In Today’s Deep Space Extra… The OSIRIS-REx mission prepares for its asteroid Touch-and-Go (TAG) sample grab today. NASA selects Nokia for a 4G lunar cell communications network.
Human Space Exploration
Nokia to build Moon’s first 4G cell network for NASA program
Associated Press (10/19): NASA has selected Nokia-owned Bell Labs to develop a 4G communications network on the Moon under a $14.1 million agreement. The network will be used to control lunar rovers, navigate the lunar terrain in real time, and to stream videos. The award is part of a larger NASA investment in “tipping point” initiatives to make it possible to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon.
Lockheed picks Relativity’s 3D-printed rocket for experimental NASA mission
Coalition Member in the News – Lockheed Martin
Tech Crunch (10/19): Relativity Space will 3D print a rocket for a Lockheed Martin mission selected by NASA to test “tipping point” technologies under an $89.7 million award to demonstrate cryogenic propellant management in space. The 3D approach will permit a custom precision fit among critical components of the rocket and support hardware.
You’ll experience 200 times more radiation standing on the Moon than standing on the Earth
Universetoday.com (10/19): Instrumentation aboard China’s Chang’e-4 lander/rover mission, which touched down at the south pole of the Moon in 2019, is indicating worrisome levels of long-term radiation exposure. The radiation from two primary sources, solar particle events and galactic cosmic rays, equals 200 times that of the Earth’s surface, indicating that significant shielding will be necessary for human explorers.
Crews change command on Tuesday; leak temporarily sealed
NASA/International Space Station (10/19): The International Space Station (ISS) crew will hold a “change of command” ceremony on Tuesday, which will mark a transition in command from astronaut Chris Cassidy to cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov. Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner will depart the orbiting science lab on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Russian portion of the crew has temporarily sealed a leak on the ISS.
Space Science
TAG, Bennu, you’re it
Coalition Member in the News – Lockheed Martin
The Space Review (10/19): NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission will land briefly at the asteroid Bennu today to gather a sample of surface material for future return to Earth. The landing is slated for 6:12 p.m. EDT. Signals from the spacecraft, about 200 million miles from Earth, will take 18 1/2 minutes to reach mission scientists and the flight operations teams at Lockheed Martin facilities in Colorado.
2 small asteroids zip by Earth closer than the Moon today
Space.com (10/19): On the eve of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission landing at the asteroid Bennu, two small asteroids passed the Earth within the orbit of the Moon on Monday. The duo, designated 2020 UX and 2020 TF6, are estimated at the sizes of a car and a bus. They were discovered last week.
Rogue rocky planet found adrift in the Milky Way
Scientific American (10/19): Astronomers are evaluating what may be the discovery of the first “free floating” rocky planet, or planet floating through space in the Milky Way and not orbiting a star. While previous discoveries of the sort involved larger gas giant planets, the newly discovered object is smaller than the Earth. NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, set to launch in the mid-2020s, is slated to discover more of the objects.
Opinion
The path to the Moon runs through Mississippi
Hattiesburg American of Mississippi (10/19): From Apollo to the Space Shuttle program, NASA’s Stennis Space Center has played a critical role in preparing the rocketry for human space flight missions. As the shuttle was retired, the activity at Stennis paused and surrounding communities suffered economically. However, work on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and plans to return humans to the Moon are turning the situation around for the better, writes Mark Glorioso, chair of the Partners for Stennis & Michoud.
Other News
NASA astronaut Christina Koch reflects on 1-year anniversary of first all-woman spacewalk
Space.com (10/19): Sunday marked the first anniversary of the first all-woman spacewalk, conducted by NASA’s Christina Koch and Jessica Meir outside the International Space Station (ISS). On Monday, the achievement was marked by the Guinness Book of World Records, which also noted Koch for the longest ever space mission by a woman.
China’s CASIC reveals five-year plan for reusable spaceplane, commercial space projects
SpaceNews.com (10/19): The China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. (CASIC) unveiled plans for developing launch services, satellite constellations and a reusable space plane during the sixth China International Commercial Aerospace Forum, which opened in Central China on Monday. The Tengyun two-stage-to-orbit horizontal takeoff, horizontal landing, reusable space plane is to be flight tested by 2025. Future missions plan to include crew, cargo and satellites.