Category Archives: Space Exploration

Astronaut space walking outside space station.

We have become a planetary species. Evolving from tool-using hominids on the African savanna to the dominant species on the planet, technology has been key to our evolution. The use of technology to drive non-biological solutions to social and environmentalchallenges has affected the scope and direction of our evolution. In fact, it is now driving our expansion beyond the Earth itself.

Much as the Industrial Revolution ignited therise of the United Statesand other advanced economies, so a new generation of disruptive technologies is now shaping an engineering revolution.The combination of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and new space-based industries suggests that we have entered a new era one that more closely mirrors science fiction than the factory-driven, industrial society of the past century.

In this software-driven era, humanitys promethean urge for technological advancement is now propelling our species towards an interplanetary existence. Indeed, it is almost a forgone conclusion that by the end of this century, we Homo sapiens will have expanded beyond the Earth terraforming Mars for human habitation. This instinct for expansion is also driving a planetary consciousness and planetary identity.

The scale of this cultural transformation is mediated by technological advancement and global integration, but it is rooted in an evolving capacity to see the Earth as a whole system. This psychological reframing mirrors the radically enlarged perspective described by astronauts when viewing the earth from space. Indeed, the term for this cognitive shift is the overview effect and it constitutes the basis of an emerging planetary worldview.

Astronaut is looking at Earth through the porthole.

The New Space Race

In the United States, NASA has already begun planning a new habitation platform around the Moon. Moving beyond the International Space Station (ISS), NASA is working to commercialize spaceflight in low Earth orbit (LEO) with the broader purpose of going into deep space. This shift in the nature of space exploration: from a government-directed presence in LEO to a public-private ecosystem is igniting a fully-fledged space economy. According to Merrill Lynch, this space economy will be worth a staggering $3 trillion by 2050.

Together, commercial pioneers like Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, Orion Span, SpaceX, SNC, OneWeb and Boeing are pouring enormous resources into frontier industries crisscrossing satellite infrastructure, communications, solar energy, reusable rockets, asteroid mining, and space tourism. Indeed, Elon Musks SpaceX has already begun deploying over 12,000 LEO satellites to provide low-latency broadband internet infrastructure on a planetary scale.

While satellite broadband is expected to drive the lions share of wealth creation, near-Earth asteroid mining is forecast to eventually become a multi-trillion dollar industry. Venture interest is growing in mining asteroids for scarce commercial resources including cobalt, iron, and nickel, as well as precious metalsgold, silver, and platinum and even water. Meanwhile, space tourism is expected to generate a sizable $850 billion by 2030.

Little boy in a porthole,spaceship porthole, viewing earth.

Becoming a Planetary Species

Of course, the United States is not the only country with plans on space. Russia, the European Union, India, Japan, and China are all investing in advanced space programs. This includes planned missions to the moon and Mars, and designs on deep space exploration. In fact, Chinas ambitions include a permanentChinese space stationby 2022, and crewed expeditions to theMoon by 2024.

As new mission-driven organizations compete to develop a commercial presence in space, the proliferation of space-based industries will mean a substantially larger global innovation ecosystem. Access to abundant resources and the engineering of space-based technologies could drive frontier industries both on Earth and off-planet.

In the context of energy generation, researchers at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) are exploring the design of a LEO solar power station for 2035. Chinasambitious plans for a 200-tonne space-based solar powerstationwill be designed to capture the Sun'senergy and beam it back to earth as electricity. The solar power station could generate some 2GW of power (more energy output than the Hoover Dam).

The competition between the Unites States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s, inspired the development of revolutionary technologies that shaped the global economy for generations. The internet, telecommunications, advanced transistors, GPS, weather forecasting, and rocket technologies all led to what we now call the digital age.Given the scope of innovation shaping the coming decades, questions about managing a space economy have become unavoidable.

Mars colony. Expedition on alien planet. Life on Mars.

But How to Govern Space?

One of the key questions in managing a space economy is the nature of its governance. Notwithstanding the United Nations-sponsoredOuter Space Treaty of 1967, a legal vacuum in the governance of space remains a substantial challenge in overseeing what could be the next commercial gold rush.

Unfortunately, the key problem in governing space is that laws are rooted to the Earth. And this highlights the cognitive shift at the heart of the overview effect. How exactly do Earth-bound nation-states govern the expanse of space? Given the general lack of clarity over the ownership of space resources and the ambiguity surrounding the laws that govern space, there remains substantial legal and regulatory hurdles to overcome.

Space mining, for example, suggests the need for a much closer symbiosis between the public and private sectors in the governance of space-based industries. Leaving market forces to govern a nascent gold rush in space could be a recipe for tragedy and misadventure. At the same time, moving mining off-planet could help relieve the ongoing destruction of the Earth and its environment.

Responding to the challenge of a space economy will require specialized institutions designed to augment the authority of nation-states in the shared governance of space. This will mean new rules, new protocols, and new laws that govern a complex planetary civilization. What is clear is that we share this fragile planet with some 8 billion fellow humans and another 8 million other species. We will need to advance our capacities to safeguard it.

For the past six decades, astronauts have described the profound experience of seeing the Earth as a planet embedded in a universe of stars. Now even as we enter a new planetary era characterized by both technological advancement and climate crisis, a robust space industry is opening the way to a multi-planetary existence and a new stage in human evolution. We are becoming an interplanetary species.

See the original post here:

Space: The Final Frontier - Forbes

This article was originally published atThe Conversation.The publication contributed the article to Space.com'sExpert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Steven Freeland, Professor of International Law, Western Sydney University

David Kuan-Wei Chen, Executive Director, Centre for Research in Air and Space Law, McGill University

Ram S. Jakhu, Director, Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University

In 2019, US President Donald Trumpdeclaredspace is the new war-fighting domain. This followed the creation of the US Space Force and acommitmentto American dominance in outer space.

Other space-faring nations, and those who fear theacceleration of an arms racein space, were greatly concerned. At the latest meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, statesnoted with alarmthat preventing conflicts in outer space and preserving outer space for peaceful purposes is more necessary than ever.

The election of Joe Biden as the next US president and Kamala Harris as vice-president suggests there is cause for hope. The future of space may look more like the recent launch of NASAs SpaceX Crew-1mission to the International Space Station.

Onboard were US and Japanese astronauts, who joined Russian and US crew already living aboard the ISS. As the Falcon 9 rocket soared into space, the collaborative, cooperative and commercial nature of space was once again clear for all to see.

Read more:The US-Russian Space Station mission is a study in cooperation

The incoming Biden-Harris administration appears more interested in international cooperation, and much more cognisant of thechallenges of climate change, pandemics and other global issues. A carefully calibrated space policy can do much to address terrestrial challenges, while still allowing for many positive space activities.

Since 1967, human activity in space has been guided by the universally accepted principles embedded in theOuter Space Treaty. This has ensured we have had no military conflict in space, and required the exploration and use of space for the benefit and in the interests of all countries.

Any alternative vision of the future of space is dreadful to consider. Rhetoric about theinevitabilityof war in space makes such conflictmore likelyand risks a tragedy of the commons in space.

Read more:The US plan for a Space Force risks escalating a 'space arms race'

Any space war would have no clear winner. In a complex, globally shared arena such as space, it is important that states abide by accepted rules and established practices.

The US has great scientific and technological advantages and a robust and competitive commercial space sector. Instead of seeking dominance, it can better serve the world (and itself) by focusing its leadership on harnessing space for the benefit of all humankind.

In a promising sign, Biden and HarrissNASA review teamis composed of an outstanding group of space scientists as well as a former astronaut.

The current administration re-established the National Space Council, which is chaired by the vice president, and this has reinvigorated American investment andleadership in space exploration. This includes an ambitious plan to return to the Moon under the terms of theArtemis Accords.

To ensure the fragile and shared domain of outer space does not become an arena for conflict, therules that apply to any military uses of spaceneed to be understood, respected and further developed. Failure to do so could lead to devastation, disruption and impact on civilian lives, particularly in the largest and most powerful countries like the US, whose economies and societies are heavily dependent on space infrastructure. Their access to space has given them the greatest competitive advantage, but they are therefore the most vulnerable if that access is compromised.

Space is a congested, contested and competitive area where scientific, commercial and economic interests converge, as well as military and national security concerns. In this sense space is like the radio frequency spectrum, which has been successfully regulated and managed for decades under international rules adopted through theInternational Telecommunication Union.

But space is also much more. As the recent Crew-1 mission demonstrated, there are significant benefits when nations come together and cooperate. Enlightened leadership, guided by commonly agreed laws and practices and a recognition that we share outer space as custodians for future generations, is the only realistic way forward.

This article is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.

Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates and become part of the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.

Originally posted here:

'War in space' would be a catastrophe. A return to rules-based cooperation is the only way to keep space peaceful - Space.com

The National Space Council and Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP has released a new version of its National Strategy For Planetary Protection. The document is about alien invasions, but not the kind we are most accustomed to from science fiction. It outlines various strategies and policy goals that various stakeholder agencies, including NASA, the Department of Defense, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, can employ to ensure the sustainable exploration of space by appropriately protecting other planetary bodies and the Earth from potentially harmful biological contamination from space exploration activities. A full version of the planetary protection plan, as well as a truncated fact sheet, can be found on the official White House website.

The National Strategy For Planetary Protection comes on the heels of several other significant space policies released by President Donald Trump's Administration, the most significant of which being the creation of the United States Space Force. The world's superpowers have been jockeying for position in the new space race over the last two decades, and questions and concerns over the militarization of space loom large.

NASA

Concept art from NASA's planned Artemis III mission set for 2024

Aside from increasing military presence in space, concerns are also being raised over the commercialization of space as private companies continue to put more and more technologies into orbit and will eventually be sending their own systems to other celestial bodies, like the moon, asteroids, or even the Red Planet. A number of countries are also accelerating their physical exploration of space, both manned and unmanned, including a race to put humans back on the Moon and eventually Mars.

With the prospect of a future in which many spacecraft will be launching to and returning from extraterrestrial bodies, the risk of either forward contaminationbringing Earth-based microbes to other worldsor backward contaminationbringing home possible extraterrestrial biological materialis a chief concern among planetary scientists and homeland security policymakers alike. With that in mind, the White House's National Space Council drafted and published the National Strategy For Planetary Protection to define the need for dealing with these issues and to outline strategies by which contamination of either kind can be minimized or mitigated.

The document does not lay out any specific policies, but continues the work done by NASA and other governmental organizations to develop a more cohesive national effort that balances scientific discovery, human exploration, and commercial activity in space. The report gathered input from a wide variety of agencies that make up the Interagency Working Group on Planetary Protection. In 2019, planetary scientist and former NASA associate administrator Alan Stern told reporters that planetary protection has been a NASA priority for decades. At the time planetary protection was born at the beginning of the Space Age in the 1960s, we knew very little about the planets and their environments and their habitability; their suitability for astrobiology, Stern said during a call with reporters. Now, Stern said, we have a much more nuanced and, for that matter, sophisticated view of them.

The issue of planetary protection dates back to the late 1950s with the formation of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Contamination by Extraterrestrial Exploration (CETEX), an ad hoc group that made the first recommendations about sterilization of spacecraft in order to prevent possible contamination of other bodies. In 1967, the United Nations passed the Outer Space Treaty, formally known as the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. Article IX of that treaty states, in part, that all nations adhering to the treaty "shall pursue studies of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose." Over 100 nations are now party to the treaty.

Just a few years after that treaty was ratified in the United Nations, the Apollo 11 astronauts splashed down on in the Pacific on July 24, 1969. Following their recovery, the three astronauts were quarantined for three weeks in order to prevent any potential contamination.

NASA

Astronauts Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong inside the Mobile Quarantine Facility following splashdown.

Members of the Interagency Working Group on Planetary Protection that drafted the new National Strategy for Planetary Protection include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National Security Council (NSC), and eight of the cabinet-level departments of the executive branch including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Justice, State, and Transportation. The working group was formed in July 2020, and the report was released on December 30.

White House

The principles and goals of the Planetary Protection Strategy as outlined in the document.

The document outlines three key objectives for the National Strategy for Planetary Protection:

Objective 1: Avoid harmful forward contamination by developing and implementing risk assessment

Objective 2: Avoid backward contamination by developing a Restricted Return Program to protect against adverse effects on the Earth environment due to the potential return of extraterrestrial life

Objective 3: Incorporate the perspective and needs of the private sector by soliciting feedback and developing guidelines regarding private sector activities with potential planetary protection implications

The third objective is becoming increasingly significant as NASA has turned to the private sector for help in launching spacecraft and even retrieving samples from extraterrestrial bodies, such as the moon. Outside the United States, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) recently retrieved samples from the asteroid Ryugu, while Chinas Chang'e 5 mission retrieved 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of lunar regolith in late 2019. Meanwhile, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is set to deliver samples of the asteroid Bennu back to Earth on Sep. 24, 2023. NASA is already planning to send astronauts back to the moon with its Artemis III mission in 2024, a mission that could see the first woman on the moon.

These objectives are described further in the section of the document headed The Purpose of Planetary Protection:

The practice of planetary protection is grounded in the premise that life may exist beyond the Earths biosphere. Should life exist elsewhere in the universe, measures to avoid the introduction of external contaminants are necessary in order to protect life on Earth and ensure the validity of any scientific study related to such a discovery. In essence, planetary protection refers to the policies and practices related to two aspects of space exploration. First, planetary protection aims to protect future scientific investigations by limiting the forward biological contamination of other celestial bodies by terrestrial lifeforms. Second, planetary protection aims to protect Earths biosphere by preventing the backward biological contamination of Earth by returning spacecraft and their payloads.

For missions that may land on the surface of, or be in proximity to, another planetary body that may harbor life, planetary protection practices are implemented to avoid the harmful biological contamination of that planetary body. For example, if traces of bacteria are discovered on a mission to Mars, researchers would need to determine that the organism was not accidentally brought from Earth. Likewise, if the mission profile includes a return journey to Earth, the prevention of harmful biological contamination of Earth becomes a key consideration. Accordingly, the sampling and return to Earth of material from other planetary bodies must utilize appropriate methods of containment so as to avoid unintended interaction with Earths existing biology, such as the accidental introduction of an extraterrestrial pathogen.

Dr. Scott Pace, Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council, issued a statement accompanying the document's release. Current and future missions to Mars and other destinations necessitate a strategy to support a safe, sustainable, and predictable Earth and space environment," Pace said. "By establishing objectives for the implementation of the 2020 National Space Policys direction on planetary protection, this strategy continues American leadership in scientific discovery, human exploration, and private sector space activities.

Immediately after the documents publication, Pace stepped down from the National Space Council in order to return to George Washington University, where he previously served as Director of the Space Policy Institute within the University's Elliott School of International Affairs. In a statement, Pace said the past four years were among the most ambitious and productive years for the United States space enterprise and the work the council has done under his leadership has set a foundation for continued progress and advancement in the civil, commercial, and national space security sectors. It remains unclear if the incoming Biden administration plans to continue the National Space Council, which was created by law under the 1989 NASA Authorization Act. President Donald Trump is the first president to fund and staff the Council since President George H.W. Bush.

White House

An overview of the National Strategy for Planetary Protection.

The new National Strategy For Planetary Protection comes on the heels of several other policy documents released by the White House since 2017, including six new Space Policy Directives and a new National Space Policy released in 2020. One of these, Space Policy Directive 4, released February 19, 2019, covered the aforementioned establishment of the United States Space Force.

As Americas military and civilian policies increasingly turn towards space, we can expect to see many more policy directives coming from the executive branch. An extension of this reach into space means governmental agencies and other stakeholders must be prepared for any eventual discovery of extraterrestrial life, which will likely be microbial. In this time of a global pandemic, it goes without saying that even tiny terrestrial microbes can cause widespread societal disruption and threaten national security, let alone alien ones.

Those matters aside, its exciting to see the White House discussing planetary protection and potential contamination by extraterrestrial microbial life. Mitigating potential contamination is far from just an American issue, as other nations continue to catch up with the United States in terms of space exploration. Hopefully, international cooperation along the lines of the Outer Space Treaty can continue to push the issue forward in meaningful ways, keeping potential space invaders of any size from contaminating Earth and possibly harming our ecosystems.

Contact the author: Brett@thedrive.com

Here is the original post:

The White House's Planetary Protection Strategy Is About Space Invaders, But Not The Kind You Think - The Drive

With a fresh new year comes a bold new era of "Star Wars" storytelling as Disney's Lucasfilm unleashes its highly anticipated first wave of "The High Republic" novels, books and comics beginning this month, with its intertwined stories spread across multiple publishing platforms.

Set 200 years prior to "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" during the Jedi Knights' glory years, these heroic new space opera tales unspool while the mystic protectors were the official guardians of peace and justice for the Galactic Republic before the dark times fell.

To pen the lineup of print releases for "Star Wars: The High Republic," Lucasfilm Publishing selected Charles Soule ("Light of the Jedi"), Justina Ireland ("A Test of Courage"), Claudia Gray ("Into the Dark"), Cavan Scott (Marvel's "The High Republic" comic), and Daniel Jos Older (IDW's "Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures" comic) to lead the charge into this expanded universe. Lucasfilm Publishing's creative director Michael Siglain will oversee this project.

Related: Disney announces nine new 'Star Wars' shows plus an 'Alien' series

Space.com chatted with this stellar gathering of writers during December's virtual press junket to learn more about working on the crossover publishing effort, why this golden age of the Jedi appealed to their artistic instincts, the allure of Starlight Beacon space station, and what geeky surprises fans might look forward to starting Tuesday (Jan. 5), when the legendary lightsabers flare.

This panel interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Space.com: What were some of the qualifications or qualities you were searching for in assembling this dream team of storytellers?

Michael Siglain: We were looking for current authors that had a very distinct point of view. Authors who could tell big expansive stories, but also very personal stories and, you know, we also were looking for fan favorite authors. There was a lot that went into the list. And honestly, we struck upon these five immediately and happily they all said "yes" right away.

Space.com: Why is this the perfect time to launch "The High Republic" with its hopeful, optimistic outlook?

Daniel Jos Older: I think something that's really exciting is we get to see sci-fi imagine how terrible things can go so often with dystopias and this is an amazing opportunity for us as writers. Where we start out is a vision of the galaxy that is functioning, that is, good government that is good. The Republic being out in the world and the Jedi especially helping people, being peacekeepers, living their best lives and being part of the world. And it's exciting to think about what that might look like and how that affects the Jedi's mind state and their choices.

Cavan Scott: And we've never seen the elegant age, the more civilized age when you need elegant weapons. We've always seen a galaxy which is tearing each other apart. In the era of "Star Wars" you love, there's largely some pretty dire things going on, and that's not to say "The High Republic" is not going to have its moments. We wanted to see the Jedi in the Republic at a point in time when they are comfortable, because it's always interesting to set these people up and then knock them down and see how they cope. The Jedi have been at their height for hundreds of years and the Republic is pushing out in every direction. Then they come up against an unstoppable force that absolutely knocks them down and changes their view of everything.

Charles Soule: When we started writing these books and coming up with this initiative it was two and half years ago, and it was a very different world than it is today. But the world that "The High Republic" is launching into is a world that could use some books about hope and functioning systems and a world where things are good and if you work together, good things happen.

And that is a happy accident for all of us. I think that on Jan. 5, when these books come into the world, they're going to feel good to a lot of people who read them. I was just reading the last couple chapters when I got my copies of the hardcover the other day and I'm glad this is the book I wrote. I think we all feel pretty much the same.

Space.com: You all have very different backgrounds and storytelling approaches. How did all of that coalesce into a unified vision of "The High Republic"?

Claudia Gray: I like the fact that I feel like each of us is still bringing our individual voice. There wasn't any sense that any of us had to compromise that or change fundamentally who we are as storytellers in order to bring what we were going to bring to the story. The universe of it is still evolving as we keep thinking our way through it and keep telling our story. That's part of the joy of this galaxy that George Lucas created. You knew from "A New Hope" that there are centuries, millennia, of history here and we keep getting to expand and find new corners and new paths.

Justina Ireland: I think one of the reasons that this works is because "Star Wars" has always been big enough for anyone. That's one of the things we tend to forget because we gravitate to the storytelling we like most. But we always hear about it when something is bad. I think in this case we have all the right people in the writers room because we have such different things we want. So, if you decide that you hate the kids books, it's cool because Daniel's writing the next one. You have a chance to have different storytelling opportunities, and that for me is really exciting.

Gray: There are those people that are going to try every single one of the 31 flavors of Baskin Robbins, and then they're going to be the people who are in their 50th year of getting chocolate almond.

Older: Because we're telling so many Jedi stories, we're getting to see different perspectives that different Jedi have on the Force, whether they see it as music or as the river or as a city. That's also true of us as storytellers. We have different ways that we come to [a] story and if specifically "Star Wars" story is the Force, it remains what it is, but we bring our different views to it. Our voices are very much intact. And we've learned so much from each other.

Siglain: You know, it goes back to different viewpoints in terms of what works for particular formats what works for them as storytellers. And that's part of the beauty. It's putting all that into a blender and then adding in hope and optimism, because ultimately "Star Wars" is about hope, right? That's such a strong undercurrent of this.

Scott: I think the one thing I've found is that this is constantly making me up my game, not just because there's a massive responsibility here. We've all been "Star Wars" fans all our lives. I came to "Star Wars," not through the films, but through the comics and the books and then watched the films. So I understand, and we all understand, what this means to people.

I'm also upping my game because I don't want to let any of these guys down as well. We're all putting so much time, so much effort and so much love into this project. I've been doing this for 20 years. I'm now a very different writer than who I was when I started this process a couple years ago. All great characters change when they face a story because that is what a story is.

Space.com: How has "Star Wars" fandom changed over the decades and how does "The High Republic" fit into this new generation of readers?

Older: One thing that's cool is that there are young fans that are really excited about "Star Wars" who come to it fresh and are experiencing certain things for the first time. There's a whole generation whose "Star Wars" is "The Clone Wars," and that's the first thing they saw.

But what I keep thinking about is there's a whole group of people, and especially young people, who are going to find out about "Star Wars" through these books and comics. And they can because we've really designed them to be accessible to folks who don't know a single thing about "Star Wars" and have all the Skywalker saga memorized like we do.

Soule: There are projects here for every kind of "Star Wars" fan and every kind of age level. Whatever your entry point into "Star Wars" has been, there's a project for you and it was very challenging to create. It speaks to Mike's great wisdom in choosing this group of creators because I have never written a middle grade book. So I would be a bad choice to do that.

It feels like we're The Avengers or something like that, to choose another Disney property. Looking back on what we've done, I can't believe we ever thought we could do this. But here we are two weeks out before it's going to be in people's hands and it feels really good.

Ireland: When we first had "Star Wars" novels back in the dark ages before the internet, that was all the "Star Wars" we had. One of the exciting things in the novels, especially in the late '80s and early '90s, is you didn't know what was going to happen because you had no blueprint. And a lot of our novel storytelling in the last 10-15 years has been tied to a film or a TV show or something that already exists in another form of media. What's really exciting about this initiative is nobody knows how this is going to unfold, because we don't have the mild spoilers that've been leaked or even any kind of other storytelling set during this time period.

Space.com: SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and other private aerospace firms are igniting a new renaissance of interest in space exploration with school kids and adults. How did you inject that spirit of innovation and adventure into the storytelling?

Siglain: Internally, we were calling the characters "the Jedi Knights of the Round Table," because there was an element of Camelot to it. We knew that there needed to be some hope and optimism because these are the good times. They're not the dark times. Yes there are events that will change the galaxy. But this was a point where we could say, "Wow, what does a cool new Jedi starfighter look like?" and "what does a cool new Jedi ground transport look like?" To have some of that feeling of 1960s America to say, "Oh, we can do this, we are all a Republic."

Older: I think what's also cool is because we're meeting the Jedi in a time of peace which we basically have never done before, we get to see how people who have the Force use it in different ways that aren't just fighting back. So, we meet a Jedi Knight early on in IDW who uses the Force to heal. He doesn't have special Force powers. And that's his understanding and connection with how to use the Force, so he's not trying to have any fights. He's just out to take care of people and make them better.

Space.com: How did you arrive at Starlight Beacon space station as a narrative focal point and symbolism for "The High Republic?"

Scott: It was partly because of how we wanted to view the Jedi and the Republic together. That this wasn't a story about the Jedi and the Republic being based on Coruscant and directing from that central planet. We wanted to have both of those grand organizations out with the people, out living alongside other people. In a period of expansion, the frontier would be a very scary place, because at that point communications might not be as great as you're used to back home. You might be far away from the nearest planet that has a proper medi-center.

So, why not take part of that home with you? And one of the key elements of the beacon I love is the fact that there's a literal beacon on the space station. Wherever you are on the frontier, you can tune into it and hear it and know that the Jedi and the Republic are there and that you're not alone and not having to do everything by yourself.

Soule: As "Star Wars" locations go it's super cool. It has everything. In my head I call it the Light Star. It's the opposite of the Death Star in every way. It's a place that's designed to bring light and life and hope to the galaxy as opposed to fear and pain and death.

It's got canteens where people can get food. They have chefs from all over the Outer Rim who bring their native cuisines that people can try from all over the galaxy. There are these biological preserves on it that have places where they bring in plants and animals from different planets.

There's even a whole Jedi Temple on it. It's a Swiss Army knife of awesome things. It just was really fun to think of a location that could be so many things and be so meaningful. The designs of it that the concept artists did are out of this world. It's a beacon of light and hope and I think it's one of the cooler things we've made in "The High Republic" for sure.

Scott: From a dramatic point of view, when you put a light in a dark place, there's going to be people who are happy that the light's there. But there's going to be a lot of people who don't want this shown. They don't want what they're doing illuminated. And so it produces the dramatic catalyst for our story. And so, yeah, that in itself brings a lot of tension and crisis.

Space.com: How did you flesh out the intriguing theme of "what scares the Jedi?" in your story sessions?

Siglain: The idea goes back to our early brainstorming sessions at Skywalker Ranch. This was something that we wanted to explore for the initiative. I think there are little glimpses of what scares the Jedi in these debut books and comics. Ultimately, as we go on, you will see what scares the Jedi and it might not be what you think. So, we have to keep some mystery around this one, but this is definitely a question that will be answered as the initiative continues.

Soule: Mike, are they afraid of snakes?

Siglain: That's Indiana Jones.

Space.com: What's been the most rewarding aspect of working with this elite group of writers and creators and what do you hope readers take out of the books and comics?

Soule: Man, I mean working with this elite group of writers!

Siglain: That's the most fun, getting to create new "Star Wars" stories with these five amazing people and with the other artists and editors who have been involved. I can speak for all of us when I say we grew up with "Star Wars." It was always something that was larger than life. I never in a million years thought one day we're gonna create new "Star Wars" stories and new Jedi and new villains and be in a galaxy far, far away and be able to do that with everyone here.

There is such a desire to create something big and epic and hopeful and fun and scary. And I think they've achieved all of that. I think that these books and comics really are a perfect jumping on point. And also if you've lived with "Star Wars" for 40 years. It's new and original and still very much "Star Wars." I hope readers enjoy it and see it as authentically "Star Wars."

Older: You said it perfectly.

Soule: Yeah, you did it Mike! Well done.

Ireland: I was gonna say going to Disneyland. That's much better than your answer.

Scott: That was a good time.

Siglain: We did do that. We all went to Galaxy's Edge and that was pretty phenomenal.

Gray: Yeah, I can't think of people I would rather have been on the Millennium Falcon with, at least not like real people. [Laughs]. If it's Han Solo, you guys are out of luck. I'm sorry.

Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Follow this link:

'Star Wars: The High Republic' writers discuss the Jedi Order's finest hour (exclusive) - Space.com

Artists concept of a PitRanger surveying a lunar pit. Image via William Whittaker/ USRA/ Carnegie Mellon University.

Curious about what kind of pristine and peculiar science environments lie below the surface of the moon? Meet PitRanger, a tiny rover currently being designed to explore deep pits below the moons surface.

PitRanger is currently on track to become the key instrument in a short-term moon mission aimed at capturing high-definition 3D images of moon pits, deep, steep-walled holes thought to have been shaped billions of years ago by a once geologically active moon. Funded by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program (NIAC), the mini-robot will weigh 33 pounds (15 kg) and be solar-powered, a technological decision that poses many challenges alongside its advantages.

Although no launch dates have been proposed yet, the prototype, built by robotics research scientist William Whittaker and his team at Carnegie Mellon University, has already undergone and passed testing by performing at a sinkhole here on Earth, and is envisioned for launch in either 2021 or 2022.

Whittaker provided an update on his work during a virtual NIAC meeting held in September 2020, noting that significant progress has been made in the development of the lunar mini-rover.

PitRanger, whenever launched, will be a brief mission compared to previous moon rovers because of the length of lunar day and night. A lunar day lasts about 14 Earth days, and because solar-powered PitRanger depends on the sun for energy, the equally long lunar night becomes an opportunity for impending robot death. Whittaker emphasized this by saying:

It only has 12 days, not 12 years, to complete its mission.

PitRanger is also different from previous moon exploration missions because of its autonomy. PitRanger is designed with the strategic decision-making and imaging capabilities required to navigate risky ledges around a pit. Autonomy for quick missions like this one is becoming a necessary technology, since supervision and guidance from controllers on the ground wont be available to such small, solar-powered rovers.

The small lunar rover will roll at a top speed of 1 inch (2.5 cm) per second, and will be outfitted with a telephoto lens and panoramic unit in conjunction with a single solar panel. These features will work together using a panel-tilt mechanism to aim the camera at the pit, taking images at various angles that reach the pits far wall and floor. PitRanger will be accompanied by a lander, and be programmed with the software smarts to prune and process images later transferred to the lander for modeling. The little robot will do this repeatedly, wheeling back to the pit multiple times to acquire thousands of images and measurements. Once that work is done, the end result will be a photogrammetric model of the captured pit, providing an up-close and detailed look at whats inside as well as its shape, size, and other relevant features that provide insight into how the moon behaves. Spacecraft cameras in moon orbit are unable to match this detail. Whittaker said:

The scenario is to rove to a pit with a micro-rover, peer into the pit, acquire images of walls, floors, caverns, and then generate pit models Pit walls offer the only observable pristine geology on the moon. They are unique opportunities to observe volcanology, morphology and much more.

PitRanger may need to make multiple maneuvers to profile a lunar pit, as this illustration depicts. Image via USRA/ Carnegie Mellon.

Its still unclear whether PitRanger will visit a single moon pit or if there will be multiple pits on its agenda. More likely it will visit more than one. There is also no discussion circulating on which pits are currently being targeted. The moons surface is battered by these holes, with more than 200 documented by NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. Pits range in size from roughly 15 feet (5 m) across to more than half a mile (1 km) in diameter. NASA says that most pits were found either in large craters with impact melt ponds areas of lava that formed from the heat of the impact and later solidified or in the lunar maria dark areas on the moon that are extensive solidified lava flows hundreds of miles across. Exploring these pits would reveal valuable details about the voids in which they formed.

Moon pits, caves, and lava tubes formed by flowing magma and covered in tiny crystals are like windows to the moons history both within and below its surface. New technology intended for subsurface lunar exploration has been imagined by engineers in recent years, especially since NASAs plans to return humans to the moon are just over the horizon. Whittaker said that if accessible, these geologic features could be havens from radiation, extreme temperatures, dust storms, and micrometeorite hazards of the moons surface. With this considered, peering into moon pits may not only prove monumental in understanding our natural satellites history, but also in creating a safe habitat on the lunar surface, which could be a jumping-off point for human missions to Mars.

These images from NASAs LRO spacecraft show all of the known mare pits and highland pits. Each image is 728 feet (200 m) wide. Image via NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center/ Arizona State.

Bottom line: Researchers are building a prototype of a 33-pound (15 kg) lunar mini-robot called PitRanger set to be the key instrument in a future mission aimed at capturing high-definition images of moon pits.

Source: Micro-rover exploration of lunar pits deployable by commercial lander

Via Space.com

Via NASA

See the original post here:

Meet PitRanger: Tiny rover designed to probe the lunar underworld - EarthSky

by Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund

SpaceWatch.Global asked its friends, staff and contributors to review 2020 and provide an outlook into 2021. These personal reviews are being published during the holiday season. This is the review of Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund, President of International Astronautical Federation.

2020 has been an unprecedented, difficult and challenging year for people all around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the entire world economy. Recent studies and analyses show that the space sector has been more resilient when compared to other industries in terms of activities or private investments. We saw a major development in the domain of access to space with to date more than 110 launches. More than 1000 satellites have been launched by November 2020, over 700 of them belonging to the SpaceX Starlink fleet thatis now in a public beta testing phase. New missions in the domain of Earth observations were launched. We saw also progress in the domain of on-orbit servicing with the Mission Extension VehicleMEV-1(MEV-1) that became the firsttele-robotically operatedspacecraft to service other satellites on-orbit. Space investments remained strong in 2020 where companies such as SpaceXs, Blue Origins, Astroscale, Kymeta, ICEYE, Changguang Satellite or Spire to name a few could secure new investments.

Furthermore in 2020, notable highlights in space exploration dominated the media. 2020 marked SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2 crewed mission launched in May, that successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) and returned in August. In November, the first operational SpaceX commercial Crew-1 mission launched four astronauts to the ISS marking the begin of a new era of NASA human spaceflight. In October 2020, the ISS celebrated 20 years of continuous human habitation. More than 3,000 investigations from 108 countries have been conducted over the last decades.

2020 was also the year of Mars. End of July and beginning of August, three robotic missions were launched to Mars from China, the United Arab Emirates and NASA (Tianwen-1, Hope, and Mars2020, respectively). These missions will explore the atmosphere and the surface of our fascinating neighbor planet, and the Mars2020 mission will collect material for a future Mars sample return mission.

Recently, China launched and returned its lunar sample return mission Change 5 which brought 2kg samples from the youngest part of Oceanus Procellarum safely back to Earth, the first Moon samples since 44 years. An amazing success.

JAXAs Hayabusa mission has also returned samples from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu in December 2020. The capsule touched down safely in Australia and we expect some interesting scientific results soon. NASAs Osirix Rex mission collected samples from carbonaceous asteroid Bennu in October to be returned in 2023. These are just some of the success stories of the vibrant space sector in 2020.

2020 has also been a truly challenging year as well as an incredible journey for the International Astronautical Federation IAF. After the decision to postpone the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2020 in Dubai to 2021 and the IAC 2021 in Paris to 2022, we worked to organize this years 71st IAC, as a CyberSpace Edition that could reach everyone, everywhere. More than 13.600 registered participants from 135 countries have joined the IAC 2020 leaving a remarkable legacy with 1300 recorded talks, thanks to the work of conveners and IAF technical and administrative committees, that also met online. In 2020, 19 new IAF members joined the organization bringing the total number of IAF members to 407 from 71 countries, further enlarging our broad network.

This year we also launched a new initiative: the IAF Space Economic Platform Bringing Space Down to Earth/Bringing Earth Up to Space. Through this platform, the IAF aims to propel and support the new space economy by integrating new space actors, entrepreneurs, non-space industry and organizations through new dedicated activities and events. This new IAF initiative will also allow to monitor the resilience of the space sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic and will give us a clearer picture how to mitigate the long-term effects on production capacity, workforce and the vulnerable situation of start-ups and SMEs.

Another of the most recent IAF initiatives is the launch of theIAF LaunchpadMentorshipProgramme, that aims to facilitate career development and leadership capabilities of the mentee, and provides a platform for enhanced communication between the various generations represented within the IAF community.In the current COVID-19 situation it is more important than ever to reach out to the next generation of space professionals all over the world.

2020 has also seen the launch of the IAF Digital Library providing space knowledge within everybodys reach. The IAF Digital Library is the worlds largest database of full-text articles covering all disciplines related to space. Counting over 50,000 papers, the digital heritage of the IAF Digital Library is an extraordinary source worldwide of resources consulted by researchers, scientists, engineers, academicians, industrials, policy-makers, media, students and young professionals.

We all have hope that in 2021 we will overcome the current COVID-19 crisis and adapt to a new normal. In the next decade the trend of declining prices for launches and satellite manufacturing will likely continue. Constellations, mass production of satellites, advancements in reusability, on-orbit servicing of satellites, debris mitigation and space tourism are just some of the key elements of current NewSpace activities which will be further developed in 2021. The digital revolution will also have a growing impact on the space sector. It has changed how products are designed, manufactured, and sold and will continue to influence the speed of design and production. New satellite applications, products and services, ground systems and antenna designs will be developed. There are numerous new business opportunities in the combined fields of space technologies, artificial intelligence and machine learning for innovators and companies.

More than ever, space will be the key for understanding our Earth system and consequently our socio-economic development and how we can mitigate climate change. The next decade will likely bring humanity to the Moon and prepare for human exploration of Mars. New activities are planned to all destinations such as LEO, Moon, Mars and beyond by many actors: USA, ESA, China, Russia, Japan, India, UAE, etc. In 2021, the Martian missions launched this year will arrive to the Red Planet in February. The first uncrewed test flight for NASAs Artemis programme, Artemis-1, is set to be launched. Furthermore, several robotic missions to explore the Moon are scheduled in the framework of NASAs Commercial Lunar Payload Services programme, as well as others from India, Japan, Russia and China. Commercial activities and R&D in LEO will continue as well as commercial activities and routes to deep space. The development of the next Chinese Space Station is anticipated. In summary, endeavors to many destinations will be prepared in order to explore the surfaces of Moon and Mars and to build outposts. Furthermore, we will also continue to see the global space economy grow with the development of new space solutions stemming from NewSpace development in Earth orbits.

2021 is a particularly important year for the IAF as it will mark the 70th anniversary of the Federation. For the past seven decades, the IAF has been providing a platform for the global space community to meet, share and connect. With this philosophy, the IAF expanded year after year its memberships and portfolio. The IAFs platinum jubilee makes us extremely proud and grateful to be part of the remarkable space sector that plays an ever-increasing role in our daily lives. Other important events include the Global Space Exploration Conference, GLEX 2021, co-organized with the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, that will be held in St. Petersburg, Russia, from 14 to 18 June 2021. The 72nd International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2021, will be hosted by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center MBRSC, and it will take place in Dubai, UAE, from 25 to 29 October 2021. The United Arab Emirates, will be the first Arab country to host the IAC since its establishment in 1950.

In summary, exploring space provides an opportunity for the entire space sector to work together towards larger goals, irrespectively of nationality, race or gender! During these unprecedented times the IAF is more committed than ever to support the global space dialogue and make the space sector more resilient.

Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund is currently Research Professor at the Space Policy Institute in Washington DC and has contributed since three decades to many ESA and NASA astronomy and planetary missions, experiments on the International Space Station and served in high-level management & advisory positions in Europe and the United States. Since 2019 she is the President of the International Astronautical Federation.

Continued here:

#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: Space world highlights 2020 and outlook 2021 by Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund - SpaceWatch.Global

Trump Signs FY21 Spending and Energy R&D Legislation

On Dec. 22, President Trump disrupted plans to enact spending for fiscal year 2021 when he released a video attacking the legislative package Congress had just passed by wide, bipartisan margins. However, he reversed course and signed it into law on Dec. 27. Spending levels are now set for all federal agencies through Sep. 30. Funding will remain at or near current levels for most science agencies, the most notable exception being the National Nuclear Security Administration budget, which will increase 18% to nearly $20 billion to support efforts to modernize the U.S. nuclear stockpile. Also notable, the Defense Departments early-stage Science and Technology accounts are collectively increasing 5% to $16.9 billion, departing from the cuts put forward in the Houses and Senates original proposals. For further details, see the FYI Federal Science Budget Tracker and the explanatory statements accompanying the package.

Alongside its spending provisions, the package incorporates an array of other legislative priorities, including the Energy Act, a major energy policy update reconciling bills the House and Senate advanced earlier in the year. Among many other provisions, the act establishes new R&D and technology demonstration programs in areas such as energy storage, industrial carbon emission reduction, and fusion energy. It also recommends Congress multiply the Department of Energys budgets for carbon management and nuclear energy technologies and includes a provision mandating a phasedown in the use of hydrofluorocarbons, a potent class of greenhouse gases. The overall package also provides the first pandemic-response funding Congress has passed since last spring. The emergency spending includes $23 billion in general relief funding for higher education institutions but none directed toward addressing disruptions to research, as had been proposed in the Research Investment to Secure the Economy (RISE) Act.

On Dec. 23, Trump fulfilled threats he had been making for weeks to veto the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. On Dec. 28, the House voted 322 to 87 to override the veto, and the Senate did the same on Jan. 1 with a vote of 81 to 13, making the legislation law. Congress ability to muster the two-thirds majorities needed to defy Trump stems from the priority congressional leaders ascribe to the annual defense policy update, which has now been successfully enacted 60 years in a row. Among numerous other provisions bearing on science and technology, this years act lays groundwork for future efforts to bolster and secure the national security innovation base, and it establishes major national initiatives in artificial intelligence and microelectronics R&D and production. It also establishes government-wide disclosure requirements for science agency grantees, gives the Defense Department more input into the National Nuclear Security Administrations budget request, and adds new requirements to prepare for climate-related national security threats.

Winding down its activities in the final days of the Trump administration, the National Space Council released a planetary protection strategy last week for preventing potential biological cross-contamination during deep space exploration. The strategy is a step toward implementing an item of the National Space Policy released last month, which calls for developing national and international planetary protection guidelines. The strategy sets out six goals aimed at avoiding forward contamination of other planetary bodies and backward contamination of the Earth, taking into account issues arising from the growth of the commercial space industry. Among its action items, the strategy calls for developing a safe return approval framework for planetary samples within the next year. The National Space Council was established by the Trump administration and its future under the Biden administration remains undetermined. The councils executive secretary Scott Pace stepped down on Jan. 1, returning to his prior role as director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University.

The Snowmass summer study meeting, a key component of the U.S. particle physics communitys strategic planning process, has been postponed by one year to summer 2022. The Snowmass Steering Group announced the decision Dec. 23 after concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the planning process were raised at last months High Energy Physics Advisory Panel meeting. Citing discussions with the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, the steering group states it learned that some important scientific milestones will arrive later than anticipated and concluded a delay would enable the planning process to be fully informed by the anticipated progress in our field as those milestones are met over the coming year. The group also suggests the delay will enable people who have been particularly impacted by the pandemic to participate more fully in the process. A revised schedule for the process is expected to be released by the end of January and DOE has indicated it will push back the next Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel exercise to accommodate the new timeline.

On Jan. 4, the National Institute of Standards and Technology published proposed changes to regulations that implement the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which grants patent rights to certain institutions for inventions they produce using federal funds. Among the most significant updates, NIST proposes to clarify that the governments authority to override such patents, known as march-in rights, cannot be used solely on the basis of price considerations. Though no agency has exercised the authority, some lawmakers and advocacy groups have periodically called for the National Institutes of Health to use march-in rights to lower the price of prescription drugs developed with NIH support, including former Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), who is President-elect Bidens pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. However, NIH officials and the acts original sponsors, former Sens. Bob Dole (R-KS) and Birch Bayh (D-IN), have argued the authority only permits the government to override patents under specific circumstances, such as when the patent holder has failed to commercialize an invention.

On Dec. 31, President Trump extended through March 2021 two proclamations that together suspend the issuance of new green cards and various nonimmigrant visas. The nonimmigrant visa restrictions, first issued in June 2020, have been widely criticized by universities and businesses, in part for halting the H-1B program, which provides temporary visas to high-skilled workers. Implementation of the original proclamations H-1B visa freeze has been partially blocked by a district court in California since October 2020. President-elect Bidens transition team has not commented on whether he plans to reverse the order before its expiration.

The Department of Energy announced on Dec. 22 that it has selected Battelle Savannah River Alliance (BRSA) to manage Savannah River National Lab. Located at DOEs Savannah River Site in South Carolina, which was heavily contaminated by Cold War nuclear weapons production activities, the lab is overseen by DOEs Office of Environmental Management and focuses on R&D related to environmental remediation, nuclear waste management, nuclear nonproliferation, and renewable energy development. BRSA is a consortium that is led by Battelle, a nonprofit corporation that currently manages seven other DOE laboratories, and includes five university subcontractors: Clemson University, Georgia Tech, South Carolina State University, the University of Georgia, and the University of South Carolina. The five year base contract can be extended up to five years with an estimated value of $3.8 billion for the full period. The lab was previously managed by a consortium of companies under a broader contract covering the entire Savannah River Site.

See more here:

The Week of January 4, 2021 - FYI: Science Policy News

While 2020 was a challenging year for the space industry (and everyone else) amid the coronavirus pandemic, a bunch of exciting missions that will launch or arrive at their destination in 2021 continued to move forward.

From Mars to asteroids, robots, humans and much more, we'll see space exploration continue to expand across the solar system.We'll also see some new rockets take flight from companies like Firefly Aerospace and Relativity Space.

Here's what we're looking forward to:

The space industry is rapidly expanding and the Red Planet is the hottest destination for missions, it seems. NASA will continue its long-running search for life with the Perseverance rover, which will cache Martian samples for eventual analysis on Earth and test out the first-ever Mars helicopter, called Ingenuity.

China's ambitious Tianwen-1 mission, the first Mars mission for the country, will see an orbiter, lander and rover all explore the Red Planet. The United Arab Emirates also sent its first mission, the Hope orbiter, to Mars to inspire the "next generation."

Boeing had a number of issues when its commercial crew Starliner Orbital Test Flight-1 (OFT-1) launched into space in 2019 it didn't reach the International Space Station as planned and both NASA and the company investigated and implemented some lessons learned for another try in 2021.

Boeing hopes to launch a second attempt on March 29, 2021 after addressing the software issues that prevented Starliner from reaching its destination the first time. If Boeing succeeds, this will make Starliner the second commercial crew spacecraft certified to bring astronauts to orbit, after SpaceX's Crew Dragon.

Assuming that Starliner passes its uncrewed flight test, Boeing plans to send up three astronauts to the International Space Station no earlier than June 2021. NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Nicole Mann and Barry "Butch" Wilmore will fly with Boeing's first crewed test flight. Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson was originally assigned to command the mission, but stepped down from the oft-delayed flight for personal reasons in October 2020.

Japan's first moon rover, called Yaoki, will take flight aboard the rookie mission for United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan Centaur rocket in 2021. The new booster will phase out the Russian-made engines that powered ULA's long-running Atlas line, replacing them with Blue Origin-made engines.

Yaoki will fly to the moon along with the Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic's Peregrine lander on a mission sponsored by NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. If the mission goes to plan, the cremated remains of noted science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke will be deposited on the moon.

Washington state-based company Blue Origin will send its first orbital rocket aloft in 2021, if all goes to plan. Named New Glenn after the NASA Mercury astronaut John Glenn, the rocket can send up to 14 tons (13 metric tons) to geostationary orbit and 50 tons (45 metric tons) to low Earth orbit.

NASA and Blue Origin recently announced the rocket will be added to NASA's fleet of commercial launch vehicles; NASA already has used Blue Origin's suborbital rocket New Shepard (named after NASA Mercury astronaut Al Shepard.)

NASA's ambitious James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which scientists hope will reveal more about exoplanet atmospheres and the early universe, has already been delayed many years from its original launch date in 2007. But, despite these delays, the telescope is almost ready now and final testing is being readied on some of its more complex parts, such as its sunshield.

July 2020, the pandemic forced JWST to delay seven months further into 2021, from March to October.. However, while the telescope may make this possible date, NASA wants to get the telescope right and will take the time it needs, the agency says.

An ambitious new NASA mission called Lucy should launch in October or November to study eight space rocks over nearly a decade.

The spacecraft will be the first from NASA to visit Jupiter's Trojan asteroids, which orbit the sun in two clusters; one group is behind Jupiter and one is ahead of it. Lucy will also pass by a main-belt asteroid on its way to the huge gas giant planet.

If NASA's ambitious Space Launch System megarocket can clear its testing hurdles this year and construction is completed on time, the agency's Artemis I mission will fly around the moon after a launch in November 2021.

This will be the first launch for SLS and the second for NASA's Orion spacecraft, which first had an uncrewed space mission back in 2014. Artemis I is key to NASA's plans to land humans on the moon, as the agency plans a crewed orbital moon mission in 2023 and then a crewed landing in 2024. Meeting the landing deadline, however, may also be contingent on NASA receiving more money for its human landing system, administrator Jim Bridenstine has warned Congress.

The Russian lander Luna-25 may be the first Russian craft to reach the moon's surface since it was part of the Soviet Union. Russia plans to launch the moon mission in 2021 with nine instruments on board.

Luna-25 will touch down at the moon's south pole to research the lunar regolith and exosphere (atmosphere). This region is under consideration for crewed moon missions by NASA and other space agencies in the future. The Soviet Union sent several uncrewed missions to the moon between the 1950s and 1970s, including the first spacecraft to hit the surface (Luna 2 in 1959), the first spacecraft to soft-land (Luna 9 in 1966) and the first robotic lunar rover (Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 in 1970), among other milestones.

The End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) mission is set to launch in March 2021 on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan in a bid to deal with the growing problem of space junk in orbit.

The dual spacecraft mission includes a 385-lb. (175 kilograms) "servicer" and a 37-lb. (17 kg) "client" that will use rendezvous technology and a magnetic capture mechanism in orbit. Orbital debris is expected to increase in the coming years as more companies send tiny spacecraft into low Earth orbit.

SpaceX plans to send astronauts with Houston-based company Axiom Space into space in 2021 for a mission to the International Space Station.

The trip will likely feature eight days at the station and two days of travel time. While tourists have visited the space station before, Axiom notes this will be "the first-ever fully private" trip to the station. NASA hopes to open up the space station for even more commercial opportunities in the future, although Congress has not given the agency as much money as desired in fiscal 2021 for these plans.

Houston-based company Intuitive Machines plans to fly the robotic Nova-C lander on a NASA-sponsored flight in 2021, launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The lander will send five NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) payloads to the surface and will send data to our planet for 13.5 Earth days.

Other customer payloads will fly aboard Nova-C as the lander still has capacity for the mission. "Our partnership with Intuitive Machines is a great example of two private companies working together with NASA to advance space exploration," SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwellsaid in a statement.

After several ambitious tests in 2020, SpaceX may send its first commercial payload aloft on a Starship spacecraft in 2021. Jonathan Hofeller, SpaceX's vice president of commercial sales, said back in June 2019 that the company was talking with several telecom companies for that launch opportunity.

Even if SpaceX doesn't make that tentative date, however, it is moving forward quickly with Starship development, including an ambitious maneuvering test in December 2020. The company plans to eventually use Starship for crewed Mars missions.

The United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and SpaceX aren't the only companies planning to launch new rockets in 2021. Several small-satellite launch companies also hope to reach orbit in the coming year, including Firefly Aerospace, Relativity Space and Virgin Orbit.

Texas-based Firefly Aerospace initially hoped to launch its first Alpha rocket, a two-stage booster for smallsat launches, in 2020 but is now aiming for multiple missions in 2021. In addition to the Alpha rocket's debut launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Firefly plans to launch at least two more missions in 2021 under a new launch agreement with Adaptive Launch Services.

Relativity Space is a startup in Los Angeles, California building the Terran 1 rocket, a completely 3D-printed booster that will launch small satellites from pads at both Cape Canaveral, Florida and Vandenberg. The company is expected to launch its first flight in 2021 and recently received its second launch contract from NASA among other commercial agreements.

Virgin Orbit is a small-satellite launch company founded by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson that spun out of the entrepreneur's Virgin Galactic space tourism company. Virgin Orbit is building LauncherOne, an air-launched rocket for smallsat launches, and has already launched one test flight that did not reach space.

The company had hoped to launch a second test flight of LauncherOne in December 2020, but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has delayed the flight.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Read the original:

These are the space missions to watch in 2021 - Space.com

Despite the mind-numbing stream of badnews surrounding the coronavirus, lockdowns, politics and much more, the year 2020 was full of progress in the space technology industry, and 2021 promises much more to come, and all at a rapid pace. Here's a quickroundup of just a few of the major players in space, and some of their plans for the coming months.

SpaceX is of coursefront and center with their reliable Falcon 9 launch system and it's rapid turnaround ability and multiple reusability of it's booster stages. Everyone said it couldn't be done, but Elon Musk's company has proven it certainlycan be done, and is doing so with almost monotonous regularity.They arelaunching frequently and efficiently, putting into orbit satellite additions to theirownStarlink internet satellite constellationand carrying payloads for other companies, as well as supplies and crew members for the International Space Station. Two more crewed flights are scheduledin 2021.

The loudest buzz however,surrounds their full-scale Starship test flights, the firstof which(SN8) launched December 08, 2020. The amazing launchand flight of SN8 was a spectacular success, and despite it's hard (and fiery) landing, it was right on target, and provided SpaceX the engineering data needed to continue improving it's design, systems and software. SpaceX has always pushed the envelope very hard, often forcing failures in testing,but actively uses those events to identify problem areas and produce success.

Starship, the company's program for eventually returning humans to the Moon and Mars, is still in the early stages of development, but progress at the company is always extraordinarily fast. Several othertest versions of Starship have already been built or are being assembled, and necessary design changeswill be made according to data gained in each test flight.

According to several sources, the next iteration (SN9) is likely to launch within the firstfew weeks in January, 2021, and promises to be another spectacular event at their Boca Chica Beach launch facility near Padre Island, Texas.

Another mover and shaker in space technology is Rocket Lab, a U.S. company which live-streams their launches from a gorgeous launch facility on the rocky coast of New Zealand. Rocket Lab is making excellent progress on reusability of their small, lightweight launch vehicles, Electron.

Launched last July, NASA's latest Mars rover Perseverancewill also be making news with a landing on February 18th, 2021, and will demonstrate new technology in the form of a multi-rotor helicopter which will deploy then fly in the thin atmosphere of the "Red Planet".

Richard Branson's space tourism venture Virgin Galactic is nearing the end of testing, and is rapidly moving closer to taking paying passengers into low altitude space, andBlue Origin's first manned flight of it's New Shepard vehicle, andBoeing's Starlinerproject is making progress in it's contract with NASA for manned spaceflight.

These are just a few U.S. companies, all making fantastic achievements, and all, just a few years ago, were nearly unheard of.

Two great sites I follow in my feeble attempts to stay current are:Behind The BlackandSpaceflight Now. Another great up-to-the-minute source is an appcalledSpace Launch Now,available at theGoogle Play and iTunesapp stores.

------------------

Be sure to tune in to the Chad Hasty Show airing weekday mornings live, from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM on News/Talk 95.1 FM and 790 AM KFYO. You may also listen to the show live online atKFYO.com, on the fantastic, free and easy to useKFYO App, all Alexa-enabled devices using theKFYO Skill, as well as on Google Home devices. You may follow Chad on Twitter:@ChadHastyRadio, Instagram:instagram.com/chadhastyradio, Snapchat: @ChadHastyRadio. Much more information about Hasty, as well as his extra-show content and commentary may be found atkfyo.com/author/chadhasty. Be sure to tune indailyto KFYO and check our website for the latest news and commentary, follow KFYO Radio on Twitter:@KFYO, and subscribe toKFYO's YouTube channel.

5 Things to Miss About Lubbock If You Move Away

Read more:

2021 Promises Very Exciting Year In Space Exploration - News/Talk 790 KFYO

As was evident during the space race of the sixties, politically-fueled competition can go hand-in-hand with scientific collaboration. Such was the case on December 16, when Chinas Change-5 return capsule landed in the grasslands of the countrys Siziwang Banner near the Mongolian Border. Scientists around the world have been eagerly awaiting its arrival.

The reentry and recovery marked the end of a historic 23-day mission. Employing similar maneuvers to the later Apollo missions (lunar lander separates and reconnects with craft orbiting the moon before returning to Earth), Change-5 became the first spacecraft to successfully accomplish the feat robotically since the Soviet Unions Luna 24 probe in 1976, and the first to do such a difficult maneuver on an unmanned mission. The flights success is a welcoming sign for upcoming missions to the moon, and is arguably Chinas crowing achievement to date in space.

The success of the automated spaceflight aside, Change-5s primary mission was to return samples from the moon for the first time since the seventies. The craft landed near the moons Mons Rmker in a region known as Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms). Automated systems onboard directed the landing site away from nearby craters and landed the 4-ton probe on the lunar surface. NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an image of Change-5 hours after landing.

The landing site was an area believed to be newer than the majority of the moons surface, being the site of ancient lava flows. Without active volcanoes, an atmosphere, or sources of change beyond the occasional meteor impact, many have concluded that the moon is geologically dead. However, recent studies have cast doubt on the conclusion of complete geological inactivity, spurring scientists to gather more evidence.

Jessica Flahaut, a planetary geologist at the University of Lorraine in France, said, Remote sensing data from the last decades have also shown a number of curiosities, including felsic domes, irregular mare patches, and rock types at the lunar surface, which we dont have in the sample collection yet. It is therefore key to insist that lunar exploration is still only at its beginning, and that there is much more to do.

Change-5 seeks to help calibrate our understanding of the moons age, and did its part by drilling into the rocky surface during the first few days of December. In its rendezvous with the return capsule, the probe stashed away 2 kilograms of precious moon material. Its backup craft, Change-6, will be repurposed for exploring a different area of the lunar surface, and versions 7 and 8 will reportedly be used to help establish an international lunar research station, one in which the United States will utilize as it leads the way for crewed landings later this decade.

The return of astronomical samples has been in the news on the American front recently as well, with NASAs OSIRIS-REx probe collecting the first sample of an asteroid (Bennu) to be returned to earth this October. The asteroid material will return to Earth in 2023, an unprecedented feat for the robot that had been orbiting the asteroid since 2018.

While 2020 will go down as a year with more than its share of shortcomings, its been perhaps the most exciting year in space exploration in decades. The United States is leading the way, but is undoubtedly assisted by a growing international community of interstellar capabilities.

Read more:

2020: The Year of Exciting Space Exploration - ClearanceJobs