January 20-26, 2025 / Vol 44, No 3 / Hawai`i Island, USA

New USA Vision for 21st Century Human Solar System Complete Exploration?

Strategic planning for the next 75 years (2025-2100) is of high priority for Earth / terrestrial protection and human exploration and expansion into the complete Solar System. January 20 USA Presidential Inauguration Day, also Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Buzz Aldrin 95th Birthday, marks the start of the next administration to Office. Hopefully the future of USA and its space policies will be directed toward peaceful, inclusive and scientific goals beyond the decades-old Moon-Mars vision, propelling humans there and beyond. NASA, universities, NewSpace enterprises and think tanks should work to advance the Artemis mission of the first lunar landing for a woman and person of color and related goal of building a sustainable base, the first step towards complete Solar System habitation. It is a highly valuable, almost imperative challenge to explore / travel beyond the inner Solar System for science and discovery. By 2100, how many of the 95 worlds of Jupiter and 146 of Saturn could be inhabited? Long-range planning for China includes Tianwen-4 study of Jupiter 2036, Uranus and potentially the Kuiper Belt. 21st Century Complete Solar System exploration will drive humankind toward intriguing icy moons and gas giants, with interstellar ambition, for the millions who came before, for the billions here now and for the trillions yet to come. (Image credits: NASA, W. Myers, Wayfare Entertainment, et al)

MONDAY 

☆ Jan 20 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 72 seven-member crew calibrate genetic sequencing hardware to identify bacteria and fungi, process research samples from the Gradient Heating Furnace enabling semiconductor crystal growth research, study how microgravity affects blood flow through the capillaries in the human circulatory system.

☆ Jan 20 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 19 three-member crew are testing a pipeline inspection robot, using electroencephalography to learn about the effects of gravity on sight and music on the brain, collecting data on plantar and joint pressure, tracking sleep movements and heart rates.

● Jan 20 — USA Inauguration Day: 2025 Inauguration of incoming 47th President of the United States of America; will include inaugural address, hopefully advocating for peace, freedom, equality and long-range goals for off-world human space exploration.

● Jan 20 — Buzz Aldrin 95th Birthday Observation: While USA looks to land next generation of Astronauts on the Moon–soon, today marks the 95th birthday of Apollo 11 Moonwalker, American / international hero Buzz Aldrin.

o Jan 20 — International Astronautical Federation (IAF), Online: Submissions due for IAF Newsletter electronic quarterly to be published this month; send to newsletter@iafastro.org.

● Jan 20 — USRA Lunar and Planetary Institute, Online: Applications due for Exploration Science summer intern program May 27 – July 25; activities this year will support Artemis missions.

● Jan 20-23 — Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, KSC FL: Meet Astronaut Kathryn Thornton.

☾ Jan 20 — Moon: At apogee, distance 404,311 km, and 0.26° SE of Spica, 19:00 

☆ Jan 20 — Pluto: At conjunction with Sun, 36.168 AU from Earth; 18:00.

☆ Jan 20 — Apollo Asteroid 2025 AY2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.045 AU)

☾ = Moon activity, ★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in local time unless noted.

Southeast Asia Cooperation for Space Access, SEASA, Lunar Missions

The region Southeast Asia has about 700 million people in 11 countries, 5 time zones, 4.5 million km of land mass, and diversity of cultures, geography and assets. 21st Century goals for SEA access to space could come in the form of international partnerships for launch locations: Indonesia has >17,000 islands and plans through the 2045 Space Map to take advantage of equatorial flight paths over low-to-no population zones; Philippines has been considering near-equatorial launch sites at Mindanao (8°N, 125°E) or Mati, Davao Oriental (6°N 126°E); the southern part of Thailand near the equator is noted for stable temperatures and unlikely to have earthquakes. Five countries in SEA have national space programs: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, while Singapore has a plethora of commercial space activities and the Office for Space Technology & Industry (OSTIn). A Southeast Asia Space Agency (SEASA) regional partnership, similar to ESA, could greatly advance astronautical, astronomical, scientific and economic growth. Enhancing space activities are annual events Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF), Global Space Technology Convention & Exhibition (GSTCE), as well as ILOA-hosted Galaxy Forums and Lunar Commercial Communications Workshops. ILOA seeks to advance SEA lunar astronomy and lunar missions through its proposed SEA Principal Operating Partnership (POP) Memorandum of Understandings and its flagship ILO-1 payload planned to launch NET 2026. (Image credits: NASA, ASEAN, NARIT, ESA, ASI)

TUESDAY

☾ Jan 21 — Moon: At last quarter, 10:31.

☆ Jan 21 — Apollo Asteroid 2014 OG300: Near-Earth Flyby (0.092 AU)

WEDNESDAY

● Jan 22 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Unlocking Cosmic Potential: Harnessing University Partnerships as Force Multipliers in Our Space Mission.

● Jan 22-23 — Space Foundation, Coral Gables FL: Innovate Space: Finance Forum; at Loews Hotel, US$850-1,000.

☆ Jan 22 — Mars: 2.36° S of Pollux, 11:00.

☆ Jan 22 — Apollo Asteroid 265196 (2004 BW58): Near-Earth Flyby (0.072 AU)