UPDATE: Events of Interest: Week of November 21-26, 2011
UPDATE: The launch of the Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) has been delayed from Friday to Saturday.
The following events may be of interest in the coming week. For more information, check our calendar on the right menu or click the links below. The House and Senate are in recess this week (though pro forma meetings are scheduled).
During the Week
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! While most of us are filled with thoughts of turkey and all the trimmings, there are a couple of events to note.
Congress is in recess. but the congressional supercommittee plans to meet through the weekend in the hope (however dwindling) of reaching agreement before the November 23 deadline legislated in the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25). The 12 members — six Democrats and six Republicans, six from the House and six from the Senate — are tasked with finding a way to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over 10 years beginning in FY2013. Eleventh-hour compromises are all too common in Washington to give up on them so many days in advance of their deadline, though many pundits are already talking about the consequences if they do not. Under the Act, if the supercommittee fails to reach agreement, or if they do but Congress as a whole does not agree by December 23, automatic spending cuts will go into effect to achieve the $1.2 trillion reduction. We will be keeping up on the supercommittee’s progress, so check back here for news as it develops.
The Russians will continue to try and contact Phobos-Grunt, their Mars probe that remains stranded in Earth orbit. Attempts so far have been unsuccessful.
Monday, November 21
- NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Astrophysics Subcommittee, teleconference, 3:00 – 4:30 pm EST
- Landing of Soyuz TMA-02M with three ISS crewmembers, Kazakhstan, 9:24 pm EST (watch on NASA TV)
Wednesday, November 23
- Deadline for the congressional supercommittee to make recommendations on cutting the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion
Thursday, November 24
- THANKSGIVING. With thanks to all of you for reading our website!
Saturday, November 26
- Scheduled launch of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory — Curiosity, Cape Canaveral, FL, 10:02 am EST (watch on NASA TV)
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