[Space] 2021.08.15

Challenges | Campaigns | Solicitations
This challenge seeks improvements to materials, manufacturing techniques, processes, or improvements to components or systems involved in CFM. $10,000 prize. Registration closes August 16. [Forward]
Experience weightlessness, see Earth from space, and join Sir Richard Branson for a personal VIP tour of Spaceport America. No payment is necessary. Closes September 1, winner announced September 29. [Forward]
NASA is looking for U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are non-smokers, aged 30 to 55 years old, and proficient in English. Applications close September 17, 2021 5pm CST. [Forward]
You can own a full-scale model of the Apollo 11, 12, 13, 14 Command Module Control Panel (CMCP) as designed by Academy Award-winning artist Mark Lasoff. Ends September 21, 2021. [Forward]
NASA is seeking innovative ideas from the academic community for a wide range of alternative rover locomotion modalities. Deadline to submit notice of intent is September 24, 2021. [Forward]
The tenth annual event is the world's largest hackathon. Participants use NASA’s free and open data over a 48-hour period to solve challenges submitted by NASA personnel. October 2-3, 2021.
[Forward]
NASA is inviting students across the US to design an experiment to test on a suborbital rocket or high-altitude balloon. $1500 awarded to each winning school. Contest opens August 18. [Forward]
University rocketry teams: want to launch rockets and compete regionally against other university teams and potentially join next year's Spaceport America Cup? Registration closes March 31, 2022. [Forward]
Book your six-hour voyage on Spaceship Neptune now for 2025 and see Earth from space. Book an individual seat or a full 8 person capsule. $125,000 per space explorer. [Forward]
XPRIZE Carbon Removal is aimed at tackling climate change and advancing space exploration. Teams will create and demonstrate solutions that can pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or oceans. [Forward]
NASA wants to understand how the Freelancer community can potentially help in the future to evaluate solutions provided for NASA engineering challenges. They encourage everyone to register, regardless of experience. [Forward]
Join thousands of 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]
Events
The free, virtual talk will explore achieving a universal definition of life—a challenge that may intensify as we expand and explore the stars. August 18, 2021 7:00 PM PDT. [Forward]
This is a hybrid in-person and virtual program that will expand and diversify access, engagement, and understanding of the global space community. In-person: $2,690. Virtual: $750. August 23-26, 2021. [Forward]
Learn about STEM career and internship opportunities with NASA. Free on Facebook. August 24, 2021, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM EDT. [Forward]
The free, virtual lecture will discuss how we can use exoplanet biosignatures to remotely determine the presence of life elsewhere in the universe. August 26, 2021 9:30 PM EDT. [Forward]
SATELLITE invites industry leaders to share the stage (digitally or in-person) with young professionals and entrepreneurs, engaging in discussions that will shape the future of commercial space. September 7-10, 2021. [Forward]
The sessions include The Maturing of the Small Satellite Market, Access to Space, and more. Virtual sessions will be held from September 7 - October 19, 2021. [Forward]
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center shares an inside look at the scientific legacy of Hubble and the future possibilities of the James Webb telescope. Free, virtual event. September 9, 2021. [Forward]
The event includes expert discussions with top leaders in aerospace, government, STEM education, entertainment, and more from around the world about the future of Mars exploration. September 13, 2021. [Forward]
This workshop brings together experts to discuss questions critical to understanding the scope of a potential interstellar probe mission. Takes place September 27-October 1, 2021. Registration opens in August. [Forward]
This free, virtual event offers an opportunity for those interested in Mars to discuss the science, technology, social implications, and a multitude of other aspects of Mars exploration. October 14-17. [Forward]

Add your event or campaign. Contact us for details.

// FYI
Space Ecosystem | Startups | Deals
Swarm will become a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of SpaceX upon consummation of the transaction. The acquisition gives SpaceX access to the intellectual property and expertise of the startup. [Forward]
The first two spacecraft will be delivered in 2023, the third in 2024. It’s an aggressive schedule for the young startup and would mark Varda’s first manufacturing missions to space. [Forward]
The vote wraps up a long and fraught merger that was announced 10 months ago. The merged company will begin trading under the Momentus name on the Nasdaq August 13. [Forward]
Space Exploration | Development
The hardware performed as commanded, but the rock was not robust enough to produce a core, so no sample was recovered. The next sampling attempt is set for early September. [Forward]
Image Credit: Northrop Grumman
The Space Force's LDPE (Long Duration Propulsive ESPA) mission will use Northrop Grumman's ESPAStar bus to host several smallsats and carry payloads to their final orbits. [Forward]
Virgin Galactic is restarting ticket sales at significantly higher prices (starting at $450,000) but won’t begin flying its suborbital space tourism customers until the second half of 2022. [Forward]
Astronomy | Astrophysics | Cosmology
Image Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser
L 98-59 may hold two additional planets. The fifth planet is about 2.5 times the mass of Earth, rocky, and located in the middle of the habitable zone. [Forward]
One of the largest known stellar black holes is M33 X-7. It is 15.65 solar masses and 92 km wide, just big enough to cast a shadow on Corsica. [Forward]