Event Horizon Telescope Gets New Director, 3 Additional Observatories, Campaign Plan for 2021

The next observational campaign for Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is set to commence March 2021 and involve at least 350 scientists, 60 institutions from 20 countries and regions. New incoming Director, Leiden Astronomer Huib van Langevelde (top), will oversee the global EHT project with Very Long Baseline Interferometry collaborations soon coming from 11 telescopes: Atacama Large Millimeter Array and Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (Chile), Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope and Kitt Peak 12-meter Telescope (Arizona), IRAM 30m telescope (Spain), JCMT / East Asian Observatory and Submillimeter Array (Hawai’i / Aloha State), Large Millimeter Telescope (Mexico), NOEMA Observatory (France), South Pole Telescope (Antarctica) and The Greenland Telescope. Still under study is EHT image of Pōwehi M87 black hole (55M LY away) published April 10, 2019 for data about its nested rings of light, spacetime distortion and the history of the visible universe. Closer to home at Milky Way Galaxy Center ~26,000 LY, supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* continues to be observed by EHT. No image has yet been produced because of the complex nature of its shorter timescale / quicker evolution which needs to be modeled. Future plans include improving the resolution of EHT array with more telescopes and taking shorter-wavelength observations. By adding an instrument on the Moon to the array, Michael Johnson of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, remarks “that’s where I think we would really be looking at entirely new science”. (Image Credits: EHT, NASA, ESO, ESA, Hubble, M. Kornmesser, N. Bartman, CfA, Univ. of Leiden)

MONDAY

Canada LEAPS Ahead with Lunar Tech Developments and Funding

As part of the 21st Century Canada Space Strategy committing US$1.4B over 24 years and allotting $112M over 5 years for the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP), Canadian Space Agency (CSA-ASC) is collecting proposals for LEAP Phase 0 studies for lunar science instruments until August 10. Up to 5 selected contracts could receive ~$450K each. The estimated $10.5M Announcement of Opportunity early 2019 (somewhat similar to NASA CLPS program) for Canada companies to participate in the Artemis supply chain for Human Moon Landings 2024 remains open until March 31, 2022. It will issue contributions up to $1.5M for 18-month projects, allowing for companies to request an additional $3M as well. Navdeep Bains, Minister Of Innovation, Science And Economic Development spoke about Canadian ‘commitment to contribute Canadarm3 to the Lunar Gateway’ announcing MDA as the winner of the yet-to-be-disclosed contract. CSA-ASC is also funding Lunar Surface Autonomous Science Payloads R&D program totaling ~$3.3M, giving 2 contracts to Canadensys Aerospace Corporation, and 1 contract each to Mission Control Space Services, Magellan Aerospace, Western University, Bubble Technology and ABB Inc. Western University newly established Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, directed by Gordon Osinski, is participating in CanMoon lunar sample return analog missions on Canary Islands and developing multi-wavelength LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and multispectral imager for future rovers – of which Canada boasts 11 Moon, Mars and terrestrial prototypes. (Image Credits: CSA-ASC, Western University, MDA)

Aug 10 — Keck Institute for Space Studies, Caltech / JPL, NASA, Online / Pasadena CA: Webinar: Lunar Trailblazer – A Caltech-led Pioneering Small Satellite for Lunar Water and Lunar Geology; by Bethany Ehlmann of Caltech / JPL, 17:00 PDT.

Aug 10-13 — SmarterShows, Online / Long Beach CA: Space Tech Expo USA 2020 Connect; interactive digital event to facilitate business connections, peer-to-peer networking, and opportunities to share the latest ideas, technologies, supply chain solutions.

Aug 10-13 — Space Science Centre (ANGKASA), Institute of Climate Change of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Selangor, Malaysia: 6th Asia-Oceania Space Weather Alliance (AOSWA) Workshop; reset to 2021 TBC.

Aug 10 — Moon: 3.3° SE of Uranus, 14:00.

Aug 10 — Venus: 4.4° S of M35 cluster, 01:00.

Continued From…

Jan 2019 – Sep 2020 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt: Full data collected from 7 instruments during KBO Arrokoth flyby to be transmitted to Earth over this time period.

Nov 2019 – Nov 2020 — Hayabusa2, Earth Trajectory: JAXA Hayabusa2 with two samples collected from C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu on trajectory for Earth return.

Jul 20 – Aug 21 — International Space University, Online / Strasbourg, France: Interactive Space Program (ISP2020).

Jul 29 – Oct 31 — CNSA, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Online / Beijing, China: Students to submit ideas for payloads for Chang’e-7 lunar south pole craft, and ZhengHe mission that will return samples from Asteroid 2016HO3 and visit Comet 133P.

Aug 9-12 — AAS Space Flight Mechanics Committee, AIAA Astrodynamics Technical Committee, Online / South Lake Tahoe CA: 2020 AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference; featuring Artemis Program Special Session.