Space News Update - May 12, 2015 - In the News Departments Story 1: Study: Europa's Elusive Water Plume Paints Grim Picture for Life Story 2: NASA's LRO Moves Closer to the Lunar Surface Story 3: More Discord over Thirty Meter Telescope Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Study: Europa's Elusive Water Plume Paints Grim Picture for Life 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)

NASA's LRO Moves Closer to the Lunar Surface Ratchet Wrench ‘E-mailed’ to Space Station

More Discord over Thirty Meter Telescope

The Night Sky Tuesday, May 12 A small telescope will show Jupiter's moon Callisto gradually emerging from eclipse out of Jupiter's shadow around 11:52 p.m. EDT (8:52 p.m. PDT) — right next to Ganymede, the brightest of Jupiter's satellites. Io and Europa also happen to be nearby. Wednesday, May 13 Summer is more than a month away, but the Summer Triangle is making its appearance in the east, one star after another. The first in view is Vega. It's already sparkling in the northeast as twilight fades. Next up is Deneb, lower left of Vega by two or three fists at arm's length. It's in view by the time nightfall is complete, depending on your latitude. The third is Altair, which shows up far to Vega's lower right after 11 p.m. Thursday, May 14 Canes Venatici, the Hunting Dogs, floats near the zenith these evenings, inside the curl of the Big Dipper's handle. With the evening sky moonless, go galaxy hunting here with Sue French's Deep-Sky Wonders article and chart in the May Sky & Telescope, page 56. Friday, May 15 Venus this evening shines smack between Capella 25° to its right and Procyon 25° to its left. Saturn shines above upper Scorpius late these evenings. Beta Sco is a fine double star in a telescope. Sky & Telescope

ISS Sighting Opportunities ISS For Denver: Date Visible Max Height Appears Disappears Wed May 13, 4:46 AM 4 min 32° 12 above SSW 24 above E Thu May 14, 3:54 AM 3 min 16° 15 above SSE 10 above E Fri May 15, 4:36 AM 81° 24 above SW 35 above ENE Sat May 16, 3:44 AM 2 min 38° 38 above SE 17 above ENE Sat May 16, 5:18 AM 26° 11 above W 26 above NNW Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Time Zone) 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) Tuesday, May 12 6 p.m., - Replay of Women in STEM: STEM in the Global Science Community (all channels) Wednesday, May 13 2 p.m. - ISS Expedition 43 Farewells and Hatch Closure Coverage (hatch closure scheduled at appx. 2:15 p.m. ET) (all channels) 5:15 p.m. - ISS Expedition 43/Soyuz TMA-15M Undocking Coverage (undocking scheduled at 5:39 p.m. ET) (all channels) 7:45 p.m. - ISS Expedition 43/Soyuz TMA-15M Deorbit Burn and Landing Coverage (Deorbit burn scheduled at 8:10 p.m. ET; landing near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan scheduled at 9:03 p.m. ET) (all channels) 11 p.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 43/Soyuz TMA-15M Landing and Post-Landing Activities (all channels) Thursday, May 14 10 a.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 43/Soyuz TMA-15M Landing and Post-Landing Activities; scheduled to include post-landing interviews with Expedition 43 Commander Terry Virts of NASA and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency an (all channels) Friday, May 15 6:40 a.m. - ISS Expedition In-Flight Interviews with the Weather Channel’s “Wake Up with Al Roker” and TIME Magazine (all channels) 10 a.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition 44 Crew Departure from Star City, Russia for Baikonur, Kazakhstan (all channels) Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar May 12 - Comet 266P/Christensen At Opposition (2.937 AU) May 12 - Asteroid 1238 Predappia Occults HIP 56080 (5.7 Magnitude Star) May 12 - Centaur Object 10199 Chariklo Occults UCAC4-267-150325 (14.6 Magnitude Star) May 12 - Asteroid 2011 AX22 Near-Earth Flyby (0.052 AU) May 12 - Asteroid 2013 VO13 Near-Earth Flyby (0.100 AU) May 12 - Asteroid 3122 Florence Closest Approach To Earth (1.791 AU) May 12 - Asteroid 18610 Arthurdent Closest Approach To Earth (1.873 AU) May 12 - Asteroid 11947 Kimclijsters Closest Approach To Earth (2.093 AU) May 12 - 85th Anniversary (1930), 1st Planetarium Opens in the United States (Adler Planetarium) May 13 - Comet C/2015 G2 (MASTER) Closest Approach To Earth (0.471 AU) May 13 - Asteroid 2015 JR Near-Earth Flyby (0.010 AU) May 13 - Asteroid 2015 HS1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.070 AU) May 13 - Asteroid 3837 Carr Closest Approach To Earth (1.292 AU) May 13 - Asteroid 3174 Alcock Closest Approach To Earth (2.616 AU) May 14 - Comet 205P/Giacobini Perihelion (1.537 AU) May 14 - Comet 205P-A/Giacobini Perihelion (1.537 AU) May 14 - Comet 205P-C/Giacobini Perihelion (1.537 AU) May 14 - Asteroid 34667 (2000 XJ19) Occults HIP 76939 (5.2 Magnitude Star) May 14 - Asteroid 2015 HB177 Near-Earth Flyby (0.032 AU) May 14 - Asteroid 285331 (1999 FN53) Near-Earth Flyby (0.068 AU) May 14 - Asteroid 2101 Adonis Closest Approach To Earth (1.046 AU) May 15 - Comet P/2008 T1 (Boattini) At Opposition (2.990 AU) May 15 - Comet 281P/MOSS At Opposition (4.135 AU) May 15 - Asteroid 2015 HZ116 Near-Earth Flyby (0.070 AU) JPL Space Calendar

New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale Food for Thought This Is Your Brain in Deep Space: Could Cosmic Rays Threaten Mars Missions?

Space Image of the Week Sunset in Mars' Gale Crater Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Texas A&M Univ.