In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Experts differ on whether lunar resources will enable human deep space exploration.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Are lunar fuel depots needed for Mars missions?
Space Review (12/19): Explore Mars’ Chris Carberry and Rich Zucker question the near-term value of finding and mining lunar resources as a means of enabling the human exploration of the red planet. While not ruling out the value of establishing space fuel depots with lunar resources over the long term and on a commercial footing, they believe it could become a costly, time consuming diversion when it comes to opening the door to the human exploration of Mars.
Russia’s lunar rover will help stake a claim on the Moon
Russia Beyond the Headlines (12/19): Russia’s space industry will resume development of a lunar rover, machinery to further a human moon landing and construction of a lunar base in the 2030s.
Japan is going to mine the moon
Inverse (12/19): The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has announced plans to work with a Tokyo based firm to develop a lunar mining strategy, joining a field already of interest in the U.S., Europe, Russia and China.
Space Science
Are Mars’ dark streaks really evidence of liquid water?
Space.com (12/19): Seasonal dark streaks spotted by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that appear on sloped Martian terrain created excitement among scientists and others who believe these “Recurring Slope Linae” could be signs of underground water emerging to the surface. Additional studies, however, suggest the source of the water responsible for the streaks may come from salty materials in the soil that chemically bond with moisture from the Martian atmosphere. Scientists from the University of Colorado said that nailing down the source will require further study in presentations they made before the American Geophysical Union fall meeting in San Francisco last week. The presence of water on Mars could increase the prospects for life, past or present, as well as provide a resource for future human explorers.
NASA’s far-flung space robots keep findings signs of water
Washington Post (12/19): Traces of the element boron found in the Martian surface by NASA’s Curiosity rover are evidence for a past water flooded region in which the liquid water evaporated away in response to a drier climate. Boron and calcium sulfate precipitate from water that is not too acidic and at temperatures between freezing and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The findings were presented at the fall gathering of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco last week, as was evidence for lots of subterranean ice on the large main belt asteroid Ceres, which is under study by NASA’s Dawn mission spacecraft.
Book Excerpt: “Incredible Stories from Space,” Roving Mars with Curiosity, Part 1
Universe Today (12/19): NASA’s Curiosity rover mission has broken new ground, including discoveries of past habitable environments on the red planet. A new book, Incredible Stories from Space, explains the breakthroughs that made it possible for the rover to land in Mars’ Gale Crater in August 2012.
Low Earth Orbit
NASA to test parachute-like Exo-Brake tech to return stuff from space
Space.com (12/19): Developed by engineers at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Exo-Brake is a technology that may permit astronauts aboard the International Space Station to send experiments and equipment back to Earth. The parachute-assisted device is likely to undergo a space station test next year.
Russia, China making progress in synchronization of GLONASS, BeiDou Systems
Sputnik International (12/19): Russia and China are working to merge their global satellite navigation resources. China stands to benefit greatly from an expanding network.
Xi Meets Shenzhou-11 astronauts, stresses scientific innovation
Xinhuanet, of China, via Global Times (12/20): Chinese president Xi Jinping met with astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong, as well as representatives involved in research and testing for the country’s Tiangong-2 space station and recent Shenzhou-11 space mission. The two men returned to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-11 on November 18 after a 33-day mission to the orbiting Tiangong-2 station.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Time (12/26): The U.S. has turned to Russia to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station since NASA’s space shuttle fleet was retired in 2011. But that’s changing with some important milestones ahead for Boeing and SpaceX, the two U.S. companies developing low Earth orbit astronaut transportation services under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Both companies hope to overcome development and funding issues to launch crewed test flights in 2018.
America’s future in LEO? The possibilities and challenges facing commercial space stations (part 2)
The Space Review (12/19): As 2016 draws to a close, the last of NASA’s International Space Station global partners, the European Space Agency, signed on to an extension of station operations from 2020 to 2024. However, there remains urgency between NASA and the U.S. private sector to agree on a transition strategy in which Low Earth Orbit becomes a private sector domain, while NASA turns to human deep space exploration, writes Cody Knipher, a George Washington University grad student. Some issues that must be addressed include NASA’s future low orbit research needs and status as a customer of commercial space station research opportunities, as well as whether the space station can provide a temporary docking port for the foundational modules of a future commercial space station.