Mars approaches Earth, and Earthlings dream of going to Mars

Hayabusa2’s samples from asteroid Ryugu will return to Earth on 6 December 2020, Japan’s space agency announced. The samples will land in southern Australia at the same military complex where the first Hayabusa spacecraft sent samples from asteroid Itokawa in 2010. Hayabusa2 itself will pass within 200 kilometers of Earth and fly on to visit another asteroid. Pictured: Hayabusa2 snapped this picture of Ryugu after collecting 1 of 2 samples in 2019. Hayabusa2's shadow can be seen, along with a dark splotch where the spacecraft's thrusters blew away lighter materials on Ryugu's surface. Image credit: JAXA et al.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope passed two tests designed to make sure the spacecraft is ready for launch next year: an acoustic test blasted the observatory with sound waves to simulate the noise of liftoff, while a ground command test made sure Webb can power on and receive commands. Next up: vibration tests to make sure nothing shakes loose during the ride to orbit in October 2021.

China is seeking international partners for a lunar base planned for the Moon’s south pole. Russia and the European Space Agency are interested; both are also participants in NASA’s Artemis program. The base would initially be robotic but could support human visits in the early 2030s.

NASA announced astronaut Jeanette Epps will join the crew of a Boeing Starliner spacecraft scheduled to visit the International Space Station next year. Epps, along with astronauts Suni Williams and Josh Cassada, will stay aboard the station for 6 months. Boeing must first complete both an uncrewed and crewed Starliner test flight before the mission, under the terms of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

China’s Tianwen-1 spacecraft performed some initial health checks on its instruments and appears to be doing well as it cruises to Mars. The spacecraft, which consists of an orbiter and rover, is part of an international fleet of new Mars missions that launched in July and will arrive in February 2021.

The annual Humans to Mars Summit will take place virtually this year from 31 August through 3 September. Wherever you live, you can join this exciting and informative conference to learn more about humanity’s efforts to reach Mars. Planetary Society members and supporters get a 10% discount off full ticket prices with the promo code PlanetaryMars. Learn more and register here. Pictured: The Red Planet as imaged by NASA’s Viking orbiter in 1980. Image credit: NASA / JPL / USGS.

This week The Planetary Society hosted a unique live event, bringing you folk musician Peter Mayer and his cosmically-inspired songs. Joined by Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, Peter also shared his thoughts on the meaningfulness of exploration and discovery. Watch the recording of this live event at planetary.org/live.

Speaking of Planetary Radio, check out this week’s episode with astrophysicist and cosmologist Katie Mack. She joined host Mat Kaplan to discuss her new book, The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking), which explores 5 major scenarios for the big finish of the cosmos that scientists currently consider to be possible.