Russian Ganymede Lander Mission more difficult than expected

Russia's proposed landing mission to Ganymede was discussed extensively last week at an international meeting hosted by the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The mission to explore, and perhaps to drill, the Solar system's largest moon, presumably in close cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), would be a major challenge for Russia's space and science industries.

The project is generally approved, but success is far from assured.

The mission to Ganymede, now better known by the simple name of "Ganymede Lander", is the latest reincarnation of Russia's contribution to the Laplas project, promoted by the European Space Agency (ESA) in the early 2000s.

With Laplas becoming the single-spacecraft project JUICE (JUpiter ICy moon Explorer, until christened officially), Russian plans have also undergone major changes, although their main objective, sending a lander to Jupiter's biggest moon, remained intact.

The initial aim was to explore Europa, a smaller Jovian moon, where there is an ocean of liquid water beneath its frozen surface (around 10 km thick) and is therefore considered a good prospect for the exploration of habitable conditions.

Ganymede also holds liquid water, but much deeper, under an icy crust of around 130-150 km. On the other hand, this moon is farther from Jupiter with less radiation than Europa, putting spacecraft at a much lower risk.

However, the main argument for shifting to Ganymede was that the European mission now no longer plans to stay near Europa long enough to provide the high resolution images needed to select a landing site.

It is supposed now that the JUICE orbiting spacecraft will provide the Russian lander with preliminary reconnaissance data and perhaps act as a communication relay station for data sent between Ganymede and Earth.

Hence, the current scenario is that the European mission is developing independently while Russia's landing spacecraft has its own scientific payload and objectives.

As the success of the landing relies on many technical issues closely concerned with JUICE, the Russian equipment and goals must be taken into account from the start when designing the eventual lander.

A more detailed mission scenario was presented by Maksim Martynov, deputy general designer of the S.A. Lavochkin Association and head of the design bureau.

Following the "play safe" rule, it is supposed that Russia will send two spacecraft to Ganymede, a lander and a small additional orbiter to secure the landing site as a back-up option to information from JUICE.

Even though launched simultaneously from a Proton launcher, they will arrive separately. After reconnaissance and remote studies of the moon, the lander will be delivered to the surface to begin its studies.

The start is planned for 2022-23 with the completion in 2029-30 (JUICE is currently scheduled for 2022) and subsequent arrival on Ganymede within a few months.

17% of UK Adults have lowered Literacy Rate

One in six adults has lower literacy than the level expected of an 11-year-old, new research shows today.

It finds that only half of children enjoy reading, and that a quarter do not recognise any link between reading and success.

The report, Literacy: State of the Nation is the first coherent, national picture of reading and writing abilities, according to the National Literacy Trust.

It conducted a study of more than 17,000 pupils from 112 schools. Most read e-mails, blogs and websites more frequently than books, the survey suggests. However children who engage in technology are more likely to enjoy writing than their classmates.

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While literacy levels have risen among 11-year-olds in the past decade, they have plateaued in writing. Yet three-quarters of parents said their child often read for pleasure.

The report also analysed reading and writing in the workplace, and found widespread concerns.

Almost seven in ten retail firms and half of manufacturing companies reported problems with literacy among staff.

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Nearly two-thirds of men and three-quarters of women with very low literacy skills had never received a promotion, it found.

Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, said the findings were “extremely worrying”.

“We believe this should be of great concern to all political parties as reading for pleasure helps to develop strong literacy skills and ultimately, supports academic and future success,” he said.

“The Treasury estimated the cider tax will bring in £30 million. For just a tenth of this money the Government could establish which adults are most in need of literacy support and run a year-long campaign to support children and adults who are struggling with literacy.

“It is estimated that poor literacy costs the economy £2.5bn a year.”

HAITI Earthquake was predicted, expected and overdue

A magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Haiti yesterday afternoon local time, about 16 kilometres south-west of the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, and at a depth of 10 kilometres. Powerful aftershocks - 32 at the latest count - continue to affect the region.

A major earthquake in the region of Haiti was long overdue, CNN reports. In fact, a group of scientists from the US and Jamaica warned in 2008 that a fault zone on the south side of the island - the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault zone - presented a danger.

They predicted that a magnitude-7.2 earthquake would result if all of the strain along the fault "is released in a single event today", according to the abstract the team presented at the 18th Caribbean Geological Conference.

The earthquake is the worst that has affected the Haiti region in two centuries and around 3 million people are likely to have been "severely shaken" by the earthquake, the BBC reports. A United States Geological Survey "shakemap" pictured above shows the intensity and strength of ground shaking.

"Many buildings, including a hospital and the presidential palace in the capital Port-au-Prince, have collapsed, burying residents under the rubble," according to the British Geological Survey's website.

The United Nations has issued a statement to say that its local headquarters in Haiti have "sustained serious damage along with other UN installations" and "a large number" of employees are unaccounted for, adds the BBC.

According to Paul Mann, who was one of the scientists who gave the warning, Haiti is particularly vulnerable to earthquake damage because many people live in poorly constructed housing on steep slopes.

The largest earthquakes Haiti has experienced hit in 1751, 1770, 1842, 1860 and 1887, according to Mann's 2005 book, Active Tectonics and Seismic Hazards of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Offshore Areas.

The region has had its fair share of natural disasters: many are still homeless following the spate of hurricanes and storms that ravaged Haiti in 2008, killing 900, according to British newspaper The Times.