In Today’s Deep Space Extra… NASA and Roscosmos discuss cooperation in plans to assemble a human tended, lunar orbiting Gateway. NASA selects Jezero Crater, an ancient dry crater lake on Mars as the destination for its Mars 2020 rover. The rover is to gather soil and rock samples that could reveal whether Mars once hosted biological activity.
Human Space Exploration
Russian, U.S. officials say space cooperation remains strong
Associated Press via New York Times (11/19): NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian federal space agency, intend to cooperate in the assembly of a human tended, lunar orbiting Gateway during the 2020s, high ranking officials of the two agencies noted Monday in Moscow after a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the start of assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). The cooperation will continue despite political tensions. Russia plans to complement U.S. Gateway contributions with a heavy lift rocket and other spacecraft.
NASA supports Roscosmos version of Soyuz-FG booster incident
TASS of Russia (11/19): The results of a NASA probe into the abortive launch of the soyuz-FG booster on October 11 confirm the findings by the Russian Roscosmos space corporation. NASA’s internal probe has been completed. “It supports the Roscosmos version. Small differences, but in general we agreed,” William Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations for NASA, told a conference in Moscow marking International Space Station’s (ISS) 20 years in orbit.
Rogozin would like to visit NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), see SpaceX developments in U.S.
Interfax of Russia (11/20): Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Rocosmos, the Russian federal space agency, is seeking a visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), home to the agency’s Mission Control Center and where U.S. astronauts train, as well as to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), where future commercial crew launches to the International Space Station (ISS) as well as NASA missions to the Moon are planned.
Bill Nye: We are not going to live on Mars, let alone turn it into Earth
USA Today (11/20): Bill Nye says the idea of Mars colonization and terraforming – making a planet more Earth-like by modifying its atmosphere – is “science fiction.” “This whole idea of terraforming Mars, as respectful as I can be, are you guys high?” Nye said in an interview with USA TODAY. “We can’t even take care of this planet where we live, and we’re perfectly suited for it, let alone another planet.”
Space Science
NASA picks ancient Martian river delta for 2020 rover touchdown
Physics.org (11/19): NASA Monday announced the selection of Jezero crater as the landing site for the Mars 2020 rover, which is to assess the past habitability of the Martian environment while gathering more than 40 samples of soil and rock for eventual return to Earth. The samples are intended to reveal whether Mars hosted some form of biological activity in its early history. With a mid-2020 launch, the Mars 2020 rover would reach the red planet in February 2021.
How satellites are helping California’s wildfire recovery efforts
Space.com (11/19): A range of U.S. Earth science satellites have monitored the unfolding devastation brought on by California wildfires and assisted in efforts to bring the tragedy for many to an end.
Other News
How much does a Space Force cost? Analyst lays out menu of options
SpaceNews.com (11/19): A new study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) questions Pentagon cost estimates of $13 billion over five years to establish a Space Force as a sixth branch of the U.S. military. The CSIS estimates presented Monday in a three option format are potentially less, but still costly.
The Space Review (11/19): Increasingly it appears, accelerating commercial launch activity is posing an air space challenge to traditional aircraft traffic.
Virgin Orbit performs first captive carry flight
SpaceNews.com (11/18): On Sunday, Virgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl Boeing 747 carried out its first captive carry flight, taking off from and landing at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California. The test flight lasted about 80 minutes, according to the report. The airplane is a critical part of the company’s air launch strategy for small satellites.
China expands reach of Beidou navigation network with another launch
Spaceflightnow.com (11/19): China on Sunday, or Monday in China, added two more spacecraft to its growing Beidou satellite navigation system. China is close to expanding the system from Asia to Africa and Europe. The launch marked the 33rd attempt for China this year.