Head of US Space Force says not many understand its purpose
Thursday, 04 February 2021 05:03
Ever since former President Trump started talking about it early on during his time in office, the Space Force has gained the attention of many Americans, while lawmakers in both parties see it as integral to ensuring that the military gives space the priority it requires in order to fight China and Russia.
The Chief of Space Operations General Jay Raymond said that there might be a public SPIRou Stares at a Young Rebel: the AU Mic Planetary System
Thursday, 04 February 2021 05:03
A team of astronomers using SPIRou, the spectropolarimeter / high-precision velocimeter at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), measured the mass and density of a close-in Neptune-like planet orbiting the hugely-active newborn star AU Microscopii (AU Mic), showing that this warm planet, named AU Mic b, orbits in the equatorial plane of its host.
These observations mark the very first Firefly wins NASA CLPS lunar lander contract
Thursday, 04 February 2021 00:13
Updated 9:30 p.m. Eastern to revise launch plans.
WASHINGTON — NASA has selected Firefly Aerospace to deliver a set of 10 research payloads to the moon in 2023, the latest award in its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
ULA’s Tory Bruno warns of ‘overheated’ space launch market
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 22:25
WASHINGTON — The chief executive of United Launch Alliance warned that there are too many venture-funded space launch companies competing for a static number of customers, and called on the U.S. government to encourage investments in other space activities that don’t exist today.
NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for SPHEREx Astrophysics Mission
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 21:21
NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission. Airbus awarded €650 million contract to build three more Orion service modules
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 19:45
JOHANNESBURG — The European Space Agency (ESA) signed a €650 million ($790 million) contract with Airbus Space and Defence to produce three more service modules for NASA’s Orion crewed spacecraft.
The European Service Module (EMS) is the 15,000-kilogram powerplant of NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
U.S. military space commanders expect broad continuity in DoD space policy
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 19:08
WASHINGTON — It’s now been confirmed that the Biden administration is fully behind the U.S. Space Force. And Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted in congressional testimony that he views space as a national security concern.
White House endorses Artemis program
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 18:19
WASHINGTON — The White House gave its support for NASA’s Artemis program of lunar exploration, but offered no details on potential changes it may make in the scope and schedule of the effort.
At a Feb.
Inside a martian canyon
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 17:00
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Inside a martian canyon Japan scientists to study source of high heat on asteroid
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 15:20
How Mars became the prize for the new space race – and why China is hellbent on winning it
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 14:59
Looking at its achievements over the past decade, nobody would doubt China is aiming to win the new space race. Not only has it been the only country to land on the Moon in about 40 years, and the first to soft land on its far side, it has also planted a flag on lunar soil and brought samples back to Earth.
The race between several nations and private companies, however, is far from over. China is now approaching Mars with its Tianwen-1 mission, due to arrive on February 10. A successful insertion into orbit—the rover won't land until May—will mark another crucial milestone for more than one reason.
Mars may be close to Earth, but it is a challenging target. Nothing demonstrates this better than the figures. Out of 49 missions up to December 2020, only about 20 have been successful. Not all these failures were attempts by newbies or early endeavors.
How Mars 2020 will help bring part of the red planet back to Earth
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 14:04
Out in the cold, empty void beyond Earth, NASA's latest Mars mission is hurtling at 43,000 miles per hour toward the Red Planet. The mission, Mars 2020, passed the halfway point of its journey in October 2020 and is expected to touch down on solid ground on February 18.
The mission is the first part of an audacious plan to do something humanity has never done before: bring a piece of another planet back to Earth. (NASA has retrieved rocks from the Moon, but it is not considered a planet.) This plan, known as Mars Sample Return, will involve three missions spanning a decade.
For Ken Farley, Caltech's W. M. Keck Foundation Professor of Geochemistry and the mission's project scientist, Mars 2020 is the culmination of years of dreaming and careful planning.
"The idea of bringing a sample back from Mars goes back decades," he says.
Democratic senators ask White House to continue Artemis lunar lander program
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 12:32
WASHINGTON — Eleven Democratic members of the U.S. Senate have asked President Joe Biden to maintain “robust funding” of NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) program given uncertainties about how the agency will proceed with that effort.
Aeolus shines a light on polar vortex
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 10:45
As this winter’s polar vortex currently sends extreme icy blasts of Arctic weather to some parts of the northern hemisphere such as the northeast of the US, scientists are using wind information from ESA’s Aeolus satellite to shed more light on this complex phenomenon.
US voices concern on Iran satellite rocket launch
Wednesday, 03 February 2021 07:55
The United States on Tuesday voiced concern about Iran's launch of a satellite-carrying rocket, saying the test could boost missile work at a moment when the two nations are inching back to diplomacy.
"The United States remains concerned with Iran's efforts to development space launch vehicles (SLVs), given these programs' ability to advance Iran's ballistic missile development," a State Dep