SLIM, Nova-C and Peregrine Slated to Land on Moon in Early New Year 2024
Now <55,000 km from the Moon, 2.4 x 2.7-m JAXA Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) lunar lander is just days from reaching lunar orbit insertion on December 25. The 200-kg SLIM is to remain in lunar orbit until mid-Jan, at which point an adjustment maneuver will be performed to begin transfer to an elliptical pre-landing orbit, a process that is to be completed by January 19. Descent to the lunar surface is planned to start on Jan 20 at 00:00 JST, with landing 20 minutes later (00:20 JST Jan 20 / 15:00 UTC Jan 19). The main technical objective of SLIM is to achieve precision touch down within 100-m of a point near Shioli crater (25.2°E, 13.3°S) using its advanced vision-based algorithmic landing system. Set to arrive on the lunar surface perhaps within hours of SLIM is Nova-C lander, weighing 675kg and measuring 4.3 x 1.5m in diameter. Nova-C is built and operated by Intuitive Machines of Houston TX, and is contracted under NASA CLPS to deliver 5 science payloads to a site near Malapert A crater (-80.3°S, 1.3°E) as well as 6 independent payloads including ILO-X astronomy imagers from SPC affiliate International Lunar Observatory Association. Astrobotic Peregrine is also standing by for launch from CCSFS NET Jan 8 following successful second Wet Dress Rehearsal of launch vehicle ULA Vulcan Centaur. Peregrine is to deliver 5 NASA and 15 independent payloads to Sinus Viscositatis. (Image Credits: JAXA, IM, Astrobotic, NASA)
|
MONDAY☆ Dec 18 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 70 working with ElectroMagnetic Levitator and Fiber Optic Production experiments; in-flight interview today for NBC with Andreas Mogensen & Jasmin Moghbeli, 20:18 EST; Cygnus cargo freighter release planned for this Thursday. ☆ Dec 18 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou-17 three-member crew planning future EVA which will be spacewalk #13 for TSS installations and adaptions; Taikonaut Tang Shengjie produces video of Mengtian Lab. Highlights… o NewSpace: iSpace China to conduct 3rd hop test of Hyperbola-2Y / SQX-2Y with sea platform landing in 2024, orbital launch of Hyperbola-3 NET 2025; Helicity Space working to develop fusion propulsion system with $5M investment round; Starlink traffic up ~3x in 2023 despite ban in Ghana and exclusion by FCC from US$885.5 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund award. ☆ Solar System: Mars Perseverance continuing 4th science campaign near Jezero Crater as total mission length surpasses 1,000 days – samples containing silica, phosphate, carbonate cataloged for future return; UCSD study shows amino acids possibly contained in plumes emanating from Enceladus would survive 4.2 km/s impact with spacecraft. ☆ Galaxy: NASA working to restore Voyager 1 functionality following fault in telemetry modulation unit causing invalid data return; Rouge brown dwarf 3-4x the mass of Jupiter located 100 ly away in star cluster IC 348 thought to be smallest known star; Smallsat astronomy missions including 12U Sprite ($4M) and Mantis ($8.5M) hope to replicate success of CUTE ($5M). o Global: ISRO to develop life support for Gaganyaan in-house following failed attempts to procure a system internationally; HyImpulse and Orbex to receive $8.5M ($4.3M / $4.2 per) from UKSA to support launch from SaxaVord and Sutherland spaceports; HyPrSpace of France developing Baguette One suborbital and orbital OB-1 launch vehicles with $38M public-private funding. ● USA: SpaceX now valued at $180B as investors reportedly considering public sale at $97 / share; Space Perspective teaming with Texas Lottery to offer prize trip on Spaceship Neptune; Astronaut Andrew Feustel joining Vast which is working to launch Haven-1 commercial space station before competitors Axiom (Hab One), Blue Origin (Orbital Reef) and Voyager (Starlab). ● Hawai’i: Privateer prototype 2U cubesat PONO 1 conducting on-orbit monitoring of spacecraft / debris following HSFL testing, SpaceX Transporter-9 launch and D-Orbit deployment; TMT Laser Guide Star Facility enters Final Design Phase following successful Preliminary Design Review; Annual Maunakea Coin Contest accepting submissions which highlight natural resources, astronomy and culture on the Mauna. |
 |
● = Terrestrial and… o = International terrestrial events
☾ = Moon activity ★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’). |
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Jupiter (SE), Saturn (SW), Uranus (SE), Neptune (S); Morning Planets: Venus (SE).
China Reaches 500 Long March Launches, Completes 10 Years of Continuous Operations on the Moon with Chang’E
|
★ Dec 18 — Blue Origin, Launch New Shepard (NS-24), Launch Site One, Van Horn TX: Suborbital mission carrying 33 science and research payloads and 38,000 post cards to space for Club for the Future. ● Dec 18 — Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, KSC FL: Meet Astronaut Guy Gardner. Ongoing… ☾ Sep 6 – NET Jan 20 — Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), Lunar Landing Trajectory: SLIM Moon mission 4-6 month trajectory to soft land east of Shioli crater (13.2°S, 25.2°E) on Moon near side equatorial region. ☆ Sep 6 – NET Mar — X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), ~550-km LEO: XRISM undergoing 6 month check out testing phase before start of science operations to study galactic plasma. ★ Dec 11 — X-37B Spaceplane, LEO: Seventh mission of X-37B, designated USSF-52, undergoing new orbital regimes, experimenting space domain awareness tech, investigating radiation effects on materials provided by NASA. ● Dec 15-30 — Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, KSC FL: 2023 Holidays in Space; nightly projected show of a voyage through the stars, Earth and beyond. TUESDAY☆ Dec 19 — Gaia, Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point: ESA spacecraft reaches 10 full years / enters 11th year in space today; now in extended mission phase working to map more than 1 billion stars; launched in 2013. o Dec 19 — International Astronautical Federation, Online / Paris, France: Nominations Due for IAF Awards; World Space Award, Excellence in International Cooperation Award, Excellence in ‘3G’ Diversity Award, Hall of Fame Award and Frank J. Malina Astronautics Medal. ☾ Dec 19 — Moon: 1.19° SE of Neptune, 05:00; at first quarter, 08:39. ☆ Dec 19 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 XF2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.025 AU) ☆ Dec 19 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 XS: Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU) |
WEDNESDAY
o Dec 20 — White House National Space Council, Washington DC: NSC chaired by USA Vice President Kamala Harris 3rd Meeting.
☆ Dec 20 — Mercury: At perihelion; 0.3075 AU from the Sun, 07:00.
☆ Dec 20 — Aten Asteroid 341843 (2008 EV5): Near-Earth Flyby (0.042 AU)
THURSDAY
o Dec 21 — Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Cerro Pachón, Chile: Previously dubbed Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, VCR Observatory team expects dome to be completed this month.
● Dec 21 — Gemini North, NOIRLab, Mauna Kea HI: Public Visits to Gemini Observatory atop Mauna Kea; 14:00-16:00 HST, 2-10 people per tour.
☆ Dec 21 — December Solstice: The Sun reaches the point where it is farthest South of the celestial equator, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year (opposite in Southern Hemisphere); 17:28.
☆ Dec 21 — Asteroid 4 Vesta: At opposition in longitude, magnitude 6.4, 02:00.
☆ Dec 21 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 YJ2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.047 AU)
FRIDAY
★ Dec 22 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Ovzon-3, SLC-40 Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Launch of communications satellite Ovzon-3 built by Maxar for company Ovzon; 16:00 local time.
o Dec 22 — China National Space Administration, Online / Beijing, China: Applications Due: Opportunity for Chang’E-5 Sample Return Access.
● Dec 22 — NASA, Online: Comments Due for Draft Implementation Plan for a NASA Integrated Lunar Science Strategy in the Artemis Era.
☾ Dec 22 — Moon: 2.39° NNW of Jupiter, 03:00.
☆ Dec 22 — Mercury: At inferior conjunction with the Sun; 0.676 AU from Earth, 09:00.
☆ Dec 22 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 YG: Near-Earth Flyby (0.028 AU)
SATURDAY
☆ Dec 23 — Ursid Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from β star of Ursa Minor, Ursids are associated with comet 8P/Tuttle, they offer medium speed (33 km/sec), mostly faint with a few fireballs, 9-10 per hour, visible in northern Hemisphere.
☾ Dec 23 — Moon: 2.61° NNW of Uranus, 04:00.
☆ Dec 23 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 YO3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.009 AU)
☆ Dec 23 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 VD6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU)
SUNDAY
☾ Dec 24 — Moon: 1.00° SE of Pleiades, 00:00.
☆ Dec 24 — Apollo Asteroid 2010 UE51: Near-Earth Flyby (0.023 AU)