June 1-7, 2015 / Vol 34, No 22 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Hawai`i Hosts LDSD Mars Technology and HI-SEAS Human Analog Testing

The second Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) test will be conducted off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii from the U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility with a launch window beginning 07:30 HST on June 2. The JPL / NASA project will boost a saucer-shaped vehicle up to 55,000-meter altitude using an Orbital ATK Star-48 solid rocket motor and helium-filled balloon (consisting of 22 acres of plastic) to test a supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator (SIAD) and an advanced parachute. All elements will then be recovered from the Pacific Ocean by Oahu-owned and operated commercial freight vessels. These technologies have the potential to help increase the surface payload delivery capacity up to 1,500 kg, increase accessible surface area for exploration and improve landing accuracy from 10.5 km to ~1.6 km for human and robotic Mars missions, as well as large payloads returning to Earth. On Hawaii Island the 3rd Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Mission run by University of Hawaii is nearing an end on Mauna Loa at 2,438-meter altitude. The 6-member crew (Commander Martha Lenio, Allen Mirkadyrov, Sophie Milam, Neil Scheibelhut, Jocelyn Dunn, Zak Wilson) living in a 2-story, 384-cubic meter volume habitat from October 16, 2014 to June 12, is exploring indoor gardening techniques, water recycling, energy systems, 3D printers, crew dynamics and performance for long-duration Mars missions. (Image Credit: NASA, JPL, Caltech, University of Hawaii, HI-SEAS, Zac Wilson)

MONDAY

Jun 1 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 43 six-member crew conducting studies on fluid physics, earthquake effects on Earth ionosphere & sound waves helping to pinpoint micrometeoroid impacts; work will continue later this year to enable ISS to accommodate 2 commercial cargo & 2 commercial crew vehicles at any given time.

Jun 1 — X-37B Space Plane, 312 x 325 km Earth Orbit: Fourth undisclosed mission of U.S. Air Force to conduct two experiments: electric propulsion thruster test & materials exposure in space environment.

Jun 1 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Moon Orbit: Release 22 of LRO Data upcoming this month; craft circling Moon at 20-km altitude above unexplored South Pole to make precise measurements & 165 km at North Pole; meteor impact sites, spacecraft landing & impact sites being mapped.

Jun 1 — Cassini, Saturn Orbit: Orbiting Saturn with 18.9-day period close to planet equatorial plane, studying Enceladus plumes, Titan atmosphere & lakes / rivers, Saturn atmosphere, icy satellites, rings, magnetosphere, dust particles, charged atomic particles, radio & plasma waves.

Jun 1 — Deep Space, Interstellar Space & Heliosheath: Voyager 1 & 2, farthest spacecraft from Earth, continue to transmit signals & communications, detect environmental changes.

Jun 1 — XCOR Aerospace, Mojave CA: NewSpace company receiving additional US$5M investment from Haiyin Capital of China, developing Lynx suborbital craft (set to conduct test flights later this year), advancing wing design with 3D printed titanium parts & composite materials.

Jun 1 — Clyde Space Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland: Working on various projects for ESA, Outernet Inc. of New York & National University of Singapore; Marshall Space Flight Center to continue procuring company’s various CubeSat components.

Jun 1 — Deep Space Industries, McLean VA & Moffett Field CA: Receiving 2 NASA contracts to develop asteroid simulants & to explore methods for manufacturing propellant from asteroids; also developing 24 nanosatellite “BitSat” constellation for Dunvegan Space Systems of Georgia, USA.

IAPS International Association of Planetary Sciences Forum Set for Kazan, Russia

The Kazan Federal University (KFU), the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the Russian Academy of Sciences and IAPS are organizing a variety of meetings and workshops June 1-7 under the banner SpaceKazan-IAPS-2015. The Forum is taking place at the historic campus of KFU in Kazan, capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, near the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers about 800 km east of Moscow. As a transportation hub, Kazan serves a region encompassing over 80 million people. The preliminary list of keynote and invited speakers includes Jean-Marie Torrie of OCA, Mikhail Marov of GEOKHI RAS, Jose Manuel Ferrandiz Leal of Alikante University, Ji Wu of NSSC CAS, Shuanggen Jin of SHAO CAS, Kosuke Heki of Hokkaido University, Nadir Haghighipour of University of Hawaii and many others from around the world. There will also be discussion and activities related to a wide array of upcoming, future and proposed missions like Chang’e-4/5/6, Luna Glob, Luna Resource, SELENE-2, Chandrayaan-2, European Lunar Lander, BepiColombo, Juno and JUICE. (Image Credit: IAPS, KFU, NASA, ESA, JAXA, CNSA, ROSCOSMOS)

Jun 1 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech/NASA, USN Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai HI: Media Day for upcoming NASA Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) test for Mars entry vehicles.

Jun 1 — Bradford Astronomical Society, Bradford, United Kingdom: Odyssey Dramatic Presentation: Uranus – George’s Planet.

Jun 1 — The National Academics, Washington DC: Meeting: National Security Space Defense and Protection.

Jun 1-5 — University of Colorado – Boulder, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA: Magnetospheres of the Outer Planets (MOP) 2015 Conference.

Jun 1-5 — University Paul Sabatier, Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology, Toulouse, France: French Astronomy Week 2015.

Jun 1-5 — University of Potsdam Department of Physics and Astronomy, Potsdam, Germany: International Workshop on Wolf-Rayet Stars.

Jun 1-5 — Chalmers University of Technology, RadioNet3, European Union Seventh Framework Programme, Marstrand, Sweden: Conference: Galaxies of Many Colours – Star Formation Across Cosmic Time.

Jun 1-7 — International Association of Planetary Sciences (IAPS), Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia: 2nd IAPS Scientific Assembly: Observation and Understanding of the Moon, Moons & Planets (AstroGeoKazan – IAPS 2015); 2nd International Chang’E Lunar Dynamics Workshop; 9th Russia-Japan Space Workshop: Lunar Astrometry & Selenodesy, Planetary Exospheres & Space Biology; Summer School: Space Science.

Jun 1 – Aug 7 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: 2015 LPI Summer Intern Program in Planetary Science.

Jun 1 — Moon: 1.9° N of Saturn, 10:00.