China's astronauts mark New Year with livestream from space
Monday, 03 January 2022 02:27From hosting a children's art gallery in space to answering questions about manned spaceflight, the three astronauts onboard China's Tiangong space station celebrated the New Year by cultivating science and inspiration in the country's youth. On Saturday afternoon, astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu hosted a live video call and interacted with college students at venues in
Chinese Mars mission sends photos of the Red Planet
Monday, 03 January 2022 02:27The China National Space Administration published on Saturday four pictures taken by its Tianwen 1 Mars mission, including the first full photo of the mission orbiter. The color pictures show the orbiter flying around the Red Planet in an orbit, the ice cover on Mars' north pole and a scene of a barren Martian plain. The orbiter's full picture was taken by a camera released by the cr
Webb deployment timeline adjusted to focus on initial spacecraft operations
Monday, 03 January 2022 02:27Taking advantage of its flexible commissioning schedule, the Webb team has decided to focus today on optimizing Webb's power systems while learning more about how the observatory behaves in space. As a result, the Webb mission operations team has moved the beginning of sunshield tensioning activities to no earlier than tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 3. This will ensure Webb is in prime condition t
Webb Telescope successfully unfurls crucial sunshield
Sunday, 02 January 2022 11:13A massive sunshield aboard the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope has been successfully unfurled in a crucial step for its operations, NASA says. The telescope's second, or starboard, sunshield mid-boom was extended late Friday as the observatory "passed another critical deployment milestone," the space agency announced. The deployment capped a two-day operation in which all
NASA takes break in JWST deployment after extending sunshield
Saturday, 01 January 2022 20:00NASA is taking a one-day break in the deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope after successfully extending booms for the spacecraft’s sunshield.
Orbital Badminton in 360° | Cosmic Kiss
Saturday, 01 January 2022 16:00Experience an orbital badminton match on the International Space Station ISS in 360° as ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer challenges his crewmates and Japanese spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano.
Together with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, the Japanese spaceflight participants joined the current Expedition 66 crew for a short-term stay of 12 days on the ISS.
While their stay on the ISS focuses on scientific and operational activities, the astronauts on board the Space Station also enjoy recreational activities that provide an important balance for the crew and offer opportunities for intercultural exchange and team building.
Matthias
US Govt orders Polyakov to sell entire Firefly Aerospace stake
Saturday, 01 January 2022 06:59The businessman revitalised the space company using his own funds back in 2017, when it was on the brink of bankruptcy. Since then, the firm secured its first contracts with the US government and held a partially successful first launch of a satellite. The US government demanded Ukrainian software mogul Max Polyakov to sell his entire stake in the space company Firefly Aerospace, which man
NASA Research Boosts LED Lamps for Home and Garden
Saturday, 01 January 2022 06:59NASA's exploration requires research into how light affects both humans and plants: John Glenn's first trip into Earth orbit lasted just under five hours, but today, astronauts regularly stay six months or longer on the International Space Station. Experiencing over a dozen sunrises and sunsets each day means an astronaut's biological clock tends to be in the wrong time zone. And for longer deep
'Wonder material' phosphorene nanoribbons live up to hype in first demonstration
Saturday, 01 January 2022 06:59Researchers have incorporated phosphorene nanoribbons into new types of solar cells, dramatically improving their efficiency. Phosphorene nanoribbons (PNRs) are ribbon-like strands of the 2D material phosphorous, which, similar to graphene, are made of single-atom-thick layers of atoms. PNRs were first produced in 2019, and hundreds of theoretical studies have predicted how their propertie
Giving bug-like bots a boost
Saturday, 01 January 2022 06:59When it comes to robots, bigger isn't always better. Someday, a swarm of insect-sized robots might pollinate a field of crops or search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building. MIT researchers have demonstrated diminutive drones that can zip around with bug-like agility and resilience, which could eventually perform these tasks. The soft actuators that propel these microrobot
Step forward in quest to develop living construction materials and beyond
Saturday, 01 January 2022 06:59Some engineered living materials can combine the strength of run-of-the-mill building materials with the responsiveness of living systems. Think self-healing concrete, paint that changes color when a specific chemical is detected or material that could reproduce and fill in a crack when one forms. This would revolutionize construction and maintenance, with wide-reaching economic and environmenta
US Govt orders Polyakov to sell Firefly Aerospace stake
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56The businessman revitalised the space company using his own funds back in 2017, when it was on the brink of bankruptcy. Since then, the firm secured its first contracts with the US government and held a partially successful first launch of a satellite. The US government demanded Ukrainian software mogul Max Polyakov to sell his entire stake in the space company Firefly Aerospace, which man
Bezos' Blue Origin teams up with U.S. military 'rocket cargo' program
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has teamed up with the U.S. military to explore the possibility of using rockets to transport cargo and people, U.S. Transportation Command announced Monday. The Amazon founder's Blue Origin rocket company and USTRANSCOM, which oversees global military logistics, signed the cooperative research and development agreement, CRADA, on Dec. 17, according to the announcem
Biden administration extends ISS operations through 2030
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56The Biden administration has extended operations on theInternational Space Station through 2030 to "enable a seamless transition" to commercial space stations, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Friday. Nelson said in a statement that NASA will continue working with the European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency, and Russia's StateSpace Corporati
Astra Space faces critics, skeptics as it plans Florida launch
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56Astra Space, one of few new rocket companies to reach orbit, is facing stiff criticism from skeptics about its business model as it plans its first launch from Florida.. The California-based company announced Dec. 6 that it planned to launch NASA satellites in January from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Since then, the company has released no further details about a launch date and ha