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Today’s Deep Space Extra

May 26th, 2017

In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Reaching Mars with human explorers will involve hundreds of U.S. companies, large and small.

Extra will resume on Tuesday (6/30). Happy Memorial Day to all!

Human Deep Space Exploration

Illinois company among hundreds supporting NASA mission to Mars

Voice of America (5/26): Illinois’ Ingersoll Machine Tools is one of hundreds of U.S. companies supporting NASA’s efforts to reach Mars with human explorers.

 

Space Science

Juno spacecraft reveals spectacular cyclones at Jupiter’s poles

NPR (5/25): NASA’s Juno mission maneuvered into orbit around Jupiter in July 2016. It’s engaged in a series of orbital close passes that zoom just over the cloud tops, revealing new details about the large planet’s atmosphere, powerful magnetic field and possible solid core. The first of those passes revealed a turbulent, ammonia rich atmosphere. Findings were published in the journal Science and the Geophysical Research Letters.

Here’s how NASA’s shiny 2020 rover will look when it’s hunting for life on Mars

Geekwire.com (5/25): NASA’s 2020 rover looks a lot like Curiosity, which has been roving Gale Crater on Mars since 2012. Like Curiosity, the 2020 rover is nuclear powered. However, the 2020 rover will be equipped with a drill and other hardware to gather up to thirty soil and rock samples for a future return to Earth and instruments intended to detect organic chemistry in the soil and rocks.

NASA’s proposed 2018 budget could push Europa mission to late 2020s

Space.com (5/25): Without additional funding, NASA is unlikely to be in a position to launch its Europa Clipper mission in 2022. The mission concept would place Clipper into orbit around Jupiter on a trajectory to carry out more than 40 fly-bys of Europa, the ice and ocean covered moon that may host habitable environments.

Dream Chaser passes major CRS-2 review milestone, next flight test nears

AmericaSpace.com (5/25): Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser has reached a development milestone under NASA’s International Space Station Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract. Both NASA and the FAA joined to assess all stages of the winged Dream Chaser’s flight profile. The company is one of three selected by NASA to deliver cargo to the space station between 2019 and 2024, and the only one capable of landing on a runway.

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