In Today’s Deep Space Extra… The Senate holds a confirmation hearing next week on the confirmation of former Senator Bill Nelson as NASA administrator. New Horizons, the first spacecraft to fly by Pluto, will soon be 50 times as far from the Sun as Earth.
Human Space Exploration
NASA approves plans for Crew-2 launch
SpaceNews.com (4/15): Following a Flight Readiness Review, NASA on Thursday okayed the launch of the third Crew Dragon mission with astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Launch from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) of the spacecraft with four astronauts from NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) is planned for April 22.
NASA delays starting contract with SpaceX for Gateway cargo services
Coalition Members in the News – Boeing, Northrop Grumman
SpaceNews.com (4/15): As it reviews its Artemis initiative strategy for returning humans to the surface of the Moon, NASA has held off on formally starting a contract with SpaceX for the delivery of cargo to the planned lunar orbiting Gateway. A contract agreement for the cargo deliveries was announced in March 2020, but neither SpaceX nor NASA have updated the terms of the original agreement valued at a maximum of $7 billion over 15 years.
Space Science
NASA’s New Horizons reaches rare distance, looks out to Voyager
Collect Space (4/15): On April 18, the New Horizon spacecraft will reach a deep-space milepost– 50 astronomical units from the Sun, or 50 times farther from the Sun than Earth is. New Horizons is just the fifth spacecraft to reach this distance, following the Voyagers 1 and 2 and their predecessors, Pioneers 10 and 11. To mark the occasion, New Horizons recently photographed the star field where Voyager 1 is located. Voyager 1 is now in interstellar space.
Russia is going back to the Moon this year
Space.com (4/15): To underscore its interest in future exploration of the Moon, Russia is preparing for the October launch of Luna 25, the first in a series of missions to the lunar south pole. The mission will explore for the presence of water ice, a life support resource for future human lunar exploration of the Moon as well as a resource that could be mined to provide liquid hydrogen and oxygen rocket propellants.
Consortium unveils greenhouse gas monitoring constellation Carbon Mapper
SpaceNews.com (4/15): On Thursday, a consortium including the state of California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Planet announced a partnership to track from Earth orbit a constellation of hyperspectral satellites to pinpoint, quantify, and track point sources of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a climate change concern.
Going, going, goniometer! First Mode delivers measuring gizmo for Mars mission
GeekWire.com (4/15): Goniometer, an instrument developed by Seattle’s First Mode, has moved on to Western Washington University, where it will contribute to the NASA Mars Perseverance mission’s exploration of the Red Planet. The tool will measure angles in three dimensions, which is important because knowing the precise angles of reflection for the sunlight that hits Martian rocks could help scientists unlock some of Mars’ geological secrets.
Other News
Nelson confirmation hearing set for April 21
Spacepolicyonline.com (4/15): President Biden’s nominee for NASA administrator, former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, of Florida, is scheduled to appear before a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on April 21, the next step in the confirmation process.
Diversion
You can watch a NASA astronaut and 2 cosmonauts return to Earth in a Soyuz capsule tonight
Space.com (4/16): NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Rhyzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov are to depart the International Space Station (ISS) in their Soyuz MS-17 capsule on Friday at 9:34 p.m. EDT and descend to a landing on Kazakhstan on Saturday at 12:56 a.m. EDT, ending a six-month mission. NASA will air the undocking, landing and events leading up to their return beginning at 5:45 p.m. EDT.