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Here is a list of news that were published in our Newsletter the week of December 3, 2023:

Human Space Exploration:

  • NASA and UAE in talks to send Emirati astronauts to the moon
  • NASA revises contract strategy for ISS deorbit vehicle
  • Boeing working toward first SLS Core Stage final assembly at KSC
  • NASA says SpaceX’s next Starship flight could test refueling tech
  • NASA marks 25th anniversary of ISS with call to crew on station
  • DARPA picks 14 companies for lunar architecture study
  • Interstellar astronauts would face years-long communication delays due to time dilation
  • How can astronauts maintain their bodies with minimal equipment?
  • NASA to train Indian astronauts for a week-long trip to ISS in 2024
  • From Earth orbit to the moon: Europe’s I-Hab continues Spacelab 40-year legacy
  • Russian cargo ship docks at International Space Station

 

Space Science

  • ESA’s Ariel mission is approved to begin construction
  • The Milky Way will probably devour all the tiny galaxies that surround it
  • Several commercial companies are now working with NASA to advance inflatable heat shield technologies
  • NASA says Hubble Telescope will resume science operations after gyroscope glitch
  • 99% of space junk is undetectable. That could change soon
  • Three robotic missions target moon landings over one week in January
  • OSIRIS-APEX prepares for 1st close solar encounter on way to asteroid Apophis
  • China could use a foldable helicopter to collect samples on Mars
  • NASA’s Psyche spacecraft finds its ‘first light’ while zooming to a metal asteroid (image)
  • OSIRIS-REx parachute deployment affected by wiring error
  • Space mysteries: Why are there no gas moons?
  • Europa Clipper could help discover if Jupiter’s moon is habitable
  • Neptune-sized exoplanet is too big for its host star
  • China’s Chang’e 5 moon samples, beyond NASA’s reach for years, are finally available to U.S. scientists
  • The Peregrine lunar lander is set to launch on December 24. Here’s what it’ll bring to the moon
  • Hubble glitch renews talk about private servicing mission

 

Opinion

  • A wakeup call for 2024: What the space industry needs to consider for ongoing growth
    Forbes.com (11/30): Shelli Brunswick, the Space Foundation’s chief operating officer, offers some concerns for the future of a promising global space economy, one that could rise to $3 trillion by 2050. Those in the industry, though, must rally to communicate the economic as well as technological and scientific potential to the many outside the space industry who don’t yet see the potential. That means sufficiently funding the investments in space development and effectively communicating the promise they hold, Brunswick writes. “Those outside our ecosystem typically don’t have any visibility into space initiatives and, more importantly, how that translates to the betterment of life on Earth,” she stresses. “At a time when public opinion influences political spending, it is imperative that those in the space industry get their messaging right and amp it up.”

 

Other News

  • SpaceX, U.S. Space Force set to launch secretive X-37B space plane on December 10
  • China launches internet technology test satellite from sea barge
  • Nuclear power on the moon: Rolls-Royce unveils reactor mockup
  • Data rights limitations affecting NASA technology development
  • NRO signs agreements with five commercial suppliers of electro-optical imagery
  • What happens in Vega didn’t stay in Vega, as key rocket parts went missing
  • Stratolaunch’s huge Roc plane flies with fueled-up hypersonic vehicle for 1st time (photos)
  • How did ISRO bring Chandrayaan-3’s propulsion module to Earth’s orbit?
  • NASA updating policy for rideshare missions
  • Richard Branson rules out further investment in Virgin Galactic
  • SpaceX launches ride share mission with South Korean spy satellite, first Irish satellite
  • Amazon to hire rival SpaceX to launch internet satellites
  • Angola signs Artemis Accords

 

Major Space Related Activities for the Week

  • NASA space related activities this week begin with a meeting of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s committee on NASA Mission Critical Workforce, Infrastructure and Technology. The committee’s three-hour virtual session begins on Monday at 11 a.m. EST, for a discussion on a range of topics that include crew health, updates on the various components of the Artemis program, Mars entry-descent-and-landing and in-space propulsion and power.
  • NASA plans to air programming on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday highlighting NASA’s participation in the Global Climate Change Conference, which is underway in Dubai.
  • The National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Board meeting that includes virtual participation is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. The sessions that include a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Global Positioning System meet Wednesday from 10 a.m. EST to 7 p.m. EST, and Thursday from 10 a.m. EST to 2 p.m. EST.