GRAIL Successfully Maps and May Impact Lunar Surface
Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar orbiting spacecraft, Ebb and Flow, are approaching the end of their extended science operations mission, pushed back from December 3 to Dec 17. GRAIL operated at unprecedented altitudes of about 23 km above the Moon. In some cases they were only 8 km above the highest surfaces and soon they may get a lot closer. The US$496M GRAIL mission plan includes a 5-day decommissioning period and it is speculated that approximately 40 days later GRAIL will impact the lunar surface. The specific crash site for the 200-kg near-twin spacecrafts has not yet been designated. On Dec 6 and 7, Dr. Sami Asmar (L) GRAIL Deputy Project Scientist of JPL will speak about the project at The von Kármán Lecture Series ‘GRAIL Unwraps the Moon’ in Pasadena, California, USA. Data analysis from the GRAIL primary mission is expected to continue until at least August 2013, advancing our knowledge about the interior, gravity field and evolution of the Moon and other planets in the Solar System. As part of the NASA Discovery Program in which lower-cost, highly-focused American scientific space exploration missions are the focus, GRAIL data will greatly benefit upcoming missions to the Moon and beyond. Also pictured: GRAIL Principal Investigator Maria Zuber of MIT (R). (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech, Bill Ingalls)
NAO Japan Explores Present and Future of Radio Astronomy in the ALMA Era
In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the 45-meter Nobeyama Radio Observatory in Nagano the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan is hosting an international symposium on ‘New Trends in Radio Astronomy in the ALMA Era’ on December 3-8 in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture. The primary purpose of the symposium is to discuss new and future trends expected for Radio Astronomy on the basis of initial outcomes from early science in cosmology, galaxies, star / planet formation, the solar system and interstellar matter at ALMA – the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, a US$1.3-B international project based in the Atacama Desert of Chile. Pierre Cox, incoming Director of ALMA effective April 1, 2013, is presenting on ‘IRAM: Present and Future’ on Friday Dec 7 at 10:05. Also in the ‘Future Plans’ session on Friday are Gordon Stacy ‘The CCAT Project’ (11:15) and Sheperd Doeleman ‘The Event Horizon Telescope’ (14:25). On Tuesday November 20, North America completed delivery of 25 NSF-funded 12-meter-diameter 110-ton dish antennas. These are being joined by 25 from Europe and 16 from East Asia spread out over almost 200 square kilometers. The latest count shows 52 of the total 66 dishes have been delivered to the 5,000-meter altitude Array Operations Site on the Chajnantor Plateau. (Image Credit: NAOJ, ALMA, Hakone Town)
= 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;’ Greenwich, England).
Dec 3 — ISS,LEO: Crew members continue equipment / medical training, maintenance; preparing for SPHERES experiment, 3 bowling-ball sized satellites which could advance automated dockings, satellite servicing, spacecraft assembly, emergency repairs.
Dec 3 — Chandra X-ray Observatory, HEO: With 4 pairs of nested mirrors and 6 science instruments, observing explosive X-ray jets estimated to be at least 230K light years across and 12.4B light years from Earth.
Dec 3 — Cassini, Saturn Orbit: From a distance of 400,000 km, imaging swirling storm clouds at Saturn North Pole due to seasonal change; detecting unexpected shift in Titan atmosphere around 600 km above surface; collecting thermal data with composite infrared spectrometer on another Saturn moon, Tethys.
Dec 3 — Reaction Engines Ltd,Oxfordshire, England: Testing pre-cooler heat exchanger technology to cool incoming airstream from over 1,000°C to -150°C in under 1/100th of a second; to be used in developing SABRE engines for future Skylon reusable single-stage-to-orbit vehicles.
Dec 3 — Clyde Space Ltd,Glasgow, Scotland: Working with University of Glasgow engineers to develop Aerodynamic End Of Life Deorbit System (AEOLDOS), a 3m2 “aerobrake” for small satellites to fall out of orbit, burn up in atmosphere, prevent additional space debris; hoping to be flight ready by end of 2013.
Dec 3 — exactEarth Ltd, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada: Beginning commercial service operations for exactView-1 (EV-1) satellite in 810-km polar orbit with increased maritime detection rates of up to 40%; developing Automatic Identification System (AIS) Receivers for 4 other satellites to launch 2013.
Dec 3 — Sea Launch, Launch Zenit 3SL / Eutelsat 70B, Odyssey Platform, Equator at 154° W: Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket to deliver Eutelsat 70B communications satellite; 12:43 PST.
Dec 3 — Italian Space Agency,Rome, Italy: ‘Science and Industry 2012;’ to discuss strategies, objectives, potential improvements of space science operations in global / national setting; includes presentation on ESA Ministerial Council results.
Dec 3-5 — European Commission, DG Enterprise, et al,London, United Kingdom: ‘European Space Solutions;’ to explore how space can make a difference to people across Europe.
Dec 3-7 — American Geophysical Union, San Francisco CA: ‘AGU 45th annual Fall Meeting;’ includes discussion about atmospheric dynamics of Mars, Venus, Moon; and lunar samples / surface data.
Oct 3 – Jan 1, 2013 — Ontario Science Centre Exhibit, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: ‘Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration;’ future technologies on display including lunar elevator model, inflatable space living habitat and robotic submersible potentially useful in search for life on Europa.
Nov 22 – Dec 24 — U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville Botanical Garden, Huntsville AL: ‘2012 Galaxy of Lights;’ including Santa’s Rocket Workshop and propulsion crew, lighted aircraft Aviation Challenge, Rocket Tram ride.
Nov 30 – Jan 9, 2013 — NASA, Online: Accepting USA K-12 teacher team applications for ‘Teaching from Space Flight Week;’ a MicroGravity eXperience (Micro GX) involving online course and development / performance of reduced gravity experiment.
Dec 4 — American Geophysical Union, NASA, San Francisco CA: ‘NASA Social Event in San Francisco;’ bringing 20 social media users to the AGU 45th annual Fall Meeting.
Dec 4 — SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium: ‘NASA’s Curiosity Rover: Four Months on Mars;’ presented by Deputy Scientist of the MSL Mission Ashwin Vasavada, 19:00 PST.
Dec 4-5 — European Southern Observatory,Garching, Germany: ‘Real Time Control for Adaptive Optics Workshop;’ second workshop for real-time control specialists, instrument scientists, adaptive optics engineers; held at ESO headquarters.
Dec 5-6 — Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, Boeing Company, MDA, Bluesky Strategy Group Inc., et al, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: ‘2012 Canadian Aerospace Summit;’ held in Ottawa Convention Centre.
Dec 5-6 — Avanti Communications, GVF, iDirect, et al, London, United Kingdom: ‘GVF Ka Roundtable Assembly 2012;’ to discuss technology, service, advantages to global communication by Ka bandwidth satellites.
Dec 7 — 40th Anniversary Apollo 17 Launch, USA / Worldwide: Last Human Moon Mission, landed Dec 11, 1972.
Dec 7 — Space Congress, Canaveral Council of Technical Societies, Cocoa FL: ‘42nd Space Congress – A New Beginning;’ to inspire space pioneers to resolve scientific questions and discuss use of facilities in Florida; US$50.
Dec 7 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: ‘Lunch with an Astronaut,’ Leroy Chiao; US$49.95 adult.
Dec 7 — ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, University of Hawai`i – Hilo, Hilo HI: ‘Mystery of the Christmas Star Planetarium Show;’ trace the footsteps of ancient Babylonian astronomers; 19:00 HST, US$10 adult.
SATURDAY
Dec 8 — International Launch Services, Launch Proton / Yamal 402, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Proton rocket with Breeze M upper stage to deploy Yamal 402 communications satellite for Gazprom Space Systems to service Russia, Europe, the Middle East, Asia; 19:13 local time.
Dec 9 — FOX News Channel, Worldwide: ‘FOX News Reporting: Fly Me to the Moon;’ broadcast featuring Buzz Aldrin, Harrison Schmitt, Gene Cernan, Jim Lovell, Al Worden, Bill Anders, more; 21:00 EST.
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From 02 to 07 August 2026, a few thousand geoscientists across diverse disciplines will gather at the 23rd annual meeting of the Asia Oceania Geosciences...
At the Palais des Nations and online. Outer space is entering a renewed phase of strategic importance, defined by rapid innovation, growing competition and deepening...
This international lunar science meeting has two objectives: to provide a platform for leading experts to review recent advances across lunar research, from the...
At CSIR International Convention Centre. Key topics are Earth Observation, Developing Space Tourism, Space Supply Manufacturing. Cultural tours are offered.
(No earlier than 10 Aug) Japan to launch the MICHIBIKI No. 7 | Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZS-7) navigation satellite. Launch window remains open through...
Participants will receive theoretical and hands-on training in electron imaging and X-ray spectroscopy for application to planetary samples. This training opportunity is targeted at...
"Leading Australia’s Space Future for Our Strategic Advantage". Southern Space 2026 brings together decision-makers who set the direction for Australia’s space sector. It is...
The second test launch of LandSpace's ZQ-3 rocket with undisclosed test payloads. Zhuque-3 first stage booster will attempt to land on its downrange landing...
A total solar eclipse with a magnitude of 1.0386 (greatest eclipse 17:47:06 UTC) will be visible in parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic...
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During U.S. spacewalk 97, two astronauts will replace a Space-to-Ground antenna on the orbital complex. The antenna is a critical communication system NASA uses...
Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar orbiting spacecraft, Ebb and Flow, are approaching the end of their extended science operations mission, pushed back from December 3 to Dec 17. GRAIL operated at unprecedented altitudes of about 23 km above the Moon. In some cases they were only 8 km above the highest surfaces and soon they may get a lot closer. The US$496M GRAIL mission plan includes a 5-day decommissioning period and it is speculated that approximately 40 days later GRAIL will impact the lunar surface. The specific crash site for the 200-kg near-twin spacecrafts has not yet been designated. On Dec 6 and 7, Dr. Sami Asmar (L) GRAIL Deputy Project Scientist of JPL will speak about the project at The von Kármán Lecture Series ‘GRAIL Unwraps the Moon’ in Pasadena, California, USA. Data analysis from the GRAIL primary mission is expected to continue until at least August 2013, advancing our knowledge about the interior, gravity field and evolution of the Moon and other planets in the Solar System. As part of the NASA Discovery Program in which lower-cost, highly-focused American scientific space exploration missions are the focus, GRAIL data will greatly benefit upcoming missions to the Moon and beyond. Also pictured: GRAIL Principal Investigator Maria Zuber of MIT (R). (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech, Bill Ingalls)
= 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;’ Greenwich, England).
