Triple Conjunction – 60th Cosmonautics Day, 40th Space Shuttle Observation, 20th Yuri’s Night
April 12 marks the 60-40-20 observations of Yuri Gagarin’s spaceflight in 1961, the first NASA Space Shuttle launch of STS-1 Columbia in 1981, and the founding of Yuri’s Night in 2001. Continuing the legacy of Soviet Union space achievements, Russia revitalization of the Luna Program will aim to see Luna-25 lander launch to the Moon October 1, 45 years after Luna-24. Though Sputnik-V launch is successful, the traditional procession from Gagarin’s statue in Korolyov, to Gagarin’s grave at Red Square through Cosmonauts Alley near the Monument to the Conquerors of Space may be postponed. Commemorating STS-1Columbia flight carrying John Young and Robert Crippen around Earth on a 54.4-hour mission, NASA is currently training Astronauts for the dawn of the ‘Artemis Era’ cis-lunar and Moon surface missions 2022-2026. Internationally April 12 is celebrated as Yuri’s Night aka World Space Party where space enthusiasts gather for a variety of activities from academic to festive. This year Yuri’s Night is being held April 10 with theme “Earthseed”. Envisioning the 80-60-40 conjunction of these events in 2041 what might the committed funding, focus and urgency of public-private entities have accomplished: the establishment of multiple international sustainable lunar bases, first human footsteps on Mars and developing settlements, planning for human Jupiter system exploration, nanocraft nearing Alpha Centauri, and inter-global space law treaties in Peace for All. (Image Credits: NASA, Dubai Media Office, ESA – P. Carril, Breakthrough Starshot, Roscosmos)
MONDAY
Highlights… Apr 12 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: 10-crewmember expedition 64/5 – now including Oleg Novitskiy, Pyotr Dubrov, Mark Vande Hei – working to transfer cargo from Yu.A. Gagarin Soyuz MS-18; experiments involving optical data transmission to Earth, capillary fluid dynamics in flora and spectroscopic particle analysis with mini electron microscope Mochii ongoing.
PR China to Join USA on Mars Surface while Mars Orbit Growing Crowded with International Probes
6 nations are now monitoring conditions from cis-Martian space and soon 2 will be conducting surface operations, should CNSA Tianwen-1 land successfully next month. A total of 8 spacecraft are in controlled orbit of the Red Planet, in order of arrival they are: Odyssey (NASA), Express (ESA), MRO (NASA), Mars Orbiter Mission / Mangalyaan (ISRO), MAVEN (NASA), ExoMars TGO (ESA/Roscosmos), Emirates Mars Mission / Hope (UAESA) and Tianwen-1 (CNSA). Through an array of increasingly advanced sensing instruments, these craft have gathered voluminous data on the substructure, surface, atmosphere and magnetosphere. On the ground, Insight lander continues geology investigations with SEIS seismometer as Curiosity and Perseverance Rovers explore Gale and Jezero craters, performing planetary science and astrobiology investigations. Tianwen-1 is currently parked in a 280km x 59,000km orbit as CNSA plans to land in middle May, with exact landing coordinates reported by state media at / 24.748° N, 110.318° E – relatively close to Octavia E. Butler Landing site at 18.4446°N, 77.4509°E. USA and China mission planners have provided their counterparts orbital trajectory information (as with India, Europe, Russia, UAE) with required formal congressional approval, begging the question if further cooperation between the world’s leading powers and only neighbors on Mars is forthcoming. Next missions include a second phase of ExoMars, with ESA and Roscosmos planning for September 20, 2022 launch window and June 2023 landing of Kazachok lander and deployal of Rosalind Franklin rover. (Image Credits: CNSA, NASA, ESA, ISRO, UAESA)
Apr 12 — 60th Commemoration of Human Spaceflight / Cosmonautics Day, Worldwide: Celebrating Yuri Gagarin of Russia, the 1st human to orbit Earth on Vostok 1 spacecraft in 1961; the flight lasted 108 minutes at 27,400 kph and 327 km above Earth.
Apr 12 — 40th Observation of STS-1 Columbia Flight,Nationwide USA: Commemorations occur today in honor of 1st ever NASA Space Shuttle Columbia carrying John Young and pilot Robert Crippen around Earth on 54.5-hour mission in 1981.
Apr 12 — 20th Yuri’s Night Celebrations, Global:Yuri’s Night 2021; annual worldwide party to celebrate Yuri Gagarin’s 1st flight into space and promote space exploration.
Apr 12 — British Interplanetary Society, Online / London, United Kingdom: Beyond the Moon; 12:00-16:00 UTC.
Apr 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GQ: Near-Earth Flyby (0.020 AU)
Apr 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GR4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU)
Apr 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GZ: Near-Earth Flyby (0.033 AU)
Continued From… NET Early 2021 — ISRO, Launch SSLV / Demonstration Launch, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: New Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) to launch on first orbital test flight.
NET Mar — International Astronautical Federation, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC),Online:IAC 2021 Press Conference; providing updates for 72nd IAC being held Oct 25-29.
NET Apr — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt Object Trajectory: Spacecraft extended mission funding ends this month after reaching Pluto, Charon and KBO Arrokoth; future trajectory / plans to be determined; expected to operate until at least mid-2030s.
NET Apr — CNSA, Launch Long March 5 / Tianhe-1 Core Module for China Space Station,Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): Tianhe-1 (Harmony of the Heavens) core module for China Space Station to launch to LEO on Long March 5; station to orbit between 350 – 450 km, accommodate 3 crew members for 6 month stays, expected to operate until at least 2032.
NET Apr — Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), Guizhou, China: International applications for international scientific community participation in FAST to be reviewed starting this month, becoming effective in August 2021.
TUESDAY
Apr 13 — Moon: 2.31° SE of Uranus, 04:00.
WEDNESDAY
Apr 14 — Moon Village Association, Online / Vienna, Austria: Third Global Expert Group on Sustainable Lunar Activities (GEGSLA) Meeting; 15:00-17:00 CET.
Apr 14 — Moon: At apogee (distance 406,161 km), 08:00; 5.0° SE of the Pleiades, 23:00.
THURSDAY
Apr 15 — Juno, Perijove 33 / 32nd Science Flyby,Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft in 53-day orbit to come within ~3,500 km of Jupiter cloud tops during Perijove 33, its 33rd close flyby of Jupiter and 32nd science flyby with instruments turned on, 13:36:26 UTC.
Apr 15 — Center for Strategic and International Studies, Secure World Foundation, Online / Washington DC:Defense Against the Dark Arts in Space; 13:00-14:00 EDT.
Apr 15 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GQ2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.015 AU)
FRIDAY
Apr 16 — ISS, Soyuz MS-17 Return to Earth, ~405-km Altitude: Marks start of Expedition 65, ISS Expedition 64 crew members Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, and Kate Rubins of NASA set to return to Earth in Soyuz MS-17, landing near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan at 12:56 EDT April 17.
Apr 17 — Moon: 0.20° SE of Mars, 03:00; 0.99° NNE of M35 cluster, 15:00.
Apr 17 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 HE5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.022 AU)
SUNDAY
Apr 18 — Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), Highly Elliptical HEO: Space telescope for NASA Explorers program, designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method in an area 400 times larger than that covered by Kepler / K2 mission, reaches 3rd full year / enters 4th year in space today; launched April 18, 2018.
Apr 18 — ISRO, Launch GSLV Mk. 2 / GISAT 1,Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk. 2, designated GSLV-F10, to launch India first GEO Imaging Satellite GISAT 1.
Apr 18 — Space Cafe Global, Online / Tokyo, Japan: Space Cafe Tokyo Meeting.
Apr 18 — Mercury: At superior conjunction with Sun, 16:00.
Apr 18 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GX3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.024 AU)
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April 12 marks the 60-40-20 observations of Yuri Gagarin’s spaceflight in 1961, the first NASA Space Shuttle launch of STS-1 Columbia in 1981, and the founding of Yuri’s Night in 2001. Continuing the legacy of Soviet Union space achievements, Russia revitalization of the Luna Program will aim to see Luna-25 lander launch to the Moon October 1, 45 years after Luna-24. Though Sputnik-V launch is successful, the traditional procession from Gagarin’s statue in Korolyov, to Gagarin’s grave at Red Square through Cosmonauts Alley near the Monument to the Conquerors of Space may be postponed. Commemorating STS-1 Columbia flight carrying John Young and Robert Crippen around Earth on a 54.4-hour mission, NASA is currently training Astronauts for the dawn of the ‘Artemis Era’ cis-lunar and Moon surface missions 2022-2026. Internationally April 12 is celebrated as Yuri’s Night aka World Space Party where space enthusiasts gather for a variety of activities from academic to festive. This year Yuri’s Night is being held April 10 with theme “Earthseed”. Envisioning the 80-60-40 conjunction of these events in 2041 what might the committed funding, focus and urgency of public-private entities have accomplished: the establishment of multiple international sustainable lunar bases, first human footsteps on Mars and developing settlements, planning for human Jupiter system exploration, nanocraft nearing Alpha Centauri, and inter-global space law treaties in Peace for All. (Image Credits: NASA, Dubai Media Office, ESA – P. Carril, Breakthrough Starshot, Roscosmos)
Apr 12 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: 10-crewmember expedition 64/5 – now including Oleg Novitskiy, Pyotr Dubrov, Mark Vande Hei – working to transfer cargo from Yu.A. Gagarin Soyuz MS-18; experiments involving optical data transmission to Earth, capillary fluid dynamics in flora and spectroscopic particle analysis with mini electron microscope Mochii ongoing.
Apr 12 — NewSpace: 
Apr 12 — USA: SpaceX working to correct methane leak on previous iteration with 
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