Every post, I will bring you news in the aerospace industry and talk about what NASA and the private companies are up to. Today I will introduce the companies that I consider the “Big Three” in space exploration. SpaceX is a private company founded in 2002 by billionaire and Tesla founder Elon Musk. Musk has said that the goal of SpaceX is to eventually get a city of about 1 million people on the planet Mars. Blue Origin was founded by billionaire and Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos. Blue Origin’s vision is “millions of people living and working for the benefit of Earth” Virgin Galactic, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, is a private space company having the goal of “connecting people across the globe to the love, wonder, and awe created by space travel.

May 19, 2024 to May 25, 2024

• SpaceX’s 4th integrated flight of the Starship is now delayed to June.

•      Blue Origin launches its NS-25 mission on Sunday May 19.

•       Boeing Starliner is set to launch on Saturday May 25.

•       Quite a few planets are set to line up in the sky before dawn on June 4.

•      NASA’s Artemis 3 mission is now set to launch in September of 2026.

June 9, 2024 to June 15, 2024

• SpaceX’s Starship has a successful launch and splashdown of the Super heavy booster and Starship 29.

• Boeing finally launches their Starliner spacecraft.

• James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) opens up a new window on supernova science.

July 14, 2024 to July 20, 2024

•     SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy Booster successfully launched and landed back on Earth during the 4th test flight.

•    SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is grounded due to an issue with the second stage after 300+ flights.

•    The Hubble Space Telescope finds and studies a potential galactic merger.

•   NASA cancels its VIPER Moon Rover project due to budget concerns.

•     The James Webb Space Telescope finds a distant world and studies its sunrises and sunsets.

•    Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane has its first launch now targeted for 2025.

•      SpaceX is targeting no earlier than August 2024 for the 5th test flight of Starship/Super Heavy.

•       The United States Space Force is launching its USSF-51 mission aboard United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V 551 rocket no earlier than July 30, 2024.

•    Blue Origin is targeting September 29, 2024 for its first launch of its New Glenn rocket. The rocket will also carry NASA’s EscaPADE spacecraft to Mars.

•       NASA is targeting May 2027 to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

August 8, 2024 to August 10, 2024

• This blog post will be about my very recent visit to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. I will also talk about upcoming rocket launches this week and what you can see in the night sky this week.

• I recently visited the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It was cool to see. I saw the museum and the Spacecraft Assembly Facility. The museum is called the Von Karman Visitor Center. It has an exhibit on the planets of the Solar System and the spacecraft that have visited them. There is also an auditorium where you see a short film presentation called “Journey to the Planets and Beyond.” The short film talks about the accomplishments of JPL and their goals. The Spacecraft Assembly Facility is where rovers and satellites are put together and made ready for their missions. The most recent mission that came through NASA JPL’s Spacecraft Assembly Facility was the Perseverance Rover for the Mars 2020 mission.

Upcoming Launches

•         SpaceX Starlink satellite Group 8-3 mission happens on 8/7/2024.

•         SpaceX Starlink satellite Group 10-7 mission happens on 8/10/2024.

•         SpaceX Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) happens on 8/11/2024.

•         SpaceX Transporter mission happens no earlier than 8/15/2024.

•         SpaceX Crew-9 mission happens on 8/18/2024.

•         SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission happens no earlier than August 2024.

•         SpaceX Starship Flight 5 happens no earlier than August 2024.

What you can see in the night sky this week  and upcoming events in the night sky

•       The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks on 8/12/2024. It is visible in the Northern Hemisphere.

•       On the night of Monday, August 5, you can see a crescent moon and Mercury, while Venus is a bright evening star.

•       In the early morning hours of Tuesday, August 6, the asteroid 16 Psyche reaches its opposition point at 2 AM EDT. (1 AM CDT, 12 AM MDT, and 11 PM PDT.) The target of a NASA mission of the same name launched back in 2023 and is set to reach the asteroid in mid-2029.

•       Jupiter’s moon Ganymede will transit Jupiter’s south pole moving east to west in the early morning hours of Friday, August 9.

•       Jupiter’s moon Callisto is also making a move around Jupiter at the same time Ganymede passes Jupiter’s south pole. It will start to slide beneath Jupiter moving from east to west. Jupiter’s moon Callisto will miss Jupiter’s south pole entirely.

September 15, 2024 to September 21, 2024

There has been a re-emergence of UFO sightings I will talk about this topic for my blog post this week. I will also include a schedule of rocket launches for the week and what you can see in the night sky this week also.

UFOs and Aliens: I think that it is crazy that there has been a recent reemergence in the number of UFO sightings and people claiming that they have seen a flying saucer or two in the sky. In fact, Space.com has written an article about this and why it could be spiraling out of control. According to Space.com, at least 24% of Americans have claimed that they saw a UFO. Those same people have also believed that aliens have also visited Earth. But the thing is, we have absolutely zero evidence that aliens from other planets even exist. However scientists at NASA and SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute) are trying hard to answer the question, “Are we alone in the universe?” In fact, NASA has confirmed that more than 5,600 exoplanets exist out of billons of exoplanets that are out there. This probably is a valid claim to have seen aliens, considering that NASA is trying to figure out if there is life on these exoplanets. They are also trying to figure out if there is other life on worlds within our own solar system, like Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus. Again, scientists have discovered a whole ocean under Mars’s surface, so maybe there is probably other life in that ocean, we just have not found it yet. The belief in UFOs might be crazy, but the concept stands true because it is all about trying to find life on other worlds besides Earth, whether that is in our solar system or outside of it.

Link to Space.com article: Belief in alien visits to Earth is spiraling out of control – here's why that's so dangerous | Space

Launch Schedule for this week:

• Galileo FOC FM26 & FM32 Mission

Location: Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9

Date: Mon Sep 16, 2024

• Kinéis Killed The RadIoT Star Mission

Location: Launch Complex 1B, Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand

Rocket: Electron/Curie

Date: Mon Sep 16, 2024

• Starlink Group 9-17 Mission

Location: Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenburg Space Force Base

Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9

Date: Wed Sep 18, 2024

What to see in the sky this week:

       September 17, 2024:

• An occultation between Earth’s moon and Saturn, this is where Saturn gets behind the Moon. This is visible in the western U.S. Australia, western Canada, and northwestern Mexico. It will be visible from 3:08 AM to 7:07 AM local time.

• There will be a conjunction between Earth’s moon and Saturn. This will be visible from Sep 16 at 7:32 PM local time to Sep 17 at 6:32 AM local time. The exact time this will happen is 5:14 AM local time.

• A partial lunar eclipse will occur. It is visible in Europe, most of Aisa, Africa, North and South America, the Arctic, and Antarctica. The eclipse begins at 7:41 PM local time and ends at 11:47 PM local time. The max eclipse will be at 10:44 PM EDT. (9:44 PM CDT, 8:44 PM MDT, and 7:44 PM PDT.) The moon will be in 3.5% percent shadow. During a lunar eclipse the Earth’s shadow makes the moon turn red instead of disappearing like the sun. A lunar eclipse happens when the moon is at its full moon phase.

• The Moon at its full moon phase.

• There is a conjunction between Venus and the Spica star. A conjunction is when two astronomical objects have either the same right ascension or the same ecliptic longitude, usually as observed from Earth. Basically, a conjunction is when two objects in space look like they are close to each other, but they are not. This is an apparent phenomenon caused by the observer’s perspective. You can see this from 7:30 PM local time to 8:35 PM local time. The exact time this will happen is at 9:59 PM local time.

September 18, 2024:

• There is an occultation between Neptune and the Moon. This is where Neptune goes behind the Moon. An occultation is where one object in space is hidden by another object in space that passes between it and the observer. This is visible from 12:15 AM local time to 3:53 AM local time.

• The Moon is at its perigee. Perigee is the point in the Moon’s orbit when it is nearest to the Earth. It is visible from Sep 17 at 7:30 PM local time to Sep 18 at 7:14 AM local time. The exact time for this is Sep 18 at 8:26 AM local time.

        September 20, 2024:

• There is an opposition for Neptune. A planet (or asteroid or comet) is said to be in opposition when it is located on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. This is visible from Sep 20 at 7:26 PM local time to Sep 21 at 7:16 AM local time. The exact time of this is Sep 20 at 5:43 PM local time.

Meteor Showers visible this week:

• Daytime Sextantids

• Perseids

• Southern Taurids

• Daytime Leonids

October 20, 2024- October 26, 2024

On June 5, 2024, two astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams launched to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that sat atop United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket. The two astronauts were able to make it to the ISS but are now scheduled to return to Earth in February 2025 due to issues with the Starliner spacecraft. In fact, Boeing has always had problems with it even before its launch. The two astronauts are now “stranded” in space and are supposed fly back on a SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft. Due to issues, NASA has had the Boeing Starliner spacecraft return to Earth without the astronauts.

Other News: Unlike Boeing, SpaceX successfully launched its 5th test flight of Starship on October 13, 2024 and successfully caught the Super Heavy Booster back at the launch tower at its test facility in South Texas.

NASA also successfully launched its Europa Clipper mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 14, 2024. The purpose of the mission will be to see if Jupiter’s moon Europa might be able to support life under its surface.

What to see in the sky this week:

• October 21: The Orionids Meteor Shower peaks, there is an occultation between the Moon and the star Elnath, and there is a conjunction between the Moon and Jupiter.

• October 22: Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) will make its closest approach to Earth.

• October 23: There is a conjunction between the Moon and Mars and there is a conjunction between the Moon and the star Pollux.

• October 24: The Leonis Minorids Meteor Shower peaks, The Moon is at its last quarter phase, there is a conjunction between the Moon and the Beehive Cluster of stars, and there is a solar conjunction between the Sun, Earth, and the dwarf planet, Haumea.

• October 25: There is a conjunction between Venus and the star Antares.

• October 26: There is a conjunction between the Moon and the star Regulus.

**December 2024 Update: Astronauts Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams are now scheduled to return to Earth from the ISS in late March. This is due to a delay with SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.

November 3, 2024- November 9, 2024

This blog post will be about all about the rockets and spaceships that NASA and private companies have built and operated in the modern space age. From the SpaceX Starship to NASA’s Space Launch System, this is your encyclopedia for these spaceships and rockets. You can also read about what you are able to see in the sky this week.

Starship-

Manufacturer: SpaceX

Flights flown/Missions Flown: 5

Location where it was developed: SpaceX Starbase Texas

Mission: To transport people to Mars.

Space Launch System-

Manufacturer: NASA

Flights flown/ Missions flown: 1 (Artemis 1 mission)

Location where it was developed: Assembled at Kennedy Space Center

Mission: Transport astronauts to the Moon as part of the Artemis Program.

Dream Chaser-

Manufacturer: Sierra Space

Flights Flown/Missions Flown: Currently has not flown. Has multiple missions planned out.

Location where it was developed: Louisville, Colorado

Mission: To deliver supplies to the International Space Station

Vulcan Centaur-

Manufacturer: United Launch Alliance

Flights Flown/Missions Flown: 2

Location where it was developed: Decatur, Alabama

Mission: To ensure an affordable and reliable launch service

Virgin Galactic Delta Class Spaceships-

Manufacturer: Virgin Galactic

Flights Flown/Missions Flown: Currently zero. First flight is set for 2026.

Location where it was developed: Mesa, Arizona

Mission: To take space tourists to Earth orbit.

Alpha-

Manufacturer: Firefly Aerospace

Flights Flown/Missions Flown: 5

Location where it was developed: Firefly Texas Rocket Ranch

Mission: The rocket is intended to provide launch options for rideshare and full vehicle customers.

New Glenn-

Manufacturer: Blue Origin

Flights Flown/Missions Flown: Currently none. First flight is expected to happen this month.

Location where it was developed: Cape Canaveral, Florida

Mission: To place crewed and uncrewed payloads into Earth orbit and beyond.

Neutron-

Manufacturer: Rocket Lab

Flights Flown/Missions Flown: Currently none. First flight is expected for 2025.

Location where it was developed: Wallops Island, Virginia

Mission: To reduce cost and increase launch frequency.

What to see in the sky this week:

November 3-

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and Mercury

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the star Antares

• There is an occultation between the Moon and the star Antares

November 4-

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and Venus

November 5-

• The Southern Taurids Meteor Shower peaks

November 8-

• The Moon is at its First Quarter phase

November 9-

• There is a conjunction between the star Antares and Mercury

November 17, 2024- November 23, 2024

This week’s post will be an encyclopedia/guide to all the space telescopes that NASA uses in the current day to learn more about space and the universe. This blog post will also feature what is in sky this week.

James Webb Space Telescope-

Launch Date: December 25, 2021

Status: Active

Mission Goal: To reveal more about the origins of the cosmos.

Hubble Space Telescope-

Launch Date: April 24, 1990

Status: Active

Mission Goal: To help scientists understand the history of the universe.

Chandra X-ray Observatory-

Launch Date: July 23, 1999

Status: The Chandra spacecraft is unfortunately facing budget cuts and the possibility of mission closeout after 25 years. However, Chandra funding so far is expected to last until September 2025.

Mission Goal: To help scientists learn more about the hot and turbulent regions of outer space.

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Spacecraft-

Launch Date: April 18, 2018

Status: Active

Mission Goal: To discover exoplanets.

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope-

Launch Date: May 2027

Status: Due to the Roman Space Telescope being a new telescope and it has not been launched yet, the status for this spacecraft is inactive.

Mission Goal: To survey the infrared universe.

What to see in the sky this week-

November 17, 2024:

• The Leonids Meteor Shower peaks

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and Jupiter

• There is an Occultation between the Moon and the star Elnath.

November 19, 2024:

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the star Pollux.

November 20, 2024:

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and Mars.

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the Beehive Cluster.

• The Sun, Earth, and Mercury are at dichotomy.

November 21, 2024:

• The a-Monocerotids Meteor Shower peaks.

November 22, 2024:

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the star Regulus.

• The Moon is at its Last Quarter phase.

December 8, 2024- December 14, 2024

This blog post will be about the latest news with NASA’s Artemis program, what you can see in the sky this week, and this week’s rocket launch schedule.

Latest news: NASA delays Artemis II and III missions and finds the issue with the heat shield on the Orion Spacecraft.

At a recent news conference, NASA announced that they would delay the Artemis II mission to April 2026 and Artemis III to mid-2027. The delays were caused by issues with Orion’s heat shield. NASA found that it had cracked and partially eroded during its reentry phase of the Artemis I mission in 2022.

What you can see in the sky this week:

December 8:

• Saturn and the Moon are at an occultation.

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and Mars.

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and Saturn.

• The Moon is at its First Quarter phase.

• The comet 333P/LINEAR makes its closest approach to the Earth

December 9:

• The December Monocerotids Meteor Shower peaks.

• The o-Hydrids Meteor Shower peaks.

• Neptune and the Moon are at occultation.

December 12:

• The Moon is at perigee.

• December 13:

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the Pleiades Cluster.

December 14:

• The Geminids Meteor Shower peaks.

• The Moon is close to Jupiter.

• The asteroid Eunomia is at opposition.

• The Moon and the star Elnath are at occultation.

This week’s launch schedule:

December 8:

• SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink Group 12-5. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL.

December 12:

• SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink Group 11-2. Vandenburg Space Force Base, CA.

December 13:

• SpaceX Falcon 9, O3b mPOWER 7 & 8. Kennedy Space Center, FL

• SpaceX Falcon 9, GPS-3 10. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL

December 29, 2024- January 4, 2025

I hope you had a merry Christmas this year. If you don’t celebrate Christmas, then Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa. I also wish you a happy new year in 2025.

This blog post will be about some recent discoveries in space, what to see in the sky this week, and this week’s launch schedule.

On November 20, 2024, astronomers had discovered a new exoplanet. This exoplanet is called TIDYE-1b or IRAS 04125+2902 b. This exoplanet is a 3-million-year-old gas giant. This planet is located 520 light years from Earth. This gas giant is considered to be a “newborn” exoplanet. By comparison, it is as old as a two-week-old infant. According to the article written about this newly discovered gas giant by Smithsonian Magazine, “The planet—named both IRAS 04125+2902 b and TIDYE-1b—orbits what will likely become an orange dwarf star, about 520 light-years from Earth, and circles its host every 8.8 days.

Link to Smithsonian article: Astronomers Discover a 'Newborn' World, the Youngest Known Transiting Exoplanet | Smithsonian

Another surprising discovery is the new images of Jupiter that NASA’s Juno Spacecraft took while making its 66th flyby. The spacecraft’s flyby happened on October 23, 2024. The Juno Spacecraft was the first spacecraft to dip towards Jupiter’s poles. When the spacecraft orbited Jupiter’s poles, it took pictures of giant cyclones that were swirling around at its north and south poles. According to Smithsonian Magazine, “The spacecraft is also credited with shedding light on Jupiter’s magnetic field, its strange core, and the iconic and long-lived “Great Red Spot, the largest storm in our solar system.”

Link to Smithsonian article: Check Out the Stunning New Images of Jupiter From NASA's Juno Spacecraft | Smithsonian

What to see in the sky this week:

January 3:

• The Moon gets close to Venus.

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and Venus.

• The Quadrantids Meteor Shower peaks.

January 4:

• The Moon is close to Saturn.

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and Saturn.

• There is an occultation between Saturn and the Moon.

This week’s launch schedule:

December 29:

• SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink Group 12-6. Kennedy Space Center, FL

January 1:

• SpaceX Falcon 9, Thuraya 4-NGS. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL

January 12, 2025- January 18, 2025

Happy New Year!

This is part 2 to the post about the rockets that NASA and private companies are using in the modern space age. There is also a launch schedule this week and what to see in the night sky this week.

New Shepard-

Manufacturer: Blue Origin

Flights Flown/Missions Flown: 28

Location where it was developed: Kent, Washington

Mission Goal: The New Shepard rocket was developed for space tourism.

Falcon Heavy-

Manufacturer: SpaceX

Flights Flown/Missions Flown: 11

Location where it was developed: Hawthorne, California

Mission Goal: Designed to carry humans into space.

Falcon 9-

Manufacturer: SpaceX

Flights Flown/Missions Flown: 433

Location where it was developed: The Falcon 9 was developed in multiple places including Hawthorne, California and McGregor, Texas.

Mission Goal: Used for reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond.

Electron-

Manufacturer: Rocket Lab

Flights Flown/Missions Flown: 55

Location where it was developed: Mahia, New Zealand

Mission Goal: To make space more accessible and commercially viable.

Atlas V-

Manufacturer: United Launch Alliance

Flights Flown/Missions Flown: 100

Location where it was developed: Decatur, Alabama.

Mission Goal: To launch payloads into space.

Launch Schedule this week:

January 13:

• SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink Group 12-4. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

• SpaceX Starship, Starship Flight 7. Starbase, Texas

January 14:

• SpaceX Falcon 9, Transporter 12. Vandenburg Space Force Base

January 15:

• SpaceX Falcon 9, Blue Ghost Mission 1 & HAKUTO-R M2 “Resilience”. Kennedy Space Center

What to see in the night sky this week:

January 12:

• The comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) makes its closest approach to Earth.

• The comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is at perihelion with the Sun.

January 13:

• The Moon is at its Full Moon Phase.

• There is an occultation between the Moon and Mars.

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and Mars.

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the star Pollux.

January 14:

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the Beehive Star Cluster.

January 15:

• Mars is at opposition.

January 16:

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the star Regulus.

January 18:

• The y-Ursae Minorids Meteor Shower peaks.

• There is a conjunction between Saturn and Venus.

• Venus and Saturn make a close approach.

January 26, 2025- February 1, 2025

This blog post will be all about one of NASA’s newest missions: Europa Clipper. Also to include this week’s launch schedule and what to see in the sky this week.

On October 14, 2024, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. It will arrive at Jupiter in April 2030. The goal of the mission is to determine whether or not there are places below the icy moon that could support life. Another goal of the mission is to search for Europa’s suspected ocean, measure ice thickness on Europa, and to study the ice’s internal structure. Some milestones it is projected to accomplish are a Mars flyby in March of this year, an Earth flyby in December of next year, and entering Jupiter’s orbit in April of 2030.

What to see in the sky this week:

January 28:

• The Moon is close to Mercury

January 29:

• The Moon is at its New Moon phase

January 31:

• There is a conjunction between Jupiter and the star Aldebaran

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and Saturn

• There is an occultation between Saturn and the Moon

Launch Schedule this week:

January 27:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 12-7. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

January 28:

• New Shepard, NS-29. West Texas

• Falcon 9 Block 5, SPAINSAT New Generation. Kennedy Space Center

January 30:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 12-3. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

February 9, 2025- February 15, 2025

On this week’s blog post: An unanticipated asteroid discovery, NASA receives an image of a bullseye galaxy, what to see in the sky this week and this week’s launch schedule.

NASA recently discovered a very surprising thing about a sample from the surface of asteroid Bennu. Scientists have discovered that the sample, which was collected by the spacecraft of the OSIRIS-REx mission, had contained 14 of the 20 amino acids that are used to build proteins and all five nucleobases, the genetic components of DNA and RNA. By finding this out, the scientists learned that the sample contained the building blocks for life. This was an interesting discovery.

In other news, NASA also received a new image of the Bullseye Galaxy. The galaxy, named LEDA 1313424 and dubbed the “Bullseye” is a product of what happened after a cosmic collision. The galaxy is now believed to nine rings, which is six more than any other galaxy known to scientists. Eight of the rings were detected by the Hubble Space Telescope and the ninth was detected by data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

What to see in the sky this week:

February 9:

• There is a superior solar conjunction between Mercury, the Sun, and Earth.

• There is an occultation between the Moon and Mars.

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and Mars.

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the star Pollux.

February 10:

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the Beehive Cluster.

February 12:

• The Moon reaches its Full Moon phase.

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the star Regulus.

February 15:

• There is a solar conjunction between the Sun, Earth, and Ceres.

Launch Schedule this week:

February 9:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 11-10. Vandenburg Space Force Base

February 11:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 12-18. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

February 14:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 12-8. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

February 16, 2025- February 22, 2025

In this post I will talk about NASA’s space biology program, what to see in the sky this week, and this week’s launch schedule.

The main objective of NASA’s Space Biology Program is to conduct research and get a better understanding of how spaceflight affects living things. Part of it is to help prepare for future human exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA studies how organisms repair cellular damage and protect themselves from infection and disease in microgravity and exposure to space radiation. NASA does the research across the whole spectrum of biological organization, from molecules all the way up to whole organisms and communities of microorganisms. Again, this is important because NASA wants to know how space can affect living things, including humans.

What to see in the sky this week:

February 16:

• Venus reaches its greatest brightness

February 17:

• There is an occultation between the Moon and the star Spica

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the star Spica

• The Moon is at apogee

February 20:

• The Moon is at its Last Quater phase

February 21:

• There is an occultation between the Moon and the star Antares

• There is a conjunction between the Moon and the star Antares

Launch Schedule this week:

February 18:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 10-12. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

February 19:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 15-1. Vandenburg Space Force Base

February 20:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 12-14. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

March 2, 2025- March 8, 2025

So, everyone should be at least somewhat familiar with the asteroid 2024 YR4. This asteroid has made headlines as of late for possibly colliding with the Earth in December 2032. The chances of impact had even risen all the way up to one-in-thirty-two odds or 3.1%. Well, the good news is the chances of impact went down to effectively zero, so we can stop worrying about an asteroid impact happening. The most interesting or crazy part of this, (depending on how you look at it) is that while the 2024 YR4 asteroid now has basically no chance of hitting Earth in 2032, it might hit the Moon. In fact, NASA just said that there is a 1.7% chance of the asteroid impacting the Moon. Of course, if the asteroid hit the Moon, the Moon would receive another crater to its already complicated structure. A positive effect of a potential hit on the Moon by 2024 YR4 would be that it would provide an opportunity for science, according to a new article by Sky & Telescope. For those that do not know, the asteroid 2024 YR4 was discovered on December 27, 2024, and has a diameter of 130 to 300 feet. That means that this asteroid is roughly the size of a football field. The opportunity for science that this asteroid could provide if it hit the Moon is that scientists could learn about the details of the composition of the asteroid and its structure, as well as the lunar subsurface.

What to see in the sky this week:

March 2:

• Mercury and Neptune make a close approach

March 3:

• Neptune and Mercury are in conjunction

March 5:

• The Moon and the Pleiades Cluster are at conjunction

March 6:

• The Moon and Jupiter are at conjunction

• The Moon is at its First Quarter phase

• The Moon and the star Elnath are at occultation

March 7:

• Mercury, the Sun, and the Earth are at dichotomy

• Mercury reaches greatest elongation

March 8:

• The Moon and Mars are at conjunction

Launch Schedule this week:

March 2:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 12-20. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

March 3:

• Starship-Super Heavy Block 1/2, Starship Flight 8. Starbase, Texas

March 4:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, SPHEREx & PUNCH. Vandenburg Space Force Base

March 5:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 12-21. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

March 7:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 12-16. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

March 9, 2025- March 15, 2025

This week’s post will be about a black hole that is possibly inhabiting a nearby galaxy, what to see in the night sky this week, and this week’s launch schedule.

There has been a new and recent study of super-fast-moving stars that suggested that they were accelerated by massive black hole that has been hanging out and unseen in a nearby galaxy, according to an article by NPR. The article mentioned a report by The Astrophysical Journal that said that the black hole appeared to be the closest supermassive black hole outside the Milky Way galaxy. Unitil now, scientists thought that most galaxies have a giant black hole at their centers, but no one had known that one these giant black holes lives in a dwarf galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud which sits just outside of the Milky Way. Scientists have also done some calculations and found out that the black hole could be about 600,000 times the mass of our Sun. That is crazy. The discovery of new things in space is only going to get better from here.

Link to NPR article: That galaxy next door? It's home to a monster black hole: NPR

What to see in the sky this week:

March 9:

• Venus and Mercury are at conjunction

• The Moon and the star Pollux are at conjunction

March 10:

• The Moon and the Beehive Cluster are at conjunction

March 12:

• There is a solar conjunction including the Sun, Earth, and Saturn

• The Moon and the star Regulus are at conjunction

• Mercury and Venus make a close approach

March 14:

• The y-Normids meteor shower peaks

• The Moon is at its Full Moon phase

• There is a total lunar eclipse

Launch Schedule this week:

**Note: Last week the SpaceX Starship Flight 8 got scrubbed and delayed from its original flight date. This was due to an issue with Booster 15 that required some troubleshooting from flight controllers. It finally lifted off from Starbase, Texas on March 6, 2025.

March 9:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, SPHEREx & PUNCH. Vandenburg Space Force Base

*This mission also got delayed from its original flight date. This was due to needing more time for checkouts and preparations ahead of liftoff.

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 12-21. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

March 11:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 12-16. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

March 12:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Transporter 13. Vandenburg Space Force Base

March 13:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 12-25. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

March 15:

• Alpha, Message in a Booster. Vandenburg Space Force Base

March 23, 2025- March 29, 2025

So usually, my blog posts are about things that are about things that happen in space. Well, this week is more down to Earth…literally. This is because this week NASA just dropped a new report about what its satellites have been seeing from low-earth orbit and NASA astronauts Butch Willmore and Suni Williams are finally back after 9 months on the International Space Station. Also, this week’s sky calendar and launch schedule.

NASA’s satellites have given the space agency new data about sea levels. It turns out that the data found that the Earth’s Sea levels have gone up more than expected last year in 2024. However, earth scientists are more concerned about the overall long-term trend. According to an article by Mashable, NASA’s analysis had shown that global sea levels had increased by about four inches since 1993 when satellites had started measuring sea levels. Unfortunately, the rate is increasing. Since 1880, sea levels had risen about eight to nine inches overall. This is a problem that needs to stop.

Let’s get back to some good news. The good news is that after being “stranded” in space for 9 months, The crew of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, Butch Willmore and Suni Williams, are finally back on Earth. They had returned to Earth from the ISS on March 18 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and splashed down off the coast of Florida before 5 p.m. CDT. The two “stranded” astronauts came back with two other astronauts who were part of a mission called Crew-9. An article by USA Today called it “something of a storybook ending to the Starliner saga.”

What to see in the sky this week:

March 24:

• Mercury, the Sun, and Earth are at an inferior solar conjunction

March 28:

• The Moon and Saturn are at a conjunction

• The Moon and Venus are at a conjunction

• Mercury and Venus make a close approach

• The Moon and Mercury are at a conjunction

• The Moon and Neptune are at a conjunction

March 29:

• The Moon is at its New Moon phase

• There is a partial solar eclipse but the parts of the U.S. where it will be visible are New England, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C.

This week’s launch schedule:

March 24:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, NROL-69. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 11-7. Vandenburg Space Force Base

March 26:

• Alpha, Message in a Booster. Vandenburg Space Force Base

  *This mission got delayed from March 15.

March 30, 2025- April 5, 2025

Happy April! This week NASA’s Curiosity Rover detects largest organic molecules found on Mars. Also, this week’s launch schedule and what is visible in the night sky.

Recently, NASA’s Curiosity Rover just discovered the largest organic molecules on Mars. According to NASA, they are the largest organic compounds on the Red Planet to date. The discovery was really made by researchers who were analyzing the rock onboard the rover, but this is still pretty cool. Also, according to NASA, scientists had probed an already existing rock sample from Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars or SAM mini lab and found the molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane. The Curiosity rover found these organic compounds when it had drilled what came to be known as the Cumberland Sample in May 2013 at an area in Mars’ Gale Crater called “Yellowknife Bay.” This is a significant accomplishment in the search for life outside of Earth and more are sure to come.

What to see in the sky this week:

March 30:

• The Moon is at perigee

• The Moon makes a close approach with the star Pollux

March 31:

• Mercury makes a close approach with Neptune

April 1:

• The Moon and Uranus are at a conjunction

• The Moon and the Pleiades Cluster are at a conjunction

• The Moon and the Pleiades Cluster are at an occultation

April 2:

• The Moon and Jupiter are at a conjunction

• Mars and the star Pollux are at a conjunction

• The Moon and the star Aldebaran are at a conjunction

April 3:

• The Moon and the star Elnath are at an occultation

April 4:

• The Moon is at its First Quater phase

• The Moon and the star Pollux are at a conjunction

April 5:

• The Moon and Mars are at a conjunction

This week’s launch schedule:

March 30:

• Alpha, Message in a Booster. Vandenburg Space Force Base

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 6-80. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

March 31:

• Falcon Block 5, Fram2. Kennedy Space Center

April 1:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 11-13. Vandenburg Space Force Base

April 4:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 11-11. Vandenburg Space Force Base

April 5:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 6-72. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

April 6, 2025- April 12, 2025

This week, a shocking thing about Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Also, this week’s launch schedule what to see in the sky this week.

So, it looks like Boeing’s Starliner that took Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams up to the ISS but came back down empty may be getting another chance to fly. According to an article by FLYING Magazine NASA had reported that the spacecraft could fly again later this year. Even though NASA had acknowledged that Starliner was broken and had tons of issues with it, they still think it could fly. The space agency even described the next flight of Boeing’s Starliner as a “crew capable post-certification mission.” According to FLYING Magazine, NASA officials were unsure if the mission would be crewed or uncrewed but also insisted that Boeing should remain onboard with the mission despite the supposed rumors of the company considering selling off its space business. This is crazy and unexpected. We should just wait to see what happens next.

What to see in the sky this week:

April 6:

• The Moon and the Beehive Cluster are at a conjunction

April 8:

• The Moon and the star Regulus are at a conjunction

April 10:

• Mercury and Saturn are at a conjunction

• Mercury and Saturn make a close approach

April 12:

• The Moon is at its Full Moon phase

• The Moon and the star Spica are at an occultation

• The Moon and the star Spica are at a conjunction

This week’s launch schedule:

April 7:

• Falcon 9 Block 5, Starlink Group 11-11. Vandenburg Space Force Base

April 9:

• Atlas V 551, Project Kuiper (KA-01). Cape Canaveral Space Force Station