Artemis Human Lunar Lander Planned to Send First Woman to Moon Assisted by Commercial Space

At 6th meeting of USA National Space Council, VP Mike Pence continues plans for next man and first woman on lunar South Pole in 2024. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, headed by Jody Singer (L), will be in charge of Artemis lunar lander with substantial work done at Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA Chief Bridenstine points to Artemis crew ascent stage, Gateway, spacesuits, and other projects assigned to JSC. Artemis lander will be managed by Lisa Watson-Morgan (R) from Alabama. Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, managed by Marshall, is assembling the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System. Astrobotic, a Commercial Lunar Payload Services Provider, selects ULA Vulcan Centaur also chosen by Sierra Nevada Corporation for the Dream Chaser. The ULA facility in Alabama will transition from Atlas and Delta production. Vulcan Centaur will launch Astrobotic Peregrine lander (LL) on the first mission for both in 2021, first USA lunar landing since 1972. Houston CLPS provider Intuitive Machines (LR) also plans landing in 2021 using SpaceX booster. NASA solicitation is due Aug 22 for companies to land larger payloads with contract awards expected Oct 15. NASA is also issuing a Request for Proposals up to US$7B for carrying supplies to Gateway. Simultaneously former House Speaker Newt Gingrich advocates a competition among US companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin to land on Moon for less cost. (Image Credits: NASA, Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines)

MONDAY

Aug 26-29 — Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Trinity College Dublin, RadioNet, Dublin, Ireland: 49th Young European Radio Astronomers Conference.

Thailand Space Week Begins August 27 as SEA Space Capability Grows

Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) is hosting Thailand Space Week August 27-29 at Impact Convention Center in Muang Thong Thani, near Bangkok. Founded in 2000, GISTDA owns and operates an Earth observing satellite, Theos, which was developed by Airbus and launched in 2008 on a DNEPR rocket. Theos 2 is anticipated to launch in 2021. Thailand also has a long history of commercial satellite operation dating to 1993 with THAICOM 1-8 communication satellites, 5 of which are operational. With theme ‘Space for Sustainable Society’, Thailand Space Week will feature opening remarks by (R) A.S. Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and keynote speeches by industrial magnate Vikrom Kromadit and Narongsak Osatanakorn, governor of Phayao Province. Four conferences will be held in tandem: GEOINFOTECH, including seminars on Career Paths, Space Economics and Climate Change; the 11th Multi-Global Navigation Satellite Systems Asia Conference, which features a demo day at Space Krenovation Park, Thailand premier technology park and space entrepreneur incubator; Thai Space Consortium – a collaboration between GISTDA, National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) and Siam Photon Laboratory – will report on its efforts to produce domestic microsatellites from the Aerospace Industry Forum, and a Space Youth Forum will announce ‘Discover Thailand’s Astronauts Scholarship Program 2019’. (Also Pictured: (L) Kanda Sri Limpakom, Deputy Director of GISDTA; Image Credits: GISTDA, Airbus, United Nations)

Aug 26-31 — Center for Direct Scientific Communication (CCSD), Paris Observatory,

Aug 26 — Amor Asteroid 2016 PD1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU)

Aug 26 — Apollo Asteroid 2015 TY237: Near-Earth Flyby (0.086 AU)

Aug 26 — Apollo Asteroid 2005 QQ87: Near-Earth Flyby (0.091 AU)

Continued from…

Jan 2019 – Sep 2020 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt: Full data from spacecraft 7 instruments during KBO Ultima Thule flyby to be transmitted to Earth over this time period.

Apr 13 – Sep 2 — Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Flight, Multiple Locations: Destination Moon, traveling exhibition of historic Apollo 11 artifacts.

Aug 24-27 — Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China: 5th Beijing Earth and Planetary Interiors Symposium; understanding origin, structure, variations of Earth planetary magnetic fields.

TUESDAY

Aug 27 — ISS, Dragon CRS-18 Return to Earth: Dragon capsule with cargo, research specimens and a spacesuit that requires refurbishment – to return to Earth today, splashing down in Pacific Ocean.

Aug 27 — International Astronautical Federation, Roscosmos State Corporation, Zhukovskiy, Russia: Announcement of IAF / Roscosmos holding 2020 Global Space Exploration Conference #GLEX2020 in St. Petersburg; featuring Dmitry Rogozin, Jean-Yves Le Gall, Sergey Krikalev, Christian Feichtinger; at Moscow Airshow MAKS 2019, 17:15-17:45.

Aug 27-29 — Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), Bangkok, Thailand: Thailand Space Week: Space for Sustainable Society; at Impact Muang Thong Thani.

Aug 27 — Moon: 6.1° S of Pollux, 04:00.

Aug 27 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 QR: Near-Earth Flyby (0.030 AU)

Aug 27 — Aten Asteroid 2002 JR100: Near-Earth Flyby (0.050 AU)

Aug 27 — Apollo Asteroid 2001 WN5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.098 AU)