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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
Dec 7, 2023
Orion and the Ocean of Storms
On December 5, 2022, a camera on board the uncrewed Orion spacecraft captured this view as Orion approached its return powered flyby of the Moon. Beyond one of Orion's extended solar arrays lies dark, smooth, terrain along the western edge of the Oceanus Procellarum. Prominent on the lunar nearside Oceanus Procellarum, the Ocean of Storms, is the largest of the Moon's lava-flooded maria. The lunar terminator, shadow line between lunar night and day, runs along the left of this frame. The 41 kilometer diameter crater Marius is top center, with ray crater Kepler peeking in at the edge, just right of the solar array wing. Kepler's bright rays extend to the north and west, reaching the dark-floored Marius. By December 11, 2022 the Orion spacecraft had reached its home world. The historic Artemis 1 mission ended with Orion's successful splashdown in planet Earth's water-flooded Pacific Ocean.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
SpaceX Starlink Mission
On Thursday, December 7 at 12:07 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
This was the ninth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously Crew-5, GPS III Space Vehicle 06, Inmarsat I6-F2, CRS-28, Intelsat G-37, and now four Starlink missions.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-6-33
Egypt joins China’s ILRS moon base initiative
December 7, 2023
HELSINKI — Egypt and China signed a series of space agreements Wednesday including cooperation on the China-led International Lunar Research Station.
Zhang Kejian, China National Space Administration (CNSA) administrator, and Sherif Sedky, Chief Operating Officer of the Egyptian Space Agency (EGSA), signed a cooperation agreement between the CNSA and the EGSA on the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in Beijing, Dec. 6.
The pair also inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between their respective governments on cooperation and peaceful use of outer space, according to a CNSA statement.
Areas of cooperation include joint research in lunar and deep space exploration, the development and launch of spacecraft, space infrastructure, satellite data reception and applications, the BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation, space science and astronomical observation.
The development follows increasingly close space cooperation between the two countries. China began establishing a satellite assembly, integration and test center for Egypt in Cairo in 2019. The AIT center opened in June this year.
China also launched the Misrsat-2 remote sensing satellite for Egypt just days ago. China funded the satellite, which completed its assembly and testing at the new AIT center.
Egypt is the first Arab country to join ILRS and the second on the African continent to sign up. South Africa joined in September. It appears to be part of a wider strategy of Chinese space engagement.
“Egypt is significant for China as it sees it as the door to the Arab world and Africa to develop space ties and prospects for its space industry,” Julienne told SpaceNews.
He also notes that 17 engineers from Nigeria, Sudan, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya attended a training session at the Cairo AIT center back in 2017.
The development also highlights a shift in China’s approach to space engagement. Ian Christensen, director of private sector programs at Secure World Foundation, noted China’s “apparent shift from turnkey projects to the more technology and know-how transfer elements,” when commenting to SpaceNews on Sino-Egyptian space cooperation earlier this year.
The cooperation agreements will guide future collaboration between China and Egypt. It will also help advance space technology and the fostering of a comprehensive strategic partnership, according to the CNSA statement.
The China-led ILRS envisions constructing a permanent lunar base in the 2030s, with precursor missions in the 2020s. The initiative is seen as a China-led, parallel project and potential competitor to the NASA-led Artemis Program.
China has been making a concerted effort to attract countries to its ILRS project this year. Venezuela, South Africa, Pakistan and Azerbaijan are among the countries have joined in 2023.
Meanwhile 33 countries have now signed the U.S.-led Artemis Accords, 10 of which have done so this year. Angola is the most recent signatory of the Accords, which outline best practices for space exploration. It signed up Nov. 30, becoming the third African nation to do so.
China has also made recent additions to its grouping. The Croatia-based Adriatic Aerospace Association (A3), a non-governmental, non-profit organization, signed an MoU on the ILRS with the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) under CNSA Nov 24. An Emirati university signed up 10 days earlier.
DSEL stated earlier this year that China aims to complete the agreements with founding members of ILRS by October. No statement on a finalized list of founding members has so far been made, and agreements continue to be forged. China has established an organization, named ILRSCO, based in the city of Hefei in Anhui province to coordinate the initiative.
Russia officially ratified a cooperation agreement for joint construction of the ILRS late last month, according to Russian media reports. China’s Global Times tabloid, under the auspices of Party-controlled People’s Daily, described the collaboration as a “perfect match.”
The future balance of contributions was described as China “bringing abundant resources and skills while Russia contributes its expertise and innovative thinking.”
https://spacenews.com/egypt-joins-chinas-ilrs-moon-base-initiative/
Republicans Are The Ones Trying To ‘Kill’ UFO Transparency, Schumer Claims
December 05, 2023
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Republicans on Monday of trying to “kill” transparency on UFOs/UAPs.
“House Republicans are also attempting to kill another commonsense, bipartisan measure passed by the Senate, which I was proud to cosponsor … to increase transparency around what the government does and does not know about unidentified aerial phenomena,” Schumer said of bipartisan legislation focused on revealing “non-human intelligence,” The Hill reported.
Schumer is referring to the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure amendment to the National Defense Authorization (NDA) Act, which would authorize appropriations within the 2024 fiscal year for the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and other purposes.
The amendment is sponsored by two Democrats and three Republicans, but apparently Republicans are trying to shut the whole thing down. The Hill reported that Republican Ohio Rep. Mike Turner and Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers are leading efforts to stop the amendment making its way into the NDA Act.
But, why? The purpose of any elected official, regardless of party affiliation, is to advance the interests and desires of their constituents. And the people want as much UFO/UAP disclosure as possible.
There are a million reasons why most Americans don’t have much faith in politicians in 2023. But can you imagine how much respect and trust would be garnered if our elected officials finally admit the truth about UFOs, even if it’s not what we want to hear?
Disclosure on UFOs would revolutionize our nation in a universal macro-psychosocial way. But is it going to happen any time soon? Honestly, I don’t think so.
https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/05/chuck-schumer-claims-republicans-kill-ufo-disclosure-uap-national-defense-authorization-act/
NRO signs agreements with five commercial suppliers of electro-optical imagery
December 5, 2023
WASHINGTON — The National Reconnaissance Office announced Dec. 5 it has signed agreements with five commercial providers of electro-optical satellite imagery, including four startups that are just starting to build out their constellations.
Airbus U.S. Space and Defense, Albedo Space, Hydrosat, Muon Space and Turion Space were selected for the NRO’s Strategic Commercial Enhancements program, which seeks new and emerging types of electro-optical imagery beyond what the agency already procures from Maxar, BlackSky and Planet Labs under a 2022 contract known as the Electro-Optical Commercial Layer.
The NRO has access to significant commercial sources of imagery under the EOCL contracts but it’s now looking to capture the next wave of technologies that have emerged in the industry in recent years, such as commercial non-Earth imagery, or the imaging of objects in space.
“The commercial EO market continues to expand with new capabilities and new providers,” said NRO Director Chris Scolese. “We are excited to continue our work with mission partners and the user community to continually explore new providers and emerging capabilities so we can deliver first-class commercial EO solutions today and well into the future.”
The five Strategic Commercial Enhancements contracts are projected to extend for 2.5 years. During the first stage, the NRO will examine the companies’ capabilities at both the individual sensor and constellation levels, as well as business and cybersecurity planning. In the second stage, the agency will assess on-orbit capabilities and procure data products.
Pete Muend, director of the NRO’s commercial systems program office, said these contracts “demonstrate our commitment to meet increasing customer demands with greater commercial capacity.”
These awards follow six agreements with commercial hyperspectral imaging companies awarded in March 2023, six commercial radio-frequency remote sensing contracts awarded in September 2022, and five commercial radar contracts in January 2022.
New constellations
The companies selected by the NRO include an established Earth imaging data provider, Airbus, and four emerging players like Hydrosat, a thermal infrared data and analytics company that provides geospatial intelligence for climate, food security and the environment through daily surface temperature data and analytics.
Hydrosat’s contract with the NRO includes the evaluation of high-resolution thermal imagery from its planned constellation of satellites, CEO Pieter Fossel said in a news release.
Another startup selected by the NRO, Muon Space, will provide multispectral electro-optical and infrared data collected by the company’s future climate monitoring constellation, designed to provide global coverage with rapid revisits for a persistent understanding of global thermal activity.
California startup Turion Space is building a non-Earth imaging constellation to provide space situational awareness services.
The startup Albedo plans to operate satellites in very low Earth orbit to gather ultra-high resolution visible imagery as well as high-resolution thermal infrared imagery. Albedo also plans to provide nighttime imaging, non-Earth imaging and video.
https://spacenews.com/nro-signs-agreements-with-five-commercial-suppliers-of-electro-optical-imagery/
DARPA picks 14 companies for lunar architecture study
December 6, 2023
WASHINGTON — DARPA has selected 14 companies, ranging from small startups to established aerospace corporations, to participate in a study on developing commercial lunar infrastructure.
DARPA announced Dec. 5 that 14 companies will collaborate over the next seven months on its 10-Year Lunar Architecture, or LunA-10, study. The goal of the effort, announced in August, is to develop an integrated architecture to support a commercial lunar economy by the mid-2030s.
“LunA-10 has the potential to upend how the civil space community thinks about spurring widespread commercial activity on and around the Moon within the next 10 years,” Michael Nayak, DARPA program manager for LunA-10, said in a statement.
The 14 companies selected are:
Blue Origin
CisLunar Industries
Crescent Space Services LLC
Fibertek, Inc.
Firefly Aerospace
GITAI
Helios
Honeybee Robotics
ICON
Nokia of America
Northrop Grumman
Redwire Corporation
Sierra Space
SpaceX
The companies, Nayak said in a statement, each offered “a clear vision and technically rigorous plan for advancing quickly towards our goal: a self-sustaining, monetizable, commercially owned-and-operated lunar infrastructure.”
The statement did not elaborate on the roles of each company, but in a presentation last month at the Beyond Earth Symposium, Nayak said companies were selected for work in six areas: communications and navigation; construction and robotics; market analysis; mining and in situ resource utilization (ISRU); power; and transit, mobility and logistics.
Some of the companies have disclosed details about their roles in LunaA-10. CisLunar Industries, a Colorado-based startup, said it will work on what it calls the Material Extraction, Treatment, Assembly and Logistics, or METAL, framework for lunar resources as part of the study.
Firefly Aerospace said in a statement that it will outline an “aggregated hub of on-orbit spacecraft that dock together and offer on-demand services” based on its Elytra line of spacecraft. “We’ve identified a path to drastically improve on-orbit mission response times from years to days with scalable spacecraft hubs that can host and service spacecraft across cislunar space,” Bill Weber, chief executive of Firefly, said in a statement.
Construction technologies company ICON said its role in LunA-10 would be to leverage its work in 3D-printed construction technologies. “By participating in LunA-10, we can understand what inputs are going to be available, when, at what cost, and in what quantities,” said Evan Jensen, vice president of strategic research and development at ICON, in a statement.
Sierra Space said it will focus on integrating technologies for extracting oxygen from lunar regolith. “At Sierra Space we recognize that to enable humanity’s extended exploration of space there is a critical need for ISRU oxygen technology on the lunar surface, given its strategic importance in terms of mobility, life support systems and potential commercial applications,” said Tom Vice, chief executive of Sierra Space, in a company statement.
While companies are bringing individual technologies and expertise to the effort, the goal of LunA-10 is to combine them into an integrated architecture. “Can we bring about a portfolio of performers that communicate with each other as exemplars and representatives of this community and work together?” Nayak said at the symposium. By working together, the companies will be able “to tell you to the gram, to the watt, to the dollar, what a lunar economy could look like by 2035.”
“DARPA finally did what the industry was waiting for,” said Gary Calnan, chief executive of CisLunar Industries. “The LunA-10 team has done a great job bringing together 14 companies representing complementary parts of the future lunar economy. This effort will lay the foundation for a marketplace where the entire space domain can participate.”
Neither DARPA nor the companies disclosed the value of the LunA-10 awards, but the solicitation released in August said selected companies would be eligible for agreements valued at no more than $1 million each.
The LunA-10 participants will discuss their work at an April 2024 meeting of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium, a NASA-backed effort to develop technologies in many of the same areas as the DARPA study. The companies will provide a final report to DARPA in June 2024.
https://spacenews.com/darpa-picks-14-companies-for-lunar-architecture-study/
Station Reaches 25 Years in Orbit, Crew Continues Advanced Space Research
December 6, 2023
25 years ago today, the first two modules of the International Space Station – Zarya and Unity – were mated during the STS-88 mission of space shuttle Endeavour. The shuttle’s Canadarm robotic arm reached out and grappled Zarya, which had been on orbit just over two weeks, and attached it to the Unity module stowed inside Endeavour’s payload bay. Endeavour would undock from the young dual-module station one week later beginning the space station assembly era.
The seven-member Expedition 70 crew called down to Earth today and discussed with NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana and International Space Station Program Manager Joel Montalbano the orbital outpost’s accomplishments since the assembly era began on Dec. 6, 1998. Cabana was the commander of Endeavour when both modules were robotically mated then outfitted during a series of spacewalks. Montalbano, NASA’s sixth station leader since the program’s inception, remarked today, “We want to celebrate today all the people who designed, built, and operate the International Space Station.”
Meanwhile, a host of space biology work continued aboard the orbital lab on Wednesday to improve human health on Earth and in space. Cargo operations and lab maintenance rounded out the day keeping the four astronauts and three cosmonauts busy during the middle of the week.
Aging studies are taking place on the orbital lab helping researchers understand space-caused accelerated aging symptoms at the molecular and cellular level. NASA Flight Engineers Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli took turns processing liver stem samples for the Space AGE study taking place in the Kibo laboratory module. Kibo’s Life Science Glovebox is hosting the research operation that is exploring aging-like properties of immune cells and the regenerative capacity of liver cells.
Mental health and cognition are key concerns for NASA and its international partners as the space agencies plan longer human missions farther away from Earth. Commander Andreas Mogensen wore virtual reality goggles for the VR Mental Care experiment today and watched a 360-degree movie to understand its stabilizing effect on the nervous system. Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa took a computerized robotics test for a CIPHER investigation studying how in microgravity affects brain structure, sleep quality, stress, and immune function.
Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) and Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) also partnered with O’Hara and Moghbeli transferring payloads in and out of the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft throughout the day. The foursome then spent the rest of Wednesday supporting a variety of other ongoing space research and life support activities.
Veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko tended to eggs being incubated for a Roscosmos space biology study, deployed carbon dioxide monitors, and practiced using emergency masks. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub worked on an immunity study and continued unpacking cargo from the Progress 86 resupply ship. Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov started his morning replacing electrical plumbing gear then worked in the afternoon checking smoke detectors and charging a science laptop computer.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2023/12/06/station-reaches-25-years-in-orbit-crew-continues-advanced-space-research/
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson Participates in Space Agencies Leaders’ Summit at COP 28
DEC 04, 2023
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the first-ever Space Agencies Leaders’ Summit at COP 28 in Dubai, UAE, on Dec. 4, 2023. At the summit, organized by the UAE Space Agency, Nelson underscored the importance of sharing climate data transparently and openly with the world.
Leaders from two dozen space agencies discussed enhancing data sharing between established and emerging space nations, strengthening climate research by allocating resources and funding towards climate research initiatives within the space sector, supporting climate monitoring initiatives by establishing new programs, and promoting sustainable space operations by minimizing the environmental impact of space operations.
The summit ended with participants adopting a pledge to enhance space-based climate initiatives to transform and accelerate climate action to meet the commitments outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasa-administrator-bill-nelson-participates-in-space-agencies-leaders-summit-at-cop-28/
ISS National Lab Highlights Scientific Research Conducted in 2023
DECEMBER 7, 2023
From its orbital perch approximately 250 miles above Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) is not only a home away from home for astronauts but also a cutting-edge research platform in low Earth orbit (LEO). Throughout 2023, astronauts on the ISS worked on hundreds of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, many of which were sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory®. Results from these investigations could lead to advances in medicine, the production of new materials, and help foster a robust economy in low Earth orbit.
The space station provides access to sustained microgravity, enabling scientists to conduct fundamental science experiments across many different disciplines. That’s because microgravity induces changes to organisms, from bacteria to humans, not seen on Earth. These changes can occur in gene expression, cellular and molecular functions, and even the 3D aggregation of cells. Research leveraging these effects can drive advances in myriad fields such as disease modeling and treatment, regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and more. The ISS also provides a one-of-a-kind engineering testbed, enabling technology development and demonstration for applications ranging from satellites and spacecraft to communications technology, robotics, and nanotechnology.
Here’s a look at some of the cutting-edge research investigations performed this year.
https://www.issnationallab.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023-science-review-alneyadi-astrobee.jpg
Space Swarm
Liver Cells in Low Earth Orbit
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing on Station
Bioprospecting in Space
HAM Radio to the Stars
Meniscus in Space
Student Research Through Genes in Space
Advancing Materials Through Spaceflight
Modeling Heart Disease in Microgravity
Improving Household Products
Stem Cells in Space
https://www.issnationallab.org/iss360-iss-national-lab-science-highlights-2023/