[Space] 2020.07.15

  • Continuum Flux

// THE LIST

Challenges | Campaigns

NASA's Lunar Loo Challenge | HeroX

NASA is seeking new designs for toilets that work both in microgravity and lunar gravity. Submissions are due 5pm ET on August 17, 2020. First place wins $20,000. [Forward]

NOVA - A Crowd-Flyable Space Mission — Kickstarter

NOVA will give supporters the ability to control their satellite in space. Among the rewards is a "microNOVA" CubeSat simulator. Campaign ends on August 1, 2020. [Forward]

Disk Detective: Spot the disks around nearby stars where planets form and dwell | Zooniverse

NASA's WISE mission is surveying the whole sky at infrared wavelengths. At Disk Detective, you'll examine data from WISE and other surveys to search for the birthplaces of planets. [Forward]

Source: Eau de Space

What does Outer Space smell like? Smell of Space Fragrance by Eau de Space — Kickstarter

Eau de Space wants to release a fragrance based on what Outer Space actually smells like. $454,213 has been raised. The Kickstarter deadline is August 17, 2020. [Forward]

NASA's Watts on the Moon Challenge | HeroX

This challenge seeks solutions to distribute, store, and manage power in space. It will consist of two phases, lasting three years. It will launch no earlier than September 25, 2020. [Forward]

Events

Coronavirus updates: The latest COVID-19 news for the global space industry - Space News

Space News provides ongoing coverage and daily updates of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the global space industry, including a list of all delayed or canceled space events. [Forward]

Mars 2020 ULA Atlas V Rocket Launch: July 30, 2020 7:50 AM ET (tentative) | Kennedy Space Center

Viewing opportunities may be offered from the main visitor complex or from behind NASA’s gates with a Launch Transportation Ticket. LTTs are sold ASAP after publication of a confirmed date. [Forward]

SN Live Webinar | SmallSat 2020 Goes Virtual - Space News

Conference organizers have announced that the 34th Annual Small Satellite Conference, scheduled for August 1-6 in Logan, Utah, will be held “in a virtual format with no on-site presence.” [Forward]

2020 Humans To Mars Summit | ExploreMars.org

The summit is taking place August 31 to September 1, 2020 at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C. Registration will open soon. [Forward]

2020 Mars Society International Teleconvention Tickets, October 15, 2020 | The Mars Society

Participate with people from around the world in debates, panel discussions, and presentations. Join in virtually October 15-18, 2020. [Forward]

TC Sessions: Space 2020 - Tech Crunch

Join TechCrunch's editors in Los Angeles on December 17 for a day of fireside chats and panel discussion with the top investors, founders, and technologists forging the future of space. [Forward]

 

// FYI

Space Ecosystem | Startups | Deals
Redwire, an entity created by private equity firm AE Industrial Partners to buy space technology companies, announced the deal with Made In Space on June 23. [Forward]
Overview of Made In Space. The company is working with NASA to develop Archinaut (OSAM-2), a robotic factory designed to 3D print and assemble structures in space. [Forward]
Rocket Lab launch on Jan. 31, 2020 — Source: NRO / Scott Andrews
The video of Rocket Lab's July 4 mission cut out five minutes in. The second stage fell back to Earth, likely breaking up due to reentry forces. [Forward]
The UK is part of a consortium with India’s Bharti Global, which won a bidding war for the failed satellite firm. They plan to replace the EU's Galileo sat-nav system. [Forward]
Space Exploration | Development
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is 129 feet closer to Mars after being placed atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The launch window extends from July 30th - August 15th. [Forward]
Besides Perseverance, the United Arab Emirates’ Hope orbiter and China’s Tianwen-1 orbiter and lander are set to launch. Perseverance could yield signs of fossilized microbial life in Jezero’s carbonate rocks. [Forward]
SpaceX will attempt to launch their Starship SN5 prototype 500ft into the air this week. Some suggest it’s too soon, as several previous prototypes were destroyed in ground tests. [Forward]
The dark greenish substance is impact melt breccia. Impact melt breccias occur when an object impacts a rocky surface with such force that it melts the rocks. [Forward]
Astronomy | Astrophysics | Cosmology
Source: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / Jeremy Schnittman
Naked singularities—black holes without protective event horizons—might be formed by adding spin or charge, but there may be natural mechanisms which prevent their existence. [Forward]
Experts say there are clues as to the biology of extraterrestrials based on science. Aliens wouldn’t look like us, they would live on land, and they’re unlikely to visit Earth. [Forward]

Back to [Space]