Supporting Humans in Space, on the Moon: Meetings Focus on Lunar Surface Science and Commons in Space

As 2021 new USA Administration plans for February 23 (TBD) State of the Union Address, hopefully including thoughts for strategic Artemis Moon / USA in Space 2020s decade planning, the only humans in LEO continue their work aboard ISS while on the ground, others advance exploration infrastructures. The 8th Lunar Surface Science Workshop, themed ‘Structuring Real-Time Science Support of Artemis Crewed Operations’ and chaired by (TL) José Hurtado and Kelsey Young will run February 24-25. There will be >35 lectures, 2 Sessions on Analogs and 2 Breakout Sessions cover topics on modernizing lessons and support tools from Apollo, Constellation, Shuttle program, ISS EVAs, EuroMoonMars, Pangaea astronaut training, Desert Research and Technology Studies, and Haughton-Mars Project analog site on Devon Island, High Arctic. On Feb 24-26, Commons in Space Conference 2021 is being held online hosted by International Association for the Study of the Commons, ASU, University of Arizona, Open Lunar Foundation and Indiana University Bloomington. It will discuss orbital space congestion, celestial mining and dark night sky, building beyond Antarctica and High Sea regulations to promote fair use of space resources, knowledge and innovations. The Conference Steering Committee includes (BL-R) Timiebi Aganaba-Jeanty of ASU, Alice Gorman of Flinders University, Jessy Kate Schingler of Open Lunar Foundation, Menelisi Falayi of Rhodes University, and Akhil Rao of Middlebury College. (Image Credits: NASA, LPI, ASU, Beyond Earth, et al)

USA State of Union Address Appeal
Artemis and the First Woman on the Moon significant, historic achievement should be high priority for President Biden and First Woman VP Harris

MONDAY

Highlights…
Feb 22 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Expedition 64 crew of 7 with Sergey Ryzhikov as Commander planning for cargo operations and working with experiments involving antimicrobial coatings, combustion, plant water management, vascular 13-hour monitoring.

Feb 22 NewSpace: Agile Space & Frontier Aerospace win attitude control thruster / retrorocket engine contracts for Astrobotic Griffin lunar lander; Axiom Space raises US$130M for commercial space station; Momentus Ardoride Space Tug to carry 2 CubeSats to lunar orbit for Qosmosys of Singapore NET 2024.

Feb 22 — Solar System: Mars rover Perseverance orienting in Jezero Crater while Tianwen-1 in polar orbit to land in May/June; heat from isotope decay linked to lunar asymmetry, farside sample collection may prove theory.

Feb 22 — Galaxy: Regions of instability in periphery of black holes may offer means of differentiation, per Princeton study; dark matter particle size range quantified through application of theoretical quantum gravity; Gaia data points to remnants of Earth-like planets orbiting atmospheres of stars.

Feb 22 — Global: ISRO Gaganyaan aims for sustained human presence in space, possibly delayed to 2023; Italy Space Agency studying feasibility of providing lunar habitation modules for Artemis HLS; Turkey to work on 10-year, 10-plank space development program.

Feb 22 — USA: Colorado School of Mines to offer new minor program in space mining this fall; National Academies report urges intensive R&D of thermal and electric nuclear propulsion systems to carry humans to Mars by 2039; SpaceX valuation reaches US$74B after raising $850M at $419.99/share.

Feb 22 — Hawai’i: CFHT survey TNO data used by University of Michigan study which casts doubt on existence of ‘Planet 9’; COSMO-SkyMed providing radar imaging of Kilauea eruption to USGS via CEOS Working Group on Disasters.

= 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: Mars (WSW), Uranus (WSW); Morning Planets: Mercury (ESE), Jupiter (ESE), Saturn (ESE).

Southeast Asia Increasingly Focused on Space Industry, Science, Exploration

Singapore, a hub of technology and commerce in SEA, is host to Pre-Global Space & Technology Convention (GSTC) Workshops and Seminars February 25 in Hybrid format – joining carefully orchestrated in-person exchanges with online participation. The day starts with Global Navigation Satellite System Workshop, featuring GNSS Innovation Challenge – design competition to utilize differential Singapore Satellite Positioning Reference Network (SiReNT) technology to aid in caring for elderly, special needs or animal companions with US$4k in prizes. 3rd Lunar Commercial Communications Workshop, co-hosted by International Lunar Observatory Association of Hawai’i, will concentrate on business communication on and around the Moon – an endeavor which will increase the sphere of commercial communications more than 1000X. Workshops on Global Air Traffic Management, Global Maritime Traffic Management, Project Cyclotron and Startup Pitching will also be conducted. In Thailand, Science Minister Anek Laothamatas has announced plans for GISTDA to construct 50-100kg satellites within 4 years and a 300kg ion thruster propelled spacecraft capable of achieving lunar orbit within 7, with $100.2M budget. President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo is hoping to attract international launch providers including SpaceX to the spaceport under construction by Indonesia National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) on Biak Island, Papua. Vietnam National Space Center is working with State Space Agency of Ukraine to develop capabilities after Jan 25 MoU signing and Malaysia makes strides through recently merged Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency / National Space Agency, now Malaysian Space Agency. (Image Credits: SSTL, ILOA)

Feb 22 — ISS, Cygnus NG-15 Rendezvous, 405-km LEO: Northrop Grumman 16th Cygnus cargo freighter (on 15th operational flight) dubbed S.S. Katherine Johnson to arrive at ISS and be captured 04:30 EST; live coverage available.

Feb 22 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Space Nuclear Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration Report Briefing; 16:30 EST.

Feb 22-26 — Nexus for Exoplanet System Science, NASA, American Astronomical Society, Online: Habitable Worlds 2021 Workshop.

Feb 22 — Aten Asteroid 2020 BV9: Near-Earth Flyby (0.038 AU)

Feb 22 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 CC5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.046 AU)

Continued From…

Nov 4, 2020 – Feb 28, 2021 — International Astronautical Federation, Online: Abstracts Submission Open: 72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2021); being held Oct 25-29.

Jan 20 – Feb 28 — CNSA Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, Online / Beijing, China: Global Campaign soliciting nominations for the name of Tianwen-1 Mars rover.

Feb 15-28 — NI Science Festival Team, Belfast City Council, Queen’s University, Open University, et al, Online / United Kingdom: Ireland & Northern Ireland Science Festival 2021.

TUESDAY

NET Feb 23 — USA Administration, Washington DC / Online: State of the Union Address to Congress 2021; to be given by 46th President Joe Biden.

Feb 23 — Secure World Foundation, Caelus Foundation, Online / Washington DC: Report Release Event: Lost Without Translation: Identifying Gaps in U.S. Perceptions of the Chinese Commercial Space Sector; 11:00-12:30 EST.

Feb 23 — SETI Institute Online / Mountain View CA: Lecture: Searching with NASA’s SOFIA; by Dana Backman from MIT and University of Hawaii; 19:00 CST.

Feb 23 — Moon: 7.3° S of Castor, 11:00; 3.7° S of Pollux, 16:00.

Feb 23 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 CH8: Near-Earth Flyby (0.033 AU)

Feb 23 — Aten Asteroid 2015 EQ: Near-Earth Flyby (0.046 AU)

WEDNESDAY

Feb 24 — International Astronautical Federation, Online / Paris, France: IAF GNF Space Conversations Series: Breakthrough Listen and International SETI Collaborations; 17:00 CET.

Feb 24 — Institute of Physics (IOP) Manchester and District Branch, Online / United Kingdom: Lecture: Analogue Moon.

Feb 24 — AIAA Greater Huntsville Section, Online / Huntsville AL: Challenges and Benefits of Excavation and Construction on the Moon; presentation by Dr. Jennifer Edmunson, project manager of lunar construction project Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology at NASA MSFC; 16:00-17:00 CST.

Feb 24 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032 – Panel on Venus Meeting #10; and Panel on Ocean Worlds and Dwarf Planets Meeting #17.

Feb 24-25 — LPI, USRA, NASA, Online / Houston TX: Lunar Surface Science Workshop 8: Structuring Real-Time Science Support of Artemis Crewed Operations.

Feb 24-26 — International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC), Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Open Lunar Foundation, Indiana University Bloomington, Online / Tempe AZ: IASC 2021 Commons in Space Virtual Conference; featuring Timiebi Aganaba-Jeanty, Alice Gorman, Jessy Kate Schingler, Menelisi Falayi, Steven Freeland, more.

Feb 24 — Moon: 2.64° NNE of Beehive Cluster, 17:00.

THURSDAY

Feb 25 — Boeing, NASA, Stennis Space Center MS: SLS core stage 2nd hot fire test planned.

Feb 25 — Singapore Space and Technology Association, Singapore and Online: Pre-GSTC (Global Space & Technology Convention) Workshops and Seminars; featuring 3rd ILOA Lunar Commercial Communications Workshop (Hybrid).

Feb 25 — Institute of Physics (IOP) London & South East Branch, Online / United Kingdom: Lecture: From Highgate to Titan: Personal recollections of a rocket scientist; by John Zarnecki, Huygens Programme Director and Mission Architect, Open University.

Feb 25 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032 – Panel on Mercury and the Moon #11.

FRIDAY

Feb 26 — Institute of Physics (IOP), Online / United Kingdom: Discussion Panel: Space Travel Across the Decades and Beyond; with Jim Green (NASA), Günther Hasinger (ESA), Mikhail Marov (Former Scientific Secretary of Soviet Space Council), Gu Yidong (China Manned Space Programme), Astronaut Mae Jemison, Astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Caroline Harper (UK Space Agency).

Feb 26 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032 – Panel on Ocean Worlds and Dwarf Planets Meeting #17.

Feb 26 — Moon: 4.3° NNE of Regulus, 08:00; Full (Snow Moon), 22:18.

SATURDAY

Feb 27 — American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), Online: AAVSO Webinar: Dr. Luisa Rebull, “Stellar Rotation in Young Clusters using K2 and TESS” and Dr. Margarita Karovska, “Why is it important to observe/monitor LPVs?”; starting 19:00 UTC.

SUNDAY

Feb 28 — ISRO, Launch PSLV / Amazônia 1, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: India PSLV, designated PSLV-C51, to launch Amazônia 1 Earth observation satellite for Brazil.

Feb 28 — International Astronautical Federation, Online: Abstracts Due: 72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2021): Inspire, Innovate & Discover for the Benefit of Humankind; being held Oct 25-29.

Feb 28 — Ireland & Northern Ireland Science Festival, Institute of Physics, Online / United Kingdom: Lecture: The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking); with Katie Mack and Jim Al-Khalili.

Feb 28 — Moon: At perigee (distance 365,404 km), 19:17.

Feb 28 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 DE: Near-Earth Flyby (0.011 AU)