NASA SSERVI Holds Forum, Presents Grad Student Research
Space Day USA July 20 celebrates first human footstep on the Moon; July “Space Month” sees continuation of the American Space Movement. Exploration Science Form held yearly will be at University of New Mexico (UNM) for the first time, July 22-24, sponsored by NASA Solar System Exploration and Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI). Virtual $100 includes access to poster session and post-event recordings of program sessions. In-person for Students $200, Professionals $500, includes 2 receptions, poster session, lunch, post-event recordings. Conference sessions include: Artemis III geology, radio astronomy from the Moon, Blue Ghost Mission 1, commercial lunar exploration, solar wind effects on Moon, geochemistry / minerals / samples / volatiles, more. The day prior, July 21, LunarGradCon enhances professional development of students in lunar science (undergrad, grad, recent postdocs) by their presenting research on our Moon / other small Solar System bodies regarding regolith, geology, volatiles, human missions and similar topics. Awards presented will be the Shoemaker and several others. July 24 afternoon focuses on Enabling Human Exploration. Available: excursion to the Very Large Array on July 20, and Field Safety Best Practices Workshop on July 25. SSERVI, UNM, et al, also sponsor a series of Planetary Sample Science Seminars every spring and fall, and Center for Advanced Sample Analysis of Astromaterials from the Moon and Beyond (CASAMOON) is at UNM. (Image credits: NASA, UNM) |
MONDAY☆ Jul 21 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 73 seven-member crew drawing blood to look for space-caused stress on cellular immune function, installing and testing a new catalytic reactor that introduces oxygen into the water processor, studying plant cell division to enable growing food crops in space, and firing engines 12 minutes for reboost to correct altitude. ☆ Jul 21 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 20 three-member crew unloading 776.5 kg of science payloads for 23 experiments, daily necessities including 190 kinds of foods and 2 new spacesuits after arrival of the only cargo mission to TSS this year, robotic Tianzhou 9, carrying packages totaling 6,500 kg as it is reported to have the largest carrying capacity of craft of its kind globally. ☾ Jul 21 — Moon Enterprise News: Weekly lunar advisories coming soon… ★ Jul 21 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / O3b mPower 9-10, LC 40, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: 2 Boeing communications satellites to MEO for SES. ● Jul 21 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: Discussion on the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission; 12:00 EDT. ● Jul 21 — NASA, SSERVI, CU Impact, Online / Albuquerque NM: LunGradCon 2025; lunar science graduate students present their research. ● Jul 21-25 — NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, CalTech, Pasadena CA: 2025 Sagan Summer Workshop: Silver Jubilee: Exoplanet Demographics; no fee, in-person or remote. ● Jul 21-25 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Las Vegas NV: 2025 AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition (AIAA AVIATION Forum); entrance included with Jul 22-24 ASCEND Conference. ● Jul 21-25 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: Space U (Ages 11-14) and Survival Space U (Ages 15-18); learning opportunities tied to NASA missions including space habitats, thermal protection systems, rocketry, robotics; US$720-$960. ☾ Jul 21 — Moon: 7.1° N of Venus, 09:00. ☆ Jul 21 — Amor Asteroid 2020 MA1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.080 AU) |
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● = Terrestrial and o = International terrestrial events in local time; ☾ = Moon, ★ = Space and ☆ = International space events in Hawai’i time unless noted. |
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Venus (ENE), Jupiter (ENE), Saturn (S), Uranus (E), Neptune (S); Evening Planet: Mars (W).
AIAA Hosts 200+ Speakers at ASCEND 2025 in Las Vegas
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has ~30,000 members from 91 countries and is convening conferences this week in Las Vegas NV. The Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition on July 21-25 includes a future focus on developments in aviation by 2050. The “Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery (ASCEND) Conference themed Building Our Off-World Future is being held July 22-24 with main sponsor Lockheed Martin. It highlights space commerce, exploration and new discoveries, fostering collaboration, technical exchange and strategy among university, business and government representatives. Over 200 speakers at ASCEND include AIAA CEO Clay Mowry, who will host a live ISS downlink conversation and feature in sessions on NASA leadership and “From ISS to Artemis to the Future of Human Spaceflight.” Jeff Foust of SpaceNews weighs in on finance strategies for space businesses. Mike Gold of Redwire speaks on a UAP panel and will talk with Shawna Pandya, Clay Mowry and others on the future of space and civilization. The events are combined into various sessions including plenaries, tech sessions, macros, Forum 360, Metas + Micros. There is also a Pickering Lecture, the 2025 Awards Recognition Ceremony and a reception with the Aero + Space Exhibitors. The next ASCEND is set for Washington DC on May 19–21, 2026. (Image credits: AIAA, Aerospace Corp) |
Ongoing… ● May 27 – Jul 25 — USRA Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: Exploration Science summer intern program; activities will support Artemis missions. ● Jun 2 – Aug 10 — University of Hawai’i Institute for Astronomy, Islands of Hawai’i, O’ahu, Maui: Paid research internship for undergraduate students. ● Jun 10 – Sep 30 — Adventures in Astronomy, Online / Bridgeport CT: Adventures in Astronomy-Approaching Infinity; 17 Zoom classes with George Roush. o Jun 30 – Aug 22 — International Space University, Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST), Hanyang University ERICA Campus, Seoul, S Korea: 37th Space Studies Program (SSP). ● Jul 9 – Aug 7 — National Academies, Online / Washington DC: Accepting input from science community to prioritize high-value lunar destinations—excluding the poles—for human exploration. TUESDAY★ Jul 22 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / TRACERS, SLC 4E, Vandengerg SFB CA: NASA Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) to study Earth-Sun magnetism. ● Jul 22 — Space Foundation, Arlington VA: Innovate Space Global Economic Summit; featuring The Space Report 2024 Global Space Economy number; at Amazon HQ2. ● Jul 22-24 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Las Vegas NV: 2025 ASCEND Conference: Building Our Off-World Future; includes session Commercial Space Health: Partnering to Benefit All Who Fly in Space. ● Jul 22-24 — NASA, SSERVI, Albuquerque NM: 2025 NASA Exploration Science Forum (NESF2025); at University of New Mexico. ☾ Jul 22 — Moon: 4.1° N of M35 cluster, 07:00; 4.9° N of Jupiter, 20:00. ☆ Jul 22 — Apollo Asteroid 2012 OQ: Near-Earth Flyby (0.053 AU) |
WEDNESDAY
★ Jul 23 — Chandra X-ray Observatory, HEO: NASA spacecraft in extended mission phase reaches 26th full year / begins 27th year of operations in Space; instruments able to detect X-ray sources 100 times fainter than any previous X-ray telescope; launched 1999.
o Jul 23-27 — European Space Agency, Austrian Research Promotion Agency, et al, Vienna, Austria: Living Planet Symposium 2025; forge partnerships, engage with space industry, explore NewSpace concepts; at Austria Center Vienna.
☾ Jul 23 — Moon: 5.7° S of Castor, 14:00; 2.46° S of Pollux, 19:00.
☆ Jul 23 — Aten Asteroid 2015 LA2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.097 AU)
THURSDAY
☆ Jul 24 — Roscosmos, Launch Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M / Ionosfera-M 3 & 4, Vostochny Cosmodrome Site 1S, Russia: Final 2 of SSO constellation of 4, each with 9 science instruments to study ionosphere / magnetosphere.
● Jul 24 — Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium, JHUAPL, Online / Laurel MD: LSIC Surface Power Monthly Telecon; 4th Thursday, 11:00 EDT.
☾ Jul 24 — Moon: New Moon, 09:11; 2.11° NNE of Beehive Cluster, 20:00.
☆ Jul 24 — Amor Asteroid 2018 LU15: Near-Earth Flyby (0.078 AU)
FRIDAY
☆ Jul 25 — Arianespace, Launch Vega-C / CO3D and MicroCarb, Launch Area 1 (ELV), Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana: 4 satellites of CO3D to 3D map Earth; MicroCarb to map sources and sinks of CO2.
★ Jul 25 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink Group 17-2, SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB CA: Next batch of Starlink satellites to launch for LEO mega-constellation.
● Jul 25 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: Proposals due for Beyond Challenge computing contest.
● Jul 25 — NASA, SSERVI, Albuquerque NM: Field Safety Best Practices Workshop in conjunction with 2025 NASA Exploration Science Forum (NESF2025).
☾ Jul 25 — Moon: 7.6° NNE of Mercury, 07:00.
SATURDAY
☆ Jul 26 — Gilmour Space, Launch Eris-1 / Inaugural Test Flight, Eris Pad, Bowen Orbital Spaceport, Queensland, Australia: 1st flight of 3-stage orbital Eris-1 rocket in attempt to reach LEO; also 1st flight from Bowen Spaceport.
☾ Jul 26 — Moon: 1.23° NE of Regulus, 12:00.
SUNDAY
o Jul 27 – Aug 1 — Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS), Singapore: AOGS 2025; with special session on geology, geochemistry and geophysics of the Moon titled Surface Science and Exploration of the Moon and Airless Planetary Bodies with an Impetus to Recent Missions (PS-24).