Four International Mars 2020 Missions on the Horizon

Curiosity rover reaches 7 full years / enters its 8th year on Mars August 5. While investigating 154-km diameter Gale Crater and 5.5-km tall Mount Sharp, it has traveled 21.08 km so far, collecting data on habitability, climate and geology. Also operating at Mars is NASA InSight lander at Elysium Planitia, and 6 international orbiters: 3 from NASA, 2 ESA and 1 India. Taking advantage of Mars next closest approach Oct 6, 2020, China is planning to launch its 1st Mars mission July or Aug to the Northern Hemisphere with 240-kg rover, orbiter and 13 science payloads. A return to flight of Long March 5 is required for this mission, as well as for Chang’e-5 lunar sample return which could launch late 2019. The UAE is developing its Al-Amal “Hope” Mars satellite to launch 2020 on JAXA H2A rocket and arrive at Mars 2021, accomplishing the 1st Mars mission for any Arab or Crescent Moon County, and marking 50th anniversary of UAE formation. The ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars mission will launch Kazachok lander and Rosalind Franklin rover, and utilize the 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter communications relay. NASA next-gen 2020 Rover is on track for launch July 17. Mars robotic sample return is in discussion by NASA and ESA for 2026, by which point Human Moon Landings could be relatively routine making Human Mars missions more feasible. (Image Credits: NASA, JPL, Caltech, CNSA, Xinhua, Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, ESA, Roscosmos)

MONDAY

Aug 5 — Curiosity, Mars Surface: Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory) rover reaches 7 full years / enters 8th year of operations on Mars surface today; launched Nov 26, 2011 – landed Aug 5, 2012 (Pacific Daylight Time).

Arizona: Space Enthusiasts and Planetary Scientists to Gather in the Grand Canyon State

Flagstaff will host the 10th Planetary Crater Consortium Meeting, August 7-9, where planetary scientists will discuss impact observation, analysis and theory on astronomical bodies within the Solar System, including the Moon and Mars. Flagstaff is 60 km west of Meteor Crater – a well-preserved 50,000-year-old impact crater 1,200 meters in diameter and 170 meters deep. The 10th annual Spacefest, August 8-11 in Tucson, is to feature appearances by (T-B) Mercury pilots Sarah Ratley and Gene Nora Jessen, as well as Astronauts Mario Runco and Dave Scott. Also included in the festival will be an International Astronomical Artists Association art show. The late Alan Bean, Moonwalking Astronaut and artist, is credited with being instrumental in the formation of Spacefest. Last of the contiguous territories to join the Union, Arizonian astronomy predates statehood – the venerable Lowell Observatory was founded in 1894, from which Pluto was discovered and the Moon mapped for the Apollo missions. Recently, Submillimeter Telescope, located on Mt. Graham at 3,185-meters, was one of eight radio telescopes used to generate the first image of a black hole via the Event Horizon Telescope array. Arizona is home to a burgeoning private space industry including Iridium Communications, which deployed its 75-count second generation satellite constellation in January, World View Enterprises, manufacturer of LEO dirigible balloons, and Paragon Space Development Corporation, which builds life support systems and was founded by veterans of the storied Biosphere 2, largest closed environment on Earth. (Image Credits: State of Arizona, University of Arizona, NASA, Lowell Observatory, Mount Graham International Observatory)

NET

Aug 5 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Proton / Blagovest 14L, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Russia Proton booster and Breeze M upper stage will launch Blagovest No. 14L communications satellite.

Aug 5-9 — University of California – Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA: 2019 Santa Cruz Galaxy Workshop.

Aug 5 — Moon: 7.3° NNE of Spica, 20:00.

Aug 5 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 AG12: Near-Earth Flyby (0.059 AU)

Continued from…

Jun 24 – Aug 23 — International Space University, ESA, Strasbourg, France: ISU 32nd Space Studies Program (SSP 2019).

NET Aug – Nov — Hayabusa2, Asteroid 162173 Ryugu: JAXA Hayabusa2 with 2 sample returns planned to remain at Asteroid for observations during this time period, then return to Earth.

Aug 3-8 — AIAA, Utah State University, Logan UT: Small Satellite Conference #33 (2019): Small Satellites – Big Data.

Aug 4-10 — Recontres du Vietnam, Quy Nhon University, International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE), Quy Nhon, Vietnam: 7th Vietnam School of Astrophysics (VSOA7): Planetary Science.

TUESDAY

Aug 6 — Arianespace, Launch Ariane 5 / Intelsat 39 & EDRS-C, Kourou, French Guiana: Arianespace to launch Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA249 with Intelsat 39 and EDRS-C communications satellites.

Aug 6 — Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Baltimore MD: Lecture: Tiny Stellar Islands in a Big Old Universe; by Trisha Ashley from STScI.