ISS Expedition 70 Focuses on EVAs, Cargo Operations, Coolant Leak Investigation

The newly commenced Expedition 70 mission at ISS is planning for next EVAs starting October 25 with Russia EVA #61 to mount a synthetic radar communications system, deploy a solar sail satellite, and replace electrical connector patch panels. The coolant leak detected from a backup radiator in Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module is being assessed and appears to have had no negative impact on the crew or station. It has changed the schedule for 2 USA EVAs that were postponed from Oct 12 and 20, one of which would see NASA Astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli exit the station for U.S. spacewalk #90. It will mark the second-ever all women EVA; the first occurred October 2019 with Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Jessica Meir. As commented by NASA Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, “…not to overshadow women [who] have been doing spacewalks for 35 years. I think many of us are looking forward to this just being normal”. O’Hara, Meir and the 5 other Exp 70 members Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, Konstantin Borisov, Satoshi Furukawa and Andreas Mogensen will continue experiments for ocular and heart health, cancer treatments, 3D manufacturing, Cold Atom Lab, and combustion investigations. The crew is also transferring cargo from the currently docked Progress 84P & 85P and Cygnus NG-19 S.S. Laurel Clark. Before the end 2023, Exp 70 will help facilitate Progress 84P reentering Earth atmosphere and the arrival of 2 additional cargo ships. (Image Credits: NASA, ISS Partners, HP Enterprise)

MONDAY 

☆ Oct 16 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 70 seven-member crew rearranging planned EVAs due to coolant leak investigation, participating in in-flight events with NASA, Fox, Yahoo, and Ascend Conference.

☆ Oct 16 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 16 preparing for return to Earth early next month after Shenzhou 17 three-member crew arrives in late Oct.

☾ = Moon activity

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

Australia Hosts Domestic and International Space Conferences, Conducting Moon Rover Naming Contest

Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) is hosting Southern Space 2023 at Hotel Realm in Canberra October 17-18, bringing Australian space industry together with government policymakers to advance domestic space capabilities. Despite the cancellation of the $1.2B National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO) planned by the prior federal government, Australian Space Agency continues to receive $34.2M in core funding with which to advance key priorities including space programs / initiatives, supporting NASA-led Artemis missions, international space collaboration, and regulation of Australian space activities. Tickets for the 2-day event for are available for AUD$925 (free for SIAA members). Australian Space Agency is accepting submissions to name its lunar rover, which is set to ride to the Moon on a NET 2026 NASA Artemis mission, until October 20. Entries will be judged on relevancy, creativity and rationale. 4 names will be shortlisted and the Australia population will vote on a winner, to be announced on December 6. The rover will collect regolith for a technology demonstration of oxygen extraction. Leaders in diverse industries including space, robotics, mining, agriculture and AI from Australia, India, USA, Japan, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore, Israel, Egypt, Scotland and The Netherlands are gathering October 23-24 at Pan Pacific Hotel in Perth for the Indo-Pacific Space and Earth Conference. In 2025, the 76th International Astronautical Congress will be held at the International Convention Centre in Sydney. (Image Credits: SIAA, ASA)

★ Oct 16 — Lucy, Inner Main Asteroid Belt: NASA spacecraft to encounter 11 asteroids reaches 2nd full year / enters 3rd in space since launching this day via ULA Atlas V in 2021.

● Oct 16 — NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View CA and Online: NASA Ames Hosts Briefing on New interdisciplinary Initiative; with remarks from Ames Director Eugene Tu, U.S. Congresswomen Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren, 10:00 PDT.

o Oct 16-18 — ASTROMEET Committee, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Albedo Meetings, et al, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: 2nd International Meet on Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASTROMEET2023).

☆ Oct 16 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 TA4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.018 AU).

☆ Oct 16 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 UZ3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.024 AU).

TUESDAY

☆ Oct 17 — INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), LEO: Detecting some of the most energetic radiation in Space, ESA, NASA, RSA spacecraft reaches 21 full years / enters 22nd of operations in space; launched 2002, science operations extended to end of 2024, expected to run out of fuel mid 2020s and fall to Earth Feb 2029.

● Oct 17-18 — SatNews, Mountain View CA: Satellite Innovation; during Silicon Valley Space Week, at Computer History Museum.

o Oct 17-18 — Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA), Canberra, Australia: Southern Space 2023.

● Oct 17-19 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington DC: 172nd Meeting of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB).