February 13-19, 2023 / Vol 42, No 7 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Perseverance Rover Entering 3rd Year of Mars Surface Exploration, NASA JPL Education Celebrates Online

As of February 18 (20:55 UTC), Mars 2020 Perseverance will have operated on the Red Planet for 2 Earth years – the equivalent of 700 sols, since setting down on Octavia E. Butler Landing within Jezero crater (18.44°N, 77.45°E) with Ingenuity helicopter. Ingenuity is preparing for its 42nd trip, and will commemorate 2 years since its April 19 historic first flight – a technology that will further advance exploration on other worlds. Primarily tasked with seeking out signs of past life and liquid water, Perseverance and Ingenuity are also collecting data on weather and geology. Perseverance is carrying out the first phase of NASA / ESA Mars Sample Return mission, caching 43 astrobiologically relevant samples in tubes for retrieval, 10 of which are being transported to backup site Three Forks Sample Depot. In 2028 a Sample Retrieval Lander is planned to launch for 2030 touchdown carrying 2 additional helicopters for sample transfer and Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), a 0.5-m 2-stage rocket currently under development. The MAV will in turn lift off with the Mars rocks ensconced in Orbiting Sample (OS) container, which will dock via Capture, Containment and Return System module of Earth Return Orbiter (an ESA mission contribution), arriving on Earth (Utah Test & Training Range) NET 2033. NASA JPL Education will share the latest mission findings at Mars 2020 ‘Landiversary’ livestream. (Image Credits: NASA / JPL, ESA, DeepAI)

MONDAY

☆ Feb 13 — ISS, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 68 seven-member crew welcoming Progress 83P and commencing cargo transfers, working with Astrobees, Zero T2 device for full body resistance exercise, analyses of water carbon concentration, and crystal growth experiment.

☆ Feb 13 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 15 three-member crew performing post-EVA activities after mission’s first spacewalk, performing medical checks, continuing space station construction and experiment / cabinet set ups.

☾ = Moon activity

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

SSTL 15th Annual GSTC in Singapore Showcases Latest Space Sector Development

The 2023 Singapore Space and Technology Limited (SSTL) Global Space and Technology Convention (GSTC 2023) themed Future World, Endless Possibilities is being held February 15-16. There will be workshops, CEO roundtable sessions, one-on-one business matching platforms, technologies exhibit and networking areas for participants to share latest space sector industry developments and market trends. There are ~25 exhibiting companies, 37 sponsors and 29 supporting organizations. The guest of honor is (TL-BR) S. Iswaran, Singapore Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations; and speakers include Sang-Ryool Lee (KARI), Joel Marciano Jr. (PhilSA), Pakorn Apaphant (GISTDA, Thailand), Aleksandra Bukala (Polish Space Agency), Robertus Heru Triharjanto (ORPA-BRIN, Indonesia) and representatives from UAE Space Agency, Malaysia Space Agency, CNES, UKSA, DLR, Israel Space Agency, OSTIn, Arianespace, Airbus, Dawn Aerospace, BlackSky, Surrey, Maxar, SWF, Planet, Spaceflight, Virgin Orbit, Dhruva Space, Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group, Kongsberg and Space Forge. On February 10 there was a Singapore Professional Astronomy Workshop, sponsored by ILOA Hawai’i at Science Centre Singapore, bringing together IAU members and astronomy / science PhDs to advance professional astronomy in Singapore. Later this year Singapore will host the 5th Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Symposium: Space Science with Small Satellites is being planned for April 16-21, followed by 20th Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS 2023): Surface Science and Exploration of the Moon and Airless Planetary Bodies on July 30 – August 4. (Image Credits: SSTL, NASA)

o Feb 13-14 — Royal Society, London, United Kingdom: Astronomy from the Moon: The Next Decades; to examine potential uses of the Moon as a platform for astronomical observations and policy implications; free meeting.

☆ Feb 13 — Moon: At last quarter, 06:02.

☆ Feb 13 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 EP4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.048 AU)

☆ Feb 13 — Amor Asteroid 2023 BK2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.083 AU)

Continued From…

● Oct 15 – Jun 15, 2023 — International Space Elevator Consortium, Online: Space Elevator Academic Challenge: Improving Humanity’s Future; for students 17-25.

☾ Dec 11 – Apr 25, 2023 — Hakuto-R / ispace Mission 1, Lunar Landing Trajectory: Carrying UAE Rashid 10-kg rover, 0.25-kg JAXA SORA-Q rover, Hakuto-R performing orbital control maneuvers to reach Lunar Orbital Insertion, followed by Moon touchdown nominally ~4.5 months after launch.

● Jan 18 – May 11 — Wichita State University, Wichita KS and Online: 2023 Interstellar Seminar ‘LASI 150G’; 1-credit hour seminar begins today; every Wednesday 14:30-15:20, led by Prof. Mark Schneegurt.

☆ NET Feb — ISRO, Launch GSLV Mk III (LVM3) / OneWeb 36, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India: ISRO to launch next batch of 36 communication satellites for OneWeb constellation.

o Feb 6-17 — United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), Vienna, Austria: Meeting of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of COPUOS.

☆ NET Feb 10 – ISRO, Launch Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), Satish Dhawan Space Center, India: Launch of SSLV rocket on Demo 2 mission carrying a microsat.

o Feb 12-21 — National Space Foundation, NOIRLab, International Dark-Sky Association, AURA, Online / Global: Globe at Night February Campaign; campaign to raise awareness of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure & submit night sky brightness observations.

TUESDAY

● Feb 14 — Space Florida, Tallahassee FL: Florida Space Day 2023; to educate & bring awareness to Florida legislators on significance of aerospace industry & its impact on Florida economy.

● Feb 14 — Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators at University of California Observatories, University of Hawai’i, Online: Applications Due: Akamai Internship Program 2023; running Jun 12 – Aug 12 in Hawaii.