Astronomy Cafe – Jan 12, 2026

• Intro – David Lee
• What’s up in the solar system in 2026 – Phil Stooke
  • Artemis II flight around the Moon with astronauts aboard
    • Space craft maneuvering tests
    • Observe back side of the Moon
    • Imaging the Earth and the Moon
    • Medical science on crew
  • Blue Moon MK1 Pathfinder
    • Cargo lander
    • Land on the Moon’s south pole
  • Blue Ghost Mission 2
    • Radio astronomy experiment
    • Farside lunar landing
    • Relay satellite and rover
  • Lunar Vertex – Intuitive Machines
    • Commercial lander with payloads
    • Examine a magnetic anomaly at Reiner crater
  • Astrobotic Griffin Mission 1
    • Landing near south pole of the Moon
    • Mid-sized rover (Flip), testing for suitability for transporting crew
    • Small rover also
  • Chang’e 7
    • China’s 5th lunar landing
    • Orbiter, lander, probe, hopper, relay satellite
    • Landing site on south pole
  • Chang’e 4 landed 6 years ago and it is still active
    • Lunar Reconnaissance Imager is tracking it
    • Chang’e 3 is also still operating
  • Mercury – BepiColombo
    • Launched in 2018
    • Goes into orbit around Mercury in Nov 2026
  • Venus Life Finder
    • Commercial mission from Rocket Lab
    • Phosphene gas is detected, so microbes in the atmosphere is possible
  • Mars – 6 orbiters currently
    • MAVEN
    • Curiosity Rover – 2012
    • Perseverance rover – 2021, collecting samples
    • ESCAPADE mission for 2026 – twin orbiters
    • MMX (Mars-Moon-eXploration) – 2026 Japanese mission – samples from Phobos
    • Psyche mission to asteroid – NASA 2026 – flyby Mars to asteroid Psyche
  • Asteroids
    • Tianwen – Chinese sample return mission
    • Hayabusa 2 – Japanese flybys
    • Hera – ESA mission to Didymos/Dimorphos – asteroid deflection test
  • Jupiter
    • Juno – orbiting for several years
    • JUICE and Europa Clipper/ – flybys to Jupiter – study Europa
• Jeff Pivnick
  • Astronomy magazine no longer ships print copies to subscribers outside of the USA as of Oct 2024. Digital copies are available from the library.
  • Victoria Symphony Orchestra – Symphony in Space – music from “out of this world” – tickets available
  • NASA bringing Crew-11 back to Earth ahead of schedule due to a medical issue with an astronaut – NASA
  • Samantha Lawler – Risk of Satellite Collision or “Fall”
    • Satellite count increases rapidly by end of 2026 – not just Starlink
    • Maneuvering to avoid collisions using: drag, thrusters, automated dodging
    • Starlink – various configurations launched and in use.
      • Versions: 1 (2019), 1.5 (2021), 2 Mini (2023), 2 Full & 3 (waiting for Starship for launch)
      • 15,000 satellites will be in orbit by the end of 2026
    • Traffic management is pending from the USA – migrate from military to civilian agency (NOAA-OSC)
    • Metallic aerosols drift into the stratosphere when satellites burn up during de-orbiting
• Events
  • Jan 14, 2026 – UVic Presentation: The McKellar Telescope:  Discovering Worlds Beyond our Sun – Allen Keefe
    • Barbara Bulman-Fleming – daughter of McKellar will be attending
  • Astro Cafe – upcoming dates, hosting and speakers
  • Victoria Centre Council meeting – Jan 15, 2026 07:30 PM
    • Members are welcome to attend virtually
    • Zoom link invitation sent to members by the President on Jan 8th through the Skynews email list
    • Planning meeting for upcoming AGM
  • Victoria Centre’s AGM – Feb 9th (virtual) – no Astro Cafe
  • Social dinner & awards at Four Mile Pub – Feb 23rd – no Astro Cafe
    • Sign up early with Lauri Roche lauri@victoria.rasc.ca
    • Nominate members for prizes and awards – contact Randy pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca
  • RASC Victoria crest t-shirts orders – contact Randy pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca
  • This Saturday – games night at the Centre of the Universe – contact Lauri Roche to be on Victoria Centre’s team lauri@victoria.rasc.ca
• Chris Gainor
  • SpaceX Crew-11 returns to Earth early Wednesday morning – NASA
  • Artemis II rocket launch as soon as February
  • Jeremy Hansen interview – CBC Quirks & Quarks
• The Tilt of Saturn’s Rings – Randy Enkin
  • Brock Johnston’s 5-year series of Saturn tilt images – updated series
  • Saturn’s orbit as observed from Earth
  • Saturn can be observed in the evening sky right now

Video recording of meeting