Return to the Moon for Good, 1st Woman on the Moon Mid-2020s Decade
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MONDAY Highlights…
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Dec 7 — 
Dec 7 — NewSpace: 
Dec 7 — USA: NASA accepts 
= 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’).
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Mars (S), Jupiter (SW), Saturn (SW), Uranus (SE), Neptune (S); Morning Planets: Venus (SE).
NASA Flagship Rocket Space Launch System Set for Final Core Stage Assessments
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Dec 7 — Hayabusa2, Main Asteroid Belt Trajectory: JAXA Hayabusa2 enters extended mission phase heading toward July 2026 flyby of asteroid 2001 CC21, and July 2031 rendezvous of asteroid 1998 KY26; attempted samples return to Earth from 162173 Ryugu on Dec 6, 2020; launched Dec 3, 2014.
Continued From…
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Preparations are underway at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi test stand B-2 for the last two SLS Core Green Run Tests: #7, a wet dress rehearsal in which 2,650 kl of cryogenic fuels (liquid oxygen and hydrogen) are to be filled via 114 tanker trucks then drained NET December 7, and #8 hot fire test where core rocket engines are to ignite for 8 minutes NET Dec 21. Successful completion of these tests is essential for the program, which has had a somewhat storied history of congressional intransigence and budgetary overruns. The core stage is comprised of 4 RS-25 units designed and manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne plus two 5-segment boosters, both recycled elements from the Space Shuttle (STS). SLS is by some measures the most powerful rocket system ever built – initial Block 1 configured with Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, as it will be for Artemis 1-3, will produce 39,144 kN of thrust, capable of launching 95 metric tons to LEO and 27 metric tons into translunar orbit. Core stage alone stands 64.6 m tall with a diameter of 8.4 m, while the integrated launch vehicle including ICPS and Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle will top out over 98 m. SLS is to join Falcon 9 as the only 2 operational super heavy-lift rockets currently existent. (Image Credits: NASA, Boeing, Dec 1-17 — American Geophysical Union, Online / Washington DC: AGU Fall Meeting 2020.
Dec 5-7 — APSS Organizing Committee, Sanya, China: 7th Conference on Astrophysics and Space Science (APSS 2020).
TUESDAY
Dec 8 — International Lunar Observatory Association, Online / Hawai’i, USA / Argentina: Galaxy Forum South America 2020 Argentina; held on opening evening of IAU 367, 18:00-20:00 UT.
Dec 8 — Institute of Physics London South East Branch, Online / London, United Kingdom: Lecture: The Moon’s water: past, current, and future perspectives; by Jessica Barnes from University of Arizona, 19:30-21:00 UT.
Dec 8 — Space Court Foundation, Secure World Foundation, Online / Sharon PA: Discussion: Reducing Space Threats Through Norms, Rules and Principles of Responsible Behavior; with UK Ambassador Aiden Liddle and a panel of leading space security experts, 09:00 EST.
Dec 8 — Secure World Foundation, Online / Broomfield CO: Space Policy and Sustainability Issue Briefing for the Incoming Biden Administration; moderated by Jacqueline Feldscher of Politico, 14:00-15:15 EST.
Dec 8-11 — International Academy of Astronautics, RUDN University, American Astronautical Society, Online / Moscow, Russia: 3rd IAA/AAS Conference on Space Flight Mechanics and 3rd IAA/AAS Conference on Space Structures and Materials.
Dec 8-12 — International Astronomical Union, Online / Argentina: IAU Symposium 367: Education and Heritage in the Era of Big Data in Astronomy.
Dec 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 WK3: Near Earth Flyby (0.026 AU)
Dec 8 — Aten Asteroid 2018 PK21: Near Earth Flyby (0.031 AU)
WEDNESDAY
Dec 9 — National Space Council, KSC, Florida: Meeting of the National Space Council; 12:30-14:30 EST, with VP Mike Pence, Scott Pace, Jim Bridenstine, others.
Dec 9 — Library of Congress, Washington DC: Lecture: Pulsars and X-rays: The NICER Mission on the International Space Station; by Keith Gendreau of GSFC; 12:00 EST.
Dec 9 — SpaceLand Africa, IAF, Online / Paris, France: IAF GNF Space Conversations Series: SpaceLand’s First 3D-Printed Mars Habitat as Game-Changer in Planetary Exploration Programs; 14:00 CET.
Dec 9 — W. M. Keck Observatory, Online / Kamuela HI: Lecture: Hunting for the Most Distant Galaxies in the Universe; by Taylor Hutchison, Graduate Student from Texas A&M University, 17:00 HST.
Dec 9-10 — United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Arab Emirates Space Agency, Online: World Space Forum: Space for our Future; to exchange views on four pillars of space economy, space society, space accessibility and space diplomacy.
Dec 9-11 — Chilean Astronomical Society, Online: 16th Meeting of the Chilean Astronomical Society (SOCHIAS).
THURSDAY
Dec 10 — XMM-Newton, Very Eccentric Elliptical LEO: ESA craft studying X-ray emissions, star-forming regions, galaxy clusters, environment of supermassive black holes, mapping dark matter, reaches 21 full years / begins 22nd year in space today, launched 1999.
Dec 10 — CNSA, Launch Long March 11 / GECAM, Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China: Long March 11 rocket to launch Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) dual satellites to detect electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves and other astrophysical signals.
Dec 10 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / SXM 7, SLC-40, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch SXM 7 satellite for SiriusXM, launch window 11:19-13:19 EST.
Dec 10 — University of Washington, Online: UW Space Dialogue with Secure World Foundation’s Victoria Samson; 12:00-13:00 PST.
Dec 10 — Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Online: Lecture: Interstellar Dust Grains – Galactic Messengers; with Pontus Brandt of JHU-APL, Veerle Sterken of ETH Zurich, Bruce Draine of Princeton University.
Dec 10 — AIAA SF Section, Online / San Francisco CA: Virtual Annual Banquet: The Future of Supersonic Transportation; to celebrate and honor recipients of 2020 Section-wide awards and winners of AIAA middle school essay contest, 18:30 PST.
Dec 10 — Moon: 6.4° NNE of Spica, 08:00.
FRIDAY
Dec 11 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Angara-A5 / Test Flight 2, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia: Second orbital test flight of Angara-A5 rocket with dummy payload.
Dec 11 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / “Owl’s Night Begins”, LC 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Rocket Lab to launch StriX-α synthetic aperture radar satellite for Synspective, a Japan Earth-imaging company planning for a constellation of 30; launch window opens 23:00 HST.
Dec 11 — Virgin Galactic, Spaceport America, Las Cruces NM: Launch window opens for VG to attempt VSS Unity space plane third piloted test flight to suborbital space.
Dec 11 — St. Louis Space Frontier, Online: Zoom Meeting: Gateway to Space 2020; 19:00 CST.
Dec 11 — Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), Online / London, United Kingdom: RAS Ordinary Meeting; Meeting on Exploring the Transient Universe into the 2030s; and Meeting on Analysis of Returned Extraterrestrial Materials – Current Capabilities and Future Opportunities.
SATURDAY
Dec 12 — British Interplanetary Society West Midlands Branch, Online: Lecture UK Nitric Acid Oxidiser Rocket Engines; by John Harlow, 14:00.
Dec 12 — Moon: At perigee (distance 361,767.93 km), 10:43; 0.78° NNE of Venus, 02:00.
SUNDAY
Dec 13 — Geminids Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from constellation Gemini, shower can produce 80-130 meteors per hour; bright, medium-slow meteors (35 km/sec), few leave persistent trains.
Dec 13 — Moon: 5.5° NNE of Antares, 10:00.