In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Experts assess why Mars and the moon beckon as future destinations for human exploration. China envisions a future as a top space power. Human error may have prompted a Russian launch failure.
Human Space Exploration
New Space (11/28): The U.S. space program should maintain its focus on the Martian surface as a valuable destination for both human exploration and scientific discovery, writes Scott Hubbard, the former director of NASA’s Ames Research Center, NASA’s first Mars program director and currently an adjunct professor at Stanford University. There is little evidence the moon is a refuge for life, while Mars may hold an answer to whether life exists beyond Earth, says Hubbard. Dual pursuits of the lunar surface and Mars could prove too expensive and unsustainable. Lockheed Martin and other U.S. aerospace companies have already demonstrated the nation’s commercial space sector is eager to participate, notes Hubbard.
Take a step on another world: What will it be like to be on the moon?
Air and Space Museum.com (11/27): Lunar scientist Paul Spudis addresses the question of what it will be like for Earthlings to participate and follow along as a new generation of human explorers touches down on the lunar terrain, a goal outlined by the recently re-established White House National Space Council.
China lays out its roadmap for space transportation system
Spaceflight Insider (11/28): China’s space road map would attempt to make Beijing the world’s leading space power by 2045, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The elements include introduction of the Long March 9 rocket by 2030, which would be capable of lifting 100 metric tons to low Earth orbit to support human missions to the lunar surface and a Mars sample return. Other elements include a nuclear powered space shuttle and reusable rockets.
Space Station cargo flight next on SpaceX’s launch schedule
Spaceflightnow.com (11/27): SpaceX moves its next NASA contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station from no earlier than December 4 to December 8. The launch is planned from the restored Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Get an astronaut’s view of Earth during a NASA spacewalk
The Verge (11/28): NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik’s GoPro camera offers a moving view of the Earth during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station for upgrades to the orbiting science laboratory’s Canadian robot arm.
Space Science
Why huge ‘Hot Jupiter’ alien planets are so puffy
Space.com (11/28): A new study suggests “Hot Jupiter’s” puff up as they respond to intense radiation streaming from their parent stars.
Supermoon 2017: When and how to see December’s ‘full cold moon’
Space.com (11/28): Sunday night promises the first and last “supermoon” of 2017. That will make the moon appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter due to the closeness of the Earth and moon.
Geomagnetic storm predicted (G1-Class)
Spaceweather.com (11/29): A major solar eruption and a crack in the sun’s atmosphere have sent a stream of solar particles towards the Earth, setting up the likelihood of bright polar aurora on Wednesday.
Other News
British government to offer funding for spaceports and launchers
Space News (11/29): A British industrial policy initiative announced this week includes government funds for new launch sites and launch vehicles. The U.K. hopes to grow its share of the global space market from 6.5 to 10 percent by 2030.
Human error likely cause of Russian Meteor-M satellite crash
Moscow Times (11/28): Launched early Tuesday from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a collection of 19 satellites, including the Meteor-M weather satellite and 18 multinational small satellites, are reported missing after a launch vehicle malfunction blamed on human error. Meteor-M is believed to have crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The launch was Russia’s second from the new Vostochny Cosmodrome.