Astrobotic Set for Launch to Moon, First of Many Planned for 2024

Peregrine lander awaits launch on ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket, now fully stacked on pad SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in preparation for inaugural Cert-1 flight on NET January 8 at 02:18 EST. Weather conditions are forecast 85% favorable for launch. NASA will provide extensive coverage documenting the launch on NASA+, NASA TV and other platforms starting at 01:30 EST on Jan 8. Virtual registration for the inaugural flight provides direct updates and a commemorative stamp. Peregrine is to land near mid-latitude Sinus Viscositatis NET Feb 23. Astrobotic won’t be the first organization to attempt a Moon landing in 2024, however, as JAXA SLIM prepares for a Jan 20 attempt within 100-m target near Shioli crater. The SLIM lander is currently in an elliptical 600 x 4,000 km lunar orbit which is to be circularized at 600 km ahead of landing maneuvers with perilune of 15 km. In total, up to 10 Moon landings and 3 lunar orbital insertions / flybys from 4 nations may be attempted in the coming year: Intuitive Machines plans to launch Nova-C lander in mid-Feb, with landing in Moon South Pole region near Malapert A crater possibly occurring within hours of the Astrobotic landing. The Doge-1 lunar orbiter, built by Geometric Energy Corporation of Canada, is to rideshare on the same SpaceX F9 launch. CNSA, ispace and Firefly may also launch robotic landers in 2024, NASA is working to return humans to Moon with Artemis 2, and SpaceX may land demo HLS variant of Starship. (Image Credits: NASA, Astrobotic, SpaceX, JAXA)

MONDAY 

☆ Jan 8 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 70 seven-member crew working with 3D bioprinting, protein crystals, combustion and fire safety experiments, and preparing to receive 4 visitors for Axiom Mission 3 next week.

☆ Jan 8 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: CMSA continues analysis of Tianhe core module solar panels after micrometeorite damage prompted necessary EVA for repair work by Shenzhou-17 crew.

☾ = Moon activity

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

AIAA Opens New Year 2024 with 5,000+ at SciTech Forum in Orlando

American Institute of and Aeronautics and Astronautics is hosting its Science and Technology Forum and Exposition on January 8-14 in Florida with the theme ‘Outside-In: Expand the Boundaries’. This will be the 11th SciTech Forum, which was preceded by AIAA SPACE Conference and Exhibition series. SciTech 2024 is expected to host >5,000 attendees representing 50 counties. There will be 780 technical sessions, 3,000 presentations and 50 exhibitors discussing science, technologies and policies for aerospace and related sectors. The first day will open with a plenary by Lauren Knausenberger (SAIC), feature a special session on Artemis 1 Flight Data Analysis, a technical paper on Space Tethers, and a technical panel on Highlighting Women in Aerospace 2024 with Malissa Lightfoot (Edwards AFB), Hope Michelson (U of CO – Boulder), Aimee Williams (GTRI), and Puja Upadhyay (NASA GRC). Some of the emerging technologies and capabilities being explored include space-based nuclear power, AI & machine learning, Moon-Mars ISRU, space situational awareness systems, and energy storage. Space sustainability, inclusion and diversity will also be overarching areas of focus. AIAA is comprised of 57 sections organized into 7 AIAA Regions. It will continue its ASCEND meetings in February (Texas) and July (Las Vegas), followed by Regional Student Conferences, Defense Forum, Awards Gala, Aviation Forum and other 2024 technical conferences. (Also Pictured: AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher; Image Credits: AIAA, SciTech Sponsors, et al)

★ Jan 8 — ULA, Launch Vulcan Centaur / Astrobotic Peregrine Lander, SLC-41, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Inaugural launch of Vulcan Centaur carrying Astrobotic Peregrine lander for Moon touchdown near Gruithuisen Domes, with 5 NASA payloads for Artemis Program, CMU Iris Lunar Rover, total 90 kgs of customer payloads from commercial companies and international space agencies, institutions; 02:18 EST.

☆ Jan 8 — CAS Space, Launch Long March 2C / Einstein Probe, Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China: Astronomy probe to launch on Long March 2C rocket.

o Jan 8-12 — ETH Zurich, NCCR PlanetS, Swiss National Science Foundation, et al, Zurich, Switzerland and Online: Rocky Worlds III.

● Jan 8-14 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Orlando FL: 2024 AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition (AIAA SciTech Forum).

☾ Jan 8 — Moon: 0.86° NE of Antares, 06:00; 5.6° S of Venus, 09:00.

☆ Jan 8 — Aten Asteroid 2002 AY1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.038 AU)

TUESDAY

☆ Jan 9 — CAS Space, Launch Kinetica-1 / Payload TBC, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China: Commercial CAS Space to launch its third Kinetica-1 rocket (Y3) with unconfirmed payload.

● Jan 9 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: Phase 1 Solicitations for Small Business Innovation Research & Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Program to be released.

☾ Jan 9 — Moon: 6.6° S of Mercury, 09:00; 4.2° S of Mars, 23:00.

☆ Jan 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 XN13: Near-Earth Flyby (0.040 AU)