// THE LIST
Challenges | Campaigns
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]
Gain hands-on engineering design experience and contribute to NASA missions with the 2021 Micro-g NExT challenges, which focus on the Artemis program. Info sessions Sept. 16, 24, and Oct. 6. [Forward]
NASA is seeking approaches to cryogenic containment allowing lunar sample transport from the Moon to Earth. All innovative, actionable solutions are of significant interest. $40,000 prize. Closes November 12. [Forward]
The challenge invites participants to create reusable, high-level technologies for the conquest of space with potential for commercial applications. Winners will be awarded with incredible prizes. November 13-14. [Forward]
Write an essay about leading a one-week expedition at the Moon’s South Pole. Participants receive a NASA certificate. Grand prize is a trip to the Artemis-1 Launch. Closes Dec. 17. [Forward]
NASA seeks solutions for energy distribution, management, or storage developable for space flight and future operation on the lunar surface. Up to $500K in prizes. September 25 - March 25, 2021. [Forward]
Join 62,361 volunteers and search for Planet 9 and new brown dwarfs in the backyard of the solar system using data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. [Forward]
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will take pictures of over a million stars to search for transiting exoplanets. Help find rare systems that defeat automated search algorithms. [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]
Events
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]
Join the free, online version of the global “space unconference” to learn from and speak with space experts and enthusiasts from all over the world without leaving your home. [Forward]
Join representatives from five chapters of the National Space Society for a free webinar discussing the impact of SpaceX and Blue Origin on space tourism. Oct. 8 9pm (ET). [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]
This two-day Summit will be free and held online. It will focus on the importance of space critical infrastructure to people living on Earth now and in the future. [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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// FYI
Space Ecosystem | Startups | Deals
Microsoft is positioning Azure as a solution for working with geospatial data. Satellite operators could run data analysis on Microsoft’s cloud as well as all of their digital ground operations. [Forward]
Nanoracks’ Bishop airlock is designed to get payloads from inside the pressurized space station out into the vacuum of space. It’s slated to fly on SpaceX’s next cargo mission. [Forward]
Whether passengers reach suborbital or orbital space is the major difference in human spaceflight offerings. Cost and risk involved vary greatly. [Forward]
Space Exploration | Development
NASA and SpaceX plan to launch a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with four astronauts to the International Space Station on October 31st, targeting 2:40 a.m. EDT. [Forward]
NASA could be a potential early customer as Blue Origin considers development of commercial space stations. The move is a step towards Jeff Bezos’ vision of bringing people to space. [Forward]
Humanity can now predict and prevent mass extinction events and disasters. The Double Asteroid Redirect Test will validate technology to redirect asteroids, which could potentially preserve life on Earth someday. [Forward]
Origin Space, a Beijing-based private space resources company, is testing capabilities to identify and extract off-Earth resources. The Chinese company is set to launch a ‘space mining robot’ in November. [Forward]
The EmDrive is still being tested 20 years after its introduction. Previously dismissed by physicists, the project is greenlit for Phase 2 and could reach a final demonstration this year. [Forward]
Astronomy | Astrophysics | Cosmology
Evidence suggests there could be life on Venus, but the phosphine could also be the result of abiotic life. [Forward]
Using radar data from the European Space Agency’s Mars-orbiting spacecraft, researchers detected a group of lakes hidden under the red planet’s icy surface. [Forward]
Neutron stars can be 20 - 40 km in diameter, whereas white dwarfs can be close to Earth's size. The largest supergiants are more than 1500 times larger than the Sun. [Forward]