In Today’s Deep Space Extra… The human exploration of Mars awaits action to go with inspiration, suggests a lifelong student of NASA’s Apollo initiative. Valuable lunar and asteroid resources could lure the private section along.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Now vs. later: Conflicting views of the path to Mars
The Space Review (11/21): Perhaps it’s time to put a plan in action for the exploration of Mars, instead of perpetuating a four-decade long discussion about how the mission could be carried out. America reached the lunar surface with the Apollo astronauts thanks to an urgent and inspirational push from John F. Kennedy in 1962. “…what if both government and private industry united on the goal of immediate action?” wonders Bryant Mishima-Baker, a U.S. Air Force missile and munitions maintenance officer.
Extraterrestrial gold rush: What’s next for the space mining industry?
Space.com (11/21): Space resources, water and perhaps precious metals locked in the soil of the moon and near Earth asteroids could provide the financial lure that draws the Earth’s commercial sector into space. Experts in terrestrial mining believe there may be important analogs to mining oil and gas, and other energy and metal resources from the Earth, among them establishing vital supply chains.
The Space Review (11/21): Essayist Steve Hoeser urges a deeper look at the value of artificial gravity for future human space exploration. Current counter measures to bone, muscle and vision loss associated with weightlessness do not represent full scale solutions, writes Hoeser, a senior space systems and architecture engineer.
Space Science
Return of the big coronal hole
Spaceweather.com (11/21): A large hole in the sun’s corona took aim at the Earth in October. The gap has rotated around to aim at the Earth again, and Tuesday should mark the return of a strong solar wind, associated geomagnetic storms and auroral displays over the North and South Poles.
Some sungrazing comets may be different beasts
Seeker.com (11/21): The long-running joint European/U.S. Solar and Heliospheric Observatory has an interesting story to tell regarding comets that pass close to the sun. Not all of the objects that graze the sun are comets. Some have asteroid like qualities or may be the cores of former comets. A study led by the Naval Research Laboratory’s Karl Battams tells this story.
Mercury is shrinking, a ‘great valley’ shows
New York Times (11/21): NASA’s Messenger mission to Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, has revealed a long deep valley and crater basin in the southern hemisphere that seems to suggest the small planet is shrinking. Long ago it seems, Mercury buckled as the early solar system cooled.
Soar over Ceres with new images from the Dawn spacecraft
Universe Today (11/18): Now in a two-year mission extension, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is using fuel saving measures to continue its study of the large asteroid Ceres, a dwarf planet that may harbor a subsurface ocean or substantial water ice.
Low Earth Orbit
Under Trump, GOP to give space weapons close look
Roll Call (11/21): President-elect Trump is prepared to spend more on military defenses to protect the country from missile strikes and its satellites from harm by adversaries, according to lawmakers and experts familiar with the issue or who briefed the campaign.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Cygnus cargo freighter leaves station, but its mission is not over
Spaceflightnow.com (11/21): Orbital ATK’s most recent Cygnus cargo mission to the International Space Station departed early November 21 after a month-long berthing. Once safely away from the six-person ISS, the Cygnus-hosted SAFFIRE II fire-in-space investigation got underway. Cygnus is also scheduled to deploy four CubeSats on Friday, a collection of small Spire Global satellites developed to monitor maritime traffic and weather. Cygnus, loaded with space station trash, is to make a destructive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday.
Space fire! NASA ignites experiment on private cargo spaceship
Space.com (11/21): Nine samples of fabrics and materials used in spacecraft construction were ignited Monday aboard the NASA-contracted Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo mission spacecraft. Data from the two and a half hour ignition will be transmitted to Earth before the capsule makes a scheduled destructive re-entry through the Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday. Monday’s fire experiment aboard the automated Cygnus capsule is part of an effort to reduce the risks of human spaceflight.