In Today’s Deep Space Extra… NASA Glenn names new director, former astronaut, Janet Kavandi.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Air Force simulates astronaut rescue
Florida Today (3/14): U.S. Air Force helicopters and rescue personnel demonstrated the recovery of astronauts forced to abandon their flight by a serious spacecraft issue during launch or re-entry. The rescue techniques rehearsed near Cape Canaveral, Fla., by Air Force personnel will be used to support future missions by astronauts flying aboard NASA’s Orion capsule.
Review: Mars One: Humanity’s next great adventure
The Space Review (3/14): Mars One, the Dutch nonprofit that called for the colonization of Mars through a worldwide astronaut selection competition, has lowered its profile in response to questions raised about the risks, writes TSR editor Jeff Foust. His op-ed looks at a new book that features a collection of essays that examines the many challenges of attaining the goal of a Mars settlement with private sector resources.
Space Science
ExoMars phones home in route to Red Planet: ‘We have a mission’
Space.com (3/14): The joint European/Russian ExoMars mission got underway early Monday with a successful launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A seven month journey will deliver the Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander. Radio contact with the orbiter was established 12 hours after the lift off, signaling a successful start. A major objective of the mission is to track hints of methane in the atmosphere, whose source could be past or present biological activity.
With today’s launch, Europe and Russia seek to break the Mars “curse”
Ars Technica (3/14): In 55 years of planetary space missions to Mars, only NASA has succeeded to placing a spacecraft on the surface of the red planet for sustained operations. The Curiosity rover, which landed in August 2012, is the most recent success. The European/Russian Schiaparelli lander, launched early Monday from Kazakhstan as part of the joint European/Russian Exo/Mars mission, will attempt to alter history.
Venus finally in sight for JAXA’s once-wayward Akatsuki probe
Nikkei Asian Review (3/14): Japan’s Akatsuki space probe is ready to begin science observations of Venus in April. The spacecraft maneuvered into orbit around the planet in December, long after its May 2010 lift off. Propulsion system difficulties in December 2010 prevented Akatsuki from carrying out the maneuver as planned.
What bit a chunk out of Pluto’s ice?
Space.com (3/14): Temperature variations may explain why a chunk of icy terrain on the western plains of Pluto was missing as NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft sped close on July 14. Images and data from the encounter continue to stream back to Earth.
Should we worry about geomagnetic storms caused by solar activity?
Spaceflight Insider (3/14): An extreme solar storm, though rare, could pose a serious threat to the Earth, including a disruption of electrical power distribution systems. The National Space Weather Strategy, published by the White House in October 2015, has triggered a deeper look at the threat and how to respond.
Low Earth Orbit
NASA Glenn names new director: Former astronaut Janet Kavandi
Crain’s Cleveland Business (3/14): Former NASA astronaut Janet Kavandi was named Monday to direct the Glenn Research Center in Ohio by NASA administrator Charles Bolden. Kavandi has been Glenn’s deputy director for more than a year and previously held administrative positions at the agency’s Johnson Space Center. She succeeds Jim Free, who was transferred to NASA’s Washington headquarters.
One track, two Stations: A proposal for cooperation on the ISS and the Chinese Space Station
The Space Review (3/14): It’s likely too late for China to become part of an International Space Station, writes Chen Lan, an independent analyst of China’s space program. The U.S. led, 15 nation ISS is heading toward an end of operations in 2024 or 2028 and the U.S. is prohibited by law from cooperation. China recently completed plans for an orbital laboratory of its own. Nonetheless, it’s possible the two stations could be operated cooperatively, providing a redundancy on a range of fronts, according to Lan.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Politicians determined to kill the RS-Russian space joint venture
Huffington Post (3/14): U.S. imports of Russia’s RD-180 rocket engine for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V seemed a win-win for the two countries. The U.S. had a reliable, relatively low cost means of launching national security missions using a closed cycle Russian rocket engine that is proving expensive and time consuming to duplicate domestically. The politics of sustaining the arrangement were challenged by Russian interference in Crimea and those in the U.S. determined to impose sanctions no matter the consequence, according to the report.