2020 Space Exploration Highlights
Welcoming the 2020s decade, ISS crew plan to repair AMS via EVA and conduct research on plant cultures, among many other activities. Facilitating USA access to ISS, Commercial Crew Program will utilize Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon. SpaceX also plans to achieve orbital flight of Starship. China heavy lift LM 5, given successful return to service Dec 27, will launch Chinese large modular space station core module – Tianhe-1 or ‘Harmony of the Heavens’. Chang’e-5 is to be the first lunar sample return mission since 1976. Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover (dubbed Huoxing-1) is aiming for launch window in July. USA, UAE and Europe are also making attempts towards robotic exploration of Mars. India will admirably reattempt lunar surface landing with Chandrayaan-3, a more direct trajectory will send a lander and rover while making use of existing orbiter. Uncrewed Artemis 1 (Orion Spacecraft coupled to SLS) could launch NET November for lunar orbit and return test flight mission. Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin intend to bring tourists to space. IAC is to be held in Dubai, MVA will host annual workshop on the island nation of Cyprus. Further out into the Solar System and beyond, Juno will make 7 more revolutions around Jupiter, and New Horizons will continue extended mission, possibly to study another KBO. Voyager 1 and 2 continue into the interstellar medium, as perhaps do Pioneer 10 and 11. (Image Credits: NASA, SpaceX, Boeing, CNSA) |
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MONDAY
Highlights…
 Dec 23 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 61 six-member crew working with centrifuge for Cell Biology Experiment Facility, microgravity crystals, and Cold Atom Laboratory; observances for Holidays 2019 and New Year 2020 to be scheduled for family / public interactions.
 Dec 23 — NewSpace: Rocket Lab opens new launch site at Wallops Island VA and 2nd launch pad at Mahia Peninsula; LandSpace signs first China rideshare agreement for ZQ-2 launcher; Virgin Galactic attaches feather structure to wing of new SpaceShip Two; Blue Origin preparing for commercial passengers, launches successful New Shepard NS-12 test flight.
Dec 23 — Solar System: Chang’e-4 Yutu-2 rover sets new record for sustained operation on Moon; Mars study finds proton auroras common on planet; researchers disagree on age of Saturn Rings; NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory sees new kind of explosion on Sun.
Dec 23 — Galaxy: ESO Very Large Telescope finds evidence of star formation early in Milky way history; South Africa MeerKAT telescope images distant star-forming galaxies; NICER spacecraft observations create first map of pulsar surface.
Dec 23 — Global: UAE astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri working on Mars 2117 project; ESA commits to providing 2 more Orion service modules for Artemis; Roscosmos plans “United State Space Program” in 2020 and lunar base after 2025; new Kacific-1 communications satellite will provide broadband service to Philippines and Southeast Asia.
 Dec 23 — USA: Space Launch System core stage preparing for Green Run test; NASA budget includes funding for SLS, Exploration Upper Stage, and Artemis lunar lander; Boeing analyzing Starliner incomplete attempt to reach ISS; Northrop Grumman signs agreement with Saturn Satellite Networks for 2021 launch on OmegA booster.
Dec 23 — Hawai’i: University of Hawaii physicists add to controversy over whether universe is accelerating; Automatic Meteor Observation System (AMOS) on Mauna Kea begins operation; Governor Ige estimates US$15M spent to ensure Mauna Kea safety.
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= 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’).
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Mars (S), Uranus (S), Neptune (SW); Morning Planets: Mercury (SE), Venus (ESE), Jupiter (SE).
AAS 235 Talks About Hawaiianization of Astronomy
American Astronomical Society (AAS) 235th meeting convenes January 4-8 at Honolulu Convention Center on Oahu, Hawai’i. 3,000 astronomers from around the world will meet amid attempts to Hawaiianize astronomy. Sunday Jan 5 Jack Burns from University of Colorado Boulder will talk about the FARSIDE radio telescope project for the Moon. At a session on astronomy education, Hawaiian Amber Imai-Hong (L) will talk about the benefits of new telescopes to STEM. International Lunar Observatory Association will give an update on Astronomy from the Moon and 21st Century Hawaii Astrophysics. Sunday evening will be a free public stargazing party at Ala Moana Park. On Jan 6, a session chaired by Doug Simons of Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope will address the Many Facets of Hawaii astronomy. Also on Jan 6, Gregory Herczeg of the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking (Beijing) University will chair a session on the Ongoing Development of Chinese Astronomy. Doug Simons and Larry Kimura (R), Professor of Hawaiian Language and Studies at University of Hawaii Hilo will present a free public event on the Physics of Po and the first lines of the 2,000-line Kumulipo, the Hawaiian chant about origin of the universe. Along with daily discussions, an evening with Mauna Kea Observatories on Jan 7 will discuss the present and future of astronomy in Hawaii. (Image Credits: NASA, University of Colorado, CFHT, Kavli Institute, University of Hawaii Hilo) |
 Dec 23 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Dr. David Livingston talks with Bob Zimmerman, space historian and author.
Dec 23 — Aten Asteroid 2019 WB7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.007 AU)
Dec 23 — Amor Asteroid 2019 XP3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.047 AU)
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.
TUESDAY
 Dec 24 — Roscosmos, Launch Proton / Elektro-L 3, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Proton rocket and Block DM upper stage to launch Elektro-L 3 geostationary weather satellite.
Dec 24 — Moon: 7.1° NNE of Antares, 01:00.
Dec 24 — Apollo Asteroid 418849 (2008 WM64): Near-Earth Flyby (0.079 AU)
WEDNESDAY
Dec 25 — Roscosmos, Launch Rockot / Gonets M, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia: Rockot vehicle with Breeze KM upper stage to launch 3 Gonets M communications satellites.
Dec 25-27 — National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Tokyo, Japan: Workshop: Transition of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Beginning of a New Era.
Dec 25 — Moon: 1.93° NNE of Mercury, 02:00; New Moon, 19:14; 0.30° NE of Jupiter, 22:00. |
Dec 25 — Annular Eclipse of Sun: Moon covers the Sun’s center producing ‘ring of fire’; visible in East Europe, much of Asia and N & W Australia, East Africa, Pacific, Indian Ocean, 19:14.
THURSDAY
Dec 26 — Parker Solar Probe, Heliocentric Orbit: Spacecraft performs 2nd flyby of Venus today.
Dec 26 — Juno, Perijove 24 / 23rd Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft in 53-day orbit to come within ~3,500 km of Jupiter cloud tops during Perijove 24, its 24th close flyby of Jupiter and 23rd science flyby with instruments activated, 16:58:59 UTC.
Dec 26 — Aten Asteroid 310442 (2000 CH59): Near-Earth Flyby (0.049 AU)
FRIDAY
Dec 27 — ISS, CST-100 Starliner Undocking, 405-km LEO: Uncrewed CST-100 Boeing Starliner to undock from ISS and return to Earth 21:16 HST; live coverage available; will descend to a parachute and airbag-assisted landing ~3.5 hours later at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Dec 27 — CNSA, Launch Long March 5 / Shijian 20 (SJ 20), Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): China Long March 5 return to flight carrying SJ-20, an 8-metric ton technological demonstration satellite, into geosynchronous orbit; 22:00 local time.
Dec 27 — Moon: 1.23° SSE of Saturn, 03:00.
SATURDAY
Dec 28 — Everglades Astronomical Society, Collier-Seminole State Park, Naples, Florida: Star Gazing at the Marsh Event.
Dec 28 — Mauna Kea Visitor Information Center, Mauna Kea HI, 2,800-meter level: Malalo o ka Po Lani; presentation on Stories of the Winter Stars, 18:00 followed by stargazing program; postponed pending re-opening of access to Mauna Kea.
Dec 28 — Moon: 1.01° SSE of Venus, 34° from Sun in evening sky, 17:00.
SUNDAY
Dec 29 — ExPace, Launch Kuaizhou 1A / Yinhe-1, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China: KZ-1A booster to launch Yinhe-1 (Galaxy) 5G smallsat for GalaxySpace; first of planned 1,000-satellite constellation.
Dec 29 – Jan 9 — Israel Institute for Advanced Study, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel: 37th Advanced School in Theoretical Physics: New Ideas for Old Puzzles.
MONDAY
Dec 30 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink 2, LC-40, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: Launch of third batch of ~60 satellites, designated Starlink 2, for SpaceX Starlink broadband network; 23:40 EST.
Dec 30 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Dr. David Livingston talks with John Spencer of the Space Tourism Society.
Dec 30 – Apollo Asteroid 2018 BR1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.062 AU)
TUESDAY
Dec 31 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 WR4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.030 AU)
2020
WEDNESDAY
NET Jan 1 — International Space Station, USA EVA #62, 405-km LEO: NASA Astronaut Drew Morgan and ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano to perform a spacewalk to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2; live coverage available.
Jan 1 — Deep Space: Farthest spacecraft from Earth, Voyager 1 and 2 in interstellar space, continue to collect data on cosmic rays, plasma waves and magnetic fields; lifetime could extend beyond 2025 and into 2030s.
Jan 1 — Moon: At apogee (distance 404,566 km), 16:00.
Jan 1 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 YK: Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU)
THURSDAY
Jan 2 — Moon: At first quarter, 18:46.
Jan 2 — Mercury: 1.50° S of Jupiter, 06:00.
FRIDAY
Jan 3 — Chang’e-4 Lander and Yutu-2 Rover, Statio Tianhe (Milky Way Base), Von Kármán crater, Moon South Pole–Aitken Basin, 177.6°E, 45.5°S: Spacecraft enter 2nd year / reach 1 full year on Moon far side, landed 2019.
Jan 3 — International Astronautical Federation, Roscosmos, Online / St. Petersburg, Russia: Abstracts Due for Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX) 2020; being held June 9-11.
Jan 3-4 — ExoPAG, NASA, Honolulu HI: 21st Meeting of NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group (ExoPAG).
Jan 3-7 — Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), University of Agricultural Science Bangalore, Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra, Bengaluru, India: 107th Indian Science Congress; ISCA now has more than 60,000 members.
Jan 3, 4 — Quadrantids Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from constellation Quadrans Muralis; can produce up to 110 meteors per hour.
SATURDAY
Jan 4-8 — American Astronomical Society, Honolulu HI: 235th Meeting of the AAS; at Hawaii Convention Center.
Jan 4 — Earth: At perihelion (0.9832 AU), 22:00.
Jan 4 — Moon: 4.3° SE of Uranus, 13:00.
SUNDAY
Jan 5-11 — International Center of Interdisciplinary Science Education, Quy Nhon, Vietnam: 16th Rencontres du Vietnam: Theory Meets Experiments – Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology.