China's Mars probe sends back video of Red Planet
Thursday, 11 February 2021 11:44
China's space agency released video footage from its spacecraft circling Mars on Friday, two days after it successfully entered the planet's orbit in Beijing's latest ambitious space mission.
In the video, published by state broadcaster CCTV, the surface of the planet is seen coming into view out of a pitch black sky against the outside of the Tianwen-1, which entered the orbit of the Red Planet on Wednesday.
White craters are visible on the planet's surface, which fades from white to black through the video as the probe flies over the course of one Martian day, said official news agency Xinhua.
The five-tonne Tianwen-1—which translates as "Questions to Heaven"—includes a Mars orbiter, a lander and a solar-powered rover and launched from southern China last July.
Is Brunt on the brink?
Thursday, 11 February 2021 11:15
In early 2019, all eyes were fixed on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, where a massive iceberg, around the size of Greater London, appeared poised to break off. Almost two years later, the berg is desperately clinging on, although current data indicate calving is imminent. A new crack, spotted in images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel missions, now suggests the potential for calving of multiple bergs.
Earth from Space: Valentine Island
Thursday, 11 February 2021 09:00
For Valentine’s Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Valentine Island in northern Western Australia.
Research highlights ways to protect astronaut cardiovascular health from space radiation
Thursday, 11 February 2021 08:53
Space: the final frontier. What's stopping us from exploring it? Well, lots of things, but one of the major issues is space radiation, and the effects it can have on astronaut health during long voyages. A new review in the open-access journal Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine explores what we know about the ways that space radiation can negatively affect cardiovascular health, and discusses methods to protect astronauts. These include radioprotective drugs, and antioxidant treatments, some of which are more common than you might think.
Space is incredibly inhospitable. Outside of low earth orbit, astronauts are bombarded with radiation, including galactic cosmic rays, and 'proton storms' released by the sun. This radiation is harmful for the human body, damaging proteins and DNA, and is one of the major reasons that we haven't yet been able to send anyone to Mars, or beyond.
These issues inspired Dr. Jesper Hjortnaes of the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands to investigate what we know about the harmful effects of space radiation. "If we want to see human long distance space travel, we need to understand the impact of space-induced disease and how to protect our bodies from it," said Hjortnaes.
How to Get Water on the Moon
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
Given plans for future manned missions to the Moon - and interest in the potential for longer-term lunar habitation - the presence of water on the Moon is of critical importance. Studies over the last few decades have revealed water lurking on our satellite in numerous forms. But how does it get there?
Lunar water has been found locked in ice form in the cold, permanently shadowed craters What Hollywood gets wrong, and right, about asteroids
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
Meet Kirsten Howley, the real-life astrophysicist working to prevent an asteroid "Armageddon"
In the 1998 movie "Armageddon," an asteroid the width of Texas is about to hit Earth. The heroes who stop it in the nick of time are a group of orange-suited Americans, all men.
Life isn't always like the movies.
Not that an asteroid couldn't slam into Earth, mind you. Asteroids - most Precise braking helps China's Tianwen 1 probe enter Mars orbit
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
Precise braking near Mars has helped China's probe Tianwen 1 successfully enter the orbit around the red planet on Wednesday, according to the country's space scientists.
Yang Yuguang, a researcher with China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited, told the Science and Technology Daily that the braking is a key and risky step in the Mars exploration mission, which requires a hi Goddard's Core Flight Software Chosen for NASA's Lunar Gateway
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
NASA is improving a flight software system to help create and certify essential software for the lunar Gateway.
As part of the Artemis program, NASA will send astronauts to the Moon and establish a sustained lunar presence by the end of the decade. The Gateway will provide a waypoint for lunar exploration and allow astronauts to live and work in lunar orbit as well as host science instrume Join ASU Mastcam-Z team for a live watch party of NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will land on Mars Feb. 18, 2021. Onboard the rover is the ASU-led mast-mounted camera system "Mastcam-Z," which can zoom from wide angle to telephoto, take 3D images and videos, and take photos in up to 11 unique colors.
ASU will hold a live landing watch party on Feb. 18 beginning at 11:30 a.m. Arizona time (MST) with Mastcam-Z principal investigator Ji SwRI scientist proposes a new timeline for Mars terrains
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
A Southwest Research Institute scientist has updated Mars chronology models to find that terrains shaped by ancient water activity on the planet's surface may be hundreds of millions of years older than previously thought.
This new chronology for Mars, based on the latest dynamical models for the formation and evolution of the solar system, is particularly significant as the days count dow Early crewed travel to Mars
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
There is no doubt that humans are going to Mars. It is simply a question of how and when. However, there are many fundamental concerns that must be dealt with. Some of these address crew safety, radiation exposure, long travel times, life support on Mars and return options. We already know that low energy methods of transfer can take eight months each way and minimum Mars surface time between re One small step towards spaceflight in the UK as government publishes environmental guidance
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
The first-ever launch into space from British soil is now one step closer, with the government today (10 February 2021) publishing its environmental guidance for the spaceflight regulator.
A newly established consultation will also set out how the regulator, which will oversee all launch and space activity from the UK, should meet environmental objectives - helping ensure space travel fits Elon Musk Hints at When People Could Invest in Starlink Shares
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
In December, SpaceX won $885.5 million from the US Federal Communications Commission to support the company's Starlink satellite network.
Multibillionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk told Twitter users on Tuesday when Starlink, a worldwide broadband network created by a constellation of satellites, could launch an initial public offering.
The tech mogul said that it will launch an IPO when Fabricating fully functional drones
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
From Star Trek's replicators to Richie Rich's wishing machine, popular culture has a long history of parading flashy machines that can instantly output any item to a user's delight.
While 3D printers have now made it possible to produce a range of objects that include product models, jewelry, and novelty toys, we still lack the ability to fabricate more complex devices that are essentially A new way to look for life-sustaining planets
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
It is now possible to capture images of planets that could potentially sustain life around nearby stars, thanks to advances reported by an international team of astronomers in the journal Nature Communications.
Using a newly developed system for mid-infrared exoplanet imaging, in combination with a very long observation time, the study's authors say they can now use ground-based telescopes