*Hosted by Steve Dunkley and his AI sidekick, Hallie.*
1. **Introduction** - Steve Dunkley welcomes listeners to a special Wednesday edition of Astronomy Daily. - Hallie jokes about needing overtime for working on a Wednesday.
2. **Chnadrayaan Mission Update** - The landing of the Chandrayaan mission is approaching. - Steve and Hallie discuss the anticipation surrounding the mission.
3. **Space Force Contract** - Space Force has awarded a contract for the development of space tracking sites. - Steve is excited to play the Space Force theme music again.
4. **Poland Joins the Space Race** - Poland is set to send astronauts on future Axiom missions. - Steve reflects on the international nature of space exploration.
5. **India's Attempt to Land on the Moon's South Pole** - After Russia's failed attempt, India's ISRO aims to land on the moon's South Pole. - The Chandrayaan-3 lander, Vikram, has been mapping potential landing spots. - The mission aims to discover if the moon contains frozen water.
6. **US Space Force Update** - Northrop Grumman is set to develop two ground-based radar sites for tracking space objects. - The contract is expected to be awarded between late 2023 and early 2024.
7. **Poland's Space Endeavors** - Poland collaborates with ESA and Axiom Space to send a Polish astronaut to the ISS. - The identity of the astronaut remains undisclosed.
8. **SpaceX and NASA's Crew Seven Mission** - The Crew Seven astronaut mission is set to launch on Friday. - The mission will send four astronauts from different nations to the ISS.
9. **Roscosmos Update** - After the crash of the Lunar 25 mission, the chief of Roscosmos urges Russia to continue lunar exploration. - The crash was attributed to an issue with the spacecraft's correction engine.
10. **Closing Remarks** - Steve thanks listeners for tuning in and expresses his appreciation for Hallie's contributions. - Hallie confirms she'll be back for the next episode.
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00:00:00
Hello again. It's Steve Dunkley Eve with Astronomy Daily. Yes.
00:00:03
Yes, I know. It's Wednesday. Don't make a big deal out of it
00:00:07
again. I found myself at a loose end. So it's nice to see you all
00:00:11
here again. So, let's have a look at the mixed bag that we've
00:00:14
got for you today. It's the 23rd of the 8th, 23.
00:00:20
How many days the podcast with your host, Steve Duncan?
00:00:30
And hello again, Hay. Hi again.
00:00:33
Another Wednesday. I'll have to ask for overtime.
00:00:36
Oh, keep dreaming. Hay. Oh.
00:00:38
And I'll have to ask for some dreaming programming too.
00:00:41
Right. Well, I'll talk to the Boffins in the basement. So,
00:00:44
Haley, what's on the menu today?
00:00:46
I've got another Chandra on mission update. That landing is
00:00:49
getting close.
00:00:50
Yes. We've all got our fingers crossed. Hay.
00:00:52
Oh, I'll put in an order for fingers too.
00:00:56
Oh. Right. Ok. Yeah, I'll, I'll talk to the Boffins in the
00:00:59
basement.
00:01:00
Ok. And Space Force has awarded a new contract to develop space
00:01:04
tracking sites.
00:01:05
Oh, well, that sounds exciting. And I can break out the Space
00:01:09
Force music again.
00:01:10
I knew you would love it.
00:01:12
And finally it looks like Poland is getting into the space race
00:01:16
with astronauts joining future Axio missions.
00:01:18
Wow, that really is exciting. It looks like space might actually
00:01:21
really become the international country we hoped it would. Ok.
00:01:25
Hay, let's have at it. Let's get on with the show.
00:01:28
Ok. Here's the short takes days after Russia failed to put a
00:01:36
lander on the moon. The Indian Space Research Organization will
00:01:40
try to become the first country to land on the moon's South Pole
00:01:43
on Wednesday.
00:01:44
On Monday, the space agency said its Chandra and a three lander.
00:01:48
The Vikram had been mapping potential landing spots as it
00:01:52
orbits the moon.
00:01:53
Scientists believe frozen water may be hidden on the South Pole
00:01:57
along with other precious elements.
00:02:00
If successful India would become only the third country to make a
00:02:03
successful soft landing on the moon behind the United States.
00:02:07
The former Soviet Union and China India released photos on
00:02:11
Monday that its spacecraft took in areas where it is considering
00:02:14
landing. Officials said everything is a go to make a
00:02:18
landing attempt on Wednesday.
00:02:20
The images released by the Indian Space Agency revealed the
00:02:24
craters on the moon's surface which will help it avoid
00:02:26
potential hazards such as boulders or the edge of craters.
00:02:30
Highlighting the danger of such a landing. Japan, Israel and the
00:02:34
United Arab Emirates had all failed to safely land on the
00:02:38
moon before Russia's mishap.
00:02:40
India plans to deploy a rover on the moon's surface to conduct a
00:02:44
series of tests over the next two weeks to help determine if
00:02:47
the moon does contain frozen water, which could be used for
00:02:50
fuel, oxygen and drinking water needed to sustain human life.
00:02:57
Oh, Space Force.
00:03:02
So it goes.
00:03:14
The US Space Force intends to award Northrop Grumman a sole
00:03:18
source contract to develop two ground based radar sites to
00:03:21
track space objects. These would be the 2nd and 3rd sites of the
00:03:25
Space Force's planned network of sensors known as the Deep Space
00:03:29
advanced radar capability.
00:03:32
Northrop Grumman in February 2022 won a $341 million contract
00:03:38
to develop the first DC site in the Indo Pacific region.
00:03:42
The 2nd and 3rd are expected to be located in Europe and in the
00:03:45
continental United States.
00:03:48
The Space Systems Command in a special notice published August
00:03:52
7 said it intends to release a sole source RFP request for
00:03:56
proposal to Northrop Grumman to complete fielding of the 2nd and
00:04:00
3rd DC sites.
00:04:02
A sole source RFP does not equate to a contract but would
00:04:06
start the process of negotiating an agreement with the company.
00:04:09
The government is allowed to issue sole source contracts
00:04:12
without a competitive bidding process in situations where only
00:04:15
a single business can fulfill the requirements of a contract.
00:04:20
The Space Force estimates the contract to be awarded in late
00:04:23
2023 or early 2024.
00:04:27
Poland has become the second European Space Agency member
00:04:30
state to reach an agreement to fly an astronaut on a private
00:04:33
mission to the International Space Station.
00:04:36
Axium Space said August 9, it signed an agreement with Poland
00:04:40
in cooperation with ESA to fly an astronaut from that nation on
00:04:44
a future mission to the ISS the announcement did not disclose
00:04:48
the identity of the astronaut or when that person would go to the
00:04:51
station.
00:04:52
Cooperation with ESA and Axiom. Space is an important step in
00:04:56
the development of both the Polish space sector. And science
00:05:00
said Waldemar Buda Poland's Minister of Economic Development
00:05:03
And Technology.
00:05:04
In a statement, a Polish astronaut will have the
00:05:07
opportunity to test the most advanced Polish technologies at
00:05:12
a June 29 th briefing after a meeting of the council, the
00:05:15
agency announced that Poland was increasing its subscription to
00:05:18
agency programs by €295 million 320 million dollars which
00:05:24
included the flight of a Polish astronaut to the ISS but did not
00:05:28
disclose additional details about those plans.
00:05:32
The most likely candidate for the flight is SLAA Nasy who was
00:05:35
selected as a reserve astronaut by ESA last November and is the
00:05:39
only Polish member of ESA's Astronaut Corps.
00:05:42
He was among 11 people ESA picked as reserve astronauts who
00:05:46
will not join the astronaut corps on a full time basis but
00:05:49
be available for selected flight opportunities.
00:05:53
Another reserve astronaut Marcus Wa was selected in June to fly
00:05:57
on another Axium Space mission to the ISS through an agreement
00:06:00
involving Axium ESA and the Swedish National Space Agency
00:06:04
first announced in April want is expected to fly on Axiom's AX
00:06:09
three mission to the ISS in early 2024. You're listening to
00:06:14
Astronomy Daily.
00:06:15
Podcast with Steve Dunkley.
00:06:23
Yes. Thanks for sticking with us. It's a Wednesday is the 23rd
00:06:26
of the 8th, 23 as we say in Australia. I know in America you
00:06:30
guys put your month and your day around the wrong way. Dare I say
00:06:34
it out loud? Oh dear. But anyway, it looks better when you
00:06:39
put the smallest thing first and the middle sized thing in the
00:06:42
middle and the largest thing at the end.
00:06:43
I just don't know, it's just orderly that way, don't you
00:06:46
think day month, year? But anyway, it a conversation for
00:06:51
another time. Perhaps your thoughts put them on our
00:06:54
Facebook page, which as you know, by now is Space Nuts
00:06:57
Podcast Group.
00:06:59
And I'd love to see the thoughts on that one anyway, so one of
00:07:03
those things, it's Astronomy Daily. I'm Steve Dunkley, your
00:07:06
host and it's Wednesday. Yes, I know I'm awake. Funny thing. And
00:07:11
so is Haley, but I'd like to thank Hay for those short takes
00:07:14
today and now it's time for my bits and pieces.
00:07:16
Here we go, SpaceX and NASA declare cruise seven astronaut
00:07:26
mission go for launch and it looks like Friday is the day
00:07:29
SpaceX's next astronaut mission has been declared cleared for
00:07:35
lift off the company. And NASA held a flight readiness review
00:07:39
on Tuesday for cruise seven which will send four astronauts
00:07:43
to the International Space Station is aboard the SpaceX
00:07:47
crew dragon capsule.
00:07:49
All went well during the roughly seven hour flight readiness
00:07:52
review keeping Crew Seven on target to fly at the end of this
00:07:56
week atop Falcon nine rocket from NASA's Space Kennedy Center
00:08:01
in Florida.
00:08:02
The great news is that at the conclusion of the review,
00:08:05
everyone polled go and are proceeding toward launch at 349
00:08:09
AM eastern daylight time on Friday. And if you're
00:08:12
interested, like I am, you can watch the launch online at space
00:08:16
dot com courtesy of SpaceX and NASA. Of course. Now if Crew
00:08:21
Seven launches on time, it will arrive at the ISS around 2 a.m.
00:08:25
eastern daylight time on Saturday.
00:08:27
And again, that docking will be streamed online for your viewing
00:08:31
pleasure. When the time comes, the Falcon nine and crew dragon,
00:08:36
a capsule called Endurance which already has two crew trips to
00:08:40
the ISS under its belt are in really good shape.
00:08:43
NASA and SpaceX reported. But if a technical issue should crop up
00:08:48
or if the Florida weather fails to cooperate on Friday, which is
00:08:52
always a possibility. Backup launch opportunities are
00:08:55
available on both Saturday and Sunday, August 26th and 27th
00:09:00
Crew Seven is a fully international mission carrying
00:09:03
four astronauts from four different nations to the
00:09:05
orbiting lab.
00:09:06
Those crew members are Jasmine Mobli from NASA, the commander
00:09:10
of Aduring Danish astronaut Andreas Morges from the European
00:09:15
Space Agency who will pilot the capsule Konin Borisov of the
00:09:19
Russian Space Agency, Ross and Japan's Satoshi Fukawa, both of
00:09:25
whom will serve as mission specialists.
00:09:28
The cruise seven astronauts will replace four people who flew to
00:09:31
the ISS on SpaceX's cruise six mission in March. Crew six will
00:09:36
come back to earth about five days after Crew Seven arrives at
00:09:39
the orbiting lab pending good weather in the planned
00:09:42
splashdown zone.
00:09:44
Now the chief of the Russian Space Agency, Ross Cosmos on
00:09:48
Monday advocated for Russia to stay in the lunar race a day
00:09:53
after announcing its mission had crashed in no case. Should the
00:09:57
lunar program be interrupted? That would be the worst
00:10:00
decision.
00:10:01
Yuri Borisov said in an interview on television, the
00:10:04
lunar 25 mission was meant to Mark Moscow's return to
00:10:07
independent moon exploration in the face of financial troubles
00:10:12
and corruption scandals and growing isolation from the west.
00:10:16
But in Sunday, Ross Cosmos announced the probe had crashed
00:10:20
during pre landing maneuvers interrupting the lunar program
00:10:23
for almost 50 years is the main reason for the failure of lunar
00:10:27
25.
00:10:28
Borisov said the invaluable experience that our predecessors
00:10:32
accumulated in the 19 sixties and 19 seventies was practically
00:10:36
lost during the interruption of the program. He added Borisov
00:10:40
explained that the crash was due to an issue with the spacecraft
00:10:43
's correction engine the engine was supposed to put the
00:10:46
spacecraft into a pre landing orbit worked for 127 instead of
00:10:51
the planned 84 seconds.
00:10:53
This was the main cause of the probe's crash. He explained a
00:10:57
special commission has begun looking into the exact cause of
00:11:01
the incident.
00:11:02
He went on to explain Moscow last landed a probe lunar 24 on
00:11:07
the moon in 1976 before shifting away from lunar exploration in
00:11:12
favor of missions to Venus and building the mere space station
00:11:19
and there we have it Astronomy Daily for Wednesday 23 08 23.
00:11:25
Lovely to have you all with us. Thanks very much for joining us.
00:11:29
That was fun. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. You're coming
00:11:32
back next time.
00:11:33
I wouldn't miss it for the world.
00:11:34
Oh, that's good to hear. I'd hate to do the show on my own.
00:11:37
See you again next time day, the podcast with your host, Steve
00:11:44
Duncan.