Meteorite or Meteor-wrong?

I thought I had found some teeny meteorite fragments (see HERE), so I retraced my path along the same stretch of road.

Sure enough, my magnetic walking stick found some more magnetic grains. Some were smaller than before, but one was bigger. 

My most recent space rock candidates with a toothbrush for scale.

Maybe, I thought, the big one was big enough to grind a little to reveal the interior.

I'll call this big one "Biggie."

I used a nail file to scrape off some of the outer layer.

The Lunar and Planetary Institute recommends six tests to determine if a rock might be a meteorite. Here are the results on Biggie.

1. Does the sample have a black or brown surface? Yes
2. Is the sample solid, without pores or hollow vesicles? Yes
3. Is the sample heavy for its size? Not sure - too small to tell
4. If a corner of the sample is ground slightly, is the interior metallic silver? Yes - see below!
5. Is the sample unlike other rocks in the area? Yes
6. Is the sample magnetic? Yes

You can just begin to see a bright silver surface after light scraping.

Another view of the silver surface.

I passed 5 out of 6 tests. Maybe we have a winner? Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

SpaceX Crew 3 Suiting Up

 Here are some photos from the Crew 3 pre-launch suit up taken from the SpaceX live feed.

The crew consists of Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, Matthias Maurer, and Kayla Barron.

Matthias Maurer and Kayla Barron

Thomas Marshburn

Raja Chari

Suit Room

Matthias Maurer and Kayla Barron

Kayla Barron

Matthias Maurer

Meteorite Hunter

I have started trying to find meteorites in my area.

It is amazing to think that I might be able to touch a planetary fragment that has drifted through space, unchanged for billions of years. 

Some meteorites may even be older than the Earth, or they might be blasted off of the moon or Mars!

Image: NASA; https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/21492/a-martian-meteorite-for-mars-2020/

I needed to know a lot more to be a good meteorite hunter, so I consulted The Lunar and Planetary Institute.

I learned it takes patience since meteorites are rare and sometimes tiny. I have been looking for iron meteorites using a walking stick with magnets taped near the tip.

My hand-carved walking stick with magnets taped near the tip.

David A. Kring wrote an article for The Lunar and Planetary Institute that says:

"Iron meteorites are much more common among the meteorite finds, because they are so unlike most terrestrial rocks and because stony meteorites are highly susceptible to weathering on the surface of the Earth."

Image: NASA; https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/nwa480.html

I recently found a tiny rock - a speck like a grain of rice - that stuck to my magnet. I wonder if it's a meteorite?  I put it on a clothespin to show the scale...

I checked my little rock using tests from The Lunar and Planetary Institute.

1. Does the sample have a black or brown surface? Yes
2. Is the sample solid, without pores or hollow vesicles? Yes
3. Is the sample heavy for its size? Not sure - too small to tell
4. If a corner of the sample is ground slightly, is the interior metallic silver? Too small to grind.
5. Is the sample unlike other rocks in the area? Yes
6. Is the sample magnetic? Yes

Here are some more photos of different sides.  One side is a little darker than the other.  Could it be from the reentry heating where one side got "cooked" more than the other?

Right now, it looks like it could be a tiny meteorite! I want to be sure, so stay tuned for more information if I can get someone to help identify it.

Apollo Emergency Salt Remover

For emergency landings, survival equipment was provided to support Apollo astronauts for up to three days.

The survival items were in two rucksacks made of Armalon, a Teflon-coated glass fabric. They included numerous items like a raft, a radio and beacon transceiver, three water containers, a machete, a desalter kit, sunglasses, and combination survival lights.

Photo Credit: Michael Kulp
Location: US Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL
Date: March 1 2019

Desalter Kit

Humans cannot drink seawater, so Apollo astronauts had a special kit that turned salt water into drinking water.

The desalter kit was a standard off-the-shelf Department of Defense (DOD) survival item for military crews. 

It consisted of two processing bags, eight chemical packets, and mending tape. The chemical packets were designed to be used in conjunction with the processing bags. The processing bags were plastic with a filter at the bottom.

Each chemical packet could produce one pint of drinking water. Eight chemical packets could produce one gallon of drinking water.

The water was processed by mixing sea water and a chemical packet for an hour. The mixture was then filtered through a valve in the bottom of the bag.

The Apollo requirements were tough on flammable materials, so the standard DOD mending tape was replaced with fiberglass tape.

Sources:

[1] NASA Technical Note TN D-6737, Fred A. McAllister, March 1972, https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/tnD6737%20-%20CrewProvisnsEquip.pdf

[2] National Air and Space Museum; https://www.si.edu/object/chemicals-desalinization-rucksack-1-apollo:nasm_A19781452006

Apollo Survival Light

 

Photo Credit: Michael Kulp
Location: US Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL
Date: March 1 2019

For emergency landings, survival equipment was provided to support Apollo astronauts for up to three days.

The survival items were in two rucksacks made of Armalon, a Teflon-coated glass fabric. They included numerous items like a raft, a radio and beacon transceiver, three water containers, a machete, a desalter kit, sunglasses, and combination survival lights.

Combination Survival-Light Assembly

The combination survival-light assembly provided an almost Swiss-army-level of gadgetry for astronauts in a survival situation.

It was a lightweight, hand-held unit used for visual signaling. It was made of grey-painted steel with brass fittings, and was made for NASA by ACR Electronics.

This one item included a strobe light, a flashlight, and a signal mirror. But wait! There's more: it also included a siren whistle, a compass, fire starters, cotton balls, halogen tablets, a water receptacle, knife blades, needles, nylon cord, and fishhooks.

NASA Technical Note TN D-6737 says:

"The combination survival light was developed for use in the Gemini Program. It satisfies the Apollo postlanding requirements. This item, intended for use during an emergency postlanding situation, has not been required during any mission. However, postflight testing demonstrated that the units remain functional."

Sources:

[1] NASA Technical Note TN D-6737, Fred A. McAllister, March 1972, https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/tnD6737%20-%20CrewProvisnsEquip.pdf

[2] National Air and Space Museum; https://www.si.edu/object/survival-light-combination-rucksack-1-apollo-11:nasm_A19980011001

NASA Crew 2 Deorbit Photos

Some photos from the NASA Crew 2 return from orbit in SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour.

NASA Crew 2 are Shane Kimbrough; K. Megan McArthur; Akihiko Hoshide; Thomas Pesquet

They launched April 23, 2021 and plan to splashdown on November 8, 2021.

Thomas Pesquet already out of his pressure suit and shooting photos.

Commander Shane Kimbrough is in the left-hand seat.
Pilot Megan McArthur is in the right-hand seat.

Cabin lights off for better photos out the window.

My favorite photo of the day so far.

Wobbling Stars and Alien Planets

 Astronomers call alien worlds "exoplanets."  An exoplanet is a planet orbiting a star other than our sun.

For centuries, people assumed that other worlds existed, but only recently did astronomers detect exoplanets for real.

At first, the detection techniques and equipment could only spot huge planets (as big or bigger than Jupiter) that tugged hard on its star.

Image from the course "Astrobiology: Exploring Other Worlds" from the University of Arizona

Imagine you are spinning around while holding a bucket of English peas covered in squeeze cheese. As you spin, the bucket tugs on you, and you have to lean back to make up for the weight.

The same happens when an exoplanet (the bucket) spins around a star (you). The heavier the planet, the more the star is tugged. The star actually wobbles through space!

Astronomers can measure a star's wobble using a "radial velocity" technique.

They started by finding big Jupiter-size planets. Then they got better and started finding smaller Neptune-sized planets. Nowadays, the techniques and equipment have improved, and astronomers are finding Earth-sized planets that exert a tiny tug on the star. 

The tiny star wobble is exciting since it means that planets like ours may be common. Could it mean that these planets also have alien creatures? I bet some of them do!

I like to paint exoplanets.  Here are two companions floating along the dusty arm of a spiral galaxy.

Apollo Fashion Show

Aside from the bulky spacesuit (called a PGA, or Pressure Garment Assembly), an Apollo astronaut's wardrobe consisted of:

1. ICG: Inflight Coverall Garment

2. CWG: Constant Wear Garment (long johns)

3. BIG: Biological-Isolation Garment


Inflight Coverall Garment

This was a three-piece flight suit consisting of a jacket, trousers, and a pair of boots.

This was worn over the CWG whenever the astronauts were in a "shirtsleeve" environment (not wearing the pressure suit).

The first garments designed for Apollo flight were constructed of 4190B Beta cloth. But, to make them more durable, designers changed the material to Teflon-coated Beta cloth.

Astronauts reported discomfort caused by skin irritation, so designers added a Nomex lining to the jackets.

When the problem of skin irritation persisted, the material was again changed to woven Teflon fabric.

Apollo 12 astronauts (left to right) Conrad, Gordon, and Bean wearing ICG while preparing
for water egress training aboard the MV Retriever. Credit: NASA

Constant-Wear Garment

The CWG was a one-piece cotton-knit garment that covered the torso and feet, but left the lower arms bare.

It was designed to be worn next to the skin to provide warmth and absorb sweat.

Each astronaut had two of these garments.

Apollo training illustration of in-flight clothing items. Credit: NASA

Biological Isolation Garment

This was not worn in flight. It was designed to prevent astronauts from bringing moon germs (if any existed) back to contaminate Earth.

The BIG was a one-piece garment that included shoes, gloves, and hood.

Astronauts wore the isolation garments from splashdown to the recovery van.

It was made from a lightweight, high-density cotton fabric and required no special cooling equipment. Filters to screen out particles were provided in the BIG mask design.

Apollo 11 astronauts await the recovery helicopter with the
decontamination officer, all wearing BIGs. Credit: NASA

Source: NASA Technical Note TN D-6737, March 1972, 

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/tnD6737%20-%20CrewProvisnsEquip.pdf