India

June 11-17, 2018 / Vol 37, No 24 / Hawai`i Island, USA

SRR/PTMSS and CIM Meetings in USA, Canada Look Toward Resource Identification, Extraction, Ownership

The 9th Joint Space Resources Roundtable / Planetary and Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium (SRR / PTMSS) is being held June 12-15 in Golden, Colorado with the Lunar Polar Prospecting Workshop. More than 100 space professionals, natural resources industry personnel, financial and legal experts, policy analysts, and entrepreneurs will discuss space manufacturing, power systems, transportation, property rights, and ISRU on Moon, Mars, asteroids, and other celestial bodies. SRR / PTMSS speakers include (L-R) Angel Abbud-Madrid, Dale Boucher, Stephen Mackwell, Melissa Sampson, Jim Keravala, Allison Zuniga, Robert Zubrin and Clive Neal. The Lunar Polar Prospecting Workshop, June 14-15 sponsored by SRR, LEAG and ULA, will develop a plan to characterize distribution, concentration, quantity, and properties of lunar polar ice to design extraction and processing systems. The recommended results will be provided to space agencies and commercial companies. On June 16-21, the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) is hosting Resources for Future Generations 2018 in Vancouver, Canada. It will feature more than 45 plenary & keynote addresses and 1,200 oral presentations on topics such as future of energy, resource ownership rights, Earth through time, water and mineral extraction. Canada is one of the largest mining nations in the world, producing more than 60 minerals and metals. Canadian Space Agency, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, and other innovative companies are developing technologies to monitor, measure and extract resources in / from Space. (Credits: SRR / PTMSS, LEAG, NASA, ULA, NSS ISDC, CIM, Mining Association of Canada, Deep Space Industries)

MONDAY

Ongoing…
Jun 11 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 56 six-member crew with 61st woman in space Serena Auñón-Chancellor working with Electro-static Levitation Furnace, and commercial individualized ICE Cubes Facility; planning for USA EVA #51 this week; 3 newly arrived members will conduct ~250 science investigations over next 5 months.

Jun 11 — NewSpace: Rocket Lab in major preparation period before ‘It’s Business Time’ fully commercial launch; International Space Elevator Consortium working on monthly newsletters, public outreach, informing community on space elevator advances and research; Firefly Aerospace to provide up to 6 launches for Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. beginning ~late 2019.

Jun 11 — Solar System: New Horizons will spend next 2 months undergoing system tests and uploading new software on journey toward Ultima Thule; Juno finds Jupiter lightning storms may be more similar to Earth than Voyager 1 data suggests; Mars Curiosity Rover finds organic matter in Gale Crater, chemical clues to planetary conditions, indicates future possibilities for sustainability of life.

Jun 11 — Galaxy: Researchers working to estimate massive star formation rates in Milky Way; American Astronomical Society 232 general meeting catalyzing further studies including Star atmospheres containing traces of 1st massive stars in Universe and new mathematical tool to identify & quantify inconsistencies in cosmological data.

Jun 11 — Global: China planning next crewed space missions, 15 Astronauts undergoing training / preparations; European Commission proposes €16B allotment for 2021-2027 EU budget to advance Europe in space; testing of Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV)-II engine occurs every nearly week toward 2021 launch, supported by ~290 KARI scientists.

Jun 11 — USA: NASA planning events, tributes and future of exploration as it looks toward upcoming 60th observation of its founding this year, 50th observations of Apollo 7-17; NASA selects 3 STEM driven institutions for US $2B award to inspire youth in science and tech careers; National Science Foundation to give funding to University of Central Florida to repair Puerto Rico Arecibo Observatory.

Jun 11 — Hawai’i: Scientists analyzing / verifying data from 5-year CFHT project which discovered 838 trans-Neptunian objects; Kilauea volcanic eruptions being studied for Moon and Mars morphology and composition comparisons; Keck 1 telescope undergoing investigation / repair for source of small oil leak.

= All times

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: Venus (WNW), Mars (S), Jupiter (SE); Morning Planets: Saturn (SE), Neptune (ESE).

Space Situational Awareness Workshop and Bubbles Big & Small Conference in Bengaluru, India Focuses on International Cooperation

Secure World Foundation and National Institute for Advanced Studies to host 2-day Space Situational Awareness: Strategic Challenges for India at JRD Tata Auditorium in Bengaluru June 14-15. Experts from around the world will gather to discuss government and commercial space economy, programs, and data sharing initiatives. Other topics include trends and capabilities in space domain, globalization of technology, commercial growth, and strategic challenges. Over 22,000 and increasing human-made objects are tracked in Earth orbit, including ~300 operational satellites in LEO and GEO, which makes space situational awareness a high priority to prevent collisions amid growing number of countries and commercial enterprises set on space exploration. ISRO Chairman K. Sivan is on the advisory committee while P. Sreekumar of IIA and Brian Weeden of SWF are on the organizing committee. The Indian Institute of Science Department of Physics and Raman Research Institute is hosting Bubbles Big & Small: From Supernovae & the Fermi Bubble to the Circumgalactic Medium conference June 11-14. With focus on observational developments, models, and theoretical understanding of circumgalactic medium. Discussions include black holes, interstellar and intergalactic medium, star development, and galaxy formation in addition to 5 poster participants. (L-R) Andrew Fox of Space Telescope Science Institute, Norman Murray of University of Toronto, Smita Mathur of Ohio State University, and Roland Crocker of Australian National University are among 28 scheduled speakers from ~10 countries. (Image Credits: SWF, NIAS, ISRO, IISci, Times of India, NASA, STSI, University of Toronto, Ohio State University, Australian National University)

Jun 11 — Fermi Gamma-ray Telescope, LEO: Spacecraft with Large Area Telescope & Gamma-ray Burst Monitor instruments reaches 10 full years in Space, launched 2008.

Jun 11 — JAXA, Launch H-2A / IGS Radar 6, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan: JAXA H-2A rocket to launch Information Gathering Satellite with a radar reconnaissance payload for Japan government.

Jun 11 — Secure World Foundation, Washington DC: Space Traffic Management and Enabling Sustainable Commercial Development of Space; 11:30-13:30.

Jun 11-14 — Indian Institute of Science, Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru, India: Conference: Bubbles Big and Small – From Supernovae, Fermi Bubbles to the Circumgalactic Medium.

Jun 11-15 — IPP Organizing Committee, NASA, ESA, Denver CO: 15th Annual International Planetary Probe Workshop (IPPW-15); preceded by Jun 9-10 short course on “Small Satellites: An Emerging Paradigm for Bold Planetary Exploration”.

Jun 11-15 — University of Copenhagen, Cosmic Dawn Center, European Union Horizon 2020 Programme, Copenhagen, Denmark: Conference: Cosmic Dust – Origin, Applications & Implications.

Jun 11 – Jul 6 — Munich Institute for Astro- and Particle Physics, Munich, Germany: Program: The Extragalactic Distance Scale in the Gaia Era.

Jun 11 — Moon: 8.8° SSE of Pleiades, 22:00.

Jun 11 — Amor Asteroid 2018 EJ4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.015 AU)

Jun 11 — Amor Asteroid 2015 DP155: Near-Earth Flyby (0.023 AU)

Jun 11 — Apollo Asteroid 2008 LA: Near-Earth Flyby (0.071 AU)

Continued from…

May 29 – Aug 3 — Lunar and Planetary Society, NASA SSERVI, Center for Lunar Science and Exploration, Houston TX: 2018 Exploration Science Summer Intern Program; students to be involved in activities that support missions to the Moon that utilize Orion crew vehicle, Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, and robotic assets on lunar surface.

Jun 4-15 — Mainz Institute for Theoretical Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany: Program: The Sound of Spacetime – The Dawn of Gravitational Wave Science

Jun 8-22 — Vesta: Peak viewing of protoplanet and second largest body in Main Asteroid Belt; will be visible by naked eye before Moonrise.

TUESDAY

Jun 12-13 — Johns Hopkins University, Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Morton K. Blaustein Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Baltimore MD: 50th Anniversary Symposium: Earth & Planetary Sciences – From Past to Future.

Jun 12-14 — University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville TN: Planetary Geologic Mappers Annual Meeting (#pgm2018).

Jun 12-15 — Space Resources Roundtable, Planetary & Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium, Colorado School of Mines, LPI, Lunar Exploration Analysis Group, et al, Golden CO: 9th Joint SRR / PTMSS Meeting 2018 and Lunar Polar Prospecting Workshop; in conjunction with Lunar Polar Prospecting Workshop; focusing on ISRU activities for Moon, Mars, and asteroids from space agencies, private sector, academic institutions, and from recent legislation introduced for space-resource commercial exploitation.

Jun 12 — Moon: 1.2° N of Aldebaran, 13:00.

WEDNESDAY

Jun 13 — Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), LEO: NASA satellite investigating black holes a billion times more massive than Sun, how particles are accelerated to very high energy in active galaxies & elements in supernova remnants enters 7th year of operations in space today; launched 2012.

Jun 13-14 — SBAG, NASA, College Park MD: 19th Small Body Assessment Group; to identify scientific priorities and opportunities for exploration of asteroids, comets, interplanetary dust, small satellites, Trans-Neptunian Objects.

Jun 13-15 — European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Madrid, Spain: XMM-Newton 2018 Science Workshop: Time-Domain Astronomy: A High Energy View; at Villafranca del Castillo.

Jun 13 — Moon: New Moon, 09:44.

Jun 13 — Mercury: 0.81° N of M35 cluster, 11:00.

THURSDAY

Jun 14 — ISS, U.S. EVA #51, 405-km LEO: Expedition 55 members Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel to perform 6.5-hour spacewalk starting 08:00 EDT to install HD camera and other maintenance activities – it will mark the 211th EVA at ISS overall; live coverage available.

Jun 14 — Orbital ATK, Launch Pegasus XL / ICON, Kwajalein, Marshall Islands: Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket to launch NASA Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite into orbit.

Jun 14-15 — Secure World Foundation, National Institute for Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, India: Space Situational Awareness: Strategic Challenges for India; interdisciplinary experts gather from around the world to discuss governmental and commercial capabilities and initiatives.

Jun 14 — Moon: 3.8° S of M35 cluster, 01:00; 4.6° S of Mercury, 04:00; at perigee (distance 359,133 km), 13:53.

Jun 14 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 LD1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.004 AU)

FRIDAY

Jun 15 — `Imiloa Astronomy Center, University of Hawai’i at Hilo, Hilo HI: Maunakea Skies Talk; astronomers from Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) discuss research, recent discoveries and science; 19:00.

Jun 15-17 — A&E Television Networks, Mischief Management, Pasadena CA: AlienCon 2018; thought-provoking original programming, celebrity appearances, exhibits.

Jun 15 — Moon: 11.5° S of Castor, 08:00; 7.8° S of Pollux, 12:00.

Jun 15 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 LK: Near-Earth Flyby (0.020 AU)

Jun 15 — Aten Asteroid 2004 LO2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.064 AU)

SATURDAY

Jun 16 — 55th Observation of the 1st Woman in Space, Global: Public events and commemorations occur to celebrate the first female to fly in Space, Valentina Tereshkova of the former Soviet Union – in 1963 she orbited Earth 49 times in Vostok 6, today 61 women have been in Space.

Jun 16 — AIAA San Francisco Section, Alameda CA: Annual Banquet on the USS Hornet; celebrating US Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet which picked up the crew of Apollo 11 from Pacific waters; starts 17:00.

Jun 16-17 — Space Generation Advisory Council, Vienna, Austria: Space Generation Forum 2.0.

Jun 16-21 — Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, Geological Association of Canada, Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada: Conference: Resources for Future Generations 2018.

Jun 16 — Moon: 2.3° S of Venus, 03:00; 1.2° S of Beehive Cluster, 10:00.

Jun 16 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 LF1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.040 AU)

Jun 16 — Aten Asteroid 469737 (2005 NW44): Near-Earth Flyby (0.055 AU)

Jun 16 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 BC: Near-Earth Flyby (0.071 AU)

Jun 16 — Aten Asteroid 2014 GQ17:Near-Earth Flyby (0.086 AU)

SUNDAY

Jun 17 — Roscosmos, Launch Soyuz / Glonass M, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia: Russian government Soyuz rocket 2-1b configuration with a Fregat upper stage to launch Glonass M navigation satellite.

Jun 17 — Moon: 1.6° NNE of Regulus, 23:00.