NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Mar 19, 2024

A Picturesque Equinox Sunset

What's that at the end of the road? The Sun. Many towns have roads that run east-west, and on two days each year, the Sun rises and sets right down the middle. Today, in some parts of the world (tomorrow in others), is one of those days: an equinox. Not only is this a day of equal night ("aequus"-"nox") and day time, but also a day when the sun rises precisely to the east and sets due west. Displayed here is a picturesque rural road in Alberta, Canada that runs approximately east-west. The featured image was taken during the September Equinox of 2021, but the geometry remains the same every year. In many cultures, this March equinox is taken to be the first day of a season, typically spring in Earth's northern hemisphere, and autumn in the south. Does your favorite street run east-west? Tonight, at sunset, you can find out with a quick glance.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?

NASA’s Swift Temporarily Suspends Science Operations

MAR 18, 2024

On March 15, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory entered into safe mode, temporarily suspending science operations due to degrading performance from one of its three gyroscopes (gyros), which are used to point the observatory for making observations. The rest of the spacecraft remains in good health.

Swift is designed to successfully operate without one of its gyros if necessary; however, a software update is required. The team is working on the flight software update that would permit the spacecraft to continue science operations using its two remaining gyros. The team is working to return Swift to science observations as soon as possible.

Launched in 2004, Swift has been observing the high-energy universe for nearly 20 years. Stay tuned to nasa.gov/swift for more updates.

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/swift/nasas-swift-temporarily-suspends-science-operations/

NASA's DC-8 Conducts Air Quality Mission Over Chiang Mai

2024-03-19

CHIANG MAI (NNT) - NASA's DC-8 aircraft, an iconic 55-year-old plane known for its extensive research capabilities, conducted its final flight over Chiang Mai province on Monday (March 18) as part of an air quality study in the North and various parts in Thailand.

According to the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT), the flight, part of the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of NASA’s Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ) project, was conducted with the aim of analyzing air pollution dispersion at various atmospheric levels. The aircraft executed a low-altitude 'missed approach' maneuver over the province at 10:30 am, a technique crucial for collecting detailed environmental data.

This mission is one of the last for the DC-8, which will be retired after completing a series of five flights between March 16 and 26. Each flight, originating from U-Tapao Airport in Rayong, lasted about eight hours and surveyed different parts of Thailand. The project is a collaborative international effort to improve understanding of air pollution, with NARIT and the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) representing Thailand alongside partners from South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand.

In addition to the DC-8, NASA employs a Gulfstream III aircraft for complementary studies, focusing on creating a horizontal profile of air quality. Both aircraft take off from U-Tapao Airport, though the Gulfstream III operates within a more confined area.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1322760-nasas-dc-8-conducts-air-quality-mission-over-chiang-mai/

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/kennedy/nasa-selects-new-round-of-candidates-for-cubesat-missions-to-station/

NASA Selects New Round of Candidates for CubeSat Missions to Station

MAR 18, 2024

NASA selected 10 small research satellites across eight states to fly to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s efforts to expand education and science opportunities, support technology advancement, and provide for workforce development.

These small satellites, or CubeSats, use a standard size and form measured in units. One unit (1U) is 10x10x11 centimeters and allows for the modular design of larger CubeSats measuring up to 12U. CubeSats encourage greater collaboration across government, industry, and academia because they are modular and inexpensive to build and launch. The small satellites allow for rapid development and provide a cost-effective means for science investigations and technology demonstrations in space.

This year’s selections include the first project from Delaware, three from minority serving institutions, and a submission from a K-12 school. New participants include the University of Delaware, Oakwood School in California, California State University, Long Beach, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and the University of Chicago.

NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) selected the missions, currently planned to launch in 2025 to 2028, in response to a call for proposals on Aug. 7, 2023.

The complete list of organizations and CubeSats chosen during CSLI 15th selection round are:

University of Louisiana at Lafayette – CAPE-Twiggs (Cajun Advanced Picosatellite Experiment) will serve as a first prototype of a 3U CubeSat designed to contain and launch tethered SlimSat modules into very low-Earth orbit. Having launched successful CubeSat missions in the past, the university’s current project will work with several other schools with little or no experience on the design, build, and operations of their own SlimSat module. CAPE-Twiggs will enhance both STEM education and the ability to conduct regular and collaborative space-based experiments on a larger scale.

Oakwood School in California – NyanSat is a 2U CubeSat designed and built by a K-12 independent school in rural California. This mission will serve as template for educational outreach and space technology development. NyanSat features several technology development payloads, each designed to test and demonstrate the efficacy of various new systems in the space environment. Included among these are the acoustic spacecraft mapping and sounding payload, aimed at simplifying sensor architectures in spacecraft and providing supplementary mission information, and the cryptographic ledgers in space payload, intended to verify the feasibility of space-based digital notaries for on-Earth and in-geospace transactions.

University of Hawaii at Manoa – CREPES (CubeSat Relativistic Electron and Proton Energy Separator) aims to study solar energetic particle events and increase our knowledge of the Sun. CREPES will fly a new type of micropattern gaseous detector using gas electron multipliers to amplify the signals of radiation. Data obtained from these measurements is expected to contribute to the understanding of space weather and development of space climatology. The University of Hawaii at Manoa is a minority serving institution and has previously launched a CubeSat with the program.

California State University, Long Beach – SharkSat-1 seeks to monitor LED-induced blue light pollution across Earth. LED lights are popular due to their cost efficiency, but their impacts are currently being studied by climate and health researchers. Data collected by SharkSat-1 will create a database for experts to create light pollution maps. California State University, Long Beach, is a minority serving institution.

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University of Delaware – DAPPEr (Delaware Atmospheric Plasma Probe Experiment) will map average variations in electron density and temperature versus latitude and time of day in the ionosphere’s F2 layer. Another objective is to determine the preferred size for a Langmuir probe to measure ionospheric electrons from a CubeSat. This is the first CubeSat selection from Delaware for CSLI and aims to provide students with hands-on learning experiences on flight systems.

Saint Louis University – DARLA-02 (Demonstration of Artificial Reasoning, Learning, and Analysis) will demonstrate autonomous event response on a 3U spacecraft and create a dynamic map of the radio frequency background noise in the amateur ultra-high frequency band. DARLA-02 follows DARLA, which is targeted to launch with CSLI in 2024. This follow-up seeks to double the amount of time the spacecraft can be in science mode in orbit.

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona – The Pleiades Five mission will be the first to use a commoditized CubeSat architecture to provide effective and sustainable educational opportunities for future generations of the space industry. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, will partner with five other universities and offer a pathway enabling students to design, test, launch, and operate a low-cost educational 1U CubeSat within one academic year. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, is a minority serving institution.

University of Chicago – PULSE-A (Polarization modUlated Laser Satellite Experiment) will demonstrate a way to increase the speed of space-to-ground communications. PULSE-A also aims to make space-to-ground operations more difficult to intercept and jam through an on-orbit tech demonstration. PULSE-A will use 10 Mbps polarization-keyed laser communications instead of radio frequency for a space to Earth call. Free-space optical communications improves on power, bandwidth, and effective data transfer rates over radio frequency.

Utah State University – GASRATS (Get Away Special Radio and Antenna Transparency Satellite) will demonstrate a novel transparent patch antenna integrated on top of a solar panel. Having a dual-purpose use of the external surface of a satellite and combining power generation with communications capabilities, tackles the common space mission constraints of power and mass limitations. Utah State University has previously participated in CSLI, deploying GASPACS (Get Away Special Passive Attitude Control Satellite) in early 2022 to test inflatable structures in space.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center – GPDM (Green Propulsion Dual Mode) will test chemical and electrospray capability of the low-toxicity or “green” rocket propellant known as Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-Toxic (ASCENT) during an in-space flight demonstration. The project is a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgia Institute of Technology to develop a chemical propulsion subsystem that will include a 3D printed tank, manifold, and propellant management device.

NASA has selected CubeSat missions from 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and launched about 160 CubeSats into space on an ELaNa (Educational Launch of a Nanosatellite) manifest.

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NASA Administrator Pays Tribute to Space Pioneer Thomas Stafford

MAR 18, 2024

The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Monday’s passing of Thomas Stafford, a lifelong space exploration advocate, former NASA astronaut, and U.S. Air Force general:

“Today, General Tom Stafford went to the eternal heavens, which he so courageously explored as a Gemini and Apollo astronaut as well as a peacemaker in the Apollo-Soyuz mission. Those of us privileged to know him are very sad but grateful we knew a giant.

“Tom was critical to the earliest successes of our nation’s space program and was instrumental in developing space as a model for international cooperation. He also helped us learn from our tragedies and grow and reach for the next generation of achievement. He was intimately involved with the space program, sharing his thoughts and suggestions on NASA missions until the end of his life.

“Tom was a gentleman and a daredevil. He flew our first rendezvous in space on Gemini 6, and piloted Gemini 9’s path to Earth with pencil and paper when the spacecraft’s guidance computer failed in orbit. He commanded Apollo 10, the first flight of the lunar module to the Moon, a critical test flight that resulted in the successful landing on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Tom also flew more than 100 different types of aircraft throughout his career as he pushed the edge of the envelope of our achievement in air and space. He was an extraordinary peacemaker who commanded NASA’s first rendezvous of an international spacecraft on the Apollo-Soyuz mission. His counterpart, General Alexei Leonov, became a best friend over the years. Tom gave Alexei’s eulogy in 2019 at the Russian state funeral.

“Tom’s dedication to NASA never wavered. In later years, he chaired a team to independently advise NASA on how to carry out President H.W. Bush’s space policy and completed the study ‘America at the Threshold’ about the nation’s potential future with humans in space. He also was co-chairman of the Stafford-Covey Space Shuttle Return to Flight Task Group that assessed NASA’s implementation of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board Space Shuttle Return to Flight recommendations.

“Our nation will be forever grateful to an explorer who never lost his sense of wonder. About his time in space, he said, ‘It changes you, oh sure. Changes your outlook…As you look back, you see a little blue and white baseball, actually, it’s smaller than a baseball. But it’s hard to envision that is where all the people you’ve known all your life are, where you went to school, your friends, your family. It’s also hard to envision that there are three billion people on that blue and white baseball.’

“Godspeed, Tom Stafford.”

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-administrator-pays-tribute-to-space-pioneer-thomas-stafford/

https://www.nasa.gov/former-astronaut-thomas-stafford/

US and Japan push for ban on nuclear weapons in space with UN security council resolution

Mon 18 Mar 2024 22.03 EDT

The US and Japan are sponsoring a UN security council resolution calling on all nations not to deploy or develop nuclear weapons in space, the US ambassador has announced.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a UN security council meeting that “any placement of nuclear weapons into orbit around the Earth would be unprecedented, dangerous, and unacceptable.”

The announcement follows confirmation from the White House last month that Russia has obtained a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon capability, although such a weapon is not operational yet.

Vladimir Putin observing models of satellites at a Russian spacecraft manufacturer's headquarters.

‘Everyone needs to calm down’: experts assess Russian nuclear space threat

Read more

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared later that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has only developed space capabilities similar to those of the US.

The Outer Space Treaty ratified by about 114 countries including the US and Russia prohibits the deployment of “nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction” in orbit or the stationing of “weapons in outer space in any other manner.”

Japan’s foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa, who chaired the council meeting, said that even during “the confrontational environment” of the cold war, global rivals agreed to ensure that outer space remained peaceful. That prohibition on putting any weapons of mass destruction into orbit must be upheld today, she said.

Thomas-Greenfield said all parties to the treaty must commit to the ban on nuclear and other destructive weapons, “and we must urge all member states who are not yet party to it to accede to it without delay.”

Thomas-Greenfield also reiterated to the council that the US is willing to engage with Russia and China, without preconditions, on bilateral arms control issues.

In February, the White House said a new Russian anti-satellite weapon was being monitored, but was not an immediate threat to anyone’s safety. A spokesperson did not confirm or deny reports that the new weapon was nuclear, but did say it was “space-based” and that it violated the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits the deployment in space of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction.

Monday’s proposed resolution from the US and Japan was condemned as “yet another propaganda stunt by Washington,” “very politicised” and “divorced from reality” by Russia’s deputy US ambassador Dmitry Polyansky.

He criticised the text, saying the wording had not been worked out by experts nor discussed at specialised international platforms such as the UN Conference on Disarmament or the UN Committee on Outer Space.

UN secretary-general António Guterres briefed the council, saying “geopolitical tensions and mistrust have escalated the risk of nuclear warfare to its highest point in decades.”

He said the movie Oppenheimer about Robert Oppenheimer, who directed the US project during the second world war that developed the atomic bomb, “brought the harsh reality of nuclear doomsday to vivid life for millions around the world.”

“Humanity cannot survive a sequel to Oppenheimer,” the UN chief said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/19/us-japan-nuclear-weapons-ban-space-un-war

China’s moon plans worry Space Force

MARCH 18, 2024 07:09 PM ET

The Space Force is concerned about China’s plans to operate on and around the Moon, which could enable new ways to attack U.S. satellites.

Like the United States, China is racing to put astronauts on the Moon by the end of the decade—leading Pentagon leaders to consider what new capabilities China might field if and when it gets there.

“From a military perspective, I am curious about, are there attack vectors that we haven't considered or that we need to consider, whether it's xGEO or cislunar or otherwise?” said Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, commander of U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific, said on Monday.

But despite the race to get to the Moon, the Space Force remains focused on “deterring a terrestrial bad actor” and conflicts on Earth, Mastalir said.

“These are terrestrial conflicts that we hope we can deter and we also don't want them, although it's more and more likely, [to] extend into space or even start in space, but they’re terrestrial conflicts. Now someday in the future that may change, but for now I'd be more concerned just about what these new orbits, a moon presence—what that does for potential attack vectors to our traditional operating orbits,” he said during an event hosted by the Aerospace Corporation.

There’s “no doubt” that China will achieve its lunar goals, but the Space Force has to stay focused on traditional orbits, said Barbara Golf, strategic advisor to the U.S. Space Force for Space Domain Awareness.

“When we look at space domain awareness, we look at GEO, then LEO, then xGEO, so [I] very much agree with the prioritization to keep the eye on the ball as far as where our high value assets are, but don't have any doubt that they can do it,” Golf said Monday.

Mastalir leads U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific, a component under the combatant command of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which was stood up in 2022 to present space forces to the Pacific.

China is building a “very deliberate” space architecture specifically designed to keep the U.S. from intervening in the Pacific, Mastalir said.

“If you listen to Xi Jinping, he's made it very clear that unification, he says reunification, we say unification because the PRC and the CCP never, never had Taiwan, but reunification, in his words by 2027. That's his direction to the People's Liberation Army. So, we're not putting a timeline on it but China has, to a certain extent. So the sense of urgency to be ready to be able to close the blue kill chains, disrupt the red kill chains, that's part of why we're there,” he said.

Mastalir said the joint force depends on his component, USSPACEFOR-INDOPAC, to close long-range kill chains and counter China’s command, control, computing, communications, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting, or C5ISRT, systems.

“The ability to close kill chains over long distances is a top priority for the joint force, because if you can't close a kill chain over a long distance, you have to move high-valued assets closer and closer,” Mastalir said.

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2024/03/chinas-moon-plans-worry-space-force/395043/