Science wrap: Indian-American astronaut gets top rank and Kalpana Chawla's death marks 20 years

This week in science is dominated by the past and present of Indian-Americans associated with space. While Kalpana Chawla's demise aboard the Columbia marks two decades, US President Joe Biden has appointed SpaceX Crew-3 commander Raja Chari as Brigadier General, a promotion that is yet to be approved by the Senate. Meanwhile back home in India, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing plans for a fully reusable launch vehicle for its future missions. 

1- Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari eyes major promotion 

Back in 2020, NASA astronaut Raja Chari was appointed as the Commander of the SpaceX Crew 3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by NASA and the European Space Agency. This appointment came in the wake of his intensive training and experience as a test pilot. Now, US President Joe Biden eyes a promotion for him nominating him as a Brigadier General (BG), a one-star General Officer rank of the United States Air Force which is just above Colonel and below Major General.

Chari's father had moved to the States from Hyderabad with the hopes of pursuing an engineering degree and settling down professionally. Now, with his son's major appointment yet to be approved by the Senate, here's hoping that Chari's promotion would help in fostering closer ties between NASA and ISRO. 

2- Mysterious spiral spotted in the sky. A new galaxy?

In the early hours of January 18, the Subaru-Asahi Star Camera noticed a fascinating spiral in the sky. The observatory's camera at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii managed to capture the spiral. The observatory in a time lapse video showed the spiral moving as it emerged like a dot at the left corner of the view of the camera. 

The spiral was actually caused by a SpaceX launch that put a GPS satellite in orbit for the American Space Force on the same day. Soon, the spiral shape was discovered by Hawaii's Subaru Telescope. 

3- ISRO develops new landing plans for Reusable Launch Vehicle

The Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), which is in its technology demonstration phase, will undergo its first landing demonstration, according to the ISRO. The spacecraft is similar to NASA's space shuttles, which served as the largest launch vehicle for the US space agency into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Indian space agency is poised to carry out the technology's first landing demonstration, moving India one step closer to reusable launch vehicles that might be employed in the near future to launch not only satellites but even astronauts into space. The space agency made a suggestion that the landing demonstration would take place in the next weeks.

4- Asteroid 2023 BU passes over Earth but at a safe distance

One of the closest reported asteroid collisions include a delivery truck-sized object passing within ten times the orbital distance of the majority of communication satellites. The encounter with the asteroid titled Asteroid 2023 BU happened 2,2000 miles above the southern tip of South America on Friday (January 27).

There was no danger of it striking Earth, according to NASA. Even if it were much closer, most of it would have burnt up in the atmosphere, with larger fragments perhaps falling as meteorites, according to scientists.

The next time an asteroid would pass extremely close to Earth would be during Apophis' course in 2029 which will put NASA's DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) system to good use. Read more on DailyO's detailed explainer on Apophis. 

5- February 1 will mark 20 years of Kalpana Chawla's demise

Celebrated as a role model in India, Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla was the first woman astronaut of Indian origin to go to space (a feat repeated by Sunita Williams in the years to come). Her first visit to the cosmos was in 1997 with a mission on the spacecraft Columbia, serving as a mission specialist as well as primary robotic arm operator. 

Her second voyage took place on STS-107, Columbia's final Space Shuttle mission in 2003. Chawla was one of the seven crew members who perished in the Columbia accident on 1 February 2003 when the spaceship exploded upon re-entering the atmosphere. Since then, Chawla has posthumously received several honours include a Congressional Medal of Honour. This February, two decades of the Columbia disaster will be marked. Chawla's legacy still lives on with several streets, satellites, and aerospace institutions named after her.