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Wednesday’s CSExtra offers the latest in reporting and commentary on space related events from around the globe. Scientists unveil images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a spacecraft circling the moon, that reveal hardware and footpaths left by the astronauts from three Apollo missions. Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft, sidelined by the Aug 24 loss of the Progress 44 mission, could be launching again by early November, preventing a de-staffing of the orbiting science lab. Chief Technologist Bobby Braun announces his departure from NASA to return to Georgia Tech University. Cameras aboard the International Space Station turn from global hurricanes to Texas wildfires, which have destroyed homes in the central part of the state. The weather outlook for the scheduled launch of NASA’s GRAIL mission on Thursday turns unfavorable. NASA presents a new internet tool that enables computer users to “ride along” on deep space missions. Two essays probe the long term value of U. S. human space exploration. Astronomers puzzle over the discovery of a faint star.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: Scientists and engineers from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission provide new close up photos of the Apollo 12, 14, and 17 mission landing sites. The imagery includes spacecraft, surface experiments as well as the foot and rover paths from the historic explorations from the late 1960s and early 1970s.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1109/06apollo/
A. From Collectspace.com: The LRO images beckon new generations of explorers to follow the pathways of the Apollo missions, says Jim Green, who leads NASA’s planetary science division.
http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum33/HTML/000461-2.html#090611a
B. From Space.com: The evidence of human explorers at the three lunar landing sites will not last forever, say scientists. The small meteorites that constantly rain down on the lunar surface will eventually wipe away the traces of human activity.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/12846-apollo-moon-landing-sites-flags-footprints.html
C. From the Associated Press via the Washington Post: Gene Cernan, the last human to walk on the moon and the commander of Apollo 17, describes the LRO images as nostalgic. He expresses disappointment that no one is likely to return to the lunar surface during his lifetime.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/moon-probe-clearly-photographs-signs-of-apollo-astronauts-visits-from-4-decades-ago/2011/09/06/gIQAZVg16J_story.html
2. From Florida Today: Russia may recover from the April 24 loss of the Progress 44 mission in time to launch a new crew of astronauts to the International Space Station by early November, astronauts aboard the orbiting science laboratory tell a news briefing on Tuesday. Such a speedy resolution of the Progress loss could prevent temporary de-staffing of the space station. Launches of Russia’s Soyuz rockets with new space station crew members have been on hold since the Progress launch; and if prolonged, could lead to a temporary de-staffing of the orbital outpost. The Soyuz booster that launches Progress cargo missions and space station astronauts are similar.
http://space.flatoday.net/2011/09/new-station-crew-could-launch-by-early.html
3. From Space News: NASA’s chief technologist Bobby Braun will leave NASA and return to the Georgia Institute of Technology. Braun came aboard the space agency in 2010. The White House and Congress continue to debate the merits of investments in new technology as a precursor to future human deep space exploration.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/1109-nasa-chief-technologist-quit.html
4. From the Dallas Morning News: Wildfires devastate parts of drought ravaged Texas over the Labor Day weekend. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday beam back imagery of the smoke plumes from wild fires near Bastrop in Central Texas.
http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/09/central-texas-fires-visible-fr.html
5. From Space.com: The once favorable weather predicted for Thursday’s planned launching of NASA’s GRAIL mission reverses. Thunderstorms are possible at two launch opportunities, 8:37 a.m. and 9:16 a.m., EDT. The near $500 mission includes two spacecraft that will orbit the moon to measure subtle changes in the gravitational field, findings that promise to reveal the composition of the moon from core to crust.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/12842-nasa-moon-gravity-probes-launch-weather.html
6. From the Los Angeles Times: NASA creates a new Internet tool, Eyes on the Solar System, that allows users to “ride along” with spacecraft on missions of exploration. “You are now free to move about the solar system,” said one NASA official involved with the project.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/09/nasa-solar-system-tool-.html
7. Two from The Space Review of Tuesday:
A. In “A Rationale for Human Spaceflight,” Greg Anderson, a freelance writer/blogger, exams the pros and cons for advancing human space flight following the July retirement of NASA’s space shuttle program. Anderson suggests the ultimate rationale is saving humanity from an Earthly disaster. Exploration will lead to new resources and innovation for an outward migration, writes Anderson.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1920/1
B. In “An Enduring Value Proposition for NASA Human Space Flight, Part 4,” Aerospace consultant Mary Lynn Dittmar points to Congress as a much needed source of sustained support for human exploration. The bottom line value of the pursuit to America is national security through the projection of soft power, Dittmar notes. She suggests human space exploration merits support similar to that provided the Departments of Defense and State as well as the Centers for Disease Control. The author has written three previous essays on the long term value of human space exploration.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1922/1
8. From the New York Times: Scientists are puzzled over a faint star discovered in the constellation Leo. It appears to be 13 billion years old, perhaps the oldest known star, and of little mass and metal content. The qualities raise questions about how the star formed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/science/06star.html?_r=2&ref=science
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