Starlink Assists with Ukrainian Battles

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit):  A disabled Russian tank in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons)

SpaceX’s Starlink system, shared with Ukraine last month, is already proving to be a boost to Ukrainian fighters. While the focus of the new system was to keep Ukrainians connected to the Internet, it has also been used by drones attacking Russian military tanks and trucks. The NY Post quotes one Ukrainian source as stating, “If we use a drone with thermal vision at night, the drone must connect through Starlink to the artillery guy and create target acquisition.”

All of this will make the Starlink system within Ukraine a Russian target and Mr. Musk himself persona non grata, not that Mr. Musk really cares. However, he has warned Ukrainians to be cautious when using the system:

Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution.

Let’s just hope that all of this doesn’t lead to anti-satellite actions in space. We have enough issues on the ground.

Moon Craters and the Russians

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): USSR’s Luna 2 spacecraft. (Worldhistoryproject.org)

So who owned the rocket stage that hit the Moon earlier this month? I had earlier noted the speculation pertaining to both SpaceX and then the Chinese rockets. Surprisingly, it is still is not clear who owned that rocket stage and maybe we will never know. That is not a good answer for the European Space Agency’s Space Safety Programme, which stated:

The upcoming lunar impact illustrates well the need for a comprehensive regulatory regime in space, not only for the economically crucial orbits around Earth but also applying to the Moon.

While that case has yet to be solved, we are pretty certain about the first Earth-launched rocked to hit the Moon. We can blame the Soviets for that strike back in 1959 with its Luna 2 (nicknamed the Lunik 2). At least the goal in that case was to hit the Moon.

Launched on September 12, 1959, it took 35 hours to travel the distance between the Earth and Moon. Luna 1, launched by the Soviets earlier that year, was supposed to hit the Moon but it missed by about 3,700 miles. You can see more about Luna 2 via this dated news clip.

Status of NASA’s Martian Mission

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA’s Perseverance Rover on Mars. (NASA)

Now that we have learned a little more about China’s Martian rover, maybe we should check on NASA’s Perseverance Rover. According to a recent press release from NASA, earlier this month Perseverance started its three-mile trip to the river delta on the rim of Jezero Crater after already exploring the Martian surface for about 13 months. This delta may contain evidence of ancient microbial life. As with the Chinese rover mission, the collected samples will be returned to Earth via a later mission.

The Perseverance arrived on the Martian surface February 18, 2021. The mission has already shown success with the Ingenuity Helicopter, while the rover is showing greater abilities to self-navigate. All of this is proving to be promising for future robotic exploration of the planet.

You can get facts about the Perseverance mission here and ongoing updates here.

Chinese Martian Rover Images

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Two images from China’s Martian Rover Zhurong. (CNCA)

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) Watcher site posted the above before and after selfies taken by the Zhurong Mars Rover. The top shot was taken on May 19, 2021 and the bottom shot on January 22, 2022. You can see the dust that has accumulated in less than a year on the rover’s panels. The site notes that the rover has the ability to vibrate and loosen the accumulated dust.

China launched Tianwen-1, which carried the rover, on July 23, 2020. It went into orbit around Mars in February 2021, with the Zhurong Rover landing on the Martian surface on May 14, 2021. China sent the rover to the Red Planet to find evidence of water. If all goes well, China hopes to bring a Martian samples back to Earth in a subsequent mission. The Planetary Society has some helpful information here on the Chinese mission.

Image (Credit): China’s Mars Rover Zhurong next to its landing platform on the surface of the red planet. (CNSA)

Movies: A Romance Set on Mars

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Upcoming HBO movie Moonshot. (HBO)

On March 31st you can can watch another space-related movie, though this one has a misleading name. Called Moonshot, the setting is actually a space colony on Mars. You can watch a trailer of the HBO Max movie here.

While its just a platform for a young adult romantic comedy, it will be fun to see how the film portrays life on the Red Planet. Given that it includes a stowaway on the trip to Mars, you have to wonder what kind of space program these people are running when every pound of extra weight is critical.

Of course, Netflix already did the Mars mission stowaway story in last year’s film Stowaway.

So don’t think too hard. Just enjoy the spacecraft and scenery.