Russia is also Heading to the Moon

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Russia’s Luna-Glob-Lander. (https://www.russianspaceweb.com/)

As noted in an earlier post, India left for the moon’s south pole last week, but it won’t be alone for long. Russia is planning to launch its Luna-25 spacecraft, also called the Luna-Glob-Lander, next month. According to NASA, the mission has two primary scientific objectives at the Moon’s south pole:

  • to study composition of the polar regolith, and
  • to study the plasma and dust components of the lunar polar exosphere.

The last Luna mission was Luna-24 back in 1976 and involved the return of lunar samples to Earth.

The European Space Agency was planning to be part of this latest mission until the invasion of Ukraine, so Russia is on its own now.

I imagine simpler missions like this will be necessary if Russia plans to eventually build a moon base, though finding a partner may be tough. It is clear that the US and Russia are no longer in a neck-to-neck race back to the Moon. Only China seems to have the stamina to compete with NASA’s Artemis program, though the US is still in the lead for now.

The Luna-25 launch is planned for August 10 if all goes well.

Two Space Probes will be Mothballed

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Illustration of the asteroid Psyche. (NASA)

The delay in the launch of the Psyche spacecraft to visit the asteroid Psyche is having ripple effects on another NASA mission. The $50 million Janus mission with its two probes was supposed to accompany Psyche on the mission to observe two binary asteroid. However, too much time has passed for this separate mission be be accomplished due to the binary asteroids now being too distant from the main mission. Hence, the Janus probes will have to sit this one out. ARSTechnica has a full story on this development.

The good news is that the Psyche spacecraft should be launched this October. So not all is lost.

This will be a tough budget year under this Congress, so NASA will be lucky if it can keep most of its missions on track.

Rocket Launches: Good and Bad News for Lunar Launches

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Chandrayaan-3 launch on July 14, 2023. (Aijaz Rahi/AP)

First, the good news is that India successfully launched a rocket to the Moon last Friday. The Chandrayaan-3 mission, or “moon craft,” includes an orbiter as well as a rover that will explore the southern pole of the Moon. This is India’s second attempt to land on the lunar surface after a failed attempt back in 2019.

The Indian rover is expected to land on the Moon on August 23rd. You can read more about the mission on the Indian government’s mission page.

The other rocket news involves a setback with the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) new heavy-lift rocket. The launch of the new rocket, the Vulcan Centaur, was delayed until later this year after it was determined that “minor reinforcements” were still needed with the rocket’s upper stage. The upper stage failed back in March.

The Vulcan Centaur is the successor to ULA’s Atlas V and Delta IV rockets. It’s planned first launch includes Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander (shown below). NASA notes that the lander’s scientific objectives for the upcoming Moon mission include:

…to study the lunar exosphere, thermal properties and hydrogen abundance of the lunar regolith, magnetic fields, and the radiation environment. It will also test advanced solar arrays. 

Image (Credit): Newly assembled Peregrine lunar lander being readied for its journey to Florida for integration with the Vulcan Centaur. (Astrobiotic)

Study Findings: Diverse Organic-mineral Associations in Jezero Crater, Mars

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover selfie with its Ingenuity helicopter in the background. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

Nature abstract of the study findings:

The presence and distribution of preserved organic matter on the surface of Mars can provide key information about the Martian carbon cycle and the potential of the planet to host life throughout its history. Several types of organic molecules have been previously detected in Martian meteorites and at Gale crater, Mars. Evaluating the diversity and detectability of organic matter elsewhere on Mars is important for understanding the extent and diversity of Martian surface processes and the potential availability of carbon sources. Here we report the detection of Raman and fluorescence spectra consistent with several species of aromatic organic molecules in the Máaz and Séítah formations within the Crater Floor sequences of Jezero crater, Mars. We report specific fluorescence-mineral associations consistent with many classes of organic molecules occurring in different spatial patterns within these compositionally distinct formations, potentially indicating different fates of carbon across environments. Our findings suggest there may be a diversity of aromatic molecules prevalent on the Martian surface, and these materials persist despite exposure to surface conditions. These potential organic molecules are largely found within minerals linked to aqueous processes, indicating that these processes may have had a key role in organic synthesis, transport or preservation.

Citation: Sharma, S., Roppel, R.D., Murphy, A.E. et al. Diverse organic-mineral associations in Jezero crater, Mars. Nature (2023).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06143-z

Study-related stories:

A Day in Astronomy: The Anniversary of JWST

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Tomorrow, July 12th, is the first anniversary of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). As a result, NASA has a few events planned that you may want to attend.

Here is the schedule from NASA:

  • 6 a.m.: Release of a new Webb image online
  • 6 a.m.: Live interview opportunities begin
    • Webb mission experts will be available to conduct live, remote interviews with broadcast media, in both English and Spanish. Details about scheduling these interviews are available online. Webb experts also are available for interviews outside of this window upon request.
  • 4 p.m.: NASA Science Live online
    • Two Webb experts will be featured on a NASA Science Live episode, discussing how Webb has made an impact in its first year on exploring the distant universe, characterizing exoplanet atmospheres, and understanding the solar system. The show will air live on the NASA Science Live website, as well as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Viewers of this episode can submit questions on social media using the hashtag #UnfoldtheUniverse or by leaving a comment in the chat section of the Facebook or YouTube stream.