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Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category

A super-powerful camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured new imagery of slope streaks on the Red Planet. The sharp-shooting High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) snagged a set of new dark streaks.

Slope streaks are common in the tropics of Mars. Once thought to be caused by flowing water, most scientists now believe that they are avalanches of dust, explains HiRISE team member Paul Geissler of the U.S. Geological Survey.

“They are typically darker than their surroundings and often fan outwards downslope. This suggests that the dust sediment is sticky, so that the avalanche broadens as it flows downhill,” Geissler explains on the HiRISE website at the University of Arizona.

Time scales

“Slope streaks are known to fade over time, but the slope streaks at this monitoring site in Arabia Terra go beyond that. Here, old slope streaks appear to be brighter than the surrounding terrain,” Geissler adds.

Comparing HiRISE images taken in 2008 and in 2019 show very few changes in the dark and bright streaks.

“We can see three new dark streaks in our more recent image,” Geissler says. “These were the only changes spotted among the hundreds of streaks observed in the monitoring site, suggesting that new streak formation and fading take place on time scales of at least decades.”

As humankind stretches out beyond Earth, a critical requirement for outposts and settlements on the Moon and Mars is the use of on-the-spot resources to create pressurized, human-rated habitats. Those distant domiciles need to be low mass (high tensile strength), must be highly reliable (high toughness) and can be easily fabricated.

The cost of hauling materials from Earth is viewed as prohibitive.

A new study suggests that Mother Nature has supplied the raw ingredients for construction purposes – in the form of an iron-nickel alloy typical of iron meteorites and M-type asteroids.

Iron-nickel (Fe–Ni) meteorites harvested on the Moon and Mars — after collection, melting and casting – can be used to create metallic sheets which can be welded into pressurized structures, at low energy and infrastructure costs.

The research into this extraterrestrial home-away-from-home idea is led by Aaron Ahles, Jonathan Emery and David Dunand of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Melting, purifying, and casting

“Extraterrestrial settlements and colonies, on planetary surfaces or in orbit, require pressurized habitats and rockets made from materials with high tensile strength (to minimize mass) and toughness (to resist fracture). Beyond early small outposts, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is favored, as the cost of materials transportation from Earth becomes rapidly prohibitive,” the researchers explain in their paper – “Mechanical properties of meteoritic Fe–Ni alloys for in-situ extraterrestrial structures” – appearing in a recent issue of the journal, Acta Astronautica.

They conclude that Fe–Ni meteorites can credibly be used after melting, purifying, and casting to create metal sheets that can be welded into pressurized habitats on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars or in orbit.

So far, NASA rovers have identified 15 metallic meteorites on Mars, the team notes, ranging from a few centimeters to over a meter in size, and from tens of grams to hundreds of kilograms in mass. The 12 metric ton mass of a metallic shell requires 20–30 iron-nickel meteorites, of the size/mass observed by NASA rovers on the surface of Mars, Ahles and his colleagues say.

Psyche mission

An additional impetus for the study of binary Fe–Ni alloys is the Psyche mission, soon to be launched by NASA.

That spacecraft will analyze the composition of the M-type asteroid 16-Psyche suspected to be the exposed Fe–Ni core of an early planetary body or a metal-stony asteroid whose surface is covered with metal by “ferrovolcanism” from its metallic core.

Certain weight classes loaded with nickel that are found in M-type asteroids and iron-nickel meteorites “show mechanical properties well suited for tensile load-bearing applications on Mars, on the Moon or in orbit, in particular for pressurized shells for habitats or rockets,” the researchers report.

To access the paper — “Mechanical properties of meteoritic Fe–Ni alloys for in-situ extraterrestrial structures” — go to:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576521004781

 

NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is headed for the near western edge of Nobile crater. That site was selected in a review of 15 locales, then down to four spots, with the Nobile site a final pick.

VIPER is a resource-mapping mission and while on the Moon, VIPER will get a close-up view of the location and concentration of ice and other resources.

The intent is that the automated rover will assist in pushing forward lunar science and human exploration as part of Artemis missions.

Scientists and mission operators will leverage near real-time Earth-to-Moon communications and work together to drive the rover along an unexplored region of the Moon’s South Pole.

 

The rover will be delivered to the Moon’s surface in late 2023 under the Artemis program and part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.

Astrobotic of Pittsburgh is the commercial carrier that will deliver VIPER to the Moon.

 

 

During its 100-Earth-day mission, the approximately 1,000-pound rover will roam several miles and use its four science instruments to sample various soil environments.

 

Another step toward China’s space station program has been successfully accomplished. The country’s Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft was launched on Monday, delivering supplies to the construction site of the Tiangong orbital outpost.

The craft docked with the country’s space station’s core module Tianhe at 10:08 pm on Monday, 6.5 hours after its launch, according to the China Manned Space Engineering Office. The cargo ship docked onto Tianhe’s backward facing port using the automatic fast docking process.

Multiple launches

A Long March-7 Y4 rocket hurled the Tianzhou-3 spaceward, blasting off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan.

Prior to the launch, on September 18, the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft separated from the rear docking port of Tianhe core module and docked with its front docking port – making way for the newer supply craft.

China launched its space station core module Tianhe on April 29. The country plans to complete the verification of key technologies and the in-orbit construction of the space station through multiple launches within two years. The Earth-circling facility is slated to be completed by the end of 2022.

Five tons of cargo

The Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft has been fine-tuned for its mission to deliver supplies and prepare for the following Shenzhou-13 crewed mission next month.

“Compared with its predecessor Tianzhou-2, Tianzhou-3 is also fully loaded with nearly five tons of cargo including more than 200 packages,” said Yang Sheng, general chief designer of the cargo spacecraft system of the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

“According to the plan, the Shenzhou-13 crew will stay in orbit for six months, and we have to make an adjustment accordingly to the supplies delivered by Tianzhou-3 to ensure their healthy stay in orbit during this period,” Yang told China Central Television (CCTV).

Construction project

Cheng Tangming, chief designer of the Long March-7 carrier rocket told CCTV that the space station construction is in full swing.

“This was the fifth launch for the construction project, which will be followed by seven other launches to be completed next year. We will turn into the next launch mission right away,” Cheng said.

On Sept 18, the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft separated from the rear docking port of Tianhe and docked with its front docking port.

At this stage of station construction, the rendezvous and docking of Tianzhou-3 and the Tianhe core module required the rocket to be launched within a short and pre-calculated time frame.

“The deviation of the rocket entering orbit must not exceed four seconds. This is a very high accuracy requirement,” said Zhang Borong, designer-in-charge of the orbit of Long March-7 rockets. “Only if the launch is accurate on time, can the cargo spacecraft effectively dock with the space station. There are very high requirements for the launch time, the orbit entry time, and the accuracy and position of the orbit entering process.”

Propellant carried by Tianzhou-3 will be used for the combination of the space station core module Tianhe and cargo crafts, and its engines will be used by the core module for attitude and orbit control, and regular in-orbit maintenance, so as to ensure safe operation of the combination, said Yang.

In addition, engineers have also developed an intelligent cargo management system to facilitate astronauts in finding their items. A QR code is printed on the surface of each of the 40-plus lockers installed in the 40-cubic-meter cargo. By scanning the code, astronauts will easily identify what’s inside.

Fast automated rendezvous

Shortly after takeoff, Xu Xiaoping, deputy chief designer of the cargo spacecraft system at the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), said the newly launched cargo vehicle will go through multiple steps before docking with the already orbiting core module and Tianzhou-2 supply vehicle.

“We will continue this fast automated rendezvous and docking of ours. We started to give the instruction for rendezvous and docking about 15 minutes after the spacecraft entered the orbit just now. After about 45 minutes, we may start the first orbital transfer. Through a total of six orbital transfers, we will finish the remote-controlled, automated instruction in three hours and 45 minutes. After another three hours, we may start our capture of the docking mechanisms. About 15 minutes after the capture step, the docking will be completed in success. Then we will do some settings for its postures. Then the Tianzhou-3 spacecraft can form a combination with the core module and Tianzhou-2 to operate in orbit,” Xu said in a CCTV interview.

The Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site has carried out 13 launch missions since 2016. And the launching of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft will be the 14th.

“China’s space missions have evolved from single tasks to big projects, such as the space station construction involving the participation of two launch sites, Jiuquan and Wenchang, three types of rockets, space station, cargo spacecraft, Shenzhou spacecraft and other spacecraft, which is a very complicated systematic project. For us, it is an unprecedented project,” Mao Wanbiao, deputy director of Xichang Satellite Launch Center, told CCTV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A number of videos have been issued focused on the Tianzhou-3/Long March-7 Y4 launch.

Go to:

https://youtu.be/poshMjsezBU

https://youtu.be/I9S9l0u0wFI

https://youtu.be/O_Q61RAhOkA

https://youtu.be/90zYyrcoGNw

https://youtu.be/r-2fdZoN8CI

https://youtu.be/PJUe3laRbdY

China’s Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft on Saturday was repositioned at the country’s space station construction site.

The cargo craft docked with the front port of China’s core module Tianhe, in order to make room for upcoming Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft.

According to China Central Television (CCTV) the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft separated from the rear docking port of Tianhe at 10:25 (Beijing time) Saturday, then completed a computer-orchestrated rendezvous and docking with the front port of Tianhe.

Make room

Yang Sheng, general chief designer of cargo spacecraft system of the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, noted there are two main reasons for the change of position at this time: to make room for Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft and create conditions for the radial docking of the soon-to-launched Shenzhou-13 piloted spacecraft, targeted for launch in October.

Yang said that the core module has docking ports at both front and rear, and during orbit, Tianzhou-2 only needs to turn itself 180 degrees to complete a “U-turn” in space.

Autopilot repositioning

After separation, Tianzhou-2 moved backwards, during which it always keeps in communication with the core module. Then it circled under the core module.

During the rendezvous, the Tianzhou-2 cargo spaceship made a U-turn, and the core module maintained a steady position. After moving to the front of the core module, it docked with the front port of the core module.

“The entire process is all automatic from separation to docking,” Yang told CCTV. Reportedly, the entire start to end process lasted approximately four hours.

The combination of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft and a Long March-7 Y4 carrier rocket has been transferred to the launching area of the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, stated the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The CMSA said the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft will be launched in the near future “at an appropriate time” – with Monday the likely liftoff day.

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3241 tasks.

Reports Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, a planetary geologist at University of New Brunswick; Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, a sample of Mars was delivered to the robot’s SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) for an EGA (evolved gas analysis) activity. That step involved heating the sample to very high temperatures and measuring the gases that bake out of the sample with each temperature increment.

Researchers were waiting to see what SAM thought – had it got enough information from the sample, or was there interest in going further?

“And SAM said Yes please!…and requested a follow up activity, using the gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer (GCMS), which can identify different compounds,” O’Connell-Cooper adds.

Weekend plans

On the first sol of the weekend, SAM will uplink a sequence to clean the SAM Gas Columns (GC) before analyzing the sample on the second sol of the weekend plan (Sols 3241-3243).

“These are very power intensive procedures,” O’Connell-Cooper notes, so the rover was limited in its activities. “Luckily, this workspace continues to interest us.”

Curiosity’s Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) is conducting a paired experiment across a raised vein area, with one sample “Falls of Shin” right on the vein itself and a second sample “Falls of Foyers” a little beyond the vein area.

“This will allow the ChemCam team to study the alteration effects associated with the vein,” O’Connell-Cooper explains.

Moving toward conjunction

No Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) or Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) activity is allowed until the drilled sample is emptied from the drill.

“However, next week will be busy, cramming all our final contact science investigations on the Maria Gordon drilled samples before we move into conjunction the following week,” O’Connell-Cooper adds.” Curiosity gets to take a bit of a vacation for a couple of weeks, as it moves behind the sun, and all communications will cease for two weeks.”

China’s trio of Taikonauts have returned to Earth. The Shenzhou-12 crew — Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo — touched down on September 17 at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

 

 

The crew spent three-months in Earth orbit, the first sent to begin assembling China’s space station.

 

 

On June 17, the Shenzhou-12 spaceship was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China and docked with the space station core module Tianhe. After docking, the three astronauts entered the core module and began their three-month stay in space.

During the space trek, the crew carried out two extravehicular activities, ran a set of space science and technology experiments, some dedicated to the continuous construction and operation of the space station. Also evaluated, were recycling and life support system gear, as well as station operations and in-orbit maintenance.

To watch just-released video of the return of the crew, go to:

https://youtu.be/Ec8dyLkVoXs

https://youtu.be/ftcRgMe0IsI

https://youtu.be/FoorpSN7va0

 

A “Safeguarding the Astronomical Sky Foundation” has been established to preserve the astronomical sky by calling for a halt to further launches and deployment of megaconstellations.

According to those engaged in the effort, humankind stands at a precipice from which there will be no return.

“A Great 21st Century Space Rush is now underway by commercial enterprises and the military, fomented and enabled in the U.S. by the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] and other U.S. government agencies to grab, deploy, transform, and own the Heavens for private gain, defense, and weaponization.”

At issue for the Italy-based SAS Foundation: Over the next 10 years 80,000+ non-stationary low orbit satellites will be launched and seamlessly integrated in terrestrial 4G/5G/6G+ industrial and military networks. Scores of new satellites are being launched every week from the U.S. and other countries.

Suing the FCC

It’s the SAS Foundation view that ground-based astronomical observations will be severely damaged by the ongoing deployment of large fleets of satellites to ensure the functioning of future telecommunications technologies.

A legal action called “Healthy Heavens Trust Initiative” was begun a few months ago, which is currently suing the American FCC in American federal courts of justice – filed on August 13.

The SAS Foundation was established as a non-profit-making non-governmental organization (NGO)-type Association/Foundation, “to give a clear reference to all environmental protection associations, professional and amateur astronomical associations, individual astronomers and all astronomical bodies and societies.”

Not a distant threat

The SAS Foundation, together with the “Appeal by Astronomers” supports the Società Astronomica Italiana petition initiative against the night-sky light pollution.

“Astronomers are extremely concerned by the possibility that Earth may be blanketed by tens of thousands of satellites, which will greatly outnumber the approximately 9,000 stars that are visible to the unaided human eye. This is not some distant threat. It’s already happening,” according to the Appeal by Astronomers.

After gathering more than 2,000 signatures of astronomers from more than 50 countries the Appeal is now ready to be used at the local level to increase awareness by governments and NGOs of some of the harms that will be caused by those satellites.

For more information, go to:

https://astronomersappeal.wordpress.com/safeguarding-the-astronomical-sky-foundation-sas-foundation/

Healthy Heavens Trust Initiative (HHTI) at:

https://healthyheavenstrust.org/

The Appeal by Astronomers at:

https://astronomersappeal.wordpress.com/safeguarding-the-astronomical-sky-foundation-sas-foundation/

China’s next milestone in constructing the country’s space station has rolled out to the launch pad at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China’s Hainan Province.

A Long March-7 booster was vertically transported to its liftoff location on Thursday. The launcher is topped by the uncrewed Tianzhou-3 cargo ship. The hardware will undergo final tests before the planned launch to China’s space station in the coming days.

Return to Earth

Meanwhile, the now in Earth orbit Shenzhou-12 crew is returning to Earth, tomorrow, on September 17. Earlier in the day, the China Manned Space Engineering Office announced the spacecraft had successfully separated from China’s space station.

After departure from the Tianhe core station module, the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft crew is performing orbiting and radial rendezvous tests with the space station. Doing so, they will verify radial rendezvous technology, a technique for subsequent piloted missions.

The Shenzhou-12 trio of taikonauts will parachute into the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A search and rescue team from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert recently conducted drills at the landing site.

 

New record…for China

The Shenzhou-12 crew has worked and lived in the space station for 90 days, setting a new record for Chinese astronauts’ in-orbit stay for a single mission.

Launched on June 17, the Shenzhou-12 trio entered the space station’s core module on the same day.

The China space station, orbiting the Earth at a height of about 250 miles (400 kilometers), is still under construction. Eight more missions, including three piloted flights, are still being arranged to complete the space station by late next year.

Radial rendezvous

China’s Shenzhou-12 spaceship crew is conducting radial rendezvous with the Tianhe core module combination in orbit for the first time on Thursday.

Different from the forward and rearwards rendezvous China had done in the past on its spacecraft, the radial rendezvous is a much more difficult task to achieve in terms of the technical level, said Xie Yongchun, director of the Technology Committee in China Academy of Space Technology (CAST)’s 502 Research Institute.

“The forward and rearward rendezvous are conducted on a 200-meter contact point. It is a stable point, which means it can be kept unmoved if the engines on the spacecraft are off. But the radial rendezvous is something different,” Xie told China Central Television (CCTV).  “Due to the kinetic characteristics of the orbit, the spacecraft will not be able to stay there stably in space. Therefore, we will keep conducting orbit control of the spacecraft.”

Attitude maneuver

During the radial rendezvous process, Shenzhou-12 has to adjust its attitude constantly. How to keep the attitude of the spacecraft stable and how to keep its interface with the core module accurate are difficult problems faced by aerospace scientists.

“We must ensure that the sensor information will not be lost in the process of attitude maneuver, in a dynamic process. This is more difficult to achieve than when the sensor is in a stable status. We have to solve this problem by improving the measurement accuracy and stability of the sensor in dynamic conditions,” Xie said.

The radial rendezvous test on Shenzhou-12 this time will be conducted without the docking process, in efforts to prove whether or not the sensor on the spacecraft, which can be viewed as the spacecraft’s “eyes”, can play its role effectively.

“It will have a great impact on our measurement accuracy if we can’t see the mark point clearly. Another thing is, the lighting conditions might be different during the process of the radial rendezvous, very different from the forward and rearward rendezvous. Since the space station is in orbit, the lighting conditions may change anytime during the rendezvous process. This will affect the reflection characteristics of the mark. So we have to conduct trial operations beforehand,” Xie said.

Launch schedule

The soon to launch Shenzhou-13 piloted spaceship will dock with the Tianhe core module, starting a three-person, six-month stay in orbit, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

After the five launch missions this year, China plans to have six more missions in 2022, including the launch of the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules, two cargo spacecraft and two crewed spaceships  to complete the construction of the space station.

New videos

Go to these newly released videos for a view of the rollout of the Tianzhou-3 supply ship, radial rendezvous, the Shenzhou-12 crew departing the core module, and preparations underway for recovery of the returning trio of Taikonauts.

Long March-7 Y4 ready to launch Tianzhou-3 at:

https://youtu.be/rQbl6HjRDAs

Shenzhou-12 radial rendezvous test explained at:

https://youtu.be/Srt70MyXeFo

China’s Shenzhou-12 Manned Spaceship Undocks from Space Station Core Module for Return Trip at:

https://youtu.be/KBeyx-him5M

Ground Search Team Ready for Return of Shenzhou-12 Crew to Dongfeng Landing Site at:

https://youtu.be/gQQEgmYDC8A

 

 

With an increasing cadence, humans from multiple nations are rocketing into Earth orbit, and soon outward to the moon. Given added commercial as well as government flights, chances are also soaring of a stranded crew desperately requiring an in-space rescue.

A new report flags the fact that the United States government and commercial spaceflight providers have no plans in place to conduct a timely rescue of a crew from a distressed spacecraft in low Earth orbit, or anywhere else in space. Without orchestrated rescue planning, today’s space travelers will journey at their own risk.

Space tourism

For example, this week’s Inspiration4 is the world’s first all-civilian trek into orbit. The mission has four private citizens who will reside onboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for a three-day, Earth-circling jaunt.

Then there’s the dearMoon project – a lunar tourism mission and art project conceived and financed by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. It will make use of a SpaceX Starship on a private spaceflight flying a single circumlunar trajectory around the Moon. This week-long journey of Maezawa and crewmates is expected to occur no earlier than 2023.

To read my new SPACE.com story “Humanity needs a space-rescue capability, report stresses” go to:

https://www.space.com/space-rescue-capability-needed-report