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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Orbital ATK readies a Space Launch System solid rocket booster for key Utah ground test. Missing Mikulski. Space lobbyists get warm reception from U.S. Congress. China not planning human mission to the moon, says China’s chief designer of manned space programs. Being Neil deGrasse Tyson. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft makes history at dwarf planet Ceres. Engineers track Curiosity rover electrical short to rock drill. Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft checks out after launch on long asteroid mission. Astrophysicist Sara Seager urges colleagues to establish a biosignature check list for alien planets. Florida scientist develops biosignature detector. Veteran NASA astronaut Mike Fossum opens St. Paul, Minn., Science Museum space exhibit. Nobel laureate unwavering in search for dark matter makeup, evidence of primordial anti matter. NASA readies mission to study Earth’s magnetic field for launching Thursday night. China preparing for 2016 cargo mission to a future space station. Major space related activities scheduled for the week ahead.
Human Deep Space Exploration
World’s most powerful solid booster set for Space Launch System test firing on March 11
Universe Today (3/8): Orbital ATK has prepped QM-1, the world’s biggest solid rocket booster, for a March 11 ground test firing at a Utah proving ground. The rocket is under development to become part of NASA’s Space Launch System heavy lift rocket. The SLS is a cornerstone of U.S. plans for human deep space exploration. QM-1 will fire for two minutes supplying important data to the development teams.
Test firing of world’s largest solid rocket is steeped in space shuttle history
Collectspace.com (3/9): The components of the QM-1 ground test rocket were used during NASA’s space shuttle program, recovered from the Atlantic Ocean and refurbished.
Mikulski’s powerful advocacy will be missed across NASA
Space News (3/6): On Mar. 2, U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski announced her surprise decision to not run for re-election in 2016. The Maryland lawmaker has been one of NASA’s strongest supporters in Congress, and many are beginning to wonder what her absence will mean for exploration as well as Earth and space science. The 78-year-old was a strong bi-partisan supporter of the International Space Station as well as the Space Launch System and Orion, cornerstones of NASA’s long range human deep space exploration plans.
A first time for everything: Blitzing Congress for space
The Planetary Society (3/6): The Planetary Society’s Jack Kiraly and Michael Brigan describe their first Legislative Blitz, an opportunity last week to meet in Washington with members of Congress and their staffs to discuss space exploration, budgets and legislative support. “What was common amongst all of our meetings was the enthusiasm that was held by everyone in the room,” they write. “It was one thing that all of the offices we met with agreed with; space exploration is a priority. Space exploration brings both parties and the various ideologies they include together. But that makes our job that much more important.”
China has ability but no plan for manned lunar mission: expert
Xinhuanet of China (3/7): For the time being, China has no plans to launch humans to the moon, though it has the technologies, according to Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s manned space program. Future requirements include a heavy lift rocket and larger human spacecraft.
Neil deGrasse Tyson’s latest science projects
Wall Street Journal (3/6): Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, host of Cosmos and soon to be host of Star Talk on the National Geographic Channel, talks about the challenges of assessing scientific theories and the demands of being a science celebrity.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
NASA makes history as Dawn orbits first dwarf planet
Spaceflight Insider (3/6): NASA’s Dawn mission made history early Friday as it fell under the gravitational spell of the large asteroid Ceres, also designated as a dwarf planet. Launched in 2007, Dawn traveled first to Vesta in 2011 and on Friday became the first human spacecraft to orbit two solar system bodies. Scientists believe that more than a year of studies at Ceres will shed new light on the formation of terrestrial planets like the Earth.
In first, NASA craft orbits ‘fossil’ planet
The Hill (3/7): Dawn’s visit to Ceres could deliver new discoveries about the history of the solar system. Dawn entered Ceres gravitational grasp early Friday. “Data returned from Dawn could contribute significant breakthroughs in our understanding of how the solar system formed,” said Jim Green, director of NASA’s planetary sciences division.
What’s next for NASA’s Dawn probe at dwarf planet Ceres?
Space.com (3/8): Dawn will close the distance between the spacecraft and the surface of Ceres gradually. The NASA probe is six weeks from making scientific observations.
Short circuits reported in Mars Rover’s drilling arm
New York Times (3/6): A rock drilling mechanism appears to be the source of a short that interrupted exploration activities of NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars. The electrical short was discovered Feb. 27. The drill hammers and rotates. The arm will be repositioned to see if the short clears. Curiosity is close to resuming its climb to the top of Mount Sharp.
JAXA’s Hayabusa 2 in “good health” enroute to asteroid
Spaceflight Insider (3/8): Three months into its journey to near-Earth asteroid 1999 JU3, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 has completed post-launch check outs. The spacecraft was designed to land on the asteroid in mid-2018, collect samples and return to Earth in late 2020.
If we discover a planet with alien life, how will we know?
Boston Globe (3/6): Sara Seager, MIT astrophysicist, is urging colleagues to come together now on the criteria for deciding which planets circling distant stars may host some form of life. In the coming years, new spacecraft will permit scientists to scan the atmospheres of these planets for signs of oxygen. But Seager believes it will take a more complex combination of atmospheric gases to address the question of whether biological activity is the source. Seager’s thoughts were published Friday in Science Advances.
UCF prof is developing life-on-Mars detector
Orlando Sentinel (3/6): University of Central Florida professor Robert Peale’s laser device could detect methane and other organic compounds in the atmosphere of Mars, and perhaps that of the Jovian moon Europa, to help determine if there is some form of life. The device is undergoing testing on Earth with a high altitude balloon.
Low Earth Orbit
Interview with an astronaut: NASA’s Mike Fossum on ‘SPACE’
Minneapolis Post (3/6): “I’m a normal guy with an outrageous job,” explains NASA astronaut Mike Fossum during a visit to the Science Museum of St. Paul, Minn. Fossum was in the Land of 10,000 Lakes to open a new exhibit, “Space: An Out of Gravity Experience.”
Sam Ting tries to expose dark matter’s mysteries
Science News (3/6): Nobel laureate Sam Ting, of MIT, discusses his resolve to understand the nature of dark matter and primordial antimatter with the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. The AMS, a cooperative effort among 16 countries, has been parked outside of the International Space Station since 2011.
Preview: Atlas 5 rocket to launch NASA magnetic field study
Spaceflightnow.com (3/8): NASA’s Magnetic Multiscale Mission, scheduled for launching Thursday night from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station., Fla., will study explosive activity in the Earth’s magnetic field. The mission consists of four identical satellites that will be launched together.
China to launch Tianzhou-1 cargo ship in 2016 to rendezvous with space lab
Xinhuanet of China (3/7): China will attempt a cargo vessel docking with an orbiting space module in 2016, according to Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of China’s manned space program. China plans to orbit a continuously staffed space station around 2022.
Major Space Related Activities for the Week
Major space related activities for the week of March 9-13, 2015
Spacepolicyonline.com (3/8): Space conferences, a key Space Launch System ground test, the return of three International Space Station astronauts to Earth and a science mission launch are among the activities planned for the week ahead.
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