1. Space News Update - March 15, 2016 - In the News Departments Story 1:
ExoMars Mission Underway after Proton Launch
Story 2:
NASA's K2 mission: The Kepler Space Telescope's Second Chance to Shine
Story 3: Unpacking Space Radiation Key to Controlling Astronaut and Potentially Earthbound Cancer Risk
Departments
The Night Sky
ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar
NASA-TV Highlights
Food for Thought
Space Image of the Week

2. ExoMars Mission Underway after Proton Launch
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)

3. NASA's K2 mission: The Kepler Space Telescope's Second Chance to Shine

4. Unpacking Space Radiation Key to Controlling Astronaut and Potentially Earthbound Cancer Risk

5. The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Friday, March 18
Tuesday, March 15
First-quarter Moon (exactly so at 1:03 p.m. EDT). This evening the Moon shines in the dim Club of Orion, above the bright stars of Orion's body.
Before dawn brightens on Wednesday morning, look south for Scorpius. Mars will seem (at first glance) to have replaced Beta Scorpii, as shown at right. It's as if the top star of the Scorpius's familiar head has flared up to be ten times brighter!
Wednesday, March 16
Mid-March is when Sirius blazes mid-south (on the meridian) in mid-twilight. As more stars come out, piece together more of its constellation, Canis Major. A real challenge for a 10-inch or larger telescope is Sirius B, the famous white-dwarf companion of Sirius. It's only 1/10,000 as bright! But it's less difficult now than in the last couple of decades, having widened to 10.6 arcseconds east- northeast of Sirius A. Practice on Rigel, which outshines a companion star of its own by a mere 1,000 times. Rigel's companion is 9.5 arcseconds to its south-southwest.
Thursday, March 17
The waxing gibbous Moon this evening shines more or less between Pollux and Castor above it and Procyon below it.
Friday, March 18
This is the time of year when Orion declines in the southwest after dark, with his Belt roughly horizontal. But when does Orion's Belt appear exactly horizontal? That depends on where you're located east-west in your time zone, and on your latitude. How accurately can you time this event? If you're near your time zone's standard longitude, expect it around 9:15 this evening (daylight-saving time), more or less.
Mars and Saturn glow over Scorpius in early dawn all week. On Wednesday morning, Mars is just 0.2° from Beta Scorpii
Sky & Telescope

6. ISS Sighting Opportunities
ISS For Denver:
Date
Visible
Max Height
Appears
Disappears
Wed Mar 16, 4:48 AM
< 1 min
11°
11° above NNE
Wed Mar 16, 6:23 AM
1 min
10°
10° above N
10° above NNE
Thu Mar 17, 5:31 AM
10° above NNW
Fri Mar 18, 6:15 AM
3 min
12°
10° above NE
Sat Mar 19, 5:23 AM
2 min
Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting Information

7. 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)
Wednesday, March 16
12 p.m. - Video File of the ISS Expedition Crew’s Soyuz TMA-20M Mating and Rollout to the Launch Pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (all channels)
12 p.m. - Women’s History Month Special – “NASA Women in Action” (NTV-1 (Public))
1 p.m. - Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum Presents - “STEM in 30”- the SR-71 Blackbird - the World's Fastest Jet-Propelled Aircraft (NTV-1 (Public), NTV-2 (Education))
Thursday, March 17
4 p.m. - Replay of the Russian State Commission Meeting and Final ISS Expedition Pre-Launch Crew News Conference in Baikonur, Kazakhstan (Ovchinin, Skripochka, J. Williams) (all channels)
Friday, March 18
4:30 p.m. - ISS Expedition Soyuz TMA-20M Launch Coverage (Ovchinin, Skripochka, J. Williams; launch scheduled at 5:26 p.m. ET; includes video B-roll of the crew’s pre-launch activities at 4:40 p.m. ET) (all channels)
7:30 p.m. - Video File of ISS Expedition Soyuz TMA-20M Pre-Launch, Launch Video B-Roll and Related Interviews (all channels)
10:30 p.m. - ISS Expedition Soyuz TMA-20M Docking Coverage (Ovchinin, Skripochka, J. Williams; docking scheduled at 11:11 p.m. ET) (all channels)
Saturday, March 19
12:30 a.m., - ISS Expedition Soyuz TMA-20M Hatch Opening and Other Activities (Ovchinin, Skripochka and J. Williams) Hatch Opening is scheduled at 12:55 a.m. (all channels)
Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA website

8. Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar
Mar 15 - Comet 73P-AF/Schwassmann-Wachmann At Opposition (0.813 AU)
Mar 15 - Comet 252P/LINEAR Perihelion (0.996 AU)
Mar 15 - Comet P/2016 BA14 (PANSTARRS) Perihelion (1.009 AU)
Mar 15 - Comet 9P/Tempel At Opposition (1.062 AU)
Mar 15 - Apollo Asteroid 2010 FR Near-Earth Flyby (0.089 AU)
Mar 15 - Asteroid 6 Hebe Closest Approach To Earth (1.893 AU)
Mar 15 - Asteroid 1756 Giacobini Closest Approach To Earth (1.999 AU)
Mar 15 - Asteroid 4513 Louvre Closest Approach To Earth (2.145 AU)
Mar th Anniversary (1806), Alais Meteorite Fall in France (1st Carbonaceous Chondrite)
Mar th Anniversary (1966), Gemini 8 Launch (Neil Armstrong & David Scott)
Mar 16 - Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu At Opposition (3.777 AU)
Mar 16 - Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) At Opposition (4.326 AU)
Mar 16 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 EW85 Near-Earth Flyby (0.004 AU)
Mar 16 - Aten Asteroid 2016 ES85 Near-Earth Flyby (0.008 AU)
Mar 16 - Asteroid Fourier Closest Approach To Earth (1.335 AU)
Mar 16 - Asteroid 4783 Wasson Closest Approach To Earth (1.408 AU)
Mar 16 - Asteroid Billcooke Closest Approach To Earth (2.394 AU)
Mar th Anniversary (1926), 1st Liquid Fuel Rocket Launch By Robert Goddard
Mar 17 - Comet 332P/Ikeya-Murakami Perihelion (1.573 AU)
Mar 17 - Comet 127P/Holt-Olmstead Perihelion (2.206 AU)
Mar 17 - Apollo Asteroid 2016 ES155 Near-Earth Flyby (0.015 AU)
Mar 17 - Amor Asteroid 2016 ER28 Near-Earth Flyby (0.086 AU)
Mar 17 - Atira Asteroid 2014 FO47 Closest Approach To Earth (0.106 AU)
Mar 17 - Asteroid Darmstadt Closest Approach To Earth (2.564 AU)
Mar th Anniversary (2011), MESSENGER, Mercury Orbit Insertion
Mar 18 - Soyuz TMA-20M Soyuz-FG Launch (International Space Station 47S)
JPL Space Calendar

9. Hunt for Intelligent Aliens Should Focus on 'Transit Zone'
Food for Thought
Hunt for Intelligent Aliens Should Focus on 'Transit Zone'

10. Space Image of the Week Edge-On Galaxy NGC 5866
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Legacy Archive; Processed & Copyright: Hunter Wilson