May 5-11, 2025 / Vol 44, No 18 / Hawai`i Island, USA

India Spotlights Our Galaxy: IAF GLEX May 7-9; ILOA Galaxy Forums May 9 & 12

International Astronautical Federation (IAF) holds Global Space Exploration Conference 2025 (GLEX2025) to foster collaboration among astronauts, engineers, scientists and agency leaders, receiving 1275 abstract submissions from 57 countries. Acknowledging the IAF vision of A space-faring world cooperating for the benefit of humanity, its 563 institutional members from 81 countries include universities, companies and leading space agencies.  New Delhi, India is the location; ISRO and Astronautical Society of India are host and co-host. 15 technical tracks for the May 7-9 program include space vehicles, medicine, policy, stations, navigation, finance; and ‘Lunar, Mars, Near-Earth Asteroids, Deep Space Exploration’ with report by Director Steve Durst of International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) on May 9. Global Networking Forums are prominent, including ILOA-ILEWG ‘International NewSpace to the Moon’ held May 9, and ‘The Key Role of Youth’ with an all-woman panel of 4. ISRO Director V Narayanan will speak May 7; he specializes in cryogenic propulsion. Rakesh Sharma, first astronaut of India, is featured on Astronaut Panel May 9 that includes 3 of 4 Gaganyaan astronauts. iPosters will be exhibited. Cultural visits are organized. Live Stream available. On May 12 ILOA will convene Galaxy Forum India 2025 Bengaluru: ‘Science on the Moon: Astronomy, Astrobiology and Cosmology’ at Nehru Planetarium. (Pictured: Rakesh Sharma-L, V Narayanan-R; Image credits: IAF, ISRO, ASI, ILOA)

MONDAY

☆ May 5 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 73 seven-member crew looking forward to >30% more electrical power, 215kw instead of 160, with new solar arrays; ISS in 540-meter-higher orbit from 3-min+ burn as precaution against debris; Astronaut Jonny Kim photographing tomato plants to see if they grow without photosynthesis; Cosmonauts photographing Patagonia glaciers & other Earth regions; Ayers and Onishi speak with students on livestream today, 10:40 EDT.

☆ May 5 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 20 three-member crew is headed by Senior Colonel Chen Dong and getting data from ground crew member Nan Hongtao on 27 precautions he noted during the Shenzhou 19 mission, crew of which are in the standard 6-month quarantine and recuperation program.

☆ May 5 — CNSA, Launch Long March 12 / Hulianwang Jishu Shiyan, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan, China: Long March 12 from commercial launch pad No.2 to send test satellites for Guowang (SatNet) to LEO; will be 2nd launch from new commercial pad.

★ May 5 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink Group 6-93, SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Next batch of Starlink satellites to launch for mega-constellation.

o May 5 — European Space Agency, Online: Proposals due for European Launcher Challenge; up to €169M available for each selected vehicle.

o May 5-9 — International Academy of Astronautics, Association of Space Explorers, B612 Foundation, International Astronomical Union, SWF, JHU APL, Cape Town, South Africa: 9th IAA Planetary Defense Conference.

● May 5-9 — Space Weather Solutions, League City TX: Applied Space Environments Conference ASEC2025; US$425-700.

☆ May 5-6 — Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak: 1 of 2 annual showers from passing through Halley’s Comet dust, appear to radiate from Constellation Aquarius; Northern Hemisphere may see 10+ meteors per hour, Southern Hemisphere 20-40 per hour; best viewing midnight-04:00.

☾ May 5 — Moon: 1.84° NE of Regulus, 11:00.

☆ May 5 — Mars: 0.61° NNE of Beehive Cluster, 04:00.

☆ May 5 — Apollo Asteroid 2025 FA6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.073 AU)

Cape Town, South Africa 9th IAA Planetary Defense Conference Focuses on NEOs and Risk Management 

The 9th IAA Planetary Defense Conference (PDC 2025) in Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa from May 5-9 features 265+ abstracts. This biannual meeting is sponsored by International Academy of Astronautics, NASA, ESA, Aerospace Corporation, Association of Space Explorers, B612 Foundation, International Astronomical Union, SWF, JHU APL, and others. The symposium will cover topics related to the detection and monitoring of Near-Earth Objects that pose potential threats to Earth, the characteristics of these celestial bodies, strategies for deflecting / disrupting any identified threats, the nature of impact-related disasters, and the political, legal and policy considerations for comprehensive mitigation strategies. NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was the first planetary defense technology demonstration and successfully impacted its target, asteroid Dimorphos. The impact reduced its orbital period around its companion asteroid by ~33 minutes, but unexpectedly up to ~1% of Dimorphos mass was ejected and 8% of its mass was redistributed. The unpredicted reshaping of the asteroid highlights the need for asteroid observation and modeling. Some of these observations are already happening from Earth: Pan-STARRS (Hawai’i), Catalina Sky Survey (Arizona), and ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) in Hawai’i and Chile. Other studies are occurring from space: Lucy, Psyche, Hera, NEOWISE, OSIRIS-REx, Hayabusa2 and soon-to-be- launched Tianwen-2. Eventually, Earth surveys for planetary protection could be placed on the surface of the Moon. (Image Credits: IAA, NASA, ESA, The Sky Live, et al)

 TUESDAY

☆ May 6 — Apollo Asteroid 2025 HF5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.009 AU)

WEDNESDAY

● May 7 — LPI, USRA, NASA, Online / Houston TX: Lunar Surface Science Workshop 27: Artemis Community Forum; communicating aspects of ongoing activities relating to the Artemis campaign.

o May 7 — EuroPlanet, American Astronomical Society, Online / Helsinki, Finland: Abstracts due for EPSC-DPS 2025 (EuroPlanet Science Congress) to be held Sep 7-12; includes session TP11, Lunar Space Environment.

● May 7 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: Registrations due for information webinar concerning all 2025 NASA student internships.

o May 7-9 — International Astronautical Federation, New Delhi, India: Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2025); Global Networking Forum session “ILOA-ILEWG Galaxy Forum International NewSpace to the Moon” featured on May 9 at 12:00 IST; at Yashobhoomi (India International Convention & Expo Centre).

☆ May 7 — Apollo Asteroid 2025 HY2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.045 AU)