Today’s Deep Space Extra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. The feature film The Martian, based on the book of the same name, opens in theaters Oct. 2 with a realistic look at surviving on the red planet. Scientists report the European Rosetta mission’s Philae lander has confirmed the presence of organics on the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in spite of a rough landing and communications problems. NASA’s Dawn mission unravels the curious terrain of the large asteroid Ceres. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope finds the closest rocky planet to Earth yet. Ohio’s U.S. senators seek a NASA assessment of nuclear fuel needs for future planetary science missions. Cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station prepare for an Aug. 10 spacewalk. Fourteen members of the U.S. House seek details from the U.S. Air Force and NASA on their oversight of SpaceX Falcon 9 launch operations following a June 28 Falcon 9 explosion with supplies bound for the International Space Station.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Preview: Andy Weir’s “The Martian”
Spaceflight Insider (7/30): Producers of The Martian, a tale of survival on Mars by fictional astronaut Mark Watney, based on Andy Weir’s book of the same name, debuts in theaters on Oct. 2. The book has been praised for its realism and drama. Actor Matt Damon stars in the film version as the astronaut left behind on Mars, presumed dead in a fierce storm that forces his crewmates to leave.
USA Today (7/30): In The Martian, fictional U.S. astronaut Mark Watney is left behind on Mars by crewmates who believe he died. A rescue is a four year wait.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
Rosetta’s Philae lander discovers a comet’s organic molecules
New York Times (7/30): Europe’s Rosetta mission to the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and its Philae lander found organic compounds, according to findings published in a series of research papers in the journal Science on Thursday. Philae’s precise location on the comet remains unclear after a bumpy Nov. 12 touchdown.
Dawn sees Cere(ou)s bright spots and more
Sky and Telescope (7/30): As it moves closer to the large asteroid Ceres, NASA’s Dawn mission spacecraft is studying mysterious bright spots on the surface as well as a curious haze.
Hi neighbor: NASA telescope finds closest exoplanet yet
Orlando Sentinel (7/30): NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope discovers an intriguing extra solar planet, NASA announced on Thursday. HD 219134b is rocky and about 1.6 times the size of the Earth. And at 21 light years distance, it’s the closest alien planet found outside the solar system.
Ohio Senators call for plutonium power report with new bill
Space News (7/29): Proposed legislation by Ohio’s two U.S. senators would size up NASA’s nuclear fuel requirements for deep space planetary missions and ensure the Department of Energy does not overcharge the space agency for its production. NASA sought an alternative that was lost to budget cuts.
Low Earth Orbit
Russian cosmonauts to perform extravehicular activity on August 10
Sputnik News (7/30): Cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko are scheduled for an Aug. 10 spacewalk outside the International Space Station to work with external experiments and collect photography documenting the external condition of the orbital science laboratory’s Russian segment.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Congress calls SpaceX Falcon 9 launch certification into question
Denver Post (7/30): A letter signed by 14 members of the U.S. House has been sent to U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah James and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden seeking assurances that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is qualified to launch national security and military payloads. The letter follows the June 28 explosion of a Falcon 9 as it lifted off with supplies for the International Space Station.