Archive for December, 2024
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December 20th, 2024
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
The Mars-circling NASA spacecraft – the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) – has used its super-powerful High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera system to catch a view of NASA’s now retired InSight Mars lander.
Built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, InSight landed back in November 2018, carrying out duties to reveal details about the Red Planet’s Marsquakes, and plumbing the depths of Mars to acquire crust, mantle, and core data.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
The new imagery — taken on October 23rd — show that the Mars lander’s solar panels have acquired the same reddish-brown hue as the rest of the planet, reports Andrew Good in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL) media department.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Credit: NASA
Dusty situation
Over the four years that the spacecraft collected science, engineers at NASA’s JPL, which led the mission, used images from InSight’s cameras and MRO’s HiRISE “to estimate how much dust was settling on the stationary lander’s solar panels, since dust affected its ability to generate power,” Good added.
Launched in August of 2005, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) that’s onboard the MRO, is operated by the University of Arizona in Tucson. HiRISE was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colorado.
Return to life?
NASA retired InSight in December 2022. The lander ran out of power and stopped communicating with Earth during an extended mission. “But engineers continued listening for radio signals from the lander in case wind cleared enough dust from the spacecraft’s solar panels for its batteries to recharge,” Good added.
InSight’s first full selfie on Mars, taken on April 24, 2022.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
But since no communications from the lander have been detected over the past two years, NASA is stopping its listening for InSight at the end of this year.
The solar arrays on NASA’s InSight lander are deployed in this test inside a clean room at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver. The image was taken on April 30, 2015.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin Space
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On December 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense publicly released its annual report, Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
This annual report to Congress features a number of space-related activities underway by China, from use of space for military purposes, reusable rocketry and space planes, to deep space exploration.
This report covers security and military developments involving the PRC through early 2024.
The report can be found here at:
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China’s Shenzhou-19 crew carried out their first space walking duties outside the Tiangong space station. In doing so, they set a new record for the duration of EVAs by Chinese astronauts, said the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
Lasting nine hours, the Tuesday stroll was the longest among the 17 EVAs so far carried out in China’s human spaceflight program.
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China launched the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship on October 30, sending three astronauts — Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze – to the orbiting outpost.
Debris shielding installation
Cai and Song were assigned the EVA tasks, while Wang assisted the outside twosome from inside the space station. It marked Cai’s third EVA in space, following his two spacewalks during his Shenzhou-14 mission in the second half of 2022.
Wang Haoze assisted EVA crew from inside the space station.
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
One central spacewalk task was installing debris shielding.
“The installation of the protective panels this time is mainly to protect the cables and pipelines of the thermal control equipment outside the Tianhe module from debris,” said Meng Lingzi, a staffer of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
“During the development phase, the ground researchers conducted a full-process simulation verification of the entire task. The visibility, accessibility, and operability were all verified through ergonomic evaluations and underwater tests,” explained Meng in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV).
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Robotic arm
Given the dispersed installation locations of the protection devices on the station, the two astronauts carried out the task with one using the robotic arm while the other climbed outside the station to assist.
During the nine hours, the Shenzhou-19 crew also performed other tasks, such as inspecting extravehicular equipment and facilities.
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The Shenzhou-19 crew is set to carry out a slew of scheduled space-science experiments and technical tests, while they will also undertake additional extravehicular activities and install payloads outside the space station, according to the CMSA.
Sent to the station for a six-month tour of duty, the Shenzhou-19 crew is expected to return to Earth in late April or early May.
Go to this CCTV video of the spacewalk at:
Two variants of Endurance have been detailed: Endurance-R (R for “Robotic”) would deliver samples to a separately landed robotic Earth Return Vehicle (ERV).
Endurance-A (A for “Astronaut”) would deliver the sample cache to Artemis astronauts near the lunar south pole. The crew would analyze and triage the samples, and return a subset to Earth for analyses in terrestrial laboratories.
Image credit: NASA
Introducing Endurance: An Enduring Long-distance Robotic Lunar Rover
It is robotic moon machinery on steroids.
Tagged as the Endurance sample return mission, it would collect bits and pieces from key lunar locations for later retrieval by NASA Artemis moonwalkers.
Furthermore, high-value collectibles snagged from those distant spots would be hauled back to Earth by astronauts.
Mobility options
Endurance rover would traverse the gigantic South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin – a lunar landscape of promising geological surprises.
Image credit: NASA
NASA has begun blueprinting the Endurance rover to traverse the gigantic South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin – a wonderland of promising geological surprises.
At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), technical studies are underway to assess mobility options for a SPA sample return mission.
From a robotics standpoint – just how challenging is such an undertaking and how best to draw from rover missions of the past and those now underway?
For more information on this project, go to my new Space.com story — Meet Endurance, a pioneering NASA moon rover designed to survive the frigid lunar night – at:
An updated detailed map of the polar regions of the Moon is available, work done by researchers at the Geochemical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences together with the Department of Lunar and Planetary Research of Moscow State University.
The map is based on a digital elevation model constructed using data from the laser altimeter of the American spacecraft Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
In addition, a high-resolution map displays the landing sites of all robotic spacecraft and piloted vehicles, indicated by conventional symbols on the map.
The map also shows the impact sites of the devices: the American GRAIL-A, GRAIL-B, LCROSS and Lunar Prospector, the Indian Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2, and the Japanese Kaguya.
Lunar orbiter plans
Russia plans to send its Luna-26 orbiter to the Moon in 2027. It will conduct remote observation of the lunar surface. The main scientific objectives will be remote study of the lunar surface, construction of a topographic map of the lunar surface, and determine of the structure and composition of the subsurface.
Russia’s Luna-26 Moon orbiter. Image credit: Lavochkin
In addition, Luna-26 is to search for areas rich in hydrogen, determine the chemical and elemental composition of the regolith, appraise the heterogeneity of the lunar gravitational field, study the composition and dynamics of the exosphere, as well as study the interaction of the solar wind and the Moon. Also, the orbiter is to study lunar magnetic anomalies and the corresponding plasma dynamics, assess micrometeor streams and secondary dust clouds around the Moon.
The mapping work is available at:
http://portal.geokhi.ru/Lab41/SitePages/Maps-of-the-Moon.aspx
NASA has released a new document that highlights programmatic paradigm shifts in further exploration of the Red Planet over the next 20 years.
This plan was prepared for the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s Mars Exploration Program (MEP).
The report is titled Expanding the Horizons of Mars Science – A Plan for a Sustainable Science Program at Mars – Mars Exploration Program 2024-2044.
Core questions
Highlighted in the document are several “paradigm shift” prospects to further address several core questions that include:
- How has the habitability of Mars evolved over the history of the planet?
- Did life ever arise on Mars, and if so, does it exist today?
Those paradigm shifts underscored in the document include lower-cost Mars missions.
New Mars mobility capabilities like this single-axle rover can access high-risk terrain, such as steep slopes and caves – areas challenging or inaccessible for current Mars rovers. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Additionally, commercial services, the human exploration of the Red Planet, as well as international Mars ambitions are also flagged as paradigm shifts. “NASA is no longer one of the few with focused Mars exploration ambitions,” observes the report.
New, different model
“To remain a vanguard in Mars exploration, MEP must embrace a new, different model: the ability to send more—and more frequent—missions to Mars in an affordable and achievable manner, and to do so while cultivating a diversity of talent and engaging the public in opportunities to explore Mars,” the report points out.
The report lists a “Lower-Cost Mission” is approximately $100–$300 million, exclusive of the launch vehicle and mission operations.
A “Medium-Class Strategic Mission” is pegged at between approximately $1–$2 billion, exclusive of the launch vehicle and mission operations.
Rough lander concept for Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Partnerships
As for tapping into commercial services, the report states that exploring Mars together “through new partnership models with the international, commercial, and academic communities is essential.”
This type of paradigm shift would mimic other innovative public-private partnership solutions such as NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) and Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) endeavors.
Life on Mars
The search for life on Mars remains a significant undertaking, the document states.
“Any potential oasis for present life or preservation of ancient life are likely located in terrains that have historically been more challenging to access. Some of the most fascinating landscapes on Mars, for example, are found in the southern hemisphere, where the mean surface elevation has prevented robotic spacecraft from landing by traditional means.”
At the same time, there are other locales providing conditions potentially conducive to life, such as the subsurface (including caves, subsurface ice deposits, and volcanic environments), “where suitable chemistry and environmental conditions may have allowed life to gain a foothold,” the report adds.
Mars expedition probes the promise that Mars was a home address for past, possibly life today.
Credit: NASA
However, given the prospect of boots on Mars, NASA’s Mars Exploration Program “has a small window of opportunity to seek life in a pristine Martian environment, as human exploration may be possible as early as the late 2030s, following successes at the Moon.”
Challenge conventional thinking
Eric Ianson, Director of the NASA Mars Exploration Program, states in the report there’s need to “challenge conventional thinking and look to new and creative solutions for the exploration of Mars.”
This can include “seeking lower-cost science investigations, strengthening our infrastructure around Mars, seeking new enabling technologies, and creating an environment that broadens participation in Mars exploration,” Ianson states.
To review the report — Expanding the Horizons of Mars Science – A Plan for a Sustainable Science Program at Mars – Mars Exploration Program 2024-2044 — go to:
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, and U.S. Department of State Acting Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Jennifer R. Littlejohn, right, look on as Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the United States of America Petra Schneebauer, signs the Artemis Accords.
NASA welcomed onboard the Artemis Accords two new nations today, bringing the total to 50 signatories of a set of principles promoting the beneficial use of space for humanity.
Panama and Austria signed the Artemis Accords during separate signing ceremonies at NASA Headquarters in Washington, becoming the 49th and 50th nations to sign on the dotted line.
In 2020, the United States, led by NASA with the U.S. Department of State, and seven other initial signatory nations established the Artemis Accords.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, Ambassador of the Republic of Panama to the United States of America José Miguel Alemán Healy, center, and U.S. Department of State Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Tony Fernandes.
As noted by NASA, “the Artemis Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements including the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.”
The Artemis Accords are a voluntary commitment to engage in safe, transparent, responsible behavior in space, “and any nation that wants to commit to those values is welcome to sign,” adds NASA.
Space debris plunges to Earth, burning its way through the atmosphere.
Image credit: The Aerospace Corporation
The European Space Agency (ESA) will premier Space Debris: Is it a Crisis? at the 9th European Conference on Space Debris being held in Bonn, Germany.
As our use of space accelerates like never before, satellites find themselves navigating increasingly congested orbits. Space has become an environment crisscrossed by streams of fast-moving debris fragments – the result from anti-satellite testing to collisions between objects in space.
Reported debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) – a medium-lift launcher operated by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
Image credit: Australian Space Agency
Clutter crisis?
“Some spacecraft operators and astronomers have expressed concern about our rapidly increasing and loosely regulated use of space,” notes ESA. “But others insist that Earth’s orbital environment is so large, and that the planet’s atmosphere pulls down and burns up debris fast enough that there is no need to worry about any long-term consequences.”
So, does space clutter really represent a crisis?
ESA’s latest short documentary film on the state of space debris is to be premiered in April 2025.
Meanwhile, go to this trailer at:
NASA’s Genesis spacecraft crashed into the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah in 2004.
Image credit: NASA
Yes, it came from outer space, but with unintended consequences.
It was in September 2004 when NASA’s Genesis return sample capsule tumbled from the sky and slammed into the Utah desert, a remote part of the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground.
The upshot of that downfall: Over 20 years of painstaking work by scientists sorting through contaminated leftovers due to the spacecraft’s high-speed, full-stop slam into terra firma.
A damaged Genesis undergoes close scrutiny as researchers salvage the mission’s scientific goals. Image credit: NASA
Late “breaking” new
You could dub it “late breaking” news about Genesis science findings after two decades of intensive study, findings that are slated for discussion at this week’s annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) being held in Washington, D.C.
For details, go to my new SpaceNews story on what Genesis researchers are reporting via – “Shattered Genesis spacecraft yields scientific discoveries 20 years after crash landing” – at:
NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft visited Uranus in a brief flyby back in 1986.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
For sure, it was a far-reaching recommendation. The planet Uranus and its moons should be NASA’s highest priority new Flagship mission for start-up in the decade 2023-2032.
A Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) would conduct a multiyear orbital tour to yield knowledge of ice giants in general, and the Uranian system in particular, doing so through flybys and the delivery of an atmospheric probe.
Taking the plunge! Uranus exploration can be opened up by an orbiter/probe mission, a new NASA Flagship venture.
Image credit: Keck Institute for Space Studies/Chuck Carter
The payoff: “transformative, breakthrough science across a broad range of topics.”
Mark Hofstadter is a planetary scientist working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He’s not solar system shy and admits Uranus is his favorite planet.
Why is that the case? Take a read of my new Space.com story – “The yearning for Uranus: A far-out world with a tale to tell” – at:
