In Case You Missed It/Video: The Stakes Are High with Our Return to the Moon

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Moving the Artemis I mission into place. (NASA)

With the recent glitches related to the two commercial Moon missions, an earlier NASA video on the Artemis program became all too relevant. In the video, “Farther and Faster: NASA’s Journey to the Moon with Artemis,” we hear that the stakes are high as we attempt to return to the Moon, and how we could be the generation that loses the Moon if we don’t get it right.

In addition to the risks, the video also highlights the great successes already with the Artemis I mission, as you may recall from back in 2022:

Over the course of 25.5 days, Orion performed two lunar flybys, coming within 80 miles (129 kilometers) of the lunar surface. At its farthest distance during the mission, Orion traveled nearly 270,000 miles (435,000 kilometers) from our home planet. On Dec. 11, 2022, NASA’s Orion spacecraft successfully completed a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 9:40 a.m. PST (12:40 p.m. EST) as the final major milestone of the Artemis I mission.

Artemis I set new performance records, exceeded efficiency expectations, and established new safety baselines for humans in deep space. This is a prelude to what comes next—following the success of Artemis I, human beings will fly around the Moon on Artemis II.

It is worth pondering what we have ahead of us. NASA may be having a few issues with its commercial partners, but the main mission has done well. We cannot be discouraged with a few delays as long as we keep the course. We have done it before and there is no reason we cannot do it again. I say slow and steady.

Mars is the goal, but we need to prove ourselves with the Moon. Check out the video and determine for yourself if we have already made a fair amount of progress.

Another Crew Departing for the ISS

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The SpaceX Crew-8 (identified below) expected to depart later today. (NASA)

Later today, a SpaceX rocket with carry another crew to the International Space Station (ISS) after a few delays. The crew, shown above, consists of Alexander Grebenkin (Roscosmos), Michael Barratt (NASA), Matthew Dominick (NASA), Jeanette Epps (NASA).

The new crew will be approaching a space station already containing seven crew members as well as a module in need of repair. The Russian components of the space station have sprung a number of leaks over the past several years. The most recent appears to be a recurring oxygen leak.

To date, NASA is playing it cool, though I expect everyone on board would be happy to experience at leakless station as soon as possible. We know the ISS will not last forever, but until the day it is decommissioned it should be a safe vessel for the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard.

Update: The SpaceX launch went off without a hitch Sunday evening. The new crew on the Dragon spacecraft is expected to reach the ISS Tuesday morning.

Space Quote: The End of NASA’s OSAM-1 Project

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the OSAM-1 project in action. (NASA)

“Following an in-depth, independent project review, NASA has decided to discontinue the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) project due to continued technical, cost, and schedule challenges, and a broader community evolution away from refueling unprepared spacecraft, which has led to a lack of a committed partner. Following Congressional notification processes, project management plans to complete an orderly shutdown, including the disposition of sensitive hardware, pursuing potential partnerships or alternative hardware uses, and licensing of applicable technological developments. NASA leadership also is reviewing how to mitigate the impact of the cancellation on the workforce at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.”

-Statement by NASA in recent communications. The project has been in development since 2015. About 450 NASA employees and contractors working on the OSAM-1 project. In an earlier report by the Government Accountability Office, the auditors noted, “OSAM-1 cost growth and schedule delays are exacerbated by poor contractor performance and continued technical challenges.”

Space Stories: DART Damage, India Plans for Orbiting Crew, and SLIM Awakes on the Moon

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Illustration of how DART’s impact altered the orbit of Dimorphos about Didymos. (https://dart.jhuapl.edu/)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—NDTV: “NASA’s Mission Not Only Altered Asteroid’s Path, But Its Shape Too, Says New Study“

A recent study suggests NASA’s DART mission, designed to test asteroid deflection methods, may have revealed more than planned. While successfully altering the target asteroid’s trajectory, scientists now believe the impact also significantly changed its shape, hinting at a surprising composition. Previously thought to be a solid rock, Dimorphos, the impacted asteroid, may actually be a loose collection of debris. This conclusion stems from the unexpected level of deformation observed after the collision. Unlike a typical crater, the impact appears to have caused a broader, flatter dent, resembling an M&M candy.

—Reuters: “India Announces Four-member Crew for ‘Gaganyaan’ Space Mission“

India on Tuesday introduced four crew members for its maiden ‘Gaganyaan’ space voyage, as it aims to become the world’s fourth country to send a crewed mission into space just months after a historic landing on the south pole of the moon. Gaganyaan, or “sky craft” in Hindi, is the first mission of its kind for India and will cost about 90.23 billion rupees ($1.1 billion). It involves the launch of a habitable space capsule over the next year to an orbit of 400 km (250 miles) and its return via a landing in the Indian Ocean.

—SpaceNews.com: “Japan’s SLIM Moon Lander Stages Unexpected Revival After Lunar Night“

Japan’s space agency made contact with its SLIM moon lander Sunday, despite the spacecraft not being expected to function after lunar night. Contact with the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) spacecraft was reestablished on Sunday, Feb. 25, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced via its dedicated SLIM account on X, formerly known as Twitter, early Feb. 26.

A Day in Astronomy: The Mariner 6 Heads to Mars

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Mariner 6 spacecraft. (NASA)

On this day in 1969, NASA’s Mariner 6 was launched from Cape Canaveral using the Atlas-Centaur AC-20 rocket. The mission of Mariner 6 was to conduct a flyby of Mars and analyze the Martian atmosphere and surface with remote sensors.

This mission, as well as the Mariner 7 launch the following month, provided solid evidence that the dark features on the planet’s surface were not canals (as astronomer Percival Lowell and other had proposed).

You can find NASA’s Mariner information here.

Image (Credit): Close up of Mars taken by Mariner 6. (NASA)