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Vol 28, No 50
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Soyuz TMA-17 Launch To Bring ISS Crew To 5

On December 20, 3 new International Space Station crewmembers will blast off aboard the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft (BL) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Russia cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, first-time NASA astronaut TJ Creamer and JAXA spaceflight veteran Soichi Noguchi will arrive 2 days later at the station. They will join Expedition 22 commander Jeff Williams and flight engineer Maxim Suraev, who have been alone on the ISS since the Dec 1 departure of the Soyuz 19 spacecraft. During 3 months together as a crew of 5, they will continue station research and outfitting activities, complete unloading of the HTV cargo vehicle and conduct experiments across a variety of fields including human life sciences, physical sciences and Earth observation. Noguchi and Creamer will also assemble and test the new JAXA Small Fine Arm (CR) and install the Kibo airlock depressurization pump, which will allow experiments to be installed and tested on the Kibo 'back porch.' Williams will hand command of the station over to Kotov in mid March before departing with Suraev in their Soyuz. The next Expedition 23 crew members will arrive at the ISS in early April. (Credit: NASA, JAXA)

AGU Meeting Advancing Geophysical / Planetary Sciences

Over 16,000 geophysicists from around the world will gather at the 42nd Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union on December 14-18 in San Francisco CA. One of the largest scientific conferences in the world, the meeting will be comprised of over 600 scientific sessions and 6 workshops aimed to raise awareness of the latest research on Earth and space. Topics include mineral and rock physics, hydrology, planetary / atmospheric sciences and education and outreach. Within the scope of planetary science, a broad range of presentations will cover new insights into LRO and LCROSS, recent lunar missions of the Kaguya and Chandrayaan-1, MESSENGER 3rd flyby of Mercury, and Mars geology and remote sensing. Program committee chairs include NASA JPL scientist Bruce Banerdt (L), Larisa Goncharenko (C) of MIT Haystack Observatory and Jürgen Oberst (R) of the German Aerospace Center. The AGU Outreach Program has also organized workshops on communicating effectively with Congress, providing geophysical information for teachers and explaining research to a variety of nonscientist audiences. Established in 1919, the AGU is dedicated to advancing geophysical sciences through the individual efforts of its members and in cooperation with other national and international scientific organizations. (Credit: AGU, NASA, agu.org, tu-berlin.de)

THIS WEEK
DECEMBER
JANUARY 2010
FEBRUARY
LEGEND
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;' Greenwich, England).
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Mars (S), Venus (SE), Saturn (SE) / Evening Planets: Mercury (SW), Mars (E), Jupiter (SSW).
 

MONDAY
Dec 14 — 1% for NASA Ensures USA Multi World Civilization, Nationwide / Washington DC: Dynamic advocacy, vigor encouraged by US Vice President Joe Biden to help boost American space exploration program; http://www.spaceagepub.com/calendar/SCarchive/SC-20090831.html.
Dec 14 — International Space Station, LEO: E22 Crew members preparing for arrival of Soyuz TMA-17 and continuing science and maintenance activities; http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html.
Dec 14 — NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: Scientists continue to investigate LROC imagery showing 2 separate debris flows which extend down the western interior wall of impact crater Janssen K (46.1° S, 42.3° E) to determine if flows form as part of the impact process or later during seismic processes due to a nearby impact; http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/news/index.php?/archives/149-Debris-flows-I.html.
Dec 14 — International Lunar Observatory Association, Hawai`i Island HI / Global: ILOA advances contract study with MDA of Canada to develop observation, communications instruments for South Pole Lunar, equatorial Precursor missions. Final report expected by April 2010; http://iloa.org/.
Dec 14 — Mars Rover Spirit, Red Planet: Scientists plan further diagnostic tests after discovering a 2nd wheel on the rover may be permanently disabled; http://marsrover.nasa.gov/spotlight/20091207a.html.
Dec 14 — Launch Delta 2 / WISE, Vandenberg AFB CA: The United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket set to launch NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE); http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html.
Dec 14 — Launch Proton / Glonass, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Russian government Proton rocket set to launch M21, M22, and M23 spacecrafts for the Glonass satellite navigation constellation; http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest.html.
Dec 14 — National Science Foundation, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Online: Live webcast for journalists to witness new discoveries on exoplanet research by David Charbonneau; http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116071.
Dec 14-16 — The National Academies, Irvine CA: 'Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space: Human Behavior and Mental Health Panel;' http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/meetingview.aspx?MeetingID=4024.
Dec 14-18 — American Geophysical Union, San Francisco CA: '42nd AGU Fall Meeting;' http://www.agu.org/meetings/.
Dec 14-22 — Bose Institute, Darjeeling, India: 'Winter School on AstroParticle Physics 2009;' http://bic.boseinst.ernet.in/capss/wapp09/.

Dec 14 — Geminid Meteor Shower Peak: Geminid meteor shower radiates from constellation Gemini; http://www.meteorblog.com/.
Dec 14 — Moon: 1.1° N of Antares; 21:00.

Dec 14 — Asteroid 128 Nemesis: Closest Approach to Earth (1.598 AU).

Continued from . . .
Dec 5 — University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan: 'Workshop on Asteroid 2008 TC3;' through Dec 15; http://asima.seti.org/2008TC3/workshop2008TC3.html.
Dec 7 — United Nations, Copenhagen, Denmark: 'COP15: United Nations Climate Change Conference;' through Dec 18; http://en.cop15.dk/.
Dec 12 — European Science Foundation, Austrian Science Fund, Obergurgl, Austria: 'The Origin of Galaxies: Lessons from the Distant Universe;' through Dec 17; http://www.esf.org/index.php?id=5261.
TUESDAY
Dec 15 — International Space Station, New England Air Museum, LEO; Windsor Locks CT: 5th grade students in CT to talk science with ISS commander Jeff Williams from 12:50-13:10 EST; http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/dec/HQ_M09-233_Edu_ISS_Conn_downlink_prt.htm.
Dec 15 — NASA, Washington DC / Online: Deadline for students to submit a notice of intent to enter 2010 NASA Moon Work Contest; http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/dec/HQ_09-278_Moon_work.html.
Dec 15 — University of Southern California, Online / Los Angeles CA: 'The International Space Station: Investing in Humanity's Future, 2010-Utilization, 2015-Evolution, 2020-Life Extension;' Madhu Thangavelu; http://astronautics.usc.edu/student-projects/space-exploration-studio.htm.
Dec 15 — Oregon L5 Society, Portland OR: 'Lecture: CCD Applications in Astronomy,' Glen Graham; http://www.oregonl5.org/l5speak.html.
Dec 15 — International Astronautical Federation, Beijing, China / Online: Deadline for abstract submission for Global Lunar Congress 2010; http://www.gluc2010.org/.
Dec 15-17 — The Geological Society, London, United Kingdom: '20th Geological Remote Sensing Group Annual Meeting;' http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/site/GSL/lang/en/GRSG2009.

Dec 15-17 — The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel: 'Astrophysics at the Extreme;' http://tsvi.phys.huji.ac.il/.
Dec 15-20 — University of Miami, Miami FL: 'Miami 2009: A Topical Conference on Elementary Particles, Astrophysics and Cosmology;' http://cgc.physics.miami.edu/Miami2009.html.

Dec 15 — Cassini OTM-227, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #227 today; http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/.
Dec 15 — Moon: 3.1° S of Venus; 13:00.
WEDNESDAY
Dec 16 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: 'Exploring Alternative SETI Search Algorithms with the ATA,' Gerry Harp; http://www.seti.org/csc/lectures.
Dec 16 — Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC: 'Ask an Expert: Earth Observations from Apollo-Soyuz- The Smithsonian Experiment,' Ted Maxwell; http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/eventDetail.cfm?eventID=1633.
Dec 16 — Planetary Science Institute, Tucson AZ: 'US Human Spaceflight Program: Past and Future,' Jim Head; http://www.psi.edu/PSIseminars/Head.html.
Dec 16 — Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, Chapel Hill NC: 'Starry Winter Nights,' learn to identify planets, bright stars and constellations best seen during the current season while enjoying stories from various cultures about star patterns in the heavens; http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=calendar.
Dec 16 — Moon Society St. Louis Chapter, St. Louis MO: 'Moon Society Meeting;' http://www.moonsociety.org/chapters/stlouis.

Dec 16-18 — University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand: '5th Australasian Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation;' http://www2.phys.canterbury.ac.nz/ACGRG5/.
Dec 16 — Moon: New Moon; 2:02.
THURSDAY
Dec 17 — W M Keck Observatory, Waimea HI: Mauna Kea Lecture Series, 'Thirty Meter Telescope,' Michael Bolte; http://keckobservatory.org/calendar.
Dec 17-18 — ESA, Villanueva de la Canada, Spain: 'Herschel Science Demonstration Phase Initial Results Presentations;' http://herschel.esac.esa.int/SDP_IR_wkshop.shtml.
Dec 17-18 — Anderson Hancock Planetarium, Marietta OH: Planetarium showings to examine astronomy and history in connection with the holiday and will also explore other holiday traditions; http://dailyastronomer.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/december-2009-planetarium-events/.
Dec 17-20 — International Robot Olympiad Committee, Daejeon, South Korea: 'The 11th International Robot Olympiad;' http://www.iroc.org/xe/.

Dec 17 — Asteroid 2009 WD11: Near-Earth Flyby (0.0091 AU).

Dec 17 — Moon: 1.4° NNW of Mercury; 21:00.
FRIDAY
Dec 18 — Russia Space Agency, Baikonur Kazakhstan: NASA TV to air E22 crew video file of prelaunch news conference at 10:00 CST; http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/dec/HQ_M09-228_Ex22_Launch_Coverage.html.
Dec 18 — Southworth Planetarium, Portland ME: 'Solstice Dawning,' planetarium event to welcome onset of winter; http://dailyastronomer.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/december-2009-planetarium-events/.
SATURDAY
Dec 19 — Russia Space Agency, Baikonur Kazakhstan: NASA TV to air video file of E22 crew activities in Baikonur and Soyuz rocket mating and rollout at 11:00 CST; http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/dec/HQ_M09-228_Ex22_Launch_Coverage.html.
Dec 19 — NASA Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral FL: 'Astronaut Training Experience;' http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/.
Dec 19 — Organization for the Advancement of Space Industrialization and Settlement (OASIS), Redondo Beach CA: OASIS Meeting; http://www.oasis-nss.org/wordpress/.
Dec 19 — Moon Society Phoenix Chapter, Phoenix AZ: 'MSP Meeting;' http://www.msphx.org.
Dec 19 — Philadelphia Area Space Alliance, Philadelphia PA: PASA meeting and officer election; http://phillypasa.blogspot.com/.
Dec 19 — Oregon L5 Society, Oregon City OR: 'Oregon L5 Society Meeting;' http://www.oregonl5.org/.
Dec 19-20 — Southworth Planetarium, Portland ME: 'Season on Light,' a family show about the history and astronomy of the holiday season; http://dailyastronomer.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/december-2009-planetarium-events/.

Dec 19 — Asteroid 5841 Stone: Closest Approach to Earth (0.942 AU).

SUNDAY
Dec 20 — Launch Soyuz / ISS 21S, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Russian government Soyuz rocket set to launch manned Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft to the International Space Station with crew members Olog Kotov, Timothy Creamer and Soichi Noguchi; http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest.html.
Dec 20 — NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field CA: '70th Anniversary of NASA Ames Founding;' http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/home/index.html/.
Dec 20 — Schenectady Museum, Schenectady NY: Planetarium Shows: 'Our Place in Space,' 'Seasonal Sky Tour;' http://www.schenectadymuseum.org/beta/planetarium.php.

Dec 20 — Cassini OTM-228, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #228 today; http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/.
Dec 20 — Moon: At Apogee (Distance 63.31 Earth-radii); 05:00.
 
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Space Calendar Published Weekly, Mondays. ISSN 0741-1731. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © December 14, 2009, Space Age Publishing Company, 65-1230 Mamalahoa Highway - Suite D-20, Kamuela, Hawaii 96743; 480 California Avenue - Suite 303, Palo Alto, California 94306, USA. Editor & Publisher, ILOA Director / Steve Durst. Associate Editor, ILOA Executive Director / Charles Bohannan. Assistant Editor / Joseph Sulla. Marketing Editor / Michelle Gonella. Editor Assistant / Asia Becerra. Special Contributors: Hawaii Aloha. Australia / Kirby Ikin. Canada / Robert Richards. China, Asia / Chen Kan Arth. Europe-Russia / Theo Pirard. India, South Asia / Radhakrishna Rao, USA, Bill Carswell. www.spaceagepub.com, news@spaceagepub.com.