NASA Moon Exploration Program is Advancing a Year After Artemis 1 Launch Despite Obstacles
As November 16 marks 1 full year since the launch of ‘Mega Moon Rocket’ SLS carrying crew-rated Orion spacecraft on 25.5-day lunar flyby which extended to ~483,000-km from Earth, the furthest any such craft has traveled, the Artemis Program continues its to work to reestablish human activity on and around the Moon. Artemis 2 is officially scheduled to launch from KSC, LC-39B NET Nov 2024, carrying (L-R) Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch, on a 10-day (nominal) mission to Moon powered by multiple trans lunar injection maneuvers followed by free-return trajectory back to Earth. However, technical issues with the SLS core stage liquid oxygen tanks and supply chain problems caused by ‘other government programs that out-prioritized our hardware’ have delayed shipping from Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), per NASA SLS Core Stage Design Team Lead Jonathan Looser. The Artemis 2 exploration stage is also being constructed at MAF, while booster segments are at KSC being configured in Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility ahead of transfer to Vehicle Assembly Building for final assembly and integration. NASA Office of the Inspector General 2023 Report identifies several impediments to achieving Artemis schedule goals, predicting Artemis 2 launch will slip into 2025 primarily due to Orion Crew Module readiness, while Artemis 3 is predicted to slip from Nov 2025 to 2026 pending SpaceX Starship HLS. With USA quarter-millennial approaching, NASA should set Artemis 3 launch NLT July 4, 2026. (Image Credits: Josh Valcarcel / NASA)
MONDAY
☆ Nov 13 — International Space Station,~415-km LEO: Expedition 70 seven-member crew working with cargo from Dragon CRS-29 including ILLUMA-T laser communication relay; performing EarthKam lens changes, EMU maintenance, and onboard water analyses.
☆ Nov 13 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 17 three-member crew demonstrating internal robotic arm tasks; experiments returned from space via Shenzhou 16 begin research studies on Earth.
Highlights…
o NewSpace: Interstellar Glory advancing Hyperbola-3 reusable rocket following successful 178.42m hop / vertical landing of Hyperbola-2; Rocket Factory Augsburg to receive US$4.3M from UKSA in support of SaxaVord Spaceport launch; Astra Space restructuring debt; Virgin Galactic to lay off 18% of workforce.
☆ SolarSystem: Artemis imagery team working with ESA to test mirrorless Handheld Universal Lunar Camera for Moon exploration; upGREAT spectrometer readings taken on SOPHIA show first direct observation of atomic oxygen in Venus atmosphere; Satellite of asteroid Dinkinesh revealed to be a contact binary via images taken during Lucy flyby.
☆ Galaxy: Stellar system Kepler-385 being studied after discovery of 4 additional super-Earth exoplanets (7 total) in new Kepler catalog; Researchers hope to utilize Advanced LIGO, VIRGO and eventually Cosmic Explorer in search for gravitational waves associated with Supernova 1987A; 13.2B year old quasar behind galaxy Abell 2744 observed by JWST and Chandra observatories via gravitational lensing is oldest known black hole.
● Hawai’i: TMT mirror segment cutting and polishing continues (92 of 492 complete) as Board of Land and Natural Resources considers permit challenge and federal environmental impact statement pending; Swinburne University of Technology to join W. M. Keck Observatory as first international scientific partner.
● = 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’).
Space Age Prospects in Southeast Asia: Thai Astronomy, Singapore Comms, Indonesia Launch Capability
The 11 countries, 5 time zones and 4.5 million km2 of land mass comprising Southeast Asia (SEA) are home to ~680 million peoples—making it demographically about the size of Europe. The diversity in culture, geography and assets make it an intriguing area to consider collaborative 21st century space efforts such as those managed by the International Space Station, Event Horizon Telescope and European Space Agency. Thailand is a strategic center for astronomy in SEA and now operating 9 telescopes. The 2.4-m Thai National Observatory atop Doi Inthanon produces the most astronomy research for NARIT which also runs Thailand’s most comprehensive astronomy learning center Princess Sirindhorn Astro Park. The 40-m, single-dish Thai National Radio Telescope will soon be operational also in Chiang Mai. Singapore commerce and communications continue to advance, particularly with NewSpace organizations. Annually, Singapore Space and Technology Limited (SSTL) hosts one of the largest industry events Global Space and Technology Convention. Headquartered in Singapore, Transcelestial Technologies is developing next-gen wireless laser space communications while Qosmosys, having received a US$100M investment, is aiming for lunar missions which will communicate with Earth. Indonesia is the largest island group in the world with >17,000 islands and could take advantage of equatorial flight paths over low-to-no population zones. Currently the Stasiun Peluncuran Roket at Garut, West Java 7.6°S launches sounding rockets. Postponed for the time being, National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) announced in 2019 its plan to build a spaceport on Biak Island. (Image Credits: NARIT, LAPAN, NASA, Hanwha Systems Co.)
★ NET Nov 13 — SpaceX, Launch Super Heavy / Starship Orbital Test Flight, Starbase, Boca Chica TX: Super Heavy and Starship (Booster 9, Ship 25) launch vehicle to attempt nearly 1 full orbit of Earth culminating with re-entry and splashdown in Pacific ~100 km NW offshore of Kauai; launch window opens 07:00 CST.
o Nov 13-17 — Edge Technologies, Tarsus Aerospace, UAE Space Agency, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, et al,Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Dubai Airshow 2023.
☾ Nov 13 — Moon: 2.36° SSW of Mars, 03:00.
Ongoing…
☾ Sep 6 – NET Jan/March — Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), Lunar Landing Trajectory: SLIM Moon mission 4-6 month trajectory to soft land east of Shioli crater (13.2°S, 25.2°E) on Moon near side equatorial region.
☆ Sep 6 – NET Mar — X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), ~550-km LEO: XRISM undergoing 6 month check out testing phase before start of science operations to study galactic plasma.
● Nov 14-18 —American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR), Washington DC: ASGSR Annual Meeting 2023.
☾ Nov 14 — Moon: 1.65° S of Mercury, 05:00; with Mercury and Antares within circle of diameter 4.17°, 11:00; 0.88° NNE of Antares; 11:00.
☆ Nov 14 — Amor Asteroid 2021 UX6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.085 AU).
WEDNESDAY
● Nov 15 — International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA Hawai’i),Kamuela HI: Galaxy Forum Hawaii 2023 Kamuela; at Anna Ranch, free, RSVP, 15:30-17:30.
☆ Nov 15 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 UO: Near-Earth Flyby (0.016 AU).
THURSDAY
☾ Nov 16 — Artemis 1 1st Observation,USA / Global: As USA and its international partners work toward Artemis 2 crewed mission around the Moon NET 2024, Space Launch System and Artemis 1 mission is observed today for its successful uncrewed flight Nov 16 – Dec 11, 2022.
☆ Nov 17 — Leonid Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from constellation Leo, Leonids are associated with the comet Tempel–Tuttle; can produce 10 to 15 meteors per hour; peak 14:00.
☆ Nov 17 — Mars: At conjunction with Sun, 2.526 AU from Earth, 20:00.
☆ Nov 17 — Amor Asteroid 2023 UC11: Near-Earth Flyby (0.071 AU).
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