July 6, 2022

‘Huge’ Unexpected Ozone Hole Discovered Over Tropics (Source: Independent)
A “huge” ozone hole that was not expected to exist has been identified in the Earth’s atmosphere over almost the entire tropical region. The hole is a year-round gap in the planet’s ozone layer, and is seven times larger than the better-known Antarctic ozone hole that opens up each year in spring.

Professor Qing-Bin Lu said that according to his research, the hole has already been present for more than 30 years and covers such a massive area that half of the world’s population could be affected. He told The Independent: “Unlike the Antarctic ozone hole that only appears in the spring season, the tropical ozone hole appears in all seasons since the 1980s, and its area is roughly seven times greater.

“[It] could cause global concern as it can cause increases in ground-level UV radiation and associated risks of skin cancer and cataracts, and other negative effects on health and ecosystems in tropical regions.” (7/5)

Kalina: a Russian Ground-Based Laser to Dazzle Imaging Satellites (Source: Space Review)
Russia’s military has been working on several laser projects to disrupt operations of reconnaissance satellites passing overhead. Bart Hendrickx discusses the progress on one such system. Click here. (7/5)
 
The Perils of Planetary Rideshares (Source: Space Review)
NASA is funding several smallsat missions to the Moon, Mars, and asteroids—if they can find a ride. Jeff Foust reports on the challenges those missions have encountered as their rideshare launch opportunities get delayed or changed. Click here. (7/5)
 
Boozy Chimps in Orbit and Intoxicating Saturns: Where Space Pop Meets Tiki Culture (Source: Space Review)
At first glance, there would seem to be little in common between the Space Age and the “Tiki” culture that was popular in much of the 20th century. Deana Weibel describes how there was, in fact, considerable overlap that continues to this day. Click here. (7/5)

Rocket Lab to Launch Responsive Space Missions for National Reconnaissance Office (Source: Business Wire)
Rocket Lab USA announced its next two launches will be responsive space missions for the US National Reconnaissance Office. Rocket Lab is scheduled to deploy satellites to space for the NRO within only 10 days of each other, both from New Zealand. NROL-162 (“Wise One Looks Ahead”) will launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1’s Pad A no earlier than July 12, with NROL-199 (“Antipodean Adventure”) scheduled to launch from Pad B no earlier than July 22.

The NROL-162 and NROL-199 missions will carry national security payloads designed, built, and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office in partnership with the Australian Department of Defence as part of a broad range of cooperative satellite activities with Australia. The satellites will support the NRO to provide critical information to government agencies and decision makers monitoring international issues.

These twin missions will be a demonstration of responsive launch under NRO’s Rapid Acquisition of a Small Rocket (RASR) contract for launching small satellite through a streamlined, commercial approach, and are the third and fourth missions contracted to Rocket Lab by the NRO under the contract. NROL-151 (RASR-1) was successfully deployed to space on a dedicated Electron launch in early 2020, followed by RASR-2 on another Electron launch in June 2020. (7/5)

NASA Loses Contact with CAPSTONE Lunar Spacecraft (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
NASA’s CAPSTONE spacecraft, designed to pave the way for the Artemis program’s Lunar Gateway outpost, has “experienced communications issues.” Contact was lost during the spacecraft’s second pass of NASA’s Deep Space Network, about a day after the CAPSTONE separated from Rocket Lab’s Photon kick stage following its insertion into a ballistic lunar transfer trajectory.

The CubeSat is designed to use its onboard propulsion to place itself into a “near-rectilinear halo orbit” around the Moon over the next several months to prove the stability of the orbit and test a spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation technique. (7/5)

Canadian Space Agency Opens R&D Opportunity (Source: SpaceQ)
The Canadian Space Agency has announced the next Space Technology Development Program (STDP) opportunity, AO 7.3 Space R&D, with upwards of $3.5M in funding available. The STPD Space R&D opportunity opened on June 28th and the deadline for applications is August 12, 2022 with an estimated project start date of Dec. 1, 2022.

AO (Announcement of Opportunity) 7.3 has $3.5M in funding with a maximum of $500,000 non-repayable contribution available per project. The project timeframe is 24 months from start of the project, though the CSA states that there is a possibility of an extension to 36 months. (7/4)

Could the Large Hadron Collider Discover Dark Matter? (Source: Space.com)
With the switching back on of CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) after a three-year hiatus, the giant particle accelerator has a new target set in its sights: the hunt for dark matter, the mysterious substance that must make up about 80% of all the matter in the universe, but which no one has ever seen.

It's an astounding fact that the vast majority of matter in the universe is actually invisible to us. Astronomers think that dark matter must be present because they see its gravitational fingerprints. Dark matter is the invisible cosmic scaffold that holds together galaxies and galaxy clusters. We just don't know what it is. Intriguingly, experiments on the smallest scales at the Large Hadron Collider could hold the key to figuring out one of the largest-scale cosmological mysteries of all.

"Since the discovery of the Higgs boson, the field of dark matter has changed completely," said Gian Guidice, who leads the theoretical division at CERN. Ten years ago, the lead contender for the identity of dark matter was a class of particles known as weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPS for short. These would be particles with large masses — hence dark matter's strong gravitational pull — but which otherwise would only weakly interact, or 'couple', with other particles. (7/4)

Earth Orbit, Moon, Mars: ESA’s Ambitious Roadmap (Source: ESA)
In a bold vision to secure Europe’s role in space exploration and so benefit from the many scientific, economic, and societal rewards, ESA is publicly releasing its new exploration roadmap after its presentation to its Council, the agency’s highest ruling body. Called Terrae Novae 2030+ (Latin for new worlds), the document lays the groundwork for Europe to ensure its leading role in space exploration for future prosperity.

“This new long-term roadmap for exploration is now available to guide decision-makers who will ultimately make the choices on how far to take Europe on the journey of deep-space exploration,” says ESA’s director of Human and Robotic Exploration, David Parker. Click here. (7/4)