Spirit rover has taken a beautiful panoramic image of the Bonneville crater. Here's a 1024x768 wallpaper of the crater. The original image was quite wide, covering 180-degrees, so it doesn't quite fit a computer screen normally - this image has been cropped a bit. Spirit recorded this photo on March 12, 2004, using its panoramic camera. By taking such a detailed image, scientists can get a good idea about the surface material at the crater.

A Russian Proton rocket successfully launched the Eutelsat W3A satellite into orbit Monday evening. The Proton lifted off at 2306 UTC (6:06 pm EST), and the Breeze M upper stage separated 10 minutes later, placing the satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit 9 hours later. The W3A satellite will provide broadband, direct-to-home, and other communications services to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The ESA/NASA SOHO spacecraft took a beautiful picture of an enormous prominence, 700,000 kilometres across, ejected from the surface of the Sun. An "eruptive prominence" is a mass of relatively cool plasma - only 80,000 C, instead of 1-2 million C in the upper atmosphere of the Sun. These are usually associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and can affect the Earth's magnetosphere when they come our way.

One of the largest astronomy catalogs ever created was released to the public today by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The released data contains six terabytes of images and catalogs, containing 88 million celestial objects and detailed spectra on 350,000 objects. Many discoveries have been made with previously released SDSS data, including the most distant quasars, coolest stars, properties of galaxies, and the locations of many asteroids. The photographs were taken using the SDSS' 2.5 metre telescope, which records images digitally using 5 filters.

More than a million people die from malaria every year, a disease spread by mosquitoes. Epidemics happen when environmental conditions, like rainfall, temperature and vegetation are perfect for the disease carrying insects. By tracking these changes with satellites, NASA scientists hope to be able to predict when and where disease outbreaks will happen to give people some warning. This would help relief agencies know where conditions are going to be the worst so they can direct their efforts.

A new object has been discovered in the Solar System; it's nearly as large as Pluto, but 13 billion kilometres away. Tentatively named Sedna, the Inuit goddess of the Sea, it's approximately 1,700 km in diameter, which makes it the largest Solar System object found since Pluto was located in 1930. Sedna is located in the Kuiper Belt, and follows a highly ecliptic orbit that takes 10,500 years to complete. The object was first discovered using the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii, and then confirmed with several other instruments, including the Spitzer Space Telescope.

One of the most innovative aspects of the Mars Pathfinder and Exploration Rover missions were the durable airbags which helped the spacecraft survive a hard landing on the surface of Mars. Instead of having to slow their descent from parachute speed, they could carry much less fuel... and bounce. But developing the airbags was a significant engineering challenge. How to create a fabric that could survive a long fall, across sharp rocks, which wouldn't clog up the lander when it deflated. Engineer Tommaso Rivellini explains the journey to create the airbag system which became so successful.

A Lockheed Martin-built Atlas III rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Saturday, lofting the MBSAT communications satellite into orbit - the rocket lifted off at 0540 UTC (12:40am EST). MBSAT will provide a range of telecommunications services to countries in Asia. This was the second Atlas flight this year, and 70th consecutive success for the family of rockets.