This Week in Space

Chilean Earthquake and time of day: There has been much speculation about the Chilean earthquake shifted the earth’s axis and shortened the length of a day by 1.26 microseconds.  But here’s the word from NASA: tides and wind can change the length of a “day” by 1000 times more.   And the shift of the axis is speculative, according to their article.  Scientists say that theoretically the movement of mass in the earthquake should make the earth’s axis move a little bit, but only careful analysis of GPS data will tell if that is indeed the case.  Either way, it’s not enough for any of us to notice!

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2010/11mar_figureaxis.htm?list1290690

A time shift you will notice is returning to Daylight Savings time on Sunday, March 14^th.  Get ready to lose an hour of sleep!  But never fear,

It’s Pi day!  Yes, 3.14 is celebrated by scientists and mathematicians around the world.  So go ahead and have that piece of pie, after all, the days are getting shorter…or longer?  Hmmm….the longer days are now shorter!

Mars Orbiter hits 100 terabit mark:   Terabit?  That is 100 trillion bits of information that the Mars orbiter has collected and returned to earth.  It is more data than has been collected from all other spacecraft combined (to date).  The orbiter has made high resolution maps of at least half of the surface of Mars in addition to identifying water and minerals on the surface with the spectrometer. For details, go to 

Sun-Earth Day is March 20^th.  There will be a NASA webcast to discuss Magnetic Storms.  If you are interested in joining the webcast, go to http://www.ustream.tv/user/NASA_EDGE.  For more information about this year’s Sun-Earth Day and to find materials such as posters and bookmarks check out http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2010/index.php. 

China’s first woman astronauts were selected earlier this month.  The two women are both pilots, and are married "as we believe married women are more physically and psychologically mature, “said Shang Jianqi. He also said women astronauts "theoretically enjoy advantages over their male counterparts in terms of endurance and circumspection."  (no comment!) For more information about China’s new astronauts, you can go to

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/China_chooses_first_women_astronauts_999.html,

The Space Shuttle is scheduled for the next launch on April 5^th.  However, NASA is saying that may be extended if there is money left in the budget.  Although the Constellation and Ares Rocket program has been cut, NASA’s budget for this year has increased.  Some of the funds are allocated for education, but there may be a little left for another launch.  The story is at http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Space_shuttle_can_fly_beyond_2010_if_money_is_there_NASA_999.html.

Mars in 39 days?  A rocket scientist and physicist at MIT has announced that his high tech Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) will be able to do just that.  The craft has a rapid acceleration that will allow travel to the red planet in 39 days instead of 9 months.  If the technology is feasible, this could dramatically change how we travel through space in the future. http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Scientist_eyes_39-day_voyage_to_Mars_999.html.

There will be no weekly update until the week of March 29^th due to other commitments at Challenger as we begin our camps during spring break.  Meanwhile, get out and enjoy the stars before it gets too light!

Clear skies!