First Women / Americans at the Moon South Pole 2020-2021
Open Letter to the Trump-Pence Administration

Tenancy on the Moon by Women and Men as soon as 2020 is within reach and would be a noble and valuable objective for American greatness. The Moon’s South Pole is a 21st Century New Frontier as pioneering and enriching as Humans on Mars and trillion dollar asteroids, and much closer in time and space. India and China are advancing strategic campaigns to the Moon focused on material and energy resource growth. A Cislunar Superhighway could be a defining USA / international 21st Century infrastructure investment. Launches of humans to Space from American land again are highly anticipated. Vice President Pence just greeted the new Astronauts including Loral O’Hara, and she wonders: “Every time I look at the Moon, I think: Holy Cow, I might be walking around up there someday – that’s actually a real possibility”. NASA Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule currently in development are expected to be flying by 2019. NewSpace enterprises are also moving forward: SpaceX is preparing to test the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle and is working to develop its Dragon crew vehicle and Interplanetary Transportation System; Blue Origin is working on its New Glenn, New Shepard and New Armstrong vehicles; Bigelow continues to refine the technology for inflatable space habitats; Moon Express and Astrobotic count down to launch commercial lunar operations. The time to return “in peace for all” — to reclaim the greatest American, human advance, and for good — is now. The Moon is our launch pad to the Solar System and gateway to the Stars. (Image Credit: NASA, N. Moeller, Space Age Publishing Company)

= All times

for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.

= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.

= All times for space events, and…

= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time;’ Greenwich, England).


Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Jupiter (SW), Saturn (SE); Morning Planets: Venus (E), Uranus (E), Neptune (SE).

G20 Summit Leaders Urged to Consider Space Development for Sustainable Solar System Economy in the 21st Century

The 2017 G20 Summit “Shaping an Interconnected World” in Hamburg July 7-8 will mark the 12th meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20) for heads of government to coordinate international economic cooperation, stability, growth, trade and finance. Participation is expected from Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel, Argentina President Mauricio Macri, Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Brazil President Michel Temer, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, China President Xi Jinping, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, USA President Donald Trump, Russia President Vladimir Putin, as well as head of Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, European Union, and invited guests from Guinea, Netherlands, Norway, Senegal, Singapore, Spain and Vietnam. For the 1st time at a G20 Summit, a digital affairs ministers conference will be held to discuss technology, broadband and mobile growth. The global space industry market of 2015 was US$323B (Space Foundation “The Space Report: 2016). International Lunar Decade Working Group asks the leading industrialized nations and emerging economies of G20 to focus on global space advancement to support economic, environmental, cultural and social sustainability. Space technologies from satellites, launch vehicles, ground stations and astronomical telescopes enhance capabilities in many related industries, are increasingly important for education and employment, and provide unique opportunities for economic growth via manufacturing, commercial enterprise, and new innovative markets including space tourism, resource mining and Galaxy mapping. (Image Credit: G20, NASA, JWST)

MONDAY

Ongoing…
Jul 3 — ISS, 330-435-km LEO: Expedition 52 to remain 3-member crew until end of month, performing maintenance on Russia Orlan spacesuits for EVA planned later this year, working with stem cell samples for cardiac biology and tissue regeneration study, measuring new LED light color & intensity in station to determine affects on crew sleep, circadian rhythms & cognitive performance.

Jul 3 — Solar System: Mars Curiosity ‘Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science’ software allows rover to make its own selection of inspection-worthy rocks & aim instruments with 93% accuracy; new study from Voyager 2 data reveals Uranus magnetosphere flips ‘on’ allowing solar wind to flow in & ‘off’ shielding the planet from particles every day during its 17.24-hour rotation; Cassini diving closer & closer to Saturn, dramatic high res images of rings and moonlets shown.

Jul 3 — Galaxy: Chandra X-ray telescope observing Arp 299 system 140M LY away where 2 galaxies are merging, creating 25 bright X-ray sources; China Hard X-ray Modulation telescope data on black holes & neutron stars to be shared with international scientists; self-adapting algorithm searching for rogue stars among star maps created by ESA Gaia; James Webb telescope undergoing 93-days of testing in 16.8-m diameter, 27.4-m tall vacuum chamber at JSC.

Jul 3 — Global: UAE National Space Policy in depth outline of 5 fundamental purposes / priorities; India planning PSLV-C39 launch first week Aug, GSLV-Mk 2 in Dec, GSLV-Mk 3 early 2018; NASA announces new Astronaut class 5 women & 7 men; Reaction Engines building UK facility in Westcott, Buckinghamshire for testing subsystems / SABRE engine core ~2020; head of Russia RSC Energia discusses Soyuz rocket for space tourism, potential upgrade for cislunar flights.

Jul 3 — NewSpace: Blue Origin to build rocket production facility in Huntsville AL if ULA selects BE-4 engine for Vulcan rocket; SpaceX launches 9 rockets in 2017, planning ~12 more, has more than 70 missions backlogged, worth more than US$10B; Pipeline2Space working to build underground tube to fire payloads to space from Spaceport America, test flights 1,500 – 3,050 meter altitude, US$100 per capsule – CEO, Director, Founder Mark Russell; Space Foundation hosting Explore Space Experience in Jun and Jul to prepare Next Gen for careers in Space.

Jul 3-5 — IAA, Roscosmos, Federal State Unitary Enterprise ‘Technomash’, St. Petersburg, Russia: 4th International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) Space Flight Safety Symposium.

Jul 3-5 — IUGG Union Commission on Planetary Sciences (UCPS), International Association of Planetary Sciences (IAPS), DLR, Berlin, Germany: 1st IUGG Symposium on Planetary Science (IUGG-PS 2017).

Jul 3-7 — European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany: Conference: The Impact of Binaries on Stellar Evolution.

Jul 3-28 — Paris-Saclay University, Orsay, France: Program: The Interstellar Medium Beyond 3D.

Jul 3 — Earth: At aphelion (distance 1.01668 AU), 10:00.

Continued from…

Jun 30 – Jul 29 — Space Media Ventures, National Space Society, Online: Kickstarter Campaign: Space Odyssey Game; presented by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, for people of all ages to experience new Worlds and add to them as real science & their collective imagination allows.

Jun 17 – Aug 19 — Singularity University, Moffett Field CA: SU 2017 Global Solutions Program; for students to develop Moonshot innovations addressing humanity’s grand challenges; Climate Change is overarching theme for 2017.

Jun 15 – Aug 15 — International Space Elevator Consortium, Online: ISEC 2017 Summer Internship Program; six interns to perform home-based / online intern studies with ISEC.

Jun 26 – Aug 25 — International Space University, Cork Institute of Technology, Cork, Ireland: ISU 30th Space Studies Program (SSP 2017).

Jun 30 – Jul 3 — Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) 2017 General Assembly.

Jul 2-5 — University of Cambridge, Center for Theoretical Cosmology, Cambridge, United Kingdom: Stephen Hawking 75th Birthday Conference: Gravity and Black Holes.

Jul 2-6 — Royal Astronomical Society, Hull, United Kingdom: 25th Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting; at E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics – University of Hull.

TUESDAY

Jul 4-7 — CNES, Paris, France: French Astronomy Week 2017; at FIAP Jean Monnet Hôtel.

Jul 4-7 — National Centre for Radio Astrophysics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Pune, India: Workshop on Gamma-ray Bursts: Prompt to Afterglow,; at FIAP Jean Monnet Hôtel.

Jul 4 — Venus: 6.5° S of Pleiades, 14:21.

WEDNESDAY

Jul 5-9 — University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana: 13th Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop; featuring Professor Mike Edmunds of Cardiff University.

Jul 5 — Moon: At apogee (distance 405,934 km), 18:27.

Jul 5 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 BM31: Near-Earth Flyby (0.072 AU).

THURSDAY

Jul 6 — ESA, JAXA, Noordwijk, The Netherlands: Media: Last chance to view ESA / JAXA Mercury Explorer BepiColombo; craft will be shipped to Kourou, French Guiana spaceport for October launch.

Jul 6 — Hawaii Preparatory Academy, W. M. Keck Observatory, Kamuela HI: Life in the Universe; by Abraham Loeb of Harvard University, at Gates Performing Arts Center, 19:00.

Jul 6 — Huntsville Alabama L5 Society (HAL5), Huntsville AL: Monthly Meeting featuring Omar Mireles from NASA MSFC on Additive Manufacture for Aerospace; at U.S. Space and Rocket Center Education Training Facility.

Jul 6 — Moon: 3.2° N of Saturn, 17:34.

Jul 6 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 MA: Near-Earth Flyby (0.057 AU).

FRIDAY

Jul 7-8 — G20 Summit, Hamburg, Germany: G20 Summit for heads of state or heads of government to discuss international economic cooperation; International Lunar Decade Working Group urges Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel to include space development as innovative, global strategy for building sustainable, long-term future for humanity.

SATURDAY

Jul 8 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: Lunch with an Astronaut, Brian Duffy, adult US$69.95.

Jul 8 — Moon: Full (Buck Moon), 18:07.

SUNDAY

Jul 9 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Dr. David Livingston talks with Attorney Laura Montgomery about Article 9 of the Outer Space Treaty.

Jul 9 — Tucson L5 Space Society – NSS Chapter, Tucson AZ: Tucson L5 Space Society monthly meeting.

Jul 9 — National Space Society of North Texas, Irving TX: National Space Society of North Texas monthly meeting; at Spring Creek BBQ, 15:30.

Jul 9-14 — Astronomical Society of Australia, Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics (RSAA) at Australian National University, Canberra, Australia: Astronomical Society of Australia 2017 Annual Meeting; includes Annual General Meeting of ASA and the public Harley Wood Lecture.

Jul 9-15 — Rencontres du Vietnam, Quy Nhon, Vietnam: 13th Rencontres du Vietnam: Cosmology; and Jul 9-21 Vietnam School on Neutrino Physics.

Jul 9 — Mercury: 0.1° N of Beehive Cluster, 15:33.