At 10:52 this morning NASA sent out a press release announcing a media teleconference at 11:00 am on the anticipated signing of the NASA authorization bill later today. Listen to the audio of the teleconference at:
http://www.nasa.gov/news/media/newsaudio/index.html
UPDATE: A new version of the agenda shows the starting time for the astrobiology anniversary event on Thursday has been moved forward to 8:00 am from 9:00 am. However, introductory remarks start at 8:45 and the keynote address is at 9:00 (instead of 9:10). Also, the ending time now is 5:00 pm. Click on the link below for more details. Also note that while the event is open to the public you MUST RSVP by tomorrow, October 13, if you plan to attend.
The following events may be of interest during the week. For further information, see our calendar on the right menu or click the links below.
Wednesday, October 13
Wednesday-Friday, October 13-15
Thursday, October 14
Thursday-Friday, October 14-15
Friday, October 15
Soyuz TMA-01M successfully docked with the International Space Station at 8:01 pm EDT tonight.
President Obama announced today that National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones will leave his post by the end of the month. Some news reports say that while the resignation had been anticipated for some time, it was accelerated because of White House unhappiness at comments Jones made to Bob Woodward for his recent book Obama’s Wars. Jones’ deputy, Tom Donilon, will be the new National Security Adviser.
NASA and Lockheed Martin are sponsoring a day-long symposium next Thursday, October 15, to celebrate 50 years of exobiology and astrobiology — the search for life elsewhere.
As outlined in a NASA press release, in 1960, NASA established an exobiology program that over the past five decades has expanded into the field of astrobiology that is trying to answer three questions: How does life begin and evolve? Is there life beyond Earth and, if so, how can we detect it? What is the future of life on Earth and in the universe?
NASA’s Viking missions to Mars, launched in 1975, were the first devoted to attempting to find life on the Red Planet. At the time, scientists concluded there was no evidence of life there, but recent discoveries by the Mars rovers and other spacecraft are reopening that line of inquiry. Lockheed Martin built the Viking spacecraft and most of the other spacecraft that have visited the planet. The United States, Russia, Europe, and Japan have sent probes to Mars, some successful, some not.
Mars is hardly the only location in our solar system with conditions that might support life: several moons of Jupiter and Saturn are high on the list. Beyond the solar system, astrophysicists are searching for other planets — exoplanets — that might support life. Just last week NASA and NSF announced that they found a “potentially habitable” planet orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581.
The October 14 symposium features astrobiology luminaries and space historians including Lynn Margulis, Baruch Blumberg, Noel Hinners, Roger Launius, Linda Billings, and Steve Benner. The full agenda and RSVP instructions are available on NASA’s website.
Soyuz TMA-01M is set for launch tonight at 7:10 pm EDT. This new version of the Soyuz spacecraft will bring three new crewmembers to the International Space Station (ISS): NASA’s Scott Kelly and Russia’s Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka. Two days later, they will join the three crew who are already aboard ISS: Doug Wheelock, Shannon Walker, and Fyodor Yurchikhin.
The new Soyuz features a digital upgrade, with new guidance, navigation and control devices, a new data processing device, and an improved avionics cooling system according to a graphic on NASA’s website.
I have just returned from Brussels and an excellent conference sponsored by the Institut Fran ais des Relations Internationales (IFRI) and the Secure World Foundation (SWF) on “The Continuing Story of Europe and Space Security.” I was delighted to be invited to be the keynote speaker on the topic of “U.S. Space Policy: What Has Changed.” For anyone who’s interested, a copy of my remarks can be found on our left menu under “Marcia S. Smith’s Biography and Recent Publications” or simply by clicking here. Hopefully other speakers will provide their remarks for posting on the IFRI or SWF websites and a conference summary — under Chatham House rules — will be available on IFRI’s website soon.
The following events may of interest in the coming week. For more information, see our calendar on the right menu or click the links below. With Congress in recess for the next six weeks, we expect things to be a little slow on the meetings front, but we will publish an events list as long as there are enough other activities to make it worthwhile.
Monday-Tuesday, October 4-5
Wednesday, October 6
Wednesday-Thursday, October 6-7
Thursday, October 7
Thursday-Friday, October 7-8
Victoria Samson, Director of the Washington Office of the Secure World Foundation (SWF), has published an analysis of the Obama National Space Policy from SWF’s viewpoint. As the analysis says,
“Secure World Foundation (SWF) has long supported building an increased understanding of how to best protect the space environment and improve space security for the United States and other space actors. Moreover, SWF focuses on three key areas: sustainability, internationalengagement, and stability in outer space. The new NSP places a heavy emphasis on these objectives, recognizing the extent that space activities have penetrated the economic, political and military framework of today’s world.”