In Space Infrastructure, Living in Space, Space Settlement

Space habitat reports – Oct.4.2024

October 4, 2024 TopSpacer

Here is a new selection of videos, articles, and news items about space habitats (govt. and commercial), living in space, and space settlement.

=== International Space Station & NASA

** Space to Ground: Crew-9: Oct. 04, 2024 – NASA Johnson

** Docking confirmed! NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 arrives at space station – VideoFromSpace

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 docked with the International Space Station at 5:30pm ET on Sept. 29, 2024. Aboard the Dragon spacecraft were NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexsandr Gorbunov

** NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 enters space station after docking – VideoFromSpace

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexsandr Gorbunov completed ingress into the International Space Station a few hours after docking on Sept. 29, 2024.

** NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8: Science, Innovation, and Discovery – NASA

NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin are returning to Earth after several months aboard the International Space Station conducting scientific experiments and technology demonstrations for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission.

Here’s a look at some scientific milestones accomplished during their mission: https://go.nasa.gov/3Bmlkv2

** How Do Astronauts Drink Coffee in Space? – NASA Johnson

Sometimes coffee IS out of this world! Whether it’s sipping from the space cup or through a drink bag, learn how astronauts enjoy a cup of joe aboard the International Space Station.

** Additional Views of Hurricane Helene from the International Space Station – Sept. 26, 2024 – NASA Video

Cameras on the International Space Station captured views of Hurricane Helene at 2:25 p.m. EDT September 26 as it approached the Gulf coast of Florida packing winds in excess of 120 miles an hour. The National Hurricane Center forecast called for Helene to continue to strengthen before it makes landfall along the Big Bend region of Florida, then traverses up western Georgia and the Tennessee Valley.

** Live Views of Hurricane Helene from the International Space Station – Thursday, September 26, 2024 – NASA Video

Cameras on the International Space Station captured views of Hurricane Helene at 12:50 p.m. EDT September 26 as it approached the Gulf coast of Florida packing winds in excess of 100 miles an hour. The National Hurricane Center forecast called for Helene to strengthen into a major hurricane before it makes landfall along the Big Bend region of Florida, before moving inland as it traverses up western Georgia and the Tennessee Valley.

** International Space Station: Humanity’s Lab in Space (Narrated by Adam Savage)- NASA

Orbiting more than 200 miles (320 km) above Earth, the International Space Station is a powerhouse of cutting-edge science that is unlocking discoveries not possible on Earth. We’re testing technologies that are critical to our return to the Moon and contributing to medical and social breakthroughs that improve life on our home planet.

After more than two decades of results, we continue to inspire future generations from a platform that is one of the largest international collaborations of our time.

Learn more about the research being conducted on station: https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science
Follow updates on the science conducted aboard the space station: https://x.com/iss_research

=== Commercial space habitats

** Updates on NASA’s program to support commercial space stations:

NASA is working on a plan to replace its space station, but time is running out | Ars Technica – Oct.3.2024
Status report on projects (at many of the companies listed below) supported by NASA’s Commercial LEO Development Program (CLDP): CLDP Status to NASA Advisory Council (NAC) HEO Committee | Robyn Gatens/NASA – September 2024 (pdf)
- NASA CLD partners continue to make progress towards design of their future CLD concepts and business case development.
- CLDP continues supporting the CLD partner milestones, providing NASA expertise, and sharing NASA technology, processes, data, and lessons learned on numerous subjects. This ensures the data gathered while developing and operating the ISS is passed on to CLD partners.
- Private Astronaut Mission-3 was successfully completed providing valuable lessons learned to Axiom and NASA in how to operate in a commercial environment on future CLDs.
- NASA is preparing for CLD Phase 2 procurement for future CLD services.

** Axiom Space

— Members of Axiom’s 4th crew mission to the ISS begin training for next year’s flight: Ax-4 Training Underway, Assigned Crew Gears Up for Historic Mission | Axiom Space

In August, Axiom Space welcomed a diverse group of astronauts as they arrived to begin preparations and training for Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4). This mission, set to launch no earlier than spring 2025, marks another significant step in commercial human spaceflight, bringing together astronauts from different corners of the globe to work toward a common goal: advancing human progress in space.

The assigned Ax-4 crew consisting of Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański from Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu from Hungary, arrived in Houston with a mix of excitement and determination. Their journey began at Axiom Space headquarters, where they underwent a comprehensive onboarding process. This included familiarization with the mission objectives, safety protocols, state-of-the-art facilities at Axiom Space, and dedicated mission teams who will support them throughout the mission.

During the first month of training, the assigned crew traveled to SpaceX in Hawthorne, Calif., for suit measurements and pressurization tests. They began familiarizing themselves with the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 launch vehicle ahead of additional training they’ll receive that includes orbital mechanics, operating in microgravity, emergency preparedness, spacesuit and spacecraft ingress and egress exercises, as well as partial and full mission simulations. Additionally, the crew visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center to get acquainted with the training facilities where they will spend significant time preparing for their mission.

** Max Space – Expandable Space Habitats

** RedPlanetLive — Kirsten Whittingham – Red Planet Live by the Mars Society – YouTube

Get ready for an exciting episode of Red Planet Live! Tune in on Tuesday, September 3rd (5pm PT / 8pm ET) for an in-depth conversation with Kirsten Whittingham, President of Max Space and a distinguished veteran in the aerospace industry. With her extensive experience and leadership in pioneering space projects, Kirsten will share insights and discuss the innovative advancements at Max Space.

** VAST

**Haven Demo Battery – VAST Youtube

At Vast, we’re designing, manufacturing, and assembling our battery packs in-house for Haven Demo and Haven-1, ensuring every step—from cell screening to pack assembly and testing—meets the highest safety and performance standards. These batteries will power our space station through day/night solar cycles every ~90 minutes in orbit.

Vast’s battery modules are recharged by our Maximum Power Point Trackers (MPPT), which extract energy from our solar arrays very efficiently. Our Battery Management Systems (BMS) give us real-time insight into the battery’s capabilities and allow our systems to make decisions based on the battery’s state.

** Starlab – Voyager Space

— The Bishop Airlock was funded and built by Voyager Space and has been operational on the ISS since 2020:

When it comes to commercial airlocks, no one has more experience than @voyagerspace_. The Bishop Airlock is the first and only commercial airlock on the International Space Station, enabling advanced robotics testing, on-orbit maneuvers, payload transfers, and even efficient and… pic.twitter.com/x4aeXnuJGG

— Starlab (@Starlab_Space) September 25, 2024

=== Chinese space habitats

** Chinese Astronauts Capture Stunning Views of Hometowns from Space – CCTV Video News Agency

The Shenzhou-18 crew members on board China’s orbiting space station Tiangong captured stunning views of their hometowns from space, offering viewers a unique perspective of the nation’s diverse landscapes.

** CNSA’s Lunar Spacesuit – SciNews

The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) unveiled its extravehicular activity suit designed for lunar exploration on 28 September 2024.

More about the lunar suit: China unveils lunar spacesuit for crewed moon mission | SpaceNews – Sept.29.2024

** Shenzhou-18 Crew Share Progress on Self-Sustaining Fish Ecosystem in Space – CCTV Video News Agency

China’s Shenzhou-18 crew have been carefully watching a small aquarium of fish in a novel experiment aboard the country’s space station that the astronauts said is going smoothly.

=== Lunar habitation

** NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) approve next phase in development of the Multi-Purpose Habitation (MPH) module for a lunar base: NASA Greenlights Next Phase of Italian Lunar Habitat Project | European Spaceflight – Sept.20.2024

A NASA review board has given the Italian space agency the green light to move ahead with the development of its MPH lunar surface habitat.

ASI and NASA signed an agreement in 2022 that saw the Italian space agency take the lead on the design of the Multi-Purpose Habitation (MPH) module. MPH is designed to act as a home base on the lunar surface to extend a crewed mission to the Moon or as a refuge in case of emergency.

Background info:

** Mega Scale Prop Production, with Saurav Shroff (CEO of Starpath) – Payload

The cost to build a mass scale propellant production system on the Moon? Much less than $100M according to Starpath cofounder and CEO Saurav Shroff. The LA-based startup is developing the infrastructure for lunar resource extraction—including a power plant, a fleet of rovers, and a processing plant.

In this episode, Saurav breaks down Starpath’s approach to off-planet fuel production and how it can enable cost-effective and reusable space travel. He also shares his thoughts on the future of lunar and Martian colonization and how propellant production plays a pivotal role in making interplanetary travel economically viable.

We also discuss:

– The technical hurdles of producing propellant on the Moon and Mars
– The impact of propellant production on reducing the cost of space travel
– The potential customers and business models
– How Starpath’s approach complements the vision of companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin
– The long-term vision for a human presence on the Moon and Mars, and what it will take to get there

And much more…

Chapters
00:00 – Intro
01:25 – What is Startpath?
04:11 – How was Starpath founded?
07:28 – The team
08:55 – Starpath with and without SpaceX
13:20 – Mega scale propellant production
16:30 – What type of propellant is Starpath making?
20:15 – What is Starpath building?
24:56 – Why build this power system yourself and why not nuclear?
28:56 – Plant & Rover
35:35 – Plan for success
39:59 – Speculation on SpaceX’s propellant production
43:49 – Who else is a potential customer?
45:49 – Revenue model
48:27 – Investors and common misconceptions
50:26 – Capital needs
51:43 – Competitors? China?
54:37 – First fuel production prediction
56:03 – 10-year vision
58:16 – Other businesses Saurav is excited about
1:00:17 – Which celebrity will play Saurav?

=== Mars habitation

** SpaceX aims for missions to Mars starting with uncrewed Starship flights in 2026:

By the way, our commercial Starlink program is the primary source of funding for Starship (NASA is helping too).

So thank for buying Starlink and supporting humanity’s future in space.

If you look closely at your Starlink router, you will notice that it has an illustration of…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 22, 2024

**Jared Issacman comments on response to Elon Musk’s Mars plan:

It’s fascinating to see the reactions to @elonmusk recent Mars timeline. Like so many things, it sparks fierce debate from echo chambers—those who either cling to every word, believing he’s infallible, and those who focus only on the negative in everything he or @SpaceX has ever…

— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) September 22, 2024

=== Other space habitat and settlement news and articles:

=== Earth views from ISS

** Highlight: San Diego CA Tijuana MX – Las Vegas NV – Grand Canyon – Sep 25 2024 14:40 PDT – ISS Above

** Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream) – NASA

Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.

The space station orbits Earth about 250 miles (425 kilometers) above the surface. An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the station, and it has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It’s a microgravity laboratory where science, research, and human innovation make way for new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. More: https://go.nasa.gov/3CkVtC8

Did you know you can spot the station without a telescope? It looks like a fast-moving star, but you have to know when to look up. Sign up for text messages or email alerts to let you know when (and where) to spot the station and wave to the crew: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov

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Astronomy, Education, Space Science

Night sky highlights for October 2024

October 2, 2024 TopSpacer

Check out the night sky this month, October 2024. Here are videos highlighting the top sights to observe.

** What’s Up: October 2024 Skywatching Tips from NASA – NASA JPL

What are some skywatching highlights in October 2024?

A potentially bright comet (C/2023 A3) to look for after mid-month, good opportunities to spy the ocean world NASA’s launching to, and the monthly dance of four planets with the Moon.

0:00 Intro
0:21 October planet visibility
0:59 Viewing Europa
2:10 Moon & planet pairings
2:38 Comet C/2023 A3
3:58 September photo highlights
4:12 October Moon phases

Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatch….

** Tonight’s Sky: October 2024 – Space Telescope Science Institute – Tonight’s Sky

Crisp, clear October nights are full of celestial showpieces. Find Pegasus, the flying horse of Greek myth, to pinpoint dense globular star clusters and galaxies, and keep watching for space-based views of M15, NGC 7331, and the Andromeda Galaxy.

About this Series … “Tonight’s Sky” is a monthly video of constellations you can observe in the night sky. The series is produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute, home of science operations for the Hubble Space Telescope, in partnership with NASA’s Universe of Learning. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes—and other astronomy videos—at https://hubblesite.org/resource-gallery/tonights-sky.

** Comet C/2023 A3 and other October 2024 stargazing highlights – BBC Sky at Night Magazine

What’s in the night sky this month? Astronomers Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal the best things to see in the sky in October 2024, including Comet A3, Saturn and Jupiter moon events, meteor showers and the deep sky.

00:00 Intro
00:14 Inner planets
03:45 Outer planets
10:42 Thin crescent Moon
12:37 Saturn and moon events
13:54 Southern Taurid meteor shower
14:48 Saturn and moons Titan and Dione
15:34 Perigee full Moon
16:48 moon and Pleiades
17:10 Orionid meteor shower
17:27 Ganymede shadow transit of Jupiter
19:00 Comet C/2023 A3
22:58 Stars, constellations and deep sky

** Sky & Telescope’s Sky Tour Podcast – October 2024 | A Comet, Andromeda, and Pegasus – Sky & Telescope Youtube

Our monthly Sky Tour #astronomy #podcast provides an informative and entertaining 10-minute guided tour of the #nighttime #sky. Join us for the October 2024 episode and ponder the #Moon’s whereabouts; spot a fast-moving #comet, learn what #andromeda and #pegasus have in common, circle around the pole star #Polaris, and watch for meteors shed by #halleyscomet.

Listen and subscribe to this podcast at https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/ and don’t forget to subscribe to S&T’s YouTube channel to get alerts about new videos, including this monthly podcast

ESO: Planet discovered orbiting Barnard’s star, closest single star to our Sun

October 1, 2024 TopSpacer

A new report from the European Southern Observatory (ESO):

Scientists discover planet orbiting closest single star to our Sun

This artist’s impression shows Barnard b, a sub-Earth-mass planet that was discovered orbiting Barnard’s star. Its signal was detected with the ESPRESSO instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), and astronomers were able to confirm it with data from other instruments. An earlier promising detection in 2018 around the same star could not be confirmed by these data. On this newly discovered exoplanet, which has at least half the mass of Venus but is too hot to support liquid water, a year lasts just over three Earth days.

Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT), astronomers have discovered an exoplanet orbiting Barnard’s star, the closest single star to our Sun. On this newly discovered exoplanet, which has at least half the mass of Venus, a year lasts just over three Earth days. The team’s observations also hint at the existence of three more exoplanet candidates, in various orbits around the star.

Located just six light-years away, Barnard’s star is the second-closest stellar system — after Alpha Centauri’s three-star group — and the closest individual star to us. Owing to its proximity, it is a primary target in the search for Earth-like exoplanets. Despite a promising detection back in 2018, no planet orbiting Barnard’s star had been confirmed until now.

The discovery of this new exoplanet — announced in a paper published today in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics — is the result of observations made over the last five years with ESO’s VLT, located at Paranal Observatory in Chile.

“Even if it took a long time, we were always confident that we could find something,”

says Jonay González Hernández, a researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in Spain, and lead author of the paper. The team were looking for signals from possible exoplanets within the habitable or temperate zone of Barnard’s star — the range where liquid water can exist on the planet’s surface. Red dwarfs like Barnard’s star are often targeted by astronomers since low-mass rocky planets are easier to detect there than around larger Sun-like stars. [1]

Barnard b [2], as the newly discovered exoplanet is called, is twenty times closer to Barnard’s star than Mercury is to the Sun. It orbits its star in 3.15 Earth days and has a surface temperature around 125 °C.

“Barnard b is one of the lowest-mass exoplanets known and one of the few known with a mass less than that of Earth. But the planet is too close to the host star, closer than the habitable zone,” explains González Hernández. “Even if the star is about 2500 degrees cooler than our Sun, it is too hot there to maintain liquid water on the surface.”

For their observations, the team used ESPRESSO, a highly precise instrument designed to measure the wobble of a star caused by the gravitational pull of one or more orbiting planets. The results obtained from these observations were confirmed by data from other instruments also specialised in exoplanet hunting: HARPS at ESO’s La Silla Observatory, HARPS-N and CARMENES. The new data do not, however, support the existence of the exoplanet reported in 2018.

In addition to the confirmed planet, the international team also found hints of three more exoplanet candidates orbiting the same star. These candidates, however, will require additional observations with ESPRESSO to be confirmed.

“We now need to continue observing this star to confirm the other candidate signals,”

says Alejandro Suárez Mascareño, a researcher also at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and co-author of the study.

“But the discovery of this planet, along with other previous discoveries such as Proxima b and d, shows that our cosmic backyard is full of low-mass planets.”

ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction, is set to transform the field of exoplanet research. The ELT’s ANDES instrument will allow researchers to detect more of these small, rocky planets in the temperate zone around nearby stars, beyond the reach of current telescopes, and enable them to study the composition of their atmospheres.

Graphic representation of the relative distances between the nearest stars and the Sun. Barnard’s star is the second closest star system to the Sun, and the nearest single star to us.

Notes

[1] Astronomers target cool stars, like red dwarfs, because their temperate zone is much closer to the star than that of hotter stars, like the Sun. This means that the planets orbiting within their temperate zone have shorter orbital periods, allowing astronomers to monitor them over several days or weeks, rather than years. In addition, red dwarfs are much less massive than the Sun, so they are more easily disturbed by the gravitational pull of the planets around them and thus they wobble more strongly.

[2] It’s common practice in science to name exoplanets by the name of their host star with a lowercase letter added to it, ‘b’ indicating the first known planet, ’c’ the next one, and so on. The name Barnard b was therefore also given to a previously suspected planet candidate around Barnard’s star, which scientists were unable to confirm.

Links

Research paper
Photos of the VLT
For journalists: subscribe to receive our releases under embargo in your language
For scientists: got a story? Pitch your research

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The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach

Astronomy, Education, Space Science

ESO telescope captures most detailed infrared map of Milky Way ever

September 26, 2024 TopSpacer

The latest report from the European Southern Observatory (ESO):

ESO telescope captures
the most detailed infrared map ever of our Milky Way

This collage highlights a small selection of regions of the Milky Way imaged as part of the most detailed infrared map ever of our galaxy. Here we see, from left to right and top to bottom: NGC 3576, NGC 6357, Messier 17, NGC 6188, Messier 22 and NGC 3603. All of them are clouds of gas and dust where stars are forming, except Messier 22, which is a very dense group of old stars. The images were captured with ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) and its infrared camera VIRCAM. The gigantic map to which these images belong contains 1.5 billion objects. The data were gathered over the course of 13 years as part of the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey and its companion project, the VVV eXtended survey (VVVX).

Astronomers have published a gigantic infrared map of the Milky Way containing more than 1.5 billion objects ― the most detailed one ever made. Using the European Southern Observatory’s VISTA telescope, the team monitored the central regions of our Galaxy over more than 13 years. At 500 terabytes of data, this is the largest observational project ever carried out with an ESO telescope.

“We made so many discoveries, we have changed the view of our Galaxy forever,”

says Dante Minniti, an astrophysicist at Universidad Andrés Bello in Chile who led the overall project.

This record-breaking map comprises 200 000 images taken by ESO’s VISTA ― the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy. Located at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, the telescope’s main purpose is to map large areas of the sky. The team used VISTA’s infrared camera VIRCAM, which can peer through the dust and gas that permeates our galaxy. It is therefore able to see the radiation from the Milky Way’s most hidden places, opening a unique window onto our galactic surroundings.

This gigantic dataset [1] covers an area of the sky equivalent to 8600 full moons, and contains about 10 times more objects than a previous map released by the same team back in 2012. It includes newborn stars, which are often embedded in dusty cocoons, and globular clusters –– dense groups of millions of the oldest stars in the Milky Way. Observing infrared light means VISTA can also spot very cold objects, which glow at these wavelengths, like brown dwarfs (‘failed’ stars that do not have sustained nuclear fusion) or free-floating planets that don’t orbit a star.

This image from ESO’s VISTA telescope captures a celestial landscape of vast, glowing clouds of gas and tendrils of dust surrounding hot young stars. This infrared view reveals the stellar nursery known as NGC 6357 in a new light. It was taken as part of the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey, which is currently scanning the Milky Way in a bid to map our galaxy’s structure and explain how it formed.

The observations began in 2010 and ended in the first half of 2023, spanning a total of 420 nights. By observing each patch of the sky many times, the team was able to not only determine the locations of these objects, but also track how they move and whether their brightness changes. They charted stars whose luminosity changes periodically that can be used as cosmic rulers for measuring distances [2]. This has given us an accurate 3D view of the inner regions of the Milky Way, which were previously hidden by dust. The researchers also tracked hypervelocity stars — fast-moving stars catapulted from the central region of the Milky Way after a close encounter with the supermassive black hole lurking there.

The new map contains data gathered as part of the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey [3] and its companion project, the VVV eXtended (VVVX) survey.

“The project was a monumental effort, made possible because we were surrounded by a great team,”

says Roberto Saito, an astrophysicist at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in Brazil and lead author of the paper published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics on the completion of the project.

The VVV and VVVX surveys have already led to more than 300 scientific articles. With the surveys now complete, the scientific exploration of the gathered data will continue for decades to come. Meanwhile, ESO’s Paranal Observatory is being prepared for the future: VISTA will be updated with its new instrument 4MOST and ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) will receive its MOONS instrument. Together, they will provide spectra of millions of the objects surveyed here, with countless discoveries to be expected.

Notes

[1] The dataset is too large to release as a single image, but the processed data and objects catalogue can be accessed in the ESO Science Portal.

[2] One way to measure the distance to a star is by comparing how bright it appears as seen from Earth to how intrinsically bright it is; but the latter is often unknown. Certain types of stars change their brightness periodically, and there is a very strong connection between how quickly they do this and how intrinsically luminous they are. Measuring these fluctuations allows astronomers to work out how luminous these stars are, and therefore how far away they lie.

[3] Vía Láctea is the Latin name for the Milky Way.

Links

Research paper
Photos of of the survey telescopes at Paranal, including VISTA
For journalists: subscribe to receive our releases under embargo in your language:
For scientists: got a story? Pitch your research

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When the Heavens Went on Sale:
The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach

In Space Infrastructure, Living in Space, Space Settlement

Space habitat reports – Sept.20.2024

September 20, 2024 TopSpacer

Here is this week’s selection of videos, articles, and news items concerning space habitats (govt and commercial), living in space, and space settlement.

=== International Space Station & NASA

** Space to Ground: Sunita in Charge: Sept. 20, 2024 – NASA Johnson

** NASA’s Starliner astronauts talk about watching their ride leave ISS without them – VideoFromSpace

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore talk about Starliner’s return trip and requesting an absentee ballot for the US election in November. Watch Starliner land: https://www.space.com/boeing-starline…

** Tracy C. Dyson Powers Space Station Research – NASA Johnson

NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson is returning home after a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. While on orbit, Dyson conducted an array of experiments and technology demonstrations that contribute to advancements for humanity on Earth and the agency’s trajectory to the Moon and Mars. Here is a look at some of the science Dyson conducted during her mission: https://go.nasa.gov/4euV5kt

** NASA Aatronaut Discusses Life in Space with KCRA-TV, Sacramento – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview Sept. 20 with KCRA-TV. Dyson is in the midst of a long-duration mission aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.

=== Commercial space habitats

** Updates on NASA’s transition from ISS to commercial space stations – Laura Forczyk

The International Space Station will soon be deorbited, and NASA is preparing to rely on commercial space stations, or commercial LEO destinations. In today’s NASA Advisory Council’s Human Exploration and Operations Committee meeting, NASA gave various updates on avoiding a gap in LEO, salvaging ISS items, the ISS deorbit timeline, the future of NASA microgravity research, and more.

** Axiom Space

— Axiom runs into financial turbulence: A key NASA commercial partner faces severe financial challenges | Ars Technica – Sept.17.2024

Axiom Space is facing significant financial headwinds as the company attempts to deliver on two key commercial programs for NASA—the development of a private space station in low-Earth orbit and spacesuits that could one day be worn by astronauts on the Moon.

Forbes reports that Axiom Space, which was founded by billionaire Kam Ghaffarian and NASA executive Mike Suffredini in 2016, has been struggling to raise money to keep its doors open and has had difficulties meeting its payroll dating back to at least early 2023. In addition, the Houston-based company has fallen behind on payments to key suppliers, including Thales Alenia Space for its space station and SpaceX for crewed launches.

— Progress on construction of Axiom’s first space habitat:

Axiom Station’s Habitat One pressure vessel nears completion! @Thales_Alenia_S has welded the Axial Bulkhead to the Cone Panel and is moving toward quality inspection. With this, only three more welds remain until the pressure vessel is complete and Hab One is prepared for… pic.twitter.com/wHrkVFDEaU

— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) August 29, 2024

— Spacious habitat interiors:

The @Axiom_Space Station crew quarters will be about 20% bigger than the ones currently on Space Station, and unlike current quarters, each one will have a window. pic.twitter.com/eUqxT39GE1

— Michael L-A (@CommanderMLA) September 17, 2024

** Sierra Space

–— Sierra updates NASA on progress with the projects (unfunded) carried out under the Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities-2 initiative (CCSC-2) :

On Sept. 11, we hosted NASA at our Eldorado campus for Milestone 5 of our Interim Design Review under CCSC-2, part of our NASA Space Act Agreement, where we summarized our Pathfinder mission and introduced our route to launch. pic.twitter.com/KKrArvUAYs

— Sierra Space (@SierraSpaceCo) September 20, 2024

Sierra’s CCSC-2 activities were described by NASA as follows:

Sierra Space is collaborating with NASA for the development of the company’s commercial low Earth orbit ecosystem, including next-generation space transportation, in-space infrastructure, and expandable and tailorable space facilities providing a human presence in low Earth orbit.

— Lunar oxygen production system demonstrated: Sierra Space Unveils Breakthrough Technology Designed to Extract Oxygen from Lunar Soil, Enabling Sustainable Human Presence on the Moon | Sierra Space – Sept.17.2024

Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company and defense tech prime that is Building a Platform in Space to Benefit Life on Earth®, announced today the company’s proprietary Carbothermal Oxygen Production Reactor has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, heralding the first time in history that oxygen has been extracted from simulated lunar soil, or regolith, using an automated, standalone system in a lunar environment. The technology, when scaled up, is designed to produce oxygen in bulk to support one of the primary objectives of NASA’s Artemis program: establishing the first long-term presence on the moon.

“The Apollo program took us to the moon to study and learn. Artemis is taking us back to the moon, this time to stay,” said Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space. “Our company is focused on building the infrastructure necessary to enable continuous human presence on the lunar surface. This sustainable future begins with developing the core technology and systems that create oxygen in that environment, using local natural resources.”

Sierra Space test engineers spent two weeks in August operating the company’s oxygen extraction system inside a thermal vacuum chamber at Johnson, working with lunar regolith simulant in an environment the hardware would recognize as similar to the water-ice-laden south pole region of the moon. Under lunar temperatures and pressures, the Sierra Space system executed all of the regolith handling steps and performed the carbothermal reduction reaction that extracts oxygen from minerals in the regolith simulant.

This disruptive innovation, a system developed at Sierra Space’s facilities in Madison, Wisconsin, represents a major leap forward in enabling long-term human habitation on the moon and future space exploration endeavors. …

We’ve successfully completed thermal vacuum testing of our Carbothermal Oxygen Production Reactor at @NASA_Johnson, marking the first extraction of oxygen from simulated lunar soil (regolith) using an automated, standalone system in a lunar environment.https://t.co/CFkkVpim5D pic.twitter.com/lcWqDuHJu2

— Sierra Space (@SierraSpaceCo) September 17, 2024

** VAST

— Interview with VAST CEO Max Haot:

Vast CEO, @maxhaot, spoke with @washingtonpost’s @wapodavenport about the future of the ISS and Vast’s role in creating the first commercial space station at the @USChamber 2024 Global Aerospace Summit. As NASA plans the ISS’s retirement, we’re excited to partner with innovators… pic.twitter.com/dSWzqWY4TB

— VΛST (@vast) September 12, 2024

** SpaceX and Polaris project

— SpaceX Polaris Dawn spacewalk! See the first-ever private egress from crew – VideoFromSpace

SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission conducted the first-ever private spacewalk on Sept. 12, 2024. Full Story: https://www.space.com/spacex-polaris-…

During the spacewalk (also known as an extravehicular activity, or EVA), Polaris Dawn crewmembers Jared Isaacman (seen here) and Sarah Gillis exited their fully depressurized Crew Dragon spacecraft in specially-designed SpaceX spacesuits.

— SpaceX Polaris Dawn crew’s on-orbit event! Experiments explained + spacewalk time-lapse – VideoFromSpace

The Polaris Dawn crew Jared Isaacman, Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon explain the experiments conducted during the mission. Also, see a time-lapse of Isaacman’s spacewalk.

=== Chinese space habitats

** Chinese astronauts conduct experiments and more on Tiangong space station – VideoFromSpace

China’s Shenzhou-18 crew is seen conducting experiments and maintenance on the Tiangong space station.

=== Lunar habitation

** Lunar Development Conference Videos | The Moon Society

A selection of videos of presentations and panel discussions at the Moon Society‘s recent online conference has been posted. For example:

** Explore NASA’s lunar orbital Gateway habitat with 3D app: Gateway Space Station in 3D | NASA – Sept.11.2024

=== Space habitat technologies

** TESSERAE: Self-Assembling Prototypes — Aurelia Institute

Artist’s animation of a futuristic TESSERAE habitat that self-assembles in orbit, forms a multi-module space station, and can also be transported to the surface. Based on the real-life research project out of the MIT Space Exploration Initiative and Dr. Ariel Ekblaw’s PhD Thesis. To learn more: tesserae.arielekblaw.com

TESSERAE (Tessellated Electromagnetic Space Structures for the Exploration of Reconfigurable, Adaptive Environments). The name and nature of the structure hearken to the small, colored tiles used in Roman mosaics, where many standard pieces, or “tesserae,” interlock to create the image. We make this reference to ancient history, while designing an artifact of our space exploration future, to tie architectural elements together across scales and across millennia.

Rendering courtesy of TU Dortmund Fraunhofer Institute as part of a collaboration with MIT Media Lab SEI. Collaborator credit: Aswin Karthik Ramachandran Venkatapathy. Artist credit: David Knozowski.

** Metal 3-D Printing in microgravity:

Great news from the @Space_Station! @ESA’s 3D printer, developed by Airbus, has successfully printed its first metal part in space.
Learn more about this breakthrough achievement: https://t.co/LUYkjcVLn1 pic.twitter.com/nmMe4TrkuR

— Airbus Space (@AirbusSpace) September 6, 2024

=== Other space habitat and settlement news and articles: