March 16-22, 2020 / Vol 39, No 11 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Astronomy from the Moon Conference at Royal Society to Be Rescheduled

The Astronomy from the Moon conference originally planned for March 18-19 at the Royal Society in London has now been postponed. The discussion includes (T-B) Royal Society Fellow Joseph Silk, Leah Morabito of Durham University, Licia Verde of Barcelona University and Jean Schneider of Paris Observatory. Organizers are John Zarnecki of UK Open University, Ian Crawford from University of London, and Martin Elvis of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Joseph Silk, along with Eleonora Di Valentino and Alessandro Melchiorri, make astronomy news with a study indicating that shape of the universe is curved like the Moon’s surface and not flat. James Carpenter of ESA advocates for getting astronomy to the Moon in 2020s. Jack Burns from University of Colorado planned to describe the FARSIDE concept for a lunar radio observatory. Xuelei Chen of NAOC and Ravi Subrahmanyan of Raman Research Institute focused on radio astronomy from lunar orbit. Licia Verde’s lecture covered cosmology and fundamental physics from the Moon. Antoine Labeyrie from College de France and Jean-Pierre Maillard of Institut d’Astrophysique both describe telescopes at the lunar south pole. Jean Schneider research presents information about the OWL lunar telescope concept. Douglas Currie from University of Maryland was to describe a next-generation lunar laser retroreflector. While this March London event is to be postponed, Astronomy from the Moon will be the subject of 236 AAS Special Session on June 1, and Galaxy Forum Europe 2020 in Vienna. (Image Credits: ESA, NASA, Royal Society, IAU)

MONDAY

  Mar 16 — CNSA, Launch Long March 7A / Xin Jishu Yanzheng 6, Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): Long March 7A planned at 20:30 launching XJY-6 mission with unspecified technology verification satellite.

37th National Radio Science Conference Set for 17-19 March in Cairo, Egypt

The National Radio Science Committee (NRSC) of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology in conjunction with International Union of Radio Science and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – Egypt Section are to host 2020 National Radio Science Conference at German University in Cairo. The 140-acre campus hosts over 10,000 undergraduate students and a high-tech industrial park in southeast Cairo and is supported by University of Stuttgart and the University of Ulm. Conference Chair Professor Elsayed Saad of Helwan University (L-R) has organized a full schedule of keynote and plenary lectures, breakout sessions, workshops and poster presentations on a broad spectrum of radio science topics, namely: Electromagnetic metrology, Fields and waves, Wireless communication systems and signal processing, Electronics environment and photonics, Electromagnetic noise and interference, Wave propagation and remote sensing, Ionospheric radio and propagation, Waves in plasmas, Radio astronomy and Electromagnetics in biology and medicine. Atif Shamim of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology will give the first keynote address on ‘Flexible, Wearable and Disposable’ RF electronics, followed by sessions divided into Communication Systems, Electronic Devices, Biomedical Applications, Optics and Antenna design. Academia and Industrial Synergies for Empowering the Digital Eco-System panel session will be moderated by organizing committee member Hadia El-Hennawy of Ain Shams University. NRSC2020 will conclude with Best Paper and Best Student Awards, closing ceremony and gala. (Image Credits: NRSC, ASRT, IEEE, GUC, UAS, Mentor)

Mar 16-18 — National Institute for Space Research, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil: 1st Galileo Solar Space Telescope Workshop.

Mar 16-20 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, NASA Johnson Space Center, The Woodlands TX: 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2020; Cancelled.

Mar 16 – Sep 16 — SpaceX, Boca Chica Beach TX: SpaceX to attempt Starship flight to 20-km altitude during this timeframe.

Continued from…

Jan 2019 – Sep 2020 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt: Full data collected from 7 instruments during KBO Arrokoth flyby to be transmitted to Earth over this time period.

Nov 2019 – Nov 2020 — Hayabusa2, Earth Trajectory: JAXA Hayabusa2 with two samples collected from C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu on trajectory for Earth return.

Mar 2-31 — NASA, Nationwide USA: NASA solicits ‘Artemis Generation’ Astronaut applicants.

Mar 15-19 — Alliance for Space Development, National Space Society, Space Frontier Foundation, Washington DC: March Storm 2020; Postponed.

TUESDAY

Mar 17 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Las Vegas NV: Session Proposals due for: 2020 Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration and New Discovery (ASCEND) Conference; to be held Nov 16-18.

Mar 17 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable (MSBR), Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon with Doug Loverro; Cancelled.

Mar 17-19 – American Astronautical Society, Silver Spring MD: 58th Annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium; Postponed.