Category Archives: Space Exploration

Every year in October nearly 100 countries organise activities to mark World Space Week. The theme this year is space and sustainability. In this interview, Adejuwon Soyinka, West Africa regional editor at The Conversation Africa, asks Etim Offiong about how far Africa has come in the space age and what benefits the continent stands to gain from its investment in space technology.

Sputnik happened partly due to the cold war rivalry between the US and the former Soviet Union. During this period, most African countries were still under colonial rule. Only Ghana had gained independence, earlier that year.

Through the colonial systems and structures put in place then, African countries had no control over their natural and human resources. The colonies were made to focus on the labour, raw materials and agricultural crops that were needed by their colonial masters.

They could not pay attention to research and development, particularly in nuclear physics, space and the oceans. Educational systems were also designed to meet the needs of colonial masters. Outer space was, therefore, of little concern to Africa.

Free nations on the other hand could channel their resources into space exploration.

Despite the restrictions and challenges in their home countries, African scientists still made efforts to study and do research in their areas of interest. These were mostly done abroad through scholarships and fellowships. Some of these scientists were interested in understanding phenomena surrounding the Earth and Sun.

At about this time (1957-8), the International Geophysical Year provided an opportunity for international research on the science and impact of the Sun-Earth system. The US also placed tracking stations in Nigeria and South Africa to support US space missions.

In that sense, one may say that Africa participated in early space activities. But the activities were not designed to benefit African countries.

As African countries started gaining independence, they could, to some extent, control their human and financial resources. The speech made by Ghanas Kwame Nkrumah at the launch of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 highlighted how Africas development and prosperity needed science and technology.

But a major leap in space activities started around 1998, with the establishment by the United Nations of Regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education in developing countries.

Two centres were established in Africa: one in Morocco for the French-speaking African countries, and the other in Nigeria for the English-speaking African countries.

At about this time, South Africa was developing what would become Africas first indigenously built satellite Sunsat which was launched in 1999.

From these early steps, more African nations started developing an interest in space. Those that were already aware of the benefits of space technology in development started seeking means to procure satellites and acquire space-related knowledge.

In addition to national initiatives, there are several externally funded space-related programmes and projects in Africa which have created an inflow of funds, knowledge and infrastructure into the continent.

Furthermore, the African Space Policy and Strategy was adopted in 2016. Some African countries have also developed national space policies and strategies.

So, Africa has made some gains, but it could be better.

There is potential to apply space technology in various areas, including agriculture, transport, urban planning, environmental management, disaster management and natural resource management.

The UN-affiliated regional centres in Morocco and Nigeria have trained several hundred Africans in these areas.

In addition, some African countries have procured small satellites, mostly through the help of academic or commercial institutions abroad. Unfortunately, there has been little or no technology transfer. Similarly, the technology and knowledge from externally funded programmes have yet to be properly internalised, codified and diffused.

Some African countries have commenced academic programmes in areas such as astronomy, remote sensing, space weather, satellite communication, satellite geodesy, satellite meteorology and space law.

The challenge is that there are few jobs for the graduates. Africa eventually loses them to countries where their knowledge and skills are better used. Africa, therefore, needs to be strategic in its engagements and programmes.

In my view, it begins with a national space policy and strategy. A national policy states where a country wants to go, the national space strategy states how it will get there. The policy states the vision, overarching goals and guiding principles; the strategy translates these into actions and programmes.

Space policies and strategies are important because they enable predictable positive outcomes for a country, region, or organisation. They lead, guide and guard all stakeholders government, industry, academia and civil society towards attaining corporate interests, goals and priorities.

Due to the unique nature of the space domain (scientific, commercial, military and geostrategic interests), developing a space policy and strategy is not as simple as other public policies.

On the flip side, space policy and strategy operate within an international legal regime. There are treaties, principles, norms and guidelines for space activities.

This is where the African Space Leadership Institute comes in to develop Africas capabilities in space policy, strategy, law and governance. The institute was also established to provide advice and insight on issues in the African national and continental space landscape. All these would be within the frameworks of the African Unions Agenda 2063 and the UN SDGs.

African countries need to be more deliberate in developing space capabilities. A party can only benefit from bilateral or international cooperation if it brings something to the table, knows what it wants to get from the cooperation and negotiates well.

So, quite a lot of strategic foresight is needed in Africa.

See the article here:

Africa in space: continent has a lot to gain, but proper plans must be put in place - The Conversation Africa

NASA's Commercial Crew Program is launching a crew of four astronauts on the fifth crew rotation mission to the International Space Station launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Kennedy Space Center Wednesday, Oct. 5 at noon EDT (rescheduled from Tuesday, October 4 at 12:23 pm ET).

NASAs SpaceX Crew-5 sends astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada of NASA, astronaut Koichi Wakata of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and cosmonaut Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the ISS.

With this launch, mission commander, Nicole Aunapu Mann, has become the first Native American woman to travel to space.

Mann told Reuters "I feel very proud. It's important that we celebrate our diversity and really communicate that specifically to the younger generation." Mann is a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes.

Crew-5 will spend roughly a day traveling to the ISS after launch. Once the new crew arrives, the members of the Crew-4 mission currently on the ISS will spend five days handing off duties to the new arrivals.

Once the handoff is complete, the astronauts of NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission will undock from the space station and splash down off the coast of Florida, concluding their long duration stay of around six months on the ISS.

The Crew-5 astronauts will live aboard the International Space Station for the next six months, conducting science experiments in areas including cardiac to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit life on Earth as well.

Originally posted here:

The First Native American Woman Travels into Space with NASA's Crew-5 Mission - Discovery

There's no denying that there's nothing subtle about chrome beauty.

Before this season, whenever someone mentioned chrome beauty, the first thought immediately went to nails. Nails have always been the most subtle way to incorporate metallics in a casual everyday form. However, this season is all about going above and beyond. Thanks to the '90s comeback in fashion, chrome is moving from nails to the face. Makeup artist Elisa Flowers tells Allure, "We are definitely seeing a lot of nods [in pop culture] to '90s fashion, hair, and makeup these days, [with series] such as the television series Pam & Tommy or Euphoria. It's fun to borrow influences from earlier times in history and make them fresh."

Besides these influences we see from Hollywood, multiple brands are utilizing and taking advantage of chrome's popularity. Part of the reason why chrome beauty has taken off is that these brands are embracing futuristic and metallic styles. Director of product development and product testing at ORLY, Collen Foxworthy, tells Byrdie, "In 2022, we're seeing a lot of conversation around the advancement of space exploration and virtual reality. People are captivated by things like new images from the James Webb Space Telescope. We're seeing that platinum, space age-y, technology-based aesthetic."

So while chrome is not new in the beauty world, these new-age references and influences have inspired this comeback.

The rest is here:

Chrome Beauty Is Having A Huge Moment This Fall - Glam

ASTROBOTIC CEO JOHN THORNTON, FOUNDING BOARD CHAIR OF THE KEYSTONE SPACE COLLABORATIVE JUSTINE KASZNICA, DEPUTY ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR MANAGEMENT/CHIEF OF STAFF MICHAEL GREEN G., NASA ADMINISTRATOR BILL NELSON

54321 Liftoff.

This will be the historic countdown heard around the world as the ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket ignites and propels the Astrobotic Peregrine lander in the direction of the Moon later this year. Whether or not Astrobotics first lunar mission is successful, it will be a powerful symbol of Americas commitment not only toreturn to the Moonfor the first time since the Apollo era, but to establish a sustainable presence there for the benefit of future generations. It will be the first-ever commercial mission to the Moon, emblematic of a new era of space exploration defined by public-private partnerships. And it will be the first time a singular lunar mission will enable multiple nations including Nepal, one of the poorest nations on Earth as well as companies, organizations and even individuals to have a shot at their own Apollo moment.

A Hyperlocal Space Company with Galactic Aspirations

At the heart of this historic mission isAstrobotic, a homegrown Pittsburgh entrepreneurial success story that is changing the narrative about what it means to be a hyperlocal space company with galactic aspirations.

With its origin story beginning at Carnegie Mellon University, Astrobotic has grown into a 165-person (and rapidly expanding) space robotics company focused on building landers and rovers that transport and deliver customer payloads to and across the lunar surface, innovative automated systems that provide critical power and communications to customers for sustained on-surface operations and building block technologies that support space navigation and operations more broadly.

Making Space Accessible to the World

Of course, this could describe any number of recognized and emerging space companies within the quickly growing $450 billion global space industry. What distinguishes Astrobotic is the way it sees itself: a Pittsburgh company rooted and inseparable from the community where it is physically located. Indeed, the lasting legacy of Astrobotic may not be the Peregrine mission, or even its historically significant Griffin mission, which will deliver NASAs VIPER rover to the South Pole of the Moon to drill for water ice in 2023. Rather, it may be the fact that Astrobotic is using outer space and the Moon to create a new model for what it means to be a corporate citizen here on Earth.

John Thornton, Astrobotics CEO and his team take the company mantra, Making space accessible to the world, seriously. Recognizing that access to space starts with winning hearts and minds on Earth, Astrobotic selected Manchester, a majority minority neighborhood in Pittsburghs North Shore, to build its headquarters.

Astrobotic then launched theMoonshot Museum, a stand-alone nonprofit organization that is building a space career-oriented living lab experience at Astrobotics headquarters, offering the public a rare view into the Astrobotic cleanroom where their landers and rovers are built and integrated. The Moonshot Museum, on schedule to open in October 2022, will offer experiential space mission-based programs designed to inspire and encourage students of all ages to turn their space passion or curiosity into a tangible space career across diverse fields including engineering, law and policy, medicine, business or the arts.

JUSTINE KASZNICA, SHAREHOLDER, BABST CALLAND AND GENERAL COUNSEL TO ASTROBOTIC; FOUNDER/BOARD CHAIR, KEYSTONE SPACE COLLABORATIVE; AND FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER, MOONSHOT MUSEUM

Keystone Space Collaborative: Convening, Growing, Amplifying Space Industry Businesses in a Tri-State Region

But building a space career-ready talent pipeline in Pittsburgh is meaningless without creating a regional ecosystem of space-relevant employers like Astrobotic. To that end, Astrobotic has been instrumental in building and supporting yet another standalone organization, theKeystone Space Collaborative. This is a nonprofit with a mission to convene, grow and amplify space industry businesses and talent across the Keystone region that includes three states: Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Hot on the heels of its successful inaugural conference, the Keystone Space Collaborative is proving that a rich and vibrant regional space ecosystem not only exists, but it poised to emerge as the industrial engine of the global space industry. This Keystone region offers critical assets deep R&D and applied science bench strength across its network of top tier research universities, community colleges and vocational schools; a rich manufacturing history and an understanding of what it takes to industrialize technology; coalesced resources to support new company creation across the region; and a unique combination of the attributes essential to the space industry. Among these are advanced technologies likerobotics, computer science andAI,advanced manufacturingand precision machining, material science, and zero gravity life science and biomanufacturing research.

This opportunity was on full display at the Keystone Space Collaboratives Inaugural Conference, which drew a star-studded (pun intended) cast of speakers, including keynote presentations from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Associate Administrators Thomas Zurbuchen and Jim Reuter, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, West Virginia Senator Shelley Capito, Pennsylvania Congressman Matthew Cartwright, Astrobotics John Thornton, Voyager Space CEO Dylan Taylor, and many others from industry, academia and government. At the centerpiece of the conference were tours of Astrobotic and a rare chance for the conference participants to witness the unveiling of Astrobotics flight-ready Peregrine lander.

The future for Astrobotic and the Keystone region shines bright amidst the blackness of space, and it will take a community of corporate citizens like Astrobotic, with the vision to create and the passion and will to execute, to anchor Pittsburgh, the tri-state region and the nation as a catalyst of the new space economy.

As we watch with anticipation as Astrobotics Peregrine lander descends on the Moon later this year, we trust that the words heard from Astrobotics Mission Control are: Move over Houstonthe Keystone region has landed.

Sponsored content is created and paid for by the marketer, Pittsburgh Regional Alliance.

Excerpt from:

Looking to the Outer Space to Create a New Corporate Citizen Model on Earth - Pittsburgh Magazine

The future of space exploration involves both telescopic exploration and the physical exploration of space by robotic spacecraft and human spaceflight.

Near-term physical exploration missions, focused on obtaining new information about the solar system, are planned and announced by both national and private organisations. There are tentative plans for crewed orbital and landing missions to the Moon and Mars to establish scientific outposts that will later enable permanent and self-sufficient settlements. Further exploration will potentially involve expedition and the other planets and settlements on the moon as well as establishing mining and fueling outposts, particularly in the asteroid belt. Physical exploration outside the solar System will be robotic for the foreseeable future.

The reason for human and individual nations investment in space exploration has dramatically shifted since the 20th century Space race. Space exploration of the late 20th century was driven by competition between the Soviet Union and the United States to achieve the first spaceflight. Now, the private sector and national governments are again investing in space exploration. However, this time they are motivated by protecting human life from catastrophic events and leveraging the resources of space.[1]

It has been argued that space colonization is a means of ensuring the survival of human civilization given a planetary disaster. Colonizing other planets allows for the dispersal of humans and thus increases the likelihood of survival given a planetary disaster. Furthermore, the availability of additional resources that can be mined from space could potentially expand the capabilities of humans and largely benefit society. Leveraging these resources and moving high polluting industries to space could reduce the emissions on earth and ultimately lead to finding cleaner energy sources. The primary blockers to colonizing space include technological and economic challenges.[1]

Many private companies are working to make space travel more efficient in hopes to reduce the overall cost of space travel, and thus space colonization. SpaceX has been a dominant leader in this push for efficient exploration with the release of the Falcon 9, a reusable rocket.[2] NASA's Artemis program aims to land another man and the first woman on the moon by 2024 and eventually establish sustainable space travel by 2028. The Artemis program is NASA's stepping stone to their ultimate goal of landing on Mars.

The unique attributes of space enable astronauts to conduct research that could not otherwise be executed on earth. Furthermore, the unrepeated perspective from space looking at earth enables scientists to gain more insight on the earth's natural environment. Research conducted at the International Space Station aims to benefit human civilizations on earth and extend human knowledge around space and space exploration. Currently, NASA's research at the ISS includes biomedical research, material science, technology advancement, and methods to enable further space exploration.[3]

Anti and microgravity enable astronauts to execute medical research that is impossible to perform on earth. For example, NASA's research on new treatment options for complex diseases, such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, require the use of a microgravity environment to allow the microparticles in the treatment solution to stay robust. NASA has also reported research investment in microbial vaccine development and microencapsulation of drugs for targeted and more efficient treatment delivery.[3]

Breakthrough Starshot is a research and engineering project by the Breakthrough Initiatives to develop a proof-of-concept fleet of light sail spacecraft named StarChip,[4] to be capable of making the journey to the Alpha Centauri star system 4.37 light-years away. It was founded in 2016 by Yuri Milner, Stephen Hawking, and Mark Zuckerberg.[5][6]

Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is a lunar lander being developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The lander will demonstrate precision landing technology.[7] By 2017, the lander was to be launched in 2021,[8][9] but this has been subsequently delayed to 2022 due to delays in SLIM's rideshare mission, XRISM.[10]

Artemis 1[11] is an upcoming uncrewed flight test for NASA's Artemis program that is the first integrated flight of the agency's Orion MPCV and Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket. It is scheduled to take place no earlier than August 2022.[12]

Formerly known as Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), the mission was renamed after the introduction of the Artemis program. The launch will be held at Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, where an Orion spacecraft will be sent on a mission of 25.5 days, 6 of those days in a retrograde orbit around the Moon.[13] The mission will certify the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket for crewed flights beginning with the second flight test of the Orion and Space Launch System, Artemis 2 in September 2023,[12] which will carry a crew of four around the Moon in a week-long mission and back prior to the assembly of the Lunar Gateway in lunar orbit, which will begin in 2024.

Chandrayaan 3 is ISRO's third lunar space mission. Unlike Chandrayaan 2, which had an orbiter, lander and rover, Chandrayaan 3 will have only a lander and a rover. If this mission is successful, it will make ISRO the world's fourth space agency to conduct a soft lunar landing after the administration of the former USSR, NASA and CNSA.

Rosalind Franklin,[14] previously known as the ExoMars rover, is a planned robotic Mars rover, part of the international ExoMars programme led by the European Space Agency and the Russian Roscosmos State Corporation.[15][16]

Initially scheduled to launch in July 2020, but has since been delayed due to testing issues with the rover's landing mechanism. The new launch date is set for July 2022.[17] the plan calls for a Russian launch vehicle, an ESA carrier module, and a Russian lander named Kazachok,[18] that will deploy the rover to Mars' surface.[19] Once safely landed, the solar powered rover will begin a seven-month (218-sol) mission to search for the existence of past life on Mars. The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), launched in 2016, will operate as Rosalind Franklin's and lander's data-relay satellite.[20]

Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (MOM 2), also called Mangalyaan-2, is India's second interplanetary mission planned for launch to Mars by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). As per some reports emerged, the mission was to be an orbiter to Mars proposed for 2024.[21] However, in a recorded interview in October 2019, VSSC director has indicated the inclusion of a lander and rover.[22] The orbiter will use aerobraking to lower its initial apoapsis and enter into an orbit more suitable for observations.[23][24][25]

An article in science magazine Nature suggested the use of asteroids as a gateway for space exploration, with the ultimate destination being Mars. In order to make such an approach viable, three requirements need to be fulfilled: first, "a thorough asteroid survey to find thousands of nearby bodies suitable for astronauts to visit"; second, "extending flight duration and distance capability to ever-increasing ranges out to Mars"; and finally, "developing better robotic vehicles and tools to enable astronauts to explore an asteroid regardless of its size, shape or spin." Furthermore, using asteroids would provide astronauts with protection from galactic cosmic rays, with mission crews being able to land on them without great risk to radiation exposure

The Psyche spacecraft, part of NASA's Discovery Program, is scheduled to launch at the end of 2022 to 16 Psyche, a metallic object in the asteroid belt.[26] 16 Psyche is 130 miles (210km) wide, and it is made almost entirely of iron and nickel instead of ice and rock. Because of this unique composition, scientists believe it is the remnants of a planet's core that lost its exterior through a series of collisions, but it is possible that 16 Psyche is only unmelted material.[27] NASA hopes to obtain information about planetary formation from directly studying the exposed interior of a planetary body, which would otherwise not be possible.[28]

The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) is an interplanetary spacecraft in development by the European Space Agency (ESA) with Airbus Defence and Space as the main contractor. The mission is being developed to visit the Jovian system focused on studying three of Jupiter's Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa (excluding the more volcanically active Io) all of which are thought to have significant bodies of liquid water beneath their surfaces, making them potentially habitable environments. The spacecraft is set for launch in June 2022 and would reach Jupiter in October 2029 after five gravity assists and 88 months of travel. By 2033 the spacecraft should enter orbit around Ganymede for its close up science mission and becoming the first spacecraft to orbit a moon other than the moon of Earth.

Europa Clipper[29] (previously known as Europa Multiple Flyby Mission) is an interplanetary mission in development by NASA comprising an orbiter. Set for a launch in 2024,[30] the spacecraft is being developed to study the Galilean moon Europa through a series of flybys while in orbit around Jupiter.

This mission is a scheduled flight of the Planetary Science Division, designated a Large Strategic Science Mission, and funded under the Planetary Missions Program Office's Solar System Exploration program as its second flight.[31][32] It is also supported by the new Ocean Worlds Exploration Program.[33] Europa Clipper will perform follow-up studies to those made by the Galileo spacecraft during its eight years in Jupiter orbit, which indicated the existence of a subsurface ocean underneath Europa's ice crust. Plans to send a spacecraft to Europa were initially conceived with projects such as Europa Orbiter and Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, in which a spacecraft would be injected into orbit around Europa. However, due to the adverse effects of radiation from Jupiter's magnetosphere in Europan orbit, it was decided that it would be safer to inject a spacecraft into an elliptical orbit around Jupiter and make 45 close flybys of the moon instead. The mission began as a joint investigation between the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Applied Physics Laboratory.

Breakthrough Enceladus is an astrobiology space probe mission concept to explore the possibility of life on Saturn's moon, Enceladus.[34] In September 2018, NASA signed a collaboration agreement with Breakthrough to jointly create the mission concept.[35] This mission would be the first privately funded deep space mission.[36] It would study the content of the plumes ejecting from Enceladus's warm ocean through its southern ice crust.[37] Enceladus's ice crust is thought to be around two to five kilometers thick,[38] and a probe could use an ice-penetrating radar to constrain its structure.[39]

Planetary Transits and Oscillations of Stars (PLATO) is a space telescope under development by the European Space Agency for launch in 2026.[40] The mission goals are to search for planetary transits across up to one million stars, and to discover and characterize rocky extrasolar planets around yellow dwarf stars (like our sun), subgiant stars, and red dwarf stars. The emphasis of the mission is on earth-like planets in the habitable zone around sun-like stars where water can exist in liquid state.[41] It is the third medium-class mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision programme and named after the influential Greek philosopher Plato, the founding figure of Western philosophy, science and mathematics. A secondary objective of the mission is to study stellar oscillations or seismic activity in stars to measure stellar masses and evolution and enabling the precise characterization of the planet host star, including its age.[42]

Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) is a human spaceflight development program that is funded by the U.S. government and administered by NASA. CCDev will result in US and international astronauts flying to the International Space Station (ISS) on privately operated crew vehicles.

Operational contracts to fly astronauts were awarded in September 2014 to SpaceX and Boeing.[43] Test flights of Dragon 2 and CST-100 are scheduled for 2019.[44] Pending completion of the demonstration flights, each company is contracted to supply six flights to ISS between 2019 and 2024.[45] The first group of astronauts was announced on 3 August 2018.[46]

The Artemis program is an ongoing crewed spaceflight program carried out by NASA, U.S. commercial spaceflight companies, and international partners such as ESA,[47] with the goal of landing "the first woman and the next man" on the Moon, specifically at the lunar south pole region by 2024. Artemis would be the next step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually sending humans to Mars.

In 2017, the lunar campaign was authorized by Space Policy Directive 1, utilizing various ongoing spacecraft programs such as Orion, the Lunar Gateway, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, and adding an undeveloped crewed lander. The Space Launch System will serve as the primary launch vehicle for Orion, while commercial launch vehicles are planned for use to launch various other elements of the campaign.[48] NASA requested $1.6 billion in additional funding for Artemis for fiscal year 2020,[49] while the Senate Appropriations Committee requested from NASA a five-year budget profile[50] which is needed for evaluation and approval by Congress.[51][52]

Lockheed Martin developed a Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to transport crew to and from the International Space Station using the Space Launch System (SLS) Rocket. The design was fairly large at a total mass of 33,446kg but was designed with a flight life of 21.1 days. The design proposal created as part of NASA's Constellation Program was developed alongside the European Service Module to form the Orion Spacecraft. Since the selection of the design by NASA in 2006 beating out Northrop Grumman, three flight-ready Orion spacecraft are under construction and one successful launch was performed in 2014. The longest flight performed using the spacecraft to date has been under 5 minutes long, however the planned Artemis 3 mission seeks to test the vehicle's life span design to 30 days. The first production of the Orion spacecraft design, Artemis III, will carry the first woman and next man to the Moon in 2024.[53]

The SpaceX Starship is planned to be a spacecraft launched as the second stage of a reusable launch vehicle. The concept is under development by SpaceX, as a private spaceflight project.[54] It is being designed to be a long-duration cargo- and passenger-carrying spacecraft.[55] While it will be tested on its own initially, it will be used on orbital launches with an additional booster stage, the Super Heavy, where Starship would serve as the second stage on a two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle.[56] The combination of spacecraft and booster is called Starship as well.[57]

The Boeing Crew Flight Test will serve as the first crewed mission to test the Boeing Starliner crew capsule and the first crewed spacecraft launching atop the Atlas V Rocket. The current launch date is set for June 2021 and will last anywhere from two weeks to six months. The crew comprises three NASA astronauts, one of which being the first woman to serve as a crew of an American spacecraft.

The Boeing Starliner 1 mission will be the first operational crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner and the first mission to reuse the Starliner Spacecraft. The mission is expected to launch no earlier than December 2021 using the Atlas V rocket with a crew of four astronauts, three NASA astronauts and likely one international partner astronaut from either Japan, Canada, or the European Space Agency. This mission will be the fourth US spaceflight with a female commander.

ISRO's future Gaganyaan mission, which is the first Indian Human Spaceflight Programme, comprises a crew module which is a fully autonomous 5.3-tonne (12,000 lb) spacecraft designed to carry a 3-member crew to orbit and safely return to the Earth after a mission duration of up to seven days. Its 2.9-tonne (6,400 lb) service module is powered by liquid propellant engines. It is to be launched on the GSLV Mk III launcher no earlier than 2022. About 16 minutes after liftoff from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, the rocket will inject the spacecraft into an orbit 300400 km (190250 mi) above Earth. When ready to land, its service module and solar panels will be disposed off before reentry. The capsule would return for a parachute splashdown in the Bay of Bengal.

The Commercial Crew Program is a human spaceflight program designed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX and Boeing have been selected by NASA as the major frontrunners to develop and test designs to complete the NASA missions and will go on to fulfill the needs of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation of the crew in the future.[58] The Artemis Missions designed by NASA to bring the first man and woman to Mars will feature a Lockheed Martin crew capsule as part of the Orion Spacecraft.[59]

A slightly smaller design than Lockheed Martin's Orion Spacecraft with a launch mass of 13000kg, the Boeing Starliner is another variation of a spacecraft created to transport crew to and from the International Space Station, this time for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The capsule features a higher crew capacity of up to 7 but much shorter design life of only 60 hours undocked flight time. The design varied as it was a reusable spacecraft that featured a ground landing rather than a splashdown recovery which can be reused 10 times.[60] The design proposal was selected by NASA in 2014 along with SpaceX's Crew Dragon to serve as the crew capsule for the Artemis Missions. Since the final design review, Boeing faced issues with docking with the International Space Station but was able to prove a successful land-based touchdown. One more hardware test flight is currently planned for the vehicle in July 2021.

The future possibilities for deep space exploration are limited by a set of technical, practical, astronomical, and human limitations,[1] which define the future of crewed and uncrewed space exploration. As of 2022, the farthest any human-made probe has traveled is the current NASA mission Voyager 1,[61] 23.27 billion km (14.46 billion mi), 155.6 AU, from Earth, while the nearest star is around 4.24 light years away.

The current status of space-faring technology, including propulsion systems, navigation, resources and storage all present limitations to the development of human space exploration in the near future.

The astronomical order of magnitude of the distance between us and the nearest stars is a challenge for the current development of space exploration. At our current top speed of 157,100 miles per hour (252,800km/h), the Helios 2 probe would arrive at the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, in around 18,000 years,[62] much longer than a human lifespan and therefore requiring much faster transportation methods than currently available. It is important to note that this top speed was achieved due to the Oberth effect where the spacecraft was sped up by a combination of the Sun's gravity and its own propulsion system. The fastest escape velocity from the Solar System is that of Voyager 1 at 17km/s.

In terms of propulsion, the main challenge is the liftoff and initial momentum, since there is no friction in the vacuum of space. Based on the missions goals, including factors such as distance, load and time of flight, the type of propulsion drive used, planned to use, or in design varies from chemical propellants, such as liquid hydrogen and oxidizer[64] (Space Shuttle Main Engine), to plasma[63] or even nanoparticle propellants.[65]

As for future developments, the theoretical possibilities of nuclear based propulsion have been analyzed over 60 years ago, such as nuclear fusion (Project Daedalus) and nuclear pulse propulsion (Project Longshot),[66] but have since been discontinued from practical research by NASA. On the more speculative side, the theoretical Alcubierre drive presents a mathematical solution for faster-than-light travel, but it would require the mass-Energy of Jupiter, not to mention the technical issues.[67]

The human element in crewed space exploration adds certain physiological and psychological issues and limitations to the future possibilities of space exploration, along with storage and sustenance space and mass issues.

The transitioning gravity magnitudes on the body is detrimental to orientation, coordination, and balance. Without constant gravity, bones suffer disuse osteoporosis, and their mineral density falls 12 times faster than the average elderly adult's.[68] Without regular exercise and nourishment, there can be cardiovascular deterioration and loss in muscle strength.[69] Dehydration can cause kidney stones,[70] and constant hydro-static potential in zero-g can shift body fluids upwards and cause vision problems.[71]

Furthermore, without Earth's surrounding magnetic field as a shield, solar radiation has much harsher effects on biological organisms in space. The exposure can include damage to the central nervous system, (altered cognitive function, reducing motor function and incurring possible behavioral changes), as well as the possibility of degenerative tissue diseases.

According to NASA, isolation in space can have detrimental effects on the human psyche. Behavioral issues, such as low morale, mood-swings, depression, and decreasing interpersonal interactions, irregular sleeping rhythms, and fatigue occur independently to the level of training, according to a set of NASA's social experiments.[72] The most famous of which, Biosphere 2,[73] was a 2 year long, 8 person crew experiment in the 1990s, in an attempt to study human necessities and survival in an isolated environment. The result of which were stressed interpersonal interactions and aloof behavior, including limiting and even ceasing contact between crew members,[72] along with failing to sustain a lasting air-recycling system and food supply.[74]

Considering the future possibility of extended, crewed missions, food storage and resupply are relevant limitations. From a storage point of view, NASA estimates a 3-year Mars mission would require around 24thousand pounds (11t) of food, most of it in the form of precooked, dehydrated meals of about 1.5 pounds (0.68kg) a portion.[75] Fresh produce would only be available in the beginning of the flight, since there would not be refrigeration systems. Water's relative heavy weight is a limitation, so on the International Space Station (ISS) the use of water per person is limited to 11 litres (2.9USgal) a day, compared to the average Americans' 132 litres (35USgal).[75]

As for resupply, efforts have been made to recycle, reuse and produce, to make storage more efficient. Water can be produced through chemical reactions of Hydrogen and Oxygen in fuel cells,[75] and attempts and methods of growing vegetables in micro-gravity are being developed and will continue to be researched. Lettuce has already successfully grown in the ISS's "Veggie plant growth system", and has been consumed by the astronauts, even though large-scale plantation is still impractical,[76] due to factors such as pollination, long growth periods, and lack of efficient planting pillows.

The idea of using high level automated systems for space missions has become a desirable goal to space agencies all around the world. Such systems are believed to yield benefits such as lower cost, less human oversight, and ability to explore deeper in space which is usually restricted by long communications with human controllers. Autonomy will be a key technology for the future exploration of the Solar System, where robotic spacecraft will often be out of communication with their human controllers.

Autonomy is defined by three requirements:

Currently, there are many projects trying to advance space exploration and space craft development using AI.[77]

NASA began its autonomous science experiment (ASE) on Earth Observing-1 (EO-1), which is NASA's first satellite in the millennium program, Earth-observing series launched on November 21, 2000. The autonomy of these satellites is capable of on-board science analysis, re-planning, robust execution, and model-based diagnostic. Images obtained by the EO-1 are analyzed on-board and down linked when a change or interesting event occurs. The ASE software has successfully provided over 10,000 science images. This experiment was the start of many that NASA devised for AI to impact the future of space exploration.

NASA's goal with this project is to develop a system that can aid pilots by giving them real-time expert advice in situations that pilot training does not cover or just aid with a pilot's train of thought during flight. Based on the IBM Watson cognitive computing system, the AI Flight Adviser pulls data from a large database of relevant information like aircraft manuals, accident reports, and close-call reports to give advice to pilots. In the future, NASA wants to implement this technology to create fully autonomous systems, which can then be used for space exploration. In this case, cognitive systems will serve as the basis, and the autonomous system will completely decide on the course of action of the mission, even during unforeseen situations.[78] However, in order for this to happen, there are still many supporting technologies required.

In the future, NASA hopes to use this technology not only in flights on earth, but for future space exploration. Essentially, NASA plans to modify this AI flight Advisor for Longer range applications. In addition to what the technology is now, there will be additional cognitive computing systems that can decide on the right set of actions based upon unforeseen problems in space. However, in order for this to be possible, there are still many supporting technologies that need to be enhanced.

For this project, NASA's goal is to implement stereo vision for collision avoidance in space systems to work with and support autonomous operations in a flight environment. This technology uses two cameras within its operating system that have the same view, but when put together offer a large range of data that gives a binocular image. Because of its duo-camera system, NASA's research indicate that this technology can detect hazards in rural and wilderness flight environments. Because of this project, NASA has made major contributions toward developing a completely autonomous UAV. Currently, Stereo Vision can construct a stereo vision system, process the vision data, make sure the system works properly, and lastly performs tests figuring out the range of impeding objects and terrain. In the future, NASA hopes this technology can also determine the path to avoid collision. The near-term goal for the technology is to be able to extract information from point clouds and place this information in a historic map data. Using this map, the technology could then be able to extrapolate obstacles and features in the stereo data that are not in the map data. This would aid with the future of space exploration where humans can't see moving, impeding objects that may damage the moving space craft.[79]

Autonomous technologies would be able to perform beyond predetermined actions. They would analyze all possible states and events happening around them and come up with a safe response. In addition, such technologies can reduce launch cost and ground involvement. Performance would increase as well. Autonomy would be able to quickly respond upon encountering an unforeseen event, especially in deep space exploration where communication back to Earth would take too long. Space exploration could provide us with the knowledge of our universe as well as incidentally developing inventions and innovations. Traveling to Mars and farther could encourage the development of advances in medicine, health, longevity, transportation, communications that could have applications on Earth.[77]

Changes in space craft development will have to account for an increased energy need for future systems. Spacecraft heading towards the center of the Solar System will include enhanced solar panel technology to make use of the abundant solar energy surrounding them. Future solar panel development is aimed at their working more efficiently while being lighter.[80]

Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTEG or RTG) are solid-state devices which have no moving parts. They generate heat from the radioactive decay of elements such as plutonium, and have a typical lifespan of more than 30 years. In the future, atomic sources of energy for spacecraft will hopefully be lighter and last longer than they do currently.[81] They could be particularly useful for missions to the Outer Solar System which receives substantially less sunlight, meaning that producing a substantial power output with solar panels would be impractical.

NASA continues to focus on solving more difficult problems involving space exploration such as deep space capabilities and improving human life support systems. With that said, NASA has placed the challenge of commercializing space to the private space industry with the hopes of developing innovations which help improve human living conditions in space.[82] Commercialization of space in the private sector will lead to reducing flight costs, developing new methods of sustaining human life in space, and will provide the opportunity for tourists to experience Low Earth orbit travel in the future.

Experiencing Low Earth Orbit as a tourist requires accommodations to allow for humans to fly or spend time in space. These accommodations will need to solve the following problems:

1. Physiological effects of living in microgravity will affect your body's chemistry and invoke symptoms such as motion sickness from disorientation. Long term gradual effects from time in space include Bone atrophy from a gravity scarce environment that limits the flow of minerals throughout the body.

2. Upcoming habitats are designed for effective transport on rocket systems which means these habitats are small and confined leading to confinement problems and physiological changes in behavior like claustrophobia.

3. Residing in earth's orbit removes the protections of the Ozone layer which absorbs harmful radiation emitted from the sun. Living in orbit around earth exposes humans to ten times more radiation than humans living on earth.[83] These radiative effects can invoke symptoms such as skin cancer.

Company Advancements in Commercialization

In 2017 Elon Musk announced the development of rocket travel to transport humans from one city to another in under an hour. Elon has challenged SpaceX to improve travel across the world through his reusable rocket propulsion to send up passengers on a suborbital trajectory to their destination.[2]

The company Virgin Galactic with CEO Sir Richard Branson is developing another method to reach planes through Aircraft propulsion. Named SpaceshipTwo which is a biplane that carries a spacecraft as its payload known as WhiteKnightTwo and carries it to cruising altitude where the rocket separates and begins to climb out of earth's atmosphere.[84] The goal is to use this method of travel for Private Spaceflight into space to experience microgravity and observe earth for some time then return home. There have been a few setbacks on the actual commercial launch however the first crewed launch took place in February 2019.[85]

The Blue Origin website highlights a small launch vehicle sending payloads into orbit. The goal is to reduce the cost of sending smaller payloads into orbit with future intentions to send humans into space.[86] The first stage is reusable while the second stage is expendable. Maximum payload dimensions are expected to be around 530 cubic feet to be carried past the Karman line.

The larger variant of the New Shepard, Blue Origin seeks to increase their payload capabilities by developing a 95-meter-tall rocket capable of reusable flight to space. Its payload is expected to be satellites or to provide humans with the opportunity to view space without astronaut training. Blue Origin intends the rocket's reusability to last 25 flights into space alleviating costs increasing the possibility of commercialized travel.

Blue Origin's lunar lander is designed to be a flexible lander with capabilities to send both cargo and crew to the lunar surface.[87] This habitat will provide a sustained human presence by providing necessities such as life support systems and lunar rovers to excavate and scout the surrounding lunar surface. Further developments on this project include a Human Landing system which are detachable living quarters intended to attach and depart from the Blue Moon Lunar Lander.

The Bigelow Aerospace Corporation founded by Robert Bigelow is headquartered in Las Vegas. A research and development company with emphasis on constructing space architecture capable of housing humans and creating living conditions suitable for living in space. The company has sent two subscale spacecraft known as Genesis I and II into Low Earth Orbit along with sending a module known as Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) which is inflated and attached to the International Space Station.[88] The BEAM Module is measured to be 14 feet in length and can be inflated or deflated for ease of transportation. Bigelow Aerospace is working toward developing their own Modules independent of the International Space Station to send Tourists and visitors.

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Future of space exploration - Wikipedia

Artists conception of SUSIE performing a vertical landing (video sped 2.5 times). Gif: ArianeGroup/Gizmodo

French aerospace company ArianeGroup has revealed a concept for a reusable upper stage spacecraft that would be capable of delivering heavy payloads to space and carry out crewed missions before landing vertically back on Earth.

SUSIE, short for Smart Upper Stage for Innovative Exploration, was introduced to the world at the International Astronautical Congress held in Paris from September 18 to 22. The fully reusable upper stage could eventually serve as an automated freighter and payload transporter, as well as a spacecraft for crewed missions carrying a crew of up to five astronauts. SUSIE remains a concept for now, but if realized, the spacecraft would support various European space endeavours for years to come.

Reusability is fast becoming a necessity in modern spaceflight, as launch providers work to keep costs down. It is our industrial duty to contribute to this ambition and offer European decision-makers smart and ambitious technological solutions capable of contributing to independent access to space, and also to open the door to European space exploration and address commercial and institutional needs for services in space over the coming decades, Morena Bernardini, head of strategy and innovation at ArianeGroup, said in a statement.

Europes private space industry has fallen a bit behind its American counterparts in terms of developing reusable vehicles. SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket is a reusable two-stage rocket that has flown to space nearly 200 times, while the companys reusable Dragon capsules, whether for cargo or crews, are now in steady circulation. Boeings Starliner, a reusable crew capsule, recently completed its first uncrewed end-to-end test flight (although it was a less-than-perfect mission). Reusable launchers and vehicles arent so much the future as they are the present.

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Artists conception of SUSIE shortly after detaching from the second stage. Screenshot: Ariane Group

SUSIE will initially launch onboard the companys heavy-lift Ariane 6 vehicle, which is scheduled for its inaugural flight in 2023. The large upper stage could be used to transport all sorts of payloads to orbit and even assist in the orbital construction of large infrastructure, such as space stations. For its return trip home, the spacecraft could be packed with upwards of 14,000 pounds (7 tons) of cargo and supplies.

Missions made possible by SUSIE include towing, inspecting and upgrading satellites and other payloads, and supplying fuel, food, and equipment to space stations. It will also be able to carry out crew changeovers and facilitate human in-orbit activities, ArianeGroup claimed in its statement. It will also help reduce orbital debris and assist with removing or deorbiting end-of-life satellites. SUSIE is meant to be entirely reusable and is designed to make a soft, vertical landing back on Earth. The upper stage would also be equipped with an abort safety system that covers the entire mission from liftoff to landing.

Aside from SUSIE, ArianeGroup is designing new heavy-lift reusable launchers as part of a proposal for the European Space Agency (ESA) for its NESTS (New European Space Transportation Solutions) initiative. The heavy-lift launchers could later be used to carry SUSIE to orbit. Europe may be late to the game, but its planning a solid entry into the business of reusable space vehicles.

More: Arianespace Reaches Deal With OneWeb, Setting Stage for Resumption of Suspended Launches

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This Reusable Space Freighter Would 'Open the Door' to European Space Exploration - Gizmodo

In July this year, NASA shared the most profound images of the universe. People have always longed to know more about the universe. The Mayas, for example, turned to astronomy to guide their lives. The Apollo Program began in 1960, culminating in the first voyage to the moon. This historical moment was unprecedented in engineering, resulting from finding or creating new materials, methods, better technical and manufacturing systems, and even discovering new laws of nature. Space technology has impacted the world in areas not imagined previously, starting with satellite television, mobile phone signals, and geo-positioning systems (GPS).

Ethan R. Siegel, an American theoretical astrophysicist and science writer, wrote an article for Forbes describing why it is important to explore space. He explained that space technology, especially terrestrial satellites, can survey and examine vast land areas quickly, improving land use for farmers, livestock, and fishing. Satellite monitoring records the state and condition of crops, soil, the effects of droughts, rains, and other factors. "It has been estimated that even a modest system of terrestrial satellites equipped with terrestrial resources and sensors programmed for agricultural improvements could increase annual harvests by an equivalent of many billions of dollars worldwide," Siegel wrote.

NASA, together with various private companies, is developing the Artemisprogram that plans to establish human life on the moon and "lay the groundwork for private companies to seed a lunar economy and eventually send humans to Mars, starting in 2033." For many of the new generations, it is hard to believe that just 53 years ago, humans landed on the moon for the first time. Now, one does not need to be an astronaut to get into space, as SpaceX demonstrated in September last year when American Jared Isaacman (the founder and CEO of Draken International), a pilot, philanthropist, and commercial astronaut, financed a private voyage orbiting the earth. Medical assistant Hayley Arceneaux, data engineer Chris Sembroski, and geoscientist and science communication specialist Sian Proctor joined him.

Even if a student does not dream of exploring space as an astronaut, education about space and its discoveries is crucial because it emphasizes STEAM subjects and motivates students to dream of something beyond their current knowledge and experience. It is essential to teach students that space exploration is not limited only to industry; academic institutions also play a vital role. At Georgia Tech, for example, teams are building Lunar Flashlight,a small satellite that will orbit the moon and search for lunar ice.

Sandy Magnus, a former NASA astronaut and professor at Georgia Tech explains that the new challenges and technologies facing NASA require multidisciplinary expertise. The challenges go beyond avionics, thermal, or materials problems; much interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research is needed. At Georgia Tech, students participate in designing flying activities and building prototypes. They enter design competitions where they analyze and build various aerospace systems and compete against teams from other universities.

Such activities do not occur only at the university level. For example, in K-12, tools like Mimio MyBot and ShareSpace Giant Mars Map allow students to create and program rovers that simulate what scientists and engineers do to explore Mars. There are even activities that focus on maneuvering the challenging Martian terrain, which requires understanding the topography of Mars. Also, STEAM kits are available, having teacher guides, lessons, activities, and even curricula where students learn how the sun affects the temperature on different planets, which affects the viability of growing living things on the earth. NASA has also created specialized material for educators and students.

An article published in the 6th International Conference on Space Science and Communication (IconSpace) called Using Space Science as a Tool To Promote STEM Education to High School Students in Malaysiadiscusses how teaching about space science brings together two key concepts ofSTEAMeducation: 1) it combines many separate disciplines (chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics), assuming that their shared synergies promote advances in understanding the natural world, leading to innovation, and 2) it connects logic and the multidisciplinary conceptual frameworks of the differentSTEAMfields, thus, treating education holistically. The article highlights "astrobiology," as "a relatively new multidisciplinary domain of science that raises specific questions about the origins of life, the search for extraterrestrial life, and the future of life; it integrates physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, computer science,big data,and artificial intelligence."

According to the authors, STEAM topics are often stigmatized as challenging to learn. Still, space science has risen due to science fiction and the genre's curiosity and imagination.Precisely because space science is intertwined with imagination, in 2019, Jeff Bezos created the Club for the futurethrough his space transport company, Blue Origin.He invites students, educators, and parents who comprise the millions of people living and working in the industry to draw or write their vision and send it to the club by email or traditional mail. Once received, these are packed and flown into space with the flight crew. When the spacecraft returns to earth, the written visions are stamped to show they've gone out of orbit and returned to their owners. The idea behind this is to inspire new generations to pursue aSTEAM career to turn their vision of the world in space into reality and demonstrate to students that space is something achievable. The program also offers various resources to include space topics in the classroom and work on collaborative activities.

The International Space Station (ISS) created a community of students, teachers, and organizations called Space Station Explorers, which offers lessons to replicate specific experiments in the ISS. The aim is that with this "taste" of an astronaut's life, people become motivated to discover more about space and study something related. Space science positions go beyond astronauts; they include atmospheric scientists, aerospace engineers, avionics technicians, and data analysts. As Sandy Magnus mentioned, space science is an area that requires multidisciplinary disciplines.

Unlike 50 years ago, space exploration is more accessible, so motivating students to look up is vital. Technology and space science is used daily to improve living conditions on Earth, like ride-sharing apps or routing apps that help people avoid traffic congestion, determine where they are when driving, indicate how the road is to the destination, and so on. In construction, some companies use high-quality satellite imagery combined with space technology to quote particular jobs without visiting the site. Even insurance companies use this technology to assess the risk of buildings remotely. Also, dating apps show potential partners in the area. If space exploration has shown anything, it is that the sky is no longer the limit.

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Space Science Teaches Students That the Sky Is No Longer the Limit - Observatory of Educational Innovation

When youre going into outer space for an extended period of time, Hilton and Voyager Space want astronauts and space tourists to know it matters where you stay. Voyager, a global leader in space exploration, today announced Hilton will be the official hotel partner of Starlab, Voyagers planned free-flying commercial space station.

Starlab will be more than just a destination, it will be an experience made infinitely more unique and artful with the Hilton teams infusion of innovation, expertise and global reach, said Dylan Taylor, chairman and CEO, Voyager Space. Voyager and Hilton are acutely focused on creating innovative solutions for the future of humanity and this partnership opens new doors to what is possible for comfort-focused space exploration and habitation.

Voyager, and its operating company Nanoracks, were awarded $160 million in NASA funding in 2021 for the Starlab space station, which is set to replace the International Space Station. Starlab is planned to have the capacity to continuously host up to four astronauts and house the George Washington Carver (GWC) Science Park, a state-of-the-art laboratory system and first science park in space. Starlab leverages Voyager and Nanoracks' experience managing global customer experience and research operations on the International Space Station for over a decade.

Hilton has been innovating to improve the guest experience and pioneering new destinations for travel for more than a century. We are thrilled to partner with Voyager to bring that expertise to Starlab, said Chris Nassetta, president and CEO, Hilton. For decades, discoveries in space have been positively impacting life on Earth, and now Hilton will have an opportunity to use this unique environment to improve the guest experience wherever people travel. This landmark collaboration underscores our deep commitment to spreading the light and warmth of hospitality and providing a friendly, reliable stay whether on the ground or in outer space.

This first-of-its-kind venture builds on Hiltons effect in new and emerging markets, its storied history with space, and its global lodging and hospitality leadership, welcoming more than three billion guests across a portfolio of 18 brands comprising 7,000 properties in 122 countries and territories. In partnership with Voyager, Hilton will bring this unique scale and customer focus to Starlab as it continues to serve every traveler for every trip occasion.

The research and design work being dedicated to Starlab could also lead to advancements driving sustainability and greater design efficiencies for future hotel owners in space and on Earth. Just as Hilton has done for its more than 100-year history, from creating the first central reservation system and being the first hotel to offer in-room air conditioning, to introducing Digital Key technology and pioneering Confirmed Connecting Rooms, the company will continue to set the standard for the industry - now bringing that legacy of innovation beyond Earth.

With its recently launched global platform, Hilton. For the Stay., bolstered by an ad campaign, It Matters Where You Stay, the company also brings a wealth of consumer insights that prove the stay is the crucial element that can make or break any trip, even to outer space. Hilton will bring the companys renowned hospitality expertise and experience to support the design and development of crew suites aboard Starlab, helping to reimagine the human experience in space, making extended stays more comfortable.

Voyager and Hilton will partner in the areas of architecture and design, leveraging Hiltons world-class creative design and innovation experts, to develop Space Hospitality crew headquarters aboard Starlab, including communal areas, hospitality suites and sleeping arrangements for the astronauts. Additionally, the teams will seek to explore opportunities together for longer-term efforts including the ground-to-space astronaut experience, global co-marketing and branding, and other tourism, educational and commercial efforts.

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 18 world-class brands comprising more than 6,800 properties and more than 1 million rooms, in 122 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, Hilton has welcomed more than 3 billion guests in its more than 100-year history, earned a top spot on the 2021 World's Best Workplaces list and been recognized as a global leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for five consecutive years. In 2021, in addition to opening more than one hotel a day, Hilton introduced several industry-leading technology enhancements to improve the guest experience, including Digital Key Share, automated complimentary room upgrades and the ability to book confirmed connecting rooms. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, the nearly 128 million members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money can't buy. With the free Hilton Honors app, guests can book their stay, select their room, check in, unlock their door with a Digital Key and check out, all from their smartphone. Visit newsroom.hilton.com for more information, and connect with Hilton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

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Hilton and Voyager Space to Partner on Improving Stays in Space Designing Crew Lodging, Hospitality Suites for Starlab Space Station - Hospitality...

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Good afternoon, Everyone.

Thank you to the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs and to the International Astronautical Federation for co-organizing this workshop and for inviting me to speak today.

I am the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the State Departments Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, or OES.

Our bureau, together with many other parts of the U.S. Government, works to advance international cooperation in the area of civil and commercial space.

The late Christa McAuliffe, who perished during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 had trained to become the first teacher in space. She was committed to the mission, to becoming an astronaut because, in her words space is for everybody. Its not just for a few people in science or math, or for a select group of astronauts.

Space is indeed for everyone. In a technical sense we know that the space age is benefiting all of humanity: Through space-based earth observation technology we understand our home planet better. Farmers in East Africa can better plan their crops. Governments in SE Asia can better monitor typhoons and tsunamis. Scientists can map deforestation in South America and monitor the climate crisis from space benefiting everyone on the planet.

But space is for everyone in a deeper sense as well. Humanity dreams by gazing towards the stars. We better understand our limits and our potential when we contemplate the universe and that is truly a universal human experience. The new frontier is space, and its for all of us not just some of us.

One week ago, Vice President Harris chaired the second National Space Council meeting of the Biden-Harris Administration.

In this meeting, she affirmed that space is a priority for this Administration.

Its a priority because of the very fact that space is humanitys final frontier. Its an untapped, unclaimed resource that we all share and that can benefit all of us if we approach space exploration peacefully and sustainably.

Those ideals represent the driving ethos behind this Administrations commitment to facilitating international collaboration to develop norms of behavior and best practices that promote peaceful and sustainable space exploration there, I said it again to address some of our planets most pressing problems, like climate change.

To wit, the State Department has long engaged in productive bilateral civil space dialogues to identify areas of collaboration with international partners.

We have a bilateral Comprehensive Dialogue on Space with Japan, which ensures a whole-of-government approach to space cooperation.

Were beginning a Comprehensive Dialogue on Space with France as well.

And in just the coming weeks the United States is looking forward to dialogues with Singapore and Vietnam.

In each of these fora, were focusing on developing norms, guidelines, principles, and rules for promoting the long-term sustainability of the outer space environment.

Were also promoting the responsible and sustainable use of space in multilateral fora.

As everyone here knows well, the primary forum for international cooperation in civil space remains the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOUS).

And one of our top priorities in this forum is to promote the safe and responsible use of outer space and, specifically, the implementation of the 21 Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities.

These non-legally binding, voluntary commitments to guide nations space activities and protect the outer space environment represent a monumental achievement of over a decade of work within the Committee.

Of course, as weve already established, outer space is no longer limited to the purview of a handful of government actors. So, we make a point of inviting private sector advisors from academia, NGOs, and the commercial space industry to serve on U.S. delegations.

Their participation is essential to capturing the dynamic and innovative nature of U.S. outer space activities.

Outside of COPUOUS, the United States is also working with our regional partners. As an example, we are part of the Quad Space Working Group together with our Australian, Japanese, and Indian colleagues which is focused on working in space to address some of the worlds most pressing challenges, including the climate crisis, marine conservation, and space sustainability.

And I cant continue here without mentioning the Artemis program and the Artemis Accords. These efforts serve to inspire and guide the international communitys commitment to upholding and strengthening a rules-based international order. They present an opportunity for this generation to positively define the guidelines and principles that we use to guide our civil space exploration for generations to come.

NASAs Artemis program is inspiring the world as it seeks to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and conduct a historic first crewed mission to Mars.

The Artemis program will soon launch a successful Artemis I mission, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions intended to be the broadest and most diverse international human space exploration coalition in history.

Inspired by the Artemis program, in 2020, NASA and the State Department launched the Artemis Accords.

The Artemis Accords are a nonbinding, whole of government declaration of principles and rules, grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, to guide safe and transparent civil space exploration and promote peaceful cooperation in space exploration and scientific endeavors.

The Artemis Accords represent a bold vision for the future of space exploration. They advance bilateral and multilateral space cooperation between signatories, expanding our knowledge of the universe and benefiting the whole world.

The theme of this workshop is Access to Space for All: Bridging the Space Divide, an idea central to our work on the Artemis Accords because space belongs to all of us, not just some of us. As a leader in space exploration, the United States is strongly committed to ensuring the benefits of space are enjoyed by all people, no matter their background or where on earth they happen to live.

Artemis Accords signatories are a diverse set of nations with a variety of space capabilities and interests. In less than two years, we have gathered 21 like-minded nations spanning the globe that are committed to sustainable space exploration.

The United States invites all spacefaring nations to join the growing coalition of Artemis Accords signatories. Together, we are setting the standard for safe, peaceful, and transparent exploration of outer space.

And just as the United States is dedicated to responsible exploration of the universe with our international partners under the Artemis Accords, we are also collaborating with other nations in observing our own planet.

The United States continues to advance an array of programs of space-based observation, research, and analysis of the Earths surface, oceans, and atmosphere, with the goal of increasing the quality and safety of life on Earth.

Remote sensing satellites are revolutionizing our understanding of weather forecasting, disaster mitigation, agricultural productivity, epidemiological outbreaks, and, importantly, climate change.

Good science is helping us develop good policy: this enhanced understanding is driving new strategies to combat the global climate crisis.

In the United States, for example, Earth observations have helped wildfire-prone regions contain damage and mitigate loss of life from wildfires.

We are also exchanging data and resources internationally. After the January 2022 REPSOL oil spill outside the port of Callao in Lima, Peru, the U.S. provided satellite data to Peruvian responders to effectively map the extent and movement of the spill and mitigate damage. Following this incident, the United States finalized a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Peru to continue to advance this type of open data sharing and scientific collaboration.

Free, open access to data has made all of this possible. Through bilateral data sharing agreements and through multilateral organizations like the Group on Earth Observations, the United States is committed to making data and applications from our satellites openly discoverable, accessible, and usable to the public. We encourage our international partners to do the same.

This is another way we demonstrate our dedication to Access to Space for All. Earth observations transcend national boundaries, impacting every one of us. Sharing this data widely ensures we all learn and benefit from space science.

Bridging the space divide has never been more important. As we pursue new and extraordinary discoveries in space and face unprecedented, planet-wide challenges here on Earth, it is essential that we work together to advance smart science and policy.

The clock is ticking, and our time to address some of our planets most pressing issues is finite so lets focus today on creating new opportunities through collaboration. The time is now.

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The United Nations/International Astronautical Federation 29th Workshop on Space Technology for Socio-Economic Benefits: Access to Space for All:...

The Mars landers seismometer has picked up vibrations from four separate impacts in the past two years.

NASAs InSight lander has detected seismic waves from four space rocks that crashed on Mars in 2020 and 2021. Not only do these represent the first impacts detected by the spacecrafts seismometer since InSight touched down on the Red Planet in 2018, it also marks the first time seismic and acoustic waves from an impact have been detected on Mars.

A new paper published Monday in Nature Geoscience details the impacts, which ranged between 53 and 180 miles (85 and 290 kilometers) from InSights location, a region of Mars called Elysium Planitia.

The first of the four confirmed meteoroids the term used for space rocks before they hit the ground made the most dramatic entrance: It entered Mars atmosphere on Sept. 5, 2021, exploding into at least three shards that each left a crater behind.

Then, NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter flew over the estimated impact site to confirm the location. The orbiter used its black-and-white Context Camera to reveal three darkened spots on the surface. After locating these spots, the orbiters team used the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera, or HiRISE, to get a color close-up of the craters (the meteoroid could have left additional craters in the surface, but they would be too small to see in HiRISEs images).

After three years of InSight waiting to detect an impact, those craters looked beautiful, said Ingrid Daubar of Brown University, a co-author of the paper and a specialist in Mars impacts.

After combing through earlier data, scientists confirmed three other impacts had occurred on May 27, 2020; Feb. 18, 2021; and Aug. 31, 2021.

Researchers have puzzled over why they havent detected more meteoroid impacts on Mars. The Red Planet is next to the solar systems main asteroid belt, which provides an ample supply of space rocks to scar the planets surface. Because Mars atmosphere is just 1% as thick as Earths, more meteoroids pass through it without disintegrating.

InSights seismometer has detected over 1,300 marsquakes. Provided by Frances space agency, the Centre National dtudes Spatiales, the instrument is so sensitive that it can detect seismic waves from thousands of miles away. But the Sept. 5, 2021, event marks the first time an impact was confirmed as the cause of such waves.

InSights team suspects that other impacts may have been obscured by noise from wind or by seasonal changes in the atmosphere. But now that the distinctive seismic signature of an impact on Mars has been discovered, scientists expect to find more hiding within InSights nearly four years of data.

Seismic data offer various clues that will help researchers better understand the Red Planet. Most marsquakes are caused by subsurface rocks cracking from heat and pressure. Studying how the resulting seismic waves change as they move through different material provides scientists a way to study Mars crust, mantle, and core.

The four meteoroid impacts confirmed so far produced small quakes with a magnitude of no more than 2.0. Those smaller quakes provide scientists with only a glimpse into the Martian crust, while seismic signals from larger quakes, like the magnitude 5 event that occurred in May 2022, can also reveal details about the planets mantle and core.

But the impacts will be critical to refining Mars timeline. Impacts are the clocks of the solar system, said the papers lead author, Raphael Garcia of Institut Suprieur de lAronautique et de lEspace in Toulouse, France. We need to know the impact rate today to estimate the age of different surfaces.

Scientists can approximate the age of a planets surface by counting its impact craters: The more they see, the older the surface. By calibrating their statistical models based on how often they see impacts occurring now, scientists can then estimate how many more impacts happened earlier in the solar systems history.

InSights data, in combination with orbital images, can be used to rebuild a meteoroids trajectory and the size of its shock wave. Every meteoroid creates a shock wave as it hits the atmosphere and an explosion as it hits the ground. These events send sound waves through the atmosphere. The bigger the explosion, the more this sound wave tilts the ground when it reaches InSight. The landers seismometer is sensitive enough to measure how much the ground tilts from such an event and in what direction.

Were learning more about the impact process itself, Garcia said. We can match different sizes of craters to specific seismic and acoustic waves now.

The lander still has time to study Mars. Dust buildup on the landers solar panels is reducing its power and will eventually lead to the spacecraft shutting down. Predicting precisely when is difficult, but based on the latest power readings, engineers now believe the lander could shut down between October of this year and January 2023.

More About the Missions

NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages InSight for the agencys Science Mission Directorate in Washington. InSight is part of NASAs Discovery Program, managed by the agencys Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supports spacecraft operations for the mission.

A number of European partners, including Frances Centre National dtudes Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument to NASA, with the principal investigator at IPGP (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris). Significant contributions for SEIS came from IPGP; the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in Switzerland; Imperial College London and Oxford University in the United Kingdom; and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument, with significant contributions from the Space Research Center (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika in Poland. Spains Centro de Astrobiologa (CAB) supplied the temperature and wind sensors.

News Media Contacts

Andrew GoodJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.818-393-2433andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Alana JohnsonNASA Headquarters, Washington301-286-6284 / 202-358-1501karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

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NASA's InSight 'Hears' Its First Meteoroid Impacts on Mars NASA Mars Exploration - NASA Mars Exploration