May 2002

There's an awful lot of water on Mars, says the latest report from NASA. Their Mars Odyssey spacecraft is currently doing the rounds up there, an it has a cunning device called a gamma ray spectrometer that watches for the radiation made when cosmic rays smack into something solid. The type of radiation indicates what the rays smacked into, and in this case they tell us that there is a whole lot of hydrogen down there. From what we know of the temperature of the surface of Mars, the most likely material to hold on to all that hydrogen is good old water.

According to one report, there is enough water locked up as ice crystals in the dust on Mars to flood the entire planet to a depth of 500 metres. This has sparked renewed interest in manned missions, but a more likely scenario is a fairly rapid attempt to go and get a sample of the ice and return it to Earth for proper analysis. A manned landing shouldn't be a rushed and ultimately abandoned process like the Apollo missions, but a well thought-out and systematic permanent presence. Many believe that this should be preceded by lunar colonisation to give valuable experience for a long-duration Mars mission and to provide materials at a lower cost than it takes to raise them from Earth.

China's Maybe Moonbase

The Chinese state media made an announcement that was widely interpreted as implying a manned Chinese lunar mission would be underway by 2010. Ouyang Ziyuan, China's chief space scientist, said that the concept of a moon mission has been looked at for some time, and that he expected a lunar base to be established. It's not just a look-see-and-footprints plan either, they want to actually mine it as a resource. While China has yet to put a human in orbit let alone their planned space station, the current timescale calls for the first manned flight by 2005 and a lunar mission by 2010. Tests so far have been successful, as were launches of two satellites this month. With a concerted effort based on practical technology, China could indeed establish a permanent lunar base and mine - the technology is now well understood. In fact, the size of rocket necessary (a 70 ton payload) to orbit major chunks of a space station is roughly the size you'd want to base a lunar mission on, particularly if you plan on assembling two payloads in orbit to form a moonship. The irony is that America had this opportunity decades ago and passed it up, deciding to use single-launch systems to get to the moon, disposing of all the equipment it ever used, and abandoning lunar development. A series of moves which it may well regret.

However, it transpired later that Ziyuan is not in charge of manned missions, but robotic ones, and is an expert on the kinds of materials that make up moondust. He puts an unofficial estimate of a manned mission a decade or more further down the line. He does agree though that the Earth's moon is a major economic resource and the first in will reap the greatest rewards, including a stepping-stone to Mars.

Baikonur Collapse

There was a tragic accident at the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome located in neighbouring Kazakhstan, in which 8 people died. While the 70m roof of the building used to house the Russian Buran space shuttle was undergoing repairs, it collapsed. There is no comment on the cause of the collapse, but an investigation is to be carried out. The building is next door to the one in which Africa's Mark Shuttleworth was doing part of his cosmonaut training prior to his recent spaceflight. The facility is used for launching three quarters of Russia's satellites, but while tragic the accident is not thought to have any significant effect on launch schedules.

O2 Get It Fixed

The International Space Station has had its share of unwanted trouble too. Its primary oxygen system, designed by the Russians, converts water into hydrogen and oxygen. Or rather, it would if the pump was working. The pump has been acting up for a few weeks now, but it isn't clear if it is the pump itself that is stuffed, or the sensor that monitors the pump. Either way, it's a long way down to pick up another one from Repco. Fortunately, there are 3 months worth of oxygen "candles" stored on the ISS, and the US space shuttle is due to go up at the end of May taking more oxygen at the very least, and with luck some replacement parts. The occupants are a little wary of the oxygen candles as they are what caused a much-publicised fire onboard Mir.

Solar Sailors

Getting ready for launch in the Northern autumn is the Cosmos 1 spacecraft. It is unusual in two respects: First, it'll be launched from a submarine. Second, it is due to be the first solar sail ever launched. Shown here on the right [(c) Louis Friedman and The Planetary Society] is the spacecraft itself. The solar sails are long, thin strips of metallic-coated plastic sheet that are all rolled up in the protective covers that look a lot like army sleeping bags.

How long it will stay up there is an unknown quantity - it's never been done before. It could be weeks, or months. One of the very nice things about solar sails is that they don;t need any fuel to get from point a to point b; the sun provides all the energy they need and they just bounce it off. The spacecraft then gets pushed along like someone who is deflecting a firehose with a dustbin lid. The sail can even have holes in it, making it lighter, as long as the holes are smaller than a wavelength of light.

It has got cameras watching the sails, so we know how well they unfold and how stable they are. As this is the first experiment of its kind, this is an astute precaution. There is also a camera to take in the view, which is going to be a "must" for publishing in a later edition.

This edition is also on the web, just point your web browser to http://olliver.family.gen.nz.   vik@olliver.family.gen.nz

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

- Albert Einstein
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