January 20, 2024

NASA’S OSIRIS-REx Curation Team Reveals Remaining Asteroid Sample (Source: NASA)
The astromaterials curation team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston has completed the disassembly of the OSIRIS-REx sampler head to reveal the remainder of the asteroid Bennu sample inside. On Jan. 10, they successfully removed two stubborn fasteners that had prevented the final steps of opening the Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head. Next, the curation team will remove the round metal collar and prepare the glovebox to transfer the remaining sample from the TAGSAM head into pie-wedge sample trays. (1/19)

NASA’s Roman to Search for Signs of Dark Matter Clumps (Source: NASA)
Some of the finest, smallest details in the universe – the gaps between elongated groups of stars – may soon help astronomers reveal dark matter in greater detail than ever before. After NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launches, by May 2027, researchers will use its images to explore what exists between looping tendrils of stars that are pulled from globular clusters. Specifically, they will focus on the tidal streams from globular clusters that orbit our neighboring Andromeda galaxy. Their aim is to pinpoint a greater number of examples of these tidal streams, examine gaps between the stars, and ideally determine concrete properties of dark matter. (1/17)

Japan Lands on Moon (Source: BBC)
Japan's space agency says it has soft-landed its spacecraft, dubbed "Moon Sniper", on the Moon. JAXA said Friday that all instruments are functioning and the lander is communicating with Earth, but its solar panels may not be aimed properly for battery charging, which could impact operations as battery charges diminish. Some instruments have been shut down to preserve battery power.

The Japanese attempt to land on the Moon, within 100m from its target is "unprecedented", says Dr. Emma Gatti. Most spacecrafts touch down kilometers away from their intended target, she tells the BBC. The scientific equipment aboard the lander will attempt to find water and other elements that sustain human life. Japan’s space agency is also hoping that the precision landing technology the Moon Sniper uses can also lead to the exploration of hilly Moon poles, seen as potential sources of oxygen, water and fuel. (1/19)

Vaxxinity Announces Collaboration on Space Medicine Research with University of Central Florida (Source: Vaxxinity)
Vaxxinity, a U.S. company pioneering the development of a new class of medicines, announced a collaboration with the University of Central Florida (UCF) to advance space medicine research. The research, funded by a grant from the State of Florida, aims to further the development of Vaxxinity’s active immunotherapies to prevent and mitigate muscle and bone wasting, which are well known health challenges related to long-term spaceflight, and which share biological mechanisms implicated in highly prevalent age-related diseases. (1/18)

Space Policy Official Details Approach to Maintaining U.S. Edge (Source: DoD)
John F. Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, underscored the critical role DOD's space enterprise will play in meeting the nation's top national security priorities during a briefing yesterday at the Pentagon. Click here. (1/18)

How Shetland Spaceport Promises Jobs for a New Generation, as Countdown Starts for Summer Lift-Off (Source: Press & Journal)
From our mobile phones to the cereal we eat in the morning, space influences our everyday lives even when we don’t realize it, says one of the leading figures behind Shetland’s new spaceport. And while that influence can largely go unnoticed, the team at SaxaVord Space Port in Shetland think they can get people looking to the stars.

History was made last month when the SaxaVord site, on the small island of Unst, became the UK’s first space port for vertical rocket launches. Now, the team is confidently looking towards the first launches this summer. It is a venture that could prove transformational for the islands with promised jobs and the potential to inspire a new generation toward space. Estimates suggest the spaceport will directly support up to 200 jobs with another 600 throughout the rest of Scotland. (1/18)

India Working Toward Building Own Space Station, Tests Next Year (Source: NDTV)
ISRO plans to carry out the first tests of the proposed Bharatiya Space Station next year and talks are on with the industry to manufacture, test and launch its first module by 2028, the space agency's chief S Somanath said on Thursday. (1/18)

The Next Country to Land Humans on the Moon in the Next 10 Years 'Sets a Precedent' for Who Decides the Rules There (Source: Business Insider)
"The Chinese Communist Party is actively soliciting international partners for a lunar mission, a lunar research station, and has stated its ambition to have human astronauts on the surface by 2030," Rep. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma said at a Science, Space, and Technology House Committee hearing about the Artemis project.

"The country that lands first will have the ability to set a precedent for whether future lunar activities are conducted with openness and transparency, or in a more restricted manner," said Lucas, chairman of the committee. (1/17)