Momentus testing new spacecraft engine and solar array design
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 10:07
Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS), a U.S. commercial space company that offers satellite buses, transportation, and other in-space infrastructure services, continues to advance in-space testing of its Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET) and recently completed initial in-space testing of its Tape Spring Solar Array (TASSA).
The MET is the Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle's (OSV) primary prop Cosmic currents: Preserving water quality for astronauts during space exploration
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 10:07
On Nov. 9, the SpaceX Falcon rocket streaked skyward from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The rocket is on a commercial resupply mission dubbed CRS-2 SpX-29. In addition to providing vital provisions for astronauts, SpX-29 carries a special biological sciences payload - a collaborative experiment developed by researchers at Arizona State Universi Bouncing comets could deliver building blocks for life to exoplanets
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 10:07
How did the molecular building blocks for life end up on Earth? One long-standing theory is that they could have been delivered by comets. Now, researchers from the University of Cambridge have shown how comets could deposit similar building blocks to other planets in the galaxy.
In order to deliver organic material, comets need to be travelling relatively slowly - at speeds below 15 kilom Southern Launch to host HyImpulse's Pioneering SR75 launch in South Australia
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 10:07
In a significant development for the global aerospace industry, German rocket manufacturer HyImpulse is set to launch its SR75 sounding rocket from the Koonibba Test Range near Ceduna in South Australia in early 2024. This event marks a pivotal moment in space exploration, showcasing the potential of international collaboration and innovative propulsion technologies.
The SR75, which employ Europe's quantum decade extends into space
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 10:07
Europe - and the world - is in the midst of the 'quantum decade': a period in which the peculiar properties of matter that manifest at the very tiniest of scales are being transformed from mere scientific curiosities into the basis of practical technologies and products. The result? Major leaps forward in communications, navigation, computing and environmental sensing.
The same is true in Here Comes the Sun: Perseverance Readies for Solar Conjunction
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 10:07
Perseverance wrapped up science activities this week as the team focused on getting the rover in position for solar conjunction, a few week period roughly every two Earth years when Earth and Mars are on opposite sides of the Sun. To avoid potential interference of radio signals by the Sun's ionized gas, engineers do not actively command Mars spacecraft during this period and rather send up a lo US embarks on ambitious quantum technology endeavor
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 10:07
In a landmark initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), along with other strategic partners, has announced the inaugural participants in the Quantum and Space Collaboration. This pioneering effort, which includes the DOE, Department of Defense (DOD), NASA, Infleqtion, Nebula Space Enterprises, and Accenture Federal Services, seeks to harness quantum technologies for major advancements in The Long Wait
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 10:07
There was a long delay between Flight 52 and Flight 53, and a deviation from the published Flight 53 plan. I will address both in this blog post. First, the Flight 53 delay was the direct result of a decision by the team to fly Ingenuity out of telecom communications range with the rover. One may question the wisdom of this, but there are good reasons to do so.
When plotting a traversal pa European launch deal praised despite competition questions
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 09:31
MetOp Second Generation weather satellite pair show off
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 08:57
Having satellites in different types of orbit is essential to delivering data to forecast the weather accurately. With the first Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite safely in geostationary orbit since December 2022, it’s also time to focus on its polar-orbiting cousin, the MetOp Second Generation mission. And now, for the first time, two MetOp Second Generation satellites have been brought together to stand side-by-side for testing.
Fall into an ice giant’s atmosphere
Wednesday, 15 November 2023 07:00
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Fall into an ice giant’s atmosphere 
European governments and companies seek changes to georeturn
Tuesday, 14 November 2023 21:02
Bioengineers send cardiac muscle samples into space to study heart cell biology in microgravity
Tuesday, 14 November 2023 20:11
Mount Sinai's Cardiovascular Research Institute is sending bioengineered human heart muscle cells and micro-tissues into space for the first time on NASA's 29th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission, which launched Thursday, November 9. The "SpaceX CRS-29" mission is sending scientific research to the International Space Station (ISS), where the samples will stay for approximately 30 days before returning to Earth.
Through this experiment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai researchers aim to gain a better understanding of how cardiac muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes, adapt to extreme biological stresses and how microgravity and other features of space travel impact cardiomyocyte function. The findings will help scientists find better ways to study heart cell biology in future space experiments.
Understanding the capabilities and limitations of such heart cells to survive is not only important for the health of astronauts but also a first step toward future efforts in space-based tissue engineering, organoid fabrication, and bioprinting, which are all important players in the emerging economy of biomanufacturing in the microgravity environment known as low Earth orbit.
Mount Sinai is partnering with Space Tango to run this experiment.