Scistrike-blog - Science Denier Hall Of Shame

I was fortunate enough to see the full-size model of this craft at @nasagoddard and was given a description & full explanation of the ambitious mission. Thanks, NASA Social!

Mission Possible: Redirecting an Asteroid

As part of our Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), we plan to send a robotic spacecraft to an asteroid tens of millions of miles away from Earth, capture a multi-ton boulder and bring it to an orbit near the moon for future crew exploration.

This mission to visit a large near-Earth asteroid is part of our plan to advance the new technologies and spaceflight experience needed for a human mission to the Martian system in the 2030s.

How exactly will it work?

The robotic spacecraft, powered by the most advanced solar electric propulsion system, will travel for about 18 months to the target asteroid.

After the spacecraft arrives and the multi-ton boulder is collected from the surface, the spacecraft will hover near the asteroid to create a gravitational attraction that will slightly change the asteroid’s trajectory.

After the deflection is verified, the robotic vehicle will deliver the boulder into a stable orbit near the moon. During the transit, the boulder will be further imaged and studied by the spacecraft.

Astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft will launch on the Space Launch System rocket to explore the returned boulder.

Orion will dock with the robotic vehicle that still has the boulder in its grasp. 

While docked, two crew members on spacewalks will explore the boulder and collect samples to bring back to Earth for further study.

The astronauts and collected samples will return to Earth in the Orion spacecraft.

How will ARM help us send humans to Mars in the 2030s?

This mission will demonstrate future Mars-level exploration missions closer to home and will fly a mission with technologies and real life operational constraints that we’ll encounter on the way to the Red Planet. A few of the capabilities it will help us test include: 

Solar Electric Propulsion – Using advanced Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) technologies is an important part of future missions to send larger payloads into deep space and to the Mars system. Unlike chemical propulsion, which uses combustion and a nozzle to generate thrust, SEP uses electricity from solar arrays to create electromagnetic fields to accelerate and expel charged atoms (ions) to create a very low thrust with a very efficient use of propellant.

Trajectory and Navigation – When we move the massive asteroid boulder using low-thrust propulsion and leveraging the gravity fields of Earth and the moon, we’ll validate critical technologies for the future Mars missions. 

Advances in Spacesuits – Spacesuits designed to operate in deep space and for the Mars surface will require upgrades to the portable life support system (PLSS). We are working on advanced PLSS that will protect astronauts on Mars or in deep space by improving carbon dioxide removal, humidity control and oxygen regulation. We are also improving mobility by evaluating advances in gloves to improve thermal capacity and dexterity. 

Sample Collection and Containment Techniques – This experience will help us prepare to return samples from Mars through the development of new techniques for safe sample collection and containment. These techniques will ensure that humans do not contaminate the samples with microbes from Earth, while protecting our planet from any potential hazards in the samples that are returned. 

Rendezvous and Docking Capabilities – Future human missions to Mars will require new capabilities to rendezvous and dock spacecraft in deep space. We will advance the current system we’ve developed with the international partners aboard the International Space Station. 

Moving from spaceflight a couple hundred miles off Earth to the proving ground environment (40,000 miles beyond the moon) will allow us to start accumulating experience farther than humans have ever traveled in space.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Solar System: From TED Talks to Data Releases

Let us lead you on a journey of our solar system. Here are some things to know this week:

1. NASA-Funded Research

It’s all just a click way with the launch of a new public access site, which reflects our ongoing commitment to provide public access to science data.

Start Exploring!

2.  Red Planet Reconnaissance 

One of the top places in our solar system to look for signs of past or current life is Mars. Through our robotic missions, we have been on and around Mars for 40 years. These orbiters, landers and rovers are paving the way for human exploration.

Meet the Mars robots

3. Three Moons and a Planet that Could Have Alien Life

In a presentation at TED Talks Live, our director of planetary science, Jim Green, discusses the best places to look for alien life in our solar system.

Watch the talk

4. Setting Free a Dragon

Tune in to NASA TV on Friday, Aug. 26 at 5:45 a.m. EDT for coverage of the release of the SpaceX Dragon CRS-9 cargo ship from the International Space Station.

Watch live

5. Anniversary Ring(s)

Aug. 26 marks 35 years since Voyager probe flew by Saturn, delighting scientists with rich data and images. Today, thanks to our Cassini spacecraft, we know much more about the ringed planet.

Learn more about Cassini’s mission to Saturn

Learn more about Voyager 2

Discover the full list of 10 things to know about our solar system this week HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Ken Ham's Island

Want to be featured on our YouTube channel?

Sing this song and send a link to the audio file to SciStrike@sciencedenierhallofshame.com or post it in comments.

To be sung to this tune: https://youtu.be/XN-IamG0hT4

Ken Ham’s Island

Just sit right back And you’ll hear a tale A tale of a fateful trip, That started in Kentucky, Aboard this fraudulent ship. The boss was a mighty preachin’ man, Deceptive…

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Orbital ATK Antares Rocket Returns to Flight (Full Video)

Orbital ATK Antares Rocket Returns to Flight (Full Video)

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket returned to flight on October 17th with a launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. I was on-site to witness and document the event for Science Strike Force as part of the NASASocial program. The attached video is one of the results.

The launch was actually scheduled for the previous evening, but an underperforming ground cable (not part of the Antares…

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Successful launch of OrbitalATK Antares rocket at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia

Pi Guides the Way

It may be irrational but pi plays an important role in the everyday work of scientists at NASA. 

What Is Pi ?

Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It is also an irrational number, meaning its decimal representation never ends and it never repeats. Pi has been calculated to more than one trillion digits, 

Why March 14?

March 14 marks the yearly celebration of the mathematical constant pi. More than just a number for mathematicians, pi has all sorts of applications in the real world, including on our missions. And as a holiday that encourages more than a little creativity – whether it’s making pi-themed pies or reciting from memory as many of the never-ending decimals of pi as possible (the record is 70,030 digits).

While 3.14 is often a precise enough approximation, hence the celebration occurring on March 14, or 3/14 (when written in standard U.S.  month/day format), the first known celebration occurred in 1988, and in 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution designating March 14 as Pi Day and encouraging teachers and students to celebrate the day with activities that teach students about pi.

5 Ways We Use Pi at NASA

Below are some ways scientists and engineers used pi.

Keeping Spacecraft Chugging Along

Propulsion engineers use pi to determine the volume and surface area of propellant tanks. It’s how they size tanks and determine liquid propellant volume to keep spacecraft going and making new discoveries. 

Getting New Perspectives on Saturn

A technique called pi transfer uses the gravity of Titan’s moon, Titan, to alter the orbit of the Cassini spacecraft so it can obtain different perspectives of the ringed planet.

Learning the Composition of Asteroids

Using pi and the asteroid’s mass, scientists can calculate the density of an asteroid and learn what it’s made of–ice, iron, rock, etc.

Measuring Craters

knowing the circumference, diameter and surface area of a crater can tell scientists a lot about the asteroid or meteor that may have carved it out.

Determining the Size of Exoplanets

Exoplanets are planets that orbit suns other than our own and scientists use pi to search for them. The first step is determining how much the light curve of a planet’s sun dims when a suspected planets passes in front of it.

Want to learn more about Pi? Visit us on Pinterest at: https://www.pinterest.com/nasa/pi-day/

3 tube (41, 42 & 25) regenerative built inside a case I found at Walgreens. Coils for multi bands. Works great, quite sensitive, but the vents aren't cutting it. Going to need a cooling fan.  Listening to BBC at the moment.

http://www.sciencedenierhallofshame.com/flat-earth/disproving-6-through-10-of-eric-dubays-200-proofs/

'Proofs' 6 though 10 of Eric Dubay's '200 Proofs the Earth is Not A Spinning Ball' refuted.

Tri-State Freethinkers warn Youngstown City School District

May 23, 2016 For Immediate Release Tri-State Freethinkers warn Youngstown City School District: Intelligent Design has no place in classroom

Cincinnati, OH – Tri-State Freethinkers have written a letter to Interim Superintendent, Stephen Stohla, regarding a lesson plan discoveredon their school district web server that directs students in the study of Intelligent Design and its contrast to…

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Ever have to talk to an #evolution denier? Seems that this is usually how it goes.