May 9-15, 2022 / Vol 41, No 19 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Lunar Surface Science Workshop 15: We Are Going! Artemis Community Updates

The 15th LSSW is being held online from Houston, Texas on May 10 sponsored by NASA, LPI, USRA under theme We Are Going! Artemis Community Updates. This LSSW session will include information from NASA HQ, Artemis program leaders, LEAG and a briefing on relevant portions of the recent Planetary Decadal Survey. Greg Schmidt and Kristina Gibbs will give an update on SSERVI. Jennifer Heldmann and Astronaut John Grunsfeld will speak on Human Spaceflight aspects of the decadal survey while Brett Denevi will overview Moon & Mercury details. Erica Jawin will speak on LEAG Updates with Ben Greenhagen and Carle Pieters reviewing the LEAG Continuous Lunar Orbital Capabilities Specific Action Team (CLOC-SAT). Moonworker specific focus will come from Barbara Janoiko / Analog Missions Project – Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS), Trevor Graff / Artemis Analog Activities, and Cindy Evans / Astronaut Training Update. Speakers also include Thomas Zurbuchen, Lori Glaze, Brad Bailey, Sarah Noble and Jacob Bleacher. The overarching themes throughout the entire LSSW series (which began May 28-29, 2020) are high priority locations within 6° of the Moon South Pole, valve of mobility for science, infrastructure and engaging the public. The next two planned workshops are #16 on June 16 covering Assessing the Value of Modern Field Geology Tools for Artemis, and #17 on June 27 Defining a Coordinated Lunar Resource Evaluation Campaign. (Image Credits: LPI, NASA, USRA, JHUAPL, LEAG, et al)

MONDAY

☆ May 9 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Expedition 67 to remain crew of 7 with Artemyev as Commander until September; working with cargo from Cygnus NG-17, Progress 79P & 80P, and experiments including grip supine science sessions, alloys growth, 4-week photocatalyst cleaning hardware.

☆ May 9 — Tiangong Space Station, ~370-km LEO: Tianzhou-4 sent to rendezvous with TSS this week for 12-month mission; with Shenzhou-14 crew launch in June, a 10+ year continuous occupation plan will commence seeing 2 cargo and 2 crew launches annually.

o = International terrestrial events in local time.

★ = Space events, and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).

Astronomers and Astrobiologists Working Towards Understanding of Hypothetical Life / Sentience Beyond Earth

SETI Institute is hosting the 2022 Drake Awards at the headquarters of SRI International in Menlo Park, California with a hybrid in-person / online format on May 12, 18:00 – 21:00 PDT. Shelley Wright, PI of the Near-Infrared Optical SETI (NIROSETI) instrument mounted on the Anna Nickel 1-m telescope at Lick Observatory, will be honored. Moderation will be conducted by SETI Institute Science Advisory Board member Timiebi Aganaba. In addition to numerous efforts to observe intelligent life in the universe, 2 ‘Active SETI’ / METI (Messaging Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) initiatives will soon be underway: The Beacon in the Galaxy may target stars near the center of the MWG (20,000+ LY distant) utilizing FAST (China) and/or ATA (CA), while Stihia Beyond aims closer to home, the TRAPPIST-1 system (39 LY distant), and will employ the commercial Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station in the UK. Stihia Beyond is to send “messages to explain humanity’s environmental crisis in terms of universal chemical principles, starting with the Periodic Table of Elements”. From a more foundational direction, exobiology academics will be meeting online and in-person in Atlanta for AbSciCon 2022, Origins and Exploration: From Stars to Cells at Hilton Atlanta Downtown May 15-20. Organized by the American Geophysical Union, AbSciCon22 will feature keynotes from (L-R) theoretical astrophysicist Reva Kay Williams, evolutionary biologist Nicole King, research scientist Katie Stack Morgan, and astrobiologist Betül Kaçar.(Image Credits: SETI Institute, METI International, AGU, AAS, ASM, JHAPL, BMS)

☆ May 9 — CNSA, Launch Long March 7 / Tianzhou 4, Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): Next cargo ship to launch to Tiangong Space Station in LEO; 18:15 UT.

● May 9 — NASA, Online: Update on JWST Commissioning; 11:00 EDT.

● May 9 — Maxar Technologies, Online: Maxar to hold Q1 2022 financial results telecon; 17:00 EDT.

o May 9-13 — AIAA, Estoril, Portugal: 3AF Space Propulsion Conference.

☆ May 9 — Moon: 4.8° NNE of Regulus, 14:00.

☆ May 9 — Aten Asteroid 467460 (2006 JF42): Near-Earth Flyby (0.038 AU)

☆ May 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 HT1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.091 AU)

☆ May 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 FR4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.096 AU)

Continued From…
o Nov 4 – Jun 29 — Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Problems, NASA Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), Moscow, Russia: Mixed gender, international crew of 6 participating in 8-month space / lunar simulation mission SIRIUS-21 (Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station).

● Mar 24 – May 26 — International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA Hawai’i), Online / Hawai’i Islands: ILO-X Moon Camera Naming Contest for HI Schools.

● Mar 26 – May 31 — AIAA LA-LV Section, Online: Women in Space Art Virtual Gallery.

★ NET May 1 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Nilesat 301, SLC-40, Kennedy Space Center FL: Falcon 9 to launch Nilesat 301 geostationary communications satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space; first stage booster to land on a drone ship in Atlantic.

● May 8-12 — American Nuclear Society (ANS), Online / Cleveland OH: 2022 Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space conference (NETS-2022).

TUESDAY

★ May 10 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink 4-13, SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB CA: Falcon 9 to launch batch of Starlink internet satellites; first stage booster to land on a drone ship in Pacific.