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Inside a huge crater in Israel’s sun-baked Negev desert, a team wearing space suits ventures forth on a mission to simulate conditions on Mars. The Austrian Space Forum has set up a pretend Martian base with the Israeli space agency at Makhtesh Ramon, a 1,600 feet (500m) deep, 25 miles (40km) wide crater.

The six so-called “analogue astronauts” will live in isolation in the virtual station until the end of the month.

“It’s a dream come true,” Israeli Alon Tenzer, 36, told AFP. “It’s something we’ve been working on for years.”

The participants – from Austria, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain – all had to pass gruelling physical and psychological tests.

During their mission, they will conduct tests including on a drone prototype that functions without GPS, and on automated wind- and solar-powered mapping vehicles.

The mission will also aim to study human behaviour and the effect of isolation on the astronauts.

“The group’s cohesion and their ability to work together are crucial for surviving on Mars,” said Gernot Groemer, the Austrian mission supervisor.

“It’s like a marriage, except in a marriage you can leave but on Mars you can’t.

Largest voyage ever’

The Austrian Space Forum, a private organisation made up of aerospace specialists, has already organised 12 missions, the most recent in Oman in 2018.

The Israel project is part of mission Amadee-20, which was expected to kick off last year but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The forum has partnered with Israeli research centre D-MARS to construct the solar-powered base.

German astronaut Anika Mehlis, the only woman on the team, told AFP how happy she was to be part of the project.

“My father took me to the space museum when I was little,” she said. “When I saw that the forum was looking for analogue astronauts, I told myself I had to apply.”

Mehlis, a trained microbiologist, will study a scenario where bacteria from Earth infect potential life forms that may be found on Mars, saying this “would be a huge problem”.

Visually, the surrounding desert resembles the Red Planet with its stony wilderness and orange hues, though thankfully not in terms of atmospheric conditions.

“Over here, we have temperatures of about 25-30 degrees Celsius, but on Mars the temperature is minus 60 degrees Celsius and the atmosphere is not fit for breathing,” said Groemer.

The interior of the base is austere, with a small kitchen and bunk beds. Most of the space is reserved for scientific experiments.

NASA envisions the first human mission to Mars will launch in 2030.

“What we are doing here is preparing a large mission, the largest voyage our society has ever taken, as Mars and Earth are 380 million kilometres apart at their extreme point,” said Groemer.

“I believe the very first human to walk on Mars is already born and we are the ship-builders to enable this journey.”

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This Method Might Reveal Whether Icy Moons of Saturn, Jupiter Contain Life

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November 27, 2024

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This Method Might Reveal Whether Icy Moons of Saturn, Jupiter Contain Life

Efforts to uncover life on icy moons within our solar system have been bolstered by advancements in chemical modelling, according to recent reports. These models are being refined to better assess whether environments like Saturn’s moon, Enceladus or Jupiter’s moon Europa could support microbial life. Researchers aim to simulate the extreme conditions found on these celestial bodies to determine their potential habitability.

As outlined in the press release by Southwest Research Institute, Charity Phillips-Lander, Senior Research Scientist at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), has emphasised the importance of accounting for organic compounds in such studies. Existing geochemical modelling tools often lack the capability to incorporate organics under the unique conditions of icy ocean worlds. Speaking to Space.com, Phillips-Lander stated that the question of habitability is about constraining the environmental factors that make it more likely to be friendly to life versus inhospitable.

Phillips-Lander and colleague Florent Bocher have developed custom software to simulate the formation and behaviour of organic-doped ice pores—microscopic structures formed under freezing and thawing conditions.

These phenomena, observed in laboratory analogues, are being used to replicate environments found on moons like Enceladus. The software’s ability to predict the interactions of organic compounds with ice under extreme temperatures and pressures provides key insights into potential microbial habitats.

According to the report, the team is focused on refining the tool to accurately model the chemical processes occurring in subsurface oceans beneath thick ice crusts. Enceladus is of particular interest due to its suspected water-rich environment and active plumes, which could indicate the presence of organic molecules.

Implications for Future Missions

The researchers have indicated that the refined models could serve as very important tools for interpreting data from future missions targeting icy moons. Phillips-Lander explained that the project aims to fill gaps in current datasets, enabling more accurate laboratory simulations and aiding in the identification of potential biosignatures.

Reports suggest that these efforts are expected to contribute significantly to understanding the habitability of icy worlds and support ongoing explorations of potential extraterrestrial life.

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NASA Europa Clipper Advances Toward Jupiter’s Moon, Instruments Deployed

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15 hours ago

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November 26, 2024

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NASA Europa Clipper Advances Toward Jupiter’s Moon, Instruments Deployed

NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, launched on October 14, 2024, is now moving at 35 kilometres per second and has travelled more than 13 million miles from Earth as reported by NASA. Designed for an ambitious mission to study Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, the spacecraft is expected to arrive in the Jupiter system in 2030. Following its arrival, the mission will embark on a series of 49 close flybys of Europa to gather data on the moon’s subsurface ocean and assess its potential to support life.

Spacecraft’s Instruments Undergo Deployment and Testing

After its deployment from a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the Europa Clipper’s vast solar arrays—each stretching the length of a basketball court—were successfully extended, NASA revealed. The magnetometer boom, a 28-foot (8.5-metre) component designed to measure Europa’s magnetic field, was also deployed. This will help scientists examine the depth and salinity of the ocean thought to lie beneath Europa’s icy shell.

Subsequent stages included the deployment of several radar antennas, which will aid in examining Europa’s ice layer. According to Jordan Evans, the Europa Clipper project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, the successful deployment of these instruments provides valuable data on the spacecraft’s operational behaviour.

Upcoming Mars Flyby for Gravity Assist

As per the report, a significant phase of the mission is planned for March 1, 2025, when Europa Clipper will use Mars for a gravity assist manoeuvre. The spacecraft will pass by Mars, gaining speed and adjusting its trajectory towards Jupiter. During this flyby, a test operation involving the thermal imager will capture multicoloured images of Mars, while the radar instrument will gather data, ensuring functionality as intended.

Next Steps and Earth Flyby

Another gravity assist with Earth is scheduled for December 2026, further boosting Europa Clipper’s speed as it heads toward Jupiter. The magnetometer will also be recalibrated during this Earth flyby by measuring Earth’s magnetic field.

Europa Clipper’s Science Goals

Europa Clipper is equipped with a suite of instruments for studying Europa’s icy surface and hidden ocean. The primary mission objectives are to investigate the ice thickness, determine its composition, and characterise the moon’s geology, offering insights into Europa’s potential as a habitable world.

Managed by JPL and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Europa Clipper is among NASA’s most ambitious planetary missions, overseen by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and the Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center.

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Brazilian Flowers Employ Pollen Catapults to Dominate Pollination Battles

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16 hours ago

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November 26, 2024

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Brazilian Flowers Employ Pollen Catapults to Dominate Pollination Battles

Flowers of Hypenia macrantha, a species native to Brazil, have been observed using unique mechanisms to outcompete rivals during pollination. According to research, these blooms utilise a pollen “catapult” system to increase the chances of successful pollination. The strategy involves launching their pollen in a burst to displace rival pollen from the beaks of visiting hummingbirds, enhancing their reproductive success.

Pollination Strategy Observed in Brazilian Flowers

The flowers exhibit both male and female reproductive stages, switching roles to avoid self-pollination. During their male phase, pollen is produced and stored under petal-covered compartments. When a hummingbird probes the flower for nectar, a trigger mechanism is activated, launching the stored pollen forcefully. This process was studied using hummingbird skulls coated with fluorescent particles to simulate natural conditions, as per a ScienceNewsExplores report.

High-speed footage of the experiment demonstrated that the pollen launch effectively removed rival pollen from the simulated beak, replacing it with the flower’s own. Researchers found that beaks lost significantly more pollen when entering flowers still in their male phase compared to those that had already discharged their pollen.

Bruce Anderson, an evolutionary ecologist at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, told Science News that this mechanism appears to allocate pollen for two distinct purposes: reproduction and competitive displacement.

A Mechanism of Floral Competition

Rebecca Burch, an evolutionary biologist at the State University of New York at Oswego, has noted parallels between plant and animal reproductive competition. In comments reported by the research team on the Science News, she highlighted that plants exhibit dynamic behaviours often underestimated in ecological studies.

Further research is planned to examine whether this explosive pollen delivery translates into increased seed production. As reported, these findings contribute to understanding how plants evolve strategies to enhance reproductive success in competitive environments.

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