PARIS (ESA PR) — A new map of Mars is changing the way we think about the planet’s watery past, and showing where we should land in the future.
The map shows mineral deposits across the planet and has been painstakingly created over the last decade using data from ESA’s Mars Express Observatoire pour la Mineralogie, l’Eau, les Glaces et l’Activité (OMEGA) instrument and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument.
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by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
Of the six launches known to be scheduled to close out August, there’s only one – Artemis I — that truly matters in any real sense. The others will be duly recorded but little remembered in what could be the busiest launch year in human history.
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The Wikipedia orbital launch page lists six launches to close out August. The big one, of course, is NASA’s Artemis I mission next Monday. The others, not so momentous but still worth listing.
Disclaimer: This schedule is subject to change without notice. Parabolic Arc takes no responsibility for delays, changes, additions or what have you. And, as always, no wagering.
Tuesday, August 23
Launch Vehicle: Long March 11
Launch Site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center
Launch Company: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)
Payload: TBA
Wednesday, August 24
Launch Vehicle: Long March 2D
Launch Site: Taiyuan Xichang Satellite Launch Center
Launch Company: CASC
Payload: TBA
Saturday, August 27
Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9
Launch Site: Vandenberg Space Force Base
Launch Company: SpaceX
Payloads: 46 Starlink broadband satellites
Webcast: www.spacex.com
Sunday, August 28
Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Company: SpaceX
Payloads: 53 Starlink broadband satellites
Webcast: www.spacex.com
Monday, August 29
Launch Vehicle: Space Launch System Block 1
Launch Site: Kennedy LC-39B
Launch Window: 8:33-10:33 a.m. EDT (12:33-14:33 UTC)
Launching Agency: NASA
Payloads: Orion spacecraft and 10 secondary payloads
Webcast: www.nasa.gov
Artemis I Secondary Payloads
| Satellite | Organization | Orbit | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| ArgoMoon | Italian Space Agency | Heliocentric | Spacecraft will demonstrate capacity of CubeSats to conduct precise maneuvers in deep space by providing detailed images of the SLS’s Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage |
| BioSentinel | NASA | Heliocentric | Spacecraft will use budding yeast to detect, measure, and compare the impact of deep space radiation on DNA repair |
| CuSP | NASA | Heliocentric | Space weather measurements |
| EQUULEUS | University of Tokyo | Earth-moon L2 | 6U CubeSat will measure the distribution of plasma around Earth |
| LunaH-Map | NASA | Selenocentric | Lunar polar orbiter will search for evidence of frozen water deposits |
| Lunar IceCube | NASA | Selenocentric | Lunar orbiter will search for frozen water deposits |
| LunIR | Lockheed Martin Space | Heliocentric | Demonstration technology to collect surface spectroscopy and thermography |
| Near-Earth Asteroid Scout | NASA | Heliocentric | Technology demonstration of solar sail to rendezvous with asteroid |
| OMOTENASHI | Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) | Selenocentric | Smallest vehicle to attempt lunar lander |
| Team Miles | Fluid and Reason, LLC | Heliocentric | Technology demonstration of plasma thrusters |
Late August
Launch Vehicle: Kuaizhou 1A
Launch Site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Launch Company: ExPace
Payloads: Centispace-1 S3 and Centispace-1 S4 navigation satellites
The new head of Roscosmos says that Russia will leave the International Space Station program after 2024. The Associated Press reports:
Yuri Borisov, appointed this month to lead the state space agency, Roscosmos, said during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that Russia will fulfill its obligations to its partners before it leaves.
“The decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made,” Borisov said, adding: “I think that by that time we will start forming a Russian orbiting station.”
Borisov’s statement reaffirmed previous declarations by Russian space officials about Moscow’s intention to leave the space station after 2024 when the current international arrangements for its operation end.
Roscosmos previously announced that it would build the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS) after it leaves ISS.
Russia keeps the station supplied with crews and cargo via Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, respectively. Progress resupply ships raise the station’s orbit and maneuvers the facility to avoid space debris. The Russian section of ISS is about one quarter of the orbiting laboratory.
The United States wants to keep the station operating until 2030. It wants U.S. industry to develop private space stations later in the 2020’s on which the space agency could become a tenant.
ISS is a partnership of NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The four space agencies are partners in the NASA-led Artemis program that plans to return astronauts to the surface of the moon later in this decade.
NASA ISS Program Director Robyn Gatens said the space agency has received no formal notice about Russia withdrawing from the program during an appearance at the International Space Station Research and Development Conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
TOKYO (JAXA/Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. PR) –– Sumitomo Mitsui Marine Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (President: Shinichiro Funabuchi) of MS & AD Insurance Group and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA, Chairman: Hiroshi Yamakawa) aim to create space-related businesses with new ideas. Under the framework of “JAXA Space Innovation Partnership (J-SPARC)”, we started co-creation activities related to “Space Travel Insurance Business” in July 2022.
Details of co-creation activities
Currently, insurance for space travel is not yet in full swing. The reason is none other than the small number of space travelers. Under such circumstances, 2021 was called the “first year of space travel,” and for the first time in history, the number of space travelers exceeded the number of professional astronauts. Now that space travel by various means has been realized or proposed, space travel insurance that meets the needs is required. Sumitomo Mitsui Marine and JAXA are co-creating activities related to “product development of space travel insurance” and “support for expanding the space travel market”, and by creating and disseminating the “space travel insurance” that is now needed. It adds peace of mind to space travel and contributes to the expansion of humankind’s economic sphere.
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by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
It was a busy first half of 2022 that saw 77 orbital launches with 74 successes and three failures through the 182nd day of the year on July 1. At a rate of one launch every 2 days 8 hours 44 minutes, the world is on track to exceed the 146 launches conducted in 2021.
A number of significant missions were launched during a period that saw more than 1,000 satellite launched. SpaceX flew the first fully commercial crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Boeing conducted an orbital flight test of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, China prepared to complete assembly of its space station, South Korea launched its first domestically manufactured rocket, and Rocket Lab sent a NASA mission to the moon.
Let’s take a closer look at the numbers.
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HOUSTON (NASA PR) — To ensure continued safe operations of the International Space Station (station), protect the lives of astronauts, and ensure continuous U.S. presence in space, NASA will resume integrated crews on U.S. crew spacecraft and the Russian Soyuz with the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos.
Flying integrated crews ensures there are appropriately trained crew members on board the station for essential maintenance and spacewalks. It also protects against contingencies such as a problem with any crew spacecraft, serious crew medical issues, or an emergency aboard the station that requires a crew and the vehicle they are assigned to return to Earth sooner than planned.
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PARIS (CNES PR) — The week of June 27, 2022, on the occasion of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the French space agency at the French Embassy in Japan, the President and CEO of CNES, Philippe Baptiste, met with Takayuki Kobayashi, Minister of Economic Security, in charge of Japan’s space policy, and Hiroshi Yamakawa, President of JAXA. This visit contributed to confirming Japan as one of CNES’s leading international partners, allowing discussions on current projects and cooperation prospects.
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TOKYO (JAXA PR) — Dentsu Group, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Hiroshi Igarashi, hereafter Dentsu Group) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Headquarters: Chofu City, Tokyo, Chairman: Hiroshi Yamakawa, hereafter JAXA) Under the Innovation Partnership (J-SPARC) (*1), we have started co-creation activities to create demand and optimize supply and demand through the sophistication of advertising by utilizing artificial satellite data.
Artificial satellite data has been used to increase the yield of agricultural products and predict the harvest time in the agricultural field, but there was a problem that the data was lost due to the influence of the weather and it was difficult to analyze. This initiative conducts technical research to solve the problem, and uses that information to adjust the timing of advertising placement according to the sales time of agricultural products and related products, in real time for sales and advertising measures. By reflecting this, we aim to actively create demand and optimize supply and demand. This new use case is expected to further expand the use of satellite data.
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TOKYO (JAXA PR) — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has conducted the 0th selection test on 2,266 people who have passed the document selection of astronaut candidates, and as a result, the successful candidates have been determined as follows.
Number of successful applicants for the 0th selection: 205
(reference)
○ Future plans
Please see the application guidelines for the details of the selection process.
Breakdown of astronaut candidates by age group who passed the 0th selection
| Successful applicants for the 0th selection | (Reference) Successful applicants for document selection | (Reference) Applicants | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number | 205 | 2,266 | 4,127 |
| 20s or younger | 61 (29.8%) | 483 (21.3%) | 811 (19.7%) |
| 30s | 107 (52.2%) | 1,084 (47.8%) | 1,850 (44.8%) |
| Forties | 31 (15.1%) | 513 (22.6%) | 973 (23.6%) |
| 50s | 6 (2.9%) | 163 (7.2%) | 424 (10.3%) |
| 60s and over | 0 (0.0%) | 23 (1.0%) | 69 (1.7%) |
* Since the composition ratio is rounded to the first decimal place, the total is not necessarily 100.
MADRID, Spain (ESA PR) — A new European Space Agency science mission, proposed by the UK, to 3D-map a comet for the first time has reached a major milestone.
The Comet Interceptor mission was formally adopted by the European Space Agency (ESA) at a meeting in Madrid today (Wednesday, 8 June 2022), moving from the design phase to implementation, with the next step to select a contractor to build the spacecraft and a robotic probe.
Due for launch in 2029, it will see one main spacecraft and two robotic probes – the other built by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) – travel to an as-yet unidentified comet and map it in three dimensions.
Caroline Harper, Head of Space Science at the UK Space Agency, said:
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TOKYO (NASA PR) — President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in Tokyo Monday where they announced progress on collaboration for human and robotic lunar missions. They confirmed their commitment to include a Japanese astronaut aboard the lunar Gateway outpost and their shared ambition to see a future Japanese astronaut land on the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program.
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WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Continuing the collaboration that produced the COVID-19 Earth Observing Dashboard in 2020, NASA and its international partners in Europe and Japan have combined the collective scientific power of their Earth-observing satellite data in expanding the online resource to document a broad array of planet-wide changes in the environment and human society.
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TOKYO (IHI Aerospace PR) — IHI Aerospace Co., Ltd (hereinafter ‘IA’) received order for launching the small SAR satellites owned by Institute for Q-Shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (hereinafter ‘iQPS’). IA and iQPS signed the contract for launch service of QPS-SAR-3 and QPS-SAR-4 on April 18, 2022.
QPS-SAR-3 and QPS-SAR-4 are under manufacturing by iQPS with more than 25 partner companies in northern Kyushu and other parts of Japan. Two satellites will be launched by Epsilon flight #6 in Japanese FY 2022 from Uchinoura Space Center in Kyushu. This is first commercial launch order for IA.
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PARIS (ESA PR) — Following the Russian aggression against Ukraine, ESA’s Director General has initiated a comprehensive review of all activities currently undertaken in cooperation with Russia and Ukraine. The objective is to determine the possible consequences of this new geopolitical context for ESA programmes and activities and to create a more resilient and robust space infrastructure for Europe.
The ESA Council on 13 April acknowledged the following findings and took the following decisions.
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