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China's Shenzhou 18 astronauts return to Earth after 6 months in space

November 4, 2024

China's Shenzhou 18 crew have returned home after more than six months in space.

Astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu lived on board China's Tiangong space station since April 25 this year.

They concluded their mission on Sunday (Nov. 3), touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China.

The landing occurred at about 12:24 p.m. EST (1724 GMT or 12:24 a.m. on Nov. 4 Beijing time).

The three astronauts were all reported to be in good health, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

It was the second time that astronauts landed at Dongfeng during the nighttime.

Observation and search and rescue teams used infrared thermal imagers to track the capsule.

Prior to leaving the space station, commander Ye and his crewmates carried out a range of science experiments during their time aboard Tiangong, including studying ancient microbes.

They performed a national record spacewalk outside the space station in May, and embarked on another in June to install protective shielding against space debris.

Ye also recently became China's first astronaut to surpass 365 days in space in total, having previously been a member of the Shenzhou 13 mission in 2021-2022.

The trio also conducted emergency drills and captured video of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert—from which they launched in April—and the Wenchang spaceport, on the island of Hainan, from which Tiangong's modules were launched.

The trio greeted the incoming Shenzhou 19 crew aboard Tiangong on Oct. 30, meaning China briefly had six astronauts in space.

Commander Ye officially handed over the control of the orbital outpost to Shenzhou 19 commander Cai Xuzhe on Nov. 1.

The official ceremony marked China's fifth such orbital changeover since completing the three-module space station in late 2022.

China intends to keep Tiangong, which is roughly 20% as massive as the International Space Station, permanently occupied and operational for at least a decade.

Officials recently unveiled plans to expand the space station into a double T-shape by adding three new modules.

It will also send a Hubble-class space telescope into the same orbit, allowing it to dock to Tiangong for maintenance and repairs.

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/chinas-shenzhou-18-astronauts-return-to-earth-today-after-6-months-in-space

Australia abandons $5 billion geostationary satellite program to explore ‘multi-orbit’ options

November 4, 2024

The Australian Department of Defence announced the cancellation of its JP9102 military satellite program, an estimated $5 billion project awarded to Lockheed Martin just 18 months ago, citing shifts in satellite technology and the market’s pivot toward multi-orbit space communications.

The cancellation of Australia’s JP9102 satellite program is yet another sign of the disruptive impact that low Earth orbit space internet services, led by the rapid growth of SpaceX’s Starlink, are having on the traditional satellite communications industry and government procurement models.

JP9102, or Defence Joint Project 9102, was launched in 2021 with plans to develop between three to five geostationary satellites and ground systems, marking one of Australia’s most ambitious space infrastructure ventures.

Lockheed Martin led an industry consortium supporting the program, including companies like Inovor Technologies, EM Solutions, and DXC.

Australia’s defense forces currently depend on commercial satellite services and the U.S. military’s Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) system.

JP9102 was seen as a step toward a sovereign military satcom capability, with requirements for Lockheed Martin to partner with Australian businesses to boost local industry and expertise.

However, the rapid evolution in space technology, particularly the rise of LEO and medium Earth orbit satellite solutions that offer more flexible coverage, has made JP9102’s single orbit geostationary approach seem outdated.

The Department of Defence said in a statement Nov. 4 that the project no longer aligns with its strategic goals, which now favor multi-orbit capabilities to enhance security and resilience.

“With the acceleration in space technologies and evolving threats in space since the project’s commencement, Defence has assessed that a single orbit GEO-based satellite communications system would not meet strategic priorities,” the Australian government said.

“As such, Defence has decided to cease its current procurement activity with Lockheed Martin Australia for a single orbit GEO-based satellite communications system.”

Industry group criticizes decision

The Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) expressed disappointment over the decision, highlighting the setback it represents for the country’s space sector.

“Lockheed Martin and other firms have invested in preparation for the program, already creating high-tech jobs all around the country,” the SIAA said in a statement.

“If the program had proceeded, this would have grown to hundreds of high-tech jobs, significant workforce upskilling, export opportunities, and hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts to Australian companies for future technology made in Australia.”

The industry group has urged the government to build Australia’s presence in space capabilities, warning that Australia risks remaining a “consumer of space services” instead of a “contributor” capable of providing critical defense technologies.

Lockheed Martin has not yet commented on the implications of the cancellation.

The company has described JP9102 as a critical project for both national security and the development of the country’s defense technology base.

https://spacenews.com/australia-abandons-7-billion-geostationary-satellite-program-to-explore-multi-orbit-options/

NASA seeks continuity in human spaceflight programs in next administration

Nov 4, 2024

A top NASA official urged the next administration to maintain current plans to return humans to the moon, warning that a change of destinations could result in a loss of U.S. leadership in space.

Speaking at a luncheon Oct. 30 during the American Astronautical Society’s von Braun Space Exploration Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free said the agency needs to “stick with the plan” it has now through the Artemis lunar exploration campaign to return humans to the moon as a step towards later missions to Mars.

“We need that consistency in purpose. That has not happened since Apollo,” he said. A change such as a shift in destinations, he said, “just takes all our programs back.”

“We need to stick with the plan that we have. That doesn’t mean we can’t perform better,” he said, such as improvements in contracts or technology.

“But we need to keep this destination from a human spaceflight perspective.”

“If we lose that, I believe we will fall apart and we will wander, and other people in this world will pass us by,” he warned.

Free did not discuss any potential changes he thought could be made to NASA’s human space exploration efforts.

NASA did enjoy that “consistency in purpose” during the current administration, which largely maintained the Artemis effort and its goal of returning American to the surface of the moon that was announced by the earlier Trump administration.

Neither major presidential candidate has discussed space policy in much detail, but formal documents suggest support for continuity.

The website of former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, refers to the party platform adopted in July that includes one paragraph on space:

“Under Republican Leadership, the United States will create a robust Manufacturing Industry in Near Earth Orbit, send American Astronauts back to the Moon, and onward to Mars, and enhance partnerships with the rapidly expanding Commercial Space sector to revolutionize our ability to access, live in, and develop assets in Space.”

The Democratic platform, finalized before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July, also includes only a brief statement about space:

“Under his leadership, we’ll continue supporting NASA and America’s presence on the International Space Station, and working to send Americans back to the moon and to Mars.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has not elaborated on that statement, but her track record as chair of the National Space Council suggests she would continue most major programs and policies.

A wild card, though, is the suggestion made by Trump in recent campaign speeches that he may direct a highly accelerated program of human missions to Mars using vehicles developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“We will land an American astronaut on Mars. Thank you Elon,” Trump said at an Oct. 24 rally. “Get that spaceship going, Elon.”

Musk, weeks before the Trump campaign comments, has talked about launching humans to Mars using SpaceX’s Starship vehicle as soon as the 2028 launch opportunity.

“SpaceX plans to launch about five uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years,” he wrote in one post on X, the social media network he also owns, Sept. 22. “If those all land safely, then crewed missions are possible in four years.”

Industry officials, speaking privately, have expressed extreme skepticism about that timeline.

They note that SpaceX is still in the early phases of development of Starship, and has yet to put a vehicle into orbit: all five integrated test flights to date have been suborbital.

The company has many major technical milestones ahead of it, including demonstrating the ability to transfer propellants between Starship vehicles in orbit — a requirement for any mission beyond Earth orbit, including Starship’s use as a lunar lander — and the high flight rate needed to carry out those fueling activities.

There would also be a competition for resources between the dozens of launches needed for sending a fleet of Starships to Mars with the launches needed for the Artemis 3 lunar landing mission, currently scheduled for late 2026, around the same time of the next Mars launch opportunity, which opens only once every 26 months.

Even if the Artemis 3 landing slips, SpaceX is also required to carry out an uncrewed lunar landing before Artemis 3.

The long duration of a flight to Mars as well as different entry, descent and landing conditions there would pose additional challenges.

https://spacenews.com/nasa-seeks-continuity-in-human-spaceflight-programs-in-next-administration/

'An offering to energize the fields': 76 child sacrifice victims, all with their chests cut open, unearthed at burial site in Peru

November 4, 2024

A 700-year-old burial mound containing the remains of 76 sacrificed children and two adults — all of whom had their chests cut open — has been found in Peru.

The burial mound is the latest of multiple sacrificial sites found at Pampa La Cruz, near the coastal city of Trujillo in northwestern Peru.

All of the sites are connected to the Chimú, a large civilization that thrived in the region from the 12th to 15th centuries. The Chimú predated the Inca and are known for their artwork and textiles.

The children were buried naked, with their clothes near them.

Their chests had been cut open from the collarbone down to the sternum, and their ribs had been forced open, potentially to gain access to their heart, previous research on other burial mounds at Pampa la Cruz suggested; these included a discovery in 2022 of 76 child sacrifice victims.

Within the mound, which measures 197 by 66 feet (60 by 20 meters), researchers also found silver and copper squares that may have been sewn to the children's clothing, as well as ear ornaments and Spondylus shells.

The Spondylus shells were "more valuable than gold for these people," said Gabriel Prieto, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Florida who directs the excavations at Pampa La Cruz.

They could only be found farther north — at that time, in the territory of the Lambayeque, a civilization of skilled metalworkers.

The presence of the shells was only the first hint of this burial mound's connection to the Lambayeque.

Based on further analysis of the other 76 victims found in 2022 at the same site, the researchers determined that all of the victims had cranial modifications, in which the malleable skull of an infant was elongated using boards or head wraps.

This practice was done by the Chimú, but to a less-extreme degree of modification, Prieto told Live Science.

The higher intensity of cranial modifications suggests the victims may have been Lambayeque in origin.

The combination of cranial modification and shells led the researchers to investigate the origins of the victims further.

The team examined isotopes, or variations of elements, in the individuals' remains. Isotopes in the water and diets of these children ended up in their remains, providing clues of where the sacrifice victims grew up.

Based on a new isotopic analysis of the victims found in 2022, the researchers found that the diets of these people matched with the Lambayeque region.

The children and their families may have been conquered by the Chimú and brought to the site at Pampa la Cruz to build irrigation systems, Prieto suggested.

The Chimú were expanding their agriculture into areas that didn't naturally grow crops well, and they needed complex irrigation systems to grow food in the Pampa la Cruz area, according to Prieto.

Once these irrigation channels were completed, the children were likely sacrificed to strengthen the land.

"The children's burial in this mound was possibly an offering to energize the fields," Prieto said. "In Andean cosmology, the dead people become ancestors, and the ancestors legitimize the land rights, and justify and support the systems that keep the land producing."

The fact that these children were likely not of Chimú heritage would have added an extra layer of value to strengthen the lands, Prieto said.

This is the first excavation at this site with evidence of sacrifices of nonlocals.

However, "these are not just local towns that are sacrificing their children," John Verano, a biological anthropologist at Tulane University and part of the excavation team, told Live Science.

"It seems to be controlled by the central government" of the Chimú.

The researchers will investigate this theory by expanding their excavations into Chan Chan, the capital of the Chimú civilization. The research in Pampa la Cruz will also continue.

"It's opening many, many windows to learn about the Chimú that goes beyond the mere idea of their ritual sacrifice," Prieto said.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/an-offering-to-energize-the-fields-76-child-sacrifice-victims-all-with-their-chests-cut-open-unearthed-at-burial-site-in-peru