China’s main space contractor is working towards making the country a leading space power with a focus on developing capabilities, space infrastructure and self-reliance.

The post China sets out clear and independent long-term vision for space appeared first on SpaceNews.

Arianespace and the European Space Agency will establish an independent commission to investigate the Vega C launch failure Dec. 20 that resulted in the loss of two satellites and new questions about the future of European space access.

Washington DC (SPX) Dec 20, 2022
For decades physicists have been hunting for a quantum-gravity model that would unify quantum physics, the laws that govern the very small, and gravity. One major obstacle has been the difficulty in testing the predictions of candidate models experimentally. But some of the models predict an effect that can be probed in the lab: a very small violation of a fundamental quantum tenet called the Pa

Nanjing, China (SPX) Dec 20, 2022
China's space-tracking ship, Yuanwang 3, set sail on Sunday for a new round of spacecraft monitoring missions. The ship, which is a second-generation vessel and responsible for monitoring high-, medium-, and low-orbit satellites, spaceships, and space station modules, has a long history of service. It was launched over 20 years ago and has completed more than 100 missions with a 100% success rat

This beautifully crisp icy scene with a swirling ribbon of rusty red and white striped terrain connecting two large craters wraps up the year on Mars.

Falls Church VA (SPX) Dec 22, 2022
When considering that a full calendar year has 8,760 hours and a commercial airliner can be in service for about 30 years (or around 165,000 flying hours), then achieving a continuous performance milestone of 65 million hours is truly out of this world - exactly where Northrop Grumman navigation technology has been operating for decades. In 2022, Northrop Grumman's hemispherical resonator

Washington DC (SPX) Dec 22, 2022
With Artemis, NASA looks to accomplish something unprecedented - exploration of the lunar South Pole. When astronauts reach their destination and establish a long-term presence, a unique challenge awaits. Unlike Apollo missions, which were equatorial and had abundant sunlight, Artemis missions will operate in inhospitable conditions, including the lunar night cycle and permanently shadowed

Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 20, 2022
We were very glad to come in to today's planning to see the drive placed us in a perfect position to bring out the robotic arm to do some science! The rover will spend the first several hours of the sol 3688 plan taking ChemCam and Mastcam. ChemCam will use its laser on the target "Quixada" followed by ChemCam imaging of "Xiriana" and "Xidao." Then Mastcam takes over with imaging the now-laser z

Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 22, 2022
A titanium tube containing a rock sample is resting on the Red Planet's surface after being placed there on Dec. 21 by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. Over the next two months, the rover will deposit a total of 10 tubes at the location, called "Three Forks," building humanity's first sample depot on another planet. The depot marks a historic early step in the Mars Sample Return campaign. P

Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 22, 2022
The mission has concluded that the solar-powered lander has run out of energy after more than four years on the Red Planet. NASA's InSight mission has ended after more than four years of collecting unique science on Mars. Mission controllers at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California were unable to contact the lander after two consecutive attempts, leading them