Space Stories: Russia Destroys Own Cosmonaut Launch Site, Cosmonaut Removed from ISS Crew, and Martian Drainage Systems (Not Canals)

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—The Independent: “Russia Accidentally Destroys its Only Way of Sending Astronauts to Space“

Russia’s only crewed-mission launch site has suffered major damage following a rocket launch on Thursday. The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan will be unable to host launches until repairs are made, according to the space agency Roscosmos, marking the first time in decades that Russia has lost the ability to send people to space. The launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft was otherwise successful, with none of the crew members injured.

—United24 Media: “Russian Cosmonaut Allegedly Photographed Confidential SpaceX Docs, Removed From NASA Crew-12 Mission“

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev has been removed from the prime crew of SpaceX’s Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station and replaced by fellow Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev after sources alleged he photographed confidential SpaceX materials in California in violation of US export control rules, according to The Insider on December 2. The outlet reported that Trishkin also said NASA did not want the controversy around Artemyev to become public, while Artemyev was removed from training at SpaceX’s Hawthorne California, facility last week after allegedly photographing SpaceX engines and other internal materials on his phone and taking them off-site.

—University of Texas “Scientists Map Mars’ Large River Drainage Systems for First Time“

A new study published in PNAS from researchers at The University of Texas at Austin is the first to define large river drainage systems on the red planet. They outlined 16 large-scale river basins where life would have been most likely to thrive on the neighboring planet. “We’ve known for a long time that there were rivers on Mars,” said co-author Timothy A. Goudge, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences. “But we really didn’t know the extent to which the rivers were organized in large drainage systems at the global scale.”

Vote Scheduled for Next Week on NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

Posted on by onespaceman2000

After almost a year of rudderless leadership, NASA may be getting an administrator before the end of the calendar year. Maybe.

On December 8, the Senate plans to vote on Jared Isaacman’s nomination to become NASA’s administrator. But first, Mr. Isaacman needs to attend a December 3rd nomination hearing with the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Yes, this will be a repeat of the April 9th nomination hearing that was part of Mr. Isaacman’s initial White House nomination.

In his April testimony before the Senate, Mr. Isaacman emphasized three main points:

  • First—American astronauts will lead the way in the ultimate ‘high ground’ of space;
  • Second—We will ignite a thriving space economy in low Earth orbit; and
  • Third—NASA will be a force multiplier for science.

As part of the third point, he stated:

We will leverage NASA’s scientific talent and capabilities to enable academic institutions and industry to increase the rate of world-changing discoveries. We will launch more telescopes, more probes, more rovers and endeavor to better understand our planet and the universe beyond.

That task will be all the more difficult with the departure of more than 4,000 talented NASA employees. He and the agency would have been in a better position if he had come on board before all of the efforts to downsize and diminish the “scientific talent and capabilities” at NASA. However, political temper tantrums intervened.

Given that Acting Administrator Sean Duffy’s recommended that NASA should be a sub-component of the Department of Transportation, as if it was another roads or airport project, NASA is now on a better path with outside leadership. We can only hope that Mr. Isaacman is given the budget and tools to stem the losses and start repairing the mess that DOGE and other brought to NASA.

One thing is clear – Mr. Isaacman’s good friend Elon Musk crippled NASA like many other agencies, making the job of NASA administrator that much harder.

NSS Space Settlement Contest

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Julius H. from Pixabay

The National Space Society (NSS) has announced its sixth Martine Rothblatt Space Settlement in Our Lifetime competition. To compete you only need to (1) be a student, academician, entrepreneur, or member of the broader space community – which is pretty broad – and (2) develop a business plans that will help to enable space settlement in the coming decades. Award-winning plans can win between $6,000 and $16,000.

Entries are due by February 15, 2026. If you are among the three finalists, you will be invited to the NSS annual International Space Development Conference in McLean, Virginia, which is held from June 4-7, 2026.

Here is some information on the 2025 winners if you need some ideas:

The first place award went to Anjan Balakrishnan and Nicholas Iraj Baumann of Georgetown University for their plan called Radiation Protection Solutions, an advanced, sandwiched design for radiation shielding for deep space missions. Second place went to Dr. Richard Nederlander and his team from Spargo Space Corp., featuring a business plan for orbital propellant depots. Third place went to Trent Tresch for his plan called StratoLabs, a self-contained, high-altitude balloon kit for independent aeronauts and researchers.

For more details on the competition, click here.

Christmas Shopping Has Started

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: The Mars Society

You may be spending the holiday weekend stuck in traffic jams at the mall, or maybe you want to find what you need online without all of the hassle. If you are going online, you might want to check out your friendly non-profit space organizations for ideas.

The Mars Rover socks shown above and much more can be found at the Mars Society’s gift shop. You can also find mugs, shirts, signed prints, models, books (such as The Case for Mars), and more. Better yet, the profits go to an organization that is actively lobbying for Mars missions and related space missions. You cannot go wrong.

I will share other ideas this season, but this first post is to get the shopping started.

Credit: The Mars Society

Note: This site is not affiliated with the Mars Society.

Space Quote: British Satellite to Study Impact of Stars on Exoplanets

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Blue Skies Space

“Mauve will open a new window on stellar activity that has previously been largely hidden from view…By observing stars in ultraviolet light, wavelengths that can’t be studied from Earth, we’ll gain a much deeper understanding of how stars behave and how their flares may impact the environment of orbiting exoplanets. Traditional ground-based telescopes just can’t capture this information, so a satellite like Mauve is crucial for furthering our knowledge.”

–Statement by Professor Giovanna Tinetti, Chief Scientist and Co-founder of Blue Skies Space, regarding today’s launch of the Mauve cubesat satellite. This satellite contains a 13 cm telescope that will be used to observe hundreds of stars in the ultraviolet and visible wavelengths over a three-year period. Data from this mission will be sold via subscriptions, and used to study the stars and how their activity influences the habitability of distant exoplanets. You can find more information on the mission here.