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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Chair of U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee vows to fight for NASA budget increase. Scale model testing of Space Launch System essential part of launch regime. Asteroid or Moon, it need not be either, or. Mars accessible to humans only through cooperation. NASA’s Curiosity rover unaffected by U.S./Russian space sanctions. Full lunar eclipse looming April 14-15. Jupiter, Mars, Venus now prominent in the night sky; Neptune visible with telescope and timing. Experts circumspect in prospects for life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. U.S. space sanctions against Russia over Ukraine raise questions over motives. U.S. Landsat imagery provides fresh look at continental U.S.
NASA 2015 Budget
Mikulski: NASA’s 2015 budget will be no worse than flat
Space News (4/7): U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski vows to raise NASA’s proposed $17.5 budget for 2015. The Maryland lawmaker chairs the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. “We’re not going to go backward,” the lawmaker said during a speaking engagement before the Maryland Space Business Roundtable.
Mikulski: President’s NASA budget request just “advisory,” will work to get more
Spacepolicyonline.com (4/7): Speaking at the Maryland Space Business Roundtable, U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski vows to fight for increased NASA funding for the coming fiscal year. The Maryland lawmaker chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. “The space community needs to ‘tell the story about what great work you do’ so the public will be the ones saying these are the agencies that need to be funded,” the lawmaker told her audience, according to the Washington website. “From advances in mammography to creating an astronomy book in Braille so blind children can learn about the universe, she extolled the virtues of investing in NASA for down-to-Earth benefits.”
Human Deep Space Exploration
Space Launch System core stage model ‘sounds’ off for testing
Astrowatch (4/7): Scale model testing of NASA’s Space Launch System addresses destructive acoustic forces at lift off of the future heavy lift rocket. The SLS is in development to start U.S. explorers on future missions of deep space exploration.
Competing forums: an asteroid or the Moon?
The Space Review (4/7): With lots of debate over the next destination in deep space for human explorers, the moon or an asteroid, one not necessarily rule out others, writes Tom Chinick, a graduate student at George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute. “…the global space community is capable of accomplishing a great deal more than a single mission at a time, especially if there is an economic appeal,” writes Chinick.
OPINION: Journey to Mars only possible with international cooperation
Ria Novosti (4/8): A human Mars voyage is too challenging technically and financially for one nation, according to Moscow State University’s Vyacheslav Turyshev, in remarks before Astronautics Week and timed to coincide with the April 12 anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic first manned spaceflight.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
For space projects, zero gravity
New York Times (4/7): Well-known names on NASA’s lineup of planetary missions could be facing age related layoffs because of budget restrictions. The list includes the Opportunity Mars rover, the Cassini Saturn probe and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, according to the report.
Mars rover not expected to be affected by NASA’s suspension of Russia ties
KPCC Radio, of Southern California (4/7): U.S. sanctions on Russian space cooperation will not impact science activities on NASA’s Curiosity rover, according to a NASA official. The rover, which landed on Mars in August 2012, includes a Russian financed science instrument. The sanctions, prompted by Russian activities in Ukraine, also exempt U.S. and Russian relations aboard the 15 nation International Space Station.
Total lunar eclipse set to stun sky watchers on April 15
Spaceflight Insider (4/7): First total lunar eclipse of 2014 is coming April 14-15 for those in the Western Hemisphere. Earth’s shadow will fall across the moon’s surface.
Brightest planets in April’s night sky: See Mars, Jupiter and more
Space.com (4/7): Dusk makes Jupiter and Mars prominently visible to the naked eye, where conditions are clear. Venus appears just before sunrise. On Saturday, there’s an unusual opportunity to spot distant Neptune — with a telescope.
Why there are no fish on Saturn’s moon Enceladus
Washington Post (4/7): Scientists announced the exciting prospect last week that Saturn’s moon Enceladus hosts a large body of water. Experts, however, are cautious in their predictions of life.
Low Earth Orbit
Symbolism and substance in U.S.-Russian space relations
The Space Review (4/7): TSR editor Jeff Foust unsorts the unanticipated announcement of U.S. sanctions against cooperation with Russia in space — with the exception of the International Space Station. “…for now, the ISS is not part of that discussion about reactions and responses to the Ukrainian crisis, a project deemed too important by NASA and the White House to risk losing,” he notes. “However, if the crisis worsens…”
FY-Eye! Impressive view of U.S. land surface
Coalition for Space Exploration (4/7): U.S. Geological Survey offers latest map of the continental U.S. from Landsat satellite imagery gathered in 2011. The mapping reveals the latest in land conditions and types.
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