In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Astronaut Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17 and the last person to walk on the moon, reflects with family and friends in a new documentary as the U.S. prepares to resume human deep space exploration.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Review: ‘The Last Man on the Moon’ is the story of just that
New York Times (2/25): Retired NASA astronaut Gene Cernan, who commanded NASA’s final Apollo-era moon landing mission, Apollo 17 in December 1972, is the focus of a new documentary, The Last Man on the Moon. The film, which opened in U.S. theaters last weekend, offers a look at Cernan’s life through the eyes of his family, NASA colleagues and friends.
NASA may return to moon, but only after cutting off ISS
Sputnik International, of Russia (2/28): The next presidential administration will determine NASA’s course and whether it includes a return of human explorers to the moon and eventual missions to Mars, U.S. space policy expert John Logsdon tells Radio Sputnik. In part, the funding will come from retirement of the International Space Station.
Space Science
NASA astronaut Don Williams, led mission to launch Jupiter probe, dies at 74
Collectspace.com (2/27): Two time space shuttle flier Don Williams has died. Williams, who has selected for the astronaut corps in 1978, commanded the 1989 mission that deployed the Galileo spacecraft on a successful mission to orbit Jupiter.
ISRO chief signals India’s readiness for Chandrayaan II mission
Times of India (2/28): The all India moon mission includes an orbiter, soft lander and rover. At one point, Russia was to provide a lander but withdrew.
Experts weigh in on the year ahead in space
Spaceflight Insider (2/27): New milestones in NASA’s development of the Space Launch System, Orion capsule, advances in commercial space transportation systems for astronauts and planetary science are anticipated for 2016, including some of those involved.
Meteor shower points to ‘potentially hazardous’ comet
Discovery.com (2/26): The Volantids meteor shower appeared unexpectedly New Year’s Eve over New Zealand. Now astronomers believe the shower could be evidence of a comet that could pose a future collision threat to the Earth. A search for the source of the shower is underway.
Low Earth Orbit
After record 340 days in space, Scott Kelly is coming down to Earth
Houston Chronicle (2/27): U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are scheduled to return to Earth late Tuesday after 340 days in orbit aboard the International Space Station. The flight is the longest ever for an American. Scientists are hopeful studies of the physical and psychological challenges of the long flight will help NASA prepare for future human deep space exploration.
One-year spaceman sees mission as ‘steppingstone’ to Mars
Associated Press (2/27): “So, I’d like to think that this is another of many steppingstones to us landing on Mars sometime in our future,” NASA astronaut Scott Kelly told U.S. news media days before his return to Earth late Tuesday, U.S. time, after 340 days in Earth orbit. The landing site for Kelly and fellow space marathoner Mikhail Kornienko, of Russia, is Kazakhstan.
China to launch second space lab in third-quarter
Reuters (2/28): China intends to launch its second space station laboratory into orbit in the third quarter of this year, according to Xinhuanet, of China. It’s a step in Beijing’s intent to have a permanent human outpost in Earth orbit, potentially around 2022. Two Chinese astronauts would be launched to the new station, Tiangong 2, late this year.
Korea, U.S. agree on space cooperation deal
Yonhap News (2/29): The U.S. and South Korea have reached a cooperative civil space agreement, according to the foreign ministry in Seoul. The pact covers space science, Earth observation and space exploration.
Commercial Space
Bridenstine to introduce space policy bill in April
Space News (2/26): Oklahoma Congressman Jim Bridenstine announced his intention to introduce legislation in April to encourage more commercial space development in the U.S. The contents will build on the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act passed last year and encourage U.S. government agencies to purchase services such as communications and weather data from the private sector. The FAA could take over a traditional Department of Defense role — tracking active satellites and orbital debris.
Major Space Related Activities for the Week
Major space related activities for the week of February 29 – March 4, 2016
Spacepolicyonline.com (2/28): U.S. and Russian fliers Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko are to return to Earth late Tuesday after 340 days in orbit aboard the International Space Station, a new U.S. spaceflight record, though not one for the cosmonauts corps. In Washington, the U.S. House appropriations panel responsible for NASA’s budget hosts a hearing on the agency’s “Ocean Worlds” initiative on Thursday.