Will China Beat Us to the Moon?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): A manufactured image, but it may be a reality soon enough. (Asia Times)

With the newly announced delays related to the Artemis lunar program, it is fair to ask whether the U.S. might fall behind the Chinese when it comes to a crewed lunar mission (of course, we won that battle 50 years ago, but you know that I mean).

All reports indicate that the Chinese wants to place humans on the Moon by 2030, but they are not expected to beat the Artemis timetable of a lunar landing in 2026. Of course, it is important that NASA stick to this timetable.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson recently stated:

I do not have a concern that China is going to land before us…I think that China has a very aggressive plan. I think they would like to land before us, because that might give them some PR coup. But the fact is that I don’t think they will. I think it is true that their date that they announced keeps getting earlier. But specifically, with us landing in September of ’26, that will be the first landing.

Obstacles remain on what will prove to be a difficult mission even if it is a repeat. We already saw Russia’s failed attempt to simply land on the Moon last year, and the problems with last week’s NASA-funded commercial launch towards the Moon was worrying.

Nothing can be taken for granted in this new space race.

Space Quote: Another View of Elon and Drugs

Posted on by onespaceman2000
 

“If we’re going to link performance to attitudes about drugs, maybe Musk should be setting the tone for NASA. Perhaps a microdosing schedule would get federal employees out of their ruts and set their creative juices flowing.”

-Statement by J.D. Tuccille in his Reason magazine article, “Let Elon Musk Enjoy Drugs.” The libertarian magazine has some strong views on drug laws and government operations, as the quote indicates. The article does note that Mr. Musk would be violating federal rules as the head of SpaceX if the reports of drug use are true, but also notes that only SpaceX can get Americans to the International Space Station. I guess Reason is all in favor of situational morality, something that seems to be gaining favor these days with those who deem themselves above the law.

Sample Return: NASA Just Needed the Right Tool

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The NASA and Lockheed Martin team observing the sample return canister. (NASA/Robert Markowitz)

It is amazing that we have the ability to launch a spacecraft that can chase an asteroid millions of miles away, but we lack a wrench here on Earth to open the sample container when some of that asteroid is sent home.

You may remember the problems NASA had last year opening the lid on the sample canister that Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) returned from its encounter with the asteroid Bennu. Well, NASA finally opened up the canister.

NASA stated:

Curation processors paused disassembly of the TAGSAM head hardware in mid-October after they discovered that two of the 35 fasteners could not be removed with the tools approved for use inside the OSIRIS-REx glovebox. In response, two new multi-part tools were designed and fabricated to support further disassembly of the TAGSAM head. These tools include newly custom-fabricated bits made from a specific grade of surgical, non-magnetic stainless steel; the hardest metal approved for use in the pristine curation gloveboxes.

That’s a lengthy way to simply say we found the right tool. Now the rest of the asteroid sample can be cataloged and shared with the scientific community.

I am just glad the capsule did not contain an astronaut.

Pic of the Week: Dwarf Irregular Galaxy UGC 8091

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Hubble Space Telescope’s view of Galaxy UGC 8091. ( ESA/Hubble, NASA Y. Choi (NOIRLab), K. Gilbert (Space Telescope Science Institute), J. Dalcanton (Flatiron Institute and University of Washington))

The image this week is from the NASA/European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope. It shows an irregular dwarf galaxy, UGC 8091, that is about seven million light-years away. What I see appears to be jellyfish within some cloudy water. I also the variety of other galaxies you can see throughout the image (see below).

Here is a little more about the image from ESA:

A collection of stars and galaxies fill the scene against a dark background. The image is dominated by a dense collection of stars that make up the irregular galaxy UGC 8091. The stars span a variety of colours, including blue and orange, with patches of blue occupying the central part of the galaxy. There are also visible circular regions of red/pink gas within the galaxy.

Image (Credit): Section of the above image – upper left hand corner. (ESA/Hubble, NASA Y. Choi (NOIRLab), K. Gilbert (Space Telescope Science Institute), J. Dalcanton (Flatiron Institute and University of Washington))

Sidebar: The Griffin Mission

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Griffin lunar lander. (Astrobotic)

I did not follow up on yesterday’s post when Astrobotic said it was moving onto its Griffin mission. What is that?

The Griffin mission involved a lunar lander as well, but this time the destination will be the Moon’s South Pole. The lander will deploy NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), which will be searching for water.

The Griffin/VIPER duo was supposed to be on the Moon already, but we already know about delays. I expect the delays will only lengthen as NASA and Astrobotic try to better understand what happened earlier this week with the Peregine lunar lander. NASA does not want to lose a rover.

NASA’s launch website now still has the VIPER landing scheduled for late 2024.

You can read more about the Griffen lander specs here.