Reclaiming Human Presence on Moon; The Greatest Advance in USA / Human History

Human missions to the Moon for a sustainable, international and commercial presence on our closest celestial neighbor should be of high priority for the new 2017 USA administration. The technology and resources to achieve a permanently crewed lunar research station exist today. The justifications are valid, from science and education to innovation and economics, to the very survival of our civilization. Various experts have consistently projected that 2-4 astronauts could be on the Moon’s surface within 5-7 years for about US$10B. Spaceweek 2016 marks 47th observation of Apollo 11 and 1st Humans on Moon, as well as 40th observation of Viking 1 and 1st robotic landing on another planet. NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute at Ames Research Center in Moffett Field CA is hosting the 3rd International Conference on the Exploration of Phobos and Deimos July 18-19 and the 8th Lunar & Small Bodies Graduate Conference Jul 19 ahead of the Exploration Science Forum (ESF 2016) Jul 20-22. Another ESF-adjacent event is the Lunar Commercialization Workshop (Moon Village) at Rainbow Mansion in Cupertino Jul 19. WayPaver Foundation is launching their 2017 granting program to foster sustainable Lunar Development at an event in nearby Palo Alto Jul 20. Kennedy Space Center Apollo 11 Anniversary Gala on Jul 23 features legendary Moon-walker Buzz Aldrin and other special guests. (Image Credit: NASA)

MONDAY

Jul 18 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 48 six-member crew scheduled to facilitate docking of 2 cargo ships, transfer cargo & take inventory, Astronaut Takuya Onishi working with JAXA on Tanabata ‘Star Festival’ Redesign Project, Kate Rubins to perform DNA sequencing of genes; researchers developing radio monitor to track thousands of radio-equipped animals in real time from ISS in 2017.

Jul 18 — Astrosat, 650-km Equatorial LEO: India 5-instrument multi-wavelength observatory studying X-ray binaries, Milky Way center in visible (320–550 nanometer), near UV (200–300 nm), far UV (130–180 nm), soft X-ray (0.3–8 keV & 2–10 keV), hard X-ray (3–80 keV & 10–150 keV); 10 out 14 orbits per day are visible to ground station in Bengaluru allowing for full data download.

Jul 18 — Cassini, Saturn Orbit: Traveling at ~35,400 kph relative to Saturn in a period of 23.9 days inclined 43° from planet’s equatorial plane, recent telemetry data downlinked & captured at rates up to 124,426 bits per second; Titan Winged Aerobot drone in early-stages of technology study; Saturn comprises 21% of Solar System planetary mass.

Jul 18 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Dragon CRS 9, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: Falcon 9 rocket to launch 11th Dragon spacecraft on 9th operational cargo delivery mission to ISS 00:45 EDT; carrying JAXA animal experiments & IDA-2 docking adapter; rendezvous planned for Jul 20, will attempt to land 1st-stage at Cape Canaveral Landing Zone 1, second 1st-stage landing attempted on solid ground.

Jul 18 — Moon Express, Moffett Field CA: NewSpace company investing ~US$2M to upgrade KSC facilities to support low-altitude lander flight tests, expanding to Launch Complexes 17 & 18 (already operating at Complex 36), testing MX-1E micro-lander; FAA Lunar Mission Approval still pending.

Jul 18 — Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd, Cornwall, United Kingdom: Partnering with Surrey Satellite Technology to build Lunar Pathfinder craft with payload capacity of 80 kg to carry customer CubeSats to Lunar orbit and set up relay link back to Earth via Goonhilly radiocommunication station; founder Ian Jones.

Jupiter, Saturn, Solar System Complete: Human Exploration Missions in the 21st Century

Robotic exploration, research and preparation are necessary steps for exploring a celestial body, but the greatest progress and most exciting opportunities are led by Human missions with in-situ critical thinking, flexibility and problem-solving abilities. The technologies and engineering crucial to successful and safe crewed missions beyond the Inner Solar System / Main Asteroid Belt (2.2-3.2 AU) will rocket humans toward 21st Century scientific and social achievements on Earth and Beyond. Many international space programs are focusing on Mars (1.38 AU) for the 2030s, perhaps with Lunar missions and outposts in the 2020s. More catalytic might be a prioritized path to Jupiter (5.2 AU) around the 2040s, Saturn (9.6 AU) and the Kuiper Belt (30-50 AU) before the end of this Century. Jupiter constitutes more than 70% of the SS planetary mass and is orbited by moon Io, the most geologically active object in the SS (400 active volcanoes). Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Enceladus and Titan are teeming with potential for unique chemistry and insights into SS and biological evolution. Callisto is one of the oldest and most heavily cratered surfaces in the SS, tidally locked and orbits outside of Jupiter’s main radiation belt (~1,883,000 km). Nine missions are contributing to the data for Jupiter, 4 for Saturn, 2 for interstellar space, and only 1 for Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Kuiper Belt. Two additional missions JUICE and Europa Clipper are planning to launch in 2022 with possible nanosats / impactors / landers. (Image Credit: NASA, JPL, Caltech, SSI, J. Major, University of Arizona, kosmoved.ru, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Westerkamp & Loenen, Tim Trott)

Jul 18-19 — SSERVI, NASA, SETI Institute, Mars Institute, Moffett Field CA: 3rd International Conference on the Exploration of Phobos and Deimos: The Science, Robotic Reconnaissance, and Human Exploration of the Two Moons of Mars.

Jul 18-21— Republican National Convention, Cleveland OH: 2016 Republican National Convention will feature a speech Jul 20 from NASA Astronaut Eileen Collins, the 1st woman to command a space shuttle mission.

Jul 18-22 — NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, Caltech, JPL, Pasadena CA: 2016 Sagan Exoplanet Summer Workshop: Looking for Planets in Astronomical Data; in Beckman Institute Auditorium.

Jul 18-22 — Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy – University of Malta, Malta: Conference: Signals from the Deep Past – Unveiling Early Cosmic Structures.

Jul 18-22 — Italy National Institute for Astrophysics, Sexten, Italy: Conference: Industrial Revolution in Galactic Astronomy.

Jul 18-22 — Centre for Extragalactic Theory, Kruger Park, South Africa: Workshop: Massive Beasts of the Cosmos; at Protea Hotel Kruger Gate.

Jul 18-22 — International Astronomical Union, Cairns, Australia: IAUS 322: The Multi-Messenger Astrophysics of the Galactic Centre; Conference: Diving into the Dark – Bridging Cosmological Theory & Observation.

Jul 18 — Moon: 3.0° N of Pluto, 16:00.

Jul 18 — Amor Asteroid 2016 MK: Near-Earth flyby (0.044 AU).

Continued from…

Jun 17 – Aug 15 — Canadian Space Agency, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada: 4th Astronaut recruitment campaign for CSA; expects to announce selected candidates in Summer 2017.