September 2-8, 2019 / Vol 38, No 35 / Hawai’i Island, USA

Chandrayaan-2 Poised to Deploy Lander, Rover to Lunar Surface

The final week of ISRO spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 voyage to the South Pole region of the Moon is commencing, with anticipated separation of lander module – named in honor of the late ISRO Chair Vikram Sarabhai – from orbiter September 2. The following day, a 3-second system checking maneuver will be executed. Vikram lander is to enter an elliptical orbit with apogee of 100 km and perigee of 30 km before a series of slowing maneuvers guide the 1,471-kg lander and 27-kg rover to a soft landing between craters Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at ~70° S on September 7. The orbiter will maintain a circular 100-km polar orbit for 1 year, where 8 scientific payloads will be utilized. Pragyan rover is to be deployed shortly after landing – both lander and rover should operate for 1 lunar day (~14 Earth days) as surviving the bitter cold of lunar night, which can reach -170°C / -275°F, is considered unlikely. Vikram payload contains thermal and plasma density measuring probes, laser retroreflector, and a seismometer. Pragyan has a range of 0.5 km and is powered by a 50-W solar array, allowing it to analyze material around the landing site via 2 spectroscopic instruments. The next ISRO Moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, is speculated to include cooperation with JAXA, sample return, and technology designed to endure lunar night. ISRO is also collaborating with Roscosmos to select and train 4 of 12 Vyomanauts for the first India crewed spaceflight, Gaganyaan in 2022. (Image Credits: ISRO, NASA)

MONDAY

8th CSA-IAA Space Tech & Commercialization Conference Opens in Shanghai

Chinese Society of Astronautics and International Academy of Astronautics host the 8th Conference on Advanced Space Technology in Shanghai, Zhongguo, September 3-6. Themes of the conference at Sofitel Shanghai Hongqiaoare hotel are Technology Innovation and Space Commercialization. Topics include launch vehicle technology, satellite payloads, human space stations, robotic space exploration, new commercial space and disruptive technologies. The first keynote talk uses Chang’e-4 as an example of policy boosting innovation. Sun Zezhou and Zhang He of CASC will lecture about Chang’e-4. The Quiansheng-1 satellite is in orbit after Aug 19 launch on a Jielong-1 booster. China Rocket Company Ltd., a subsidiary of government-funded CASC, builds the Jielong-1. Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology, also known as iSpace, will talk about orbiting the first privately launched China satellite atop the Hyperbola-1 launch vehicle on Jul 25 and plans for 8 launches in the next year. LandSpace has made an orbital launch attempt with the Zhuque-1 booster. OneSpace also has made an unsuccessful orbital launch on Mar 27 with the OS-M1 solid-fuel rocket. Linkspace has launched the RLV-T5 demonstrator rocket to 300 m altitude with vertical landing on Aug 9, and plans the larger RLV-T6. China rocket companies have sprouted since a 2014 decision to encourage commercial space. Goals of the Advanced Space Technology conference are to discuss ideas on how space technology helps humanity and explore cooperative space projects. (Image Credits: IAA, China Rocket Co.)

Sep 2 — Chandrayaan-2 Vikram Lander Separation,

Sep 2-4 — UNOOSA, Graz, Austria: United Nations/Austria Symposium: Space: A Tool for Accessibility, Diplomacy and Cooperation.

Sep 2-6 — University of Bologna – Department of Physics, Bologna, Italy: Conference: Views on the Interstellar Medium in Galaxies in the ALMA Era.

Sep 2-8 — Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), Caterpillar Inc., Kailua-Kona HI: Hawai‘i International Space Exploration And Robotics Challenge (HI-SEARCH) 2019; at Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology Park run by NELHA.

Sep 2 — Moon: 7.1° NNE of Spica, 04:00.

Sep 2 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 QX1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.048 AU)

Continued from…

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

Apr 13 – Sep 2 — Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Flight, Multiple Locations: Destination Moon, traveling exhibition of historic Apollo 11 artifacts.

Aug 29 – Sep 3 — Union of Radio Science (URSI), SIEM, Rome, Italy: 33rd URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium.

NET Aug – Nov — Hayabusa2, Asteroid 162173 Ryugu: JAXA Hayabusa2 with 2 sample returns planned to remain at Asteroid for observations during this time period, then return to Earth.