South Korea signs Artemis Accords; Brazil, New Zealand likely next
Thursday, 27 May 2021 13:40
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea signed the Artemis Accords May 27, becoming the 10th signatory to the pact that governs norms of behavior for those who want to participate in the NASA-led Artemis lunar exploration program.
On the same day, South Korea and the United States signed an agreement on “civil global navigation satellite systems cooperation” under which the U.S.
Isotropic Systems closing in on multi-orbit antenna offering
Thursday, 27 May 2021 13:37
TAMPA, Fla. — British startup Isotropic Systems has unlocked more government funding for antennas it believes are timed for the satellite industry’s multi-orbit evolution.
Isotropic said May 25 it secured the final third of a previously unannounced 18.5 million euro ($22.5 million) contract from the UK Space Agency to help bring its flat-panel terminals to market early next year.
Juno returns to 'Clyde's Spot' on Jupiter
Thursday, 27 May 2021 11:24
During its 33rd low pass over the cloud tops of Jupiter on April 15, 2021, NASA's Juno spacecraft captured the intriguing evolution of a feature in the giant planet's atmosphere known as "Clyde's Spot."
The feature is informally named for amateur astronomer Clyde Foster of Centurion, South Africa, who discovered it in 2020 using his own 14-inch telescope. On June 2, 2020, just two days after Foster's initial discovery, Juno provided detailed observations of Clyde's Spot (upper image), which scientists determined was a plume of cloud material erupting above the top layers of the Jovian atmosphere just southeast of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, which is currently about 1.3 times as wide as Earth. These powerful convective outbreaks occasionally occur in this latitude band, known as the South Temperate Belt. The initial plume subsided quickly, and within a few weeks it was seen as a dark spot.
Many features in Jupiter's highly dynamic atmosphere are short lived, but the April 2021 observation from the JunoCam instrument (lower image) revealed that nearly one year after its discovery, the remnant of Clyde's Spot had not only drifted away from the Great Red Spot but had also developed into a complex structure that scientists call a folded filamentary region.
GAO report identifies technical and management risks with Artemis
Thursday, 27 May 2021 10:45
WASHINGTON — A Government Accountability Office report warns that NASA’s Artemis program faces technical risks as well as management issues that raise doubts about achieving the goal of returning humans to the moon by 2024.
The May 26 report by the GAO, requested by Congress in a 2018 appropriations bill, concluded that NASA’s approach to managing the various projects involved with the overall Artemis effort increased the odds of cost increases and schedule slips.
Adapting to changing climates: Q&A with Eumetsat’s Phil Evans
Thursday, 27 May 2021 10:43
It will take decades to fully deploy a next-generation weather-tracking constellation for Europe’s Eumetsat, which aims to launch its first of six new MTG satellites for geostationary orbit (GEO) next year.
Rampant satellite innovation swirling around the intergovernmental meteorological organization headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, and the changing role of the private sector pose novel challenges as it charts this long-term course.
Cramming it all into three hundred and thirty seconds of microgravity
Thursday, 27 May 2021 08:49
SpaceX cargo mission to carry water bears, baby squids to space station
Thursday, 27 May 2021 08:49
Similar states of activity identified in supermassive and stellar mass black holes
Thursday, 27 May 2021 08:49
How ESA boosts climate education
Thursday, 27 May 2021 07:37
A series of fascinating new learning resources are enabling teachers in the UK to encourage the next generation of climate pioneers.
The freely available lesson plans and activities – which add to ESA’s portfolio of space-powered climate learning materials – were highlighted at the Climate Change Teacher Conference, a live-streamed online summit for British primary and secondary school educators that took place this week.
Quantum communication in space moves ahead
Thursday, 27 May 2021 07:00
Keeping information secure in today’s interconnected world is becoming ever more important, so ESA is supporting efforts to ensure that future communications are kept confidential.
Canada to send rover to Moon by 2026: minister
Thursday, 27 May 2021 06:28
Canada will land a robotic rover on the Moon within five years, its industry minister said Wednesday, announcing that Ottawa plans to "dream big" as it advances its competitive stake in the growing global space market.
"Canada will be part of space history," Francois-Philippe Champagne told a news conference.
"We recognize that global interest in space and in the space industry is on the rise," he said. "As the whole world looks to the stars we are ready to make Canada a world leader in research, technology and innovation so that we can be there as well."
"Let's seize the moment. I don't think there's ever been a better time to be Canadian, and dream big."
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will partner with the United States' NASA on the mission, according to a statement.
Two Canadian companies will first be selected to develop concepts for the rover and science instruments for the mission.
Jupiter antenna that came in from the cold
Thursday, 27 May 2021 05:55
Looming US intelligence report to address UFOs
Thursday, 27 May 2021 02:23
Roscosmos Chief invites NASA Counterpart to Russia to discuss space cooperation
Thursday, 27 May 2021 02:23
Newly discovered glaciers could aid human survival on Mars
Thursday, 27 May 2021 02:23