August 31st, 2019
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Amateur satellite watchers are having a field day analyzing a tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump. That tweet included an image of recent Iranian Safir launch failure – apparently taken by a secret U.S. spy satellite – although there are suggestions the photo might be taken by a drone. Very interesting image “It’s not […]
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This week the new United States Space Command officially made its debut, emphasizing that space is a vital military domain – one that’s critical to America’s security and economic wellbeing. Standing up the command coincides with on-going White House support to establish a Space Force as a separate military branch. To this end, there is […]
NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued on August 27, 2019 a “Follow-up to May 2019 Audit of Europa Mission: Congressional Launch Vehicle Mandate.” It notes, among other items, that NASA’s renewed focus on returning humans to the Moon on an accelerated timetable means that a Space Launch System (SLS) will not […]
China’s Chang’e-4 farside lander and rover have resumed work for the ninth lunar day. According to China’s Xinhua news agency, the lander woke up at 8:10 a.m. Sunday, and the rover, Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2), awoke at 8:42 a.m. Saturday, sourcing the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration. Dormant […]
A “Community Letter” regarding NASA’s Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program has been sent on August 9 to key leaders on Senate committees. The letter has been signed by 76 lunar and planetary scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs from 22 states. The communiqué notes in part: “As we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 human […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now in Sol 2505. In her report today, Michelle Minitti, a planetary geologist at Framework in Silver Spring, Maryland, said that “today was the final opportunity to actively command Curiosity before the Sun comes between us and Mars.” Minitti noted that most of the instruments are safely stored for the […]
India’s Moonshot is set to perform its next lunar bound orbit maneuver on August 28, 2019 between 0530 – 0630 hrs IST. Orbit maneuvers will be performed on Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft to enable it to enter its final orbit passing over the lunar poles at a distance of about 62 miles (100 kilometers) from the […]
Updated: 2019-08-25 The classified U.S. Air Force X-37B space plane program winged its way to a new milestone in its hush-hush current mission. The craft set a new long-duration record in circling the Earth – eclipsing a previous long-duration flight of 717 days, 20 hours and 42 minutes. Also tagged as the Orbital Test […]
That troubled heat probe on NASA’s InSight Mars lander continues to be an issue! The instruments locomotion system, a self impelling nail nicknamed “the mole” was designed to hammer itself down into the surface of Mars. Called the Heat and Physical Properties Package (HP3), the German-provided mole hasn’t been able to dig deeper than […]
In testimony before the National Space Council on August 20, Clive Neal, Professor of Lunar Geology at the University of Notre Dame, presented his views regarding innovative space initiatives and focused on the resources of the Moon. Neal’s written statement offers an expansive look at lunar resource utilization – and issues that need addressing to […]
