ISS Science Lab Welcomes Crew-10; TSS Continues Astronautical Science

Humans permanently living in space is a 21st Century crowning accomplishment and continues with International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 72 and its 7 crew. Recently arrived SpaceX Crew-10 NASA Astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA Astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov join Alex Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner and Don Pettit. Supply ships Progress 90P and 91P and Northrup Grumman Cygnus-21 are currently docked. Now available is publication Annual Highlights of Results, documenting 4,000+ investigations with 361 occurring in 2024 alone, by scientists in 108+ countries. This November will mark 25 years of continuous ISS human occupation. In orbit ~25km lower, the Tiangong Space Station is home to 3 Taikonauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, who continue with space breeding of seeds; 4 species, having spent time in space, are now being grown out on Earth and showing higher resilience and yields, generating direct economic benefits. Other science achievements include the first germplasm resources of rice and ratoon rice developed in space, the first human embryonic stem cells differentiated into hematopoietic stem/precursor cells in space and the longest operation of a space-based water ecosystem. The Shenzhou 19 crew are mid-way through their 6-month mission with its 86 space science experiments from Tianzhou-8 cargo craft and expect the Shenzhou 20 arrival as early as May 29. (Image credits: ISS Partners, NASA, CNSA, CMSA, SpaceX)

MONDAY

☆ Mar 24 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 72 crew unpacking cargo brought on the Dragon spacecraft, using the advanced resistive exercise device, testing computers that receive video from the European robotic arm, adjusting to life in microgravity. Trash-filled Cygnus will be sent into Earth atmosphere by Canadarm2 for a fiery demise on March 28.

☆ Mar 24 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 19 three-member crew conducting research on effect of exercise for muscles and bones in space, vascular blood-flow patterns in the weightless environment and strategies for maintaining eye health. A Pakistani astronaut is training in advance of being the first TSS visitor not from China.

☆ Mar 24 — Isar Aerospace / Launch Spectrum, Tromso, Norway: First flight of the Isar Spectrum launch vehicle; test flight to SSO.

★ Mar 24 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / NROL-69, SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Launch window opens 13:42 EDT.

o Mar 24 — Chinese Society of Astronautics, China Space Foundation, Online / Shanghai, China: Submissions due for presenters at 2025 China Space Conference, to be held Apr 23-26.

● Mar 24 — Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ: LUNR), Online / Houston TX: 4Q 2024 Class A Common Stock earnings announcement.

o Mar 24-25 — International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), Paris, France: IAA Spring Meetings 2025.

● Mar 24-25 — NASA, Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: Space Day Texas 2025; featuring proclamations on 25th anniversary of continuous human presence on ISS, High School Aerospace Scholars program, and the Artemis program.

☆ Mar 24 — Mercury: At inferior conjunction with Sun, 0.281 AU from Earth, 10:00.

TUESDAY

o Mar 25-27 — International Astronautical Federation (IAF), Paris, France: IAF 2025 Spring Meetings; at New CAP Conference Centre.

☆ Mar 25 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 SP2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.083 AU)

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

North Europe Space Access: Advances in Norway, Sweden, UK, Germany 

Isar Aerospace of Germany is planning the first launch of its Spectrum vehicle to SSO during a launch window which opens March 20. This first orbital test of the fully integrated rocket on mission ‘Going Full Spectrum’ will fly from Andøya Spaceport in Northern Norway (69°N, 15°E) without customer payloads. CEO Daniel Metzler stresses the importance of regaining “much needed independent and competitive access to space from Europe”. In neighboring Sweden, the Esrange Space Center (operational since 1966), also located above the Arctic Circle (68°N, 21°E), is owned by Swedish Space Corporation. Spaceport Esrange was inaugurated in 2023 and provides full launch capabilities for standardized polar and high-inclination orbits. The Satellite Station at Esrange is part of a global network with stations in Canada, Alaska, Hawai’i, Chile and Australia. The United Kingdom is also aiming to establish itself as a launch provider within Europe. UK-based Orbex is planning for its inaugural flight of the Prime rocket from the SaxaVord Spaceport (60°N 0°W) in Shetland, Scotland before the end of 2025. The spaceport will facilitate polar and high-inclination orbit launches, as well as sun-synchronous and suborbital flights. Germany is planning to develop sea launch capabilities from the North Sea, lifting off from the German-Offshore Spaceport Alliance (GOSA) mobile platform, with a home port in Bremerhaven (53°N, 8°E).  It will also enable launches into polar and SSO orbits. (Image credits: Andøya Spaceport, SSC, SaxaVord, GOSA)

WEDNESDAY

★ Mar 26 — Firefly Aerospace, Launch Alpha /FLTA006 (Message in a Booster), SLC-2W, Vandenberg SFB CA: 6th flight of Alpha small satellite launcher, for Lockheed Martin LM400 satellite bus, to carry communications payload; launch window opens 06:37 PDT.

☆ Mar 26 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / Finding Hot Wildfires Near You (OroraTech OTC-P1), Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: 8 satellites from OroraTech of Germany with thermal infrared cameras to monitor wildfires globally.

★ Mar 26 —  SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink Group 11-7, SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB CA: Batch of satellites for Starlink mega-constellation space-based Internet communication system; launch window opens 09:00 PDT.

● Mar 26 — NASA, CASA Moon SSERVI, et al, Online: Planetary Sample Science Seminar, Dr. Karl Hibbits of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory presents Analysis Capabilities for Lunar Cryogenic Samples; 11:00 MST.

☆ Mar 26 — Apollo Asteroid 2014 TN17: Near-Earth Flyby (0.034 AU)

THURSDAY

● Mar 27 — Universities Space Research Association, The Space Policy Institute, Washington DC: Artificial Intelligence for Space and Aeronautics Symposium.

o Mar 27-28 — Secure World Foundation, EPFL Space Center, EU COST network FOGOS, et al, Lausanne, Switzerland: Space Sustainability: Bridging Initiatives and Perspectives.

● Mar 27-28 — International Institute of Space Law (IISL), Washington DC: North American Oral Rounds of IISL Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition.

☆ Mar 27 — Apollo Asteroid 2025 DV22: Near-Earth Flyby (0.042 AU)