Chandrayaan-2 Poised to Deploy Lander, Rover to Lunar SurfaceThe final week of ISRO spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 voyage to the South Pole region of the Moon is commencing, with anticipated separation of lander module – named in honor of the late ISRO Chair Vikram Sarabhai – from orbiter September 2. The following day, a 3-second system checking maneuver will be executed. Vikram lander is to enter an elliptical orbit with apogee of 100 km and perigee of 30 km before a series of slowing maneuvers guide the 1,471-kg lander and 27-kg rover to a soft landing between craters Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at ~70° S on September 7. The orbiter will maintain a circular 100-km polar orbit for 1 year, where 8 scientific payloads will be utilized. Pragyan rover is to be deployed shortly after landing – both lander and rover should operate for 1 lunar day (~14 Earth days) as surviving the bitter cold of lunar night, which can reach -170°C / -275°F, is considered unlikely. Vikram payload contains thermal and plasma density measuring probes, laser retroreflector, and a seismometer. Pragyan has a range of 0.5 km and is powered by a 50-W solar array, allowing it to analyze material around the landing site via 2 spectroscopic instruments. The next ISRO Moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, is speculated to include cooperation with JAXA, sample return, and technology designed to endure lunar night. ISRO is also collaborating with Roscosmos to select and train 4 of 12 Vyomanauts for the first India crewed spaceflight, Gaganyaan in 2022. (Image Credits: ISRO, NASA) |
MONDAYHighlights… Sep 2 — NewSpace: SpaceX readies orbital Starship prototypes after successful 150-m flight of Starhopper; Japan ispace enlists Citizen Watch and other commercial partners; China LinkSpace plans bigger tests after 300-m flight of RLV-T5. Sep 2 — Solar System: Hayabusa2 stores sample-catcher in re-entry capsule; International Mars spacecraft will pause communications due to conjunction with Sun; Jupiter may have suffered giant impact; NASA chief restates belief that Pluto should be reclassified as a planet. Sep 2 — Galaxy: Australia astronomers discover new way to observe remnants of giant supernovae; China researchers find that distant pulsars increase brightness and slow their spin rate; UK scientists calculate maximum mass of lightest neutrino. Sep 2 — Global: ESA ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover being readied for environmental testing; ESA and NASA cooperating on 2020-2030 Mars Sample Return mission; Canada CanMoon lunar analog mission successfully returns from Canary Islands. Sep 2 — USA: SLS Engine Section of Core Stage prepares for ‘Green Run’ test; Deep Space Atomic Clock activated in Earth orbit for navigation experiments; James Webb Space Telescope is assembled for first time; Spitzer begins 17th year of observations, returns images of galaxies and star clusters. Sep 2 — Hawai’i: Keck Observatory observes planet HR 5183b with 3x Jupiter mass in highly elliptical orbit of star in Virgo; Subaru Telescope contributes to multiwavelength observations of storms on Jupiter; Namakanui new instrument for James Clerk Maxwell Telescope reaches summit of Mauna Kea. |
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for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Jupiter (SW), Saturn (SE); Morning Planets: Uranus (SE), Neptune (SE).
8th CSA-IAA Space Tech & Commercialization Conference Opens in Shanghai
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Sep 2 — Chandrayaan-2 Vikram Lander Separation, Lunar Orbit: India Moon craft to attempt Vikram lander / Pragyan rover separation from Chandrayaan-2 orbiter today to achieve Sep 7 landing at 70° S latitude ~600 km from lunar South Pole; will perform 2 final maneuvers before soft touchdown.
Sep 2-4 — UNOOSA, Graz, Austria: United Nations/Austria Symposium: Space: A Tool for Accessibility, Diplomacy and Cooperation. Sep 2-6 — University of Bologna – Department of Physics, Bologna, Italy: Conference: Views on the Interstellar Medium in Galaxies in the ALMA Era. Sep 2-8 — Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), Caterpillar Inc., Kailua-Kona HI: Hawai‘i International Space Exploration And Robotics Challenge (HI-SEARCH) 2019; at Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology Park run by NELHA. Sep 2 — Moon: 7.1° NNE of Spica, 04:00. Sep 2 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 QX1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.048 AU) Continued from…Jan 2019 – Sep 2020 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt: Full data from spacecraft 7 instruments during KBO Ultima Thule flyby to be transmitted to Earth over this time period. Apr 13 – Sep 2 — Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Flight, Multiple Locations: Destination Moon, traveling exhibition of historic Apollo 11 artifacts. Aug 29 – Sep 3 — Union of Radio Science (URSI), SIEM, Rome, Italy: 33rd URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium. NET Aug – Nov — Hayabusa2, Asteroid 162173 Ryugu: JAXA Hayabusa2 with 2 sample returns planned to remain at Asteroid for observations during this time period, then return to Earth. |
TUESDAY
Sep 3-5 — Binary Asteroids 5 Organizing Committee, Palmer Divide Observatory, Fort Collins CO: 5th Binary Asteroids in the Solar System Workshop.
Sep 3-6 — Chinese Society of Astronautics, International Academy of Astronautics, Shanghai, China: 8th CSA-IAA Conference on Advanced Space Technology – Space Technology Innovation and Space Commercialization.
Sep 3-6 — Akdeniz University, Paris Observatory, INAF, et al, Antalya, Turkey: Workshop on Small Solar System Bodies.
Sep 3 — Mercury: 0.64° NNE of Mars, 07:00.
Sep 3 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 DE1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.033 AU)
Sep 3 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 OF2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.046 AU)
WEDNESDAY
Sep 4-6 — Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, Astronomical Science Group of Ireland, Armagh, Northern Ireland: Irish National Astronomy Meeting 2019; showcasing projects carried out in partnership with international collaborations.
Sep 4 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 QX3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU)
Sep 4 — Aten Asteroid 2006 SE6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.072 AU)
THURSDAY
Sep 5 — Voyager 1, Interstellar Space: NASA spacecraft begins 43rd year in space today, launched Sep 5, 1977; farthest spacecraft from Earth, first to reach interstellar space.
Sep 5 — Triple Ring Technologies, Newark CA: Lecture: Searching for Life Beyond Earth; by Nathalie Cabrol, Director of the Carl Sagan Center for Research.
Sep 5 — Cornell University, Ithaca NY: Colloquium: Getting Under Europa’s Skin; by Britney Schmidt from School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Tech.
Sep 5-6 — Japan National Committee of URSI, Tokyo, Japan: 2019 URSI-Japan Radio Science Meeting.
Sep 5 — Moon: 7.6° NNE of Antares, 13:00; at first quarter, 17:11; 2.27° NNE of Jupiter, 21:00.
Sep 5 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 QE1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.034 AU)
Sep 5 — Aten Asteroid 2006 SE6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.072 AU)
FRIDAY
Sep 6-7 — Chandrayaan-2 Lunar Landing, Moon Surface: India 2nd Moon mission of lander & rover weighing ~1,500 kg will attempt to land at 70° S latitude, ~600 km from lunar South Pole between craters Manzinus C and Simpelius N; landing estimated at 01:40 IST on 7 Sep / 10:10 HST on 6 Sep.
Sep 6 — Caltech, Pasadena CA: Lecture: Observing Black Holes; Caltech Astronomer Marianne Heida, 20:00.
Sep 6 — 120th Observation of American Astronomical Society Founding, Washington DC: Formed in 1899 with initial membership of 114, AAS now with 6 divisions, is planning its 235th meeting in Honolulu HI for 2020.
Sep 6 — Apollo Asteroid 465617 (2009 EK1): Near-Earth Flyby (0.057 AU)
SATURDAY
Sep 7 — International Lunar Observatory Association, Vancouver Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Simon Fraser University Faculty of Science, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada: Galaxy Forum Canada 2019 Vancouver area: Astronomy from the Moon and 21st Century Canada Astrophysics.
Sep 7 — Mt Tam Astronomy Nights, San Francisco Amateur Astronomers and Wonderfest, Mt. Tamalpais State Park CA: Lecture: Mission: Mars; by Pascal Lee from Mars & SETI Institutes.
Sep 7 — Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles CA: Griffith Observatory Public Star Party.
Sep 7 — Apollo Asteroid 2016 LT1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.073 AU)
SUNDAY
Sep 8-11 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Big Sky MT: The First Billion Years: Habitability.
Sep 8 — Moon: 0.15° ESE of Saturn, 04:00.
Sep 8 — Amor Asteroid 2019 QZ: Near-Earth Flyby (0.040 AU)