[Space] 2020.08.15

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]

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]

Display your creativity in an original video, song (one to two minutes), or image and send it to space in the Envoy Pro. Contest is open from August 10-21, 2020. [Forward]

The BIG Idea Challenge has university students designing, building, and testing novel dust mitigation technologies for lunar applications. $180,000 prize. Notice of Intent due Sept. 25, proposals Dec. 13. [Forward]

This all-virtual hackathon is October 2-4, 2020. Participant registration will open mid-August. Participants can select a local virtual event, or register for the Universal Event. Register for additional event information. [Forward]

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]

Look through archival data from the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) in an attempt to discover new Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs)—minor planets whose orbit is out beyond that of Neptune (~30AU). [Forward]

Write or draw your vision of why you think Earth needs Space on a postcard and have it launched into space and back on a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket. [Forward]

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]

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]

This webinar (August 20th 12pm EDT) critiques the current interpretations of the Voyager data on the heliosheath and the interface with the local interstellar medium, revealing serious omissions. [Forward]

Entire galaxies have "climates" just as worlds do. Dr. Yong Zheng discusses how galactic climate/weather behave, and how they’re studied. August 22th 10:30 pm EDT. Tickets available with donation. [Forward]

Michael (Fitzer) Fitzgerald, ISEC Chief Architect, discusses space elevator development, from concept to full operation. The talk is 10:00 am EDT August 28, 2020. [Forward]

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

Fast Radio Bursts are millisecond-duration pulses of unknown origin. Professor Duncan Lorimer discusses their discovery, what’s known about them so far, and what we might learn next. Admission is free. [Forward]

Sivani Babu discusses how our amateur cameras can preserve gorgeous nighttime sky-scapes, and how collective activism can help protect the starry night from light pollution. Tickets available with donation. [Forward]

In light of the challenging COVID-19 pandemic, this virtual congress about the latest developments in space will be free of charge for the entire community. Event is October 12-14, 2020. [Forward]

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

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]

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Amazon slowed rollout of its commercial ground station network to accommodate customer feedback about where its antennas should be located. Locations for the remaining ground station locations to be determined. [Forward]

The updated design of ispace's Hakuto-R lander is smaller and carries less propellant, but has the same amount of payload. It’s scheduled to make its first mission in 2022. [Forward]

The pace of space industry exits is picking up as private equity firms and holding companies acquire startups/enterprises established decades ago. [Forward]

SpaceX successfully performed a 500-foot test "hop" of its SN5 Starship prototype, which is capable of orbital flight. Musk tweeted "Mars is looking real" after the hop. [Forward]

Virgin Galactic expects to fly Sir Richard Branson on its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle no earlier than the first quarter of 2021, due to COVID-19 slowing down their test flight schedule. [Forward]

Virgin Galactic announced it will work with Rolls-Royce to develop an aircraft for supersonic travel. The initial supersonic design targets Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound. [Forward]

SpaceX is manufacturing its Starlink satellites at an unprecedented rate for the space industry.  The primary bottleneck for Starlink’s service now lies in how quickly SpaceX can launch the satellites. [Forward]

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley returned safely back to Earth on August 2 after two months in space—the longest crewed mission launch from US soil in 40 years. [Forward]

The Kardashev scale measures a civilization's level of technological advancement (1 - 5) based on the amount of energy they harness, from planets to galaxies, revealing glimpses of potential alien civilizations. [Forward]

The new research, which focuses on Ceres' 57-mile-wide (92-kilometer-wide) Occator Crater—home to the most extensive bright areas—confirms that Ceres is a water-rich world like other icy bodies. [Forward]