To subscribe to CSExtra via RSS feed click here.
If you would prefer to receive CSExtra in e-mail format, e-mail us at Info@space.com with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
Tuesday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Scientists confidently announce the discovery of an Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of another star. Astronomers find monster black holes. In essays, experts suggest a next step for U. S. space explorers and propose reforms for Russia’s battered Mars program. The commander of NASA’s final shuttle mission to leave the space agency. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center rallies around the Space Launch System and future propulsion system development. Stranded in Earth orbit, Russia’s Phobos-Grunt mission has started to break apart, say observers. NASA policy makers wrestle with future spending restrictions. NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft reaches the solar system’s back porch. Jupiter joins the moon in the night sky.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: Astronomers announce the discovery of an approximately Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of another sun like star. Kepler-22b circles a star 600 light years from the Earth. While the composition of 22b is unknown, its distance from the star is within the range that would support liquid water and possibly life. http://bit.ly/udwBsp
A. From the Washington Post: On Kepler 22b, day time temperatures could reach a balmy 72 degrees — conditions that make the distant planet the best candidate yet for an alien world that could support life. http://wapo.st/umZfH1
B. From Space.com: Some alien planets could be made of diamond, say astronomers. The laws of physics permit it. http://bit.ly/tHA2R5
2. From New York Times: Astronomers identify a pair of monster black holes, the largest of which is 10 times the size of the solar system with a mass equal to 21 billion suns. Its large rival is nearly half that size. These massive objects lurk 336 million and 331 million light years from the Earth. http://nyti.ms/udQl0G
3. Two essays from The Science Review evaluate the next steps in U. S. human space exploration and for Russia’s battered Mars program.
A. In “Accelerating the Future: Human Achievements Beyond Low Earth Orbit Within a Decade,” three seasoned experts from NASA’s space station program and the astronomy community suggest the U.S. prepare for a future Mars mission with a human outpost at a Lunar/Earth Lagrange point. Such a near term advance would take advantage of the engineering and integration experience gained with the International Space Station, they write. Such a step may fit best within the flat budgets that seem to stretch ahead. http://bit.ly/vqXfwv
B. In “Time for Russia to rethink its Mars exploration plan,” Louis Friedman, space scientist and former long time executive secretary of the Planetary Society, urges Russia to avoid “incremental reforms” in the aftermath of the lost soil sample return mission to the Martian moon Phobos. Strong leadership, focus and the use of advanced technologies and software could turn Russia’s planetary arc around, he writes. Cooperation with the U.S. and Europe on future Mars initiatives could lower the expense, Friedman notes. http://bit.ly/tDMhip
4. From Collectspace.com: Veteran astronaut and Navy test pilot Chris Ferguson is departing NASA this week for the private sector. Ferguson commanded NASA’s final shuttle mission in July, STS-135. http://bit.ly/v5WVhI
5. From the Huntsville Times: NASA mobilizes to invest $200 million in the Space Launch System, the heavy lift rocket intended to start human explorers on future deep space missions. http://bit.ly/sA0mRh
A. From the Huntsville Times: NASA is finding more interest than anticipated in the new National Institute for Rocket Propulsion Systems, an industry funded initiative to retool advanced development in a field where Europe is surging ahead. India and China and advancing as well. http://bit.ly/ryTvw1
6. From Russia Today: Russia’s failed Phobos Grunt mission, trapped in a low altitude Earth orbit since its Nov. 8 launching, has begun to disintegrate, according to amateur observers. http://bit.ly/tmqBik
7. From Spacepolicyonline.com: NASA is exercising caution in its future budget planning but not working under a sequestration formula, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden assures a Space Transportation Association luncheon. The formula was invoked by the failure of a Congressional committee to come up with a deficit reduction strategy. http://bit.ly/sg6Ug6
8. From the Associated Press via the Washington Post: Launched more than three decades ago, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered the “stagnation zone” a region on the frontiers of the solar system, where the solar wind falls off. The spacecraft, now 11 billion miles from the sun, is on the verge of departing the solar system. http://wapo.st/vZfHRS
9. From Space.com: Where skies are clear, the moon and planet Jupiter shine bright in close viewing proximity Tuesday night. Look to the east-southeast. http://bit.ly/tu1Mi3
Brought to you by the Coalition for Space Exploration, CSExtra is a daily compilation of space industry news selected from hundreds of online media resources. The Coalition is not the author or reporter of any of the stories appearing in CSExtra and does not control and is not responsible for the content of any of these stories. The content available through CSExtra contains links to other websites and domains which are wholly independent of the Coalition, and the Coalition makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information contained in any such site or domain and does not pre-screen or approve any content. The Coalition does not endorse or receive any type of compensation from the included media outlets and is not responsible or liable in any way for any content of CSExtra or for any loss, damage or injury incurred as a result of any content appearing in CSExtra. For information on the Coalition, visit www.space.com or contact us via e-mail at Info@space.com.