November 29 – December 5, 2021 / Vol 40, No 48 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Earth, Moon, Sun Observations

As Parker Solar Probe zooms closer to the Sun surface (8.5M km) than any human-made object before – other spacecraft work to advance our understanding of Sun-Earth-Moon system and its complex interactions. There are an estimated 7,000 satellites around Earth (half being active), the majority of which observe Earth or provide communications and internet. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) at Earth-Sun L1 (~0.99 AU from Sun) will surpass 26 full years of operations on December 2 and remains a major source of data for near-real-time space weather, affecting satellite operations and Astronaut safety. A total solar eclipse as seen from Earth will be visible on December 3 largely from Antarctica, the “7th continent”, where cold, dark, high-altitude, dry and remote conditions are excellent for astronomy. On the Moon, the “8th Continent”, Chang’e-5 will complete its first full year Dec 1 at Oceanus Procellarum 43°N, while CE-3 lander surpasses its 8th year Dec 14 at Mare Imbrium 44.12°N, and CE-4 Lander and Yutu-2 rover will reach 3 full years Jan 3 near Moon South Pole–Aitken Basin 45.5°S. Future cislunar infrastructures and observation instruments from the Moon surface are proposed to monitor and respond to climate change / natural disasters, prepare for detecting life on Earth-like exoplanets, produce more precise values of Earth precession, and enable sustainable development into the Solar System and Galaxy beyond. (Image Credits: NASA, GSFC)

MONDAY

Nov 29 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Seven-member Expedition 66 working to integrate and test Prichal Node on Earth-facing side of Nauka module, adding 4 expansion ports; Kayla Barron and Thomas Marshburn prepare for EVA to swap broken antenna on P1 truss Nov 30.

Nov 29 — Tiangong Space Station, ~370-km LEO: Three-member crew of Shenzhou 13 maintaining health with treadmill / Tai chi, Wang Yaping transmitting stunning high-def Earth imagery including Qinghai Lake; Shenzhou-12 crew receive Space Medals.

Nov 29 — Colorado School of Mines, Lockheed Martin, Online: Submissions Due: Over the Dusty Moon Student Design Challenge.

Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Advancing Space-based Networking Capabilities around Earth and Moon

Set for lift-off NET December 4 within 2-hour launch window (04:04-06:04 EST) from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41 on an Atlas V rocket with 551 configuration (5 m payload fairing / 5 SRBs / 1 RL10-powered Centaur upper stage), Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) is latest iteration of optical / infrared laser data transfer for space applications. Building on technologies developed for legacy Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (which utilizes S, Ku, and Ka RF bands for spacecraft / ground station communication) and Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD, 2013) which achieved 622Mbps downlink from lunar orbit to Earth ground station, LCRD mission planners including self-described “space internetworking guy” PI Dave Israel of GSFC hope to achieve 1.2Gbps downlink – a 2x improvement over LLCD and 10-100x faster than RF. LCRD is housed on USSF Space Test Program 3 payload craft, STPSat-6, along with primary payload SABRS-3 (Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System, a nuclear detonation detection instrument) and 7 additional Space Force payloads. Infrared lasers are to establish communication links with ground stations in Table Mountain, California, and Haleakalā, Hawaii from geosynchronous orbit. NASA is hosting remote launch viewing through ‘virtual guest program’ featuring extensive additional related content, with live coverage beginning T-35 minutes on NASA TV and social media. (Image Credits: NASA, ULA)

Nov 29 – Dec 17 — NASA, U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Online / Huntsville AL: Design Review Presentations: NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2022.

Nov 29 — Mercury: 3.7° NNE of Antares, 19:00.

Nov 29 — Aten Asteroid 1994 WR12: Near-Earth Flyby (0.041 AU)

Continued From…

Nov 4 – Jun 29 — Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Problems, NASA Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), Moscow, Russia: Mixed gender crew of 6 participating in 8-month space / lunar simulation mission SIRIUS-21 (Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station).

TUESDAY

Nov 30 — ISS, U.S. EVA #78, ~405-km LEO: Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron to perform 6.5-hour spacewalk to replace Port 1 Truss S-Band communications antenna starting 07:10 EST; live coverage available.

Nov 30 — Arianespace, Launch Soyuz / Galileo 27 & 28, Sinnamary, French Guiana: Arianespace Soyuz rocket, designed VS26, to launch 2 Galileo satellites for Europe Galileo navigation constellation.

Nov 30 – Dec 2 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Committee on Planetary Protection 2021 Fall Meeting.

Nov 30 – Dec 3 — ISRO, JAXA, of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, Online: Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-27).

Nov 30 — Moon: 5.3° NNE of Spica, 18:00.