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Vol 29, No 9
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Future Moon? The Next Generation of Lunar Explorers

With the doctrine “We came in peace,” the USA is the only nation to place humans on the surface of the Moon. Yet it now finds itself in a deepening predicament with no government commitment toward future lunar exploration. This retreat from its strong civilian heritage could be costly as the blossoming space and lunar programs of China, India, Japan and Europe put pressure on the US to develop a 21st Century Moon program. Will the future of humans on the Moon be determined by the US DOD and / or the China PLA? Or how about ISRO, JAXA, CSA, CNSA, ESA, RSA, NASA, et al? Perhaps by ambitious independents, science and commercial, such as ILOA, GLXP Teams, Bigelow Aerospace or Space Adventures? Whatever unfolds for the USA will require bold Executive, Legislative and Space Advocacy leadership and a keen focus on the location of its permanent buildout (at the South Pole?). These important questions and countless others require immediate consideration as the Next Generation of Lunar Explorers prepare for the upcoming 2010 conferences of LPI (1-5 March), the IAF Beijing Global Lunar (31 May – 3 June), NASA Ames (20-22 July), NewSpace (23-25 July) and others. (Credit: ISRO, JAXA, CSA , CNSA, ESA, RSA, NASA, us.gov, Google Lunar X Prize, CPLA, Odyssey Moon)

Asia Spacefaring Nations to Present Advances in Aerospace Power / Propulsion

Leaders from the major spacefaring powers in Asia will meet in Miyazaki, Japan on March 3-6 for the 'Asian Joint Conference on Propulsion and Power 2010.' Sponsored by the Japan Society for Astronautical and Space Sciences, the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineering and the Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics, the conference will allow scientists to share research and technology development activities relating to aerospace engineering, thermo-fluid / electro-magnetic / plasma physics and fluid machinery. Hiroshi Sasaki (BL) of JAXA will present HTV first mission results and future plans, Chosun University Professor Changduk Kong (BC) will give a speech on current Korean activities with air-breathing propulsion systems and Chinese Academy of Sciences Professor Xinyu Zhang (BR) will describe recent advances of the scramjet engine. (Credit: JAXA, CAS, kseauk.org, wikipedia.org)
THIS WEEK
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
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: Saturn (S) / Evening Planets: Venus (W), Mars (E).
 

MONDAY
Mar 1 — International Space Station, LEO: E-22 crew members focusing on maintenance, science and preparations for arrival of the next space shuttle mission; http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html.
Mar 1 — International Lunar Observatory Association, Hawai`i Island HI / Global: Galaxy Forum 2010 Hawaii - Waimea 18 March at Canada France Hawaii Telescope base facility to highlight Hawaii Island astronomy / galaxy resources in pursuit of '21st Century Stellar Academics'; ILOA 1st 2010 Board of Directors Meeting scheduled 8 March at Kamuela HQ; http://www.iloa.org/.
Mar 1 — Mars Express, Red Planet: Mars Express to make a series of 12 flybys spanning 6 weeks to Martian moon Phobos including closest ever approach on March 3, just 50 km above the surface, which will provide the first unique gravity experiment that may reveal distribution of mass within moon; http://www.marsdaily.com/reports.
Mar 1 — Deep Space, Canberra, Australia: NASA begins phase 1 replacement of Earth-based deep space antennas with new 'beam wave guide' antennas which will boost communication rates by as much as 50 times faster from spacecrafts (Cassini, MRO, Mars Express, et al,) to Earth; http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35590946/ns/technology_and_science-space/.
Mar 1 — Launch Proton / Glonass, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Russian government Proton rocket set to launch trio of spacecraft for Glonass satellite navigation constellation;  http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/saturntourdates/saturntourdates2010/.
Mar 1 — Adler Planetarium, Chicago IL: 'Teacher Workshop: Beyond the Solar System;' http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/special/index.shtml#beyondss.
Mar 1 — New Mexico Space Grant Consortium, Las Cruces NM: Proposals due for US$25,000 'New Mexico Research Enhancement' Awards; http://spacegrant.nmsu.edu/funding/index.html.
Mar 1 — Singularity University (SU), Online: SU Graduate Studies Program application deadline for 9 week course; http://singularityu.org/programs/graduate-studies-program/.
Mar 1 — AIAA San Francisco, San Francisco CA: AIAA-SF Officer Elections / Nominations; http://aiaa-sf.org/.
Mar 1-3 — Dubai Financial Center, Ariane Space, et al, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: 'World Space Risk Forum 2010;' http://wsrf2010.com/2010/program/.
Mar 1-4 — American Astronomical Society, Waikoloa HI: '11th Meeting of the AAS High Energy Astrophysics Division (HEAD);' http://www.confcon.com/head2010/.
Mar 1-4 — The Aerospace Corporation, Manhattan Beach CA: '14th Ground System Architecture Workshop,' provides forum for world's spacecraft ground system experts to collaborate with other ground system users, developers, and researchers; http://www.aero.org/conferences/gsaw/.
Mar 1-5 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, The Woodlands TX: '41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference / Exhibitor Showcase March 2-4 / NASA Night March 1;' http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2010/lpsc20101st.shtml.
Mar 1-5 — Applied Technology Institute, Beltsville MD: 'Space Systems: Subsystem Design;' http://www.aticourses.com/space_systems_II.htm.
Mar 1 — Moon: 7.4° SSW of Saturn; 18:00.
Mar 1 — Asteroid 2007 EF: Near-Earth Flyby (0.059 AU).
Continued from . . .
Jan 30 — Museum of Science and Industry, Confucius Institute / University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom: 'Exhibition: From Gunpowder to Space Rockets - The China Space Program,' includes models of ancient rockets, recent satellites, rockets, space ships and a lunar rover; through Aug 7; http://www.mosi.org.uk/whats-on/china-space-exhibition.
Feb 28 — The National Academies, Irvine CA: 'Astro 2010 Meeting: The Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2010; through Mar 2; http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/meetingview.aspx?MeetingID=4047.
Feb 28 — Pro Space, Washington DC: 'March Storm 2010,' Training day set for Feb 28 followed by meetings with Congressional staff members on Mar 1-2; through Mar 2; http://www.prospace.org/about-march-storm.
TUESDAY
Mar 2 — Launch Delta 4/ GOES P, Cape Canaveral FL: United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket set to launch Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite P (GOES P) for NASA and NOAA.; http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html.
Mar 2 — NASA, Mueller Aerospace and Engineering Discovery Magnet School, LEO / Wichita KS: Students from Mueller Aerospace and Engineering Discovery Magnet School to speak with E-22 crew members Commander Jeff Williams, Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi at 10:35 -10:55 CST; http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html.
Mar 2 — NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: Media briefing with E-24 crew members at 13:00 CST; http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html.
Mar 2 — The National Academies, Woodlands TX: 'Planetary Science Decadal Survey Meeting: Inner Planets;' http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/meetingview.aspx?MeetingID=4194.
Mar 2 — NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Angeles CA: '22nd Annual High-Tec Conference for Small Business;' http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-042.
Mar 2-3 — Association of Naval Aviation, San Diego CA: 'Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Platforms, Payloads and Opportunities;' http://www.ttcus.com/uas-wc/.
Mar 2-4 — Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: 'Satellite MENA 2010;' http://www.satellitemena.com/Home_en_gb.aspx.
Mar 2-5 — European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany: 'The Origin and Fate of the Sun: Evolution of Solar-mass Stars Observed with High Angular Resolution;' http://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/stars2010/index.html.
Mar 2 — Cassini Rhea Flyby, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts close flyby of Saturn moon Rhea (altitude 101 km);  http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/saturntourdates/saturntourdates2010/.
WEDNESDAY
Mar 3 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: 'How to Build Cost-Optimized Interstellar Beacons (and How to Search for Them),' James Benford; http://www.seti.org/csc/lectures.
Mar 3-5 — European GNSS Supervisory Authority, Brussels, Belgium: 'Galileo Application Days and European Satellite Navigation 2010 Kick-off;' http://www.galileo-masters.eu/index.php?anzeige=press.html.
Mar 3 — Cassini Helene Flyby, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts close flyby of Saturn moon Helene (altitude 1133 km);  http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/saturntourdates/saturntourdates2010/.
Mar 3 — Venus: .61° SSE of Uranus; 17:00.
Mar 3 — Moon: 3.2° S of Spica; 18:00.
Mar 3 — Asteroid 2001 PT9: Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU).
THURSDAY
Mar 4 — National Science Foundation, Arlington VA: 'Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee Meeting;' http://www.spaceref.com/calendar/.
Mar 4 — Women in Aerospace, Washington DC: 'Breakfast With NASA Deputy Director Lori Garver;' http://www.womeninaerospace.org/events/current.html.
Mar 4 — University of Houston - Clear Lake, Houston TX: 'Space Center Lecture Series: A Private Astronaut’s Path to Space,' Richard Garriott; http://spacecenterlectureseries.com/future.html.
Mar 4-6 — The Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences, The Korean Society of Propulsion Engineering, The Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics, Miyazaki, Japan: 'Asian Joint Conference on Propulsion and Power;' http://www.spaceagenda.com/events/detail/2010-03-04_asian-joint-conference-on-propulsion-and-power-2010.
FRIDAY
Mar 5 — NASA, Subaru National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, et al, Waikoloa HI: 'NASA Teacher Workshop: How Telescopes have Changed Our View of the Universe;' https://www.confcon.com/head_2010/HEAD_flyer.pdf.

Mar 5 — Asteroid 2008 EY5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.088 AU).

SATURDAY
Mar 6-7 — Students for Exploration and Development of Space - India (SEDS), Chennai, India: 'SEDS India National Conference 2010.'
Mar 6-13 — Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, Big Sky MT: '2010 IEEE Aerospace Conference;' http://www.aeroconf.org/.
Mar 6 — Moon: 1.4° NNW of Antares; 15:00.
SUNDAY
Mar 7 — Mercury: 1.1° SSE of Jupiter; 16:00
Mar 7 — Moon: At Last Quarter; 05:43.

Mar 7 — Asteroid 2007 FB: Near-Earth Flyby (0.054 AU).

 
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Space Calendar Published Weekly, Mondays. ISSN 0741-1731. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © March 1, 2010. 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. 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.