Robotic Missions Probing Inner and Outer Solar System Ahead of Eventual Human Exploration 

The first quarter of the 21st century has seen leaps in robotic space activity. The first asteroid sample returned by NASA is currently being analyzed at JSC, while OSIRIS-Rex (now OSIRIS-APEX) is on trajectory to Apophis, a potentially hazardous object with orbit extending from near that of Venus to near that of Earth anticipated to pass <31,600-km from Earth in 2029. NASA Psyche spacecraft set to launch October 12 via SpaceX Falcon Heavy to investigate metallic outer main belt asteroid 16 Psyche, the 10th most massive asteroid in the solar system, after 6-year transit. NASA Lucy mission will enter the third year of its 12-year mission Oct 16, and perform 450-km altitude flyby of 700-m Dinkinesh inner main belt asteroid. Further out, NASA JPL Europa Clipper set for Oct 10, 2024 launch to the icy Galilean moon. CNSA Tianwen-2 to investigate Earth quasi satellite Kamoʻoalewa and main belt comet 311P/PanSTARRS planned to launch in May 2025. Towards the inner solar system, NASA Parker Solar Probe to continue its obit of Sun until 26th perihelion in 2025, ESA Solar Orbiter nominal mission runs to 2026, with extended operations possible until 2030. ESA Hera Didymos / Dimorphos observation to launch in Oct 2024, JAXA MMX Phobos sample return planned for Sep 2024 launch, and ESA / JAXA BepiColombo to make 4th Mercury flyby Sep 5, 2024. ISRO planning 2025 Venus mission Shukrayaan-1 Chairman Somanath stating Shukrayaan-1 payloads ready. Rocket Lab also to launch to Venus in 2025, carrying MIT instruments. (Image Credits: NASA, JAXA, ESA, JHUAPL, SwRI)

MONDAY 

☆ Oct 9 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 70 seven-member crew planning for 2 USA EVAs over next 2 weeks, working with ESA-Roscosmos Complex Plasmas experiment, checking BEAM sensors, maintaining potable water filters.

☆ Oct 9 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: The fourth month of Shenzhou 16 mission being noted with CCTV / CNSA video, highlighting science, installation, and education achievements.

☾ = Moon activity

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

Malaysia Hosts 3 Major Space Conferences Back-to-Back with AOSWA, APSCC and ICONSPACE

6th Asia-Oceania Space Weather Alliance Workshop (AOSWA 2023) is being held October 9-11 in Selangor. It will focus on sharing recent development in space weather observation, modeling and forecasting. The first Keynote Speech “Space Weather Forecast: Malaysia’s Distinctive Insight” is presented by Tuan Haji Azlikamil bin Napiah (Malaysia Space Agency Director General), and chaired by Mardina Abdullah (UKM Professor). The conference will see 8 sessions and representatives from Indonesia, Thailand, India, Australia, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Germany and USA. AOSWA is sponsored by Space Science Centre (ANGKASA), Institute of Climate Change (IPI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). The same hosts held 8th International Conference on Space Science and Communication (ICONSPACE 2023) on Oct 3-4 in Penang – which had an international advisory committee of 26 members from 13 countries and Taiwan. The Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC) Satellite Conference themed “Re-Uniting Space in Asia” is being held in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 10-12. It will convene about 500 attendees, 130 speakers and 150 companies for CEO panel discussions, case studies, interviews, awards ceremony, networking events and private tours. The main topics will focus on geostationary satellite and the New Space market as well as regulatory and other industry issues. (Image Credits: AOSWA, MYSA, UKM, IPI, NICT, APSCC, et al)

o Oct 9-11 — Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Watan Kita, Naratif Baharu UKM, Institut Perubahan Iklim (IPI), Selangor, Malaysia: 6th Asia-Oceania Space Weather Alliance Workshop (AOSWA 2023).

☾ Oct 9 — Moon: At apogee, distance 405,459 km, 18:00.

☆ Oct 9 — Venus: 2.29° SSW of Regulus, 06:00.

☆ Oct 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 TL: Near-Earth Flyby (0.021 AU).

TUESDAY

● Oct 10 — NASA, Washington DC and Online: News conference for OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample reveal; starts 11:00 EDT, live coverage available.

● Oct 10-11 — Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC), Hybrid / Pittsburgh PA and Online: 2023 LSIC Fall Meeting; focusing on NASA and Space Tech vision for enabling development of lunar infrastructure at Moon South Pole for Artemis missions.

o Oct 10-12 — Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC), Arianespace, Airbus, SES, JSAT, Maxar, et al, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: APSCC Satellite Conference: Re-Uniting Space in Asia.

☾ Oct 10 — Moon: 3.9° NNE of Regulus, 04:00; 5.9° NNE of Venus, 06:00.

☆ Oct 10 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 TO: Near-Earth Flyby (0.009 AU).