Today’s Deep Space Extra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Humans will settle Mars, but they may not venture further on a permanent basis, predicts exploration advocate Louis Friedman. Experts rush to address a leaking science instrument scheduled to launch in March aboard InSight, NASA’s next Mars lander mission. Comet Catalina is ready for viewing. U.S., Russia come together to tame the challenges of living and working in space. Bad weather stalls the launching of Orbital ATK’s re-supply mission to the International Space Station. Legislation re-authorizing the U.S. Export-Import Bank awaits the President’s signature. Washington policymakers discuss the FAA’s role as the future space traffic monitor, currently a responsibility of the U.S. military.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Beyond Mars: The distant future of space exploration
Discovery Magazine (12/3): Humans will push into space, finding a home on Mars, but they are unlikely to travel beyond, writes Louis Friedman, co-founder and former executive director of The Planetary Society. “Human exploration and colonization of Mars will keep us busy for hundreds, even thousands, of years,” predicts Friedman in a discussion of his new book, Human Spaceflight from Mars to the Stars. “During that time, there will be advances in nanotechnology, space sailing, robotics, biomolecular engineering, and artificial intelligence.”
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
NASA: Leak may delay next Mars lander mission
Associated Press via Orlando Sentinel (12/3): NASA’s plans to launch the next robotic lander to Mars in March faces a challenge from a leak in a French instrument contribution. The Insight mission will seek a better understanding of Mars internal geological processes.
Get a predawn peek of Comet Catalina
Sky and Telescope (12/3): Comet Catalina is ready to debut in the pre-dawn skies of the northern hemisphere next week. Low on the horizon, Catalina will shine bright in spite of the moon’s reflection. Binoculars may help.
Low Earth Orbit
U.S.-Russian relations on the high frontier
Moscow Times (12/3): For the U.S. and Russia the International Space Station, now staffed continuously by astronauts and cosmonauts for 15 years, has set the stage for a trusting relationship. “…space exploration is a series of inevitable pitfalls, and collaborative problem-solving has been necessary throughout the course of the ISS program,” the Times reports.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Atlas V rocket loaded with Space Station supplies ready for second try
USA Today (12/3): Bad weather forces a one day delay in plans by Orbital ATK to resume NASA contracted re-supply missions to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the United Launch Alliance/ Cygnus cargo capsule combination is re-scheduled from Thursday evening to Friday at 5:33 p.m., EST. The weather outlook for the mission that would provide the six person space station with more than 7,700 pounds of equipment is 70 percent unfavorable.
Export-Import Bank nears reauthorization
Spacepolicyonline.com (12/3): The U.S. Senate and House passed legislation on Thursday that would extend for 5 years authorization for the U.S. Export-Import Bank, a mechanism for lending foreign customers the funding to purchase a range of U.S. goods and services, including aerospace products. President Obama is expected to sign the measure. The bank’s ability to foster new business has been in doubt since its authorization lapsed in late June.
Might the FAA inherit the space traffic management role?
Space News (12/3): The Obama Administration and Congress are discussing whether the FAA might take on the role of monitoring space traffic in orbit around the Earth, a responsibility currently handled by the U.S. Department of Defense.