Daily Archives: August 4, 2022

South Korea's first mission to the moon, the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), is set to blast off Thursday on a mission to explore magnetic anomalies, search for future landing sites and sniff out rare elements on the moon.

The spacecraft, which is also known as 'Danuri' a portmanteau of Korean words meaning 'moon' and 'enjoy' is currently scheduled to launch on Aug. 4 at 7:08 p.m. EDT (2308 GMT) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Upon arrival at the moon, Danuri will enter lunar polar orbit and cruise above the surface at an altitude of 60 miles (100 kilometers).

Not only is Danuri a trailblazer for Korean space exploration, with further missions set to follow, but Danuri will also use six different instruments to conduct important science during its year in operation around the moon. Among other topics, it will focus on the moon's puzzling magnetism, search for water ice in permanently shadowed craters and test a new experiment designed to improve communication dropouts.

Related: Every mission to the moon

Among Danuri's instruments is a magnetic-field detector called KMAG, which will measure the strength of magnetic fields in the lunar crust. Scientists hope to learn more about the origin of these fields, and perhaps to discover further clues as to the circumstances surrounding the moon's formation 4.5 billion years ago.

Scientists know that Earth's magnetic field is produced by the dynamo effect, wherein layers of electrically-conducting molten iron in the spinning core generate an electric field that induces a resulting magnetic field. But today, the moon's core is solid.

"We expect that there was such an environment within the central region of the moon at the time of its formation," Eunhyeuk Kim, who is project scientist for Danuri at KARI, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, told Space.com in an email interview. "However, the motion of liquid metal ceased at some point."

In most areas of the moon, all that now remains is some residual trace of magnetism, but there are certain patches where very strong magnetism is present, compared to the rest of the moon. These locations are called lunar magnetic anomalies, and scientists aren't sure how they formed.

Some of the magnetic anomalies occur at bright 'lunar swirls,' which are unusual surface features with, for want of a better word, a 'squiggly' shape. Scientists think the swirls might somehow be related to the magnetism, perhaps because the magnetic anomalies mark ancient impacts of metal-rich asteroids that left their magnetic material buried beneath the lunar surface.

"We believe that the KMAG instrument on board Danuri will collect valuable data for the scientific study of these magnetic anomalies," Kim said.

In addition to KMAG, Danuri will carry a gamma-ray spectrometer called KGRS that will probe for atoms and molecules such as aluminum, silicon, uranium, water and helium-3. The last of these is created by the solar wind, a constant stream of charged particles flowing off the sun, interacting with the lunar surface; scientists think it could be used in nuclear fusion experiments.

The spacecraft is also armed with a polarized camera (PolCam) that will study the bulk properties of the lunar surface material, and a NASA instrument called ShadowCam that is led by Mark Robinson, a planetary scientist at Arizona State University.

ShadowCam will peer into permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles in search of large quantities of ice that radar observations suggest is present. In order to see into the dark shadows and spot hidden ice, ShadowCam has been designed to be 200 times more sensitive than any previous camera to have gone to the moon.

A fifth payload is a technology demonstrator, the Disruption Tolerant Network Experiment Payload (DTNPL). There's not always a smooth connection when downloading data from a spacecraft, and often disruptions occur, like experiencing an Internet drop-out while downloading files on your home computer.

"If disruption is expected quite often, then you need a way around it, such as not re-starting downloads from the spacecraft from the beginning, but from the point at which the disruption happened," Kim said. DTNPL will test a system that is able to do just that. The technology has already been implemented successfully at the International Space Station, 250 miles (400 km) from Earth's surface. Now Danuri will seek to verify for the first time that the technology also can work successfully at much greater distances beyond Earth orbit.

Danuri is described as a pathfinder because it is paving the way for South Korea to expand its space exploration program. And the inclusion of Danuri's final science instrument, called the Lunar Terrain Imager (LUTI), hints at the nation's ambitions of a landed mission.

"LUTI will take images of potential landing sites, specifically for a lunar landing mission targeted for the early 2030s," Kim said. KARI has canvased the opinions of members of the Korean lunar-science community to generate a list of dozens of potential landing sites to image.

So far, only the U.S., the Soviet Union and China have successfully landed on the moon, so for South Korea to follow in their footsteps would be a very big step. "We expect that it is necessary to build up new space technologies, in addition to accumulated technologies from the orbiter mission, for a safe lunar landing mission," Kim said.

And South Korea's ambitions are not limited to a jaunt or two to the moon. "Our overall plan is to head to the asteroids and Mars after that," Kim said. The nation is even developing plans for ambitious sample-return missions, and although Danuri is launching with SpaceX, the nation has also developed its own rocket.

After its launch, Danuri will spend four and a half months traveling to lunar polar orbit and will begin its one-year mission proper in January 2023, starting with a month-long commissioning phase.

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South Korea's moonshot will explore lunar magnetic mysteries and more - Space.com

A Soyuz spacecraft docked to the International Space Station in April 2014.

In 1975, a handshake in space heralded an era of cooperation between unlikely partners.

The Apollo-Soyuz mission was the first joint space mission between the U.S. and Soviet space agencies. Spacecraft from each country docked in orbit, and the world watched as Soviet cosmonauts and American astronauts embraced more than 100 miles from Earth. The mission was a powerful symbol of de-escalation after years of Cold War geopolitical tensions.

Decades later, the U.S. and Russia jointly built the International Space Station, an enduring symbol of global scientific collaboration in space. But that long partnership may be coming to an end.

Russia announced last week that it is planning to quit the program after 2024.

Retired Air Force colonel and NASA astronaut Terry Virts commanded the ISS in 2014 and 2015, shortly after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

He says that without the ISS, there isn't a single good thing left in U.S.-Russia relations and after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he sees little reason for the countries to continue working together in space.

He joined All Things Considered to share what it was like working with Russian cosmonauts and the implications of their exit.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

On working with Russian cosmonauts

It was one of the highlights of my time in space. I tried to really have us be one crew I didn't want the American segment and the Russian segment not to see each other. So at night, I would take my dinner, put it in a Ziploc bag and float down to the Russian segment. And we had a great time. We listened to the radio. They told jokes. They taught me a lot of Russian words that I didn't learn in class they called it the Cultural Program. I've maintained a friendship with them.

It was probably my proudest accomplishment at NASA, keeping that crew together during 2015 when we were in space during Crimea, the civil war, and the sanctions.

Crewmembers of the ISS Expedition 43, commanded by Terry Virts (center left), affix their mission patch to the vehicle. Terry Virts/NASA hide caption

Crewmembers of the ISS Expedition 43, commanded by Terry Virts (center left), affix their mission patch to the vehicle.

On Russia's annexation of Crimea, and how conflict on Earth affected his relationship with his Russian crewmates

You know, we would acknowledge [the conflict].

Russians would have a toasting session after the training was finished, and we would say: "Look, politics is politics. We're going to just focus on our mission."

There was a lot of angst and conflict between America and Russia and yet ... you could count on one finger the number of good [aspects of] international relations between the West and Russia and that was the space station.

On how Russia's exit will impact the operation of the ISS

The one requirement of the space station is to have the Russian rockets. We decided 20 years ago to cancel our own propulsion module, and so the only real significant rockets [are on the Russian side].

I think we could build [our own rockets] pretty quickly, but right now we're dependent on the Russian rockets to maintain the station's orbit.

On Russia's next move in space

A Russian official "recently announced" [the plan to leave the ISS] and I think that's the key to this whole discussion, because Russian officials announce things all the time. And most of the time, they're lying. Most of the time they change their mind.

So I don't know what's going to happen. I do know that you can't trust anything that comes from Russian officials. They said they weren't going to invade Ukraine. They said they wouldn't kill civilians in Ukraine. And yet they've done these things.

If they leave ISIS, either they build their own space station but that I don't think that's going to happen, they just won't get that done or they partner with the Chinese. And a Russian-Chinese partnership is going to be a much, much different dynamic. The Chinese are going to be the boss in that partnership. We've had a great partnership with Russia. We've treated them with respect; it's been an equal marriage. And that's not going to be the case with China. Their eyes are going to be opened when they have to deal with the Chinese. So they're in a corner.

On the geopolitics of collaboration in space

I would love to continue cooperating with the Russians. I have a lot of great friends in the Russian space program, but I think for that to happen they need to leave Ukraine and pay for the damage they've done in Ukraine.

What we're doing right now, by actively engaging with the Russians in space exploration, it's the equivalent of [going on] an expedition to the Arctic in 1941 with Germany. And I don't think that's good.

We don't allow the Chinese on the space station because of their egregious human rights record, and I don't know why we're promoting and growing our cooperation with Putin when he's starting war in Europe.

This story was adapted for the web by Kai McNamee.

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To this retired commander, the ISS was the last good bond between the U.S. and Russia - NPR

Debris believed to have fallen from a Chinese space rocket landed near villages in Malaysia and Indonesia on Saturday, only days after a large object that reportedly came from an Elon Musk-owned spacecraft was found in Australia.

Incidents of space debris falling to Earth are "getting more frequent," and that should be a matter of some concern, Dr. John Crassidis told Newsweek.

Crassidis is a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University at Buffalo. He has been studying space junk for 15 years and works with NASA and the U.S. Air Force to help the agencies monitor space debris.

Along with real-life incidents involving these types of debris hitting Earth, space junk has also been on people's minds due to popular entertainment. Jordan Peele's recent hit sci-fi horror film Nope contains an element of falling objects from space, while past blockbusters like Wall-E and Gravity also depicted space debris.

Discussing space junk in the real world, Crassidis said that "the odds of you being hurt by a piece of space junk are extremely small." But with an increase of private space tourism, as well as countries like Russia and China announcing larger commitments to space exploration, he feels those odds could soon increase.

In the incident from last week, a farmer in Australia discovered an approximately 10-foot piece of space junk on his property after his daughters heard a large crash. An Australian National University space expert was called to the scene, and he identified the object as having come from a SpaceX Crew-1 craft.

This is not the first time Elon Musk has been blamed for space junk hitting Earth. Part of what authorities said was a SpaceX rocket was discovered in Washington state last year. The 5-foot-tall vessel didn't cause any damage aside from 4- to 5-inch impact mark in the ground.

Crassidis said SpaceX likely tried to maneuver its debris to fall into a "highly unpopulated" part of the Pacific Ocean that's often used as a target for objects returning from space.

"It's not an exact science. So I'm not exactly sure what happened here, and I'm certainly not blaming SpaceX," Crassidis said of the debris found in Australia. "I think they did the best they could to ensure that it would go into the Pacific Ocean."

Crassidis also pointed out that since most of the Earth is covered by ocean, most debris hits water. However, an uptick in space junk hitting land will likely coincide with the recent increase in space tourism offered by companies owned by Musk, Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic) and Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin).

"It's starting to get to the point where places should start worrying about this stuff," Crassidis said. "There have been some studies that say if this keeps up, there's going to be a 1-in-10 chance in the next 10 years that somebody will be hurt."

Different suggestions have been discussed in how to prevent space junk from hitting Earth. These include large space nets and harpoons, as well as lasers to blast the debris into smaller pieces before it enters the Earth's atmosphere.

"A laser blowing it out of the sky is probably one of the last things you want. When you start blowing up stuff in space, you cause more space debris. That'd probably be better for when it comes back down. But the last thing you want to do is cause space debris in space that can possibly collide with other objects," Crassidis said.

He added that a "marble-sized piece of debris can wipe out a satellite," which brings him to his more pressing concern.

"Honestly, to me, I think the astronauts in space have a bigger chance of being hurt than us here on the ground," he said.

Right now, Crassidis said the technology is just not there to stop space junk from entering Earth's atmosphere and hitting somewhere on the planet's surface.

"I'm trying to do what's more feasible, and that is better track this stuff," he said. By understanding how debris is moving through space, Crassidis said scientists can better predict where it's going to go.

"I don't really focus on stuff coming back in because there's nothing really we can do about that," he said. "I'm just trying to better track the stuff that's out there right now."

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Expect More Space Junk From Elon Musk and Other Space Travelers: Expert - Newsweek

Story at a glance

Although space tourism seems like a futuristic chapter for humans, the current lack of regulation around commercial rocket flights and space traffic which has also increased as more countries bolster military capabilities is a major concern for society now, experts say.

For these reasons, and because an additional 25,000 satellites are projected to launch into space by 2030, the Atlantic Council is calling on the United States government to increase its management of space traffic.

In their report issued this month, experts at the think tank urge the U.S. to lead a global coordinated effort to track space debris and spacecraft, regulate operators positioning of craft and oversee mitigation strategies for debris.

If space development remains on its current trajectory, and the global community fails to advance an effective [] framework, humankind will jeopardize its use of outer space, modern ways of living, and all the corresponding benefits on Earth,authors Mir Sadat and Julia Siegel wrote.

The report comes as the U.S. Air Force announced plans in March to expand its abilities to monitor the space between the Earth and moon.

Currently, more than 4,800 satellites representing more than 40 nations satellite the Earth, according to the report.

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As humanity expands its frontiers deeper into the galaxy, the threats to US and allied space capabilities will continue to increase,Sadat and Siegel said.

Yet, despite the proliferation of space activity, the ability of international and national bodies to track and regulate space objectsoften referred to as space traffic management (STM)reflects a past era wherein few actors conducted limited operations in space.

Under current policies, STM may be better defined as space situational awareness (SSA), or just knowing objects are in orbit, they said. Currently, this knowledge mainly serves to prevent potential collisions and is carried out in a decentralized manner via operators.

As more debris and activity flood already congested areas of space, the risks of collision increase and could jeopardize national security, Sadat and Seigel wrote.

It is no longer sufficient to know the location of spacecraft and space debris; instead, it is imperative to have a common understanding of and management over maneuver in a congested environment.

Among the actions necessary to achieve this goal, researchers call for increased international coordination to develop global standards among those already pursuing space projects and those expected to join soon. Through this effort, the U.S. could help develop ways of holding irresponsible actors accountable, researchers suggested.

The Space Data Association could serve as a model for international regulation going forward, but the programs opt-in nature limits its efficacy, authors wrote.

The report also highlights the benefits of public-private coordination which could be achieved through a notice of public rulemaking or participation in the National Space Council Users Advisory Group.

Private corporations can play their part in ensuring active debris removal solutions are integrated into space exploration plans.

STM deliberations should also prioritize elements such as defining relevant terms for universal usage; establishing minimum standards of conduct; assigning liability; distinguishing between orbits; and allocating responsibilities and authorities.

The standards could draw inspiration from regulatory bodies governing both air and maritime travel and exploration. Certain technical capabilities will also have to be developed and employed to better track space objects and communicate between operators.

While the US government is investing in capabilities for tracking and, when necessary, removing space objects from orbit, the United States still lacks a viable technical capability for STM, authors wrote.

Currently, there are no integrated systems that can provide comprehensive domain awareness on par with the air or maritime domains for the space domain, which is more complex than the other two domains.

Overall, authors call on the U.S. to lead by example to ensure security, economic and societal objectives relating to outer space are met.

Now is the time to act and protect a future of security and prosperity in space, they concluded.

Published on Aug. 03, 2022

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Should the US government oversee space traffic? Some experts think its time - The Hill

July M&A Activity

July 5 AST SpaceMobile, Inc. announced that it entered into an agreement to sell its majority ownership interest in smallsat manufacturer NanoAvionics Corp. (NanoAvionics) to Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (Kongsberg), the space and maritime surveillance business unit of Norway's Kongsberg Gruppen. The contemplated transaction values NanoAvionics at approximately $68m, with Kongsberg acquiring a 77% ownership interest in the company, while company management will retain a 23% stake. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2022, subject to regulatory approvals.

July 8 Safran Electronics & Defense SAS acquired Orolia SAS, a manufacturer of atomic clocks, from private equity investor Eurazeo SE for 189m with the aim of consolidating its leading position in the market for resilient positioning, navigation and timing systems.

July 18 The Raytheon Intelligence & Space business unit of Raytheon Technologies Corp. announced that it will acquire, under terms not yet disclosed, Northern Space and Security Ltd. (NORSS), a UK-based start-up focused on space domain awareness, orbital analysis, space surveillance and tracking.

July 25 Eutelsat Communications S.A. (Eutelsat) and OneWeb Communications Ltd. (OneWeb) announced a memorandum of understanding setting forth their agreement to merge their companies in an all-share transaction that values OneWeb at $3.4b. Eutelsat, which currently holds a 23% stake in OneWeb, will acquire the company from existing shareholders in exchange for newly issued shares in Eutelsat, although the UK government will retain a share in OneWeb with priority voting rights. The combined company will transform into a leading multi-orbit satellite operator providing integrated geostationary and low-Earth orbit satellite-based connectivity services through the joining of Eutelsat's geostationary orbit satellite fleet and OneWeb's low-Earth orbit broadband constellation.

Satellite Vu Procures Second Satellite from SSTL

On July 21, Global Satellite Vu Ltd. (Satellite Vu), a UK-based start-up with plans to deploy a seven-satellite thermal imaging constellation, announced that it selected Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) to manufacture a second satellite for the company. Scheduled for launch in early 2024, the new satellite will be a clone of Satellite Vu's first satellite, which the company ordered from SSTL in 2021.

July Investment Activity

July 5 Virginia Venture Partners, the equity investment program of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, announced that it made an investment of undisclosed amount in Virginia-based Lynk Global Inc., a start-up working to provide global satellite-based broadband connectivity services directly to standard mobile phones.

July 6 L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (L3Harris) and Mynaric AG (Mynaric) announced an agreement whereby L3Harris will invest 11.2m in Mynaric to acquire a 7.2% ownership stake in the company through the issuance of 409,294 new shares, reflecting a per-share price of approximately 27.37. As part of the transaction, Mynaric will become L3Harris' preferred provider of laser communications systems, and the companies will collaborate on laser communications technologies.

July Launch Services Performed

July 7, 10, 17, 22, 24 Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) successfully performed five launch missions for its Starlink low-Earth orbit broadband constellation, launching batches of 53, 46, 53, 46 and 53 satellites, each time using a Falcon 9 launch vehicle and then recovering the vehicle's first stage. The second of the five missions was the first dedicated Starlink launch to polar orbit, with satellites dedicated to a new polar-orbiting layer in the Starlink system. There are now more than 2,500 Starlink spacecraft currently operating on orbit.

July 13 Arianespace S.A. successfully conducted the inaugural launch of the new Vega-C medium-lift launch vehicle for the European Space Agency, orbiting Italy's LARES-2 physics satellite together with six scientific cubesats from Italy, France and Slovenia. The first Vega-C commercial mission is scheduled for November of this year.

New Investment Funds Target Space

July 7 New venture capital firm Stellar Ventures announced the formation of SV Andromeda Fund LP with more than $23m in capital commitments to invest in space technology.

July 17 The United Arab Emirates announced the establishment of the National Space Fund, with more than $800m in government funding to support the country's space sector, including a new SAR satellite system called Sirb.

July 20 Boeing announced that it agreed to provide $50m in capital to AEI HorizonX, a new venture fund managed by AE Industrial Partners, LP and focused on aerospace technology.

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Space Business Review: A monthly round-up of space industry developments for the information of our clients and friends - July 2022 - Lexology

SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Australia was at the forefront of the first space race and played a vital role in Apollo 11s iconic Moon landing in 1969. Half a century later, Australians are more likely to see space as a threat than a frontier full of positive possibilities, and just one in ten say they would like to work in the space industry.

According to a new global report from Inmarsat What on Earth is the value of space?, based on a survey of 20,000 people in 11 countries 49% of Australians are concerned about space junk and collisions and 44% are worried about polluting space, while just over one third (36%) say they feel hopeful about the possibilities of space, one fifth (21%) say they dont understand much about space and 10% say they dont care about space at all.

With the space sector attracting record levels of investment and expanding faster than ever before, it is essential than Australians learn more about an industry that will increasingly impact their lives, according to Inmarsat.

According to the report, Australians are twice as likely to associate space with aliens (21%) than with communications and connectivity (10%). Most concerning for the future is that younger generations appear to have a view of space built on movie depictions rather than reality. 31% of Australians aged 18-24 associate space with aliens, compared with just 11% of people aged 65+. In comparison, only 8% of this younger age group associate space with communications the sector that is leading global growth in the industry half that of the over-65s (16%).

Meanwhile, 70% of Australians said they had never heard of or had no idea about space-based Internet, and 36% said the same for weather and climate monitoring despite the first weather satellite having been launched in 1960 and 31% had never heard or knew nothing about GPS and Satnav.

I have a positive view that we can help people fall in love with space again. Ive worked in the industry for decades and see the truly amazing stories that are just waiting to be told, said Todd McDonell, President of Inmarsat Global Government, based in Sydney. Its understandable that with space-based technology so embedded in our everyday lives, it has become largely invisible, especially to a generation brought up with smartphones and tablets.

Space can enable a better way of living for us all, but public support will make or break this vital contribution to a better future.

What was really interesting is that, like their counterparts in other countries and despite a generally low level of awareness, Australians identified genuine causes of concern related to the space industry. As the sector goes through a period of major expansion with forecasts that the number of satellites in orbit will rise from 7,000 to over 100,000 by the end of this decade players in the industry have a vital duty to manage this growth responsibly.

Having come so far, we cannot afford to destroy the gift of space through poor stewardship, fear, ignorance or inaction. Sustainability on Earth cannot exist without sustainability in space. Responsible space exploration and stricter regulation is a must.

I see first-hand how space is playing a vital role in putting food on our tables, how it keeps us safe when we fly, how it enables us to buy goods from home and have these shipped to us from the other side of the world. Whenever a natural disaster strikes and damages Earth-based telecommunications, satellites are there immediately to support search & rescue and rebuilding efforts. Perhaps most importantly for the future, space technology lies at the heart of efforts to combat climate change.

Im sure that if the industry can tell these stories, especially to the younger generation, then interest in space will grow and we will see a new generation emerge one, much like back in the 1960s, who regard space as an amazing opportunity both as a career and as a force for positive change.

ENDS

ABOUT INMARSAT

Inmarsat delivers world leading, innovative, advanced and exceptionally reliable global, mobile communications across the world in the air, at sea and on land - that are enabling a new generation of commercial, government and mission-critical services. Inmarsat is powering the digitalisation of the maritime industry, making operations more efficient and safer than ever before. It is driving a new era of inflight passenger services for aviation, while ensuring that aircraft can fly with maximum efficiency and safety. Furthermore, Inmarsat is enabling the rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and enabling the next wave of world-changing technologies that will underpin the connected society and help build a sustainable future. And now Inmarsat is developing the first-of-its-kind, multi-dimensional communications network of the future, ORCHESTRA.

In November 2021, Inmarsat and Viasat announced the planned combination of the two companies, to create a new leader in global communications. The deal is scheduled to close in the second half of 2022.

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Australians See Space More as a Danger Than a Benefit, According to New Global Research - Business Wire

NASAs Curiosity rover landed in Gale Crater on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012 at 1:32 a.m. 10 years ago this week. It is in good shape, and expected to continue its climb up Mt. Sharp for years to come.

Its successor, the Perseverance rover, set down in Jezero Crater in February, and Chinas first Mars rover, Tianwen-1 landed at Utopia Planitia in May.

Mars is currently in our morning sky, just one in a line of four planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) extending from north-northeast to southwest. In recent weeks, Ive made a point of getting outside around dawn to catch a few views, but had to jockey for position in various places on the street to see out between the trees and their mid-summer foliage. The neighborhood was utterly quiet in the morning twilight, so this did not present a problem.

Elusive Mercury was in this planet parade in early July, but low in the glow of sunrise. Uranus and Neptune are still in this line up, but too distant and dim to see without telescopes.

The planets constantly shift position in our sky and against the backdrop of distant stars because they are so much closer to us. Each world follows its own schedule, and shows little regard for our calendar an unruly behavior that prompted the ancient Babylonians to call them wild goats.

Now that we understand the planets and their orbits in fine detail, Mars, the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, has somehow managed to gained an outsized status. My Google search for Mars produced 1,750,000,000 results more than 2-1/2 times its nearest competitor Venus, with 650,000,000 results.

There are many reasons for this popularity. While not the brightest of the bunch, its unique rusty hue prompted its ancient designation as the god of war, and its modern nickname, The Red Planet. Remember when you look that we are seeing the actual color of Marss surface rocks and dirt through its mostly clear atmosphere.

(Only three celestial objects visible to the naked eye show us their bare rocky surfaces: The moon, Mars, and Mercury. Curiously, their names all start with the letter M, making them easy to remember.)

Mars also varies more in distance and brightness than any other planet. As Earth swings nearer to it in the coming months, we will see it brighten and move into our evening skies.

While its unique color and dramatic changes in brightness have intrigued people through the ages, our modern fascination got a kick start in the 1800s when Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli described its contrasting light and dark areas as seas and continents. He called the channels he saw through his new generation telescope canali. This was soon mistranslated into canals along with the idea of intelligent life there.

Enter Percival Lowell, an astronomer from Boston, who, from his private observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, mapped hundreds of canals he believed Martians made to carry water from the poles to the equatorial regions. He promoted his ideas in several books.

These were the inspiration behind H.G. Wells The War of the Worlds in 1898, and Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom series starting with the novel A Princess of Mars. Burroughs used Schiaparellis names for Martian regions, and decided to make his Martians green the reason people still refer to aliens as little green men.

On Halloween Eve in 1938, Orson Welles and The Mercury Theater on the Air famously broadcast a radio version of The War of the Worlds, which convinced thousands that Martians were invading America.

Although most experienced astronomers never saw Marss supposed canals, questions persisted into the space age. I actually remember when the controversy was finally settled to everyones satisfaction in 1964 with the first ever close up images of Marss surface sent back by NASAs Mariner 4 fly-by probe. My Dad opened the glossy pages of Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine with me as soon as it arrived, but I could not see much in the grainy black and white images.

When he walked across the room and held up the pictures, craters emerge from the noise. This was history. The alleged network of lines crisscrossing the surface of Mars were merely an illusion due to the human tendency to connect faint groups of dark smudges, such as those seen on Mars through telescopes, with imaginary straight lines.

The deep sense of disappointment many felt at this discovery was short-lived because a new era of Mars exploration was underway, and new surprises awaited. When the twin Viking landers touched down on opposite sides of the planet in 1976, they essentially revealed Mars as we know it today. Color images and data from an array of scientific instruments transformed our understanding of that world and proved that robots would be capable explorers of the Solar System.

By 2015, with New Horizons flight past Pluto, NASAs probes had visited of every major planet in the Solar System.The beautiful dynamic world we found at Pluto was just the latest in a long string of crazy revelations about the worlds of our Solar System.

Why does Mars still beckon? Of all the planets in our solar system, it is, in some ways, the most Earth-like. Roughly halfway in size between Earth and the moon, it has characteristics of both. With so little atmosphere, it has craters like the moon, yet there is enough for weather, including clouds like on Earth.

Mars seasons span a Martian year roughly equal to two Earth-years, but the Martian day, or sol, is only slightly longer than a day on Earth: 24 hours and 39 minutes. Mars is half again as far from the sun as earth, so it gets about 40% of the sunlight reaching Earth although a person standing there would hardly notice the difference.

The reduced sunlight does affect temperatures however, exacerbated by Marss lack of a significant heat-retaining atmosphere. At ground-level the mostly carbon dioxide air is less than one percent as dense as Earths nitrogen-rich atmosphere. The weak sun and thin atmosphere allow temperatures to drop to minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit. The ground can reach a balmy 70 degrees Fahrenheit in summer, but temperatures rarely surpasses the freezing point.

We can relate strongly to those alien hills and valleys because the sky is not black like on the airless moon. More significantly, the Mars sky sometimes appears blue. Pictures of such obtained by the Curiosity rover are particularly striking to those of us still struggling with the fact that this is another planet! (See above picture.)

Most of the time however, Marss sky is some variation on salmon, brown, or butterscotch depending on the angle of the sun, the direction you are looking, and the amount of dust in the air. Sunsets on Mars are blue, as opposed to our reddish sunsets.

Curiosity found strong evidence that in the distant past, Mars had warmer temperatures and enough water in liquid form to support primitive life. Whether any ever existed remains a mystery, but Curiosity has found intriguing hints including this years discovery of a kind of carbon that on Earth is associated with life.

All these things and more make it easy to understand why Mars, with eight active orbiters, three rovers, and one stationary lander, is the busiest place in the Solar System other than Earth.

There are probably many worlds orbiting other stars that are more like Earth, but Mars may be the closest example we humans will ever see in detail. The few images of extrasolar planets so far obtained are unresolvable dots, and no telescope will resolve the continents and oceans of a planet like ours even around the nearest stars for a very long time.

The Curiosity rover has raised Mars exploration to a whole new level, and we are well on our way to making The Red Planet a part of our world.

Find rise and set times for the sun and moon, and follow ever-changing celestial highlights in the Skywatch section of the Weather Almanac in The Republican and Sunday Republican.

Patrick Rowan has written Skywatch for The Republican since 1987 and has been a Weather Almanac contributor since the mid 1990s. A native of Long Island, Rowan graduated from Northampton High School, studied astronomy at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in the 1970s and was a research assistant for the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory. From 1981 to 1994, Rowan worked at the Springfield Science Museums Seymour Planetarium, most of that time as planetarium manager. Rowan lives in the Florence section of Northampton with his wife, Clara, and their cats, Eli and Milo.

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Patrick Rowans Skywatch: Curiosity rover marks 10th year exploring Mars - MassLive.com

Another actress who is getting a lot of meaty material from For All Mankind is Cynthy Wu.

Cynthy plays Ed and Karen Baldwin's daughter, Kelly. Kelly is on Mars with her father and one of her best friends, has fallen in love with a Cosmonaut and is having his baby. That's a lot to unpack!

We jumped on the phone, and Cynthy shared her thoughts on everything Kelly has been experiencing.

So this is a huge season for Kelly, as her dreams are finally realized beyond her imagination. Can you talk about what it's been like for her to get this opportunity to actually go to Mars to test her project?

Oh man, it's been incredible and mind-blowing for Kelly. When we see her at the top of season three, she's camped out in McMurdo Station in a lab, studying bacteria and she's a happy little camper.

And then she gets an opportunity to take all of that research and go to Mars. So I think that she was pretty excited. And then I think as the season progressed, as you saw, she got to experience all the highs and lows along with the crew.

Oh, that's for sure.

Yes.

What challenges has Kelly experienced being on a different Mars mission from her father? They had always imagined that they would do that together, and then that took a left turn.

Well, I think certainly being on the NASA mission, it's her independent mission, right? So it's not having Ed or dad there to guide her at every step, which I think is natural for a young woman who's already out in the world with her own professional career.

So she's hitting the bumps along the road that any young woman in a field would be coming across.

But the difference then is the race aspect that she's competing against her dad to see who gets there first, which is both fun and also like, "Oh gosh, dad is not going to love it if he really doesn't get to be there first, because that's been his whole lifelong thing."

But yeah, we do get to see throughout the season too, how Ed does show up and how all the teams work together to help each other out because Steph goes down and they need each other's help to survive.

I thought it was interesting that she calls him out whenever she finds out about the water project.

Oh yeah. That was a big moment because, well, first of all, the Russians wouldn't be alive without NASA's help because Helios, under Dev Ayesa's guidance, chose not to rescue the Russians who were in distress.

And so then to find out that Helios and the Russians have been working together with their secret of liquid water, you kind of go, "Well, okay, that's a big betrayal because you guys need to bring us in on your findings because you wouldn't even be alive without us."

So that was definitely a huge moment. But obviously Kelly uses that to her advantage.

Sure, sure.

Because, hey, it's like, "Well, dad, obviously, that sucks finding that you guys have been working together behind our backs, but bring me in. I can do this. I have the research, and I know how to handle this to gather what we need." So yeah, like any smart person, she uses that connection to her advantage.

Kelly's also managed to fall in love, which whenever you have close quarters like that, it's probably going to happen.

Yeah.

And she also lost him, which, I mean, it's a nightmare scenario to be someplace that's going to remind her of him nonstop. How's she going to navigate that loss? And that's not even considering that other big moment.

Right. Oh my gosh. So I didn't see it coming, but yes, you're right. She's a young woman; they're living in close quarters, and she found a connection with an unlikely match, but it's a Russian guy.

So I think it was very human, and I love that the writers wrote that because things like this do happen. And I think they had a great connection.

I think Pawel, who plays Alexei did a wonderful job, and we had such great chemistry working together. And so when he was killed off, oh my gosh, I think I actually cried when I got the script.

Aww.

I was like, "Oh my God." We had so much fun working together. He is just the nicest guy. And his journey came to a close on our show, as it often does for folks because space exploration is dangerous, so that part was sad.

Gosh, Kelly's world was just turned upside down because it's like, oh, she fell in love. And then her dad is injured, and she's going out to look for him. And she's going with essentially this new love connection.

And then she comes back, her dad is found, but then her lover dies. And then the big spoiler, like you said, we find out that she's pregnant with his child.

I can't even imagine.

Oh, my gosh.

I mean, nobody planned for a baby on board.

Nobody planned for someone to get pregnant.

Let alone Kelly.

God, when I got that script, I was just floored. And my jaw fell to the ground. I was like, oh my God, is this really happening? I literally felt the implosion, like shit hitting the fan. Are we going there? And it was like, yep, we're going there.

So yeah, it was hard for Kelly to wrap her mind around that, a youthful connection, something that's so human as falling in love and making a mistake that you got pregnant in space, but not just your life, but all of your crew members at risk.

And that's a huge, huge responsibility and such huge guilt that I certainly carried as Kelly towards the end of the season of just, God, of all places to get pregnant. How the fuck did I get pregnant in space? And now, what do we do? You know?

And I have to ask too, I mean, Danny is responsible for all of it; how is she going to wrap her head around the fact that one of her best friends just did this, and now, she lost somebody she fell in love with and who was going to be the father of her child.

Everybody is so close up there. I just imagine that explosion that we saw is going to be nothing compared to the emotional explosions that go through the last two episodes of the season. What can you tease about them?

Yeah. I think for Kelly's purposes, in the remainder of the season in Episodes 9 and 10, I don't think she is aware that Danny Stevens is the one who almost killed her father or got him killed. I don't think she's aware.

Obviously, the viewers were watching, and we know. You guys all know what's going on and how Ed came to be in that place. But I think for Kelly, I don't think Danny would be able to walk into a room without getting smothered if we all knew. You know what I mean?

Right.

But no, Danny Stevens is in Episodes 9 and 10, and he's still a part of the crew and working with everybody to figure out how to help Kelly and how to help deliver Kelly's baby. And that's the end of the season: do they make it? Are we able to help her deliver her baby safely? Yeah.

Oh, nightmarish.

Oh, every day, I was walking in like, "Oh gosh, here we go. Are we going to survive?" It was really just like, oh my God. Forget about exploring space just as non-pregnant humans. Yeah. Strap on a belly and see if you can make it out alive!

Oh my gosh, I can't wait to see it. I mean, this show is just so incredibly written and has so many unexpected turns that I'm sure we're in for yet another amazing finale.

Our writers do such an incredible job of marrying the wonders of exploration and how exciting and forward thinking it all is with the emotional realities of when you're out there fighting in space -- fighting the elements, fighting the unknown.

All of the emotions definitely come to a head, I feel, throughout the season, but certainly to the end of the season. And I can't wait for you guys to watch. It's really remarkable.

For All Mankind Season 3 Episode 8 premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday.

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Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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For All Mankind's Cynthy Wu on Kelly Baldwin's Triumphs and Tragedies - TV Fanatic