Space Quote: Goddard Space Flight Center Threatened by Cuts

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Sign for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. (NASA)

“…actions taken during the last nine months threaten the workers at Goddard and their ability to lead the world in this science and exploration. Between unnecessary voluntary separations, deferred resignations, reductions in force, and other pressure, thousands of civil servants and contractors are no longer working at GSFC. Other countries with space programs from our political allies to our adversaries have been recruiting our top scientists and researchers with massive salaries, research budgets, and the promise of stability. Where the US has considered stepping back, China has made clear they are eager to step in. We can and must re-invest in the people and centers that make America the global space leader and that starts with Goddard.”

-Statement in a November 13th letter from Maryland’s Senators and Representatives to NASA’s Acting Administrator Sean Duffy regarding recent cuts at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland. The letter included four questions to be answered by November 17th.

Really?: Star Trek Author Tied to Jeffrey Epstein Emails

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Basic Books

This is really getting ridiculous. With the reopening of the federal government, the public has moved onto a new topic, and once again it is sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his emails. However, this time it touches upon an popular cosmologist who wrote a book about Star Trek.

According to recent news stories, cosmologist Lawrence Krauss, author of The Physics of Star Trek, wrote to Mr. Epstein back in 2018 asking for ways to handle sexual harassment complaints against him. Mr. Epstein was a financial supporter of a program run by Dr. Krauss at Arizona State University (ASU). That same year, Dr. Krauss announced his retirement as professor at ASU while dealing with such charges. Dr. Krauss was also a contributor to Scientific American magazine and sat on Scientific American’s board of advisers, but was removed from the board in 2018 for reasons related to allegations of sexual misconduct.

As has been reported endlessly, Mr. Epstein engaged with a very large group of individuals, so Dr. Krauss is not alone. Still, it is not something you want on your resume.

You can still find Dr. Krauss sharing ideas on his podcast, The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss, as well as his substack, Critical Mass. Whether this Epstein topic comes up on either the podcast or substack is anyone’s guess.

Dr. Krauss once stated:

For, after all, in science one achieves the greatest impact (and often the greatest headlines) not by going along with the herd, but by bucking against it.

I don’t believe he was talking about these latest headlines.

Pic of the Week: The New Glenn Rocket Booster Returns

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The New Glenn booster after it landed on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean. (Blue Origin)

Today’s image comes from Blue Origin, which successfully completed it second launch of it New Glenn rockets, sending two NASA Martian probes into orbit. The image shows the reusable rocket booster right after it landed on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean.

Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy stated:

Congratulations to Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, UC Berkeley, and all of our partners on the successful launch of ESCAPADE…This heliophysics mission will help reveal how Mars became a desert planet, and how solar eruptions affect the Martian surface. Every launch of New Glenn provides data that will be essential when we launch MK-1 through Artemis. All of this information will be critical to protect future NASA explorers and invaluable as we evaluate how to deliver on President Trump’s vision of planting the Stars and Stripes on Mars.

SpaceX now has another competitor for military and space missions, which is good for everyone (including SpaceX since it will keep them focused).

A Day in Astronomy: The Death of Percival Lowell

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Percival Lowell’s mausoleum just steps away from the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ. (Atlas Obscura)

On this day in 1916, American astronomer Percival Lowell died at the age of 61 in Flagstaff, AZ. He will forever be remembered for his incorrect theory concerning canals on Mars as well as his better theory about a ninth planet, which contributed to the discovery of Pluto 14 years by Clyde Tombaugh, who was working at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff.

Some interesting facts about Mr. Lowell’s life includes:

  • After graduating from Harvard with a degree in mathematics yet spent six years running a cotton mill;
  • He traveled extensively to Asia and wrote numerous books about the region;
  • He was a dedicated pacifist; and
  • His greatest contribution to astronomy related to the preferred placement of observatories.

Mr. Lowell was far from the mark when he said this about Mars:

Speculation has been singularly fruitful as to what these markings on our next to nearest neighbor in space may mean. Each astronomer holds a different pet theory on the subject, and pooh-poohs those of all the others. Nevertheless, the most self-evident explanation from the markings themselves is probably the true one; namely, that in them we are looking upon the result of the work of some sort of intelligent beings. . . . The amazing blue network on Mars hints that one planet besides our own is actually inhabited now.

Yet it is too early to say he was also dreaming when he made this comment:

Now when we think that each of these stars is probably the centre of a solar system grander than our own, we cannot seriously take ourselves to be the only minds in it all.

Space Stories: Damaged Space Antenna, Dark Matter as Weighty Matter, and a Stable Ocean on Enceladus

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—SpaceNews.com: “Key Antenna in NASA’s Deep Space Network Damaged“

One of the largest antennas in NASA’s Deep Space Network was damaged in September and may be out of service for an extended period, further straining the system. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed Nov. 10 that the 70-meter antenna at the Deep Space Network (DSN) site in Goldstone, California, has been offline since Sept. 16, with no timetable for its return to service.

—University of Geneva: “Dark Matter Does Not Defy Gravity, Study Suggests“

Does dark matter follow the same laws as ordinary matter? The mystery of this invisible and hypothetical component of our universe—which neither emits nor reflects light—remains unsolved. A team involving members from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) set out to determine whether, on a cosmological scale, this matter behaves like ordinary matter or whether other forces come into play. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest a similar behavior, while leaving open the possibility of an as-yet-unknown interaction. This breakthrough sheds a little more light on the properties of this elusive matter, which is five times more abundant than ordinary matter.

—University of Oxford: “Saturn’s Icy Moon May Host a Stable Ocean Fit for Life, New Study Finds“

A new study led by researchers from Oxford University and Southwest Research Institute and the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona has provided the first evidence of significant heat flow at Enceladus’ north pole, overturning previous assumptions that heat loss was confined to its active south pole. This finding confirms that the icy moon is emitting far more heat than would be expected if it were simply a passive body, strengthening the case that it could support life.