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In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton mentions NASA’s Space Launch System during a Michigan campaign event.
Human Deep Space Exploration
NASA’s Space Launch System referenced by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton
FOX2, Detroit (8/11): Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton spoke on Thursday during a campaign event held at Futuramic, a small business manufacturing facility that works with the military, automotive and space industries. Futuramic is a NASA Space Launch System (SLS) supplier. Clinton remarked, “I got to see what’s happening here to help build the SLS rocket that is going to go from Macomb to Mars.”
Space Science
ExoMars spacecraft adjusts flight trajectory en-route to Red Planet
TASS, of Russia (8/11): The European/Russian ExoMars mission spacecraft carried out a maneuver in its journey to the red planet, which began with a March 14 lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Due at Mars on Oct. 19, the mission includes the Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander. ExoMars 2016 and a 2018 follow-on mission with a rover will search for signs of past or present biological activity on the red planet.
Mars Life? 20 Years Later, Debate Over Meteorite Continues
Space.com (8/10): Two decades ago, scientists from NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Lockheed Martin issued formal claims of evidence of the fossilized remains of microbial life from Mars in meteorites of Martian origins and collected from meteorites from Mars in the Antarctic. The debate continues.
Huge HiRISE Photo Release Reveals Mars Beauty
Seeker.com (8/11): New images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal the red planet’s terrain in the greatest detail ever. The spacecraft and its HiRise, or high resolution camera, has been circling Mars for a decade.
Mystery object in weird orbit beyond Neptune cannot be explained
New Scientist (8/10): Niku, or “rebellious,” is a strange planetary object beyond distant Neptune. Just 125 miles across, Niku orbits the sun well out of the plane of the solar system’s other planets and backwards. “It suggests that there’s more going on in the outer solar system than we’re fully aware of,” according to Matthew Holman, one of the astronomers credited with the discovery.
NASA Sun-Watching Spacecraft Bounces Back From Glitch
Space.com (8/10): NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has recovered from an operational difficultly, according to the report. The interruption occurred on Aug. 2, as SDO was observing the moon as it passed in front of the sun. Three instruments affected by an interruption returned to service on Wednesday.
Low Earth Orbit
Radar remote sensing satellite launched by China
Spaceflightnow.com (8/10): The radar-equipped satellite was launched from Northern China early Wednesday. The Gaofen3 spacecraft will observe oceans, crops and aide in natural disaster response, according to the report.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Astronauts look forward to Florida launches
Florida Today (8/11): The U.S. has not launched its own astronauts since July 2011, which marked the final flight of NASA’s space shuttle program. That could be changing. By the end of this year, NASA may be ready to name the first crew to fly on new Boeing and SpaceX launch vehicles launched from Florida aboard the CST-100 Starliner and crewed Dragon spacecraft developed under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Those preparing for test flights include astronauts Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, Eric Boe and Sunita Williams.