January 30 – February 5, 2017 / Vol 36, No 5 / Hawai`i Island, USA

UAE Space Agency Hosts Global Space Congress 2017 in Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates Space Agency is advancing the Global Space Congress under patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE on January 31 – February 1 at St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in the coastal city of Abu Dhabi along the northeastern Persian Gulf. Billed as an exclusive, strategic gathering of space industry leaders worldwide, the Congress comprises public and private stakeholders evaluating the biggest opportunities and getting exposure to some of the most vibrant and energetic new space programs. There are more than 600 experts from well over 200 organizations attending, including Heads of Agencies as well as C-level executives from leading space and aerospace companies, government ministries, top researchers and academics. Featured Speaker Marsha Sue Ivins is an aerospace engineer and former NASA Astronaut, veteran of 5 Space Shuttle missions. The UAE Space Agency has a new US$27M Space Science Research Center, a Mars Mission and employs about 75 people, which it hopes to double by 2020. Abu Dhabi is the Capital and second largest city of UAE, which gained independence from the United Kingdom on December 2, 1971. The total population as of 2013 was 9.2 million, with approximately 85% being expatriates. (Imaged Credit: UAESA)

MONDAY

Jan 30 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA/Caltech, Online / Pasadena CA: Application Due: STEM Teacher and Researcher Program – Summer 2017.

British Interplanetary Society Lectures Focus on Space Law and UN Treaty at 50

On January 31, British Interplanetary Society Fellows Michael Franks, Adam Manning, Mike Leggett and Jerry Stone will present a BIS SPACE Project Study to re-examine space settlement plans from the 1970s including the legality of using Moon / asteroid resources, how a space settlement might be governed, and the implications the UN Treaty on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space might have for private companies seeking to utilize space. A one-day BIS symposium in October will also focus on the 50th observation of the UN Treaty. The U.S. 2015 Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act to legalize private ownership of resources obtained from space for US citizens aims to qualify under the UN framework Article VI that States Parties have the obligation to ensure companies conform with international law. This may conflict with UN Treaty concept that the rights to Space, Moon and other bodies are the common heritage of all humankind. USA companies such as Deep Space Industries, Planetary Resources, Moon Express, Blue Origin and SpaceX, as well as governments of China, India, Russia, Japan and S. Korea are building craft to travel to the Moon, Mars and Beyond – with sample return missions, science, space settlement and resource extraction in mind. The U.S. sought to make Apollo landing areas into heritage sites, which may soon become a trend as more nations / peoples land on the Moon and lay claim to areas representing other historical firsts. (Image Credit: BIS, NASA, Planetary Resources, CNSA, CAS, NAOC, CCTV, fightforspace; Pictured: Jerry Stone)

Jan 30 – Feb 2 — Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), Napoli, Italy: Bright & Dark Universe Workshop.

Jan 30 – Feb 10 — United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Vienna, Austria: 54th session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee.

Jan 30 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 AX3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.084 AU).

Continued from…

NET Jan – Nov — ExoMars 2016 Orbiter, Mars Orbit: ESA Trace Gas Orbiter scheduled to enter Aerobraking phase from Jan-Nov to enter 400-km orbit; set to adjust orbit inclination to 74° on Jan 17.

Jan 9 – Feb 10 — International Space University, Adelaide, Australia: 2017 Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program; at Mawson Lakes Campus, University of South Australia.

Jan 29 – Feb 3 — American Geophysical Union, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia: AGU Chapman Conference on Submarine Volcanism: New Approaches and Research Frontiers.

TUESDAY

Jan 31 — British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: Lecture: Space Law and the UN Treaty; Michael Franks, Adam Manning, Mike Leggett, Jerry Stone.

Jan 31 — SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Weekly Colloquium: How Stars Form; Christopher McKee from UC Berkeley, 12:00.

Jan 31 — Mapbox, Digital Globe, Azavea, Development Seed, et al, Washington DC: SatSummit 2017; at District Architecture Center and Impact Hub DC.