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Register a new userReport on Mega-Constellations to the Government of Canada and the Canadian Space Agency
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This document provides recommendations to the Government of Canada and the Canadian Space Agency in response to their call for feedback on the future of Canadian space exploration. The report focuses on how the construction and long-term placement of mega-constellations of satellites into Earth orbit will affect astronomy and the view of the night sky by all peoples, with attention to all Canadians. The broader discussion highlights several environmental concerns associated with the construction and maintenance of these mega-constellations. The eight recommendations here address ways that Canada can play a role in mitigating some of these negative effects through national and international initiatives. In drafting the recommendations, we take the approach that space needs to be developed sustainably. In this regard, we use the Brundtland Reports definition: Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Thus, all recommendations here are made with the intent of minimizing the negative consequences of mega-constellations, while also recognizing that their development will continue.
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Up to 100,000 satellites could be launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in the coming decade. Assuming the two most advanced companies plans are realised, close to 80,000 satellites will be present at a variety of altitudes between 328 - 1,325 km. At Paranal, more than 5,000 satellites will be over the horizon at any given time. Of these, depending on the hour of night and season, a few hundred to several thousand will be illuminated by the sun and potentially detectable. Satellites show a very strong concentration towards the local horizon, with over 50% of the satellites below 20 degrees elevation. This report informs ESOs Council of the impacts on ESO facilities, mitigation measures that ESO could adopt in the future, and the various community efforts in which ESO is involved.
[Highly abridged, from executive summary] As much as NewSpace presents opportunities, there are significant challenges that must be overcome, requiring engagement with policy makers to influence domestic and international space governance. Failure to do so could result in a range of long-lasting negative outcomes for science and space stewardship. How will the Canadian astronomical community engage with NewSpace? What are the implications for NewSpace on the astro-environment, including Earth orbits, lunar and cis-lunar orbits, and surfaces of celestial bodies? This white paper analyzes the rapid changes in space use and what those changes could mean for Canadian astronomers. Our recommendations are as follows: Greater cooperation between the astronomical and the Space Situational Awareness communities is needed. Build closer ties between the astronomical community and Global Affairs Canada (GAC). Establish a committee for evaluating the astro-environmental impacts of human space use, including on and around the Moon and other bodies. CASCA and the Tri-Council should coordinate to identify programs that would enable Canadian astronomers to participate in pay-for-use services at appropriate funding levels. CASCA should continue to foster a relationship with CSA, but also build close ties to the private space industry. Canadian-led deep space missions are within Canadas capabilities, and should be pursued.
The Origins Space Telescope (Origins) traces our cosmic history, from the formation of the first galaxies and the rise of metals to the development of habitable worlds and present-day life. Origins does this through exquisite sensitivity to infrared radiation from ions, atoms, molecules, dust, water vapor and ice, and observations of extra-solar planetary atmospheres, protoplanetary disks, and large-area extragalactic fields. Origins operates in the wavelength range 2.8 to 588 microns and is 1000 times more sensitive than its predecessors due to its large, cold (4.5 K) telescope and advanced instruments. Origins was one of four large missions studied by the community with support from NASA and industry in preparation for the 2020 Decadal Survey in Astrophysics. This is the final study report.
The IAU Commission 4 Working Group on Standardizing Access to Ephemerides recommends the use of the Spacecraft and Planet Kernel (SPK) format as a standard format for the position ephemerides of planets and other natural solar system bodies, and the use of the Planetary Constants Kernel (PCK) format for the orientation of these bodies. It further recommends that other supporting data be stored in a text PCK. These formats were developed for use by the SPICE Toolkit by the Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The CALCEPH library developed by the Institut de mecanique celeste de calcul des ephemerides (IMCCE) is also able to make use of these files. High accuracy ephemerides available in files conforming to the SPK and PCK formats include: the Development Ephemerides (DE) from JPL, Integrateur Numerique Planetaire de lObservatoire de Paris (INPOP) from IMCCE, and the Ephemerides Planets and the Moon (EPM), developed by the Institute for Applied Astronomy (IAA). The bulk of this report is a description of the portion of PCK and SPK formats required for these ephemerides. New SPK and PCK data types, both called Type 20: Chebyshev (Velocity Only), have been added. Other changes to the specification are (i) a new object identification number for coordinate time ephemerides and (ii) a set of three new data types that use the TCB rather than the TDB time scale for the ephemerides, but are otherwise identical to their T
We present an analytic model to estimate the capabilities of space missions dedicated to the search for biosignatures in the atmosphere of rocky planets located in the habitable zone of nearby stars. Relations between performance and mission parameters such as mirror diameter, distance to targets, and radius of planets, are obtained. Two types of instruments are considered: coronagraphs observing in the visible, and nulling interferometers in the thermal infrared. Missions considered are: single-pupil coronagraphs with a 2.4 m primary mirror, and formation flying interferometers with 4 x 0.75 m collecting mirrors. The numbers of accessible planets are calculated as a function of {eta}earth. When Kepler gives its final estimation for {eta}earth, the model will permit a precise assessment of the potential of each instrument. Based on current estimations, {eta}earth = 10% around FGK stars and 50% around M stars, the coronagraph could study in spectroscopy only ~1.5 relevant planets, and the interferometer ~14.0. These numbers are obtained under the major hypothesis that the exozodiacal light around the target stars is low enough for each instrument. In both cases, a prior detection of planets is assumed and a target list established. For the long-term future, building both types of spectroscopic instruments, and using them on the same targets, will be the optimal solution because they provide complementary information. But as a first affordable space mission, the interferometer looks the more promising in term of biosignature harvest.
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