Space News Update - June 3, 2016 - In the News Departments Story 1: The Universe Is Expanding Faster Than We Thought Story 2: Elon Musk hopes SpaceX will send humans to Mars in 2024 Story 3: Fifty Years of Moon Dust: Surveyor 1 was a Pathfinder for Apollo Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

The Universe Is Expanding Faster Than We Thought In this computer graphic, NASA's Voyager 1 probe, moving toward upper left, nears the edge of the sun's influence, flying through a region of space dominated by a "magnetic highway" that helps mediate the flow of particles into and out of the solar system. The region includes particles from the sun's southern hemisphere that have been forced northward by the pressure of the interstellar wind. Voyager 1 is expected to cross the boundary into interstellar space sometime within the next few years if not sooner. (Credit: NASA)

Elon Musk hopes SpaceX will send humans to Mars in 2024

Fifty Years of Moon Dust: Surveyor 1 was a Pathfinder for Apollo

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Friday, June 3 • The Mars-Antares-Saturn triangle shows a little higher at dusk every night. And it's changing shape, as Mars stretches westward away from the head of Scorpius. Mars will continue this westward (retrograde) motion until the end of June. Then it will start to slingshot back eastward, to fly right between Antares and Saturn on August 23rd and 24th. Saturday, June 4 • On June evenings, Cassiopeia lurks low in the north: a wide, upright W, as shown below. The farther north you are the higher it'll appear, but even as far south as San Diego and Atlanta it's completely above the horizon. • New Moon (exact at 11:00 p.m. EDT). A new lunar month begins. Unlike a calendar month, which averages 30.437 days long, a lunar month (from one new Moon to the next) averages 29.531 days. So, on average, you see the Moon in the same phase about 1 day earlier every month by the calendar. Sunday, June 5 • For much of the spring at mid-northern latitudes, the Milky Way lies right down out of sight all around the horizon. But watch the east now. The rich Cepheus-Cygnus-Aquila stretch of the Milky Way starts rising up across the eastern sky late these nights, earlier and higher each week. Monday, June 6 • Is your sky dark enough for you to see the Coma Berenices star cluster naked-eye? As soon as twilight is completely over, look above Jupiter by about 25°, about two and a half fists at arm's length. The cluster is dim but big, at least 5° wide, the size of a golf ball at arm's length. Its brightest stars, near its middle, form a sort of inverted Y shape. Binoculars will be a big help. Tuesday, June 7 • As darkness arrives these evenings, look south about halfway between Jupiter and Mars. One star there stands out: Spica, in Virgo. High above it shines brighter Arcturus in Bootes. Half as far to Spica's lower right is the constellation Corvus, the Crow, eyeing Spica to steal it from Virgo's hand. Sky & Telescope

ISS Sighting Opportunities ISS For Denver: Date Visible Max Height Appears Disappears Fri Jun 3, 10:05 PM < 1 min 10° 10° above N Fri Jun 3, 11:42 PM 1 min 15° 15° above N 13° above NE Sat Jun 4, 9:12 PM 11° 11° above N 10° above NNE Sat Jun 4, 10:49 PM 2 min 12° Sun Jun 5, 00:24 AM 17° 10° above NW 17° above NNW Sun Jun 5, 9:56 PM Sun Jun 5, 11:33 PM 23° 19° above N 23° above NNE Mon Jun 6, 9:03 PM Mon Jun 6, 10:40 PM 3 min 16° 11° above ENE Tue Jun 7, 00:15 AM 16° above NW Tue Jun 7, 9:47 PM 10° above NE Tue Jun 7, 11:23 PM 35° 22° above NNW 35° above N Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

NASA-TV Highlights No special programming. 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) No special programming. Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Jun 03 - Moon Occults Mercury Jun 03 - [Jun 01] Saturn At Opposition Jun 03 - Comet P/1999 J6 (SOHO) Closest Approach To Earth (2.744 AU) Jun 03 - [Jun 01] 50th Anniversary (1966), Gemini 9 Launch (Thomas Stafford & Eugene Cernan) Jun 03 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 JK34 Near-Earth Flyby (0.064 AU) Jun 03 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 KD Near-Earth Flyby (0.074 AU) Jun 03 - Asteroid 7644 Cslewis Closest Approach To Earth (1.661 AU) Jun 03 - Asteroid 73520 Boslough Closest Approach To Earth (1.808 AU) Jun 03 - Asteroid 293 Brasilia Closest Approach To Earth (1.916 AU) Jun 03 - Asteroid 73511 Lovas Closest Approach To Earth (1.921 AU) Jun 03 - Asteroid 1604 Tombaugh Closest Approach To Earth (2.038 AU) Jun 03 - Asteroid 624 Hektor (Jupiter Trojan) Closest Approach To Earth (4.290 AU) Jun 03 - James Hutton's 290th Birthday (1726) Jun 03-04 - Spaceup: UK, London, United Kingdom Jun 04 - NROL-37 Delta 4 Launch Jun 04 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #451 (OTM-451) Jun 04 - Comet 14P/Wolf At Opposition (3.123 AU) Jun 04 - Comet 70P/Kojima At Opposition (3.170 AU) Jun 04 - [May 29] Comet Catalina (C/2016 KA) Closest Approach To Earth (4.943 AU) Jun 04 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 JB29 Near-Earth Flyby (0.031 AU) Jun 04 - Asteroid 90022 Apache Point Closest Approach To Earth (1.538 AU) Jun 04 - Asteroid 876 Scott Closest Approach To Earth (2.118 AU) Jun 04 - Asteroid 508 Princetonia Closest Approach To Earth (2.132 AU) Jun 04 - Asteroid 18125 Brianwilson Closest Approach To Earth (2.181 AU) Jun 04 - Asteroid 1125 China Closest Approach To Earth (2.646 AU) Jun 04 - 70th Anniversary (1946), Great Eruptive Prominence of 1946 Jun 05 - Mercury At Its Greatest Western Elongation (24 Degrees) Jun 05 - Comet 157P/Tritton Closest Approach To Earth (2.363 AU) Jun 05 - Comet P/2015 A3 (PANSTARRS) At Opposition (4.031 AU) Jun 05 - Asteroid 87 Sylvia (2 Moons) Occults 2UCAC 21818498 (12.3 Magnitude Star) Jun 05 - [Jun 01] Apollo Asteroid 2016 KR Near-Earth Flyby (0.025 AU) JPL Space Calendar

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Jun 05 - Asteroid 9777 Enterprise Closest Approach To Earth (0.949 AU) Jun 05 - Asteroid 6560 Pravdo Closest Approach To Earth (1.158 AU) Jun 05 - Asteroid 5107 Laurenbacall Closest Approach To Earth (2.382 AU) Jun 05 - Kuiper Belt Object 2010 KZ39 At Opposition (45.124 AU) Jun 05 - 25th Anniversary (1991), STS-40 Launch (Space Shuttle Columbia, Spacelab) Jun 06 - Aten Asteroid 2006 JF42 Near-Earth Flyby (0.092 AU) Jun 06 - Apollo Asteroid 3360 Syrinx Closest Approach To Earth (0.295 AU) Jun 06 - Asteroid 9325 Stonehenge Closest Approach To Earth (1.450 AU) Jun 06 - Atira Asteroid 2015 ME131 Closest Approach To Earth (1.632 AU) Jun 06 - Asteroid 2531 Cambridge Closest Approach To Earth (2.075 AU) Jun 06 - Teleconference: Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (AAAC) Meeting Jun 06 - 45th Anniversary (1971), Soyuz 11 Launch Jun 06 - Thomas Russell Wilkins' 125th Birthday (1891) Jun 06 - Regiomontanus' 580th Birthday (1436) Jun 07 - [Jun 01] Cassini, Titan Flyby Jun 07 - Comet 73P-AY/Schwassmann-Wachmann Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU) Jun 07 - Comet 73P-AZ/Schwassmann-Wachmann Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU) Jun 07 - Comet P/2010 N1 (WISE) Closest Approach To Earth (0.741 AU) Jun 07 - Comet P/2004 T1 (LINEAR-NEAT) At Opposition (2.870 AU) Jun 07 - Asteroid 13123 Tyson Closest Approach To Earth (1.025 AU) Jun 07 - Apollo Asteroid 65803 Didymos Closest Approach To Earth (1.742 AU) Jun 07 - Asteroid 8103 Fermi Closest Approach To Earth (1.855 AU) Jun 07 - Asteroid 18728 Grammier Closest Approach To Earth (2.029 AU) Jun 07 - 60th Anniversary (1956), Dogs Albina & Kozyavka Launched Into Space JPL Space Calendar

Tiny ‘chipsat’ spacecraft set for first flight Food for Thought Tiny ‘chipsat’ spacecraft set for first flight

Secrets Revealed from Pluto’s ‘Twilight Zone’ Space Image of the Week Secrets Revealed from Pluto’s ‘Twilight Zone’