Space Stories: Tom Hanks Returns to the Moon, Exomoons are Questioned, and Our Moon Enters a New Phase

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Tom Hanks at the opening of his new show in London. (Apollo Remastered)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—Reuters: “Tom Hanks Brings Love of Space to New Immersive London Show“

Archive footage of space rockets taking off beam across giant walls in a new immersive show in London, as Hollywood actor Tom Hanks narrates the story of human voyages to the moon. “The Moonwalkers: A Journey With Tom Hanks” looks at the first moon landings of the Apollo missions from 1969 to 1972 and their successor, NASA’s human spaceflight program, Artemis. The next mission – the Artemis II lunar flyby – is planned for next year and interviews with the four-member team are also projected on the walls at the Lightroom gallery space in London’s King Cross area.

—Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research: “Giant Doubts About Giant Exomoons“

Just as it can be assumed that the stars in our Milky Way are orbited by planets, moons around these exoplanets should not be uncommon. This makes it all the more difficult to detect them. So far, only two of the more than 5300 known exoplanets have been found to have moons. A new data analysis now demonstrates that scientific statements are rarely black or white, that behind every result there is a greater or lesser degree of uncertainty and that the path to a statement often resembles a thriller. In observations of the planets Kepler-1625b and Kepler-1708b from the Kepler and Hubble space telescopes, researchers had discovered traces of such moons for the first time. A new study now raises doubts about these previous claims. As scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and the Sonnenberg Observatory, both in Germany, report in the journal Nature Astronomy, “planet-only” interpretations of the observations are more conclusive.

—The University of Kansas: “Scholars Say it’s Time to Declare a New Epoch on the Moon, The ‘Lunar Anthropocene’“

Human beings first disturbed moon dust Sept. 13, 1959, when the USSR’s unmanned spacecraft Luna 2 alighted on the lunar surface. In the following decades, more than a hundred other spacecraft have touched the moon — both crewed and uncrewed, sometimes landing and sometimes crashing. The most famous of these were NASA’s Apollo Lunar Modules, which transported humans to the moon’s surface to the astonishment of humankind. In the coming years, missions and projects already planned will change the face of the moon in more extreme ways. Now, according to anthropologists and geologists at the University of Kansas, it’s time to acknowledge humans have become the dominant force shaping the moon’s environment by declaring a new geological epoch for the moon: the Lunar Anthropocene.

Rain and Wind Delays in Space Force Orbital Test Vehicle Launch

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The X-37B orbital test vehicle on the tarmac. (US Space Force)

SpaceX was scheduled to launch the US Space Forces’ secretive X-37B orbital test vehicle (OTV) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center earlier today, but stormy weather postponed the launch until tomorrow.

What does this spacecraft do? Given it is with the Space Force and not NASA, it clearly has a national defense mission, yet it has also worked with NASA on scientific missions. This seventh launch of the spacecraft, designated OTV-7,  will be “…operating in new orbital regimes, experimenting with space domain awareness technologies and investigating the radiation effects to NASA materials” according to a Space Force press release.

That’s about as clear as mud, and also the way the US Government wants to keep it. If this means the Chinese and Russians are scratching their heads, then that is all the better for our defense officials.

By the way, it is not clear why it is still called a “test vehicle” given it has been around since 2010 and already served multiple missions. Maybe this relates to the mission contents, though I expect the International Space Station is conducting many more tests.

I guess this will just have to be one more mystery.

Update: The spacecraft is still on the ground at the moment after numerous delays. The launch is now planned for December 13.

Second Update: The mission has been scrubbed for now. SpaceX stated the following:

We are standing down from tomorrow’s Falcon Heavy launch of USSF-52 to perform additional system checkouts. The payload remains healthy while teams work toward the next best launch opportunity. We’re also keeping an eye on the weather and will announce a new launch date once confirmed with the Range.

Space Quote: JPL Struggles to Remain Fully Staffed

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of NASA’s Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

“It was clear that upper management expected us to push through regardless of any challenges happening outside the lab because the robot was the first priority…It resulted in incredible burnout across all the teams. Many of us are honestly still recovering from it.”

-Statement by one of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory employees working on the Mars Perseverence rover mission as quoted in a Scientific American article, “NASA Lab’s Workforce Woes Threaten Major Space Missions.” The article notes that JPL is dealing with employee shortages as overworked employees depart for better pay more more life balance at private space firms.

Happy Hanukkah from the ISS

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Hanukkah display on the ISS. (NASA)

Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli did her part to celebrate the Hanukkah holiday while on board the International Space Station (ISS). The Iranian-American NASA astronaut created the window display shown above as well as a video of a spinning dreidel.

In the ABC7 story accompanying the video, Ms. Moghbeli stated:

In my household, we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah so I’ve brought some items for both to celebrate with my family.

I challenge anyone here on Earth to match this window display. It is out of this world.

Pic of the Week: Progress 86 Approaches the ISS

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Progress 86 resupply ship approaches the ISS. (NASA)

This week’s image shows the Roscosmos Progress 86 cargo craft approaching the International Space Station (ISS) last Sunday with three tons of needed supplies. The space craft almost appears to be performing ballet. I expect everyone one on board the station was happy to see it arriving, hopefully loaded with some holiday treats.

The Russian cargo craft needed to be guided in manually by cosmonauts after the auto system failed. Backup systems are great, but fully functioning space systems are better. I guess the Russians got some practice that day.