September 18-24, 2017 / Vol 36, No 38 / Hawai`i Island, USA

China and Europe Host Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, Science Meetings

The 3rd Beijing International Forum on Lunar and Deep-space Exploration (LDSE 2017) organized by Chinese Academy of Sciences is being held September 19-22. Conference Chair Ouyang Ziyuan (T-B) will welcome scientists, industry leaders and Space Agency representatives for intensive discussions about planned international public / private exploration programs on the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and asteroids before 2030; new progress in planetary science research and hot topics for the next 5-10 years; sample return missions; new deep space exploration methods and payload technologies. Featured speakers are James Head III from Brown University – Investigator for Apollo, Messenger, LRO, ESA Mars Express; Sylvestre Maurice from IRAP of France – Designer of Mars Science Laboratory ChemCam Instrument; and Zhang Rongqiao from CNSA – Chief Designer of China Mars Mission, Engineer for Lunar Exploration. Other representatives come from USA, Japan, Australia, Russia, Germany, Canada, UK and Finland. On Sep 18-19 ESA ESTEC is holding the business to business ‘Deep Space Gateway and Lunar Exploration Industry Days’ with focus on Human-Enabled Robotic Architecture and Capability for Lunar Exploration and Science (HERACLES). Multiple international space agency members of International Space Exploration Coordination Group are participating in HERACLES, one of the proposed missions which would take advantage of a Deep Space Gateway. The goal is to establish sustainable Human exploration of the Moon through ascent-descent vehicles, landers, rovers, sample return and ISRU missions to Moon South Pole while providing high-priority science opportunities to support future Mars, Deep-Space exploration. (Image Credit: LDSE, CNSA, CAS, ESA, NASA)

MONDAY

Sep 18 — Planetary Society, Pasadena CA: Lecture: Destined to Crash – Cassini’s Grand Finale; featuring Emily Lakdawalla, Earl Maize, Linda Spilker, Julie Webster; 19:30, free.

Sep 18-19 — ESA, Noordwijk, The Netherlands: Deep Space Gateway and Lunar Exploration Industry Days; to engage industrial partners in study activities related to lunar surface missions, in particular the Human-Enabled Robotic Architecture and Capability for Lunar Exploration and Science (HERACLES).

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Mission Performing Earth Flyby Gravity Assist

On September 22 the NASA Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer spacecraft will be in a dive from Solar orbit to within 17,000 km of Earth gathering energy and increasing orbital inclination to set course for Asteroid 101955 Bennu (1999 RQ36). Led by Principal Investigator Dante Lauretta of University of Arizona, Tucson, the ambitious mission’s objectives are to visit the 500-m diameter asteroid, survey the surface, collect samples and return safely back to Earth. During the flyby OSIRIS-REx will be traveling at over 30,000 kph relative to Earth, with closest approach above Antarctica out of range of the Deep Space Network communications link. Roughly 50 minutes later NASA should regain the connection and another 3 hours later the spacecraft will begin science observations of Earth and Moon to calibrate instruments. A deep space course adjustment is expect in late June 2018. The craft will approach and then match velocities to essentially fly in formation with the asteroid as it orbits the Sun at an average speed in excess of 100,000 kph. Survey activities starting in October 2018 will last over a year. On July 4 2020 OSIRIS-REx will move in to deploy the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism on an extended robotic arm to collect up to 2 kg of material. Return landing on Earth expected Sept 24, 2023 in Utah. (Image Credit: NASA, GSFC, U. of Arizona)

Sep 18-22 — University of Göttingen, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Gottingen, Germany: The Many Scales of the Universe: Galaxies, their Suns, and their Planets.

Sep 18-22 — Green Bank Observatory, National Science Foundation, Green Bank WV: Green Bank Observatory’s Observer training school; an introduction to general radio astronomical techniques as well as onsite training for GBT observers.

Sep 18 — Moon: 0.17° NE of Mars, 10:00; with Mercury and Mars within circle of diameter 1.83° and 17° W of Sun, 11:00; 0.05° SE of Mercury, 13:00.

Continued from…

Aug 27 – Sep 17 — Aspen Center for Physics, Aspen CO: Workshop: Vorticity in the Universe – From Superfluids to Weather and Climate, to the Universe; Workshop: Developing New Tools for Dark Matter Searches.

Sep 6-19 — University of Evora, European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN), Evora, Portugal: 2017 European School of High-Energy Physics.

Sep 17-21 — Center for Fundamental Physics at Zewail City of Science and Technology, Hurghada, Egypt: Conference: Beyond Standard Model – From Theory To Experiment (BSM2017).

TUESDAY

Sep 19 — Fresco Capital, Singapore: DataSat: New Space Data, Economy, and Ecosystem; featuring Lynette Tan – Executive Director of SSTA, Xiaoqing Dong – Head of Asia Pacific of Spire Global, Tytus Michalski – Managing Partner of Fresco Capital.

Sep 19-20 — Capacity Conferences, Juniper Networks, Myanmar Net, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar: Myanmar Connect 2017.