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To Infinity and Beyond: Armenians in the Mars Rover Curiosity Project
Posted by Shantal Der
Boghosianon
August 23, 2012 in Shantal
Der Boghosian ·
The Armenian Weekly
Sept. 1, 2012
Since the beginning of time, Space has been a source of mystery for man-a
mystery they sought to decipher. Thanks to the scientific curiosity of
Ptolemy, Galileo Galilee, and Isaac Newton, man has discovered numerous
planets, landed on the Moon, and has even captured ancient images of space
with the Hubble telescope that shine light on the Big Bang. Scientists know
that our planet Earth 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 start looking to Space for answers-
particularly from our neighbor, Mars.
[image: MSL Armenians 1 300x150 To Infinity and Beyond: Armenians in the
Mars Rover Curiosity
Project]
(L-R) Toorian, Gharakhanian, Sarkissian, Ohanian, Hartounian, Khanoyan,
Gorjian, Zadourian, Aintablian, Demirjian, and Karapetian.
August 5, 2012 at 10:31p.m. PDT, the Mars Rover Curiosity successfully
descended on 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! Curiosity was designed to assess
Mars's habitability, and to see if it 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 it will study rocks and soil in order to detect any chemical
building blocks of life in order 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. In turn, 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 to the surface of Mars, as well as demonstrating the
ability to land more precisely in the calculated landing circle. This is a
large feat! Not only am I proud as a scientist, but I'm also proud
to know
that there were fourteen 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, Arbi 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.' Arbi was very proud of the team's accomplishment, and
the success was the greatest reward for all 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; and Zareh Gorjian in Computer
Animation.
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
ï=82· 1 1/2 cup(s) nonfat Greek-style yogurt
ï=82· 1 1/2 cup(s) fat-free half-and-half
ï=82· 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
ï=82· 1/4 cup(s) lemon juice
ï=82· 1 envelope(s) unflavored gelatin
ï=82· 1/2 cup(s) each heavy cream and sugar
ï=82· 1 pint(s) strawberries, hulled and sliced
ï=82· 2 tablespoon(s) honey
Coat six 6-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 5 minutes to soften. Heat
cream and sugar in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar is
dissolved, about 2 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=88=952 cup in each). Cover;
refrigerate about 4 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.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Posted by Shantal Der
Boghosianon
August 23, 2012 in Shantal
Der Boghosian ·
The Armenian Weekly
Sept. 1, 2012
Since the beginning of time, Space has been a source of mystery for man-a
mystery they sought to decipher. Thanks to the scientific curiosity of
Ptolemy, Galileo Galilee, and Isaac Newton, man has discovered numerous
planets, landed on the Moon, and has even captured ancient images of space
with the Hubble telescope that shine light on the Big Bang. Scientists know
that our planet Earth 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 start looking to Space for answers-
particularly from our neighbor, Mars.
[image: MSL Armenians 1 300x150 To Infinity and Beyond: Armenians in the
Mars Rover Curiosity
Project]
(L-R) Toorian, Gharakhanian, Sarkissian, Ohanian, Hartounian, Khanoyan,
Gorjian, Zadourian, Aintablian, Demirjian, and Karapetian.
August 5, 2012 at 10:31p.m. PDT, the Mars Rover Curiosity successfully
descended on 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! Curiosity was designed to assess
Mars's habitability, and to see if it 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 it will study rocks and soil in order to detect any chemical
building blocks of life in order 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. In turn, 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 to the surface of Mars, as well as demonstrating the
ability to land more precisely in the calculated landing circle. This is a
large feat! Not only am I proud as a scientist, but I'm also proud
to know
that there were fourteen 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, Arbi 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.' Arbi was very proud of the team's accomplishment, and
the success was the greatest reward for all 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; and Zareh Gorjian in Computer
Animation.
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
ï=82· 1 1/2 cup(s) nonfat Greek-style yogurt
ï=82· 1 1/2 cup(s) fat-free half-and-half
ï=82· 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
ï=82· 1/4 cup(s) lemon juice
ï=82· 1 envelope(s) unflavored gelatin
ï=82· 1/2 cup(s) each heavy cream and sugar
ï=82· 1 pint(s) strawberries, hulled and sliced
ï=82· 2 tablespoon(s) honey
Coat six 6-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 5 minutes to soften. Heat
cream and sugar in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar is
dissolved, about 2 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=88=952 cup in each). Cover;
refrigerate about 4 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.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress