In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Besides studying the Sun, the Parker Solar Probe mission could help us learn more about Venus. NASA will officially name its Washington headquarters building for Mary W. Jackson, the agency’s first African American female engineer.
Human Space Exploration
Rogozin, Jurczyk talk, but no announcement from NASA
Coalition Members in the News – Boeing, United Launch Alliance
Spacepolicyonline.com (2/26): NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk, and the head of Roscosmos, Dimitry Rogozin, conferred by telecon on Thursday. According to a Roscosmos summary of the call, the parties discussed a wide range of subjects, including maintaining continuous presence of Russian and American crews at the ISS. NASA is trying to reach an agreement with Russia to launch astronauts on its Soyuz spacecraft in exchange for seats for cosmonauts on U.S. Commercial Crew systems.
Poll shows public’s space priority is monitoring Earth, not sending people to the Moon or Mars
Spacepolicyonline.com (2/25): A Morning Consult poll of 2,200 U.S. adults conducted from February 12-15 shows greater support for space science focused on monitoring of the Earth’s environment than further human exploration of the Moon or Mars. Space research and exploration ranked 25th on a list of 26 priorities for the Biden administration.
Space Science
NASA backs concepts for deep-drilling Mars rover and interstellar-object probe
Geekwire.com (2/25): The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program is backing 16 proposals for further development, including robotic “bore bots” equipped to drill up to a mile into the surface of Mars in search of liquid water deposits, and a nuclear-powered spacecraft able to intercept interstellar objects speeding across the solar system. Each recipient of a phase 1 grant can expect about $125,000 to further initial development.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe surprises scientists with wild image of Venus
CNET (2/25): NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, a spacecraft launched in 2018 to study the Sun, captured unexpected images of Venus while performing a flyby of the planet in July 2020. The probe’s Wide-field Imager (WISPR) caught a bright rim of light around Venus, which according to researchers is glow emitted by oxygen atoms high in the atmosphere that recombine into molecules in the nightside.
Other News
NASA Headquarters building will be named after ‘Hidden Figure’ Mary W. Jackson
Wavy.com (2/25): Today, NASA will host a ceremony naming its Washington headquarters for the late Mary W. Jackson, the first female African American engineer at NASA. In 2019, Jackson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for her contributions. The ceremony will broadcast live from Washington at 1 p.m. EST on NASA TV, and stream at www.nasa.gov/nasalive as well as on the NASA Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube accounts.
U.S. to support international effort to set rules of behavior in space
SpaceNews.com (2/24): The United States and allies are drafting language in support of an international effort to adopt rules of behavior in space. U.S. Space Command is taking a central role in the effort amid growing concerns about Russia’s anti-satellite weapon tests and alarm about the growing satellite and debris population in Earth orbit.
Blue Origin delays first launch of New Glenn to late 2022
Coalition Member in the News – United Launch Alliance
SpaceNews.com (2/25): Blue Origin is pushing back its anticipated start of New Glenn rocket launches to 2022. Previously, Blue Origin had backed off plans for a first launch from 2020 to 2021. The latest re-set was attributed to technical and financial factors related to a decision last August by the Pentagon to proceed with United Launch Alliance (ULA) and SpaceX for launch services between 2022 and 2027.