Posted by Shantal Der Boghosian
The following Armenians made significant contributions to
the success of the MSL (Mars Science Laboratory) Project: Avo Demirjian, Vache
Vorperian, Alfred Khashaki, Felix Sarkissian, and Hrair Aintablian in the field
of electronics; Garen Khanoyan and Richard Ohanian on the landing radar system;
Serjik Zadourian and Vazrik Kharakhanian in assembly, test, and launch; Gayaneh
Kazarians in biology; Hanry Hartounian in flight software; Armen Toorian in
mechanisms and testbeds; Zareh Gorjian in computer animation; Julie Ispirian in
mechanical designing; and Lucy Abramyan in the operations planning software
lab
***
Space has long been a source of mystery for humankind—a
mystery we sought to decipher. Thanks to the scientific curiosity of Ptolemy,
Galileo Galilee, and Isaac Newton, man discovered numerous planets, landed on
the Moon, and even captured ancient images of space with the Hubble telescope
that shine light on the Big Bang. Scientists know that our planet has the
perfect components for life, but as Earth begins to feel the effects of global
warming and human overpopulation, it is only natural that scientists have
started looking to space for answers, particularly from our neighbor, Mars.
(L-R) Toorian, Gharakhanian, Sarkissian, Ohanian,
Hartounian, Khanoyan, Gorjian, Zadourian, Aintablian, Demirjian, and
Karapetian.
On Aug. 5, at 10:31 p.m. PDT, the Mars Rover Curiosity
successfully descended by parachute and landed upright on Martian soil.
Curiosity is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term robotic
exploration of the red planet so close to our own home! It was designed to
assess Mars’s habitability, and to see if the planet has ever had the proper
environment to support small life-forms called microbes. The rover carries the
largest, most advanced suite of instruments ever sent to Mars, and will analyze
samples scooped from the soil and drilled from rocks. Any planet’s geology
record is essentially stored in rocks and soil, particularly in the formation,
chemical composition, and structure. Curiosity has an on-board laboratory and
will study rocks and soil to detect any chemical building blocks of life in an
attempt to piece together Mars’s past.
One of the most impressive features is Curiosity’s power
source. The rover carries a radioisotope system that generates electricity from
the heat of plutonium’s radioactive decay. Radioactive decay is the process by
which an atomic nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing
particles. An ion is created when an atom gains or loses a charged particle,
such as an electron or a proton. This power source is strong enough to give
Curiosity a life-span of one Martian year, or 687 Earth days, and also gives
Curiosity more operational flexibility and greater mobility than any previous
Mars mission.
According to JPL, Curiosity represents a huge step in
Mars surface science and exploration because it demonstrates the ability to
land a very large and heavy rover on the surface of Mars, while also
demonstrating the ability to land more precisely in the calculated landing
circle. This is quite a large feat. Not only am I proud as a scientist, but I’m
also proud to know that there were at least 16 Armenians who collaborated in
this project’s success. Arbi Karapetian, a group supervisor at JPL, joined the
project during the design and implementation phase. He was a test conductor
during assembly, testing, and launch.
When asked how he felt about the project’s success, Karapetian
said, “As an engineer you’re aware of statistical analysis and reliability.
Every engineer understands that you do the best you can, but there’s always
room for failure. This project was exponentially more complicated than any
previous project because of the advances in engineering. The complexity was so
high that you could no longer have one engineer; the work had to be spread
amongst many engineers, which allowed more room for error.” Karapetian is proud
of the team’s accomplishment, and its success was the greatest reward for the
long, arduous hours they put into the project. “If you love doing what you do,
then you’ll never work a day in your life. There are very long hours which are
taxing on everything you do. If this is really your passion, then all of that
lines itself up, and it’s not hard to get motivated to do what it takes.”
The following Armenians made significant contributions to
the success of the MSL (Mars Science Laboratory) Project: Avo Demirjian, Vache
Vorperian, Alfred Khashaki, Felix Sarkissian, and Hrair Aintablian in the field
of electronics; Garen Khanoyan and Richard Ohanian on the landing radar system;
Serjik Zadourian and Vazrik Kharakhanian in assembly, test, and launch; Gayaneh
Kazarians in biology; Hanry Hartounian in flight software; Armen Toorian in
mechanisms and testbeds; Zareh Gorjian in computer animation; Julie Ispirian in
mechanical designing; and Lucy Abramyan in the operations planning software
lab.
***
In honor of the microbes we are searching for in our
neighboring red planet, I decided to share a yogurt panna cotta recipe!
Yogurt Panna Cotta (adapted from Woman’s Day magazine)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup(s) nonfat Greek-style yogurt
1 1/2 cup(s) fat-free half-and-half
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
1/4 cup(s) lemon juice
1 envelope(s) unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup(s) each heavy cream and sugar
1 pint(s) strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 tablespoon(s) honey
Coat six six-oz. custard cups or ramekins with nonstick
cooking spray. Whisk yogurt, half-and half, and vanilla in large bowl. Pour
lemon juice in small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it; let stand five minutes
to soften. Heat cream and sugar in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring
until sugar is dissolved, about two minutes. Remove from heat, stir in softened
gelatin until dissolved, and stir quickly into yogurt mixture until blended.
Divide mixture into prepared custard cups (about 1∕2 cup in each). Cover;
refrigerate about four hours or overnight. Toss strawberries with honey; let
stand at room temperature about 10 minutes. Run a small knife around each panna
cotta, shake gently and invert onto serving plate to unmold. Serve with
strawberries and an additional drizzle of honey, if desired.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder
Not: Yalnızca bu blogun üyesi yorum gönderebilir.