Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category
Author: 
June 24th, 2021
Credit: Dhari/Szczepanek
If you are waiting for the Pentagon Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) Task Force, here’s a way to prepare yourself: A UFO Travel Calculator.
Rahul Dhari, a mechanical engineer and aviation enthusiast, teamed up with Anna Szczepanek, holder of a PhD in mathematics to create the calculator. You can become an aircraft designer and produce your own UFO and see its performance. You will also be able to see how fast your UFO can reach a chosen destination, and even take part in UFO racing.
Frontier science and engineering
“I believe that my calculator can help in treating the UFO issue less in terms of sci-fi and more as an issue at the frontier of science and engineering,” Dhari told Inside Outer Space.
This type of UFO was seen over the Atlantic Ocean, near Virginia Beach, Virginia (United States) in 2004.
Credit: Dhari/Szczepanek
The site also includes an informative table of contents:
- The story of UFOs
- Components of an aircraft design process
- How to design your UFO?
- Designing your UFO
- Snowball effect and tips for extracting maximum velocity
- Why haven’t we built these yet?
- UFO/UAPs — Hoax or truth? What happens next?
“This week, the Pentagon is about to release its report on UFOs and millions of people (including me) are excited for it,” Dhari added. “This inspired me to build the UFO Travel Calculator that allows you to design your own UFO and see its performance.”
The UFO Travel Calculator is available at:
Posted in 
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Credit: NASA
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken a second look at China’s Zhurong rover, now rolling across southern Utopia Planitia.
The Chinese Tianwen-1 mission landed on the Red Planet on May 14, 2021.
NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) image from June 6 shows China’s rover.
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
China’s Zhurong rover wheels to the south, clearly shown in this June 11 image acquired by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Using the NASA spacecraft’s powerful High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera system, images of the landing zone were acquired on June 6 and June 11. The landing site remains clearly colored from removal of Martian dust during landing. In comparing the two images, movement of the Zhurong rover toward the south can be seen.
Liu Jianjun, chief designer of the ground application system of the Tianwen-1 probe, recently told the China Global Television Network (CGTN): “We selected this particular direction for several reasons. The altitude picks up that way, from the ancient Martian ocean to land. And that’s also where we’ll come across some of the most interesting things we care about, like mud volcanoes and sub-surface ice.”
Credit: Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU)
The U.S. Department of Defense is set to release this month insights from a specially-created Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Task Force. It was established to provide insight into the nature and origins of purported aerial objects, primarily reported by Navy personnel that exhibit aerial actions tough to explain.
The mission of the task force is to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security.
Credit: DOD/U.S. Navy/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Meanwhile, boosted to stratospheric heights are “I told you so” believers that have long-advocated Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) are skimming through our skies, piloted by extraterrestrials that are chalking up interplanetary frequent flyer mileage points in the process.
However, are UAPs doing a disservice to UFOs – are they really one in the same phenomenon?
For more information, please go to my new SPACE.com story
“Skies alive with UFOs? Government report on mysterious sightings due soon” at:
Credits: NASA/Greg Shirah
The chances that life took hold on Mars are at least as high as they were on Earth.
A new research paper notes: “Although the habitability of early Mars is now well established, its suitability for conditions favorable to an independent origin of life has been less certain. With continued exploration, evidence has mounted for a widespread diversity of physical and chemical conditions on Mars that mimic those variously hypothesized as settings in which life first arose on Earth.”
Credit: Clark, Kolb, et al.
Early wet Mars remains a prime candidate for its own origin of life, in many respects superior to Earth, the paper explains.
The research paper – “Origin of Life on Mars: Suitability and Opportunities” — is led by Benton Clark and Vera Kolb and appears in the journal Life.
Go to this open access article — Origin of Life on Mars: Suitability and Opportunities – in Life, an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal of scientific studies related to fundamental themes in life sciences at:
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/6/539/htm
Dirk Schulze-Makuch, a professor at the Technical University Berlin, Germany, and an Adjunct Professor at Arizona State University and Washington State University reviews the new paper in Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine.
There remains the real possibility that life started first on Mars, and was brought here by meteorites later, adds Schulze-Makuch at:
Credit: CCTV
China’s three-person Shenzhou-12 crew is busy at work after spending a night in the Tianhe core module. Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Yang Hongbo installed Wifi on Friday morning.
In a China Central Television (CCTV) interview, Sun Jun, deputy director of the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center said the space trio are setting up various facilities needed, including those for telecommunication, living, cooking and sanitation purposes. Doing so, the crew is laying a basic logistic foundation for long-term, on-orbit life, added Sun.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“The network in space is connected with the network on Earth. After the Wi-Fi facility is installed, astronauts can communicate smoothly and even have video calls with engineers and with their family members on Earth,” said Sun.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The crew is unpacking the daily necessities from the cargo ship and is moving more equipment to the core module, tasks that are expected to take about a week. The crew will later carry out space science experiments and on-orbit training, especially to prepare for space walking activities, Sun said.
Credit: GLOBALink/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Spacious home
“I’m envious of their spacious home,” said Yang Liwei, China’s first astronaut to travel into space, congratulating the astronauts of the Shenzhou-12 spaceship upon entering the country’s space station core module.
Shenzhou-12 is China’s seventh crewed mission to space and the first to initiate hands-on construction of China’s space station to be completed late next year.
The Tianzhou-3 cargo craft and the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship will also be launched later this year to dock with Tianhe, and another three astronauts will then begin a six-month stay in orbit, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). Based on project plans, the Tianzhou-3 cargo ship will be launched in September to dock with Tianhe, and in October, a Shenzhou-13 three-person team will fly to the module to stay there for six months.
Robotic arm helps on space station construction.
Credit: CCTV/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
After the five launch missions this year, China plans to have six more missions, including the launch of the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules, two cargo spacecraft and two crewed spaceships in 2022, to complete the construction of the space station.
One of China’s most adventurous space endeavors, the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) space station will consist of three main components — a core module attached to two space labs — with a combined weight of nearly 70 metric tons. The entire station is set to work for about 15 years.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Rescue backup
As crews are expected to stay in space for three to six months, there’s a backup rocket and spacecraft ready on the launch pad.
According to Shao Limin, Deputy Technological Manager of the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft at the China Academy of Space Technology, Chinese space engineers are preparing Shenzhou-13 as a backup spacecraft for the Shenzhou-12 space mission, in order to better guarantee astronauts’ safety in the case of any in-space emergency.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“Shenzhou-13 has been transferred to the launch pad as the backup emergency ship at the same time as we transferred Shenzhou-12,” Shao told CCTV. “If Shenzhou-12 encounters any major problem, “we can launch Shenzhou-13 without crew within 10 days for rescue.”
New videos of space station operations are available from China Central Television (CCTV)/China National Space Administration (CNSA), as well as New China TV/GLOBALink at:
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover at Jezero Crater is finding a treasure-trove of geological activity. Scientists believe the area was once flooded with water and was home to an ancient river delta.
One major assignment for the rover is exploring for signs of fossilized microbial life.
The robot has imaged “unusual” rocks, and it remains unclear whether these rocks are sedimentary or volcanic.
Mars Perseverance Right Mastcam-Z Camera image acquired on June 13, 2021 (Sol 112). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Multiple hypotheses
“We still have multiple working hypotheses, sedimentary and/or igneous, on the types of rocks we are seeing,” says James W. Rice, Jr. of the Mars 2020 Rover Mastcam-Z Science Team at Arizona State University in Tempe.
“There has been no conclusive evidence thus far, but as we continue to bring our whole science payload into use we will figure this out. We have not done any contact science yet but rather have been using remote sensing at this point,” Rice tells Inside Outer Space.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Delta deposit
It’s all very nice looking data, but it is a little early to tell much, adds John Mustard in the Department of Earth Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
“What I can say is that they have imaged a rock outcrop that looks all-the-world like a delta deposit with flat lying topset with sloping foreset beds,” Mustard says. A foreset bed is one of the main parts of a river delta.
As for volcanism at Jezero Crater, “volcanism is a good partner for microbial life, depending on how they interact, but volcanism can produce warm, nutrient rich waters that microbes adore,” Mustard told Inside Outer Space.
Dust devil: NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its Left Mastcam-Z camera, acquired on June 15, 2021 (Sol 114).
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Space Launch System (SLS) Credit: NASA/MSFC
The upcoming Artemis 1 mission will be an uncrewed test of the Orion spacecraft boosted by the maiden flight of the Space Launch System (SLS). On it will be flown a manikin – or in this case a “Moonikin”, instrumented to record acceleration, vibration and radiation throughout the mission.
Credit: NASA
This Moonikin is a male-bodied manikin previously used in Orion vibration tests. He will be accompanied on Artemis I by two model human torsos, called phantoms, made from materials that mimic human bones, soft tissues, and organs of an adult female. Named Zohar and Helga, by the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the phantoms will be supporting an investigation called the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE), which will provide data on radiation levels during missions to the Moon.
The final name of the Moonikin will be announced on Tuesday, June 29!
Want to participate in the naming contest?
Go to:
Credit: CMS
China is set to launch three crewmembers on a Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, the first human mission to China’s space station construction site.
Commander Nie Haisheng (Shenzhou-6, Shenzhou-10), Pilot Liu Boming (Shenzhou-7) and Pilot Tang Hongbo (first flight) will liftoff at 9:22 a.m. (Beijing time) on Thursday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the China Manned Space Engineering Office announced on Wednesday.
Left to right: Pilot Tang Hongbo, Commander Nie Haisheng, Pilot Liu Boming.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The crew will stay in orbit for three months.
Auto rendezvous and docking
The Shenzhou-12 spaceship will fly a fast autonomous rendezvous and docking with the now orbiting space station core module Tianhe and form a complex with Tianhe and the cargo craft Tianzhou-2.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
This upcoming crewed mission is among the planned 11 spaceflight missions for 2021 and 2022, including three space station modules, four cargo ships, and four piloted spaceships, in order to complete the construction of China’s space station by the end of 2022.
Challenging spacewalks
The Shenzhou-12 crew will carry out the most challenging series of extravehicular activities ever conducted by China’s space program. While in space, the space trio will test the long-term spaceflight supporting technologies, such as regenerative environment control and life support, the resupply of space station goods and materials, and astronaut health management.
Robotic arm helps on space station construction.
Credit: CCTV/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
With the support of a robotic arm, the astronauts will carry out the extravehicular activities for relatively longer durations for the first time and perform such operations as extravehicular equipment installation, repair and maintenance.
New landing site
After their three-month mission, the Shenzhou-12 astronauts will test the search and recovery capability of the Dongfeng landing site for the first time.
The landing site has shifted from Siziwang Banner to the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A regular emergency standby and search mode for that landing site will be initiated for the first time.
Credit: New China TV/GLOBALink/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China launched the space station core module Tianhe on April 29, followed by the Tianzhou-2 cargo ship on May 29 that docked with the Tianhe early on May 30 to deliver 6.9-tons of supplies, equipment and propellant.
A number of videos focused on the Shenzhou-12 mission have been issued by China Central Television (CCTV)/China National Space Administration (CNSA)/New China TV/GLOBALink.
Go to:
Credit: CNSA
China’s Tianwen-1 Mars mission is a precursor to the country attempting a sample return effort at the Red Planet around 2030.
In addition, China also plans to launch a probe to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid and explore a comet in one mission around 2025 and investigate the more faraway Jovian system after 2030.
Further study of the Moon by China’s Chang’e-6 and Chang’e-7 lunar probes in the coming five years are designed to survey the lunar environment and resources, as well as collect samples from the polar region of the Moon.
An ambitious space agenda was detailed Saturday at a press conference held by China National Space Administration in Beijing.
Credit: CNSA
Mars rover update
After some 30 Martian days on Mars, the Zhurong rover had moved over 260 feet (80 meters) from its landing site by Friday. The rover is slated to head south.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Liu Jianjun, chief designer of the ground application system of the Tianwen-1 probe, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN): “We selected this particular direction for several reasons. The altitude picks up that way, from the ancient martian ocean to land. And that’s also where we’ll come across some of the most interesting things we care about, like mud volcanoes and sub-surface ice.”
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Weathering the weather
Sun Zezhou, chief designer of the Tianwen-1 probe, said the probe is in “better condition than expected”, and said part of that state comes from a stretch of good weather. “We are lucky in having such good weather, which contributes to the mission’s state.”
Credit: CGTN/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Zezhou told CGTN that the rover will likely run into extreme weather conditions like sandstorms. “But we are all prepared for that.” In case of extreme weather conditions like heavy sandstorms, Zhurong could go into the sleep mode and restart later when conditions become bearable again.
Zhang Rongqiao, chief designer of the Tianwen-1 Mars mission, told China Central Television (CCTV) that Zhurong has taken its first 360-degree panorama.
Go to these newly issued videos from China Central Television (CCTV)/China National Space Administration (CNSA) and GLOBALink/New China TV:
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
A projected next week blast off is expected to kick-start China’s space station construction effort in Earth orbit.
This week’s rollout of the three-person Shenzhou-12 spacecraft atop a Long March-2F launch vehicle signals all is go at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
The China Manned Space Engineering Office said four groups of 16 astronauts are now training for four upcoming piloted space missions over the coming two years.
The imminent Shenzhou-12 takeoff marks China’s first crewed space mission in half a decade.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Space walks
According to China Central Television (CCTV) interviews with key space officials, building the space station will involve a large number of space walks, which can last for hours. On the ground, training equipment is helping the astronauts to prepare for the mission.
“A standard space walk will last for six to seven hours. To complete the task, efficiency is very important. Of course safety is also very important. We have made new improvements to the space suit to meet the needs of the space station, which will allow astronauts to work more efficiently,” said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s manned space program.
Credit: CCTV/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Foreign astronauts
As noted in a CCTV interview, China is also working with global space agencies, including the United Nations’ Outer Space Division. An initial grouping of nine projects from 17 countries have been selected to be onboard the Chinese space station.
Furthermore, joint crewed missions with other nations are also under discussion.
“In the future, there will definitely be foreign astronauts participating in Chinese space flights, while working and living on China’s space station. Foreign astronauts are already learning Chinese, and preparing to participate in Chinese flights,” said Hao Chun, Director of the China Manned Space Agency.
Robotic arm helps on space station construction.
Credit: CCTV/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Fast-pace construction
The space station Tiangong will be completed in less than two years. By the end of 2022, it is expected that Chinese astronauts will work and live in the space station for a period of six months per mission.
As stated by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), all facilities at the launch site for the takeoff of the trio of crewmen onboard Shenzhou-12 are reportedly in good condition.
Now underway is a functional check of the spacecraft and booster to test the matching between the two. After that, the Shenzhou-12 astronauts will make on-site confirmation and then participate in the full-system launch drill, said Deng Xiaojun, No. 0 commander of the Shenzhou-12 manned mission.
Key elements
China sent into space the Tianhe station core module on April 29, starting a series of key launch missions that aim to complete the construction of the space station by the end of 2022.
The country launched the Tianzhou-2 on May 29, which successfully docked with Tianhe in about eight hours to deliver supplies, equipment and propellant.
Credit: CCTV/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
In a recently posted Xinhua news story, both the core module and cargo craft are equipped with independent power supply systems. After docking, the two systems form a connected grid and achieve mutual transmission of electric power.
“The two independent systems work like two smartphones,” said Yu Lei, an engineer in charge of power supply to the Tianzhou-2 project. “They can undergo both separate and mutual charging.”
Power demand
When docking with the space station, Xinhua adds, the Tianzhou-2 supply craft is in sleep mode and has relatively lower power demand. Its solar panels can provide abundant power most of the time, and the surplus is stored to be used for astronaut activities and scientific research that requires higher energy consumption.
“Its solar panels not only fulfill the power demand of Tianzhou-2 directly, but also charge its batteries,” said Wang Zhenxu, a designer of the power supply system of the Tianzhou-2 project.
Three sets of lithium ion batteries power the entire cargo craft when the combination enters the shadow areas. The solar panels work again after it moves into the sunlight, and continue supplying power and charging.
China’s space station is projected to be completed in late 2022.
Credit: CAST
In-orbit life
The core module Tianhe, notes Xinhua, is powered by third-generation flexible GaAs (gallium arsenide) solar panels, which provide high power output, are light, small when folded, have long in-orbit life, and can be repeatedly folded and unfolded.
The thickness of a solar panel is less than one millimeter, only half of the weight per unit area of the traditional solar arrays.
The power area of Tianhe’s solar panels covers 80 square meters, which can provide 20 kilowatts of power to the core module, said Yu Hui, designer of the solar panels. The design life of the solar panels is up to 15 years, and they can work effectively for the space station project, Yu told Xinhua.
For informative videos on China’s station project from CCTV and the China National Space Administration (CNSA), go to:
