Enceladus' Exploding Tiger Stripes

The Cassini spacecraf's recent close flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus has produced a wealth of new information. Images show the little moon's remarkable geysers originate in the so-called "tiger stripes" on the surface-- fractures in the ice that are 980 feet deep, cutting into the moon in a steep V shape. The geysers explode into space from the bottom of the fractures. Deposits along the sides of the fractures indicates some of the water vapor in the geysers falls back to the surface and creates icy hills.

Further analysis of the data and the process could allow scientists to determine whether an ocean of liquid water that could support some kind of life exists under the icy surface.

Imaging Martian Dust

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has logged another first. Using its atomic force microscope, Lander has produced a 3-D image of a single dust particle on Mars, allowing scientists to study the structure of the particle in detail. At about one micrometer across-- one-millionth of a meter-- the particle is the smallest distinct object yet imaged off Earth.

Understanding the dust on Mars is important if humans ever intend to operate on the planet. Dust is everywhere, and is blown around by the wind. Huge dust storms sometimes totally engulf the world. For all of Mars' similarities to Earth. outlasting a monster Martian dust storm wouldn't be much fun. The dust in the atmosphere would cut the amount of sunlight reaching the surface, producing a dark, cold, forbidding world even at high noon. The strong wind would propel dust into any weakness in equipment. Any attempt to master Mars will have to come to grips with the dust. We now have our first image of that adversary.

International Space Politics

The Russian invasion of Georgia, and the U.S. response to it, could have negative consequences for the U.S. space program, according to Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who has actually flown on the space shuttle.

As things stand now, the only way American astronauts will have to reach orbit between the retirement of the shuttle in 2010 and the commencement of the Constellation program in 2015 will be aboard the Russian Soyuz. Sen. Nelson is concerned that if tensions continue to build between the two nations, Russia could either refuse to fly astronauts, or charge exorbitant fees to do so. That's what happens when somebody has a monopoly.

Which might mean the U.S. could try to break the monopoly. Adding funds to NASA to shorten the gap, as Sen. Obama recently suggested he might do, would be one approach. Another approach would be to increase support for private firms currently trying to develop manned orbital spacecraft and buy rides for astronauts to and from ISS from them. That market approach could eventually lead to a strong private space sector sooner than would've happened otherwise, which could be the key to really opening the space frontier once and for all.

Spaceport America Gearing Up

Early this morning, according to Leonard David, Lochheed Martin and UP Aerospace jointly carried out a test flight of a new aircraft that uses some advanced technology. The flight left from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Spaceport officials says they plan to host vertical launches by the first quarter of 2009, and the main buildings at the facility will be ready by 2010.

Exactly what the advanced technology being tested involves is unclear; the companies have decided to hold that information between themselves for now. Checking to see if there were a flurry of UFO reports over New Mexico this morning might give some clues. The area, of course, has a history as a home of both UFO sightings and honest-to-gosh but hush-hush testing of experimental craft.

Funding Hampers Constellation

NASA had been pushing to fly the first manned test flight of the new Orion spacecraft in 2013, just two years after the retirement of the shuttle. Now, however, due to tight funding, NASA is pushing back that flight well into 2014. Mission status for Orion, its Ares launcher, and the overall Constellation program will still be achieved by 2015, but the U.S. stands to have three years during which it has no way to put astronauts into space.

The situation, though, is fluid. Many in Congress are unhappy with the gap, and Congress may yet add money to NASA's budget which might allow the agency to bring Orion's first flight forward. Or, added money might support shuttle flights beyond 2011. The development of Constellation is also being challenged by a group of NASA engineers, as reported in this blog, who argue too much completely new technology is being developed for Constellation. They say shuttle-derived technology could accomplish Constellation's goal of returning humans to the Moon more efficiently.

Cassini at Enceladus

As I write, the Cassini spacecraft is encountering the moon Enceladus for the fifth time during its exploration of Saturn and its system. During the mission, Cassini has not only confirmed Titan is a fascinating world that might be home to some sort of biology, it has also put Enceladus firmly on the list of possible abodes of life in the Solar System.

Cassini will pass within 30 miles of the icy surface of Enceladus, flying over the geysers in the moon's south polar region. The pass should produce some spectacular images. It's also a chance to look for water or water vapor in the geyser plumes. Scientists now speculate there is an extensive ocean of water under the surface, kept liquid by a heat source. They have also found traces of possible organucs on Enceladus. Water, energy, and organic compounds all in the same place, given enough time, could produce life.

A Busy October

While the world is focused on the Beijing Olympics, China is moving ahead with its manned space program. Last week, China's news services reported the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft is undergoing final preparation for an October flight. The mission will carry a crew of three taikonauts into orbit and will feature the first Chinese spacewalk. The ability to do work in space, outside the capsule, is critical to China's plan to build a space station in Earth orbit.

NASA plans to be busy in October, as well. The next shuttle flight, and the last servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, is scheduled for early in the month. It's possible, therefore, that China and NASA will be undertaking particularly demanding missions at the same time. One is trying to find a direction for its future after an extraordinary past, while the other is trying to establish itself as a space power. How each of those futures in space unfolds may tell us something about which nation will lead Earth through this century.