China aims to bring Mars samples to Earth 2 years before NASA, ESA mission
Monday, 20 June 2022 09:32
China’s Mars sample return mission aims to collect samples from the Red Planet and deliver them to Earth in 2031, or two years ahead of a NASA and ESA joint mission.
ESA to wow the Berlin International Airshow
Monday, 20 June 2022 08:50
Crowds at the Berlin International Airshow – which will focus on innovation, new technology and sustainability – are set to be wowed by space.
Space tech to be put to test on Asia-bound Fiat Panda
Monday, 20 June 2022 07:47
Two ESA engineers are offering a unique testbed for novel space technology: a second-hand, two-decade-old Fiat Panda, set to be driven 16 000 km to compete in the Mongol Rally from Europe to the Mongolian steppes during summer 2023. Having already taken part in the Panda Raid race to Morocco and back, the ‘space2ground’ team plans to perform on-board testing over the course of their epic Asiatic drive.
BepiColombo lines up for second Mercury flyby
Monday, 20 June 2022 07:00
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission is gearing up for its second close flyby of Mercury on 23 June. ESA’s spacecraft operation team is guiding BepiColombo through six gravity assists of the planet before entering orbit around it in 2025.
Directed Energy leader recaps time in AFRL, looks ahead to space position
Monday, 20 June 2022 06:43
Dr. Kelly Hammett, who has led the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate for the past six years, departed AFRL June 6 for his new assignment as director of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office (SpRCO), both located on Kirtland AFB.
"I will miss bragging on the Directed Energy team, and all that we accomplished in the six years I was in the director's seat," said Hammett. Metaspectral wins funding from CSA to develop new greenhouse gas monitoring method
Monday, 20 June 2022 06:43
Metaspectral, a software company delivering the next generation of computer vision, has received funding as part of the smartEarth Canadian Space Agency initiative to build a method to systematically and methodically quantify the carbon dioxide (CO2) levels present at ground-elevation using hyperspectral data.
Metaspectral has created a hybrid on-premise and cloud-based software platform t Space Force to establish intelligence unit at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Monday, 20 June 2022 05:10
The U.S. Space Force on June 24 plans to formally establish the National Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
The post Space Force to establish intelligence unit at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base appeared first on SpaceNews.
SpaceX performs three launches within two days amid internal dissent
Sunday, 19 June 2022 15:18
SpaceX completed a surge of three successful launches in a little more than 36 hours early June 19, days after an open letter within the company critical of founder Elon Musk led to the firing of several employees.
Mysterious 'blue blobs' reveal a new kind of star system
Sunday, 19 June 2022 10:06
University of Arizona astronomers have identified five examples of a new class of stellar system. They're not quite galaxies and only exist in isolation.
The new stellar systems contain only young, blue stars, which are distributed in an irregular pattern and seem to exist in surprising isolation from any potential parent galaxy.
The stellar systems - which astronomers say appear thr NASA mission discovers 2 Earth-like exoplanets
Sunday, 19 June 2022 10:06
NASA announced Wednesday it discovered two rocky exoplanets similar to Earth orbiting a dwarf star near our solar system but are believed to both be too hot to sustain life as we know it.
The space agency's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission, or TESS, said the planets are 33 light-years away, some of the closest rocky exoplanets ever found.
"Both planets rate in the to Three-stage engine of China's new manned carrier rocket to enter prototype development
Sunday, 19 June 2022 10:06
A three-stage engine of China's new generation manned carrier rocket will go to prototype sample development, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The long-distance and multiple ignition tests of the engine have been successfully completed, indicating that it is ready to enter the next stage of prototype sample development.
The test examined the key te NASA spacecraft observes Asteroid Bennu's boulder 'Body Armor'
Sunday, 19 June 2022 10:06
Asteroid Bennu's boulder-covered surface gives it protection against small meteoroid impacts, according to observations of craters by NASA's OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft.
"These observations give new insight into how asteroids like Bennu respond to energetic impacts," said Edward (Beau) Bierhaus of Lockheed Ma Researcher awarded $100,000 to identify potential fuel source on Mars
Sunday, 19 June 2022 10:06
Associate professor Vincent Chevrier at the U of A Center for Space and Planetary Sciences was awarded $100,000 to study the stability and distribution of clathrate hydrates and clathrasils on the surface of Mars in hopes of discovering a source of methane.
Identifying probable sources of methane would be a critical step in advancing the exploration of Mars, as methane could be utilized to A summer science smorgasbord: Sols 3505-3506
Sunday, 19 June 2022 10:06
The difficulty of driving on Martian terrain proves itself once again! Our Sol 3504 drive did not complete successfully, leaving us in basically the same spot as our last plan. Thankfully, all the science we planned executed successfully: check out an interesting Dust Removal Tool result on "Omai" showing erosion-resistant veins beneath the surface and a MAHLI closeup of ChemCam's eye where the Martian meteorite upsets planet formation theory
Sunday, 19 June 2022 10:06
Anew study of an old meteorite contradicts current thinking about how rocky planets like the Earth and Mars acquire volatile elements such as hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and noble gases as they form. The work is published June 16 in Science.
A basic assumption about planet formation is that planets first collect these volatiles from the nebula around a young star, said Sandrine Pero