Author: Robert Zimmerman
January 31, 2025 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- Boeing’s VP Mark Nappi has left his Starliner position for an advisory role before retiring later in February
This is only one of many management changes that have been going on in Boeing’s space division. Expect more to come.
- Rocket Lab ships its newest Archimedes engine for testing at Stennis
The new engine is for its new Neutron rocket, which the company hopes to launch for the first time this year.
- SpaceX installs the chopsticks on its second launch tower at Boca Chica
It appears they want this second tower available soon to support Starship/Superheavy test flights.
- Another new Chinese pseudo-company, Astronston, that is going to use chopsticks to catch its rockets
It also apparently stole SpaceX artwork created by Alex Svan
- ISRO completes preliminary design of new methane-fuel engine
It plans to use it on its new larger NGLV rocket, necessary for its planned manned space station program.
- Modified to fix the issues that caused the Apollo 13 failure, the mission initially had its own problems
They had difficulty docking the Apollo capsule to the lunar module, requiring six attempts and firing the thrusters to force the docking latches to catch.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- Boeing’s VP Mark Nappi has left his Starliner position for an advisory role before retiring later in February
This is only one of many management changes that have been going on in Boeing’s space division. Expect more to come.
- Rocket Lab ships its newest Archimedes engine for testing at Stennis
The new engine is for its new Neutron rocket, which the company hopes to launch for the first time this year.
- SpaceX installs the chopsticks on its second launch tower at Boca Chica
It appears they want this second tower available soon to support Starship/Superheavy test flights.
- Another new Chinese pseudo-company, Astronston, that is going to use chopsticks to catch its rockets
It also apparently stole SpaceX artwork created by Alex Svan
- ISRO completes preliminary design of new methane-fuel engine
It plans to use it on its new larger NGLV rocket, necessary for its planned manned space station program.
- Modified to fix the issues that caused the Apollo 13 failure, the mission initially had its own problems
They had difficulty docking the Apollo capsule to the lunar module, requiring six attempts and firing the thrusters to force the docking latches to catch.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) now demands “forced mandatory vaccinations”
During confirmation hearings this week on Trump’s nominee to take over the Department of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy, Jr., Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island once again demonstrated his fascist and petty dictator nature, demanding that Kennedy support “forced mandatory vaccinations” of Americans or else he will vote against Kennedy’s nomination.
Whitehouse also demanded that Kennedy promise to never again say “that vaccines are not medically safe when they in fact are.”
In other words Kennedy is to put aside his own research and knowledge, that has found some vaccines efficacy and safety are questionable, and join the government swamp to lie to Americans while forcing Americans to take drugs they might not want.
Sounds insane? If you don’t believe me then watch:
» Read more
Hardened dunes or eroded lava?
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on August 4, 2024 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It is labeled as a “terrain sample,” so it likely was taken not as part of any specific research project but to fill a gap in the schedule in order to maintain the camera’s proper temperature.
The picture shows a flat rippled plain with a handful of very small thin ridges, oriented 90 degrees from the smaller ripples and sticking up a few feet above them.
The rough surface of the small ripples suggest these are dunes of sand that have hardened into rock. The thin larger ridges suggest an underlying topography buried by the sand. The dunes however might not be dunes at all, as indicated by their location.
» Read more
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on August 4, 2024 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It is labeled as a “terrain sample,” so it likely was taken not as part of any specific research project but to fill a gap in the schedule in order to maintain the camera’s proper temperature.
The picture shows a flat rippled plain with a handful of very small thin ridges, oriented 90 degrees from the smaller ripples and sticking up a few feet above them.
The rough surface of the small ripples suggest these are dunes of sand that have hardened into rock. The thin larger ridges suggest an underlying topography buried by the sand. The dunes however might not be dunes at all, as indicated by their location.
» Read more
SpaceX and Vast jointly request research proposals for first mission to Vast’s Haven-1 space station
Artist’s rendering of Haven-1 interior.
Click for original.
With the launch of Vast’s single module space station Haven-1 still scheduled for August, SpaceX and Vast have jointly requested research proposals (here and here) for station’s first manned mission, expected to be a four person 30-day flight soon thereafter. From the Vast press release:
Building on their established partnership, the two companies seek high-impact research projects to support humanity on Earth and advance our capacity to live and work in Earth orbit and beyond. Submitted proposals will be evaluated based on scientific and technical merit, feasibility, and alignment with mission objectives. Approved research proposals will be able to leverage the capabilities of the Haven-1 Lab, Dragon spacecraft, and/or private astronaut missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
Haven-1 is the only one of four commercial space stations being designed or built that has taken no NASA money. It also appears it will be the first to launch, thus putting it an excellent position to win the larger space station contract from NASA to build its much larger Haven-2 station.
Though neither SpaceX nor Vast are offering any funding for these proposals, they offer researchers access to space quickly and with relatively little bureaucracy (something all scientists routinely face in working with NASA). Researchers who fly on that first mission will also become well positioned to win further NASA research space station contracts later on.
Artist’s rendering of Haven-1 interior.
Click for original.
With the launch of Vast’s single module space station Haven-1 still scheduled for August, SpaceX and Vast have jointly requested research proposals (here and here) for station’s first manned mission, expected to be a four person 30-day flight soon thereafter. From the Vast press release:
Building on their established partnership, the two companies seek high-impact research projects to support humanity on Earth and advance our capacity to live and work in Earth orbit and beyond. Submitted proposals will be evaluated based on scientific and technical merit, feasibility, and alignment with mission objectives. Approved research proposals will be able to leverage the capabilities of the Haven-1 Lab, Dragon spacecraft, and/or private astronaut missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
Haven-1 is the only one of four commercial space stations being designed or built that has taken no NASA money. It also appears it will be the first to launch, thus putting it an excellent position to win the larger space station contract from NASA to build its much larger Haven-2 station.
Though neither SpaceX nor Vast are offering any funding for these proposals, they offer researchers access to space quickly and with relatively little bureaucracy (something all scientists routinely face in working with NASA). Researchers who fly on that first mission will also become well positioned to win further NASA research space station contracts later on.
NASA’s useless safety panel makes another useless announcement about Starliner
An official of NASA’s ineffectual and largely corrupt safety panel yesterday made another meaningless update on the work Boeing is doing to fix the thruster problems that occurred on the first manned flight of its Starliner manned capsule last summer, and as always told us absolutely nothing.
Paul Hill, a member of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), said at a Jan. 30 public meeting that the committee was briefed on the status of the investigation into Starliner’s Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission recently. That mission launched in June with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board, but the spacecraft returned to Earth three months later uncrewed because of agency concerns about the performance of spacecraft thrusters.
“NASA reported that significant progress is being made regarding Starliner CFT’s post-flight activities,” he said. “Integrated NASA-Boeing teams have begun closing out flight observations and in-flight anomalies.” He didn’t elaborate on the specific issues that the teams had closed out but stated that it did not include the thrusters, several of which shut down during the spacecraft’s approach to the station. The propulsion system also suffered several helium leaks. [emphasis mine]
In other words, this announcement was meaningless, because it included no information about the main problem. Hill’s comments were mostly empty blather, which is generally what this panel says in all its announcements. We still do not know when or if Starliner will fly again with astronauts on board.
Over the years the panel has bent over backwards to say positive things about Boeing, so that it missed all of Boeing’s design and construction failures from day one. At the same time it repeatedly slammed SpaceX, even though that company clearly had its act together and ended up fulfilling all of its contract obligations to NASA, even as Boeing has failed to do so.
If I was a member of Trump’s DOGE project, eliminating this safety panel would be very high on my list of things to do to make NASA’s more efficient. All it does is slow things down, often for exactly the wrong reasons.
An official of NASA’s ineffectual and largely corrupt safety panel yesterday made another meaningless update on the work Boeing is doing to fix the thruster problems that occurred on the first manned flight of its Starliner manned capsule last summer, and as always told us absolutely nothing.
Paul Hill, a member of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), said at a Jan. 30 public meeting that the committee was briefed on the status of the investigation into Starliner’s Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission recently. That mission launched in June with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board, but the spacecraft returned to Earth three months later uncrewed because of agency concerns about the performance of spacecraft thrusters.
“NASA reported that significant progress is being made regarding Starliner CFT’s post-flight activities,” he said. “Integrated NASA-Boeing teams have begun closing out flight observations and in-flight anomalies.” He didn’t elaborate on the specific issues that the teams had closed out but stated that it did not include the thrusters, several of which shut down during the spacecraft’s approach to the station. The propulsion system also suffered several helium leaks. [emphasis mine]
In other words, this announcement was meaningless, because it included no information about the main problem. Hill’s comments were mostly empty blather, which is generally what this panel says in all its announcements. We still do not know when or if Starliner will fly again with astronauts on board.
Over the years the panel has bent over backwards to say positive things about Boeing, so that it missed all of Boeing’s design and construction failures from day one. At the same time it repeatedly slammed SpaceX, even though that company clearly had its act together and ended up fulfilling all of its contract obligations to NASA, even as Boeing has failed to do so.
If I was a member of Trump’s DOGE project, eliminating this safety panel would be very high on my list of things to do to make NASA’s more efficient. All it does is slow things down, often for exactly the wrong reasons.
Malaysia begins spaceport study
Click for original image.
The Malaysian state of Sabah this week announced it has partnered with a Ukrainian government agency to study the possibilities of developing its space industry, including establishing a spaceport on that state’s coast.
Initially floated in 2023, the state government signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye State Design Office – which specialises in space-rocket technology – and local defence and aerospace firm Sovereign Sengalang, to explore Sabah’s potential as a regional space launch site.
Sabah has an extensive shoreline stretching about 1,500km on its mainland, and sits close to the equator, ideal conditions for rocket launches and recovery.
Based on the map to the right, it seems the best location for a Sabah spaceport would be on the state’s eastern coast, to the south. Any other location means rockets would have to cross land or islands of other nations.
Click for original image.
The Malaysian state of Sabah this week announced it has partnered with a Ukrainian government agency to study the possibilities of developing its space industry, including establishing a spaceport on that state’s coast.
Initially floated in 2023, the state government signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye State Design Office – which specialises in space-rocket technology – and local defence and aerospace firm Sovereign Sengalang, to explore Sabah’s potential as a regional space launch site.
Sabah has an extensive shoreline stretching about 1,500km on its mainland, and sits close to the equator, ideal conditions for rocket launches and recovery.
Based on the map to the right, it seems the best location for a Sabah spaceport would be on the state’s eastern coast, to the south. Any other location means rockets would have to cross land or islands of other nations.
Ispace posts first picture taken by its Resilience lunar lander
Landing sites for both Firefly’s Blue Ghost and
Ispace’s Resilience
The Japanese startup Ispace on January 29, 2025 released the first picture taken by its Resilience lunar lander, a series of images of Earth.
More important, the company reported that the spacecraft is “in excellent health.”
Though launched on the same rocket with Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, Resilience is taking a longer route to the Moon. Blue Ghost plans to land on the Moon in about six weeks. Resilience won’t get there for about four more months. Both are using the same technique, slowly over time raising the spacecraft’s Earth orbit until its high point enters the Moon gravitational sphere of influence, where each will transfer to lunar orbit. This method saves weight and fuel, as it requires a smaller rocket engine to make the trip. That Resilience is taking longer is simply because it uses an even smaller engine that can only raise that orbit in smaller increments.
Landing sites for both Firefly’s Blue Ghost and
Ispace’s Resilience
The Japanese startup Ispace on January 29, 2025 released the first picture taken by its Resilience lunar lander, a series of images of Earth.
More important, the company reported that the spacecraft is “in excellent health.”
Though launched on the same rocket with Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, Resilience is taking a longer route to the Moon. Blue Ghost plans to land on the Moon in about six weeks. Resilience won’t get there for about four more months. Both are using the same technique, slowly over time raising the spacecraft’s Earth orbit until its high point enters the Moon gravitational sphere of influence, where each will transfer to lunar orbit. This method saves weight and fuel, as it requires a smaller rocket engine to make the trip. That Resilience is taking longer is simply because it uses an even smaller engine that can only raise that orbit in smaller increments.
The crew and passengers for Axiom’s fourth tourist flight to ISS
Axiom this week publicly introduced the international crew and passengers for its fourth tourist flight to ISS, presently planned for this spring.
During a Thursday press conference, former NASA astronaut and Axiom commander Peggy Whitson introduced her team. Shubhanshu Shukla will pilot the fourth mission to the ISS. He has been a fighter pilot for 15 years and will be the first Indian pilot to travel to the ISS.
The private mission also carries the first astronauts from Poland and Hungary to stay aboard the space station. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski is an ESA astronaut representing Poland. Tibor Kapu is a mechanical engineer who was selected as an astronaut for Hungary’s Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) program in May of last year.
Axiom had made deals with India, Poland, and Hungary years ago to fly astronauts in space, and this flight fulfills those deals. Launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, their Dragon capsule will spend 14 days in space, most of which will be docked to ISS.
Axiom this week publicly introduced the international crew and passengers for its fourth tourist flight to ISS, presently planned for this spring.
During a Thursday press conference, former NASA astronaut and Axiom commander Peggy Whitson introduced her team. Shubhanshu Shukla will pilot the fourth mission to the ISS. He has been a fighter pilot for 15 years and will be the first Indian pilot to travel to the ISS.
The private mission also carries the first astronauts from Poland and Hungary to stay aboard the space station. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski is an ESA astronaut representing Poland. Tibor Kapu is a mechanical engineer who was selected as an astronaut for Hungary’s Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) program in May of last year.
Axiom had made deals with India, Poland, and Hungary years ago to fly astronauts in space, and this flight fulfills those deals. Launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, their Dragon capsule will spend 14 days in space, most of which will be docked to ISS.
Morgan James – Human
An evening pause: With Doug Wamble (guitar), Ron Mcbee (percussion), and Sam Reider (accordion). The song is by Rag’n’Bone Man.
Hat tip Judd Clark.
January 30, 2025 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- Thales Alenia gets $900 million ESA contract to build descent module for Argonaut lunar lander
As always, Europe is slow and far behind. It is scheduled for launch in the “2030s” (if then), by which time private companies in the U.S. and Japan will flying numerous such landers and return spacecraft for a fraction of this cost. And that doesn’t include the landers that China and India will be flying by then as well.
- China releases images of satellites it normally keeps under wraps
One was a technology test satellite, and the second was a five-satellite batch as part of one of its mega-internet satellite constellations.
- On this day in 1964, Ranger 6 was launched
It was the sixth attempt to take many photos the Moon as the spacecraft approached and then crashed on the surface. It was also the sixth straight failure. It wasn’t until the last Ranger mission six months later, Ranger-7, that success was finally achieved, sending back more than 4,000 pictures.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- Thales Alenia gets $900 million ESA contract to build descent module for Argonaut lunar lander
As always, Europe is slow and far behind. It is scheduled for launch in the “2030s” (if then), by which time private companies in the U.S. and Japan will flying numerous such landers and return spacecraft for a fraction of this cost. And that doesn’t include the landers that China and India will be flying by then as well.
- China releases images of satellites it normally keeps under wraps
One was a technology test satellite, and the second was a five-satellite batch as part of one of its mega-internet satellite constellations.
- On this day in 1964, Ranger 6 was launched
It was the sixth attempt to take many photos the Moon as the spacecraft approached and then crashed on the surface. It was also the sixth straight failure. It wasn’t until the last Ranger mission six months later, Ranger-7, that success was finally achieved, sending back more than 4,000 pictures.
A big crack on Mars
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on September 1, 2024 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows what the scientists label “a fracture with clays.”
This canyon is about a mile and a half wide, with the floor ranging from 800 to 1,100 feet to the rim. It was not formed initially by any ice or water flow, but by a spreading of the crust, forcing cracks to form that might have later been modified by wind, ice, or water. The presence of clays in this canyon strengthens that later ice/water modification, as clays require water to form.
The streaks on the northern wall are slope streaks, an unexplained phenomenon unique to Mars. While at first glance they look like avalanches, they have no debris piles at their base, and do nothing to change the topography. In fact, streaks can sometimes go uphill for short distances, following the surface. They happen randomly throughout the year, and fade with time.
It is believed their cause is related to dust avalanches, but this is only one of a number of theories that attempt to explain them. None is entirely satisfactory.
» Read more
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on September 1, 2024 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows what the scientists label “a fracture with clays.”
This canyon is about a mile and a half wide, with the floor ranging from 800 to 1,100 feet to the rim. It was not formed initially by any ice or water flow, but by a spreading of the crust, forcing cracks to form that might have later been modified by wind, ice, or water. The presence of clays in this canyon strengthens that later ice/water modification, as clays require water to form.
The streaks on the northern wall are slope streaks, an unexplained phenomenon unique to Mars. While at first glance they look like avalanches, they have no debris piles at their base, and do nothing to change the topography. In fact, streaks can sometimes go uphill for short distances, following the surface. They happen randomly throughout the year, and fade with time.
It is believed their cause is related to dust avalanches, but this is only one of a number of theories that attempt to explain them. None is entirely satisfactory.
» Read more
Samples from the asteroid Bennu reshape entirely our understanding of the solar system’s early make-up
The sample site on Bennu, with OSIRIS-REx
superimposed for scale. Click for full image.
First, I hope my readers will notice that — unlike NASA and the entire press — I make no mention in my headline above of the discovery of a “mix of life’s ingredients” or “the key building blocks of life” from the samples brought back by the probe OSIRIS-REx from the asteroid Bennu.
This is the game NASA does all the time, to hint at the discovery of life when this is not the real discovery. NASA does it because it knows that if you hint at such a discovery, the press will go crazy and give you lots of press.
The real news from the two papers published this week, available here and here, however, is more fundamental. Before the samples from Bennu and Ryugu (brought back by the Japanese probe Hayabusa-2) had arrived, our understanding of the make-up and chemistry of the early solar system was very incomplete and badly biased. The only asteroid samples we had of carbonaceous chondrite asteroids, the most primitive and fragile carbon-rich asteroids in the solar system, had came from meteorites that had survived the journey through the Earth’s atmosphere. Thus, the only material that survived was robust enough to do so. The more fragile molecules however were always destroyed and thus missing from meteorites, even though it was very clear from spectroscopy of these asteroids in the solar system that such molecules did exist, and likely formed the majority of these asteroids’ make-up.
Thus, though carbonaceous chondrite asteroids represent the early solar system, our understanding of them was warped and very incomplete. The whole point of both missions to Bennu and Ryugu was to fill in this data, to get a more complete census of the real make-up of the early solar system.
The two papers published this week have given us that. That’s their real discovery.
» Read more
Update on upcoming Starship/Superheavy test flights
Link here. As usual, this NASASpaceflight.com article provides an excellent overview of what SpaceX is likely to do on the next few test flights, including details about the possibility of reusing the Superheavy that was successfully recovered on the seventh flight.
And as usual, NASASpaceflight.com ignores the importance of politics and Trump’s election in changing the regulatory culture at the FAA. Just as it has made believe the Biden administration wasn’t forcing the FAA to slow-walk its license approvals to SpaceX, it is now making believe the Trump administration won’t do anything to force the FAA to speed its approvals.
We know however that it will. I fully expect that when SpaceX completes its investigation of the failures from flight 7 and describes its fixes, the FAA approval will following very quickly thereafter, within days. Under Biden that approval would still take months.
Link here. As usual, this NASASpaceflight.com article provides an excellent overview of what SpaceX is likely to do on the next few test flights, including details about the possibility of reusing the Superheavy that was successfully recovered on the seventh flight.
And as usual, NASASpaceflight.com ignores the importance of politics and Trump’s election in changing the regulatory culture at the FAA. Just as it has made believe the Biden administration wasn’t forcing the FAA to slow-walk its license approvals to SpaceX, it is now making believe the Trump administration won’t do anything to force the FAA to speed its approvals.
We know however that it will. I fully expect that when SpaceX completes its investigation of the failures from flight 7 and describes its fixes, the FAA approval will following very quickly thereafter, within days. Under Biden that approval would still take months.
Ariane-6 gets more launch contracts
Despite high launch cost of the Ariane-6 rocket, the European Space Agency (ESA) this week arranged three more launch contracts with Arianespace, which manages the rocket.
During the 17th European Space Conference, held in Brussels on 28 and 29 January, Arianespace was awarded contracts to launch PLATO [an ESA science mission to study exoplanets], Sentinel-1D [an ESA Earth observation satellite], and a pair of second-generation Galileo satellites. [part of ESA’s GPS-type satellite constellation]. Arianespace currently has a backlog of 30 Ariane 6 launches, 18 of which are for Amazon’s Kuiper constellation.
These new launch deals are expressly because ESA wants to force feed contracts to Ariane-6 to keep it whole, as part of its policy to launch its European payloads on European rockets. The result is that ESA is also forced to pay too much for its launches. Note too that these payloads are expressly ESA science or research projects, which also applies to most of Ariane-6’s backlog of launches outside of its Kuiper launches. Profit is not the main goal of these payloads. I doubt this rocket will get much additional business from commercial satellite companies that must make a profit to survive. It costs too much.
This is also the reason ESA member nations Germany, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom are pushing hard to get new European private rocket startups operational. They don’t like being forced to pay too much for launches, and want commercial options outside of Ariane-6.
For the moment however ESA is propping up Ariane-6 and Arianespace. It means Ariane-6 will be around for awhile, even as it limits what ESA can do in space.
Despite high launch cost of the Ariane-6 rocket, the European Space Agency (ESA) this week arranged three more launch contracts with Arianespace, which manages the rocket.
During the 17th European Space Conference, held in Brussels on 28 and 29 January, Arianespace was awarded contracts to launch PLATO [an ESA science mission to study exoplanets], Sentinel-1D [an ESA Earth observation satellite], and a pair of second-generation Galileo satellites. [part of ESA’s GPS-type satellite constellation]. Arianespace currently has a backlog of 30 Ariane 6 launches, 18 of which are for Amazon’s Kuiper constellation.
These new launch deals are expressly because ESA wants to force feed contracts to Ariane-6 to keep it whole, as part of its policy to launch its European payloads on European rockets. The result is that ESA is also forced to pay too much for its launches. Note too that these payloads are expressly ESA science or research projects, which also applies to most of Ariane-6’s backlog of launches outside of its Kuiper launches. Profit is not the main goal of these payloads. I doubt this rocket will get much additional business from commercial satellite companies that must make a profit to survive. It costs too much.
This is also the reason ESA member nations Germany, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom are pushing hard to get new European private rocket startups operational. They don’t like being forced to pay too much for launches, and want commercial options outside of Ariane-6.
For the moment however ESA is propping up Ariane-6 and Arianespace. It means Ariane-6 will be around for awhile, even as it limits what ESA can do in space.
January 29, 2025 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast
Embedded below the fold in two parts.
To listen to all of John Batchelor’s podcasts, go here.
» Read more
Embedded below the fold in two parts.
To listen to all of John Batchelor’s podcasts, go here.
» Read more
SpaceX launches Spanish communications satellite
SpaceX tonight successfully launched the first satellite in a constellation of two Spanish communications satellites, the Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The first stage completed its 21st flight. Because of the fuel needed to get the satellite into its proper orbit, the stage was not recovered.
The 2025 launch race:
13 SpaceX
6 China
1 Blue Origin
1 India
SpaceX tonight successfully launched the first satellite in a constellation of two Spanish communications satellites, the Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The first stage completed its 21st flight. Because of the fuel needed to get the satellite into its proper orbit, the stage was not recovered.
The 2025 launch race:
13 SpaceX
6 China
1 Blue Origin
1 India
Andrea Bocelli & Céline Dion – The Prayer
An evening pause: Performed live 2011.
Hat tip Alton Blevins, who needs to clean out his inbox, which is now so full all of my emails to him bounce.
Astroforge names the target asteroid for its first commercial interplanetary mission
The asteroid mining startup Astroforge today finally named the asteroid that its first commercial interplanetary mission will do a close fly-by, set to launch as a secondary payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 on February 26, 2025.
The mining startup is headed to asteroid 2022 OB5 as soon as Feb. 26, launching alongside Intuitive Machines’ second lunar mission. CEO Matt Gialich told Payload that they picked that asteroid for the initial mission for a few reasons:
- It’s under a kilometer wide.
- It could be a high-value, metal-filled M-type asteroid.
- AstroForge’s spacecraft will fly by the asteroid when it’s close to Earth, so imagery can be sent back quickly.
This will be Astroforge’s second mission, the first being an Earth-orbit demo flight to prove out its systems. The spacecraft, dubbed Odin, was quickly prepped when the planned satellite satellite failed vibration testing. The company quickly replaced it with the cubesat intended for the third mission.
The company is also proud that the entire cost for this asteroid mission is just $6.5 million. “Hopefully we’re going to show the world that NASA doesn’t need to be funded for $5B missions when we can do it for much less,” said Gialich. The company also announced it has signed a multi-launch contract with the rocket startup Stoke Space, though no specifics were released.
Hat tip BtB’s stringer Jay.
The asteroid mining startup Astroforge today finally named the asteroid that its first commercial interplanetary mission will do a close fly-by, set to launch as a secondary payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 on February 26, 2025.
The mining startup is headed to asteroid 2022 OB5 as soon as Feb. 26, launching alongside Intuitive Machines’ second lunar mission. CEO Matt Gialich told Payload that they picked that asteroid for the initial mission for a few reasons:
- It’s under a kilometer wide.
- It could be a high-value, metal-filled M-type asteroid.
- AstroForge’s spacecraft will fly by the asteroid when it’s close to Earth, so imagery can be sent back quickly.
This will be Astroforge’s second mission, the first being an Earth-orbit demo flight to prove out its systems. The spacecraft, dubbed Odin, was quickly prepped when the planned satellite satellite failed vibration testing. The company quickly replaced it with the cubesat intended for the third mission.
The company is also proud that the entire cost for this asteroid mission is just $6.5 million. “Hopefully we’re going to show the world that NASA doesn’t need to be funded for $5B missions when we can do it for much less,” said Gialich. The company also announced it has signed a multi-launch contract with the rocket startup Stoke Space, though no specifics were released.
Hat tip BtB’s stringer Jay.
January 29, 2025 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- Sierra Space’s Tenacity Dream Chaser mini-shuttle passes payload intergration tests
Still no firm word on when it will launch.
- ESA awards Thales-Alenia contract to build Envision probe to Venus
The launch is not scheduled until “the 2030s” so don’t hold your breath, especially because European planetary probes routinely fall behind schedule, and having a decade to build it might not be enough.
- On this day in 1965 the crawler at the base of the mobile launcher at Kennedy did its first crawl
The short video at the link reviews the history and touts the success of the mobile launcher, ignoring the insane amount of money NASA has spent in the past decade (more than $2 billion) modifying and then building two new launchers, one of which will only be used twice, at most.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- Sierra Space’s Tenacity Dream Chaser mini-shuttle passes payload intergration tests
Still no firm word on when it will launch.
- ESA awards Thales-Alenia contract to build Envision probe to Venus
The launch is not scheduled until “the 2030s” so don’t hold your breath, especially because European planetary probes routinely fall behind schedule, and having a decade to build it might not be enough.
- On this day in 1965 the crawler at the base of the mobile launcher at Kennedy did its first crawl
The short video at the link reviews the history and touts the success of the mobile launcher, ignoring the insane amount of money NASA has spent in the past decade (more than $2 billion) modifying and then building two new launchers, one of which will only be used twice, at most.
Apple joins T-Mobile’s project to use Starlink satellites as orbiting cell towers
In releasing a new update on its Iphone operating system, Apple quietly revealed that it has joined T-Mobile’s partnership with SpaceX to use a subconstellation of Starlink satellites with direct-to-cellphone capability, thus acting as orbiting cell towers to fill in gaps in T-Mobile’s service.
Originally spotted by Bloomberg, it seems that Apple has secretly worked with SpaceX and T-Mobile U.S. to provide an alternative satellite service. This is quite a surprise, as T-Mobile had previously specified Starlink as an option for Samsung phones, like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Meanwhile, Apple has an in-house Satellite connection service due to a partnership with Globalstar Inc.
However, the Bloomberg report states that a select number of iPhone users have been able to enable the Starlink beta through T-Mobile. While we don’t know which models will be compatible as of yet, T-Mobile told Bloomberg that the full release will support the vast majority of iPhones.
The system is being tested right now, but still requires FCC license approval.
In releasing a new update on its Iphone operating system, Apple quietly revealed that it has joined T-Mobile’s partnership with SpaceX to use a subconstellation of Starlink satellites with direct-to-cellphone capability, thus acting as orbiting cell towers to fill in gaps in T-Mobile’s service.
Originally spotted by Bloomberg, it seems that Apple has secretly worked with SpaceX and T-Mobile U.S. to provide an alternative satellite service. This is quite a surprise, as T-Mobile had previously specified Starlink as an option for Samsung phones, like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Meanwhile, Apple has an in-house Satellite connection service due to a partnership with Globalstar Inc.
However, the Bloomberg report states that a select number of iPhone users have been able to enable the Starlink beta through T-Mobile. While we don’t know which models will be compatible as of yet, T-Mobile told Bloomberg that the full release will support the vast majority of iPhones.
The system is being tested right now, but still requires FCC license approval.
Musk posts a silly tweet saying Trump wants SpaceX to rescue the Starliner astronauts and the press goes stupid again
Yesterday Elon Musk posted what appeared to be a completely silly tweet stating that Trump “has asked SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so. Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
Since a Dragon capsule for bringing these astronaut back to Earth is already docked to ISS and is scheduled to return in April, there is nothing really new about Musk’s tweet. Moreover, that April return was delayed an extra two months because of SpaceX, not Boeing or Biden. The company had requested that extra time to prepare the next crew capsule for launch, because it is a new capsule never used before.
It is of course possible that Trump requested SpaceX and NASA to reconsider this extra two month delay, and move the crew return back to February, but that change would either require SpaceX to find a different older capsule for the next crew, fly the new capsule sooner than planned, or have the total number of NASA astronauts on ISS reduced to just one until the new capsule launches with the new crew in March. None of these options seems wise.
I suspect nothing will change, and Musk was merely trolling the press. And the press mostly fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.
- Florida Today: Elon Musk says Trump told SpaceX to bring Starliner astronauts home as soon as possible
- Orlando Sentinal: Elon Musk says Trump calls on SpaceX to bring Starliner astronauts home ASAP
- Reuters: Trump, Musk suggest sped-up return of NASA astronauts, but details scarce
- CBS: Trump asks SpaceX to bring “abandoned” Starliner crew home, blames Biden administration for inaction
- New York Times: Elon Musk Suggests SpaceX Will Accelerate Return of NASA Astronauts
- Fox News: Trump, Musk join forces to bring stranded NASA astronauts back via SpaceX after Biden admin ‘abandoned’ them
- NY Post: Trump tasks Elon Musk, SpaceX to bring stranded NASA astronauts back after ‘Biden administration left them there so long”
- The Hill: Trump asks Musk to ‘go get’ NASA astronauts stuck in space
Most of these stories fail to outline the reasons for the most recent delays, having nothing to do with Biden. The last four especially make it sound as if SpaceX has suddenly been enlisted for a rescue mission, a claim that is utterly false.
None have been able to get any confirmation of any change of schedule from NASA or SpaceX, suggesting that Musk’s tweet was entirely blarney that a smart press would have ignored without that confirmation. Our stupid mainstream press however could not do that. It went whole hog based on nothing.
Until NASA announces a change in schedule there simply is no story here, and that’s what I am reporting.
Yesterday Elon Musk posted what appeared to be a completely silly tweet stating that Trump “has asked SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so. Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
Since a Dragon capsule for bringing these astronaut back to Earth is already docked to ISS and is scheduled to return in April, there is nothing really new about Musk’s tweet. Moreover, that April return was delayed an extra two months because of SpaceX, not Boeing or Biden. The company had requested that extra time to prepare the next crew capsule for launch, because it is a new capsule never used before.
It is of course possible that Trump requested SpaceX and NASA to reconsider this extra two month delay, and move the crew return back to February, but that change would either require SpaceX to find a different older capsule for the next crew, fly the new capsule sooner than planned, or have the total number of NASA astronauts on ISS reduced to just one until the new capsule launches with the new crew in March. None of these options seems wise.
I suspect nothing will change, and Musk was merely trolling the press. And the press mostly fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.
- Florida Today: Elon Musk says Trump told SpaceX to bring Starliner astronauts home as soon as possible
- Orlando Sentinal: Elon Musk says Trump calls on SpaceX to bring Starliner astronauts home ASAP
- Reuters: Trump, Musk suggest sped-up return of NASA astronauts, but details scarce
- CBS: Trump asks SpaceX to bring “abandoned” Starliner crew home, blames Biden administration for inaction
- New York Times: Elon Musk Suggests SpaceX Will Accelerate Return of NASA Astronauts
- Fox News: Trump, Musk join forces to bring stranded NASA astronauts back via SpaceX after Biden admin ‘abandoned’ them
- NY Post: Trump tasks Elon Musk, SpaceX to bring stranded NASA astronauts back after ‘Biden administration left them there so long”
- The Hill: Trump asks Musk to ‘go get’ NASA astronauts stuck in space
Most of these stories fail to outline the reasons for the most recent delays, having nothing to do with Biden. The last four especially make it sound as if SpaceX has suddenly been enlisted for a rescue mission, a claim that is utterly false.
None have been able to get any confirmation of any change of schedule from NASA or SpaceX, suggesting that Musk’s tweet was entirely blarney that a smart press would have ignored without that confirmation. Our stupid mainstream press however could not do that. It went whole hog based on nothing.
Until NASA announces a change in schedule there simply is no story here, and that’s what I am reporting.
200-foot-wide asteroid has a 1-in-83 chance of hitting the Earth in 2032
New data that has refined the solar orbit of 200-foot-wide asteroid discovered in 2024, dubbed 2024 YR4, suggests it has a 1-in-83 chance of hitting the Earth on December 22, 2032.
“Odds have slightly increased to 1 in 83,” Catalina Sky Survey engineer and asteroid hunter David Rankin wrote on BlueSky. “This is one of the highest probabilities of an impact from a significantly sized rock ever.”
Amateur astronomer Tony Dunn shared a simulation of the asteroid approach on his X feed. “Recently-discovered #asteroid 2024 YR4 may make a very close approach to Earth in 8 years. It is thought to be 40-100 meters wide. Uncertainty is still high and more and more observations are needed confirm this.”
The asteroid is rated three on the Torino risk scale, which indicates a close encounter that warrants close attention from astronomers and an over 1% chance of impact.
Though most reports say the asteroid is about 200 feet across, there is great uncertainty in that number. It could also be as large as 320 feet, or as small as 130 feet.
At the moment the risk of impact is still small. If it does occur, there is a chance it could either cause a major airburst similar to the Chelyabinsk meteor impact in 2013 that injured more than 400 people, or even impact the ground or ocean. If it hits the ocean there is a considerable risk of tsunamis. At the moment it appears its path will cross from South America to Africa in the southern hemisphere, but this data remains very uncertain at this time.
Though there will be doom-sayers, overall this is not a world destroyer. It carries some risk, but we have eight years to refine our knowledge significantly, especially when it will make a close approach of five million miles in 2028. At that time scientists should be able to better measure its size as well as its future orbit, determining more precisely whether it will even hit the Earth in 2032.
New data that has refined the solar orbit of 200-foot-wide asteroid discovered in 2024, dubbed 2024 YR4, suggests it has a 1-in-83 chance of hitting the Earth on December 22, 2032.
“Odds have slightly increased to 1 in 83,” Catalina Sky Survey engineer and asteroid hunter David Rankin wrote on BlueSky. “This is one of the highest probabilities of an impact from a significantly sized rock ever.”
Amateur astronomer Tony Dunn shared a simulation of the asteroid approach on his X feed. “Recently-discovered #asteroid 2024 YR4 may make a very close approach to Earth in 8 years. It is thought to be 40-100 meters wide. Uncertainty is still high and more and more observations are needed confirm this.”
The asteroid is rated three on the Torino risk scale, which indicates a close encounter that warrants close attention from astronomers and an over 1% chance of impact.
Though most reports say the asteroid is about 200 feet across, there is great uncertainty in that number. It could also be as large as 320 feet, or as small as 130 feet.
At the moment the risk of impact is still small. If it does occur, there is a chance it could either cause a major airburst similar to the Chelyabinsk meteor impact in 2013 that injured more than 400 people, or even impact the ground or ocean. If it hits the ocean there is a considerable risk of tsunamis. At the moment it appears its path will cross from South America to Africa in the southern hemisphere, but this data remains very uncertain at this time.
Though there will be doom-sayers, overall this is not a world destroyer. It carries some risk, but we have eight years to refine our knowledge significantly, especially when it will make a close approach of five million miles in 2028. At that time scientists should be able to better measure its size as well as its future orbit, determining more precisely whether it will even hit the Earth in 2032.
Juno detects the largest volcanic event on Io yet
Changes on Io since April 2024. Click for original image.
Infrared detection of volcanic hot spot.
Click for original image.
Using Juno’s Italian JIRAM infrared instrument image as well as its optical camera, scientists have detected what appears to be the largest volcanic event yet measured on the Jupiter moon Io, covering an area larger than Lake Superior,
Scientists with NASA’s Juno mission have discovered a volcanic hot spot in the southern hemisphere of Jupiter’s moon Io. The hot spot is not only larger than Earth’s Lake Superior, but it also belches out eruptions six times the total energy of all the world’s power plants.
…The JIRAM science team estimates the as-yet-unnamed feature spans 40,000 square miles (100,000 square kilometers). The previous record holder was Io’s Loki Patera, a lava lake of about 7,700 square miles (20,000 square kilometers). The total power value of the new hot spot’s radiance measured well above 80 trillion watts.
The pictures above were taken by Juno’s optical camera during the last three close flyby’s, looking down at the south pole, with the red arrows indicating the change to the pole’s right during each pass. The infrared image to the right shows a similar view during the fly-by, and shows that same hot spot as the bright area to the pole’s right.
Juno will do another fly-by of Io in March, though from a greater distance. Scientists plan to use both instruments to see how this hot spot has changed again since the end of December.
Changes on Io since April 2024. Click for original image.
Infrared detection of volcanic hot spot.
Click for original image.
Using Juno’s Italian JIRAM infrared instrument image as well as its optical camera, scientists have detected what appears to be the largest volcanic event yet measured on the Jupiter moon Io, covering an area larger than Lake Superior,
Scientists with NASA’s Juno mission have discovered a volcanic hot spot in the southern hemisphere of Jupiter’s moon Io. The hot spot is not only larger than Earth’s Lake Superior, but it also belches out eruptions six times the total energy of all the world’s power plants.
…The JIRAM science team estimates the as-yet-unnamed feature spans 40,000 square miles (100,000 square kilometers). The previous record holder was Io’s Loki Patera, a lava lake of about 7,700 square miles (20,000 square kilometers). The total power value of the new hot spot’s radiance measured well above 80 trillion watts.
The pictures above were taken by Juno’s optical camera during the last three close flyby’s, looking down at the south pole, with the red arrows indicating the change to the pole’s right during each pass. The infrared image to the right shows a similar view during the fly-by, and shows that same hot spot as the bright area to the pole’s right.
Juno will do another fly-by of Io in March, though from a greater distance. Scientists plan to use both instruments to see how this hot spot has changed again since the end of December.
United Kingdom awards rocket startup Orbex $25 million
The government of the United Kingdom has made a sudden and unexpected $25 million grant to the British rocket startup Orbex, which recently announced it was abandoning its launchpad at the Sutherland spaceport and switching to the Saxavord spaceport on the Shetland Islands.
While the UK Government has supported Orbex through grants awarded via the European Space Agency’s Boost! programme, the £20 million investment appears to represent the state acquiring a stake in the company and its future. This signals a significant show of support from the government as the company gears up to compete in the European Launcher Challenge.
Channeling former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle declared that the government’s backing of Orbex would enable the launch of “British rockets carrying British satellites from British soil.”
It seems to me that this cash award is less an investment in the company and more a kind of guilt payment by the United Kingdom government because the red tape of its bureaucracy, the Civil Aviation Authority, prevented Orbex from launching at Sutherland for almost three years, delays that eventually forced the switch to Saxavord, which after its own long red tape delays finally has its license approvals not yet issued to Sutherland.
Orbex has probably indicated to the government that these delays have caused it significant cash flow problems, similar to what happened to Virgin Orbit where red tape delays eventually drove it to bankruptcy. The company also probably told the government it needed extra cash to prepare the launchpad at Saxavord for its rocket, money it had already spent at Sutherland and no longer had.
Thus, this $25 million government grant. The UK government realized that if a second rocket company went belly-up due to its red tape, it would likely end forever any chance of getting any rocket company from considering launching from the United Kingdom.
The government of the United Kingdom has made a sudden and unexpected $25 million grant to the British rocket startup Orbex, which recently announced it was abandoning its launchpad at the Sutherland spaceport and switching to the Saxavord spaceport on the Shetland Islands.
While the UK Government has supported Orbex through grants awarded via the European Space Agency’s Boost! programme, the £20 million investment appears to represent the state acquiring a stake in the company and its future. This signals a significant show of support from the government as the company gears up to compete in the European Launcher Challenge.
Channeling former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle declared that the government’s backing of Orbex would enable the launch of “British rockets carrying British satellites from British soil.”
It seems to me that this cash award is less an investment in the company and more a kind of guilt payment by the United Kingdom government because the red tape of its bureaucracy, the Civil Aviation Authority, prevented Orbex from launching at Sutherland for almost three years, delays that eventually forced the switch to Saxavord, which after its own long red tape delays finally has its license approvals not yet issued to Sutherland.
Orbex has probably indicated to the government that these delays have caused it significant cash flow problems, similar to what happened to Virgin Orbit where red tape delays eventually drove it to bankruptcy. The company also probably told the government it needed extra cash to prepare the launchpad at Saxavord for its rocket, money it had already spent at Sutherland and no longer had.
Thus, this $25 million government grant. The UK government realized that if a second rocket company went belly-up due to its red tape, it would likely end forever any chance of getting any rocket company from considering launching from the United Kingdom.
Blue Ghost makes second orbital burn, setting up transfer from Earth to lunar orbit
Blue Ghost’s first view of the Moon.
Click for original image.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander has successfully completed its second orbital burn, raising its Earth orbit in preparation for its shift into lunar orbit in the coming weeks.
Routine assessments while Blue Ghost is in transit show that all NASA payloads continue to be healthy. Firefly and NASA’s payload teams will continue to perform payload health checkouts and operations before reaching the Moon, including calibrating NASA’s Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI), continued transit operations of the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE), and analysis of radiation data collected from the Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC) technology demonstration.
The picture to the right looks across the top of Blue Ghost, with the small bright object beyond its first image of the Moon. The actual landing is at least four weeks away.
Blue Ghost’s first view of the Moon.
Click for original image.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander has successfully completed its second orbital burn, raising its Earth orbit in preparation for its shift into lunar orbit in the coming weeks.
Routine assessments while Blue Ghost is in transit show that all NASA payloads continue to be healthy. Firefly and NASA’s payload teams will continue to perform payload health checkouts and operations before reaching the Moon, including calibrating NASA’s Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI), continued transit operations of the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE), and analysis of radiation data collected from the Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC) technology demonstration.
The picture to the right looks across the top of Blue Ghost, with the small bright object beyond its first image of the Moon. The actual landing is at least four weeks away.
India launches GPS-type satellite
India today successfully launched the second in a new generation constellation of that country’s GPS-type satellites, its GSLV rocket lifting off from its Sriharikota spaceport on the east coast of the subcontinent.
The 2025 launch race:
12 SpaceX
6 China
1 Blue Origin
1 India
India today successfully launched the second in a new generation constellation of that country’s GPS-type satellites, its GSLV rocket lifting off from its Sriharikota spaceport on the east coast of the subcontinent.
The 2025 launch race:
12 SpaceX
6 China
1 Blue Origin
1 India
Air Supply – Making Love Out of Nothing At All
An evening pause: Performed live 2013 in Hong Kong when it was still free. I wonder if the Chinese would allow an American band there now.
Hat tip Diane Zimmerman.
January 28, 2025 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- Orbital images suggest Russia’s “Inspector” satellites are based on the Karat-200 design, aimed at building lots of satellites quickly
Russia has used these satellites to move from location to location and get close looks at other satellites.
- On this day in 1986 the space shuttle Challenger broke up 73 seconds after lift-off
Astronauts Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair lost their lives.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- Orbital images suggest Russia’s “Inspector” satellites are based on the Karat-200 design, aimed at building lots of satellites quickly
Russia has used these satellites to move from location to location and get close looks at other satellites.
- On this day in 1986 the space shuttle Challenger broke up 73 seconds after lift-off
Astronauts Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair lost their lives.
The blobby bottom of Utopia Basin
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on October 25, 2024 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Labeled merely as a “terrain sample,” it was likely taken not as part of any specific research project, but to fill a gap in the camera’s schedule so as to maintain the camera’s proper temperature.
The terrain is definitely blobby, with some hollows appears to have ripple dunes suggesting dust and sand. The rounded mounds and some hollows however suggest instead near surface ice or places where sublimation of that underground ice caused the hollows.
Some of the circular depressions might suggest impact craters, but if so, those craters have been significantly modified and softened since impact. Some do appear to be filled with glacial debris.
» Read more
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on October 25, 2024 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Labeled merely as a “terrain sample,” it was likely taken not as part of any specific research project, but to fill a gap in the camera’s schedule so as to maintain the camera’s proper temperature.
The terrain is definitely blobby, with some hollows appears to have ripple dunes suggesting dust and sand. The rounded mounds and some hollows however suggest instead near surface ice or places where sublimation of that underground ice caused the hollows.
Some of the circular depressions might suggest impact craters, but if so, those craters have been significantly modified and softened since impact. Some do appear to be filled with glacial debris.
» Read more