Mars Orbit, Surface and Airspace to be Further Explored Robotically by a Host of Nations
As the July 17 – August 5 optimal Mars launch window approaches, NASA is joined by CNSA (China / Zhongguo) and UAESA (United Arab Emirates) in the international effort to probe the conditions and origins of what is thought to be the most habitable planet beyond Earth within the Solar System. Mars 2020, a US$2.4B mission, includes both rover Perseverance which will search for signs of exobiology and prepare mineral samples of interest for future return – the ultimate goal of robotic precursor missions, in preparation for human landings – and helicopter drone Ingenuity, which will demonstrate aerial mapping and navigation technology. Tianwen-1, or “Questions to Heaven”, first Mars mission from China, ambitiously includes an orbiter, lander and rover to be carried by Long March-5 Y4 from Wenchang SLC on Hainan Island – successful landing would make China the 3rd country to achieve this feat. UAE Hope Mars Mission, departing from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan, on H-2A launcher, seeks to place an orbital probe to study atmospheric conditions. Currently maintaining scientific investigation from orbit are 6 spacecraft: NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere Volatile Evolution), ESA Mars Express, ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, an ESA and RSA collaboration. On the surface, Curiosity rover and Insight rover conduct ongoing investigation, as they have since 2012 and 2018, respectively. (Image Credits: NASA, Dubai Media Office, CNSA) |
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MONDAY
Highlights…
 May 11 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 63 three-member crew transferring 2,480 kg of cargo from Progress 75P, imaging Russia module interiors, working with Actiwatch, Astrobee, Food Acceptability and Veggie experiments; Astronaut gut microbiome study shows increase in diversity; Tom Cruise hopes to become next private spaceflight participant on ISS.
 May 11 — NewSpace: Rocket Lab planning Electron launch from Virginia MARS Launch Complex 2 in Q3; Final Frontier Design working on 4th generation EVA space suit design, IVA suits, PPE gloves; Infostellar of Japan raises US$3.5M to support cloud-based StellarStation to receive satellite / space communications.
May 11 — Solar System: Yutu-2 Moon rover traverses 446.68 m total, continues NCLE low-frequency radio astronomy in 17th lunar day; HiRISE captures high-res images from MRO of 3.7B-year-old dry riverbeds, intriguing astrobiologists; most detailed pictures of Europa ‘chaotic’ surface can help future landing site selections.
May 11 — Galaxy: Black hole nearest to Earth (1,000 LY) found via ESO observations, indicates there could be many more; ongoing survey shows brown dwarf Luhman 16A has meteorological similarities to Jupiter & Saturn; Fast Radio Bursts may have origin in neutrons with magnetic fields known as magnetars.
May 11 — Global: China analyzing data from launch of Long March 5B (success), crew capsule (success), cargo capsule (anomaly); India human Gaganyaan and lunar Chandrayaan-3 missions may be delayed but could cost less to develop; Japan testing H3 launch Vehicle engines, 1st launch could be NLT March 2021.
 May 11 — USA: NASA planning incremental return to in-person work; evolving Artemis Accords could begin international Moon ‘safety zones’ outline, catalyze property rights agreements; 124 businesses to be awarded US$104M for SBIR; Women in space / science featured in app “Reach Across the Stars; A Universe of Explorers“.
May 11 — Hawai’i: Mauna Kea and other Island observatories re-open after health emergency, able to begin nightly Galaxies observation campaigns; Pan-STARRS reports new asteroid 2020 HS7, will be tracked for further studies; future of proposed Big Telescope construction still in question.
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= 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’).
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Mercury (WNW), Venus (W); Morning Planets: Mars (SE), Jupiter (SE), Saturn (SE), Neptune (ESE).
AAS, AIAA, Space Tech Expo to Resume USA Conferences Later in Summer
With optimism that Q3 2020 could see resumption of nominal activities, necessitated reconfiguration for in-person meetings is ongoing including 3 USA conferences mid-May. While some organizers are planning fully virtual / online only, such as Interplanetary Small Sat Conference, International Planetary Dunes Workshop and European Lunar Symposium – the AAS and AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference extends its abstract due date to May 15 to accommodate more in-person participation for its 2020 meeting August 9-13 at South Lake Tahoe CA. Chaired by (L-R) Kathleen Howell of Purdue University and Felix Hoots of Aerospace Corporation, the 2020 conference will cover orbital dynamics for planetary, asteroid, Earth, orbital debris, satellites, reusable launch vehicles, large space structures and tethers missions; as well as atmospheric re-entry, rendezvous and maneuver designs. The Special Session on NASA Artemis Program includes R&D on SLS, Orion, Lunar Gateway, and future crewed flights to Mars. Space Tech Expo USA 2020 is re-set for August 10-12 in Long Beach CA, after May 18-20 postponement. It features >215 exhibitors, and speakers from Virgin Orbit (Dan Hart), Slingshot Aerospace (Melanie Stricklan) and Boeing (Troy Dawson). AIAA 2020 Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala in Washington DC originally planned on May 20 is now being held July 17, and will award Robert Cabana (NASA Kennedy Space Center), Alan Brown (Lockheed Martin), Sheila Widnall (MIT) and many others for their Aerospace contributions. (Image Credits: AAS, AIAA, SmarterShows, Purdue, Aerospace Corp., Cici Koenig / Caltech Graphics Group, NASA) |
May 11 — Long March 5B Core Stage, 151-317 km Altitude: China 20,000-kg core stage of Long March 5B launched May 5 excepted to reenter Earth atmosphere today (+/- 1 day).
May 11 — ISS, Cygnus NG-13 Release, 405-km Altitude: Northrop Grumman NG-13 cargo resupply craft dubbed S.S. Robert H. Lawrence, with several thousand kilograms of obsolete gear / trash, to be released from ISS 12:00 EDT, live coverage available; reenters Earth atmosphere ~May 25.
May 11 — ESA, CNES, Kourou, French Guiana: Guiana Space Centre to re-open today, preparing for mid-June flight of Vega rocket, designated VV16.
May 11-12 — Caltech, Online / Pasadena CA: Interplanetary Small Satellite Conference; free web conference.
May 11-14 — IAA, NewSpace Systems, Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau, Stellenbosch, South Africa: 1st IAA African Symposium on Small Satellites; postponed to May 10-13, 2021.
May 11 — Mercury: 2.93° SE of Alcyon, 18:00.
Continued from…
Jan 2019 – Sep 2020 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt: Full data collected from 7 instruments during KBO Arrokoth flyby to be transmitted to Earth over this time period.
Nov 2019 – Nov 2020 — Hayabusa2, Earth Trajectory: JAXA Hayabusa2 with two samples collected from C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu on trajectory for Earth return.
Mar 16 – Sep 16 — SpaceX, Boca Chica Beach TX: SpaceX to attempt Starship flight to 20-km altitude during this timeframe.
TUESDAY
NET May 12 — ExPace, Launch Kuaizhou-1 / Xingyun-2 01 & 02, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China: ExPace to launch Xingyun-2 01 and 02 test satellites for constellation for Internet-of-Things (IoT); Xingyun 01 to be named Wuhan in honor of the city having been the epicenter of Covid-19.
May 12 — Adler Planetarium, Chicago IL: First planetarium in USA (est. 1930) reaches 90th full year of operations. |
May 12 — NASA Advisory Council (NAC), Online / Washington DC: NAC Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Engagement Committee Meeting; 09:00-14:00.
May 12-13 — USRA, LPI, Alamosa CO: 6th International Planetary Dunes Workshop; virtual meeting.
May 12-14 — INFN, ASI, Open University, NASA SSERVI, et al, Online: 8th European Lunar Symposium 2020; originally scheduled as an in-person meeting, now virtual / online-only.
May 12 — Moon: 2.24° S of Jupiter, 01:00; with Jupiter and Saturn within circle of diameter 4.72°, 04:00; 2.66° SE of Saturn, 10:00.
WEDNESDAY
May 13 — For All Moonkind, Online / NYC NY: Weekly Moon Quizzes, time TBA.
May 13 — Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Online / NYC NY: Virtual STEAM Mentor Meet-up.
May 13 — Brookings Institution, Online / Washington DC: Space Junk: Addressing the Orbital Debris Challenge; featuring Jer Chyi Liou (NASA), Victoria Samson (Secure World Foundation), Frank Rose (Brookings), 10:30-11:30 EDT.
May 13-14 — NASA Advisory Council (NAC), Online / Washington DC: NAC Human Explorations and Operations Committee Meeting; including discussions on Artemis, Budget, Human Landing System, Advanced Exploration Systems, Gateway, ISS, Commercial Crew, Commercialization of LEO, Plan for Sustained Lunar Exploration and Development.
May 13-14 — Euroconsult, Mexico City, Mexico: 6th Annual LatSat Latin American Satellite Congress; postponed to Q4 2020.
THURSDAY
May 14 — Lorentz Center for Scientific Workshops in All Disciplines, Online: Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE) Virtual Mini Workshop; 16:00-18:00 CEST.
May 14 — Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Online / Washington DC: Online Lecture: Seeing the Unseeable – Capturing an Image of a Black Hole; by Sheperd Doeleman, 20:00 EDT.
May 14 — Moon: At last quarter, 04:02; 2.63° SE of Mars, 19:00.
May 14 — Jupiter: Starts apparent retrograde motion lasting about 4 months, 04:00.
May 14 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 JK: Near-Earth Flyby (0.038 AU)
May 14 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 HS6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.040 AU)
FRIDAY
May 15 — AIAA San Francisco Section, Online / San Francisco CA: Nominations Due for 2020 AIAA Section Awards.
May 15 — NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), Online: NASA ASAP Meeting; includes updates on Artemis Human Lunar Exploration Program, Commercial Crew Program; 15:00-15:45 EDT.
May 15 — AAS Space Flight Mechanics Committee, AIAA Astrodynamics Technical Committee, Online / South Lake Tahoe CA: Extended Deadline for Abstracts: 2020 AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference; featuring Artemis Program Special Session, being held Aug 9-13.
May 15 — Mars and Jupiter: At heliocentric conjunction, 05:00.
May 15 — Apollo Asteroid 478784 (2012 UV136): Near-Earth Flyby (0.022 AU)
May 15 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 HA9: Near-Earth Flyby (0.047 AU)
SATURDAY
May 16 — ULA, Launch Atlas 5 / USSF 7 / OTV-6, SLC 41 Cape Canaveral AFS FL: United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to launch USSF 7 mission for U.S. Space Force with primary payload X-37B spaceplane “Orbital Test Vehicle”; to deploy FalconSat-8 containing several experiments for Air Force, NASA, US Naval Research Lab.
May 16 — British Interplanetary Society, Online / United Kingdom: Livestream: The Space Elevator Climber; Peter Robinson of International Space Elevator Consortium, 14:00-15:15 local time.
May 16 — Aerospace Industries Association, The Plains VA: The American Rocketry Challenge; 925 teams compete to win US$100,000 in cash prizes and the chance to represent USA in International Rocketry Challenge at Farnborough Air Show in London; postponed until 2021.
May 16 — Moon: 4.1° SE of Neptune, 09:00.
May 16 — Mercury: 7.2° N of Aldebaran, 06:00.
SUNDAY
NET May 17 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink 7, SLC-40, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: SpaceX rocket to launch 8th batch of ~60 satellites for Starlink broadband network.
May 17 — Moon: At apogee (distance 405,585.73 km), 22:00.
May 17 — Jupiter: 4.7° WSW of Saturn, 20:00.