Today’s Deep Space Extra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Enthusiasts explain why the moon Phobos may be a stepping stone to the Martian surface for human explorers. Can a growing public enthusiasm for the exploration of Mars survive a change in U.S. presidential administrations? Flowing water on Mars is not water fit to drink.  NASA releases an Apollo mission photo archive. At NASA, Catherine A. Conley strives to keep the solar system free of the Earth’s germs. Killer asteroids? There are doubters. Japan selects Ryugu as the name of the destination for its next asteroid explorer. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover sends new images of Mt. Sharp. Alien planets with oxygen in their atmospheres are not necessarily planets with biological activity, according to researchers. Facebook and Eutelsat announce a collaboration to bring the internet to sub-Saharan Africa.

Human Deep Space Exploration

Orbiting first: A reasonable strategy for a sustainable Mars program
The Space Review (10/5): An essay from Planetary Society staffers Casey Dreier and Jason Callahan urges support for a Jet Propulsion Laboratory launched Mars strategy that would place human explorers in orbit and on one of two Martian moons in 2033, six years ahead of an actual Mars landing sortie. Human activities in cislunar space and a lunar landing would serve as precursors. The plan urges use of NASA’s Orion deep space crew capsule and the Space Launch System exploration rocket as well as alliances with internationals, old and new space industry and other members of the space community. A key, note Dreier and Callahan, is communication among the partners and their constituencies.

’The Martian’ and real Martians
The Space Review (10/5): The just opened film drama The Martian coupled with recent scientific evidence for seasonal water flows on Mars and an anticipated report from NASA refining its human exploration strategy seem to be fanning public interest in reaching the red planet with humans by the 2030s, writes TSR editor Jeff Foust. Many believe NASA is on the right course, or close to a strategy that is reaching a critical point. That suggests a new threat to the quest. “…what happens when a new administration takes office after the 2016 Presidential election seeking, perhaps, to put its own stamp on space exploration,” writes Foust.

What it would take to drink the water on Mars
The World Post (10/5): Last week, scientists presented evidence for periodic water flows on Mars, steaks in the terrain of sloped regions called Recurring Slope Linae. The liquid is likely briny, or made salty by perchlorates, unhealthy compounds which are widespread in the Martian soil. Human explorers would have to treat this water source to make it potable or look for purer sources of ice and water on Mars.

Thousands of high-res photos from NASA’s moon landings are now online
Washington Post (10/5): NASA’s Project Apollo Archive has placed 8,400 Apollo mission images on Flickr for public access. With so many, some are blurry, random as well as stirring.

Unmanned Deep Space Exploration

Mars is pretty clean: Her job at NASA is to keep it that way
New York Times (10/5): At NASA, Catharine A. Conley’s job is planetary protection, or making sure the agency’s spacecraft do not expose Mars to terrestrial microbes that could confuse efforts to determine if Mars has or once hosted some form of life. “If we’re going to look for life on Mars, it would be really kind of lame to bring Earth life and find that instead,” Dr. Conley said.

NASA wakes up: Saving Earth  from killer asteroids is a waste

Forbes.com (10/5): It could be globally devastating, but the threat is very low, say some experts of the prospects civilization could be wiped away by an impact with a large asteroid. Ethan Siegel, professor at Lewis & Clark College, states his case about why there is more for Earthlings to be concerned about in the near term.

Target of Japanese space mission named for dragon’s palace
Spaceflightnow.com (10/5): Ryugu is the name selected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for the asteroid destination for Japan’s Hayabusa 2 mission. Ryugu, the name for an ancient dragon palace, was selected from more than 7,300 candidates submitted by the public. Hyabusa 2 was developed to gather rock samples from the asteroid and return them to Earth for study. The rendezvous is planned for June 2018.

Curiosity rover snaps stunning mountain vista on Mars (photo)
Space.com (10/3): NASA’s Curiosity rover sends to Earth an image of Mount Sharp’s slopes. Curiosity is to visit some of the territory in the imagery.

Oxygen-rich exo-planet doesn’t equal alien life
Space.com (10/5): The presence of oxygen is not necessarily a “biosignature,” or a sign of biological activity on an alien planet, according to Japanese researchers. On Earth, oxygen is a byproduct of plant life photosynthesis. However, there are other chemical processes that could produce the element on a distant world without biological activity. The findings could be important for the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, whose mission will include a search for bio markers in the atmospheres of distant planets.

Low Earth Orbit

Facebook plans to launch an internet-beaming satellite next year
ABCNews.com (10/5): Facebook and satellite operator Eutelsat announced Monday a collaboration on Amos-6, a new satellite that will bring the internet to sub-Saharan Africa from geostationary orbit sometime next year.