August 1-7, 2016 / Vol 35, No 31 / Hawai`i Island, USA

13th Asia Oceania Geosciences Society Meeting to Host Experts from 50 Countries

The 13th annual Asia Oceania Geosciences Society Meeting is being held July 31 – August 5 at China National Convention Centre in Beijing. Active since 2003, AGOS aims to promote geosciences and its application for the benefit of humanity, specifically in Asia (~4.4 billion people / 60% of World population) and Oceania (~39 million people) with an overarching approach to global issues. This year, about 230 sessions are being held under 9 sections: Solid Earth Sciences, Solar & Terrestrial Sciences, Planetary Sciences, Ocean Sciences, Interdisciplinary Geosciences, Hydrological Sciences, Biogeosciences, Atmospheric Sciences and Special Sessions. Highlighted lecturers (pictured L-R) include “Initial Results from the Akatsuki Mission at Venus” by Takehiko Satoh of JAXA, “The Martian – Science Fiction and Science Fact” by James Green of NASA, “The Effect of Surface Ice and Topography on the Atmospheric Circulation and Distribution of Nitrogen Ice on Pluto” by Scot Rafkin of SwRI, and “Impact and Mitigation of Space Weather Effects on GNSS Receiver Performance” by Vadakke Sreeja of University of Nottingham. Guo Huadong of CAS will present on “Earth Observation Big Data – A New Engine for Earth Sciences.” He also has proposed putting a series of sensors on the Moon to utilize the stable platform for long-term observations and study of macro phenomena on Earth. Other AOGS presentations and posters will cover VLBI support of Chang’e Lunar missions, exoplanet astronomy, solar storms and wind, hydrodynamics, regional climates and urban development impacts. (Image Credit: AOGS, CAS, NASA, JAXA, SwRI, U. of Nottingham, K. Hansen, CK-12 Foundation)

MONDAY

Aug 1 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 48 preparing spacesuits for EVA mid-August, working with Mouse Epigenetics experiment, transferring ~5,000 kg of cargo from Dragon CRS-9 & Progress 64; NASA awards Baylor College of Medicine up to US$246M to discover new approaches to astronaut health for long-duration space flight, notable known risks include bone loss, kidney stones, vision problems.

Aug 1 — Hayabusa 2, Asteroid 162173 Ryugu Trajectory: Ryugu Observation Campaign (running until Aug 15) reminds expert observers this is the last chance to view JAXA craft from Earth until it arrives at carbonaceous asteroid in Jun-Jul 2018; Hayabusa 2 sample return mission now in Transfer Orbit phase, is healthy & operating nominally.

Aug 1 — Rosetta, Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko Orbit: ESA spacecraft about 520M km from Sun, losing power at ~4W per day, no longer attempting to receive signals from Philae, will continue science observations for at least 2 more months before orbiting closer to surface for controlled impact.

Aug 1 — Deep Space, Jupiter Orbit: Juno mission investigators readying for 20-month science phase planned to begin in Oct, craft will attempt to observe whether Jupiter has a rocky core, discover insights into Solar System evolution, detect Jupiter chemical composition, amount of water within deep atmosphere & monitor deep winds reaching speeds up to 618 kph.

Aug 1 — Blue Origin, Kent WA: NewSpace company reviewing data from latest New Shepard test flight with purposely-failed parachute, planning crewed test flights in 2017 & to be fully operational for suborbital tourism in 2018; 4,893,043-netwon BE-4 engine for New Shepard & ULA Vulcan vehicle testing in progress, first flight expected NET 2019.

Aug 1 — Audacy, Mountain View CA: Start-up begins 1st in 4-part series of fundraising to secure at least US$15M to develop 3 satellites & 2 ground stations by 2019 to provide communications for private space missions in LEO with capability to support Moon missions as well; aiming to raise total of $250M in private funding and $500M in federal credit.

Aug 1 — NanoRacks LLC, Houston TX: External Payload Platform on ISS to be utilized for the first time within a couple of months to test solar-cell and microprocessor experiments; 22 student experiments to be installed into NanoRacks internal commercial research platform from Dragon-9 cargo; so far 350+ payloads launched via company partnerships / programs.

30th Annual Small Satellite Conference Expanding Opportunities in Space

Utah State University (USU) and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) are collaborating to host the 30th Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites in Logan UT on August 6-11. With the theme “Pioneering an Industry”, the conference is designed as a place for innovators, engineers, problem solvers, scientists, entrepreneurs and dreamers to collaborate and advance knowledge and capabilities in this booming space sector. Pat Patterson, Director of Advanced Concepts at USU Space Dynamics Laboratory chairs the Organizing Committee. Keynote presentations will be made by Franco Ongaro, Director of Technical and Quality Management at ESA and Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO at SpaceX. The main technical program covers 13 sessions from Launch and Propulsion to Communications and Ground Systems. Over 100 exhibitors are expected to showcase their products and services. There is a pre-conference event, 13th Annual Summer CubeSat Developers’ Workshop, which includes almost 50 short presentations. Wednesday evening a special 30th Anniversary celebration takes places at Innovation Campus Pond. When the annual conference began at USU in 1987 small satellites were widely dismissed by the space establishment, by the second year AIAA was onboard as a joint organizer, now the category (generally defined as systems less than 250 kg in mass) is a major segment of the market and continues growing rapidly. (Image Credit: SmallSat, USU, NASA)

Aug 1 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Dr. David Livingston talks with Author and Space Shuttle Program Senior Aerocomposite Technician Gregory Cecil.

Aug 1-2 — National Council for Science, Technology and Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC), Space Generation Advisory Council, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Florida Institute of Technology, Boeing, Merck, Biomakers Lab Peru, Lima, Peru: South American Regional Space Generation Workshop 2016.

Aug 1-4 — University of Exeter, Quest University, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada: Conference: The Diversity of Planetary Atmospheres (IV).

Aug 1-5 — Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany: First Stars V; to discuss theoretical and observational understanding of first star and galaxy formation, at Heidelberg Convention Center.

Aug 1-19 — The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Kigali, Rwanda: African School for Fundamental Physics and Applications 2016 (ASP 2016).

Aug 1 — Moon: 14.2° S of Castor, 00:00; 10.6° S of Pollux, 05:00.

Continued from…

Jun 17 – Aug 15 — Canadian Space Agency, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada: 4th Astronaut recruitment campaign for CSA; expects to announce selected candidates in Summer 2017.

Jul 12 – Sep 1 — International Space University, Technion Institute, Israel Space Agency, Haifa, Israel: ISU 29th Space Studies Program (SSP 2016).