Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
The Propulsion Bus Module of Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element undergoes assembly and installations at Maxar Space Systems in Palo Alto, California.Maxar Space Systems NASA’s Artemis IV astronauts will be the first to inhabit the Gateway lunar space station, opening the door to greater exploration of the Moon and paving the way to Mars. Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, which will make the station the most powerful solar electric spacecraft ever flown, takes shape at Maxar Space Systems. In lunar orbit, Gateway will allow NASA to conduct unique science and exploration while preparing astronauts to go to the Red Planet.
Technicians install key hardware on the element’s Propulsion Bus Module following installation of both electric propulsion and chemical propulsion control modules. The image highlights a propellant tank exposed on the right, positioned within the central cylinder of the element.
The Power and Propulsion Element will launch with Gateway’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) ahead of NASA’s Artemis IV mission. During Artemis IV, V, and VI, international crews of astronauts will assemble the lunar space station around the Moon and embark on expeditions to the Moon’s South Pole region.
The Power and Propulsion Element is managed out of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and built by Maxar Space Systems in Palo Alto, California.
Gateway is an international collaboration to establish humanity’s first lunar space station as a central component of the Artemis architecture designed to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for the first human missions to Mars.
The Propulsion Bus Module of Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element undergoes assembly and installations at Maxar Space Systems in Palo Alto, California.Maxar Space Systems An artist’s rendering of the Gateway lunar space station, including its Power and Propulsion Element, shown here with its solar arrays deployed. Gateway will launch its initial elements to lunar orbit ahead of the Artemis IV mission. NASA/Alberto Bertolin An artist’s rendering of Gateway with the Power and Propulsion Element’s advanced thrusters propelling the lunar space station to the Moon. NASA/Alberto Bertolin Learn More About Gateway Facebook logo @NASAGateway @NASA_Gateway Instagram logo @nasaartemis Share
Details
Last Updated Feb 25, 2025 ContactJacqueline Minerdjacqueline.minerd@nasa.govLocationGlenn Research Center Related Terms
Artemis Artemis 4 Earth's Moon Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Gateway Program Gateway Space Station Glenn Research Center Humans in Space Technology Technology for Space Travel Explore More
5 min read NASA Marks Artemis Progress With Gateway Lunar Space Station
NASA and its international partners are making progress on Gateway – the lunar space station…
Article 4 days ago 2 min read Advanced Modeling Enhances Gateway’s Lunar Dust Defense
Ahead of more frequent and intense contact with dust during Artemis missions, NASA is developing…
Article 1 month ago 2 min read Lunar Space Station Module Will Journey to US ahead of NASA’s Artemis IV Moon Mission
A key element of the Gateway lunar space station has entered the cleanroom for final…
Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Humans In Space
Orion Spacecraft
Human Landing System
Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility
View the full article
-
By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A new international study partially funded by NASA on how Mars got its iconic red color adds to evidence that Mars had a cool but wet and potentially habitable climate in its ancient past.
Mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars projected into point perspective, a view similar to that which one would see from a spacecraft. The distance is 2500 kilometers from the surface of the planet, with the scale being .6km/pixel. The mosaic is composed of 102 Viking Orbiter images of Mars. The center of the scene (lat -8, long 78) shows the entire Valles Marineris canyon system, over 2000 kilometers long and up to 8 kilometers deep, extending form Noctis Labyrinthus, the arcuate system of graben to the west, to the chaotic terrain to the east. Many huge ancient river channels begin from the chaotic terrain from north-central canyons and run north. The three Tharsis volcanoes (dark red spots), each about 25 kilometers high, are visible to the west. South of Valles Marineris is very ancient terrain covered by many impact craters.NASA The current atmosphere of Mars is too cold and thin to support liquid water, an essential ingredient for life, on its surface for lengthy periods. However, various NASA and international missions have found evidence that water was abundant on the Martian surface billions of years ago during a more clement era, such as features that resemble dried-up rivers and lakes, and minerals that only form in the presence of liquid water.
Adding to this evidence, results from a study published February 25 in the journal Nature Communications suggest that the water-rich iron mineral ferrihydrite may be the main culprit behind Mars’ reddish dust. Martian dust is known to be a hodgepodge of different minerals, including iron oxides, and this new study suggests one of those iron oxides, ferrihydrite, is the reason for the planet’s color.
The finding offers a tantalizing clue to Mars’ wetter and potentially more habitable past because ferrihydrite forms in the presence of cool water, and at lower temperatures than other previously considered minerals, like hematite. This suggests that Mars may have had an environment capable of sustaining liquid water before it transitioned from a wet to a dry environment billions of years ago.
“The fundamental question of why Mars is red has been considered for hundreds if not for thousands of years,” said lead author Adam Valantinas, a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, who started the work as a Ph.D. student at the University of Bern, Switzerland. “From our analysis, we believe ferrihydrite is everywhere in the dust and also probably in the rock formations, as well. We’re not the first to consider ferrihydrite as the reason for why Mars is red, but we can now better test this using observational data and novel laboratory methods to essentially make a Martian dust in the lab.”
Laboratory sample showing simulated Martian dust. The ochre color is characteristic of iron-rich ferrihydrite, a mineral that provides crucial insights into ancient water activity and environmental conditions on Mars. The fine-powder mixture consists of ferrihydrite and ground basalt with particles less than one micrometer in size (1/100th diameter of a human hair) (Sample scale: 1 inch across).Adam Valantinas “These new findings point to a potentially habitable past for Mars and highlight the value of coordinated research between NASA and its international partners when exploring fundamental questions about our solar system and the future of space exploration,” said Geronimo Villanueva, the Associate Director for Strategic Science of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and co-author of this study.
The researchers analyzed data from multiple Mars missions, combining orbital observations from instruments on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, ESA’s (the European Space Agency) Mars Express and Trace Gas Orbiter with ground-level measurements from NASA rovers like Curiosity, Pathfinder, and Opportunity. Instruments on the orbiters and rovers provided detailed spectral data of the planet’s dusty surface. These findings were then compared to laboratory experiments, where the team tested how light interacts with ferrihydrite particles and other minerals under simulated Martian conditions.
“What we want to understand is the ancient Martian climate, the chemical processes on Mars — not only ancient — but also present,” said Valantinas. “Then there’s the habitability question: Was there ever life? To understand that, you need to understand the conditions that were present during the time of this mineral’s formation. What we know from this study is the evidence points to ferrihydrite forming and for that to happen there must have been conditions where oxygen from air or other sources and water can react with iron. Those conditions were very different from today’s dry, cold environment. As Martian winds spread this dust everywhere, it created the planet’s iconic red appearance.”
Whether the team’s proposed formation model is correct could be definitively tested after samples from Mars are delivered to Earth for analysis.
“The study really is a door-opening opportunity,” said Jack Mustard of Brown University, a senior author on the study. “It gives us a better chance to apply principles of mineral formation and conditions to tap back in time. What’s even more important though is the return of the samples from Mars that are being collected right now by the Perseverance rover. When we get those back, we can actually check and see if this is right.”
Part of the spectral measurements were performed at NASA’s Reflectance Experiment Laboratory (RELAB) at Brown University. RELAB is supported by NASA’s Planetary Science Enabling Facilities program, part of the Planetary Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
By William Steigerwald
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Share
Details
Last Updated Feb 24, 2025 EditorWilliam SteigerwaldContactLonnie Shekhtmanlonnie.shekhtman@nasa.govLocationNASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
The Solar System Mars Explore More
5 min read NASA Marks Artemis Progress With Gateway Lunar Space Station
NASA and its international partners are making progress on Gateway – the lunar space station…
Article 4 days ago 6 min read NASA’s PUNCH Mission to Revolutionize Our View of Solar Wind
Earth is immersed in material streaming from the Sun. This stream, called the solar wind,…
Article 4 days ago 2 min read How Long Does it Take to Get to the Moon… Mars… Jupiter? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 51
So how long does it take to get from Earth to the Moon, to Mars…
Article 6 days ago View the full article
-
By European Space Agency
The latest analysis from the European Space Agency (ESA) Planetary Defence Office has reduced the probability that asteroid 2024 YR4 might impact Earth in 2032 to 0.001%.
View the full article
-
-
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.