** What’s Up: June 2023 Skywatching Tips from NASA – NASA JPL
What are some skywatching highlights in June 2023? Mars and Venus draw closer throughout the month, while Saturn leads Jupiter into the morning sky. Bright stars Spica and Arcturus shine brightly overhead on June evenings, along with the Summer Triangle. And the June solstice, on the 21st, has a special claim to fame.
0:00 Intro 0:13 Mars & Venus in the evening 1:00 Saturn & Jupiter in the morning 1:19 Bright stars of June 2:22 June solstice 3:42 June 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….
Though the nights are shorter in June, they are filled with fine sights. Look for the Hercules constellation, which will lead you to a globular star cluster with hundreds of thousands of densely packed stars. You can also spot Draco the dragon, which will point you to the Cat’s Eye Nebula. Keep watching for space-based views of globular star clusters and the nebula.
Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal what you can see in the night sky this month, including Mars, Venus and the Beehive Cluster, the Summer Solstice and the Summer Triangle.
Our monthly Sky Tour #astronomy #podcast provides an informative and entertaining 10-minute guided tour of the nighttime sky. Listen to the June episode and mark the Sun’s #solstice; follow the #Moon through its phases; watch #Venus and #Mars dance in the evening sky; track down a couple of faint #constellations; and shine a spotlight on the #star #Arcturus.
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:
** 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.
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 | John Shoffner & MIT HUMANS – Axiom Space
** SpaceX CRS-28 Research Overview: Genes in Space 10 – ISS 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 station – VideoFromSpace
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.
** 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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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
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 orbit – Axiom 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 | Approach and Docking – Axiom 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 approach – VideoFromSpace
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.
** Andreas Mogensen next mission to the International Space Station | Huginn Mission – European 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
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.12.2023 – Melodie Yashar discussed “space architecture, settlement, where to settle, building codes for space development, terrestrial structures for space and more“.
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.9.2023 – Dr. 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“.
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.
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“.
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.
** VAST Announces the HAVEN-1 and VAST-1 Missions – VAST
Scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1 and subsequent human spaceflight missions will accelerate access to space exploration
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 Science – ISS 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.
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).
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
