International Moon Day 2024 – Envisioning Moon South Pole Crewed Missions 2020s and Moon Station 2050
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MONDAY☆ Jul 15 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 71 seven-member crew and two Boeing Starliner CST-100 Astronauts participate in in-flight Houston and San Diego interviews, working with Astrobee ISAAC-16 science session, planning future experiment installations for the Inter-orbit Communication System Rack which supports Japanese Experiment Module. ☆ Jul 15 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 18 three-member crew Ye Guangfu, Li Guangsu and Li Cong working with 7,400 kg of cargo from Tianzhou 7 ship while Tianzhou 8 is being prepared for launch potentially next month. ★ Jul 15 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM), SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB CA: Launch of ASBM dual satellites built by Northrop Grumman for Space Norway carrying multiple hosted payloads. Highlights… o NewSpace: Innospace of South Korea now being publicly traded, planning Hanbit-Nano rocket launch from Alcântara in first half 2025; Infostellar of Japan, founded 2016, constructing network of antennas in Asia Pacific region for satellite communications; Equatorial Space Systems of Singapore aiming for 2024 launch of Dorado suborbital sounding rocket from Australia, while advancing Volans small sat launch vehicle. ☆ Solar System: ILOA Hawai’i working toward ILO-1 Moon mission to Malapert Mountain ~2026, ILO-C on Chang’E-7 to Shackleton crater ~2026, and continuing work with ILO-X and digital assets which remain on the Moon via IM-1 mission; Chang’E-5 lunar samples reach Bangkok, Thailand for public viewing, while first-ever lunar farside samples from Chang’E-6 will be prepared to be sent to international scientists for study (NASA-funded researchers also applied for access). o Global: International Lunar Research Station reaches 12 NGO and 13 national / space agency partners with recent signing by Kazakhstan; ESA celebrates partial success of inaugural Ariane 6 launch and investigates upper stage re-ignition issue which shouldn’t negatively impact future missions; India ISRO working toward first orbital uncrewed Gaganyaan test flight with Vyommitra as early as this month. |
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● = Terrestrial and… o = International terrestrial events
☾ = Moon activity ★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’). |
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Mars (E), Jupiter (ENE), Saturn (SE); Evening Planets: Mercury (WNW), Venus (WNW).
Committee on Space Research Assembles a Worldwide Community of Scientists at COSPAR 2024
The 46th Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research and Associated Events (COSPAR 2024) expects 2,000-3,000 participants July 13-21 at BEXCO, Busan, Korea. Rosine Lallement (France) is the Space Science Award recipient, Dieter Bilitza (USA) the International Cooperation Medal awardee, and six other scientists (UK, Japan, India-2, Netherlands and USA) are also honored, both at the event and with attribution of a minor planet. Scientific presentations are organized into nine tracks: Industry Relations, Fundamental Physics in Space, Materials Sciences in Space, Life Sciences as Related to Space, Research in Astrophysics from Space, Space Plasmas / Planetary Magnetospheres in the Solar System, Atmospheres of the Earth / Planets, Space Studies of Earth Surface / Meteorology / Climate, and Space Studies of Earth-Moon System / Planets / Small Bodies of the Solar System. The latter track has 15 sub-tracks with one designated for Lunar Science and Exploration presentations over 10 quarter-days plus a poster display. There are events for Education, Interstellar Research, Planetary Protection, Satellite Dynamics and many other topics. Of 19 invited speakers, John Lee will introduce “the new Korea Aerospace Administration” on July 14, and two will present a one-hour “Talk Concert on the Moon” that day. July 15 has a Roundtable of Space Agency Leaders. The next bi-annual assembly will be COSPAR 2026 in Florence, Italy. COSPAR publishes two journals, Advances in Space Research and Life Sciences in Space Research. (Image credits: COSPAR) |
● Jul 15-17 — American Astronautical Society, Cleveland OH: Glenn Space Technology Symposium: Increasing the Thrust of Space Sustainability. ● Jul 15-19 — Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), University of Hawai’i at Hilo, Maunakea Observatories, Hawai’i Island: Women’s STARS (STEM Aerospace Research Scholars) Program 2024. o Jul 15-20 — Moon Village Association Coordinators – Nigeria, 6 Geopolitical Zones in Nigeria: International Moon Day School Tour with MVA Nigeria: Theme: Illuminating the Shadows. o Jul 15-20 — The Sky Explorers, Mumbai, India: MOON MASTI – International Moon Day 2024; at Nehru Centre. ☆ Jul 15 — Mars: 0.53° SE of Uranus, 05:00. Ongoing… ● May 28 – Aug 7 — LPI-JSC Center for Lunar Science and Exploration, Houston TX: Exploration Science Summer Intern Program. ● Jun 8 – Aug 3 — International Space University (ISU), Rice University, NASA, Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: 36th ISU Space Studies Program (SSP 2024). ☆ NET Jul — ISRO, Launch LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) / Gaganyaan G2, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: India planning for 1st uncrewed flight of Gaganyaan on a short orbital test flight. o Jul 1 – Aug 30 — Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Taipei, Taiwan: 2024 Summer Student Program; students conduct original research under supervision of professional astronomers. TUESDAYo Jul 16 — Brno Observatory and Planetarium, Brno, Czech Republic: International Moon Day 2024; series of lectures devoted to the geology of the Moon, extraction of raw materials on it and its research. ☆ Jul 16 — Apollo Asteroid 2024 BY15: Near-Earth Flyby (0.041 AU) |
WEDNESDAY
★ Jul 17 — Juno, Perijove 63 / 62nd Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft to perform Jupiter flyby during Perijove 63, its 63rd close flyby of Jupiter and 62nd science flyby with instruments turned on.
☾ Jul 17 — Moon: 0.41° ENE of Antares, occultation, 11:00.
☆ Jul 17 — Venus: 0.05° NE of Beehive Cluster, quasi-conjunction, 13:00.
☆ Jul 17 — Apollo Asteroid 2024 NF: Near-Earth Flyby (0.032 AU)
THURSDAY
★ NET Jul 18 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Transporter 11 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare), SLC 4E, Vandenberg SFB CA: Next Transporter mission to carry dedicated rideshare mission of many microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers to Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
o Jul 18 — Farah Law School, Online / Indonesia: Introductory Class: Understanding Legalese in the 1979 Moon Agreement (A Way to Broaden Public Awareness).
FRIDAY
☆ Jul 19 — International Space Station, In-Flight Event, ~415-km LEO: Interview between KNSD-TV, San Diego and NASA flight engineer Matt Dominick of Expedition 71; starts 12:45 EDT, live coverage available.
o Jul 19-21 — Moon Village Association, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Chinese Society of Astronautics (CSA), Harbin, China: International Moon Day (IMD) 2024 Main Event.
SATURDAY
☆ Jul 20 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / Acadia-3, LC-1B, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Mission dubbed “A Sky Full of SARs” will launch Capella Space next generation Acadia Earth observation satellites.
☾ Jul 20 — Apollo 11 55th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another World taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin; Command Module piloted by Michael Collins.
● Jul 20 — Viking 1 Mars Lander 48th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First USA spacecraft to successfully land on another planet; originally scheduled for July 4, landing was delayed until this day in 1976 due to rough landing site.
☾ Jul 20 — International Moon Day / Space Exploration Day, Global: Celebrating the 1st people walking on the Moon / another celestial body – 3rd year in which International Moon Day is a recognized / endorsed declaration by the United Nations.
o Jul 20 — Moon Village Association, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Chinese Society of Astronautics (CSA), Harbin, China: Moon Station 2050 Global Innovation Competition Award Ceremony; in conjunction with International Moon Day (IMD) 2024 Main Event.
● Jul 20 — City of Houston, Houston TX: Today is celebrated as ‘Intuitive Machines Day‘ by city of Houston, honoring the company for its IM-1 lunar landing / USA return to the Moon which occurred on February 22, 2024 and carried 6 NASA instruments and 6 commercial payloads: ILOA Hawai’i ILO-X, Embry-Riddle EagleCam, Galactic Legacy Labs LunaPrise, Columbia Omni-Heat, Moon Phases art cube, Lonestar Independence.
o Jul 20 — Moon Village Association Coordinators – Pakistan, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad Pakistan, Online / Pakistan: Beyond the Horizon: Pakistan’s Leap to the Moon.
● Jul 20-21 — Moon Society, Moonbase Lappträsk Foundation, ISRUtech, Online: Lunar Development Conference 2024.
SUNDAY
☾ Jul 21 — Moon: Full Buck Moon, 00:17.
☆ Jul 21 — Mars: 4.8° SE of the Pleiades, 02:00.
☆ Jul 21 — Apollo Asteroid 187040 (2005 JS108): Near-Earth Flyby (0.028 AU)