Space News Update - October 3 , 2017 -

1. Space News Update - October 3, 2017 - • In the News • Story 1: • New insights on dark energy • Story 2: • Lockheed Martin Unveils Details of their Proposed Base Camp for Mars • Story 3:Small Collisions Make Big Impact on Mercury’s Thin Atmosphere • Departments • The Night Sky • ISS Sighting Opportunities • NASA-TV Highlights • Space Calendar • Food for Thought • Space Image of the Week

2. New insights on dark energy

3. Lockheed Martin Unveils Details of their Proposed Base Camp for Mars

4. Small Collisions Make Big Impact on Mercury’s Thin Atmosphere

5. The Night Sky Tuesday, October 3• Vega is the brightest star very high in the west at nightfall. Arcturus, equally bright, is getting low in the west-northwest. The brightest star in the vast expanse between them, about a third of the way from Arcturus up toward Vega, is Alphecca, magnitude 2.2 — the crown jewel of Corona Borealis. Alphecca is a 17-day eclipsing binary, but its brightness dips are too slight for the eye to see reliably. Wednesday, October 4 • Venus and Mars are in conjunction in early dawn tomorrow, forming a tight pair; they're only about ¼° apart during dawn for the Americas. Look low in the east. Binoculars or a low-power telescope will help separate the dazzle of Venus from the dimmer lights of Mars (magnitude 1.8) and nearby Sigma Leonis (even fainter at magnitude 4.0, not shown on the scenes here). Thursday, October 5 • Full Moon (exactly full at 2:40 p.m. EDT). The Moon rises due east around sunset. After dark, as the Moon gains height, look above it for the Great Square of Pegasus balancing on one corner. Friday, October 6 • The Moon, just past full, rises in the east in late twilight. As night arrives, look for the two brightest stars of Aries to the Moon's upper left by about a fist and a half at arm's length. The stars are 4° apart (less than half a fist) and lined up almost horizontally. Can you see that the brighter one — Hamal, on the left — has an orange tint? Sky & Telescope

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities ISS For Denver: Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

7. MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013 NASA MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013 NASA MAVEN Launch November 18, 2013 NASA NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Time Zone) • 6 a.m., Wednesday, October 4 - Live Coverage of the Launch of NASA’s Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE) from the Wallops Flight Facility (Launch time scheduled at 6:45 a.m.) (Starts at 6:15 a.m.) (all channels) • 6:30 a.m., Thursday, October 5 - Coverage of ISS Expedition 53 U.S. Spacewalk #44 (Spacewalk begins at 8:05 a.m. ET, expected to last 6 ½ hours; Bresnik and VandeHei) (all channels) • 10 a.m., Friday, October 6 - ISS Expedition 53 In-Flight Educational Event with the Gaylord St. Mary Cathedral School in Gaylord, Michigan and ISS Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba of NASA (Starts at 10:15 a.m.) (all channels) • 11 a.m., Friday, October 6 - SpaceCast Weekly (all channels) • 1 p.m., Friday, October 6 - The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Presents – “What’s New in Aerospace?” From Hurricanes to Your Street Corner: Photography from Space (all channels) Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

8. Aug PSLV Launch Space Calendar • Oct 03 - Moon Occults Neptune • Oct 03 - Comet 73P-AK/Schwassmann-WachmannClosest Approach To Earth (1.703 AU) • Oct 03 - Comet 73P-AU/Schwassmann-WachmannClosest Approach To Earth (1.705 AU) • Oct 03 - Comet 240P/NEATClosest Approach To Earth (1.877 AU) • Oct 03 - [Sep 29] Apollo Asteroid 2017 SS16 Near-Earth Flyby (0.014 AU) • Oct 03 - [Sep 26] Amor Asteroid 2017 SK12 Near-Earth Flyby (0.081 AU) • Oct 03 - Asteroid 36800 Katarinawitt Closest Approach To Earth (1.084 AU) • Oct 03 - Asteroid 10111 Frensel Closest Approach To Earth (1.622 AU) • Oct 03 - Binary Asteroid 90 Antiope Closest Approach To Earth (1.836 AU) • Oct 03 - 55th Anniversary (1962), Sigma 7 Launch (Walter Schirra) • Oct 03 - 55th Anniversary (1962), Zagami Meteorite Fall in Nigeria (Mars Meteorite) • Oct 03 - 75th Anniversary (1942), 1st Successful Test Launch of the German A-4 Rocket (V-2) • Oct 04 - [Sep 30] 60th Anniversary (1957), Sputnik 1 Launch • Oct 04 - Comet 352P/SkiffAt Opposition (1.695 AU) • Oct 04 - [Sep 29] Comet P/2006 UR111 (Spacewatch)Closest Approach To Earth (2.327 AU) • Oct 04 - Apollo Asteroid 2004 RE84Near-Earth Flyby (0.039 AU) • Oct 04 - [Sep 28] Apollo Asteroid 2017 ST14 Near-Earth Flyby (0.041 AU) • Oct 04 - Apollo Asteroid 2017 SO10 Near-Earth Flyby (0.042 AU) • Oct 04 - [Oct 01] Amor Asteroid 2017 SJ19 Near-Earth Flyby (0.044 AU) • Oct 04 - [Sep 26] Apollo Asteroid 2017 SK12 Near-Earth Flyby (0.052 AU) • Oct 04 - [Sep 28] Amor Asteroid 2017 SP14 Near-Earth Flyby (0.067 AU) • Oct 04 - Apollo Asteroid 4197 MorpheusClosest Approach To Earth (0.474 AU) • Oct 04 - Asteroid 763 Cupido Closest Approach To Earth (0.875 AU) • Oct 04 - Asteroid 9781 Jubjubbird Closest Approach To Earth (1.272 AU) • Oct 04 - Asteroid 171381 Taipei Closest Approach To Earth (1.769 AU) • Oct 04 - 10th Anniversary (2007), Kaguya (Selene 1) Moon Orbit Insertion • Oct 04 - Christen Longomontanus' 455th Birthday (1562) • Oct 04-10 - [Sep 30] World Space Week • Oct 05 - [Sep 27] Iridium Next 21-30Falcon 9 Launch • Oct 05 - [Sep 27] NROL-52/ Quasar 21Atlas 5 Launch JPL Space Calendar

9. Aug PSLV Launch Space Calendar • Oct 05 - Venus Passes 0.2 Degrees From Mars • Oct 05 - Apollo Asteroid 2017 QO17 Near-Earth Flyby (0.077 AU) • Oct 05 - Atira Asteroid 2012 VE46Closest Approach To Earth (0.791 AU) • Oct 05 - Asteroid 17058 Rocknroll Closest Approach To Earth (1.547 AU) • Oct 05 - European Southern Observatory's (ESO) 55th Birthday (1962) • Oct 05 - Robert Goddard's 135th Birthday (1882) • Oct 05 - Giorgio Abetti's 135th Birthday (1882) • Oct 06 - Comet 73P-BQ/Schwassmann-WachmannClosest Approach To Earth (1.772 AU) • Oct 06 - Comet 73P-N/Schwassmann-WachmannClosest Approach To Earth (1.789 AU) • Oct 06 - Comet C/2017 S2 (PANSTARRS)Closest Approach To Earth (2.643 AU) • Oct 06 - Comet 124P/MrkosAt Opposition (3.915 AU) • Oct 06 - Asteroid 277 Elvira Occults HIP 116323 (5.9 Magnitude Star) • Oct 06 - Apollo Asteroid 2011 TB4Near-Earth Flyby (0.065 AU) • Oct 06 - Apollo Asteroid 2017 GS6 Near-Earth Flyby (0.078 AU) • Oct 06 - Aten Asteroid 2004 TD10Near-Earth Flyby (0.084 AU) • Oct 06 - Aten Asteroid 5381 SekmetClosest Approach To Earth (0.649 AU) • Oct 06 - Asteroid 5819 Lauretta Closest Approach To Earth (1.285 AU) • Oct 06 - Asteroid 35978 Arlington Closest Approach To Earth (1.458 AU) • Oct 06 - Asteroid 9325 Stonehenge Closest Approach To Earth (1.552 AU) • Oct 06 - Asteroid 15550 Sydney Closest Approach To Earth (1.672 AU) • Oct 06 - Asteroid 671 Carnegia Closest Approach To Earth (2.044 AU) • Oct 06 - Nevil Maskelyne's 285th Birthday (1732) JPL Space Calendar

10. New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale Food for Thought Is Mars habitable? With the right technologies, yes

11. Space Image of the Week Hubble Catches Galaxies Swarmed by Star Clusters Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA