Replies to post #298002 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

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Japan confirms its asteroid mission returned samples of space rocks

"Steam-powered asteroid hoppers developed through UCF collaboration
"NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft just visited the farthest object ever explored" "

And there might be even more to uncover

By Loren Grush@lorengrush Dec 14, 2020, 12:05pm EST


An artistic rendering of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Image: DLR

This morning, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, confirmed that its mission to return samples of an asteroid to Earth did indeed bring home some space rocks. Engineers at the agency found black sand they believe to be from an asteroid inside the mission’s sample container.

It’s great news for the mission, known as Hayabusa2, which launched to space in 2014. The mission sent a spacecraft to an asteroid named Ryugu to collect samples of rocks from the object’s surface and then bring them back to our planet for study. Hayabusa2 wound up scooping up materials from Ryugu twice before heading back to Earth. The vehicle arrived this month, jettisoning a canister filled with the asteroid samples, which then landed in Australia with the help of a parachute on December 5th .. https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/5/22155825/jaxa-hayabusa2-mission-asteroid-sample-return-landing-australia .

Up until today, JAXA engineers weren’t exactly sure if the spacecraft had grabbed any samples. While the vehicle performed all of its sampling maneuvers at Ryugu as planned, the mission team didn’t have a way to confirm that the vehicle held any asteroid materials while in space. They had to wait until today when they opened the sample container in a clean room in Japan for the first time.

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“The sample container inside the re-entry capsule has been opened,” JAXA wrote in a statement .. https://www.jaxa.jp/press/2020/12/20201214-1_j.html . “On the 14th of March, a black sand granular sample believed to be derived from the asteroid Ryugu was confirmed inside the sample container.”

The good news doesn’t stop there, as there may be even more asteroid material that the engineers haven’t reached yet. The black sand that JAXA found was located just at the opening of the sample container. There is still a main chamber deeper inside the container that hasn’t been opened yet, which could contain the bulk of the sample. The goal of the mission was to collect up to 100 milligrams of material from Ryugu. Engineers will know if they hit their target as they dive in deeper into Haybusa2’s stores.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/14/22174136/japan-asteroid-mission-jaxa-hayabusa2-sample-return-ryugu-confirmation

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The Biden administration endorses NASA's Artemis, the Space Force

"Steam-powered asteroid hoppers developed through UCF collaboration
"NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft just visited the farthest object ever explored" "

Related: T-minus 28 minutes to live broadcast of Nasa Perseverance Mars Rover Mars landing.
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=161940554

By Mark Whittington, opinion contributor — 02/07/21 11:00 AM EST


The Biden administration endorses NASA's Artemis, the Space Force
© Getty Images

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One of the nagging questions that have haunted space enthusiasts with the change of administrations has been what President Biden will do with the Artemis program to return to the moon as well as the Space Force.

One might be forgiven for feeling some concern. Biden has been quite diligent in erasing Trump priorities ranging from energy production to immigration policy at the stroke of a pen. He was part of the Obama administration that abruptly cancelled the Constellation program.

Now, all doubt has been erased. The Biden administration will not only continue the Space Force, but also the Artemis program. The two historic initiatives started by President Trump will survive into the future.

Ars Technica relates .. https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/senate-democrats-send-a-strong-signal-of-support-for-artemis-moon-program/ .. how the Biden administration was driven to express its full-throated support for Artemis. First, a group of Democratic senators .. http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=54497 .. sent a letter to Biden asking that he fully support the Artemis program, especially the commercial Human Landing System (HLS) initiative. The senators offered a variety of arguments including science, economic renewal in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the Chinese challenge in space.

After having been asked about Artemis in a previous press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki offered ..

JUST IN: Jen Psaki highlights Artemis Program: We will send “another man and another woman to the moon.” pic.twitter.com/LSGaFphxXZ

— Forbes (@Forbes) February 4, 2021

.. the Biden administration’s full support for sending American astronauts back to the moon and eventually on to Mars. The Ars Technica story suggests that Psaki has been briefed by Biden’s science advisors. So, she was speaking with the voice of the entire Biden administration.

The revelation that the Biden administration supports the Space Force as well came about by a more oblique path. When first asked about the Space Force, Psaki made light of the question, perhaps under the impression that it was about the Netflix satirical TV show and not the very real American military service branch. The New York Post reported .. https://nypost.com/2021/02/03/psaki-forced-to-say-that-space-force-has-bidens-full-support/ .. that congressional Republicans reacted in full fury, with demands that Psaki apologize and suggestions that the Biden administration was not taking the threat posed by China in space seriously.

The next day, clearly chastened, Psaki offered the Biden administration’s full support for the Space Force as well.

How was it that two Trump space initiatives came to be accepted by the Biden administration, led by a president who was elected mainly on the basis of his not being Trump? The answer is that both the civilian and military space initiatives have bipartisan support in the Congress.

We can especially ascribe the support for Artemis to the tireless efforts of former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine to create support for the deep space exploration program on both sides of the aisle. From the very start of his tenure, after a nomination process marked with partisan rancor, Bridenstine emphasized .. https://www.geekwire.com/2018/nasas-new-administrator-jim-bridenstine-touts-bipartisanship-divisive-debate/ .. that Artemis needed to be supported by both Democrats and Republicans if it was to survive and prosper.

With Senate Democrats urging full-funding for Artemis and the Biden administration endorsing the program, Bridenstine’s mission has been well accomplished. Now ensconced back in his beloved Oklahoma, raking it in with his new private equity job, Bridenstine can feel the satisfaction of a job well done. Artemis has survived the change of administrations largely because of his efforts.

The Space Force’s journey from being the butt of jokes .. https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/474713-the-space-force-has-gone-from-joke-to-reality .. to a serious branch of the military did not have an obvious single champion. It helped that the legislation establishing the new service branch was voted for by both Republicans and Democrats. The Space Force has moved rapidly to define .. https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/512210-the-space-force-moves-to-define-itself-and-its-mission .. itself and its mission, basically to dominate space as the fourth battlespace after the land, sea and air. That the United States has assets in space that need defending has become apparent to almost everyone.

Biden administration won't use Trump-era citizenship test
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/539876-biden-administration-wont-use-trump-era-citizenship-test?utm_source=thehill&utm_medium=widgets&utm_campaign=es_recommended_content

House Democrats urge Biden to make his pick for acting FCC chair...
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/539851-house-democrats-urge-biden-to-make-his-pick-for-acting-fcc-chair-permanent?utm_source=thehill&utm_medium=widgets&utm_campaign=es_recommended_content

The devil is in the details, especially where Artemis is concerned. Biden has yet to choose a permanent NASA administrator, though word is that he is looking for a woman .. https://www.space.com/nasa-female-administrator-biden-presidency . The adage that personnel determines policy applies to who is chosen to lead the space agency as much as anything else.

The other question is when will the next man and the first woman walk on the moon? The Trump-era target of 2024 is almost certainly out .. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/13/trump-nasa-moon-2024/ . Will the next moon landing take place in 2025, 2026 or some other, later date? Whatever the case, it can now be safely presumed that U.S. astronauts will walk on the lunar surface at some point in the future.

Mark Whittington, who writes frequently about space and politics, has published a political study of space exploration entitled Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon? as well as "The Moon, Mars and Beyond." He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner. He is published in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Hill, USA Today, the LA Times and the Washington Post, among other venues.

https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/537663-the-biden-administration-endorses-nasas-artemis-the-space-force