Our guests at the June 19 meeting were our High School graduates Scholarship winners and their families: Not all were physically in attendance but were recognized.
- Hadley Shears $4000 from the Fred Martin Academic Scholarship,
- Rachel Haley $2000 from Rotary Scholarship Fund,
- Josie Harper $4000 from Bert Langenhorst Community Service Award,
- Eleanor Drews $4000 from Don Bakken Women in STEM,
- Gage Tenborg $2000 from Jim Hulbert Vocational,
- Ariana Siddle $2000 Bob Hart Vocational, and
- Charity Dakota Johnson $2000 from Jack Frisk 2nd Year Renewal Scholarship.
Two winners shared with us the schools they are attending and their dreams. They also shared their gratitude for the Scholarship.
Our speaker for the evening Karen McBride – Principal CEO - Karen McBride and Associates - Aerospace Consultant for Space Exploration. Karen was the former project executive/scientist for deep space missions, including Galileo, and Mars Phoenix Lander.
Karen shared with us the story of Mars, the last frontier. Mars is the only other planet in the Solar System that lies in the habitable zone, therefore the focus on Mars exploration. The scientists have done a comparison of earth to Mars where earth has 365 days in a year to Mars 686 days, Mars gravity is 38% of earth, Mars sunlight is 44% of earth, and compared the levels of CO2, N2, O2, H20 showing that Mars and Earth of quite different today, however the exploration efforts are to determine how to adapt since it is most conducive for habitation.
In the phases of exploration of Mars, it is mapped in (4) phases. From 2001-2022 1) Follow the water, 2) explore habitability, and 2024 & beyond 3) prepare for future human explorers and seek signs of life. In phase 1, follow the water, what has been discovered from Mariner4 in 1965, Mariner 9 in 1971, Viking Lander in 1976 shows thermal, epithermal and fast neutron data from the GRS & HEND instruments indicating large quantities of hydrogen, interpreted as water ice within the top meter of the Martian surface over a wide area.
Karen shared with us the story of Mars, the last frontier. Mars is the only other planet in the Solar System that lies in the habitable zone, therefore the focus on Mars exploration. The scientists have done a comparison of earth to Mars where earth has 365 days in a year to Mars 686 days, Mars gravity is 38% of earth, Mars sunlight is 44% of earth, and compared the levels of CO2, N2, O2, H20 showing that Mars and Earth of quite different today, however the exploration efforts are to determine how to adapt since it is most conducive for habitation.
In the phases of exploration of Mars, it is mapped in (4) phases. From 2001-2022 1) Follow the water, 2) explore habitability, and 2024 & beyond 3) prepare for future human explorers and seek signs of life. In phase 1, follow the water, what has been discovered from Mariner4 in 1965, Mariner 9 in 1971, Viking Lander in 1976 shows thermal, epithermal and fast neutron data from the GRS & HEND instruments indicating large quantities of hydrogen, interpreted as water ice within the top meter of the Martian surface over a wide area.
What an awesome program!
More details:
Mars is salty. Karen shared pictures taken by Mars Rover Spirit’s panoramic camera showing the salt deposits on the basin floor of Gusev Crater. These salts may record the past presence of water on Mars, These images were compared to Earth analog images showing evaporite deposits near springs in the region of Cuatrocienegas Mexico. The evaporites are sediments that form from the evaporation of saline water. Karen shared information from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, showing an EDL (Nasa entry, decent and landing systems) overview, and is an intense 440 seconds or 7 minutes. At 24 hours out, the craft is traveling at speeds of 6100 mph relative to Mars. During the course of the day, the speed steadily increases. Deep inside the Mars gravity well, in the last two hours before entry, speed zooms to 13,000 mph! Entry is an altitude of 130 km (80 miles) above the surface. Mass at entry is slightly over 600 kg (1320 lbs). During the eventful/fateful next seven minutes, the EDL system must take four zeros off the vehicle speed to prevent an interplanetary train wreck.
As we move into Human Exploration – phase 3, robots’ efforts on Mars are paving the way. The rocket-powered “sky crane” that lowered the 1-ton Curiosity rover onto the Red Planet on cables in August of 2012, is the first step towards the possibility of landing much heavier devices carrying the most precious of the payloads, Astronauts! As next steps, human exploration of Mars requires access to resources, including water, oxygen, protection from radiation and fuel for vehicles. These resources are available on Mars and will require access to surface or near subsurface materials, some of which may be found in Mars Special Regions. Mars Special Regions are in part defined on the availability of water, making them a potential source of water and oxygen, in addition to their science value. Protocols need to be established so that human activities do not inadvertently affect areas designated as Special Regions or cause non-Special Regions to become Special. The spread of terrestrial biological contamination could also impact life support systems, and the availability of Mars resources to human explorers.
Karen attended Oregon State University and earned her Bachelor of Science in Geology/Palebiology in 1986. Karen spent many years at NASA as an Engineer/Scientist and had the opportunity to spend 15 years leading Projects at UCLA as well as NASA Executive Scientist. Welcome Karen!
As we move into Human Exploration – phase 3, robots’ efforts on Mars are paving the way. The rocket-powered “sky crane” that lowered the 1-ton Curiosity rover onto the Red Planet on cables in August of 2012, is the first step towards the possibility of landing much heavier devices carrying the most precious of the payloads, Astronauts! As next steps, human exploration of Mars requires access to resources, including water, oxygen, protection from radiation and fuel for vehicles. These resources are available on Mars and will require access to surface or near subsurface materials, some of which may be found in Mars Special Regions. Mars Special Regions are in part defined on the availability of water, making them a potential source of water and oxygen, in addition to their science value. Protocols need to be established so that human activities do not inadvertently affect areas designated as Special Regions or cause non-Special Regions to become Special. The spread of terrestrial biological contamination could also impact life support systems, and the availability of Mars resources to human explorers.
Karen attended Oregon State University and earned her Bachelor of Science in Geology/Palebiology in 1986. Karen spent many years at NASA as an Engineer/Scientist and had the opportunity to spend 15 years leading Projects at UCLA as well as NASA Executive Scientist. Welcome Karen!