NASA Prohibited from Helping Phobos-Grunt?

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EDIT: DEBUNKED! I got a response back from NASA. Check it out here! 

Disturbing reports have emerged that NASA has been forbidden from assisting Russia with Phobos-Grunt because of a US law that prohibits assistance to China's space program. Phobos-Grunt is carrying Yinghuo-1, China's first attempt at placing an orbiter around Mars.

Russian Space Web reports that there is a US law which is prohibiting NASA from assisting Russia and the ESA in the recovery of Phobos-Grunt. This law seems to state that because Yinghuo-1 is onboard they cannot provide assistance.


Mars Travel has contacted NASA and is waiting for them to substantiate or refute these claims.

If true this would contradict what Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, was quoted as saying during a news briefing three weeks ago:

We have offered assistance and if they need it we will provide it to the best of our ability. That's a different organization from ours. I am not sure if they have asked for such assistance, but we have offered it.

When Russian Space Web reported that the NASA was prohibited from helping Phobos-Grunt many people, including myself called NASA to determine the validity of these claims. We are still waiting on a response.

I'll have more as the story breaks!


Background on Yinghuo-1

Yinghuo-1 would be China's first foray to Mars. It would separate from the larger Russian probe in October 2012 (or maybe later now) and begin a year-long orbit of Mars. Its primary purpose is to collect data about the Martian atmosphere. On board it has a plasma package, a fluxgate magnetometer, a radio occultation sounder, and an optical imaging system. It also has two solar arrays to collect energy.

Contact Made with Phobos-Grunt - Mission May Proceed

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ESA Tracking station in Perth, Australia
Image Credit: ESA

On Tuesday (Nov 22 2011) at 20:25 UT a tracking station based in Perth, Australia made contact with Phobos-Grunt. This was the first signal received on Earth from the spacecraft since it launched on November 8 2011. [Phobos-Grunt, Yinghuo-1, and LIFE Remain in Earth's Orbit]

Teams from the European Space Agency (ESA) that made the original contact are in discussions with Russian engineers to determine the best method for maintaining contact with Phobos-Grunt. According to Ria Novosti five attempts will be made to get telemetry from the spacecraft on Thursday. Each attempt will last for approximately 6-7 minutes.

If contact is made could the mission continue as planned?

While Ria Novosti and others report that the window to continue the mission passed on November 21 2011, some people like Dr. David Warmflash, lead investigator for the LIFE experiment on board the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, says the mission could go on if Phobos-Grunt leaves Earth's orbit anytime well into December.

Why is this?

Current missions to Mars must fall within a specified launch window when travel between Earth and Mars is most optimal. Launch windows are calculated by determining a spacecrafts propulsion capabilities and the alignment of the concerned celestial bodies. Launch windows to get from Earth to Mars (or Mars to Earth) are around once every 26 months.

Phobos-Grunt could still make it to Mars within this launch window, but the issue is that by the time it collected samples from Phobos it would have missed the launch window for the trip back to Earth. That means that samples could not be returned until 2016, 26 months later than planned.

The two ride-along missions would still be fulfilled. 

Yinghuo-1 would be China's first foray to Mars. It would separate from the larger Russian probe in October 2012 (or maybe later now) and begin a year-long orbit of Mars. Its primary purpose is to collect data about the Martian atmosphere. On board it has a plasma package, a fluxgate magnetometer, a radio occultation sounder, and an optical imaging system. It also has two solar arrays to collect energy.

The Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment (LIFE), created by the Planetary Society is an astrobiological experiment containing ten types of organisms. It is an international venture, with cooperation from the Russian Space Research Institute, the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Moscow State University, the American Type Culture Collection, and the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Germany. The mission is to see what types of organisms can survive the harsh conditions of space travel. Please see the LIFE page for more information on their missions.

The two ride along missions would essentially be unaffected by an extended stay on Mars. Yinghuo-1 is only set to remain in orbit for a year regardless and the purpose of the LIFE is to determine whether life can survive the harsh conditions of deep space for an extended period of time, so prolonging the time would likely only help to the experiment.

It remains to be seen whether commands can be sent to Phobos-Grunt, but for now there is renewed hope that the mission can go on.

For the latest information on the Phobos-Grunt mission I highly recommend following Dr. David Warmflash, (@CosmicEvolution) on Twitter.

Live Stream of Launch to the ISS

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Watch the first manned launch to the International Space Station (ISS) since the failed Soyuz launch in August. This video is a live feed from SpaceFlightNow! The launch begins at 11:14PM EST.

The feed should begin automatically. (EDIT: I disabled automatic playing since the launch ended - It was a complete success!)

Watch live streaming video from spaceflightnow at livestream.com

Two cosmonauts, Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin, as well as one astronaut, Daniel Burbank will be ascending to the ISS in what is the first manned launch since the last Shuttle (Atlantis) docked on July 10 2011.

Vladimir Popovkin, the director of Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency is confident that the launch and docking will be carried out successfully. He was quoted as saying, "We have no doubt in our minds both the rocket and the vehicle are ready, all the activities have been done at the appropriate level of quality and reliability." Regardless, you can be sure that the world will watch with admiration as these three brave men ascend to the ISS.

If you view this after the launch the feed will just go to live NASA TV, if anything. I will make sure it doesn't start automatically following the Soyuz docking with the ISS.

Phobos-Grunt, Yinghuo-1 and LIFE Remain in Earth's Orbit

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The engines aboard Phobos-Grunt, which is also carrying Yinghuo-1 and the Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment (LIFE), failed to fire after separation with the larger booster. The Zenit-2 launch vehicle detached from the Phobos-Grunt on time and correctly, but the engine for the spacecraft itself failed to start.

The Zenit-2 rocket launching Phobos-Grunt
CREDIT: German Aerospace Center (DLR) 

Russia has been unable to make contact with Phobos-Grunt, despite several attempts and opportunities to do so. According to Vladimir Popovkin, head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, engineers have until November 23 to restart the probe's booster before it runs out of batteries.

Popovkin claims that this scenario is one that was prepared for and that can be remedied from the ground. He goes on to say, “We will attempt to reboot the program. The spacecraft is currently on a support orbit, the fuel tanks have not been jettisoned, and the fuel has not been spent.” There is still hope for Phobos-Grunt, and thus hope for the other two missions riding along with it.

Click to Keep Reading

Live Stream of Phobos-Grunt and Yinghuo-1 Launch

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See the live stream of the joint Phobos-Grunt and Yinghuo-1 launch to the Martian Moon Phobos and Mars, respectively.

spaceflightnow on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Instigating a New Space Race

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Is a new space race beginning?

With the head of the European Space Agency (ESA), Jean-Jacques Dordain, pledging to work together with the Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA) to send the first manned mission to Mars, one must wonder if the next space race has been initiated. [Europe and Russia Pledge to Send Man to Mars]

NASA recently cancelled their planned Constellation program, which would have attempted to put a permanent base on the moon in the 2020s in order to eventually use it as a launching platform for deep space missions. Instead they have made it their goal to put man on an asteroid by 2025 and a man on Mars by 2035.

Will actually beginning preparation for a joint European-Russian mission to Mars push up the priority of a similar mission in the United States? Will there be a competition between nations to get to Mars first?

ESA chief Dordain seems to have chosen the opportune time to announce this joint mission, as NASA's shuttle program just reached completion. The speculation is abound that this announcement will spark a new space race, with NASA on one end and the ESA and RKA on the other.

 VS

   

The benefits of sending the first men to Mars are immeasurable, as the organization to do so would be given great prestige throughout the scientific community. They would also be able to perform tests that rovers are unable to. The first organizations to accomplish sending men to Mars would also have a head start on all future Martian development.

The next few months may see the start of a new space race, as the ESA and RKA's joint plans mature more and a timeline is created. If they develop a reasonable plan of action it may drive NASA to push their program up in order to get to Mars first. For now this is all just hope and speculation, but we have nothing without hope.

I think the biggest question is the how big a role corporations like SpaceX will play in the upcoming space race and future Mars travel and development.

Europe and Russia Pledge to Send Man to Mars

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On Aug 17 2011 the head of the European Space Agency (ESA), Jean-Jacques Dordain, announced that they would partner with the Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA) to "carry out the first flight to Mars together." The head of the RKA, Vladimir Popovkin welcomed the pledge. 

This commitment comes as the Euro-Russian Mars500 experiment comes to completion in November. Dordain does not set a time frame, but says that the Mars500 experiment has been a factor in the decision for the ESA and RKA's pledge to send a manned mission to Mars. 

The Mars500 program was initiated on June 03 2010 by the Moscow Institute of Medical and Biological Problems in order to simulate a mission to Mars. The experiment simulates a 250 day journey to Mars, a 30 day stay on The Red Planet, and a 240 day return flight.  Mars500 simulates emergency situations that a manned mission to Mars might encounter and attempts to accurately determine how well humans can cope with a trip to and from Mars.

The spacecraft's crew is led by 38 year old engineer Alexei Sitev, and also includes Russian surgeon Sukhrob Kamolov, 32, and Russian general practitioner Alexander Smolevsky, 33. Non-Russian crew members include Italian Diego Urbina, 27, China's Wang Yue, 27, and the Roman Charles from France, 31.

The Crew of Mars500 in their mock spacecraft Source: ESA

Dordain's commitment to Mars travel is something to be expected, as the United States' NASA has set a goal of setting a man on Mars by the mid 2030s. The competition that this new announcement might bring could help increase the priority of a manned mission to Mars and push up the date. It would bring great prestige to the nation that could land the first man on Mars, much like the moon landing helped to solidify NASA's leadership in space.

A time frame for a joint Euro-Russian mission to Mars has yet to be set by the ESA or RKA, but as Mars500 culminates there will likely be an announcement on the matter. Igor Lisov, an analyst for the Moscow-based journal Novosti Kosmonavtike (Cosmonautic News) gave his own estimation of the time frame to the Voice of Russia saying "If they decide to implement an emergency program, the mission may be carried out in 10 years. If it is an ordinary one, then it will take 20 years. This is a long period of time." While this is not an official statement from either agency, it provides hope for those hoping to see a man on Mars in their lifetime. 

Cooperation between the two space agencies when it comes to Mars is not unprecedented. Both agencies, as well as NASA, have worked together since 2006 to develop EkzoMars (ExoMars), a Mars rover that will be launched from a Russian Proton Rocket in 2013 and supplied with both Russian and European equipment. 

ExoMars Rover

 It is firmly believed in Russian and Europe that future success with Mars travel and exploration will be made by working together. There are sure to be some exciting developments and/or announcements in the coming months as the Mars500 simulation comes to an end!