Space Stories: 25 Years of Humans on the ISS, Life in Outer Space, and Astronomical Interference

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins space-walking outside the International Space Station (ISS) on December 24, 2013. (NASA)

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—NASA: “Celebrating 25 Years of Continuous Human Presence Aboard the International Space Station “

NASA and its partners have supported humans continuously living and working in space since November 2000. A truly global endeavor, the International Space Station has been visited by more than 280 people from 23 countries and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The unique microgravity laboratory has hosted more than 4,000 experiments from more than 5,000 researchers in more than 110 countries. The space station also is facilitating the growth of a commercial market in low Earth orbit for research, technology development, and crew and cargo transportation.

—Max Planck Institute: “The Evolution of Life May Have Its Origins in Outer Space“

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers led by Abubakar Fadul from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has discovered complex organic molecules – including the first tentative detection of ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile – in the protoplanetary disc of the outbursting protostar V883 Orionis. These compounds are considered precursors to the building blocks of life. Comparing different cosmic environments reveals that the abundance and complexity of such molecules increase from star-forming regions to fully evolved planetary systems. This suggests that the seeds of life are assembled in space and widespread.

—Curtin University: “Interference to Astronomy the Unintended Consequence of Faster Internet“

Curtin University researchers have undertaken the world’s biggest survey of low frequency satellite radio emissions, finding Starlink satellites are significantly interfering with radio astronomy observations, potentially impacting discovery and research. Unintended signals from satellites – leaked from onboard electronics – can drown out the faint radio waves astronomers use to study the universe.

Many Departures at NASA, No Clear Path Forward

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay.

The problem with a poorly-planned downsizing of an organization is that you may lose too many people in key positions and the disarray demotivates those who remain. Hence, it should be no surprise that this is what we are seeing at NASA as well as other agencies.

NASA is now looking at losing about 20 percent of its workforce, or about 4,000 employees, who have been harassed and prodded towards the door. That represents the loss of an amazing amount of talent. Of course, the White House doesn’t seem to care given its proposed budget cutting NASA’s 2026 budget by about 24 percent.

It will not be long before we have a blame game about “Who lost the Moon?” once China surpasses us in the race to the Moon. We may even be asking “Who lost Mars” now that we have abandoned retrieving a Mars soil sample while China and Japan have plans to bring back Martian soil. All of this is foreseeable to the average person, but for some reason no light seems to penetrate the persistent fog in Washington, DC.

We already read stories about whether Boeing even knows how to build a new airplane, Will we soon have stories about that nation that once put men on the Moon but lost its way?

The United States was behind the Soviets in the space race when it found the will to dream big. I am seeing no signs of dreaming in this nightmarish dismantling of science in this country. We have to work hard to remain ahead of this latest space race, and should we stumble there are plenty of other countries waiting to fill the void.

We are making the same mistake that Russia did when it invaded Ukraine and put its space hopes on hold. The difference here is that we have trained the guns on our own space and science programs.

TRACER Starts Its Mission to Study the Upper Atmosphere

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): A SpaceX rocket launching the TRACER mission earlier today. (SpaceX)

Earlier today, NASA’s Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACER) twin satellites were successfully launched from Vandenberg Space Force Station in California.

The TRACER mission’s goal is to study magnetic reconnection and its effects in Earth’s atmosphere. Magnetic reconnection is the interplay between solar winds and the Earth’s magnetic field.

The two satellites, each about the size of a washing machine, will be in orbit over both the North and South poles for the next 12 months taking measurements.

In this interview, David Miles, TRACERS Principal Investigator at the University of Iowa, answers a number of questions about the current mission, including:

  • Can you explain what space weather is?
  • Why was this mission designed to have two spacecraft instead of just one?
  • Why is understanding space weather important for protecting our astronauts as well as technology in space and on the ground?

You can learn even more about the mission from this NASA fact sheet.

It is encouraging to see scientific missions underway to better understand outside influences on our upper atmosphere. Let’s hope we can also maintain and expand on space missions that help us understand man-made influences on our atmosphere. Closing our eyes for political reasons is never a good idea.

Space Quote: The NASA Voyager Declaration

Posted on by onespaceman2000

“We dissent to implementing indiscriminate cuts to NASA science and aeronautics research because this will leave the American people without the unique public good that NASA provides. Basic research in space science, aeronautics, and the stewardship of the Earth are inherently governmental functions that cannot and will not be taken up by the private sector. Furthermore, NASA has a nearly threefold return on investment in economic activity, and supports national security by ensuring the United States maintains its lead in science and technology.”

-Just one of many points in a letter to NASA’s Interim Administrator Sean Duffy from more than 300 current and former NASA employees, labeled as the NASA Voyager Declaration. Probably employees from every federal agency could issue a similar appeal (okay, maybe not the ICE employees) given the unwarranted and poorly-targeted cuts wiping out science-driven programs. We need such statements to remember what is important about these programs, and how petty politics will diminish our nation. It’s been quite a few years since a German priest nailed a statement to a church door highlighting great abuses by Church authorities. Sometimes history rhymes.

Space Stories: Watching a Newborn Planet, Investigating a Cosmic Fossil, and TRACERS to Study Magnetic Fields

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Yol Gezer from Pixabay.

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—European Southern Observatory: “Astronomers Witness Newborn Planet Sculpting the Dust Around It“

Astronomers may have caught a still-forming planet in action, carving out an intricate pattern in the gas and dust that surrounds its young host star. Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), they observed a planetary disc with prominent spiral arms, finding clear signs of a planet nestled in its inner regions. This is the first time astronomers have detected a planet candidate embedded inside a disc spiral. “We will never witness the formation of Earth, but here, around a young star 440 light-years away, we may be watching a planet come into existence in real time,” says Francesco Maio, a doctoral researcher at the University of Florence, Italy, and lead author of this study, published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

—Space.com: “Astronomers Discover a Cosmic ‘Fossil’ at the Edge of Our Solar System. Is this Bad News for ‘Planet 9’?“

Astronomers have discovered a massive new solar system body located beyond the orbit of Pluto. The weird elongated orbit of the object suggests that if “Planet Nine” exists, it is much further from the sun than thought, or it has been ejected from our planetary system altogether. The strange orbit of the object, designated 2023 KQ14 and nicknamed “Ammonite,” classifies it as a “sednoid.” Sednoids are bodies beyond the orbit of the ice giant Neptune, known as trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), characterized by a highly eccentric (non-circular) orbit and a distant closest approach to the sun or “perihelion.”

—Southwest Research Institute: “TRACERS Mission Prepares for Launch“

NASA’s Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission, a collaborative effort led by the University of Iowa (UI) with substantial contributions from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), has entered its final integration phase. NASA is set to launch TRACERS’ two satellites into low Earth orbit on July 22, 2025, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The TRACERS mission will explore the dynamic interactions between the Sun’s and Earth’s magnetic fields.