Earth Day 2024: ESTEC Studies Planetary Protection, MVA Considers Earth-Moon Environmentalism, ESA Astronaut Class Graduates

The 54th Earth Day on April 22 will be marked by protest marches, volunteer cleanups, petition drives, tree plantings and educational events around the world, with ~1B participants in 192 countries. The theme of Earth Day is Planet vs. Plastics, with the goal of eliminating single-use plastics via UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution in 2024 and reducing global plastic (synthetic polymer) production by 60% NLT 2040. Currently, over 400,000,000 tons of plastic is produced annually, impacting wildlife and human health by accumulation and introduction of endocrine-disrupting chemicals into the food chain and water supplies. Concurrently, European Space Research and Technology Centre in The Netherlands will be focusing on a different type of planetary protection – the Near-Earth Object 99942 Apophis, a 340-m asteroid which is to make a predicted 0.00025 AU (37,399.5 km) close approach to our planet on April 13, 2029. Apophis is to be the subject of in-situ analysis during OSIRIS-REx extended mission OSIRIS-APEX days after it passes Earth, the science of which will be topic of workshop Apophis T-5 Years: Knowledge Opportunity for the Science of Planetary Defense. Also on Earth Day, Moon Village Association will ponder expansion of the concept of environment in the space age and how lunar exploration may alleviate anthropogenic climate change with Climate Action & Lunar Exploration virtual panel discussion and ESA will graduate 12 reservists / 5 Astronaut candidates including first Australian Space Agency candidate Katherine Bennell-Pegg. (Image Credits: NASA, MVA, ESA)

MONDAY 

☆ Apr 22 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 71 seven-member crew planning Russia EVA #62 this week, undocking of Dragon cargo ship with return experiments and cargo.

☆ Apr 22 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 17 three-member crew to welcome three member of Shenzhou 18 this week for crew overlap / orientation and return to Earth near end of month.

☾ = Moon activity

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

China Celebrates National Space Day Apr 24, Launches Shenzhou 18 Crew

Celebrating the National Day of Space Flight in China on April 24 in honor of the nation’s first satellite Dongfanghong-1 launch in 1970, Chinese Society of Astronautics and China Space Foundation are hosting the 2024 events in Wuhan, Hubei, PRC from April 23-26. The theme Look Afar to Cosmos and Join Together for Space will have academic forums, industrial dialogues, exhibitions, science education, educational activities, roadshows, cultural interactions for “all countries around the world to cooperate to explore the universe better and make space technology benefit human society better”. There will also be an update on the Chang’E-7 mission, launching in 2026 to Shackleton Crater Rim, including its international payloads. In attendance will be Lu Bo (CNSA) and Gong Wei (Vice President of Wuhan University). Main topics are International Rule of Law in Outer Space, Small Satellite Technology, Space Science, Medical Engineering, and Commercial Aerospace Industry. Coinciding with National Day of Space Flight is the planned launch of Shenzhou 18 on Long March 2F from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on April 25. This to-be-named 3-member crew will dock to Tiangong Space Station for a 6-month mission and overlap for about 4 days with the Shezhou-17 crew Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin. The TSS crews will celebrate Tianhe core module reaching 3 full years in Space on April 29. (Image Credits: CSA, CSF, CNSA)

o Apr 22 — Earth Day Network, Worldwide: Earth Day; to broaden, diversify & activate the environmental movement worldwide; originally proposed to occur March 21 (first day of Spring) by creator John McConnell.

o Apr 22 — European Space Agency, European Astronaut Centre, Cologne, Germany: ESA Astronaut Graduation for Sophie Adenot, Pablo Álvarez Fernández, Rosemary Coogan, Raphaël Liégeois, Marco Sieber, Katherine Bennell-Pegg.

o Apr 22 — Moon Village Association, The Human Space Program, Cosmic Citizen Trainings, Vienna, Austria and Online:  Earth Day 2024 – Climate Action & Lunar Exploration.

o Apr 22-23 — European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, The Netherlands: Apophis T-5 Years: Knowledge Opportunities for the Science of Planetary Defense Conference.

o Apr 22-25 — UK Space Agency, AstrobiologyOU, The Open University, London, United Kingdom: International Planetary Protection Week.

☾ Apr 22 — Moon: 1.29° NE of Spica, 19:00.

☆ Apr 22 — Aten Asteroid 2022 HR3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.087 AU)

TUESDAY

● Apr 23 — American Museum of Natural History, San Luis Obispo CA: Astronomy Live: Is There Extraterrestrial Life? by Dr. Jackie Faherty, Senior Museum Scientist.

● Apr 23 — Lockheed Martin, Online: 1st Quarter 2024 Financial Results Telecon; 11:00 EDT.