August 30, 2024

200 Meteorites on Earth Traced to 5 Craters on Mars (Source: Space.com)
Believe it or not, debris from Mars has frequently made its way to Earth after powerful impacts hit the Red Planet's surface and launch it into space. There have been at least 10 of these meteorite-forming events in Mars' recent history. When these massive impacts occur, meteorites can be flung away from the Red Planet with enough velocity that they break free of Mars' gravitational pull to enter orbit around the sun, with some eventually falling to Earth.

Scientists at the University of Alberta have now traced the origins of 200 of these meteorites to five impact craters in two volcanic regions on Mars, known as Tharsis and Elysium. (8/23)

James Webb Telescope Discovers 6 Rogue Worlds Within A Glowing Cosmic Cloud (Source: NDTV)
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected six rogue worlds-cosmic objects that do not orbit stars. These celestial bodies are slightly larger than Jupiter and provide new insights into star and planet formation across the universe. The Webb telescope observed the star-forming nebula NGC 1333, located 960 light-years away within the Perseus molecular cloud. This nebula's turbulence creates knots that collapse under gravity, leading to the formation of stars. Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope, which was hindered by dust, Webb's ability to observe in infrared light allowed it to see through the dust and capture detailed images. (8/28)

Sharpest New Images of Black Holes 'Will Likely Reveal New Properties' (Source: Newsweek)
Scientists have snapped the most high-resolution pictures of black holes ever taken from the ground. These two black holes, situated at the hearts of our galaxy and another galaxy named M87, were imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration, according to a new paper in The Astronomical Journal.

The new, crisper images of the black holes were created thanks to the detection of light with a frequency of 345 GHz, which could be combined with existing images of black holes captured in 230 GHz light. The new images have 50 percent higher definition than the ones before and reveal greater details of the areas around the black holes' event horizon. (8/28)

Is Betelgeuse Actually a Binary Star? (Source: Phys.org)
Betelgeuse has been a favorite among amateur astronomers for many years. However you pronounce it, its unexpected dimming draws even more attention to this red supergiant variable star in Orion. It has a few cycles of variability. One of them occurs over a 2,170 day period, five times longer than its normal pulsation period. A paper suggests a companion star of 1.17 solar masses could be the cause.

It would need an orbit about 2.43 times the radius of Betelgeuse and it might just lead to the modulation of dust in the region that causes the variations we see. Over the last five years, it's been getting special attention due to its unexpected dimming. The dimming occurred toward the end of 2019, returning to normal in the first half of 2020. It's generally accepted that the dimming was caused by a dust cloud in the event that has now been dubbed the "Great Dimming." (8/29)

Boeing's Uncrewed Starliner Could Return by Late Next Week, NASA Says (Source: Reuters)
NASA will proceed with the undocking of the uncrewed Boeing Starliner capsule not before Sep. 6, the space agency said on Thursday after concluding a review. Starliner's propulsion system issues were deemed too risky for crewed return after the capsule experienced a series of glitches within the first 24 hours of its flight to the ISS.

The journey back to Earth for the Starliner is expected to take approximately six hours from undocking to landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, NASA said. Ground teams will remotely guide the spacecraft through necessary maneuvers for a safe undocking, re-entry and parachute-assisted landing in southwestern United States. Starliner has previously completed a successful uncrewed entry and landing during two orbital flight tests, the agency said. (8/29)

Navarro: Harris Has Been A Disaster For US Space Policy (Source: Daily Caller)
When President Trump reestablished the National Space Council — JFK was the originator — we had a clear, bold vision: America was going back to the Moon, heading to Mars and seeking to ensure American economic and military dominance in space. By the end of Trump’s term, the U.S. Space Force was up and running, the Artemis manned mission to the moon was on track and our commercial partnerships were flourishing. 

Today, as Chair of the National Space Council, Vice President Kamala Harris has destroyed everything the Trump administration built. The Boeing Starliner debacle is but the tip of Kamala’s iceberg. (8/28)

Blue Origin Completes 26th Mission to Space with Six Crew Onboard (Source: Blue Origin)
Today, Blue Origin successfully completed its eighth human spaceflight and the 26th flight for the New Shepard program. Our astronaut crew included: Nicolina Elrick, Rob Ferl, Eugene Grin, Dr. Eiman Jahangir, Karsen Kitchen, and Ephraim Rabin. Including today’s crew, New Shepard has now flown 43 people into space. The mission launched from Blue Origin's site in Texas. (8/29)

FAA Plans Revised Environmental Assessment for SpaceX Texas Expansion (Source: FAA)
In July 2024, the FAA released the Draft Tiered Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) for SpaceX’s proposal to increase the number of launches and landings of its Starship/Super Heavy Vehicle at the Boca Chica Launch Site in Texas. The FAA invited interested parties to submit comments on the Draft EA. That public comment period closed on August 29, 2024.

On August 9, 2024, the FAA became aware of allegations that SpaceX violated the Clean Water Act at the Boca Chica Launch Site. The FAA was unable to confirm the accuracy of certain representations in SpaceX’s license application and the Draft Tiered Environmental Assessment prior to the public meetings scheduled for August 13th, 15th, and 20th. As a result, the FAA chose to postpone the public meetings until these matters could be resolved.

The FAA will release a Revised Draft Tiered Environmental Assessment (Revised Draft EA) in the future. The Revised Draft EA will be accompanied by an additional public comment period and public meetings. (8/29)

Firefly Aerospace Names Space Industry Veteran Jason Kim as New CEO (Source: Space News)
Firefly Aerospace, a developer of launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles, announced Aug. 29 the appointment of space industry veteran Jason Kim as its new chief executive officer, effective Oct. 1. The move comes just weeks after former CEO Bill Weber stepped down amid misconduct allegations.

Kim joins Firefly from Millennium Space, a Boeing subsidiary specializing in small satellites primarily for U.S. government agencies, where he served as CEO. He previously held executive positions at Raytheon Intelligence & Space, and Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. (8/29)

Chinese Astronauts Conduct Medical Tests and Grow Plants in Orbit (Source: Space.com)
The astronauts living aboard China's Tiangong space station have been busy. The three Shenzhou 18 crewmembers — commander Ye Guangfu and crewmates Li Cong and Li Guangsu — have been aboard the Tiangong space station since April 25. A new update via China's human spaceflight agency, CMSA, demonstrates the broad range of the trio's orbital activities. For example, the newly released footage shows the astronauts engaging in environmental monitoring and equipment maintenance, exercising using a treadmill and growing plants. (8/28)

UK Project Aims to Build Space Workforce (Source: University of Portsmouth)
A new project, led by the University of Portsmouth, has launched to help companies overcome the skills gap in software, data and artificial intelligence (AI) in the space sector. The Securing the future of space: Space Software and Data/AI CPD program is one of five new projects, worth £2.1m, announced by UK Space Agency to break down barriers to opportunities within this fast-growing, high-tech sector.  The course, delivered by experts from the Space South Central partnership of universities of Portsmouth, Southampton and Surrey, will equip mid-career professionals with the expertise needed to strategically navigate the rapidly changing fields of AI and data-science. (8/27)