December 26, 2023

Astrobotics, Intuitive Machines Could be First Private Companies on Moon (Source: Washington Post)
A pair of companies are planning to launch uncrewed spacecraft to the moon within weeks of each other early next year in a NASA-funded effort that could mark the first soft landings for the United States on the lunar surface since the last of the Apollo missions in 1972. But in a sign of how the commercial space industry is transforming exploration, the companies are also vying for another historic first: to become the first private venture to land on the moon.

On Jan. 8, Astrobotic, a company based in Pittsburgh, is scheduled to launch its Peregrine spacecraft on the inaugural launch of the Vulcan rocket, which is operated by the United Launch Alliance, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Then, in mid-February, from another pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida, Intuitive Machines is set to launch its lander on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. (12/24)

The Skyhook Could Slingshot Mankind Across The Solar System (Source: Jalopnik)
The ISS could be the ideal anchor for a skyhook that would act like a slingshot to propel people and cargo into space cheaply, as Aeon reports. The concept is so bafflingly simple that it’s a mystery why agencies around the globe are not all-in on the idea. Go read this essay over at Aeon, which goes into detail to describe the skyhook (or skyhooks) to see what it’s all about.

The gist of it is that space junk, or debris that has accumulated over decades of space exploration, could be used as counterweights attached to tethers that catch spacecraft in the Earth’s atmosphere, then release them into space. The skyhooks would eliminate the need for tons of fuel, and would even allow for greater payloads to be sent into space. The ISS and other large “dead” satellites, such as Envisat — a 26-meter long, 10-meter wide former communications satellite — come in.These could provide a major component of the skyhooks. (12/25)

ESO Telescope: The World's Largest Optical Telescope Takes Shape in Chile (Source: Interesting Engineering)
The world’s largest optical telescope is being pieced together to life. The first 18 segments of the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ESO’s ELT) main mirror, dubbed the M1, have commenced their 10,000-kilometer journey from France to Chile. Once finished, the ELT will boast a colossal mirror comprising 798 individual hexagonal segments, making it the largest telescope mirror in the world with a diameter of over 39 meters. The complexity of crafting such a mammoth mirror was such that it could not be created as a single piece. (12/23)

SpaceX Sets New Annual Launch Record for Falcon Rockets (Source: Digital Trends)
At the start of 2023, SpaceX had its sights set on achieving 100 Falcon rocket launches by December 31. It breezed past its current annual record of 60 launches in September, but looks set to just fall short of its ambitious target for this year. In the SpaceX’s busiest 12-month period since launching the first Falcon rocket in 2010, it’s so far achieved 90 flights using its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket and four missions using its Falcon Heavy rocket, which is basically three Falcon 9 boosters linked together.

Before the end of the year, SpaceX plans to fly one more Falcon Heavy rocket mission and two more Falcon 9 missions, taking its total number of Falcon flights to 97. If you want to throw in its Starship missions as well, both of which failed soon after launch, then the total increases to 99 liftoffs completed by SpaceX in 2023. (12/24)

We Should Embrace Transhumanism; Our Survival Could Depend On It (Source: The Hill)
The world is changing at a furious pace due to rapid technological advancements, especially those of artificial intelligence (AI). Enhancing human beings through new technology has become a topic of much conversation. Cases of genetic editing often dominate those debates, but the possibility of an enhanced Olympic Games or super soldiers also grab headlines.

While some express concerns about the ethical implications and potential risks, advocating for the preservation of “natural” humanity, there is a compelling case to be made for embracing technological enhancements beyond the means of just improving the human experience. With AI possibly set to pass the intelligence of humans in the next 20 years, the need to become a stronger, more resilient species has become markedly more important. Trying to keep up with AI via human enhancement may be one of the most important activities humans do in the future. (12/25)

12 Out-of-This-World Exoplanet Discoveries in 2023 (Source: Space.com)
This year saw planetary scientists add a number of exciting new worlds to our growing 5,000+ catalog of exoplanets. Among them are planets like we have never seen before. Here is a look back at some of the standout exoplanet discoveries of 2023. Click here. (12/24)

The Atmosphere of an Exoplanet Reveals Secrets About Its Surface (Source: Universe Today)
As astronomers have begun to gather data on the atmospheres of planets, we’re learning about their compositions and evolution. Thick atmospheres are the easiest to study, but these same thick atmospheres can hide the surface of a planet from view. A Venus-like world, for example, has such a thick atmosphere making it impossible to see the planet’s terrain. It seems the more likely we are to understand a planet’s atmosphere, the less likely we are to understand its surface. But that could change thanks to a new study.

Rocky worlds have a rich chemical exchange between their surfaces and their atmospheres. On Earth, the cycles of rain and evaporation, seasons of growth and harvest, and volcanic activities change the atmospheric composition over time. These exchanges happen over a long timescale, so Earth’s surface and atmosphere are never in a state of mutual equilibrium. On Venus, with its thicker atmosphere and dry surface, the timescale of exchange is shorter, but still not fast enough to reach a balance.

In this study, the authors argue that for warm Venus-like worlds with particularly thick atmospheres, a chemical equilibrium between surface and air can be reached. These worlds are the kind we find closely orbiting small stars, so they are well-suited for atmospheric studies. (12/23)

NASA Mars Wreckage Raises Concerns About How We Explore Space (Source: BGR)
Last year, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, which currently spends its days flying over the surface of Mars, discovered what many described as “otherworldly wreckage.” The image is making the rounds again, but it isn’t alien in nature. Instead, the images are just a showcase of how humanity is trashing up the universe while we try to explore it.

Obviously, it is impossible to send multi-billion dollar spacecraft to another planet without there being some trash left behind. The photos currently making the rounds show a collection of wreckage on the Martian surface. And while it might be tempting to jump to alien explanations, the wreckage is, in fact, just pieces of the lander that delivered Ingenuity to the Red Planet. (12/24)

The Tantalizing Mystery of the Solar System's Hidden Oceans (Source: WIRED)
In 2004, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft arrived at Saturn. When it observed Saturn’s small moon Enceladus, it found coruscating icy plumes erupting from vast chasms at the moon’s south pole. And when Cassini flew through these spouts, the evidence was unmistakable—this was a salty ocean vigorously bleeding into space.

Now Earth’s oceans are no longer unique. They’re just strange. They exist on our planet’s sunlit surface, while the seas of the outer solar system are tucked beneath ice and bathed in darkness. And these subterranean liquid oceans seem to be the rule for our solar system, not the exception. In addition to Europa and Enceladus, other moons with ice-covered oceans almost certainly exist as well. A fleet of spacecraft will explore them in detail over the next decade.

All of this raises an apparent paradox. These moons have existed in the frosty reaches of our solar system for billions of years—long enough for residual heat from their creation to have escaped into space eons ago. Any subsurface seas should be solid ice by now. So how can these moons, orbiting so far beyond the sun’s warmth, still have oceans today? Click here. (12/24)