December 7-13, 2020 / Vol 39, No 49 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Return to the Moon for Good, 1st Woman on the Moon Mid-2020s Decade The visionary, extensive 21st Century Artemis program would keep USA on course to be the first to return humans to the Moon, land the first woman on the Moon and maintain leadership in outer space – if vital support is given by new emerging American leadership including incoming President Biden and Vice President Harris. Through the reestablishment of National Space Council and Space Policy Directive-1, Artemis catalyzed a multitude of programs and policies encompassing national, international, scientific, commercial, private, public and inter-global considerations in keeping with the 2024-2026 timeline to pioneer the Moon South Pole and begin establishing humans as a Multi World Civilization. As China ‘Zhongguo’ operates robotic craft on Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor in 3 locations, USA CLPS providers are planning to launch 2 landers late 2021 and Orion + SLS are advancing toward November 2021 test flight. The crucial human-landing system (proposed by teams led by Blue Origin, Dynetics and SpaceX) remains in question under funding constraints. Innovative and enhanced technologies, Earth-space observations, science and communications will come from returning people to the Moon; while landing the first woman and first Black American would expand the sphere of influence, activity and domain by nearly 1 Billion times, and take first steps toward a more inclusive way forward ‘In Peace For All’. The 8th NSC is set to meet Dec 9 with current VP Mike Pence and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, giving updates and future prospects. (Image Credits: NASA, Lockheed Martin)

MONDAY Highlights… Dec 7 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Expedition 64 crew of 7 transferring 2,903 kg of supplies and experiments from Cargo Dragon 2 CRS-21, tending radishes in Plant Habitat-02, conducting ammonia-removing water recycling investigation, and packing waste in Cygnus NG-14 to be jettisoned for reentry / disposal. Dec 7 — NewSpace: Momentus to transport Canadensys craft from LEO to LLO via water plasma-powered Ardoride 2023-24; off-world tourism company Space Perspective raises US$7M for stratospheric dirigible, plans Q1 2021 test flight; ClearSpace SA to launch debris mitigation mission with $104M ESA funding + $29M private capital. Dec 7 — Solar System: Chang’e-5 ascent and service modules in 200-km lunar orbit, transferring samples for Earth return; geothermal heat on Mars during Noachian period may solve faint young Sun paradox; data from 20 years of ISS / 59 astronaut samples indicates mitochondria ‘universal mechanism’ of LEO health deterioration. Dec 7 — Galaxy: Planck readings of CMB contrasted with MWG light suggests parity asymmetry, challenges standard model; Japan VLBI observations indicate Earth moving 227 km/s, distance from Sun-Sgr A* 25,800 LY; new model suggests Proxima c unaffected by stellar winds which make Proxima b inhospitable. Dec 7 — Global: CNSA super heavy-lift launch vehicle (SHLLV) Long March 9 core stage ready for hot-fire test; spaceport leadership shakeups occurring in Russia and USA; ESA-developed supercapacitor ready for use in space; Pikangikum Nation connects to Starlink from rural Ontario, Canada. Dec 7 — USA: NASA accepts precedent-setting bids from Lunar Outpost, ispace Japan / Europe, Masten to collect and sell Moon material; SFW urges incoming administration to maintain ‘strategic direction’, avoid ‘antagonistic rhetoric’; Masten and Virgin Galactic awarded combined $45M by NASA for flight & payload integration service. Dec 7 — Hawai’i: HI-SEAS lunar habitat simulation Selene II on Mauna Loa persevering through weather / power setbacks; UND astronomers utilizing IRTF posit 40% of meteorites originate from 6 Hebe collision; researchers find AI scheduling could save $1M/yr, after analysis of CFHT historical data. NET Dec 7 — Boeing, NASA, Stennis Space Center MS: SLS core stage wet dress rehearsal Green Run Test.

= 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’).

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Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Mars (S), Jupiter (SW), Saturn (SW), Uranus (SE), Neptune (S); Morning Planets: Venus (SE).

NASA Flagship Rocket Space Launch System Set for Final Core Stage Assessments Preparations are underway at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi test stand B-2 for the last two SLS Core Green Run Tests: #7, a wet dress rehearsal in which 2,650 kl of cryogenic fuels (liquid oxygen and hydrogen) are to be filled via 114 tanker trucks then drained NET December 7, and #8 hot fire test where core rocket engines are to ignite for 8 minutes NET Dec 21. Successful completion of these tests is essential for the program, which has had a somewhat storied history of congressional intransigence and budgetary overruns. The core stage is comprised of 4 RS-25 units designed and manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne plus two 5-segment boosters, both recycled elements from the Space Shuttle (STS). SLS is by some measures the most powerful rocket system ever built – initial Block 1 configured with Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, as it will be for Artemis 1-3, will produce 39,144 kN of thrust, capable of launching 95 metric tons to LEO and 27 metric tons into translunar orbit. Core stage alone stands 64.6 m tall with a diameter of 8.4 m, while the integrated launch vehicle including ICPS and Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle will top out over 98 m. SLS is to join Falcon 9 as the only 2 operational super heavy-lift rockets currently existent. (Image Credits: NASA, Boeing, Thorenn / Wikipedia)

Dec 7 — Hayabusa2, Main Asteroid Belt Trajectory: JAXA Hayabusa2 enters extended mission phase heading toward July 2026 flyby of asteroid 2001 CC21, and July 2031 rendezvous of asteroid 1998 KY26; attempted samples return to Earth from 162173 Ryugu on Dec 6, 2020; launched Dec 3, 2014. Dec 7 — Akatsuki, Venus Orbit: JAXA first successful planetary orbiter imaging Venus atmosphere, monitoring weather changes reaches 5 full years / enters 6th year at Venus today, reached Venus 2015. Dec 7 — ISRO, Launch PSLV / CMS 1, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle designated PSLV-C50 to launch CMS 1 communications satellite. Dec 7 — Astra, Launch Rocket 3.2, Pacific Spaceport Complex, Kodiak AK: 12-day launch window opens for second orbital attempt of Astra Rocket, daily window 10:00-13:30 AKST. Dec 7-11 — European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency, European Commission, Online: European Space Week. Dec 7-11 — University of Concepción, Online / Concepción, Chile: Conference: Supermassive Black Holes. Dec 7 — Moon: At last quarter, 14:37. Dec 7 — Mercury: 4.3° NNE of Antares, 01:00. Continued From… Nov 4, 2020 – Feb 28, 2021 — International Astronautical Federation, Online: Abstracts Submission Open: 72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2021); being held Oct 25-29. Nov 29 – Dec 11 — Rencontres du Vietnam, International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education, Institute For Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Education, Quy Nhon, Vietnam: 26th Vietnam School of Physics: Particles and Dark Matter (VSOP 26).

Dec 1-17 — American Geophysical Union, Online / Washington DC: AGU Fall Meeting 2020.

Dec 5-7 — APSS Organizing Committee, Sanya, China: 7th Conference on Astrophysics and Space Science (APSS 2020).

TUESDAY

Dec 8 — International Lunar Observatory Association, Online / Hawai’i, USA / Argentina: Galaxy Forum South America 2020 Argentina; held on opening evening of IAU 367, 18:00-20:00 UT.

Dec 8 — Institute of Physics London South East Branch, Online / London, United Kingdom: Lecture: The Moon’s water: past, current, and future perspectives; by Jessica Barnes from University of Arizona, 19:30-21:00 UT.

Dec 8 — Space Court Foundation, Secure World Foundation, Online / Sharon PA: Discussion: Reducing Space Threats Through Norms, Rules and Principles of Responsible Behavior; with UK Ambassador Aiden Liddle and a panel of leading space security experts, 09:00 EST.

Dec 8 — Secure World Foundation, Online / Broomfield CO: Space Policy and Sustainability Issue Briefing for the Incoming Biden Administration; moderated by Jacqueline Feldscher of Politico, 14:00-15:15 EST.

Dec 8-11 — International Academy of Astronautics, RUDN University, American Astronautical Society, Online / Moscow, Russia: 3rd IAA/AAS Conference on Space Flight Mechanics and 3rd IAA/AAS Conference on Space Structures and Materials.

Dec 8-12 — International Astronomical Union, Online / Argentina: IAU Symposium 367: Education and Heritage in the Era of Big Data in Astronomy.

Dec 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 WK3: Near Earth Flyby (0.026 AU)

Dec 8 — Aten Asteroid 2018 PK21: Near Earth Flyby (0.031 AU)

WEDNESDAY

Dec 9 — National Space Council, KSC, Florida: Meeting of the National Space Council; 12:30-14:30 EST, with VP Mike Pence, Scott Pace, Jim Bridenstine, others.

Dec 9 — Library of Congress, Washington DC: Lecture: Pulsars and X-rays: The NICER Mission on the International Space Station; by Keith Gendreau of GSFC; 12:00 EST.

Dec 9 — SpaceLand Africa, IAF, Online / Paris, France: IAF GNF Space Conversations Series: SpaceLand’s First 3D-Printed Mars Habitat as Game-Changer in Planetary Exploration Programs; 14:00 CET.

Dec 9 — W. M. Keck Observatory, Online / Kamuela HI: Lecture: Hunting for the Most Distant Galaxies in the Universe; by Taylor Hutchison, Graduate Student from Texas A&M University, 17:00 HST.

Dec 9-10 — United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Arab Emirates Space Agency, Online: World Space Forum: Space for our Future; to exchange views on four pillars of space economy, space society, space accessibility and space diplomacy.

Dec 9-11 — Chilean Astronomical Society, Online: 16th Meeting of the Chilean Astronomical Society (SOCHIAS).

THURSDAY

Dec 10 — XMM-Newton, Very Eccentric Elliptical LEO: ESA craft studying X-ray emissions, star-forming regions, galaxy clusters, environment of supermassive black holes, mapping dark matter, reaches 21 full years / begins 22nd year in space today, launched 1999.

Dec 10 — CNSA, Launch Long March 11 / GECAM, Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China: Long March 11 rocket to launch Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) dual satellites to detect electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves and other astrophysical signals.

Dec 10 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / SXM 7, SLC-40, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch SXM 7 satellite for SiriusXM, launch window 11:19-13:19 EST.

Dec 10 — University of Washington, Online: UW Space Dialogue with Secure World Foundation’s Victoria Samson; 12:00-13:00 PST.

Dec 10 — Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Online: Lecture: Interstellar Dust Grains – Galactic Messengers; with Pontus Brandt of JHU-APL, Veerle Sterken of ETH Zurich, Bruce Draine of Princeton University.

Dec 10 — AIAA SF Section, Online / San Francisco CA: Virtual Annual Banquet: The Future of Supersonic Transportation; to celebrate and honor recipients of 2020 Section-wide awards and winners of AIAA middle school essay contest, 18:30 PST.

Dec 10 — Moon: 6.4° NNE of Spica, 08:00.

FRIDAY

Dec 11 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Angara-A5 / Test Flight 2, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia: Second orbital test flight of Angara-A5 rocket with dummy payload.

Dec 11 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / “Owl’s Night Begins”, LC 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Rocket Lab to launch StriX-α synthetic aperture radar satellite for Synspective, a Japan Earth-imaging company planning for a constellation of 30; launch window opens 23:00 HST.

Dec 11 — Virgin Galactic, Spaceport America, Las Cruces NM: Launch window opens for VG to attempt VSS Unity space plane third piloted test flight to suborbital space.

Dec 11 — St. Louis Space Frontier, Online: Zoom Meeting: Gateway to Space 2020; 19:00 CST.

Dec 11 — Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), Online / London, United Kingdom: RAS Ordinary Meeting; Meeting on Exploring the Transient Universe into the 2030s; and Meeting on Analysis of Returned Extraterrestrial Materials – Current Capabilities and Future Opportunities.

SATURDAY

Dec 12 — British Interplanetary Society West Midlands Branch, Online: Lecture UK Nitric Acid Oxidiser Rocket Engines; by John Harlow, 14:00.

Dec 12 — Moon: At perigee (distance 361,767.93 km), 10:43; 0.78° NNE of Venus, 02:00.

SUNDAY

Dec 13 — Geminids Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from constellation Gemini, shower can produce 80-130 meteors per hour; bright, medium-slow meteors (35 km/sec), few leave persistent trains.

Dec 13 — Moon: 5.5° NNE of Antares, 10:00.