Geeks in Space: Apps in Space!

The final space shuttle mission is scheduled to launch Friday, July 8, 2011, weather permitting that is, and it’s been pretty rainy this week here in Florida, so right now there’s a 70% chance she won’t launch. However, when she does fly, those of the geeky persuasion with iPhones and iPads can keep track of it using a free app from GoSoftWorks called GoAtlantis. The app features real-time tracking of the shuttle and the International Space Station with multiple map and sky views, time-lapse control and easy GPS setup. Even after Atlantis completes its mission on July 20th, the app will continue to track the space station for years to come. Get your free app here.

Hubble’s One Millionth Milestone

On July 4th, the Hubble space observatory made its one millionth scientific observation while looking for water in an exoplanet’s atmosphere in a star system 1,000 light-years away. The observation was a spectrographic measurement, rather than an image, of the gas giant in orbit around Kepler 2b discovered by the Kepler observatory. Hubble is being used to analyze the chemical composition of the planet, which is larger than Jupiter.

Hubble was launched in 1990, aboard space shuttle’s Discovery’s STS-31 mission. It has revolutionized nearly all areas of astronomical research from planetary science to cosmology. The observatory has collected more than 50 terabytes of data so far. The archive of that data is available to scientists and the public here.

Location, Location, Location

An artist's concept illustrates what the Mars rover Curiosity will look like on the Red Planet. CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Choosing a landing site on another planet is a bit more complex than throwing a dart at a map tacked on a wall. NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, scheduled to launch in November and reach the red planet in August 2012, will deliver a car-sized rover called Curiosity onto the surface. Curiosity is filled with scientific instruments designed to find out if Mars ever had an environment capable of supporting microbial life.

So far, NASA has pared down the number of possible landing sites to two craters named Gale and Eberswalde. Both craters exhibit signs of ancient water activity, making both likely to have once supported life. Gale also features a nearly 3-mile high mountain that Curiosity can climb partway, analyzing different layers of rock.

Curiosity is the size of a Mini Cooper and weighs a ton. This presented a challenge to the mission in that the rover was too heavy and could not simply be dropped from orbit without damaging the delicate instruments. Engineers then came up with a novel solution – a rocket-powered sky crane that will hover over the planet and lower Curiosity to the surface with cables. This will also allow Curiosity to land in a more precise spot and allows mission planners to choose a landing site based entirely on the science they wish to perform. By contrast, rovers Spirit’s and Opportunity’s landing sites were more random.

That’s all for now, folks. Let’s keep our fingers crossed (and apps ready) for a successful final shuttle mission.

About Susan

Susan is a 47 year old self-proclaimed geek with a talent for writing. She has a myriad of interests which include cooking, computer games, science, space and technology, human and civil rights, burrowing owls and iguanas. She lives in West Palm Beach, Florida with Miss Nala, her 14 year old kitty who has been known to tweet on occasion.

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