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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Would a human flyby of Venus and Mars fit into a long term U.S. deep space exploration strategy? Astronomers announce record alien planet discovery. Russia to contribute key science instrument for future European Jupiter mission. Naming rights for Martian meteor craters. NASA could have prevented dangerous 2013 space suit water leak, investigators conclude. Japan to launch Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory on Thursday. SpaceX moves closer to certification of Falcon 9 for U.S. national security mission launches. Virginia spaceport offers new Maryland economic opportunities.
Human Deep Space Exploration
House Science, Space and Technology Committee (2/27): A panel of experts will discuss how a human flyby mission of Venus and Mars, launched in 2021, might fit into a human deep space exploration strategy using NASA’s Space Launch System heavy lift rocket and Orion crew vehicle. Hearing set for Thursday at 10 a.m., EST.
Bride-to-be would leave fiancé for one-way trip to Mars
DNAinfo, of New York (2/26): Kellie Gerardi, 25, was recently notified by Mars One that she is one of 1,058 prospective candidates for the colonization of Mars in the mid-2020s. Gerardi explains she would leave her husband-to-be behind, if necessary, for the adventure. “I’ve always been fascinated with space, from reading science fiction to seeing rockets launch from the coast of Florida,” said the Palm Beach, Fla., native.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
NASA scientists discover 715 new planets
Wall Street Journal (2/26): NASA’s Kepler mission announces the discovery of 715 new planets around distant stars. Four of the finds could be Earth-sized alien worlds with climates that are favorable for liquid water, therefore, potentially suitable for life. The findings were extracted from two years of data collected from 150,000 Milky Way stars. The discovery brings the confirmed count of planets outside our solar system to nearly 1,700.
Kepler telescope discover 715 new planets
Discover.com (2/26): Kepler’s productive mission produces 715 new alien planet discoveries, through the near five-year-old space telescope is looking for a solution to overcome a pointing system problem.
From Kepler data, astronomers find galaxy filled with more but smaller worlds
New York Times (2/26): New planet find announced by NASA’s Kepler team was gathered from 3,601 planet candidates previously found by Kepler, using a new statistical technique known as verification by multiplicity. The planet discoveries were spread among 305 stars.
Russia to build equipment for European Jupiter probe
Ria Novosti (2/27): Russia will furnish a radiation detector, one of 11 instruments carried by the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, which will study three Jovian moons, Callisto, Ganymede and Europa. A 2022 launch is planned. The journey to Jupiter will take eight years.
Uwingu selling Mars naming rights to raise money for space science
Space News (2/26): Uwingu flirts with the International Astronomical Union over the naming rights of Martian craters.
Low Earth Orbit
NASA report: Clogged plumbing flooded Astronaut’s suit on July spacewalk
Space News (2/26): An accumulation of aluminum silicate particles appears to have clogged a ventilation system pump in the NASA space suit worn by Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano on July 16. Parmitano’s helmet was filling with water as the excursion with U.S. astronaut Chris Cassidy was halted. The lead investigator of the incident called the astronaut’s near drowning the most serious spacewalk incident encountered to date.
Astronaut nearly drowned in space due to NASA’s poor communication, report says
ABC News (2/26): A NASA Mishap Investigation Board finds evidence that flight controllers, engineers and International Space Station managers missed signs of a problem ahead of a space suit water leak that almost claimed the life of Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano early in a July 16 spacewalk. Evidence of the leak in his suit was overlooked at the conclusion of a July 9 spacewalk, according to a Mishap Investigation Report released Wednesday.
NASA vows to correct problems that led to dangerous EVA leak
CBS News (2/26): NASA says it will find the root cause of the space suit water leak that nearly led to the death of Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano in July 2013. The U. S. space agency will wait until at least late July before scheduling further spacewalks, agency officials tell a news briefing on Wednesday.
Spacewalk mishap tied to clogged helmet filter
National Geographic (2/26): NASA is still pursuing an explanation for a fan pump separator failure in the space suit worn by Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano. A pump blockage prompted a nearly deadly flow of water into his helmet during a July 16 NASA spacewalk.
Satellite set for launch to measure rain and snow
Spaceflightnow.com (2/ 26): Launching of the Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory from Japan is scheduled for Thursday at 1:37 p.m., EST. The NASA furnished GPM Core Observatory will serve as the centerpiece of a worldwide program to establish a data base of global rain and snow fall from multiple satellites.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
SpaceX one step closer to USAF certification
Aviation Week & Space Technology (2/26): SpaceX achieved the first of three Falcon 9 launches required to qualify for the launching of U.S. national security payloads, the U.S. Air Force rules. Further success would permit SpaceX to compete with United Launch Alliance for the missions. The ruling favorable to SpaceX was made despite a second stage malfunction following a Sept. 29 Falcon 9 mission.
Eastern Shore encouraged to cash in on Wallops Flight Facility
Baltimore Sun (2/24): NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s eastern shore can provide an enhanced economic spark, according to a Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development report. Suggestions include more tourism focused on rocket launches, a space theme park and museums.
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