World leaders to speak at massive Mandela memorial

December 09, 2013

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An eclectic mix of world leaders including President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro will eulogize Nelson Mandela before a crowd of nearly 100,000 mourners at a massive memorial service Tuesday in the World Cup soccer stadium where the anti-apartheid champion made his last public appearance.

"What a fantastic gift God gave to us in this Mandela, who quickly became an icon, a global icon of forgiveness, of generosity of spirit," Archbishop Desmond Tutu told a gathering Monday at the Nelson Mandela Center of Memory.

"He really was like a magician with a magic wand, turning us into this glorious, multi-colored, rainbow people." Nearly 100 world leaders and tens of thousands of South Africans of all races and backgrounds were expected to pay their respects to the man who bridged this nation's black-white divide at the FNB stadium in Soweto — a locale heavy in symbolism as the black township that was at the center of the violent struggle against apartheid.

The 95,000-capacity soccer venue was also the spot where Mandela made his last public appearance at the closing ceremony of the 2010 World Cup. His body will then lie in state for three days at the Union Buildings in Pretoria — once the seat of white power — before burial Sunday in his rural childhood village of Qunu in Eastern Cape Province.

South African authorities rushed Monday to deal with the complex security, logistical and protocol challenges of hosting what promised to be one of the largest and most prominent gatherings of world dignitaries in generations. Besides Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were to attend Tuesday's memorial, along with Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

At the stadium, workers busily constructed a stage protected by bulletproof glass and police promised "thousands" of officers would secure the stadium. Still, security appeared lax Monday as the owner of a private security company scrambled to hire guards for Tuesday's event, using his car as a mobile office.

George Mathabe, manager of the Sidas security company, said 1,500 guards would be on duty Tuesday. "I'm doing this from the bottom of my heart, just to thank Tata," Mathabe said, using the Xhosa word for father as an endearment for Mandela, who died Thursday at the age of 95.

"My son is coming tomorrow as a visitor too. He's going to live in a free country. He's going to be able to do whatever he likes, thanks to Tata." Mourners were already camped out Monday to be the first ones inside the Soweto stadium, where roads were to be closed for several square miles Tuesday. Authorities expect overflow crowds to watch a live broadcast of the event at nearby stadiums.

Officers will direct traffic, protect mourners and assist the bodyguards of visiting dignitaries, said Lt. Gen. Solomon Makgale, a spokesman for the South African Police Service. "We will be on hand to make sure people are able to grieve in a safe environment," Makgale told The Associated Press.

"Whether we have 10 heads of state coming, or 70 or 100, we do have the capacity and plans in place to facilitate their movement," he said. Besides Obama and Raul Castro, eulogies were to be delivered by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao. Other speakers include the presidents of Brazil, Namibia and India, as well as tributes from Mandela's grandchildren. South African President Jacob Zuma is to give the keynote address.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, French President Francois Hollande and his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and the prime ministers of Canada, Italy and Australia were among the nearly 100 heads of state, government and ministers who have confirmed their attendance, the government said.

The predicted turnout brought comparisons to the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II, which drew dignitaries from more than 80 countries, as well as a crowd of 300,000 people who filled St. Peter's Square. Millions of others watched on giant video screens set up across Rome.

Though security remains a concern, an AP reporter walked unsearched into the stadium Monday by showing only a national press card issued in Europe. It took about three minutes before a security officer asked journalists to leave the field, though reporters freely roamed stadium aisles to watch the ongoing stage construction.

South Africa's parliament held a special session Monday in honor of Mandela. Kgalema Motlanthe, the country's deputy president and a member of Mandela's African National Congress, opened the proceedings with a speech describing how the former leader's death caused a "sweeping feeling of sorrow" around the world.

"He belongs to all humanity," Motlanthe said. "Mandela's ideals saturate the face of the Earth." Helen Zille, the leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance political party, said South Africa inherited "an enormous responsibility" from Mandela.

"He has handed the baton to us and we dare not drop it," she said.

Associated Press writers Christopher Torchia in Cape Town, South Africa, Julie Pace in Washington and Ray Faure in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

2 French soldiers die in Central African Republic

December 10, 2013

PARIS (AP) — Two French soldiers were killed in combat in Central African Republic's capital, President Francois Hollande's office announced Tuesday, the first French casualties since he ordered a stepped-up military presence in the restive former colony to help quell inter-religious violence.

The presidential Elysee Palace, in a statement, provided no details about the killings in Bangui late Monday other than that they died during France's mission to restore security, protect civilians, and ensure access for humanitarian groups in the impoverished country.

French officials have warned of the dangers of the enhanced military mission alongside African Union troops, authorized under a muscular mandate approved last week by the United Nations Security Council. France's defense minister has warned militia groups to disarm peacefully — or French troops will do it by force.

The announcement of the deaths came shortly after the presidential palace said Hollande would travel to Central African Republic on Tuesday after attending a memorial in South Africa to Nelson Mandela.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said French forces were conducting patrols by foot and vehicle through the dusty streets of Bangui. At one point, they intervened to pull away a Muslim man, who claimed to be a merchant, from a mob that accused him of being a rebel leader.

Muslim rebels known as Seleka overthrew the government of this majority Christian nation nine months ago. Bouts of violence in Central African Republic took an especially bloody turn last week with more than 400 deaths in two days of violence between Christians and Muslims. World leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama have called for calm.

C. African Republic mobs launch sectarian attacks

December 09, 2013

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Dozens of young men stood waiting for storm clouds to pass, as wind stirred up swirls of red dust on the largely deserted street in Central African Republic's capital. Through the drizzle, they spotted a man in a flowing white robe traditionally worn by Muslims, hand-in-hand with his adolescent son.

The style of dress was enough to confirm that this was their enemy. Hungry for revenge, the crowd descended upon the pair. The man's terrified son broke away, and fled on foot, abandoning his father as the knife-wielding mob clutched the middle-aged man.

Muslim rebels known as Seleka overthrew the government of this majority Christian nation nine months ago, sparking mounting sectarian violence that prompted former colonizer France last week to deploy troops to Bangui in an effort to stop the bloodshed.

In a city where more than 400 people died last week in two days of tit-for-tat violence between Christians and Muslims, it was clear Monday there is still enough pent-up rage left that a crowd will try to kill a man on sight.

The angry mob insisted their victim served as a general in the rebel movement accused of carrying out atrocities against the nation's Christian population, including tying victims together and throwing them off bridges to drown. "Seleka! Seleka! Seleka!" screamed the men as they encircled the Muslim man in a tornado of anger.

In this case, French forces intervened just in time, firing into the air as a warning. "I am a merchant! I am a merchant!," the man cried as the French pulled him away, his back covered in dirt and his gown ripped off. His tearful son came back, his white shirt covered in blood, and the French ferried them to safety.

Other Muslims were not as fortunate. In the Benzvi neighborhood, a mob descended upon two ex-Seleka leaders leaving their home Monday afternoon. One got away. The crowd took up the only weapons they had against the other, witnesses said.

"People picked up rocks from the ground and stoned him to death," said Junior Dagdag, 28, pointing to the pool of blood and stones in the middle of the road, where the victim's car burned and smoke plumed into the sky. "Some brought his body to the hospital while others set his car on fire."

The latest round of violence began Thursday, when armed Christian fighters who oppose the ex-Seleka forces in power attacked the capital and were later repelled by the ex-rebels. The French ambassador to the U.N., Gerard Araud, said a "modicum of law and order" had been restored in Bangui. Some 1,600 French forces are on the ground.

On Monday, they set about the work of disarming the rebels and the militias that have sprung up to counter them. Col. Gilles Jaron, a French military spokesman in Paris, said all armed groups on the ground have been told that only police and gendarmes are allowed to carry arms and wear uniforms. Seleka rebels have been told to return to their barracks in central Bangui and leave their arms there. Anyone still roaming the streets with a weapon will be disarmed, Jaron said.

He would not say how long the process would take. During the day, French helicopters buzzed overhead while dozens of military vehicles, including armored personnel carriers, snaked through neighborhoods where tensions ran high. French forces came under attack near the airport but the area was later secured.

In Washington, the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel directed the U.S. Africa Command to begin transporting 850 troops from Burundi in coordination with France because the U.S. believes immediate action is needed to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.

Since the country has no police and no real national army, fed-up Christians sought to enforce the law themselves, chasing anyone they suspected as being part of Seleka — even in civilian clothing — off of the streets.

Emmanuel Yakanga, 53, a Christian, said he walked by a group of Christians harassing some men they accused of being Seleka and that he understands their anger. Even as ex-Seleka elements promised to disarm and hand over their weapons to the French, Christian neighborhoods are coming under attack nightly, he said. Yakanga's 17-year-old niece was fatally shot on Thursday, he said.

"This talk of disarmament is merely superficial. They're just going to keep their weapons elsewhere," Yakanga said of the ex-Seleka. In the months since he seized power, it has become clear that President Michel Djotodia wields little control over the rebels who now see themselves as the country's national army. Over the weekend, Djotodia acknowledged his lack of power, telling reporters that not even "an angel from the sky" could govern his troubled nation now.

Central African Republic has suffered decades of dictatorship, coups and rebellions that have kept the diamond-rich country in many ways frozen in time since its independence from France in 1960. Life expectancy was a mere 48 years even before the latest humanitarian crisis, and aid officials warn an untold number of people forced to flee deep into the bush are dying of malaria and other illnesses.

The latest spasm of violence, however, is horrific even by the standards of the broken nation. As Muslims came under attack across the city, a Christian man in another part of the capital nearly lost his life to a fearful and angry Muslim mob.

Crowds said they spotted Sincere Banyodi, 32, as he made his way through the Kokoro 3 neighborhood and feared he was a member of the Christian militia known as anti-balaka, which has carried out massacres of Muslim civilians.

"This guy was walking through our neighborhood with two grenades. We asked him where he was from and he couldn't tell us. The people caught him and attacked him, but then decided to turn him over to the French instead of killing him," said Ali Moussa Terab, who was standing in the crowd.

Banyodi, who was identified by a friend, sat with pieces of cloth tied around his machete wounds on both arms, his pants soaked in blood. He said nothing, not responding to questions as he sat alone in front of a cluster of shops. Half a dozen armed French forces kept the large crowd swirling nearby at bay.

Even as French troops patrolled, some residents said they doubted the intervention would hold. Muslim resident Abdel Wahid, 32, and his friends said they heard rumors the Christian militia fighters were regrouping in the countryside. Despite the clear danger on the streets, they said, this was the calm before the storm.

"Why should Seleka have to turn over their weapons? They are the national army," Wahid said. "After the French leave, things will explode."

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor in Doha, Qatar, and Sarah DiLorenzo in Paris contributed to this story.

Thai democracy enters dangerous new crossroads

December 11, 2013

BANGKOK (AP) — Protesters waging a surreal political fight to oust Thailand's elected prime minister are trying to establish what amounts to a parallel government — one complete with "security volunteers" to replace the police, a foreign policy of their own and a central committee that has already begun issuing audacious orders.

Among the most brazen: a demand Tuesday that caretaker premier Yingluck Shinawatra be prosecuted for "insurrection," and another calling on the public to "closely monitor" her family's movements. Leading academics have slammed the scheme as undemocratic and unconstitutional. Critics have called its leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, delusional. But the ex-lawmaker's bid to seize power is backed by many in Bangkok and could become reality if the military or the judiciary intervenes, as they have in the past. Analysts say this Southeast Asian nation is at a dangerous new crossroads that could drag on, and end with more bloodshed.

"This is a combustible situation. We cannot have two governments in Bangkok running Thailand," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of Chulalongkorn's Institute of Security and International Studies. "Something will have to give."

Yingluck is desperate to end weeks of political unrest that has killed five people and wounded nearly 300 more. On Monday, she dissolved the lower house of Parliament and called for elections, now set for Feb. 2. But neither move defused the crisis, and a 150,000-strong crowd pressed on with a massive march against her in Bangkok.

Yingluck said Tuesday she would not resign despite a nighttime deadline issued by Suthep. But there was no hiding the nation's precarious state. Asked how she was holding up, tears welled in Yingluck's eyes.

"I have retreated as far as I can," she said, just before turning and walking quickly away. The protesters accuse Yingluck's government of abuse of power and say her party has used its electoral majority to impose its will on a minority. They say Yingluck is merely a proxy for her billionaire brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives in self-imposed exile to avoid jail time for a corruption conviction but still wields immense influence from abroad.

Thaksin was deposed in a 2006 army coup that laid bare a deeper societal conflict. On one side are Thailand's largely urban upper and middle classes, who along with staunch royalists want to end the Shinawatra family's grip on power. On the other side are the rural poor, who back the Shinawatras because they benefited policies that have brought them everything from electricity to free healthcare.

The coup triggered years of political upheaval and dramatic changes in government have underscored the power of Bangkok's elite. Controversial judicial rulings removed two pro-Thaksin prime ministers in 2008, one of whom never set foot in his Government House office: He worked for 10 weeks out of the VIP lounge of the capital's old airport until protesters evicted him from there, too. The same year, army-backed parliamentary maneuvering allowed the opposition Democrat Party — a minority that has not won an election for more than two decades — to take power for several years.

Yingluck led the ruling Pheu Thai Party to victory in 2011 elections. But anger against her government swelled after the lower house passed an amnesty bill that would have allowed Thaksin to return without going to jail. The measure was rejected in the upper house, and Yingluck has said it will not be revived.

Protesters say Pheu Thai lost its right to rule because of its support of the amnesty bill and other legislation they oppose. Yingluck and other members of her party say the constitution does not allow her to resign before elections are held — a ballot both sides know Pheu Thai would win.

Suthep, the protest leader, said late Tuesday that as of now, "there is no government." He said his People's Democratic Reform Committee would nominate a new prime minister to fill the vacuum, although it has no legal authority to do so.

The bespectacled 64-year-old career politician also ordered the head of police to order all his forces to return their posts within 12 hours and said soldiers should take responsibility for protecting government offices.

Government spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi dismissed the threats, telling The Associated Press on Wednesday: "We confirm that we are still the government. We are still running the country and things are normal."

Suthep had laid out other details of his plan Monday. Citing a clause in the constitution stating that "the highest power is the sovereign power of the people," he claimed his movement was assuming some government functions and called on civil servants to report to it.

He said a new constitution would be written that would ban populist policies, bar corruption convictions from being pardoned and ensure that "a single party cannot control things." He also said the movement will "fully respect our sovereign obligations and maintain good relations with all states and international organizations."

The reality, for now, is that no parallel government exists, and that protesters hold less ground than they did at the weekend. Ahead of Monday's march, they withdrew from the Finance Ministry and part of a vast government complex they had occupied for a week.

Still, Thitinan said, the momentum is on the side of Suthep, whose uprising has already triggered the legislature's dissolution and reduced Yingluck's power. The government is "at a disadvantage because they're not backed by the establishment and the powerful people in Bangkok," Thitinan said. The army has vowed neutrality, but when push comes to shove, they will side with the protesters, he said.

Thitinan said Suthep is "a front man for larger forces behind him, for the powers that be" among the elite. He said they want to "seize the reins of government because they want to preside over the transition ... we're talking about the monarchy, the succession, the constitution, the entire future of Thailand."

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 86, has suffered health problems for years, and anxiety over his health has grown in tandem with the country's deepening political divide. Thaksin, the ousted premier, was accused of disrespecting the king, in part by trying to curry favor with Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, the heir to the throne.

Thitinan added, however, that if Yingluck is deposed, her supporters "will come back to the streets" just as they did in 2010, when pro-Thaksin "red shirt" protesters erected bamboo barricades around a vast swath of the capital's glitziest shopping district and occupied it for two months.

A brutal army crackdown eventually dispersed the crowds, but not before more than 90 people were killed and the city's skyline was engulfed in flames. Suthep, who was deputy premier at the time, ordered the crackdown and is facing murder charges for his role in it. He also faces an arrest warrant — for insurrection.

The army and the courts have had opportunities to dislodge Yingluck's government but have not taken them. The conflict is likely to "go on and on until all sides sit down and negotiate a compromise," said Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee, a political science professor in Bangkok.

"That's going to take a long, long time," she said. "There is no easy way out."

Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker, Grant Peck, Papitchaya Boonngok, Sinfah Tunsarawuth and Jinda Wedel contributed to this report.

Orbital Sciences Names Next Private Space Station Freighter for NASA Astronaut

by Robert Z. Pearlman, collectSPACE.com Editor
December 09, 2013

The next U.S. private spacecraft to fly to the International Space Station has been named for Gordon Fullerton, the late NASA astronaut who helped to deploy air-launched rockets built by the company behind the space freighter.

Orbital Sciences Corp. is preparing to launch its second Cygnus unmanned spacecraft to the station Dec. 18 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The flight will be the first of eight resupply missions the company will fly under a $1.9 billion contract with the space agency.

Orbital launched its first Cygnus spacecraft in September on a demonstration mission that proved it could safely fly the unmanned freighter to the orbiting outpost. Continuing a 25-year company tradition, Orbital's officials named their maiden Cygnus after someone who played an early role in its success.

"We named our first Cygnus spacecraft to go to the space station the G. David Low, in honor of a former astronaut, a classmate of mine and former Orbital employee who was involved in the early days of COTS [Commercial Orbital Transportation Services] from the very beginning and who we lost a few years ago unfortunately," Frank Culbertson, Orbital executive vice president and former astronaut, said in a media briefing. "We were very proud to name that one the G. David Low."

"Our next one, to continue the tradition, will be named for C. Gordon Fullerton," Culbertson said. "Gordo, as most of us knew him, was a two-time shuttle pilot, a long-time test pilot and research pilot at Dryden, but his connection with Orbital was that he was the pilot of the B-52 [swept-wing heavy bomber jet] that dropped our Pegasus [air-launched rocket] several times."

Fullerton's flights

Charles Gordon Fullerton died Aug. 21, three years after suffering a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. He was 76.

After flying Enterprise, NASA's original prototype orbiter, on atmospheric test flights, Fullerton launched into space twice. He piloted the shuttle's third mission in 1982 and, three years later, was serving as commander when a main engine shutdown ended in the shuttle's only inflight abort.

Fullerton followed up his 16 days orbiting the Earth with 22 years of service as a NASA research pilot. It was in this capacity that he worked with Orbital Sciences.

Before developing Cygnus and the Antares rocket, Orbital Sciences introduced the Pegasus in 1990 as the first commercially-developed launch vehicle. Used to deploy small satellites, the winged Pegasus' first stage is an aircraft, initially the B-52 and today, the L-1011 commercial transport.

Fullerton flew NASA's NB-52B aircraft from Dryden Flight Research Center in California on the first six air launches of the Pegasus. When Orbital transitioned to using the L-1011, he switched to tracking the rocket in flight.

"Gordo was happy about that because he could fly the F-18 [jet] and not the heavy in order to chase our launches," Culbertson said. "So it is going to be an honor to name the December flight of Cygnus after C. Gordon Fullerton and continue that tradition."

Spaceship C. Gordon Fullerton

According to Orbital, the launch of Spaceship C. Gordon Fullerton is scheduled for approximately 9:42 p.m. EST on Dec. 18 (0242 GMT Dec. 19). Work to mate the Cygnus to the Antares rocket is scheduled for this week.

Assuming an on-time liftoff, the space freighter will arrive at the station on Dec. 21, where the Expedition 38 crew will use the outpost's robotic arm to capture and attach the barrel-shaped spacecraft on the side of Harmony node.

For this mission, Commercial Resupply Services-1 (CRS-1), the Cygnus will loft approximately 3,217 pounds (1,459 kg) of science equipment, spare parts and supplies to the space station for NASA.

The Spaceship C. Gordon Fullerton is planned to remain berthed at the station for 42 days, during which time the resident crew will unload the Cygnus of its cargo and then reload it with refuse for disposal. At the end of its stay, the freighter will depart the space station and be purposely destroyed while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.

Source: SPACE.com.
Link: http://www.space.com/23887-private-space-cargo-ship-astronaut-name.html.

MRO Reveals A More Dynamic Red Planet

Pasadena CA (JPL)
Dec 11, 2013

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed to scientists slender dark markings -- possibly due to salty water - that advance seasonally down slopes surprisingly close to the Martian equator.

"The equatorial surface region of Mars has been regarded as dry, free of liquid or frozen water, but we may need to rethink that," said Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona in Tucson, principal investigator for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera.

Tracking how these features recur each year is one example of how the longevity of NASA orbiters observing Mars is providing insight about changes on many time scales.

Researchers at the American Geophysical Union meeting Tuesday in San Francisco discussed a range of current Martian activity, from fresh craters offering glimpses of subsurface ice to multi-year patterns in the occurrence of large, regional dust storms.

The seasonally changing surface flows were first reported two years ago on mid-latitude southern slopes. They are finger-like features typically less than 16 feet (5 meters) wide that appear and extend down steep, rocky slopes during spring through summer, then fade in winter and return the next spring. Recently observed slopes stretch as long as 4,000 feet (1,200 meters).

McEwen and co-authors reported the equatorial flows at the conference and in a paper published online Tuesday by Nature Geoscience. Five well-monitored sites with these markings are in Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the solar system.

At each of these sites, the features appear on both north- and south-facing walls. On the north-facing slopes, they are active during the part of the year when those slopes get the most sunshine. The counterparts on south-facing slopes start flowing when the season shifts and more sunshine hits their side.

"The explanation that fits best is salty water is flowing down the slopes when the temperature rises," McEwen said. "We still don't have any definite identification of water at these sites, but there's nothing that rules it out, either."

Dissolved salts can keep water melted at temperatures when purer water freezes, and they can slow the evaporation rate so brine can flow farther.

This analysis used data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars and the Context Camera on the MRO as well as the Thermal Emission Imaging System experiment on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.

Water ice has been identified in another dynamic process researchers are monitoring with MRO. Impacts of small asteroids or bits of comets dig many fresh craters on Mars every year.

Twenty fresh craters have exposed bright ice previously hidden beneath the surface. Five were reported in 2009. The 15 newly reported ones are distributed over a wider range of latitudes and longitudes.

"The more we find, the more we can fill in a global map of where ice is buried," said Colin Dundas of the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Ariz.

"We've now seen icy craters down to 39 degrees north, more than halfway from the pole to the equator. They tell us that either the average climate over several thousand years is wetter than present or that water vapor in the current atmosphere is concentrated near the surface. Ice could have formed under wetter conditions, with remnants from that time persisting today, but slowly disappearing."

Mars' modern climate becomes better known each year because of a growing set of data from a series of orbiters that have been studying Mars continually since 1997.

That has been almost nine Martian years because a year on Mars is almost two years long on Earth. Earlier missions and surface landers have added insight about the dynamics of Mars' atmosphere and its interaction with the ground.

"The dust cycle is the main driver of the climate system," said Robert Haberle of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

One key question researchers want to answer is why dust storms encircle Mars in some years and not in others. These storms affect annual patterns of water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, freezing into polar ice caps in winter and replenishing the atmosphere in spring. Identifying significant variations in annual patterns requires many Martian years of observations.

The data emerging from long-term studies will help future human explorers of Mars know where to find resources such as water, how to prepare for hazards such as dust storms, and where to be extra careful about contamination with Earth microbes.

Launched in 2005, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and its six instruments have provided more high-resolution data about the Red Planet than all other Mars orbiters combined. Data are made available for scientists worldwide to research, analyze and report their findings.

Source: Mars Daily.
Link: http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/MRO_Reveals_A_More_Dynamic_Red_Planet_999.html.

NASA Developing Legs for ISS Robonaut 2

Washington DC (SPX)
Dec 11, 2013

NASA engineers are developing climbing legs for the International Space Station's robotic crewmember Robonaut 2 (R2), marking another milestone in space humanoid robotics.

The legless R2, currently attached to a support post, is undergoing experimental trials with astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory. Since its arrival at the station in February 2011, R2 has performed a series of tasks to demonstrate its functionality in microgravity.

These new legs, funded by NASA's Human Exploration and Operations and Space Technology mission directorates, will provide R2 the mobility it needs to help with regular and repetitive tasks inside and outside the space station. The goal is to free up the crew for more critical work, including scientific research.

"NASA has explored with robots for more than a decade, from the stalwart rovers on Mars to R2 on the station," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington.

"Our investment in robotic technology development is helping us to bolster productivity by applying robotics technology and devices to fortify and enhance individual human capabilities, performance and safety in space."

Once the legs are attached to the R2 torso, the robot will have a fully extended leg span of 9 feet, giving it great flexibility for movement around the space station.

Each leg has seven joints and a device on what would be the feet called an end effector, which allow the robot to take advantage of handrails and sockets inside and outside the station. A vision system for the end effectors also will be used to verify and eventually automate each limb's approach and grasp.

NASA engineers have built the legs and R2 will be receiving them early next year. The new legs are designed for work both inside and outside the station, but upgrades to R2's upper body will be necessary before it can begin work outside the space station.

Technologies developed for Robonaut have led to new robotic devices for future spaceflight that also have direct applications here on Earth. For example, NASA is developing a robotic exoskeleton that could help astronauts stay healthier in space and also aid people with physical disabilities.

R5, next in NASA's Robonaut series of robots, will debut later this month when it competes in the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's (DARPA) Robotics Challenge. During the challenge, robots will demonstrate capabilities to execute complex tasks in dangerous, degraded, human-engineered environments.

Competing teams are expected to focus on robots that can use standard tools and equipment commonly available in human environments, ranging from hand tools to vehicles, with an emphasis on adaptability to tools with diverse specifications.

The International Space Station serves as a test bed for future technologies that will be vital to human exploration as NASA explores asteroids and Mars. NASA's Space Technology Program is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_Developing_Legs_for_ISS_Robonaut_2_999.html.