Come On Barbie, Let’s Go Party (on the Moon)
Barbie helps researchers break up with 'clingy' lunar dust, space gets JUICE-y, and Artemis II gets its crew
Hello Celestial Citizens and Continuum readers,
Perhaps you didn’t realize that by subscribing to this space newsletter, you would also be blessed with a healthy dose of space-adjacent media entertainment news in addition to all that other stuff going down (or hopefully up) on the launch pad. But what can I say? Hollywood just can’t get enough of space…and I for one am here for it.
You couldn’t possibly have opened Instagram this past week and not have been flooded with space women everywhere giving their profiles the Barbie treatment in honor of the upcoming film. Personally, Greta Gerwig, director of the upcoming film, had me at the “Barbie Land” trailer that riffs on 2001: A Space Odyssey. And although I was tempted by this latest social media trend (who doesn’t want to see “Space Urban Planner” Barbie hit the shelves this Christmas?) – I ended up having way more fun seeing everyone else’s Barbie persona (including this one and this one).
And if you thought Barbie posts were just a fad, you don’t get the monolith connection, or you are an environmentalist that is uncomfortable with the proclamation that “life in plastic, it’s fantastic” – hold on to your hat because Barbie (notably not Ken) is now helping researchers figure out how to break up with “clingy” lunar dust. Yep, you read that right! Some researchers at Washington State University blasted Barbies with liquid nitrogen to test a new method of moon dust cleanup.
I guess it’s true what they say, “imagination, life is your creation.” And now on to the space beat you came here for…
Top Headlines
Getting the JUICE Flowing – The European Space Agency’s JUICE mission, or Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, successfully launched this morning at 8:14 a.m. ET aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana after being postponed due to possible lightning. The eight-year cruise will visit the likes of GANYMEDE, Europa and Callisto to examine the moons’ ice-covered oceans, helping scientists decipher if life could ever exist there. And no one is happier that ESA was able to “squeeze” this launch within the one second window needed for JUICE’s intricate trajectory to Jupiter than the adorable sloth that photobombed the launch telecast.
Surprise, You’re Going to the Moon – In case you (somehow) haven’t heard, last week NASA made the highly-anticipated announcement of the four astronauts traveling to the moon with the Artemis II mission – even after an entertaining struggle to share the news with the astronauts themselves. From the NASA side, the chosen ones are Christina Hammock Koch, a mission specialist and electrical engineer, Reid Wiseman, a commander, ISS astronaut and Navy pilot, and Victor Glover, a Navy test pilot and record holder for being the first African American to live on the ISS for an extended period of time. The fourth astronaut, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, is a mission specialist and fighter pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force. NASA has accepted Hansen as tribute (kidding) in exchange for the Canadarm3 robotic arm system to be included in their future Gateway mission. Artemis II’s 10-day mission is slated for this November and will be the first time humans exit Earth’s orbit since 1972, as well as the first time that a person of color and the first woman will journey around the moon.
Moon to Mars – With a mission as big as Artemis II and more projected missions to follow, U.S. Congress has required that NASA create an office to oversee all the pieces of the puzzle. This includes monitoring the many programs that work on Artemis to ensure efficiency and integrating lessons learned from Artemis I. It also involves looking ahead, deciphering if Artemis II technology is “commensurate with potential future Mars-grade activities,” according to Amit Kshatriya, the head of this new Moon to Mars Program Office.
Switch Up the TEMPO – NASA just launched a powerful new instrument to help track air pollution. The TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) will provide insight into everything from rush hour pollution to lightning’s effects on the ozone from a geostationary orbit – able to lock in on one section of the globe by moving at the same speed and direction as Earth. The instrument launched on April 7th accompanied by Intelsat’s IS-40e communications satellite, which will provide better connectivity to ground vehicles, boats and planes. Say hello to in-flight WiFi as smooth as that, er, Jack Daniels and Coke from the airline service trolley.
“Rocket You Like a Hurricane” – TEMPO isn’t the only environmentally-focused satellite shooting for the stars. Two NASA storm-monitoring satellites scheduled to launch in April and May have just been transferred from a Virgina to a New Zealand launch due to the busy Wallops Island schedule. Rocket Lab, the company leading the launch justifies the massive transport with the need for these satellites to be operational before the 2023 hurricane season.
Woke Up and Chose Violence – A team at the University of California recently received NASA funding for a new asteroid defense system that violently pulverizes the rock instead of just deflecting it. During Phase II of NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts program, this team will further simulate how the pulverized fragments would safely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. Another academic team awarded with Phase II funding is developing a “space pharmacy,” in which astronauts could use bacteria to develop their own drugs in space – a requirement when we’re talking about deep space and no access to Earth’s resources.
If You’re CHAPEA And You Know It – Virginia may be for launch lovers, but Texas is for Mars stans. Beginning this June, four volunteers will spend a year locked in a Houston-based 3-D printed “box” meant to simulate life on Mars. This initiative is called the Crew Health Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA, which more than anything will examine the psychological effects of a Mars mission and deep space living. Said best by space architect Melodie Yashar in a recent episode of the Celestial Citizen podcast, “designing for human experiences in space goes beyond just designing for the human body and designing for what’s ergonomically functional.” A successful space design needs to provide what humans need “psychologically and cognitively, too,” she says.
Rated “CC” for Collision Course – With what seems to be endless satellites getting hurled into space these days, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the official launch of a Space Bureau on Tuesday, where “satellite and orbital debris rules” were the top focus. FCC Chairwoman noted the commission’s backlog of 60,000 satellites to be reviewed, highlighting the need for caution as things get more and more crowded up there.
“The Mother of Landsat” – This week, the United States Geological Survey announced the death of Virgina Norwood, at age 96. A physicist, Norwood is responsible for the invention of a scanner used for 50 years in earth monitoring initiatives, including the Geological Survey’s Landsat project. Landsat has provided an image of Earth every 16 days since 1972, playing a key role in climate change and deforestation assessments. Despite operating in a male-dominated industry that was 50s and 60s space exploration, Norwood was known as the “person who could solve impossible problems,” as told by her daughter in a video for NASA. Norwood will be greatly missed, though her legacy is everlasting.
The JWST Download
JWST just captured a rare image of eleven of Uranus’ thirteen known rings – but not all thirteen, Hubble will have you know.
JWST’s newest look at the wreckage of a titanic cosmic explosion is pretty cool, but will it finally answer the age-old question of whether or not Jack could have fit on the door with Rose?
Forming a measly 320 million years after the Big Bang, the earliest-known galaxy has just been visualized by the JWST.
At times, the iconic JWST may feel too good to be true, and in some ways it is: it sees things our eyes can’t, but translates those things so we can. So, are those images real, or is this just another preview of the AI simulation we’re about to be living in?
There’s a new chick in town, and her name is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Okay, we know she’s not entering the playing field until 2027, but a new simulation “demonstrates how in just 63 days, Roman can image an amount of sky that it would take the Hubble Space Telescope 85 years to capture.”
A Global Space
China – On April 2nd, not only did Space Pioneer become the first commercial space company to reach orbit on its first attempt, it also was the first to reach orbit using a liquid-fueled rocket. China achieved these milestones with the Tianlong-2, which delivered a CubeSat to Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). With this success story and lofty ambitions for the future – like an asteroid defense test in 2025 and a lunar base build planned to commence in five years – China cements its strong position in the space economy.
Russia – If no one wants to play in the sandbox with Russia, then well – they’ll build their own sandbox. Now bidding farewell to the International Space Station in 2028, Russia reveals new plans to build their own space station. This decision comes after a year of strained relations with the U.S. (and most of the world) due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, not to mention their recent drama with Kazakhstan over a supposed $29 million debt.
India – This month, ISRO successfully completed both a 3 year-long testing campaign on the L110-G Vikas Engine, designed to safely carry humans to space for the Gaganyaan mission, and the “high-speed, unmanned, precise” landing of the RLV LEX, a reusable, autonomous launch vehicle.
Australia – And speaking of governments supporting Indian space technology, the Australian Space Agency is currently accepting grant applications for businesses that plan to conduct joint space technology projects with India. This will surely cement the Australia-India relationship in the space sector.
Canada – The biggest news for the Great White North over the past two weeks has been the Artemis announcement, which elected fighter pilot Jeremy Hansen to travel to the moon with three American astronauts. Canada plans to bolster this partnership with U.S. lunar initiatives by spending $1.2 billion Canadian, or $900 million USD on a vehicle that will support human exploration of the moon.
Kenya – Kenyans were eager to live stream Taifa-1, the nation’s first observation satellite, taking off this week via a Falcon-9 rocket. Unfortunately, the launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California was postponed for the third time due to atmospheric conditions. Once deployed, the satellite would orbit the Earth fifteen times every day, equipping Kenya with intel on their agriculture and socio-economic development. Next launch attempt will be tomorrow at 9:44am Pacific Time.
MOONSHOT
If we’re going to get to space, we’re going to need a lot of help. In our Moonshot newsletter, we’ll share highlights from some of the commercial companies that are taking us there!
Moonshot will be in your inbox on Monday.
Space Reads!
Can’t get enough stellar content? Here are some pieces of space-adjacent news we’ve been reading:
If you’ve ever been an entrepreneur – in the space industry or otherwise – you know about the rose-colored glasses of owning your own startup. Like a new (or toxic) relationship, you see no flaws – only magic. But why make it your weakness, when it can also be your power.
When there’s a will, there’s a way: read about how startups like AstroForge are getting into deep-space mining, like that of platinum from asteroids.
If your phone has ever died due to frigid weather (we’re looking at you, Michigan), you know how machinery can act out in extreme cold. Learn about how one company is developing a cold-resistant, praying mantis-like robot arm for the moon’s south pole that will have NASA saying, “sweet flex, bro.”
Alright space people, that about wraps us up until Monday, when we’ll be sending out MOONSHOT, our newsletter covering the commercial space sector. A big thank you to Tess Ryan for writing this edition with me and really knocking it out of the solar system! We hope you enjoyed reading Continuum this week and will share it with your friends. And if you really, really like us, then consider becoming a paid subscriber or gifting a subscription to someone who is the Skipper to your Barbie. Until next time…
Keep it celestial people,
Britt
CEO of Celestial Citizen & Creator of Continuum
This edition of Continuum Newsletter was brought to you by Gold Sponsor, Multiverse Media, and Silver Sponsor, the Colorado School of Mines Space Resources Program.
"U.S. Congress has required that NASA create an office to oversee all the pieces of the puzzle... It also involves looking ahead, deciphering if Artemis II technology is “commensurate with potential future Mars-grade activities,”
Do we need an office for this? Artemis II presents very little expertise relevant for a mission to Mars.
Had way too much fun writing about Barbie this week - something I didn’t think I would say as a space writer…