Videos: “Space to Ground” & other space habitat reports – May.30.2023

Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** Axiom Mission 2 Undocks from the International Space Station (Official NASA Broadcast)NASA

After more than a week aboard the International Space Station, the four private astronauts of Axiom Space’s Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) are scheduled to undock from the station at 11:05 a.m. EDT (1505 UTC) on Tuesday, May 30.

Led by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, the crew of Ax-2—Whitson, pilot John Shoffner, and mission specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi—engaged in technology demonstrations, spoke with students around the world, and contributed to scientific experiments ranging from cancer treatments to weather research.

NASA’s integrated coverage of Axiom Mission 2 will conclude after the crew departs from the station in their SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft. Ax-2 will splash down off the coast of Florida later today; follow Axiom Space and SpaceX on social media for Ax-2 splashdown updates:

https://twitter.com/axiom_space
https://twitter.com/spacex

** Expedition 69 Axiom Mission 2 International Space Station Farewell Remarks – May 29, 2023 – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, Axiom Mission-2 crewmembers Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni, and Rayyanah Barnawi provided farewell remarks May 29 ahead of their scheduled undocking from the space station May 30. The crew has been living and working on the International Space Station since May 22 following a launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 21. Axiom Mission-2 is the second private astronaut mission to the space station.

** Ax-2 Mission Update | May 29Axiom Space

Axiom Space is guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. The leader in providing space infrastructure as a service, Axiom offers end-to-end missions to the International Space Station today while privately developing its successor – a permanent commercial destination in Earth’s orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home. More information about Axiom can be found at www.axiomspace.com.

** Ax-2 Mission Update | May 27Axiom Space

**  Ax-2 Mission | John Shoffner & MIT HUMANSAxiom Space

**  SpaceX CRS-28 Research Overview: Genes in Space 10ISS National Lab

SpaceX’s 28th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will launch from the Kennedy Space Center no earlier than Saturday, June 3, 2023, at 12:35 pm EDT. This mission will carry several investigations sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory, ranging from regenerative medicine research to technology demonstrations, small satellites for deployment, and student-led experiments. The mission also includes a student-led genetics experiment on collaboration with the annual Genes in Space competition. Learn more about this investigation here!

** Expedition 69 – Progress 84 Cargo Ship Docks to International Space Station May 24, 2023 – NASA Video

The uncrewed Roscosmos ISS Progress 84 cargo spacecraft launched to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan May 24 on a Soyuz booster rocket. Progress is filled with almost three tons of supplies and cargo and docked to the Poisk module after completing a two-orbit, three-hour rendezvous. The resupply spacecraft will remain docked to the space station until later this year.

** China’s Shenzhou 16 crew docks and enters Tiangong space stationVideoFromSpace

Shenzhou 16 taikonauts Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao have arrived at the Tiangong space station after a roughly 7 hour flight. The crew launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center atop a Long March 2F rocket. See the launch: https://www.space.com/china-shenzhou-…

** Honoring the 50th Anniversary of NASA’s Skylab: America’s First Space Station NASA

America’s first space station and the first crewed research laboratory in space, Skylab, lifted off on May 14, 1973.

Skylab helped pave the way for permanent operations in low-Earth orbit. Over the course of its human occupation from May 25, 1973, to Feb. 8, 1974, three crews visited Skylab, carrying out 270 scientific and technical investigations in astronauts’ physiological responses to long-duration space flight, Earth sciences, solar physics, and astronomy.

The research conducted on Skylab helped prepare NASA for living and working in space on the International Space Station, and our journey to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

To learn more about Skylab, check out: https://www.nasa.gov/skylab

** 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

==================

Check out the
The Lurio Report
for news and analysis of key developments in NewSpace

The latest issue:
Moving (2), Starship Flight Test, SpaceX and Space Markets
Vol. 18, No. 1, May 12, 2023

Space Frontier Foundation Award for NewSpace Journalism

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Videos: “Space to Ground” & other space habitat reports – May.22.2023

Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** Ax-2: Expanding access to low-Earth orbitAxiom Space

Axiom Space is guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. The leader in providing space infrastructure as a service, Axiom offers end-to-end missions to the International Space Station today while privately developing its successor – a permanent commercial destination in Earth’s orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home. More information about Axiom can be found at www.axiomspace.com.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/axiom_space
Instagram: https://instagram.com/axiom.space

** Ax-2 Mission | Approach and DockingAxiom Space

On Monday, May 22 at 9:12 a.m. ET, SpaceX’s Dragon autonomously docked with the International Space Station. Approximately 15.5 hours earlier at 5:37 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched the spacecraft and Ax-2 to orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct over 20 science and technology experiments in areas such as human physiology, physical sciences, and STEAM to help expand knowledge to benefit life on Earth in areas such as healthcare, materials, technology development, and enable industrial advances.

** SpaceX’s Ax-2 Crew Dragon captures brilliant space station views during docking approachVideoFromSpace

See SpaceX Crew Dragaon Freedom’s view of the International Space Station during it’s approach to the International Space Station on May 22, 2023. The capsule docked shortly afterwards carrying the Axiom Space Ax-2 crew members Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. Watch them launch: https://www.space.com/spacex-ax-2-pri…

** Private Ax-2 crew’s space station welcome ceremony – 600th astronaut gets wings!VideoFromSpace

Axiom Space Ax-2 crew commander Peggy Whitson, pilot John Shoffner, and mission specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi were welcomed aboard the International Space Station shortly after their SpaceX Crew Dragon docked. Watch them launch: https://www.space.com/spacex-ax-2-pri…

The Ax-2 crew received their astronaut wings from Peggy Whitson.

** Space Station Astronaut Discusses Life in Space with Students in Washington D.C. – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview May 18 with students at the National Museum of the American Latino in Washington, D.C. Rubio is in the midst of a long-duration mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions.

** America’s Future: Commercial Space Destinations NASA Johnson

As NASA transitions from the space station and sets its sights on the Moon, America will maintain leadership in LEO by enabling a new generation of commercial partnerships…

Through the Commercial LEO Development Program, NASA is working with industry partners to develop the first generation of commercial space destinations.

This new orbital economy will allow the U.S. to maintain a continuous human presence in space, while enabling new opportunities for commercial partners – to discover scientific breakthroughs, stimulate commerce, and share the experience of spaceflight for generations to come.

https://www.nasa.gov/leo-economy/low-…

** Andreas Mogensen next mission to the International Space Station | Huginn MissionEuropean Space Agency, ESA

The name of Andreas’s second mission to the Space Station is ‘Huginn’. Inspired by Norse mythology, the name is taken from one of two ravens who serve the god Odin. Called Huginn and Muninn, these two birds sit on Odin’s shoulders and are sent flying across the world at dawn. They return at night to inform him of the many events they have seen and heard. In Old Norse, ‘Huginn’ means ‘thought’ and ‘Muninn’ means ‘mind’ or ‘memory’.

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen is going on his first long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Andreas will be the pilot on the SpaceX Crew Dragon that will carry him and the rest of Crew-7 to the Space Station – a first for a European!
Representing Europe in space, Andreas will carry out science throughout his mission and bring back the knowledge to Earth, for the benefit of humankind.

Visit esa.int/huginn for more information on the Huginn mission.

** Shenzhou-15 Astronaut Gives Lecture on Automatic Transfer of Payload on Space Station – CCTV Video News Agency

Shenzhou-15 astronaut Zhang Lu in space gave an online public lecture on an extravehicular mission involving automatic transfer of a particle detector outside the spacecraft.

** 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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The Space Show this week – May.16.2023

The guests and topics of discussion on The Space Show this week:

1. Tuesday, May. 16, 2023; 7 pm PST (9 pm CST, 10 pm EST): We welcome Rebecca Hahn regarding her work and paper on the volcanos of Venus.

2. Hotel Mars – Wednesday, May. 17, 2023; 1:00 pm PST (3:00 pm CST, 4:00 pm EST): TBD. Check the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for  updates on scheduling.

3. Friday, May.19, 2023; 9:30-11 am PST (11:30 am-1 pm CST, 12:30-2 pm EST): We welcome back Dr. Anna Krylov, USC chemistry professor, on challenges to the scientific method and more.

4. Sunday, May.21, 2023; 12-1:30 pm PST (2-3:30 pm CST, 3-4:30 pm EST): We welcome back Michelle Hanlon of For All Moonkind on news and information relevant to our lunar activities.

Some recent shows:

** Friday, May.12.2023Melodie Yashar discussed “space architecture, settlement, where to settle, building codes for space development, terrestrial structures for space and more“.

** Hotel MarsThursday, May.10.2023Douglas Messier discussed with John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston

the recent Starship demo launch which has resulted in five environmental and cultural-heritage non-profits going after the FAA in court on the grounds that the FAA disregarded environmental law when approving the launches without a full EIR. During this one segment Hotel Mars program, Doug discussed the litigation and the five organizations behind it, options for SpaceX, launches at their Starship pad at KSC, plus he went over the known damage to the pad and area from the launch which showed no environmental or wildlife damage.

** Tuesday, May.9.2023Dr. Pascal Lee talked about “searching for life on Mars, why caves, Artemis, Starship and SLS, a theory about Roswell, and are we alone in the universe“.

** Sunday, May.7.2023John Strickland talked about

his visit to the recent Starship launch at Boca [Chica Beach] near Brownsville, TX. After talking Starship, environmental issues and KSC as an alternate launch site, we talked nuclear and solar power, energy and more. 

** Friday, May.5.2023 –  Gianni Martire and Luke Sellers discussed

their new paper on gravity waves and SETI-like searches. Our two guests explained the science behind their theory, talked lots about gravity waves, RamaCraft and more.

** Hotel Mars – Laura Montgomery,  space law specialist, gave an update to  John Batchelor and David Livingston on “Artemis, multiple nations competing at the lunar south pole, enhancing OST provisions such as no celestial property ownership, and more“.

** Tuesday, May.2.2023Dave Barnhart, CEO of Arkisys, explained “his new multi-use in space port for commercial space development“:

** See also:
* The Space Show Archives
* The Space Show Newsletter
* The Space Show Shop

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

The Space Show - David Livingston
The Space Show – Dr. David Livingston

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Videos: “Space to Ground” & other space habitat reports – May.15.2023

Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** Russian Spacewalk 58 Animation – May 23, 2023 NASA Johnson

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin conducted a spacewalk outside the International Space Station May 12 to assist in the deployment and activation of a radiator on the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module that was installed in April. It was the 263rd spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades, the 6th for Prokopyev and the 4th for Petelin.

Join NASA as we go forward to the Moon and on to Mars — discover the latest on Earth, the Solar System and beyond with a weekly update in your inbox.

** LIVE: Russian cosmonauts step out of the ISS [May.12.2023] – Reuters

Russian cosmonauts step out of the International Space Station to deploy and activate a radiator on one of its modules.

** Hypnotic stars view from the International Space Station – European Space Agency, ESA

Our astronaut Thomas Pesquet filmed this timelapse during his second mission to the International Space Station.

https://youtube.com/shorts/kcr9nCGoOPg?feature=share

** VAST Announces the HAVEN-1 and VAST-1 MissionsVAST

Scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1 and subsequent human spaceflight missions will accelerate access to space exploration

Press release: https://www.vastspace.com/updates/vas…

Vast, a pioneer in space habitation technologies, announced today their plans to launch the world’s first commercial space station, called Haven-1. Scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to low-Earth orbit no earlier than August 2025, Haven-1 will initially act as an independent crewed space station prior to being connected as a module to a larger Vast space station currently in development. The mission will be quickly followed by Vast-1, the first human spaceflight mission to Haven-1 on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The vehicle and its four-person crew will dock with Haven-1 for up to 30 days while orbiting Earth. Vast also secured an option with SpaceX for an additional human spaceflight mission to Haven-1.

This represents the first time in history that a commercial space station company has both a contracted launch for its space station and a visiting human spaceflight mission.

**  Axiom Mission 2: ISS National Lab-sponsored ScienceISS National Lab

The second launch of an all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by Axiom Space builds on the new era of privatized utilization of the orbiting laboratory.

Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) will send four private astronauts to the space station. It will also carry more than 20 payloads sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory that will be performed during the space expedition onboard the orbiting outpost. These investigations span diverse disciplines, from life sciences to biomanufacturing, materials science, technology demonstrations, and education projects.

** Tianzhou-6 dockingSciNews

According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft docked to the rear docking port of the Tianhe Core Module (天和核心舱), on 10 May 2023, at 21:16 UTC (11 may, at 05:16 China Standard Time). Tianzhou-6 (天舟六号) is the fifth cargo mission to the China Space Station (中国空间站).

** Chinese Astronauts Enter Tianzhou-6 to Unload Cargo – CCTV Video News Agency

China’s Shenzhou-15 astronauts have entered the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft on Friday morning to unload goods and equipment after the cargo craft’s docking with the orbiting Tiangong space station.

**  More Material Space Testing to Be Conducted Thanks to China’s Newly Launched Tianzhou-6 – CCTV Video News Agency

China’s cargo craft Tianzhou-6, which has just successfully docked with the space station complex, has carried a variety of materials which will be used for experiments and tests in the lab cabin or on the extravehicular platform.

** 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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ESO: Hidden views of vast stellar nurseries

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

ESO telescope reveals hidden views
of vast stellar nurseries

This image shows the L1688 region in the Ophiuchus constellation. New stars are born in the colourful clouds of gas and dust seen here. The infrared observations underlying this image reveal new details in the star-forming regions that are usually obscured by the clouds of dust. The image was produced with data collected by the VIRCAM instrument, which is attached to the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. The observations were done as part of the VISIONS survey, which will allow astronomers to better understand how stars form in these dust-enshrouded regions. This 520-million-pixel image can be explored in more detail with this zoomable version.

Using ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), astronomers have created a vast infrared atlas of five nearby stellar nurseries by piecing together more than one million images. These large mosaics reveal young stars in the making, embedded in thick clouds of dust. Thanks to these observations, astronomers have a unique tool with which to decipher the complex puzzle of stellar birth.

In these images we can detect even the faintest sources of light, like stars far less massive than the Sun, revealing objects that no one has ever seen before,

says Stefan Meingast, an astronomer at the University of Vienna in Austria and lead author of the new study published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

This will allow us to understand the processes that transform gas and dust into stars.

Stars form when clouds of gas and dust collapse under their own gravity, but the details of how this happens are not fully understood. How many stars are born out of a cloud? How massive are they? How many stars will also have planets?

To answer these questions, Meingast’s team surveyed five nearby star-forming regions with the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. Using VISTA’s infrared camera VIRCAM, the team captured light coming from deep inside the clouds of dust.

The dust obscures these young stars from our view, making them virtually invisible to our eyes. Only at infrared wavelengths can we look deep into these clouds, studying the stars in the making,”

explains Alena Rottensteiner, a PhD student also at the University of Vienna and co-author of the study.

This image shows the HH 909 A object in the Chamaeleon constellation. New stars are born in the colourful clouds of gas and dust seen here. The infrared observations underlying this image reveal new details in the star-forming regions that are usually obscured by the clouds of dust. The image was produced with data collected by the VIRCAM instrument, which is attached to the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. The observations were done as part of the VISIONS survey, which will allow astronomers to better understand how stars form in these dust-enshrouded regions.

The survey, called VISIONS, observed star-forming regions in the constellations of Orion, Ophiuchus, Chamaeleon, Corona Australis and Lupus. These regions are less than 1500 light-years away and so large that they span a huge area in the sky. The diameter of VIRCAM’s field of view is as wide as three full Moons, which makes it uniquely suited to map these immensely big regions.

This image shows the IRAS 11051-7706 object in the Chamaeleon constellation. New stars are born in the colourful clouds of gas and dust seen here. The infrared observations underlying the image reveal new details in the star-forming regions that are usually obscured by the clouds of dust. The image was produced with data collected by the VIRCAM instrument, which is attached to the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. The observations were done as part of the VISIONS survey, which will allow astronomers to better understand how stars form in these dust-enshrouded regions.

The team obtained more than one million images over a period of five years. The individual images were then pieced together into the large mosaics released here, revealing vast cosmic landscapes. These detailed panoramas feature dark patches of dust, glowing clouds, newly-born stars and the distant background stars of the Milky Way.

Since the same areas were observed repeatedly, the VISIONS data will also allow astronomers to study how young stars move.

With VISIONS we monitor these baby stars over several years, allowing us to measure their motion and learn how they leave their parent clouds,

explains João Alves, an astronomer at the University of Vienna and Principal Investigator of VISIONS. This is not an easy feat, as the apparent shift of these stars as seen from Earth is as small as the width of a human hair seen from 10 kilometres away. These measurements of stellar motions complement those obtained by the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission at visible wavelengths, where young stars are hidden by thick veils of dust.

A dark cloud of cosmic dust snakes across this spectacular image, illuminated by the brilliant light of new stars. This dense cloud is a star-forming region called Lupus 3, where dazzlingly hot stars are born from collapsing masses of gas and dust. This image was created from images taken using the VLT Survey Telescope and the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope. Click here for a wider version of this image.

The VISIONS atlas will keep astronomers busy for years to come.

There is tremendous long-lasting value for the astronomical community here, which is why ESO steers Public Surveys like VISIONS,”

says Monika Petr-Gotzens, an astronomer at ESO in Garching, Germany, and co-author of this study. Moreover, VISIONS will set the groundwork for future observations with other telescopes such as ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction in Chile and set to start operating later this decade.

The ELT will allow us to zoom into specific regions with unprecedented detail, giving us a never-seen-before close-up view of individual stars that are currently forming there,

concludes Meingast.

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