To the other side of the Sun, to resurrect the last Great Observatory

July 9, 2023 5:32 PM

Launches, satellites, deep space missions, images, and more. Let's check in on humanity's exploration of space for July 2023.

The Sun
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is planning to send the Aditya L1 probe to study the sun next month.

Mercury
The European Space Agency (ESA)/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) probe BepiColombo hurtled close by Mercury.

From Earth’s surface to orbit
SpaceX broke a record with more than 200 consecutive successful launches from its Falcon rockets. Virgin Galactic successfully completed a commercial suborbital flight. Chinese company Landspace's Zhuque-2 rocket is now on a Gobi desert launchpad, ready to fire its methane-liquid oxygen engine for an orbital flight. The ESA's Ariane 5 rocket took its last flight. A successor launch vehicle, Vega-C, encountered engine problems. (Here's a new map of all Earthly spaceports.)

California company Vast announced it plans to orbit a private space station two years from now.

In Earth's orbit
United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi photographed Mecca during Hajj from the International Space Station (ISS).

Astronomers discovered a "fake moon," 2023 FW13, following the Earth in the same orbit. Rhea Space Activity has won support for an effort to resurrect the Spitzer Space Telescope, a shut down observatory now drifted to nearly the opposite side of the Sun from the Earth.

Back down to Earth
Changguang Satellite Technology stated that it successfully tested a highspeed laser connection from orbit to Earth from a Jilin-1 satellite. A CalTech satellite successfully beamed some electrical power down from orbit.

A group of researchers led by Avi Loeb has recovered spherules from the Pacific Ocean, testing them to see if they came from an interstellar meteor or spacecraft. (Diary on Medium)

Earth's Moon
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)'s Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) has been transmitting some great images of the moon's surface. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) glimpsed the wreckage and landing site of the Hakuto-R probe.

ISRO hopes to launch Chandrayaan 3 to the moon later this month.

In the Earth’s L2 point
The James Webb Space Telescope imaged a galactic merger and protocluster. Meanwhile, the ESA Euclid observatory launched on July 1 and is heading out to its L2 station.

Mars
China's Tiawen-1 orbiter and Zhurong rover found and explored unusual Martian surface features, including transverse aeolian ridges. Ingenuity reestablished contact with Earth after two months' silence.

Jupiter
NASA's Juno probe photographed lightning - from above - as it struck within the largest planet's atmosphere, as well as cyclonic haze and more grand Jovian goodness.

Saturn
The James Webb Telescope spotted a huge (9600 km) plume jetting out of Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Pluto and the Kuiper Belt
Scientists and planners are arguing about what NASA's New Horizons probe should do next.


Recent MetaFilter on space: previously.

posted by doctornemo (7 comments total)

Thanks for these roundups! There's always a couple of items that ping my baloney detector, though. Rhea Space Activity's "technologies" page, for example, is wild:

LUNINT

RSA is providing a gateway to Lunar Intelligence (LUNINT), and to understanding what is happening, and what will soon happen, in cislunar space. RSA is the world's singular trailblazer in the field of LUNINT – a new intelligence field our scientists are defining based on aspirational requirements and parameters provided by the U.S. intelligence community and trusted Five Eyes partners.

LUNAINT

We define LUNAINT as a subset of LUNINT such that LUNINT covers LUNAINT. Let A represent a set in LUNAINT where the set contains points p. For each point p in A which does not contain human activity, then p = 0. A set is called 'the null set' if for all p in A, p = 0. Null sets in LUNAINT indicate a lack of human activity. A set is defined as an element of interest. An element is deemed clopen when this occurs.

🙄
posted by phooky at 5:51 PM on July 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

That first link in the FPP had the headline "A private company has an audacious plan to rescue NASA’s last Great Observatory", and I thought, "uh, Jared and Polaris haven't quite yet announced their plan to save Hubble." But then I saw the story was from May and about Spitzer :)

But watch for that Hubble news in coming months. Polaris Dawn first, proving spacewalk capability (with tethers / umbilicals), then go service the HST and give it a big ole boost.

In other news, last week a judge approved SpaceX "joining" the FCC in defending against the lawsuit brought by environmentalists over the (stunning) damage brought on by the first Starship Superheavy flight. But that aside, things are moving very fast in Boca Chica and they should start testing of the newly upgraded launchpad next week.
posted by intermod at 6:20 PM on July 9, 2023 [2 favorites]

Kind of side-eyeing the thing from Avi Loeb's group, especially given his previous theory that ʻOumuamua might be a solar-sail starship; he seems a bit excitable about the possibility of First Contact, and has apparently founded something that he grandly dubbed The Galileo Project that intends to work on the same. I mean, super-cool if he did (and they didn't decide to wipe us out and/or eat us and/or hunt us for sport), but other legit scientists have concerns.
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:50 PM on July 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

And don't forget there is going to be a big solar storm on Thursday, and the Northern Lights may be visible in like, 17 states! And they are very cool, and you should try to see them.
posted by Windopaene at 7:47 PM on July 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

A CalTech satellite successfully beamed some electrical power down from orbit.

It's about damn time.
posted by mikelieman at 4:43 AM on July 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

To the other side of the Sun, to resurrect the last Great Observatory

Seems easy enough.

We'll just need one kindly space wizard, a space orphan who's only connection to their deceased explorer parents is a pendant that inexplicably has a map to the last Great Observatory, a lovable rogue with a fast spaceship, a stoic warrior with a heart of gold, and a really confident love interest who joins the party by accident and despite loathing every moment of being stuck on the ship actually knows more about the Observatory than they're letting on.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:57 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]

i approve of this nonbinary astrophysicist love interest
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 10:34 AM on July 10, 2023 [1 favorite]