Tehran (AFP) June 26, 2022
Iran's defence ministry said Sunday it has carried out a second test launch of a satellite carrier, ahead of the expected restart of nuclear talks. "The second launch of the Zoljanah satellite carrier has taken place in order to achieve the predetermined research objectives," said Ahmad Hosseini, spokesman for the ministry's space division, cited by state news agency IRNA. In February la

Image: The Po River, the longest river in Italy, is hitting record low water levels after months without heavy rainfall. This Copernicus Sentinel-2 animation reveals how the river has significantly shrunk between June 2020 and June 2022.

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jun 24, 2022
Low earth orbit (LEO) satellites are being increasingly used for environmental monitoring of the earth, as well for logistic purposes, such as the navigation of maritime vessels. The data transmitted from the satellite terminals to the receivers on Earth, known as "downlink," is steadily increasing and, as a result, requires new frequency domains. In this regard, the Ka band for satellite

Tucson AZ (SPX) Jun 24, 2022
Results of multiple and complementary lab analyses of minerals found in samples of material from Antarctica could give scientists a better understanding of the surface and subsurface environment of Mars, and indicate locations of potentially habitable subsurface locations, says a new paper by Planetary Science Institute Research Scientist Elizabeth C. Sklute. Samples of intermittent brine

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 24, 2022
The MSL team is very happy this week, because our first drill attempt since last November was successful! This Front Hazcam image shows the drill being extracted from the new drill hole, which is surrounded by drill tailings as expected. This is one of several times in MSL's mission that drilling had to be re-designed to overcome an anomaly, again requiring lots of careful planning and tes

Huntsville AL (SPX) Jun 24, 2022
NASA science research on the International Space Station reached an extraordinary milestone June 14. The vital, versatile EXPRESS Racks - properly known as "EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to the Space Station" multipurpose payload shelving units - logged 1 million hours of combined powered duty on station. That's the equivalent of nearly 115 years' worth of scientific research comp

Orlando FL (SPX) Jun 24, 2022
When asteroid 2019 OK suddenly appeared barreling toward Earth on July 25, 2019, Luisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin and the team at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico jumped into action. After getting an alert, the radar scientists zoned in on the asteroid, which was coming from Earth's blind spot - solar opposition. Zambrano-Marin and the team had 30 minutes to get as many radar readings a

Washington DC (SPX) Jun 24, 2022
An independent assessment team will review possible options for next steps, including estimated costs. NASA announced Friday the Psyche asteroid mission, the agency's first mission designed to study a metal-rich asteroid, will not make its planned 2022 launch attempt. Due to the late delivery of the spacecraft's flight software and testing equipment, NASA does not have sufficient time to c

Tempe AZ (SPX) Jun 24, 2022
Astronomers discovered a rocket body heading toward a lunar collision late last year. Impact occurred March 4, with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter later spotting the resulting crater. Surprisingly the crater is actually two craters, an eastern crater (18-meter diameter, about 19.5 yards) superimposed on a western crater (16-meter diameter, about 17.5 yards). The double crater was unex