Category Archives: Space Exploration

LUXEMBOURG, May 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --The Asteroid Foundation will launch Asteroid Day TV on 1 June 2021 with digital video content from Discovery Science, TED, IMAX, BBC, CNN, The Planetary Society, the European Space Agency (ESA), independent filmmakers and other educational content producers. The programming will cover themes such as asteroid discovery, planetary defense, space resources, asteroid exploration missions and more. Asteroid Day is an official United Nations' day of global awareness about the opportunities and challenges that asteroids present. Asteroid Day was co-founded by astrophysicist and famed musician Dr Brian May of the rock group Queen; Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart; Filmmaker Grig Richters; and B612 Foundation President Danica Remy to educate the public about the importance of asteroids in our history, the role they play in the solar system and how they could affect our future.

Asteroid DayTV will stream through the month of June, culminating with Asteroid Day LIVE on 30 June. This year's Asteroid Day LIVE theme explores 25 years of dedicated asteroid missions, highlighting the anniversary of the 1996 NEAR-Shoemaker launch, and looks to exciting future discoveries. Read more about this year's programme and see the confirmed LIVE participants on asteroidday.org. The Asteroid Day TV schedule will be updated weekly with new programme additions.

Twitchis Asteroid Day's premiere online partner and will deliver Asteroid Day TV all month long via their global platform. In addition, Twitch's science enthusiasts/educators DeejayKnight, EJ_SA, John "Das" Galloway, Dr Pamela Gay and the CosmoQuest crew, Scott Manley, Skylias, and others will host special live streams on Twitch during the month leading up to Asteroid Day on 30 June. The public can follow all these channels on Twitch to be notified of upcoming programs during June.

Asteroid Day's Luxembourg-based partners Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE) and SES, the leader in global content connectivity solutions, will make Asteroid Day TV available for millions to tune in via SES satellite.

For more details on how to watch Asteroid Day TV, visit https://asteroidday.org/asteroid-day-tv/#how-to-watch

About Asteroid Day: Asteroid Day is held on 30 June each year to mark the date of Earth's largest asteroid impact in recorded history, the Siberia Tunguska event. Asteroid Day was co-founded by astrophysicist and famed musician Dr Brian May of the rock group Queen; Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart; Filmmaker Grig Richters; and B612 Foundation President Danica Remy, to educate the public about the importance of asteroids in our history, and the role they play in the solar system. In 2016, prompted by the leadership of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), the United Nations declared Asteroid Day to be a global day of education to raise awareness and promote knowledge in the general public about asteroids. Thousands of independently-organised events have taken place around the globe, encompassing 125 of the world's 195 countries.

Asteroid Day is been made possible thanks to partnerships with the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), B612 Foundation, the European Space Agency (ESA), OHB Systems, Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA), The Planetary Society, SES and Twitch. Asteroid Day, Asteroid Day LIVE, Asteroid Day TV and SpaceConnectsUs are all programmes of Asteroid Foundation, a Luxembourg based non-profit.

Join in the Asteroid Day conversation on Social Media!

A Media Kitincluding quotes, photos, video and B-Roll videois available in theAsteroid Day Newsroom.Photos from previous Asteroid Day events in Luxembourg are available on Flickr.

Asteroid Day TV - SES Broadcast Connection Details:

Europe/Middle EastService Name: Asteroid Day 2021 HDService ID: 5711Transponder: 1.068 Satellite: Astra 1MOrbital Pos: 19.2 East Downlink Frequency: 11778.00 MHzPolarization: Vertical Modulation: DVB-S2 QPSK FEC: 9/10 SR: 27.5 MSym/s

About Asteroid Foundation: Asteroid Foundation was formed in 2017 with a mission to promote worldwide awareness of asteroid opportunities and challenges, and the emerging space economy. The Asteroid Foundation undertakes programmes and activities to support scientists, engineers and students around the world providing free educational tools, newsletters, original articles and resources year round. Annually, the Foundation organizes events surrounding International Asteroid Day, a United Nations recognized day of education and awareness observed on 30 June. Visit their Flickr account to see pictures from previous events. https://asteroidfoundation.org/

About Association of Space ExplorersFounded in 1985, the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) is an international nonprofit 510c3 professional and educational organization of more than 400 flown astronauts and cosmonauts from 38 nations. ASE's Committee on Near Earth Objects (NEO), chaired by astronaut Tom Jones, works to promote global awareness of the asteroid impact threat. ASE delivers subject matter expertise and the astronaut perspective on key topics related to NEOs, including developments in planetary defense, advancements in NEO discovery and characterization, and impactor mitigation campaign design. ASE NEO Committee members also support the bi-annual IAA Planetary Defence Conference and the annual Asteroid Day event in Luxembourg.https://www.space-explorers.org/

About B612 FoundationB612 is dedicated to protecting Earth from asteroid impacts. It does this by driving forward science and technologies needed to protect the Earth from asteroid impacts through the Asteroid Institute. It educates the public, the scientific community, and world governments about asteroids through programs such as Asteroid Day. Since the organization's inception in 2002, its work has been carried out entirely through the support of private donors. What started in 2002 as a visionary idea to develop the technology to deflect an asteroid has grown into a world-renowned organization and scientific institute with a key role in the emerging field of planetary defense. http://www.b612foundation.org

About Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE)Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE) is a European leader in media services, system integration and software development in the areas of television, online video, streaming, radio, production and postproduction, telecommunication and IT. With its extensive experience on the media market, our team provides high-quality services and will always find the solution that matches your project and budget. With more than 200 highly qualified and motivated people, BCE serves about 400 clients in various sectors, such as TV channels, radio stations, film distributors, producers, advertising companies, sports federations, fashion, events, institutions and telecommunications operators.www.bce.lu

About the European Space Agency (ESA) The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe's gateway to space. ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA has 22 Member States. ESA's programmes are designed to find out more about Earth, its immediate space environment, our Solar System and the Universe, as well as to develop satellite-based technologies and services, and to promote European industries. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions. http://www.esa.int

About Luxembourg Chamber of CommerceThe main role of the Chamber of Commerce is to protect and promote the interests of businesses and the economy of Luxembourg. To enable it to fulfil this mandate, it has been granted the status of a public establishment, which comes with some significant prerogatives. Since membership of professional businesses is mandatory in Luxembourg, the Chamber of Commerce has high rates of affiliation, with 90,000 member companies, corresponding to 75% of the country's total salaried employment and 80% of Luxembourg's GDP, making it the biggest employers' group in the country. It represents all businesses in Luxembourg except those in the artisanal and agricultural sectors. The Chamber of Commerce implements projects and infrastructures for sustainable and prosperous economic development and therefore consists of several entities, such as:

House of EntrepreneurshipLaunched in 2016 by the Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of the Economy as a single point of contact for existing and new entrepreneurs, the House of Entrepreneurship offers a wide range of services.

House of StartupsInnovation hubs, incubators, business accelerators and startup consulting services are all under one roof at the House of Startups (HoST), launched by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in 2018. Several major hubs are already in place: the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT), the newly created Luxembourg-City Incubator (LCI), initiated by the Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the City of Luxembourg, Groupe Crdit Agricole's international incubator, and the International Climate Finance Accelerator (ICFA).

House of TrainingLaunched in 2015 by the Chamber of Commerce and the Luxembourg Bankers' Association (ABBL), the House of Training trains thousands of people in a variety of fields such as banking and finance, entrepreneurship and management, law, industry marketing, human resources and many more.https://www.cc.lu

About Luxembourg Space AgencyLuxembourg Space Agency (LSA) develops the space sector in Luxembourg by fostering new and existing companies, developing human resources, facilitating access to funding and supporting academic research. The agency implements the national space economic development strategy, manages national space research and development programs and leads the SpaceResources.lu initiative. Furthermore, the LSA represents Luxembourg within the European Space Agency and space-related programs of the European Union and the United Nations. https://space-agency.public.lu/

About OHB SystemsOHB Systems is a European multinational technology corporation, headquartered in Bremen, Germany. They are and have been one of the leading companies in Europe's space sector for the past 35 years, particularly in their core business comprising low-orbiting and geostationary satellites. They have been developing and executing some of the key projects of our times such as the Galileo navigation satellites, the SARah reconnaissance system, the MTG meteorological satellites, the EnMAP environment satellite, the TET-1 technology testing vehicle and the Hispasat H36W-1, ELECTRA and EDRS-C telecommunications satellites. https://www.ohb-system.de/

About The Planetary SocietyThe Planetary Society is a non profit organization with the mission of empowering the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration. They introduce people to the wonders of the cosmos, bridging the gap between the scientific community and the general public to inspire and educate people from all walks of life, and they give every citizen of the planet the opportunity to make their voices heard in government and effect real change in support of space exploration. https://www.planetary.org/

About SESSES is a Luxembourgish satellite and terrestrial telecommunications network provider supplying video and data connectivity worldwide to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, governments and institutions. With over 70 satellites in two different orbits, they combine a vast, intelligent network of satellites and ground infrastructure with industry-leading expertise to manage and deliver high-performance video and data solutions virtually everywhere on the planet. https://www.ses.com/

About Twitch TVIntroduced in June 2011, Twitch TV is an American video live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions. In addition, it offers music broadcasts, creative content, and more recently, "in real life" streams. https://www.twitch.tv/

SOURCE Asteroid Foundation

https://asteroidfoundation.org

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Asteroid Day TV Launches 1 June Kicking Off The Countdown To Asteroid Day 2021 30 June - PRNewswire

Last year, about a month into the pandemic, I reached for something comforting: the 1992 science-fiction novel Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson. Id first read it as a teen-ager, and had reread it a handful of times by my early twenties. Along with its two sequels, Green Mars and Blue Mars, the novel follows the first settlers to reach the red planet. They establish cities, break away from Earths control, and transform the arid surface into a garden oasis, setting up a new society in the course of a couple hundred years. On the cover of my well-worn copy, Arthur C. Clarke declared it the best novel on the colonization of Mars that has ever been written. In my youth, I considered it a record of what was to come.

It had been a decade since Id last cracked open the book. In that time, Id become a journalist specializing in space, covering its practical, physical, biological, psychological, sociological, political, and legal aspects; still, the novels plot had always stayed with me, somewhere in the back of my mind. It turns on a series of questions about what we owe to our planetary neighborabout what we are allowed to do with its ancient geological features, and in whose interests we should be willing to modify them. In Robinsons future, a disgruntled minority of settlers argue that humanity has no right to alter a majestic place that has existed without us for billions of years; they undertake ecoterroristic acts to undermine Martian terraforming efforts and, in the end, succeed in keeping parts of Mars a wilderness. I used to think it sensible that their opinion was relegated to the margins. Reading the novel again, I wasnt so sure.

It seemed to me obvious, Robinson told me, over the phone this winter, when I asked him how hed come to place that particular dilemma at the center of his trilogy. Environmental ethicists have long debated how we ought to treat the Earth, and asked whether the natural world has intrinsic value. In 1990, one of Robinsons friends, a NASA astrobiologist and planetary scientist named Christopher McKay, posed the question Does Mars have rights? in a paper of the same name. Ultimately, McKay answered in the negative: he concluded that, when we speak of the value of nature, were really thinking of the value of living organisms. Unless the red planet is alive, McKay argued, were unlikely to extend to it the same environmental considerations that we apply to biospheres on Earth. I thought that might be true for Chris McKay, Robinson said. But people living on Mars would develop affection for the place as it is.

In February, NASA successfully landed a new robotic rover on the surface of Mars. Perseverance, as the vehicle is known, will roll around an area called Jezero Crater, searching for signs of life. It will collect up to thirty test-tube-size samples from the red rocks and dust, storing them so that a future mission can bring them into Martian orbit and, eventually, back to Earth. I have no ethical qualms about the tracks that Perseverance will lay down, nor about the part that it will play in absconding with a bit of Mars. But, in contemplating a future human presence on the planet, I start to worry about the questions presented in Robinsons books. If theres nobody around to stop us from doing what we want, what should we do?

Space exploration presents ethical quandaries even on Earth. Astronomers sometimes want to place telescopes on sacred land. In orbit, we scatter litter. Countries are now debating whether we have a right to mine the moon or asteroids, and asking who should be entitled to use such places as a second home. Space agencies and tech billionaires are working to solve the myriad technical issues associated with travelling to and staying off-world, but, once thats done, theres the problem of our conduct after we get there. Critics suggest that, in space, we risk repeating the mistakes of the colonial past, in which exploration was often a cover for the exploitation of native beings and environments.

Advocates of space settlement have long borrowed from an old-fashioned version of the American mythos, which holds that conquering the untamed wilderness of the New World made us better and more democratic as we advanced westward. At least symbolically, space, the final frontier, is sometimes presented as a savage land in need of humanitys beneficent influence. For a time, SpaceX, the private company run by Elon Musk, called its planned passenger vehicle the Mars Colonial Transporter. (In 2016, Musk announced that the vessel would be renamed, because it might end up travelling well beyond Mars.) In recent years, NASA has shifted away from non-inclusive languagethe agency now speaks of missions that are crewed rather than mannedbut not everyone has followed suit. We must remember that America has always been a frontier nation, Donald Trump said, in his 2020 State of the Union address, while describing renewed ambitions to settle the moon. Now we must embrace the next frontier: Americas Manifest Destiny in the stars.

The problems with such rhetoric can be seen most clearly when speaking to those whose stories it disrespects. Hilding Neilson, a Canadian astronomer, greeted me over Zoom, from his beige Toronto living room, with a stoic expression. I asked his opinion about the people currently leading the charge on space exploration, and he paused to compose himself. What I see... Im trying to say this in a way thats on the record, he began. What I see are organizations that view Mars in the same way that colonizers, pioneers, and settlers viewed the early Westthat it was terra nullius, a land of opportunity for them, and that the land was free to take.

Neilson, who studies the life cycles of stars, is Mikmaq; the indigenous nation that he belongs to extends over parts of eastern Canada and northern Maine. Its difficult to be sure, but its possible that he is the only First Nations faculty member in astronomy or physics in Canada. Its hard for scientists, especially in terms of astronomy and space exploration, to see themselves as anything but ethical, he said. Theres a whole system built around this idea of space exploration being ethical and pro-human, but its also one that doesnt necessarily hear voices from non-Western perspectives.

It is precisely in its interactions with Native communities that astronomy has acted most questionably. In the nineteen-nineties, the San Carlos Apache Tribal Council battled with officials over a plan to build the indelicately named Columbus telescope on Mt. Graham, in southern Arizonas Sonoran Desert, the tribes traditional homeland; in 2005, the Tohono Oodham Nation, also situated in southern Arizona, filed a lawsuit to contest construction of a proposed gamma-ray detector on the summit of nearby Kitt Peak, which they call Iolkam Duag and consider sacred. More recently, Native Hawaiians have objected to the placement of the Thirty Meter Telescope, or T.M.T., on Mauna Kea. Years ago, when I was fresh out of my undergraduate studies in astrophysics, I dismissed concerns about the T.M.T., seeing the matter as a contest between outdated religion and noble science. After speaking to members of the Knaka Maoli, or Hawaiian people, I was able to see how academics were using established power structures to get what they wanted. Today, each of these mountains hosts multiple telescope domes.

Neilson is largely in favor of space exploration, and thinks ethically settling other places is possible. But we have to be more inclusive of different perspectives, and to understand where our own mainstream perspectives come from, he said. It has to be about being part of Mars, as opposed to making Mars part of us.

Those who advocate for human space exploration make a number of arguably unexamined assumptions. These include the idea that travelling to other worlds is inevitable, that the drive to explore is somehow in our genes, and that technological advancement is equivalent to moral progress. I have heard it said that we will learn to exist better on Earth using techniques developed for living on Mars. Thats a really cute thought, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a theoretical particle physicist and cosmologist at the University of New Hampshire, told me. But figuring out how to settler-colonize the United States didnt help us live in a more ethical global community.

Video-chatting from her home office on the New Hampshire coast, Prescod-Weinstein told me a story about the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French astronomers who travelled to the colony of Saint-Domingue, now part of Haiti. Part of their mission was to figure out how to better measure distances, so ships could travel across the Atlantic fasterbasically, so that it would be easier to move members of my family and enslave them, she said. Tracing her ancestry back to both Barbados and Eastern Europe, Prescod-Weinstein is a queer, Black, Jewish, agender woman, and said that her second discipline has become Black feminist science, technology, and society studies. Two years ago, she was a panelist at Decolonizing Mars, an unconference at the Library of Congress.

I asked Prescod-Weinstein the question that Id been contemplating: Is Mars ours? Obviously, my answer to that is no, she said, laughing. Like, is the Earth ours? Im sitting here looking at the trees on the land behind my house. I depend on that photosynthesis, the entire exchange of taking in carbon and making it easier for me to breathe. So does the Earth belong to me or the trees? She worried about the disregard that humans can have for things that arent human; in some indigenous societies, she said, land is considered a family member. If we think about Mars as family, what do we want for our Mars family? I think we need to learn a different way of being in relation with each other.

In speaking about why we might not want to destroy rock faces on Mars, many of the people I interviewed talked about living biospheres on Earth. But perhaps taking the regard that weve developed for natural things on our planet and extending it to places where there might not be life is too much of a stretch. Rocks dont have rights, Robert Zubrin, an aerospace engineer and the founder of the Mars Society, which advocates settlement of the red planet, told me. They dont have the ability to do anything or desire to do anything. Michelangelo did not commit crimes against rocks by violating their right to be left alone in order to make statues.

Zubrin appeared on my laptop screen sporting wispy gray hair and an avuncular energyhes the kind of person you can imagine arguing with over Thanksgiving dinner. The shelves of his Colorado office were crowded with books, piles of paper, and two hard hats. In November, in an essay for National Review, Zubrin argued against the wokeists who he believes are trying to halt space exploration. The essay centered on a submission to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Surveya once-in-ten-years affair in which scientists discuss their research prioritiestitled Ethical Exploration and the Role of Planetary Protection in Disrupting Colonial Practices. The papers twelve co-authors and hundred and nine signatories, Prescod-Weinstein among them, encouraged scientists to think about how to prevent capitalist extraction on other worlds, respect and preserve their environmental systems, and acknowledge the sovereignty and interconnectivity of all life.

A degree of planetary protection is enshrined in international law, in order to prevent backward or forward contamination. In 1967, the U.S. signed the Outer Space Treaty; its Article IX prohibits signatories from allowing Earth microbes to reach Mars, or from letting Martian biota hitch a ride to our planet, where they might infect terrestrial organisms. At the moment, Martian life is hypothetical, though an increasing number of scientists think that it could exist. Earth and Mars have both been hit by meteors during their four-billion-year history; some have been large enough to knock debris into orbit, and perhaps out toward other planets. Its possible that, in the past, microbes have travelled between our world and others. Tiny organisms might still be doing so today.

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Is Mars Ours? - The New Yorker

For almost 40 years, our nearest cosmic neighbour, the Moon, was left alone as we looked elsewhere in the Solar System. That changed in 2013, when Chinas Change 3 lander touched down on the lunar surface. Since then theres been an explosion of interest in the Moon. NASA, China and even private companies are racing back to it, with dozens of robotic and human missions being planned. Things are set to get a lot more crowded on the lunar surface over the coming decade, but this time, well be staying.

We know the Moon has potential resources that will be useful for space exploration, says Ian Crawford, a professor in planetary science from Birkbeck, University of London. Particularly water ice trapped in the very dark shadows of craters at the poles.

Unlike Earth, the Moons axis isnt tilted at a large angle, so the Sun is constantly overhead when youre at the lunar equator. If youre at the lunar poles however, the Suns always on the horizon, creating long, permanent shadows in the surrounding craters. Hidden from the Sun for billions of years, temperatures in those craters are low enough that water ice has been able to survive in them and its this thats captured everyones interest.

Water is an extremely useful substance for space exploration, certainly in the context of human exploration, says Crawford. Its a requirement for life, but can also be broken down into oxygen and hydrogen. Combined, theyre a useful rocket propellant.

Chinas Change 3 lander, and its Yutu rover payload, touched down on the Moon on 14 December 2013 the first craft from Earth to do so for almost four decades Shutterstock

Though planetary geologists have seen signs of lunar ice for years, the first definitive proof of the presence of water came in 2018, following detailed analysis by NASAs Moon Mineralogy Mapper on the Indian lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1.

While we have plenty of water here on Earth, its heavy each cubic metre weighs 1,000kg. Launching it into space takes a huge amount of energy. If, instead, we could find a way to harvest water beyond Earths gravitational pull, it would allow for bigger and more ambitious projects, both on the Moon and beyond.

If were going to engage in a programme of human space exploration, the Moon is the obvious place to start, says Crawford.

While there appears to be water at both poles, its most concentrated in the south. A region known as the South Pole-Aitken Basin the Moons largest impact crater is home to several large deposits of ice. Whats not clear, however, is what form the ice takes.

Were still in the initial prospecting phase, says Crawford. We dont know whether we should be investigating big blocks of ice here and there, or just tiny, micron-sized grains of ice mixed in with the lunar soil.

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NASA is planning a mission to send the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to the Aitken Basin in 2023. Once there, it will drive into the shadow of one of the craters to investigate the ice on the surface and, with its drill, two metres below it.

The water is also of particular interest to scientists. As it has remained undisturbed for millions, or sometimes billions, of years, it gives planetary geologists a window into the past.

The Moon is very ancient and geologically inactive, which means that its sort of a museum to the evolution of rocky planets [its rocks hold] a record of its earliest evolution from shortly after its formation, says Crawford. The ice could act as an archive, detailing how water was brought to the Moon by comets and asteroids. As these would have also carried water to our planet, such an understanding would tell us as much about the history of Earth as it does the Moon.

NASAs Moon Mineralogy Mapper detected water deposits (in blue) near the lunar poles in 2018 Getty Images

While many missions would like to follow the water and explore the polar regions, this isnt without its challenges. Until now, most lunar missions have touched down around the sunlit equator where solar panels can easily supply power. Its much trickier when youre heading somewhere thats in permanent darkness.

Some early missions, such as VIPER, will use rechargeable batteries to undertake brief sojourns into the shadows, but longer-term missions will require more thought. If future astronauts plan on mining the lunar ice, theyll need a permanent base to do so and that will require a very specific location to prosper.

The best place, if you could find it on the Moon, would be a permanently shadowed area with water, near a peak with persistent light that could stay sunlit almost all year for powerfrom solar panels, and a cave for shelter, says John Thornton from Astrobotic, the company contracted by NASA to transport VIPER to the Moon. Caves provide a nice, thermal environment underground. If we could find that location, theres no doubt thats going to be the place where a human settlement pops-up.

Once a spot is found, it then becomes a case of building a base. Initially, this will probably be done with structures transported from Earth, though weight and size restrictions on launch vehicles will limit what can be sent, so it would be much better to build a base in situ. Fortunately, there are building materials everywhere on the Moon. Several projects are looking at harvesting regolith the fine layer of dust created by micrometeorites pulverising lunar rocks and using it to 3D print structures.

In the longer term, it could be possible to extract iron and titanium from lunar rocks. Wed need to build a refinery to process them, but having access to such metals beyond Earths gravity would allow us to build much larger structures and spacecraft. The Clementine spacecraft, launched in January 1994, detected the highest levels of the metals around the lunar mare the dark regions created by ancient lava flows. As an added bonus, most of the ores are oxides, so theyd produce oxygen as a by-product.

But not all potential lunar resources are as easy to extract. There are an estimated billion tonnes of helium-3, a potential fuel source, on the lunar surface, but extracting it would require a huge industrial complex mining hundreds of tonnes of regolith every second a prospect thats centuries away from being feasible, even under the most ambitious circumstances.

NASA is developing the VIPER rover to explore craters near the Moons south pole and inspect any ice it finds on, and under, the lunar surface NASA/Dominic Hart

Such ambitious plans cant be undertaken alone, however. Currently there are two superpowers working to put humans on the Moon: the US and China. Though US law prevents the two from collaborating, theyre both reaching out to other nations to help them achieve their goal.

Lunar exploration can become a tremendous focus for international cooperation, which I think would be highly desirable, especially in todays international climate, says Crawford.

Despite having only sent its first taikonaut into space in 2003, Chinas space programme is making great strides. Its Change series of robotic lunar missions has been wildly successful and saw the first landing on the far side of the Moon in 2019 (Change 4) and plans to return the first samples from the lunar south pole with Change 6 (due to launch in 2023).

The Change 4 mission carried instruments from the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany, while European astronauts have already run several training exercises alongside their Chinese counterparts. Though the Chinese are secretive about their precise plans, theyve made it clear that these missions are a precursor to a lunar landing mission.

With several decades more experience to call upon, the US efforts are a little more mature. Their current plans are centred around the Gateway, a lunar station that would orbit the Moon. The station would act as a staging post for missions to the lunar surface, and potentially Mars and beyond.

The Japanese, Canadian and European space agencies have all signed up to help, agreeing to build parts of the station on the promise of one day sending their own astronauts to the Moon. The first sections of the Gateway are due to fly in 2023, with operations starting in 2026. Meanwhile NASA is already planning the Artemis mission, which will send the first woman to the lunar surface by 2024.

Lunar habitats could be built using inflatable structures covered with a shell, made from 3D printed regolith, to shield the occupants from radiation Science Photo Library

These ambitions are also helping to foster a branch of space exploration thats blossomed over the last decade: private enterprise. To encourage the growth of the space sector, NASA set up the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, asking companies to transport the space agencys science instruments to the Moon.

NASA has plans to buy at least two lunar missions per year for the next eight to 10 years, says Thornton. This is a first step towards commercialisation of routine, regular transport to the Moon.

As well as being much cheaper for NASA, it also creates opportunities for those with a much smaller budget. In late 2021, Astrobotic will be sending its Peregrine lander to the Moon with a dozen NASA instruments, but it also has room to transport other projects at the cost of $1.2m per kilo (approx 850,000). That might sound a lot, but in spaceflight terms its a bargain.

We have a broad array of customers, even just on our first mission, says Thornton, who has seen universities, companies and even private individuals sign up to hitch a ride. We have a payload from the UK thats actually a fun little walking rover thats going to walk across the surface.

Alongside Astrobotic are many other companies all preparing to head to the lunar surface. Though none of them has successfully landed yet, theres no shortage of passengers waiting to hitch a ride. The lunar surface is about to get busier than its ever been.

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How humanity will return to the Moon: The future of lunar exploration - BBC Focus Magazine

Dr. Michaela Musilova is the director of Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) program, which conducts analog missions to the moon and Mars for scientific research at a habitat on the volcano Mauna Loa. Currently, she is in command of the two-week Selene IV lunar mission and contributed this report to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Commander's report for the Selene IV moon mission at HI-SEAS

Lunar day 13 (March 25, 2021)

We baked everything. Today's weather brought so much relief and joy to the whole crew that we had to celebrate. We were finally able to go on moonwalks without being plagued by dust storms on the moon (aka rainstorms on the volcano Mauna Loa in Hawaii). The absence of dust storms also meant that the HI-SEAS habitat's batteries could be recharged fully using our solar panels. For these reasons, the crew went a bit overboard using solar power and baked ridiculous amounts of garlic knots (a HI-SEAS favorite), "panfins" (pancake batter muffins) and a chocolate cake. They literally baked everything that they could think of.

Funnily enough, that included baking rocks. The sweet smells of freshly baked goodies were quickly replaced by earthy and burnt odors. I quickly ran to the oven to find a bunch of smashed-up volcanic soil drying in there. The crew teased Mission Specialist Cameron Crowell that he baked volcanic rocks because he was so desperate to eat anything other than our freeze-dried food. It is true that eating the same old meals made with freeze-dried food on analog missions does get mundane very quickly.

Related: HI-SEAS crew struggle to keep up hope as relentless storms foil their 'moonwalks'

However, Cameron was baking those rocks for his research on the magnetic properties of lava rocks for in situ resource utilization (ISRU) purposes. They include making building materials on the moon and Mars using local regolith (soil), as well as breaking down water in the regolith to create oxygen and hydrogen. Thanks to the good weather conditions, Cameron was able to collect all of the lava samples that he needed. He then pulverized them, dried them in the oven and used magnets to separate magnetic particles from the rest of the analog regolith. Post mission, Cameron will be working on a scientific paper using his research results. Nevertheless, the whole crew still insists that Cameron attempted to harvest local rock materials for sustenance, not for his research.

All jokes aside, the Selene IV crew did seem to suffer when they were not able to bake bread and diversify their meals. As one crewmember said: "Yesterday we had to survive without bread and that was horrible. Sadness. It was enough for the crew to almost go crazy. Today, filled with sunshine and baked goods, it seems like we're living another life. It's amazing what one day of sunshine will do."

To save our crewmembers from too much despair, Crew Operations Officer Lori Waters decided to harvest the daikon radish microgreens that she had been growing for the crew. They added a nice spicy, green crunch to the rather unexciting lunar dinner.

The crew was so grateful for the refreshment the daikon radish brought to our day that Lori even wrote a lighthearted obituary for these microgreens: "Goodbye Daikon. We savored your color and spice. The crew of Selene IV will forever regard your contribution to lunar survival, especially as we resorted to eating the science experiments. Thank you for your sacrifice, texture and flavor. #NeverForgetDaikon"

As is clear from the obituary, space-farming experiments brought many positive physiological and psychological benefits to the Selene IV crew. Lori found that consuming microgreens, taking care of different plant-based experiments and her daily observations of the ExoLab-8 mission project enabled the crew to connect to "Earth." Selene IV crewmembers were also able to consume nutrient-dense food and learn about how other organisms respond to extreme environments when being grown during analog space missions.

Crew Systems Engineer Bill O'Hara and Crew Engineer Jack Bryan were also able to complete their projects. Bill, who is a principal system engineer from the Sierra Nevada Corp., has completed data collection in support of a case study of the design of the HI-SEAS habitat. Additionally, he has completed two moonwalks into nearby lava caves where he tested methods of evaluating these formations for habitability in similar formations on the moon and Mars.

Jack was able to create and analyze a number of test materials using low-density polyethylene directly harvested from the habitat's waste materials and analog regolith powder from the surrounding lava. Each sample was an improvement on the last, which Jack plans on studying for future ISRU research and applications.

During our mission, we have learned a lot about each other, as individuals and as a team. Science Communication Officer Monica Parks found through her study that we all have a common bond. Every one of us has encountered countless hurdles and rejections, as we have navigated through our careers and lives. We each embody the spirit of perseverance in unique and complex ways. That is why we get each other in ways that even those closest to us may not understand. Saying goodbye to this wonderful and super fun crew will be heartbreaking for me.

While our mission is coming to a close, I strongly believe that we will continue to be a space family and maintain these bonds between us, even after we'll go back to our homes on "Earth." I'm very grateful that I have been able to keep in touch and support my space family all around the world, even though in some cases it has been many years since we were on mission together. With some crews, we're already preparing reunions and new adventurous journeys, such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and exploring different Asian countries.

Commander Musilova signing off to prepare a scavenger hunt (and partially a wild goose chase) for the Selene V mission that will be starting in a few days. My crew is preparing clues that will lead to the famous HI-SEAS "Easter egg" treasure and some rude shamrocks along the way to test the newbies on the moon. There's always something to look forward to on these analog space missions!

Follow Michaela Musilova on Twitter @astro_Michaela. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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The great lunar 'bake off' of knots and moon rocks Commander's report: lunar day 13 - Space.com

Thematic ETFs, exchange-traded funds that focus on specific investment themes, are booming And one of the most-talked-about themes lately is space. There is no shortage of ways to invest in the final frontier.

Historically, the way to invest in space has been in aerospace and defense ETFs.

Before Elon Musk was shooting cars into orbit, space exploration was a purely governmental affair. Aerospace and defense companies were building the rockets, and many of them still are.

Funds with large positions in companies like Boeing , Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman tend to have lower volatility and turnover than funds focused on the newer, high-growth companies that compete in space. Aerospace and defense ETFs come in both actively managed and passive, or index, varieties. On the passive side, ETF (ITA) and ETF (XAR) offer broad exposure to the old guard of companies in this sector and low turnover. ITA has an expense ratio of 0.44% and XAR 0.35%.

On the active side, the leveraged fund (DFEN) is designed for short-term investing. This funds goal is to provide triple the daily return of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense Index; but it can also triple the losses if the market goes the other way. Youll also have to pay up for it: With an expense ratio of 0.99%, DFEN is more expensive than an unleveraged ETF. Leveraged ETFs have grown in popularity with investors in recent years, but it is best to work with your financial adviser to determine whether a short-term fund is best for your thematic investment goals.

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Want to Invest in Space? Try These ETFs - The Wall Street Journal

The ARK Space Exploration ETF (ARKX), the newest exchange traded fund from ARK Investment Management, debuted in late March and was one of the most widely anticipated ETF launches of the first quarter.

Its too early to judge ARKX on performance, particularly against the backdrop of challenges for growth and emerging technology stocks, but the long-term outlook for space investing bright. Thats a trend that could lure more investors to the actively managed ARKX.

Coincidentally, last week was the 60th anniversary of the first human traveling to space. Obviously, thats in the past, but the present and future for ARKX is looking up.

The last several weeks have seen major developments in the field of space exploration, including the historic flight of NASAs Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of Mars, the first-ever powered flight on another planet. Other noteworthy events include SpaceX snagging a $2.9 billion deal from NASA to develop a human lander that will carry the next astronauts to the lunar surface and beyond, notes Morningstar analyst Vikram Barhat.

The concept of space investing, lucrative as it may prove to be, is still in its infancy. That could be a sign that adaptable approaches, such as the active ARKX, are best suited for this frontier.

If the list of active and upcoming projects is any indication, space-related activity is taking off like never before, adds Barhat. And as mankinds quest for a deeper understanding of space becomes more intense, a growing number of companies are jumping into the fray with an eye on commercial opportunities on the horizon.

ARKX also offers investors depth something thats hard to find in some older products attempting to address space investing. The fund features exposure to orbital and suborbital aerospace companies, 3D printing companies, enabling technology providers, and aerospace beneficiary firms.

See also:Otherworldly Potential: The ARKX ETF Invests in Space

That depth is a plus because the rapid expansion of space spending wont be confined to just one or two industries.

Bank of America projects the revenue generated by the global space industry to hit $1.4 trillion by 2030, from $414 billion in 2018, notes Barhat. As more countries rush to develop their space economies, the following companies stand to significantly profit due to their entrenched positions, technological expertise, and research and development capabilities.

For more on disruptive technologies, visit our Disruptive Technology Channel.

The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.

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Ark Invest and the Financial World's Great Space Race - ETF Trends

Billionaire Jared Isaacman's privately chartered space flight is scheduled to leave Earth in late 2021 as the first crewed space mission with no professional astronauts on board. The multi-day orbital flight, dubbed "Inspiration4," was named to commemorate the four-person crew and their associated "pillars" of support for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: leadership, hope, generosity and prosperity.

Aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule dubbed Resilience, Isaacman a self-described space geek who has accrued more than 6,000 hours piloting various aircraft will be the commander of the flight. Joining him are physician assistant Hayley Arcenaux, data engineer Chris Sembroski, and geoscientist and science communication specialist Sian Proctor.

Related: Meet the contest-winning crew of Inspiration4

According to the Inspiration4 mission website, the vehicle will orbit the Earth for several days carrying an as-yet-undescribed scientific payload in addition to the passengers. But the primary purposes of Inspiration4, the site states, are to raise awareness and funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and begin "a new era for human spaceflight and exploration."

Inspiration4 was chartered by Jared Isaacman, billionaire CEO and founder of Shift4 Payments, a payment processing company that he founded as a 16-year-old and which now handles billions of transactions each year.

"Inspiration4 is the realization of a lifelong dream and a step toward a future in which anyone can venture out and explore the stars," Isaacman said in a statement. He recalls being in kindergarten at Wilson Elementary School in New Jersey looking at high-resolution picture books of the space shuttle, Space.com previously reported.

"I did tell my kindergarten teacher I would go to space someday, and she said she'd be watching," Isaacman recalled.

Isaacman holds several world records, including a speed around the world flight that, according to the New Jersey Local News Service, raised money and awareness for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. In addition, he has flown in more than 100 airshows with the Black Diamond Jet Team, reported Business Wire. Each of those performances was dedicated to some charitable cause.

Inspiration4 will be motivated in part by Isaacman's effort to raise more than $200 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a pediatric cancer research hospital that does not charge the families of children for their treatment. Isaacman pledged $100 million out of his own pocket.

"I've been very lucky in life; you really don't get to a position that I'm fortunate enough to be in without the ball bouncing your way a couple times," said Isaacman in an interview with Space.com. "These families [at St. Jude] were dealt horrible hands. They're going through what no one should ever have to go through. It's immense heartache, and the sad part is many of those kids will not grow up to have any of the experiences that I've been lucky enough to have in life. We've just got to do something about that."

Isaacman, who will act as commander for the mission, donated the remaining three seats of his four-person flight to sponsor St. Jude.

The first crewmember to join him was Hayley Arceneaux, 29, a physician assistant at St. Jude in Memphis who, as a child, also received treatment for bone cancer from the same organization. She was chosen to join the crew by St. Jude, and according to the New York Times will become the first person with a prosthetic body part to go to space, as during her treatment she received metal rods to replace parts of bones in her left leg. She will also be one of the youngest people to go to space, and the youngest American to do so, edging out pioneering astronaut Sally Ride by just a few years.

Arceneaux will serve as medical officer for the flight.

Related: Childhood bone cancer survivor joins private Inspiration4 spaceflight on SpaceX rocket

The remaining two seats were given away in two different competitions.

Chris Sembroski, 41, is a data engineer and long-time space enthusiast who once worked as a counselor at Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. His seat was up for grabs in a fundraiser sweepstakes meant to support St. Jude, but while Sembroski entered the competition, an unnamed friend actually won. The friend then offered the seat to Sembroski, recalling his avid interest in spaceflight and astronomy, Space.com previously reported. Sembroski will serve as mission specialist, and according to a press release will "help manage payload, science experiments, communications to mission control and more."

Proctor, 51, a geology and planetary science professor and science communication specialist, was awarded her seat as winner of the Shift4Shop competition. The contest asked entrants to set up an e-commerce site using a platform owned by Isaacmans company, Shift4 Payments. As part of the contest, Proctor, 51, also recorded a video sharing her "inspirational entrepreneurial story" and why her business "should be elevated to the stars." Proctor's "Space2Inspire" shop offered postcards and prints of her AfronautSpace art, which she uses to encourage conversations about women of color in the space industry.

Long interested in space flight, Proctor was a finalist for the 2009 NASA astronaut selection and has participated in four analog space missions, including a NASA-funded four-month "Mars mission" at the Hawai'i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Habitat.

Proctor will be the pilot of the Inspiration4 mission.

While government astronauts typically spend at least two years getting ready for a space station flight, Inspiration4's training timeline is much shorter. Their mission is shorter than most of those undertaken by professional astronauts (just three days in orbit, while many stays on the ISS are now six months or longer) and the team will have no need for training in space station systems or spacewalks. Still, Isaacman has said in previous reporting from Space.com, training for Inspiration4 will draw upon the "NASA-approved curriculum" to get the new astronauts ready for spaceflight.

In April, the Inspiration4 crew completed their first centrifuge training, according to a press release. Among many other physical trials, that training is meant to prepare astronauts for the gravitational forces they will be subject to during launch, re-entry and other scenarios.

Isaacman also plans to carry on NASA's tradition of putting astronauts into isolated, challenging environments before flight, bringing his crew into the mountains.

"It will get us all super uncomfortable and [in] close quarters and hopefully in snowy conditions, because I definitely want to make sure we all get along really well under those circumstances here on Earth before we go off in space together," he said in a previous interview with Space.com.

The crew will launch on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket inside of a Dragon capsule, the same type of spacecraft used to fly astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station in the first private crewed mission in history.

The capsule itself will be a slightly retooled reuse of the Crew Dragon Resilience, the craft that brought Crew-1 astronauts to the International Space Station in November of 2020 as part of the first full-fledged private crewed mission to the ISS.

Resilience is gaining a new domed window for 360-degree views. "Probably most 'in space' you could possibly feel by being in a glass dome," tweeted SpaceX founder Elon Musk. The window will replace the equipment that allowed the capsule to dock with the space station on Crew-1, since the Inspiration4 flight will remain independently in orbit.

When weighing his space tourism options, Isaacman said, "there was no question it was going to be SpaceX," as Crew Dragon is already flying crewed missions to the International Space Station for NASA. "They're leading the path," he said.

Isaacman said he's proud to fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon for this mission, because he believes Musk's company "reinvigorated the world's interest in space" following the end of NASA's space shuttle program in 2011. The shuttle ferried hundreds of astronauts to space between 1981 and its 2011 retirement. After that, the next crewed mission to Earth orbit that launched from the United States was SpaceX's Demo-2 mission in May 2020.

In a teleconference announcing Inspiration4, Musk said that he believes the mission is "an important milestone towards enabling access to space for everyone."

Isaacman will be paying SpaceX an unspecified amount for the flight, but USA Today speculated a cost of "easily at least tens of millions of dollars."

"At first, things are very expensive," Musk noted, "and it's only through missions like this that we're able to bring the costs down over time and make space accessible to all."

Inspiration4's major claim to fame is to be the "World's First All-Civilian Mission to Space," according to the mission website. What does that mean?

None of the four participants are professional astronauts. In the past, most space travelers have been government-employed and trained civilians or members of the military. In addition, some tourists have also made their way to space, but only under the supervision of professionals associated with a government agency like NASA or its European, Russian or Japanese counterparts, ESA, Roscosmos and JAXA. The crew of Inspiration4 will receive commercial astronaut training and become the first people to complete a space flight with no direct government agency oversight.

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Inspiration4: The first all-civilian spaceflight on SpaceX Dragon - Space.com

Picture the scene: A small drone the size of a suitcase descends into a dark Martian crevasseperhaps a lava tube that was formed billions of years ago by volcanic activity on the Red Planet. The drone illuminates its surroundings, recording views never seen before by human eyes as its suite of instruments seeks out signs of past or present alien biology. Finally, its reconnaissance complete, the drone flies back to a landing zone on the surface to transmit invaluable data back to Earth. After soaking up the Martian sunlight to recharge its batteries, it continues its explorations of terrain inaccessible to any other machine.

Far from being some starry-eyed flight of fancy, such a mission could soon become a reality thanks to the resounding success of NASAs Ingenuity rotorcraft, sometimes referred to as a helicopter or dronea technology demonstration that has taken place on Mars over the past few weeks. Carried to the planet by NASAs Perseverance rover, which touched down on February 18, this small machine, weighing a paltry 1.8 kilograms, was the first attempt at controlled aerial flight on another worldmore than a century after that same feat was mastered on Earth by the Wright brothers. We can now say that human beings have flown a rover craft on another planet, said MiMi Aung, project manager of Ingenuity at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in a speech to her team from mission control following the successful first flight on April 19. We together now have our Wright brothers moment.

With Ingenuitys success, space scientists are contemplating the roles that aerial vehicles might play in our exploration of the solar system. Few worlds possess the necessary conditions for powered aerodynamic flight, namely an atmosphere and rocky surface like that of Mars or Earth, but there are two others of note. The general technique of aerial flight is applicable to places like [Saturns moon] Titan and Venus, said Bob Balaram, chief engineer of the Ingenuity team, in a press briefing following the first flight. The latters exceedingly high temperatures and pressures pose some unique challenges: Near the surface its closer to swimming, says Paul Byrne, a planetary scientist at North Carolina State University. Yet flight there is not impossible, which was proved by the Soviet Unions Vega balloons in 1985. With a rotorcraft called Dragonfly already being developed to visit Titan in the next decade and work continuing on a conceptual successor to Ingenuity, the future looks bright for aerial exploration of alien worlds. This could be the start of a new era, Byrne says.

Ingenuitys first flight, from a strip of land on Marss Jezero Crater that is now dubbed Wright Brothers Field, was modest but impressive: the planets atmosphere is incredibly thin, just 1 percent that of Earth, so generating lift is exceedingly difficult. Its similar to Earth at about 100,000 feet above the ground, says Ben Pipenberg, an engineer at defense contractor AeroVironment, who helped build Ingenuity. With Perseverance watching from a safe distance, Ingenuity spun its blades at 2,500 revolutions per minute (rpm) to rise to an altitude of three meters, where it hovered for 30 seconds and performed a 96-degree rotation. Then it descended back to the ground, landing on its four legs, with a total flight time of 39.1 seconds.

From there, things got more complex. The second flight lasted 51.9 seconds, reaching a height of five meters. And it included a lateral movement of about two meterssomething not attempted in the confines of the test chamber on Earth where Ingenuity first flew in simulated Mars conditions. Flight three saw Ingenuity travel half the length of a football field, some 50 meters, reaching a top speed of just more than two meters per second. The fourth flight on April 30 pushed the envelope once again, with Ingenuity remaining airborne for nearly two minutes117 secondsand reaching an impressive speed of 3.5 meters per second as it scouted a potential future landing zone over a round trip of more than 260 meters. Ingenuitys fifth flightcompleted on May 7 and initially planned to be its lastsent it on a one-way trip to the new landing zone to await the arrival of Perseverance, its mother ship.

Nowthis wildly successful technology demonstration drone is entering a new phase of its missiona second month-long set of more ambitious operational tests. These tests are meant to show how airborne drones could play an active role in a future rover science mission, says Dave Lavery, program executive for Ingenuity at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. Although Ingenuity will not directly support the science objectives of Perseverancenamely looking for signs of past life on Marsit will help scout out the rovers potential route ahead as the team plans the optimal path through Jezero Craters riches.And the craft mayphotograph nearby locations that are not in the Perseverances planned path. There is even a slim chance that Ingenuity could support the rovers later mission, tooif the craft survives. We might see about potentially looking over the rim of the crater, Lavery says.

Much has been made of how these vehicles might one day support human missions, acting as reconnaissance drones for humans to scout out regions of interest near a landing site or carrying tools between locations. In the near-term, prospects of more exciting robotic science are on the horizonperhaps in the same way that the Sojourner rover in 1997, itself a prototype of wheeled exploration and part of NASAs Pathfinder mission, paved the way for its successors Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity and now Perseverance. I do think were going to see some flying vehicles in the future, says Michael Meyer, lead scientist of NASAs Mars Exploration Program at the agencys headquarters. It will now be part of our portfolio of methods that we use for exploration. There are things you can do with a helicopter that you cant do with other platforms.

Examples could include exploring the aforementioned lava tubes or perhaps approaching crater wallstoo high and steep for a rover to scalewhere a helicopter could take images and perform some up-close analysis as well. Another example could be studying recurring slope lineae, dark flows on Mars that have arguably been linked to liquid water flowing on the surface. Perversely, it is this possibility of waterand the accompanying risk of contamination with bacteria imported from Earththat essentially prohibits anyone or anything from setting foot (or wheel) there to seek out signs of native Martian life. But a hovering drone could look without touching, offering a novel route of exploration. A rotorcraft would give us the ability to go and look up close at something that we would otherwise deem not suitable for a rover, Byrne says, either because of planetary protection issues or because its too dangerous.

One concept for a possible aerial vehicle beyond Ingenuity is already being investigated. Known as the Mars Science Helicopter, this six-bladed hexacopter would weigh nearly 30 kilograms. And it would be equipped with several kilograms worth of instruments to analyze different regions of the Martian surface and would have the ability to fly for minutes at a time over several kilometers. Were trying to learn from Ingenuity and ask ourselves, What could we accomplish if we push it further? says Theodore Tzanetos of JPL, who is part of the Mars Science Helicopter concept team. The science such traits would afford would be tremendous, bringing large swathes of the Martian surface suddenly within reach. The current distance record on Mars is held by NASAs Opportunity rover, which traveled more than 42 kilometers in a little more than 11 years. A helicopter could achieve the same feat in weeks.

Other ideas involve using rotorcraft to perform surveys of exposed water ice on regions of the Martian surface inaccessible to rovers. Drones could dive into Martian valleys such as the two-kilometer-deep Mawrth Vallis, looking for evidence of clays linked to astrobiology, or perhaps use instruments to probe the lower reaches of the Martian atmosphere, says Shannah Withrow-Maser, Mars Science Helicopter vehicle systems lead at NASAs Ames Research Center. And this could all be done either alongside a bigger rover mission or as more cost-effective and much lighter standalone missions, enabling more widespread exploration of a variety of Martian locales. I personally would love that, Withrow-Maser says.

Elsewhere in the solar system, flight options are more limited. One could imagine a rotorcraft in the atmosphere of one of the gas giants such as Jupiter or Saturn, where theoretically flight would be possible. But actually getting there would be an issue. The problem, of course, is slowing down and the amount of energy that would take on arrival at the planet, Byrne says. But Titan, Saturns intriguing moon with an incredibly thick atmosphere and lakes of hydrocarbons on its surface, is a very tantalizing prospect. In 2019 NASA selected a mission that would attempt to deploy the rotorcraft Dragonfly on the moon. Dragonfly is intended to launch as early as 2026 and arrive in 2034, and its team has been watching Ingenuitys successes very closely.

Weve been following with great interest, says Elizabeth Turtle, lead of the Dragonfly mission at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Were very anxious to see what lessons we can take forward to Dragonfly. Like Ingenuity, Dragonfly will be flying autonomously, so it will make use of similar onboard image processing capabilities to decide where to land on the Titanian surface. (Ingenuity performs terrain mapping by taking 30 images of the ground per second.) But Dragonfly is a mammoth compared to Ingenuity, weighing nearly half a metric ton and powered by plutonium. And it is a standalone mission rather than a ride along like Ingenuity. Its like Perseverance [in scale], except we fly instead of drive across the surface, Turtle says.

Despite Titan being a much more distant alien world than Marswith a light travel time from Earth of about an hour, compared with up to about 20 minutes for the Red Planetflight is relatively easier there. Titans gravity is only 14 percent that of Earth and much less than that of Mars, while the moons much thicker atmosphere makes generating lift a comparative breeze. A person could put wings on and soar over Titans surface, Turtle says. Winds on Titan are also much slower, barely more than a kilometer an hour versus tens of kilometers an hour on Mars. And whereas Ingenuitys blades require 2,500 rpm to lift its fragile 1.8-kg body off the surface, Dragonflys half-metric-ton bulk can be lofted just by its rotors spinning at 800 rpm. Titans major challenge is its temperature, which averages only about 180 degrees Celsiushence the need for a long-lived, heat-generating plutonium power source. Its certainly cold, Turtle says. Its a nontrivial challenge.

With Dragonfly on the horizon, and perhaps future missions such as the Mars Science Helicopter in the works, there is plenty to be excited about beyond Ingenuity. This little machine has, for the first time, proved flight on alien worlds is possiblefrom both a physical and logistical point of view. Now this exciting new era of discovery awaits, and while only a handful of worlds afford the right conditions for this method of exploration, the sky is very much the limit for the science that could be performed by aerial vehicles in these alien skies. There are things to be sorted out, Meyer says. Then I think were going to start seeing some new and improved helicopter platforms that can actually carry tempting payloads.

Originally posted here:

First in Flight: NASA Just Proved Flying on Mars Is PossibleNext Up Is the Solar System - Scientific American

"This Week in Space" brings you whats new and exciting in space exploration and astronomy once a week, every week. From supernovae to SpaceX or Mars missions to black holes, if its out of this world, its covered here.

Astronomers announced the discovery of one of the youngest planets ever. The newborn planet, a gas giant like Jupiter, orbits a star that's only 14 million years old. If the Sun is middle-aged, this star is the equivalent of a month-old baby. What's especially cool is that the planet was discovered through direct imaging, meaning the scientists actually took a photo of the star, blocked out the star's light as best they could, and saw the planet in what was left over.

Only a handful of planets like this have been discovered, and each one is immensely valuable for helping astronomers figure out how planets form.

You may recall a lot of hubbub last fall about astronomers discovering phosphine on Venus. The chemical isn't expected to be abundantly formed in Venus' atmosphere by any known natural processes, so it was an exciting possibility that the discovery was evidence for life. Following the discovery a bunch of papers came out saying that the detection was bad science. Last monday, however, the scientists behind the original study released a refutation of these claims and found that a second, more conservative look still turns up a strong phosphine signal. All the more reason to explore Venus for more potential signs of life.

New findings showed that the closest star to us, Proxima Centauri, recently erupted in a flare that made it one thousand times brighter. The flare is the biggest that has ever been observed from Proxima. While the outburst wont affect things on Earth, Proxima Centauri is famous for hosting a potentially habitable Earth-sized planet around it. Some have been holding out hopes for signs of intelligent life on the planet, since it is at the right distance from its star to host liquid water on its surface. But with this giant flare, it grows more likely that the planet is in too inhospitable an environment to sustain life. The next closest known planet, Epsilon Eridanus b, is about three times as far away. Cross your fingers for it?

In 2017, the Juno space mission surprised everyone with news that Jupiters core was fuzzy - neither made of rock nor gas, but a weird slush of the two. Now, two astronomers at Caltech have found that Saturn has a strikingly similar center through a careful study of its famous rings. The fact that both planets have such diffuse cores could mean that they both experienced huge head-on collisions billions of years ago, or, perhaps more likely, that they started off rocky and then eroded over time.

Either scenario would challenge our current understanding of how the Solar Systemand Earth itselfevolved.

Asa Stahl is an astrophysics PhD candidate at Rice University and the award-winning author of the pop science childrens book "The Big Bang Book." His research is aimed at discovering planets around other stars in order to answer some of our biggest questions, like "How special is the Earth?" and "How did we get here?" His recent book has been recognized as an Edward Jack Keats Award Honoree, an NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Book, and a Sakura Medal Finalist.

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This week in space: Scientists find signs of life on Venus - Albany Times Union

My colleagues at any other institutions come here and theyre jealous, Christensen said. Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) delegations have visited and muttered they dont have a facility that nice.

It takes money to make money, Christensen said. You build a facility like this, it pays for itself. NASA does not want you building stuff out of spit and baling wire. When they come here and see this, they say, You guys are for real.

The clean rooms in the space building are about the size of a small high school gym. It has the usual desks, monitors and chairs. What isnt usual are the two vacuum chambers, one the size of a packing crate and the other about the size of a Volkswagen bus. Theyre used to simulate space conditions. The lab team can crank all the oxygen out of the chamber, drop the temperature down to absolute zero (0 degrees Kelvin), and see how what theyve built stands up to space conditions.

You turn it into outer space, Bell said. Its pretty rare for a college campus (to be able to test instruments in that environment). Only a handful of campuses around the country have that capability. Typically you only find that in NASA centers and big aerospace companies.

They put machines inside the vacuum chambers, thrown in a bunch of dust and rocks, and crank the temperature up to see how they fared. (If you were put inside, your eyeballs would pop, the blood in your veins would boil, and eventually youd boil away. Outer space is a tough place.)

Its not uncommon to come in to the clean rooms at 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning and find grad students working on projects. About 15 to 20 people are working on all aspects of design and development at any given time.

The School of Earth and Space Exploration is not a conventional aerospace environment. A scientist can walk down the hall, tell an engineer he needs to get data from somewhere really nasty and inaccessible, and the engineer can figure out how to make a machine that will go there, survive, and get the data home.

Thats rare, Bell said.

The reason that I left my previous university was because I couldn't do this kind of stuff there. It was the typical U.S. university of systems. You had the engineers over in the college of engineering over on that side of campus and the scientists over in the arts and sciences department on this side of campus, and they're physically separated and they're bureaucratically separated, and the students can't take classes one of the other and get the credit that they need for their graduation. That's been the typical system. They call it stove piping. ASU has kind of destroyed a lot of those boundaries, and we're seeing other schools do this as well. And seeing them learn from this kind of a model of integrating and cross discipline and transdisciplinarity and lots of collaboration and mixing of expertise within the same academic units, that wasn't possible where I was before.So far the experiments working great. I mean, this is really what employers are looking for and looking for people who can work on a team, understand other disciplines, that type of thing.

Its a far cry from the '60s, when engineers fought scientists. Now they are in the same building, unseparated by distance or bureaucratic walls.

The cutting edge of space exploration is that its not good enough to just tell somebody to go build a camera and show up and use it later, Bell said. You really have to have your goals in mind while that instrument is on paper. You really have to dive in and become an optics expert. Ive got to work with optics experts and electrical engineers and all that because I want to make a certain measurement to a certain level of accuracy in a certain environment. The more I can partner with people who understand the engineering and the guts of the electronics, the better my experiments will be. Building those people into the department that is my home at the university is just incredibly efficient and wonderful.

Some 40 years after Greeleys time, NASA now comes to ASUs door.

When you do things well really, really well people notice. Christensen said. Its not just me. (They say), Oh, ASU can build those instruments. And that flows over to Jim and Craig (Hardgrove, principal investigator on the moon CubeSat mission) and Lindy (Elkins-Tanton, former school director). Weve built ASUs reputation.

The Mars Rover helped a lot too, he said.

Being world leaders in something as visible as exploring Mars got a lot of attention to ASU that leveraged a lot of things going on here now, Christensen said. A lot of science is fabulous but, Im sorry, landing on Mars is not the same as discovering a new type of plastic for Coke bottles OK, great. Landing on Mars gets you on the cover of magazines.

In the current era of space exploration, NASA and the big aerospace legacy outfits like Lockheed Martin arent the only players any more, pointed out Meenakshi Wadhwa, director of the School of Earth and Space Exploration. New Space companies many of which are in Arizona and hire the school's grads have a lot of skin in the game.

There are also new technologies and different types of platforms, such as CubeSats and SmallSats, that are allowing cheaper and more efficient ways for us to explore our solar system and beyond, said Wadhwa (Asteroid (8356) Wadhwa), also a science team member on one mission in flight. I see ASU leading the charge in many such areas, and creating innovative new pathways for space exploration that will involve the participation of people that have traditionally not been so well represented in this grand endeavor.

Taking on a mission like Psyche requires a lot of commitment from the home institution, Elkins-Tanton said. You need project managers, course releases for faculty involved, physical lab and office space.

It really takes the determination of the whole organization to make something like this work, she said. The truth is we need people from every discipline to make space exploration successful. A place where a lot of universities can't really step up is the need for really special financial support, budgeting, forecasting and reporting. And of course just handling the money coming in and going out, and tracking, and the needs for a really big mission are often completely beyond anything else that a university has done in terms of scale and specificity of requirements. And so you need the whole university to want to support the endeavor.

One big advantage ASU has and an area that Elkins-Tanton feels has led to the universitys space success is teamwork.

To be successful in these big endeavors, especially in space exploration, you need the faculty talent, of course, but that's where people's thinking usually begins and ends in academia, she said. If you hire the right people who are doing the exciting stuff, then it will all happen. But one of the big differences between space exploration and other things that we do in the university is that space exploration is done in teams. And it's done in big teams (with) a huge amount of pressure and absolute requirement for incredible quality and rigor. And doing those things in teams is not something that is taught very often in academia. In fact, we're kind of brought up to be separate individual heroes of our little fields.

Without teamwork, you dont go to space, she said.

One of the things that ASU has got going for it is you can start right here at home with putting together some people who are going to be helpful and supportive and try to see if they can add their ideas, to make the central idea bigger and not necessarily make it just about themselves. And you can take that core capability outside and you can partner up with your NASA centers and other universities and other people. But without the willingness of people to put the greater good of the whole or the team or the exploration or the goal above the greater good for themselves? You'll never get to space. And so that's one of the things that ASU has that's special.

While the faculty lead the charge into the solar system, students benefit. At ASU, undergrads dont hear, Thats not for you. When students work on projects, theyre not models or games or toys. Theyre real NASA missions.

Here at ASU, we pride ourselves in preparing our students not only for the jobs today but also for the jobs of the future, Wadhwa said. Part of this preparation involves giving the students the opportunity to work on real world problems, and on real spacecraft missions that will be exploring our solar system and beyond. It also gives our students the opportunity to learn some of the key job skills that many employers look for, such as how to work well as part of a team.

Last November, the first fully student-led CubeSat (a satellite about the size of a big shoebox) was launched from the International Space Station. About 100 students and faculty members from four schools within the university played a role in either developing or promoting the Phoenix CubeSat.

Phoenix CubeSat launching from the ISS.

A $200,000 grant provided by NASA's Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP), and the NASA Space Grant Consortium as an Educational Flight Opportunity gave undergrads the opportunity to pursue a hands-on project that helped prepare them for careers in the space industry while benefitting NASA. They learned spacecraft development, interdisciplinary communication, project management and how to develop a scientific objective from the ground up.

About 550 students have participated in the Psyche mission in some way, Elkins-Tanton said.

I think that that changes their lives, she said. It gives them a little window into something else. It connects them to a larger world, to add to all the other experiences they have in their lives. And that to me is something very important and, and really worth spreading the word about.

Touching a piece of machinery that will fly in space is a powerful experience. Making that happen is a powerful experience for faculty too.

There have to be people along the way to give them footholds and handholds, Elkins-Tanton said. And as a university, we can do that now. And that is, ah, that's lovely for me to see. We get messages from students all the time saying, 'It's just my lifelong dream to work with NASA. How do I do that?' And to be able to be one of those places where students can come in and they can participate in this boldest of all human explorations, that seems like a very worthwhile way for us to be spending our time and resources to make that accessible.

Students in the Space Works 1 class learn exactly what space companies like Orbital ATK and Paragon and SpaceX want in employees. Can they work in a team? Do they know what a milestone is? What it means to stick to a schedule? Planetary science and aerospace engineering classes teach a lot, but not everything.

Sheri Klug Boonstra has more than two decades of experience in creating and implementing national NASA STEM education pipeline programs stretching from pre-college to workforce. NASA and industry have told her exactly what they want in new hires.

Theyll be able to take their degree and work directly in the space industry, she said. Were mapping our activities in this class to what industry and NASA has been telling us, These are the top things we need them to be good at. Those are the things that are embedded in this course.

She co-instructs the class with Christensen.

The stuff they learn in classes is fantastic, but applying that in a real-world kind of way is what were trying to do here, he said. Whats a critical design review? Whats an end item data package? I want the students that come out of here to show up at JPL and say, Yeah, I know what that is. Ive done that. I know exactly what goes into one of these reviews. I know what it means to be the program manager. I know what it means to be the manufacturing engineer.' How do real engineers go about their daily jobs?

The degree to which students are involved with the schools missions and projects has been spotlighted by the government.

Our student collaborations are so innovative and so large, so much larger than what other space missions have done in terms of the number of students involved that NASA regularly holds us up as the exemplar of what we could do with our student collaborations and of all the things we're doing on the mission, Elkins-Tanton said.

One of the newest programs in the school is a satellite command and control operations certificate. ASU has a ground station, but the capabilities are still being developed. They can communicate with satellites in Earth orbit a bit, but its all run through NASAs Deep Space Network via JPL.

We're certainly training the kinds of future engineers, scientists, managers and administrators who are going to be working with robotics and who are going to be doing a lot of the ground support kind of activities for human and robotic exploration in the future, Bell said. Absolutely.

And everyone is welcome on the ride. Come on along to space, Wadhwa said.

At ASU, our core values are about innovation and inclusion, she said. In the School of Earth and Space Exploration, our goals for space exploration are also about being innovative and entrepreneurial, and about including everyone who wants to be involved in the excitement and scientific discovery."

Top photo courtesy Pexels.com.

Link:

ASU NewSpace exposition looks to the future of Arizona's space industry - ASU Now