Category Archives: Space Exploration

Unfortunately, science journalists dont generally carry crystal balls as part of their arsenal, and if 2020 taught us anything, its not always safe to predict what the forthcoming year will bring. With that said, there are some space and physics developments that we can be fairly certain that will come to pass in 2021.

These are ZME Sciences tips for the top space science and physics events scheduled to occur in 2021.

Its almost impossible to talk about the future of astronomy without mentioning NASAs forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). To call the launch of Webb much-anticipated is a vast understanding.

The reason astronomers are getting so excited about the JWST is its ability to see further into the Universe, and thus further back in its history than any telescope ever yet devised. This will allow astronomers to observe the violent and tumultuous conditions in the infant Universe. Thus, it stands poised to vastly improve our knowledge of the cosmos and its evolution.

Part of the reason for JWSTs impressive observational power lies in its incredible sensitivity to infrared lightwith longer wavelengths than light visible with the human eye.

The ability to observe the early Universe could help settle confusion about what point in its history galaxies began to form. Whilst the current consensus is that galaxies began to form in later epochs, a wealth of recent research has suggested that galaxies could have formed much earlier than previously believed.

Galaxies, we think, begin building up in the first billion years after the big bang, and sort of reach adolescence at 1 to 2 billion years. Were trying to investigate those early periods, explains Daniel Eisenstein, a professor of astronomy at Harvard University and part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES). We must do this with an infrared-optimized telescope because the expansion of the universe causes light to increase in wavelength as it traverses the vast distance to reach us.

The reason infrared is so important to observe the early Universe is that even though the stars are emitting light primarily in optical and ultraviolet wavelengths, travelling these incredible distances means light is shifted into the infrared.

Only Webb can get to the depth and sensitivity thats needed to study these early galaxies.

After years of setbacks and delays and an estimated cost of $8.8 billion the JWST is set to launch from French Guiana, South America, on 31st October 2021.

The race is on to achieve fusion power as a practical energy source here on Earth. Nuclear fusion is already the process that powers the stars, but scientists are looking to make it an energy source much closer to home.

When it comes to bringing star power down to Earth the Joint European Torus (JET)the worlds largest tokamakleads the way, housing plasmas hotter than are found anywhere else in the solar system, barring the Sun.

A tokamak is a device that uses a powerful magnetic field to trap plasma, confining it in a doughnut-like shape. Containing and controlling these plasmas is the key to generating energy through the fusion process. Within the plasma, particles collide with enough energy to fuse together forming new elements and releasing energy.

The process is cleaner and more efficient than fission power, which rips the atoms of elements apart, liberating energy whilst leaving behind radioactive waste.

JET itself isnt a power station, rather it was designed to conduct experiments with plasma containment and study fusion in conditions that approach that which will be found in working fusion power plants. So, whilst the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)set to be the worlds largest tokamakis still under construction and wont be operational until at least 2025, this year is set to be an important year for the experiment that inspired it.

Following upgrades conducted during 2020, JET is scheduled to begin experiments with a potent mix of the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium (D-T). This fuel hasnt been used since 1997 due to the difficulties presented by the handling of tritium a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a nucleus of one proton and two neutrons.

The JET team will be looking to attain an output similar to the 16 megawatts of power that was achieved in 97, but for a more sustained period and with less energy input. The initial test at the end of the 20th century consumed more power than it produced.

2021 will mark the 52nd anniversary of NASAs historic moon landing and will see the launch of several missions back to Earths natural satellite as well as continuing efforts to send humans following in the footsteps of Armstrong and the crew of Apollo 11.

As part of NASAs deep space exploration system, Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions designed toenable human exploration of the Moon and beyond.

This is a mission that truly will do what hasnt been done and learn what isnt known. It will blaze a trail that people will follow on the next Orion flight, pushing the edges of the envelope to prepare for that mission.

Artemis I will begin its journey aboard the Orion spacecraft, which at the time of its launch in November will be the most powerful spacecraft ever launched by humanity producing a staggering 8.8 million pounds of thrust during liftoff. After leaving Earths orbit with the aid of solar arrays and the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) Orion will head out to the moon deploying a number of small satellites, known as CubeSats.

After a three week journey to and from the moon and six weeks in orbit around the satellite, Orion will return home in 2022, thus completing a total journey of approximately 1.3 million miles.

NASA isnt the only space agency with its sights set on the moon in 2021. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander at some point in 2021. It will mark the third lunar exploration mission by ISRO following the Chandrayaan-2s failure to make a soft landing on the lunar surface due to a communications snafu.

Chandrayaan-3 will be a repeat of this mission including a lander and rover module, but lacking an orbiter. Instead, it will rely on its predecessors orbiter which is still in good working despite its parent modules unfortunate crash lander. Should Chandrayaan-3 succeed it will make Indias ISRO only the fourth space agency in history to pull off a soft-landing on the lunar surface.

The worlds largest, most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) ceased operations in 2018 and this year, after high-luminosity upgrades, it will begin to collide particles again.

During its first run of collisions from 2008 to 2013 physicists successfully uncovered the Higgs Boson, thus completing the standard model of particle physics. With the number of collisions increased significantly, in turn, increasing the chance of spotting new phenomenon, researchers will be looking for clues of physics beyond the standard model.

The function of the LHC is to accelerate particles and guide them with powerful magnets placed throughout a circular chamber that runs for 17 miles beneath the French-Swiss border. When these particles collide they produce showers of daughter particles, some that can only exist at high energy levels.

These daughter particles decay extremely quicklywithin fractions of a second and thus spotting them presents a massive challenge for researchers.

Luminosity when used in terms of particle accelerators refers to the number of particles that the machine can accelerate and thus collide. More collisions mean more daughter particles created, and a better chance of spotting exotic and rare never before seen particles and phenomena. Thus, high luminosity means more particles and more collisions.

To put these upgrades in context, during 2017 the LHC produced around 3 million Higgs Boson particles. When the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) begins operations, researchers at cern estimate it will be producing around 15 million Higgs Bosons per year.

Unfortunately, despite firing up for a third run after these high luminosity upgrades, there is still work to be done before the LHC becomes the HL-LHC.

The shutdown that is drawing to completionreferred to by the CERN team as Long Shutdown 2 (LS2)was just part of the long operations that are required to boost the LHCs luminosity. The project began in 2011 and isnt expected to reach fruition until at least 2027.

That doesnt mean that the third run of humankinds most audacious science experiment wont collect data that reveals stunning facts about the physics that governs that cosmos. And that collection process will begin in 2021.

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Space and Physics Developments to Look Forward to in 2021 - ZME Science

By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

A Taiwan-made space instrument installed on Japans scientific satellite Arase has helped researchers observe aurora formation at unexpectedly high altitudes, helping to advance understanding about space weather and communications systems on Earth, scientists said on Tuesday.

The Taiwanese-Japanese team detailed their findings in a paper titled Active auroral arc powered by accelerated electrons from very high altitudes, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports on Monday.

Scientists from National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) and Academia Sinica were in charge of the Low-Energy Particle Experiments-Electron Analyzer, one of the nine instruments on the satellite, enabling it to observe energy distribution and density of low-energy electrons surrounding the Earth.

This is the first time that Taiwan has manufactured such fine and high-resolution instrument for space measuring, the university said in a news release.

Auroras are generated by electrons accelerated by a static electric field hitting the atmosphere, producing bright and elongated arcs in the nightside polar regions, Academia Sinica said.

Over the past 50 years, scientists had assumed that the electron acceleration takes places at altitudes of no more than 20,000km, but observations made through the Taiwan-made instrument found that it could occur at altitudes of up to 30,000km, it said.

The breakthrough not only overturns previous conception about the region of auroral formation, but generates new questions about how electrons work at higher altitudes, and might affect space weather, as well as communications and electrical systems on Earth, NCKU Institute of Space and Plasma Sciences professor Sunny Tam () said.

While domestic studies on space weather mainly revolve around the ionosphere, Tam said that more attention should be paid to the magnetosphere.

Tam said that his team was in 2010 invited by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to join the satellites development.

Due to budgetary concerns, they later invited Academia Sinica to join the team, Tam said.

From 2010 until the satellite was launched in 2016, the university and Academia Sinica devoted nearly NT$30 million (US$1.06 million) to the instruments development, he added.

The funding was modest when compared with that of a major satellite project, but the outcome is precious, Tam said, describing the case as an example of optimal international cooperation of space technology that would usually need astronomical funds.

While Taiwan aspires to launch more satellites into space, it should overlook developing advanced scientific instruments in partnership with other countries, he added.

The satellite is operating at an orbit of 200km to 32,000km above ground, meaning their instrument has flown farther than any other Taiwanese instrument has done before, said Wang Shiang-yu (), acting director of Academia Sinicas Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

That also means it has proved resistant to strong radiation and temperature differences of up to 200oC in space, he said.

The satellite, designed to serve for only one year, has operated for more than four years, he added.

As auroras can also be observed in other celestial bodies, the teams findings would assist other efforts in space exploration, Wang said.

The Arase satellite, formerly known as the Exploration of Energization and Radiation in Geospace, is headed by JAXA, with NCKU and Academia Sinica being the only instrument team from outside of Japan.

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Study upending theories on auroral formation -

For the research community watching Joe Bidens inauguration from around the globe, there is one overwhelming demand: For the sake of science and the world, the US needs to play better with others.

In an online survey by Science|Business, international cooperation in science was the No. 1 recommendation that the research world has for the new administration. At least 90% of respondents said he should rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organisation which he promptly began doing within hours of his inauguration. But beyond that, the vast majority of survey respondents endorsed new ways for US scientists and agencies to work with the rest of the world.

On pandemic research, 83% called for greater international cooperation in general, and 55% specifically urged creation of a new international system to monitor and model infectious diseases.

Science is a world-wide activity, wrote one anonymous respondent to the survey. Collaborate rather than isolate the USA.

On science generally, the top of a list of possible recommendations was to increase the number of bilateral R&D funding programmes with other countries; 64% ranked that suggestion in their top three wishes for the new administration. Further, 56% urged that the US join the European Unions Horizon Europe R&D programme an invitation from Brussels that the Trump Administration pretty much rejected in 2019.

And 67% urged Biden to reform US visa rules so researchers and engineers can more easily enter the country another agenda item on which Biden immediately announced plans for action.

And then theres China

The only hesitation among respondents was over how to handle China: 50% said Biden should force China to protect US intellectual property with trade penalties if necessary, and another 39% said that maybe he should take that hard-line approach (11% were opposed). Likewise, opinion was split when asked if Biden should end Trump-era constraints on scientific collaboration with China: 21% said yes, 49% said maybe and 21% voted no.

The survey was conducted online from December 16 to January 19 a turbulent month in which the world watched aghast as the chaotic US pandemic response killed thousands more Americans, and a Trump-incited mob stormed the US Capitol. In all, 231 people from the world research community completed the questionnaire 70% from Europe, and 10% from the US. There wasnt a vast difference in responses between US and non-US respondents, though the Americans tended to be more leery about China and urged higher US research funding. By profession, respondents were pretty evenly split among the academic, industry and policy worlds.

So far, every indication is that the incoming administration is listening to the science community. A few days before the inauguration, Biden vowed to put scientific evidence at the top of his policy agenda and named his chief scientific adviser to a cabinet-level position.

A to-do list for Biden

The survey asked respondents to vote on a specific list of ideas for international collaboration and most of them attracted a plurality of respondents. About 62% said he should expand international student exchange programmes and boost R&D collaborations with developing countries. About 40% urged that he call a global summit to create a new world order for funding and managing science.

But many also volunteered ideas rather than merely tick survey boxes. On China, one respondent suggested focusing scientific collaboration on non-conflict issues, like clean water. In the same vein, another proposed goodwill cooperation in climate, COVID or space exploration. One, however, urged that Biden support freedom of speech of Chinese scientists.

On climate, 79% suggested establishing a new federal agency specifically dedicated to climate research; 78% urged that Biden plan and fund green infrastructure development. One respondent suggested a private sector and public sector Manhattan Project to tackle climate change, while another urged he go full ahead with nuclear fusion and make the US the first country to power itself on fusion energy. Currently, the worlds most advanced fusion energy development project is in southern France.

Another suggested that the US and EU create bilateral incentive mechanisms for startups to get a foothold in the US (and for US companies in Europe.)

There were also not surprisingly given the dramatic news over the holidays many who suggested that Americans need some serious help understanding science.

As one respondent said, Get science back into schools at all levels, in order to make the US science literate again. And start the process of getting the US to join the metric system!

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Memo to Biden: 'in science, think global' survey results - Science Business

New York, Jan. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Space Power Supply Market A Global Market Analysis: Focus on Platform and Product - Analysis and Forecast, 2020-2030" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06003961/?utm_source=GNW What are the futuristic trends in this market, and how is the market expected to change over the years? What are the key drivers and challenges faced by the companies that are currently working in the space power supply market? How is the market expected to grow during the forecast period 2020-2030? What are the opportunities for the companies to expand their businesses in the space power supply market? Which region is expected to be leading the space power supply market by 2030? What are the key developmental strategies which are implemented by the key players to sustain in this highly competitive market? What is the current and future revenue scenario generated by this market going to be like?

Global Space Power Supply Market Forecast, 2020-2030The space power supply industry analysis projects the market to have a significant growth with a CAGR of 16.53% based on the values during the forecast period from 2020 to 2030. The North America region is expected to dominate the market with a share of 39% by 2030. The U.S. is expected to lead the market due to the heavy investments by companies to expand their businesses and develop new products in the country. The space power supply market is a well-established market with several companies developing and manufacturing components and products required for the market. Thus, the revenue generated is also expected to be high.

Scope of the Global Space Power Supply MarketWith the increased capabilities and growing dependence on satellites for both civil and military uses, the need for reliable, safe, and powerful electrical supply has increased significantly over the decades.The industry is currently focusing on developing high-efficient, low weight power supply products that can be used for several years.

The research study is based on extensive primary interviews (in-house industry players, market leaders, and experts) and secondary research (a host of paid and unpaid databases), along with analytical tools to predict the forecast analysis for the study period. With the help of these, the space power supply study provides a broader perspective of the industry.

The space power supply market research provides the market analysis examining the power supply market outlook in terms of the technological advancements, opportunities, drivers, trends, driving forces, and competitive benchmarking, among others. The report further takes into consideration the market and business dynamics, along with the product contribution of the key players operating in the market.

Global Space Power Supply Market SegmentationThe report consists of an extensive study of the space power supply industry and focuses on providing market information for the power supply technology covering various applications, products, and regions.The applications chapter includes various platforms such as launch vehicles, satellites, and space exploration missions.

The applications are further classified into the type of two classes depending on their payload capabilities for launch vehicles, type of orbit for satellites, and rovers, telescopes, and space stations for space exploration. The products explained are solar cells, batteries (primary and rechargeable), power modules, thermoelectric generators, and others.

The space power supply market is segregated by region under four major regions, namely North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest-of-the-World. The demand analysis in these regions (by country) is provided.

Key Companies in the Global Space Power Supply MarketThe key players in the global space power supply market include AAC Clyde Space (Sweden), Airborne (the Netherlands), Airbus S.A.S. (the Netherlands), AZUR SPACE Solar Power GmbH (Germany), DHV Technology (Spain), EaglePicher Technologies (the U.S.), EnduroSat (Bulgaria), GS Yuasa Lithium Power (the U.S.), Innovative Solutions in Space (the Netherlands), .), Northrop Grumman Corporation (the U.S.), Shanghai Institute of Solar Power-Sources (China), Sierra Nevada Corporation (the U.S.), Solaero Technologies (the U.S.), Spectrolab (the U.S.), Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (the U.S.), and other important players in the industry include CESI S.p.A. (Italy), INVAP (Argentina), Jinko Solar (China), Fralock Innovative Materials Manufacturing and Automation (the U.S.), G.A.U.S.S. Srl (Italy), Kongsberg (Norway), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Japan), RUAG Group (Switzerland), Saft (France), Thales Group (France).

Countries Covered North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany Russia France U.K. Rest-of-Europe Asia-Pacific Japan India China Rest-of-Asia-PacificRead the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06003961/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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America region is expected to dominate the market with a share of 39% by 2030 - GlobeNewswire

The International Space Station is aging. According to one estimate, the ISS has only ten years left, at best, before it has to retire or undergo a major renovation in order to continue service. With monumental change now in sight, an entire industry has cropped up around providing the possibilities.

Future-minded space entrepreneurs are dreaming big to find a solution to this problem, floating creative proposals such as 3D-printing tools in space to do repair work,modifying dead rocket stages into space labs, and building a new space station from scratch.

The latest and most radical plan comes from a four-year-old startup called Axiom Space. Based in Houston, Texas, just a stones throw from NASAs Johnson Space Center, the company was founded by NASAs former ISS manager Michael Suffredini (from 2005 to 2015). Its plan is to build a commercial space station on its own, with the first module to launch as soon as 2024.

To be sure, the initial versions of these space modules, dubbed AxStation, wont be on the same scale as the ISS we have now. The one set to launch by 2024 will be a crew module attached to the existing ISS. Axiom plans to launch at least two similar modulesincluding a lab and a panoramic observatoryin the following year.

And after 2028, the year in which Suffredini expects the ISS to retire, those modules will detach from the ISS to form a free-flying space station. It will be able to support scientific research just as the ISS and double as a space hotel for deep-pocketed explorers who want to take a vacation from 250 miles above Earth. The ticket price is rumored at $55 million per person. And its reported that Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman have reserved spots to shoot the first film in space inside an AxStation.

NASA and SpaceX will be involved in the process as well. Exactly a year ago, Axiom scored a $140 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract from NASA to attach one of its crew modules to a docking port on the ISS.

Late in 2021, Axiom will fly a crew of four private astronautsincluding Michael Lpez-Alegra, a former NASA astronaut who now works for Axiom, former Israeli fighter pilot Eytan Stibbe, and two yet-to-be-announced space touristsin a SpaceX Dragon capsule for a short stay on the ISS. And when Axiom operates its own space hotel in the future, passengers can expect a full out-of-this-world experience in its designer-decorated vacation cabins.

Replacing the ISS with a commercial space station will be a huge money saver for NASA. NASA currently spends $3.5 billion every year to operate the ISS. Not to mention what the other agencies are providing [to operate and maintain the ISS], Lpez-Alegra, now Axioms head of business development, recently told Business Insider. Theyd like to spend some of that money on deeper-space exploration, with the Artemis program or whatever the next administration decides.

Axioms work to develop a commercial destination in space is a critical step for NASA to meet its long-term needs for astronaut training, scientific research, and technology demonstrations in low-Earth orbit, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement in January 2020. We are transforming the way NASA works with industry to benefit the global economy and advance space exploration.

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This Startup Plans to Build a Space Hotel and Replace the International Space Station - Observer

I chuckled at some excited national news reports in mid-December when it was announced that troops in the one-year-old U.S. Space Force would be called guardians.

Marvel Comics name-stealing jokes aside, guardians have been hanging around Colorado Springs and a handful of other places for 37 years without much ado. See, technically Air Force airmen assigned to the fledgling Air Force Space Command adopted the motto in 1983: Guardians of the High Frontier. (The other guardians were introduced in comics in 1969, and on the big screen in 2014.)

For me, revitalizing the name brought another wave of dj vu in a year that often took me back to the halcyon space days of the early 1980s. And of all the starts and restarts, of all the wasted time and money, of all the abandoned projects and forgotten promises, this repackaged promise of a new branch of the U.S. military with about 14,000 guardians, has me rooting for success, stability and permeance that has eluded U.S. space programs for the last half-century.

In 2020 we redesignated the Air Force Space Command as the U.S. Space Force; we brought back the U.S. Space Command; we launched humans from U.S. soil to the International Space Station; three countries (the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates) sent spacecraft to Mars; China had an unmanned moon landing, and a Japanese craft grabbed soil and rocks from an asteroid.

Theres plenty on the horizon for 2021, too, including a new space telescope to replace Hubble and the likely debut of Boeings Starliner space capsule in a springtime test.

Maybe thats enough momentum to keep space programs on track, but with the economic ruin of the global pandemic, money will be tight. Space programs often are seen as expendable when times are tough or political winds change, despite their nearly total integration into everyday life.

Which brings me back to the early 1980s. Thats when space programs both military and civilian appeared to be blossoming anew, after a decade of budget cuts and stagnation when the Apollo program ended. Space programs had not disappeared entirely there were scientific missions and research and development aimed at finding cheaper and more routine ways to get satellites and people into space.

NASA pinned its hopes on the Space Transportation System, known as the space shuttle. It was neither cheap nor reliable.

From the first launch on April 12, 1981, to the last landing on July 21, 2011, there were 135 missions. Two of them ended in tragedy: the shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986, killing a seven-member crew; the shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts.

Still, it briefly brought back the promise of space exploration as we watched astronauts deploy satellites, fix solar power antennae and carry out experiments in the shuttle bay. Maybe space travel and work could be routine.

The Air Force jumped on that bandwagon for a few years, converting an unused launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base into a shuttle launch pad and planning a Shuttle Operations and Planning Center (SOPC) at what is now Schriever Air Force Base near Colorado Springs. (Former astronaut Sen. John Glenn had fought to have the SOPC in Ohio.)

The space shuttle Discovery was set to launch into polar orbit better for spying from the West Coast in October 1985 but was delayed into the following year. But with the Challenger explosion in early 1986, everything changed.

That launch pad, dubbed Slick 6 for Space Launch Complex (SLC) 6, is emblematic of so many of the fits and starts of a space program beset by budget cuts, shifting priorities, technological advances that outpaced projects, interservice rivalries and pork-barrel politics.

It was initially built for the Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory program that was announced in December 1963. Essentially, it was to be a military space station.

Budget cuts because of the costly Vietnam War meant the program plodded along so slowly it was surpassed by technology. Slick 6 was mothballed in 1969.

NASA had selected the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Vandenberg as shuttle launch and landing sites. The Air Force thought it would be cheaper to convert Slick 6 to a shuttle launch pad than to start from scratch, and in 1979 the $3.5 billion conversion project started.

The never-used pad was mothballed again in 1986 because it cost only $6 million to $8 million a year to maintain in caretaker status as opposed to about $400 million a year to keep the pad launch-ready, the Air Force told me in 1990 when I was a military reporter for The Gazette in Colorado Springs.

Thats when the Air Force signed a $300 million contract with Lockheed Space Operations Co. to convert Slick 6 to a rocket launch pad. Several Delta 4 rockets have launched from the pad since 2006.

Meanwhile, in 1987, about $20 million was paid to IBM to buy out a $94 million contract (that had grown to $139 million with new work orders in the first year) for computers for the shuttle center at Schriever.

There was some thought at the time that the shuttle operations center might be revived, but the military space program was headed in new directions and extricating itself from the costly shuttle program was inevitable.

Satellite technology was rapidly evolving, and it wasnt just about spying. Communications and weather satellites became increasingly important to troops on the ground, in the air and at sea. Visions of smaller, less vulnerable and easily replenishable satellites emerged. And the new Global Positioning System was proving so precise for navigation and targeting that the Air Force initially was hesitant to share the technology for civilian use.

The space systems were coming out of research and development, and the Air Force, as the biggest player in the military space program, wanted a way to organize, train and equip troops to use them and protect them.

The Air Force Space Command was established in September 1982 as the focal point for space systems that were passing from the developmental to the operational stage and to deal with the expanding space mission, the Air Force said in a fact sheet. It was followed by the creation of smaller space commands in the Army and Navy.

And on Sept. 23, 1985, the U.S. Space Command was established at Peterson Air Force Base.

It seemed the military space program had indeed launched and that El Paso County would be the hub. The Consolidated Space Operations Center at what was then called Falcon Air Force Station and is now Schriever Air Force Base was under construction 10 miles east of Colorado Springs. It was conceived in the late 1970s, and in 1979 Colorado Springs was selected to house it, although New Mexico Sen. Harrison Jack Schmitt, another former astronaut, fought hard for several more years to have it placed at Kirtland Air Force Base.

The Strategic Defense Initiative Star Wars had been launched by President Ronald Reagan.

That brought new political and social concerns. Instead of simply using data from satellites to support soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, would we have treaty-violating weapons in space?

The initiative evaporated after Reagan left office, with most of the research and development programs absorbed by other military units. Again, it didnt go away it morphed.

The value of space systems for the military was indelibly imprinted by their use in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, dubbed by many as the first space war.

Things seemed to stabilize. The shuttle kept flying and the Challenger orbiter was replaced. Schriever grew and added housing and other amenities, helping stifle its reputation from Falcon Air Force Station days as Falcatraz because of its lonely location on the prairie. (Which the Air Force worked hard to ensure as it bought up land in a huge buffer zone to better protect the highly classified center.)

Then came the 2001 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil and everything shifted again.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff routinely review the missions and structures of the unified and specified combatant commands, which are, simply put, the commands that give combat orders. The major commands within each service train and equip troops, the combatant commands tell them when and how to go to war.

The U.S. Space Command was merged or absorbed, depending on your viewpoint, with U.S. Strategic Command as the combatant commands were reorganized to emphasize defense of North America. A new cabinet department, Homeland Security, was created along with the Northern Command and eventually the U.S. Cyber Command first as a subcommand of Strategic Command and then as a full unified command.

Essentially, that pushed military space programs from prominence. Still, no one doubted that space systems are inextricably linked to most military operations, especially to cyber and communications missions.

And 19 years after it went away, the U.S. Space Command was back, temporarily housed at its old home, Peterson Air Force Base. It was reactivated in August 2019, and a year later Army Gen. James Dickinson was named commander. Dickinson is a native of Estes Park and a graduate of Colorado State University.

Five other states are competing against Colorado to land the permanent headquarters. Seems like a no-brainer to me because when Peterson was selected for the headquarters in 1985 it came with $19 million for a headquarters facility. And if the base is to be a Space Force base, it makes sense.

At least two other contenders in the location pageant, though, also are or are expected to be Space Force bases: Kirtland in New Mexico and Patrick in Florida.

The tricky part in intra-service and interservice rivalries and politics is who gets the money for what system, and who gets more troops in this case guardians at their bases.

Which is in part why there was a push for a separate Space Force. That might add to rivalry between services, but some including John Pike of GlobalSercurity.org would argue that it might rescue space systems from a service intent on preserving pilots and vehicles with wings.

But the Space Force was established within the Department of the Air Force and primarily is enveloping Air Force Space Command units and bases. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base in Florida have been renamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Patrick Space Force Base.

Several Colorado bases - Peterson, Schriever and Buckley - also are expected to be named Space Force bases.

The command is overseen by the Secretary of the Air Force, and the chief of space operations is Air Force Gen. John Raymond.

Sort of makes it Air Force.

In remarks made when the command was established by Congress through the Defense Authorization Act on Dec. 20, 2019, Raymond noted that in its first year they would create a new force, with a new culture.

That included such things as inactivating Petersons 21st Operations Group and activating Space Delta 2 in its stead. Space wings were deactivated and reconstituted as garrisons.

It also included choosing a work-day uniform thats the same camouflage as the Armys and Air Forces, but with the barely noticeable difference of a dark blue name tape instead of black or spice brown.

Not good enough, Pike says. They need something distinctive. Some variant of Star Trek garb, he said. But not jet black. Thats too much like the SS.

He might be right. Symbols are important when youre building a culture, and distinctiveness should not be underestimated if you are expecting something to last.

On the services first birthday, Raymond said the progress made surpassed his expectations, according to an Air Force news release.

While the move to create the Space Force was pushed by President Donald Trump, it grew out of bipartisan efforts in late 2016 in the House Armed Services Committee. Space News reports that industry representatives and analysts believe that President-elect Joe Biden will stay the course with the Space Force and his transition team met with Raymond in December.

Might some politicians try to negate it because its associated with Trump? Perhaps. But they might look back at the history of military space efforts, and the perseverance it took to withstand politics, shifting priorities and budget slashing to continue research and development programs that brought GPS to our cars and weather satellites that show us exactly where those killer hurricanes are headed.

At least four countries the United States, Russia, China and India have proven they are capable of shooting down satellites. Theres also technology out there for jamming. And cyber warfare.

Most of us, I think, would like to ensure that those satellites we rely on every day continue to orbit freely.

Sue McMillin is a long-time Colorado reporter and editor who worked for The Gazette and Durango Herald. Now a regular columnist for The Denver Post and a freelance writer, she lives in Caon City. Email her at suemcmillin20@gmail.com.

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McMillin: The Space Force isnt the U.S. militarys first space program. Lets hope this one sticks around. - The Denver Post

Elon Musk is not only the worlds richest person, he lays claim to the biggest net worth ever recorded: $209.3 billion as of Friday. What he does with it will be closely watched.

Judging by Twitter, the Tesla Inc. co-founders preferred medium of communication, philanthropy is on his mind. One of his first reactions on becoming the wealthiest human -- after an initial shrug -- was to solicit advice on how to give it away.

Also Read | The curious case of the glowing beaches

Musk, 49, is a philanthropy neophyte compared with those he just leapfrogged on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index of the worlds 500 wealthiest people.

Longtime No. 1 Bill Gates and his friend Warren Buffett, co-founders of the Giving Pledge initiative that urges the ultra-wealthy to donate at least half their fortunes, have each given away tens of billions in cash and stock. Even Jeff Bezos, who has been criticized for being slow to establish himself as a philanthropist, has stepped up his game. He pledged to give $10 billion to issues related to climate change last year and handed out $791 million to 16 environmental groups in November.

Despite signing the Giving Pledge, Musk has done relatively little publicly in the way of charity. Hes donated more than $257 million to the Musk Foundation -- equivalent to about 0.1% of his current net worth -- which in turn distributed $65 million between 2016 and 2018 to about 200 nonprofits, according to an analysis by Quartz.

Had Gates not donated so much -- or Bezos not gotten divorced -- then their fortunes would be much bigger, possibly greater than Musks.

Yet Musk has indicated that the reason hes accumulating wealth is to give it away, or at least redirect it to his passion projects, namely, space exploration. Its going to take a lot of resources to build a city on Mars," he told German publisher Axel Springer last month. I want to be able to contribute as much as possible."

More Aggressive

Its impossible to overstate the potential his fortune could have," said Benjamin Soskis, senior research associate at the Urban Institutes Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy. Were dealing with a scale which is difficult to fathom."

The surge in Musks wealth means hell need to greatly increase the pace of donations to have any shot at fulfilling his pledge to give more than half away, Soskis said. He needs to be much more aggressive than hes being now."

The question from philanthropy experts is how Musk will go about doing so. The worlds richest people have taken a variety of approaches: Gates has become both a full-time philanthropist and public figure in areas like public health. Twitter Inc. co-founder Jack Dorsey has made his giving transparent by posting each donation to a publicly available spreadsheet.

By turning to Twitter to get suggestions for donations, Musk is following in the footsteps of Bezos, who sent out a similar tweet requesting ideas from his followers in 2017. MacKenzie Scott, Bezos ex-wife, has pioneered another model for billionaire giving: approaching hundreds of nonprofits and educational institutions and handing over big checks with no strings attached. Her gifts in 2020 totaled nearly $6 billion.

Brian Mittendorf, an Ohio State University professor who studies nonprofits, suggested Musk follow Scotts lead and restrain his instincts to innovate.

A trap that many wealthy philanthropists fall into is a desire to reinvent philanthropy on their own, rather than rely on those who already have expertise and experience but simply need the funds in order to expand their impact," he said.

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Elon Musk debates: How to give away worlds biggest wealth - Mint

Artists' representation of astronauts on Moon.

The year 2020 witnessed a lot of exciting space endeavours! From launching multiple Mars missions to collecting samples from the Moon and a space rock2020 was an exceptional year for space exploration, despite unprecedented lockdowns due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, with the arrival of the New Year, begins a new space race as countries are gearing up to prove their prowess in cosmic exploration yet again with multiple novel mission launches. As space agencies across the globe fire up the hopes of millions of space enthusiasts, The Weather Channel India has compiled a list of highly anticipated missions of 2021.

File photo: Chandrayaan 2 launch.

Chandrayaan-3: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is once again eyeing to land on the Moon in 2021. Though no date has been fixed yet, Indias Moon mission successorChandrayaan-3may be launched sometime in the first half of 2021. The third lunar mission was earlier scheduled for 2020, but the ongoing pandemic and the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus stalled its launch. In its second attempt, the Indian space agency is aiming to achieve a soft landing on the south pole of the lunar surface, which is least explored to date. Unlike its predecessor, Chandrayaan 3 will not carry an orbiterbut will include a lander and a rover to study the lunar surface.

Artemis 1: The US space agency NASA is gearing up to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024 and towards this, the first uncrewed test flight is slated for launch in November 2021 under the Artemis program. The mission spacecraft is named Orion, which will be onboard a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The mission will carry 13 small satellites to conduct science and technology investigations. As per NASA: the primary operation goal of the mission is to assure a safe crew module entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery.

Luna-25: The Russian space agency, Roscosmos is also gearing to launch a lander mission named Luna-25 to the Moon by October this year. The mission is said to have nine instruments on board with the main objective of exploring the natural resources present on the Moon. The spacecraft is expected to land on the Boguslavsky craternear the South Pole.

Apart from Chandrayaan-3, ISRO is also aiming to launch its first crewless flight as part of its ambitious human spaceflight mission Gaganyaan by the end of 2021. However, no date has been confirmed by the space agency so far. The mission, which was scheduled for the first half of 2021, witnessed repeated delays due to COVID-19-induced lockdowns. The second crewless flight has also been pushed to 2022.

The two crewless flights are scheduled before the maiden human spaceflight launch by ISRO under the Gaganyaan mission. In one of the crewless flights, ISRO has planned to send a humanoid robot named Vyommitra to the low-earth orbit. The robot will mimic the space crew activities set for the human mission to assess the technology prior to the final mission.

In this illustration, NASA's Mars rover uses its drill to core a rock sample on Mars.

In the 21st century, Mars has been the poster planet in space exploration. The planet is a top contender to being a possible host for future human colonies. Several exploratory missions and scientific studies have pointed to a possibility of ancient microbial life on the red planet. Thus, space scientists dont want to leave any stone unturned in finding clues of life and establishing future human colonies. Exploration missions are the key to achieving this!

In July last yearbetween 20 to 30three distinct Mars missions were launched. All three missionsfrom UAE, the US and Chinaare set to arrive at the Martian vicinity by February 2021. The space agencies have set several scientific goals for the missions. Among many, the main aim of the UAE mission is to study the planets thin atmosphere, while both Perseverance and Tianwen-1 will fetch samples of Martian rocks and soil for further analysis.

Construction of James Webb Telescope.

The launch of the James Webb Space Telescopes is on the cards for this year, after decades of hard work in design and construction of the most powerful space telescope till date. After several delays, it is now expected to be launched this year with a tentative date set for October 31 from French Guyana onboard the European Space Agencys Ariane 5 rocket.

The infrared telescope will not be placed around the Earth orbitlike Hubblebut will be positioned at an L2 Lagrangian point in the Sun-Earth orbit about 1.5 million kilometres away from the planet.

The development of the space telescope is a collaborative work of the US space agency NASA, ESA and Canada. It is designed to study various comic objects present in our solar system, investigate the early galaxies, snap through the dust clouds and aid other cosmic observations. It is regarded to be the largest, powerful and complex space telescope, which will carry forward the legacy of the historic Hubble Space Telescope.

Schematic of the DART mission shows the impact on the moonlet of asteroid (65803) Didymos. Post-impact observations from Earth-based optical telescopes and planetary radar would, in turn, measure the change in the moonlets orbit about the parent body.

Apart from the ambitious Artemis 1 and Mars mission, NASA is also gearing to launch a planetary defence spacecraft called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART. The mission is slated for launch in July this year to test the ability to change the direction of an asteroid, to protect Earth from future collisions. In particular, it will use a kinetic impactor technique to change asteroid motion in space and is expected to experiment on a double asteroid named Didymos. As per NASA, the Didymos primary body is about 780 meters wide, while its secondary body (or moonlet) is about 160-meters in sizesignificant enough to cause large scale impact upon collision with the Earth.

In October, NASA is planning to launch another asteroid mission named Lucy. The mission spanning 12 years will explore 8 different asteroidswith one located in the asteroid belt, and the rest 7 Trojans-asteroids, which share Jupiters orbit. Experts believe that these asteroids are orbiting in these locations since the formation of the solar system and therefore, will help to shed some light on the early history of our solar system.

In 2021, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) will begin the construction of its permanent Space Station complex. The agency is planning to launch the core cabinet module of the space station in the spring of this year. The station is expected to be constructed over 11 missions, which will include manned flights, as well as cargo spaceship flights. It is expected to be operational by 2022. The space station will be placed in low orbit and is estimated to be one-fifth the mass of the International Space Station. Moreover, the Chinese agency has planned over 40 space launches for 2021.

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Cosmic Exploration in 2021: From Mars to Asteroids, List of Most-Awaited Space Missions This Year | The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather...

Jan. 8, 2021 1:24 pm ET

David W. Browns Mars or Bust (Review, Dec. 19) is spot on: Mars is the next true destination for humans in space exploration. Over the past 20 years NASAs Mars Exploration Program has changed our understanding of the planets extensive rivers and oceans, ability to support past or present life, and ability to support human explorers. Human-scale entry and landing systems are the only real remaining technology hurdle, yet Mars Science Laboratorys Curiosity and Perseverance landing systems have significantly moved us forward, and with pinpoint landing they can become the explorers resupply lines. The first round-trip mission to another planet, to collect and return soil samples from Mars, is under way.

Past agency and administration commitment to sending humans to Mars has been fickle, ranging from extensive study teams producing viable roadmaps, to posters and slogans with little substance. Lunar programs to enable Mars are largely a distraction. No technologies for Mars require demonstration at the moon; landing on an airless moon has no bearing on systems needed for planetary atmospheres. The moon may be an exciting commercial destination, but not for the next generation of explorers. Mars is the next major step in human exploration, exciting the public, spurring new global partnerships, creating unimaginable technological spin-offs, and uniting us by pushing ever closer to answering Are we alone? in this vast universe of planets. NASA needs to make the financial and leadership commitments to land humans by 2040, and avoid distractions. The Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs prove we can do this, so lets get on with it!

J. Douglas McCuistion

Lothian, Md.

Mr. McCuistion was director, NASA Mars Exploration Program, 2004-12.

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To Infinity and Beyond, or at Least to Mars - The Wall Street Journal

China's Yutu 2 rover just turned two years old, and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has kept a sharp eye on its movements during its mission on the far side of the moon.

While China's Chang'e 5 sample-return mission has been basking in the lunar limelight, the Chang'e 4 mission was also back in action. Chang'e 4 launched to the moon in May 2018 and deployed the Yutu 2 rover to the lunar surface on Jan. 3, 2019. The sun rose over Von Krmn crater on Dec. 7, meaning the solar-powered lander and Yutu 2 rover were active on Dec. 9.

The China Lunar Exploration Program stated the spacecraft had completed their lunar day's work on Dec. 22. Yutu 2 covered 35.9 feet. (10.95 meters) during lunar day 25, meaning a total drive distance of 1,970 feet (600.55 m) during its time on the far side of the moon.

Related: China unveils ambitious moon mission plans for 2024 and beyond

Meanwhile the team behind the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) at the School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, have combined a number of images to show the two-year-old rover's journey.

The set of images taken by the LROC start from just before the historic January 2019 Chang'e 4 landing and lead up to recent lunar days.

The images from orbit show Yutu 2's progress across the crater-pocked floor of Von Krmn crater.

Related: Yutu 2 snaps stunning new panoramas from the moon's far side

Yutu 2 has been heading to the northwest of its lander companion but faces a landscape strewn with craters which could trap the roughly 309-lb. (140 kilograms) Yutu 2.

LRO also spotted the Chang'e 5 lander just a day after its historic touchdown in Oceanus Procellarum.

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NASA spacecraft reveals travels of China's Yutu 2 rover on far side of the moon - Space.com