International Space Station Astronauts Continue Important Research, Exemplify International Cooperation

Expedition 71 crew continues to unload ~2600 kg of food, fuel, supplies and a new Orlan-MKS spacesuit that arrived via the Progress 91P cargo craft. Roscosmos Cosmonauts Aleksandr Gorbunov, Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner are working to improve communications between the ISS and mission controllers around the world. Expected Crew-10 launch, currently set for March 12, should be headed to the International Space Station (ISS) with Commander Anne McClain (born 1979) and Pilot Nichole Ayers (b. 1989), both NASA Astronauts, Roscosmos Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov (b. 1990), and JAXA Astronaut Takuya Onishi (b. 1975). They will join 7 already in LEO for a few days before Gorbunov, Nick Hague (commander), Sunita Williams and Barry (Butch) Wilmore return to Earth in the Dragon spacecraft, completing its 4th ISS roundtrip. The few days’ overlap, although crowded, allows orientation and transfer of maintenance work and ongoing scientific experiments such as crop growth, biofilm reduction, and changes in gene expression due to microgravity. The 7 crew remaining in space will be designated Expedition 73 beginning in mid-April and will include Astronaut Donald Pettit, Ovchinin and Vagner. Ongoing space research involves monitoring muscles and other body systems as astronauts exercise, and analyzing the reaction to space conditions of single-celled organisms. Just-published science news from ISS studies describes the lack of microbial diversity as explanation for astronaut skin rashes, inflammation and immune dysfunction. Perhaps send sauerkraut, poi and yogurt! (Pictured L-R top: McClain, Ayers; L-R bottom: Peskov, Onishi. Image credits: SpaceX, NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA)

MONDAY

☆ Mar 10 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 72 crew will briefly have 11 members with expected arrival this week of 4 on Dragon Crew-10; after several days of handoff and debriefing, 4 crew members will depart for Earth on the Dragon spacecraft.

☆ Mar 10 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 19 three-member crew working with 3 generations of fruit flies, stem cell samples, and monitoring external space debris shields; through CMSEO-SUPARCO agreement a Pakistan Astronaut is to become first international visitor to TSS at a date TBD.

★ Mar 10 — Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Orbit: NASA spacecraft enters 19 full years / begins 20th year in Mars near-polar orbit today, continues to study seasonal changes on planet from altitude ~300 km; launched Aug 12, 2005, entered orbit Mar 10, 2006.

● Mar 10 — NASA, Houston TX: NASA Invites Media to Simulated Mars Habitat Before Next CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) Mission.

● Mar 10-11 — Space Generation Advisory Council, Future Space Leaders Foundation, Northrop Grumman, et al, Washington DC: SGx2025; 9th conference modeled on TEDx format, focused on young professionals.

● Mar 10-13 — Access Intelligence, Via Sat, CyberSat, On Orbit Space, et al, Washington DC: SATELLITE 2025 Conference and Exhibition; at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

● Mar 10-14 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, USRA, Woodlands TX: 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC25); at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center.

● Mar 10 – Apr 16 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Online / Reston VA: Course: Design of Space Launch Vehicles; 36 classroom hours, 3.6 CEU/PDH; US$695-1,695.

☾ Mar 10 — Moon: 2.74° NNE of Beehive Cluster, 04:00.

☾ = Moon activity, ★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in local time unless noted.

China Gaining Toward Crewed Moon Missions with Long March and Wenchang Developments

Wenchang, Hainan, China is starting to resemble the bustling Cape Canaveral area with increased launches from its original and the new commercial pad at Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center, and numerous tourist sites for launch viewing and various space-related centers. The next Long March 8 could fly as early as March 11 from the commercial pad at LC-1. In the future, the Tianlong-3 rocket, built by NewSpace company Space Pioneer, will launch from LC-2 in Wenchang to SSO. Chang’E-7 lunar lander, with the ILO-C astronomy from the Moon payload, is set to launch from Wenchang in 2026. The LM 10A, China’s new rocket for crew and cargo missions to Tiangong Space Station, is on track to leave from Wenchang in 2026. The next variant, the 3-core, 92-meter-tall LM 10, will fly Taikonauts around the Moon ~2028, and to the lunar surface-perhaps close to when Artemis lands first women and next men. The Tianwen program, which began with Mars mission Tianwen-1 launched from Wenchang on LM-5, is aiming for Solar System complete exploration. Tianwen-2 launching in May is an asteroid sample return mission. Tianwen-3 in 2028 will be a Mars sample return mission. Tianwen-4 in 2033 is to study Jupiter and send a probe to fly by Uranus followed by Kuiper Belt exploration. The Wenchang International Aerospace City, which was highlighted during the ILOA Galaxy Forum in December 2024, is planned to have a new center for satellite manufacturing starting in June 2025. (Image credits: Xinhua, ILOA Hawai’i, Wenchang International Space City)

TUESDAY

★ Mar 11 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Transporter 13, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Next Transporter mission carrying many dozens of commercial and government payloads to a sun-synchronous orbit; launch window open 01:39-02:25 EST.

☆ Mar 11 — CNSA, Long March 8 / G60 Qianfan, Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center, Hainan, China: Qianfan ‘Spacesail Constellation’ internet satellites to be launched to LEO polar orbit.

o Mar 11-12 — UK Space Agency, Lockheed Martin, Skyrora, Lunasa Space, Saxavord UK Spaceport, et al, London, United Kingdom: Space-Comm Expo 2025; with over 200 exhibitors, 120+ speakers, ~5,000 attendees.

☾ Mar 11 — Moon: 1.96° NNE of Regulus, 02:00.

☆ Mar 11 — Apollo Asteroid 2025 DB7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.024 AU)