Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 12, 2024
The first crew involved in NASA's groundbreaking Mars analog mission, CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog), has successfully crossed the halfway mark of their year-long mission. As of January 11, the four-person team has spent 200 days in a specially designed habitat at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, with the mission set to conclude on July 6, 2024. This crew, w

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 12, 2024
Axiom Space, a key player in the burgeoning field of private space exploration, is set to launch its third private astronaut mission, Ax-3, to the International Space Station (ISS). Scheduled for liftoff no earlier than Wednesday, January 17, at 5:11 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this mission is poised to embark on a groundbreaking journey aboard a S

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 12, 2024
The Aurelia Institute has taken a significant step in space habitat design with its TESSERAE project, offering a fresh perspective on life in space. TESSERAE, a departure from conventional design, is grounded in established spacecraft engineering principles. The Institute recently released an executive summary highlighting the ongoing case study of this self-assembling habitat. Following t

Houston TX (SPX) Jan 12, 2024
Curation team members at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston have successfully removed the two fasteners from the sampler head that had prevented the remainder of OSIRIS-REx's asteroid Bennu sample material from being accessed. Steps now are underway to complete the disassembly of the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism, or TAGSAM, head to reveal the rest of the rocks and dust del

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 12, 2024
Orienspace, a Beijing-based private company, has marked a significant milestone in China's burgeoning space industry with the successful maiden flight of the Gravity 1 rocket, now recognized as the world's most powerful solid-propellant launch vehicle. The rocket's debut took place on Thursday, from a unique launch service ship off the coast of Haiyang in Shandong province. The Gravity 1,

Week in images: 08-12 January 2024

Discover our week through the lens

Edwards AFB CA (SPX) Jan 09, 2024
German Escobar works on a model aircraft wing structure that has two long sides and bars in between, which resembles a mini ladder. He sands the rough edges, uses four vices to secure it, and uses a milling machine he programmed to make precision holes. Escobar is one of the Experimental Fabrication Shop technicians at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards California. The team m

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jan 10, 2024
Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have uncovered a previously unknown connection between light and magnetism, opening new possibilities in the realms of memory technology and sensor development. Their findings, published in Physical Review Research, challenge established notions by highlighting the often-overlooked magnetic component of light. Prof. Amir Capua, leading the

Binghamton NY (SPX) Jan 09, 2024
When water vapor meets metal, the resulting corrosion can lead to mechanical problems that harm a machine's performance. Through a process called passivation, it also can form a thin inert layer that acts as a barrier against further deterioration. Either way, the exact chemical reaction is not well understood on an atomic level, but that is changing thanks to a technique called environmen

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 10, 2024
The quest to understand the fundamental properties of atomic nuclei has led scientists to the intriguing concept of the tetraneutron, a hypothetical atomic nucleus composed solely of four neutrons. The existence of tetraneutrons has been a subject of debate, primarily due to the limited knowledge about systems consisting only of neutrons, as most atomic nuclei are a mix of protons and neutrons.