Are We There Yet?

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is the next deep-space vehicle designed to take humans to the moon. We’ll talk with NASA’s Amy Marasia about the process and what it will take to get humans back to the moon in the 2020s.

Then, scientists have their eyes set on a metallic asteroid called Psyche. NASA is moving forward with plans to send a probe to the intriguing asteroid. So what can we learn from a metal asteroid? We’ll ask our panel of expert physicists on this week’s I’d Like to Know segment.

Assembling NASA's Next Deep Space Vehicle

Nelly Ontiveros, WMFE

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is scheduled to launch next year from the Kennedy Space Center on an uncrewed test flight around the moon. Work on NASA’s next deep-space vehicle reached a critical milestone with the addition of an adapter that attaches it to NASA’s SLS rocket.

In a conversation with NASA's Amy Marasia, Orion Spacecraft Assembly Branch Manager, we explore the assembly of a vehicle that takes us one step closer to putting humans back on the moon.

LISTEN: A conversation with NASA's Amy Marasia, Orion Spacecraft Assembly Branch Manager

https://wmfeimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/26120114/Amy-Marasia-WEB.mp3

The planning behind the assembly of the Orion Spacecraft is supported by NASA's contractor Lockheed Martin. “Installation drawings are translated into production orders for the engineers and technicians that are on the floor actually performing the hands-on work,” said Marasia. “Then using those production orders with all the intricate steps down to the bolt and the washer level -- that is how they essentially assemble the spacecraft."

Assembly also includes adding metallic pieces and thermal protection system tiles that will protect the spacecraft during the mission.

"It is a lot of detail. Every step is carefully planned [and] we do the best we can to cover all contingencies [in the process]," Marasia added.

This vehicle is slated for NASA’s Artemis I mission, which will carry no humans on its first trip to the moon. The Artemis I spacecraft assembly process differs from future vehicles that will carry astronauts, as there are no seats nor console displays.

"We don't have some of the life support systems installed on this vehicle for a crew but everything else is fairly common," Marasia said, explaining that small differences are part of a strategy that will help NASA's future missions.

The next Orion spacecraft will carry a crew of astronauts on a mission called Artemis II around the moon. The next mission called Artemis III plans to land humans on the lunar surface. Each Orion vehicle will be assembled at Kennedy Space Center.

NASA's Orion is essential in proving that a vehicle like this can support a longer mission around the moon and providing space for improvements that will guarantee a safe journey to the moon in the next 10 years.

"This vehicle is our opportunity to really prove out the current system before we actually put a crew on board," Marasia said.

 

Heavy Metal Asteroids

Nelly Ontiveros, WMFE

Most of the asteroids orbiting between Mars and Jupiter catch the eye of scientists because of their location and their rocky materials, but asteroid Psyche has a unique feature -- it’s metallic.

Psyche’s metallic composition may reveal new details about other asteroids and the history of our solar system.

University of Central Florida's scientists and hosts of the podcast Walkabout the Galaxy Addie Dove, Jim Cooney, and Josh Colwell talked on the peculiarity of the asteroid Psyche and the NASA mission that will explore the metallic iron and nickel-composed body.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is the next deep-space vehicle designed to take humans to the moon.

It’s been a busy year for the private space company SpaceX -- from launching and landing two NASA astronauts in its Crew Dragon Capsule, to the deployment of hundreds of tiny satellites to blanket the globe with internet access. Now, SpaceX is pushing ahead with development of its Starship spacecraft, with ambitious plans to send humans to the moon and Mars.

Michael Sheetz is a reporter at CNBC, tracking news from the space beat, and keeping a watchful eye on the private space sector. We’ll speak with Sheetz about the business of SpaceX and how the company’s internet plans are fueling its Martian ambitions.

Then, is it a bird, a plane, a tiny black hole or a neutron star? One of those things was discovered by gravitational wave observations -- and our panel of expert scientists from UCF are here to break down the latest findings in our universe.

It’s been a busy year for the private space company SpaceX -- from launching and landing two NASA astronauts in its Crew Dragon Capsule, to the deployment of hundreds of tiny satellites to blanket the globe with internet access. Now, SpaceX is pushing ahead with development of its Starship spacecraft, with ambitious plans to send humans to the moon and Mars.

NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover launched last week carrying a stow-away -- a tiny helicopter named Ingenuity. If it works, it will be the first helicopter on another world and engineers and scientists are eagerly awaiting the results of the test flight, calling it Mars’ Wright Brother moment.

Ingenuity might be the first, but it certainly won’t be the last. Work is underway on another off-planet helicopter named Dragonfly, with a plan to send it to Saturn’s moon Titan in 2027.

So why helicopters? And what challenges must engineers overcome to fly on another world? We’ll speak with Mike Kinzel, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering who’s working on the Dragonfly vehicle.

Then, a space-based telescope has discovered a planet orbiting two suns. They’re called circumbinary planets and if we were on the surface, we’d see a sunset similar to the fictional home of Luke Skywalker on Tatooine.

Our panel of expert scientists explain the physics of two-star systems and why they’re more common in the universe than we might expect.

NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover launched last week carrying a stow-away -- a tiny helicopter named Ingenuity. If it works, it will be the first helicopter on another world and engineers and scientists are eagerly awaiting the results of the test flight, calling it Mars’ Wright Brother moment. Ingenuity might be the first, but it certainly won’t be the last. Work is underway on another off-planet helicopter named Dragonfly, with a plan to send it to Saturn’s moon Titan in 2027.

Astronaut splash downs, Martian missions and a new Mission:Impossible movie shot in space -- there’s a lot going on up there. We’ll dive into the space news headlines this week with WKMG’s space reporter Emilee Speck and take a look at the missions and events on the horizon.

Then, NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover is set to launch this week from Cape Canaveral. We’ve spent the past few shows talking about this flagship mission to the red planet. Today we’ll chat with our panel of expert scientists on this week’s “I’d Like to Know” segment to preview the exciting science this rover promises to collect.

Astronaut splash downs, Martian missions and a new Mission:Impossible movie shot in space -- there’s a lot going on up there. We’ll dive into the space news headlines this week with WKMG’s space reporter Emilee Speck and take a look at the missions and events on the horizon.

The next Mars rover will have something no other Mars rover has ever had – a microphone. When the Mars Perseverance rover lands next February, scientists will get the chance to hear the red planet. But the microphone will also help scientists see what the planet is made out of. This week, a conversation with Roger Wiens, Principal Investigator Mars 2020 SuperCam.

Then, the NEOWISE comet is making quite the appearance. We’ll talk with our panel of expert scientists about how to see this cosmic phenomenon with just a set of binoculars -- and why scientists get excited by a comet’s gas trail.

The next Mars rover will have something no other Mars rover has ever had – a microphone. When the Mars Perseverance rover lands next February, scientists will get the chance to hear the red planet.