In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Ingenuity’s success could enable future flying vehicles on Mars. United Launch Alliance selected as a launch partner for Amazon’s Project Kuiper.
Space Science
NASA releases ‘hi-res’ video of Ingenuity helicopter making historic flight on Mars
USA Today (4/19): The site for the Mars Ingenuity helicopter’s first flight on Mars has been named for Wright Brothers Field in honor of Orville and Wilbur Wright, the brothers who introduced air flight here on Earth on December 17, 1903. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) presented NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with official ICAO designator IGY, call-sign INGENUITY. These details will be included in the next edition of ICAO’s Designators for Aircraft Operating Agencies, Aeronautical Authorities and Services. High resolution data of Ingenuity’s brief and successful flight has been transmitted back to Earth following the landing.
Ingenuity success opens door for future Mars helicopter missions
SpaceNews.com (4/20): Ingenuity’s successful 39-second flight yesterday was all about proving that it is possible to fly on Mars, according to Håvard Grip, chief pilot for Ingenuity at JPL. Just like the Sojourner rover paved the way for sending rovers to Mars, Ingenuity’s flight demonstration could open the door to using similar vehicles in future missions to the Red Planet, adding an aerial dimension that could expand exploration.
China wants to launch its own Hubble-class telescope as part of space station
Space.com (4/20): China is preparing to launch a large space telescope within the next few years. Called the Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST), the observatory will have a 6.6-foot diameter lens and will fly in common orbit with the planned Chinese space station, making it easy to repair and upgrade.
Opinion
Science journalist outlines challenges of settling the Moon and Mars
Spaceflightinsider.com (4/16): Author Christopher Wanjek’s April 6 lecture, “Spacefarers: How Humans Will Settle the Moon, Mars, and Beyond,” sponsored by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), explored the range of challenges confronting future human exploration and why it’s likely to proceed. “Do we want a future of no space activity, fighting over finite resources, or daily access to space with infinite resources?” The latter, he concludes “would make life on Earth better for all of us”.
Other News
Amazon signs with ULA for rockets to launch Jeff Bezos’ Kuiper internet satellites
Coalition Members in the News – Boeing, Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance
CNBC (4/19): Amazon’s Project Kuiper announced a contract with United Launch Alliance (ULA) on Monday for nine Atlas V rocket launches supporting the deployment of its planned internet connectivity satellite constellation. The $10 billion satellite communications venture, however, will likely need multiple launch vehicle partners to place all of an estimated 3,236 satellites in orbit, the company noted.
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir on how VR can help space missions
CNET (4/18): “Space Explorers” is a multipart Virtual Reality (VR) documentary made by Felix & Paul Studios aboard the International Space Station (ISS). NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, who participated in the documentary, comments on the important role virtual reality might play in future, more distant missions. Meir says she wonders whether VR could enable others to be in space via telepresence. “That’s something that NASA has thought a lot about as well in the past, particularly in regard to telemedicine,” states Meir.