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Tuesday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on exploration and policy matters. NASA plans a Thursday briefing on findings from its Kepler mission, an effort to identify Earth-like planets around other stars. Is a surge in commercial space development the best way to address the human urge to explore? Why will tonight’s full moon appear smaller than usual? Should NASA be working on a hyper drive propulsion system?
1. From Space.com: NASA to discuss findings from its Kepler mission on Thursday. Launched in March 2009, Kepler was to search for Earth-like planets around other stars in the Milky Way galaxy. According to NASA’s pre-announcement, Kepler has detected an intriguing planetary system.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/scienceastronomy/nasa-to-announce-latest-kepler-findings-100823.html
2. From this week’s The Space Review, three essays on space policy and exploration.
A. In “Because it’s there,” contributor Bob Clarebrough, who writes on the history of innovation, makes a case that only commercial space transportation can satisfy a primal human urge to explore. He re-counts the early expeditions to Mount Everest and the trail of tourists they engendered. It’s time for the exploration of space to follow suit, Clarebrough writes.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1684/1
B. In “This space left intentionally blank: The limits of Chinese military power,” frequent contributor Dwayne Day examines a new Pentagon assessment of Chinese space ambitions, noting what DOD analysts tend to mention and what they tend leave out in their reviews. Day points out some highlights. China intends to orbit a manned space station by 2020. However, there is no mention of plans for a human lunar mission.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1685/1
C. In “SETI at 50,” Space Review editor Jeff Foust examines the first half century of the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, as presented at the recent SETIcon conference in Santa Clara, Calif. So far, firm evidence has eluded astronomers. Future strategies might include a continuation of listening to radio signals, or perhaps searching for emissions from artificial substances like chlorofluorocarbons (coolants). Another strategy would enlist greater numbers of the computer-equipped public to assist in the search. Recently, the eminent astrophysicist Stephen Hawking cautioned against transmitting specific messages in case the activity would provoke a hostile response from an alien civilization. However, at SETIcon, participants were divided on whether transmitting poses a serious threat.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1686/1
3. From Space.com: Tonight’s full moon will be the smallest of 2010. The moon, though full, is at its furthest point from Earth. January’s full moon appeared 12 percent larger.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/spacewatch/full-moon-smallest-2010-100823.html
4. From MSNBC and space.com: While the House and Senate debate the future of NASA’s Constellation Program, work on the Orion crew exploration vehicle and the Ares 1 crew launch vehicle carry on under existing space agency contracts. Orion has reached key milestones with tests of autonomous docking and crew escape systems. A ground test of the Ares 1 is scheduled for Aug. 31.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38778499
5. From Universe Today: Double or binary star systems are common. But if the star pairs are too close together, processes leading to planet formation could be doomed, according to findings from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. The findings include debris around double star systems that could be shattered planets.
http://www.universetoday.com/71934/tight-binaries-are-%e2%80%98death-stars%e2%80%99-for-planets/
6. From Discovery.com: Space enthusiasts urge NASA to research hyper drive propulsion for stellar travel. Are their expectations for faster than light travel unrealistic?
http://news.discovery.com/space/warped-imaginations-star-wars-fans-want-a-nasa-hyperdrive.html
7. From the London Daily Mail: In Denmark, two inventors propose a human launch system using a submarine-based rocket. One of the amateur rocket enthusiasts is quoted as saying he hopes to follow an upcoming test launch with a ride to orbit. The test is planned for Aug. 30 in the Baltic Sea.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1305455/Copenhagen-Suborbitals-Danish-inventors-produce-amateur-rocket-designed-send-humans-space.html?ITO=1490
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