Juno Flyby, Io Workshop Advance Jupiter Exploration as 21st Century Focus
With 70% of the planetary mass of the solar system, and 67 known moons that likely harbor extensive resources for future space explorers, the Jupiter system remains a destination of central importance to expansive-thinking space explorers. Juno, the next spacecraft set to arrive at Jupiter, is currently in its Inner Cruise 3 mission phase which will take it on an Earth Flyby (559 km) on October 9. Taking advantage of the flyby, the Juno mission team will rehearse a full cycle of integrated spacecraft operations, including activating all of its instruments to acquire science data from Earth’s environment for both calibration and to support other studies. Project Manager Rick Nybakken says the flyby will increase Juno’s velocity by 7.3 km/s. Then on Nov 5 the probe will enter its Quiet Cruise phase until it begins its Jupiter approach 791 days later (early 2016). The Southwest Research Institute is hosting Io Workshop 2013 on Oct 12 in Boulder CO. The event will provide a venue for discussion of the latest discoveries about Jupiter’s 3rd largest moon, the most volcanically active body in the solar system. A special emphasis will be on Io research that can be done by the recently launched JAXA Sprint-A / EXCEED space telescope. (Image Credit: NASA, JAXA, SwRI)
6th AAS Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium & 25th Memorial Dinner in Huntsville
The American Astronautical Society 6th Annual Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium is being held October 7-10 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville to honor the ‘Father of Rocket Science,’ give updates on Commercial Cargo and Crew, and discuss various perspectives and plans for future space exploration. It is co-organized by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and National Space Club of Huntsville, and themed ‘Bringing Exploration Forward.’ President of Strategic Solutions Walt Faulconer (L), NASA Administrator Charles Bolden (CL) and Director of MSFC Patrick Scheuermann (CR) will welcome about 300 attendees. Expert speakers from government agencies and commercial enterprises include Micheline Tabache (ESA), Frank Culbertson (OSC), John Olson (SNC), Rob Meyerson (Blue Origin) and Johann-Dietrich Worner (DLR). There will be 1 roundtable event and 5 panels. The ‘Privately Funded Space Activities’ panelists are Taber MacCallum (Golden Spike Co. and Inspiration Mars), Tim Pickens (Moon Express), Will Pomerantz (Virgin Galactic) and Pam Underwood (FAA). On Oct 10 there is an optional tour of ULA and the Delta rocket production facility. The 25th Annual Wernher von Braun Memorial Dinner ‘Future Mars Human Exploration’ on Oct 9 will be at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and feature Dennis Tito (R). (Image Credit: AAS, UAH, NASA, National Space Club, ESA, Virgin Galactic, GSC)
= 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: Mercury (SW), Venus (SW), Saturn (SW); Morning Planets: Mars (E), Jupiter (ENE).
MONDAY
Oct 7 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 37 continues cargo transfer from Cygnus freighter, estimated to take total of 25 hours; monitoring air and water quality, radiation levels, various experiments.
Oct 7 — CASSIOPE, LEO: Canadian Space Agency CAscade, SmallSat and IOnospheric Polar Explorer satellite containing 8 science instruments will begin observing Earth ionosphere / gathering data on space weather.
Oct 7 — Integral, HEO: Partnered with XMM-Newton to study millisecond pulsar IGR J18245; data confirms pulsars have intermediate phase during which they swing back and forth between emitting pulses of X-rays and radio waves.
Oct 7 — Spitzer, Heliocentric Orbit: Now looking for exoplanets in infrared wavelengths with modified heater cycling, repurposed Peak-Up camera and in-depth characterization of individual pixels.
Oct 7 — Luna Desic, Mojave CA: NewSpace company to complete SilSuit next generation partial pressure suit for future astronauts with US$20K grant from SpaceGAMBIT.
Oct 7 — S3 (Swiss Space Systems), Payerne, Switzerland: MoU with BMSTU of Russia will allow students to train on-site at S3, pursue research work relating to propulsion systems, SOAR shuttle.
Oct 7 — Space Expeditions Corp., Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Zero-G training missions set in Moscow, Russia Oct 16-19 and Bordeaux, France Oct 25.
Oct 7 — Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA, Huntsville AL: Marshall Collaboration Forum: Partnerships for the Future.
Oct 7 — British Interplanetary Society, Exeter University UKSEDS, Exeter, United Kingdom: Lecture: Designing Against Space Flight Disaster; with speaker Keith Wright; at Exeter University.
Oct 7-8 — Institute of Space and Planetary Astrophysics – University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan: 2nd National Conference on Space Science (NCSS-2013); at University of Karachi HEJ Auditorium.
Oct 7-10 — American Astronautical Society, Huntsville AL: 6th Annual Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium: Bringing Exploration Forward; in Chan Auditorium, University of Alabama; live coverage Oct 8 starting at 08:30 CDT.
Oct 7 — Asteroid 350751 (2002 AW): Near-Earth flyby (0.062 AU).
Continued from…
Oct 2-20 — Camelot Group, Online / Rickmansworth, United Kingdom: Win a trip on XCOR’s Lynx spaceplane.
Oct 4-10 — World Space Week Association, Global: World Space Week 2013: Exploring Mars, Discovering Earth.
Oct 6-11 — American Astronomical Society, Denver CO: 45th Annual Meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society; at Sheraton Denver Hotel.
TUESDAY
Oct 8 — Hawai`i Office of Aerospace Development, Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), University of Hawaii, Honolulu HI: 2013 Hawai`i Aerospace Summit; at Hawaii State Capitol Building.
Oct 8 — Royal Astronomical Society, London, United Kingdom: Lecture: E.T. Are you out there?; presented by Dr. David Mannion; at Burlington House, 13:00 – 14:00 UT.
Oct 8 — Moon: 4.6° N of Venus, 04:00; 7.4° N of Antares, 17:00.
Oct 8 — Asteroid 2013 SM20: Near-Earth flyby (0.047 AU).
WEDNESDAY
Oct 9 — Juno, Jupiter Trajectory: Spacecraft to undergo Earth flyby gravity assist to boost velocity by 7.3 km per second; will come within 559 km of Earth’s surface; spacecraft will have traveled about 10.695 AU (1.6B km); closest approach 19:21 UT; may be visible in South Africa and parts of India.
Oct 9 — Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), Moon Orbit: Expected to perform Lunar Orbit Insertion 2 (LOI-2) at 10:37 UT to place LADEE into a 4-hour orbit with 250-km altitude.
Oct 9 — Up Aerospace Inc., Launch SpaceLoft XL / SatWest payload, Las Cruces NM: SpaceLoft XL sounding rocket to launch payload from SatWest; will be Up Aerospace’s 12th launch.
Oct 9 — Hosted Payload Management Team, Washington DC: Hosted Payload Summit 2013; at Grand Hyatt Washington.
Oct 9 — National Space Club, Huntsville AL: 25th Annual Wernher von Braun Memorial Dinner; featuring keynote speaker Dennis A. Tito.
Oct 9-10 — Federal Aviation Administration Department of Transportation, Washington DC: Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee Open Meeting; at National Housing Center.
Oct 9 — Asteroid 2013 RX73: Near-Earth flyby (0.066 AU).
THURSDAY
Oct 10 — Denver Public Schools (DPS), Denver CO: Professional-Amateur Workshop at DPS; professionals present NASA collaboration opportunities, amateurs show samples of their observations.
Oct 10 — SpaceUp, Barcelona, Spain: SpaceUp Barcelona; the “unconference” where participants decide space issues / topics to discuss, schedule and structure of event; at CosmoCaixa.
Oct 10, 11 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech/NASA, Pasadena CA: The von Kármán Lecture Series: Theodore von Kármán and the Creation of JPL; presented by Dr. Erik Conway, a JPL historian.
Oct 10 — Moon: At perigee (distance 369,390 km), 13:00.
FRIDAY
Oct 11 — International Lunar Observatory Association, Space Age Publishing Co., Scarsdale NY: 3rd annual Galaxy Forum Scarsdale High School; with Dr. Denton Ebel presenting on Asteroids in matters of Security, Resources, Science; at SHS Main Auditorium or Little Theatre, TBD.
Oct 11 — Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston TX: Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Meeting.
Oct 11 — Royal Astronomical Society, London, United Kingdom: Royal Astronomical Society Specialist Meeting: The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (EChO); Royal Astronomical Society Ordinary Meeting; at Burlington House.
Oct 11 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Host Dr. David Livingston talks with Dennis Wingo, President of SkyCorp.
Oct 11 — Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston TX: Lunch with an Astronaut, Ken Cameron; US$49.95 adult.
Oct 11, 12 — Space Lectures, West Yorkshire, England: Lecture and Dinner with Alan Bean; Apollo 12 Lunar Module Pilot, 4th Man to walk on the Moon, Skylab 3 Commander; at Carleton Community High School.
Oct 11-13 — British Interplanetary Society, Liverpool, United Kingdom: The BIS’s 80th Anniversary; featuring BIS President and Past-Presidents, Skylon update from Alan Bond, current / future projects of BIS.
Oct 11 — Moon: At first quarter, 23:03.
SATURDAY
Oct 12 — Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), Moon Orbit: Lunar Orbit Insertion 3 (LOI-3) scheduled at 10:37 UT to circularize orbit at 250-km altitude; will spend 30 days in this commissioning orbit, perform tests using the laser communications experiment (LLCD).
Oct 12 — Southwest Research Institute, Boulder CO: Io Workshop 2013; to discuss Io surface geology and evolution, volcanic plumes and sources, atmosphere, JAXA Sprint-A mission launched Aug 27.
Oct 12 — Sally Ride Science Foundation, Houston TX: Sally Ride Science Festival; to inspire 5-8th grade girls with science; at Rice University; US$20.
Oct 12 — International Observe the Moon Night Organization, Global: International Observe the Moon Night 2013.
Oct 12-13 — Science Getaways LLC, Boulder Co: Boulder Science Festival; featuring B612 Foundation, Ball Aerospace, Sentinel Program Manager John Troeltzsch and Mission Director Harold Reitsema, Cassini Imaging Team Leader Carolyn Porco.
Oct 12 — Asteroid 2013 SR: Near-Earth flyby (0.070 AU).
Oct 12 — Asteroid 2013 SE21: Near-Earth flyby (0.076 AU).
Oct 12 — Asteroid 2013 RN9: Near-Earth flyby (0.083 AU).
SUNDAY
Oct 13 — The Astronomical League, Global: International Astronomy Day 2013, local astronomical societies, planetariums, museums, observatories host public viewing sessions, presentations, workshops, activities to increase public awareness about astronomy and our universe.
Oct 13 — SpaceUp, Orlando FL: SpaceUp Orlando; at Orlando Science Center.