The Space Resource Newsletter - December 2020
CNSA teams battled snow and darkness in Inner Mongolia as they retrieved lunar samples from the Chang’e 5 return capsule. These are the first lunar samples returned since 1976. Credit: CNSA.
Welcome to The Space Resource monthly newsletter for December 2020. We hope you have had a great year. Thank you for joining us in our final newsletter for 2020. December sure did not disappoint with space resources activities. China successfully retrieved lunar samples with their impressive Chang’e 5 mission. This was the first time samples have been returned from the Moon since the 1976 Luna 24 mission. Japan’s Ryugu asteroid samples landed safely in the Australian Outback after traveling 300 million km. And SpaceX defied belief when they showed their Starship doing a belly flop upon returning to land during an eight mile ‘hop’ test. 2021 promises to be an even better year for the industry. We look forward to seeing you there!
If you are looking for a fun activity to start the year with, try building this fun 3D printable rover that is based on ESA’s ExoMars rover. Called ExoMy, the rover should cost less than $600 to build. Please do share if you make it!
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Asteroids
Hayabusa-2’s sample return capsule safely collected in Australian Outback. After a year-long, 300 million km journey from asteroid Ryugu, the capsule successfully entered Earth’s atmosphere. The capsule contains around 0.1 grams of material, but that will be enough to make new discoveries about Ryugu, asteroids, and planetary geology. Ryugu is a potential source of organic matter and water, so verifying this will be worthwhile. Hayabusa-2 is now flying towards its next asteroid target, 2001 CC21, as part of its extended mission. It will photograph the surface as CC21 before traveling onward towards 1998 KY26, a 30 meter asteroid. This will be a 10 year one way journey.
Scientists preparing for Ryugu samples. With the Hayabusa-2 samples safely retrieved, scientists are performing final preparations to analyze them. The 0.1 grams of material from Ryugu will be distributed throughout 2021 to six international teams of scientists. Studying samples this tiny takes extensive preparations as teams develop procedures and experience to ensure no contamination and no errors; each procedure will likely have one shot at success so the stakes are high. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center will receive one sample. Their goal is to study organic compounds as they try to understand how they formed and spread throughout the solar system. These samples are very important because of their pristine nature. They have been immaculately preserved over the billions of years they have orbited the Sun. Link.
CISLUNAR
Made In Space printed its first ceramic part in orbit. Launched to the ISS in early December, the Ceramic Manufacturing Module (CMM) is a microwave sized 3D printer capable of making ceramic parts via stereolithography. The first part made was a single piece turbine bladed disk (“blisk”). This part will be flown down in January for Earth based inspection and testing. In space manufacturing can produce parts with high strength and lower residual stress because defects caused by gravity are absent, such as sedimentation and composition gradients. Link.
Two SpaceX Dragon capsules dock to the ISS. After November’s launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Crewed Dragon, SpaceX launched a large cargo shipment (over 6,400 pounds) in early December. This shipment included equipment, experiments, and holiday presents and meals. This is the first time two Dragon capsules have been docked at the same time to the ISS. The cargo capsule will return to Earth in January, with the crewed capsule remaining until spring.
Moon
China successfully collects lunar samples from Chang’e 5 capsule. After the November launch, Chang’e 5 landed on the Moon and spent two Earth days collecting surface and subterranean samples. A 6.5 ft (2 m) drill was used to burrow down below the lunar surface. Around 4.4 pounds (2 kg) of samples were collected into the ascent vehicle. Once launched into lunar orbit, the ascent vehicle rendezvoused with the orbiter and transferred its samples into the return capsule. This automatic rendezvous and sample transfer was a very challenging procedure, serving to demonstrate CNSA’s ability to perform something similar in future crewed missions. The return capsule spent a few days traveling back to Earth before descending to the Siziwang district of Inner Mongolia. The recovery teams battled darkness and heavy snow when finding the capsule and retrieving its valuable cargo. These were the first lunar samples retrieved to Earth since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976. China’s next Chang’e mission, Chang’e 6, will launch in 2023. It will perform a sample return from the Moon’s south pole. The composition and characteristics of these samples will be very insightful for future prospecting missions.
NASA awarded contracts for lunar sample collections. Ranging from $1 to $15,000, the four companies selected are now tasked with collecting lunar regolith, capturing imagery of the collected material, and transferring ownership of the material to NASA. The four companies include Lunar Outpost of Golden, CO, ispace Japan of Tokyo, ispace Europe of Luxembourg, and Masten Space Systems of Mojave, CA. While the prices may be low, this is establishing the precedent of private entities extracting, processing, and transferring ownership of space resources while being in full compliance with the Outer Space Treaty. Setting this precedent will reduce risk, giving investors and governments increased confidence in space resource firms.
Science goals for Artemis III announced. A 188 page report was published by NASA, listing the key science objectives, enabling capabilities, and considerations for Artemis III, the first human mission to the Moon’s surface since Apollo. SpaceNews has a good summary here. Read the full report here.
Terrestrial
Study shows dark coatings can reduce satellite reflectivity. The study was performed by the Murikabushi Telescope of Ishigakijima Astronomical Observatory from April to June 2020. It recorded observations using three wavelengths of SpaceX’s STARLINK-1113 (uncoated) and STARLINK-1130 (darksat). The shorter the observed wavelength, the fainter the satellite tended to become, with the inverse being true, too. While dark coatings are still a crutch for preserving astronomer’s night sky view, they appear to be an acceptable middle ground between providing global communications via mega constellations and untainted night skies. DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abc695.
Arecibo Telescope collapsed after prior cable failures. Occurring at 7:56 a.m. local on Dec 1st, the telescope’s 900 ton receiver platform fell over 400 feet onto the reflector dish. Fortunately no one was hurt during the collapse, but the damage was extensive. While the telescope will be dismantled, the National Science Foundation has stated that the Arecibo observatory itself will continue to have a future, as it includes other telescopes at the same site. The loss of Arecibo will hinder the tracking and observations of near Earth asteroids.
SpaceX Starship launched to 8 miles (12.5 km) before almost landing. This test flight was the highest performed to date. It was done at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in South Texas. Lasting six and a half minutes, the 160 ft tall and 30 ft wide stainless steel rocket launched, flipped sideways in a belly-flop maneuver, and descended back towards the launch site to attempt a propulsive landing. However, fuel tank pressure was too low upon landing, causing the vehicle to descend too quickly and explode on ground impact. Elon Musk has stated that the launch test was a success overall, providing them the data they needed. View a flight recap here.
Russia successfully launches heavy-class Angara rocket for second time. The Angara rocket is the first rocket class to be developed in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. This heavy lift rocket is designed to replace the Proton rocket class. We will see how successful Roscosmos is at increasing production and safety while minimizing costs of the Angara.
China also successfully tested a new rocket, the Long March 8. This new medium-lift rocket is the latest iteration of the Long March family, which can be adapted in the future for reusability.
Space acquisitions continue! Raytheon completed their acquisition of Blue Canyon Technologies, a satellite manufacturer, after gaining government approval. Lockheed Martin is attempting to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne for $4.4 billion, pending government approval. Viasat acquired energy industry focused analytics firm RigNet for $222 million. Redwire acquired LoadPath, a payload adapter developer. Lastly, Voyager Space Holdings is acquiring a majority stake in XO Markets, the parent company of Nanoracks, a satellite deployment service. The space industry continues to shine bright!
