August 16, 2020

An Unusual Meteorite, More Valuable Than Gold, May Hold the Building Blocks of Life (Source: Science)
As it streaked across the skies of Costa Rica, an unearthly mix of orange and green, Marcia Campos Muñoz was in her pajamas. It was 23 April 2019, a bit past 9 p.m., when she heard a foreboding rumble, just before a blast on the back terrace rattled the house to its bones. A grapefruit-size hole in the corrugated zinc roof and a smashed-up plastic table, the culprit was scattered on the floor, in pieces as black as coal. She picked up the biggest fragment, still warm to the touch. The inky Aguas Zarcas meteorite resembled a legendary carbonaceous chondrite that exploded in 1969 over Murchison, Australia.

Geology students helped collect about 100 kilograms of Murchison, and scientists have recognized nearly 100 different amino acids in it, many used by organisms on Earth and many others rare or nonexistent in known life. Hundreds more amino acids have been inferred but not yet identified. Murchison also contained nucleobases, the building blocks of genetic molecules such as RNA, and in November 2019, researchers found a major component of RNA’s backbone: the sugar molecule ribose. This half-century parade of discoveries jump-started the now-flourishing field of astrobiology.

“We’re not detecting life itself, but the components are all there,” says Daniel Glavin, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “I wouldn’t have a job without Murchison.” The 30 kilograms of primordial leftovers from Aguas Zarcas hold similar promise. But these new pieces are 50 years fresher than Murchison, allowing scientists to apply modern techniques to preserve and probe what amounts to fragile lumps of unspeakably old clay. (8/13)

Pandemic Shuts Down Indian Spaceport (Source: New Indian Express)
New working modalities have been issued for ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC-Shar) in Sriharikota, according to which all regular activities are temporarily suspended as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause panic. "In view of the considerable number of Covid-19 positive cases in Shar and Sullurpeta housing colonies, it is essential to trace the primary contacts, test and isolate them to avoid further spread. All the office premises need to be fumigated and sanitized wherever the Covid positive employees had worked. Hence, the regular activities of SDSC Shar are suspended till completion of aforementioned activities." (8/16)

Daring NASA Mission To Explore An Ocean Of Lava On Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon (Source: Forbes)
Welcome to Io, the most volcanically active world in the Solar System. The innermost Galilean moon of Jupiter, Io is thought to be home to an underground ocean of magma. Now a new mission, Io Volcano Observer (IVO), is being proposed to NASA. Not studied up close since a few flybys by NASA’s Galileo mission around Jupiter—a mission that ended in 2003— IVO would be the first mission dedicated to Io. Io is thought to be the best place understand “tidal heating”—something that could unlock exactly how it is that planets and moons form a dense core. (8/15)

Arianespace Launches Third Ariane 5 of 2020 (Source: ArianeGroup)
For its third launch of the year, Ariane 5 , operated by Arianespace, placed three satellites in orbit for operators B-SAT, Intelsat and Space Logistics LLC. For this flight, Ariane 5 once again increased its payload capability and placed three satellites in geostationary transfer orbit. This launcher also included new parts produced using 3D printing and a new autonomous range safety system (8/16)

Weather OK for Tuesday's SpaceX Starlink Launch From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX is scheduled to launch its 11th batch of Starlink satellites Tuesday morning and weather seems to be cooperating. Currently the forecast is a 70% "go" as calculated by the U.S. Air Force. The primary concern for launch are rain showers and storms, according to the 45th Space Wing. Liftoff is currently scheduled at 10:31 a.m. In the event of a delay, weather improves slightly to 80% "go" for a Wednesday launch. Onboard the rocket are 58 satellites Starlink communication satellites and three PlanetLab SkySat Earth-imaging satellites. (8/15)

U.S. Criminal Probe Looks at Former NASA Official’s Contacts With Boeing Executive (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal probe into whether a senior NASA official improperly told a high-ranking Boeing Co. executive about the status of a lunar-lander contract, spurring the company to revise its bid, according to people familiar with the investigation. The grand-jury investigation, which hasn’t been previously reported, is being led by the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia and is focused on communication that occurred early this year outside established contracting channels. (8/14)

Space Force Doctrine Raises Questions About Nuclear Missiles (Source: Air Force Magazine)
If a nuclear missile passes through space on its way to hit the Earth, should the Space Force own it? That idea puzzled some policy watchers who read a section on orbital flight in the Space Force’s first Space Capstone Doctrine paper, published Aug. 10. To them, it suggests that the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are fired from underground silos and arc above the atmosphere before plummeting to a target, would fall under the space jurisdiction instead.

“Orbital flight (also referred to as spaceflight) is the act of deliberately manipulating gravitationally curved trajectories in order to transverse beyond Earth’s atmosphere and through space,” the doctrine document said. That definition covers “suborbital trajectories that travel into space but deliberately reenter the atmosphere before a complete circumnavigation,” it added. The section struck some policy experts as odd.

“Not sure why they included suborbital as a subset of orbital flight, as by definition, suborbital is NOT orbital. Does that mean ICBMs now do orbital flight?” Brian Weeden, program planning director at the Secure World Foundation, mused on Twitter. “I think they’re either confused on the physics or have decided to open a legal door for some sort of nuclear weapons delivery from ‘near space,'” he added. (8/14)

NASA Delays Next Dragon Crew Mission to Align with ISS Crew Assignments (Source: Business Insider)
SpaceX and NASA will launch their next batch of astronauts to the International Space Station no sooner than October 23. That pushes back the anticipated start date of the Crew-1 mission, which was originally slated to launch as early as late September. Crew-1 is technically SpaceX's first official, contracted astronaut mission for NASA, since the one it recently completed was a demonstration. The successful completion of that test, called Demo-2, paved the way for at least six more planned ISS missions as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The shift allows NASA to "best meet the needs of the International Space Station" by coordinating with the schedules of other astronauts going to and from the ISS. (8/15)

India Develops Sustainable Process for Making Brick-Like Structures on Moon (Source: The Print)
A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed a sustainable process for making brick-like structures on the moon, according to IISc. It exploits lunar soil, and uses bacteria and guar beans to consolidate the soil into possible load-bearing structures, Bengaluru-based IISc said. “These space bricks could eventually be used to assemble structures for habitation on the moons surface, the researchers suggest,” it said. (8/15)

New Mexico in Running to Land Space Command (Source: Albuquerque Journal)
Albuquerque is one of 31 locations nationwide that the U.S. Department of Defense is now considering to set up a new headquarters for the U.S. Space Command. The U.S. Air Force officially launched a competition last May to choose a new, permanent home for the command, and in June, Mayor Tim Keller and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham jointly submitted a letter proposing Albuquerque as the new location. In response, the city will now be considered as a potential candidate for the headquarters in a formal evaluation process. If New Mexico lands the Space Command, it would bring more than 1,000 new jobs to the city, plus contract opportunities for local industry. (8/14)

SpaceX Increases Latest Funding Round to $2 Billion (Source: Bloomberg)
Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is close to finalizing $2 billion in new funding after the company increased the size of the round due to strong demand, according to people familiar with the matter. Fidelity Investments, an existing investor, is one of the biggest participants in the round, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The company had been in discussions to raise about $1 billion at a price of $270 a share, Bloomberg News previously reported. Not including the new funds, that would’ve valued SpaceX at $44 billion. (8/14)

NASA Establishes Board to Initially Review Mars Sample Return Plans (Source: NASA JPL)
NASA has established a Mars Sample Return Program Independent Review Board to proactively assist with analysis of current plans and goals for one of the most difficult missions humanity has ever undertaken: the return of samples from another planet to study on Earth. When the Perseverance rover launched to Mars on July 30, it carried with it a sophisticated sampling system with drill bits, a coring arm, and sample tubes that are the cleanest hardware ever sent to space.

Perseverance will collect samples from several spots on Mars for return to Earth so scientists can determine if ancient microbial life was ever present on the Red Planet. The independent review board will help NASA review the technical concept developed during preliminary formulation to date for robustness and the ability to satisfy the mission's essential requirements. It will help ensure the agency is adopting lessons learned from its experience with previous large, strategic science missions. (8/14)

Arms Race is Brewing in Orbit (Source: The Economist)
Kosmos 2542, a Russian satellite that was launched in November, was “like Russian nesting dolls”, said General John Raymond, head of America’s newly formed Space Force, in February. Eleven days after its launch it disgorged another satellite, labelled Kosmos 2543. Then, on July 15th, Kosmos 2543 itself spat out another object, which sped off into the void. Merely a “small space vehicle” to inspect other satellites, said the Russians. Nonsense, said the Americans; it was a projectile. The intent, said Christoper Ford, the State Department’s top arms-control official, was to signal Russia’s ability to destroy other nations’ satellites. (8/15)

NASA Artemis I Rocket Moves Closer to Hot Fire Test (Source: NASA)
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage for the Artemis I lunar mission has successfully completed its first four Green Run tests and is building on those tests for the next phase of checkout as engineers require more capability of the hardware before hot-firing the stage and its four powerful engines. Green Run is a demanding series of eight tests and nearly 30 firsts: first loading of the propellant tanks, first flow through the propellant feed systems, first firing of all four engines, and first exposure of the stage to the vibrations and temperatures of launch. (8/7)

NASA Picks SwRI to Participate in $6 Billion Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition IV Contract (Source: SwRI)
NASA has selected Southwest Research Institute to take part in the $6 billion indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition IV contract. SwRI will be listed in the NASA spacecraft catalog used by the U.S. government to easily contract for proven spacecraft. The Rapid IV contracts serve as a fast and flexible means for the government to acquire spacecraft and related components, equipment and services in support of NASA missions and/or other federal government agencies. The spacecraft designs, related items and services may be tailored, as needed, to meet the unique needs of each mission. (8/11)