In Today’s Deep Space Extra… U.S. Senate Democrats urge the Biden administration to fund the development of NASA’s lunar Human Landing System. NASA establishes a senior climate science advisor position.
Human Space Exploration
Democratic Senators urge robust funding for HLS while White House punts on Artemis
Coalition Members in the News – Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman
Spacepolicyonline.com (2/3): Eleven Democratic U.S. senators, led by Patty Murray of Washington state, wrote to President Biden urging the new administration to robustly fund NASA’s lunar Human Landing System (HLS), a cornerstone element of the agency’s efforts to return astronauts to the Moon. In their letter, Murray and her associates asked that additional funding not be granted at the expense of other NASA initiatives.
Russia, China discuss technical aspects of joint lunar station
TASS of Russia (2/3): Russian and Chinese space agency representatives continue discussions on the scientific objectives and technical requirements for cooperation on a future lunar base. (Editor’s note: TASS is a Russian government-owned news source).
Space Science
Lines on Mars could be created by salty water triggering landslides
New Scientist (2/3): Distinctive stripes that appear seasonally on crater walls and other sloped terrain on Mars have puzzled scientists for years. A new SETI Institute-led research assessment now suggests the features may be caused by Martian water, dust, and salty sediments that react to one another during the warmest part of the Martian year.
The Earth’s magnetosphere might be creating water on the Moon
Universetoday.com (2/3): New research suggests the Earth’s magnetosphere directs a flow of ions from the Earth that seeds the Moon with some of the water detected in permanently shadowed lunar craters and even on the rest of the surface. The study is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Opinion
2021: A space crossroads
Coalition Members in the News – Astrobotic, Boeing, United Launch Alliance
The Hill (2/3): In an op-ed, Explore Mars, Inc. top executives Chris Carberry and Rick Zucker hail 2021 as pivotal to realizing a range of predictions about the future in space presented in the 1968 film classic “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The arrival of three spacecraft at Mars, NASA preparing for the first test flight of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft later this year, the CLPS program poised to reach the Moon, commercial space building momentum, and the biggest space telescope yet will play a role in starting to achieve the film’s vision, write Carberry and Zucker.
Other News
NASA establishes new role of senior climate advisor
ViaSatellite.com (2/3): NASA announced Wednesday that it has established a new position, senior climate advisor, to work with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to advocate for research funding in response to climate change concerns. Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Science in New York, will serve as the acting advisor until a permanent appointment is made.
Biden will keep the Space Force
Axios.com (2/3): White House press secretary Jen Psaki offered assurances on Wednesday that the Biden administration intends to keep the new Space Force established during the Trump administration. Following the November 3 presidential election, some called on the new White House to disband what has become the sixth branch of the U.S. military.
SpaceX fires 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit, with more set to launch Friday
Spaceflightnow.com (2/4): SpaceX carried out the first of two closely scheduled launches of Starlink internet connectivity small satellites early Thursday. The Falcon 9 rocket with the first wave of 60 Starlinks launched at 1:19 a.m. EST, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. A second Falcon 9 with another 60 Starlinks is planned for launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Friday.