ESA Rosetta Philae Lander Attempts First-Ever Soft Touchdown on Comet
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MONDAYNov 10 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 42 will work as three-member crew until Nov 23; transferring cargo from ATV-5 & Progress 57P, loading waste; taking photos of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer wake radiator to characterize potential surface discoloration. Nov 10 — MAVEN, Mars Orbit: Studying Mars atmosphere at ~150 km to help determine how atmosphere / water were lost over time, five “deep-dip” campaigns down to ~124-km altitude are planned; data on recent comet Siding Spring flyby available. Nov 10 — Juno, Jupiter Trajectory: Operating nominally, traveling at 48,171 kph in Quiet Cruise Phase until Jan 5, 2016, sending communication signals to Earth; expected to reach Jupiter July 5, 2016. Nov 10 — Spaceflight Inc., Seattle WA: NewSpace company working with Japan Manned Space Systems Corp. (JAMSS) to integrate & deploy eight 3U CubeSats for U.S. commercial companies on JAXA Astro-H mission launching 2015-16. Nov 10 — Moon Express Inc., KSC FL: Will work beside Project Morpheus & begin vehicle testing of MX-1 lander at KSC under Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (CATALYST) initiative. Nov 10 — Virgin Galactic, Mojave CA: Investigations continue into recent accident causing injury & loss of life, memorial fund set up for family of test pilot Mike Alsbury. Nov 10 — Bradford Astronomical Society, Bradford, United Kingdom: Odyssey Dramatic Presentation: Britannia Sky – A British Space Odyssey. Nov 10-11 — University of La Serena Dept of Physics, La Serena, Chile: Workshop: Galaxy Groups – Laboratories to Study Galaxy Evolution. Nov 10-13 — University of Porto Center for Astrophysics, Porto, Portugal: Gaia-ESO Survey Second Science Meeting (GES 2014). |
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Mars (SW); Morning Planets: Mercury (E), Jupiter (ENE).
“The Next Giant Leap” Conference on Hawai`i IslandMoon is the central priority of the State of Hawaii conference titled The Next Giant Leap: Leveraging Lunar Assets for Sustainable Pathways to Space, being held November 9-13 at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott in collaboration with Aerospace Hawai`i, PISCES, Space Portal, SSERVI, AIAA, SFF and others. The assets of the Moon in focus for organizers include near-Earth location, diverse regolith, orbital periodicity and gravitational field. The International Lunar Observatory Association ILO-1, NASA Resource Prospector, China Chang’e 4(-5), India Chandrayaan 2, and Japan SLIM missions are all advancing 2016-2018 lunar landing timelines towards the South Pole of the Moon — which, now in 2014 has become the almost-universal choice of the world’s Space / Lunar Agencies, Institutions and programs as the next and most-promising destination on the Moon for human scientific, technical and economic exploration and development. High mountains of “eternal light” for power, thermal, observation and communication advantages; Aitken Basin deep crater water-ice, geology and mining resources, Southern / Galaxy skies; and South Pole Earth / South Pole Moon analog and experience are extraordinary assets for human advancement on the “8th Continent.” (Image Credit: State of Hawaii, P. Spudis, NASA)
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Nov 10-14 — Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, India: Conference: Coupling and Dynamics of the Solar Atmosphere. Nov 10 — Moon: 5.9° S of M35, 03:00. Nov 10 — Asteroid 2014 UQ114: Near-Earth flyby (0.079 AU). Continued from…Oct 20 – Dec 12 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Space Frontier Foundation, Online: Commercial Space Executive Leadership Training Course; with instructors Dan Rasky and Bruce Pittman. Nov 9-12 — Huntsville Alabama L5 Society (HAL5), Baen Books, Initiative for Interstellar Studies, et al, Oak Ridge TN: 3rd Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop: Long-Term Thinking–Present-Day Action; featuring Les Johnson, Sara Seagar, James Benford, Michael Minovitch, more. Nov 9-13 — State of Hawai`i, Hawaii Office of Aerospace Development, Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), University of Hawaii, Waikoloa HI: The Next Giant Leap: Leveraging Lunar Assets for Sustainable Pathways to Space; at Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. Nov 9-14 — American Astronomical Society, Tucson AZ: 46th Annual Meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society; at JW Marriott Starr Pass Hotel. TUESDAYNov 11 — Silicon Valley Space Center, AIAA San Francisco Section, Santa Clara CA: TechTalks: Small Spacecraft Technologies; presented by Pete Klupar, 18:30 – 20:30 PST. Nov 11-14 — ESA, Noordwijk, The Netherlands: Workshop: Star Formation Across Space and Time. |
Nov 11-14 — Zhuhai Airshow Co. Limited, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China: 10th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition.
Nov 11 — Moon: 11.9° S of Pollux, 20:00.
Nov 11 — Asteroid 2014 UF192: Near-Earth flyby (0.061 AU).
WEDNESDAY
Nov 12 — Rosetta, Comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko Orbit: ESA Rosetta orbiter to release Philae lander at 08:35 UT, planned to land on site “Agilkia” about 7 hours later; if backup “Site C” is used, separation to occur 13:04 UT, landing 4 hours later; spacecraft will escort comet around the Sun; end of mission set for Dec 2015.
Nov 12 — Chabot Space and Science Center, Oakland CA: Live Viewing of Rosetta landing on Comet; featuring Dr. Kathrin Altwegg live from ESA Mission Control & Dr. Laura Welcher, 06:00 – 09:00 PST; NASA to provide live coverage as well.
Nov 12 — Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Sydney, Australia: Colloquium: Scrutinizing the Relationship Between Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes; presented by Jillian Bellovary.
Nov 12-13 — National Association of Broadcasters, et al, New York NY: Satellite Communications Conference & Expo (SATCON); at Javits Convention Center.
Nov 12-14 — ESA, Rome, Italy: Conference on Big Data From Space; at European Space Research Institute (ESRIN).
Nov 12 — Taurids Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from constellation Taurus, Taurids offer about 7 meteors per hour and travel ~28 km/sec.
Nov 12 — Venus: 1.5° SSW of Saturn, 14:00.
Nov 12 — Asteroid 2012 VG5: Near-Earth flyby (0.096 AU).
THURSDAY
Nov 13 — Canadian Space Commerce Association, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: CSCA monthly meeting; at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.
Nov 13 — Cornell University, Ithaca NY: Lecture: Evolutionary Processes in Young Binary Systems; presented by Jeffrey Bary of Colgate University.
Nov 13-14 — The World Technology Network, New York NY: The World Technology Summit & Awards 2014; at Time and Life Building.
Nov 13 — Moon: 6.2° SSW of Beehive Cluster, 00:00.
FRIDAY
Nov 14 — Royal Astronomical Society, London, United Kingdom: RAS Ordinary Meeting; to include a talk by Professor Alex Halliday (Oxford) on ‘The origin of the Earth and Moon.’
Nov 14 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: Lecture: Preservation of Isotopic Heterogeneity in a Convecting Martian Mantle; presented by Walter Kiefer of LPI.
Nov 14 — Peninsula Astronomical Society, Los Altos Hills CA: Lecture: Determining Mass and Composition of Small Exoplanets; presented by Dr. Howard Isaacson.
Nov 14 — Moon: 5.0° SSW of Jupiter, 05:00; at last quarter, 05:17; at apogee (distance 403,857 km), 16:00; 4.4° SSW of Regulus, 22:00.
Nov 14 — Asteroid 2009 LD: Near-Earth flyby (0.055 AU).
Nov 14 — Asteroid 2014 UL192: Near-Earth flyby (0.083 AU).
SATURDAY
Nov 15 — Tucson L5 Society, Tucson AZ: Meeting of the Tucson L5 Society.
Nov 15 — Alamo Lake State Park, Wendon AZ: Alamo Lake State Park Star Party.
Nov 15 — Asteroid 2014 UL115: Near-Earth flyby (0.072 AU).
SUNDAY
Nov 16 — The Space Show, Tiburon CA / Online: Dr. David Livingston webinar with Rick Boozer & SLS John Hunt on Space Launch System.
Nov 16-19 — Morgan State University, Baltimore MD: Symposium: Unified Field Mechanics – Natural Science Beyond the Veil of Spacetime.
Nov 16-21 — Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel: Workshop: Triple Evolution & Dynamics in Stellar and Planetary Systems; Postponed to 2015.
Nov 16 — Asteroid 2014 UW57: Near-Earth flyby (0.031 AU).
Nov 16 — Asteroid 2014 VP: Near-Earth flyby (0.083 AU).