Dr Pamela L Gay

@astrobiology.bsky.social

They’re funding sinnovation

Dr Pamela L Gay reposted

Astrobiology

astrobiology.com/2026/10/25/d... #astrobiology #astrochemistry

astrobiology.comDetection Of Hydrocarbons In Titan Using High-resolution Cross-correlation SpectroscopyHigh-resolution cross-correlation spectroscopy (HRCCS) is a powerful technique for detecting molecules whose individual spectral lines

It’s fat groundhog season

@i-find-planets.bsky.social

I noticed a couple days ago that at least one major SMS company for multifactor authentication was off-line. While trying to pay my bills, I hit logins that either had MFA turned off or I just never got a code. At 8:43 AM Pacific that company came back online and oh my God worst alarm clock ever.

Dr Pamela L Gay reposted

Newfound Planets

You have discovered a planet. It is a sphere devoid of fear. The sun faintly shines black. Perhaps one day we will be peaceful there.

Dr Pamela L Gay reposted

Charlie Warzel

@cwarzel.bsky.social

70 percent of the internet was vulnerable yesterday to very bad security flaws inside a coding language. Turns out, *one volunteer* is mostly responsible for maintaining that code & helping push updates. Yesterday Ondřej Surý saved the internet. So I called him up www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

theatlantic.comThe Man Who Saved the Internet YesterdayOndřej Surý was a relatively anonymous volunteer working on PHP security. Then the internet exploded.

vimeo.comDay 1-SSB Fall Meeting 2026Open sessions of SSB Fall Board Meeting

Due to an internet glitch, I'm joining the SSB afternoon session a few minutes late. This session should be looking at mega constellations. Watch live here: vimeo.com/event/623332...

Q: This is the tragedy of the commons. How can we make society understand what is being taken from them? What is happening? A: Most people think space is so vast this can't be a problem. The new NOVA special did a good job. But... The benefits of space are well touted and the problems less so.

vimeo.comDay 1-SSB Fall Meeting 2026Open sessions of SSB Fall Board Meeting

And that was the end of this presentation. The sessions are continuing but I need to take some stuff to a friend at the hospital and that needs to be a priority. Please tune in to see "Emerging Cislunar Industry: Governance" vimeo.com/event/623332...

vimeo.comDay 1-SSB Fall Meeting 2026Open sessions of SSB Fall Board Meeting

Due to an internet glitch, I'm joining the SSB afternoon session a few minutes late. This session should be looking at mega constellations. Watch live here: vimeo.com/event/623332...

Bottomline: There are real problems. Every time we say "It can't get worse" something new comes along, including million satellite constellations & things like Reflect Orbitals satellites that turn night to day. Sci needs a seat at the table at Space Studies Board & Nat Academy needs to play role

Q: Of what's in orbit, what percentage is US? A: Unclear, especially where there is so much junk up there and we don't know whose it is and we can't remove it without permission... which is hard to get if you don't know whose it is. US has 70% of satellites (we are the problem).

vimeo.comDay 1-SSB Fall Meeting 2026Open sessions of SSB Fall Board Meeting

Due to an internet glitch, I'm joining the SSB afternoon session a few minutes late. This session should be looking at mega constellations. Watch live here: vimeo.com/event/623332...

Q: What is role of COSPAR in wrangling international community? A: Number of sessions at meeting and day long panel. My sense is they are providing a forum but not solving the conflicts in what different parts of community want to do from comms to science and more... all with conflicting needs

Q: how are multinationals communicating? A: US and China are largely communicating by rumor. I say this with concern. In just the US, very little progress on getting clear responsibility within one agency. UN says ship has sailed - they don't have authority and don't know who does.

vimeo.comDay 1-SSB Fall Meeting 2026Open sessions of SSB Fall Board Meeting

Due to an internet glitch, I'm joining the SSB afternoon session a few minutes late. This session should be looking at mega constellations. Watch live here: vimeo.com/event/623332...

speaker Quoting William Buckley: It is difficult for me to standup under the weight of what I know

Q: I'm surprised industry isn't more proactive in solving these problems. You didn't mention them in this. What is there role? A: My sense is they don't want to be at the table because it will become accusations rather than solutions. They are concerned... but want help communicating.

vimeo.comDay 1-SSB Fall Meeting 2026Open sessions of SSB Fall Board Meeting

Due to an internet glitch, I'm joining the SSB afternoon session a few minutes late. This session should be looking at mega constellations. Watch live here: vimeo.com/event/623332...

It wold be super easy for a rogue player to wreck havoc with low tech equipment. Now factor in a nuclear weapon... 1 properly placed explosion could take out ... let's go with a lot. Workshop of members of Nat Academy planned to try and understand what kind of clear guidance is needed.

Lack of clear Regulatory Frameworks & Governance is a critical problem w access to LEO getting restricted by collision avoidance windows **during launch**. These will likely get down to only a few seconds of safety. Need to move beyond describing landscape to defining collaborative solutions

vimeo.comDay 1-SSB Fall Meeting 2026Open sessions of SSB Fall Board Meeting

Due to an internet glitch, I'm joining the SSB afternoon session a few minutes late. This session should be looking at mega constellations. Watch live here: vimeo.com/event/623332...

Question: How well can AI / software autonomously prevent satellites from colliding. Right now there is not a lot of coordination between different nations / companies as they fill up Low Earth Orbit. The International Space Treaty just doesn't do a good job addressing these issues.

Even in the US, it's unclear who is incharge od traffic manage in space. Is it the Department of Commerce? of Transportation? Someone else? Now factor in things like the Golden Dome Defense System with Satellites at a variety of heights trying to stop missiles with millions of satellites zipping by

vimeo.comDay 1-SSB Fall Meeting 2026Open sessions of SSB Fall Board Meeting

Due to an internet glitch, I'm joining the SSB afternoon session a few minutes late. This session should be looking at mega constellations. Watch live here: vimeo.com/event/623332...

Bottom line - There is a problem, everyone is aware there is a problem, and everyone is talking about how there is a problem. But... um... the problem is only going to be getting worse. Atmospheric issues at launch, collision avoidance issues, light pollution issues, re-entry issues... issues

There are order of 20 objects a week deorbiting through the atmosphere and this number is only going to go up! We are causing changed to atmospheric composition at all altitudes. Question we need to answer: What is the carrying capacity of low earth orbit. (BTW this is Dr Daniel Baker)

Day 1 - SSB Fall Meeting 2026 has started. It is currently the opening address and they are introducing the priorities. We are entering an era of technological innovation, sans science, if what is being discussed is reflective of NASA as a whole, with "Nuclear NASA" and X-planes taking the lead.

Q re Artemis III: You plan to get 3 vehicles up at the same time. What is your plan if one of them isn't ready? Will Artemis IV become LEO too if that happens? A: We don't yet know what status the vehicles will have and it's possible we'll skip one of the vehicles.

Q When are uncrewed lunar landing demonstrations scheduled. A SpaceX late 2027. Blue Orgin TBD They are now going to executive session. I'll start a new thread when they return for afternoon sessions

The "And now get off the stage" slide is about science. (The ultimate afterthought). Discussing the science needs as "what we need to learn" to meet human exploration goals. "Individual [aspects] may have less science than anticipated." (They just said the quiet part out loud.)

Side Note: People are nouning Nuclear. Referring to "The Nuclear" and ... please don't. It's an adjective and unless you modify a noun with it, you are not saying something entirely coherent.

(I am not the target audience of this talk. The target audience is in the administration. I am a grouchy.) Highlighting that the goal is a permanent base on the Moon - this is a land grab on another world. Science is always a "and conduct science" after words like "Strategic Resource Utilization."

The goal is by 2032 to have and established capability for long duration lunar missions with all needed infrastructure. To get there we need rovers, habitates, pressurized rovers (Moon Mobile Homes), and a comms network. CLPS mission is seen as how we'll get to that point. (May they land upright.)

Orion will be docking and crew will be spending time (if they're ready) in landing craft. Artermis III will also test yet another improved heat shield (Personal rant - why are heat shields still so difficult to get right?) Claiming significant and good progress being made on Artemis III.

Artemis IV is also getting highlighted as doing well. (And yet the timelines slip and slip)

Ignition focuses on "acknowledging where the market is and isn't" with a the Moon Base opening the Moon to students and researchers. (Can't type fast enough) Said something like "opening up space for philanthropy and science". (Does that mean privately funded science??)

Looking at Artemis III - we'll be in low earth orbit docking with possible landers. Want to dock with Blue Moon in Mid Earth Orbit and then dock with Starship in Low Earth Orbit (um.... why won't Starship be higher up? I have concerns.)

Low Earth Orbit highlights focus on Commercial Commercial Commercial.

(It is weird to see NASA folks staring at and reading from scripts, but here we are)

Next speaker: Kelvin Manning & Jake Bletcher Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate Priorities & Status of Ignition Program Artemis is getting framed as a pathway to exploring deep space (I want a definition of deep space)

They are now discussing all the "Science" data released from Artemis II that includes crews annotated images and such. (The number of gigabytes released versus the amount of science that can be done don't correlate as they imply. LRO data is better for most science except noting impact flashes.)

First Q - how safe is it to do orbit a nuclear space craft? A - we are not bringing them back to Earth. They will not return to earth. (Folks, do not deorbit a fission reactor by burning it up in the atmosphere.)

(I decided Q&A was a good time to make more coffee, because this is going to require more coffee)

IMO - to accelerate science you need to grow the number of people available to do science. NASA funding cuts are currently contracting our profession. That slows science. Grumble grumble grumble - give me salary for students today AND nuclear rockets for a decade from now.

They also highlight that NASA is looking to encourage the space economy with ride shares etc... but like, if the Falcon 9 is getting retired and Blue Origins launch manifests are full up... there is a reality versus hopes and dreams conflict here.

Next question how do we do science faster. Emphasis is on getting data more effectively by improving Deep Space Network (Getting data faster will not get the science done faster, by the way. It may get different science done at same rate - brains and computers only go so fast).

"Space nuclear" also seen as a way to accelerate science. That is super long term. (That may accelerate science in 20 years, because building space craft and getting them to destinations in a decades long process.)

Ignition, the program to fast track getting humans to the Moon & ultimately Mars, is developing a nuclear reactor to Mars. (I have mixed feels about this.) Need something that produces power, and has shielding that can protect payloads. Their goal is nuclear propulsion w/ Hall effect thrusters.

NASA has signed a massive Memorandum of Understanding that partners them with DOEnergy for nuclear launches and activities in space. This will accelerate launch authorizations (Again, not sure how I feel about this - somethings maybe need a slow and steady timeline).

We are in Phase 1 of "Building the Moon Base" with the CLPS missions (and their paired PRISM science that wasn't mentioned - why is the science not being mentioned???). Highlighting lidar and dust mitigation as things to solve at the moment. Next phases are all about the infrastructure.