October 8-14, 2018 / Vol 37, No 41 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Russia to Launch Soyuz MS-10 with ISS Exp 57, Host Jim Bridenstine, and Solar System, Astrophysics Conferences

Roscosmos is planning the 139th launch of a Soyuz rocket with MS-10 scheduled October 10 carrying Expedition 57/58 members Aleksey Ovchinin and Nick Hague to International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Russia and China are still the only 2 countries launching people into space. One day prior at Baikonur, the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will meet to discuss the unusual hole found in Soyuz MS-09 – which is intended to return 3 Astronauts to Earth on December 13. Bridenstine makes note of the positive strong relationship with Russia in space, stating “We’ve been able to make sure that space has been set apart from all of these sometimes terrestrial challenges.” The 9th International Solar System Symposium hosted by Russia Space Research Institute in Moscow on Oct 8-12 will cover formation, evolution and exploration of Solar and exosolar systems with a special emphasis on Moon, Mars and Venus. Specific missions Mars Express, Venus Express, Luna-Glob, Luna-Resurs, ExoMars 2016 and ExoMars 2020 will be detailed by speakers from IKI, CNRS, SwRI, Brown University, ESTEC, and China. On Oct 7-14 the SAO of Russian Academy of Science and BNO of Institute for Nuclear Research is hosting the 3rd Astrophysical Conference on Multimessenger, neutrino, gamma and gravitation astronomy. Speakers include representatives from Russia, India, China, Italy, Spain, Albania, Poland, Finland, Ukraine, and Czech Republic. (Image Credits: NASA, RT, S. Volkman)

MONDAY

Oct 8 — Perth USAsia Centre, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia: The Zone Above: the Indo-Pacific Era in Space; featuring Dr. Megan Clarke, head of the Australian Space Agency, NASA Astronaut Pamela A. Melroy, UWA graduate Enrico Palermo, ~30 other speakers.

Oct 8 — Perth Concert Hall, Perth, Australia: William Shatner’s World / The Return Down Under.

Deep Space Meetings Across USA Focus on Jupiter and Saturn Systems

The Lunar & Planetary Institute in Houston is hosting the Europa Deep Dive 2 conference October 9-11 in Houston TX. Recent discoveries from NASA Juno probe include a mysterious “cold spot” on Europa surface, a previously undetected volcano on Io, and a “brown barge” – a short-lived storm in Jupiter southern hemisphere upper atmosphere. Juno will continue to image the Great Red Spot, a larger storm that astronomers on Earth have observed for centuries. Another paper finds an enormous amount of water in the Great Red Spot. Jupiter is estimated to contain many times more water than exists on Earth. Oct 15-19 Keck Institute hosts workshop on Io, Jovian System and Tidal Heating in Pasadena CA. Jupiter interior presents many mysteries, such as why it emits more radiation than it receives from the Sun. Jupiter has a powerful and complex magnetic field, which creates a “great blue spot” in the northern hemisphere. Cassini’s death-dive into Saturn leads to a flurry of research papers. Oct 11 at the Library of Congress in Washington DC, NASA Scientist Melissa Trainer will be speaking on Saturn’s moon Titan. Data from Cassini, published in Nature Geoscience, shows that Titan has dust storms like Earth and Mars. Similar to Jupiter, Saturn generates internal heat and a magnetic field. The Cassini team (pictured) are recipients of an Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Program. (Image Credits: NASA)

Oct 8-12 — Russia Space Research Institute (IKI), Moscow, Russia: 9th International Solar System Symposium.

Oct 8-14 — EVN Consortium Board of Directors, Spanish National Research Council (IAA-CSIC), Granada, Spain: 14th European VLBI Network (EVN) Symposium and Users Meeting.

Oct 8 — Moon: New Moon, 01:85.

Oct 8 — Draconids Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from constellation Draco, Draconids offer slow moving (20 km/s) meteors which are faint and fragment easily, about 10-20 per hour; very favorable this year.

Continued from…

Jul 8 – Oct 9 — NAOC, National Aquatic Center “Water Cube”, Beijing, China: Lunar Exploration Technology Exhibition; featuring 10-meter diameter Moon, lunar imagery, ‘moonlight’ and surround sound composition.

Oct 4-10 — World Space Week Association, Global: World Space Week 2018; to celebrate international contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition; Oct 4 is 61st observation of 1st Space mission Sputnik One launched by Soviet Union 1957; Oct 10 is 51st observation of Outer Space Treaty going into effect 1967.

Oct 6-11 — World Meteorological Organization, Indonesia Agency for Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG), Secure World Foundation, Jakarta, Indonesia: 9th Asia/Oceania Meteorological Satellite Users’ Conference.

Oct 6-14 — Solar System Exploration Research Institute, Flagstaff & Meteor Crater AZ: 5th Field Training and Research Program.

Oct 7-14 — Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Science, Baksan Neutrino Observatory of Institute for Nuclear Research, International Observatory Peak Terskol, Nizhnij Arkhyz and Terskol, Russia: Conference: The Multi-Messenger Astronomy – Gamma-Ray Bursts, Search for Electromagnetic Counterparts to Neutrino Events and Gravitational Waves.