Short Takes – 6-25-24 – Space Geek Edition

China’s Chang’e-6 Probe Drops Off Samples From Moon’s Far Side. UniverseToday.com article. Pull quote: “The samples are expected to include volcanic rock and other materials that could shed fresh light on the moon’s origins and compositional differences between the near side and the far side. Scientists may also learn more about resources in the moon’s south polar region. That region is of high interest because it’s thought to harbor deposits of water ice that could be used to support future lunar settlements.”

Europe aims to end space access crisis with Ariane 6’s inaugural launch. SpaceNews.com interview. Pull quote: “Tolker-Nielsen: We have done everything that can be done on the ground to ensure that this inaugural flight is a success. I’m quite excited and 98% confident! Things look good at this point. The launcher is fully qualified on the ground. We feel reasonably confident about launching on July 9 as we solve minor problems on a daily basis. On this demonstration flight, we have thousands of sensors on the rocket to measure the performances and validate our models. Then, we’ll need five months until the second flight to analyze all the flight data.”

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin could soon launch Nigeria's 1st-ever space tourist. Space.com article. Pull quote: “The Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA), a U.S. for-profit company, has guaranteed that one of the six seats for an upcoming flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital vehicle will go to a Nigerian, Semafor reports.”

NASA calls off spacewalk at last minute as astronaut suit malfunctions. CNN.com article. Pull quote: ““There’s still water shooting out,” Dyson said at one point. “We can assume that water got into that connector, electrical connector.””

ISRO nails autonomous landing experiment of Reusable Launch Vehicle, big boost for orbital re-entry missions. BusinessToday.com article. Pull quote: ““Pushpak executed a precise horizontal landing, showcasing advanced autonomous capabilities under challenging conditions. With the objectives of RLV LEX accomplished, ISRO embarks into RLV-ORV, the orbital reusable vehicle,” ISRO said in a post on X (formally Twitter).”