WASHINGTON - NASA is announcing a new initiative to launch small cube-shaped satellites for education and not-for-profit organizations. CubeSats are a class of research spacecraft called picosatellites, having a size of approximately four inches, a volume of about one quart, and weighing no more than 2.2 pounds.

This is NASA's first open announcement to create an agency-prioritized list of available CubeSats. They are planned as auxiliary payloads on launch vehicles already planned for 2011 and 2012.

"We're anticipating some exciting proposals for this pilot program with hopes to break down the barriers to the launching of CubeSats," said Jason Crusan, chief technologist for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate in Washington. "There are organizations that have been waiting a long time for a chance to see their satellites fly in space."

Proposed CubeSat payloads must be the result of development efforts conducted under existing NASA-supported activities. Investigations proposed for this pilot project must address an aspect of science, exploration, technology development, education or operations encompassed by NASA's strategic goals and outcomes as identified in the NASA Strategic Plan and/or NASA's Education Strategic Coordination Framework.

Collaborators will be required to provide partial reimbursement of approximately $30,000 per CubeSat. NASA will not provide funding to support CubeSat activity or development. Selection does not guarantee an availability of a launch opportunity.

Proposals must be submitted electronically and be received by 4:30 p.m. EDT April 15. Submissions will be evaluated by NASA personnel. Selection is anticipated by June 30.

For additional information on this announcement and a complete list of requirements, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/somd/home/CubeSats_initiative.html

For more information on NASA's Strategic Plan, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/budget

For more information on NASA's Education Strategic Coordination Framework, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/performance/strategic_framework.html

Source: NASA

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New USGS groundwater studies explain what, when, and how contaminants may reach public-supply wells.

All wells are not equally vulnerable to contamination because of differences in three factors: the general chemistry of the aquifer, groundwater age, and direct paths within aquifer systems that allow water and contaminants to reach a well.

More than 100 million people in the United States receive their drinking water from public groundwater systems, which can be vulnerable to naturally occurring contaminants such as radon, uranium, arsenic, and man-made compounds, including fertilizers, septic-tank leachate, solvents and gasoline hydrocarbons.

The USGS tracked the movement of contaminants in groundwater and in public-supply wells in four aquifers in California, Connecticut, Nebraska and Florida. The importance of each factor differs among the various aquifer settings, depending upon natural geology and local aquifer conditions, as well as human activities related to land use and well construction and operation. Findings in the four different aquifer systems can be applied to similar aquifer settings and wells throughout the nation.

Complete findings, fact sheets, maps and decision support tools are available.

"Our findings can help public-supply well managers protect drinking water sources by prioritizing their monitoring programs and improving decisions related to land use planning, well modifications or changes in pumping scenarios that might help to reduce movement of contaminants to wells," said Sandra Eberts, USGS groundwater study team leader.

Research on the vulnerability of public-supply wells began in 2001. The USGS has also been working since 1991 to study the occurrence of more than 600 naturally occurring and man-made chemicals from more than 1,100 wells used for public supply across the nation. Scientists found that chemicals are frequently detected, often in mixtures, but seldom at concentrations likely to affect human health.

The quality of drinking water from the nation’s public-water systems is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Related links to sources of information on public-supply wells are available. USGS studies are intended to complement drinking water monitoring required by federal, state and local programs, which focus primarily on post-treatment compliance monitoring.

Highlights on the four studies:

In the Central Valley aquifer system near Modesto, Calif., the USGS found that agricultural and urban development have enabled uranium to move from sediments to water in the upper part of the aquifer. This water can drain down the well when it is not pumping and enter the lower aquifer. When pumping resumes, contaminant concentrations can be temporarily elevated in water pumped from the well. As a result of USGS findings, public-supply well managers have changed their pumping schedule, which has reduced the amount of contaminated water pumped from the well.

In the glacial aquifer system in Woodbury, Conn., the USGS found that the young age of the water throughout the aquifer makes it vulnerable to contamination from man-made compounds. The USGS also found that dry wells used in Woodbury to capture storm water runoff reroute the potentially contaminated water directly into the aquifer used as a drinking water source. This direct transfer prevents soil and unsaturated sediments near the land surface from filtering out some of the contaminants.

In the High Plains aquifer near York, Neb., the USGS found some contaminants in a public-supply well that seems protected by overlying clay. Nearby irrigation wells have allowed water containing nitrate and volatile organic compounds to leak down from an overlying shallow aquifer into the aquifer that serves as the drinking water source for the public-supply well.

In the Floridan aquifer system near Tampa, Fla., the USGS found that a large percentage of young water and contaminants from a shallow sand aquifer travels quickly along natural conduits until it reaches a supply well in a lower rock aquifer that serves as a drinking water source. Because of these natural conduits, the supply well is vulnerable to the man-made contaminants in the upper aquifer, and the mixing of waters from the two aquifers has caused arsenic concentrations to increase in water reaching the supply well.

Source: USGS

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Learn more about the California study.

Learn more about the Connecticut study.

Learn more about the Nebraska study.

Learn more about the Florida study.

Learn more about public-supply well contamination in a USGS video podcast.

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When the MESSENGER spacecraft completed its third and final fly-by of Mercury in September, cartographic experts from the U. S. Geological Survey used the imagery captured to complete a mosaic showing the 55 percent of the planet never seen by humankind.

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft was launched in 2004 and is the first mission in more than 30 years to visit the planet Mercury. The trip requires multiple "fly-bys" to alter trajectory, slow the spacecraft and eventually enter orbit, which will happen in March 2011. Until then, the new image mosaic will be used to plan image observations for when the spacecraft is orbiting Mercury.

The sophisticated image mosaicking processes is critical to the scientific success of planetary missions. In the past, these efforts have created important planning tools for systematic mapping of planetary surfaces as well as the selection of landing sites.

While the average person may be familiar with the process of creating mosaics by using their personal computer to merge several photos together, there are some significant differences in this case.

Read more...

Source: USGS

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