Daily Archives: March 26, 2020

SCIENTISTS from around the world have returned home from Teesside as the latest mine analogue research (MINAR) fortnight came to an end at the ICL Boulby mine.

For the eighth year running the mine played host to researchers from around the globe investigating ways to bring scientists and engineers together in the challenge to prepare for robotic and human exploration of space.

Professor Charles Cockell, is the head of the UK centre for Astrobiology and leader of the MINAR programme at the mine near Saltburn.

He said: All teams were successful in their work and had a highly productive and enjoyable time.

We, and they, are now thinking about future MINAR missions further developing technologies at Boulby of importance both to planetary exploration and applications here on Earth.

This is a unique and important programme of work that only exists with the support of ICL and the STFC Boulby Lab.

We are pleased to have been welcomed here again this year and are looking forward to coming back.

MINAR has run since 2014 and since then has hosted more than 30 teams testing everything from cameras to life detection technologies for NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) space missions as well as educating the next generation of space scientists.

This year pride of place went to the NASA team with a scale model of a Mars Rover being put through its paces alongside a team from Sweden testing the KORE rover, a prototype designed to sniff out gasses and map underground spaces for the exploration of Mars, and for mine safety on earth.

Professor Sean Paling, director and senior scientist at the Boulby Underground laboratory said: We had a number of teams of scientists come for this MINAR event and lots of great work was done. It was great to see the KORE rover operating underground again and testing new payloads. It was also great to see the NASA team again to support their studies of the various rock layers at Boulby, life found underground and the implications of all that means for future studies for life beyond Earth.

Plans are already being drawn up for next years event which will once again be welcomed by ICL Boulby.

Andrew Fulton, ICL UK Vice President and Boulby General Manager, said: Every year these scientists are involved in leading edge research.

Its focus is on space exploration but we are proud that here in east Cleveland this mine provides an unparalleled location for us to understand life on earth in extreme circumstances and what it might tell us about the possibility of life on other planets.

Boulby Mine is a 200-hectare site located just south-east of the village of Boulby, on the north-east coast of the North York Moors in Redcar and Cleveland.

It is run by Cleveland Potash Limited, which is now a subsidiary of Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL).

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Mine plays host to teams of space exploration scientists - The Northern Echo

Bill Nye March25,2020

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration... than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

-Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994

As CEO of The Planetary Society, I would like to share information about how the Society is responding to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world. Our response focuses on two important priorities:

In making decisions about how the Societys programs and activities proceed, we are above all else guided by the advice of medical and public health professionals.

Our efforts to inspire people around the world with the passion, beauty, and joythe PB&Jof space exploration are more important than ever. Space exploration is an inherently optimistic enterprise that unites science with adventure and promises a better future for all humankind. Thats a welcome message of hope for everyone right now.

While you are spending some unexpected time at home, why not check these out and share them with family and friends:

And once youre done with all of that, be sure to see whats up with our LightSail 2 solar sailing mission.

Going forward, we will continue to provide you, our members and supporters, with the tools to share the PB&J with others through our weekly e-newsletter, The Downlink.

And if you are looking for a real space party, you should check out the Yuris Night 2020 Global Webcast coming up on April 11.

Recognizing that the pandemic appeared to be accelerating and our responsibility to help limit its spread, our staff leadership team began planning our workplace changes three weeks ago. As a result, we began telecommuting on March 9, and only essential staff are continuing to work in our Pasadena headquarters. Those in the office are practicing social distancing as well as adhering to stringent hygiene.

Effective last week, all Planetary Society public events, including events involving our volunteers, have been canceled or postponed. Likewise, all business travel by staff, volunteers, or board members has been suspended.

It also bears mention that, to continue our work during this time of crisis, we will also need to rely on generous members and supporters like you to support our efforts financially. If you are in a position to be able to provide support during this time, we will be deeply appreciative.

Together, we are going to get through this global crisis. Our collective actions to inhibit the spread of COVID-19 will slow the progress of the disease and save lives. To borrow some words from one of our founders, Carl Sagan, this unprecedented challenge underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another. Please take precautions to keep yourself, your family, and community safe.

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us.

Bill Nye, CEO

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Our Responsibility to Deal more Kindly with One Another - The Planetary Society

Rick Ambrose

Executive Mosaic is honored to present Rick Ambrose, executive vice president of the space business at Lockheed Martin, as an inductee into the 2020 Wash100 Award for driving the companys satellite capabilities as well as the nations upcoming lunar and space exploration missions.

This marks the fifth overall Wash100 Award for Ambrose. Hes also received this honor for the last four consecutive years. Ambrose won a 2019 Wash100 Award for leading the improvement of space technologies, including utilizing the cloud for space missions.

Under Ambroses leadership, Lockheed Martin secured a potential $4.6 billion indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract from NASA in Sept. 2019 to produce six Orion spacecraft to transport astronauts to the moon.

This contract clearly shows NASAs commitment not only to Orion, but also to Artemis and its bold goal of sending humans to the Moon in the next five years, said Ambrose.

The Orion Production and Operations contract includes a $2.7 billion initial order for three spacecraft for Artemis III to V lunar missions and an additional $1.9 billion for three vehicles in fiscal year 2022 to support Artemis VI through VIII missions.

This contract secures Orion production through the next decade, demonstrating NASAs commitment to establishing a sustainable presence at the Moon to bring back new knowledge and prepare for sending astronauts to Mars, NASA Administrator and fellow Wash100 award recipient Jim Bridenstine said in a statement published Tuesday.

In Jan. 2020, Lockheed Martin announced that Pony Express 1, the companys first smart satellite, had launched aboard its Tyvak 6U spacecraft. The upgraded satellite has integrated technology that will allow the company to conduct more thorough tests in-orbit.

"Early on-orbit data show Pony Express 1 is performing its important pathfinding mission very well. Lockheed Martin's HiveStar technology on board will give our customers unparalleled speed, resiliency and flexibility for their changing mission needs by unlocking even greater processing power in space," said Ambrose.

More specifically, Ambrose also had an interview later that month with Yahoo Finance regarding the current challenges of the space market and the upcoming manned lunar mission to return to the moon in the next five years. He believes that we have the capability to complete our current lunar mission, but we have to act quickly and reuse a lot of systems that we have today.

When asked about the national security risks posed by Chinas satellite projects, Ambrose said that, I like to put it in different framing as not a space race, but for space to be viable, it has to be a vibrant marketplace, like any other industry. Theres 75 space-faring nations today. And as we move forward, supply chains, competitors, for it to be vibrant, we have to have that level of competition, he added.

Executive Mosaic congratulates Lockheed Martin and Rick Ambrose for his 2020 Wash100 Award. Ambrose has accumulated a lot of experience across his 40 years in the defense, aerospace and space industries. His latest Wash100 Award win continues to demonstrate the level of vision and success that Ambrose has been able to achieve with the company and for the GovCon sector.

About The Wash100

This year represents our sixth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaics organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement, and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.

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Rick Ambrose, EVP of Lockheed Space Segment, Named to 2020 Wash100 for Driving Satellite Capabilities, Future Lunar Missions and Space Exploration -...

It is obvious the tiny novel coronavirus is giving and will continue to give all of us a very hard time for a prolonged period.

When news of the COVID-19 outbreak and of its obvious severity first emerged, we may all have thought we were in for a hard time but I dont think any of us realized the truly massive impact this virus would have across Europe and the entire world. And it was just a matter of time before we in the space sector went from seeing the virus as a potential danger forcing us to concentrate on our most critical tasks to a disease affecting individuals in a very real and dramatic way.

Within ESA, this stage has now been reached with tens of people having the symptoms, at least two confirmed by testing. Our COVID-19-infected colleagues are apparently on their way to recovery.

Unfortunately, we have to expect that these were not the last cases of colleagues being infected. We set up a general ESA crisis group which meets daily (by Skype) to review the latest developments and take the necessary steps to adapt to the changing situation.

We have to accept that the spread of novel coronavirus is one of the negative consequences of globalization and the global mobility of people it brings with it. Of course, space alone cannot solve this problem; the power of the tiny virus is greater than all our combined efforts. However, at the same time, it does provide yet another example of the need for global cooperation. Modern communication technologies, with space in a supporting role, can play their part by disseminating information on the development of the pandemic and transmitting recommendations or instructions to be followed.

COVID-19 also clearly illustrates some general rules that apply when dealing with the unknown. For the purpose of this illustration it is useful to draw a parallel between COVID-19 and climate change:

The first step is DISCOVERY and IDENTIFICATION

In the case of climate change, the key discovery was on planet Venus and was made as a result of space exploration: namely, that Venus has a much stronger greenhouse effect than the Earth. Thus, understanding and identification were based on the discovery of an unknown aspect. Subsequently, the main influencing factors had to be found. The same thing happened with the coronavirus. No one was aware of its existence when the first people presented symptoms. Through discovery and identification, the root cause of the illness was detected.

The second step is MONITORING

For COVID-19 and climate change alike, observation of their development is of the utmost importance.

The third step is RAISING AWARENESS

To be able to counteract the threats posed both by COVID-19 and by climate change, we must begin by informing the public and raising awareness. Interestingly, when it comes to both of these phenomena, large numbers of people believe them to be nothing but a hoax.

Only then can we go for MITIGATION

Mitigation measures for COVID-19 and climate change are of a very different nature, but what they have in common is that only global solutions stand any chance of being successful.

Space can help with technologies to reduce emissions (navigation, telecommunication, solar power, fuel cells) as a means of counteracting climate change and may also be able to help mitigate some of the worst effects of COVID-19 because of what we know about how to organize quarantine or our experience with protective clothing for use in satellite production clean rooms.

I hope that all readers, their families and their loved ones have been able to find the best possible circumstances in which to cope with what has emerged.

I know that this must be very challenging and that it will take some time for everyone to become accustomed to these unique circumstances. Trying to telework in an apartment with schools closed and front doors locked is exceptionally difficult.

At the same time, this huge upheaval leaves many understandably deeply concerned about the economic impact they may be facing personally. I hope that many of them, like me, will have drawn comfort from witnessing the massive interventions announced by governments across the world, aimed at ensuring the global economy suffers as little short and long-term damage as possible.

Jan Woerner is the director general of the European Space Agency.

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Commentary | Space and coronavirusany connection? - SpaceNews

The Space Exploration Company, better known as SpaceX, is making and distributing protective gear for healthcare workers fighting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, CNBC reported Wednesday.

What Happened

The Elon Musk-led company told employees in an internal memo that it made and donated 75 face shields to Cedars-Sinai Health Center near its headquarters in Los Angeles earlier this week, according to CNBC.

SpaceX also donated 100 Tyvek suits to the healthcare workers dealing with the coronavirus cases at the hospital.

The Hawthorne-based company plans to step up efforts in producing and distributing hand sanitizer that "complies with CDC guidelines and is effective at killing the COVID-19 coronavirus," CNBC noted.

Why It Matters

The news comes as a SpaceX employee tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this week. The company has been producing hand sanitizers and distributing other protective equipment to ease employee fears over catching the virus.

SpaceX is allowed to function normally despite shelter-in-place orders as it is a defense contractor, which is seen as an essential service.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), the other company led by Musk, has also been making ventilators for patients who fall critically-ill from COVID-19 and require hospitalization.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday that Tesla already delivered 1,000 ventilators it promised to the state.Musk has frequently downplayed the severity of the pandemic. The billionaire entrepreneur said the "coronavirus panic is dumb," later adding that the risks from the panic remained worse than from the pandemic itself.

See more from Benzinga

2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Elon Musk's SpaceX Makes And Donates Face Shields, Protective Suits, Sanitizer For COVID-19 Healthcare Workers - Yahoo Finance

And now for something completely different! Steven Drozd, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter with the world-famous Oklahoma City-based rock band, The Flaming Lips joins us on On Orbit for a discussion about how space and technology has influenced not only his music, but of the music of a generation.

Over the course of their nearly 37-year existence, the Flaming Lips have drawn inspiration for their music from the most fascinating and unique corners of science fiction, as well as some of the most important moments in space exploration history. Steven talks about how the NASA Moon landing, Voyager program, Mars mission, visual artist Moebius, David Bowie, the films 2001: A Space Odyssey and Logans Run, and composers Gustav Holst, Gyrgy Ligeti, and Igor Stravinsky all helped shape the Flaming Lips signature sound. We even discuss the musical instruments and tools that Steven used to recreate the space environments in his songs.

Escape the daily pandemic news for a moment and enjoy this conversation about the songs and sounds of space!

This episode also features samples of Flaming Lips songs, which are available through Warner Brothers, on all streaming services, online and retail record stores. The bands new album, American Head, will be released this summer. For more information on the band, visit flaminglips.com.

This episode of On Orbit is sponsored by the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (or SEDS). SEDS is a non-profit that empowers young people to participate and make an impact in space exploration. Thank you so much to SEDS and all of their members for supporting this episode of On Orbit.

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The Songs (and Sounds) of Space with Steven Drozd & The Flaming Lips - Via Satellite

The Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA) has signed a bilateral space cooperation protocol with the French Space Agency (CENS) during a recently-held joint workshop in Cairo themed: Egypt-France Partnership and Cooperation in Space Science and Technology.

Dr Mohamed Elkoosy, CEO of EgSA and Mr Jean-Yves Le Gal, President of CNES, in the presence of His Excellency Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Egypts Minister of Scientific Research and Higher Education, signed the cooperation protocol for satellite developments, training and exploration of outer space, according to a media release by EgSA.

Commenting on the new partnership, Abdel Ghaffar said, the protocol is very important for cooperation between Egypt and France in the field of space science and technology. There has been fruitful cooperation in the past in many fields between Egypt and France.

The French Space Agency is considered the second most important space agency in the world and this is an opportunity that we gain experiences through this protocol from them, and this is not the first time that we cooperate with France, and the French Space Agency offered cooperation with Egypt in the manufacture of a satellite, training and outer space exploration, ElKoosy said.

Read: Egypt To Launch Two Experimental Satellites Ahead Of A Planned NGEO Constellation

Jean-Yves Le Gal commended Egypts leadership in Africa and applauded the North African countrys effort in hosting the African Space Agency. He described Egypt as the gateway to Africas emerging space endeavours while noting that the recent cooperation is not the first bilateral space cooperation between both nations; Egypt had earlier collaborated with France in launching the NileSat communications satellite programme.

Jean-Yves Le Gal invited EgSA CEO and his team to France and to discuss further cooperation in satellite developments between the two countries. Such cooperation, according to him, will be beneficial to the African Space Agency which will be hosted in Egypt.

Egypts space sector is growing rapidly with renewed government commitment to develop and domesticate space capabilities. The government on March 5 announced a 10-year National Space Programme aimed at developing indigenous capabilities in satellite development, applications in space weather, Earth observation and climate risk mitigation, the growth of the nations space industry.

Read: Peek Into Egypts Growing Capacity In Space And The Approved 10-year National Space Program

Egypt plans to collaborate with countries that have established space capabilities to achieve the goals set in the new national space programme. Signing bilateral cooperation with France, a look-time ally in Egypts space endeavours, fits into the goal contained in the new space plan.

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Egyptian Space Agency Sign Cooperation Protocol With French Space Agency - Space in Africa

As Epic Games Store exclusivityends.

Developer Mobius Digital's wonderful sandbox space exploration adventure Outer Wilds (which was named Eurogamer's favourite game of 2019, don't you know) will be waving goodbye to Epic Games Store exclusivity and hello to Steam on 18th June.

Outer Wilds, if you've not yet had the pleasure, casts players as intrepid adventurers itching to explore the gorgeously compact solar system spinning endlessly above their heads. It's a dreamily realised, deliciously off-kilter place, with its striking, often surreal planets gradually evolving in unexpected ways as time progresses in-game.

Thanks to violent celestial calamity, however, the entire solar system constantly resets every 20 minutes, sending players all the way back to the start, albeit with a headful of crucial new knowledge collected on their previous adventures to the stars. The idea, then, is to slowly pick apart the cosmos' secrets, using previous learnings to be in the right place at the right time, and perhaps even avert disaster when the dying sun goes supernova next time around.

Eurogamer's Christian Donlan was smitten enough with Outer Wilds' intergalactic delights to award it a Recommended badge in his review last year, and its charms ultimately won over the rest of the team, sufficiently so that it was crowned our favourite game of 2019.

"Outer Wilds is astonishing," enthused Donlan once more in his end-of-year write-up, "in an era in which you'd think that games would be running out of ways to astonish people.

"It gives you a clockwork solar system filled with planets whose evocative names are matched by dynamic, tempestuous, mysterious surfaces. It gives you addled, oxbow interiors filled with secrets, with a trail to follow. It gives you physics and memory and logic and sweetness and, in amidst the emptiness, a sense of camaraderie, of belonging to something folksy and pine-scented and cobbled-together with craft and will."

Those planning to venture forth and uncover Outer Wilds' ancient mysteries and long-forgotten secrets through Steam on 18th June can add it to their wishlist now.

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Acclaimed time-loop exploration adventure Outer Wilds is heading to Steam in June - Eurogamer.net

The Mars InSight Lander has a ton of tools for exploring the Red Planet next door, including a 15-inch digging probe (also known as "the mole") meant to burrow into the Martian soil and take measurements.

Unfortunately, the mole got stuck. FromPopular Science:

A rock could be in the way, but the more likely culprit appears to be the Martian soil. Previous observations had led the German Aerospace Center engineers who designed the probe to expect that it would be digging through loose sand. They built the mole to bounce up and down like a jackhammer, sinking with each stroke and threading its way around any modestly sized rocks it encountered. But the probe has found soil that seems more dirt-like than sand-like; It sticks together and doesnt collapse around the mole to give it enough friction to dig. What the mole needs is a little nudge.

So what did they do to get the mole unstuck? They used the shovel-like scoop at the end of one of the InSight Lander's robot arms to pin down the mole. "The move is risky,"Popular Science explained, "because a delicate tether that provides power and communications from the lander attaches to the back part of the mole, and a hard whack could damage it."

Fortunately, it worked.

Public Domain via NASA/JPL-Caltech

Who knew that the "Why are you hitting yourself?" game would be such a useful tool for space exploration?

At long last, NASAs probe finally digs in on Mars [Charlie Wood / Popular Science]

NASA fixes Mars lander by telling it to hit itself with a shovel [Dan Robitzski / Futurism]

Mars InSight Lander to push on top of mole [NASA]

Image: Public Domain via NASA/JPL-Caltech

Whether youre a worried preparer for the worst or just a little concerned about whats ahead, you may haveoverdone it during your last trip to the store. Maybe you picked up some extra frozen goods or a larger stockpile of cheeses or dairy products than usual. And your fridge or freezer is now likely packed []

The Cheesecake Factory, with more than 200 restaurants across the U.S. and more than $2bn in annual revenues, today warned its landlords they will not be getting rent in April. The Calabasas Hills-based company informed all of its landlords in a letter dated March 18 (reproduced below) that a severe decline in restaurant traffic has []

In this thoughtful and heartwarming little video message, astronaut Chris Hadfield (the man who brought you Bowie from space), shares some tips on coming to grips with isolation and ends with the wonderful, Take care of yourself, take care of your family, take care of your friends, and take care of your spaceship. Simple words []

Whether youre a worried preparer for the worst or just a little concerned about whats ahead, you may haveoverdone it during your last trip to the store. Maybe you picked up some extra frozen goods or a larger stockpile of cheeses or dairy products than usual. And your fridge or freezer is now likely packed []

Every new year, people vow to read more. Of course, it seldom actually happens, but we all wish we had more time to slow down, pick up one of the books off the bedside table weve been meaning to get through, and dive in. If we can find any silver lining to all the COVID-19 []

With so much chaos happening in the world at the moment, this may not seem like the right time to start a new hobby. However, we would argue that now is actually the perfect time to dive into something new. Things are changing and while theres plenty happening thats worthy of genuine concern, theres []

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NASA fixed a Mars probe by hitting it with a shovel - Boing Boing

Half a century since the Apollo 11 moon landing, space continues to be one of the foremost areas of geopolitical expansion and the projection of national capabilities. The UK is not alone in launching an ambitious space strategy: in November 2019, NATO foreign ministers recognised space as a new operational domain for the establishment of international governance and infrastructure. As Global Britain becomes a reality, space and the new space race will become a key frontier for the UKs redefinition of its role in the world.

But with space becoming increasingly important in many ways both in terms of developing new technology and in providing a new frontier for development and research a new space race, of sorts, appears inevitable. Dr Alice Bunn, Director of International Programmes at the UK Space Agency, noted this at the BFPGs recent event on the future of UK foreign policy in space, arguing that were coming back full circle (Donald) Trump is laying out his plans for boots on the moon and China is showing huge capabilities. We are coming back to a more competitive space.

But the new space race wont be as binary as the US-Russia Cold War contest to be the first to put man on the moon of the 60s. For example, both Dr Bunn and Liz Seward, Senior Strategist for Airbus Europe pointed to the capabilities of India which recently successfully launched an earth observation spy satellite. The new satellite can take high-resolution images during any time of the day, even under cloudy conditions, which will boost Indias all-weather surveillance capabilities.

Since the original space race of the 1960s, the world has changed in major ways. What back then was a battle for space supremacy between two competing ideologies, now incorporates not only governments around the world, but individuals and organisations. Elon Musk, soon after his company SpaceX launched the most powerful working rocket in the world into space launching a Musk-owned Tesla into orbit said: We want a new space race. Races are exciting. According to John Logsdon, founder of the Space Policy Institute: SpaceX has challenged the traditional launch industry in the United States and in Europe and in China and in Russia.

Space reflects more than the increased ability of billionaires to launch rockets into space its a microcosm of the ever-changing balance of power back down on Earth. Taking Brexit as an examle, the panellists at our recent event noticed that whilst the UKs withdrawal from the European Union has not magically opened doors for the UK space sector, it has massively increased the political will to ramp up our capabilities in space. As I wrote in a previous BFPG blog on space, the Conservative Party made a pledge to establish the UKs first Space Command in their December 2019 general election manifesto, and several Ministers have since made calls for the UK to embrace space as a new frontier in foreign policy. Spaceports have been proposed, and plans for new satellite systems drafted.

But that blog also noted that the comments made by Dr Bunn and Liz Seward on the idea that the new space race will not be binary is already proving true. Certainly, the UKs ambition is being matched across Europe. Sweden, for example, has committed to starting rocket launches from Kiruna by 2022. Norway aims to beat that and has 2020 in its sights. Portugal matches the UKs space ambitions and aims to open a spaceport in the Azores. France, Germany and Italy all spend a substantial amount more than the UK does on space exploration.

50 years since the first moon landing, space still ignites the imagination of millions around the world. As the global economy grows and becomes more cooperative, the space race is changing but its still there. With individuals, governments, organisations and more involved in the rapidly developing sector, Britain can have a huge role to play in writing the rulebook and convening exciting new coalitions.

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The New Space Race - BFPG