NASA's Joe Acaba confers with Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin prior to Soyuz lift off. Photo Credit/NASA Photo

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft reached the International Space Station early Thursday, safely delivering a pair of cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut to the orbiting science laboratory.

New arrivals Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin and Joseph Acaba were greeted by Expedition 31 commander Oleg Kononeko, NASA’s Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers, of the European Space Agency.

The two craft docked at 12:36 a.m, EDT, as they circled the Earth 250 miles over the Mongolia/Kazakhstan border.

“It’s going great, just beautifully,” Padalka informed Mission Control Moscow moments before what appeared to be a flawless docking.

The new crew will live and work aboard the station for four month, spending much of their time tending and serving as subjects in the more than 200 science experiments and engineering evaluations underway.

Also, they plan to greet the first U. S.commercial re-supply mission spacecraft. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon supply ship is set to lift off early Saturday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The unpiloted Dragon should reach the station early next week.

Thursday’s linkup coincided with Acaba’s 45^th birthday. The formerFlorida high and middle school science and math teacher joined NASA as an educator astronaut in 2004.

As the Soyuz crew lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan two days ago, Texas Tech University announced that Acaba plans to pursue a doctorate in science education from the school through a flexible online graduate program starting in the fall.

In July, Padalka is expected to become the first person to serve as a space station commander for a third time.

Revin is flying for the first time.

This image is of Opportunity’s traverse map and shows the entirety of the rover's travels to this point. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/University of Arizona

NASA’s Opportunity Mars Exploration Rover is on a roll.

The robot had spent some 19 weeks parked in one spot to survive the Martian winter. Due to the setting sun, Opportunity’s solar power was too low for driving.

The winter worksite was on the north slope of an outcrop called Greeley Haven.

Opportunity has used its rear hazard-avoidance camera after nearly completing a May 8 drive, capturing a view looking back at the Greeley Haven.

Landing in the Meridiani region of Mars in January 2004, the rover has far exceeded its 90-day warranty!

Since its touchdown, the robot has wheeled itself over 21 miles of landscape.

Sistership, the Spirit rover, has long been silent after becoming stuck in sand. Spirit stopped communicating in 2010.

But for Opportunity, its Mars trekking continues.

“It’s great to be moving again,” said James Rice, a co-investigator for the Mars Exploration Rover Missions at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Opportunity is set to explore the northern region of Cape York for now, Rice said, and then later embark on a grand voyage to Cape Tribulation.

By Leonard David

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Wednesday’s CSExtra offers a collection of the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities. China looks to June for the launching of the country’s fourth human spaceflight. In the U.S., policymakers ponder the future of human spaceflight, with tight budgets an influencing factor. Power companies confront an increase in solar activity. Arianespace launches telecommunications satellites for Japan and Vietnam. The Pentagon seeks help from NASA in solving a puzzling problem faced by X-22 pilots. Russia’s 30 Soyuz mission is expected to dock with the International Space Station early Thursday with American Joe Acaba among the three crew members. Why did the former high school teacher bring a small Smokey the Bear figure with him?

1. From Spaceflightnow.com: China looks to June for the launching of the nation’s fourth human spaceflight mission. The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, with a crew of three, will attempt a manual docking with China’s Tiangong 1 space station.  The crew may include a woman. The identities of the crew and the length of the mission have not been announced.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1205/14shenzhou9/

2. From Space News: In an op-ed, Chris Carberry tracks the dilemma confronting U. S. space policymakers. It’s shaped by big dreams for the future, but a lack of resources and a leadership confronted with challenges on other fronts. The situation is not much different in Europe, Russia, China and Japan. The best we can do, Carberry writes, may be to keep our sights set on Mars until the environment improves. Gilbert is a visiting scholar at the George Washington University Space Policy Institute.
http://www.spacenews.com/commentaries/120516-space-dreams-into-reality.html

A. From Discovery.com: Is the NASA fostered U. S. commercial space race drawing to a close?  The House version of NASA’s commercial crew development initiative raises the possibility.
http://news.discovery.com/space/might-nasa-kill-the-commercial-space-race-120515.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1

B. From Space.com: U. S. aerospace companies ponder their options, as NASA considers who to fund in the initiative to foster U. S. commercial crew transportation services. The agency hopes to award development funding to at least two companies this summer under the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability initiative. SpaceX plans to continue with its development efforts, whether it receives funding or not. Boeing is unsure. Others face the same choice.
http://www.space.com/15700-private-space-taxis-nasa-funding.html

C. From Aviation Week & Space Technology: NASA, adjusting to funding constraints, is unlikely to launch another robot rover to Mars until 2020. NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory, which is headed toward a landing on the red planet in early August and a two year mission, will have to suffice.
http://www.aviationnow.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_05_14_2012_p27-456466.xml

3. From the Wall Street Journal:  Power companies brace for an increase in solar activity. An intense solar storm could disrupt power grids, leading to interruptions in service as well as losses in revenues.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303505504577404360076098508.html

4. From NASAspaceflight.com: An Ariane 5 launches communications satellites for Japan and Vietnam from French Guiana.
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/05/ariane-5-eca-jcsat-13-and-vinasat-2-into-orbit/

5. From the Associated Press via the Washington Post: The Pentagon seeks assistance from NASA and Navy experts in solving a puzzling problem with the U. S. Air Force F-22. Some pilots experience dizziness and symptoms of oxygen shortage while flying the high performance stealth fighter. A remedy has eluded the military for months, prompting some pilots to refuse to take to the air.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/panetta-limits-f-22-fighter-to-flights-near-landing-zones-due-to-oxygen-deficit-problems/2012/05/15/gIQAFaabRU_story.html

6.  From Collectspace.com: Remember Smokey the Bear?. NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba is carrying a small Smokey figure aboard Russia’s 30 Soyuz mission, which is on its way to a docking with the International Space Station early Thursday.
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-051412a.html

Brought to you by the Coalition for Space Exploration, CSExtra is a daily compilation of space industry news selected from hundreds of online media resources.  The Coalition is not the author or reporter of any of the stories appearing in CSExtra and does not control and is not responsible for the content of any of these stories.  The content available through CSExtra contains links to other websites and domains which are wholly independent of the Coalition, and the Coalition makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information contained in any such site or domain and does not pre-screen or approve any content.   The Coalition does not endorse or receive any type of compensation from the included media outlets and is not responsible or liable in any way for any content of CSExtra or for any loss, damage or injury incurred as a result of any content appearing in CSExtra.  For information on the Coalition, visit www.spacecoalition.com or contact us via e-mail at Info@spacecoalition.com.

Space Chronicles – Facing the Ultimate Frontier by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Edited by Avis Lang); W.W. Norton & Co., New York; $26.95 (hardcover); 2012.

This delightful read comes courtesy of a thoughtful, charismatic astrophysicist and renowned popular speaker – an alien blend that’s refreshing, entertaining and stimulating.

Tyson has written a spirited why, how, and why not account of America’s space exploration future.

“Collectively, the selections in this volume investigate what NASA means to America and what space exploration means to our species,” he writes in the book’s prologue. Moreover, he points out that it’s time for America to invest heavily in space exploration and research.

Tyson is an unabashed advocate for doubling NASA’s budget. The ripple effects from doing so include not only making an investment in tomorrow’s economy, but also an investment in our security.

Space enthusiasts will find great fodder here to sharpen your own skills in promoting NASA and scripting your personal manifesto on the importance of space exploration.

There’s a host of Tyson observations regarding troublesome asteroids, ET, and the value of the Hubble Space Telescope. And there are also reflections on past space epics, such as Apollo 11 and the space shuttle program. But when you’ve completed the read, you’ll have gained a cosmic perspective that encapsulates why these events and still-to-come discoveries matter.

As the director of Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, Tyson has crafted a forceful argument for space exploration – sometimes humorously but engagingly thought-provoking too. The book is peppered with “Space Tweets” – such as: “The entire half-century budget of NASA equals the current two year budget of the U.S. military.”

This is a must-have, easy to read book that anyone caring about NASA, global leadership, and the value of space exploration should own.

Better yet, make sure your representatives in Congress get the message.

For more information on this book, go to:

http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Space-Chronicles/

Note:

Give a listen to “Space Chronicles”: Why Exploring Space Still Matters – a recent Tyson interview on National Public Radio – by going to:

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/27/147351252/space-chronicles-why-exploring-space-still-matters

By Leonard David

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Tuesday’s CSExtra offers a collection of the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from around the world. Three U.S. and Russian astronauts lift off late Monday for the International Space Station. SpaceX prepares to demonstrate the commercial sector’s role in future exploration. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, of Florida, takes issue with the House version of NASA’s 2013 budget and its restrictive treatment of commercial crew space transportation. Essays look deeper into the significance of Saturday’s SpaceX launch and supply mission to the space station  as well as the value of the station to the future exploration of Mars. One NASA shuttle veteran with roots in the Apollo era is not at all pleased with the nation’s direction in space. The European Space Agency looks to crowd sourcing for a asteroid identification. An asteroid flies close.

1. From Spaceflightnow.com and CBS News: A Soyuz rocket with two Russians and an American lifts off late Monday for the International Space Station. The Soyuz transport carrying Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin and Joe Acaba is on a course to dock with the station early Thursday.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp31/120514launch/

2. From The New York Times: SpaceX, one of two companies that has partnered with NASA to initiate commercial re-supply services to the International Space Station,  is scheduled to lift off early Saturday on a potentially historic mission. SpaceX founder Elon Musk predicts the commercial sector will be pivotal in humanity’s exploration of Mars.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/science/space/contracts-help-private-sector-edge-deeper-into-space.html?_r=2&ref=science

3. From Spacepolitics.com:  U. S. Sen. Bill Nelson, of Florida, predicts the Senate will remove House restrictions on NASA’s efforts to foster U.S. commercial crew space transportation services. The restrictions are included in the House version of NASA’s 2013 budget.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2012/05/14/nelson-early-commercial-crew-downselect-would-be-silliness/

4. Two essays from Monday’s The Space Review assess a) the stakes for SpaceX as the company undertakes its mission to the International Space Station and b) the value of the International Space Station to the future exploration of Mars.

A. In “The big test” TSR editor Jeff Foust offers perspective on The SpaceX launch early Saturday of the first U.S. commercial re-supply mission to the International Space Station. The 18-day Falcon 9/Dragon mission, in every sense an ambitious test flight, promises to be closely watched. If all goes well, confidence in NASA’s strategy of turning orbital cargo and crew missions over to the private sector is likely to grow, Foust writes. The outcome of a setback is more difficult to predict. However, House appropriators are already urging NASA to scale back from four to one the number of commercial crew partners the agency is funding.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2082/1

B. In “Why ISS can advance Mars exploration,” Chris Carberry executive director of Explore Mars Inc., believes a Mars analog mission based from the ISS is essential. Move quickly, Carberry urges, to keep the effort from being politicized. The station can also serve as a test bed for a range of environmental control and crew health equipment that will be needed for the long journey, Carberry writes.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2081/1

5. From  the Examiner.com: NASA has no leadership, no goals, says retired NASA shuttle astronaut Story Musgrave, who flew aboard the space shuttle six times.
http://www.examiner.com/article/legendary-astronaut-criticizes-nasa-and-it-s-future-goals

6.  From The Coalition for Space Exploration: The European Space Agency enlists amateur astronomers in efforts to catalogue the many asteroids that pass close to the Earth.
http://spacecoalition.com/blog/nasa/amateurs-to-%e2%80%9ccrowdsource%e2%80%9d-asteroids

7. From Space.com: The 40 foot asteroid 2012 JU was the latest of the many near Earth space rocks to pass close to the planet. On Sunday, the asteroid slipped within 120,000 miles of the Earth, well inside the orbit of the moon.       http://www.space.com/15676-asteroid-earth-close-flyby-2012ju.html

Brought to you by the Coalition for Space Exploration, CSExtra is a daily compilation of space industry news selected from hundreds of online media resources.  The Coalition is not the author or reporter of any of the stories appearing in CSExtra and does not control and is not responsible for the content of any of these stories.  The content available through CSExtra contains links to other websites and domains which are wholly independent of the Coalition, and the Coalition makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information contained in any such site or domain and does not pre-screen or approve any content.   The Coalition does not endorse or receive any type of compensation from the included media outlets and is not responsible or liable in any way for any content of CSExtra or for any loss, damage or injury incurred as a result of any content appearing in CSExtra.  For information on the Coalition, visit www.spacecoalition.com or contact us via e-mail at Info@spacecoalition.com.

Russia's 30 Soyuz mission spacecraft rises from Kazakhstan to begin a two-day trip to the International Space Station with three U. S. and Russian astronauts. Photo Credit/NASA photo

A three-man U. S.and Russian crew successfully lifted off for the International  Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan late Monday.

The Soyuz capsule with Joseph Acaba, of NASA, and cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin departed the Central Asian launch complex at 11:01 p.m., EDT, safely reaching orbit nine minutes later.

Following a series of altitude raising maneuvers, the Soyuz capsule will attempt to dock with the 240 mile high space station on Thursday at 12:39 a.m., EDT.

“Everything is okay on board,” Padalka, the Soyuz commander, radioed Mission Control Moscow as the three-stage Soyuz booster neared orbit late Monday.  “We feel good.”

Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin and Joseph Acaba, pictured left to right, will become the International Space Station's newest residents. Photo Credit/NASA Photo

The three men will be greeted by the station’s Expedition 31 commander Oleg Kononenko, of Russia, and flight engineers Don Pettit, of NASA, and Andre Kuipers, of the European Space Agency.

The newcomers will return the space station to six crew operations for the first time since April 27, when three U.S.and Russian fliers returned to Earth after 5.5 months on the orbiting science laboratory.

One of the reconstituted crew’s initial tasks will be the berthing of the first U. S. commercial resupply mission.

The SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon mission is scheduled to lift off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on Saturday at 4:55 a.m., EDT.

After a series of communications and navigation system check outs, the unpiloted Dragon will attempt to rendezvous on May 22, maneuvering close enough for Pettit and Kuipers to grapple the freighter using the station’s Canadarm2. Once Dragon is in the grip of the 58-foot-long robot arm, Pettit and Kuipers will berth the capsule to the station’s U. S. segment for a two week stay.

Acaba is one of NASA’s educator astronauts, a former Florida high and middle school math and science instructor and U. S. Peace Corps volunteer. He participated in a 2009 shuttle space station assembly mission.

Padalka has trained to become the first person to command the space station three times. Prior to station flights in 2009 and 2004, Padalka served as the commander of Russia’s former Mir space station.

Revin, who is flying for the first time, is a flight test engineer from NPO Energia.

The three men expect to remain aboard the station for four months. They will serve as the operators of and test subjects in more than 200 science experiments and engineering evaluations.

2m Faulkes North Telescope at Haleakalā, Hawaii, USA. Credit: Faulkes Telescope Project

Any attempt to survey and catalog hazardous asteroids faces a number of difficulties.

Coming to aid the effort are amateur astronomers, ready to boost the European Space Agency’s (ESA) asteroid hunt as part of ESA’s Space Situational Awareness program.

A new partnership has been formed between the United Kingdom’s Faulkes Telescope Project and ESA.

ESA is turning to amateur astronomers to ‘crowdsource’ observations as part of Europe’s contribution to the global Near Earth Object (NEO) asteroid hunt. These efforts will add to the follow-up observations already done at ESA’s own telescope on Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

Time and patience

At issue: Asteroids are jet black or at least very dark. Also, they can approach rather too close before anyone sees them, and they’re often spotted only once and then disappear before the discovery can be confirmed.

“The wider astronomy community offers a wealth of expertise and enthusiasm, and they have the time and patience to verify new sightings…this helps tremendously,” says Detlef Koschny, Head of NEO activity at ESA’s Space Situational Awareness (SSA) program office.

Use of 2 meter-diameter telescopes in Hawaii and Siding Spring, Australia, will greatly enhance asteroid-spotting for the SSA program, enabling fainter object detection and tracking from a global telescope network, adds Nick Howes, Pro-Am Program Manager at the Faulkes Telescope.

This month, the UK’s Faulkes Telescope Project will become the latest team to formally support the SSA program.

The project has a strong record in public education and science outreach, and is a partner of the U.S.-based Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope network, which owns and operates two telescopes. Faulkes supports hundreds of schools across Europe.

By Leonard David

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Monday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from around the world, plus a roundup of weekend happenings. In Russia, U. S. and Russian astronauts prepare to lift off for the International Space Station late Monday. A look at NASA’s 2013 budget dilemma. Europe’s Exo-Mars mission plans are again in peril. Proponents sketch out a “low cost” Mars life detection mission. Scientists head for California’s Mojave Desert to prepare for the landing of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission. The U. S., Europe and Japan restate intentions of working cooperatively in space. A crucial solar mission emerges from safe mode. Life bearing planets may be cosmic nomads. NASA’s Kepler space telescope demonstrates a new technique for identifying exo-planets. In Florida,  NASA’s shuttle fleet is powered down for the final time. Insights from Shumann resonances. A look at major space related activities scheduled for the week ahead.

1. From Spaceflightnow.com, May 13: Russia prepares for a late Monday lift off of the 30 Soyuz mission to the International Space Station with a U. S. and two Russian crew members. Lift off for Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin and Joe Acaba is set for 11:01 p.m., EDT. After a two day transit, the spacecraft would dock with the space station on Thursday at 12:38 a.m., EDT. The website will offer updates as the countdown unfolds.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp31/status.html

2. From Space.com: NASA’s budget dilemma, balancing the cost of operating the many complex missions it has under way with the expense of developing new technologies for future endeavors. At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where most of NASA’s planetary missions are operated and developed, the impacts of the changing environment is evident, says a top lab manager.
http://www.space.com/15647-space-technology-innovation-nasa-budget.html

A. From Spacepolitics.com:  A look at how the House, Senate and White House versions of NASA’s 2013 budget stand, following passage of the House version last week. They vary widely, and in part because the Senate version would hand NASA responsibilities previously assigned to NOAA.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2012/05/13/updated-nasa-budget-summary/

3.  From Space News., May 11: The European Space Agency led Exo-Mars mission is again facing a challenge. NASA, faced with cost constraints, withdrew from the joint effort last year. Russia stepped in, but Space News reports the future of 2016 and 2018 missions are again on shaky ground. An ESA steering council will gather May 16 to assess the project’s fate. Exo-Mars includes landers, rovers and a telecommunication’s orbiter.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/120511-exomars-brink-collapse.html

4. From the Huffington Post:, May 11: In an op-ed, U. S. proponents tout a Mars mission they say balances cost and a high priority science objective, determining whether the planet hosts or once hosted some form of life. The proposed mission would drop a series of penetrators on the Martian surface to investigate the prospects. In 2013, NASA’s Mars program is facing cuts.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dirk-schulzemakuch-phd/bold-mars_b_1510355.html

A. From The Los Angeles Times, May 11: Top scientists associated with NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory discuss the mission’s science goals and operational challenges during a trip to California’s Mojave Desert, which serves as a Martian analog. MSL, also known as Curiosity, is headed for a landing in Gale Crater in early August. There, the mobile chemistry lab will attempt to scale a three mile rise in search of conditions that may be or once were favorable for Martian life.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-mars-20120512,0,6625848.story

5. From Spacepolicyonline.com: The U.S., Europe and Japan re-express intentions to work cooperatively in space. The expression includes an offer of $100 million from the U. S. to play a “minor” role in the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer program.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/esa-japan-continue-space-cooperation-with-u-s

6.  From Space.com, May 11: SOHO, a joint NASA/European Space Agency mission to monitor solar activity, returned to action late last week following an operational problem. The mission has growing priority as the sun enters a period of increased activity. The difficulties sent the spacecraft into a protective “safe mode” for about a week.
http://www.space.com/15660-sun-observing-soho-spacecraft-recovery.html

A. From the Washington Post, May 11:  A giant sunspot rotates into an Earth facing position. The spot may be primed unleash a large cloud of charged particles toward the Earth.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/space-weather-update-massive-sunspot-region-now-facing-earth-primed-to-hurl-out-solar-flares/2012/05/11/gIQAvUHQIU_blog.html

7. From The Coalition for Space Exploration: New studies suggest the best place to search for life bearing planets may be in the space between stars.
http://spacecoalition.com/blog/it%e2%80%99s-crowded-out-there-life-bearing-earth-size-planets-%e2%80%93-new-study

8. From the San Francisco Chronicle: Astronomers turn to a new technique called transit timing variations to discover exo-planets using NASA’s Kepler space telescope. TTVs are small gravitational disturbances on the motion of a known planet. Kepler’s  primary technique for planet discovery is a measured dip in brightness as a planet crosses the face of a star.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/14/BA2K1OGDED.DTL&type=science

9. From Collectspace.com, May 12  NASA’s preparations of the shuttle fleet for public display reach another milestone. Endeavour is powered down on May 11 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the last of NASA’s three orbiters “to go dark.” Endeavour will be airlifted to Los Angeles later this year for display at the California Science Center.
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-051112a.html

10. From Discovery.com, May 12: Shumann resonances, an electromagnetic phenomena found on Earth, could offer new insights into some solar system planets.
http://news.discovery.com/space/lightning-flashes-on-origin-of-solar-system-120512.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1

11. From Spacepolicyonline.com, May 13: A look at major activities scheduled for the week ahead. They include the late Monday launch of U. S. and Russian astronauts to the International Space Station and the SpaceX launch of the prospective first U. S. commercial cargo delivery to the space station early Saturday.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/events-of-interest-week-of-may-14-19-2012

Brought to you by the Coalition for Space Exploration, CSExtra is a daily compilation of space industry news selected from hundreds of online media resources.  The Coalition is not the author or reporter of any of the stories appearing in CSExtra and does not control and is not responsible for the content of any of these stories.  The content available through CSExtra contains links to other websites and domains which are wholly independent of the Coalition, and the Coalition makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information contained in any such site or domain and does not pre-screen or approve any content.   The Coalition does not endorse or receive any type of compensation from the included media outlets and is not responsible or liable in any way for any content of CSExtra or for any loss, damage or injury incurred as a result of any content appearing in CSExtra.  For information on the Coalition, visit www.spacecoalition.com or contact us via e-mail at Info@spacecoalition.com.

Credit: Chandra Wickramasinghe

All of these planets orbit stars. But a very few, if any, have been deemed potential candidates for life.

New work by an international team of astrobiologists suggests a few hundred thousand billion free-floating life-bearing Earth-size planets may exist in the space between stars in the Milky Way.

The research team is led by Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham, UK. Their findings are published online in the Springer journal Astrophysics and Space Science.

Missing mass

The scientists have proposed that these life-bearing planets originated in the early universe within a few million years of the Big Bang.

In fact, the researchers note, these planets make up most of the so-called “missing mass” of galaxies.

The scientists calculate that such a planetary body would cross the inner solar system every 25 million years on the average. Furthermore, during each transit, zodiacal dust — including a component of the solar system’s living cells — becomes implanted at its surface.

Therefore, the team argues, the free-floating planets would then have the added property of mixing the products of local biological evolution on a galaxy-wide scale.

In their paper, Wickramasinghe and the team have increased this grand total of planets to a few hundred thousand billion — a few thousand for every Milky Way star — each one harboring the legacy of cosmic primordial life.

Free-floating planets in the Milky Way, they contend, outnumber stars by factors of thousands.

For more information, go to:

Wickramasinghe, N. C. et al. (2012), “Life-bearing primordial planets in the solar vicinity,” Astrophysics and Space Science.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10509-012-1092-8

By Leonard David

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Friday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from around the world. In the U. S., scientists present major findings from NASA’s Dawn mission: the asteroid Vesta appears to be a rocky Earth-like planet in the making. An update on the House version of NASA’s 2013 budget. SpaceX and Bigelow Aerospace announce a partnership to transport commercial passengers to Bigelow’s future orbital space stations. Op-eds urge the world’s wealthiest nations to do more to monitor and protect the Earth’s environment. NASA’s deep space Orion spacecraft undergoes ground testing. A newly uncovered version of the Mayan calendar reveals no signs of impending disaster. China launches an Earth observing satellite. A NASA astronaut returns to television’s Big Bang Theory for a cameo.

1. From Discovery.com: Asteroid Vesta graduates to baby planet status in findings published in the journal Science this week.  Round and differentiated, Vesta is closely related to the inner solar systems rocket planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, say scientists. NASA’s Dawn mission will wrap up an extended stay at  Vesta and soon depart for a second large asteroid, Ceres.

http://news.discovery.com/space/protoplanet-vesta-asteroid-dawn-120510.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1

A. From the New York Times: Vesta has been around for a long time, has an iron core, gravity and possibly once had a weak magnetic field.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/11/science/space/asteroid-vesta-proves-to-be-dwarf-planet.html?_r=1

2. From Spacepolicyonline.com: A look at the House version of NASA’s 2013 budget, following passage on Thursday. It includes a $126 million cut from cross agency support.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/house-passes-fy2013-cjs-bill-replaces-sequester-for-dod-with-other-cuts

3. From The Los Angeles Times: Bigelow Aerospace and SpaceX partner to market commercial spacecraft missions to low Earth orbit. Bigelow’s inflatable space stations will offer a destination. SpaceX fill furnish the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon space capsule for transportation under the arrangement. Bigelow’s stations may include orbiting hotels for space tourists.
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-spacex-bigelow-space-hotel-20120510,0,1960311.story

4. From the Economist: An op-ed from the magazine takes note of the European Space Agency’s confirmed loss of Envisat, a large and capable Earth observing satellite, earlier this week. There’s no replacement. The U.S.,  Europe, China, India and Brazil should be doing more to ensure a steady flow of data gathering to inform the global debate over climate policy, the Economist writes.
http://www.economist.com/node/21554528

A. From the New York Times:  Canadian oil reserves, high in carbon dioxide, pose a serious new global warming threat, writes James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, in an op ed. Hansen urges the White House to do more to prevent drilling of Canada’s vast tar sand oil reserves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/opinion/game-over-for-the-climate.html?_r=1

5. From The Huntsville Times: NASA’s Orion/Multipurpose Crew Vehicle service module  undergoes ground tests at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The structural loads tests show the SM can survive launch and space travel loads, the Times reports.
http://blog.al.com/space-news/2012/05/nasa_in_huntsville_test_orion.html

6. From Space.com: The Mayan calendar is often the topic of dire speculation. The oldest known version is discovered in Guatemala, and there’s no indication of the world coming to an end.
http://www.space.com/15633-apocalypse-oldest-mayan-calendar.html

7. From Xinhuanet of China: China launches an Earth observing satellite atop a Long March 4B rocket.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-05/10/c_131580382.htm

8. From Collectspace.com: NASA astronaut Mike Massimino joins the cast of the Big Bang Theory for Thursday’s episode.
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-051012a.html

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