In today’s space brief, (1) What is NASA doing to further investigate life in the solar system?; (2) What are we doing to protect the planet against killer asteroids? and; (3) What is the US going to do to protect the commercial sector against anti-satellite weapons by Russia? This much and more, stick around.
Hello and welcome to the “Undiscovered Country”. I am your host Bryant A.M. Baker. Today, I will present the top 5 most important things happening in the world of space. Let’s get started.
1.
[WHAT HAPPENED] NASA scientists have developed a new device designed to autonomously detect life in the watery plumes shooting into space from icy moons like Enceladus (ensaladus) and perhaps Europa.
[HOW IT HAPPENED]
Enceladus is a moon of Saturn, Europa is a moon of Jupiter
Long suspected of possibly harboring life because of the existence of liquid oceans.
[WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE] a spacecraft equipped with NASA's new Ocean Worlds Life Surveyor (OWLS) device could collect samples of water while flying through the plumes, then search for any microorganisms that the geysers may have spurted up into space.
"We're starting to ask questions now that necessitate more sophisticated instruments," Lukas Mandrake, who is the OWLS' instrument autonomy system engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, said in a statement. "Are some of these other planets habitable? Is there defensible scientific evidence for life rather than a hint that it might be there? That requires instruments that take a lot of data, and that's what OWLS and its science autonomy is set up to accomplish."
[WHY IT MATTERS] OWLS' development has come too late for inclusion on the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), which blasts off in 2023, or NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which launches in 2024.
However, several missions have been proposed to return to Saturn's Enceladus in the future.
https://www.space.com/life-detecting-instrument-ready-study-europa-enceladus
2.
[WHAT HAPPENED] The Joint Polar Satellite System-2 satellite, or JPSS-2 for short, was supposed to launch atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday (Nov. 1). Over the weekend, however, NASA and ULA announced that the launch team needs to replace a battery on the Atlas V's Centaur upper stage. As a result, the JPSS-2 liftoff "is now planned for no earlier than Wednesday, Nov. 9, pending range availability”
[HOW IT HAPPENED] no other information than that there was a malfunction.
[WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE] JPSS-2's data will aid scientists in a variety of ways, from improving weather forecasts to monitoring the impacts of climate change, mission team members have said.
Also packed atop the Atlas V is an inflatable heat shield called the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID). LOFTID will ride to orbit, then come back to Earth at high speed before deploying parachutes and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
Researchers will study how LOFTID performs during this test run, to assess the potential of inflatable heat shields to land heavy payloads on Mars and other planets.
[WHY IT MATTERS]
https://www.space.com/jpss-2-weather-satellite-launch-delay-battery
3.
[WHAT HAPPENED] Astronomers have discovered a giant asteroid hiding in the glare of the sun that might one day cross paths with Earth. The 0.9-mile-wide (1.5 kilometers) asteroid is the largest potentially hazardous asteroid spotted in the past eight years and astronomers have dubbed it a "planet killer" because the effects of its impact would be felt across multiple continents.
[HOW IT HAPPENED] The asteroid, named 2022 AP7, managed to avoid detection for so long because it orbits in the region between Earth and Venus. This would require looking at the sun (not good for instruments and makes things hard to spot).
"Only about 25 asteroids with orbits completely within Earth's orbit have been discovered to date because of the difficulty of observing near the glare of the sun," Scott S. Sheppard, an astronomer at the Earth and Planets Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution for Science and the lead author of the paper describing the new discovery
[WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE]
[WHY IT MATTERS] Both China with a new constellation of satellites they have deemed their planetary defense system, and the US with programs like the recently successful DART mission are preparing for the eventuality that such asteroids will make contact with the earth, but I still doubt the immediate need.
https://www.space.com/dangerous-asteroid-discovered-in-sun-glare
https://www.space.com/china-asteroid-detection-satellite-constellation-idea
4. [WHAT HAPPENED] US National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby stated to reporters that if Russia were to attack US commercial satellites, that the US would respond in an “appropriate” way.
[HOW IT HAPPENED] Russia had stated that Ukraine and the United States’ use of Starlink and other commercial satellite providers meant that they were legitimate targets for attack.
Normally, under the laws of war, civilian targets are not allowed even in a legal war.
However, Russia gave warning in the UN that because Starlink was being used for military purposes, that Russia was considering them a valid target for attack.
Kirby said "the only thing that's provocative right now and dangerous is Russia's war in Ukraine and the manner in which they're prosecuting that war."
[WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE] Another in the ongoing increase in hostilities in space between the US and Russia.
[WHY IT MATTERS] This could be the beginning of what a war in space looks like. But it also legitimately calls into question the military’s use of civilian spacecraft. Ultimately though, what this most clearly is, is an excuse and attempt by Russia to take the focus of the illegitimacy of their invasion into Ukraine.
5.
[WHAT HAPPENED] Australia has pledged not to conduct direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile testing, throwing its weight behind the U.S.-driven initiative launched in April to promote the peaceful and safe use of outer space.
[HOW IT HAPPENED] Australia’s pledge comes about three weeks after the United Kingdom and South Korea joined the initiative, raising the number of like-minded countries to eight. Japan and Germany joined the campaign in mid-September, New Zealand in July and Canada in May. And more countries are expected to join as the U.S. ramps up efforts to promote the ban.
Announcement was made on 27 Oct
Came the day after Russia declared Starlink a valid target for attack
[WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE] “The global community must work together to build a common understanding on rules and norms that can guide how states behave in outer space,” the foreign minister said in the statement. “This commitment to responsible behaviour, helps build a meaningful framework that contributes to the security, safety and sustainability of outer space.”
[WHY IT MATTERS] Are norms good/necessary?
https://spacenews.com/australia-joins-asat-test-ban-raising-like-minded-countries-to-eight/
Thank you for joining me. Links to all the stories are in the description. The world of Space law, policy and business is changing every day. If you missed what happened yesterday, be sure to check out the video I did covering it. I would love to hear your thoughts on everything I talked about here today? I’ll see you again next time.
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