Independent Human Moon Mission: Prospects Emerging From Rising Tide of 21st Century Exploration
The Moon’s South Pole invites first visits / development of a whole new world and humanity’s renewal as multi-world species. A cooperative initiative coalescing between independent, national and international enterprises could see 2-4 people on the surface for 1-4 weeks at an estimated cost of US$5-10 billion. The immediate objectives would be to lay foundations for a permanent outpost and service preexisting robotic laboratories. There is currently a swell of robotic Moon missions that have or may(*) declare for Moon South Pole landing, including: GLXP Team Phoenicia, Astrobotic and others in 2014-15; India/Russia Chandrayaan-2* NET 2014; ILO-1 in 2015, China Chang’e-4* in 2015-2016, and China Chang’e-5, 6* in 2016-2018; as well as concepts from NASA, Japan, Europe and Russia from 2013 and beyond. Emerging from the growing tide of exploration are various plans for Human Moon missions. The International Lunar Observatory Association has a goal to fund 10% of the estimated cost of a Human Moon South Pole surface mission by the end of the decade. A privately circulated proposal, known as “Golden Spike” and backed by respected scientific and astronautical entities, envisions the development of a reliable “Cislunar Superhighway”. NASA is developing plans based on the Orion capsule to conduct a Human flight to lunar orbit by 2021. Space Adventures, a space tourism outfit, is advertising a 2017 circum-lunar flight priced at US$150 million. Perhaps the Sputnik effect of a successful China Chang’e-3 Moon-lander in 2013 will catalyze significant acceleration of independent Human Moon mission efforts. (Image Credit: ILOA, Team Phoenica, Moon Express, SpaceX, ISRO, CSA, NASA, William Neff – The Plain Dealer)
International Space Conferences in Washington DC Focus on Exploration, Development
Space industry leaders, scientists and entrepreneurs will gather in Washington DC for 2 international conferences aimed to advance future space initiatives in the global community. On May 22-24, the AIAA and the International Astronautical Federation will hold ‘Global Space Exploration Conference 2012.’ The event will open with a ‘Heads of Space Agencies Global Space Exploration’ panel moderated by AIAA Executive Director Bob Dickman, featuring NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, ESA Director Jean-Jacques Dordain, Canadian Space Agency President Steve MacLean, Russian Federal Space Agency Head Vladimir Alexandrovich Popovkin (T2), JAXA President Tachikawa Keiji (B2) and ISRO Scientist Ranganath Navalgund (B4). University of Notre Dame Professor Clive Neal (B1) will give a keynote lecture on ‘Exploring the Moon and Asteroids: A Synergistic Approach.’ The event will include 16 sessions on various topics such as returning to the Moon, robotic precursors to human exploration, and lunar and asteroid mining. On May 24-28, the National Space Society will hold the ‘31st International Space Development Conference.’ Participants will discuss transportation to and through space and the technology needed to live and work in space. Featured speakers include Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides (T4), Apollo 11 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin (T3) and NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver (B3). Sierra Nevada Space Systems Chairman Mark Sirangelo (T1) will be the May 25 keynote speaker and will also present the Space Pioneer Awards to John Glenn and Scott Carpenter. Pictured: MDA Vice President Space Division Christian Sallaberger (T1). (Image Credit: AIAA, IAF, NSS, NASA, nias.res.in, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, GLEX2012.org, zimbio.com, googlelunarxprize.com)
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Venus (WNW), Mars (SSW), Saturn (S).
MONDAY
May 21 — International Space Station, LEO: E-31 crew members continue operating at full strength aboard the ISS; If May 19 launch of SpaceX Dragon C2 successful, crew members will use Canadarm2 to grapple Dragon on May 22 for a berthing to the Harmony node.
May 21 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: NASA LRO functioning nominally in its 50±15 km near-circular orbit as it makes digital elevation and surface maps that will be fundamental references for future human exploration.
May 21 — Mars Opportunity Rover, Red Planet: All systems nominal with NASA rover as it resumes operations at the north end of Cape York; Total odometry to date: 34,365.04 meters.
May 21 — Jupiter Juno Mission, Jupiter Trajectory: Juno spacecraft is in excellent health and is operating nominally; Four instruments are turned on: the Magnetometer experiment (FGM & ASC), JEDI, MWR and Waves.
May 21 — Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Sydney, Australia: ‘Colloquium: The Distribution of Star-Forming Regions in the Milky Way.’
May 21-22 — Wien University – Dept. of Astronomy, Vienna, Austria: ‘Workshop on Extraterrestrial Life: Beyond Our Expectations?‘
May 21-23 — The National Science Foundation, Boulder CO: ‘Coronal Magnetism Workshop 2012: Connecting Models to Data and the Corona to the Earth.’
May 21-23 — ESA, Madrid, Spain; Noordwijk, The Netherlands; Santorini, Greece: ‘XMM- Newton 2012 Science Workshop: Galaxy Clusters as Giant Cosmic Laboratories;’ ‘Microwave Technology and Techniques Workshop 2012: Challenges of the Future;’ ‘International Forum on Satellite Earth Observation for Geo-Hazard Risk Management.’
May 21-24 — Applied Technology Institute, Huntsville AL: ‘Space Systems Fundamental Course,’ Mike Gruntman.
May 21-24 — Terrapin Holdings Ltd, Johannesburg, South Africa: ‘SatCom 2012: Innovation and Investments for Operators and End-Users.’
May 21-25 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, NASA Mars Program Office, et al, Carson City NV: ‘3rd International Conference on Early Mars: Geologic and Hydrologic Evolution, Physical and Chemical Environments, and Implications for Life.’
May 21-25 — Kyoto University, University of Tsukuba, et al, Kyoto, Japan: ‘4th First Stars Conference: From Hayashi to the Future.’
May 21-26 — Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral FL: ‘NASA 3rd Annual Lunabotics Mining Competition.’
May 21 — Moon: 5.0° N of Aldebaran; 11:00.
May 21 — Mercury: 0.41° NW of Jupiter; 18:00.
May 21 — Asteroid 29075 (1950 DA): Closest Approach to Earth (0.238 AU).
Continued from…
May 18 — Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral FL: Media pre-launch / post launch coverage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS); through May 23.
May 19 — International Academy of Astronautics, Porto, Portugal: ‘1st IAA Conference on Dynamics & Control of Space Systems;’ through May 21.
May 20 — Japan Geoscience Union (JGU), Chiba City, Japan: ‘JpGU Meeting 2012;’ through May 25.
May 20 — Aspen Center for Physics, Aspen CO: Aspen Summer Meeting 2012: ‘A Window to the Formation of the Milky Way;’ through June 9.
TUESDAY
May 22-24 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, International Astronautical Federation, Washington DC: ‘Global Space Exploration Conference 2012.’
May 22-25 — Canadian Space Agency, Montreal, Quebec, Canada: ‘The 30th Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee Meeting.’
May 22 — Moon: 4.7° S of Venus; 12:00.
WEDNESDAY
May 23 — Space Transportation Association, Washington DC: ‘STA Luncheon,’ with Langley Research Director Lesa Roe.
THURSDAY
May 24-28 — National Space Society, Washington DC: ‘31st International Space Development Conference 2012.’
May 24 — Cassini OTM-323, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #323 today.
May 24 — Moon: 10.6° SSW of Pollux; 22:00.
May 24 — Mercury: 4.0° SSE of the Pleiades; 07:00.
FRIDAY
May 25 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: ‘Lunch With an Astronaut,’ Mike McCulley.
May 25 — The Republic of Turkey, The European Union, Istanbul, Turkey: ‘TurKey Enabling Technologies 2012.’
May 25, 26 — Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC: ‘Flights of Fancy: Stories for Children – Planets,’ Ellen Hasbrouck.
SATURDAY
May 26 — Moon: 6.0° SSW of Beehive Cluster; 02:00.
May 26 — Asteroid 7986 Romania: Closest Approach to Earth (0.862 AU).
SUNDAY
May 27 – Jun 3 — Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel: ‘Planetary Origins and Frontiers of Exploration.’
May 27 — Moon: 5.8° SSW of Regulus; 19:00.
May 27 — Asteroid 8553 Bradsmith: Closest Approach to Earth (1.021 AU).
Spring Rise of Space Activities in Japan
Three prominent space conferences and a launch of the H-2A rocket this week showcase the prominence of Japan in 21st Century space exploration. At the 12th Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference, May 14-18 in Kitakyushu, researchers from Japan, China, Korea, USA and Europe will present the latest technologies and challenges for powering current and future space missions. AAS, CSA and JRS are jointly sponsoring the 13th International Space Conference of Pacific-basin Societies from May 15-18 in Kyoto. The conference will provide a forum for space decision-makers, scientists and students to exchange ideas in space technology while focusing on the theme ‘Space for Our Future.’ Asteroids, Comets and Meteors (ACM) 2012 will be held May 16-20 in Niigata. Taking place every 3 years, the ACM meeting is the premier international gathering of scientists who study small bodies. The Japanese H-2A rocket is scheduled to launch the Global Change Observation Satellite GCOM W1 (‘Shizuku’), and Korean Earth observation satellite Kompsat 3 (TL) from the Tanegashima Space Center. With only 1 failure in 20 launches, H-2A rocket has a 95% launch success rate. (Image Credit: AAS, CSA, JRS, ACM, JAXA)
Milky Way Galaxy Origins, Evolution Is Focus of Aspen Summer Meeting
Over 40 international experts in stellar dynamics, astrometry, radio, optical and X-ray observations will gather at the ‘Aspen Meeting Summer 2012: A Window to the Formation of the Milky Way – Dynamics, Observational and Numerical Astrophysics of Dense Stellar Systems’ in Colorado on May 20 – June 9. Participants at the 3-week workshop will discuss upcoming ESA mission GAIA (C), which is set to launch aboard a Soyuz rocket NET 2013. The 2030kg spacecraft, one of ESA’s most ambitious missions, will “create the largest and most precise three-dimensional chart of the Milky Way Galaxy by providing unprecedented positional and radial velocity measurements for about one billion stars in our Galaxy and throughout the Local Group.” This amounts to approximately 1% of the Galactic stellar population. Participants will also discuss the role of ground-based facilities with focus on 10-M telescopes such as the Very Large Telescope in Northern Chile and Keck Observatory (BL) on Mauna Kea, Hawai`i Island. (Image Credit: ESA, Keck Observatory, outerspaceuniverse.org, wikipedia.org)
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Venus (WNW), Mars (SSW), Saturn (SE).
MONDAY
May 14 — International Space Station, LEO: E-31 crew members prepare for the arrival of Flight Engineers Joe Acaba, Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin while continuing with ongoing science experiments and maintenance activities.
May 14 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: NASA LRO functioning nominally in its 50±15 km near-circular orbit as it makes digital elevation and surface maps that will be fundamental references for future human exploration.
May 14 — Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Red Planet: Scientists continue to study recent imagery from NASA MRO High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera which shows changes in Martian sand dunes as thick as 61 meters moving as coherent units across the Martian landscape.
May 14 — Jupiter Juno Mission, Jupiter Trajectory: NASA spacecraft approximately 404 million km from Earth, having traveled 612 million km since launch and is currently traveling at a velocity of 61,600 km per hour.
NET May 14 — RSA, Launch Soyuz / ISS 30S, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: An RSA Soyuz rocket set to launch the Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS with members of the next Expedition crew.
May 14 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – San Francisco, Mountain View CA: ‘Building a NanoLab Module for the ISS and STEM Education.’
May 14-17 — Predictive Science Inc, Boulder CO: ‘Extreme Space Weather Events Workshop.’
May 14-18 — JAXA, NASA, ESA, et al, Kitakyushu, Japan: ‘12th Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference.’
May 14-18 — Astrophysics Institute of the Canarias, The Paris Observatory, Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain: ‘Conference: Mapping Oxygen in the Universe.’
May 14-18 — Southern Federal University, Russian Foundation for Basic Research, et al, Sochi, Russia: ‘Conference: Galaxies – Origin, Dynamics, Structure.’
May 14 — Cassini OTM-320, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #320 today.
Continued from…
Apr 23 — Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: NASA TV to feature events surrounding the upcoming Expedition 31 crew training activities with NASA Flight Engineer Joseph Acaba and Cosmonauts Cmdr Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin; through May 17.
TUESDAY
NET May 15 — Arianespace, Launch Ariane 5 / JCSAT 13 & Vinasat 2, Kourou, French Guiana: Arianespace set to use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA206 to launch the JCSAT 13 and Vinasat 2 communications satellites.
May 15-17 — Ames Research Center, Moffett Field CA: ‘Mars Recent Climate Change Workshop.’
May 15-17 — The Institute of Engineering and Technology, York, United Kingdom: ‘12th International Conference on Ionospheric Radio Systems and Techniques.’
May 15-18 — American Astronautical Society, Chinese Society of Astronautics, Japanese Rocket Society, Kyoto, Japan: ‘13th International Space Conference of Pacific-Basin Societies.’
May 15-18 — International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, Yeosu, South Korea: ‘2nd International Symposium Effects of Climate Change on the World’s Oceans.’
May 15 — Moon: 1.1° ESE of 2 Pallas; 12:00.
May 15 — Asteroid (Near-Earth Flyby): 2012 GK (0.056 AU); 2012 HN13 (0.082 AU).
WEDNESDAY
May 16 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘The Climates of the Planet Mars,’ Francois Forget.
May 16 — ESA, Cologne, Germany: ‘SpaceLab Finalists at EAC Cologne.’
May 16-20 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Niigata Prefecture, et al, Niigata, Japan: ‘Asteroids, Comets and Meteors 2012.’
THURSDAY
NET May 17 — JAXA, Launch H-2A / GCOM W1 & Kompsat 3, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan: A Japan H-2A rocket set to launch the GCOM W1 satellite and South Korea Kompsat 3 satellite.
NET May 17 — ILS, Launch Proton / Nimiq 6, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: An ILS Proton rocket with a Breeze M upper stage will deploy the Nimiq 6 satellite which will provide Ku-band HDTV and other video services across Canada.
NET May 17 — RSA, Launch Soyuz / Kobalt, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia: A Soyuz rocket is set to launch a Kobalt optical reconnaissance satellite for the Russian ministry of defense.
FRIDAY
May 18 — The Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: ‘LPI Seminar Series: Faults and Folds on Mercury,’ Christian Klimczak.
May 18-23 — Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral FL: Media pre-launch / post launch coverage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS).
May 18 — Cassini OTM-322, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #322 today.
SATURDAY
NET May 19 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Dragon C2, Cape Canaveral FL: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch the Dragon C2 Spacecraft to demonstrate rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station for cargo-delivery.
May 19 — `Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai`i, Hilo HI: ‘Mauna Kea Skies Talk: Imaging Planets Around Other Stars From the Summit of Mauna Kea,’ Brendan Bowler.
May 19 — The British Interplanetary Society (BIS), York, United Kingdom: ‘BIS: Northern Meeting,’ event will consist of a day-long event to celebrate the history, development and achievement of human spaceflight.
May 19-21 — International Academy of Astronautics, Porto, Portugal: ‘1st IAA Conference on Dynamics & Control of Space Systems.’
May 19 — Moon: At Apogee (Distance: 406,450 km), 06:00; 2.1° NNW of Mercury; 18:00.
May 19 — Asteroid 2010 KK37: Near-Earth Flyby (0.006 AU).
SUNDAY
May 20 — Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD: ‘The Sunday Experiment: Solar Dynamics Observatory,’ participants will learn about solar storms and how they effect the Earth from an SDO scientist; they can also participate in hands-on activities that explore the magnetic fields of the Sun, electromagnets, and ultraviolet light.
May 20-25 — Japan Geoscience Union (JGU), Chiba City, Japan: ‘JpGU Meeting 2012.’
May 20 – Jun 9 — Aspen Center for Physics, Aspen CO: Aspen Summer Meeting 2012: ‘A Window to the Formation of the Milky Way.’
May 20 — Annular Solar Eclipse: The Moon’s apparent disk is just smaller than the Sun’s disk and the Sun appears as a brilliant ring; Greatest Eclipse to occur at 13:53:54. This eclipse is the 1st of 3 remarkable astronomical events of 2012, followed by the transit of Venus on June 6 and a total solar eclipse on November 13.
May 20 — Moon: 1.8° N of Jupiter, 04:00; New Moon, 13:47; 3.6° S of Pleiades, 13:00; 4.8° NNE of Spica, 20:00.
Inauguration of New Era for NewSpace
A new paradigm for space exploration is emerging as traditional, government missions struggle under constrained budgets. SpaceX, 1 of 2 private companies with NASA contracts to provide unmanned space cargo flights to the space station, recently conducted a successful ‘static fire test’ of its Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for its upcoming launch of the Dragon capsule. If successful, the company will become the first commercial entity to launch a space capsule to the ISS. Orbital Technologies, Corp will conduct the first test of its Cygnus spacecraft and Antares rocket, also destined for ISS transport duties, later this year. 2 conferences this week in Los Angeles CA will highlight the importance and imminence of this new era of NewSpace. The Reinventing Space Conference, May 7-11, will advance all aspects of Low-Cost Space, while emphasizing changes in technology and new ways of doing business to help create affordable space missions in the near future. Companies involved in all areas of human space flight will showcase their technologies at the Spacecraft Technology Expo 2012 on May 8-10. The Expo will feature a 1:1 scale model of the Lynx spacecraft, XCOR Aerospace’s entry into the commercial reusable launch vehicle market. (Image Credit: SpaceX)
Expedition 31 Crew Members to Launch to ISS Aboard Soyuz TMA-04M
Three remaining members of Expedition-31 are set to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Soyuz TMA-04M from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on May 14. Flight Engineers Joe Acaba, Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin will join Cmdr Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Andre Kuipers and Don Pettit who have been on the ISS since December 23, 2011. The crew will conduct periodic cargo operations to unload items delivered by Progress M-15M as well as place trash and discarded equipment inside the cargo compartment. E-31 will also use the Automated Transfer Vehicle 3 to conduct several ISS reboosts and debris avoidance maneuvers. If the May launch of the Space X Dragon Capsule 2 (BL) is successful, Cmdr Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Andre Kuipers and Don Pettit will attempt to grapple the Capsule with the Station’s Canadarm 2 and place it in a pre-berthing position. The crew will then perform standard procedures consisting of 1st and 2nd stage captures, leak checks and a hatch opening. No spacewalks are planned for the E-31 mission, however, crew members will continue performing a variety of experiments and Station maintenance. The next expected launch of Expedition-32 is planned for July 15. (Image Credit: NASA, SpaceX)
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Neptune (ESE) / Evening Planets: Venus (W), Mars (SSW), Saturn (SE).
MONDAY
May 7 — International Space Station, LEO: E-31 crew members Cmdr Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Andre Kuipers and Don Pettit continue to transfer cargo from Progress 47 resupply craft and perform a variety of science experiments.
May 7 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: NASA LRO functioning nominally in its 50±15 km near-circular orbit as it makes digital elevation and surface maps that will be fundamental references for future human exploration.
May 7 — Mars Rover Opportunity, Red Planet: Scientists recent examination of data gathered by NASA rover reveals deposits that, on Earth, are only created by water moving through the rock.
May 7 — Jupiter Juno Mission, Jupiter Trajectory: Juno spacecraft approximately 391 million km from Earth having traveled 604 million km; All systems nominal.
May 7 — The Space Show, Nationwide: This week’s Space Show continues to cover important space issues with informative interviews from space advocates.
May 7-9 — The National Academies, Washington DC: ‘Meeting: Reusable Booster System – Review and Assessment.’
May 7-10 — Aeronautics and Astronautics Association of France, ESA, et al, Bordeaux, France: ‘Space Propulsion 2012.’
May 7-10 — Space Telescope Science Telescope, Baltimore MD: ‘2012 STScI May Symposium: Gas Flows in Galaxies,’ event to bring together the multi-wavelength communities that study the gas flows into, within, and out of galaxies, and which drive their evolution.
May 7-11 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sierra Nevada Corporation, et al, Los Angeles CA: ‘Reinventing Space 2012.’
May 7 — Moon: 5.1° NNE of Antares; 08:00.
May 7 — Asteroid 2012 HL: Near-Earth Flyby (0.054 AU).
Continued from…
Apr 23 — Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: NASA TV to feature activities surrounding the upcoming Expedition 31 crew training activities with NASA Flight Engineer Joseph Acaba and Cosmonauts Cmdr Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin; through May 17.
Apr 29 — Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Jerusalem, Israel: ‘5th Isradynamics Conference: Dynamical Processes in Space and Astrophysical Plasmas;’ through May 7.
May 6 — American Astronomical Society – Division of Dynamical Astronomy (AAS – DDA), Mt. Hood OR: ‘43rd Annual Meeting of the AAS – DDA;’ through May 10.
May 6 — US National Institute of Standards and Technology, San Jose CA: ‘Lasers and Electro Optics 2012,’ event to feature scientists from Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and the Federal Institute of Physical and Technical Affairs to discuss accuracy of clock signals; through May 11.
TUESDAY
May 8-10 — SmarterShows Ltd, Los Angeles CA: ‘Spacecraft Technology Expo 2012: Design – Build – Test,’ featuring The Lynx, XCOR Aerospace entry into the commercial reusable launch vehicle (RLV) market.
May 8 — Asteroid (Closest Approach to Earth): 4341 Poseidon (0.808 AU); 44597 Thoreau (0.982 AU).
WEDNESDAY
May 9 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘Contact with ET Using Math? Not So Fast,’ Keith Devlin.
May 9 — University of Southern California, Los Angeles CA: ‘Graduate Topic Studio – Moon Studio,’ final presentations to be shown at 10:00-17:00.
May 9 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Washington DC: ‘2012 Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala.’
May 9 — Intech Science Center and Planetarium , Winchester, United Kingdom: ‘Lecture: From Star to Star – The Story of Gold,’ Jocelyn Bell Burnell.
May 9-10 — Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel MD: ‘Mission Assurance Improvement Workshop.’
May 9-10 — ESA , Noordwijk, The Netherlands: ‘Workshop: Advances on Space Radiation and Plasma Environment Monitoring, Data Analysis and Flight Opportunities.’
May 9-10 — Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau, Singapore Space and Technology Association , Singapore: ‘2nd Annual Conference: MilSatCom Asia.’
May 9 — Asteroid (Near-Earth Flyby): 2012 HM8 (0.036 AU); 2012 GB5 (0.058 AU).
THURSDAY
NET May 10 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Dragon C2, Cape Canaveral FL: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch the Dragon C2 Spacecraft to demonstrate rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station for cargo-delivery; Postponed till NET May 19.
May 10 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: Abstract deadline for ‘Workshop: Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration,’ Jun 12-14, 2012.
May 10 — Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD: ‘Soffen Lecture Series: Investigating Worlds Around Other Stars – Progress Towards the Discovery of Another ‘Earth’,’ Avi Mandell.
May 10 — WM Keck Observatory, Kamuela HI: ‘How Stars Destroyed Most of the Atoms in the Universe,’ Brian Siana.
May 10-11 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA: ‘The von Karman Lecture Series: The Quest for Other Worlds like Earth,’ Thomas Gautier.
May 10 — Asteroid 1998 HE3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.032 AU).
FRIDAY
May 11 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: ‘Lecture: Compositional Diversity of the Moon’s Primary Crust from Integrated Diviner and M³ Analysis,’ Kerri Donaldson.
May 11 — NASA Explorer Schools (NES), Online: International Space Station Associate Program Scientist Tara Ruttley to speak with students in grades 7-12 about the benefits of science experiments aboard the ISS at 14:00-15:00 EDT.
May 11 — Asteroid (Near-Earth Flyby): 2012 HB25 (o.029 AU); 2005 SQ9 (0.085 AU).
SATURDAY
May 12 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory – Educator Resource Center, Pomona CA: ‘Educator Workshop: Reading, Writing and Rings.’
May 12 — Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD: ‘NASA GSFC Girl Scout Engineering Day,’ scouts to meet and talk with NASA engineers about their work, participate in an engineering design challenge, and showcase their work to NASA staff and museum visitors.
May 12 — Heritage Auctions, Houston TX: ‘2012 Space Exploration Signature Auction.’
May 12-13 — SpaceLand, European Space Center, Bardonecchia, Italy: ‘SpaceLand Microgravity Training Workshop.’
May 12 — Moon: At Last Quarter; 11:47.
SUNDAY
May 13 — California Institute of Technology, Waikoloa HI: ‘Gravitational – Wave Advanced Detector Workshop.’
USA Moon South Pole: Pioneering the Space Frontier
The most promising near-term 21st Century opportunity for Space robotic exploration and science, as well as for permanent Human habitation lies at the Moon South Pole. Mons Malapert offers a “peak of eternal light” for power generation and continuous line-of-sight communications with Earth; Aitken Basin, the largest known impact crater in the Solar System, offers extraordinary opportunities for planetary science, technology, resources; Shackleton, Cabeus, and other permanently shadowed craters, offer the possibility of in situ water extraction / utilization for life-support and propulsion.
With a US government commitment in 2012, NASA could have a robotic lander at the Moon South Pole in 1-2 years for $200-300 million dollars. Leadership in efforts to establish the ‘cis-lunar super highway’ will give rise to great benefits for American 21st Century science, education, commerce, and resource development. Neil deGrasse Tyson remarks, “The foundations of economies… issue forth from investments we make in science and technology.” One small step on the Moon decades ago cannot quench the human thirst for exploration, or dull the exciting prospects offered by establishment of humanity as a multi-world species. In 1911 the Earth South Pole was first explored by Humans – now a 100 years later, after 44 years of continuous habitation, there are ~4000 people from ~30 countries doing innovative and critical scientific research in Antarctica. (Image Credit:NASA)
ISS Symposium 2012 To Be Held in Berlin, Germany
Future utilization of the International Space Station (ISS) that may enable humans to advance beyond Low Earth Orbit will be the focus of ‘ISS Symposium 2012’ on May 2-4 in Berlin, Germany. Sponsored by ESA, the 3-day event is expected to bring together over 100 representatives from the 5 ISS partnering agencies (USA, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada), other space-faring nations, the international science community, space experts, astronauts, engineers and representatives from industry, academia and media. ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain (T2) and German Space Agency CEO Johann-Dietrich Woerner will open the event, followed by an ‘Agency Leaders Roundtable’ discussion on ‘ISS as a Stepping Stone for Human Exploration,’ with NASA ISS Director Mark Uhran, Roscosmos Human Spaceflight Director Alexei Krasnov (B2), JAXA VP Kiyosho Higuchi, and Canadian Space Agency Director General Gilles Leclerc (B1). Other featured Roundtable panelists in attendance are JAXA astronaut Chiaki Mukai (T1), Space Policy Institute Professor Pascale Ehrenfreund (B4), and NASA Chief Scientist Waleed Abdalati (B3). Additional topics covered include space medicine, Earth and atmosphere monitoring from the ISS, and a presentation by Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center Chief Sergei Krikalev (T3) on living and working in Space. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden (T4) will discuss ‘Use of ISS for Human Exploration in LEO and Beyond,’ followed by a press conference with other agency leaders. (Image Credit: ESA, JAXA, Roscosmos, NASA, forumspb.com, mapsoftheworld.com, astrobio.net)
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Mercury (E) / Evening Planets: Venus (W), Mars (S), Jupiter (SW), Saturn (ESE).
MONDAY
Apr 30 — International Space Station, LEO: E-30 Cmdr Dan Burbank and Flight Engineers Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin recent departure last Friday marks beginning of E-31 under the command of Oleg Kononenko, who along with Flight Engineers Andre Kuipers and Don Pettit will remain aboard the station until July; 3 additional E-31 crew members – Flight Engineers Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin and Joe Acaba to arrive May 17.
Apr 30 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: NASA LRO functioning nominally in its 50±15 km near-circular orbit as it makes digital elevation and surface maps that will be a fundamental reference for future human exploration.
Apr 30 — Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Red Planet: Scientists continue to study images beamed back by NASA orbiter that show over 269 spirals of lava coils, ranging from 5-30 meters.
Apr 30 — Jupiter Juno Mission, In Transit to Jupiter: Juno approximately 378 million km from Earth, having now traveled over 592 million km since launch.
Apr 30 — US Geological Survey, Flagstaff AZ: Abstract submissions deadline for ‘Planetary Data: A Workshop for Users and Software Developers,’ on June 25-29.
Apr 30 — NASA Astrobiology Institute, Webinar: ‘Kepler’s Year-Three Transit Census,’ Natalie Batalha.
Apr 30 – May 3 — American Geophysical Union, Washington DC: ‘AGU Science Policy Conference 2012,’ scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders to discuss key Earth and space science topics that address challenges to our environment, economy, national security, and public safety.
Apr 30 – May 4 — National Solar Observatory, Sunspot NM: ‘NSO Workshop #26: Solar Origins of Space Weather and Space Climate – Connecting the Interior to the Corona.’
Apr 30 – May 4 — Florida State University, Tallahassee FL: ‘9th International Conference on High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics.’
Apr 30 — Moon: 5.7° SSW of Regulus, 13:00; 7.3° SSW of Mars, 21:00.
Continued from…
Feb 2 — Eptek Art and Culture Center, Canadian Space Agency, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada: ‘Canada’s Stellar Space Achievements & The Conquest of Space in Images,’ traveling exhibitions; through May 2.
Apr 23 — Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: NASA TV to feature activities surrounding the upcoming Expedition 31 crew training activities with NASA Flight Engineer Joseph Acaba and Cosmonauts Cmdr Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin; May 17.
Apr 29 — Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Jerusalem, Israel: ‘5th Isradynamics Conference: Dynamical Processes in Space and Astrophysical Plasmas;’ May 7.
TUESDAY
May 1 — Cassini Spacecraft, Saturn Orbit: Data from NASA Cassini mission reveal Saturn moon Phoebe has more planet-like qualities than previously thought; More than 60 moons are known to orbit Saturn, however, Phoebe developed a density 40% higher than the average inner Saturnian moon.
May 1 — NASA Lunar Science Institute, Moffett Field CA: Abstract deadline for ‘5th Lunar Science Forum 2012,’ July 17-19, 2012.
May 1-2 — The National Academies, Washington DC: ‘Evaluating NASA’s Strategic Direction.’
WEDNESDAY
May 2 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘Companions to Solar-Type Stars: Analysis of a Wide Variety of Planets, Brown Dwarfs, and Small Stars,’ Tristan Guillot.
May 2 — The University of Idaho, Glenn Research Center, Moscow ID: Panel discussion on alternative energy storage capability and how it can be used on Earth and in future space habitation.
May 2 — Challenger Learning Center of Maine, Bangor ME: ‘Space Day 2012 Open House.’
May 2-3 — Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD: ‘Exploration Telerobotics Symposium.’
May 2-4 — ESA, Berlin, Germany: ‘ISS Symposium 2012: Research in Space for the Benefit of Humankind,’ participants to discuss the future path and priorities for research on the ISS.
May 2 — Asteroid 1992 JD: Near-Earth Flyby (0.024 AU).
May 2 — Asteroid 3200 Phaeton: Closest Approach to Earth (0.873 AU).
THURSDAY
May 3 — Museum of Science, Boston MA: ‘Modern Space Exploration,’ a presentation by Frank Centinello, a graduate student at the Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science Department at MIT who supports research for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Dawn missions.
May 3 — Asteroid (Near-Earth Flyby): 2001 SZ269 (0.071 AU); 2012 FD1 (0.086 AU).
FRIDAY
May 4 — Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB CA: ‘NASA Social,’ invitation for 75 social media followers to go behind-the-scenes and learn more about NASA aeronautics projects at the agency’s Dryden Flight Research Center.
May 4 — Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson AZ: ‘Space Day,’ participants to celebrate national Space Day, which will include NASA giveaways, astronaut ice cream, and hands on activities.
May 4 — Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Cape Canaveral FL: ‘2012 Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Gala.’
May 4 — Moon: 1.8° SSE of Spica, 09:00; 6.2° S of Saturn, 10:00.
May 4 — Asteroid 2010 KX7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.039 AU).
SATURDAY
NET May 5 — ULA, Launch Atlas 5 / AEHF 2, Cape Canaveral FL: A ULA Atlas 5 rocket will launch the 2nd Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite which will provide high-secure communications for the US Military.
May 5 — Lockheed Martin, Washington DC; Chantilly VA: ‘Space Day Family Day: Welcome Discovery,’ participants will enjoy exciting presentations and activities that focus on the history and achievements of the 30-year Space Shuttle program.
May 5 — Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak: The 1st of 2 showers that occur each year as a result of Earth passing through dust released by Halley’s Comet, the Eta Aquarid meteors appear to radiate from Constellation Aquarius and are likely to see about 10 meteors every hour, while Southern Hemisphere observers will see about 30 per hour.
May 5 — Moon: At Perigee (Distance: 356,953 km), 17:00; Full Moon, 17:35.
SUNDAY
May 6-10 — American Astronomical Society – Division of Dynamical Astronomy (AAS – DDA), Mt. Hood OR: ‘43rd Annual Meeting of the AAS – DDA.’
May 6 — Cassini OTM-320, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #320 today.
Mars500 International Symposium Held in Russia
The physical and mental health required of astronauts to meet the demands of long space missions will be the focus of the ‘Mars500 International Symposium’ in Moscow, Russia on April 23-25. Participants at this year’s event, which is sponsored by the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Russian Academy of Sciences, will evaluate the findings from the Mars500 mission which recently took place between 2007-2011 at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow. The crew consisting of 6 ‘astronauts,’ Alexander Smoleyevsky, Roman Charles, Alexei Sitev, Sukhrob Kamolov, Diego Urbina, and Wang Yueh, spent 520 days on a simulated mission to Mars of which 240 were spent en route to the Red Planet, 10 days of surface exploration, and 245 days on return to Earth. Communications with mission control were purposely delayed between 8 and 736 seconds to mimic natural delays that would take place on a real Mars flight. During the ‘flight,’ more than 100 experiments were performed to test the work capability of the crew under prolonged isolation. Russia cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev (CR) still holds the record for the longest time in space, with 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes. Scientists at the event will discuss establishing criteria needed for future candidate selections, biomedical support and sanitary-hygienic factors in a pressurized environment. RSA, ESA and NASA are in talks to perform another simulated mission to Mars aboard the ISS. (Image Credit: ESA, NASA, pcworld.com, zdnet.co.uk)
SpaceX Dragon Launch to Mark Another First in Commercial Spaceflight; NASA Social Looks to Build the Buzz
The SpaceX Dragon C2 has an instantaneous launch opportunity at 12:22 EDT on April 30 to fly on a pioneering demonstration to ISS with 521kg of cargo. The craft will need to align with centimeters-level accuracy while orbiting at 27,000kph. ISS astronauts Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers will then use Canadarm2 to capture and maneuver Dragon for docking. The privately built spacecraft also has the rare potential for returning science payloads intact to researchers on Earth. Elon Musk of SpaceX is fully aware of the challenges faced by his team and equipment, giving the mission only 60% chance of total success. If everything works, it will represent a critical step towards the $1.6 billion contract SpaceX has for 12 ISS resupply missions. The NASA Social event on 29-30 April is a 2-day informal meeting for 50 pre-registered participants who use social networking sites. The group will share with their online communities, a unique perspective on the build up to launch. Activities will include discussions with representatives from both organizations as well as tours of NASA KSC facilities and the SpaceX launch pad. (Image Credit: SpaceX, NASA, Twitter, Facebook, Google)
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Mercury (E) / Evening Planets: Venus (W), Mars (S), Jupiter (SW), Saturn (ESE).
MONDAY
Apr 23 — International Space Station, LEO: E-30 crew members to begin unloading Progress 47 delivery, consisting of 2.8 tons of food, fuel and supplies, including 500kg of propellant, 50kg of gases, 421kg of water and 1228kg of spare parts, resupply items and experiment hardware.
Apr 23 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: NASA LRO functioning nominally in its 50±15 km near-circular orbit as it makes digital elevation and surface maps that will be a fundamental reference for future human exploration.
Apr 23 — Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Red Planet: HiRISE camera aboard NASA MRO continues to capture vivid imagery of Mars, most recently of active dune gullies in Kaiser Crater, late springtime defrosting of the northern dunes, and landslides inside Valles Marineris.
Apr 23 — Jupiter Juno Mission, In Transit to Jupiter: The Juno spacecraft is in excellent health and is operating nominally on its 260th day.
NET Apr 23 — ILS, Launch Proton / Yahsat 1B, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: An ILS Proton rocket with a Breeze M upper stage set to deploy the Yahsat 1B satellite to provide commercial and government services to the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Southwest Asia.
Apr 23 — NASA Headquarters, New York City NY: NASA’s 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with Space Shuttle Enterprise mounted atop will fly at a relatively low altitude over various parts of the New York City metropolitan area between 09:30-11:30 EDT. *Postponed.
Apr 23 — The Economic Club of Indiana, Indianapolis IN: ‘The Economic Club of Indiana Luncheon,’ featuring keynote speaker NASA astronaut David Wolf.
Apr 23-24 — The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Boston MA: ‘2012 IEEE International Conference on Technologies for Practical Robot Applications.’
Apr 23-24 — The Royal Society, London, United Kingdom: ‘Meeting: New Windows on Transients Across the Universe.’
Apr 23-25 — Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia: ‘Mars500 International Symposium.’
Apr 23-26 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Honolulu HI: ‘53rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference 20th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference 14th AIAA Non-Deterministic Approaches Conference 13th AIAA Gossamer Systems Forum 8th AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Specialist Conference.’
Apr 23-27 — American Meteorological Society, Noumea, New Caledonia: ‘10th International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology and Oceanography.’
Apr 23-28 — University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine: ‘19th Young Scientists’ Conference on Astronomy and Space Physics.’
Apr 23-29 — The Astronomical League, Global: ‘International Astronomy Week 2012.’
Apr 23 – May 17 — Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: NASA TV to feature activities surrounding the upcoming Expedition 31 crew training activities with NASA Flight Engineer Joseph Acaba and Cosmonauts Cmdr Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin.
Apr 23 — Moon: 3.7° SSE of Pleiades; 08:00.
Apr 23 — Asteroid (Near-Earth Flyby): 2012 GC2 (0.047 AU); 2003 WH166 (0.051 AU).
Continued from…
Feb 2 — Eptek Art and Culture Center, Canadian Space Agency, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada: ‘Canada’s Stellar Space Achievements & The Conquest of Space in Images,’ traveling exhibitions; through May 2.
Apr 22 — European Geosciences Union (EGU), Vienna, Austria: ‘EGU General Assembly 2012;’ through Apr 27.
TUESDAY
Apr 24 — NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI), Moffett Field CA; Teleconference: ‘NLSI Director’s Seminar: 2-D Distribution of Ice in Lunar Cold Traps,’ Dana Hurley.
Apr 24-25 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, SpaceOps, Space Operations and Support Technical Committee, Pasadena CA: ‘18th Improving Space Operations Workshop.’
Apr 24-26 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, et al, Washington DC: ‘2012 Integrated Communications Navigation and Surveillance Conference.’
Apr 24-27 — National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Boulder CO: ‘2012 Space Weather Workshop,’ event addresses the remarkably diverse impacts of space weather including communications, navigation, spacecraft operations, aviation, and electric power.
Apr 24 — Cassini OTM-318, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #318 today.
Apr 24 — Moon: 5.0° N of Aldebaran, 08:00; 5.7° S of Venus, 16:00.
Apr 24 — Asteroid 2012 FG58: Near-Earth Flyby (0.065 AU).
WEDNESDAY
Apr 25 — TechAmerica – Space Enterprise Council, Washington DC: ‘Commission on the Future of the US Aerospace Industry: A Look Back and Forward.’
Apr 25 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘How Evolution Shaped Virus Diversity: Lessons Learned from Mosquitoes and Shrews,’ Shannon Bennett.
Apr 25-27 — International Association for Students, Researchers Scientists, Istanbul, Turkey: ‘International Conference on Student Small Satellites 2012.’
THURSDAY
Apr 26 — McAuliffe – Shepard Discover Center, Concord NH: Planetarium Shows: ‘Our Place in Space,’ ‘Fractal Zooms!,’ ‘Black Holes,’ and ‘Mars Interrupted.’
Apr 26 — Asteroid 2074 Shoemaker: Closest Approach to Earth (0.950 AU).
FRIDAY
NET Apr 27 — ISRO PSLV / RISAT-1, Sriharikota, India: An ISRO Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle set to launch RISAT-1 Earth observation satellite which carries a radar payload for all-weather, day and night observations for national security and environmental applications.
Apr 27 — Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation, Houston TX: ‘Rotary Space Gala,’ featuring 2012 Nation Space Trophy Recipient NASA JSC Director Michael Coats.
Apr 27 — The Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: ‘Lecture: The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment Measuring the Sun’s Influence on Climate from Space,’ Jerry Harder.
SATURDAY
Apr 28 — Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX, Cape Canaveral FL: Media invited for photo opportunity of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule on the launch pad at 09:30 EDT.
Apr 28 — The Astronomical League, Global: ‘International Astronomy Day 2012.’
Apr 28-29 — Lockheed Martin, USA Science & Engineering Festival Organization, Washington DC: ‘2nd USA Science and Engineering Festival 2012.’
Apr 28 — Moon: 6.0° SSW of Beehive Cluster; 19:00; At First Quarter, 23:57.
SUNDAY
Apr 29 — SpaceUp, Hutchinson KS: ‘SpaceUp 2012: Kansas.’
Apr 29-30 — Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX, Cape Canaveral FL: ‘NASA Social,’ a 2-day event for 50 social media followers to watch the Launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket and Dragon Spacecraft at NASA KSC.
Apr 29 – May 7 — Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Jerusalem, Israel: ‘5th Isradynamics Conference: Dynamical Processes in Space and Astrophysical Plasmas.’
Apr 29 — Cassini OTM-319, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #319 today.
Apr 29 — Asteroid 2008 UC202: Near-Earth Flyby (0.026 AU).
Scientists Converge on Berlin, Germany for European Lunar Symposium
As a global surge in lunar exploration and enterprise continues, a diverse range of experts are meeting for the European Lunar Symposium on April 19-20 at the Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin. DLR and The Open University have teamed up with NASA Lunar Science Institute to organize the event, which includes 15 plenary talks on wide ranging issues, 45 parallel session talks, 16 poster submissions and a dedicated Lunar Lander Event. James Head (TR) of Brown University will keynote on “The Moon as a Touchstone for Solar System Science: …Goals for Future Human and Robotic Exploration.” Jordi Gutiérrez of Polytechnic University of Catalonia is hosting a parallel session on “Spherical rover (CL) for lunar and planetary exploration.” On Wednesday afternoon prior to the official start of the symposium, DLR, ESA and Astrium will present on the scope, work to date, current status, science payloads and future plans for the NET 2018 European Lunar Lander mission (B). Also taking place in Berlin this week, on April 19-21, is the Max Planck Institute conference titled “Envisioning Limits: Outer Space and the End of Utopia”. (Image Credit: ESA, NASA)
International Space Apps Challenge 2012
The ‘1st International Space Apps Challenge’ will take place on all 7 continents in over 25 international cities and the International Space Station on April 21-22. The 2-day, NASA-sponsored development event will bring together some of the best software developers, engineers, designers and technologists from around the world to develop apps using data from NASA. Programmers will take on several challenges in 4 categories: software, open hardware, citizen science, and data visualization. These challenges include the “Dark Skies” app that measures sky brightness, a “Where is the Fleet?” app to get information regarding the whereabouts, status, and activity of all the active space probes, and the “Open Data Challenge for Kepler” to aid NASA in making Kepler data more accessible to the public. So far, over 40 challenges are listed for participants, but attendees are free to submit their own ideas. Local judges at each of the event’s hosting locations in USA, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Africa, Brazil, and Antarctica, will choose the winners. With nearly 6 billion mobile subscribers worldwide, researchers expect consumers around the world to increase the amount of time they spend as well as information they share / consume on their mobile devices. (Image Credit: NASA)
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Mercury (E) / Evening Planets: Venus (W), Mars (S), Jupiter (SW), Saturn (S).
MONDAY
Apr 16 — International Space Station, LEO: E-30 crew members continue to load trash and unneeded items into the Progress 46 cargo craft, which is scheduled to undock from the station this Thursday and perform a series of engineering tests before being commanded to de-orbit for a destructive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere April 28.
Apr 16 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: NASA LRO functioning nominally in its 50±15 km near-circular orbit as it makes digital elevation and surface maps that will be a fundamental reference for future human exploration.
Apr 16 — Mars Rover Opportunity, Red Planet: NASA rover continues exploration on the north end of Cape York on the rim of Endeavour Crater; Total odometry is 34,361.37 meters.
Apr 16 — Jupiter Juno Mission, In Transit to Jupiter: All systems nominal on Juno spacecraft; Now 255 days into its mission, Juno has traveled 560 million km since launch and is currently traveling at a velocity of 65,800 km per hour.
Apr 16 — Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: Media briefing to preview the SpaceX demonstration mission to the ISS scheduled for launch NET Apr 30.
Apr 16 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – San Francisco, Mountain View CA: ‘CubeSat Space Protocol,’ GomSpace.
Apr 16 — NASA, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco CA: Reporters invited to attend a 1-hour guided tour of NASA Offshore Membrane Enclosure for Growing Algae (OMEGA) system from 09:00-10:00 PDT.
Apr 16-17 — Mubadala Aerospace, Middle East Business Aviation Association, et al, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi: ‘Global Aerospace Summit 2012: Aviation, Aerospace, Space.’
Apr 16-19 — The Space Foundation, Colorado Springs CO: ‘28th National Space Symposium.’
Apr 16-19 — Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia IL: ‘Workshop: Calibration and Standardization of Large Surveys and Missions in Astronomy and Astrophysics.’
Apr 16-20 — NASA, Atlanta GA: ‘Astrobiology Science Conference 2012: Exploring Life – Past and Present, Near and Far.’
Continued from…
Feb 2 — Eptek Art and Culture Center, Canadian Space Agency, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada: ‘Canada’s Stellar Space Achievements & The Conquest of Space in Images,’ traveling exhibitions; through May 2.
Apr 10 — NASA, Cape Canaveral FL: Media events for Space Shuttle Discovery’s departure; A NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft set to transport Discovery to Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling VA on April 17; through Apr 17.
Apr 11 — The GLOBE Program, The National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Global: ‘GLOBE at Night: Less of Our Light, More Star Light,’ event to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure their night sky brightness and submit their observations to a website from a computer or smart phone; through Apr 20.
Apr 15 — Space Generation Advisory Council, Colorado Springs CO: ‘1st Space Generation Fusion Forum;’ through Apr 16.
Apr 15 — American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) – Aerospace Division, Pasadena CA: ‘ASCE Earth and Space 2012 Conference: Engineering for Extreme Environments;’ through Apr 18.
TUESDAY
Apr 17 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – San Francisco, Mountain View CA: ‘Capitalism in Outer Space,’ Jeffrey Manber.
Apr 17 — Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral FL: ‘Woman-Owned Small Business Industry Day.’
Apr 17 — Cassini OTM-317, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #317 today.
WEDNESDAY
Apr 18 — The British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: ‘Lecture: Apollo 16 – Exploring the Highlands of the Moon,’ Jerry Stone.
Apr 18 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘The Search for New Particles at the CERN Large Hadron Collider,’ Michael Peskin.
Apr 18 — University College London, London, United Kingdom: ‘Conference: Spectroscopy of the Dynamic Sun.’
Apr 18 — Moon: 5.6° NNW of Mercury; 11:00.
Apr 18 — Asteroid 2012 FC71: Near-Earth Flyby (0.075 AU).
THURSDAY
Apr 19 — National Air and Space Museum – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, NASA, Chantilly VA: ‘NASA Social,’ invitation for 30 social media followers to welcome Space Shuttle Discovery to the national collection.
Apr 19-20 — Ames Research Center, Moffett Field CA: Journalists invited to ‘Sustainability Base Media day and Dedication’ at NASA’s new 50,000 square-foot, lunar-shaped Sustainability Base which will serve as a working office space, a showcase for NASA technology and an evolving example for the future of buildings.
Apr 19-20 — NASA Lunar Science Institute, Berlin, Germany: ‘European Lunar Symposium.’
Apr 19-21 — Max Planck Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany: ‘Envisioning Limits: Outer Space and the End of Utopia.’
Apr 19 — Asteroid 2007 HV4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.012 AU).
FRIDAY
NET Apr 20 — RSA, Launch Soyuz / Progress 47P, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: An RSA Soyuz rocket set to launch 47th Progress cargo delivery ship to the ISS.
Apr 20 — The International Space Elevator Consortium, Redmond WA: Abstract deadline for the ‘2012 Space Elevator Conference.’
Apr 20 — The Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: ‘Lecture: Radiogenic Argon Release from Titan – Sources, Efficiency, and the Role of the Ocean,’ Bill McKinnon.
Apr 20 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: ‘Lunch With an Astronaut,’ John Blaha.
Apr 20-22 — Syracuse University, Syracuse NY: ‘15th East Coast Gravity Meeting and Josh Goldberg Fest.’
Apr 20 — Moon: New Moon; 17:19.
SATURDAY
Apr 21 — Ad Astra Kansas, Topeka KS: ‘Ad Astra Kansas Day 2012.’
Apr 21 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA: ‘Educator Workshop: Greenhouse Gases and Their Roles on Earth,’ 6-12 educators to examine the role of greenhouse gases in our complex global system, and explore the ways that media delivers science content and discusses climate change.
Apr 21 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – San Francisco, Mountain View CA: ‘Pizza, Kepler and the Space Station,’ Steve Bryson.
Apr 21-22 — The International Space Innovation Center, San Francisco CA; Tokyo, Japan; Melbourne and Canberra, Australia; Jakarta, Indonesia; Exeter and Oxford, UK; Nairobi, Kenya; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; McMurdo Station, Antarctica: ‘International Space Applications Challenge.’
Apr 21 — Asteroid 2009 HU44: Near-Earth Flyby (0.087 AU).
SUNDAY
Apr 22-27 — European Geosciences Union (EGU), Vienna, Austria: ‘EGU General Assembly 2012.’
Apr 22 — Lyrids Meteor Shower Peak: Lyrid meteors appear to stream from the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra and emit 10 to 20 meteors per hour, although outbursts as high as 100 meteors per hour are possible.
Apr 22 — Moon: At Apogee (Distance: 406,420 km), 04:00; 2.5° N of Jupiter; 09:00.
Apr 22 — Asteroid (Closest Approach to Earth): 2011 UD21 (1.343 AU); 2012 FY23 (0.085 AU).
ISS & Mars Conference Seeks Path to Interplanetary Human Exploration
Coordinated by the Explore Mars non-profit group, the International Space Station & Mars Conference is scheduled for April 12-13 at the International Space University in Strasbourg, France. Discussions among members of the ISS international partnership, and leaders of industry and planetary exploration will focus on potential utilization of ISS to advance the goal of sending humans beyond Low Earth Orbit – specifically to Mars. Among the distinguished speakers are Dr. Berndt Feuerbacher (R), President of the International Astronautical Federation and Dr. Simon “Pete” Worden Director (L) of the innovative NASA Ames Research Center. Chris Sallaberger, MDA Vice President of Space Exploration and MDA team lead on the current pre-build study for the International Lunar Observatory Association ILO-1 mission to the Moon South Pole, will be sitting on two panel discussions. A Live Webcast of the event is planned and organizers will also be accepting questions for speakers and moderators via Twitter to #issandmars. According to Executive Director Chris Carberry, the mission of Explore Mars is “to promote science and technology innovation and education related to Mars Exploration…through a series of technology innovation awards, scientific symposiums and workshops, Mars analog work, technology demonstrations, and other programs.” (Image Credit: ExploreMars.org, NASA, DLR)
NewSpace Leaders Meet In Arizona for Space Access Conference ’12
The Space Access Society (SAS) will continue its mission to promote technology, business, and radically cheaper access to space with ‘Space Access ’12 Conference’ April 12-14 in Phoenix AZ. Over 100 NewSpace leaders and space enthusiasts will converge at this year’s event to discuss the most recent developments in space entrepreneurship, reusable space launch development, space tourism, beamed energy propulsion, and small satellites. SAS Founder Henry Vanderbilt (TL) will open the event followed by a presentation from L5 Society Founder Keith Henson on ‘$100 a Kg to GEO with Beamed Energy Propulsion.’ Other noteworthy speakers this year are Gary Hudson (TR) of Space Studies Institute, Dave Masten (BL) of Masten Space and Ryan McLinko of Space Frontier Foundation. Presentations will be made by GLXP contenders Will Baird (BR) of Team Phoenicia, Paul Breed of Unreasonable Rocket and Tim Pickens of Rocket City Space Pioneers. Michael Laine will discuss Liftport and space elevators. Panel discussions include ‘World Space Program & Prospects’ led by Jeff Foust, Clark Lindsey and Doug Messier, and ‘NewSpace Lessons Learned’ with Gary Hudson, Henry Spencer and Henry Vanderbilt. The Phoenix Chapters of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the National Space Society will host a Yuri’s Night celebration for event participants on Apr 12. (Image Credit: SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Masten Space, Team Phoenicia, Liftport Group)
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Saturn (S) / Evening Planets: Venus (W), Mars (SE), Jupiter (W).
MONDAY
Apr 9 — International Space Station, LEO: E-30 crew members continue to work with a variety of scientific research and ongoing maintenance of the systems aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Apr 9 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: NASA LRO functioning nominally in its 50±15 km near-circular orbit as it makes digital elevation and surface maps that will be a fundamental reference for future human exploration.
Apr 9 — Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Red Planet: NASA spacecraft continues to take incredible imagery of Mars surface activity with HiRISE camera, recently capturing pictures of 20km-high dust devil on Amazonis Planitia; More than 21,700 images taken by HiRISE are available for viewing on the instrument team’s website.
Apr 9 — Jupiter Juno Mission, In Transit to Jupiter: All systems nominal on Juno spacecraft as it continues long journey to Jupiter.
Apr 9 — Space Show, Nationwide: This week’s Space Show continues to cover important space issues with informative interviews from space advocates.
Apr 9-10 — Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore MD: ‘The Faint Early Sun: Paradox, Problem or Distraction?‘
Apr 9 — Moon: 5.0° N of Antares; 19:00.
Apr 9 — Asteroid 2012 EG5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.002 AU).
Continued from…
Feb 2 — Eptek Art and Culture Center, Canadian Space Agency, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada: ‘Canada’s Stellar Space Achievements & The Conquest of Space in Images,’ traveling exhibitions; through May 2.
TUESDAY
Apr 10-17 — NASA, Cape Canaveral FL: Media events for Space Shuttle Discovery’s departure; A NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft set to transport Discovery to Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling VA on April 17.
Apr 10 — The University of Texas of Arlington Planetarium, Arlington TX: ‘Cosmic Colors,’ participants will learn how scientists use the entire electromagnetic spectrum to view the universe.
Apr 10 — Moon: 5.6° SSW of Regulus, 05:00; 8.3° SSW of Mars, 11:00.
Apr 10 — Asteroid 2004 FG11: Near-Earth Flyby (0.057 AU).
Apr 10 — Asteroid 4116 Elachi: Closest Approach to Earth (0.810 AU).
WEDNESDAY
Apr 11 — Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: News conference with E-30 Cmdr Dan Burbank and Flight Engineers Don Pettit and ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers at 09:15 CDT.
Apr 11 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘Advances in Fast Burning Fuels and High Performance Hybrid Rocket Propulsion,’ Brian Cantwell.
Apr 11 — The British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: ‘Lecture: Exploring Venus – Preparations for a Descent into Hell,’ Geoffrey Landis.
Apr 11 — Intech Science Center, Winchester, United Kingdom: ‘Lecture: Stonehenge, Pyramids & Astronomy,’ Malcolm Coe.
Apr 11-20 — The GLOBE Program, The National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Global: ‘GLOBE at Night: Less of Our Light, More Star Light,’ event to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure their night sky brightness and submit their observations to a website from a computer or smart phone.
Apr 11 — Cassini OTM-316, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #316 today.
THURSDAY
Apr 12 — 51st Commemoration of Human Spaceflight / Cosmonautics Day, Worldwide: On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin of Russia became the 1st human to orbit Earth on the Vostok 1 spacecraft; The flight lasted 108 minutes, circling Earth at a speed of 27,400km per hour and 327km above Earth.
Apr 12 — 31st Commemoration of 1st Space Shuttle Launch, USA: On April 12, 1981 Astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen launched aboard STS-1, the 1st orbital flight of NASA’s Columbia Space Shuttle which lasted for 2 days and orbited the Earth 37 times.
NET Apr 12 — North Korea , Launch Unha 3 / Kwangmyongsong 3, Tongchang-ri, North Korea: A North Korea Unha 3 rocket set to launch from the Tongchang-ri launch base to carry the Kwangmyongsong 3 satellite into polar orbit.
Apr 12 — Yuri’s Night Celebrations, Worldwide: ‘Yuri’s Night 2012,’ annual worldwide party to celebrate Yuri Gagarin’s 1st flight into space–as well as to promote space exploration.
Apr 12 — National Science Foundation, South Pole Station, Antarctica: ‘Yuri’s Night 2012.’
Apr 12 — Blackstarr Group, Los Angeles CA: ‘Yuri’s Night LA 2012.’
Apr 12-13 — ExploreMars.org, Strasbourg, France: ‘ISS and Mars Conference 2012,’ event held at the International Space University.
Apr 12-13 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA: ‘The von Karman Lecture Series: Gale Crater – Exploring the Mars Science Laboratory Landing Site.’
Apr 12-14 — Space Access Society, Phoenix AZ: ‘2012 Space Access Society Conference.’
Apr 12 — Asteroid (Near-Earth Flyby): 2004 RQ252 (0.044 AU); 2012 EO10 (0.080 AU).
FRIDAY
Apr 13 — The National Association for Urban Debate Leagues, Washington DC: ‘The Great Space Debate,’ four of the country’s top debaters to discuss the future of the USA space program held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Apr 13 — The Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: ‘Lecture: Laboratory Astrophysics and Planetary Surface Dust Analogs,’ Karly Pitman.
Apr 13-14 — Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville AL: ‘19th Annual Great Moonbuggy Race.’
Apr 13 — Moon: At Last Quarter; 00:50.
Apr 13 — Asteroid 2012 FO35: Near-Earth Flyby (0.057 AU).
SATURDAY
Apr 14 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory – Educator Resource Center, Pomona CA: ‘Educator Workshop: Climate.’
Apr 14 — Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral FL: ‘Apollo 16 40th Anniversary Celebration.’
Apr 14-15 — SpaceUp, Washington DC: ‘SpaceUp 2012: Washington DC.’
Apr 14 — Moon: At Last Quarter; 00:50.
SUNDAY
Apr 15 — Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD: ‘The Sunday Experiment: Technology Transfer,’ April’s Sunday Experiment will touch on three of Goddard’s major concentrations: Earth science, space and the instruments we use to study them.
Apr 15 — The Space Frontier Foundation, Nyak NY: Application deadline for ‘Teachers in Space Program,’ which will give 140 teachers the opportunity to engage in authentic astronaut training and real space science experiences.
Apr 15-16 — Space Generation Advisory Council, Colorado Springs CO: ‘1st Space Generation Fusion Forum.’
Apr 15-18 — American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) – Aerospace Division, Pasadena CA: ‘ASCE Earth and Space 2012 Conference: Engineering for Extreme Environments.’
Apr 15 — Asteroid 9777 Enterprise: Closest Approach to Earth (1.343 AU).
Apr 15 — Moon: 4.3° E of Regulus; 19:00.
Yuri’s Night: International Events to Celebrate Over 50 Years of Human Spaceflight
A global celebration of human space achievement will take place on April 12 as the world remembers the 1st human space flight of Russia Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin TL) and the inaugural launch of Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1) by NASA Astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen (BR) exactly 20 years later. Now in its 12th year, Yuri’s night has become the world’s largest Space celebration with over 100,000 people participating in over 500 events, spanning 7 continents and 75 countries in 2011. This year’s theme, “Make an Impact,” reminds participants of the importance of human space travel, and it encourages them to make their own impact locally through their Yuri’s Night event. The Blackstarr Group will host ‘Yuri’s Night LA’ on April 12 in Los Angeles CA. Space industry leaders from Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, NASA, Space Frontier Foundation, and XCOR are expected to attend the free event including Yuri’s Night Founders Loretta Hidalgo and George Whitesides (BL). The British Interplanetary Society will hold its Yuri’s Night celebration in London, with a screening of the hit internet film, ‘First Orbit’ and a presentation by Producer / Director Chris Riley. This year, over 120 Yuri’s Night events have been registered in 35 countries. (Image Credit: yurisnight.net, NASA, Zork Magazine, sales.vgtrk.com)
Tokyo to Host Regional Earth Observation Symposium
The 5th GEOSS Asia-Pacific Symposium takes place on April 2-4 in Tokyo, Japan at Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. The Global Earth Observation System of Systems project is being designed to connect Earth observation content and decision-support tool providers with end users in order to enhance the relevance of Earth observations to global issues including: development, natural resource management, disasters and climate change. An extraordinary range of timely information, raw data, imagery and analytical software packages, as well as common technical standards for cohesive use of data from thousands of different instruments, will all provide enhanced understanding of the world we inhabit. This symposium will further strengthen international networking and provide a venue for regional members to share their progress and experiences with the global community of GEO members totaling 88 nations. On Monday morning there will be a welcome address by renowned Japan astronaut and Director of Miraikan Dr. Mamoru Mohri, and a keynote speech by Professor Takashi Onishi, President of the Science Council of Japan. (Image Credit: GEO, Google)
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Saturn (S) / Evening Planets: Venus (W), Mars (S), Jupiter (W).
MONDAY
Apr 2 — International Space Station, LEO: E-30 crew members continue performing a variety of routine maintenance activities as well as unloading 7.2 tons of food, fuel and supplies from the “Edoardo Amaldi” ATV-3.
Apr 2 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: NASA LRO functioning nominally in its 50±15 km near-circular orbit as it makes digital elevation and surface maps that will be a fundamental reference for future human exploration.
Apr 2 — Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), In Transit to Red Planet: NASA MSL spacecraft continues trek to Mars after a successful course correction; Rover to explore Mount Sharp shortly after Aug 2012 arrival.
Apr 2 — Jupiter Juno Mission, In Transit to Jupiter: Juno spacecraft completes 241st day of mission as it continues long journey to Jupiter.
Apr 2 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – San Francisco, Mountain View CA: ‘Tech Talks: Cubesats, the ISS and Plug-n-Play.’
Apr 2-4 — ESA, Noordwijk, The Netherlands: ‘Dust and Grains in Low Gravity and Space Environment.’
Apr 2-5 — Applied Technology Institute, Colorado Springs CO: ‘Earth Station Design, Implementation, Operation and Maintenance for Satellite Communications,’ Bruce Elbert.
Apr 2-4 — The Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan, Tokyo, Japan: ‘The 5th GEOSS Asia-Pacific Symposium.’
Apr 2-5 — Astronomical Institute Utrecht, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands: ‘370 Years of Astronomy in Utrecht.’
Apr 2 — Asteroid 2012 EG5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.002 AU).
Continued from…
Feb 2 — Eptek Art and Culture Center, Canadian Space Agency, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada: ‘Canada’s Stellar Space Achievements & The Conquest of Space in Images,’ traveling exhibitions; through May 2.
TUESDAY
Apr 3 — NASA, O.Henry Middle School, Austin TX: Over 100 middle school students at O. Henry Middle School to speak with E-30 Cmdr Dan Burbank and flight engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers about living and working in Space at 11:20 EDT.
Apr 3 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: ‘Lecture: Experimental Investigations of Lunar Plasma and Dust Dynamics,’ Adrienne Dove.
Apr 3-4 — University of South Hampton, South Hampton, United Kingdom: ‘12th British Gravity Meeting.’
Apr 3-5 — Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD: ‘Titan Through Time 2 Workshop: Formation, Evolution and Fate,’ Ralph Lorenz.
Apr 3 — Venus: 0.40° SSE of Alcyone, brightest star in the Pleiades; 11:00.
Apr 3 — Moon: 5.6° SSW of Regulus, 05:00; 8.3° SSW of Mars, 11:00.
Apr 3 — Asteroid (Near-Earth Flyby): 2010 GD35 (0.063 AU); 2011 AA11 (0.073 AU).
WEDNESDAY
Apr 4 — The British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: ‘Lecture: Perceived Anomalies in the Apollo Lunar Surface Images,’ Marcus Allen.
Apr 4 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘Characterization of Dark Materials on Iapetus, Phoebe and Hyperion,’ Cristina Dalle Ore.
Apr 4 — Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC: Ask and Expert Lecture Series: ‘The Evolution of Digital Flight Controls from the Lunar Module to the Airbus A-320,’ Paul Ceruzzi.
Apr 4-5 — University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands: ‘2nd Quantum Universe Symposium.’
THURSDAY
Apr 5 — NASA Headquarters, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Washington DC: NASA and FAA to conduct training and photographic flights over Washington DC metropolitan area between 09:30 and 11:00 EDT.
Apr 5 — Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC: Flights of Fancy: Stories for Children, ‘Floating in Space,’ Franklyn Branley.
Apr 5 — WM Keck Observatory, Kamuela HI: ‘City Dark: Search for Night on a Sleepless Planet,’ Richard Wainscoat.
Apr 5 — Cassini OTM-315, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #315 today.
Apr 5 — Asteroid 2004 TB10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.097 AU).
FRIDAY
Apr 6 — Moon: Full Moon (Pink Moon), 09:19; 5.6° SSW of Regulus, 18:00.
Apr 6 — Asteroid 2012 DX75: Near-Earth Flyby (0.060 AU).
SATURDAY
Apr 7 — SpaceUp, Boston MA: ‘SpaceUp 2012: Boston.’ event postponed until Fall 2012.
Apr 7 — Challenger Learning Center of Colorado, Colorado Springs CO: ‘Simulated Space Mission: Voyage to Mars.’
Apr 7 — Moon: 6.0° SSW of Saturn, 00:00; At Perigee (Distance: 358,313 km), 07:00.
SUNDAY
Apr 8 — Asteroid 6377: Closest Approach to Earth (1.352 AU).
UKSEDS 2012, RAS Events Advance Britain Space, Astronomy Plans
The international space community will converge at several events in an effort to advance space initiatives in Europe. On March 31 – April 1, the United Kingdom Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (UKSEDS) will hold the ‘24th UKSEDS Annual 2012 Conference’ in Kent UK. SEDS, the world’s largest student space organization, currently has more than 60 branches worldwide. This year’s event will feature 2 days of talks ranging from astrobiology and space planes to space settlement and rockets. Representatives from various space industries will be on hand to offer potential graduate jobs, internships and postgraduate research. On Mar 27-30, The Royal Astronomical Society along with the German Astronomical Society will hold the ‘2012 National Astronomy Meeting’ at the University of Manchester. Over 600 participants are expected to attend the event which will feature 290 posters and 469 talks. Plenary lectures will be given by University of Colorado Professor Fran Bagenal (CR) on ‘Probing the Interior of Jupiter: NASA’s Juno Mission,’ and Max Planck Institute Scientist Michael Kramer on ‘The Square Kilometer Array.’ The British Interplanetary Society and West England Metals and Materials Association will host a talk on Mar 28 on ‘SKYLON – The Materials Challenge.’ Speaker Mark Hempsell (BR) from Reaction Engines Ltd will discuss the SKYLON (B) vision, a fully reusable spaceplane that can carry 15 tonnes of cargo to space NET 2020. (Image Credit: UKSEDS, BIS, RAS, wn.com, jimmydoolitlemuseum.org)
A Spring of Innovation Comes to California, USA
Three innovation focused events kick off in California, starting with the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program 1st annual Spring Symposium in Pasadena, on March 27-29. NIAC funds research on visionary ideas with potential to create radically better or entirely new aerospace concepts. Keynote speakers are: Gentry Lee, Chief Engineer for the Solar System Exploration Directorate at JPL, and renowned author David Brin who will present on “Looking Upward – The Most Human Trait.” Other topics by Phase I Fellows include: Ultra-Light “Photonic Muscle” Space Structures, Regolith Derived Heat Shield for a Planetary Body Entry and Descent System with In-Situ Fabrication, and Entanglement-assisted Communication System for Deep-Space Missions. SpaceUp San Francisco on March 31 – April 1 is the latest “unconference” where participants spontaneously decide the topics, schedule and structure of the event. Organizers hope to engage the space community with innovators among the local culture of hackers, makers, artists, entrepreneurs and internet pros. The Innovation Summit at Ames Research Center on March 28-31 represents the culmination of Conrad Foundation’s Spirit of Innovation Challenge. Leading entrepreneurs, government officials and scientists will join top student innovators in a collaborative social forum to help build progressive technologies and foster next-generation professionals. (Image Credit: NIAC, SpaceUp SF, Conrad Foundation)
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Saturn (S) / Evening Planets: Mercury (W), Venus (W), Mars (S), Jupiter (W).
MONDAY
Mar 26 — International Space Station, LEO: E-30 crew members begin preparations for docking /unloading of 20-ton cargo freighter, ‘Edoardo Amaldi’ due to arrive Wed; Mission will be heaviest load of cargo ever delivered to the ISS by an Ariane 5 rocket.
Mar 26 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: NASA LRO functioning nominally in its 50±15 km near-circular orbit as it makes digital elevation and surface maps that will be a fundamental reference for future human exploration.
Mar 26 — Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), Red Planet: Scientists to conduct MSL Trajectory Correction Maneuver #2 (TCM-2).
Mar 26 — Jupiter Juno Mission, In Transit to Jupiter: Juno spacecraft completes 234th day of mission as it continues long journey to Jupiter.
Mar 26 — ESA, Manchester, United Kingdom: ‘3rd MarcoPolo-R Symposium: Scientific Objectives of MarcoPolo-R Near-Earth Asteroid Sample Return Mission.’
Mar 26-27 — University of Utah, Snowbird UT: ‘SnowTIGER Workshop: TeV Interactions of Gamma Rays with Extragalactic Radiation.’
Mar 26-27 — The National Academies, Colorado Springs CO: ‘Meeting 4: Assessment of the US Air Force Astrodynamic Standards.’
Mar 26-30 — Lorentz Center, Leiden, The Netherlands: ‘EU Universe Awareness Workshop: Astronomy to Inspire and Educate Young Children.’
Mar 26 — Moon: 2.0° SSE of Venus, 11:00; 3.5° S of Pleiades, 00:00.
Continued from…
Mar 19 — United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Vienna, Austria: ‘51st Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space – Legal Subcommittee Meeting,’ through Mar 30.
TUESDAY
NET Mar 27 — ILS, Launch Proton / Intelsat 22, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: An ILS Proton rocket with a Breeze M upper stage set to deploy the Intelsat 22 satellite to provide C-band and Ku-band communications services over Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Mar 27-28 — The SMi Group, Vienna, Austria: ‘6th MilSpace 2012,’ participants to discuss interoperability, national space programs and space situational awareness.
Mar 27-29 — NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC), Pasadena CA: ‘1st NIAC Spring Symposium.’
Mar 27-29 — American Astronautical Society, Greenbelt MD: ‘50th Robert Goddard Memorial Symposium.’
Mar 27-30 — Royal Astronomical Society, Manchester, United Kingdom: ‘Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting 2012.’
Mar 27-30 — National Solar Observatory, Stanford University, et al, Tucson AZ: ‘Living with a Star Workshop: Local Helioseismology – Data Analysis, Modeling and Comparisons.’
Mar 27 — Moon: 5.2° N of Aldebaran, 21:00.
Mar 27 — Asteroid 2012 FE: Near-Earth Flyby (0.032 AU).
WEDNESDAY
Mar 28 — The British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: ‘SKYLON – The Materials Challenge,’ Mark Hempsell.
Mar 28 — The Canadian Space Commerce Association, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: ‘2012 CSCA National Conference: Our Critical Canadian Space Infrastructure.’
Mar 28 — NASA Headquarters, Washington DC: ‘NASA Technology: Imagine. Innovate. Explore,’ event to feature talk by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver; Attendees to discuss traveling in space with Astronauts Mike Massimino and Mike Good.
Mar 28 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘Smart Coatings on Spacecraft Surfaces: New Tools for the Spacecraft Designer’s Tool Belt,’ Steve McDaniel.
Mar 28 — Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC: Ask an Expert: ‘Woman Shuttle Commanders of Discovery,’ Valerie Neal.
Mar 28-29 — The National Academies, Washington DC: ‘Meeting: Review of NASA Human Research Program’s Scientific Merit Assessment Processes;’ ‘Reusable Booster System Review and Assessment.’
Mar 28-30 — Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore MD: ‘Workshop: The Mass Loss Return from Stars to Galaxies.’
Mar 28-31 — Conrad Foundation, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field CA: ‘Innovation Summit 2012.’
THURSDAY
NET Mar 29 — ULA, Launch Delta 4 – Heavy / NROL 25, Vandenberg Air Force Base CA: A ULA Delta 4 rocket set to launch a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Mar 29-30 — Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD: ‘Symposium: 16 Years of Discovery with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer – A Celebration of the Mission.’
Mar 29-30 — NASA Lunar and Planetary Institute, St. Louis MO: ‘Outer Planets Assessment Group Meeting.’
FRIDAY
Mar 30 — Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, Boulder CO: Submission deadline for ‘UV Astronomy: HST and Beyond,’ on Jun 18-21, Kaua`i HI.
Mar 30 — Cassini OTM-314, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #314 today.
Mar 30 — Asteroid (Near-Earth Flyby): 2012 EM8 (0.047 AU); 2012 CA55 (0.057 AU)
SATURDAY
NET Mar 31 — CNSA, Launch Long March 3B / Apstar 7, Xichang, China: A China Long March 3B rocket set to launch the Apstar 7 communications satellite.
Mar 31 – Apr 1 — SpaceUp, San Francisco CA: ‘SpaceUp 2012: San Francisco.’
Mar 31 – Apr 1 — United Kingdom Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (UKSEDS), Kent, United Kingdom: ‘UKSEDS 2012 Conference.’
Mar 31 — Moon: 10.4° SSW of Pollux; 10:00.
SUNDAY
Apr 1 — NASA Kepler Mission, Exoplanets: Scientists confirm 709 exoplanets and 2,321 exoplanet candidates, bringing total number of exoplanets to 3030.
Apr 1 — Moon: 5.8° SSW of Beehive Cluster; 12:00.
Apr 1 — Asteroid 2008 CH70: Near-Earth Flyby (0.087 AU).
ATV-3 Edoardo Amaldi Set for Launch March 23 on Mission to Resupply and Reboost Orbit of ISS
The 3rd operational mission of the European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle, is scheduled to launch aboard an Ariane 5 ES configuration rocket from ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana on March 23 at 04:31UT. Named after the Physicist who founded the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics, CERN and ESRO, the Edoardo Amaldi spacecraft will deliver supplies including food, experiments, spare parts, clothing, 100kg of air & oxygen, 285kg of water, and 3150kg of ISS propellant. The craft will use its main propulsion system consisting of 4×490 Newton thrusters and an attitude control system of 28×220 Newton thrusters to perform an orbit reboost of the station to a higher altitude, helping to compensate for the effects of atmospheric drag. Initial rendezvous is conducted using GPS and a star tracker, then data from videometer and telegoniometer equipment guides approach and docking to the Russian built Zvezda Service Module. The highly specialized vehicle is primarily autonomous but overall mission control and ISS integration / coordination is based out of Toulouse Space Centre in France. The next ATV mission, Albert Einstein, is scheduled for launch in February of 2013. Leading launch services provider Arianespace has successfully orbited 298 payloads, accounting for more than half of the commercial satellites now in service worldwide. (Image Credit: ESA, Arianespace)
NuSTAR Spacecraft to Launch, Observe High Energy X-Ray Region
The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) spacecraft (T) is set to launch aboard a Pegasus XL rocket (BL) from Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands (BR). As of Mar 16, the Mar 22 launch is delayed to allow additional time to confirm proper function of the flight software. The US$165M NASA spacecraft will be the 1st telescope to study the high energy X-ray region (between 6-79 keV) of the electromagnetic spectrum. Weighing 365kg and measuring less than 2m long, the small satellite will launch into a low-Earth, near-equatorial orbit which will help minimize exposure to the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). The SAA is the region centered above the southern Atlantic Ocean where Earth’s inner Van Allen Belt closely approaches Earth’s surface. NuSTAR is equipped with a single deployable solar array which will provide 762 watts of power to the spacecraft and its instruments. The onboard telescope will have a focal length of 10.15m. Built and designed by Orbital Sciences Corp, the small explorer mission is expected to last 24 months but may stay operational for up to 5 years. The mission will mark the 4th Pegasus launch from the 6.2 sq km Kwajalein Atoll. When in orbit, NuSTAR will conduct joint observations with the ESA XMM-Newton mission to look for distortions in the X-ray spectra resulting from the spin of the central black hole. Pictured: NuSTAR PI Fiona Harrison. (Image Credit: NASA, japanfocus.org)
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Saturn (S) / Evening Planets: Mercury (W), Venus (W), Mars (S), Jupiter (W).
MONDAY
Mar 19 — International Space Station, LEO: E-30 crew members continue onboard maintenance and preparation for the arrival of the “Edoardo Amaldi” Automated Transfer Vehicle-3 this week.
Mar 19 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: NASA LRO functioning nominally in its 50±15 km near-circular orbit as it makes digital elevation and surface maps that will be a fundamental reference for future human exploration.
Mar 19 — Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Red Planet: Scientists continue to observe recent imagery from NASA MRO which shows a whirlwind on Mars more than 800 m high and 30 m in diameter; More than 21,700 images taken by HiRISE are available for viewing on the instrument team’s website.
Mar 19 — Jupiter Juno Mission, En Route to Jupiter: Juno spacecraft operating nominally on its way to Jupiter, traveling over 526 million km since launch at a velocity of 69,000 km.
Mar 19 — The British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: ‘From Vanguard to GPS,’ Richard Easton.
Mar 19-21 — International Academy of Astronautics, American Astronautical Society, Porto, Portugal: ‘1st IAA Conference on Dynamics and Control of Space Systems.’
Mar 19-21 — Astrophysics and Cosmology Research Group, Kathmandu, Nepal: ‘International Conference on Astrophysics and Cosmology.’
Mar 19-23 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, The Woodlands TX: ‘43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.’
Mar 19-23 — University of Alabama – Huntsville, Marshall Space Flight Center, Palm Springs CA: ‘11th Annual International Astrophysics Conference: Space Weather – The Space Radiation Environment.’
Mar 19-23 — University of Utah – Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Snowbird UT: ‘4th Snowbird Workshop on Particle Astrophysics, Astronomy and Cosmology: Gravitational Lensing in the Age of Survey Science.’
Mar 19-23 — Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Kuhlungsborn, Germany: ‘13th Workshop on Technical and Scientific Aspects of Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere (MST) Radar.’
Mar 19-30 — United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Vienna, Austria: ‘51st Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space – Legal Subcommittee Meeting.’
Mar 19 — Spring / Vernal Equinox: The Sun rises exactly in the east traveling through the sky for 12 hours and sets exactly in the west; Every place on Earth experiences a 12-hour day twice a year on the Spring and Fall Equinox; 19:13.
Continued from…
Mar 13 — The GLOBE Program, The National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Global: ‘GLOBE at Night: Less of Our Light, More Star Light,’ event to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure the brightness of the local night sky and submit their observations to a website from a computer or smart phone; through Mar 22.
TUESDAY
Mar 20 — Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: Media briefing to preview the upcoming ISS Expedition 32 and 33 missions at 11:00 CDT and 13:00 CDT.
Mar 20 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – San Francisco, Mountain View CA: ‘The Explorer 1 Anomaly,’ David Levinson.
Mar 20-21 — FP7 Marie Curie, Nottingham, United Kingdom: ‘Training Research and Applications Network to Support the Mitigation of Ionospheric Threats Workshop.’
Mar 20-23 — National Center for Space Studies (CNES), Planetary & Astrophysics Institute of Grenoble, et al, Grenoble, France: ‘From Atoms to Pebbles: Herschel’s View of Star and Planet Formation.’
Mar 20 — Moon: 1.4° NNW of Mercury, 02:00; New Moon, 04:38.
WEDNESDAY
Mar 21 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘A New Feed for the Allen Telescope Array and the Science That it Will Enable,’ Jack Welch.
Mar 21 — Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC: Ask an Expert: ‘Von Braun 100th Birthday,’ Tom Lassman.
Mar 21-22 — SMi Group, London, United Kingdom: ‘5th Annual Conference on Oil and Gas Communications: Understanding the Importance of Satcomm and Telecommunication Channels.’
Mar 21-23 — American Nuclear Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Lunar and Planetary Institute, et al, The Woodlands TX: ‘Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space 2012.’
Mar 21 — Asteroid (Near-Earth Flyby): 2011 SY120 (0.052 AU); 2012 DH4 (0.061 AU)
THURSDAY
NET Mar 22 — OSC, Launch Pegasus XL / NuSTAR, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands: An air-launched Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket set to deploy NASA Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array spacecraft to study high energy X-rays in the universe; *Postponed.
Mar 22 — George Washington University – Space Policy Institute, Washington DC: ‘Space Policy Institute Symposium: Suborbital and Small Satellite Missions.’
Mar 22-23 — National Contract Management Association, Austin TX: ‘50th Aerospace + Defense Contract Management Conference,’ featuring NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
Mar 22-24 — Hawai`i Robotics Organizing Committee, Honolulu HI: ‘1st Hawai`i Regional Robotics Competition.’
Mar 22 — Asteroid 2010 FR9: Near-Earth Flyby (0.048 AU).
FRIDAY
NET Mar 23 — Arianespace, Launch Ariane 5 / ATV 3, Kourou, French Guiana: Arianespace set to use Ariane 5 ES rocket to launch the 3rd ESA Automated Transfer Vehicle known as Edoardo Amaldi to the International Space Station.
Mar 23 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: ‘Lunch With an Astronaut,’ Ken Cameron.
Mar 23 — Asteroid 2012 EB2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.040 AU).
SATURDAY
Mar 24 — Cassini OTM-313, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #313 today.
SUNDAY
Mar 25 — Daylight Savings Time (Europe): Change clocks forward 1 hour, from Standard Time to Summer Time.