A state-of-the-art asteroid alert system operated by the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy (IfA) can now scan the entire dark sky every 24 hours for dangerous bodies that could plummet toward Earth.

The NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) has expanded its reach to the southern hemisphere, from two existing northern-hemisphere telescopes on Haleakalā and Maunaloa. Construction is now complete and operations are underway on two additional telescopes in South Africa and Chile.

"An asteroid that hits the Earth can come at any time from any direction, so ATLAS is now all the sky, all the time," said John Tonry, IfA professor and ATLAS principal investigator.

The new telescopes are located at Sutherland Observing Station in South Africa and El Sauce Observatory in Chile. These locations were selected not only for their access to the southern part of the sky but also their time difference from Hawaiʻi—they are able to observe at night when it is daytime in Hawaiʻi.

NASA's HERMES mission—a four-instrument suite to be mounted outside NASA's Moon-orbiting Gateway—has passed a critical mission review on Jan.

The University of Surrey and Space Power are tackling the problem of powering satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) during their eclipse period when they cannot see the sun. By collaborating on a space infrastructure project, the joint team will develop new technology which uses lasers to beam solar power from satellites under solar illumination to small satellites orbiting closer to Earth during eclipse. The wireless, laser-based power beaming prototype will be the first developed outside of governmental organizations and is aiming for commercialisation by 2025.

Wireless power beaming is a critical and disruptive technology for space infrastructure and will provide auxiliary power to increase the baseline efficiency of small satellites in LEO. The technical side of the project will use the highly specialized laser laboratories and optical systems developed at the University of Surrey's Department of Physics and Advanced Technology Institute, which are world leaders in the development and implementation of laser and photovoltaic-based technologies.

Space travel is all about momentum.

Rockets turn their fuel into momentum that carries people, satellites and science itself forward into space. 2021 was a year full of records for space programs around the world, and that momentum is carrying forward into 2022.

Last year, the commercial space race truly took off. Richard Branson and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos both rode on suborbital launches—and brought friends, including actor William Shatner. SpaceX sent eight astronauts and 1 ton of supplies to the International Space Station for NASA.