In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Former Chief Scientist Dr. Ellen Stofan discusses the trailblazing women of NASA and the possibility of life on Mars. NASA’s future likely influenced by strategic partnerships, according to one analyst.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Working woman: Inspiring NASA’s chief scientist
WJLA-TV, of Washington DC (1/10): Hidden Figures portrays a team of African American women mathematicians, led by Katherine Johnson, who provided the pre-flight navigation and guidance that enabled Mercury astronaut John Glenn to become the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. These women provided powerful professional inspiration to Former Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan. “They need to think about Katherine Johnson and go take a seat at the table,” said Stofan of young women contemplating careers in science and engineering.
‘Hidden Figures’ stars write inspiring posts after film dominates box office
Huffington Post (1/9): Updated weekend box office totals reveal that Hidden Figures surpassed Rogue One, the latest chapter in the Star Wars saga, at the box office. The stars of the film turned to social media to praise the story, production and their enthusiastic audience.
The Space Review (1/9): The U.S. path in space exploration is likely to be influenced with strategic partnership, beginning with those allied in the NASA-led International Space Station, writes Roger Handberg, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida. The cost of a government-led initiative re-embracing the Apollo legacy is prohibitive, he suggests. Anticipate more emphasis on commercial space development, and perhaps globally partnered lunar exploration, Handberg predicts.
Should NASA build spacefaring logistics infrastructure?
The Space Review (1/9): A federal agency, though not NASA, should lead efforts to establish a spacefaring logistics infrastructure to further exploration and economic development, according to Mike Snead, president of the Spacefaring Institute and professional engineer. Exploration, not infrastructure, is NASA’s core mission, writes Snead, who envisions new federally sponsored space assets that enable space industries to focus on energy development that transitions away from fossil fuels, and encourages space mining and manufacturing.
Space Science
Our moon may have eaten many smaller moons
Seeker.com (1/9): A new theory challenges the notion that the moon formed from the remnants of a collision between the Earth and a Mars-sized planetary object early in the solar system’s history. New research, led by Israeli scientists and published in the journal Nature Geoscience on Monday, holds that multiple impacts with Earth created many small moons that coalesced into one lunar body.
Exploding binary stars will light up the sky in 2022
Universe Today (1/9): Researchers from Michigan’s Calvin College predict a rare stellar merger and explosion in 2022. Such stellar fireworks, previously unwitnessed, should be visible to the naked eye from Earth, according to their studies.
Very large telescope joins breakthrough search for Alpha Centauri’s planets
Geekwire (1/9): The European Southern Observatory’s VLT, based in Chile, is part of a new agreement with Breakthrough Initiatives to search for habitable planets in the neighboring Alpha Centauri system. Backers include Russian billionaire Yuri Milner and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The Alpha Centaur search was prompted by evidence of a potentially habitable planet around one of the system’s three stars, Proxima Centauri.
These odd pulsars are the universe’s most temperamental time keepers
Seeker.com (1/9): A pair of recent pulsar discoveries has radio astronomers mystified as these fast spinning remnants of collapsed stars normally pulse with regularity. The two Milky Way discoveries are at odds, one pulsing for about 30 percent of the time, the other less than 1 percent.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Kuaizhou rocket lifts off on first commercial mission
Spaceflightnow.com (1/9): China’s solid-fueled Kuaizhou rocket launched early Monday local time on its first commercial mission with three small satellites to gather video and test communications technologies. Previous flights carried secretive Chinese government payloads. However, the launch vehicle figures to become a global commercial launch vehicle contender.
Suborbital
Spain’s GMV takes a stake in PLD Space’s reusable rocket quest
Space News (1/9): Spain’s PLD Space will press ahead with efforts to develop the Arion1 reusable suborbital launch vehicle thanks to a $7.1 million investment from Madrid’s GMV satellite ground systems provider. An inaugural launch is planned for 2018.