Water in the Moon - NASA

11:48 AM

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science news

NASA today announced that data from it’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) show there is “water locked in mineral grains on the surface of the moon from an unknown source deep beneath the surface.”

I thought we knew this or something like it. And, in fact, we did:

“In 2009, M3 provided the first mineralogical map of the lunar surface and discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the moon. This water is thought to be a thin layer formed from solar wind hitting the moon's surface. Bullialdus crater is in a region with an unfavorable environment for solar wind to produce significant amounts of water on the surface.”

But this new water finding is important because it shows that there must be water trapped under the surface of the moon and not just that thin layer caused by solar winds.

Source seattlepi.com

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Study : Eating raspberries can enhance fertility

12:00 PM

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study

London, August 26 (ANI): A new study has claimed that eating raspberries could potentially enhance fertility in both men and women.

Raspberries can enhance fertility

The berries are believed to have high levels of Vitamin C, which is an essential nutrient in male fertility , and magnesium that helps in the production of testosterone, the Daily Express reported.

Raspberries also contain 10 times additional antioxidants than tomatoes, and are potent in protecting sperm.

Even after a woman has conceived, the antioxidants continue to protect the embryo and decrease the risk of miscarriage. (ANI)

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Human mission to Mars in five to 15 years

10:35 AM

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technology news

A NASA aerospace scientist today opined that a human mission to Mars was likely to materialise anytime in five to 15 years from now. 

"The human mission to Mars is feasible and doable and its only a matter of time. In my view, if budget and technology are not a problem, then it would happen anytime in five to 15 years. All we need is the willingness," Anita Sengupta of Jet Propulsion Laboratory told a group of journalists here. 

Sengupta had an important role to play in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration team which landed car sized robotic rover 'Curiosity,' on Mars on August 5, 2012 to explore Gale crater, after a little over an eight month travel since its launch in November 2011. 

Asked about the functions of Curiosity, she said, "It is doing very well. Its final destination is to reach Mount Sharp in Mars." 

An expert in Entry, Descend and Landing (EDL) of the mission, her team designed the special parachute, which soft landed the heavy 'Curiosity,' which had travelled in Martian atmosphere and gravity, very different from Earth. 

On whether a similar exercise would suffice for a human mission to Mars, she said, "Well, technically it will mostly be the same, but we need a larger version for it. We need hypersonic and supersonic aerodynamic simulation." 

Sengupta presently works with the Cold Atom Laboratory Mission, an ultra-cold quantum gas experiment to be launched to the International Space Station in 2016. 

In her ongoing project, she and her team intend to study the coldest spot of the universe and also the state of matter called 'Bose-Einstein Condensate,' named after the great scientists Albert Einstein and Satyendra Nath Bose. 

"The idea is to create a lab floating in the space, in which we will be doing tests sitting here through remote control," she explained. 

"We are working towards the target of April 2016," said Sengupta, who was in the city as part of her outreach to inspire school and college students in the field of space.

Source : business-standard.com

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1,800 Indians wants to settle down on Mars in 2023

7:56 PM

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science news

Nearly 1,800 Indians want to settle down on the Red Planet permanently and several of them are from Bangalore, according to Aashima Dogra, spokesperson of the Netherlands-based Mars One, which is planning a one-way human mission to Mars in 2022. 

Mars One, founded in 2011, is a not-for-profit organization which aims to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars in 2023. It intends to fund the endeavour by televising every aspect of the mission, from launch to landing to living on Mars. 

The team of settlers will be selected from applicants registered on the company's website, and a $7 fee is the only investment involved as of now. Anyone above 18 can apply, the main criteria being psychological stability. Till date, the total number of applications globally is about one lakh, of which 30,000 are from the US. 

The number of Indians expressing a desire to make Mars their permanent home is rapidly increasing. Dogra told TOI that while on May 6 the Mars One website showed the Indian count at a mere five, the number has rocketed to nearly 1,800 over the last three months. "This programme is proving to be extremely popular among Indians, I think because of the excellent space programme we have," she said, alluding to Isro's Mars mission planned for October-November 2013. 

Mumbai-based Sameer Kumar said he has a passion for exploration and that is why he has applied for the one-way journey. As for leaving the family behind, he said, "The way I see it my wife and son should learn to be financially independent." 

Amulya Nidhi Rastogi, a third-year mechanical engineering student of Maharishi Dayanand College, wasn't too distraught about the prospect of going without kin either. The 20-year-old Gurgaon resident, who describes himself as a space geek, said, "I always wanted to experience something beyond earth and I think Mars is the first step in this direction. I am confident of settling down on Mars permanently as I have the mental stability." About being separated from the family — who are supporting his plan — he said, "I do not think that will be much of a problem because there will be facilities for video chatting. Yes, I agree it will be disturbing for a while, but I will get used to it." Rastogi is confident about passing the isolation test, part of the selection process which consists of four rounds, the first of which will be completed by this year-end. 

"The final round will be over in 2014, when 20 to 40 candidates will be chosen and there is every possibility that Indians will make the grade," Dogra said, revealing that those selected will undergo eight years of intensive training at a Mars One facility before the final list of settlers is announced. 

The current plan envisages the start of crew training in 2015, launching of two rovers in 2018, followed by an all-cargo mission in 2020 and the first one-way human flight in 2022. Mars One is in the process of evaluating various rockets. These could be either the Space X of the US, or the Ariane European launcher or even an Indian rocket. 

Their website claims that the company intends to provide settlers with water, food and oxygen by mining resources from Mars' soil and atmosphere and that all components required to complete the mission can currently be built by existing suppliers.

Source : TOI

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33 new species of monstrous-looking predatory ants discovered

11:57 AM

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science news

WASHINGTON, AUG. 4:  Scientists have discovered 33 new species of monstrous-looking predatory ants in Central America and the Caribbean.

The University of Utah biologist who identified the insects named about a third of them after ancient Mayan lords and demons.

SHARP TEETH

These new ant species are the stuff of nightmares when viewed under a microscope, according to entomologist Jack Longino, a professor of biology.

“Their faces are broad shields, the eyes reduced to tiny points at the edges and the fierce jaws bristling with sharp teeth,” Longino said.

In a study published in the journal Zootaxa, Longino identified and named 14 new species of the ant genus Eurhopalothrix and distinguished them from 14 other previously known species.

In another upcoming study accepted for publication in the same journal, Longino identified 19 new ant species from the genus Octostruma and described differences from 15 other previously known species.

The genus name means “eight swellings” for the ants’ eight-segmented antennas.

“The new species were found mostly in small patches of forest that remain in a largely agricultural landscape, highlighting the importance of forest conservation efforts in Central America,” Longino said.

The new ant species are less than one twelfth to one twenty fifth of an inch long — much smaller than a rice grain or common half-inch-long household ants — and live in the rotting wood and dead leaves that litter the forest floors in Central America.

They are nearly eyeless and crawl around in leaf litter using primitive compound eyes to detect light but not form images.

No one knows how they find their prey, presumed to be soft-bodied insects, spiders, millipedes and centipedes. But the ants are known to coat themselves with a thin layer of clay, believed to serve as camouflage.

Among the newly discovered species from forest floor leaf litter, Eurhopalothrix zipacna was named for a violent, crocodile-like Mayan demon.

Eurhopalothrix xibalba, or a “place of fear,” was named for the underworld ruled by death gods in certain Mayan mythology.

(This article was published on August 4, 2013)

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

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UK scientists to land astronauts on Mars by 2021

10:40 PM

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UK news

LONDON: UK scientists have designed a concept mission to land astronauts on Mars by 2021 — 12 years before Nasa expects to send a manned mission to the Red Planet. The plan envisages a three-person crew journeying to Mars aboard a small two-part craft. 

Nasa says they will get on Mars at the earliest by 2033, but scientists at Imperial College , London have come up with a mission that could land on the planet eight years. According to professor Tom Pike, the leader of the London team, the trip would be the next major step for mankind in space — and create a Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin for the 21st Century.

"We have now come up with a mission concept that uses both robots and humans to get us to Mars and back. The robots will be sent to the northern plains of Mars, with a rocket to get back to Earth — but without fuel," Pike wrote in an article for 'The Sun' . 

"Sending the tanks empty saves a huge amount of mass on launch. Instead, the robots will dig up ice on Mars. Once the ice is melted, we can use solar electricity to produce hydrogen and oxygen to fill the fuel tanks. Better still, combining hydrogen with the atmosphere can make powerful methane," Pike said. 

According to Pike, a threeperson crew will then launch and in the nine months it takes to get from Earth to Mars, without weight from gravity, muscles weaken and bones become brittle — they need artificial gravity. 

He said it can be done by splitting the spacecraft into two, tied together by a tether, and spinning the parts around each other. With the right spin speed, they will be fooled into thinking they feel gravity, he said. 

The landing on Mars will be an extreme ride lasting just a few minutes. The landing module will approach Mars at 22530.8kph, said Pike. 

He said the atmosphere will reduce the speed to 1126.5kph, then parachutes with rockets will slow the module, landing in the warmest place on Mars, near the equator. Pike said in order to return, the crew will have to journey about 1600km north via rover from their landing site to the return rocket.

PTI

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INSAT-3D advanced weather satellite launched

10:29 AM

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technology news

India's advanced meteorological satellite INSAT-3D was successfully launched by an European rocket from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana early on Friday, giving a boost to weather forecasting and disaster warning services.

European space consortium Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket launched INSAT-3D and Alphasat satellites.

Alphasat is Europe's largest telecommunication satellite-ever manufactured and results from a large-scale public-private partnership between the European Space Agency and Inmarsat.
   
The workhorse vehicle lifted off exactly on schedule at 1:23am IST from the Spaceport's ELA-3 launch zone in French Guiana for a nearly 33-minute flight.
     
This launch provided an excellent view of the flight's initial trajectory, as the Ariane 5 began its vertical ascent, then rotated East  arching over the Spaceport's main base area as it progressed downrange.
    
The flight path was visible between scattered cloud layers and the clear meteorological conditions enabled an excellent view of the launch's first phase including separation of the two solid propellant boosters at an altitude of 67 km.
     
Alphasat was deployed first in the flight sequence, nearly 28 minutes after the liftoff.
     
Some five minutes later, Ariane 5 completed its mission with the successful separation of INSAT-3D, which carries a six-channel imager and 19-channel sounder, as well as a data relay transponder for satellite-aided search and rescue operations.
     
"I am happy to inform you that the Master Control Facility at Hassan in India has already received signals from INSAT-3D", chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation K Radhakrishnan said minutes after the launch.
     
"We are looking forward to an excellent operational performance of INSAT-3D for the next seven years making a difference for the weather forecasting and disaster warning systems for the country", added Radhakrishnan, also secretary in the Department of Space, in comments telecast live by Doordarshan.
     
Radhakrishnan did not travel to Kourou for the launch of INSAT-3D, designed to provide meteorological observation and monitoring of land and ocean surfaces.
     
According to ISRO, INSAT-3D adds a new dimension to weather monitoring through its atmospheric sounding system, which provides vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and integrated ozone from surface to top of the atmosphere.

The imaging system of INSAT-3D has significant improvements over that of KALPANA and INSAT-3A, the space agency said.

INSAT-3D will provide continuity to earlier missions and further augment the capability to provide various meteorological as well as search and rescue services.
     
INSAT-3D had a lift-off mass of 2060 kg.
     
INSAT-3D also carried the newly developed 19 channel sounder, the first such payload to be flown on an ISRO satellite mission.
     
The Data Relay Transponder (DRT) will be used to receive meteorological, hydrological and oceanographic data from remote, uninhabited locations over the coverage area from Data Collection Platforms (DCPs) like Automatic Weather Station, Automatic Rain Gauge and Agro Met Stations.

India Meteorological Department and ISRO have established more than 1800 DCPs.

INSAT-3D is equipped with a Search and Rescue payload that picks up and relays the alert signals originating from the distress beacons of maritime, aviation and land based users to the Indian Mission Control Centre located at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network in Bangalore.
     
The major users of Satellite Aided Search and Rescue service in India are Indian Coast Guard, Airports Authority of India, Directorate General of Shipping, Defence Services and fishermen.

The Indian service region includes a large part of the Indian Ocean region covering India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania for rendering distress alert services.

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