Mining water and metal from the moon at the same time
Thursday, 04 March 2021 14:53
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In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is becoming an increasingly popular topic as space exploration begins to focus on landing on the surface of other bodies in the solar system. ISRU focuses on making things that are needed to support an exploration mission out of materials that are easily accessible at the site being explored, like European explorers in the New World building canoes out of the wood they found there.
Recently NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) has started looking more closely at a variety of ISRU projects as part of their Phase I Fellows program. One of the projects selected, led by Amelia Grieg at the University of Texas, El Paso, is a mining technique that would allow explorers to dig up water, metal and other useful materials, all at the same time.
Most ISRU schemes focus on using water, as it important for many exploration efforts. However, those schemes usually discard the rest of the material that is gathered in an effort to collect the water.
NASA updates ISS pricing to "Full Value" for Commercial Activities
Thursday, 04 March 2021 14:14 Write a comment
NASA is laying the foundation for America to maintain a human presence in low-Earth orbit in which one day NASA will become one of many customers in a robust commercial marketplace. To realize that goal, NASA has opened the International Space Station (ISS) for business to enable commercial and marketing opportunities on the microgravity laboratory.
Since making these opportunities availab China's 1st reusable rocket on way, says expert
Thursday, 04 March 2021 14:14 Write a comment
Designers at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology have started developing the first reusable model in the nation's Long March carrier rocket family, said a senior rocket scientist.
Jiang Jie, an expert at the academy and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said on Wednesday that research and development of the reusable variant of the Long March 8 rocket was proceeding we Australian Space Consortium to Leverage Quantum-Based Technologies
Thursday, 04 March 2021 14:14 Write a comment
Q-CTRL, a startup that applies the principles of control engineering to power quantum technology, has announced it will provide the first quantum sensing and navigation technologies for space exploration beginning with uncrewed lunar missions by the SEVEN SISTERS space industry consortium in Australia.
Commencing in 2023, the missions are designed to find accessible water and other resourc NASA Aeropods win industry recognition
Thursday, 04 March 2021 14:14 Write a comment
Aerodynamically stable and designed to hang from a kite string, Aeropods offer a low-cost, low-risk, opportunity for scientists and students to gather imagery and atmospheric data from an aerial perspective.
Geoff Bland, Research Engineer at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. and his team won the Educational Institution and Federal Laboratory Partnership award in 2020 from Marshall Spinoffs increase 3D printing capabilities, tackle foot odor
Thursday, 04 March 2021 14:14 Write a comment
Newly reported NASA Marshall Space Flight Center spinoffs offer an unlikely pair of benefits for space and commercial applications. An insert made from space-age material helps reduce pungent shoe odors, and an advanced 3D printer enables printing of electronics on demand. The technologies are featured in the latest edition of NASA's Spinoff publication, released December 2020.
"Technologi Week in images: 01 - 05 March 2021
Thursday, 04 March 2021 14:05 Write a comment
Week in images: 01 - 05 March 2021
Discover our week through the lens
Space doctors in the virtual house
Thursday, 04 March 2021 13:50 Write a comment
ESA’s first online space physicians training course took place from 21–22 January 2021, attracting over 50 participants from across Europe and the world.
Whitesides steps down from Virgin Galactic
Thursday, 04 March 2021 12:40 Write a comment
Updated 9:45 a.m. Eastern.
WASHINGTON — The longtime chief executive of Virgin Galactic, who moved into a new position at the company last year, has left the company but will continue to be an adviser to it.
Visit ESA virtually with new Discover ESA platform
Thursday, 04 March 2021 10:07 Write a comment
Do you want to visit all ESA establishments and see what we’re doing to explore space and protect our planet? Now you can, by taking virtual tours from your own homes, thanks to the Discover ESA interactive experience.
Earth from Space: Galápagos Islands
Thursday, 04 March 2021 09:00 Write a comment
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Galápagos Islands – a volcanic archipelago situated some 1000 km west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean.
Biden lauds NASA team for giving US 'dose of confidence'
Thursday, 04 March 2021 08:51 Write a comment
President Joe Biden on Thursday congratulated the NASA team responsible for last month's successful landing of an six-wheeled rover on Mars and for giving the country a "dose of confidence" at a moment when the nation's reputation as a scientific leader has been tattered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden speaking in video conference call with the leadership of space agency's jet propulsion laboratory team expressed awe over the Feb. 18 landing of Perseverance.
Perseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars, traveling some 300 million miles in nearly seven months, as part of an ongoing quest to study whether there was once life on the planet.
Planet-hunting eye of Plato
Thursday, 04 March 2021 08:22 Write a comment
Image:
Planet-hunting eye of Plato ExoMars goes for a spin
Thursday, 04 March 2021 08:00 Write a comment
- The full ExoMars 2022 mission comprising the carrier module, descent module, Kazachok surface platform and Rosalind Franklin rover have completed essential ‘spin tests’ in preparation for their journey to Mars
- Rosalind Franklin’s rover twin on Earth has executed trial science activities for the first time, including drill sample collection and close-up imaging
- A new parachute strategy has been adopted ahead of the next series of high altitude drop tests
SpaceX successfully launches 20th Starlink mission
Thursday, 04 March 2021 07:27 Write a comment
SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket loaded with dozens of additional Starlink communications satellites into space early Thursday after previous launch attempts were delayed.
The rocket lifted off at 3:24 EST from the historic pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the mission to put 60 more Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit as part of the plan to offer l