Deep Space Extra

Here is a list of news that were published in our Newsletter the week of March 11, 2024:

Human Space Exploration:

• • SpaceX launches Starship rocket into orbit on test flight but loses spacecraft during return to Earth;
  • SpaceX gets green light for third Starship test flight;
  • Mining helium-3 on the Moon has been talked about forever—now a company will try
  • SpaceX stacks Starship ahead of 3rd test flight (photos);
  • Four astronauts from four countries return to Earth after six months in orbit;
  • Crew-7 prepares for Monday Space Station departure, Tuesday splashdown
    Coalition Member in the News – Boeing;
  • ISS schedule conflicts delay Starliner crewed test flight to May
    Coalition Member in the News – Boeing;

   

  Space Science

  • Trio of mini-Moon rovers pass key tests ahead of upcoming lunar launch (photos);
  • Fox again urges NASA science community to stick together;
  • NASA restructures Earth System Observatory to reduce costs;
  • What can we learn flying through the plumes at Enceladus?
  • NASA’s search for life on Mars: A rocky road for its rovers, a long slog for scientists – and back on Earth, a battle of the budget;
  • Icy impactor might explain the formation of Mars’s moons;
  • Astronomers propose a 50-meter submillimeter telescope;
  • Water-themed plaque to fly on Europa Clipper to Jupiter’s icy ocean moon;
  • Jupiter’s ocean moon may be dead inside;
  • Study: Conflicting values for Hubble constant not due to measurement error;
  • China targets 2030 for Mars sample return mission, potential landing areas revealed;
  • Here’s how to see ‘horned’ comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in the night sky this month (video)

   

  Opinion

  • The psychological challenges of a long voyage to Mars
    SpaceNews.com (3/11): NASA’s planned lunar orbiting, human tended Gateway would play a significant role in preparing astronauts for future missions to Mars, according to Nick Kanas, a professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. A roundtrip to Mars could span two to three years, leading to long term isolation and exposure to the health challenges of microgravity, lengthy delays in communication and added stress in dealing with emergencies due to a lack of resources. The Gateway offers a simulation asset for preparing astronauts for the long voyage just like activities on the surface of the Moon will help to prepare them for exploring and establishing a base on the Red Planet, writes Kanas.

   

  Other News

  • Final Delta IV Heavy set to launch March 28
    Coalition Members in the News – Boeing, Lockheed Martin;
  • Sierra Space developing dual-use spacecraft with military potential;
  • Surprise Chinese lunar mission hit by launch anomaly;
  • Space Development Agency marks five-year milestone;
  • FAA requests large funding increase for commercial space office;
  • China accelerating development of two large reusable rocket models;
  • Space One’s Kairos rocket explodes on inaugural flight
  • Russia and China Announce plan to build shared nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2035, ‘without humans’;
  • Japan creates multibillion-dollar space strategic fund to boost space industry;
  • NASA says spending caps force “hard choices” for its 2025 budget;
  • NASA’s FY2025 budget request stuck at FY2023 level
    Coalition Member in the News – Axiom Space;
  • NASA chief Bill Nelson promises a ‘fight’ for agency’s 2025 budget request;
  • Space Force budget holding steady amid Pentagon’s fiscal constraints;
  • A chronology of the April 8 total solar eclipse;
  • Congress passes final fiscal year 2024 spending bill for NASA, NOAA and FAA;
  • Pentagon review finds no evidence of alien cover-up;
  • A hunk of junk from the International Space Station hurdles back to Earth
  • Space One postpones bid to be Japan’s first private firm to put satellite in orbitSpace One postpones bid to be Japan’s first private firm to put satellite in orbit
  • Universe is the limit for NASA-ISRO collaboration, says Swati Mohan

   

  Major Space Related Activities for the Week

  • The White House is set to release its proposed budget for the 2025 fiscal year that begins October 1, 2024 on Monday.
  • In conjunction, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is hosting a 2024 State of NASA address at 1 p.m. EDT, that will be followed by a news teleconference at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Both are to be live streamed at www.nasa.gov/nasalive
  • At 11:05 a.m. EDT, on Monday, NASA’s Crew-7 mission will depart the International Space Station (ISS) with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli; European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoushi Furukawa and Russia cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov. Weather permitting, the four could return to Earth with a parachute assisted splashdown in the waters off the Florida peninsula as soon as Tuesday at 5:35 a.m. EDT;
  • Meanwhile, SpaceX is looking to Thursday for a potential third test launch of the Super Heavy/Starship rocket combination that is under a Human Landing System (HLS) contract with NASA to transport astronauts between lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon and back to lunar orbit as part of the Artemis III mission. Artemis III will mark the post Apollo return of human explorers to the surface of the Moon as soon as September 2026. The HLS test launch from Boca Chica, Texas, is pending FAA approval.

   

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