The Stentorian | NCSSM
News
September 2014 3
Curiosity Rover launches new
wave of space exploration
By Richard Ong
Editor-in-Chief
On Aug. 6 2012, NASA’s
Curiosity rover landed at
Gale Crater and began to
take unprecedented data on
the organic history of Mars.
Two years later, the rover has
reached its original target.
Mount Sharp, an 18,000 ft
peak in the center of the crater,
and what was originally the
focus of the mission.
Curiosity rover has taken
data on the Red Planet like
never before on its 5.5 mile,
trek through the Martian
foothills of Aeolis Mons.
Curiosity has been redirected
so many times its zigzagging
path is as convoluted as the
surface it rides on. The reason
for this is to avoid damaging
its tires on sharp rocks and to
meander around the doldrums
of loose sand that pockmark
the planet’s surface.
Now, NASA has evidence
ancient freshwater lakes
containing amino acids in what
is now Yellowknife bay. Now,
the most important and final
data collection it will undergo
is about to begin.
Mount Sharp is a unique
geological feature. A peak as
tall as Mt. McKinley, it was
carved over millions of years,
causing its cliffs to lay bare
Mars’ geological history.
With its three cameras.
X-ray and laser spectrometers,
rock sampler and easy bake
over, the rover will take
geological, biological and
climatological data from
the mountain, enriching
humanity’s view of Mars like
never before.
This coincides with
NASA’s Mars Atmosphere
Volatile EvolutioN mission,
nicknamed MAVEN, entering
Martian orbit on Sept. 21, after
$671 million and 10 months of
travelling. MAVEN examines
the rate of light gases escaping
the Martian atmosphere,
allowing scientists to project
backwards and build models
of the ancient Martian
atmosphere.
Not all is said and done
however, because 50% of
all Mars bound craft have
malfunctioned. Space around
Mars is becoming crowded,
with NASA operating two
orbiters, two rovers, and the
European Space Agency
already has one orbiter. But
a new wave of nations and
private investors will be
challenging that statistic in
the coming decades, because
everybody who is anybody in
the space game is looking to
put robot probes on Mars.
The reasons for this are
twofold. Firstly, to answer the
question ‘Could Mars ever have
supported life?’ and secondly,
because the technology for the
robotic exploration of space
has become cheaper, easier and
available to more countries.
So far the Hst of countries
exploring Mars is an exclusive
one, consisting U.S., Russia,
and the European Space
Agency. Hov^ever India will be
joining the list this September,
by putting the Mars Orbiter
Mission, or MOM, into orbit
around Mars, for the price of
$73 million.
MOM was built entirely in
India and will use its cameras,
atmospheric gas sensors,
and surface spectrometers
to analyze the Martian
atmosphere.
This is the beginning
of a new wave of Martian
exploration, with NASA’s
Insight Lander and Europe’s
ExoMars Trace Gas orbiter
arriving on the Red Planet in
2016. The Insight Lander is
NASA’s first attempt to study
the thermosdsmological data
of Mars.
scientific instruments.
However, after 2020,
Mars’ orbit moves out of
optimum sync with Earth’s,
astronomically increasing the
energy required to fly there.
This is leading space agencies
to develop more brawny
rockets, such as SpaceX’s
Falcon 9 and Dragon V2, the
latter of which is the horse
'urosity rover landed on Mars two years ago using a Sky Crane
new landing method, where rockets slow the de.scent of the rover, is expected
to revolutionize robotic exploration.
The first un-American rover carrying Americans to space
to land on Mars will be in for the first time in cars.
m
2018, when Europe and Russia
set the ExoMars rover down to
search for organic compounds
in tandem with Curiosity. In
2020, Curiosity will be replaced
by an unnamed NASA rover,
which is essentially Curiosity
with upgraded wheels and new
The next big space
leaps will come from India,
China, Japan and Russia,
as the Asian powers race
among themselves towards
Mars, achieving scientific
discoveries and prestige
along the way.
Russia and China are both
looking for heavy lifting rockets,
such as the ones NASA recently
contracted from SpaceX and
Boeing. The two nations are on
track to join the list of nations
with Mars rovers by 2020. Japan
looks to have a rover on Mars by
2030, making it one of the less
ambitious nations.
America’s future in space is a
different story entirely.
Currently light years
ahead of the rest of
the world in space
research, NASA
is looking to send
astronauts to Mars
by 2030; as SpaceX
CEO El on Musk
said “I’d like to die
on Mars. Just not on
impact.”
But politics look
to put a stop to that.
Budget cuts have hit
Mars research hard.
But, this year both
Houses of Congress
allocated more
money to planetary
research than
the White I Iou.se
bargained for, with
them allocating .6%
of- the budget to
NASA.
The next big
leap for mankind is
not to put a human
boot on the planet, but the
return of a sample of Mars to
earth. The question America is
asking itself currently is whether
America will be driving the
future of space travel of playing
second fiddle to the superpowers
of tomorrow.
Facts compiled from:
National Geographic, Vox
U.S., Russia revamp nuclear arsenals as tensions rise
By Richard Ong
Editor-in-Chief
In Berlin last summer.
President Obama called for
a bold reduction in nuclear
weapon stockpiles, stating he
aimed for “a world without
nuclear weapons.” But his
recent actions have proved the
opposite is true, a policy shift
that could only heighten global
nuclear tensions.
Obama was referring to,
in his Berlin speeeh, 200
American B61 tactical nukes in
NATO countries in Europe and
to Russia’s European stockpile
of 2,000 warheads. While
last year a nuelear drawdown
seemed likely, Russia’s recent
annexation of Crimea appears
to have snuffed out those hopes
and may encourage nuclear
proliferation.
The B61 is America’s last
tactical nuke, delivering the
equivalent of 700 million lbs.
of TNT. Unlike most-nuclear
weapons, it is intended for
battlefield use, meaning should
Russia invade a NATO countiy,
the B61 would be used against
Russian troops. Nukes in
Europe have been there since
the 1950s and have remained
since the Cold War.
However, Hans Kristensen,
a nuclear science expert at
the Federation of American
Scientists said “Their presence
has not deterred Putin so far
and their future presence is
merely and echo from the
of removing American nukes
from Europe, has allocated $1
trillion to the expansion of the
U.S. nuclear weapons program.
These changes are budgeted to
occur over the next 30 years.
With numerous geopolitical
crises raging throughout
the world, with Russia on a
warpath, and ISIS devastating
President Obama and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev sign
the New Start treaty in 2009. The treaty was a key part of Obama's
anti-nuclear agenda.
past,” pointing to the aging
mechanism inside these
decades old bombs.
Obama evidently agrees
with Kristensen, but instead
the Middle East, Obama’s
militaristic turn is a logical yet
dangerous step.
Congress, so far, has
backed up Obama in this
staring contest with Moscow,
largely because of escalated
tensions over the conflict in
the Ukraine.
The renewed nuclear
weapons program aims to
both improve and increase
the U.S. arsenal. The only
true threat to this program
are budget cuts. In the
coming decade it will cost
$355 billion to refurbish the
American nukes. But the real
costs will be later on, when
bombers, submarines and
missiles reach then end of
their longevity.
Nuclear disarmament
was a key part of Obama’s
campaign strategy and was
one of the reasons behind the
Nobel Committee’s selection
of him as the 2009 peace
prize winner.
The new weapon
enhancements will not
neeessarily violate the 2009
New Start treaty with Russia,
where the two nations agreed
to cut stockpiles by 30%, but
it will test the peaceful spirit
the words were penned. So
far the program has already
built a $700 million facility for
the refitting of nukes and looks
to have more built in the coming
years.
Russia is not taking these
actions lying down. On Sept^
10, the Russian Federation
announced it would develop
nuclear weapons to counter
NATO actions. However, the
effort will be less profound than
its American counterpart due to
Russia’s fragile economy.
Russia has recently tested
the Bulva nuclear missile, a
12 meter long projectile that
will be the cornerstone of its
nuclear arsenal in the coming
decades. Russia aims to create a
guaranteed nuclear deterrent by
creating an aerospace defense
system and developing precise
nuclear and conventional
weapons.
With Rjjsso-NATO relations
at their lowest point since the
Reagan administration, this
reversal of nuclear policy is an
expected yet dangerous reaction
to the crisis in the Ukraine.
Facts compiled from: The
New York Times; NPR, The LA
Times