An Israeli Moonshot: Lee Billings, Scientific American, Mar. 17, 2016— For a time it looked like the Google Lunar XPRIZE was a failure—another pie-in-the-sky space age dream never to materialize.
Long-Term Space Flights: Pie in the Sky?: Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 3, 2016— Man was determined to explore space “because it’s there,” and to satisfy human curiosity and the yearning to overcome challenges.
Israeli Rocket Technology Will Help Explorer Ease onto Mars: David Shamah, Times of Israel, Mar. 15, 2016— Man’s latest attempt to search for life on the Red Planet has a critical blue-and-white component…
Jews on Mars?: Paul Wieder, JNS, Dec. 15, 2015— Yes, he has seen the recent film “The Martian.” But unlike the other millions who have seen that movie, Barak Stoltz went much closer to Mars.
Moon Shot | Episode 7 | Israel: Space IL (Video): Google Lunal XPrize, Mar. 17, 2016
Robotic Race to the Moon Heats Up: Jeffrey Marlow, Discover, Mar. 28, 2016
China and Israel Host Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation (Video): Breaking Israel News, Apr. 3, 2016
Israel Is Building a Secret Tunnel-Destroying Weapon: Yardena Schwartz, Foreign Policy, Mar. 10, 2016
Lee Billings
Scientific American, Mar. 17, 2016
For a time it looked like the Google Lunar XPRIZE was a failure—another pie-in-the-sky space age dream never to materialize. When it was announced in 2007, the $30-million competition to land and operate a privately funded spacecraft on the moon was slated to conclude by 2012. Getting to the moon, its organizers thought, should not take more than five years. Instead, the contest has gone through multiple rule revisions and deadline extensions as its competing teams struggled to make progress. Now, after enduring several quiet years and waning public interest, the competition is at last reheating and reentering the spotlight. Nine of the 16 competing teams are featured in Moon Shot, a new Web series produced by the filmmaker J. J. Abrams, and several of them appear on track to reach the moon by the contest’s latest deadline, December 31, 2017. But there’s one team arguably in the lead: SpaceIL, an Israeli nonprofit organization.
Like the contest itself, SpaceIL has followed a roller-coaster trajectory to the moon. Yonatan Winetraub, presently a biophysics PhD student at Stanford University, along with two friends, Yariv Bash and Kfir Damari, conceived their mission in a pub in 2010, and filed their paperwork with the XPRIZE Foundation mere minutes before the entry deadline. For years they worked in relative obscurity. Then, last year, SpaceIL made headlines by becoming the first of the competing teams to purchase a verified launch contract—a giant leap toward making the organization’s lunar flight a reality. If all goes well, its 500-kilogram spacecraft—informally dubbed “Sparrow”—will hitch a ride to the moon sometime in 2017 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket chartered through private aerospace company Spaceflight Industries. Scientific American spoke with Winetraub about SpaceIL’s plans.
What does SpaceIL have to do to win the competition? To win the Google Lunar XPRIZE, you need to land on the moon; you need to take and transmit video and stills of the landing itself, and some selfies; and you need to travel 500 meters across the surface. The first team to do that wins $20 million, and the runner-up gets $5 million. More money would be awarded for completing secondary objectives, like finding water on the moon or traveling five kilometers instead of 500 meters.
Was it easy to book a flight to the moon? No. It turns out that the fund-raising required to book a flight to the moon is at least as hard as rocket science. The original deadline for any team to book a flight was actually last year, just one month after we booked ours. If we or no other team had managed to book one and have the contract verified, the Google Lunar XPRIZE might already have ended in failure. Now that we have booked a flight—even though we were the last team to register, years behind our competitors—we now might be the first to launch. We’ve gone from three guys sitting in a bar—Yariv, Kfir and myself—to a fully functional organization with nearly 30 people working full-time headed by a very capable CEO, Eran Privman. That transition means a lot. It means we’re really in the race and we have a really good shot at the moon.
Is your team’s approach different from the others? Other teams have chosen to use rovers to traverse 500 meters on the moon but we have chosen to hop because a rover requires special design features that require more mass—and more money. Apart from hopping, the other crucial decision for us was to save money by launching with other satellites. The problem is, there’s not a lot of commercial incentive yet to go to the moon, so we would be the only ones heading there from a specific launch. So we needed to find a way to rendezvous with the moon even if all the other satellites would be deployed around Earth. Our contract stipulates that SpaceX will relight the Falcon 9’s engines to give us an extra boost after it deploys the other satellites. If you think about it, using a billion dollars to build a spacecraft to go to the moon is easy. But first you need a billion dollars, and none of us have it. So our innovations are made to drive down costs, so that we can go beyond Earth for a more reasonable price.
What else will your spacecraft do up there? Our main secondary objective is not included in the competition, and it is to take a scientific experiment with us so that we bring value beyond excitement and inspiration. We are working with the Weizmann Institute [of Science] to make a very sensitive magnetometer to put in a quiet place on the spacecraft, to map the local magnetic field around our landing site as we hop around it. These measurements would build off similar experiments from the Apollo missions, and could tell us more about the moon’s origins and composition.
You mentioned landing sites. Do you have one yet? We have a short-list, yes, chosen based on safety and science. Safety and science are to some extent contradicting requirements. For safety, you want to land on the flattest, sunniest surface you can find, with no rocks whatsoever. For science, you want the rocks and to look in the shadowy spots—they are more interesting. And if you want to learn about the moon’s magnetic field, you want to go to places with interesting magnetic properties. You have to find a compromise between these contradictions—it’s not an either/or situation. What we know for sure is where we will not go. A few years ago NASA announced guidelines for what teams can and cannot do, and they specifically requested that teams avoid the first and last Apollo landing sites—Apollo 11 and [Apollo] 17.
What still needs to be done before your launch date? We need to build the spacecraft. We already have some of the parts in our facilities, and for others, we’re in the process of ordering. We’re quite close to finishing the final step of the design and starting construction. The difficulty here is that everything needs to work perfectly on the first try, but we can’t fully test everything like we’d want to on Earth—the first time our orchestra will play its symphony from start to finish will be on the moon.
What worries you most about getting to the moon? The landing will be the most dangerous part of the mission because our spacecraft will be traveling at two kilometers per second and must precisely decelerate to stop at an altitude of zero. You can’t use parachutes because on the moon there is no air. Airbags don’t work at those speeds. And you can’t control the spacecraft from back on Earth because by the time the signals move back and forth the spacecraft’s position will have already changed by kilometers. We will need to pack all the knowledge and expertise we have into the spacecraft and then just watch it as it goes out on its own and, hopefully, lands…
[To Read the Full Article Click the Following Link—Ed.]
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LONG-TERM SPACE FLIGHTS: PIE IN THE SKY? Judy Siegel-Itzkovich Jerusalem Post, Apr. 3, 2016
Man was determined to explore space “because it’s there,” and to satisfy human curiosity and the yearning to overcome challenges. It turned out that sending spacecraft to the moon and beyond has produced a treasure trove of spinoffs that routinely benefit the health of people around the globe. But for astronauts who actually exit the Earth’s atmosphere, space travel has proven to be not so healthful.
Unless solutions are found, the lack of gravity and the exposure to cosmic radiation, among many other problems, could be an almost insurmountable barrier to the very long space flights required to reach other planets or even for long-term habitation in floating space stations. The recent return to Earth of NASA astronaut and Expedition-46 Commander Scott Kelly after a historic 340-day mission aboard the International Space Station aroused interest in the effects of long stays in space on the human body.
He grew in height by five centimeters because the lack of gravity allowed the spinal column to expand, but within days of his return, the vertebrae returned to their normal position. Other conditions such as reduced bone density and muscle depletion will take longer to treat. For example, body fluids and even whole organs shift; during weightlessness, fluids rise to the head and can put pressure on the optic nerve connecting the eye to the brain and harm vision, at least temporarily.
Kelly, who made three spacewalks during his mission, was a unique subject in space research, because his identical twin brother Mark, a retired NASA astronaut, engineer and US Navy captain who remained on Earth, served as a perfect “control” whose physical and mental condition will be compared in detail down to the cellular level over the next year to Scott’s. Dozens, if not hundreds, of studies will be published by NASA in the coming year on what was learned from Kelly’s trip on the effects of long-term living in space.
NASA had conducted many experiments on mammals from the same litter, but as these could not guarantee that they had the same genetic makeup, these experiments could not compare with the Kelly brothers’ studies. The International Space Station, which has been occupied continuously and visited by more than 200 people since November 2000 as a place to conduct experiments and learn how to improve living conditions in space, is considered by NASA to be the springboard to its future explorations, including missions to visit an asteroid and Mars.
One of the Israelis who will keep a close eye on research involving the Kelly brothers’ health is Dr. Yehezkel Caine, the London-born director for the last two decades of Herzog Medical Center, the growing geriatric/psychiatric hospital in Jerusalem. The son of a former chief of urology at Hadassah University Medical center, the modern-Orthodox physician came on aliya in 1959 and studied medicine including his specialty of surgery at the Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine. Caine initially studied aerospace medicine on a fellowship at the Ohio State University fellowship and subsequently completed an advanced course at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
He also has a degree in industrial administration and served for a number of years as the surgeon-general (chief medical officer) of the Israel Air Force. He also has a degree in industrial administration and served for years as surgeon-general of the Israel Air Force surgeon. When the Jerusalem psycho-geriatric hospital was thinking of setting up a surgical department (which never happened in the end), Caine was brought in as a temporary director- general, his service was extended and continues to this day. Caine maintains his interest in the narrow specialty of aerospace medicine.
There are only a few dozen Israelis in the field and just a handful of members around the world in the Space Medicine Association (AsMA), a group that promotes professional fellowship among colleagues in aerospace medicine and allied sciences. The Herzog director- general was for two years president of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine and hosted its annual conference in Jerusalem in 2013. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post in his Herzog Medical Center office, Caine mentioned a story that involved AsMA. As chronicled by Wall Street Journal reporter Lucette Lagnado four years ago, the association had honored Dr. Hubertus Strughold, who had been recognized worldwide as the “father of space medicine.” The association had given out the Strughold Award since 1963 to a leading scientist or physician for outstanding work in aviation medicine.
It turned out that the German émigré scientist – who had been enticed by the US to work in America’s early space program before he might be picked up by the Cold War Russians to work in their space efforts – was an enthusiastic Nazi who had performed horrible experiments on mentally disabled and epileptic children as well as at the Dachau concentration camp where prisoners were exposed to very cold temperatures. “I met him several times at Brooks in 1978. I remember him as an old man who gave us seminars and had a library named for him. I never had a comfortable feeling around him,” Caine recalled.
Strughold’s portrait was on a Wall of Fame in Ohio, and AsMA’s space medicine branch named a prestigious prize after him. He was supposed to be tried at Nuremburg, but he was spirited out with rocket scientist Werner von Braun as part of “Operation Paperclip.” It was an illegal operation by the US and British government that violated their laws, as it evaded the immigration authorities and gave him false documents, Caine continued. “It was clear in those days that the rockets the Americans were building could eventually go into space. They were already talking in the ’50s about manned space flights.” In the late ’90s, Caine was among those who raised questions about Strughold’s honors. “I was approached by the German aerospace medicine association that was considering giving an award to him. We scratched the surface and discovered a lot of his story as a Nazi and even before in the 1930s. As a result, his name was removed from the Hall of Fame in Ohio, the US Air Force base dropped his name from its library and subsequently from the award.”… [To Read the Full Article Click the Following Link—Ed.]Contents
ISRAELI ROCKET TECHNOLOGY WILL HELP EXPLORER EASE ONTO MARS David Shamah Times of Israel, Mar. 15, 2016 |
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Man’s latest attempt to search for life on the Red Planet has a critical blue-and-white component – a propulsion system that will gently guide the newly-launched ExoMars spacecraft to the surface of Mars when it gets ready to touch down sometime in 2018. The craft’s propulsion system was developed by Rafael, the same company that developed, among other things, the Iron Dome missile defense system. While known for its defense systems, Rafael is also active in the space business, specifically as the manufacturer of controllable propulsion and reaction control systems (RCS), which help “brake” the landing of satellites and missiles. This ensures that their fuel tanks do not crash into the ground as they land and ignite an explosion.
When ExoMars, launched Monday, gets to its destination, it will release a descent module called Schiaparelli which will land on Mars. During the descent phase, a heat shield will protect the payload from the severe heat flux. Parachutes, thrusters, and damping systems will reduce the speed, allowing a controlled landing on the surface of Mars. The module’s fuel tanks are equipped with Rafael-supplied mini-rockets that will spring into action when the craft gets ready to land on the surface of Mars, according to Zvi Zuckerman, a Rafael engineer who helped develop the system. In comments to Yedioth Ahronoth, Zuckerman said that the landing “will be a dramatic moment, because if anything goes wrong, the spacecraft could explode” due to the impact of landing.
According to Zuckerman, the European Space Agency, which is sponsoring the mission along with Russian space agency Roscosmos, chose Rafael’s propulsion system for the job “because our propulsion tanks are lighter, and use cleaner fuel,” which ensures a smoother landing. The inclusion of Israeli technology in the mission, Zuckerman added, was especially noteworthy as the ESA prefers to use only Europe-developed and manufactured systems for its missions…
ExoMars is far from Rafael’s first foray into space. The company’s propulsion modules have been used in dozens of satellites (30 of them currently active), among them the OFEQ, EROS and TecSAR satellites. The positive-expulsion propellant tank technology present on ExoMars has been used on Proteus, Galileo-GIOVE-B, Spirale, Prisma, Myriad/Astrosat-100 and other satellites, many of which were launched by the ESA. The ESA is not the only space-exploring body to use Israeli technology. Last October, Israel signed a cooperation agreement with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (COPUOS). Under the agreement, Israel will develop protocols and systems to use satellite technology in a number of projects, including using satellites to take photos of areas where natural and other disasters take place, and the distribution of photos to rescue agents for use in locating and identifying survivors… [To Read the Full Article Click the Following Link—Ed.] |
Paul Wieder
JNS, Dec. 15, 2015
Yes, he has seen the recent film “The Martian.” But unlike the other millions who have seen that movie, Barak Stoltz went much closer to Mars. Stoltz spent Hanukkah in the Utah desert, in a few cramped capsules that make up the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). He lit his menorah, sang some songs, and even tried his hand at making latkes—all while practicing for a manned mission to Mars.
MDRS is run by the Mars Society, a Colorado-based non-profit that works toward a human presence on that planet. The idea of the MDRS is to recreate, as much as possible, the living and working conditions that astronauts might face once they start to live in Mars. Through these practice runs, the Society hopes to refine the equipment, experiments, and practices necessary for a successful Mars mission. Even more impressive, Stotlz is one of the youngest ever to participate in the MDRS in its 12 years. While his fellow “astronauts” were professionals, professors, and grad students, Stoltz himself is still a college junior. He is studying mechanical engineering and physics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His title in the MDRS was Crew Astroengineer.
The five MDRS participants spent two weeks in December in the living pods, the lab, the greenhouse, and the observatory, wearing space suits when they venture outside. Stoltz’s assignment was in the observatory, which was donated by Elon Musk, “getting the telescope up and running, testing its remote control… making sure that the telescope is fully functional upon future crew arrival while exploring the beauty of space in the process.” MDRS participants hail from around the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. In addition to scientists, the MDRS has also housed everyone from experts in extreme wilderness survival to psychologists testing the mental effects of Martian living.
“As both a Jew and an Israeli I plan on sharing some of my culture and beliefs with the rest of the crew, giving them a glimpse into our culture,” Stoltz says. “For me, one of the incredible things about my MDRS crew is the sheer diversity. From Australia to Italy and back, we bring a variety of cultures and experiences into one place and get the opportunity to work with each other; and being the only Israeli on the team I will attempt to answer any question they have about our people to the best of my abilities.” Barak was born in Israel, like his mother, and he spent his early childhood there. In 2007, the Stoltzes moved to Chicago, and Barak attended Solomon Schechter Day School in Northbrook, Ill., and Glenbrook North High School. In college, he says, “I am currently working doing research in a nanotechnology laboratory…on various nano-scale fibers which have some incredible conceptual applications.”
Ultimately, he’d like to actually go to Mars. “A successful manned mission to Mars would be one of the biggest accomplishments in human history, and being a part of it would be an absolute pleasure. It is time we push for a goal that is greater than ourselves and explore a little deeper into our universal neighborhood—what better place than our red neighbor?” he says. His dad, Michael, is on the team, too. “I’m actually affiliated with the group, serving as its volunteer media coordinator,” Michael says. He met Barak’s mother in Israel; they lived there for 14 years, during which time he worked in public relations for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he transitioned from the Knesset to the Prime Minister’s office. The Stoltzes still visit Israel every summer.
As Barak elaborates, “For the longest time I had heard my father talk about MDRS due to his position as the director of media and public relations for the Mars Society. In my sophomore year, my father mentioned to me that one of the upcoming crews was short one member, so I applied. About a month later, I was officially a part of crew 159.” Overall, Stoltz was “not nervous at all, more like excited! MDRS is such a unique…incredible learning opportunity both from an academic prospective as well as hands-on experience. As an enthusiastic believer in the future of space travel, I believe that our mind should wonder at the thought of space exploration, and what better way to do so than in the middle of the Utah desert with a sky full of stars.”
Moon Shot | Episode 7 | Israel: Space IL (Video): Google Lunal XPrize, Mar. 17, 2016—One of the last teams to enter the GLXP, SpaceIL was co-founded by Yariv Bash, whose grandfather's life was tragically altered by the Holocaust.
Robotic Race to the Moon Heats Up: Jeffrey Marlow, Discover, Mar. 28, 2016—Three engineers walk into a bar. The punchline won’t do any favors for your next stand-up set, but what followed may one day find its place in start-up folk history alongside the Silicon Valley garage. It was 2010, and Israeli engineer Yariv Bash had just posted a bold invitation on his Facebook wall. “I’m going to the Moon – who wants to join me?”
China and Israel Host Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation (Video): Breaking Israel News, Apr. 3, 2016—China and Israel are participating in their second Joint Committee of Innovation Cooperation, with China admiring Israel’s miracles of innovation and the two countries pledging to work together to further science and technology.
Israel Is Building a Secret Tunnel-Destroying Weapon: Yardena Schwartz, Foreign Policy, Mar. 10, 2016—Bassem al-Najar has been homeless since August 2014, when Israeli warplanes demolished his house during the 50-day conflict that killed more than 2,000 Gazans and 72 Israelis. Najar lost his brother in the war, and for the next four months, he lived in a U.N. school with his wife and four children, along with 80 other families. They moved into a prefabricated hut, resembling a tool shed, in December 2014, where they expected to live for just a few months until their home was rebuilt. Today, he is still one of an estimated 100,000 Gazans who remain homeless.
