March 13-19, 2023 / Vol 42, No 11 / Hawai`i Island, USA

TSS and ISS: 10 in Space Work with International Experiments, New Crew, Maintain Human Outposts Off Earth

Shenzhou 15 crew Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu are now halfway through their 6-month mission aboard Tiangong Space Station. The crew 2 EVAs helped integrate / install elements of the 3-module station: Tianhe core, Wentian and Mengtian laboratory. With high-res Earth observation, combustion science, and agronomy ongoing – TSS will have 23 experimental racks in a pressurized environment and 52 platforms for exposed experiments. Tianzhou 6 cargo ship is set to launch May 10, followed by Shenzhou 16 May 25. Xuntian Space Telescope is launching 2024 to the same orbit as TSS to survey an all-sky area of 17,500 square degrees over 10 years. International Space Station Expedition 68, now a 7-member team, will become Expedition 69 with uncrewed Soyuz MS-22 craft undocking March 28. Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin, and Frank Rubio will remain in space until September 27 (having launched September 29, 2022). The change in Soyuz ships delays the flight of the 1st Belarus woman cosmonaut (to be chosen from 6 current contenders) to Spring 2024. Remaining docked to ISS are NG-18 ‘SS Sally Ride’, Progress MS-22/83P, Soyuz MS-23 and Crew-6, while Dragon CRS-27 cargo ship is set to launch March 14 via SpaceX Falcon 9 from KSC FL. Expedition 68 science includes eye investigations for structure and function, measurements of health / sleep / performance, plant and vegetable habitats, 3D cultured cardiac muscle, and radiation-tolerant bacteria. (Image Credits: CNSA, CMSA, Xinhua, NASA, ISS Partners)

MONDAY

☆ Mar 13 — ISS, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 68 new arrivals from Crew 6 Stephen Bowen, Andrey Fedyaev, Warren Hoburg, Sultan Al Neyadi become oriented to ISS; Soyuz MS-22 undergoes further testing before departure.

☆ Mar 13 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: CMSA discusses expansion of TSS from T-shaped 3-module configuration to cross-shaped, 4 or more modules allowing for more docking ports, commercial activities and private Astronauts.

☾ = Moon activity

★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).

54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference Being Held In-Person This Week in Woodlands TX

The latest Moon and planetary discoveries will be presented and discussed at Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) 2023 running March 13-17 at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. Organized by Lunar and Planetary Institute and the Johnson Space Center, the preeminent planetary science conference will be conducted in-person, with online content streaming / interaction through Gather.town. Hundreds of technical papers will be delivered orally and during 98 poster sessions, while 7 plenaries will be held including NASA Headquarters Artemis and Mars Sample Return Town Halls. Special session The Geology of the Artemis Exploration Zone will consider papers such as High-Value Science Targets in the Malapert Massif Artemis III Landing Region by Alex Longo of UNC-Chapel Hill and Considerations for High Latitude Landing Sites in Conjunction with Artemis Landings at the Lunar South Pole by Noah Petro (GSFC) and Harrison Schmitt, the famed Apollo 17 lunar geologist who is the last human to have walked on the surface of the Moon. A variety of student and early-career events will run concurrently with the conference, including LPSC Insights: Get Connected, Stay Connected & Community Meeting / Survey for interest in community working groups on March 13, Art and Science Workshop March 15 (held in-person) and LPSC Mentoring (March 13), Networking Sessions (March 13-15) and Live from LPSC (March 16) held virtually. (Pictured T-B: LPSC 2023 Co-Chairs Eileen Stansbery (NASA JSC), Lisa Gaddis (USRA / LPI); Image Credits: LPI, NASA)

● Mar 13 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: Follow up call to President Biden’s full budget proposal for NASA and supporting information; 10:00 EDT, live coverage available.

● Mar 13 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, USRA, The Woodlands TX: LPSC Insights: Get Connected, Stay Connected; for students and mentors, 17:30.

● Mar 13-16 — ViaSatellite, Washington DC: Satellite 2023: Leaning In, Linking Up.

● Mar 13-17 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, USRA, NASA Johnson Space Center, Hybrid / The Woodlands TX and Online: 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC).

☆ Mar 13 — Moon: 1.59° NNE of Antares, 16:00.

☆ Mar 13 — Aten Asteroid 2020 FV4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.045 AU)

☆ Mar 13 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 CW3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.097 AU)

Continued From…

● Oct 15 – Jun 15, 2023 — International Space Elevator Consortium, Online: Space Elevator Academic Challenge: Improving Humanity’s Future; for students 17-25.

☾ Dec 11 – Apr 25, 2023 — Hakuto-R / ispace Mission 1, Lunar Landing Trajectory: Carrying UAE Rashid 10-kg rover, 0.25-kg JAXA SORA-Q rover, Hakuto-R performing orbital control maneuvers to reach Lunar Orbital Insertion, followed by Moon touchdown nominally ~4.5 months after launch.

● Jan 18 – May 11 — Wichita State University, Wichita KS and Online: 2023 Interstellar Seminar ‘LASI 150G’; 1-credit hour seminar begins today; every Wednesday 14:30-15:20, led by Prof. Mark Schneegurt.

● Feb 27 – Mar 24 — UC Santa Barbara Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara CA: Course: Building a Physical Understanding of Galaxy Evolution with Data-driven Astronomy.

o Feb 24 – May 24 — National Museum of China, Beijing, China: Exhibit Featuring China’s Human, Lunar and Space Program.

● Mar 1-31 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: Celebrate Women’s History Month with NASA.

● Mar 10-19 — SXSW LLC, Austin TX: South by Southwest (SXSW); conference, festival and exhibition.