Lunar Helium Found

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has detected helium in the wispy atmosphere of the Moon.   So far, researchers have been able to establish the helium is associated with the Moon, as opposed to simply being in the background space.  The next step is to determine whether the helium came from inside the Moon, or from outside, on the solar wind.

The discovery supports a measurement garnered by a science package deployed on the lunar surface by Apollo 17 astronauts forty years ago.

Dawn Glitch

NASA's Dawn spacecraft is completing its time orbiting the asteroid Vesta, but the planned continuation of its mission to the dwarf planet Ceres might be in some doubt.

Earlier this month, a reaction wheel on the probe malfunctioned.  Reaction wheels keep a craft properly oriented in space.  Thus is the second problem Dawn has had with a reaction wheel.

NASA dealt with the first issue, and continues to prepare for a flight to Ceres.

Beautiful Betty

The Copenhagen Suborbitals is an amateur rocketry group in Denmark attempting to develop a single person suborbital spacecraft at an extremely low cost.  Two weeks ago, CS launched a two-stage rocket from a platform in the Baltic Sea, with limited success.  This past weekend it launched Beautiful Betty.

That's the name given the capsule launched in a test of the group's Launch Escape System.  The LES failed-- and Betty slammed into the waves-- but CS is pleased with the data it obtained.  Developing rockets on any budget is tough.

Strategizing Exploring Mars

A working group at NASA is looking at ways to approach the exploration of Mars over the next twenty years.  That would bring us to the early 2030s, which is the time frame President Obama set for the first human mission to the planet.  Budget problems scuttled NASA's earlier step-by-step plan to explore Mars, so the agency is trying to find a new conceptual framework.

The effort will likely focus on developing new technologies that will increase the capability of spacecraft mission to mission.  That will also slowly develop the technology base needed for a manned flight.  The main goal of the exploratory missions will be to determine whether ever did-- or possibly does now-- support life.

New Software For Curiosity

Now that Curiosity is safely on Mars, NASA is swapping out the flight software in the big rover's primary and backup computers in favor of a software package that will maximize Curiosity's ability to function on the surface.  The exploration software will enhance control of all the scientific instruments on the rover while also giving Curiosity a limited ability to operate independently.

The changeover will take four Martian days.

Quasicrystals

Scientists have thought since the 1930s that quasicrystals-- similar to crystals, but with a more complex organization-- did not occur naturally.  It seems that's wrong.

Researchers have found quasicrystals in the Kuryak Mountains of Russia.  They are associated with a meteorite impact area dated at about 15,000 years old.  That means they are likely extraterrestrial in origin.

The mystery now is where they came from.

Armstrong Hospitalized

Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery earlier this week.  According to his wife, Armstrong is doing well, and doctors expect a good recovery.  Armstrrong is 82.

Prior to commanding Apollo 11, Armstrong flew on Gemini 8 and performed the first docking of two space vehicles-- a critical capability for a lunar trip.   Before becoming an astronaut, Armstrong was a test pilot flying the legendary X-15.