Today’s Deep Space Extra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Advanced propulsion will be a crucial part of reaching Mars with humans. A model of a time traveling DeLorean from the movie Back to the Future II, with Lockheed Martin’s help, accompanied the Orion capsule during a successful Dec. 5, 2014 orbital test flight. The Earth may represent one of the earliest planets with habitable conditions. Asteroid 2015 TB145 is forecast to pass comfortably close to Earth on Halloween. The nonprofit B612 Foundation pledges to continue efforts to develop a privately funded asteroid sentry after NASA severs a Space Act agreement. The annual Orionid meteor shower offers a promising display early Thursday. Russia says unofficially its nosy satellite is not a threat.
Human Deep Space Exploration
The journey to Mars: Past, present and future
Huffington Post (10/20): Engineers and planners are looking to advanced propulsion technologies to reduce the time it takes for humans to reach Mars. Solar electric propulsion using sunlight, upgraded solar cells and a source of ion fuel appear a promising combination, writes astronomer Sten Odenwald.
Flying DeLorean: NASA mission launched ‘Back to the Future’ car into space
Collectspace.com (10/20): A scale model of a sporty DeLorean flew discreetly into orbit as part of the unpiloted NASA/Lockheed Martin Exploration Flight Test-1 last Dec. 5. The model flew to commemorate the film Back to the Future II, released in 1989. In the popular movie, two characters travel into the future, Oct. 21, 2015, in a DeLorean equipped with a flux capacitor. Actress Claudia Wells discusses the arrangements.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
Only 8% of the universe’s habitable worlds have formed so far
Science (10/20): Most of the hydrogen and helium generated by the big bang remains uncondensed into stars, according to calculations based on research conducted with the Hubble Space Telescope. That means there is plenty of the “raw materials” still loose and available to form stars and planets, including some that are Earth-like in a future that spans trillions of years.
Earth bloomed early: A fermi paradox solution?
Discovery.com (10/20): Studies based on observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and Kepler planet hunter suggest the Earth and its habitable environment may have formed early in the overall evolution of the universe. The conclusion is based on the small amount, 8 percent, of available hydrogen and helium that has so far assembled into stars and planets. The findings may explain why the search for Earth like planets is so difficult.
Halloween asteroid to pass by Earth at more than 70,000 mph
Orlando Sentinel (10/20): The asteroid 2015 TB145, estimated at 1000 to 2000 feet in length, will pass the Earth at a distance of 310,000 miles late this month. It’s the closest approach for an asteroid of its size since 2006.
B612 presses ahead with asteroid mission despite setbacks
Space News (10/20): The California based nonprofit B612 Foundation will continue efforts started in 2012 to privately finance and develop a space telescope called Sentinel to search for asteroids that pose a collision threat to the Earth. Recently, NASA severed a Space Act agreement with the organization after concluding B612 was not meeting its milestones, including design reviews and a planned launching in December 2016. Raising funds has been an issue.
Low Earth Orbit
Orionid meteor shower promises bright sky show this week
Space.com (10/21): The Orionids, an annual meteor shower, promises an impressive display where local skies are clear in the early morning hours of Thursday. Astronomers believe Halley’s Comet is the source of the debris responsible for the Orionids.
From Russia, unofficial assurance about intent of lurking Luch satellite
Space News (10/20): A Russian expert offers unofficial assurance that the mysterious Luch satellite does not pose a threat as it lingers close to a pair of Intelsat communications satellites. Ivan Moiseyev, the head of Russia’s Space Policy Institute, discussed the spacecraft, launched in 2014, with the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.