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Tuesday’s CSExtra offers a collection of the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. A Los Angeles science center takes title to the retired shuttle orbiter Endeavour. Two companies join forces to help students conduct science on the International Space Station. Tuesday’s full moon — smaller than usual. The Mars 500 mission simulation in Moscow nears an end for a half dozen global astronauts. The first launch of a commercial Russian Soyuz booster from French Guiana is set for Oct. 20. Two from Monday’s The Space Review. A towering peak on asteroid Vesta. Building balloons for Titan.
1. From the Los Angeles Times: On Tuesday, the California Science Center of Los Angeles receives title to the retire space shuttle orbiter Endeavour. The center was selected earlier this year as the display site for Endeavour. Currently being de-serviced in Florida, Endeavour is expected to reach its new West Coast home late next year.
http://lat.ms/nj4WLq
2. From The New York Times: YouTube and Lonovo, the computer maker, partner to host a contest that permits students to sponsor experiments aboard the International Space Station. The videos produced by students will be used to pitch experiments to astronauts aboard the orbiting science laboratory, who will carry out the work.
http://nyti.ms/oJBlWU
3. From Space.com: Enjoy the full moon on Tuesday — where skies are clear. Just know the bright disk will be the smallest full moon of the year.
http://bit.ly/qJM0Ax
4. From the Coalition for Space Exploration: Nov. 4 looms as a special day for six European, Russian and Chinese “astronaut” volunteers who are participants in the Mars 500 experiment in Moscow. These volunteers are nearing the conclusion of a simulated Mars mission that explored the health and other challenges confronting a long round trip journey to the Red Planet.
http://bit.ly/rskUw3
5. From Itar-Tass of Russia: The first launch of a commercial Russian Soyuz booster from French Guiana is headed toward an Oct. 20 lift off. The payload includes a pair of European Galileo navigation system satellites.
http://bit.ly/nAC2ip
6. Two essays from Monday’s The Space Review examine the recent 100-Year Starship Symposium and concerns over the funding of future NASA space science missions.
A. Something unusual unfolded in Orlando, Fla., between Sept. 30 and Oct. 2. TSR editor Jeff Foust reflects on the 100-year Starship Study Symposium, hosted by The Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency, with collaboration from NASA, to examine the challenges of interstellar space travel. Experts from a variety of backgrounds discussed propulsion, destinations, whether to send humans or robots, justifications and future milestones. DARPA believes the initiative could challenge existing technologies that will produce valuable near term spin offs. Many of the symposium’s 700 participants, however, take the long term challenge seriously.
http://bit.ly/mRWy8M
B. In “Is OMB wiping out planetary exploration?” frequent TSR contributor Louis Friedman, also a space scientist, sounds a warning for the future of science based space exploration, a pursuit largely carried out with robotic spacecraft. The nation’s rich history in the field could be sacrificed to fund NASA’s Space Launch System, a heavy lift rocket and crew capsule for future deep space missions, Friedman warns.
http://bit.ly/q6khbK
7. From Discovery.com: NASA’s Dawn spacecraft reveals a towering mountain peak on the asteroid Vesta. The peak reaches three times higher than Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth. Dawn maneuvered into orbit around Vesta for a year long stay in July.
http://bit.ly/qKYeBz
8. From MSNBC and Cosmic Log: In Tillamook, Ore., the Near Space Corp., a small company, examines materials that would be suitable for a scientific balloon probe launched to Titan, a moon of Saturn.
http://on.msnbc.com/nEdZqJ
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.