Light as a Tether
Two Polaris Dawn crewmembers become the first private spacewalkers, Earth welcomes a mysterious mini-moon to its orbit, and all the other things floating in space this week.
Hello Celestial Citizens and Continuum readers,
This week, I had the chance to witness the harvest moon emerging and rising above the nearby mountains. As a bit of a moon junkie, you’ll always find me looking for the right opportunity for some prime viewing and can never seem to get enough chances to bask in that inspiring moonlight. But this month’s full moon was made even more special, because I got to see it through the eyes of my daughter’s soccer team. Practice understandably came to a standstill as all the girls gazed in awe at the moon, and it felt incredible to know that the next generation of dreamers and space enthusiasts are chomping at the bit for their turn to take over the reins of space exploration someday. Even those of us who live and breathe the space industry day in and day out, would do well to pause, look up, and remember what a miraculous moment in time it is to be contributing to whatever comes next. So much to look back on for inspiration, and yet the privilege of so much work yet to be done.
And now, the space beat you came here for…
Top Headlines
“A Perfect World” – Approximately 450 miles (730 km) above Earth’s surface, two private astronauts floated out of a Crew Dragon hatch and peered down at our familiar blue planet. While no satellites were fixed nor valiant space battles fought, the mission was historic: it was the first private spacewalk. Funded by Jared Isaacman – a billionaire entrepreneur and founder of Shift4 – and executed by SpaceX, the Polaris Dawn mission not only claimed the private spacewalk milestone, but also demonstrated other key “firsts.” For one, the mission served as a debut for the new SpaceX-designed Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suits, gleaning important mobility feedback from its spacewalkers, Isaacman and SpaceX employee Sarah Gillis. Additionally, the spacewalk was a test of SpaceX’s ability to depressurize the Crew Dragon cabin ahead of a vehicle exit, technology the firm will continue using in future deep space missions. The science community will simultaneously leverage this mission to study the effects of radiation on the human body, with the astronauts ultimately traveling to a high point of 870 miles (1400 km) above Earth’s surface. Finally, the mission was a successful demonstration for SpaceX’s 2.5-year private training program. Of course, private endeavors are a double-edged sword. One one hand, there is inherent risk where profit pressure is involved; we were reminded of this fact just this week. On the other hand, a new perspective can positively disrupt the way things have always been done at an agency level. We certainly hope the latter is true for the sake of future space travel. As of Sunday, the crew is back on Earth, where, to quote Isaacman as he drifted by his tether in orbit, “we all have a lot of work to do.” But perhaps the new perspective will do them good. After all, from above, “Earth sure looks like a perfect world.”
This edition of Continuum is brought to you by the Space Resources program at the Colorado School of Mines.
New Crew, Who Dis? – Space got a little crowded last week, as the Polaris Dawn crew were not the only astronauts entering orbit. Three additional celestial travelers arrived by way of a Russian Soyuz rocket on Wednesday, September 11th. Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, as well as NASA astronaut Don Pettit, flew a Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft from Baikonur to the International Space Station, where they joined nine other crew members already on board. The trio will spend six months on the station conducting research. During this time, they’ll get to witness the two Crew 9 astronauts arrive – likely to happen later this month – and depart alongside our favorite stranded happy crew, Suni Williams and Butch, in February of 2025.
Mini-Moon – Okay, we’ve got to talk about the “mini-moon” – and no, we’re not referring to a short, romantic and cost-saving post-wedding getaway. Our mini-moon in question is an asteroid that got caught up in Earth’s gravity last month. We get it – who wouldn’t get absorbed in our planet’s allure? At any rate, the newest rocky satellite gives astronomers an unanticipated opportunity to study close-flying asteroids, from both a mining and planetary defense perspective. Spotted initially on August 7th by NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), the asteroid, known as 2024 PT5, will continue a two month long, horseshoe-shaped orbit around Earth before slinging back into space. All we can hope is that gravity doesn’t want to bring it down. Maybe the mini-moon should have a chat with John Mayer about all this.
Shake & Bake – NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft just completed the “shaking, chilling, baking, and other testing,” required to confirm it can withstand the harshness of launch and deep space, according to a NASA blog post. The spacecraft, destined to study the properties and geography of water on the Moon, was built by Lockheed Martin under NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program, and hopes to lay some groundwork for future lunar missions. With its environmental testing complete, the Lunar Trailblazer team can look ahead to flight simulations ahead of a launch in late 2024 or early 2025, on which the spacecraft will be hitched to Intuitive Machines’ second lunar lander.
Honorable Mentions
Our final notable nuggets.
Up to Standard – Following White House orders from earlier this year, NASA has put its Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program in charge of developing a standard Moon time, or Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC), if you’re fancy. Much like our universal time here on Earth, the space agency will determine lunar time via a weighted average of atomic clocks on the Moon.
May the Force Be With You – The US Space Force is looking to the country’s bright young minds to propel its space programs into the future – literally. With $34.9 million to University of Michigan and $9.9 million to Rochester Institute of Technology, the defense department’s latest awards will fund space power and propulsion research.
Sky Spotting – This week, a partial lunar eclipse kicked off the spooky season with Earth’s umbral shadow. Also delighting skywatchers this week were auroras from a G4 geomagnetic storm, seen as far south as the Texas Panhandle.
The JWST Download
Smile like you mean it: this spiral galaxy image, produced jointly by the JWST’s NIRCam and MIRI, appears like a smiling face as a result of a collision with an elliptical galaxy. The JWST composite adds more color – figuratively and literally – to NASA’s previous documentation of the collision with its Spitzer telescope in 2005.
A new JWST image from the Extreme Outer Galaxy region of the Milky Way has captured the volatile stellar daycares, or star-forming clouds, of our very own galaxy – complete with protostar plasma tantrums – er, jets.
A team of researchers at the University of Cambridge used the JWST to confirm a theory that black holes could “starve” a galaxy, in essence cutting off the gas it needs to form new stars.
This edition of Continuum is supported by the Open Lunar Foundation. Open Lunar's work sets precedents, creates pathways, and builds projects that enable a peaceful, cooperative lunar presence. Learn more about Open Lunar's work by joining their upcoming events.
A Global Space
China – After jettisoning its lunar sample back to Earth, China’s Chang’e-6 dove deeper – into space, that is – to test the celestial waters of Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2). The special place in our solar system is home to a balance of gravitational and centrifugal forces, meaning that a spacecraft can remain somewhat stable with minimal interference. Most likely, China sent Chang’e-6 there in preparation for its future exoplanet-focused mission known as Earth 2.0, an observatory reminiscent of NASA’s JWST and ESA’s Gaia. If all goes to plan, China would launch Earth 2.0 in 2028, where it would join the JWST in L2 and enjoy uninterrupted views of deep space. In other news, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) has nearly completed the Long March 8A rocket, the nation’s next iteration of Long March 8. With a successful launch site rehearsal, China paves the way for the more voluminous rocket, which will be integral in deploying satellites for its planned megaconstellation, the “Thousand Sails.”
Japan – Scheduled to launch in December of this year, Japanese firm ispace’s next Hakuto-R lunar lander, known as RESILIENCE, is now integrated with the TENACIOUS micro rover, built by the company’s European division. Following this announcement, the firm revealed the target destination for Mission 2 as “near the center of Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold) [...] an expansive basaltic plain situated in the Moon’s northern hemisphere.” Also riding along with TENACIOUS will be a tiny model house, known as Moonhouse, constructed by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg and intended to be dropped off on the lunar surface. But artistic endeavors are only one objective for the rover; TENACIOUS will also collect lunar regolith to share with NASA, as per a 2020 deal.
France – At the Paris-based Space Defense and Security Summit this week, France revealed its plans to develop a sovereign surveillance constellation in LEO. The program, known as Toutatis, will complement another national work-in-progress dubbed Yoda, being built for geosynchronous orbit. Toutatis satellites will reportedly detect and target threatening spacecraft, and their development will be a collaborative effort between French startup U-space and European missile manufacturer MBDA.
Europe – Quelling any doubts about the rocket, Europe’s Arianespace assured the public this week that the continent’s Ariane 6 would launch its second mission before the end of the year. The launch provider chalked up the shortcomings of its debut launch in July to a software flaw that was “easily fixable.” Whether the assessment is an honest one or an attempt to keep its European customers from jumping ship to SpaceX remains to be seen, but CEO Stephane Israel is confident about one thing: Arianespace “will be fully available for IRIS² when it comes,” referring to the European Commission’s 6-billion-euro internet constellation.
India – Kicking its space ambitions into high gear, India has unveiled plans for a reusable rocket, a new space station module, a lunar sample return mission, and even a Venus orbiter. Prime Minister Modi, in his typically understated fashion, called it “great news for the space sector” on X. With $2.7 billion allocated for these projects, India seems likely to catapult into the ranks of the top three space powers by the 2030s.
And that’s a wrap on this week in space news! A big thank you to Tess Ryan for writing this edition with me and for keeping up with the cosmos! We hope you enjoyed reading Continuum this week. And if you really, really like us, then consider making it official and becoming a paid subscriber or spreading the space gospel and gifting a subscription.
Keep it celestial people,
Britt
CEO of Celestial Citizen & Creator of Continuum