NASA's Voyager to prepare us for future deep space missions

September 13, 2013 03:58 PM ETComputerworld - As NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft travels outside the solar system, scientists hope to learn about the forces pushing on the "bubble" around the sun and how interstellar radiation could affect future space exploration.

"There's never been anything like this," said Ed Stone, chief scientist for the Voyager mission. "Nothing has ever been outside the solar bubble before. Nothing."

NASA scientists confirmed that the Voyager 1 space probe has gone into the interstellar region beyond our solar system. (Image: NASA)

Stone is hardly a newcomer to the Voyager mission. He was the chief scientist on the project during Voyager's planning stages in the early 1970s.

Not only did Voyager 1 make history by becoming the first human-made spacecraft to journey beyond the solar system, but it did so on 36- to 40-year-old technology, Stone told Computerworld on Friday.

"This was one of our long-range hopes," Stone said. "We had no way to know at the time that this was possible because we didn't know how far away the edge of the bubble was. When Voyager was launched, the space age was only 20 years old. Most things didn't even last a few years back then. We had no idea if Voyager could last for 36 years and go as far as it has."

To put it in perspective, a smartphone today has 240,000 more memory than Voyager 1. That makes the Voyager 1 probe a testament to the power of engineering.

"This whole mission has been a major part of my life," Stone said. "I've been so fortunate to be part of this historic journey. This is the first spacecraft to sail in the cosmic sea between the stars."

The Voyager 1 was launched in 1977 with its twin spacecraft, Voyager 2 . On Thursday, NASA announced what had already been suspected -- that the spacecraft had left the solar system and had entered interstellar space in August 2012. The probe has journeyed between 14 billion and 15 billion miles.

"The Voyager team needed time to analyze those observations and make sense of them," Stone said during a press conference Thursday. "But we can now answer the question we've all been asking -- 'Are we there yet?' Yes, we are."

Stone explained that it took scientists months to figure out whether Voyager 1 had left the solar system because the instrument that Voyager used to measures plasma, an ionic gas, stopped working in 1980. Plasma is different depending on whether it is inside or outside the heliosphere, which is like a bubble that surrounds the sun. Without that measurement tool, scientists had to analyze plasma waves, which was a more time-consuming process.

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Hello from space! Kirobo takes huge step for robotics

Computerworld - A small robot says, "Good morning," and with that one phrase, takes a huge step forward in robot-human cooperation in space, as well as robotic companions.

Kirobo, a 13.4-in. tall, 2.2-pound humanoid robot, spoke its first words in space, while floating onboard the International Space Station last month. A newly released YouTube video shows the Japanese-built robot talking, in Japanese, in space.

"Good morning to everyone on Earth. This is Kirobo. I am the world's first talking robot astronaut. Nice to meet you," the robot said on Aug. 21. "A robot took one small step toward a brighter future for all."

The humanoid robot arrived at the space station last month aboard a Kounotori 4 cargo spacecraft that lifted off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center.

Kirobo is awaiting Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who is scheduled to arrive on the space station in November to take part in a human-robotics experiment.

Wakata and the robot are expected to take part in what will be the first experiment on conversation in space between a human and a robot. While the experiment could go a long way to helping astronauts feel less disconnected while working in space, it also could further efforts to have astronauts and robots work together.

The effort also could speed the development of small companion robots that people could carry in their pockets like smartphones.

"This could be huge for robotics and for space research," said Zeus Kerravala, an analyst with ZK Research. "Long term, I think the plan is to have robots co-exist with humans for long voyages so this would be a good proof point for that."

Whether orbiting Earth or in deep space, having a companion to talk with, even a robotic companion, could be essential.

"I would think a connection with anything, including a robot, is better than no connection," said Kerravala. "I imagine, over time, these will look more and more humanoid. Maybe not to the level of Data in Star Trek, but certainly they'll be able to act as part of a space team."

Wakata, a Japanese engineer and a veteran of four NASA space shuttle missions and a long-duration stay on the space station, is scheduled to launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-11M in November. During his mission, he will become Japan's first station commander.

Kirobo, which can move its head and arms, stand up and balance on one leg, is expected to help keep Wakata company, having conversations with him and possibly relaying information to him from the control room or ground engineers.

In an interview with the Agence-France Press news service, a French-based news agency, Kirobo's creator, Tomotaka Takahashi, a roboticist and a leader in the Kirobo project, said he wanted to create a tiny robot that users could carry in their pocket like a smartphone.

"By bringing a robot into space, the development of a symbiotic robot is expected to move along much faster," Takahashi said.

Though Kirobo is the first robot to talk on the space station, it is not the first robot to "live" and work there.

The space station, which uses several robotic arms to lift bulky cargo and maneuver equipment and spacewalking astronauts (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141196/NASA_Astronaut_rides_robotic_arm_in_successful_spacewalk ) outside the station, also is home to Robonaut 2 , which also is known as R2.

Robonaut 2 is a 300-pound robot designed to use its arms and hands to manipulate tools and to perform cleaning and maintenance jobs on the space station. The humanoid robot, which arrived on the space station in 2011, is expected to one day work outside the orbiter so astronauts won't have to make as many dangerous spacewalks.

This article, Hello from space! Kirobo takes huge step for robotics, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin, on Google+ or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her email address is sgaudin@computerworld.com.

See more by Sharon Gaudin on Computerworld.com.

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NASA's lunar mission could lead to Internet in space

Computerworld - With the launch of NASA's lunar mission tonight, the space agency is taking a big step in an effort to create an outer space Internet.

"This is akin to the fact that you have a fiber-optic connection into your house and you get faster downloads. We want to get faster downloads in space," said Don Boroson, principal investigator for NASA's lunar mission and a Laboratory Fellow at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory. "We're told by scientists that they have cameras to send to Mars, but they're stuck because radio systems are not capable of sending much of the data and images collected there back to Earth. With higher download speeds they could send all of their data back. They could do much more with more downloads."

At 11:27 p.m. ET, NASA is scheduled to launch its Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) observatory from the Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.

NASA will provide live coverage and commentary on the LADEE launch beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET tonight on NASA TV.

The robotic space probe's main mission is to study the moon's atmosphere.

However, it also has another mission.

About a month after launch, the spacecraft will begin a limited test of a high-data-rate laser communication system. If that system works as planned, similar systems are expected to be used to speed up future satellite communications, as well as deep space communications with robots and human exploration crews.

Don Cornwell, Lunar Laser Communications Mission Manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, told Computerworld that this will be the space agency's first laser communications test.

In 2017, NASA is expected to launch a Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, which is expected to run tests for two to five years.

Using a laser for communications, instead of radio systems, would enable robots -- similar to the Mars rover Curiosity -- as well as astronauts to send and receive far greater data loads, whether they're in orbit around Earth, on the moon or a distant asteroid.

The two-way laser communications system can deliver six times more data with 25% less power than what can be done with the best radio systems, according to Cornwell.

He also said that laser communications would use devices that weigh half of what radio devices on rockets, rovers and spacecraft weigh today. When scientists are sending spacecraft into space, weight is a critical factor.

"When you send satellite communicationss up in space, every pound really counts," said Boroson. "You could send a mission very far away but the size of the radio [on the rocket] grows and grows. This is a fraction of the weight... Every ounce counts. The fact that we could be smaller and deliver a much higher deliver rate is very important."

And space exploration is largely about the data. Rovers and astronauts are expected to take measurements, shoot images and video of distant planets and asteroids. However, if they can't get that data back to scientists on Earth, it's scientifically limiting the entire mission.

"Right now, there's often a bottleneck with the radio system," said Cornwell. "Scientists have to pick and choose which images and data they want because it's not optimal to send it all back. With laser systems, they shouldn't have to choose. And as NASA goes further and further out in space, we'd like to... send more of that data back."

He added that the large pipe that laser communications give them will become increasingly important as explorations travel farther from Earth.

Cornwell said that some commercial operations are looking into testing laser communications in an effort to create an Earth-orbiting network of satellites that would speed data transmissions using lasers.

"We're really in the formulation phase," he said.

This article, NASA's lunar mission could lead to Internet in space, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin, on Google+ or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her email address is sgaudin@computerworld.com.

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NASA's Voyager 2 marks 36 years on its space odyssey

Computerworld - Voyager 2, one of two NASA spacecraft to travel farthest from Earth, marked 36 years in space Tuesday.

The spacecraft, which launched on Aug. 20, 1977 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket, is more than 9 billion miles away from the sun, according to NASA.

Voyager 2, working in conjunction with its twin Voyager 1, were launched to explore the outer solar system. Both spacecraft have flown past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, along with 48 of their moons and their magnetic fields.

Voyager 2 is the only NASA spacecraft to have visited and explored Uranus and Neptune.

In 1990, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 both embarked on a mission to enter interstellar space, the space between star systems in a galaxy.

NASA noted that both spacecraft still are sending scientific information about their surroundings back through the Deep Space Network, an international network of large antennas and communication facilities.

There's a scientific debate going on about where Voyager 1 is.

NASA reported late in June that Voyager 1, which was launched on Sep. 5, 1977, was nearing the edge of the solar system, flying near the edge of the heliosphere, which is akin to a bubble around the sun. The spacecraft is so close to the edge of the solar system that it is sending back more information about charged particles from outside the solar system and less from those inside it, according to the space agency.

However, a team of researchers from the University of Maryland last week reported that they believe the spacecraft has already left the solar system and entered interstellar space.

Voyager 1, according to university researchers, has begun the first exploration of our galaxy beyond the sun's influence.

Despite the debate over Voyager 1, scientists seem to consistently believe that Voyager 2 still is within the heliosphere.

This article, NASA's Voyager 2 marks 36 years on its space odyssey, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin, on Google+ or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her email address is sgaudin@computerworld.com.

See more by Sharon Gaudin on Computerworld.com.

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