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A mathematical model developed by space medicine experts from The Australian National University (ANU) could be used to predict whether an astronaut can safely travel to Mars and fulfil their mission duties upon stepping foot on the Red Planet.

The ANU team simulated the impact of prolonged exposure to zero gravity on the cardiovascular system to determine whether the can tolerate Mars' —which aren't as strong as on Earth—without fainting or suffering a medical emergency when stepping out of a spacecraft.

The model could be used to assess the impact of short and long duration flight on the body and could serve as another important piece of the puzzle in helping land humans on Mars.

Dr. Lex van Loon, a Research Fellow from the ANU Medical School, said although there are multiple risks associated with travelling to Mars, the biggest concern is prolonged exposure to microgravity—near zero gravity—which, combined with exposure to damaging radiation from the Sun, could cause "fundamental" changes to the body.

"We know it takes about six to seven months to travel to Mars and this could cause the structure of your blood vessels or the strength of your heart to change due to the weightlessness experienced as a result of zero gravity ," Dr.

NASA's Lucy team discovers moon around asteroid Polymele
The asteroid Polymele, illustrated here, was recently discovered to have a small satellite of its own by NASA's Lucy team. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Even before its launch, NASA's Lucy mission was already on track to break records by visiting more asteroids than any previous mission. Now, after a surprise result from a long-running observation campaign, the mission can add one more asteroid to the list.

On March 27, Lucy's science team discovered that the smallest of the mission's Trojan asteroid targets, Polymele, has a of its own. On that day, Polymele was expected to pass in front of a star, allowing the team to observe the star blink out as the asteroid briefly blocked, or occulted, it. By spreading 26 teams of professional and across the path where the occultation would be visible, the Lucy team planned to measure the location, size, and shape of Polymele with unprecedented precision while it was outlined by the star behind it.

Ball Aerospace and Seagate Technology Holdings are working together to develop and test high-capacity commercial data processing and storage devices for spaceflight applications.

The post Ball and Seagate test data storage devices for satellites appeared first on SpaceNews.

Supply chain issues have pushed out the launch of AST SpaceMobile’s first operational satellite about six months to late 2023, the cellphone-compatible broadband constellation startup said Aug. 15.

The post AST SpaceMobile delays commercial satellite debut by six months appeared first on SpaceNews.

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A large ship that Blue Origin planned to convert into a landing platform for New Glenn boosters is instead being sent to the scrapyard as the company changes its recovery plans.

The post Blue Origin scraps original recovery ship for New Glenn boosters appeared first on SpaceNews.

Orion Space Solutions announced Aug. 16 it was selected by the U.S. Space Force to develop three small satellites for a demonstration of on-orbit services in geostationary Earth orbit.

The post Orion Space wins U.S.

NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft kicks assembly into high gear
Standing 10 feet (3 meters) high, the core of NASA’s Europa Clipper will be the focus of attention in High Bay 1 of JPL’s storied Spacecraft Assembly Facility. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The core of NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft has taken center stage in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Standing 10 feet (3 meters) high and 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide, the craft's main body will for the next two years be the focus of attention in the facility's ultra-hygienic High Bay 1 as engineers and technicians assemble the spacecraft for its launch to Jupiter's moon Europa in October 2024.

Scientists believe the ice-enveloped moon harbors a vast internal ocean that may have conditions suitable for supporting life. During nearly 50 flybys of Europa, the spacecraft's suite of will gather data on the moon's atmosphere, surface, and interior—information that scientists will use to gauge the depth and salinity of the ocean, the thickness of the ice crust, and potential plumes that may be venting subsurface water into space.

Harvesting resources on Mars with plasmas

Tuesday, 16 August 2022 14:17
Harvesting resources on Mars with plasmas
Carbon dioxide plasma created at the Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, Ecole Polytechnique in France and used in the research on harnessing and processing local resources to generate products on Mars. Credit: Olivier Guaitella

An international team of researchers came up with a plasma-based way to produce and separate oxygen within the Martian environment. It's a complementary approach to NASA's Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, and it may deliver high rates of molecule production per kilogram of instrumentation sent to space.

Such a system could play a critical role in the development of systems on Mars and the feedstock and base chemicals necessary for processing fuels, building materials, and fertilizers.

In the Journal of Applied Physics, the team from the University of Lisbon, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sorbonne University, Eindhoven University of Technology, and the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research presented a method for harnessing and processing local resources to generate products on Mars.

A legislative proposal in the 2023 defense spending bill calling on DoD to leverage commercial space networks marks a victory of sorts for the SmallSat Alliance.

The post On National Security | SmallSat Alliance steps up push for a military comms ‘outernet’ appeared first on SpaceNews.

War in Ukraine highlights the growing strategic importance of private satellite companies
Private companies have launched dozens of imaging satellites—like the two small boxes in the middle of the photo—into orbit in recent years. Credit: NASA/Steve Jurvetson, CC BY-NC

Satellites owned by private companies have played an unexpectedly important role in the war in Ukraine. For example, in early August 2022, images from the private satellite company Planet Labs showed that a recent attack on a Russian military base in Crimea caused more damage than Russia had suggested in public reports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted the losses as evidence of Ukraine's progress in the war.

Soon after the war began, Ukraine requested data from private satellite companies around the world. By the end of April, Ukraine was getting imagery from U.S. companies mere minutes after the data was collected.

My research focuses on international cooperation in satellite Earth observations, including the role of the private sector.

NASA moves up launch of massive moon rocket

Tuesday, 16 August 2022 11:14
Washington DC (UPI) Aug 15, 2021
NASA announced Monday that it will roll out its Artemis I Moon rocket on Tuesday evening, which is two days earlier than originally planned. Tuesday's planned roll out represents the final prelaunch test before the scheduled launch on Aug. 29. The uncrewed test flight will remain in space for 42 days before returning to Earth. Rick LaBrode, the lead flight director for Artemis I,
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 16, 2022
Water may have been brought to Earth by asteroids from the outer edges of the solar system, scientists said after analysing rare samples collected on a six-year Japanese space mission. In a quest to shed light on the origins of life and the formation of the universe, researchers are scrutinising material brought back to earth in 2020 from the asteroid Ryugu. The 5.4 grams (0.2 ounces) of
Boulder CO (SPX) Aug 10, 2022
With thousands of satellites and countless debris bound for busy orbits, Kayhan Space has unveiled its next-gen Pathfinder spaceflight safety platform to enable satellite and mission operators to better manage operational risks and make preemptive maneuvers based on precision analytics to avoid pileups in space. Capella Space, Globalstar, and Lynk Global are among an initial group of leadi
Masten XL-1 landing

Astrobotic Technology, a lunar lander developer, has made a formal bid for “substantially all” of the assets of Masten Space Systems, another lander company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month.

The post Astrobotic bids for Masten Space Systems assets appeared first on SpaceNews.

A view of the Jiuquan launch center from the Sentinel-2 satellite. China's reusable experimental spacecraft launched from the facility Sept. 4.

A Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft remains in orbit nearly two weeks after launch, despite passing directly over its expected landing site early Monday.

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