WINTER 2015 BACK TO THE MOON Getting There Faster for Less ISDC® 2015: Space Beyond Borders ‘Tis Not Too Late to Seek a Newer World Tweeting From Space NSS OFFICERS NSS BOARD OF DIRECTORS NSS ADVISORS HUGH DOWNS Larry Ahearn Janet Ivey-Duensing David R. Criswell Chairman, Board of Governors Dale Amon Aggie Kobrin (Region 1) Marianne Dyson Daniel Faber KEN MONEY Al Anzaldua (Region 3) Ronnie Lajoie (Region 5) President Mark Barthelemy Jeffrey Liss Don M. Flourney Stephanie Bednarek Karen Mermel Graham Gibbs KIRBY IKIN Brad Blair (Region 4) Ken Money Jerry Grey Chairman, Board of Directors David Brandt-Erichsen Geoffrey Notkin Peter Kokh MARK HOPKINS Myrna Coffino (Region 8) Bruce Pittman Alan Ladwig Chair of the Executive Committee Hoyt Davidson Joe Redfield Florence Nelson Art Dula Dale Skran Ian O’Neill DALE SKRAN David Dunlop (Region 6) Michael Snyder (Region 2) Chris Peterson Executive Vice President Anita Gale John K. Strickland, Jr. Seth Potter BRUCE PITTMAN Peter Garretson David Stuart Stan Rosen Senior VP and Senior Operating Officer Al Globus Paul Werbos (Region 7) Stanley Schmidt Daniel Hendrickson Lynne Zielinski Rick Tumlinson DAVID STUART Vice President, Chapters Alice M. Hoffman Lee Valentine Mark Hopkins James Van Laak HOYT DAVIDSON Kirby Ikin Paul Werbos Vice President, Development RONNIE LAJOIE Vice President, Membership NSS VISION NSS BOARD OF GOVERNORS LYNNE ZIELINSKI The Vision of NSS is people Hugh Downs, Chair Arthur M. Dula Marvin Minsky Vice President, Public Affairs living and working in thriving Mark J. Albrecht Freeman J. Dyson Kenneth Money ANITA GALE communities beyond the Buzz Aldrin Edward Finch Nichelle Nichols Secretary Earth, and the use of the Eric Anderson Don Fuqua Scott N. Pace vast resources of space for Norman R. Augustine Newt Gingrich Glenn H. Reynolds MICHAEL SNYDER the dramatic betterment Lance Bass John H. Glenn John B. Slaughter Assistant Secretary (ex officio) of humanity. Howard Bloom Jeffrey Greason Harrison Schmitt JOE REDFIELD Ben Bova Tom Hanks Michael K. Simpson Treasurer Frank Borman Barbara Marx Hubbard Anthony Tether Bruce W. Boxleitner Mark Jannot Maria Von Braun Daniel C. Brandenstein Edwin R. Jones Gordon Woodcock Tom Cruise Lon Levin Simon “Pete” Worden Hugh Downs John S. Lewis James Wyeth K. Eric Drexler James A. Lovell NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY MAJOR DONORS NSS appreciates the financial support of all of its members, and would like to recognize the top donors. BUZZ ALDRIN COUNCIL Mark Herrup Edwin Sahakian Gerald W. Driggers J. Michael Lekson Matthew Abrams Daryl Hester Allan Schiffman Stephen Donaldson Georgette Koopman Steve Adamczyk David Hindi Randall Skinner Michael Downey Evan Malone Kennith G. Amour Robert Hunter Don Springer Vernon Edgar Alla Malko Janet Asimov John Irwin Trevor Stone Eugene Ely Donald McClellan Jack Bader William Jaeger Mike Symond Bob Everett George McIntyre Majel Barrett-Roddenberry Dana Johnson Eric Tilenius Amy Freitas Karen R. Mermel L. Baxter Edwin Jones Michael Tomkins Dan Geraci Kenneth Money Richard Beers David Peter Kapelanski Jeffrey Walker Joseph Gillmer Eugene Montgomery Michael Blum Don Kimball Alan Wasser Steven Goddard M. Montoure Kenneth Bowdon PJ King Dave Welden The Gryphon Fund Ronald Murdock Christopher Butcher Jeffrey Kodosky Barry Watson David Hampton James O’Neil Paul Canolesio Ronnie Lajoie Glen Wilson estate Jim Haislip Joseph Orr Lori Cooke-Marra J. Michael Lekson Jay Wittner Mark Herrup Ed Post Michael Cronin Charles Lenzmeier Alice Hoffman John Pritchard Stephen Donaldson Dean London VISIONARY DONORS Adrian Hooper James L. Rankin Hugh Downs Raymond Marshall Edward Apke Mark Hopkins Edwin Sahakian Mike Dudley John McQuilkin Jack Bader Hugh Hotson, Jr. James Skaggs Lars Easterson Mary Morss Keith Barbaria Robert Hunter Dale Skran Robert Edwards Elon Musk Michael Blum Mijan F. Huq John Swanson Walter Ellison Florence Nelson Kenneth Bowdon Dave Jacques Neil Thomas Edward Ewell Stanley Novak Randal D. Buss Carol Johnson Adrian Tymes Howard Finch Frederick I. Ordway III Greg Brand David & H.B. Kaplan George Walden Gregg Foote John Pascoe John Brennan Major James Keaton Rich Wall Marc Foulkrod Jared Polis Randall Buss Randy Kelley George Whitesides Richard Garriott Guillermo Rodriguez Lammot Copeland Dean Kennedy David Hamlin Greg Rucker Roger Davidson PJ King 2 AD ASTRA Winter 2015 COUNTDOWN...03 Flying Over an Aurora NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) captured photographs and video of auroras from the International Space Station on June 22, 2015. Kelly wrote, “Yesterday’s aurora was an impressive show from 250 miles up. Good morning from the International Space Station! #YearInSpace” IMAGE CREDIT: © NASA Winter 2015 AD ASTRA 3 ...02 Stark Beauty of Supersonic Shock Waves Using a massive update to a 150-year-old German photography technique, NASA and the United States Air Force recently released what’s called a “schlieren” image of the shock wave from a USAF Test Pilot School T-38C aircraft flying at supersonic speeds over the Mojave Desert. Schlieren imagery, invented in 1864 by German physicist August Toepler, can be used to visualize supersonic flow phenomena with full-scale aircraft in flight. IMAGE CREDIT © NASA 4 AD ASTRA Winter 2015 ...01 Astronaut Kjell Lindgren Corrals the Supply of Fresh Fruit NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren corrals the supply of fresh fruit that arrived August 25, 2015 on the Kounotori 5 H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-5.) Visiting cargo ships often carry a small cache of fresh food for crew members aboard the International Space Station. IMAGE CREDIT: © NASA Winter 2015 AD ASTRA 5 ...LIFT OFF! Soyuz Rocket Boosts Expedition 44 Crew to the International Space Station The Soyuz TMA-17M launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station on July 23, carrying Expedition 44 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren of NASA, and Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) into orbit to begin their five-month mission on the Station. IMAGE CREDIT: © NASA/AUBREY GEMIGNANI 6 AD ASTRA Winter 2015 LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER Hubble Finds a Little Gem This colorful bubble is a planetary nebula called NGC 6818, also known P.O. Box 98106, Washington, DC 20090-8106 202.429.1600 | [email protected] as the Little Gem Nebula. The rich glow of the cloud is just over half a light-year across—humongous compared to its tiny MEMBERSHIP SERVICES MANAGER central star—but still a little gem on a Cathy Vail cosmic scale. MEMBERSHIP SERVICES Jill Jackson DIRECTOR OF ACCOUNTING Glenn Beales CHAPTER SERVICES IMAGE CREDIT: © ESA/HUBBLE & NASA, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: JUDY SCHMIDT Jill Jackson NSS AFFILIATES Dear Ad Astra Reader, Canadian Space Society The world witnessed an incredible event on July 14, 2015. It was the Conrad Foundation day that the majesty of Pluto was put on display, and we had the chance Explore Mars to imagine a new world. Years of research and effort were put in to ensure Innovate Our World that this event would be possible. Read about Pluto and the events leading International Space Elevator Consortium up to this historic mission from New Horizons in “William Tell at Three Billion Mars Foundation Miles: New Horizons Visits Pluto,” by Clifford McMurray (page 12). Moon Society Charles Miller and Sarah Preston’s article on returning to the Moon NASA Federal Credit Union explores a recent study conducted by NASA entitled, “Evolvable Lunar OpenLuna Foundation Architecture That Leverages Public Private Partnerships.” In “Back SEDS to the Moon: Getting There Faster for Less” (page 22), you’ll gain an Space Studies Institute understanding of the barriers at hand, and the strategies and solutions SpaceFlight Insider to return. United Societies in Space In “’Tis Not Too Late to Seek a Newer World: Finding Planets Outside Yuri’s Night Our Solar System” (page 28), you can immerse yourself in the research and development by NExSS (The Nexus for Exoplanet System Science). You’ll see how the collaboration from Earth scientists, planetary scientists, heliophysicists and astrophysicists, all supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, work together to discover life outside the Solar System. Imagine a world where space exploration is taught in a personalized fashion, where students can learn at their own speed. This world is in MANAGING EDITOR the works with the NSS initiative, Enterprise in Space (EIS). EIS’s goal is Pat Silver, Silver Marketing to educate future generations to engage and discover space exploration EDITOR and the possibilities outside the Earth. Lynne F. Zielinski, Fred Becker, and Katherine Brick Alice M. Hoffman explain the vision for EIS in “A Breakthrough in Artificial Intelligence and Education Helps Students Reach for the Stars” (page 32). EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Mariette Lewicki, Silver Marketing Discover the world of possibilities in this captivating and exciting issue. CREATIVE DIRECTOR One thing is for sure, the future to the stars will be an extraordinary ride! Chris Mazzatenta, Silver Marketing Ad Astra! PRODUCTION Paul Bradley, Silver Marketing ADVERTISING CONTACT Pat Silver Joseph M. Rauscher Managing Editor VOLUNTEER COPY EDITOR Chuck Fisher “Ad Astra,” ISSN 1041-102X, is published quarterly for the National Space Society. The Winter 2015 edition (volume 27, issue 4) of “Ad Astra” was published by Silver Marketing, Inc. at 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 914, Bethesda, MD 20814. No material in this magazine may be reproduced without permission. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the National Space Society, 12100 Sunset Hill Road, Suite 130, Reston, VA 20190 Winter 2015 AD ASTRA 7 NSS CORRESPONDENCE BY ALLA MALKO, PHD NewSpace 2015 Conference NSS members convene at the NewSpace conference in Silicon Valley, California. n July 16-18, 2015, the Space Frontier represented by Tiffany Crawford from the Space Foundation held the annual NewSpace Society of Silicon Valley. Oconference in Silicon Valley, California. The young and talented attendees also participated This conference about commercial space development in big celebrations every night.