Copernical Team
Saturday, 03 April 2021 15:54
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter dropped on Mars' surface ahead of flight
NASA's Ingenuity mini-helicopter has been dropped on the surface of Mars in preparation for its first flight, the US space agency said.
The ultra-light aircraft had been fixed to the belly of the Perseverance rover, which touched down on the Red Planet on February 18.
"MarsHelicopter touchdown confirmed!" NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted Saturday.
"Its 293 million mile (471 million kilometer) journey aboard @NASAPersevere ended with the final drop of 4 inches (10 centimeter) from the rover's belly to the surface of Mars today. Next milestone? Survive the night."
A photograph accompanying the tweet showed Perseverance had driven clear of the helicopter and its "airfield" after dropping to the surface.
Ingenuity had been feeding off the Perseverance's power system but will now have to use its own battery to run a vital heater to protect its unshielded electrical components from freezing and cracking during the bitter Martian night.
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Saturday, 03 April 2021 03:55
Hawkeye 360 announces commissioning of second satellite cluster
Herndon VA (SPX) Apr 02, 2021
HawkEye 360 Inc., the first commercial company to use formation-flying satellites to create a new class of radio frequency (RF) data and data analytics, today announced that its recently-launched "Cluster 2" satellites have achieved initial operating capability.
The trio of satellites, which entered orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in January, have completed functional testing, moved
HawkEye 360 Inc., the first commercial company to use formation-flying satellites to create a new class of radio frequency (RF) data and data analytics, today announced that its recently-launched "Cluster 2" satellites have achieved initial operating capability.
The trio of satellites, which entered orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in January, have completed functional testing, moved
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Saturday, 03 April 2021 03:55
Carbon's interstellar journey to Earth
Ann Arbor MI (SPX) Apr 02, 2021
We are made of stardust, the saying goes, and a pair of studies including University of Michigan research finds that may be more true than we previously thought. The first study, led by U-M researcher Jie (Jackie) Li and published in Science Advances, finds that most of the carbon on Earth was likely delivered from the interstellar medium, the material that exists in space between stars in a gal
We are made of stardust, the saying goes, and a pair of studies including University of Michigan research finds that may be more true than we previously thought. The first study, led by U-M researcher Jie (Jackie) Li and published in Science Advances, finds that most of the carbon on Earth was likely delivered from the interstellar medium, the material that exists in space between stars in a gal
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Saturday, 03 April 2021 03:55
Getting the CubeSats moving at ESA
Paris (ESA) Apr 02, 2021
ESA's M-Argo mission will be the first CubeSat to traverse interplanetary space under its own power. Due to launch in 2024-5, the suitcase-sized spacecraft will travel to a near-Earth asteroid, up to 150 million km away.
CubeSats are small, cheap satellites assembled from standardised parts in 10 cm boxes - M-Argo is a 12-unit CubeSat. Originally intended for educational purposes and techn
ESA's M-Argo mission will be the first CubeSat to traverse interplanetary space under its own power. Due to launch in 2024-5, the suitcase-sized spacecraft will travel to a near-Earth asteroid, up to 150 million km away.
CubeSats are small, cheap satellites assembled from standardised parts in 10 cm boxes - M-Argo is a 12-unit CubeSat. Originally intended for educational purposes and techn
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Saturday, 03 April 2021 03:55
BioSentinel team prepares cubesat for deep space flight
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Apr 02, 2021
BioSentinel gets a step closer to flight. Having completed assembly and a battery of tests, the BioSentinel team at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley is in the final stretch of preparations to ship the spacecraft to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch. BioSentinel's deep space flight will go past the Moon and into an orbit around the Sun.
It's one of
BioSentinel gets a step closer to flight. Having completed assembly and a battery of tests, the BioSentinel team at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley is in the final stretch of preparations to ship the spacecraft to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch. BioSentinel's deep space flight will go past the Moon and into an orbit around the Sun.
It's one of
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Saturday, 03 April 2021 03:55
BWXT Awarded Additional Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Work for NASA
Lynchburg VA (SPX) Apr 02, 2021
BWX Technologies, Inc. reports that it is continuing its groundbreaking Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) design, manufacturing development, and test support work for NASA. NTP is one of the technologies that is capable of propelling a spacecraft to Mars, and this contract continues BWXT's work that began in 2017.
Under the terms of a $9.4 million, one-year contract awarded to its BWXT Adva
BWX Technologies, Inc. reports that it is continuing its groundbreaking Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) design, manufacturing development, and test support work for NASA. NTP is one of the technologies that is capable of propelling a spacecraft to Mars, and this contract continues BWXT's work that began in 2017.
Under the terms of a $9.4 million, one-year contract awarded to its BWXT Adva
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Saturday, 03 April 2021 03:55
FAST forward with greater responsibility
Beijing (XNA) Apr 02, 2021
The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in Guizhou province, which officially opened to the world on Wednesday, has invited astronomers from around the world to apply on its website (fast.bao.ac.cn/proposal_submit) for outer-space observations.
Which means FAST, the world's most sensitive and largest single-dish radio telescope, opened to the world less than four m
The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in Guizhou province, which officially opened to the world on Wednesday, has invited astronomers from around the world to apply on its website (fast.bao.ac.cn/proposal_submit) for outer-space observations.
Which means FAST, the world's most sensitive and largest single-dish radio telescope, opened to the world less than four m
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Saturday, 03 April 2021 03:55
Distant, spiralling stars give clues to the forces that bind sub-atomic particles
Bath UK (SPX) Apr 02, 2021
Space scientists at the University of Bath in the UK have found a new way to probe the internal structure of neutron stars, giving nuclear physicists a novel tool for studying the structures that make up matter at an atomic level.
Neutron stars are dead stars that have been compressed by gravity to the size of small cities. They contain the most extreme matter in the universe, meaning they
Space scientists at the University of Bath in the UK have found a new way to probe the internal structure of neutron stars, giving nuclear physicists a novel tool for studying the structures that make up matter at an atomic level.
Neutron stars are dead stars that have been compressed by gravity to the size of small cities. They contain the most extreme matter in the universe, meaning they
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Saturday, 03 April 2021 03:55
NASA aims to wow public with landing video, images
Washington DC (UPI) Apr 2, 2021
NASA has started intense planning to capture public attention with high-definition video, photos and possible live streaming from the moon during upcoming Artemis missions.
Grainy delayed footage - sometimes only in black and white - was a hallmark of the first Apollo moon landing in 1969. But even that captured 650 million viewers around the globe.
Artemis moon missions will f
NASA has started intense planning to capture public attention with high-definition video, photos and possible live streaming from the moon during upcoming Artemis missions.
Grainy delayed footage - sometimes only in black and white - was a hallmark of the first Apollo moon landing in 1969. But even that captured 650 million viewers around the globe.
Artemis moon missions will f
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Saturday, 03 April 2021 03:55
Sensors collect crucial data on Mars landings with arrival of Perseverance
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 02, 2021
"Tango delta. Touchdown confirmed. Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking the signs of past life." For more than six years, the Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation 2 (MEDLI2) team waited to hear these words.
NASA's Perseverance rover successfully landed Feb. 18, 2021, beginning its robotic exploration of the Red Planet. MEDLI2 was one of the crucial
"Tango delta. Touchdown confirmed. Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking the signs of past life." For more than six years, the Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation 2 (MEDLI2) team waited to hear these words.
NASA's Perseverance rover successfully landed Feb. 18, 2021, beginning its robotic exploration of the Red Planet. MEDLI2 was one of the crucial
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