April 2 News Items

Space Generation Congress Delegate Applications Close April 15 (Source: SGC)
The last day to apply to be a delegate to the SGC2007 event in Hyderabad is April 15. Space Generation was intended by the United Nations to bring young people together and give them a voice in world space policy, and to band them together as a global volunteer force for space projects. And if you're 18-35 years old, YOU can be a delegate to Space Generation Congress 2007. Visit http://www.explorerswanted.comfor information, and apply at http://hyderabad.spacegeneration.org/?q=node/47.

Proton-M with Canadian Satellite to be Launched April 10 (Source: RIA Novosti)
A Proton-M booster rocket carrying a Canadian telecommunications satellite, Anik F3, has been scheduled for launch April 10 from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan.

SeaLaunch Fallout - Two More Satellites Switch to Ariane (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Intelsat has cancelled two launches that were initially manifested with the SeaLaunch Company's Land Launch wing, following the failure of the Zenit 3SL in January. Sea Launch - which provides contracting and management functions for the Launch Land systems - share commonality with their versions of the Zenit 3SL launch vehicle. Intelsat's Horizon 2 and Intelsat 11 will now be launches via Ariane 5 later this year.

ESA and NASA Extend Ties with Cross-Support Agreement (Source: ESA)
On 21 March ESA and NASA signed an agreement in Washington, DC, extending the two agencies' long-standing cooperation in the areas of satellite tracking, spacecraft navigation and mission operations. The agencies' new "Network and Operations Cross-support" agreement covers the ongoing provision to each other of services for missions where no specific Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is in place, typically due to the short-term nature or limited scope of the support.

ESA Prepares for a Human Mission to Mars (Source: ESA)
Starting in spring next year, a crew of six will be sent on a 500 day simulated mission to Mars. In reality the crew will remain in a special isolation facility in Russia. To investigate the psychological and medical aspects of a long-duration mission, such as to Mars, ESA is looking for experiment proposals for research to be carried out during their stay. During the simulated Mars mission, known as Mars500, the crew will be put through all kinds of scenarios as if they really were travelling to the Red Planet – including a launch, an outward journey of up to 250 days, arrival at Mars and, after an excursion to the surface, they will face the long journey home.

Shanghai Vies to Win Battle of Moon Rovers (Source: Xinhua)
Shanghai has developed a prototype lunar rover it hopes will be chosen for China's first landing on the moon in 2012. The remote-controlled vehicle travels at an average speed of 100 meters per hour and is 1.5 meters high and weighs 200 kg, is similar to America's "Spirit," which landed on Mars. "We want to make it better than the early US and Russian rovers," institute director Luo Jian said, without specifying the improvements.