Space Stories: Approaching Lucy, Chinese Space Ambitions, and Conan the Bacterium

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Image from NASA’s Lucy spacecraft showing the Earth and Moon from 890,000 miles away (look closely – the moon on the left is a very pale dot). (NASA/Goddard/SwRI)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—NASA.gov: “NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Captures Images of Earth, Moon Ahead of Gravity Assist“

On October 13, 2022, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft captured [the above] image of the Earth and the Moon from a distance of 890,000 miles (1.4 million km). The image was taken as part of an instrument calibration sequence as the spacecraft approached Earth for its first of three Earth gravity assists. These Earth flybys provide Lucy with the speed required to reach the Trojan asteroids — small bodies that orbit the Sun at the same distance as Jupiter. On its 12 year journey, Lucy will fly by a record breaking number of asteroids and survey their diversity, looking for clues to better understand the formation of the solar system.

—SpaceNews.com: “China Considering Mission to Ceres and Large Dark Matter Space Telescope“

The Chinese Academy of Sciences is considering potential missions including a Ceres orbiter and a huge telescope to hunt for clues about the nature of dark matter. More than 20 candidates are vying for funding for further study under the Chinese Academy of Sciences Strategic Priority Program on Space Science, also known as the New Horizon Program, and are currently undergoing evaluation.

—Space.com: “Extremophiles on Mars Could Survive for Hundreds of Millions of Years“

One of Earth’s toughest microbes could survive on Mars, lying dormant beneath the surface, for 280 million years, new research has shown. The findings increase the probability that microbial life could still exist on the Red Planet. Deinococcus radiodurans, nicknamed “Conan the Bacterium,” is one of the world’s toughest microbes, capable of surviving in radiation strong enough to kill any other known life-form. Experiments have now shown that if Conan the Bacterium or a similar microbe existed on Mars, it could survive 33 feet (10 meters) beneath the surface, frozen and dried out, for 280 million years.

Study Findings: Fusible Mantle Cumulates Trigger Young Mare Volcanism on the Cooling Moon

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Moon’s snakelike Schroeter’s Valley, believed to have been created by lava flowing over the surface. (NASA/Johnson)

Science Advances abstract:

[China’s] Chang’E-5 (CE5) mission has demonstrated that lunar volcanism was still active until two billion years ago, much younger than the previous isotopically dated lunar basalts. How the small Moon retained enough heat to drive such late volcanism is unknown, particularly as the CE5 mantle source was anhydrous and depleted in heat-producing elements. We conduct fractional crystallization and mantle melting simulations that show that mantle melting point depression by the presence of fusible, easily melted components could trigger young volcanism. Enriched in calcium oxide and titanium dioxide compared to older Apollo magmas, the young CE5 magma was, thus, sourced from the overturn of the late-stage fusible cumulates of the lunar magma ocean. Mantle melting point depression is the first mechanism to account for young volcanism on the Moon that is consistent with the newly returned CE5 basalts.

Citation: Su, B., Yuan, J., Chen, Y., et al. Fusible mantle cumulates trigger young mare volcanism on the cooling Moon. Science Advances (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abn2103

Study-related stories:

Space Stories: Venusian Balloons, Sun Observations, and a Private Moon Trip

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Test of the one-third scale prototype aerobot designed to withstand the corrosive chemicals in Venus’ atmosphere. (Near Space Corporation)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—NASA.gov: “JPL’s Venus Aerial Robotic Balloon Prototype Aces Test Flights“

A scaled-down version of the aerobot that could one day take to the Venusian skies successfully completed two Nevada test flights, marking a milestone for the project…The shimmering silver balloon ascended more than 4,000 feet (1 kilometer) over Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to a region of Earth’s atmosphere that approximates the temperature and density the aerobot would experience about 180,000 feet (55 kilometers) above Venus. Coordinated by Near Space, these tests represent a milestone in proving the concept’s suitability for accessing a region of Venus’ atmosphere too low for orbiters to reach, but where a balloon mission could operate for weeks or even months.

—SkyandTelescope.org: “‘Chinese Observatory Will Study Violent Events on the Sun“

China has launched a solar observatory to study solar flares and eruptions, and their connection with the Sun’s magnetic field…[the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S)] is planned to operate at 720 kilometers (447 miles) above Earth’s surface in a Sun-synchronous orbit that will allow it to observe the Sun at all times. Its primary, four-year mission is timed to make the most of the 2024–2025 solar maximum, when the Sun is at its most active during its 11-year cycle.

—Space.com: “‘SpaceX Says its 2nd Private Starship Trip Around the Moon will Help Make Humanity Multiplanetary“

SpaceX’s newly announced tourist mission to the moon could help humanity extend its footprint far beyond Earth, company representatives say. That mission, which was revealed today (Oct. 12), will send wealthy entrepreneur Dennis Tito, his wife Akiko and 10 other people on a weeklong journey around the moon aboard SpaceX’s huge Starship vehicle, which is still in development. Who those 10 other passengers will be is unknown; only the Titos have reserved seats at the moment.

More Space Travel Offers from China and NASA

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Image (Credit): Artist’s impression of the Chinese Space Station. (China Manned Space Program)

The China Global Television Network recently reported that China is looking into offering space rides to commercial passengers by 2025, including suborbital flights, cargo flights, and trips to Chinese Space Station. For instance, suborbital flights are expected to be priced at 2 and 3 million yuan (or $287,200 to $430,800).

Given the growing U.S. space industry with its own range of space flight options, it was only a matter of time that China would enter this commercial space race. Russia has been in the game the longest, having sold seats to U.S. astronauts hoping to reach the International Space Station (ISS) following the demise of the space shuttle.

Not to be outdone, NASA has also announced plans to take commercial passengers to the ISS at $55 million per seat. According to Tech Times, NASA is seeking commercial partners for two such flights per year starting as early as 2023. We have already discussed the Axiom Mission 1 (or AX-1 mission) to the ISS earlier this year at about the same price, so this is not a new idea. I guess the Axiom Mission 1 went well enough for NASA to see this as a regular operation.

A variety of space travel options from a variety of countries and commercial suppliers shows that playing in space can be both fun and profitable. Just ask Captain Kirk.

That is fine, as long as the tourists do not get in the way of the real work that is being conducted. With the taxpayers still footing most of the space-faring bill, we do not want space travel to be seen as only a luxury for the wealthy (similar to electric vehicles in the U.S., up to now). Space and related space travel should be seen as something belonging to everyone.

The State of the Space Industry

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Credit: The Space Foundation

A recent report by the Space Foundation shared the following figures:

  • The global space economy hit $469 billion in 2021;
  • The space sector saw 9 percent revenue growth since 2020; and
  • 1,022 spacecraft placed in orbit during the first six months of 2022.

In a troubling time around the globe, those are some pretty positive numbers. Just in terms of launched spacecraft, we can also see the commercial sector is playing a large role:

The [second quarter] edition also looks at the record pace of successful launches from Jan. 1 to June 30, with 72 rockets inserting 1,022 identified spacecraft into space. That is more spacecraft attaining orbit in just six months than were launched in the first 52 years of the Space Age. Most of those new satellites came from the commercial sector, which launched 958 spacecraft in the first half of 2022.

It is clearly not just a government space game, though the report also notes that government spending increased since 2020 around the globe, such as the U.S. (18 percent), China (23 percent), and India (36 percent).

As you can also see from the graphic above, 90 nations are now operating in space. We cannot pretend that all of this is for space exploration. While much of it relates to defense and commercial spacecraft looking downward, it still leaves plenty of spacecraft to explore our awesome universe.