NASAs Perseverance rover lifts off Thursday from Cape Canaveral aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now

Persevering through a global pandemic, a last-minute earthquake, and the trials of a rocket launch, NASAs next Mars rover named Perseverance took off from Cape Canaveral Thursday on a nearly seven-month journey to the Red Planet with sophisticated science instruments, technology to collect samples for to Earth, and the first interplanetary helicopter that could produce a Wright Brothers moment on another world.

The $2.7 billion Mars 2020 billion mission is poised to achieve numerous firsts on the Red Planet, but first it had to leave Earth on top of a powerful rocket to kick off a 300-million-mile (nearly 500-million-kilometer) voyage through the solar system.

An Atlas 5 rocket built by United Launch Alliance a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin gave the Perseverance rover a perfect ride into space Thursday after lifting off from Cape Canaveral at 7:50 a.m. EDT (1150 GMT).

Four solid rocket motors and a Russian-made RD-180 main engine gave the Atlas 5 and the Perseverance rover their initial boost into space. An RL10 engine on the Centaur upper stage, fueled by an efficient mix of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants, fired two times to accelerate the Mars-bound rover to a velocity of nearly 25,000 mph (more than 11 kilometers per second).

That was enough speed to allow the 9,000-pound (4.1-metric ton) spacecraft to break free of the grip of Earths gravity and head into deep space.

The Perseverance rover is the centerpiece of NASAs Mars 2020 mission, which will seek signs of ancient microbial life forms that scientists believe could have populated the Red Planet billions of years ago.

The six-wheeled rover is essentially a robotic geologist, but it also hosts trailblazing technologies that will pave the way for future missions. Those include NASAs Mars Helicopter, named Ingenuity, and an experiment to demonstrate the production of oxygen from carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere.

Were doing transformative science, said Matt Wallace, the Mars 2020 missions deputy project manager at JPL, before the missions launch. Really, for the first time, were looking for signs of life on another planet, and for the first time were going to collect samples that we hope will be part of the first sample return from another planet.

The Atlas 5 launcher performed flawlessly Thursday, deploying the Mars 2020 spacecraft right on its predicted course nearly one hour after liftoff. The Centaur upper stage spun up to about 2 rpm before releasing the spacecraft.

The rocket injected the probe into an orbit between the planets around the sun, setting the stage for a cruise to Mars that will culminate in a high-stakes, one-shot attempt to land on Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021.

The orbital parameters look dead on, said Omar Baez, NASAs launch director for the Mars 2020 mission. Our velocity is dead on. So were on our way to Mars. Theres no way back.

While the Perseverance rover itself wont come back from Mars, some of the hardware on-board the vehicle is designed to eventually return to Earth. The rover carries 43 tubes, each about the size of a slim cigar, to hold rock and soil samples collected after Perseverances landing. The vehicle will drop the tubes on the surface of Mars for retrieval by another robotic mission in the late 2020s, which will bring the specimens back to Earth.

The mission objectives of our effort are to explore the geology of our landing site, to look for signs of biosignatures from the past, said Adam Steltzner, chief engineer on the Mars 2020 mission at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We are not a life detection mission. We are looking for signs of past life on the surface of mars. Also, signatures that mars was habitable, and to the degree that is still habitable, where it might be habitable. Our third objective is to prepare a returnable cache of samples, and then fourth is to prepare for future human exploration.

While the launch itself was as advertised, ground controllers at JPL initially had trouble establishing a two-way communications link with the Mars 2020 spacecraft after it separated from the Atlas 5 rocket. Right on time, at 9:15 a.m. EDT (1315 GMT), the spacecraft turned on its transmitter and began sending a carrier signal to a NASA ground station in Australia.

But the Deep Space Network station is usually attuned to listening for faint signals from distant regions of the solar system. The high-power signal coming from the Mars 2020 spacecraft saturated the antennas receiver, so operators had to adjust settings at the ground station to begin deciphering telemetry information the probe was sending back to Earth shortly after launch Thursday.

A couple of hours later, NASA officials confirmed they were receiving telemetry data from Mars 2020. Soon after, Wallace said the mission had encountered a separate issue after launch that put the spacecraft into safe mode, a precautionary standby state where the probes computer curtails non-essential functions.

In an interview Thursday afternoon, Wallace said the spacecraft apparently went into safe mode as it passed over the night side of Earth just after launch, a period known as an eclipse.

We think that as we went through eclipse, where the spacecraft is shadowed by the Earth from the sun, the external temperatures changed, Wallace told Spaceflight Now.

NASA later said in a statement that the temperature disparity was in the Mars 2020 spacecrafts liquid freon coolant loop, which dissipates heat from the center of the spacecraft through radiators on the carrier module carrying the rover to Mars.

Temperatures outside the spacecraft may have dipped lower than expected, he said, creating a higher-than-expected temperature differential between the warm radiator inlet and the cooler outlet. As a precaution, programmers set tight limits on key spacecraft parameters before the launch, and the cold conditions may be tripped a preset limit.

Chances are we may have just tightened down on that limit a little too much, and it triggered a safe mode, Wallace told Spaceflight Now.

NASAs Curiosity rover, upon which Perseverance was designed, did not enter the Earths shadow after its launch in 2011. So engineers relied on analytical modeling to predict the temperatures during the eclipse.

We set the limits for the temperature differential conservatively tight for triggering a safe mode, Wallace said. The philosophy is that it is far better to trigger a safe mode event when not required, than miss one that is. Safe mode is a stable and acceptable mode for the spacecraft, and triggering safe mode during this transitional phase is not problematic for Mars 2020.

While its in safe mode, the spacecraft transmits data back to Earth at a slower rate than during normal operations. Ground teams Thursday afternoon were trying to increase the data rate, but the information coming down from the Mars 2020 spacecraft thus far indicated there were no other problems on the probe, and temperatures were back within limits after the craft flew back into sunlight.

We are getting good telemetry, Wallace said. Its indicating the spacecraft is healthy.

Controllers at JPL will complete their assessment of the spacecrafts condition, develop and test commands, then uplink the orders to the Mars 2020 spacecraft to bring it back into its normal operating mode, perhaps as soon as Friday, according to Wallace.

Were in no hurry, he said. Were perfectly happy in safe mode.

One of the first major milestones on the flight to Mars will be a course correction maneuver using the Mars 2020 spacecrafts cruise stage, the element that helps guide the rover during the interplanetary journey to the Red Planet. That burn will adjust the spacecrafts trajectory to aim directly at Mars after the Atlas 5 rocket intentionally put the probe on path that would just miss Mars, ensuring the launchers Centaur upper stage will not crash into the planet.

Wallace said it is not unusual for a newly-launch spacecraft to go into safe mode.

Basically, the spacecraft is transitioning out of one environment into another, Wallace said. So its not uncommon for something to trigger it. Safe mode is called safe mode because its the safest condition for the spacecraft to be in.

But there was a brief bit of drama before the launch. A small earthquake in Southern California gave a jolt to Mars 2020 mission control at JPL, near Los Angeles.

After a quick assessment, officials determined the ground controllers, who were following health protocols to protect against the COVID-19 pandemic, were ready to proceed with the launch of the Mars 2020 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, on the other side of the country.

The people in California thought they felt an earthquake, but really they were just feeling mighty Atlas crouching down to leap off the Earth, joked Tory Bruno, ULAs president and CEO, in a reference to the Atlas 5 rocket.

NASA is going for its ninth successful landing on Mars with the Perseverance rover.

NASA says it spent more than $2.4 billion to design, build and prepare the Mars 2020 mission for launch. With the money budgeted to operate the rover during the trip to Mars, and for around two Earth years (one Mars year) after landing, the total mission is expected to cost around $2.7 billion.

The 2,260-pound (1,025-kilogram) Perseverance rover is about 10 feet (3 meters) long, 9 feet (2.7 meters wide), and 7 feet (2.2 meters) tall.

The rover is mounted on a rocket-powered descent stage that will lower the robot to the Martian surface. That, in turn, is cocooned inside an aerodynamic shell and heat shield to protect the rover during entry into the atmosphere of Mars, when temperatures outside the spacecraft will reach 2,370 degrees Fahrenheit (about 1,300 degrees Celsius).

The cruise stage attached to the Mars descent vehicle will shepherd the spacecraft from Earth to Mars. The carrier module will jettison before arriving at the Red Planet, and will burn up in the Martian atmosphere.

While any space launch has some risk, landing a spacecraft on Mars is a hazardous proposition. About half of all missions that have attempted to land on Mars have failed, although NASA has succeeded five consecutive Mars landing attempts.

NASAs Perseverance rover is the third mission to Mars to launch this month, following the July 19 takeoff of the Hope orbiter developed by the United Arab Emirates in partnership with scientists at three U.S. universities. On July 23, China launched its Tianwen 1 spacecraft, an all-in-one mission consisting of an orbiter, lander and rover.

The Hope and Tianwen 1 missions are the first probes from the UAE and China to head for Mars.

We welcome more nations taking trips to mars and studying it and delivering the science and sharing the science with the world, said Jim Bridenstine, who became head of NASA in 2018 after his nomination by President Donald Trump. Thats what science is all about, of course, its a very uniting kind of thing.

Bridenstine said he did not see NASA as in a competition with other nations for Mars exploration.

This is our ninth time to go to Mars and land softly, and do robotic experiments and discovery, he said. So I dont see it as a competition, but certainly we welcome more explorers to deliver more science than ever before, and we look forward to seeing what it is that theyre able to discover.

Orbiters from the United States, the European Space Agency, and India are currently flying around Mars and observing the planet from above.

All three missions will arrive at the Red Planet next February, with the UAEs Hope spacecraft and Chinas Tianwen 1 spacecraft swinging into orbit around Mars. Several months later, Tianwen 1 will release its lander in a bid to descend to the Martian surface and deploy its rover.

If successful, China would become the second country to land and operate a mobile robot on Mars, after the United States.

The Perseverance rover will aim for a direct approach to Mars, heading straight into the planets rarefied atmosphere next Feb. 18. Around 10 minutes before reaching the upper edge atmosphere, the spacecraft will shed the cruise stage that will have guided the rover toward Mars since its launch.

The rovers 14.8-foot-diameter (4.5-meter) heat shield will take the brunt of the energy during the crafts plunge into the atmosphere of Mars. While temperatures outside the heat shield reach more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, small thrusters will adjust the angle of the vehicles trajectory, allowing it to control lift and begin navigating toward its landing site.

Around four minutes after entering the atmosphere, the spacecraft will unfurl a 70.5-foot-diameter (21.5-meter) supersonic parachute at an altitude of about 7 miles, or 11 kilometers. Perseverances parachute is stronger than the one used on Curiosity, and the Mars 2020 mission will employ a new technique to deploy the chute based on the crafts position relative to the target landing site, rather than using a timer.

That will result in a more precise landing, NASA says.

Roughly 20 seconds after deploying the parachute, the heat shield at the bottom of the spacecraft will drop away, allowing a downward-facing guidance radar and cameras to start seeing the Martian surface.

The atmosphere of Mars is much thinner than Earths, so a parachute by itself is unable to slow the spacecraft enough for a safe landing. The rovers descent stage will release the backshell and parachute around 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometers) above Mars. Eight throttleable thrusters will further slow the rovers descent from about 190 mph (306 kilometers per hour) to a speed of near zero just 66 feet (20 meters) above the surface.

During this time, advanced guidance software loaded into the rovers flight computer will begin searching for a smooth place to set down. The new capability, named terrain relative navigation, was developed since Curiositys landing in 2012 and will be used on Mars for the first time with Perseverance.

It works by comparing imagery taken in real-time during descent with a map of steep slopes, boulders and other hazards pre-loaded into the computer using pictures captured from Mars orbiters. If the rover sees it is heading for dangerous terrain, it will adjust its path to reach a smoother area.

Finally, a bridle will lower the one-ton Perseverance rover to the surface of Mars using a technique called the sky crane, which engineers invented and demonstrated on the Curiosity rovers landing in 2012. Once the rovers six wheels touch Mars, the bridle will be cut and the descent stage will fly away to crash a safe distance away.

That all happens millions of miles from Earth, when it takes minutes for a radio signal to travel between the planets at the speed of light. That leaves no opportunity for human input once the descent begins.

Its basically a controlled disassembly the whole way, Wallace told Spaceflight Now. Its, by far, the highest risk phase of the mission still, and we had the good fortune on Mars 2020 to have leveraged the system that we designed on Curiosity.

So not only we do have the testing behind us on this system that we did before we launched and landed Curiosity, we have the Curiosity flight itself, and all the telemetry that came back, he said. And it performed extremely well during that mission. Then we did a whole lot of additional testing to launch this spacecraft.

Still, no guarantees, Wallace said. Our hearts will still be beating hard when we get to that point in the mission, but I do think its an advantage that we have. This is not a first-time landing system as we had on Curiosity.

The Perseverance rover will target a landing inside the 28-mile-wide (45-kilometer) Jezero Crater on Mars, home to an ancient river delta and a lake the size of Lake Tahoe that scientists believe filled the crater some 3.5 billion to 3.9 billion years ago. Scientists hope to find signatures of ancient life in the rocks and sediments deposited in the dried-up delta.

Perseverance is designed to land as close to the delta deposits as possible.

To get down onto the crater floor right on top of the delta, we need to do better than weve ever done before, Steltzner said.

Once the rover is on Mars and powers up its science instruments, one of its first tasks will be to place NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter onto the surface. Perseverance will release the rotorcraft from a carrier on its bellyonto the ground, then drive away to a distance of at least 330 feet (100 meters) before the helicopter flies for the first time.

That moment will be historic. The tiny 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) robot will try to become the first aircraft to fly through the atmosphere of another planet.

Human beings have never flown a rotorcraft outside of our own Earths atmosphere, so this will be very much a Wright Brothers moment, except at another planet, said MiMi Aung, project manager for the Ingenuity helicopter at JPL.

Ground controllers will program the helicopter to perform a series of test flights during a planned 30-day campaign, beginning with a relatively simple up-and-down flight lasting less than 30 seconds, Aung said. Then the team will attempt bolder and bolder test flights, she told Spaceflight Now.

The helicopter will fly autonomously, without real-time input from ground controllers millions of miles away. The drone carries two cameras, and telemetry from the helicopter will be routed through a base station on the rover. The Perseverance rover also might be able to take pictures of the helicopter in flight.

For the first time ever, were going to fly a helicopter on another planet, Bridenstine said. In the future, it could transform how we do planetary science on other worlds, and eventually it could be a scout so we can figure out where we need to send our robots.

NASA officials approved adding the helicopter to the Mars 2020 mission in 2018. The mission cost around $80 million to design and develop, and will cost another $5 million to operate.

The atmosphere at the Martian surface is about 1 percent the density of Earths, limiting the performance of a rotorcraft like the Ingenuity helicopter.

The helicopters counter-rotating rotors will spin between 2,400 and 2,900 rpm, about 10 times faster than a helicopter flying in Earths atmosphere. Developed at JPL with assistance from a company named AeroVironment Inc., the Ingenuity rotorcraft is tiny compared to the Perseverance rover. The solar-powered drone measures just 1.6 feet (0.49 meters) tall, weighs about 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms), and has blades spanning about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter.

While the Ingenuity helicopter is purely a technology proof-of-concept, future rotorcraft could be dispatched to other planets with more sophisticated scientific instruments.

NASA has selected a robotic mission named Dragonfly to explore Saturns largest moon Titan. But Titan has a much thicker atmosphere than Mars, which eases the difficulty of rotor-driven flight.

Debuting a wide array of new capabilities, the Mars 2020 mission is packed with firsts.

Were making oxygen on the surface of Mars for the first time, Wallace said. For the first time we have an opportunity to use autonomous systems to avoid hazards as we land in Jezero Crater, and thats technology that will feed forward into future robotic systems and human exploration systems.

Were also carrying microphones for the first time, he said. Were going to hear the sounds of the spacecraft landing on another planet and the rover drilling into rocks and rolling over the surface of Mars. Thats pretty exciting.

For the first time, were going to have an opportunity to see our spacecraft land another planet, Wallace continued. Weve got commercial ruggedized cameras that weve distributed essentially all over the spacecraft, and they will get high-definition video that well bring back after we land on the surface from the entire landing activity from the inflation of the parachute to the touchdown of the rover.

The Mars 2020 missions development cost swelled nearly $360 million over NASAs original prediction, according to the Government Accountability Office. That was caused primarily challenges with perfecting the devices that will collect, seal and store rock specimens, along with difficulties with instruments.

Along the way, we had plenty of challenges, Wallace said. We had to qualify a new planetary parachute. Thats another first the first time weve done that as an agency in 40 or 50 years.

Kind of late in the game, we were asked to accommodate this little thing called Mars Helicopter, he said. It was well after most of the payloads were assigned to the project, so we had to do a little bit of magic trick to get that onto the rover.

Around the time of Curiositys landing on Mars in 2012, engineers at JPL started assessing options for NASAs next major Mars rover. NASA leadership announced plans for the Mars 2020 mission in late 2012, seeking to recycle designs proven with the Curiosity mission also known as Mars Science Laboratory with a different set of scientific instruments, and the new ability to drill core samples, seal them inside ultra-clean tubes, and drop them onto the Red Planet to be picked up years in the future.

We need to make the sample tubes that we take to Mars cleaner than anything that weve ever done before in space, and cleaner than almost everything we do here on Earth, Steltzner said.Part of the effort to do that involves us hyper-cleaning the sample tubes in which the samples that we take on Mars will be placed, and then placing them into the rover at last possible minute.

Read more about the sampling system in our earlier story.

The sample tubes were installed into the Perseverance rover in May, just before it was closed up inside its aeroshell and mounted on top of the Atlas 5 rocket.

Each tube is sheathed in a gold-colored cylindrical enclosure, providing an extra layer of contamination protection. The tubes will ride to Mars inside the housing, and they will be returned to the sheath once filled with Martian rock samples.

The Perseverance rover will carry 43 sample tubes to Mars, including witness tubes or blanks, which will allow scientists to cross-check rock and sediment specimens returned to Earth for contamination.

The tubes are about the size and shape of a slim cigar, and the Perseverance rover will collect core samples on Mars that measure around a half-inch (13 millimeters) wide and 2.4 inches (60 millimeters) long.

Those samples tubes are part of a Sample and Caching System, which is one of our biggest engineering developments for this mission, Steltzner said. We get to Mars largely like the Curiosity rover got to Mars, but we need to do something very different once were on Mars. We must take these core samples, seal them hermetically and sterilely, and then produce a cache of samples for eventual return to Earth.

The Sample Caching System is a complicated piece of equipment, with 17 separate motors, a rotating wheel containing nine drill bits, and 43 tubes to hermetically seal core samples drilled from Martian rocks.

The rover has a 7-foot-long (2-meter) robotic arm with a coring drill fixed on a 99-pound (45-kilogram) turret on the end. The longer robotic arm will work in concert with a smaller 1.6-foot-long (0.5-meter) robotic manipulator inside the belly of the rover, which will pick up sample tubes for transfer to the main arm for drilling.

Steltzner said the rovers sampling system actually consists of three different robots.

Out at the end of our robotic arm thats the first robot is a coring drill that uses rotary percussive action like we have used similarly and previously on Mars with the Curiosity mission, except rather just generating powder, this creates an annular groove in the rock and breaks off a core sample, Steltzner said.

During each sample collection, the core sample will go directly into the tube attached to the drill.

That bit and the sample tube are brought back by the robotic arm our first robot into the second robot, our bit carousel, which receives the filled sample tube and delivers it to a very fine and detailed robot, the sample handling arm inside the belly of the beast, in which the sample is then assessed, its volume is measured, images are taken, and it is sealed and placed back into storage for eventually being placed in a cache on the surface.

The portion of the caching system inside the rover is called the Adaptive Caching Assembly, which consists of more than 3,000 parts alone.

The design of the drill and sample tubes is intended to preserve the distribution minerals cored from Martian rocks. The system is also intended to collect samples directly from softer soils.

NASA selected seven scientific payloads to ride to Mars on the Perseverance rover in 2014.

Two of the instruments, named PIXL and SHERLOC, are located alongside the coring drill on the robotic arms turret. Theywill scan Martian rocks to determine their chemical composition and search for organic materials, providing key inputs into decisions by ground teams on which rocks to drill.

Read the original:

NASA's Perseverance rover leaves Earth bound for Mars - Spaceflight Now

In honor of Project Apollo and all of NASAs Apollo space missions, here are six space-themed movies that captured the imagination of the public each in their own way.

From utterly ridiculous comedies (Spaceballs) to outright horror films (Alien), this list should get you through a brief space-movie obsession with tons of variety to (space) boot.

Spaceballs (1987): Mel Brooks Star Wars parody Spaceballs is a cornerstone piece of the genre. Taking the world-building cinematic work of George Lucas and turning it on its head comes naturally to Brooks as his cast of sort-of-heroes save the planet Druidia from having all of its fresh air sucked away by the evil Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), who has managed to kidnap Druidias Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga). Naturally, the princesss only hope is space-RV-inhabitant Lone Starr and his dog-ish companion, Barf. This movie is not to be taken seriously at any moment.

Apollo 13 (1995): Detailing perhaps the most intense space mission in U.S. history, Apollo 13 follows the disastrous flight of Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Jim Swigert (Kevin Bacon) as they attempt to survive a moon-landing attempt gone wrong. In an era just after the successful moon landing of Apollo 11, this mission captivated the American people as they watched in horrid suspense three of their own battle life threat after life threat, all in space. The movie which was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two does its best to follow these events, even consulting NASA and running the actors through simulations.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): Stanley Kubricks classic and immensely influential film 2001: A Space Odyssey has been around for more than 50 years. A tale of epic proportion, it loosely follows the evolution of mankind in the presence of other higher beings. A black monolith appears and kickstarts human evolution. A second one is uncovered thousands of years later on the moon, which releases a signal of some kind. An earthen space mission is sent in search of that signals destination with the assistance of AI computer HAL 9000. The film which was nominated for four Academy Awards and won one is a directorial masterpiece, a composition itself of visual and sonic aspects to form one of the most atmospheric movies ever made. It is a cult classic and revered for its influence.

Interstellar (2014): In a future where Earth is rapidly becoming uninhabitable, mankind struggles against dust storms and other natural disasters to source food. A NASA scientist pulls a former scientist, engineer and extraordinary pilot out of his rural lifestyle for a dangerous mission upon which the future of mankind would seem to rest: traveling through a wormhole in search of a replacement planet. This race against the clock is among the most visually stunning movies ever made, and it was well-received, garnering five Oscar nominations and one win (for Best Visual Effects). A truly epic tale of love, space and survival, Interstellar does not disappoint.

Galaxy Quest (1999):The washed-up cast of a TV space show are tracked down by a group of aliens in need of leadership. Having watched the space show, which was apparently broadcast across the universe, the aliens believe Alan Rickman, Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and their co-stars are their only hope for survival. The group is abducted and made captain of a real spaceship with no experience and are soon facing the frightening (and hilarious) realities of battling through a space full of hostile alien lifeforms. Can the onscreen heroes make the cut in real life?

Alien (1979): Ridley Scott is a master of manipulating light, and in his 1979 film Alien which won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects he makes ample use of that talent and others to create the greatest sci-fi horror film ever made, and one of the best films outright. A crew aboard a commercial spacecraft receives a distress signal from a nearby moon and sets off to check it out. They find an alien spacecraft and a room full of mysterious eggs, one of which when touched by a crew member leaps into life. Thus ensues a tense and frightening survival attempt by the crew as they seek to kill the bloodthirsty alien stowing away on their ship before it kills them.

Read more here:

Lost in space: From 'Spaceballs' and 'Apollo 13' to 'Alien,' these six films are ready for liftoff - The Spokesman-Review

This is the launch timeline to be followed by the Atlas 5 rockets ascent into space from Cape Canaveral with NASAs Mars 2020 mission. Launch is scheduled for Thursday during a two-hour window opening at 7:50 a.m. EDT (1150 GMT).

The 197-foot-tall rocket will arc to the southeast from Floridas Space Coast on its fourth flight of the year. It will be the 85th Atlas 5 launch overall since United Launch Alliances workhorse rocket debuted in August 2002.

The timeline below ends with the conclusion of the primary mission, the deployment of the Mars 2020 spacecraft on an interplanetary trajectory toward Mars

Follow live coverage of the countdown and launch in ourMission Status Center.

A video overview of the Atlas 5 launch sequence also describes the major milestones on the Mars 2020 mission, and a map below shows the Atlas 5s expected ground track toward the southeast from Cape Canaveral, culminating in separation of the Mars 2020 spacecraft from the Centaur upper stage over Indonesia.

T+0:00:01.1: Liftoff

T+0:00:35.2: Mach 1

T+0:00:47.1: Max-Q

T+0:01:49.3: Jettison SRBs

T+0:03:27.6: Payload Fairing Jettison

T+0:04:22.1: Main Engine Cutoff

T+0:04:28.1: Stage Separation

T+0:04:38.1: Centaur Ignition 1

T+0:11:27.9: Centaur Cutoff 1

T+0:44:59.5: Centaur Ignition 2

T+0:52:50.1: Centaur Cutoff 2

T+0:57:32.8: Mars 2020 Separation

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

Read more:

Atlas 5 launch timeline on the Mars 2020 mission Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

A regularly updated listing of planned orbital missions from spaceports around the globe. Dates and times are given in Greenwich Mean Time. NET stands for no earlier than. TBD means to be determined. Recent updates appear in red type. Please send any corrections, additions or updates by e-mailto:sclark@spaceflightnow.com.

See ourLaunch Logfor a listing of completed space missions since 2004.

July 29: Proton/Express 80 & Express 103 delayedJuly 27: Ariane 5/Galaxy 30, MEV 2 & BSat 4b delayed; Falcon 9/Starlink 9/BlackSky Global delayed; Adding Astra/Rocket 3.1July 24: Falcon 9/Starlink 9/BlackSky Global delayed; Falcon 9/SAOCOM 1B delayedJuly 23: Adding Long March 4B/Ziyuan 3-3; Adding date and time for Falcon 9/Starlink 9/BlackSky GlobalJuly 22: Adding approximate time for Long March 5/Tianwen 1; Falcon 9/Starlink 10/SkySats 19-21 delayed; LauncherOne/ELaNa-20 delayed; Falcon 9/Crew 1 delayed

July 30Atlas 5 Mars 2020

Launch window: 1150-1350 GMT (7:50-9:50 a.m. EDT)Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch NASAs Mars 2020 rover to the Red Planet. After landing in February 2021, the Mars 2020 rover, named Perseverance, will study Martian geology, search for organic compounds, demonstrate the ability to generate oxygen from atmospheric carbon dioxide, and collect rock samples for return to Earth by a future mission. The rocket will fly in the 541 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, four solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from July 17, July 20 and July 22. [June 18]

July 31Proton Express 80 & Express 103

Launch time: 2125:19 GMT (5:25:19 p.m. EDT)Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

A Russian government Proton rocket and Block DM upper stage will launch the Express 80 and Express 103 communications satellites for the Russian Satellite Communication Company. Express 80 and Express 103 will provode fixed and mobile communications, digital television and radio broadcasting, high-speed Internet access and data transmission services across Russia. The satellites are built by ISS Reshetnev in Russia, with communication payloads supplied by Thales Alenia Space from Europe. Delayed from March 30 and May. Delayed from July 29 to conduct additional checks on the launcher. [July 29]

July 31Ariane 5 Galaxy 30, MEV 2 & BSat 4b

Launch window: 2130-2216 GMT (5:30-6:16 p.m. EDT)Launch site: ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana

Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA253, to launch the Galaxy 30 communications satellite, the second Mission Extension Vehicle satellite servicing spacecraft, and the BSat 4b broadcasting payload. Galaxy 30 is owned by Intelsat, and will provide video and television broadcast services over the United States. Galaxy 30 also hosts a navigation augmentation payload for the Federal Aviation Administration to support civilian air travel. MEV 2 is the second robotic servicing vehicle for Space Logistics LLC, and will dock with the Intelsat 1002 communications satellite in geostationary orbit to extend its commercial life. BSat 4b will provide direct-to-home 4K and 8K ultra HD broadcast services over Japan and neighboring regions for the Japanese operator B-SAT. Galaxy 30 and MEV 2 were built by Northrop Grumman, and BSat 4b was manufactured by Maxar. Delayed from July 28 to perform additional checks under the fairing. [July 27]

Aug. 1Falcon 9 Starlink 9/BlackSky Global

Launch time: 0721 GMT (3:21 a.m. EDT)Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to launch the tenth batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceXs Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 9. Two Earth observation microsatellites for BlackSky Global, a Seattle-based company, will launch as rideshare payloads on this mission. Moved forward from June 24. Delayed from June 23, June 25 and June 26. Scrubbed on July 8 due to poor weather. Scrubbed on July 11 due to technical issue. Delayed from July 29 and July 31. [July 27]

Aug. 2Rocket 3.1 TBA

Launch window: 1930-2300 GMT (3:30-7:00 p.m. EDT)Launch site: Pacific Spaceport Complex, Kodiak Island, Alaska

A commercial small satellite launch vehicle developed by Astra will make its first orbital launch attempt. The payloads on this mission, if any, have not been publicly identified by Astra. [July 27]

Aug. 6Soyuz Glonass K

Launch window: TBDLaunch site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia

A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch a Glonass K navigation satellite. The Glonass K satellites are upgraded spacecraft for Russias Glonass positioning and timing network. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1b configuration with a Fregat upper stage. [June 18]

AugustFalcon 9 SAOCOM 1B

Launch time: 2319 GMT (7:19 p.m. EDT)Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the SAOCOM 1B satellite for CONAE, Argentinas space agency. SAOCOM 1B is the second of two SAOCOM 1-series Earth observation satellites designed to provide radar imagery to help emergency responders and monitor the environment, including the collection of soil moisture measurements. Delayed from 4th Quarter of 2019, January and February. This mission was originally scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Delayed from March 30 due to coronavirus pandemic. [July 24]

AugustFalcon 9 Starlink 10/SkySats 19-21

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 58 satellites for SpaceXs Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 10. Three SkySat Earth-imaging satellites for Planet will launch as rideshare payloads on this mission. Delayed from late July. [July 22]

TBDFalcon 9 SXM 7

Launch window: TBDLaunch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the SXM 7 satellite for SiriusXM. The satellite will replace the XM 3 satellite in SiriusXMs fleet providing satellite radio programming to consumers across North America. SXM 7 was built by Maxar Technologies, and features a large unfurlable S-band reflector to broadcast radio signals to users on the ground. Delayed from Aug. 1. [June 18]

AugustFalcon 9 Starlink 11

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 12th batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceXs Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 11. [July 10]

TBDGSLV Mk.2 GISAT 1

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India

Indias Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk. 2 (GSLV Mk.2), designated GSLV-F10, will launch Indias first GEO Imaging Satellite, or GISAT 1. The GISAT 1 spacecraft will provide continuous remote sensing observations over the Indian subcontinent from geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above Earth. Delayed from Jan. 15, February and March 5. [March 13]

TBDSSLV Demonstration Launch

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India

Indias Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch on its first orbital test flight. Consisting of three solid-fueled stages and a liquid-fueled upper stage, the SSLV is a new Indian launch vehicle designed to carry small satellites into low Earth orbit. Delayed from September, December and January. [Jan. 25]

TBDPSLV RISAT 2BR2

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India

Indias Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), designated PSLV-C49, will launch the RISAT 2BR2 radar Earth observation satellite for the Indian Space Research Organization. The PSLV will also launch four Kleos Scouting Mission radio surveillance nanosatellites for Kleos Space, a Luxembourg-based company, and multiple Lemur 2 CubeSats for Spire Global. The mission will likely use the Core Alone version of the PSLV with no strap-on solid rocket boosters. Delayed from December. [Feb. 11]

TBDSSLV BlackSky Global

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India

Indias Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch on its first commercial mission with four Earth observation satellites for BlackSky Global, a Seattle-based company. The rideshare mission for BlackSky is being arranged by Spaceflight. Delayed from November, late 2019 and early 2020. [Jan. 25]

NET AugustElectron STP-27RM

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: Launch Complex 2, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Wallops Island, Virginia

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch on its first mission from a new launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia. The launch customer is the U.S. Air Force, and the mission will launch an experimental mission for the Space Test Program called Monolith with a space weather instrument. The Monolith mission will demonstrate the ability of a small satellite to support large aperture payloads. Delayed from 2nd Quarter of 2019. [July 3]

Aug. 17Vega SSMS POC

Launch time: 0151:10 GMT (9:51:10 p.m. EDT)Launch site: ZLV, Kourou, French Guiana

An Arianespace Vega rocket, designated VV16, will launch on the Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) Proof of Concept mission with around 50 microsatellites, nanosatellites and CubeSats for commercial and institutional customers. This rideshare launch is the first flight of a multi-payload dispenser funded by the European Space Agency to allow the Vega rocket to deliver numerous small satellites to orbit on a single mission. Delayed from August, Sept. 10 and February. Delayed from March 23 due to coronavirus outbreak. Delayed from June 18 due to unfavorable high-altitude winds. Scrubbed on June 27 and June 28 by high-altitude winds. [July 3]

Aug. 26Delta 4-Heavy NROL-44

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch a classified spy satellite cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The largest of the Delta 4 family, the Heavy version features three Common Booster Cores mounted together to form a triple-body rocket. Delayed from June. [May 9]

Late SeptemberFalcon 9 Crew 1

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on its first operational flight with astronauts on-board to the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi will launch on the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea. [July 22]

NET SeptemberVega SEOSat-Ingenio & Taranis

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: ZLV, Kourou, French Guiana

An Arianespace Vega rocket, designated VV17, will launch the SEOSat-Ingenio Earth observation satellite and the Taranis scientific research satellite for Spanish and French customers. The SEOSat-Ingenio Earth-imaging satellite is managed by the Spanish Center for Development of Industry Technology, an arm of the Spanish government, in partnership with the European Space Agency. Airbus Defense and Space built the SEOSat-Ingenio spacecraft. The Taranis spacecraft, developed by the French space agency CNES, will study the transfers of energy between the Earth atmosphere and the space environment occurring above thunderstorms. Delayed from June by coronavirus concerns. Delayed from Aug. 25 in ripple effect from Vega/SSMS POC delays. [June 18]

SeptemberSoyuz Falcon Eye 2

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: ELS, Sinnamary, French Guiana

An Arianespace Soyuz rocket, designated VS24, will launch on a mission from the Guiana Space Center in South America. The Soyuz will carry the Falcon Eye 2 high-resolution Earth-imaging satellite for the United Arab Emirates. Built by Airbus Defense and Space with an optical imaging payload from Thales Alenia Space, Falcon Eye 2 is the second of two surveillance satellites ordered by the UAEs military. The Soyuz 2-1a (Soyuz ST-A) rocket will use a Fregat upper stage. Delayed from Oct. 15 and November. Switched from a Vega launcher after the launch failure with the Falcon Eye 1 spacecraft. Delayed from March 6 and April 14. [May 9]

SeptemberAtlas 5 NROL-101

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch a classified spacecraft payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The rocket will fly in the 531 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, three solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. The mission was changed from an earlier planned 551 configuration. This will be the first launch of an Atlas 5 rocket with new Northrop Grumman-built GEM-63 solid rocket motors, replacing the Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-60A solid rocket motors used on previous Atlas 5s. [Jan. 21]

NET Sept. 30Falcon 9 GPS 3 SV04

Launch window: TBDLaunch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the U.S. Air Forces fourth third-generation navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. The satellite is built by Lockheed Martin. Delayed from October, December, May, July and August. [June 18]

Oct. 2Antares NG-14

Launch window: TBDLaunch site: Pad 0A, Wallops Island, Virginia

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket will launch the 15th Cygnus cargo freighter on the 14th operational cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station. The mission is known as NG-14. The rocket will fly in the Antares 230 configuration, with two RD-181 first stage engines and a Castor 30XL second stage. Moved forward from October. Delayed from Aug. 31 and Sept. 7. [July 14]

TBDLauncherOne ELaNa-20

Launch window: TBDLaunch site: Cosmic Girl (Boeing 747), Mojave Air and Space Port, California

A Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket will launch on its second flight after dropping from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet. The flight will be conducted under contract to NASAs Venture Class Launch Services Program, carrying 14 CubeSats to orbit for NASA field centers, U.S. educational institutions and laboratories on the ELaNa-20 rideshare mission. Delayed from Aug. 1, Sept. 1, November, Dec. 1, mid-February, July 1 and Aug. 14. [July 22]

4th QuarterAtlas 5 CST-100 Starliner Orbital Flight Test 2

Launch window: TBDLaunch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-082, will launch Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on second unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station. This mission was added after Boeings decision to refly the Starliners Orbital Flight Test before proceeding with the Crew Flight Test. The rocket will fly in a vehicle configuration with two solid rocket boosters and a dual-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from 3rd Quarter. [June 18]

4th QuarterDelta 4-Heavy NROL-82

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: SLC-6, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch a classified spy satellite cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The largest of the Delta 4 family, the Heavy version features three Common Booster Cores mounted together to form a triple-body rocket. Delayed from September. [Jan. 13]

OctoberSoyuz CSO 2

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: ELS, Sinnamary, French Guiana

An Arianespace Soyuz rocket, designated VS25, will launch on a mission from the Guiana Space Center in South America. The Soyuz will carry into polar orbit the second Composante Spatiale Optique military reconnaissance satellite for CNES and DGA, the French defense procurement agency. The CSO 2 satellite is the second of three new-generation high-resolution optical imaging satellites for the French military, replacing the Helios 2 spy satellite series. The Soyuz-2.1b (Soyuz ST-B) rocket will use a Fregat upper stage. Delayed from April 10 in ripple effect from Falcon Eye 2s launch delay. [May 9]

Oct. 14Soyuz ISS 63S

Launch window: TBDLaunch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the crewed Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft to the International Space Station with members of the next Expedition crew. The capsule will remain at the station for about six months, providing an escape pod for the residents. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. [Dec. 30]

4th QuarterFalcon 9 Turksat 5A

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Turksat 5A communications satellite for Turksat, a Turkish satellite operator. Built by Airbus Defense and Space with significant Turkish contributions, the Turkish 5A satellite will provide Ku-band television broadcast services over Turkey, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. [June 5]

Oct. 30Falcon 9 SpaceX CRS 21

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida

Nov. 3Angara-A5 Test Flight

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia

A Russian government Angara-A5 rocket will launch on its second orbital test flight. Delayed from December and 2nd Quarter. [July 10]

NovemberFalcon 9 Sentinel 6A

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Sentinel 6A, or Jason-CS A, satellite. The Sentinel 6A satellite is a joint mission between the European Space Agency, NASA, NOAA, CNES and Eumetsat to continue the sea level data record previously collected by the Jason series of satellites. Sentinel 6A, built by Airbus Defense and Space and Thales Alenia Space in Europe, will also join the European Commissions Copernicus Earth observation satellite network. [Dec. 30]

Late 2020Falcon Heavy USSF 44

Launch time: TBDLaunch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

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Launch Schedule Spaceflight Now

A Long March 5 rocket takes off Thursday from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on Hainan Island with the Tianwen 1 Mars mission. Credit: Xinhua

A heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket propelled Chinas first Mars landing mission toward the Red Planet on Thursday after launching from a seaside spaceport on Hainan Island, the second of three international Mars probes expected to depart planet Earth this month.

Kicking off a nearly seven-month journey, Chinas Tianwen 1 spacecraft lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern Chinas Hainan province at 12:41 a.m. EDT (0441 GMT; 12:41 p.m. Beijing time) on top of a Long March 5 rocket, the heaviest launcher in the countrys inventory.

A live video feed streamed by amateur spectators near the launch site showed the Long March 5 rocket climbing away from the Wenchang spaceport. Ten rocket engines fueled by kerosene and liquid hydrogen powered the 187-foot-tall (57-meter) Long March 5 into a sunny midday sky, and the rocket quickly receded from view in the unofficial online video feed.

Chinese state media did not broadcast the mission live or publicize the exact launch time in advance, but airspace and maritime notices warning pilots and sailors to steer clear of downrange drop zones suggested the Long March 5 was scheduled to lift off Thursday.

Chinese authorities lifted the news blackout on the launch once the 11,000-pound (5-metric ton) Tianwen 1 spacecraft was injected onto a trajectory toward Mars by the Long March 5s second stage. The China National Space Administration confirmed the Long March 5 rocket placed Tianwen 1 on the proper course toward Mars about 36 minutes after launch.

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., the government-owned prime contractor for Chinas space program, declared the launch a success in a statement.

Tianwen 1 is scheduled to arrive at Mars next February after a seven-month voyage. If successful, the mission will be Chinas first probe to enter orbit around another planet.

Two-to-three months later, the Tianwen 1 orbiter will release a lander to enter the Martian atmosphere and aim for a controlled touchdown in Utopia Planitia, a broad plain in Marss northern hemisphere. Once on the surface, the lander will lower a ramp and a 529-pound (240-kilogram) rover will drive onto the surface.

If China pulls off those feats according to plan, they will make China the third country to perform a soft landing on Mars after the Soviet Union and the United States and the second country to drive a robotic rover on the Red Planet.

NASA has landed the only successful rovers on Mars to date.

The seemingly flawless launch Thursday by the Long March 5 rocket gives Chinas most powerful launcher an 80 percent success record after five flights. The Long March 5 failed on its second test flight in 2017, but has now logged three consecutive successes.

Tianwen 1 is Chinas next leap in solar system exploration after a series of progressively complex robotic expeditions to the moon.

Most recently, China has landed two rovers on the moon, including the first to explore the surface of the lunar far side. The next Chinese lunar mission, named Change 5, is scheduled for launch on a Long March 5 rocket late this year on a mission to return samples from the moon.

China officially started development of the Mars mission in 2016.

It will be the countrys second attempt to reach Mars with a robotic probe, following the Yinghuo 1 orbiter, which was stranded in Earth orbit after launch as a piggyback payload on Russias failed Phobos-Grunt mission.

Benefiting from the engineering heritage of Chinas lunar exploration program,the Chinese national strategy set Mars as the next target for planetary exploration, wrote Wan Weixing, chief scientist of Chinas Mars exploration program, in a paper published this month by the science journal Nature Astronomy. Chinas first Mars mission is named Tianwen 1, and aims to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission.

Wan died in May after a long illness.

Chinese officials announced the Tianwen name for the countrys planetary missions in April. The name Tianwen comes from the work of ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan, meaning quest for heavenly truth, according to the China National Space Administration, or CNSA, the countrys space agency.

The countrys first Martian probe will conduct scientific investigations about the Martian soil, geological structure, environment, atmosphere, as well as water, CNSA said in a statement.

After reaching Mars in February, the Tianwen 1 spacecraft will initially enter a long-period capture orbit around the Red Planet. The orbiter will eventually settle in a loop around Mars ranging between 165 miles (265 kilometers) and nearly 7,500 miles (12,000 kilometers) over the Martian poles.

As soon as next April, the lander and rover modules will detach from the orbiter to begin a descent through the Martian atmosphere. Radar soundings from orbit have indicated the presence of a reservoir of ice containing as much water as Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes, in the Utopia Planitia region targeted by Tianwen 1s lander.

The Tianwen 1 orbiter is designed to operate for at least one Martian year, or about two years on Earth. The solar-powered rover, fitted with six wheels for mobility, has a life expectancy of at least 90 days, Chinese officials said.

Chinese scientists say the Tianwen 1 mission will perform a global survey of Mars, measuring soil and rock composition, searching for signs of buried water ice, and studying the Martian magnetosphere and atmosphere. The orbiter and rover will also observe Martian weather and probe Marss internal structure.

The orbiters seven instruments include a:

The Tianwen 1 rover is cocooned inside a heat shield for a fiery descent to the Martian surface. After releasing from the orbiter mothership, the lander will enter the Red Planets atmosphere, deploy a parachute, then fire a braking rocket to slow down for landing.

Tianwen 1 is going to orbit, land and release a rover all on the very first try, and coordinate observations with an orbiter, Wan, the late chief scientist for Chinas Mars program, wrote in Nature Astronomy. No planetary missions have ever been implemented in this way. If successful, it would signify a major technical breakthrough.

Scientifically, Tianwen 1 is the most comprehensive mission to investigate the Martian morphology, geology, mineralogy, space environment, and soil and water-ice distribution.

The rovers six science payloads include a:

The rovers ground-penetrating radar would be one of the first science instruments of its kind to reach the surface of Mars. NASAs Perseverance rover carries a comparable instrument to scan subsurface layers of the Martian crust in search of water ice deposits.

Tianwen 1 is a Chinese-led project, but scientists and support teams from several countries have agreed to provide assistance on the mission.

Scientists from theInstitut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Plantologie, or IRAP, in France contributed to a Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy instrument on the Tianwen 1 rover.

French scientists, with support from the French space agency CNES, provided guidance to their Chinese counterparts on the spectroscopy technique, which uses a laser to zap a pinhead-size portion of a rock, and a spectrometer to analyze the light given off by plasma generated by the lasers interaction with the rocks surface.

The technique allows an instrument to determine the chemical make-up of rocks on Mars.

The discussions between French and Chinese scientists were intended to maximize the quality of the data produced by the Tianwen 1 rover, according to Agnes Cousin, a planetary scientist at IRAP who worked with Chinese researchers developing the rovers instruments.

French scientists from the same research institute helped develop the ChemCam instrument on NASAs Curiosity rover and the SuperCam payload set for launch July 30 on NASAs Perseverance Mars rover. ChemCam and SuperCam use the same Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy technique as the Tianwen 1 rover.

Researchers from France provided a norite calibration target to fly on the Tianwen 1 rover. Its similar to a unit on NASAs Curiosity rover used to calibrate ChemCams measurements by turning the instrument on a target like the rock norite with a known composition.

The SuperCam instrument on NASAs Perseverance rover will us a different type rock as a calibration target, but Cousin said scientists at her lab in France will still be able to cross-calibrate measurements from Curiosity, Perseverance, and the Tianwen 1 rover.

Scientists from the Space Research Institute at the Austrian Academy of Sciences assisted in the development of the magnetometer on the Tianwen 1 orbiter and helped calibrate the flight instrument.

Argentina is home to a Chinese-owned deep space tracking antenna that will be used to communicate with Tianwen 1 after launch. The European Space Agency has agreed to provide communications time for Tianwen 1 on its own worldwide network of deep space tracking stations, and help with the probes navigation on the journey to Mars.

The launch of the Tianwen 1 Mars mission Thursday occurred less than four days after the launch of the Hope Mars probe developed by the United Arab Emirates, and a week before NASAs Perseverance Mars rover is scheduled for blastoff.

The ever-changing positions of the planets only allow for missions to make a direct trip from Earth to Mars once every 26 months or so. The Mars launch window opened this year in mid-July and extends until mid-August.

While NASA and U.S. scientists are aiding the UAEs Hope Mars orbiter, NASA has no such role on Chinas Tianwen 1 mission. NASAs Deep Space Network, which provides tracking and communications coverage for numerous U.S. and international space probes, has not been called up to support Tianwen 1s voyage to Mars.

Instead, China is using a combination of its own tracking antennas and ESAs global network of ground stations.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine congratulated China on the successful launch Thursday.

With todays launch, China is on its way to join the community of international scientific explorers at Mars, Bridenstine tweeted. The United States, Europe, Russia, India, and soon the UAE will welcome you to Mars to embark on an exciting year of scientific discovery. Safe travels Tianwen-1!

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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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China launches robotic mission to orbit, land, and drive on Mars - Spaceflight Now

A car-sized asteroid discovered over the weekend made a close flyby of Earth today (July 28), passing our planet at a range that rivals the orbits of some high-flying satellites.

The asteroid 2020 OY4, which was first detected on Sunday (July 26), made its closest approach today at 1:31 a.m. EDT (0531 GMT) when it zipped by Earth at a speed of about 27,700 mph (44,600 km/h), according to the European Space Agency. The asteroid is just under 10 feet (3 meters) wide and posed no impact risk to Earth, but did approach the flight paths of geosynchronous satellites.

"A tiny, 3 meter asteroid called 2020 OY4 skimmed past Earth just a few hours ago, passing within the orbit of satellites in the geostationary ring," ESA officials wrote in a Twitter update.

Video: Watch asteroid 2020 OY4's orbit and flyby animationRelated: Famous asteroid flybys and close calls (infographic)

Estimates from ESA's Center for Near-Earth Object Coordination Center and NASA's Asteroid Watch outreach tool vary in the exact distance of asteroid 2020 OY4 at its closest approach.

NASA's tool listed the closest distance as about 25,800 miles (41,400 km), which is just outside the ring of geosynchronous satellites 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above Earth's equator. ESA's asteroid-tracking center pegged the flyby range at about 21,900 miles (35,170 km), or just inside the satellite orbit ring.

"Of course, there were no risks at all to our planet," wrote astrophysicist Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project in Ceccano, Italy.

Masi captured a photo of asteroid 2020 OY4 on Monday (July 27), just ahead of the flyby. In the image, the asteroid looks like a bright dot on a sea of black streaked by star lines.

"The telescope tracked the fast apparent motion of the asteroid; this is why stars show as long trails, while the asteroid looks like a bright and sharp dot of light in the center of the image, marked by an arrow," Masi wrote in an image description.

Asteroids the size of 2020 OY4 fly by Earth several times a month, NASA officials have said in the past. In June 2019, an asteroid slightly larger than 2020 OY4 actually hit the Earth, but broke up harmlessly in the atmosphere, astronomers said.

Email Tariq Malik attmalik@space.comor follow him@tariqjmalik. Follow us@Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.

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An asteroid the size of a car just zipped by Earth in close flyby - Space.com

NUR-SULTAN Seven Pillars Law, one of Central Asias most innovative law firms, has recently established a space office with the mission to assist clients looking to access opportunities, both commercial and scientific, associated with space. The Astana Times spoke with Helen Tung, the head of the Space division of Seven Pillars Law in the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) to learn more about the divisions activities and space law.

Helen Tung

The space division aims to assist customers to grow their business, avoid problems and advise them on intellectual property rights, like any other area of law, Tung told about the role of the division. Space law encompasses a vast field of multiple areas of law including public international law, air space, contracts, torts, intellectual property, government contracts, insurance and also regulatory law including advising of matters related to International Traffic of Arms Regulation (ITAR).

The space division will also complement the activities of the AIFC and its innovation strategy.

Kazakhstan is a pioneer, known for the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the worlds first and largest space launch facility, Tung noted. We have seen many historic moments and history evolve from the Cosmodrome and it has also inspired films and many visits from those working in space and enthusiasts.

Tung feels that with the right laws and vision, in the same way that, the AIFC aims to be the most innovative international financial center in the world, Kazakhstan can position itself to be the most attractive place for space startups and businesses to set up their business, knowing full well they have the know-how and experience regarding space.

For Tung, space is a mystery as much as a place of familiarity. She grew up in Australia and the Southern Cross going constantly across the skies got her interested in space. In many ways, she admits, space found her and not the other way around as it was only later in her career that she discovered the world of space law.

When Tung joined the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), she took part in activities in the space law and policy committee. It provided her with a great network of enthusiasts, lawyers, students interested in space.

Tung joined the International Aeronautical Congress (IAC), the leading space organization as Co-Chair of joint session Space Debris and Space Operations and Vice-Chair of the Risk Management Committee. She studied at the International Space University summer course conducted by the European Space Agency.

I have had opportunities to talk about space law at the International Bar Association, speaking at space conferences and also engaging with startups, entrepreneurs, and investors, she added.

We live in interesting times, and for those who are interested, passionate and curious there will be a role for them in the developments of space, be it in law, policy, business or otherwise, she said.

Now, space activities are becoming increasingly accessible to startups and businesses that have no experience or exposure to space. The reason being new laws and regulations, as seen in places like Luxembourg and the United States, have over the years encouraged commercialization of space. That in itself poses many legal questions involving ownership and resources in outer space, issues with space traffic management, data centers in space and concerning human space flight and space debris.

As the commercialization of space increases, with more businesses turning to space business from startups to space launch and development of spaceports, there is also an increasing awareness that there are substantial problems like space debris which can have damaging effects on any space mission and with consequences back on earth that need to be addressed.

Research centers and scientists around the world are constantly monitoring and observing the developments in space and space debris is one of the most obvious problems that need to be tackled before people can envisage a properly functioning ecosystem in outer space.

I am involved with some organizations including the Moon Village Association which envisages a return to space permanently and the development of a Moon ecosystem. And Im involved with the International Consortium Space Elevator which encourages the idea of building an elevator to deliver goods and services to space and ultimately for human use, Tung said.

Human space flight developed by Virgin Galactic and SpaceX will also change the way people live.

There are many interesting aspects to the developments in space, and law no doubt needs to be considered and so it is an exciting time to consider the role of space law and opportunities there, she said.

Nur-Sultan based Seven Pillars Law is Kazakhstans first decentralized law firm. It was established to support companies doing business in, with or through Kazakhstan and the AIFC. The firm is named after the Zheti Zhargy, the seven foundational pillars of the Kazakh legal system introduced in the 17th Century by Khan Tauke (1680 1718), a ruler of the Kazakh Khanate (State).

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Seven Pillars Law Firm Ready to Support Space Startups and Other Businesses in Kazakhstan - Astana Times

NASAs Perseverance rover is lifted during launch preparations at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA JPL/Christian Mangano

NASAs Perseverance rover will depart Cape Canaveral Thursday on a $2.7 billion mission to Mars, carrying with it the first interplanetary aircraft, sophisticated instruments to search for signs of ancient life, and drill to core samples for eventual return to Earth.

Building on past discoveries at the Red Planet, the nuclear-powered robot will aim to become NASAs ninth mission to land on Mars, and the first since the Viking landers of the 1970s charged with seeking evidence of life.

NASAs Perseverance rover the centerpiece of the agencys Mars 2020 mission is set for launch Thursday from Cape Canaveral during a two-hour window opening at 7:50 a.m. EDT (1150 GMT). A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will fire the spacecraft away from Earth with a relative velocity of24,785 mph, or about 11 kilometers per second.

Thats enough speed to break free of Earths gravitational grip and speed toward Mars, aiming for the point in space where the Red Planet will be Feb. 18, 2021, the Mars 2020 missions designated landing date.

Preparations for the launch have continued despite some slowdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Mars 2020 mission must launch before mid-August, or else face a costly two-year delay until the next time Earth and Mars are in the right positions in the solar system.

Nearly a decade in the making, the Mars 2020 missions rover weighs more than a ton and hosts seven scientific payloads, a robotic arm, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, 25 cameras, and the first microphones to record sound on the Red Planet. NASA says the Mars 2020 mission is the most advanced robotic explorer ever sent into deep space.

A prime science goal of NASAs Perseverance rover is to search for biosignatures, markers left behind in Martian rocks by microbial life forms, assuming they existed. But for the first time, if all goes according to plan, scientists will be able to analyze rock samples gathered by Perseverance in modern laboratories on Earth.

This is the first time in history where NASA has dedicated a mission to what we call astrobiology, the search for life, said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

Were doing transformative science, said Matt Wallace, the Mars 2020 missions deputy project manager at JPL. Really, for the first time, were looking for signs of life on another planet, and for the first time were going to collect samples that we hope will be part of the first sample return from another planet.

But the scientific payoff to that elusive question will have to wait at least a decade, once samples drilled from Martian rocks by the Perseverance rover come back to Earth. The rover itself carries instrumentation to help scientists choose which rocks to sample, but will not have the ability to confirm on its own whether life ever existed on Mars.

The mission objectives of our effort are to explore the geology of our landing site, to look for signs of biosignatures from the past, said Adam Steltzner, chief engineer on the Mars 2020 mission at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We are not a life detection mission. We are looking for signs of past life on the surface of mars. Also, signatures that mars was habitable, and to the degree that is still habitable, where it might be habitable. Our third objective is to prepare a returnable cache of samples, and then fourth is to prepare for future human exploration.

In partnership with the European Space Agency, dozens of rock and soil specimens gathered by the Perseverance rover will be sealed and tagged for return to Earth.

Assuming Perseverances mission is a success, and funding and technical plans remain on track, NASA and ESA could launch missions as soon as 2026 with a European-built Mars rover to retrieve the specimens and deliver the material to a U.S.-supplied solid-fueled booster to shoot the samples from Mars into space.

A separate spacecraft provided by ESA will link up with the samples in orbit around Mars, then head for Earth before releasing a NASA re-entry capsule containing the Martian material to complete the first round-trip interplanetary mission no earlier than 2031.

Then scientists will get to work analyzing the samples. They will look for chemical signatures in the core samples that might suggest life once existed on Mars.

Among other objectives, NASAs two Viking landers carried instruments to search for signs of life on Mars when they landed on the Red Planet in 1976. But the robotic landers did not produce any verifiable confirmation of life, andMars missions since Viking have followed the trail of water, seeking evidence that the Red Planet once harbored environments that could have supported basic life forms.

After the dual successes of the Viking landers, NASAs next mission to the Martian surface was Mars Pathfinder, which deployed a small rover just 26 inches (66 centimeters) long named Sojourner in 1997. That mission proved NASA, and more specifically engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, could build mobile robots to explore the Red Planet.

Next came the larger Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which landed at two different sites on Mars in 2004.

Spirit and Opportunity together established that Mars truly was habitable, that it had abundant water on the surface in many forms, in the forms of large lakes, small lakes, flowing rivers, even hot springs, said Jim Watzin, director of NASAs Mars exploration program. So with that knowledge in hand and the experience that we gained in operating the Spirit and Opportunity, we went and developed what has been our flagship to date, and thats the Curiosity rover.

Curiosity carried a more comprehensive set of instruments to Mars, including a drill to collect pulverized rock samples and deliver the material to a miniaturized laboratory. Curiosity launched in 2011 and landed inside Gale Crater on Mars in August 2012, and found rock layers at the landing site that formed in a lake that dried up billions of years ago.

The rover also discovered organic carbon a building block of life inside Martian rocks, and detected that ancient Mars had the right ingredients to support living microbes.

Curiosity is still operating today and slowly climbing higher on Mount Sharp, a 3.4-mile-high (5.5-kilometer) mountain towering above the crater floor.

Amid the series of rover missions, NASA also dispatched two successful stationary landers to Mars.

The Phoenix lander touched down on the northern polar plains of Mars in 2008 and dug into the soil to find water ice just below the surface. NASAs InSight spacecraft arrived on Mars in 2018 to measure the planets seismology and probe its internal structure.

NASA says it spent more than $2.4 billion to design, build and prepare the Mars 2020 mission for launch. With the money budgeted to operate the rover during the trip to Mars, and for around two Earth years (one Mars year) after landing, the total mission is expected to cost around $2.7 billion.

The 2,260-pound (1,025-kilogram) Perseverance rover is about 10 feet (3 meters) long, 9 feet (2.7 meters wide), and 7 feet (2.2 meters) tall.

The rover is mounted on a rocket-powered descent stage that will lower the robot to the Martian surface. That, in turn, is cocooned inside an aerodynamic shell and heat shield to protect the rover during entry into the atmosphere of Mars, when temperatures outside the spacecraft will reach 2,370 degrees Fahrenheit (about 1,300 degrees Celsius).

A cruise stage is attached to the Mars descent vehicle to shepherd the spacecraft along the 300-million-mile (nearly 500-million-kilometer) journey to the Red Planet. The carrier module will jettison before arriving at Mars and burn up in the Martian atmosphere.

The entire vehicle weighs about 9,000 pounds, or nearly 4.1 metric tons, on top of ULAs Atlas 5 rocket, according to a NASA spokesperson.

While any space launch has some risk, landing a spacecraft on Mars is a hazardous proposition. About half of all missions that have attempted to land on Mars have failed, although NASA has succeeded five consecutive Mars landing attempts.

NASAs Perseverance rover is the third mission to Mars to launch this month, following the July 19 takeoff of the Hope orbiter developed by the United Arab Emirates in partnership with scientists at three U.S. universities. On July 23, China launched its Tianwen 1 spacecraft, an all-in-one mission consisting of an orbiter, lander and rover.

The Hope and Tianwen 1 missions are the first probes from the UAE and China to head for Mars.

We welcome more nations taking trips to mars and studying it and delivering the science and sharing the science with the world, said Bridenstine, who became head of NASA in 2018 after his nomination by President Donald Trump. Thats what science is all about, of course, its a very uniting kind of thing.

Bridenstine said he did not see NASA as in a competition with other nations for Mars exploration.

This is our ninth time to go to mMars and land softy and do robotic experiments and discovery, he said. So weve been doing this now for decades successfully, and of course, this mission is, by far, the most sophisticated (Mars) mission ever. So I dont see it as a competition, but certainly we welcome more explorers to deliver more science than ever before, and we look foward to seeing what it is that theyre able to discover.

Orbiters from the United States, the European Space Agency, and India are currently flying around Mars and observing the planet from above.

All three missions will arrive at the Red Planet next February, with the UAEs Hope spacecraft and Chinas Tianwen 1 spacecraft swinging into orbit around Mars. Several months later, Tianwen 1 will release its lander in a bid to descend to the Martian surface and deploy its rover.

If successful, China would become the second country to land and operate a mobile robot on Mars, after the United States.

The Perseverance rover will aim for a direct approach to Mars, heading straight into the planets rarefied atmosphere next Feb. 18. Around 10 minutes before reaching the upper edge atmosphere, the spacecraft will shed the cruise stage that will have guided the rover toward Mars since its launch.

The rovers 14.8-foot-diameter (4.5-meter) heat shield will take the brunt of the energy during the crafts plunge into the atmosphere of Mars. While temperatures outside the heat shield reach more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, small thrusters will adjust the angle of the vehicles trajectory, allowing it to control lift and begin navigating toward its landing site.

Around four minutes after entering the atmosphere, the spacecraft will unfurl a 70.5-foot-diameter (21.5-meter) supersonic parachute at an altitude of about 7 miles, or 11 kilometers. Perseverances parachute is stronger than the one used on Curiosity, and the Mars 2020 mission will employ a new technique to deploy the chute based on the crafts position relative to the target landing site, rather than using a timer.

That will result in a more precise landing, NASA says.

Roughly 20 seconds after deploying the parachute, the heat shield at the bottom of the spacecraft will drop away, allowing a downward-facing guidance radar and cameras to start seeing the Martian surface.

The atmosphere of Mars is much thinner than Earths, so a parachute by itself is unable to slow the spacecraft enough for a safe landing. The rovers descent stage will release the backshell and parachute around 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometers) above Mars. Eight throttleable thrusters will further slow the rovers descent from about 190 mph (306 kilometers per hour) to a speed of near zero just 66 feet (20 meters) above the surface.

During this time, advanced guidance software loaded into the rovers flight computer will begin searching for a smooth place to set down. The new capability, named terrain relative navigation, was developed since Curiositys landing in 2012 and will be used on Mars for the first time with Perseverance.

It works by comparing imagery taken in real-time during descent with a map of steep slopes, boulders and other hazards pre-loaded into the computer using pictures captured from Mars orbiters. If the rover sees it is heading for dangerous terrain, it will adjust its path to reach a smoother area.

Finally, a bridle will lower the one-ton Perseverance rover to the surface of Mars using a technique called the sky crane, which engineers invented and demonstrated on the Curiosity rovers landing in 2012. Once the rovers six wheels touch Mars, the bridle will be cut and the descent stage will fly away to crash a safe distance away.

That all happens millions of miles from Earth, when it takes minutes for a radio signal to travel between the planets at the speed of light. That leaves no opportunity for human input once the descent begins.

Its basically a controlled disassembly the whole way, Wallace told Spaceflight Now. Its, by far, the highest risk phase of the mission still, and we had the good fortune on Mars 2020 to have leveraged the system that we designed on Curiosity.

So not only we do have the testing behind us on this system that we did before we launched and landed Curiosity, we have the Curiosity flight itself, and all the telemetry that came back, he said. And it performed extremely well during that mission. Then we did a whole lot of additional testing to launch this spacecraft.

Still, no guarantees, Wallace said. Our hearts will still be beating hard when we get to that point in the mission, but I do think its an advantage that we have. This is not a first-time landing system as we had on Curiosity.

The Perseverance rover will target a landing inside the 28-mile-wide (45-kilometer) Jezero Crater on Mars, home to an ancient river delta and lake that scientists believe filled the crater some 3.5 billion to 3.9 billion years ago. Scientists hope to find signatures of ancient life in the rocks and sediments deposited in the dried-up delta.

Perseverance is designed to land as close to the delta deposits as possible.

To get down onto the crater floor right on top of the delta, we need to do better than weve ever done before, Steltzner said.

Once the rover is on Mars and powers up its science instruments, one of its first tasks will be to place NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter onto the surface. Perseverance will release the rotorcraft from a carrier on its bellyonto the ground, then drive away to a distance of at least 330 feet (100 meters) before the helicopter flies for the first time.

Ground controllers will program the helicopter to perform a series of test flights during a planned 30-day campaign.

The helicopter will fly autonomously, without real-time input from ground controllers millions of miles away. The drone carries two cameras, and telemetry from the helicopter will be routed through a base station on the rover. The Perseverance rover might be able to take pictures of the helicopter in flight.

For the first time ever, were going to fly a helicopter on another planet, Bridenstine said. In the future, it could transform how we do planetary science on other worlds, and eventually it could be a scout so we can figure out where we need to send our robots.

NASA officials approved adding the helicopter to the Mars 2020 mission in 2018.

The atmosphere at the Martian surface is about 1 percent the density of Earths, limiting the performance of a rotorcraft like the Ingenuity helicopter.

The helicopters counter-rotating rotors will spin between 2,400 and 2,900 rpm, about 10 times faster than a helicopter flying in Earths atmosphere. Developed at JPL with assistance from a company named AeroVironment Inc., the Ingenuity rotorcraft is tiny compared to the Perseverance rover. The solar-powered drone measures just 1.6 feet (0.49 meters) tall, weighs about 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms), and has blades spanning about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter.

While the Ingenuity helicopter is purely a technology proof-of-concept, future rotorcraft could be dispatched to other planets with more sophisticated scientific instruments.

NASA has selected a robotic mission named Dragonfly to explore Saturns largest moon Titan. But Titan has a much thicker atmosphere than Mars, which eases the difficulty of rotor-driven flight.

Debuting a wide array of new capabilities, the Mars 2020 mission is packed with firsts.

Were making oxygen on the surface of Mars for the first time, Wallace said. For the first time we have an opportunity to use autonomous systems to avoid hazards as we land in Jezero Crater, and thats technology that will feed forward into future robotic systems and human exploration systems.

Were also carrying microphones for the first time, he said. Were going to hear the sounds of the spacecraft landing on another planet and the rover drilling into rocks and rolling over the surface of Mars. Thats pretty exciting.

For the first time, were going to have an opportunity to see our spacecraft land another planet, Wallace continued. Weve got commercial ruggedized cameras that weve distributed essentially all over the spacecraft, and they will get high-definition video that well bring back after we land on the surface from the entire landing activity from the inflation of the parachute to the touchdown of the rover.

The Mars 2020 missions development cost swelled nearly $360 million over NASAs original prediction, according to the Government Accountability Office. That was caused primarily challenges with perfecting the devices that will collect, seal and store rock specimens, along with difficulties with instruments.

Along the way, we had plenty of challenges, Wallace said. We had to qualify a new planetary parachute. Thats another first the first time weve done that as an agency in 40 or 50 years.

Kind of late in the game, we were asked to accommodate this little thing called Mars Helicopter, he said. It was well after most of the payloads were assigned to the project, so we had to do a little bit of magic trick to get that onto the rover.

Around the time of Curiositys landing on Mars in 2012, engineers at JPL started assessing options for NASAs next major Mars rover. NASA leadership announced plans for the Mars 2020 mission in late 2012, seeking to recycle designs proven with the Curiosity mission also known as Mars Science Laboratory with a different set of scientific instruments, and the new ability to drill core samples, seal them inside ultra-clean tubes, and drop them onto the Red Planet to be picked up years in the future.

We need to make the sample tubes that we take to Mars cleaner than anything that weve ever done before in space, and cleaner than almost everything we do here on Earth, Steltzner said.Part of the effort to do that involves us hyper-cleaning the sample tubes in which the samples that we take on Mars will be placed, and then placing them into the rover at last possible minute.

Read more about the sampling system in our earlier story.

The sample tubes were installed into the Perseverance rover in May, just before it was closed up inside its aeroshell and mounted on top of the Atlas 5 rocket.

Each tube is sheathed in a gold-colored cylindrical enclosure, providing an extra layer of contamination protection. The tubes will ride to Mars inside the housing, and they will be returned to the sheath once filled with Martian rock samples.

The Perseverance rover will carry 43 sample tubes to Mars, including witness tubes or blanks, which will allow scientists to cross-check rock and sediment specimens returned to Earth for contamination.

The tubes are about the size and shape of a slim cigar, and the Perseverance rover will collect core samples on Mars that measure around a half-inch (13 millimeters) wide and 2.4 inches (60 millimeters) long.

Those samples tubes are part of a Sample and Caching System, which is one of our biggest engineering developments for this mission, Steltzner said. We get to Mars largely like the Curiosity rover got to Mars, but we need to do something very different once were on Mars. We must take these core samples, seal them hermetically and sterilely, and then produce a cache of samples for eventual return to Earth.

The Sample Caching System is a complicated piece of equipment, with 17 separate motors, a rotating wheel containing nine drill bits, and 43 tubes to hermetically seal core samples drilled from Martian rocks.

The rover has a 7-foot-long (2-meter) robotic arm with a coring drill fixed on a 99-pound (45-kilogram) turret on the end. The longer robotic arm will work in concert with a smaller 1.6-foot-long (0.5-meter) robotic manipulator inside the belly of the rover, which will pick up sample tubes for transfer to the main arm for drilling.

Steltzner said the rovers sampling system actually consists of three different robots.

Out at the end of our robotic arm thats the first robot is a coring drill that uses rotary percussive action like we have used similarly and previously on Mars with the Curiosity mission, except rather just generating powder, this creates an annular groove in the rock and breaks off a core sample, Steltzner said.

During each sample collection, the core sample will go directly into the tube attached to the drill.

That bit and the sample tube are brought back by the robotic arm our first robot into the second robot, our bit carousel, which receives the filled sample tube and delivers it to a very fine and detailed robot, the sample handling arm inside the belly of the beast, in which the sample is then assessed, its volume is measured, images are taken, and it is sealed and placed back into storage for eventually being placed in a cache on the surface.

The portion of the caching system inside the rover is called the Adaptive Caching Assembly, which consists of more than 3,000 parts alone.

The design of the drill and sample tubes is intended to preserve the distribution minerals cored from Martian rocks. The system is also intended to collect samples directly from softer soils.

NASA selected seven scientific payloads to ride to Mars on the Perseverance rover in 2014.

Two of the instruments, named PIXL and SHERLOC, are located alongside the coring drill on the robotic arms turret. Theywill scan Martian rocks to determine their chemical composition and search for organic materials, providing key inputs into decisions by ground teams on which rocks to drill.

The Mars 2020 rover also carries the SuperCam instrument,an intricate suite of sensors, including a camera, laser and spectrometers, designed to zap Martian rocks from more than 20 feet (6 meters) away to measure their chemical and mineral make-up, with the ability to identify organic molecules.

Developed by an international team in the United States, France and Spain, the SuperCam instrument is an upgraded version of the ChemCam instrument currently operating on NASAs Curiosity Mars rover.

The instruments mounted inside the Mars 2020 rovers main body include MOXIE, whichwill demonstrate the production of oxygen from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Mars, a capability that future astronaut explorers could use on the Red Planet. A Norwegian-developed ground-penetrating radar on the rover named RIMFAX will study the planets underground geologic structure, yielding data on subsurface layers and soil strength which could help designers of larger landers designed to carry people to Mars.

The mission also carries a weather station and 23 cameras the most ever flown on a deep space mission including the first camera on Mars with a zoom function. That camera system, located on top of a mast Perseverance will raise after landing, is named Mastcam-Z and will record video and 360-degree panoramas.

Were carrying about 50 percent more surface payload than Curiosity did, and that was, by far, the most complex thing weve ever done up to that point in time, Wallace said. Were taking this a step further.

The differences between Perseverance and NASAs predecessor Curiosity rover do not stop at the science payload or the Ingenuity helicopter.

The Perseverance roveralso features aluminum wheels with thicker skin and modified treads to avoid damage observed on Curiositys wheels on Mars.NASAs new Mars rover weighs about 278 pounds (126 kilograms) more than Curiosity.

The benefit of another decade of technological advancement since Curiositys launch, and the budding fruits of NASAs partnership with ESA on a Mars Sample Return program, moves scientists closer to addressing the question of whether life took hold elsewhere in the solar system, Bridenstine said.

We are, in fact, trying to find signatures of life, and of course, were interested in finding life itself, Bridenstine said.

While NASA officials are careful to say Perseverance is not a mission to detect life, its launch and landing on Mars will be a big leap forward in the search.

See the original post here:

NASA's Perseverance rover signals new era in Mars exploration - Spaceflight Now

An artists conception shows Spaceflights Sherpa-FX, the first orbital transfer vehicle to debut in the companys Sherpa-NG (next generation) program. The vehicle is capable of executing multiple deployments, as well as providing independent and detailed deployment telemetry. (Spaceflight Inc. Illustration)

Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. says itll use a notebook-sized deorbiting system developed by another Seattle-area company to deal with the disposal of its Sherpa-FX orbital transfer vehicle.

The NanoSat Terminator Tape Deorbit System, built by Bothell, Wash.-based Tethers Unlimited, is designed to take advantage of orbital drag on a 230-foot-long strip of conductive tape to hasten the fiery descent of a spacecraft through Earths atmosphere. The system has been tested successfully on nanosatellites over the past year, and another experiment is planned for later this year.

Tethers Unlimiteds system provides an affordable path to reducing space debris, which is becoming a problem of greater concern as more small satellites go into orbit. Statistical models suggest that there are nearly a million bits of debris bigger than half an inch (1 centimeter) whizzing in Earth orbit.

WhenTethers was founded in 1994, its main focus was to solve the problem of space debris so that NASA, the DoD [Department of Defense] and commercial space enterprises could continue to safely operate in Earth orbit, Tethers Unlimited CEO Rob Hoyt said today in a news release. We are pleased to see our solutions are now making a significant contribution to ensuring sustainability of the space environment, which will benefit the entire industry.

Spaceflight Inc.s Sherpa-FX is due to have its first in-space use during a dedicated rideshare mission scheduled for no earlier than December. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket would send the vehicle into orbit, loaded up with smaller spacecraft. After Sherpa-FX separates from the rockets upper stage, it would deploy those spacecraft to independent orbits. The system builds on the legacy of Spaceflight Inc.s first free-flying satellite deployer, which was used for a 64-satellite mission in 2018.

In-space transportation is essential to meeting our customers specific needs to get their spacecraft delivered to orbit exactly when and where they want it, Grant Bonin, Spaceflight Inc.s senior vice president of business development, said in a news release. If you think of typical rideshare as sharing a seat on a train headed to a popular destination, our next-generation Sherpa program enables us to provide a more complete door-to-door transportation service.

Spaceflight Inc.s customers for the rideshare mission include iQPS, Loft Orbital, HawkEye 360, Astrocast and NASAs Small Spacecraft Technology program.

The Terminator Tape module, which weighs less than 2 pounds, will be attached to Sherpa-FXs exterior. When the transfer vehicle has completed its mission, an electrical signal will activate the system to wind out the conductive tape. Interactions with Earths magnetic field and upper atmosphere will increase drag, causing a quicker plunge from orbit.

Were focused on being a good steward of our space resource, and our mission is to conduct frequent small satellite launches, so we have a responsibility for deorbiting what we send up, said Philip Bracken, vice president of engineering at Spaceflight Inc. Tethers solution is affordable, compact and lightweight, and will help us fulfill our responsibilities to clean up space after our mission is complete.

Spaceflight Inc. handles satellite launch logistics in partnership with a variety of launch providers, including SpaceX and Rocket Lab. It was founded as a subsidiary of Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries, but this year ownership was transferred to Mitsui & Co. Ltd.

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Spaceflight and Tethers Unlimited team up on deorbiting system for satellite carrier - GeekWire

A Russian Soyuz rocket rolled out to a launch pad Monday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, ready for final inspections, checkouts and fueling before liftoff Thursday with a Progress supply ship bound for the International Space Station.

The Soyuz-2.1a launcher emerged from a hangar at the Baikonur Cosmodrome just after sunrise Monday, riding a mobile railcar across the Kazakh steppe to Launch Pad No. 31. A hydraulic lift raised the launcher vertical on pad 31, and gantry arms rotated into position around the rocket to allow workers access to the vehicle for final pre-launch preparations.

Launch is scheduled for 10:26:22 a.m. EDT (1426:22 GMT; 7:26:22 p.m. Baikonur time) Thursday to kick off a three-hour pursuit of the space station. The launch time is set to occur around the time the research outpost flies over Baikonur.

After shedding its four liquid-fueled first stage boosters about two minutes after liftoff, the Soyuz rocket continue firing its core stage until nearly five minutes into the mission. An upper stage will finish the task of placing the Progress MS-15 cargo carrier into orbit, then deploy the supply ship around nine minutes after launch.

The Progress MS-15 resupply freighter will unfurl its solar panels and navigation antenna, then begin a series of thruster firings to adjust its altitude to match that of the space station. A final radar-guided automated rendezvous sequence will steer the spacecraft on an approach to the Pirs docking compartment on the stations Russian segment.

The automated docking is scheduled for 1:47 p.m. EDT (1747 GMT), delivering some 2.8 tons (2.6 metric tons) of fuel, food, supplies and other equipment to the research outpost and its five-person crew.

Russian ground teams loaded 3,351 pounds (1,520 kilograms) of dry cargo into the cargo freighters pressurized compartment, according to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Roscosmos says theres around 1,322 pounds (600 kilograms) of propellant aboard the Progress MS-15 spacecraft for transfer into the space stations tanks, along with 926 pounds (420 kilograms) of water and 101 pounds (46 kilograms) ofcompressed gas to replenish the space stations breathing air.

The Progress MS-13 supply ship, which docked with the space station Dec. 9, departed the Pirs docking port July 8 to clear the way for the arrival of the new cargo freighter. Once it docks Thursday, the Progress MS-15 spacecraft will remain linked with the space station until December, when it will detach and burn up in Earths atmosphere.

Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner will monitor the Progress MS-15 supply ships approach to the space station. They will be ready to intervene and take manual control using a remote command panel inside the station.

Ivanishin and Vagner are joined by Expedition 63 commander Chris Cassidy and NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley aboard the International Space Station.

Cassidy, Ivanishin and Vagner launched in April aboard a Russian Soyuz crew capsule. They are scheduled to return to Earth in October.

Behnken and Hurley launched May 30 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the first flight of SpaceXs Crew Dragon spacecraft with astronauts. They reached the station May 31, and are gearing up for undocking as soon as Aug. 1, followed by re-entry and splashdown off the Florida coast Aug. 2.

Photos of the Soyuz-2.1a rockets rollout to the launch pad at Baikonur are posted below.

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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Soyuz rocket raised on Baikonur launch pad for space station resupply flight - Spaceflight Now

Saturn and its spectacular rings, as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on July 4, 2020. Hubble ... [+] takes an annual image of Saturn as part of the Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) project.

Right now, in Earths skies, Saturn appears at its biggest and brightest.

A view of tonight's midnight sky from 45 N latitude, which shows the relative positions of bright ... [+] Saturn and even brighter Jupiter in the southern part of the sky. They rise in the southeast just as the Sun sets, then migrate towards the west over the course of the night. They are joined by a variety of meteor showers, including the Delta Aquariids.

Just look to the southeastern skies (from the northern hemisphere), slightly east of bright Jupiter.

Every year, there's one moment where Earth passes directly between the Sun and Saturn, occurring ... [+] recently in the 2nd half of July. As captured by amateur astronomer Christian Gloor in 2019, this shows a view very close to what skywatchers will see through a telescope tonight, although the rings are slightly more edge-on this year than last year.

With Earth between the Sun and Saturn, its poised for spectacular viewing.

The seven extraterrestrial planets of the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, ... [+] Uranus, Neptune. Photographed in 2019 with a Maksutov telescope from Mannheim and Stockach in Germany. The angular sizes and colors shown are accurate, but the brightnesses are not: Venus is some 63,000 times brighter than Neptune, or 12 astronomical magnitudes; the same difference as between the full Moon and a typical bright star like Vega or Capella. Saturn's rings are incredibly prominent, and the only ringed system visible through a typical telescope.

But the true star of Saturn is its main rings, now tilted for excellent views.

A computer simulated view of what Saturn looks like from Earth during opposition in every year from ... [+] 2001 through 2029. Note the 15 year repeating pattern of where the rings are maximally tilted or edge-on to the Earth. Right now, in 2020, the rings are becoming closer to edge-on, which they will achieve in 2024.

Every 15 years, the rings cycle from edge-on to maximum tilt and back again.

Details of Saturn's main, icy rings are visible in this sweeping view from Cassini of the planet's ... [+] glorious ring system. The total span, from the innermost A ring to the outer F ring shown here, covers approximately 40,800 miles (65,700 km) and was photographed on November 26, 2008. The outermost rings, including the ring created by Enceladus and the Phoebe ring beyond that, are not shown.

Although they reach over 70,000 kilometers in extent, theyre only 30 kilometers thick.

This 1990s-era image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows Saturn in an unusual configuration: ... [+] with its rings edge-on to us from our perspective. This occurs roughly every 15 years on a repeating basis, with the rings tilted at an angle the rest of the time. Saturn's giant moon Titan can be seen at left (with its shadow falling on the planet), while smaller moons appear to the right.

As a result, they briefly seemed to disappear in 1994, 2009, and will again in 2024.

From the vicinity of Saturn itself, NASA's Cassini mission was able to capture the shadows cast by ... [+] various ice crystals from within the rings, showing the incredible relief of the thin rings and their shadows against the main rings themselves. Saturn's rings might extend for tens of thousands of kilometers in the radial dimension, but are only 30 km thick.

NASAs Cassini mission previously captured long shadows cast by nearly edge-on sunlight.

This 2018 image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows Saturn at opposition, with four of its ... [+] moons visible and its rings shining brightly at nearly their maximum tilt with respect to our perspective. The banded structure of Saturn itself can also be seen, as can many of the gaps/divisions in the main ring system.

With no current Saturn orbiters, NASAs Hubble provides our best views from afar.

Taken by the Cassini spacecraft with the Sun hidden behind Saturn, this backlit view of our Solar ... [+] System's great ringed world contains a bonus: a few pixels that reveal the Earth-Moon system. This is one of the most distant photographs of Earth ever taken, but it still reveals our world as larger than a single pixel. The rings themselves appear glorious, and are composed of 99.9% water ice.

The rings are 99.9% water ice, and are comparable in total mass to Saturns 7th largest moon: Mimas.

Saturn's 7th largest moon, Mimas, appears to hover above the colorful rings. This image was taken by ... [+] the Cassini spacecraft and, despite their enormous size differences, show two entities of comparable mass. Mimas is approximately twice the mass of the entirety of the ring system, despite the much larger apparent extent of the rings.

Saturns rings are quickly evaporating; theyll be gone in merely 300 million years.

This image of Saturn's rings, with the planet itself behind them, was taken by Cassini at a distance ... [+] of 725,000 km from the planet. Due to the fact that the ring system is "raining" down material onto Saturn, we can conclude that the rings will be entirely gone, based on the current rate of mass loss, in another 300 million years.

The evidence possibly points to their origin arising from a recently destroyed moon.

Within Saturn's rings, many small moons and moonlets, such as Daphnis, can be found. These objects ... [+] are likely created by accreting particles, then destroyed by collisions and tidal forces. their uniform composition and decaying nature suggests that they were created relatively recently, with one longstanding theory contending that a larger, destroyed moon gave them their origin as little as tens but as many as hundreds of millions of years ago.

Back when trilobites dominated the Earth, Saturn may not have had any rings at all.

The entirety of Saturn's main rings, from the inner D ring to the outer F ring, may be much newer ... [+] than the rest of the Solar System. It's plausible that a few hundred million years ago, before the rise of the dinosaurs, these rings may not have existed at all. In another 300 million years ago, they likely will have disappeared entirely.

Until another Saturn-bound mission launches, telescopes like Hubble will provide our sharpest views.

While the age of Saturn's rings remains controversial, annual portraits from Hubble, such as this ... [+] 2019 image, continue to shed insights on this fascinating giant planet. The changing north pole, in particular, can be seen by comparing the 2018, 2019, and 2020 images illustrated in this article.

Mostly Mute Monday tells an astronomical story in images, visuals, and no more than 200 words. Talk less; smile more.

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Hubble Reveals The Beauty And Mystery Of Saturns Rings - Forbes

India's lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 marked the first anniversary of its launch on Wednesday. The payloads are performing well, and the lunar surface is being extensively examined, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement. "Extensive data has been acquired from Chandrayaan-2 payloads and parameters are being derived for presence of water-ice in the polar regions, X-ray based and infrared spectroscopic mineral information and mid and high latitude presence of Argon-40, a condensable gas on the moon," ISRO stated.The data from Chandrayaan-2 will be publicly released from October, it added.

A GSLV-Mk-III rocket, carrying the orbiter, lander Vikram and rover Pragyaan, took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on July 22, 2019. The 3,850-kg Chandrayaan-2 aimed at landing the rover on unchartered Lunar South Pole. The spacecraft was inserted into lunar orbit on August 20, 2019. The Chandrayaan-2 mission was India's first attempt to land on the lunar surface.

However, the lander Vikram hard-landed in September.Vikram, with rover Pragyan housed inside it,hit the lunar surface after communication with the ground stations was lost during its final descent, just 2.1km above the surface. The lander was supposed to analyse the unexplored part of the moon's terrain and send back data for 14 days. It was later revealed that a last-minute software glitch led to the failure of the lander mission. It crash-landed on the moon's surface after its guidance software went kaput.

However, the orbiter, which is still in the lunar orbit, has a mission life of seven years.As Chandrayaan-2 makes its polar orbit over the time period, the Imaging IR Spectroscope (IIRS) will take detailed mineralogical and volatile measurements of the moon in the spectral range of 0.8 to 5 micrometres at a resolution of around 20 nanometres. The IIRS also measures water/hydroxyl features at high spatial resolutions like 80 metres as well as spectral resolutions like 20 nanometres for the first time. These measurements are expected to, over time, provide comprehensive maps of water and mineralogical features on the moon. According to ISRO's post on Chandrayaan-2's payloads, the IIRS will enable such measurements to be taken for the 'first time' at such a spectral range and resolution.

Even as Vikram crash-landed, ISROChairman K. Sivan had said the Chandrayaan-2 mission has achieved 98 per cent of its objectives.He had said the orbiter was doing well and performing scheduled science experiments.

A series of space missions

A series of high-profile global space missions are expected in 2020 and the early 2021. In July,UAE became the first Arab country to embark on a Mars mission with its spacecraft 'Al Amal', launched fromJapan's remote Tanegashima spaceport.Al Amal, or 'Hope' probe, weighing 1.3 tonnes was launched via Mitsubishi's H-2A rocket. The probe is transmitting and the signals are being studied, UAE had announced post-launch.A newcomer in space development, the UAE has already put three Earth observation satellites into orbit. Two were developed by South Korea and launched by Russia, and a thirdits ownwas launched by Japan. A successful Hope mission to Mars would be a major step for the oil-dependent economy seeking a future in space, coming less than a year after the launch of the first Emirati astronaut Hazzaa Ali Almansoori.

China is also planning to embark on the first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 this year. Aiming to catch up with India, US, Russia and the European Union to reach the red planet, Chinas Mars mission plans to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one go.China, in recent years, has emerged as a major space power with manned space missions, and landing a rover on the dark side of the moon. It is currently building a space station of its own. However, Chinas attempts to send an exploratory probe to Mars called Yinghuo-1, in a Russian spacecraft in 2011, failed shortly after the launch and it was declared lost and later burnt during re-entry into earth.

NASA's Perseverance rover to Mars, expected to touch down on the Jezero crater, will look for signs of past microbial life in river delta deposits formed over billions of years that might have enhanced preservation of evidence of life. The delta, speculated to have formed due to sediment deposits at the mouth of Hypanis Valles, a river system on ancient Mars, separates the southern highlands from the northern lowlands. Scientists believe that Mars once had an ancient ocean and a water cycle similar to Earth's and large seas or an ocean ever existed in the northern lowlands. Findings from Jezero crater could aid our understanding of how life evolved on Earth. If life once existed there, it likely didn't evolve beyond the single-cell stage, scientists say. That's because Jezero crater formed over 3.5 billion years ago, long before organisms on Earth became multicellular. If life once existed at the surface, its evolution was stalled by some unknown event that sterilised the planet. That means the Martian crater could serve as a kind of time capsule preserving signs of life as it might once have existed on Earth.

India's major focus in 2020 will be on its third lunar mission (Chandrayaan-3), andGaganyaan's first unmanned flight.According to the ISRO chairman, the government has approved the Chandrayaan-3 project, which will again attempt a soft landing on the moon, and the whole project will cost around Rs 615 crore. Gaganyaan, the human space mission, envisages to send three Indians to space by 2022. The four test pilots selected for this mission are currently undergoing training in Russia.

However, Sivan had expressed consternation that 10 space missions being prepared for launch this year were disturbed due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.Because of this [pandemic], everything got disturbed. We have to make an assessment after the COVID-19 issue is resolved, Sivan had said. Gaganyaan will be impacted because of the lockdown all industries have not yet started functioning, Sivan said.

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On first anniversary of Chandrayaan-2, a look at the global space missions that lie ahead - THE WEEK

NASA Awards SETI Institute Contract for Planetary Protection

As we continue to venture out and research the possibility of life in outer space, an important consideration is the protection of Earth and other planets in our solar system and beyond, from biological contamination. In early July, NASAs Office of Planetary Protection awarded the SETI Institute with the contract to support all phases of current and future missions to ensure compliance with planetary protection standards.

As we return to the Moon, look for evidence of past or present life on Mars and continue our missions of exploration and discovery in the Solar System, Planetary Protection becomes an increasingly important component of mission planning and execution, said Bill Diamond, President and CEO of the SETI Institute. We are proud to be NASAs partner for this mission-critical function, protecting Earth from backward contamination, and helping ensure that the life we may find on other worlds, didnt come from our own.

Whether through telescopes, binoculars or even with the naked eye, many are observing the July light show put on by C/2020 F3, otherwise known as Comet NEOWISE, named after the space telescope instrumental in finding it, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope.

Comets are like cats, says Franck Marchis, an astronomer at the SETI Institute. They are unpredictable. If Comet NEOWISEs outgassing exhausts its reserves of icy material, its bright tail could dissipate, effectively removing the object from view. On the other extreme, ongoing heating from the sun could cause the comet to disintegrate in a bright outburst, potentially resulting in a highly visible great comet of historic significance. This possibility would be a spectacular event and a great show for the earthlings, Marchis says. But personally, I recommend walking up early and going to see it now, while we know its here.

Two scientists at Omni Calculator have combined the Drake Equation, created by Frank Drake in 1961, and a new method called the Astrobiological Copernican Limits to create the Alien Civilization Calculator. They use this calculator to estimate the number of technologically advanced civilizations that could potentially exist in our galaxy.

In November 2019, NASA researchers identified a repeating pattern of orbit between two of Neptunes inner moons, Naiad and Thalassa, known as the dance of avoidance. The unusual dance continues and has likely been there a very long time, according to Planetary Astronomer Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute.

"We are always excited to find these co-dependencies between moons," said planetary astronomer Mark Showalter, from the SETI Institute.

"Naiad and Thalassa have probably been locked together in this configuration for a very long time, because it makes their orbits more stable. They maintain the peace by never getting too close."

Check out Weekly Space Hangout with astrophysicist Dr. Andrew Siemion, Director of the Berkeley SETI Research Center and the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute.

Big Picture Science

Transmission surprises

Some dogs and cats have become sick with COVID. But its not just domestic critters that are vulnerable: zoo animals have fallen ill too. Theres more strange news about the pandemic, for example scientists who track the coronavirus in our sewage, and computer models that show that flushing the toilet can launch persistent, pathogenic plumes into the room. And scientists have warned the WHO that infectious virus remains airborne. Also, how a shortage of glass vials could delay the deployment of a vaccine.

Join guests Yvette Johnson-Walker, Rolf Halden and Bryan Bzdek as they discuss interesting pandemic phenomena in COVID Curiosities.

Uniquely human

Your cat is smart, but its ability to choreograph a ballet or write computer code isnt great. A lot of animals are industrious and clever, but humans are the only animal that is uniquely ingenious and creative.

Neuroscientist David Eagleman and composer Anthony Brandt discuss how human creativity has reshaped the world. Find out what is going on in your brain when you write a novel, paint a watercolor, or build a whatchamacallit in your garage.

But isHomo sapiensclaim on creativity destined to be short-lived? Why both Eagleman and Brandt are prepared to step aside when artificial intelligence can do their jobs.

Tune in here to this repeat edition of Creative Brains, originally aired February 5, 2018.

For more information and the archive of past shows, visit the Big Picture Science website.

SETI Live

Recent SETI Live episodes include:

Frontier Development Lab Knowledge Discovery Framework - NASA has an exceptionally large archive of Earth Science data. How can machine learning and artificial intelligence unlock new insights and enable new types of scientific research? A prototype of a Knowledge Discovery Framework (KDF) enables users to sift through data and identify patterns. This Frontier Development Lab team is developing tools that allow users to provide an example image so AI can find similar images in the data, addressing a gap in current search tools. An AI-driven KDF will have applications for disaster response, monitoring climate change and more. Team members are: Francesco Civilini (NASA postdoctoral fellow at Marshall Space Flight Center), Megan Seeley (PhD student at Arizona State University), Nishan Srishankar (Worcester Polytech Institute), and Satyarth Praveen (University of Maryland, College Park).

Frontier Development Lab Starspots Team - Starspots are cooler, darker areas on the surface of a star that form when regions of the stars magnetic field block the flow of heat and energy to the stellar surface. Understanding the surface features of stars could provide insights about stellar magnetism and its impact on exoplanet habitability. This FDL team will be using applied AI and machine learning tools and processes to Kepler and TESS data to identify and define the properties of starspots, stellar rotation, and stellar magnetism in tens of thousands of stars, and increase our understanding of our own Sun as a star. Join us for a conversation with team members Daniel Giles (Illinois Institute of Technology and Adler Planetarium), J. Emmanuel Johnson (University of Valencia, Spain), Lisseth Gavilan-Main (NASA Ames Research Center) and Stela Ishitani Silva (Catholic University of American and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) for a discussion about the starspots challenge they are tackling and what they are learning.

As always, videos of all past Facebook Live events can be found on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SETIInstitute/

Or on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/SETIInstitute

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SETI Institute in the News Media Roundup. July 1 July 15, 2020 - SETI Institute

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

| Updated: Monday, July 20, 2020, 12:02 [IST]

New Delhi, July 20: Sunita Williams holds the record of the longest space flight for a woman but as a child, the Indian American astronaut had never thought about voyaging into space ever.

Williams, who has made 7 spacewalks and spent more than 321 days in space was addressing a webinar organised by the APJ Abdul Kalam Centre on "Our Place In Space", on Sunday evening.

"I grew up in a family with dad who immigrated from India, and my mother who was an X-ray technician in a hospital, they met each other when he was going through residency. I came from a humble family, me, my brother, we all knew that we should work hard, I never envisioned to be an astronaut. As a child I liked swimming, I was an athlete and I liked animals and wanted to be a veterinary doctor," Williams said.

The daughter of neuroanatomist Dr Deepak Pandya and his wife, Bonnie, of Massachusetts, Williams graduated from the US Naval Academy, became an engineer and a test pilot before being selected by NASA's Astronaut Candidate School in 1998.

Williams is among the four astronauts picked by Nasa on Friday to train for a programme which will one day land an American on Mars. She will be flying to the International Space Station in Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in the next few months.

Nasa's unmanned Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, which is provisionally slated for launch on July 30, could pave the way for a manned mission to the Red Planet subsequently, Indian-American astronaut, Sunita Williams, stated.

"We should go to Mars. It is entirely a different place and it is important we plan how to sustain there. I am sure this will happen in our generation," she said.

Watch the full interview here:

She said that Nasa's Artemis mission, which aims to put a man and the first woman in the south pole region of the moon by 2024, will also help in planning a human mission to the Red Planet.

"Nasa is working with oceanographic institutes, planning a flight to one of Jupiter's moons by sending a submarine to its ocean," she added.

The role of this mission will be in the area of astrobiology. She said that the view of earth from space leaves one awestruck.

"When I had my first glimpse I said vow, how peaceful, beautiful and incredible it is," she said emphasising that it gave sense of oneness.

Williams also shared her experience in space as she enjoyed eating samosas and took with her the Bhagwad Gita and the Upanishad which her father had gifted her.

"Working with our international partners drives cooperation and makes one think of just one world," Williams said.

Rajasthan Political Crisis: Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat issued notice | Oneindia News

"Boundaries that divide countries disappear when scientists and astronauts work together to fuel scientific discovery on and off the planet", she added.

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Sunita Williams on her time in space and the Mars mission - Oneindia

With a launch coming up in a matter of days the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska in Kodiak is looking at ramping up its capabilities and number of vehicles delivered into orbit.

Were licensed for up to 9 launches per year. Were working with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to increase it to 36. You have room if a third commercial launch company wants to come on, said Mark Lester, the president and CEO of the Alaska Aerospace Corporation, which administers the spaceport, in a phone interview. I think thats a really good pace to make the spaceport vibrant.

The spaceport, which opened in 1998, had several launches scheduled for 2020 that the coronavirus pandemic has interfered with.

Historically, weve launched one a year, Lester said. This year we expected to launch six, but with COVID, things slowed down.

Working with the community

The spaceport, about 40 miles from the city of Kodiak, is scheduled to launch a commercial rocket, with the launch window beginning on Aug. 2 and closing on Aug. 7.

We can have really nice weather in Kodiak but we can get some storms, Lester said. Its really important for the local community and local aviators as well as trans-Pacific flights.

Launch schedules need to cleared with the FAA, as well as with the local community, to minimize disruption to flights, commercial fishing and people in the park the spaceport itself is sited in.

We have six launch pads. We have pretty robust capability. We have payload processing. Two command and control centers. I feel comfortable that our infrastructure is in a good place, Lester said. Now were using the spaceport as an economic hub to create more aerospace activity.

Unlike the launch pads NASA uses at Cape Canaveral, which loft their payloads in an equatorial orbit, PSCA launches into an orbital track, which is useful for different types of payloads.

[Mine developer sees review as positive for Alaska project]

The polar orbit is why Kodiak is valuable. The only other place you can go into polar orbit from the U.S. is Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Lester said. Theres a role here for Kodiak to support government missions, military missions and commercial missions.

Rockets and payloads are conveyed up to Kodiak by sea and then truck, Lester said.

Well ship it up in 40-foot containers. We get it at the port, Kodiak has a nice ice-free port, Lester said. Sometimes, theyll fly them in on C-130s if they need to get them up here faster.

The PSCA is also preparing to support human spaceflight, after a fashion, Lester said. Space Perspective, a Florda-based company that offers rides for eight passengers and crew in advanced balloons to the very edge of space.

This will be the first manned space launches from PSCA, Lester said. Space Perspectives is currently working with PSCA and the FAA to make sure operations are safe and efficient for everyone in the airspace.

Space Force and Space Command

With the standing up of the Space Force as the newest armed service, Lester said, theres rich potential for Alaska as an anchor point for U.S. national interests in orbit and on the surface that the spaceport can support.

The Space Force is exciting, said Lester.

While PSCA and the Alaska Aerospace Corporation dont have a contract with the new service yet, they do have work with the Space Development Agency.

Continuing to support national security missions is part of our portfolio, Lester said.

[Recent earthquake adds missing piece to puzzle]

Gov. Mike Dunleavy recently published an opinion piece urging the Department of Defense to base U.S. Space Command in Alaska. Space Command is a combatant command of the Air Force, different from the Space Force, responsible for military operations more than 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) above the surface of the planet.

Alaska has been important to the military for a long time. The Arctic is certainly important, Lester said. Early warning, missile defense, air defense, the University of Alaska, the spaceport. Alaska offers a lot to U.S. Space Command.

For now, Lester said, PSCA will keep doing what it excels at, supporting launches and promoting economic growth in Alaskas aerospace industry.

This is my dream job, to be running a spaceport, to be defining what spaceport is. Spaceports can learn a lot from airports, Lester said. We look forward to seeing Astra launch and continuing to support their launch. Were continuing to try and think through how Alaska Aerospace brings economic value.

Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or lockett@juneauempire.com.

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Eyes on the stars: Launches continue as Alaska's spaceport thinks expansion - Juneau Empire

On July 17, 1975, the U.S. and the Soviet Union docked two spacecraft together in orbit as part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, humanitys first international space mission. Over the course of two days, NASA astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts performed a series of scientific experiments and technology demonstrations. But the missions main purpose was far more earthly. It was a political demonstration of peace.

For some historians, the Apollo-Soyuz mission marked the formal end of the space race and the beginning of an extended era of international cooperation in space. Today the spaceflight gets credit for helping pave the way for the joint Shuttle-Mir space program, as well as the International Space Station.

I really believe that we were sort of an example to the countries, astronaut Vance Brand said in a NASA oral history interview in 2000. We were a little of a spark or a foot in the door that started better communications."

For decades, the space race had seen the two superpowers race to master and demonstrate many of the technologies needed to destroy each other with nuclear weapons. Yet, instead of ending in nuclear war, the space race concluded with a handshake in microgravity.

When the Soviet's launched humanity's first satellite, Sputnik 1, it caught the rest of the world by surprise. (Credit: NASA)

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, humanitys first satellite, stunning the world. America responded months later with its own spacecraft, Explorer 1. This back and forth continued to escalate, and in 1961, the Soviet Union put the first human into Earth orbit, once again demonstrating its technological superiority and forcing America to respond.

Amid the heightening Cold War tensions, U.S. officials went looking for some new goal that could be touted as evidence of America's dominance in space. To president John F. Kennedys administration, the moon seemed like the perfect fit. And most importantly, the timeline was long enough that America finally had a chance to beat the Soviets.

In a defining speech at Rice University in Texas in September of 1962, just one month before the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy made Americas lunar intentions clear.

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, he said, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.

The bet paid off. By 1968, NASAs moon program was far ahead of its Soviet rival. As the U.S. wrapped up preparations to send the first Apollo astronauts to the moon, the Soviet Union launched its Zond 5 spacecraft, carrying a pair of tortoises into lunar orbit.

It really was one of those last hurrahs for the Soviet spaceflight program because it was one of the last times they were able to preempt the Americans in any real way, Cathy Lewis, international space program curator for the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum, told Discover in 2018.

And on July 20, 1969, America achieved a major milestone in the space race as the Apollo 11 crew walked on the moon. Over the course of four years, Apollo astronauts traveled to the lunar surface six times. No Soviet cosmonaut ever made the trip.

But the Soviet Union hadnt set idle during that time. While America was putting boots on the moon, cosmonauts were racking up experience in low-Earth orbit, building humanitys first space stations with the Salyut program. They were practiced in spaceflight. And their biological experiments putting animals in satellites had offered up new insights into how the environment of space can change the body.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the two nations had repeatedly talked about cooperating in space and sharing scientific insights. But the Cold War tensions stopped any true exchange from taking place.

Then, in the early 1970s, as both countries were pushing new limits in spaceflight, a period of renewed cooperation called Detente developed on the ground. The Vietnam War was winding down, and both superpowers had just spent enormous fortunes expanding their military might. With the two sides eager for peace, the United States and the Soviet Union negotiated nuclear weapons control agreements and generally began easing tensions.

Soyuz commander Alexei Leonov greets NASA astronaut Deke Slayton after the Apollo-Soyuz docking. Both men were already legends in spaceflight at the time, adding drama to the moment. (Credit: NASA)

To some politicians, the ultimate symbol of dtente would be docking a Soviet capsule with an American one in low-Earth orbit for a handshake in space. Scientists and engineers saw benefits to such a joint mission, too. America had talented space pilots and advanced long-distance space technology. Meanwhile, the Soviets had focused on automation and had pioneered long-term spaceflights. Both had something the other was interested in learning about.

An American delegation traveled to Moscow in 1970 to lay the framework for the mission, and within two years, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was officially born.

But not everyone liked the idea. Each side worried the other could steal its technology. Some defense hawks, and even a New York Times editorial board opinion, noted that Apollo-Soyuz offered a technical and scientific bonanza for the Soviet Union's lagging astronautical program. Meanwhile, the Soviets continued insulting American spacecraft.

Finally, three years after the final Apollo moon flight, the two superpowers overcame the political and engineering hurdles to make the rendezvous happen, including the design and development of an American-funded docking module that could mate the two crafts.

On July 15, 1975, a Soyuz capsule and an Apollo capsule leftover from a canceled moon flight launched within hours of each other from opposite sides of the planet. Then, two days later, they met up 140 miles over Earths surface.

Soyuz and Apollo are shaking hands now, Soyuz commander Alexei Leonov said as the two spacecraft gently docked. And as the door opened between the ships, the astronauts inside exchanged their own handshakes and posed for pictures.

Over the next two days, the men learned to work together as they toured the other countrys spacecraft and carried out five joint scientific experiments. At first, though, they struggled to even communicate. Each wanted to speak their own language, but they eventually realized that they all understood things better when they attempted to speak the others language.

We [the Americans] thought they [the Soviets] were pretty aggressive people and ... they probably thought we were monsters, Brand said. So we very quickly broke through that, because when you deal with people that are in the same line of work as you are, and you're around them for a short time, why, you discover that, well, they're human beings."

Together, the crew helped their space agencies gather new technical and scientific insights. One experiment tested the effects of low-gravity on the development of fish eggs. Another created an artificial solar eclipse using the Apollo capsule to block the sun while cosmonauts took pictures of the solar corona.

The International Space Station keeps quietly ticking along. (Credit: NASA)

The moment of peace in space was admittedly brief. Just two days after docking, the ships parted ways. And before long, Cold War tensions reemerged.

After Apollo-Soyuz, no American astronaut would venture to space for roughly six years, until the first space shuttle launched in 1981. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union, followed by Russia, kept sending their Soyuz capsules into orbit.

However, the two countries did eventually collaborate in space again first with the Shuttle-Mir program, then with the $150 billion International Space Station, which was largely funded by U.S. taxpayers. And when the Space Shuttle Program came to a close in 2011, NASA was left with no way to keep putting astronauts in orbit themselves. The U.S. had to buy tickets to the International Space Station on Soviet Soyuz capsules.

In fact, Apollo-Soyuz was the last time NASA astronauts rode an American capsule into orbit until May 2020, when SpaceXs Crew Dragon spacecraft delivered astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS.

So, the space race may have ended in a handshake, but the questions and challenges of Apollo-Soyuz have never gone away. The U.S. continues to partner with Russia in space, and pay for the privilege, even as the two countries continue to challenge each other on terra firma.

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Apollo-Soyuz Mission: When the Space Race Ended - Discover Magazine

Site near Marquette picked as rocket launch site. USA TODAY Handout

A rocket blasting toward the heavens over Lake Superior.

What could be more Pure Michigan than that?

The push to turn Michigan into one of a handful of states with active space launch operations has a new milestone.

An undeveloped, 3-mile stretch of land along the lakeabout 16 miles north of Marquette in the Upper Peninsula, has been picked to host a vertical launch site. Picture Cape Canaveral, although not on the same grand scale, according to the man spearheading the effort.

Gavin Brown, executive director of the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association, told the Free Press that the site could be operational in the next five or six years if plans come to fruition. Browns manufacturing associationhas been instrumental in the push to bring a bit of the last frontier to the Great Lakes State.

This is a rendering of an undeveloped, three-mile stretch of land along Lake Superior about 16 miles north of Marquette in the Upper Peninsula, which has been picked to host a vertical launch site for rockets.(Photo: Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association)

In February, the Oscoda-WurtsmithAirport, a former Air Force base perhaps best known now because of its connection to PFAS pollution from its military days, was picked to handle what are called horizontal launches,with operations possible as early as 2023, should it be approved by the feds. Basically, it would mean large jets would ferry satellite bundleshigh enough to be launchedinto low Earth orbit. Brown said the intent for both sites is to create environmentally safelaunch operations, with as many as 300 launches in Oscoda and a few dozen near Marquette each year.

The idea that Michigan could become a serious launch location for space flights might sound farfetched, but Brown said Michigan has some clear advantages and there's a key reason that it could come to pass. The auto industry needs access to space to make its self-driving car dream a reality. The continuous communications connections needed for fully autonomous driving require satellites, and Michigan, with its northern location, means satellites couldfind spaces in orbit that are underserved by more southernlaunch sites. Plus, Michigans proximity to large bodies of water provides an essential safety component.

Gavin Brown, executive director of the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association, leads the Michigan Launch Initiative and is photographed at his hotel in Sterling Heights in 2019.(Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)

The automotive manufacturers are trying to figure out how to get that connectivity in their cars, Brown said, noting that the effort his group is pushing would allow the Detroit Three to benefit from a network the companieswould not have to build on their own. He noted the advantage Tesla enjoys because of Elon Musks connection as founder of SpaceX, which has become a major player in the commercial space industry.

Im talking about the convergence of automotive and space, and why do it anywhere but here in Michigan? Brown said this week.

The potential for significant employment gains, an estimated high end of 40,000 direct and spin-off jobsin Michigan is one reason the entire project has seen interest from the state, which contributed$2 million for a feasibility study. Its also why the operation could see stimulus money in coming months, although nothing is set, Brown said.

By the end of the year, as much as $1.2 billion should be secured for the project, thanks tointerest from several equity firms, Brown said.But he noted that fundraising would not formally begin until after the feasibility process has finished.

The site of a command and control center, which could be located anywhere in the state, is to be announced in November. Brown used NASAs approach to illustrate why such a facility would not need to be located close to a launch site.

Think of Houston being the command and control center for Cape Canaveral, Brown said.

And the high-paying jobsthatcould be created in connection with the project would likely be spread out across the state.

Kurt Ruppenthal, vice president and general manager of Warren-based Weldaloy, said his business would easily add another 30 or 40 employees to the 100 on staff now should the spaceport effort come to pass. Weldaloy makes specialty forgings for rocket engines, something it has been doing for at least the last decade. Its a prime example of a company that once focused heavily on supplying the auto industry and has since shifted its growth elsewhere, the kind of diversification that could benefit others in Michigan manufacturing.

More: Fiat Chrysler, Waymo to put self-driving tech in Ram vans

More: Is Tesla's Elon Musk wrong about this key self-driving technology?

More: Michigan wants to become next site for space launch facility

Ruppenthal said Weldaloy, which is part of Browns aerospace group, already works with major companies involved in the space business, including SpaceX, Blue Origin, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Virgin Orbit, Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

The potential for job growth with an expanding aerospace industry is easy to envision. Consider the layers of software components, engineering, design, manufacturing and flight planning that would be needed, kind of an aviation-plus situation.

Imagine an airport, but the airports going to space, Ruppenthal said.

In Oscoda, adding aspaceportto the current aviation operationscould mean a considerable boost to the local community, said Airport Manager Gary Kellan.

The communities around the airport have fewer than 10,000 residents, he noted.

"If youcan create 500 jobs, that would be big," Kellan said.

Brown, who touted the existing infrastructure, including the 11,800-foot runway at Oscoda, said a completed launch site in the Lake Huron-area communitycould generate 2,500 to 10,000 jobs.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.

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From the UP to space: Site near Marquette picked as rocket launch site - Detroit Free Press

LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) A Lancaster-based company plans to help with a mission to the moon.

Advanced Cooling Technologies located in the Burle Business Park on New Holland Avenue is the business that will be helping a mission thats expected to launch in 2021.

It fills you with a lot of pride in what you do, says Ryan Spangler, lead engineer in Aerospace Product Development.

ACT is working with a company out of Pittsburgh (Astrobiotic Technology Inc.) to perfect the Peregrine lander. NASA plans to use the lander to make deliveries to the moon.

Spangler said that ACT will be responsible for keeping the lander safe from extreme temperatures.

In space, its not just about being too cold, but its also being very hot, he explained. In space, you dont have an atmosphere to shield you from the sun.

Other officials from ACT say they will use liquid nitrogen to help with tests to mimic the temperatures in space. ACT has designed cooling components for space flight before.

Spangler said the work on this project could lead to future space exploration. Its important to view this as not just as an important mission for us, or for NASA, or Astrobotic. Its important for the future of humankind if we anticipate further investigating deep space, or different planetary objects. This is an exciting first step for that.

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Lancaster-based company to help with moon mission - ABC27

John, part of your research looks at what happens to our bodies on prolonged bedrest why?

Lying in bed continuously for a prolonged period results in loss of muscle mass, bone mineral density and other changes within the body that mimic what happens in ageing and also throughout spaceflight.

As such the research we do is supported by Enterprise Ireland and the European Space Agency (ESA). The goal is to see what happens at a cellular level during prolonged bedrest, which is key to help find ways to counteract such undesired changes.

What is involved in prolonged bedrest studies?

In the bedrest studies people lie for weeks in a test facility in France, tilted with their heads down and unable to sit up any reason. We analyse samples of their blood and muscle over time.

What kinds of changes do you see?

We look at metabolism, and in particular we measure how bedrest alters our fuel selection for energy, a process highly controlled by organelles within the cell known as mitochondria. Under normal circumstances these dynamic mitochondria fuse and divide consistently, adapting to the energy needs of the body.

We found that prolonged bedrest of 21 days leads to a decrease in their fusion, resulting in smaller, more fragmented mitochondria, something which could help explain the change in the way our body uses energy during prolonged bedrest.

Are you figuring out how to improve matters?

Yes, our lab and our collaborators within the ESA found that if people used resistance vibration exercise to work their muscles as they lay in bed for 21 days, their mitochondrial fusion and ability to process sugars were better than if they didnt do such exercise, improving their overall health.

We have also just completed an experiment where people in bedrest for 60 days took a daily cocktail of anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds of selenium, polyphenols, Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E. We are now looking to see what kind of impact that had.

Whats the most interesting thing you have done in your PhD?

I think it was working on muscle samples from brown bears in the forests in Sweden, to look at metabolic changes between hibernation and non-hibernation.

Thankfully I didnt have to catch the bears though. A team of rangers and vets tranquillised the bears and collected the samples, then they rushed the samples over to us researchers by helicopter and we worked on them in a little lab in a house by the woods. In that study, we noted differences in the bear mitochondria between summer and hibernation, and are now trying to understand such interesting findings.

You recently won the student category of the DCU Presidents Award for Engagement, well done how did that feel?

To be honest it was surreal! I was delighted just to be nominated. In my spare time I like to engage in scientific outreach through talks and presentations on space and ageing and I work closely with the Feed Our Homeless charity in Dublin. Im also a deputy group leader of my local Scout unit.

When Prof Brian MacCraith announced I was the winner in the online ceremony, I had to play it back to make sure it had actually happened.

How was lockdown for you?

I was supposed to finish my PhD in June, but my supervisor, Associate Professor Donal OGorman, arranged for an extension until December because the lab work was significantly disrupted.

Lockdown helped me get a lot of the project written up, and now I am back finishing up the final pieces of lab work. In that respect, lockdown was useful, because it got me out of the lab so I could write a big chunk of my thesis.

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Bedrest and bears - clues for spaceflight and ageing - The Irish Times

SpaceX's first-ever crewed mission will come to an end in two weeks.

NASA is targeting an Aug. 2 splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean for the Demo-2 test flight, which sent NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Crew Dragon capsule, agency chief Jim Bridenstine announced today (July 17).

If all goes according to plan, Behnken and Hurley will depart the ISS on Aug. 1 and come back to Earth a day later, Bridenstine said via Twitter today. But those dates aren't set in stone, he stressed: "Weather will drive the actual date. Stay tuned."

Related: SpaceX's historic Demo-2 test flight in photos

Demo-2 launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on May 30 and reached the ISS a day later. The mission's duration was uncertain until today; NASA officials had previously said that Demo-2 would last between one and four months, depending on how Crew Dragon performed.

Demo-2 is the first orbital human spaceflight to lift off from the United States since the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet in July 2011. Ever since then, NASA had relied on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to get American astronauts to and from orbit, at a cost, most recently, of about $90 million per seat. The U.S. space agency didn't want this dependency to last too long, so, over the last decade, it has been funding the development of private astronaut taxis to fill the shuttle's shoes.

In 2014, SpaceX and Boeing each received multibillion-dollar contracts from NASA's Commercial Crew Program to finish work on their human spaceflight systems and launch at least six operational missions to the ISS.

After Demo-2's successful splashdown, SpaceX will be clear to launch the first of those contracted flights. That mission, known as Crew-1, is scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 30.

Boeing's capsule, called CST-100 Starliner, is not yet ready to carry astronauts to orbit; it must first refly an uncrewed test flight to the ISS later this year. During its first attempt at this mission, which launched in December 2019, Starliner suffered a glitch with its onboard timing system and failed to rendezvous with the orbiting lab. (SpaceX notched this milestone with its uncrewed Demo-1 flight in March 2019.)

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

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SpaceX's historic 1st crewed mission set to end on Aug. 2 - Space.com