In Today’s Deep Space Extra… NASA’s Curiosity rover finds evidence of past explosive volcanic activity on Mars, a new wrinkle in the red planet’s environmental history.
Space Science
Curiosity uncovers Mars’ explosive volcanic past
Cosmos (6/14): NASA’s Curiosity Rover has discovered mineral evidence of explosive volcanic activity on Mars in the past. The rover landed in expansive Gale Crater on Mars in August 2012 to seek geological evidence of past habitable conditions on the desert like red planet. The findings, evidence of felsic magma in drill samples examined by Curiosity, are reported in Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.
Dark matter may be made of primordial black holes
Space.com (6/13): Observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory and most recently with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) lead some astronomers to believe that black holes formed early in the history of the universe. They could account for the mysterious dark matter that seems to comprise most of the material in the universe.
Scientists discover largest planet orbiting 2 suns to date
Associated Press (6/13): Astronomers announce they have found the largest planet yet circling a double star. About the size of Jupiter, the planet is about 3,700 light years from Earth. The discovery, using the Kepler space telescope, was announced Monday at a session of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego.
The “Asian Space Race” and China’s solar system exploration: domestic and international rationales
The Space Review (6/13): Recent announcements from China of plans to launch orbital, lander and rover missions to Mars in 2020-21 suggest Beijing is determined to prevail in an Asian space race, which might be better characterized as a brain race, or a contest to prove its leaders and policies are best suited to dominate the region, writes Cody Knipfer, an associate at PoliSpace, the Washington based space policy consultancy, and corporate secretary at the Space Frontier Foundation.
Landers, laws, and lunar logistics
The Space Review (6/13): The Google Lunar X-Prize, with contenders Astrobotic Technologies and Moon Express, could be shaping the future of space commerce beyond low Earth orbit, writes TSR editor Jeff Foust. The X-Prize competition, though forced to make multiple adjustments in the competition time frame, and the two companies are laying the ground work for lunar commercial services and the U.S. regulatory authority for launching them.
NASA and JAXA begin discussions on aftermath of Hitomi failure
Space News (6/13): In April, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency declared the Hitomi X-ray astronomy mission, which includes NASA instrumentation, a loss. JAXA is eager for a successor. The causes of the loss include design issues and human error. The opportunities for a second mission may be limited. Hitomi, launched Feb. 17, was to study the structure of the early universe, supernova and black holes.
NASA astronomy missions pass senior review
Space News (6/13): NASA’s senior review process offers a green light for the 1 to 2 year extensions of a series of astronomy missions. The Kepler space telescope mission, launched in 2009, is among them and will have its planet search activities extended until 2019 — if the spacecraft has enough propellant.
Low Earth Orbit
When will China’s ‘heavenly palace’ space lab fall back to Earth?
Space.com (6/13): Launched in September 2011, China’s eight ton, uncrewed Tiangong-1 space station may fall back to Earth soon. Amateur trackers raise the question: Will China warn other nations that could have territory under the orbital path?
Europe develops self-removal technology for spacecraft
Spaceflight Insider (6/13): Introduced in May, the European Union’s Technology for Self-Removal of Spacecraft program is intended to sweep away orbital debris, a mounting issue that could endanger existing as well as future critical Earth orbiting spacecraft, including those like the International Space Station that host human crews. Led by Airbus Defence and Space, TeSeR will receive EU funding of more than 2.8 million Euros and the project will run through 2018. Airbus will serve as the coordinator for European partners, including universities and companies from the UK, Germany, Denmark, and Italy.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Satellite startup shortens name to Planet as it expands board
Forbes.com (6/14): San Francisco based Planet Labs, Inc., shortens the company’s name to Planet. The startup has launched a constellation of CubeSats, many of them from the International Space Station, to image the Earth’s surface daily for a range of commercial customers.