In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Op-ed: Strategic U.S. commercial collaborations could extend the nation’s post-election space reach.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Russian space program to match NASA’s annual budget over the next decade
Ars Technica (3/21): Faced with the oil slump and sanctions from the West over actions in Ukraine, the Russian space agency Roscosmos is struggling to achieve goals of establishing a new cosmodrome in Vostochny and reaching the moon with cosmonauts by 2030. U.S. purchases of transportation for NASA astronauts to the six person International Space Station may come to a close in 2018 as well.
Space Science
Pluto may have hosted lakes and rivers of liquid nitrogen
New Scientist (3/21): The latest data from NASA’s New Horizon’s spacecraft suggest the dwarf planet undergoes some complex climate changes. At some point, Pluto’s extreme orbital tilt and oscillations combined with an orbital journey around the sun that takes 248 years combine to unlock nitrogen from the soil and atmosphere in a stable liquid form, according to mission scientists. New Horizons became the first spacecraft to flyby distant Pluto last July 14.
Planetary defense to avert global economic crisis
The Space Review (3/21): Global investments in planetary defenses to fend off an asteroid strike or other disasters from space could establish a network for a range of other activities, including the production of energy from space, the mining of resources from the moon and asteroids as well as assist in the human exploration of Mars, writes Vidvuds Beldavs, a futurist at the University of Latvia.
LOOK: Map of Mars’ gravity illuminates planet’s interior
National Public Radio (3/21): Gravity maps of Mars produced with NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are providing new insights into the red planet’s interior. Among the findings, Mars has an liquid outer core of molten rock. During the winters on Mars, trillions of tons of carbon dioxide leave the atmosphere to become part of the polar caps.
Low Earth Orbit
First space shuttle astronauts to celebrate flights’ 35th anniversaries in Houston
Collectspace.com (3/21): Crew members from NASA’s first two shuttle missions, STS-1 and STS-2, launched April 12, 1981 and Nov. 14, 1981, will be honored by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, on Sept. 17 at Space Center Houston. Robert Crippen, Joe Engle and Richard Truly will discuss their experiences demonstrating the first flight and re-flight of the reusable orbiter, Columbia.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Sticky, eagle-eyed, explosive science prepped for Space Station launch
Space.com (3/21): Orbital ATK is prepared to launch more than 7,500 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station late Tuesday. Much of the cargo is focused on upcoming scientific research and technology demonstrations. The unpiloted Cygnus freighter is set to liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 11:05 p.m., EDT. Cygnus will rendezvous with the six person Space Station early Saturday, where it will be captured by astronauts with a robot arm and berthed. The cargo includes a new 3-D printer and instruments to observe meteors as they plunge into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Roscosmos head announces beginning of tests at Vostochny launch site
Interfax, of Russia (3/21): Comprehensive testing of Russia’s new Vostochny spaceport is underway this week, including the rollout of a Soyuz launch vehicle, according to Igor Komarov, head of the Russian space agency. Five days of testing will include installation of the rocket at the launch pad for systems tests, with the exception of fueling. The first launch of a Soyuz launch vehicle from Vostochny is planned for this spring.