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Thursday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. U.S. and Russian astronauts are set for an expedited journey to the International Space Station. The odds are slight, but Mars could be in the cross hairs of comet C/2013 A1. Rising levels of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere mean more acid in the ocean waters. Opening exploration’s doors with NASA’s Space Launch System. XCOR achieves a propulsion milestone in efforts to develop a reusable suborbital rocket. Test your Martian IQ. Japan plans a second asteroid mission, Hayabusa2. The FBI deals with a tantalizing post war UFO report. Solar eclipses and family vacations.
1. From MSNBC News.com: Three U.S. and Russian astronauts are set for an expedited launch and rendezvous with the International Space Station late Thursday. A Soyuz capsule carrying NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Aleksandr Misurkin is set to dock with the station at 10:32 p.m., EDT, or about six hours and four orbits after lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The journey usually takes about two days. Planners believe the faster journey will prove more comfortable for the astronauts.
2. From Discovery.com: The odds are slight, 1 in 2,000, but comet C/2013 A1 could collide with Mars on Oct. 19, 2014. The jolt would likely alter the Martian climate, turning conditions warmer, wetter. NASA spacecraft would be watching from the surface as well as orbit. “…think of it as a giant climate experiment,” said one expert.
http://news.discovery.com/space/why-mars-getting-hit-by-a-comet-would-be-awesome-13032.htm
3. From USA Today: Scientists find rising levels of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere ultimately increasing the acidity of ocean waters. Along the U. S. West Coast, the changes are affecting the shell fish population, including oysters harvested from the shores of the Northwest.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/27/climate-change-seas/2024759/
4. From AmericaSpace.com: A look at NASA’s Space Launch System, a powerful rocket that could make new deep space destinations accessible to future human explorers. “The way we at NASA look at it is, the ‘horizon’ destination that we are going to is Mars—sending humans to Mars is the goal that we are working toward,” explains Dan Dumbacher, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for exploration systems.
http://www.americaspace.com/?p=33312#more-33312
5. From Flight International: XCOR successfully tests a piston fed rocket engine for 67 seconds, a milestone in the company’s bid to develop a reusable suborbital spacecraft.
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/xcor-tests-piston-pump-fed-rocket-engine-383927/
6. From The Los Angeles Times: Read about NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover? Test your knowledge of the red planet.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-mars-quiz-20130327,0,4591073.story
7. From Spaceflightnow.com: Japan prepares for a second asteroid reconnaissance and sample return mission. Hayabusa2 is scheduled for a 2014 launching. The probe should reach asteroid 1999 JU3 in 2018 and make its way back to Earth to drop off samples in 2020.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1303/27hayabusa2/#.UVOohaLQq6o
8. From NBC News and Cosmiclog: The U. S. FBI and UFO’s. A curious memo from 1950 outlines an Air Force informant’s report of flying saucer crashes in New Mexico with inhabitants. Agent Guy Hottel’s memo was largely discounted.
9. From The New York Times: Planning a family vacation around a spectacular event like a solar eclipse can be challenging but rewarding.
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