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China’s Mars rover Zhurong finds evidence of ancient ocean on red planet
Updated: 12:32am, 8 Nov 2024
China’s Mars rover Zhurong has found evidence of a coastline from a short-lived ancient ocean, adding to decades of research into the red planet’s watery past.
Data collected during the Tianwen-1 mission shows that an ancient sea might have left rock deposits on the planet’s surface 3½ billion years ago, according to a new study by researchers from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the China Academy of Space Technology and the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In 2021, the rover started exploring the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a large plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars hypothesised to have been part of an ancient ocean that once covered the planet’s northern lowlands.
The scientists found that southern Utopia Planitia is divided into three parts with different depths, including a shallow marine section and a deep marine section, supporting the theory that the area was once covered by a sea.
The discovery of sedimentary rocks and layering in rocks and sediment are also a sign of “past water activities”, they said in an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports on Friday.
Lead author Wu Bo, a professor in spatial science and director of the planetary remote sensing laboratory at PolyU, said the team was the first to present a probable scenario explaining how the ocean was formed.
Based on analysis of orbital remote sensing data and observations from the Zhurong rover, the team estimated that flooding of Utopia Planitia took place around 3.68 billion years ago, according to Wu.
“The ocean surface was likely frozen in a geologically short period, with liquid water solidified and material deposited by sedimentary load from the water body to form the dry shallow marine unit approximately 3½ billion years ago, and later the dry deep marine unit 3.42 billion years ago,” he said.
In other words, after a short-lived frozen ocean formed a coastline, the ocean surface probably froze and disappeared around 3.42 billion years ago.
Nasa’s Viking 2 mission landed in the Utopia Planitia area in 1976 and mapped the surface of the region.
For decades, scientists have been studying the possible existence of an ocean in the northern lowlands on Mars – a theory that could reveal secrets about the red planet’s early evolution and how the body of water affected its climate and atmosphere.
In the latest study, the researchers identified characteristics consistent with a nearshore zone of an ancient ocean, including volcano-like formations known as pitted cones as well as features on the Martian surface called polygonal troughs and etched flows.
“Existing studies indicate that the pitted cones in the southern Utopia may have originated from mud volcanoes and are often formed in areas with low groundwater or ice content,” Wu said.
“Polygonal troughs and etched flows can only form when groundwater or ice is relatively rich.”
Wu said the area studied was divided in two by a 4.2km (2.6-mile) topographic contour line – a feature that usually coincides with the water-level line.
Pitted cones are mainly found in the south, while polygonal troughs and etched flows are found in the north.
“Therefore, the study area is considered as a nearshore zone and is further divided into a shallow marine unit with less water or ice content in the south and a deep marine unit with more water or ice content in the north,” he said.
He said the team would try to examine how these water-related features formed and estimate the depths of the marine areas, and comparisons of the shallow and deep areas would help verify their proposed ocean model.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3285637/chinas-mars-rover-zhurong-finds-evidence-ancient-ocean-red-planet?module=perpetual_scroll_0&pgtype=article
Astronaut Suni Williams 'in good health' on the ISS, NASA says, refuting tabloid claims
November 7, 2024
NASA astronaut Suni Williams is in good health in Earth orbit, despite some speculation in the media to the contrary, according to the agency.
Tabloids such as The Daily Mail and The New York Post have published stories recently speculating that Williams may be going downhill aboard the International Space Station (ISS), citing an outside doctor's thoughts about a Sept. 24 photo in which she supposedly appears "gaunt."
But there's nothing to worry about, NASA officials said in emailed statement today (Nov. 7).
That statement stressed that Williams, the commander of the ISS' current Expedition 72, "is in good health" and that NASA is "not tracking any concerns" with her or any other agency spaceflyer aboard the ISS.
(There are four NASA astronauts and three Russian cosmonauts living on the station at the moment.)
"All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station undergo routine medical evaluations, have dedicated flight surgeons monitoring them, and are in good health," the statement reads.
Williams and fellow NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore arrived at the orbiting lab on June 6 aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.
The duo were supposed to come home just a week or so later, but problems with Starliner's thruster system extended their stay and eventually convinced NASA to bring the Boeing capsule home uncrewed.
That happened on Sept. 6. Williams and Wilmore, meanwhile, will stay aboard the ISS until February 2025, when they'll return to Earth with the two astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-9 mission.
There are plenty of supplies — including food — to support Williams and Wilmore through the end of their unexpectedly long orbital stay, NASA officials have said.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/international-space-station/astronaut-suni-williams-in-good-health-on-the-iss-nasa-says-refuting-tabloid-claims
BlackSky buys Thales Alenia’s stake in LeoStella joint venture
November 8, 2024
BlackSky has taken full ownership of smallsat manufacturer LeoStella, giving the remote sensing company greater control over the production of its next generation of imaging satellites.
In a Nov. 7 earnings call to discuss its third quarter financial results, BlackSky announced it acquired the 50% of LeoStella it did not already own from Thales Alenia Space, the other partner in the joint venture.
The company did not disclose financial terms of the deal.
The deal was completed on Nov. 6, according to BlackSky’s 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“We expect that this acquisition will allow the Company to improve its control over the Gen-3 supply chain and production operations,” the company stated in the filing, which also did not disclose financial details about the transaction.
Gen-3 is the next generation of imaging satellites that LeoStella has been producing for BlackSky.
The new satellites promise increase performance in terms of resolution and revisit rates over the company’s existing Gen-2 spacecraft, with additional capabilities such as shortwave infrared imaging and intersatellite links.
The company anticipates a baseline constellation of at least a dozen of those satellites.
During the earnings call, Brian O’Toole, chief executive of BlackSky, said the first Gen-3 satellite is in the “final testing phase” after which it will be shipped to New Zealand for launch on a Rocket Lab Electron.
He did not disclose a projected launch date for the satellite other than it will take place three to four weeks after shipment.
He said that acquiring the half of LeoStella it did not own would improve efficiencies in the production of future Gen-3 satellites.
“To support our Gen-3 production objectives, we’ve taken active steps to further optimize the Gen-3 supply chain and production operations, which includes the acquisition of our partner stake in LeoStella,” he stated.
BlackSky, then a part of Spaceflight Industries, announced the creation of the LeoStella joint venture with Thales Alenia Space in 2018 as part of a $150 million Series C round.
LeoStella opened a satellite factory in a Seattle suburb in 2019 that would be used to both produce BlackSky satellites as well as those from other customers.
While LeoStella did win business from other companies, such as Loft Orbital, and sought to enter defense markets, BlackSky was its major customer.
In an Oct. 24 press release to announce that BlackSky and LeoStella jointly were selected for a Space Development Agency program that makes them eligible to compete for future experimental satellite missions, LeoStella stated that it has delivered 23 satellites to date, 19 of which were in orbit. Most of those would be for BlackSky.
O’Toole was vague about whether LeoStella would continue to sell satellites to third parties now that it is wholly owned by BlackSky.
“Right now, BlackSky is the primary customer for LeoStella. So, we’ve been essentially funding that business through our existing satellite production contracts,” he said.
LeoStella’s focus, he said, will be “on the scaling of Gen-3 and optimizing those production operations.”
Notably, LeoStella’s website now redirects to BlackSky’s site, which makes no mention of satellite manufacturing capabilities.
O’Toole said in the earnings call that despite buying out Thales Alenia’s stake in LeoStella, the two companies would continue to work together.
“Our partnership with Thales remains really strong,” he said. “We’re continuing to partner worldwide on bringing Gen-3 capability combined with their offerings to the market.”
BlackSky reported $71.7 million in revenue in the first nine months of this year, a 22% increase over the same period in 2023.
It said it had adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $4.3 million through the first nine months of the year, compared to negative adjusted EBITDA of $10.3 million in the same period last year.
https://spacenews.com/blacksky-buys-thales-alenias-stake-in-leostella-joint-venture/
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/11/space-force-hymn-james-linzey-story/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrrgkHBfDqw
Space Force Hymn Lifts Prayer to the Heavens
November 8, 2024
The upright piano was old and out of tune, but James Linzey couldn’t resist the urge to stop and touch the keys.
Sitting in the former Dalton gang museum building in Coffeyville, Kansas, Linzey clanked until he found the melody he had been searching for.
Then he wrote the words:
Creator of the universe,
Watch over those who fly,
Through the great space beyond the earth,
And worlds beyond the sky.
The 66-year-old Southern Baptist minister composed this hymn in Coffeyville, a small town of about 9,000, back in 2020, while cleaning up the historic museum he’d purchased with plans to revitalize.
Now, nearly five years later, the hymn is known as “The Space Force Hymn.”
Linzey was a military chaplain for nearly 24 years, but the government didn’t ask him to write “Creator of the Universe” for the newest branch of the service.
In fact, the military does not have official hymns, out of concern they would violate the First Amendment prohibition against respecting an establishment of religion.
But there are unofficial hymns.
The Air Force has “Lord, Guard and Guide the Men Who Fly,” and the Navy has “Eternal Father, Strong to Save.” And the Space Force has Linzey’s composition.
If you ask Linzey why he wrote it, he will tell you it’s because God told him to—although he’s quick to add that it wasn’t an audible voice.
He felt an internal prodding.
“I felt very strongly in my spirit that the Lord led me—urged me—to write the Space Force hymn.”
The thought popped into his head when he first heard that then-president Donald Trump was going to create another branch of the military—the first new service since the creation of the Air Force in 1947.
Some people mocked the idea when it was announced, but experts said it was necessary for the organization and prioritization of American interests in space, including the security of satellites.
“It’s not about protecting Earth from asteroids or aliens,” said Todd Harrison, who directs the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.
“It will create a centralized, unified chain of command that is responsible for space.”
Linzey, who was taking an intensive course in advanced Greek at Westminster Seminary California at the time, started thinking about heaven.
“The Space Force’s mission to explore space and engage in space travel inspires me because, number one, the Bible says that that is where heaven is,” he told Christianity Today.
“The OT Hebrew term for ‘heavens’ or ‘heaven’ is shamayim, which can also be translated as ‘sky.’ In the Hebrew Bible, shamayim is the home of God.
The NT Greek term for ‘heaven’ or ‘sky’ is ouranos, and … that is where we will go for all eternity, by believing in and living for Christ.”
It’s hard to imagine someone more suited to compose the Space Force hymn than Linzey. He served in the United States Army and Air Force as a chaplain before retiring in 1998 with the rank of major.
His experience has given him a lot of insight into the hearts and spiritual needs of the people serving their country—and what inspires them.
He also has an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary and a deep knowledge of biblical languages.
He is chief editor of the Modern English Version Bible and general editor of the new Tyndale Bible, which will be released in 2026 ahead of the 500th anniversary of the release of the original Tyndale Bible.
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Linzey believes having a strong theological background is important for hymn writing.
“You have to know the Bible,” he said. “You have to know theology so you don’t mess up.”
It also helped to know military music history. The Space Force hymn includes allusions to both the Air Force hymn and the Navy hymn.
The first verse of Linzey’s composition references “worlds beyond the sky,” which plays off the Air Force hymn’s line about “great spaces of the sky.”
And the final verse of Linzey’s hymn begins with “Eternal Father, strong to save,” which is the title of the Navy hymn.
Linzey said he did this deliberately to show the continuity of the new service.
The first members of the Space Force also came from the Air Force, so he wanted to communicate that connection and the development of a new branch in the song.
The official recording was done by Dan Kreider, a professional composer and music minister at a church in Florida, who also has a doctorate in choral music and a business publishing custom hymnals.
Linzey laughed and said that it sounds a lot better than it did when he first played it on the upright in Dalton Museum building.
Kreider’s version is slow and majestic and allows people to breathe and experience the feeling of praying to God.
“It’s like you’re in a cathedral at this altar with stained glass windows and the sun’s shining through,” Linzey said. “The reverence—they captured it.”
Don Biadog, a retired Navy chaplain who has known Linzey since 2016, had a similar reaction when he first heard the song.
“The hymn impacted me emotionally and on a high spiritual level,” said Biadog, who is also Southern Baptist. “The lyrics and the tune masterfully tug at the heart, soul, and mind.”
He believes the hymn will have a powerful effect on the men and women who serve in the Space Force in the years to come.
“‘Creator of the Universe’ is a prayer that has been set to music, and all military personnel certainly need a prayer such as this that draws the soul of humankind closer to God,” he said.
Biadog hopes the hymn will be sung in lots of churches—perhaps on Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day.
“Military hymns became recognized in the civilian churches before becoming ‘military hymns,’” Biadog explained in an article for K-Love.
“After that, it became natural for military chapels and military bands to adopt them as their hymns and perform them.”
Linzey is pleased with the response the song has received so far. He doesn’t know how many churches have sung the hymn, exactly, but tens of thousands of people have visited his website, where the sheet music is free to download.
Since its release, the song has been well received, with stories written about it in the local Coffeyville newspaper and numerous religious publications.
Linzey has also done his best to let churches and chapels know about it. “I really hope in my lifetime to see it in a hymnal,” he said.
Perhaps someday it will be sung in the chapel at the Pentagon, where the more than 9,000 members of the Space Force are currently assigned:
Eternal Father, strong to save,
In prayer before Thy light,
In solitude of sov’reign grace,
Grant courage for each flight. Amen.
Wherever people sing the words that Linzey wrote in Coffeyville, though, he knows a prayer will rise to the heavens.
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STARCOM hosts inaugural Partnership Days to advance Guardian education
Nov. 7, 2024
Space Training and Readiness Command held its inaugural Partnership Days in Reston, Virginia on Oct. 31 – Nov. 1, bringing together leaders, educators, and innovators from academic institutions and the space-related private sector.
These key players joined Space Force education leaders to explore future avenues for supporting Guardian development.
The conference aimed to establish and strengthen connections while providing a platform for industry and academia to present innovative ideas for potential education and training pathways to STARCOM leaders.
This effort focuses on piloting new education and training programs that would offer enlisted, officer, and civilian Guardians diverse opportunities to expand and deepen their knowledge in space, cyber, and intelligence-related specialties.
By cultivating partnerships with world-class academic and industry organizations, STARCOM seeks to leverage emerging technologies, alongside leadership and management programs, to further develop Guardians into versatile space warfighters capable of prevailing against an aggressive adversary’s strategy, operational concepts, and tactics.
“I have a goal for STARCOM, and the Space Force more broadly — to educate Guardians in all new ways,” said U.S. Space Force Maj. Gen. Timothy Sejba, commander of STARCOM.
A number of the conference attendees represented the U.S. Space Force’s University Partnership Program (UPP).
Since its inception in August 2021, the UPP forged strategic partnerships with select higher education institutions to help recruit, educate, and develop military and civilian Guardians.
The UPP provides pathways for advanced academic degrees, STEM scholarships, and cutting-edge research for university students and ROTC cadets.
However, the Space Force is now looking to add specific courses, experiences and programs that go beyond current offerings.
Desired additions include certificate programs, technical training, leadership and management courses, guest lectures, and other educational opportunities to advance Guardian knowledge.
“The idea is to match what we currently offer through our established curriculum with Air University and other programs, like Johns Hopkins, with more academic institutions to expand our continuum of education for our Guardian workforce,” Sejba said.
“I want to use that partnership as the inspiration for other creative ways to educate our Guardians.”
In 2023, the Space Force partnered with Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) to launch a tailored, in-residence Intermediate and Senior Level Education (ILE/SLE) program for Guardian officers.
This yearlong program provides a unique and collaborative learning environment to better equip leaders who are well-versed in space-education and capable of taking on the challenges of the future in a rapidly evolving domain.
“STARCOM Partnership Days provides the Space Force the opportunity to highlight how we are growing as a service and our commitment to innovative workforce development,” said Katharine Kelley, the Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Human Capital.
“By collaborating with industry and academic partners, as we have done with our University Partnership Program and Johns Hopkins, we are able to provide Guardians with access to best-in-class educational opportunities that expand their skills across the Continuum of Education.
Together, we are building a sustainable pipeline of skilled Guardians, both military and civilian, ready to tackle emerging challenges.”
STARCOM is also exploring partnerships with space-focused industry organizations to offer immersive, hands-on experiences for Guardians.
Similar to the U.S. Air Force’s Education With Industry (EWI) program, Guardians could be placed with companies to work alongside industry experts, gaining valuable insights, technical skills, and an understanding of management and leadership processes in the space sector.
“We must invest in top-tier education for space personnel, ensuring they can outthink and outperform our adversaries in modern warfare,” said U.S. Space Force Col. Bryan Dutcher, Delta 13 commander.
Delta 13 is charged with delivering USSF institutional Professional Military Education (PME), Professional Continuing Education (PCE), and Professional Partnership Education (PPE) programs to Guardians and specified joint and allied partners.
“By integrating the best ideas from space-related private industry and civilian academic institutions, our Guardian educational programs can keep pace with rapid technological advancements in the space and cyber domains, ensuring we’re prepared future Great Power conflicts involving near-peer competitors,” Dutcher said.
https://www.starcom.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3960024/starcom-hosts-inaugural-partnership-days-to-advance-guardian-education/
Operation Olympic Defender: Allied Space Operations Centers prioritize efforts for a shared Space Common Operational Picture
Nov. 7, 2024
Space Delta 5 and the Combined Space Operations Center hosted a three-day Operation Olympic Defender Common Operational Picture working group, consisting of space representatives from the Australian Space Operations Centre, Canadian Space Operations Centre and United Kingdom National Space Operations Centre.
Specialist from USSF Space Operations Command, headquarters USSPACECOM and MITRE also supported this founding event.
From Nov. 4-6, three members from AUSSpOC and two members from each the CANSpOC and UK NSPOC, collaborated with CSpOC representatives to review risks and mitigations, refined the concept of operation, and update the plan to develop a shared Space COP.
The working group reviewed and contributed initial requirements and identifying standards to cooperatively produce shared situation understand of the space environment.
The team built on data provided by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network and utilize the existing Global Command and Control System - Joint, as the initial means of generating and displaying space track information integrated with available intelligence and environmental information, to provide the user a fused battlespace picture.
“I initiated this activity as a follow-on from the mission analysis we conducted with the Operation Olympic Defender allies and partners back in 2023, where we identified a mission essential task to generate a COP as a foundational requirement,” said Royal Australian Air Force Group Captain Julien Greening, CSpOC deputy director.
“It’s essential that the OOD allies and partners have a shared understanding of the battlespace, to ensure mission impacting decision-making is based on common perceptions of what’s occurring and likely to occur in the area of responsibility .”
OOD is a key multinational effort intended to optimize space operations, improve mission assurance, enhance resilience and synchronize U.S. efforts with some of its closest allies, which now includes New Zealand, Germany and France, in addition to Australia, Canada and U.K.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3960166/operation-olympic-defender-allied-space-operations-centers-prioritize-efforts-f/
CIC expands to include SDA, ISR capabilities
Published Nov. 7, 2024
During a Mitchell Institute fireside chat, Nov. 5, Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Schiess, U.S. Space Forces - Space commander and Combined Joint Force Space Component commander, announced the expansion of the S4S Commercial Integration Cell by five members, with two additional companies in the process of joining.
Historically, CIC commercial mission partners have been satellite owners and operators with satellite communication or imagery capabilities.
The expansion of the CIC also brings an expansion of mission areas these partners support to include Space Domain Awareness and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.
The S4S CIC enables operational and technology exchange between U.S. Space Command and commercial partners.
This real-time and near real-time information flow allows for rapid, informed response to space events and improves Space Domain Awareness.
The CIC integrates members into current operations and planning through operational-level experimentation, exercise participation, and tactics, techniques and procedures development to improve domain awareness, enhance operations and increase resiliency.
Through the implementation of the CIC, S4S has seen improved space object screening; increased space situational awareness through highly accurate and timely data exchange; improved detection, characterization and resolution of electromagnetic interference; timely indications and warning regarding real-world events (e.g., dazzling/lasing, direct ascent launches, etc.); and improved coordination of critical asset lists.
The addition of these seven companies, will help USSPACECOM to continue to mitigate capability gaps while improving and maintaining advantages over competitors.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3959745/cic-expands-to-include-sda-isr-capabilities/