Canada Investing in its Lunar Future: Artemis 2, LEAP, Canadarm3

Jeremy Hansen is set to become the first citizen of Canada traveling to the Moon via Artemis 2 in September 2025. Along with 3 other Astronauts, Hansen will travel on a nominal 10-day lunar mission in the Orion spacecraft, swinging around the Moon on a free-return trajectory. The Canadian Space Agency is hosting a media day with Hansen on February 5 from its headquarters in Longueuil, Quebec. The meeting will also cover Canadarm3 (built by MDA) – which is the Canadian contribution to the Lunar Gateway and currently under development for a 2028 launch. In early 2019, the Government of Canada announced its partnership with the Artemis program and its plan to invest CA$2.05 billion over 24 years for the Canada space program – including $76.5 million for Lunar Gateway and $150 million for Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP). Nine organizations have so far been awarded 12 contracts under the LEAP program including Mission Control Space Services, NGC Aerospace, and Canadensys Aerospace Corporation—the latter of which developed a 360-degree imaging system that is flying aboard the Intuitive Machines Nova-C lunar lander launching to the Moon NET February 14. The first Canada Moon rover is also being built by Canadensys for NET 2026 launch with support from 3 international partners (USA, UK, Norway), 7 Canadian industry partners including Leap Biosystems and Waves in Space, and 6 Canadian academic institutions including Simon Fraser University and Western University. (Image Credits: CSA-ASC, NASA)

 

MONDAY 

Feb 5  International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 70 returns to seven-member crew after Axiom Mission 3 arrives back on Earth, working ~3,700 kg of cargo from NG-20, doing analysis of substance found on Treadmill 2.

Feb 5  Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou-17 three-member crew transferring 260 items of cargo from Tianzhou-7, including items for the celebration of Lunar New Year / Year of the Dragon.

Highlights…

o NewSpace: VP for Space Systems Trent Martin says Intuitive Machines aiming to meet NASA CLPS 100-m landing ellipse requirement during Feb 22 IM-1 landing attempt; Expace / CASIC Rocket Technology Company of China progressing towards reusability of Kuaizhou methalox rocket following 22-sec hop test; Voyager / Airbus commercial space station Starlab to be be launched via Starship NET 2028.

☆ Solar System: JAXA preparing to attempt mid-Feb reactivation of Japan SLIM Moon lander; NASA JPL offering $200-300k contracts for space exploration Design Reference Missions under RFP Exploring Mars Together: Commercial Services Studies.

☆ Galaxy: MIT team utilize Gaia and APOGEE to measure slower velocity of stars in outer part of MWG disk, suggesting less dark matter exists in core than previously thought.

o Global: LUPEX Moon mission collaboration between ISRO (India) and JAXA (Japan) will be precursor to 2040 human landing per PRL Director Anil Bhardwaj; $800M Vera C. Rubin Observatory set to open 2,500m up Cerro Pachon, Chile early 2025 will cause “paradigm shift in astronomy” per NOIRLab deputy director.

 USA: Astronauts Zena Cardman, Nick Hague (first USSF Guardian), Stephanie Wilson, and Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to launch to ISS via NASA / SpaceX Crew-9 mission NET August; Astronauts Suni Williams and Barry Wilmore training for Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test.

● Hawai’i: CFHT opens call for Large Program proposals for MegaCam, ESPaDOnS, and SPIRou instruments; IfA astronomer Karen Meech named AAS fellow; Gemini South telescope images lenticular galaxy NGC 4753, whose odd shape is thought to be the result of merger with dwarf galaxy 1.3 bya.

o Feb 5 — Canadian Space Agency, Online / Longueuil, Quebec, Canada: Artemis 2 Media Day with Jeremy Hansen.

● Feb 5-6 — Avon Machining, Warner, Lockheed Martin, Atlas Space Operations, Air Force Research Laboratory, Detroit MI: North American Space Summit (NASS).

= Terrestrial and… o = International terrestrial events

= Moon activity

= Space and… = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).


Weekly Planet Watch Evening Planets: Jupiter (SW), Saturn (WSW), Uranus (E), Neptune (WSW); Morning Planets: Venus (SE).

PACE Mission to Provide Valuable Biochemistry Data for Ocean Science

The US$805M Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Earth observation satellite is to be launched to 676.5 km, 98° inclination SSO via SpaceX Falcon 9 from CCSFS in Florida Feb 6. The 1.5 x 1.5 x 3.2 m, 1694-kg craft will be carrying science instruments Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), Spectro-Polarimeter for Planetary Exploration (SPEXone), Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter #2 (HARP2): OCI will conduct hyperspectral observation of Earth top of atmosphere radiance from UV to near IR (342.5 – 887.5 nm) with 2.5 nm resolution and in shortwave infrared bands, while SPEXone, developed by Netherlands Institute for Space Research / Airbus and HARP2, developed by University of Maryland, Baltimore County Earth and Space Institute will measure clouds and aerosol particles such as volcanic ash and sea salt. Ocean color, carbon cycling and phytoplankton concentrations are among the datasets to be generated for use by natural resource managers, government, industry, academia and the military. PACE and OCI were designed and built at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt MD, and the science team is led by Jeremy Werdell of GSFC Ocean Ecology Laboratory. The mission has a 3-year design life with 10+ years of propellant for extended operations, and is part of a NASA-wide effort to characterize the climate system and interactions which cause change. (Image Credits: NASA / GSFC, Walt Feimer)

o Feb 5-9 — Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India: International Conference on Planets, Exoplanets, and Habitability (ICPEH).

● Feb 5-9 — Gemini Observatory, NOIR Lab, TMT, Maunakea Observatories, National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, Hilo HI: Journey Through the Universe 20th Year.

☆ Feb 5 — Apollo Asteroid 2015 KQ57: Near-Earth Flyby (0.071 AU)

Ongoing…

☆ Sep 6, 2023 – NET Mar — X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), ~550-km LEO: XRISM undergoing 6 month check out testing phase before start of science operations to study galactic plasma.

Sep – Feb 15 — Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators at University of California Observatories, University of Hawaiʻi, Online: Akamai Internship Program; accepting applications from STEM undergrads for 2024 session.

o Jan 29 – Feb 9 — U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), Vienna, Austria and Online: 61st session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of COPUOS.

☆ NET Feb — ISRO, Launch LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) / Gaganyaan, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: India planning for 1st orbital test flight of Gaganyaan uncrewed capsule this month.

o NET Feb – NET Apr — CNSA, Online / Beijing, China: Primary selection of international payloads for Chang’E-8 mission.

Feb 2-7 — Rocky Mountain Section of the American Astronautical Society, Breckenridge CO: 46th Annual AAS Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference.

TUESDAY

Feb 6 SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / PACE, SLC 40 Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Falcon 9 to launch NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) to observe global ocean color, biochemistry and ecology; 01:30 EST.

o Feb 6-7 — Scottish Chambers of Commerce, Space Trade Association, Space Scotland, ADS, Space Network Scotland, Univ. of Edinburgh, et al, Glasgow, Scotland: Space Suppliers Summit 2024; with representatives from JAXA, ESA, Airbus, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, MDA, Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

● Feb 6-8 — SatNews, Blue Canyon, KSAT, Kratos, et al, Mountain View CA: SmallSat Symposium: Key Connections and Insights for the Next Evolution in SmallSats; at Computer History Museum.

● Feb 6-8 — NASA Mercury Exploration Assessment Group (MExAG), Detroit MI: MExAG Annual Meeting 2024.

WEDNESDAY 

● Feb 7 — Ad Astra Kansas Foundation (AAKF), Space Age Publishing Company, Interstellar University LLC, Topeka KS: AAKF and Interstellar University State Capitol Rotunda Display.

● Feb 7 — CASA Moon, SSERVI, Institute of Meteoritics (IOM), University of New Mexico, LPI, Albuquerque NM: CASA Moon Planetary Sample Science Seminar Series: Age of the Moon; by Lars Borg, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 11:00 MST.

o Feb 7-9 — Canadian Space Agency, Various Locations, Canada: Jeremy Hansen and Jenni Gibbons to speak to groups of students about Artemis 2 and Canada’s role in lunar exploration.

● Feb 7 — NASA, Washington DC: Apophis 2029 Innovation (A29I) Listening Workshop.

☾ Feb 7 — Moon: 5.4° SE of Venus, 11:00; 4.1° SE of Mars, 23:00.

THURSDAY 

☾ Feb 8 — Moon: 3.1° SE of Mercury, 14:00.

FRIDAY

Feb 9 — Hope Orbiter, Mars Orbit: UAE Hope, studying Mars atmosphere and climate, reaches 3 full years / enters 4th year in Mars orbit today; launched July 19, 2020 on JAXA H2A rocket.

☾ Feb 9 — Moon: New Moon, 12:59.

SATURDAY

o Feb 10 — Lunar New Year, China (Zhongguo) / Worldwide: Lunar New Year 2024 Spring Festival marks the Year of the Dragon.

☆ Feb 10 — Solar Orbiter (SolO), Elliptical Heliocentric Orbit: ESA / NASA craft to observe and measure solar phenomena reaches 4th full year / enters 5th year in space, having launched 2020.

☾ Feb 10 — Moon: At perigee, distance 358133 km, 08:52; 1.66° SE of Saturn, 17:00.

SUNDAY

☾ Feb 11 — Moon: Occultation of Neptune, 0.74° ESE of Neptune, 22:00.

☆ Feb 11 — Apollo Asteroid 2009 DB1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.084 AU)