Humans to Mars 6th Annual Summit Highlights Advances Toward Becoming Multi Planet Species
The Humans to Mars Summit, hosted by Explore Mars, Inc., is scheduled for May 8-10 at George Washington University, Washington D.C. There will be 79 speakers including (TL-BR) NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Astronaut Michael López-Alegría, Francesc Godia of ESA, JAXA Astronaut Takuya Onishi, DLR Executive Board Chair Pascale Ehrenfreund, Kathy Laurini of Johnson Space Center, New Worlds Institute Founder Rick Tumlinson, and National Air & Space Museum Director Ellen Stofan. The summit will focus on international collaboration, economics and manufacturing of space exploration, cislunar economy, Mars simulations, robotics, financial accessibility, policy, and sustainability with the goal of humans reaching Mars by the 2030s. The event will include industry and student-led panel discussions on pathways to Mars, critical science, deep space networks, the Mars Generation, and congressional panels. Presentations involve ISS and other stepping stones, affordability, AI, scientific preparations, and environmental controls. Additional aspects include luncheons, dinner receptions, and 3 film premiere screenings. The comprehensive summit intends to increase productivity, spread awareness and support, and create a positive impact on STEM education as well as encourage participation in the advancement of becoming a Multi Planet Species. Previous speakers have included NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot, Astronaut and Explore Mars Board Member Buzz Aldrin, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye. The summit will be broadcast live via webcast. (Image Credit: Explore Mars, NASA, ESA, JAXA, DLR, Space Foundation) |
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MONDAY
Ongoing…
 May 7 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 55 six-member crew monitoring power units on Total & Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor, performing quarterly maintenance on Advanced Resistance Exercise Device, preparing for U.S. EVA #50 to swap out thermal control gear that circulates ammonia and install HD camera – it will mark the 210th EVA at ISS overall
 May 7 — NewSpace: Blue Origin performs 8th successful test of New Shepard vehicle, planning further design integrations before human flights; Firefly Aerospace to use Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 2 West for future launches of Firefly Alpha and Beta launch vehicles; SpaceX & Boeing Commercial Crew may be delayed until end of 2019.
May 7 — Solar System: Southern Highlands of Mars could be priority landing site in search for life due to high concentration of salts; NEOWISE produces its 4th year of data including 29,375 observed and characterized objects, 788 of which are NEOs; recent Ganymede magnetosphere study comes from Galileo data.
May 7 — Galaxy: Newly discovered Galaxy Hydrus 1 in orbit around Milky Way to be studied further through data from ESA Gaia release 2; the 3rd Gaia data release is expected late 2020 and 4th release at end of nominal mission in 2022.
May 7 — Global: China planning for Long March 8, under development, to have reusable 1st stage, launching NET 2021; Japan also working toward reusable rockets, will aim to start test-launching 7-meter rocket in 2019; update and overview of India Chandrayaan-2 confirming Oct launch to Moon.
 May 7 — USA: Jim Bridenstine and NASA indicate instruments from Lunar Resource Prospector rover will be used in future Moon missions, emphasize National plan for lunar landers, exploration, science, Commercial Lunar Payload Services; NASA Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) experiment demonstrates nuclear power which could be used on Moon, Mars, Beyond.
May 7 — Hawai’i: PISCES STARS workshop continues to accept applications for 12 female high school students, focusing on aerospace and astronomy; TMT defers decision to build telescope on Maunakea, leaves future uncertain; UH Astronomer John Tonry working on Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System project to become member of National Academy of Sciences.
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= 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), Jupiter (S); Morning Planets: Mercury (E), Mars (S), Saturn (S).
Spacetide 2018 Looking to Boost Japan NewSpace Industry with a Focus on 2030 National Goals
 The 3rd Spacetide Conference is being held in Tokyo at Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall on May 10, organized by Spacetide Foundation. Comprised of 5 panel discussions, 4 individual keynote presentations and multiple networking events, the Conference will cover spaceflight, big data, deep space economy, and space as a driver for other industries. Speakers and Panelists include (L-R) Astronaut Koichi Wakata, Spacetide Founder Masayasu Ishida, Astroscale CEO Nobu Okada, JAXA VP Shizuo Yamamoto, SFF Chairman Jeff Feige, Interstellar Technologies President Takahiro Inagawa, PD AeroSpace CEO Shuji Ogawa, Blue Origin rep. Ted McFarland, ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada, and Ale Co. CEO Lena Okajima. Experts expect global space economy will exceed 1.1 trillion USD by 2040, and in Japan the ‘Space Industry Vision 2030‘ aims to double current space industry within 12 years with a recent agreement to invest US$940M in space start-ups, and considerations to enact new laws that would allow businesses to own land and resources on the Moon and other celestial bodies. There are more than 20 commercial space companies in Japan working to reach and explore the Moon, clean up space debris, create the first human-made meteor shower, offer suborbital tourism, and develop launchers, microsatellites and communications technologies. Some of these companies and new startups will speak during the 50-minute Startup Pitch session. Japan is active in Space with Astronauts, contributions to ISS, Hayabusa 2 and Akatsuki, four launch vehicles, two launch sites, multiple Astronomical and Earth observation satellites, and is currently developing Mercury Exploration Mission “BepiColombo”, Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), and H3 Launch Vehicle planned for NET Apr 2020. (Image Credit: Spacetide, ispace, ALE Co. Ltd., Astroscale, NASA)
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NET May 7 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Bangabandhu 1, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite for Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.
May 7-8 — Caltech, JPL, NASA, Pasadena CA: Interplanetary Smallsat Conference 2018.
May 7-8 — United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), Secure World Foundation, Simons Foundation Canada, Geneva, Switzerland: 2018 UNIDIR Space Security Conference.
May 7-11 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, San Gabriel Valley CA: The First Billion Years Initiative – Differentiation: Building the Internal Architecture of Planets Conference.
May 7-11 — United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Vienna, Austria: Intersessional Meeting to Finalize the Draft Resolution on UNISPACE+50.
May 7-11 — Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, National Research Council Canada, SPARCS, Penticton, British Columbia, Canada: 8th Annual Meeting of the SKA Pathfinder Radio Continuum Surveys Working Group (SPARCS).
May 7 — Moon: At last quarter, 16:10.
May 7 — Apollo Asteroid 1999 FN19: Near-Earth Flyby (0.025 AU)
May 7 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 GX: Near-Earth Flyby (0.065 AU)
Continued from…
Dec 21, 2017 – Jun 4 — New Horizons, KBO Ultima Thule (2014 MU69) Trajectory: Spacecraft in hibernation mode until Jun 4; will awaken and prepare for KBO flyby 1 Jan 2019; approach officially begins in August.
NET May 5-30 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / “It’s Business Time” Multi-Payload, Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Launch window opens for first fully commercial launch dubbed ‘It’s Business Time’ with two Spire Lemur 2 CubeSats and one GeoOptics CICERO satellite.
May 5-13 — Friends of Amateur Rocketry, Mars Society, Edwards Air Force Base CA: FAR-MARS Student Rocketry Teams Competition; team whose bi-propellant liquid-fueled rocket comes closest to reaching 13,716 meters (45,000 ft) will receive $50,000; team that comes closest to hitting same altitude with rocket-powered by liquid-methane and liquid-oxygen will receive $50,000. |
May 6-12 — International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Turkish Chamber of Survey and Cadaster Engineers (CSCE), Istanbul, Turkey: FIG Congress 2018: Embracing our Smart World Where the Continents Connect – Enhancing the Geospatial Maturity of Societies.
TUESDAY
May 8 — NASA HQ, Washington DC: NASA Industry Day for Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Program; to discuss Draft Request for Proposals for CLPS.
May 8-10 — Explore Mars Inc., George Washington University, Washington DC: 2018 Humans to Mars Summit; to advance humanity to Martian surface by the 2030s.
May 8-11 — Rencontres du Vietnam, UNESCO, International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education, et al, Quy Nhon, Vietnam: Conference: The Cosmic Cycle of Dust and Gas in the Galaxy – From Old to Young Stars; and International Workshop on Science for Development.
May 8 — Jupiter: At opposition, 14:00.
May 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2016 JQ5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.016 AU)
WEDNESDAY
May 9 — Hayabusa 2, Asteroid 162173 Ryugu: JAXA Hayabusa 2 Asteroid Explorer mission heading toward Asteroid 162173 Ryugu celebrates its 15th full year in space today, launched 2003.
May 9 — The National Academies, Online / Washington DC: Teleconference: Exoplanet Science Strategy Meeting 9; and Teleconference: Extraterrestrial Sample Analysis Facilities Meeting 8.
May 9-11 — Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya: African Regional Data Cube (ARDC) Workshop.
May 9 — Moon: 2.1° SSE of Neptune, 24:00.
May 9 — Apollo Asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3): Near-Earth Flyby (0.017 AU)
THURSDAY
May 10-11 — Astra Space Inc., Rocket 1 Test Launch, Pacific Spaceport Complex, Kodiak Island AK: Planning suborbital trajectory launch of its Rocket 1 booster during this launch window.
May 10 — Spacetide Foundation, SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, Keio University, Japan Airlines, Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, JAXA, et al, Tokyo, Japan: Spacetide 2018; with Astronaut Koichi Wakata, representatives from JAXA, ispace, Astroscale, Blue Origin, NanoRacks, Space Foundation; at Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall.
May 10 — AIAA San Fernando Pacific, Reseda CA: Thanks Curiosity!!! Mars Rover 2020, Let’s Continue the Science of Mars Exploration; by Dr. Aidyl Gonzalez-Serricchio.
FRIDAY
May 11 — Royal Astronomical Society, London, United Kingdom: Royal Astronomical Society Ordinary Meeting; Meeting: Dynamics and Evolution of Earth’s Coupled Core-Mantle System; Meeting: The Gravitational Wave Binary Black Hole Opportunity For Astronomy.
May 11 — Vanderbilt Dryer Observatory, Brentwood TN: Vanderbilt Dryer Open Telescope Night and Mars Watch 2018 Exhibit.
May 11 — Heritage Auctions, Online / Dallas TX: 2018 Space Exploration Signature Auction.
May 11 — `Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai`i, Hilo HI: Navigating the Night Sky; an interactive program on Maunakea that explains the starlines and Hawaiian Star Compass used by traditional oceanic navigators.
May 11 — Peninsula Astronomical Society, Los Altos Hills CA: Lecture: Telescope History.
May 11-12 — Great Lakes Spaceport Education Foundation, Spaceport Sheboygan, Sheboygan WI: Rockets for Schools; for grades 6-12, over 300 students from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan participate in launches at Spaceport Sheboygan.
May 11 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 GR2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.034 AU)
SATURDAY
May 12 — Pequea Valley Planetarium, Pequea Valley Astronomy Club, Gordonville PA: PV Planetarium Grand Reopening & 50th Anniversary Celebration; featuring Axel Diaz of NASA Solar System Ambassadors Program.
May 12 — Fort Macon State Park, Atlantic Beach NC: Exploring the Heavens – From Hubble to the Webb – Discovering Space through the eyes of a Telescope; featuring of NASA Solar System Ambassadors Program.
May 12-13 — SpaceUp, Barcelona, Spain: Space Unconference Barcelona; featuring Juan De Dalmau (ESTEC / ESA and ISU President), José Mariano López-Urdiales (CEO & Founder of Zero 2 Infinity), Ariadna Farrés Basiana (NASA GSFC), Elisabet Canalias (CNES mission analysis engineer), more..
SUNDAY
May 13-18 — MPIA, Tegernsee, Germany: Meeting: The Early Phase of Star Formation (EPoS 2018): Archetypes; at Ringberg Castle.
May 13 — Moon: 4.4° SSE of Uranus, 08:00; 2.3° SSE of Mercury, 09:00.
May 13 — Mercury: 2.2° SSE of Uranus, 07:00.