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Here is a list of news that were published in our Newsletter the week of February 12, 2024:
Human Space Exploration:
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- Uruguay becomes latest nation to join NASA’s Artemis Accords;
- Transitioning from ISS to commercial space stations: Plenty of questions, but few answers;
- Russia launches a Valentine’s Day Progress supply ship to the ISS;
- Engineers design habitats for the Moon inspired by Terminite Mounds;
- Starship flight 3 fully stacked for WDR testing;
- How will Artemis II astronauts exercise on the way to the Moon?
- Collins performs tests of new Space Station spacesuit;
- Dragon Freedom splashes down, wraps up Ax-3 mission to Space Station;
- Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission slips to mid-2024;
Space Science
- NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex nabbed over 120 grams of space rocks from asteroid Bennu;
- NASA is trying to fix a problem with one of Perseverance’s instruments;
- NASA’s interstellar Voyager 1 spacecraft isn’t doing so well – here’s what we know;
- Saturn’s ocean moon Titan may not be able to support life after all;
- SpaceX, Intuitive Machines launches robotic lander to the Moon;
- NASA selects ultraviolet astronomy mission but delays its launch two years;
- Water found on the surface of an asteroid for the 1st time ever;
- Watch NASA unfurl basketball-court-sized solar sail for deep space propulsion (video);
- SpaceX delays launch of private Intuitive Machines Moon lander due to methane fuel issue;
- MSR at serious risk;
- Astronauts may accidentally threaten Mars missions with their gut bacteria, scientists warn;
- Black holes existed at the dawn of time, birthing stars and encouraging galaxy formation;
- Is a ‘Cannibal CME’ coming?
- Just one month after failed mission, a second U.S. lunar lander is ready to make an attempt;
- Life on Mars could have thrived near active volcanoes and an ancient mile-deep lake;
- James Webb Space Telescope tracks a galaxy’s history back to just after the Big Bang;
- Intuitive Machines Moon lander to carry tiny NASA cameras to study lunar surface (video);
- A tiny robot on the Space Station will simulate remote-controlled surgery up there;
Other News
- Iridium adds five years to constellation lifetime estimate;
- GOP warning of ‘national security threat’ is about Russia wanting nuclear weapon in space;
- Varda gets reentry license for space manufacturing capsule;
- BAE Systems wins approval for Ball Aerospace acquisition;
- U.S. Air Force and Space Force to realign priorities;
- Blue Canyon to deliver spacecraft for U.S. Air Force cislunar mission;
- Greece signs Artemis Accords;
- Bruno trumpets transformation of ULA after Vulcan launch;
- Marshall Space Flight Center gets new director;
- Sierra Space unveils Dream Chaser space plane ahead of 1st flight to ISS (video);
- Former Blue Origin president’s startup raises funding to go after Moon resources;
Major Space Related Activities for the Week
- Intuitive Machines (IM) is preparing for the launch on Wednesday at 1:47 a.m. EST, of its Nova-C lunar lander under a contract agreement with NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative with backup launch opportunities from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Thursday and Friday. A touchdown in the lunar south pole region with a dozen payloads, six of them NASA’s, is planned for February 22. NASA hosted pre-launch audio only news briefings are planned for Monday at 11 a.m. EST, regarding the science, and Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. EST, addressing launch readiness. The audio will be accessible over NASA TV and streamed via www.nasa.gov/nasalive. NASA will provide launch coverage over NASA TV and www.nasa.gov/naslive on Wednesday at 12:15 a.m. EST.
- The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is to convene on Wednesday and Thursday for the latest ASCEND session that is themed, “Next Steps in the LEO-to-Lunar Voyage.”
- On Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST, the U.S. House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee is to convene a hearing, “The International Space Station and Beyond: The Present and Future of American Low-Earth Orbit Activities.”
- Meanwhile, the U.S. House and Senate are nearing March 1 and 8, in NASA’s case, expiration dates for the latest budget Continuing Resolutions (CR) that have prevented the shutdown of U.S. federal agencies since the start of the 2024 fiscal year on October 1, 2023. Congress has yet to come to a formal budget agreement.