THE PLANETARY REPORT JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 VOLUME 36, NUMBER 2 planetary.org

ILLUMINATING CERES DAWN SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON AN ENIGMATIC WORLD

BREAKTHROUGH STARSHOT C LIGHTSAIL 2 TEST C MEMBERSHIP UPGRADES SNAPSHOTS FROM SPACE EMILY STEWART LAKDAWALLA blogs at planetary.org/blog.

Black Sands of Mars

ON SOL 1192 (December 13, 2015), Curiosity approached the side of Namib, a Image: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Elisabetta Bonora and Marco Faccin massive barchan sand dune. Namib belongs to a field of currently active dark basaltic sand dunes that form a long barrier between the rover and the tantalizing rocks of Mount Sharp. This view, processed by Elisabetta Bonora and Marco Faccin, features wind-carved yardangs (crests or ridges ) of Mount Sharp in the background. After taking this set of photos, Curiosity went on to sample sand from the dune, and it is now working its way through a gap in the dune field on the way to the mountain. —Emily Stewart Lakdawalla

SEE MORE AMATEUR-PROCESSED SPACE IMAGES planetary.org/amateur SEE MORE EVERY DAY! planetary.org/blogs

2 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 CONTENTS JUNE SOLSTICE 2016

COVER STORY Unveiling Ceres 6 Simone Marchi on why Ceres is a scientific treasure chest for Dawn.

Pathway to the Stars Looking back at years of Society-led solar sail 10 development as Breakthrough Starshot is announced.

Life, the Universe, and Everything 13 Planetary Radio in Death Valley. ADVOCATING FOR SPACE Partisan Peril 18 Casey Dreier looks at the U.S. President’s impact on space policy and legislation.

DEVELOPMENTS IN SPACE SCIENCE Update on LightSail 2 20 Bruce Betts details the progress we’ve made in the year since LightSail 1 launched.

We’re Building a Movement! 22 Richard Chute announces our new membership levels. DEPARTMENTS 2 Snapshots From Space Mars’ dark basaltic Namib sand dunes.

4 Your Place in Space Bill Nye on Image: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Elisabetta Bonora and Marco Faccin how the Society leads the way.

15 What’s Up? The Perseid meteor shower and more. 16 Happening on Planetary Radio 16 On Planetary.org

17 Volunteer Spotlight Kate Howells applauds the Society’s amazing volunteers in Washington, D.C.

ON THE COVER: Ceres—the largest body between Mars and Jupiter—once defied categorization regarding its true nature. Is it a star, a planet, an asteroid, or a comet? Although scientists would eventually settle on “dwarf planet,” Dawn’s arrival will help us begin to understand Ceres. This enhanced-color close-up of Haulani crater shows smooth material and a central ridge on its floor, as well as evidence of landslides from its rim. The rays of bluish ejecta surrounding the crater indicate freshly exposed material. Haulani is 34 kilometers (21 miles) in diameter. Dawn captured this image from 1,470 kilometers (915 miles) above the surface. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA/Emily Lakdawalla

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President Society Policy and Technology Efforts Lead the Way JAMES BELL Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University Vice President HEIDI HAMMEL Executive Vice President, Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy AMONG THE MANY THINGS that have always our policy analysts. Chief Executive Officer fascinated me about the Society, and about Presuming that our robotic spacecraft can BILL NYE Science Educator my job especially, is to sit in a lecture hall, a accomplish the reconnaissance we will need Secretary C. WALLACE HOOSER conference room, or a restaurant with a group to support such a mission, there are many Associate Professor of Radiology, University of Texas of people who talk about going to Mars—I mean people in the Mars exploration community Southwestern Medical School Treasurer for real. These are the scientists, engineers, who very much want to send astronauts to LON LEVIN President and CEO and scholars who work on the real costs and the surface of Mars. So the next day, a few of GEOshare LLC G. SCOTT HUBBARD schedules for sending spacecraft and people us attended the Humans to Mars Summit at Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, to our nearby planetary neighbor. George Washington University. There were Stanford University ALEXIS LIVANOS From the start, the Society has supported several presentations and panels of experts Research Professor, Faculty Associate the robotic exploration of the solar system. on human spaceflight and Mars. Some, such Engineering & Applied Science, California Institute of Technology Our complex robots enable us to know about as Buzz Aldrin, were very ambitious, sug- JOHN LOGSDON Professor Emeritus, Space Policy Institute, Earth’s neighbors and to compare our world gesting that we need an enormous increase The George Washington University to all the others out there. I have yet to not be in the U.S. federal budget to enable NASA ROBERT PICARDO Actor astonished at how far away even our closest to produce the vehicles and deep-space BRITNEY SCHMIDT Assistant Professor planetary neighbors are. As space explorers, habitats that will be required. Others sug- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology we do not have the means to send humans to gested that costs can be managed best with BIJAL “BEE” THAKORE Regional Coordinator for Asia Pacific, distant worlds; at least, not yet. Instead, we a coordinated international consortium of Space Generation Advisory Council NEIL deGRASSE TYSON send our best robots, such as rovers to Mars or space agencies and contractors. Fundamen- Astrophysicist and Director, Hayden Planetarium, a sample-capturing system to asteroid Bennu. tally, everyone there wanted to send people American Museum of Natural History By the time you are reading this, Juno will have to Mars. Everyone there agreed that sooner FILLMORE WOOD Vice President and Regional Counsel, BP, retired arrived at Jupiter to study its core and weather. is better than later in this regard. INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL You can follow Juno’s progress at planetary.org. And we’re continuing the conversation, ROGER-MAURICE BONNET Executive Director, International Space Science Institute bringing more groups in, with more credible YASUNORI MATOGAWA LEADING THE WAY IN WASHINGTON possibilities. Our Humans Orbiting Mars Associate Executive Director, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Recently, several members of the staff and I report (published last year) inspired some MAMORU MOHRI Director, National Museum went to Washington, D.C. For a full day, we met of the best minds at Lockheed Martin. This of Emerging Science and Innovation RISTO PELLINEN with people from Congress. We showed them year the Lockheed Martin team presented a Director of Science in Space Research, Finnish Meteorological Institute the value of planetary science and exploration. scheme to put humans in orbit around Mars ADVISORY COUNCIL We expounded upon the remarkable discoveries in 2028. It would be three Earth–Mars orbital BUZZ ALDRIN RICHARD BERENDZEN JACQUES BLAMONT that no doubt await us on Mars and Europa. The opportunities sooner than the JPL study team’s ROBERT. D. BRAUN DAVID BRIN discovery of life out there would affect the way plan (which we featured at our workshop). JAMES CANTRELL FRANKLIN CHANG-DIAZ everyone on Earth feels about our place in space. But—here’s the inspirational aspect of the FRANK DRAKE OWEN GARRIOTT We explained the big idea: send robotic space- presentation—we are like-minded, and we GARRY E. HUNT BRUCE JAKOSKY THOMAS D. JONES craft first, then humans can follow. That evening, are reaching a consensus. The Mars explo- CHARLES E. KOHLHASE JR. LAURIE LESHIN the Society held a gathering of members and ration community is starting to home in on JON LOMBERG Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech ROSALY LOPES supporters at the Mott House, only a block from a feasible, executable exploration architec- HANS MARK BOB MCDONALD the Capitol. We celebrated getting the budget for ture. People are agreeing with and seeing the JOHN MINOGUE JOHN RHYS-DAVIES KIM STANLEY ROBINSON Planetary Science to its highest level in decades. wisdom in orbiting Mars before attempting DONNA L. SHIRLEY PETE SLOSBERG Overall we are more effective than ever, thanks to land the many tons of equipment needed KEVIN STUBE LORNE TROTTIER to your strong support and the good work of to support astronauts on its surface. We can

4 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 evaluate hardware, astronauts, vehicles, and methods to avoid contaminating the place, without trying to do it all in one trip. Thanks to you, The Planetary Society is leading the way. excited about the next flight ofLightSail and LIGHTSAIL 2’s PROGRESS delighted with the strength of our design and Speaking of leading, the following week, operations team. several of us attended the Day In The Life (DITL) test of our LightSail 2 spacecraft at SAMPLES OF BENNU California Polytechnic University in San Luis While we were in Washington working to Obispo. When those booms reeled out, and advance the exploration of Mars and Europa, those sails deployed on the big white table, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft (that’s the Origins my heart leapt. If you followed along with Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification ABOVE Juno will allow last year’s LightSail 1, you may remember that Security Regolith Explorer) was on its way us to peer underneath there were a great many snags. Last year, so to Cape Canaveral. We’ve been part of this Jupiter’s dense atmosphere many little things went wrong that the all- mission since its inception. It will visit asteroid for the first time. While important deployment part of the DITL test Bennu (which Society members helped to Juno’s primary goal is to of LightSail 1 had to be delayed. name) and bring back samples of what must answer questions about the But this year, everything worked almost be a bit of the ancient solar system. gas giant’s formation and evolution, it will also enhance perfectly. I say almost because, after every- For me, exploring an asteroid and bringing our understanding of the thing had gone so well in the morning, and back a sample of its surface is part of the origins of our solar system. the sails deployed in splendid fashion, the bigger idea: someday we will have to be engineers clicking away on their keyboards ready to defend Earth from an impact, a cata- realized that they could not get the motor strophic moment when a chunk of solar system to turn off. The little Swiss watch of a gear material comes hurtling our way. Because of drive was pushing hard, the sails were fully their remoteness and their size, most potential out, but the spacecraft couldn’t communi- impactors are hard to find. Rendezvousing with cate with us. We had to partially disassemble Bennu will be a technical achievement that will the deployment table and shut the system help us learn just what we may need to do to off by hand. After an hour or so of thinking nudge one of these things out of Earth’s orbital over the problem, the team realized that the path through space. It’s one more example of motor itself gives off enough electromagnetic the space science the Society has advocated for interference that it prevents the antenna from since our beginnings over 35 years ago. catching the signal from the ground antenna. All through this, we have made the world The team settled in, talked it over, and found aware of what we’re up to. When you’re in the solution to this and other subtle problems love, you want to tell the world. And, so we Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech detected as result of testing. So, by the time do. The Society is growing in influence and our little spacecraft with the great big sail is spreading planetary knowledge. Together we due to be integrated into SpaceX’s Falcon are changing the world. Heavy launch vehicle (a.k.a. Huge Rocket), I’m confident that we will be very ready. I’m

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 5 SIMONE MARCHI is a Senior Research Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

Unveiling Ceres Dawn Solves Old Mysteries and Reveals New Ones

ASTRONOMERS IN THE LATE 18th century spec- of Palermo, Sicily, on January 1, 1801. ulated about the existence of a missing planet What is most striking about this discovery is presumably located between the orbits of Mars that at first the new object, later named Ceres, and Jupiter. The main argument in support was mistaken for an unknown star, and then of such a claim, first formulated by Johannes a comet. Soon after Piazzi’s first observations, Kepler in 1596, was based on the observation Ceres was lost for several months. When it that the distances between planets are spaced was eventually reobserved—thanks to a truly RIGHT Efforts to determine the true nature and origins of this small world between Mars and Jupiter have kept scientists busy since Ceres was first discovered more than 200 years ago. Ceres’ Dantu crater has features that hint of a tectonic past for the dwarf planet’s surface. Linear structures spread out over Dantu’s floor and, outside Dantu’s rim, these structures continue in the form of scarps and ridges. Dantu is 78 kilometers (about 47 miles) across. Dawn captured this image from an altitude of 385 kilometers (about 240 miles).

OPPOSITE PAGE Ceres’ now famous bright spots, which scientists believe to be salts, reside on the floor of Occator at regular intervals following a simple analyti- international search involving astronomers in crater. About 92 kilometers cal expression known as the Titius-Bode law. France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and (57 miles) wide and about 3 kilometers (2 miles) deep, Assuming the distance between the Sun and Italy—it was officially called a planet. This clas- Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA Occator is also among Earth is equal to 10, the distance of a planet sification did not last for long, however, and Ceres’ youngest features. from the Sun is represented by 4, 4+3, 4+6, 4+12, in 1802 William Herschel proposed calling 4+48, 4+96, respectively, for Mercury, Venus, Ceres and the newly discovered Pallas, “aster- Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Notably, the oids,” or “star-like” objects. Still, the idea that a progression skips 4+24, which corresponds to planet should be found in this region of space the distance between Mars and Jupiter. Even- was so deeply rooted that it led Wilhelm Olbers tually, the missing planet was serendipitously (the German physician and astronomer who discovered by astronomer and Catholic priest discovered Pallas) to propose that Ceres and Giuseppe Piazzi from the Royal Observatory its then-known siblings could be fragments of a

6 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 Ceres

BODY PREDICTION ACTUAL Mercury (0+4)/10=0.4 0.39 Venus (3+4)/10=0.7 0.72 Earth (6+4)/10=1.0 1.0 Mars (12+4)/10=1.6 1.52 Ceres (24+4)/10=2.8 2.77 Jupiter (48+4)/10=5.2 5.2 Saturn (96+4)/10=10.0 9.54 Uranus (192+4)/10=19.6 19.18

former, disrupted and Jupiter. It is thought to planet. By the late have formed very early in 1850s, however, it the solar system, perhaps was clear that this hy- only a few million years after the pothesis was untenable due to condensation of the first solids their widely scattered orbits. This led the way from the primordial proto solar for these objects to be recognized as small, nebula. Furthermore, current theories of The Titius- independent bodies. solar system formation suggest asteroids—and Bode Law Ceres—are leftover debris from the formation The Titius-Bode law is an WHY CERES IS IMPORTANT of the planets, thus they can give clues to the empirical rule giving the Ceres’ importance to modern astronomers solar system’s early history. To put things into approximate distances of and planetary scientists is perhaps best ex- perspective, Ceres formed well before the planets from the Sun. It was plained by the intense debate about its true Earth was fully accreted, and before the Moon first announced in 1766 by nature. Ceres is the only astronomical object was formed. the German astronomer Johann Daniel Titius but to have been classified a comet, a planet, an These and other aspects make Ceres a was popularized a few years asteroid, and in more recent times by the Inter- suitable target for Dawn, a dedicated recon- later by his countryman national Astronomical Union, a dwarf planet. naissance space mission. Launched in 2007 Johann Elert Bode. Although This difficulty in its categorization reflects the under NASA’s Discovery program, Dawn has the justification for the characteristics of a transition object between been in orbit around Ceres for about one year, mathematical relationship is not fully understood, the inner and outer solar system. Ceres is too executing a complex orbital dance from a

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA scientists are analyzing large to be a simple asteroid, yet too small starting altitude of 14,000 kilometers (8,700 data to see if the Titius- to be a regular planet such as Earth or Mars. miles) above its surface to a mere 385 kilo- Bode law might predict Its almost-circular orbit rules out its being a meters (about 240 miles) in the final orbit. placement of planets in comet, yet its presumed icy composition is These orbits have been precisely engineered newly discovered extrasolar reminiscent of the cold, outer solar system to achieve primary scientific objectives such multiplanet systems. where comets originate. as global mapping and compositional inves- Regardless of its true nature, with an tigation of Ceres’ surface, along with the average diameter of 939 kilometers (583 miles) characterization of its internal structure by Ceres is by far the largest object between Mars measuring the gravity field.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 7 Where did the ammoniated clays on Ceres 1 come from?

SCENARIO ONE Ceres could have formed in situ, between Mars and Jupiter, and accreted within the first few million years a thick coating of outer solar system pebbles (full of NH3 and N-rich ices) that were drifting toward the inner solar system.

SCENARIO TWO Ceres, as well as myriad so-called Kuiper Belt objects, completely formed in the outer solar 2 system and then got knocked out of its original position during the migration of the giant planets and pushed into its current orbit.

CERES’ FUZZY ORIGIN the presence of ammoniated clays. Common What is Ceres made of? What does it look like terrestrial clays may contain alkali cations at close range? Dawn has provided answers to (positively charged ions) such as potassium these fundamental questions, but it has also (K+). However, clays found on Ceres contain raised new, unexpected ones. the cation ammonium (NH4+), which has Before Dawn’s arrival at Ceres we had only likely replaced potassium or other alkalis. a cursory picture of its surface and shape. Ammoniated clays, although easy to make The powerful Hubble Space Telescope had on terrestrial conditions, are uncommon in resolved its silhouette, giving just enough hints meteorites, which are considered to originate of surface features to raise our interest and from asteroids. Furthermore, ammoniated desire to know more. Another space facility, clays appear to be ubiquitously present on the Herschel Space Observatory, gathered data the surface of Ceres, implying they were the that suggest the presence of water vapor in likely result of widespread processes. It thus proximity of Ceres. Its average surface is pitch became clear that Ceres had experienced a black, almost as dark as charcoal, perhaps peculiar formation and/or evolution unlike an indication of enrichment in organic com- other asteroids and meteorites. Graphic: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA pounds. Other minerals such as clays were What are the implications of this obser- proposed to exist on the surface, based on vation for Ceres’ origin? The few laboratory data gathered over three decades by ground- experiments available on ammoniated clays in ABOVE Dawn, the first based telescopes. primitive meteorites indicated that ammonium spacecraft to orbit a dwarf One of the first achievements byDawn is its likely originated from ammonia (NH3). Thus, Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA planet, arrived at Ceres discoveries about Ceres’ surface composition. either ammonia was available in the make- on March 6, 2015. The When the spectrometer on board the space- up of Ceres, or ammonia was a byproduct of spacecraft orbits closer to Ceres’ surface than the craft observed the surface, the acquired data an internal evolution of nitrogen-rich com- International Space Station’s returned a clear, unambiguous signature of pounds. From a cosmogonic point of view, it average altitude above Earth. SIMONE MARCHI’s research focuses on the formation of terrestrial planets and the Moon, the geology of asteroids and terrestrial planets, the spectroscopy and dynamics of minor bodies, and on meteorites. Aside from Dawn, he also works on Europe’s Rosetta, BepiColombo, and JUICE missions.

8 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 HAMO MAPPING ORBIT LAMO MAPPING ORBIT

remains unclear whether compounds that con- apparently not visible. densed between Mars and Jupiter could bear Were they obliterated enough nitrogen to drive the right chemistry by widespread resurfacing, that would explain the widespread presence perhaps associated with the of ammoniated clays on Ceres. early internal evolution? Or, On the other hand, ammonia- and nitrogen- contrary to the odds, did they rich ices are expected to have condensed in not form? the colder outer solar system beyond 5 to 10 The presence of water, organic astronomical units, as witnessed on Pluto- matter, and clays, together with a past evo- Charon and comets. This naturally raises the lution that possibly resulted in widespread question whether outer solar system materials liquid water, has important astrobiological im- were accreted by Ceres. ABOVE In its gradual descent From a dynamical standpoint, this is toward Ceres’ surface, Dawn indeed possible in two broad scenarios. In completed 160 revolutions one scenario, Ceres could have formed in situ, around the dwarf planet between Mars and Jupiter, and within the first as it followed a tight spiral few million years accreted a thick coating of from high altitude mapping outer solar system pebbles that were drifting orbit (HAMO) to low altitude mapping orbit (LAMO). toward the inner solar system. In a second HAMO took place at an scenario, Ceres, as well as countless so-called altitude of 1,470 kilometers Kuiper Belt objects, completely formed in the (913 miles), while LAMO is outer solar system and then got knocked out of operating at 385 kilometers. its original position during the migration of the LEFT Ahuna Mons is Ceres’ giant planets and pushed into its current orbit. tallest mountain. Geologists Either way, the early accretion of ammonia- are uncertain as to why it rich and/or nitrogen-rich ices would have made rises so sharply out of an them available during the initial stages of Ceres’ otherwise unremarkable internal evolution. Radiogenic heating would area. On its steepest side, have readily produced liquid water, resulting Ahuna Mons rises almost 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) in the production of ammoniated clays. above the surface. The large crater next to Ahuna CLUES AND OTHER MYSTERIES plications. For instance, if a subsurface ocean Mons is about 17 kilometers Clues to the origin of Ceres are not the only was ever present on Ceres for a protracted (10.5 miles) in diameter. Graphic: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA important discoveries by Dawn. For instance, time span, were the conditions met for early a number of intriguing and mysterious surface biological life to spawn? features have been detected, including a 4-kilo- Data returned by Dawn over the next meter (2.5-mile)-tall isolated mountain named months will help elucidate these mysteries. Ahuna Mons. There are also localized, geo- To put it in Piazzi’s own words, “We shall wait Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA logically recent bright splotches, the most for the observations to speak to us, for Ceres notable of which are within the floor of the itself to speak to us.” With its debated nature, prominent Occator crater. There are also the Ceres still poses new, unexpected challenges. odd, subdued morphology of the largest rec- It appears to be a key transition object, both ognizable impact feature, the 280 kilometer dynamically and compositionally. Surely, the (174 mile) Kerwan crater, and the astounding astronomers involved in the discovery of Ceres lack of larger impact craters. The latter, accord- more than 200 years ago would be delighted ing to current theoretical models, should be to know what a treasure chest it turned out present in a significant number, yet they are to be for planetary sciences.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 9 Pathway to the Stars Our Solar Sails Paved the Way for Breakthrough Starshot

HIGH ABOVE New York City, inside One World efforts to advance solar sailing technology. Trade Center, a group of scientists and entre- Ann Druyan, a Starshot management and preneurs held a press conference on April 12, advisory committee member who co-wrote the TOP Stephen Hawking took announcing a plan to send a fleet of miniature original Cosmos documentary series with her part in the April 12 press spacecraft to the stars. late husband, Society cofounder Carl Sagan, conference announcing The Breakthrough Initiatives group, led by bil- described this connection just 20 minutes into Breakthrough Starshot, a lionaire Russian physicist Yuri Milner, launched the press conference. proposed mission to send a flock of mini-solar sails a $100 million technology grant program. The “I remember in the 1970s, when [Sagan] first to Alpha Centauri in about program will fund studies to investigate whether described to me this means of moving through 20 years. Hawking is on a fleet of wafer-sized spacecraft equipped with the cosmos,” she said. “I couldn’t get over what the board for the Starshot reflective sails can be blasted with lasers, ac- a mythic achievement it seemed to me that it project, a brainchild celerated to 20 percent the speed of light, and would be able to ride the light. What an im- of Russian billionaire sent to our stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri, maculate way of traveling through the cosmos.” physicist Yuri Milner. in a couple of decades. Tiny probes on the Sagan championed solar sailing with fellow spacecraft would record data and images and Society cofounders Louis Friedman and Bruce

relay them back to Earth. Murray, who were working on the concept at Photo: Dennis Van Tine, Sipa USA; Illustration: Josh Spradling/The Planetary Society Judging by the flood of resulting press NASA’s Jet Propulsion laboratory in Pasadena, coverage, the plan, formally known as Break- California. There, scientists and engineers through Starshot, has captured the public’s hoped to build a kilometers-wide solar sail imagination. The effort has an advisory com- spacecraft to rendezvous with Halley’s Comet mittee stacked with reputable scientists, and when it flew past Earth in 1986. The plan a board of directors that includes cosmolo- never came to fruition, but the idea lived on Photos: Lavochkin Association/The Planetary Society ABOVE In 2017, The gist Stephen Hawking and Facebook founder in the form of Cosmos 1, the Society’s privately Planetary Society’s Mark Zuckerberg. funded solar sail that was ultimately doomed LightSail 2 will launch to Earth orbit aboard a SpaceX by a rocket failure in 2005. Falcon Heavy. THE PLANETARY SOCIETY’S CONNECTION Breakthrough Starshot is connected to The AUDACIOUSLY TINY SAILS Planetary Society through its founders and “A few years after Carl died, I became involved

This story, by Planetary Society Digital Editor Jason Davis, appeared on April 22, 2016 at planet.ly/lightsailstarshot.

10 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 with The Planetary Society, working with gram—a mass reduction by a factor of 5,000. Louis Friedman, who really wrote the textbook And the sail would also need to be lighter on solar sailing,” Druyan said. “We were and more reflective, possibly built from an working on a proof-of-concept mission. But exotic material like carbon nanotubes rather one thing we didn’t think of was making the than Mylar. sail tiny—making the actual craft tiny. And I Not surprisingly, Friedman, who led the think that’s the inspiring audacity of [Break- Society’s Cosmos 1 project as well as LightSail’s through Starshot].” initial development, is on the Starshot advisory Photo: Dennis Van Tine, Sipa USA; Illustration: Josh Spradling/The Planetary Society Cosmos 1 had a sail area of 600 square committee. During a recent phone call he said LEFT Planetary Society meters, whereas the Alpha Centauri-bound that, while there is a large technology gap cofounder Louis Friedman “nanocrafts,” as Breakthrough calls them, between LightSail and what Breakthrough Ini- looks over the Society’s Cosmos 1 flight unit. would have sails with diameters of about 4 tiatives hopes to achieve, LightSail represents Friedman is well known for meters. Other solar sail spacecraft that have a key milestone in the effort to pair space sails his decades-long work on Photos: Lavochkin Association/The Planetary Society flown to date include Japan’sIKAROS (196 with miniaturized technology. solar sailing and is the author square meters), NASA’s Nanosail-D (9.3 square “We went to a 3U CubeSat after working with of Starsailing: Solar Sails meters), and The Planetary Society’s LightSail spacecraft that weigh hundreds of kilograms,” and Interstellar Travel. 1 (32 square meters). If successful, LightSail 2 he said. “And we started working with these ABOVE Russian space (also 32 square meters) will be just the second miniature sails. So LightSail is a motivator scientists and engineers stand solar sail spacecraft to demonstrate purposeful and the right direction. I’d definitely say it’s a below a single Cosmos 1 sail flight by light—IKAROS, thus far, is the first and predecessor in terms of the technology and the blade in the lab at Moscow’s only craft to do so. research that’s been used.” Friedman’s recent Lavochkin Association. Whereas LightSail weighs about 5 kilograms, book, Human Spaceflight: From Mars to the the Starshot nanocrafts might weigh just a Stars, describes the history of these projects.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 11 PATHWAY TO THE STARS

“The thing that makes solar sails so important is that they’re the pathway to the stars ... There’s no other practical means of doing it.”

BREAKTHROUGH’S CHALLENGES range of an extrasolar planet? And what about During the LightSail 1 mission, flight control- the political hurdles of constructing a James- lers faced a barrage of challenges, including Bond-villain-like array of ground lasers? software glitches, communication outages Right now, debating whether Breakthrough and a radio malfunction. LightSail 2 is sure Starshot can solve every challenge and to present its own hurdles. But those diffi- complete the project as envisioned may not be culties pale in comparison to what must be as important as asking the technical questions in the first place. “The fact that they’re openly doing it, and inviting a worldwide community to work on it, is encouraging,” Friedman said. There are also intermediary missions that ABOVE This image of Earth could help refine nanocraft solar sail technol- was captured by Surveyor 7 in 1968. The image, stored ogy while providing reconnaissance for an on a 70 millimeter film reel eventual mission to Alpha Centauri. Friedman negative, also contains likes the idea of sending a small telescope calibration metadata. far enough from the Sun to use the Sun as a gravity lens, capturing otherwise impossibly RIGHT This composite HDR high-resolution images of other star systems. image of Earth was created using 11 frames captured by “You could use the solar gravity lens focus the Surveyor 7 spacecraft. to image an exoplanet and get kilometer-scale imaging of a habitable world,” he said. “One that you might want to target as a destination.” CubeSats like LightSail, which can hitch free rides to orbit and utilize off-the-shelf hardware, have drastically lowered the cost of entry-level space missions. Breakthrough Initiatives believes its sail nanocraft could be mass-produced at the cost of an iPhone. If that turns out to be the case, could fleets of the tiny explorers be sent all over the solar system,

revolutionizing the field of planetary science? Illustration: Michael Carroll ©The Planetary Society ABOVE In the early 2000s, overcome to actually make Breakthrough It’s possible. But for Breakthrough Initia- The Planetary Society Starshot a reality. tives and Friedman, the ultimate destination

commissioned space artist The group’s website lists 25 major engineer- remains much farther away. Death Valley photo: Tyler Nordgren Michael Carroll to illustrate ing challenges that span every aspect of the “I’ve always said, right from the very be- the concept of star sailing. Here, a Cosmos-style solar project, including: How do you keep the space- ginning: The thing that makes solar sails so sail glides through the Milky craft and sail in one piece under the searing important is that they’re the pathway to Way propelled by a laser energy of a high-power laser? What will enable the stars,” Friedman said. “There’s no other from its home planet. the probes to communicate over such vast practical means of doing it.” distances? Can they be steered within camera

12 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 MAT KAPLAN is producer and host of Planetary Radio.

Life, the Universe, and Everything A Death Valley Conversation with Tyler Nordgren and Jill Tarter

DEATH VALLEY GETS a bum rap. Ominous name notwithstanding, it is one of the most spectacular and inspiring spots on our pale blue dot, and you’ll have a tough time finding better night skies between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The National Park Service’s decision to celebrate a “Celestial Centennial” there was genius. All of the national parks are celebrating the 100th birthday of the system this year, and each puts its own spin on the occasion. This past spring, I was invited to the park for a conversation with Jill Tarter and Tyler Nordgren. Jill has been my guest on Planetary Radio several times. No one who is so closely identified with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) speaks more articulately or with more passion than this scientist. Jill holds the Bernard M. Oliver Chair at the SETI Insti- tute, and continues the search. She is also deeply involved in generating not just science literacy, but also the love of investigation and exploration. Tyler Nordgren is a busy academic astrono- mer at the University of Redlands, teaching and working on mysteries like dark matter. But he’s also a gifted artist and photographer. A loose but fruitful partnership with the Park Service resulted in Tyler’s gorgeous book, Stars Above, Earth Below—A Guide to Astronomy in the National Parks, as well as an ongoing series of posters that bring home a phrase Tyler coined: “Half the park is after dark.”

Illustration: Michael Carroll ©The Planetary Society On April 9, the three of us talked for over an hour in the crowded Death Valley Visitors’ Center auditorium. I learned, without surprise,

Death Valley photo: Tyler Nordgren that they had a separate yet shared genesis of wonder as children. It was this sense of awe that we devoted much of our lively discussion to, and we attempt to capture it below. I hope MK Jill, how goes the search? it will make you want to listen to our entire JT Well, the search goes on. We use the Allen conversation in the April 26, 2016 Planetary Telescope Array every day. We just last week Radio episode at planetary.org/radio. changed our modality of observation because

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 13 LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING

“President Barack Obama talked about how the wonders of astronomy inspire generations, and about this young boy in Brooklyn who wanted to learn about the stars. That boy was Carl Sagan, who would inspire the next generation. I was a child of that generation. I bought the Cosmos book with my allowance, read along each week, and I teach out of that book today. So the cycle of inspiration continues…”

of the results from the Kepler spacecraft that the possibility of life elsewhere generates indicated essentially every star has a planet. the same sense of awe in you? We had been observing all the exoplanet TN Oh, absolutely. As a kid I looked up at the systems that were known, but now we’ve sky and wondered what was out there, were started observing 20,000 red dwarf stars that there other civilizations around any of those are much closer to us. Many of them haven’t stars looking back at me? We were having a BELOW [l to r] been observed or planets haven’t been found, class on this just last week, and the discussion Mat Kaplan, Jill Tarter, but statistically we know they should be there. in that room was about whether we should and Tyler Nordgren. So we’re looking at our closest neighbors. listen, should we broadcast, what it will be like if we ever hear from somebody else. That is what captures the passion and interest of generation after generation. I had the great pleasure of going to the White House as part of the White House As- tronomy Night. President Barack Obama came out and talked about how the wonders of as- tronomy inspire generations, and about this young boy in Brooklyn who wanted to learn about the stars. That boy was Carl Sagan, who would inspire the next generation. I was a child of that generation. I bought the Cosmos book with my allowance, read along each week, and I teach out of that book today. So the cycle of inspiration continues.

JT Like Tyler, when I was young—six or eight—I got to walk along the beaches of Florida’s Manasota Key with my dad. There

were such dark skies. I remember looking Photo: The Planetary Society up and wondering whether, on a planet MK Tyler, this is not precisely your field; circling one of those stars, there was a young you largely deal with that stuff that makes creature walking along an ocean with its up most of the universe that none of us can parent looking back at me. So I have always see. Do you find that this topic of SETI and felt that possibility.

14 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 WHAT’S UP? by Bruce Betts

IN THE SKY

MK Do you both feel fortunate to be living and working in the professions you’re in? Bright, reddish Mars, in the South in the evening sky, will fade over many weeks as Earth and Mars get farther apart. It will remain near JT Definitely. I just wish I were 50 years younger, because yellowish Saturn and the red star Antares in Scorpius. Jupiter is I want to see what happens in the next 50 years. It is going bright in the West in evening. By late in August, it is joined by the to be awesome. even brighter Venus and the dimmer Mercury soon after sunset low in the West. The Perseid meteor shower peaks August 12–13, Tyler, my colleague, Emily Lakdawalla, calls this the MK with increased activity several days before and after the peak. Golden Age of Exploration. Particularly after the Moon sets around midnight, the Perseids TN I agree. Just this last summer we finally got images of the should yield 60 to 80 meteors per hour visible from a dark site. On surface of Pluto. Who could have imagined what a beautiful, September 1, an annular solar eclipse will cross central Africa. crazy, confusing place that would turn out to be? It reminds me of back when we first started exploring other moons, like the moons of Jupiter. We thought they would look something like our own Moon, a grey, lifeless, cratered world. Then we RANDOM got there and we saw that they were beautiful, amazing, and SPACE FACT confounding. And now, there’s Europa, where we’re about to send another spacecraft. I, for one, and this is not backed When Pluto was last at its current point in its orbit around the up by any science, but I swear there’s probably something Sun—in other words, one Pluto year ago (1768)—the United States swimming around. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that. didn’t exist and the American Colonies belonged to Great Britain. Something beyond our wildest dreams will be found in this solar system, if not our lifetimes, then in the next generation.

MK So does that sense of awe still drive what you do, Jill? JT Yes. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to get up out of bed the TRIVIA CONTEST next day and go fight with someone over funding. That’s the only bad part of this. But yes, I got hooked thinking about trying to answer questions by exploring rather than believ- Our December Solstice contest winner is Stephen J. Tognoli ing and I’ve stayed hooked. It’s a privilege. Come on. To be of Hollywood, Florida. Congratulations! THE QUESTION WAS: a scientist, to have that be your path, the way you make a What material forms the bulk of Mars’ seasonal polar caps (the ones that grow in the winter and dissipate in the summer)? living, by posing questions and then trying to answer them, THE ANSWER: Carbon dioxide ice, also known as dry ice. and, if you’re lucky, coming up with an answer that no one else has yet figured out. It’s sleuthing, it’s puzzle solving, Try to win a free year’s Planetary Society membership and it’s spectacular. More people should think about science a Planetary Radio T-shirt by answering this question: as a career. Within the Local Group of galaxies, what is the name of the one other galaxy that is similar in size TN When I was in graduate school we’d take a break, go out to, or larger than, our own Milky Way Galaxy? for lunch, and as we were getting ready to go back to work we’d look around at one another and say, “Time to push E-mail your answer to [email protected] or mail your answer to The Planetary Report, 60 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101. Make sure you include Photo: The Planetary Society back the frontiers of human knowledge,” and we’d go back the answer and your name, mailing address, and e-mail address (if you have one). By entering this contest, you are authorizing The Planetary Report to publish your name to work, and we would joke about it. But that’s what we were and hometown. Submissions must be received by August 1, 2016. The winner will be doing. That’s what we had the privilege and the opportunity chosen by a random drawing from among all the correct entries received. to do, and who knows what discovery we might make that For a weekly dose of “What’s Up?” complete with humor, a weekly trivia contest, and a range of significant space and science fiction guests, listen toPlanetary Radio at day, and if tomorrow is the day we discover life elsewhere, planetary.org/radio. what a great day that will be.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 15 QUICK SCANS

HAPPENING ON

PLANETARYplanetary.org/radio RADIO

SPACE POLICY EDITION HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT AT THE END OF THE OBAMA ERA The premiere of a new monthly “policy” segment, examining the latest new! NASA budget move by the House of Representatives, as well as Lockheed Martin’s new “Mars Base Camp” proposal. planet.ly/spacepolicy

CELEBRATING YURI’S NIGHT WITH SAMANTHA CRISTOFORETTI We’re partying under Space Shuttle Endeavour in the first of two shows featuring interviews from the worldwide celebration of space. Star Trek’s Robert Picardo will talk about his new video newsletter, the Planetary Post, and we’ll visit with Samantha Cristoforetti, who returned last June from 200 days aboard the International Space Station. planet.ly/yurisnight

DISCOVERER OF THE FIRST EXTRASOLAR WORLD Michel Mayor and his team rocked the astronomy world with their 1995 announcement, but this modest man says it was a discovery whose time had come. planet.ly/extrasolar

INTERSTELLAR DREAMS Famed science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson is back with Aurora, a cautionary tale about just how difficult interstellar travel may be.planet.ly/kimstanley

Find these shows and our entire archive of Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio! ON PLANETARY.ORG LOCKHEED WANTS LUNAR FARSIDE OPPORTUNITY UPDATE HUMANS ORBITING CHANG’E 4 LANDER FIELD REPORT FROM Planetary Society members photo by David Morrison; space advocates photo by Tushar Dayal MARS Casey Dreier looks The mission team is deciding MARS: SOL 4365 at the similarities between the landing location, as well Larry Crumpler details Lockheed Martin’s plans and as the mission’s instrument significant concentrations NOW AT JUPITER the ideas set forth in our package. planet.ly/change4 of clay minerals in an outcrop and ridge, as well WHAT TO EXPECT Humans Orbiting Mars report. FROM JUNOCAM Juno as some confusing readings. planet.ly/lockheed doesn’t need a camera, but planet.ly/sol4365 it has one! What will we see? INSIDE POLITICS planet.ly/junocam BACK TO THE MOON FINDING FUNDING NEW LUNAR MOSAICS IN WASHINGTON An RED DRAGON DELAYED MISSION Jason Davis finds buried astrophysics graduate student AND PLANETARY EXOMARS DOMINO treasure in a computer- EXPLORATION What attends a workshop to learn EFFECT Anatoly Zak on intensive process to extract impact might SpaceX’s about the federal budget how the postponement of data from more than 90,000 Dragon spacecraft have and advisory process, and to ESA and Roskosmos’ ExoMars image frames digitized from on planetary exploration? develop science advocacy skills. rover might affect other NASA’s Surveyor program. planet.ly/reddragon planet.ly/funding missions. planet.ly/dominoeffect planet.ly/lunarmosaics

16 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 SOCIETY TRAVEL VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT KATE HOWELLS is The Planetary Society’s Volunteer Network Manager.

Amazing Outreach WASHINGTON, D.C. is an important place for space exploration. Every United States-led mission has to pass through key decision-making processes, whether in the White House, Congress, or NASA ABOVE Planetary Society members headquarters. had fun photographing the 2016 Naturally, The Planetary Society’s space policy total solar eclipse from Indonesia. staff spend a great deal of time in Washington, ensuring that our members’ voices are heard. But we’re focused not only on educating politicians; Experience we want to engage everyone in the adventure of an Eclipse! exploration. So in Washington—and so many other places around the world—we have an amazing team CHILE ANNULAR ECLIPSE EXPEDITION of volunteers getting the public excited about space. FEBRUARY 22—MARCH 4, 2017 With optional Easter Island extension March 4–7, 2017

SUN VALLEY IDAHO TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE AUGUST 18–26, 2017 From Boise to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, you’ll enjoy fossils, a raft trip, Peregrine falcons, a rodeo, and more! See the eclipse from a mountain top at Sun Valley!

GRAND TETONS TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE AUGUST 15–23, 2017 Our other expedition for the eclipse of August 21, 2017 will include similar activities. We will witness the eclipse from atop Rendezvous Peak, overlooking Planetary Society members photo by David Morrison; space advocates photo by Tushar Dayal the Tetons and Jackson Hole! This past February, the Washington volunteers ABOVE Planetary rallied around the 2016 Legislative Blitz, which is Society members ALASKA AURORA BOREALIS organized in collaboration with the Space Explora- and fellow space MARCH 2–8, 2017 advocates train for tion Alliance, a coalition of organizations devoted Come see the Greatest Light Show their Legislative Blitz on Earth as part of this utterly to space advocacy, policy, and industry. Planetary meetings in Congress. delightful Alaskan excursion! Society members and volunteers joined other space advocates to hold meetings in Congress, educating IN SEARCH OF AMELIA EARHART JUNE 21 - JULY 11, 2017 leaders about the importance of space exploration. On the 80th anniversary of Amelia Over the course of two days, 67 participants held Earhart’s Round the World flight, be a part a whopping 173 meetings, advocating for a future of this expedition to search for Amelia’s plane and artifacts. We will sail onboard they believe possible. The Planetary Society will the Reef Endeavour to remote Nikumaroro strive to continue to provide such opportunities Island, 1,000 miles north of Fiji. so that members and volunteers can make real contributions to space advocacy. Join fellow Planetary Society members on these wonderful adventures! To learn more, As always, keep an eye out for volunteer op- call Betchart Expeditions at 800-252-4910, portunities in your area and around the world. or visit betchartexpeditions.com. Go to planetary.org/volunteer to learn more.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 17 CASEY DREIER is director of space policy for The Planetary Society.

Partisan Peril Spaceflight and the Risks of Presidential Leadership

NASA, one that traces its roots back to John F. Kenne- dy’s challenge to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth. The success of Apollo cemented Kenne- dy’s legacy and defined the narrative behind the role of strong presidential leader- ship in space exploration. This narrative has grown only stronger in the intervening decades, as many presidential administrations have clearly lacked a strong commitment to space, leading to commen- surate drops in funding and ambition for NASA. If only, so the argument goes, we had a strong U.S. president to commit the nation to a clear direction in space explora- tion and expend the political AS THE UNITED STATES next president, whose deci- capital necessary to make grinds ever closer to Novem- sions will be shaped by the it happen. ABOVE On May 25, 1961, ber’s presidential elections, prominence of space within President John F. Kennedy INDUCED POLITICAL announced, before a special the question of the space his or her governing agenda. joint session of Congress, the program’s future becomes The president wields OPPOSITION ambitious goal of landing ever more relevant. NASA significant control over the There is a subtle risk associ- an American on the Moon is in the midst of a genera- space program by appoint- ated with this idea, however, and returning him safely tional transition of its human ing NASA leadership, setting a risk that is a product of our to Earth before the end of spaceflight program, and the nation’s space policy, modern political era: What if, the decade. At the time of his speech, Kennedy’s party there are a number of large formally requesting new by making space a major part enjoyed significant majorities science projects throughout projects, and setting the of his or her political agenda, in both houses of the U.S. the agency that will be years initial terms of the annual the president actually incites Congress—majorities that away from launch when the funding debate through political opposition to space would endure for decades. next administration takes the official budget request exploration where none was Modern presidents face a congress that can see office. The question of what to Congress. previously found? The idea Phot: NASA significant shifts in political to do—or what not to do—with But the president has a of induced political opposi- power every few years. these projects will fall to the deeper relationship with tion applies to many issues

18 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 beyond space, and the book agenda naturally becomes multiple presidents from Beyond Ideology, by the the focal point for the politi- both parties. Ironically, by political scientist Frances cal opposition. Undermin- presenting a bold vision for Lee, provides a compelling ing the president’s agenda NASA and explicitly tying it argument for this effect and is a highly visible way for the to their governing agenda, FOR FURTHER READING: its increasing prevalence in opposition party to prevent presidents in this era face U.S. politics over the past the president’s party from the very real risk of under- few decades. making a successful case to mining the very consensus This effect primarily rises voters in the next election, needed to make their goal from two conditions: that the and it tends to attract the successful in the long run. U.S. has only two major polit- most ferocious resistance. So perhaps the next ical parties, and neither has Notably, this dynamic has president should resist the been able to hold a sustain- little to do with the content (possible) temptation to able majority since the 1990s. of the proposed legislation. make a JFK-style speech The two-party system is The fact that the president about a grand vision in a zero-sum game: one party has proposed it hyper- space. Instead, it might be wins when the other loses. charges partisan resistance. wiser to follow a Theodore Beyond Ideology And one party can win by In her book, Lee quantified Roosevelt-style path and By Frances E. Lee making either a positive this induced opposition “speak softly” about the University Of Chicago Press, 2009 case to voters or by under- for various types of issues space program, closely mining the opposition party. and found that legislation work with space supporters Add to the mix the fact that relating to space, science, in Congress, and wield a big both parties feel outright and technology incurs the stick via the annual budget control of the Congress is greatest increase in partisan request and national space within their grasp—again, opposition when included in policy. The politics of space a relatively recent phe- the president’s agenda. don’t have intrinsic ideology nomenon—and you have Despite this, presidents to guide or protect the issue a strong incentive to form can still create significant from partisanship, and presi- uniform voting blocks change at NASA during their dents (and space advocates) against signature legislation tenures. And I acknowledge must think carefully about of either party. Consider the that the space program the risks of strong, visible Spaceflight and the examples of uniform Repub- benefits from a strong leadership in this hyperpar- Myth of Presidential lican resistance to stimulus bipartisan coalition from tisan era. Leadership funding proposed by Presi- legislators that have NASA Edited by Roger D. Launius and Howard E. McCurdy dent Obama in 2009, or the centers and contractors I’m curious about what you University of Illinois Press, 1997 uniform Democratic opposi- in their districts. But for think. Do you want space to tion to social security reform major initiatives that would play a major role in the next proposed by President Bush disrupt the status quo, or president’s agenda? Or would in 2005. new programs that would you prefer quiet support and last decades—like sending a clear agenda in space? THE POLITICS OF SPACE humans to Mars—a strong What is the right balance?

Phot: NASA The U.S. president is the enough consensus must Send your thoughts to most visible leader of a politi- be developed to sustain [email protected] cal party, and the president’s the program through today.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 19 DEVELOPMENTS IN SPACE SCIENCE BRUCE BETTS is director of science and technology for The Planetary Society. Update on LightSail 2 A Better and Smarter Project Moves Forward

WE JUST CELEBRATED the orbit) of about 470 kilome- deployment. The mission one-year anniversary of the ters (290 miles) in altitude, did what it was supposed to LightSail test mission (Light- and an apogee (the high do: demonstrate solar sail Sail 1), a roller-coaster ride point) of 780 kilometers deployment and provide of a mission that ended in (485 miles). Even in space, lessons learned. (Learn BELOW On May 23, 2016 an success: demonstration of there is still enough atmo- more about the LightSail 1 excited crowd packed Cal Poly the operation of the loaf- sphere at altitudes below mission in the June Solstice San Luis Obispo’s Bonderson of-bread-sized spacecraft, 600 kilometers (about 370 2015 issue of The Planetary Engineering Center to watch and deployment of our 32- miles) that, once you deploy Report.) LightSail 2’s Day In The Life test. The spacecraft’s own square meter solar sail. We big sails on a small space- After the end of LightSail 1, –X axis camera photographed did all that thanks to the craft, the atmospheric drag focus turned to LightSail 2, the sails as they deployed. members and donors who not only precludes testing the follow-on mission that will attempt to demonstrate controlled solar sailing: ori- enting the spacecraft in such a way that slight pressure from sunlight will measur- ably change the spacecraft’s orbit. This will be the first time this has been done with a small spacecraft, in this case a 3U CubeSat, and it will pave the way for future CubeSat missions, including missions in deep space. We are just finishing the final pre-launch testing of Light- Sail 2, so it is a good time to reflect on where we have come from and where we are going with the mission. Photos: Jason Davis/The Planetary Society BETTER AND SMARTER Based on lessons learned from LightSail 1 and the required capabilities for made the mission possible. of solar sailing, but it also the LightSail 2 mission, we LightSail 1 was a test brings the spacecraft to a have made numerous mod- mission with an orbit fiery atmospheric burn-up ifications, additions, and perigee (the low point in the within about a week after upgrades to hardware and Thanks!Planetary Society members have helped make this project—and many others—possible! Thank you.

20 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 software to improve the testing, and lots of it. We the ADCS software will be Update on LightSail 2 spacecraft’s function and performed many compo- tested as part of the process. A Better and Smarter Project Moves Forward operability. LightSail 2 nent-level tests, followed by After ADCS testing, the looks like LightSail 1, but its system level-testing. This spacecraft will return to hardware is more capable testing, as intended, uncov- Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and its software is smarter. ered various issues. Those for vibration and thermal A key new piece of issues were then fixed and testing and final functional hardware is included in more testing was done. As testing, basically another LightSail 2: a momentum of this writing, we have just partial Day In The Life test, wheel, which is a wheel that completed the critical Day as a final check to make can be spun up and slowed In The Life test: a simula- sure all is well. Then, on a down to cause the required tion of the key mission schedule currently planned changes in the spacecraft’s milestones, from first signal to be in mid-July, LightSail orientation. LightSail 2 also acquisition through solar 2 will head to Georgia Tech needs to greatly expand the panel deployment and sail for integration into their Attitude Determination and deployment. We success- Prox-1 spacecraft. On orbit, Control Subsystem (ADCS), fully deployed the sail at Cal LightSail 2 will deploy from the system that determines Poly San Luis Obispo while Prox-1, which will then where you are and what your commanding the spacecraft chase down LightSail 2 and orientation is, and controls using the spacecraft radio perform proximity opera- ABOVE Because LightSail 2’s the changing of those things. and the Cal Poly ground tions near it. We hope Prox-1 32-square-meter solar sails Using the ADCS, we will station, just as it will be done will also generate some are too large to fit inside a clean room, the spacecraft demonstrate controlled when the spacecraft is in stunning imaging to comple- must be transported inside solar sailing by spending orbit. The test was success- ment LightSail 2’s onboard an electrostatic bag to a half of every 90-minute ful, though some anomalies cameras. large high bay for sail orbit with the sail per- were found—the purpose of LightSail 2 will launch on deployment testing. pendicular to the sunlight, this testing—and are being the second launch of the gathering momentum from corrected as I write. new SpaceX Falcon Heavy light hitting the sails. Then, Next up will be ADCS rocket, as part of the U.S. De- the spacecraft will rotate testing in a facility at Utah partment of Defense Space 90 degrees to “feather” the State University. It is sort of Test Program-2 payload. sail as the spacecraft heads a Day In The Life Part 2, this The first Falcon Heavy back in the Sun’s direction. time focusing on the ADCS launch has been delayed It then rotates 90 degrees system inside a Helmholtz until late 2016, meaning again and the process cage, a device that allows LightSail 2 will likely launch repeats, thus modifying the simulation of an artificial early in 2017. To keep up orbit. So a lot of effort has magnetic field. Basic mag- with developments in the Photos: Jason Davis/The Planetary Society been going into modifying, netometer calibration was next few months, and refining, and improving the carried out recently at UCLA. for details of what has ADCS system. At Utah State, mission simula- been happening the last tions will be run and various several months, see our TESTING—AND MORE sensors, including magne- dedicated LightSail website, TESTING tometers, gyros, and Sun sail.planetary.org, and check One key to successful sensors, will be tested and out the blogs by Jason Davis spacecraft operations is calibrated as needed, and on planetary.org.

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 21 . r y /

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N V We’re Building a Movement! P New membership options create new opportunities

I LIKE TO SAY THAT, like the universe itself, The UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP! Planetary Society is expanding. In this issue of The Planetary Report, The Our 35 years of hard work are paying off. Our Planetary Society announces a renewed and programs have been propelled to new heights expanded membership program that will of success, as exemplified by ourLightSail 1 test help us continue to build momentum for this flight, our effective grassroots advocacy efforts movement to explore the cosmos. The themes to get a mission to Europa on the books, and of our program are Exploration and Empower- our expanding in-depth coverage of space ex- ment. Through your membership gift to The ploration that includes new directions in human Planetary Society, you are getting so much spaceflight and our future journey to Mars. more than a subscription to this magazine— These successes have inspired expansion you are helping to open up the universe to of our membership, too. Thanks to public exploration—not only for you, but for everyone interest in our programs, the number of Plan- on Earth. etary Society members has increased to more In this major update of our membership than 50,000 as of this writing. As the Society program, we have added new levels, features, builds momentum, our membership itself is and benefits designed to enhance our members’ The New becoming a movement! opportunities to connect with us and to their Millennium passion for exploring the cosmos. We are com- ADVANCING SPACE EXPLORATION bining our three categories—Basic Membership, Committee Is Now Planetary Society members have a multi- the Discovery Team, and the New Millennium Expanding, Too! tude of new ways to engage. In a world of increas- Committee—into a single program that cel- ing information options, members are connect- ebrates the explorer who lives inside all of us. The New Millennium ing not only through The Planetary Report and Yes, after many years, our membership rates Committee will continue Planetary Radio, but with new digital media such are changing. Notably, we are streamlining our as our premier recognition as our website and blogs, our social media on rates so that international members pay the opportunity for members Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, our new Plan- same amount as our U.S. members, and we are who make gifts of $500 etary TV channel, and our new eNewsletter, The also creating a Classic Membership category ex- or more. In addition, we Planetary Post. Our members have an insatiable clusively for our current U.S. members who love will now welcome to the desire to learn and discover with us and, in so what they already have and simply want to stay committee all donors who doing, to become planetary explorers themselves. the course.* (Classic Membership will not be make cumulative gifts Explorers are agents of change, leading available to our international members because of $500 or more in a humanity on a journey of discovery that starts our new rates already represent what we hope 12-month period, whether at the edge of what’s familiar, then expands to will be a welcome reduction for them.) While we to membership, our special the horizon and, beyond that, the unknown. are continuing special lower rates for students, projects, or all of the above! Curiosity is a deeply ingrained human charac- seniors, and educators, we are also expanding teristic, and our member-explorers are shining increasingly popular monthly payment oppor- examples of it. Planetary Society members are tunities to almost every level. If you are a current at the leading edge of a new movement, as our Discovery Team member, we will continue your CEO often exhorts us, to “change the world!” sustaining support at the new level that matches We are witnessing—and we are part of—the birth your current monthly payment. And for those of a peoples’ movement to advance the explora- who have multiyear memberships (typically tion of space. 2- and 3-year memberships), we will honor

22 THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 . r y / r. r. /y 0 0 /y 5 0 5 ) $ 0 . 7 , . . L r r $ dents on . r A tu ly 0 . ) y r y y ) (s / r U r. 3 / y / y Y /y / 0 D $ 0 . / 0 L I 5 . 2 0 r 0 . r I 0 0 5 $ r V S y y I 0 5 2 M 0 / , y 0 / , D M N 0 / $ 0 5 , 2 5 A A 0 N 0 $ F O 0 $ 2 I E 2 0 R 1 ( ( 1 0 T Z $ 0 , Y E $ I $ R 0 R , R Y 5 1 R D R R O R E E T R $ $ N I Y A O E E R I R E Basic benefits include S R E G T N H F N O E O I O • Official Membership Card E V U O L A L I H N I R

W Y V R P O P R T • Members-only access to web pages—

O S A E

O O I I U C X X A U Infinite Visions, MySky, etc.

N V P R M S S E V P E C • Facebook/social media “donor badge” • The Planetary Report • The Planetary Post and Space Advocate e-Newsletters • Your name in space—on spacecraft! • The Planetary Society/NASA FCU Platinum Advantage Rewards Visa • Invitations to Special Events such as Planetary Radio Live • Access to TPS Travel Programs

EVERYTHING ABOVE PLUS Planetary Society Members-only T-shirt

EVERYTHING ABOVE PLUS Two (2) Planetary Society Members-only T-shirts

EVERYTHING AT THE EXPLORER (INDIVIDUAL) LEVEL PLUS Planetary Society lapel pin in Planetary Blue; listing on the Society’s Donor Honor Roll

EVERYTHING ABOVE PLUS LightSail poster by ChopShop

EVERYTHING ABOVE PLUS New Millennium Committee recognition, including certificate signed by CEO Bill Nye; Advocacy Update Calls with Bill Nye and Policy Director Casey Dreier; Planetary Society greeting cards with planetary photos EVERYTHING ABOVE PLUS Year-In-Space Calendar

EVERYTHING ABOVE PLUS Planetary Society lapel pin in sterling silver

EVERYTHING ABOVE PLUS those member- LightSail pin, patch, and medallion set

ships until their EVERYTHING ABOVE PLUS expected renewal Planetary Society lapel pin in gold plate; acknowledgement on Planetary Radio broadcast; invitation to witness the LightSail 2 launch date. EVERYTHING ABOVE PLUS We have curated a Postcards from Mars set — book and art-framed photograph autographed by author and Planetary Society President Dr. Jim Bell wonderful set of benefits and EVERYTHING ABOVE PLUS premiums to enhance your connec- The Planetary Society brass telescope tion with the Society and our shared desire to know the cosmos and our place within it. to do The names of our new membership levels are anything inspired by the names of some of the great right now to join the new missions to explore our solar system—names program—we will send you information during such as Curiosity, Explorer, and Sojourner. And your regular renewal month. But if you are as we have added benefits to each of these levels, excited as we are about these new opportu- *Satisfied with your current membership and don’t want to change including, by popular request, our Planetary nities and you just can’t wait to get that new it? Then continue to renew as usual Society logo pin (the same one Bill wears every T-shirt, you can also use the enclosed insert to during your anniversary month and select our Classic membership day!). Oh, and did we mention the new T-shirt? renew early, or go online to our new member- available only to current members Everyone who upgrades into the new program ship web page at planetary.org/membership. and still just $37.00 (though you’ll miss out on the new T-shirt and will get our new T-shirt, which is now available Now more than ever, we are your place in other great new benefits!). in both women’s and men’s styles. space! Please check out the new membership levels —Richard Chute and benefits in the chart above. You don’t have Chief Development Officer

THE PLANETARY REPORT C JUNE SOLSTICE 2016 23 THE PLANETARY SOCIETY 60 SOUTH LOS ROBLES AVENUE PASADENA CA 91101-2016 USA

Citizen-Funded Flight by Light

It may look tiny, but the DVD mounted on LightSail 2 is mighty! The disc seen in the photo at left is from our recent Day In The Life (DITL) test. It bulges with the names of an astonishing number of supporters— some 46,000 combined Planetary Society members and Kickstarter backers in the United States and around the world who joined together to support the LightSail™ project financially. Each supporter gave, on average, the relatively small sum of $60. But by banding together and concentrating our resources, we are demonstrating the power of the people to raise millions of dollars and to reach new heights in exploration without relying on big business or government. Accordingly, next year’s flight of LightSail represents a key moment of truth in the democratization of space. In Cosmos, Carl Sagan asserted that “Exploration is in our nature. We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still. We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars.” Our members and backers claim this heritage as their own. We are, indeed, explorers on a journey beyond the horizon. Go, LightSail!

Onward,

Richard Chute Director of Development [email protected] 626-793-5100 x214