Japan is now the 5th country to land on the Moon – the technology used will lend itself to future lunar missions

Data from the SLIM mission projected at JAXA’s Sagamihara Campus during the craft’s landing. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

Mariel Borowitz
Published: January 21, 2024

THE CONVERSATION

Japan landed its Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon, or SLIM, craft on the surface of the Moon on Jan. 20, 2024. Despite a power issue with the lander, the event holds both political and technical importance. It’s Japan’s first lunar landing – making it only the fifth country in the world to successfully land on the Moon. This is a significant achievement and solidifies Japan’s position as a leader in space technology.

While the craft landed successfully on the lunar surface and deployed its rovers, SLIM’s solar cells were not functioning properly – meaning that the craft could likely only operate for a few hours.

I’m a scholar of international affairs who studies space. Like NASA and other space agencies, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, wants to advance research and technology by demonstrating new techniques and collecting scientific data. The landing is also a part of something bigger – a growing global interest in lunar activity.
Precision technology

Japan’s achievement isn’t only symbolic – Japan is demonstrating a number of new technologies with the lander. The name, Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon, refers to the spacecraft’s new precision-landing technology.

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SLIM’s landing technology allowed it to detect and avoid potential obstacles.

This technology could assist future landings by allowing spacecraft to land in relatively small areas amid rocky or uneven terrain, rather than having to find large clearings. This ability will be particularly important in the future as countries focus on very specific areas of interest at the lunar south pole.

The lander also carried two small rovers, each of which will demonstrate a new technology for moving on the Moon.

Lunar Excursion Vehicle 1 includes a camera, as well as scientific equipment, and uses a hopping mechanism to maneuver on the Moon.

An illustration of the SLIM lander touching down. JAXA/ISAS

Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2, developed in a partnership among government, industry, and academia, is a sphere small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Once on the surface, its two halves separate slightly, allowing it to roll around.

SLIM is designed to land within a 328-foot (100-meter) zone, far smaller than previous lunar landers which have had landing zones spanning multiple kilometers.

SLIM used a vision-based navigation system that took images of the lunar surface. Its system rapidly compared these images to crater patterns on lunar maps that JAXA developed with data from previous missions.

As countries identify areas that are most likely to hold useful resources, such as water in the form of ice, precision landing technology will allow agencies to avoid nearby hazards and reach these areas without incident.
International relations back on Earth

There is a geopolitical element to these activities. China, India and Japan – the three nations that have successfully landed on the Moon since 2000 – engage in regional competition across a number of areas, including space. In addition to regional considerations, these accomplishments help to establish nations as leaders on a global scale – capable of something that few nations have ever done.

Japan’s launch comes only six months after India’s Moon landing and just weeks after a failed attempt by a U.S. company, Astrobotic.

Both Russia and the private company iSpace made unsuccessful landing attempts in 2023. Japan’s success in landing on the Moon – even with solar panel issues shortening the timeline for the mission – demonstrates that JAXA is a major player in this global endeavor.

Despite recent setbacks, such as NASA announcing delays to its next Artemis mission, the U.S. is still a clear leader in space and lunar exploration. NASA has multiple spacecraft orbiting the Moon right now, and it’s already successfully launched the SLS rocket, which is capable of taking humans back to the Moon.

NASA is developing very large and complex systems internally – like the Gateway space station, planned to orbit near the Moon, and the infrastructure for the Artemis human Moon missions. It’s not uncommon for these large and complex efforts to experience some delays.

NASA has also turned many smaller-scale efforts over to commercial entities lately – like in the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program that supported Astrobotic’s attempt. This is a new approach that involves some risk, but provides the opportunity for commercial innovation and growth of the lunar economy while giving NASA the ability to focus on big, complex aspects of the mission.

With regard to the Moon, JAXA has partnered with the U.S. and taken on a very important component of the Artemis missions – the development of a pressurized lunar rover. This is a new and complex technology that will be critical to human missions on the Moon in coming years.

Author

 

Mariel Borowitz
Associate Professor of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology
Disclosure statement
Mariel Borowitz receives funding from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Department of Defense.

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Japan has joined an elite club by landing on the moon. Here’s what others are doing



By — Foster Klug, Associated Press

Science Jan 21, 2024 

TOKYO (AP) — Japan landed a spacecraft on the moon Saturday, an attempt at the world’s first “pinpoint lunar landing.” The milestone puts Japan in a club previously occupied by only the United States, the Soviet Union, India and China.

A raft of countries and companies are also plotting moon missions. Success means international scientific and diplomatic accolades and potential domestic political gains. Failure means a very expensive, and public, embarrassment.

Here’s a look at high-profile recent and upcoming attempts, and what they might mean.
The United States

NASA plans to send astronauts to fly around the moon next year, and to land there in 2026.

Just this week, however, a U.S. company, Astrobotic Technology, said its lunar lander will soon burn up in Earth’s atmosphere after a failed moonshot.

The lander, named Peregrine, developed a fuel leak that forced Astrobotic to abandon its attempt to make the first U.S. lunar landing in more than 50 years. The company suspects a stuck valve caused a tank to rupture.

NASA is working to commercialize lunar deliveries by private businesses while the U.S. government tries to get astronauts back to the moon.

For now, the United States’ ability to spend large sums and marshal supply chains give it an advantage over China and other moon rivals. Private sector players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin have made crewed space missions a priority.

Another U.S. company, Intuitive Machines, plans to launch its own lunar lander next month.
India

Last year, India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole, where scientists believe that perpetually darkened craters may hold frozen water that could aid future missions.

In 2019, a software glitch caused an Indian lander to crash on its lunar descent. So the $75 million success in August brought widespread jubilation, with people cheering in the streets and declaring India’s rise as a scientific superpower.

READ MORE: How India’s rover findings of sulfur in lunar soil could pave the way for future moon bases

Indian scientists said that the next step is a manned lunar mission.

The success is seen as key to boosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity before a crucial general election this year.

India has been pushing for a space program since the 1960s and aims to visit the International Space Station next year in collaboration with the United States.

New Delhi also sees victory in space as important in its rivalry with nuclear-armed neighbor China. Relations between India and China have plunged since deadly border clashes in 2020.
China

China landed on the moon in 2013, and last year launched a three-person crew for its orbiting space station. It hopes to put astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade.

In 2020, a Chinese capsule returned to Earth from the moon with the first fresh lunar rock samples in more than 40 years. China’s first manned space mission in 2003 made it the third country after the USSR and the United States to put a person into space.

China’s space ambitions are linked to its rivalry with the United States as the world’s two largest economies compete for diplomatic, political and military influence in Asia and beyond.

China built its own space station after it was excluded from the International Space Station, in part because of U.S. objections over the Chinese space program’s intimate ties to the military.

China and the United States are also considering plans for permanent crewed bases on the moon. That has raised questions about competition and cooperation on the lunar surface.
Russia

Also last year, Russia’s Luna-25 failed in its attempt to land in the same area of the moon that India reached.

It came 47 years after the Soviets landed on the moon, and Russian scientists blamed that long break, and the accompanying loss of space expertise, for the recent failure.

READ MORE: Russia’s lunar mission failure raises questions about state of space program

The Soviets launched the first satellite in space in 1957 and put the first human in space in 1961, but Russia’s program has struggled since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union amid widespread corruption and Western sanctions that have hurt scientific development.

Russia is planning for another moon mission in 2027.

Russia’s failures and the growing role of private companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX have cost Russia its once-sizable niche in the lucrative global space launch market.

Just as India’s success was seen as evidence of its rise to great power status, Russia’s failure has been portrayed by some as casting doubt on its global influence and strength.

Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.

James Webb Space Telescope: Finally, the edge of the universe and beyond

by Béatrice St-Cyr-Leroux, University of Montreal

Deep field. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI

Launched in 2021 on Christmas Day, the James Webb Space Telescope is the most complex, precise and powerful space observatory ever built.

The telescope's unrivaled resolution and sophistication are due in no small part to the many cutting-edge devices it contains, including a guidance camera and a scientific instrument developed by researchers at Université de Montréal's Institut de recherche sur les exoplanètes (iREx).

Now these same scientists, under the direction of René Doyon, a professor in UdeM's Department of Physics, can see the fruit of their efforts and expertise, as initial data captured by the telescope has been made public.

The first photo taken by James Webb was released by U.S. President Joe Biden on July 11, 2022, and is of unprecedented color and clarity. It is the deepest, sharpest infrared image yet taken of the distant universe: A cluster of galaxies formed over 13 billion years ago.

Four more images were then unveiled live on July 12 from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The images showed the Carina and Southern Ring nebulae in unparalleled sharpness, in addition to Stephan's Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies.

James Webb's first-ever spectroscopy of the exoplanet WASP-96 b, located 1,000 light-years from Earth, was also made public. Using this technique to determine the chemical composition of a distant object, the telescope captured the distinct signature of water, as well as evidence of clouds and haze.

Nathalie Ouellette, an astrophysicist, iREx coordinator and communications scientist for the James Webb Telescope, tells us more about these remarkable images.

Carene Nabula. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI

The images revealed clouds of gas and dust expelled by dying stars, galactic interactions and hitherto unseen stellar birth zones. What do you consider to be the most significant discoveries?

First, like the general public, I was struck by the beauty of the images—they're so exquisite! Second, it's hard to say which image is my favorite, I guess it's like choosing your favorite child.

The exoplanet spectrum is a favorite for me, because a Canadian instrument made it, and because it proved the presence of water and clouds, allowing us to rectify discoveries that had been based on less precise and sensitive data. Usually, when you're looking at exoplanets, the data don't always align; not so with James Webb, whose data turned out to be crisp and clean and revealed some incredible things.

Also, as my research focuses on galaxy formation and evolution, I found the Stephan Quintet image spectacular, giving new insight into how galactic interactions may have driven galaxy evolution in the early universe.

So these images are truly unprecedented for the human eye?

Yes, because they show light that the human eye cannot see. The Hubble telescope looked mainly at visible light, but James Webb looks into the infrared, enabling us to detect different phenomena.

For example, nebulae are somewhat mysterious objects because they are very dusty; there is a lot of gas blocking visible light. However, with infrared, we can penetrate the dust and obtain images like those of the Southern Ring and Carina nebulae.

Credit: University of Montreal

Are the photos the result of some kind of manipulation?

Yes, and the team that produced the images for the unveiling is amazing. Remember, it's not an easy task to make invisible light visible. It required the work of artists and scientists who were able to translate infrared into the colors we can see. And the colors are not chosen at random: they serve to emphasize certain scientific and artistic aspects of the objects.

What will astrophysicists be able to do with the photos unveiled today?

There's still a lot of analysis to be done. The images were taken in just a few days, if not weeks. We're not even talking in terms of months!

It's like opening a box full of jewels. We want to look at everything, individually, carefully. There's a lot to discover in the images. It's as if there's a galaxy hidden in every pixel. The discoveries seem endless.

The telescope's scientific operations have also just begun. Scientists and astronomers from all over the world are beginning to take possession of the telescope for their own projects.

And what's next for you at iREx's, using the Webb?

One of the first and most exciting programs to be carried out with James Webb is the observation of the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system. This is the biggest Canadian program for the first year, and is led by Université de Montréal Ph.D. student Olivia Lim. As with the exoplanet presented today, Olivia will be looking at the atmosphere of these exoplanets, which are rocky and could therefore resemble the Earth. We're looking for a bit of an Earth twin, and maybe we'll find it in the TRAPPIST-1 system.

Provided by University of Montreal 

NASA reveals Webb telescope's first cosmic targets

The Next Generation LIFE Telescope Could Detect Some Intriguing Biosignatures


Artist's impression of the proposed LIFE mission. Credit: LIFE Initiative / ETH Zurich

JANUARY 21, 2024 

BY BRIAN KOBERLEIN

The Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE) project is an ambitious plan to build a space telescope with four independent mirrors. The array would allow the individual mirrors to move closer or farther apart, similar to the way the Very Large Array (VLA) does with radio antennas. LIFE is still early in its planning stage, so it would likely be decades before it is built, but already the LIFE team is looking at ways it might discover life on other worlds. Much of this focuses on the detection of biogenic molecules in exoplanet atmospheres.

Earlier studies looked at simulations of how our solar system would appear as an exoplanetary system. If aliens used LIFE to view our solar system from 10 parsecs away (about 32 light-years), then the array would be able to directly observe Venus, Earth, and Mars. Using a process known as phase-space synthesis decomposition (PSSD), LIFE would also be able to detect several basic molecules in their atmospheres such as water and carbon dioxide.S

Simulations of the inner solar system as if seen by LIFE. 

Credit: LIFE Initiative / Matsuo et al

Of course, lots of potentially habitable worlds are expected to have atmospheric quantities of these molecules, but that doesn’t necessarily indicate the presence of life. A stronger case for life would be made if astronomers could detect more complex molecules that are biogenic in origin, meaning that they aren’t likely to form through any geological process.

This new study focuses on three types of molecules: nitrous oxide (N2O), also known as laughing gas, methyl chloride (CH3Cl), and methyl bromide (CH3Cl). All three of these are produced by ocean biology on Earth, so their presence in an exoplanet atmosphere would be a reasonable indication of life. Based on their simulations, the authors argue that LIFE would be able to detect these molecules in atmospheric atmospheres for worlds within 5 parsecs of Earth, and should be able to gather sufficient data within 10 – 100 days of observation time. A nearby system such as Proxima Centauri, just 4 light-years from Earth would take only a few days of observation. But even for a more distant system such as Trappist-1, which is 40 light-years away, LIFE has a decent chance of detection given enough time.

The Large Interferometer for Exoplanets is currently one project being considered by the European Space Agency, but there are other life-seeking projects being proposed as well. It will be years before LIFE or another mission will be approved, and a decade or more after that before it is launched. But studies such as these are needed to make those decisions. The search is on, and finding exoplanet life could be just a matter of time.

Reference: Matsuo, Taro, et al. “Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE)-XI. Phase-space synthesis decomposition for planet detection and characterization.” Astronomy & Astrophysics 678 (2023): A97.

Reference: Angerhausen, Daniel, et al. “Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE): XII. The Detectability of Capstone Biosignatures in the Mid-Infrared–Sniffing Exoplanetary Laughing Gas and Methylated Halogens.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.08492 (2024).

'Barbenheimer Star' that blew up 13 billion years ago defies explanation, baffling scientists

The inexplicable entity, which likely had a chemical composition unlike any other known star, was identified by a group of "stellar archaeologists" who traced back the cosmic history of another equally unique star.

The newly discovered Barbenheimer Star exploded in a supernova billions of years ago, leaving behind a cloud of unusual elements in its wake. (Image credit: University of Chicago/SDSS-V/Melissa Weiss)

Harry Baker

( livescience.com )

 

Scientists have discovered evidence of a massive star from the early universe that does not fit with our current understanding of the cosmos. 

The ancient stellar oddball, which researchers have dubbed the "Barbenheimer Star," likely had a mix of elements in its core that has never been seen before — then, it died a seemingly impossible death while birthing an equally puzzling star in its place, a new study shows. (The name Barbenheimer is a reference to the contrasting films "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" releasing on the same day last year.)

Researchers uncovered traces of the Barbenheimer Star after taking a closer look at J0931+0038, a distant red giant star. J0931 was first discovered in 1999 by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) — one of the largest and most detailed astronomical databases of the night sky — but had not been properly analyzed until now. 

In a new study uploaded to the preprint server arXiv on Jan. 4, researchers turned the SDSS telescopes in New Mexico back toward J0931 and captured a detailed spectrum of the star's light, which was later verified by follow-up observations from the Giant Magellan Telescope in Chile. These spectra revealed that J0931 seemingly had an extremely odd metallicity, or chemical composition, with an unusually high concentration of heavy elements. (These results have not yet been peer-reviewed.)

Related: Aftermath of 2 star explosions captured in breathtaking new NASA image

Using the newly acquired data, the research team pieced together how J0931 formed via a process known as stellar archaeology. This revealed that the star was birthed from the supernova remnant of an even larger star — between 50 and 80 times more massive than the sun — that dates back as far as 13 billion years ago, only around 700 million years after the Big Bang.

The metallicity of the parent star (Barbenheimer) was likely equally as weird as that of J0931 before it blew up, which would have been completely different from other known stars in the early universe.

"We've never seen anything like this," study lead author Alex Ji, an astrophysicist at the University of Chicago, said in a statement. "Whatever happened back then, it must have been amazing."

J0931's metallicity was strange for three reasons. First, the star had unusually low levels of lighter elements such as magnesium, sodium and aluminum, which are normally more abundant in stars. Second, it had an unusually high amount of midweight elements such as iron, nickel and zinc. And finally, it had an "overabundance" of heavier elements like strontium and palladium, according to the researchers.

"We sometimes see one of these features at a time, but we've never before seen all of them in the same star," study co-author Jennifer Johnson, an astronomer at The Ohio State University, said in the statement.

Most stars have the reverse metallicity of J0931: They have higher levels of lighter elements and lower levels of midweight and heavier elements. This is because stars are made predominantly of hydrogen and helium, which fuse together in the stars' cores to create heavier elements. These new elements, which are much less abundant, eventually fuse into heavier and heavier elements. 

It is therefore hard to explain why J0931 has such and abundance of heavy elements because it doesn't seem to have a high enough concentration of lighter elements to have created them. 

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"Amazingly, no existing model of element formation can explain what we see," said study co-author Sanjana Curtis, an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley. It "almost seems self-contradictory," she said.

J0931's unusual metallicity would have partially been inherited from the ingredients that the Barbenheimer Star spit out when it exploded. This means that the parent star would likely have had a similarly inverted metallicity. This is even stranger, because in the early universe, stars shouldn't have existed long enough to have created such high concentrations of heavy elements, the team said.  

But what's even stranger is that the Barbenheimer Star should have never gone supernova, the researchers wrote. In theory, a star with Barbenheimer's predicted mass should have collapsed into a black hole rather than exploding outward. At the moment, the study team cannot explain why this collapse didn't happen. 

The only way for scientists to learn more about the Barbenhaimer Star and its bizarre composition is to search for other similar stellar oddballs from the early universe to uncover more pieces of this cosmic puzzle.

"The universe directed this movie, we are just the camera crew," study co-author Keith Hawkins, an astronomer at the University of Texas at Austin, said in the statement. "We don't yet know how the story will end." 

Iran’s Soraya satellite signals received on earth

TEHRAN, Jan. 21 (MNA) – Iran's Soraya satellite, which was launched into space earlier this week, demonstrated success as signals are effectively transmitted to Earth, marking a noteworthy accomplishment in its space mission.

The Iran Space Organization announced the successful communication of signals from the Soraya satellite to Earth. Weighing 47 kilograms, Soraya falls into the category of lightweight satellites.

The Soraya satellite, launched into a low Earth orbit (LEO) using the three-stage ‘Qaem-100’ satellite launcher, marked a significant achievement by attaining a 750-kilometer orbit and successfully transmitting its inaugural signal to Earth.

It boasts a lifespan exceeding 3 years and, following its orbital upgrade, now resides in a 750-kilometer orbit. The reported GPS positioning accuracy of the satellite is 20 meters.

SD/TSN

Iran says launches satellite in new aerospace milestone

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Iran's Revolutionary Guards launched a research satellite Saturday, a minister said, putting it into a higher orbit in a new milestone for its aerospace program that has faced Western criticism.

The United States has repeatedly warned Iran against such launches, saying the same technology can be used for ballistic missiles, including ones designed to deliver a nuclear warhead.

The Islamic Republic says its satellite and rocket launches are only for civil or defense purposes, denying any ambition to develop a nuclear weapons capability.

"The Soraya satellite of the Iranian Space Organization... was successfully launched with the Ghaem-100 satellite carrier of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," the official IRNA news agency said.

"This is the first time that Iran has successfully placed a satellite in orbits higher than 500 kilometers (310 miles)," IRNA said.

The news agency cited Telecommunications Minister Issa Zarepour as saying that the satellite, which weighs about 50 kilograms (110 pounds), was put in orbit 750 kilometers above Earth.

The Ghaem-100 carrier rocket is manufactured by the aerospace organization of the powerful Revolutionary Guards. It is the country's first three-stage solid-fuel satellite launcher.

While Tehran has struggled with several satellite launch failures in the past, the successful launch of its first military satellite Nour-1, into orbit in April 2020, drew a sharp rebuke from the United States.

Other Western governments have voiced similar concerns about Iran's aerospace program.

Tehran has been under crippling US sanctions since Washington's 2018 withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal which granted Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear activities, designed to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

© 2024 AFP

Iran says it sent a capsule capable of carrying animals into orbit as it prepares for human missions

NASA finally figures out how to open a $1-billion canister


Workers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston remove the lid of the OSIRIS-REx sample return canister inside a glove box to prevent contamination in September 2023.
(Robert Markowitz / NASA-JSC)

BY CORINNE PURTILL

STAFF WRITER JAN. 21, 2024 

Late last year, a spacecraft containing samples of a 4.6-billion-year-old asteroid landed safely in the desert after a 1.2-billion mile journey. There was only one little problem: NASA couldn’t get the canister containing its prized rocks open.

After months of tinkering, scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston finally dislodged two stuck fasteners that had kept the pieces of the asteroid Bennu out of researchers’ hands.

“It’s open! It’s open!” NASA’s Planetary Science Division posted Friday on X, along with a photograph of the slate-colored bounty of dust and small rocks inside the canister.

Scientists had to switch course on the canister opening effort in mid-October after it became clear that none of the items in NASA’s box of approved tools could force open the last two of 35 fasteners sealing the canister.

To prevent the sample from being contaminated by Earthly air, it has been stored in a clean room in the Houston facility where hazmat-suited curators delicately dismantled the canister. The team custom-designed new tools to pry open the final latches.

The agency will now finish extracting the approximately 9-ounce sample, which will be weighed and chemically analyzed. Much of the payload from OSIRIS-REx (an acronym for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) will then be frozen and carefully preserved so that future generations of scientists will be able to study it with advanced technologies.

“We are overjoyed with the success,” NASA’s chief OSIRIS-REx sample curator, Nicole Lunning, said in a statement.

It took more than seven years and roughly $1 billion to bring back a sample from Bennu, a space rock formed during the earliest days of the solar system. The asteroid samples found on Earth have essentially been cooked by their searing journey through the atmosphere, which limits what scientists can learn from them.

With OSIRIS-REx, “the objective is to bring back an ancient piece of the early solar system that is pristine,” NASA astrobiologist Jason Dworkin told The Times in September. “You can use these leftovers of the formation of the solar system to construct what happened in that formation.”

The spacecraft that collected the sample in 2020 and released it toward Earth in September is now heading on to its next mission. The craft, now named OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer, or OSIRIS-APEX, is on its way to a peanut-shaped asteroid named Apophis.


An asteroid will just miss us in 2029. Scientists are making the most of a rare opportunity

For a short (but alarming) time, astronomers thought Apophis might be on track to smash disastrously into Earth. Now that that worrying possibility has been ruled out, scientists are eagerly looking ahead to 2029, when the asteroid will pass closer to Earth than any object of its size ever has.

“It’s something that almost never happens, and yet we get to witness it in our lifetime,” JPL navigation engineer Davide Farnocchia said last year. “We usually send spacecraft out there to visit asteroids and find out about them. In this case, it’s nature doing the flyby for us.”


Corinne Purtill is a science and medicine reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Her writing on science and human behavior has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Time Magazine, the BBC, Quartz and elsewhere. Before joining The Times, she worked as the senior London correspondent for GlobalPost (now PRI) and as a reporter and assignment editor at the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh.