February 28, 2019

First Evidence of Planet-Wide Groundwater System on Mars (Source: ESA)
Mars Express has revealed the first geological evidence of a system of ancient interconnected lakes that once lay deep beneath the Red Planet’s surface, five of which may contain minerals crucial to life. Mars appears to be an arid world, but its surface shows compelling signs that large amounts of water once existed across the planet.

We see features that would have needed water to form – branching flow channels and valleys, for example – and just last year Mars Express detected a pool of liquid water beneath the planet’s south pole. A new study now reveals the extent of underground water on ancient Mars that was previously only predicted by models. “Early Mars was a watery world, but as the planet’s climate changed this water retreated below the surface to form pools and ‘groundwater’,” says lead author Francesco Salese of Utrecht University, the Netherlands. (2/28)

After 2019 Increase, White House Considers 5% Cut for 2020 (Source: Houston Chronicle)
There's concern the White House's 2020 budget proposal could slash NASA's budget. Russ Vought, acting head of the Office of Management and Budget, said in an op-ed earlier this week that the 2020 budget will propose a five percent cut to non-defense discretionary spending, which includes NASA. Such a cut, applied to NASA, would reduce its budget by more than $1 billion. However, Congress has, in the previous two years, significantly increased NASA funding over the administration's proposals. (2/28)

Spaceport America Expects to Host Virgin Galactic Flights This Year (Source: KOB-TV)
Spaceport America is optimistic that Virgin Galactic will start commercial flights from the spaceport this year. In an interview, Dan Hicks, head of the New Mexico spaceport, said "the chances are very, very high" that Virgin will begin commercial space tourism flights of its SpaceShipTwo vehicle there before the end of the year. While Virgin Galactic is the anchor tenant of the spaceport, Hicks said his vision includes supporting not just its space tourism flights but also small launch vehicles for smallsats. (2/28)

OneWeb Launches First Satellites with Arianespace on Soyuz Rocket (Source: Space News)
OneWeb's first satellites are in orbit after a successful launch Wednesday. The Soyuz rocket carrying the six satellites lifted off on schedule at 4:37 p.m. Eastern, with deployment of the satellites confirmed about an hour and a half later. The rocket placed the satellites into a 1,000-kilometer orbit for 60 to 90 days of tests, including maneuvers to their final orbit of 1,200 kilometers.

The launch marked the end of the beginning for OneWeb, a British company founded by American entrepreneur Greg Wyler in 2012 that seeks to make low-cost internet a global phenomenon with a constellation of 150-kilogram smallsats. Twenty more Soyuz launches, each carrying up to 36 satellites, are scheduled to deploy the rest of the constellation starting later this year. (2/28)

University Research Center Will Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Source: Science)
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is getting a home base. On 1 March, Pennsylvania State University in State College will announce the first contributions to a campaign that hopes to raise $110 million for the new Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence (PSETI) Center with endowed professorships and a degree-granting graduate program.

It would be one of just a few academic SETI research centers and, if plans are realized, it could be the first to offer courses from the undergraduate to Ph.D. level. Some astronomers say it would provide a badly needed boost to a subdiscipline that has long suffered from neglect. “There really isn’t an academic ecosystem for the field as a whole,” says Penn State astronomer Jason Wright, who will serve as the PSETI Center head. “You can’t work on it if you can’t hire students and postdocs.”

So far, Penn State has received two private gift pledges totaling $3.5 million, which will create a new professorship within the astronomy department and subsidize other SETI research. Although that leaves a considerable sum to be raised, Wright considers it a good start, showing that “this idea is something that resonates.” (2/28)

Reid Urges Renewed Study of UFOs (Source: Las Vegas Now)
Former Nevada Senator Harry Reid is continuing to make the case for renewed studies into the UFO mystery. Back in 2007, Reid and a few senate colleagues sponsored a secret Pentagon program that investigated mystery aircraft and related phenomena. The program was based in southern Nevada, but that effort ended six years ago, and very little from the study has been made public. Now, the senator not only hopes the X-Files get released but thinks there should be a renewed effort to get to the bottom of things.

"I'll bet you anything that China is spending money to check this out I'll bet you anything that KGB Putin is spending some money checking this out," said former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He dropped hard-edged hints that he knows potential adversaries Russia and China have carried out their own military studies to figure out how UFOs work and how to build their own. (2/28)

Iceye Staffs Up for Growth (Source: Space News)
Radar satellite imaging company Iceye is hiring new executives as it builds out its constellation. The Helsinki-based company announced Wednesday it hired a vice president for product delivery and operations and a vice president for business development and sales. Iceye is expanding its staff as it begins selling data from Iceye-X2, the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) smallsat launched in December. The company is preparing to launch five more SAR satellites this year. (2/28)
 
Senate Bill Seeks ISS Extension to 2030 (Source: Space News)
A bill introduced by a bipartisan pair of senators Feb. 27 would authorize an extension of the International Space Station to 2030 and also make permanent human settlement of space a national goal. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced the Advancing Human Spaceflight Act Feb. 27, with its central provision authorizing an extension of operations of the ISS from 2024 to 2030.

Other members of Congress sought such an extension last year in response to a proposal in NASA’s fiscal year 2019 budget proposal to end direct federal funding of the station in 2025, part of an effort to commercialize low Earth orbit operations. The Space Frontier Act, introduced last summer by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Bill Nelson (D-FL), included a similar extension of the ISS operations to 2030. (2/28)