Himalaya Neighbors India and China Advance into 2015 with Clear Goals toward Moon, Mars and Beyond

India is currently operating MOM ‘Mangalyaan’ orbiter at Mars and will progress in its development / testing of GSLV Mark III rocket, crew module CARE for future human Moon, Mars and deep space missions, and Chandrayaan-2 Moon mission. ISRO will hold the 102nd Indian Science Congress themed Science and Technology for Human Development on January 3-7 in Mumbai. Space topics will cover GSLV, IRNSS, SKA, TMT and ASTROSAT. The 2nd International Space Conference 2015, held in Noida Jan 8-9, will include talks on touring the inner solar system using launch energy of PSLV-XL, space / Mars settlement, space debris, space education in India, and interplanetary missions. China maintains operations of the Chang’e-3 lander and Yutu rover at Sinus Iridum / Mare Imbrium on the surface of the Moon more than 1 year after landing, collects science and technology data from Tiangong-1 ‘Heavenly Palace’ in LEO, and communicates with / tracks Chang’e-2 orbiter now more than 100M km from Earth. Under construction, Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan, which may become known as China Moon Port, will be 4th and southernmost China launch facility at 19°N 110°E. China is also developing the heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket, Tiangong-2 space lab to launch 2016, and Chang’e-4 and -5 Moon missions. Plans also consist of a Mars orbiter / rover mission in 2020 and sample return 2030, as well as Venus, NEA and Jupiter missions, and Long March 9 rocket for 2028 intended to launch human Moon missions. (Image Credit: ISRO, CNSA, NAOC, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinanews, K. Kremer, M. Di Lorenzo)

MONDAY

Dec 29 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 42 crew with Commander Wilmore of NASA, and flight engineers Serova, Samokutyaev & Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, Virtis of NASA, Cristoforetti of ESA working with Neuromapping study & skin aging experiment; ATV-5 to perform ISS reboost Jan 22, undock with waste Feb 10.

Dec 29 — Tiangong-1, LEO: Orbiting Earth ~16 times a day verifying technologies & capturing large amount of data with Earth observation instruments including hyperspectral imager; has habitable volume of 15 cubic meters, last visited by humans Jun 2013.

Dec 29 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Moon Orbit: Science team planning for second 2-year mission extension, LRO data set 20 available online, as are images of new impact sites.

Dec 29 — Curiosity, Mount Sharp, Mars Surface: Investigating ‘Murray formation’ low sedimentary layers ~150-meters high to help determine why layered 5-km tall Mount Sharp sits in a crater; Sample Analysis at Mars instrument shows evidence of organic matter.

Dec 29 — SpaceX, Hawthorne CA: NewSpace company designing Dragon crew capsule with automated piloting to send humans to LEO for NASA CCP; planning to launch CRS-5 on Jan 6, land Falcon 9 first stage on 90 x 35 meter floating platform.

Dec 29 — Bigleow Aerospace LLC, Las Vegas NV: Developing 3-meter diameter BEAM & 330-cubic meter volume BA 330 modules; planning for commercial space station Alpha Station & Moon habitats.

Dec 29 — Spaceport Colorado, Watkins CO: Working toward securing FAA license to become horizontal launch commercial spaceport; Swiss Space Systems (S3) plans to make location its N America HQ.

Dec 29 — Cassini OTM-399, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #399 today.

Dec 29 – Jan 8 — Israeli Institute for Advanced Studies, The Hebrew University, et al, Jerusalem, Israel: 32nd Winter School in Theoretical Physics 100 Years to General Relativity: From Theory to Experiment and Back.

Considering 2015 New Horizons

The year in preview — ambitious, optimistic, expansive: in January Dawn and New Horizons begin their interplanetary encounters with dwarf Planets Ceres on Jan 13 and Pluto on Jan 15 respectively, preparing to shed light on vastly unexplored regions of our Solar System. Concurrently from Jan 13-15, scientists discuss Technologies to Explore the Interstellar Medium at the Keck Institute for Space Studies in Pasadena CA, USA. Construction of Thirty Meter Telescope, one of the largest and most advanced optical telescopes in the world, starts this year, atop Mauna Kea on Hawai`i. On February 4, ESA will test the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle system designed to provide Earth atmosphere re-entry capabilities for Europe. On June 9-11, the IAA hosts a Low-Cost Planetary Missions Conference and the stalwart Cassini spacecraft manages flybys of 8 of Saturn’s moons in the space of 2 days from Jun 15-16. In July, Arianespace launches LISA Pathfinder to Sun-Earth L1 to detect gravitation waves of massive objects and deepen our understanding of space-time in the Universe. Russia is developing a new generation of rockets and planning for a full-scale Moon exploration program. Korea completes development of an indigenous first-stage for the Naro rocket, a major step toward independence in space with the goal of a Korean orbital rocket by 2020, possibly establishing Korea as a major space faring power. On July 4, the Juno spacecraft (launched in 2011) marks one year until Jupiter arrival. September 2, SpaceX Falcon 9 carries the futuristic commercially-developed Bigelow Expandable Activity Module to the ISS for evaluation. In November and December Japan shines with the Venus Climate Orbiter (Akatsuki) overcoming major difficulties to arrive at our sister-planet and Hayabusa 2 conducting an Earth flyby en route to Asteroid 1999 JU3. In the companion piece above major space achievements and developments ahead for India and China Himalaya neighbors are highlighted. As the sphere of human awareness stretches ever outward answers to questions of peace, purpose and prosperity shall be found on the frontiers of Galaxy exploration and enterprise. (Image Credit: NASA)

Continued from…

Feb 1 – Dec 31 — Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), Multiple Locations: Cycle 2 of science flights to observe universe consists of 47 science flights grouped into multi-week observing campaigns totaling about 350 research flight hours.

Dec 20 – Mar 15 — Cantor Arts Center, Stanford CA: Exhibition: Loose in Some Real Tropics: Robert Rauschenberg’s “Stoned Moon” Projects, 1969–70; 34 large-format lithographs with scenes of Apollo 11 astronauts, machinery, facilities.

TUESDAY

Dec 30 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 42 In-Flight Interviews with BBC Radio and the CBS Radio Network; live coverage available, 17:55 UT.

Dec 30 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Dr. David Livingston talks with Tom Olson about the Space Year in Review.

WEDNESDAY

Dec 31 — International Astronomical Union, Online / Paris, France: IAU Commission Reform Expressions of Interest Due.

THURSDAY

NET 2015 — RSA, Launch Zenit / New Generation Crew Transportation Vehicle, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Robotic first flight of 4-person spacecraft that will replace Soyuz.

NET 2015 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Dragon Mk 2 (DragonRider), Cape Canaveral AFS FL: Dragon spacecraft to carry humans to space for NASA CCiCap, first piloted test flight expected to occur before the end of this year.

NET 2015 — XCOR Aerospace, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: Company expects to begin suborbital test flights of Lynx spaceplane this year.

NET 2015 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon Heavy Demo Flight, Vandenberg AFB CA: Test launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.