In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will command Axiom Space’s second mission to the International Space Station. Roscosmos’ Dmitry Rogozin and NASA’s Bill Nelson plan to discuss space cooperation.
Human Space Exploration
Nelson: “Watch the Chinese”
Coalition Members in the News – Maxar, Northrop Grumman
Spacepolicyonline.com (5/25): NASA Administrator Bill Nelson again warned of the threat China could pose to U.S. leadership in space during a virtual forum hosted by the National Academies’ Space Studies and Aeronautics and Space Engineering boards. He stressed an urgency for returning humans to the surface of the Moon but did not comment on whether the Biden Administration is holding 2024 as their goal for doing so. Joined by Kathy Lueders, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, Nelson said the agency is hopeful of launching Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back to Earth, by the end of this year. China earlier this month joined the U.S. as being the only nations that have safely landed spacecraft on Mars.
Whitson to command second Axiom Space mission
Coalition Member in the News – Axiom Space
SpaceNews.com (5/25): Peggy Whitson, a retired NASA astronaut who holds a U.S. career record for time in space, 665 days over three missions to the International Space Station (ISS), plans to return to space as commander of the Axiom Space-2, or AX-2, mission. Racecar driver John Shoffner will serve as pilot. Michael Suffredini, president and chief executive of Axiom Space, said his company had lined up not just AX-1 and 2 but also a third and fourth missions, but disclosed no details about those later flights.
With Artemis Accords on the table, South Korea, U.S. to widen cooperation in space exploration, security
SpaceNews.com (5/25): The presidents of South Korea and the United States have pledged to cooperate toward South Korea signing the Artemis Accords, a set of principles governing norms of behavior for those who want to participate in the NASA-led Artemis lunar exploration program. The commitment to work toward South Korea becoming a formal signatory of the Artemis Accords was part of a broader agreement reached at the White House on May 21 under which the two nations will strengthen their partnership in civil space exploration, science, and aeronautics research, and cooperate for effective joint response against security threats in space.
Space Science
Next steps for Hope probe’s mission to Mars
The National (5/24): The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Hope Mars orbiter entered orbit around the Red Planet on February 9, activated instrumentation in April and is now prepared to begin a two-year study of the Martian atmosphere and climate. Data from Hope is poised to help scientists to understand why and how Mars, which may have once supported ancient life, lost most of its atmosphere.
Opinion
America’s future in space is nuclear
SpaceNews.com (5/25): The time is now for U.S. investments in nuclear thermal propulsion if the nation wishes to make all of the solar system and especially the realm between the Earth and Moon more accessible, writes John M. Horack, the Neil Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy at Ohio State University, adding that nuclear propulsion promises to cut the seven-month travel time to Mars in half.
Other News
Roscosmos Chief invites NASA counterpart to visit Russia to discuss space cooperation
Sputnik International of Russia (5/25): Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, said Tuesday that new NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has been invited to visit Russia to discuss future cooperation in space. The response came after Nelson’s appearance in a virtual event earlier on Tuesday where he said he was going to talk to Rogozin as he has been solid with regard to cooperation with the U.S. in space. (Editor’s note: Sputnik International is a Russian state-owned news source).
Diversion
Augmented reality mural series celebrates women, space and science
Space.com (5/26): Space, science, and incredible women take center stage in “A Cluster of Enigmas,” an awe-inspiring, colorful mural that uses augmented reality to make art come to life. The mural, painted on a brick wall near the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City, showcases science, specifically brown dwarfs, which are strange cosmic objects too small to be considered stars but much more massive than planets their size. The mural’s scientific underpinnings are inspired by the work of Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist and astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC, whose research specializes in the study of brown dwarfs.