Washington (AFP) July 27, 2022
NASA plans to bring 30 Martian rock samples back to Earth in 2033, the agency said Wednesday - and is sending two small helicopters to help the mission. The Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars in February 2021, has so far collected 11 samples as part of its hunt for signatures of ancient life. But bringing them back for detailed lab study on Earth is proving to be a highly complex

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 27, 2022
We have come to the end of our detour to image the "Bolivar" butte and are starting back to the MSAR (Mount Sharp Ascent Route). This plan provides the last chance to image Bolivar from this vantage point, with the aim of characterizing, so Mastcam is taking one final large mosaic of the butte, before we move on and it is blocked from our sight. We cannot drive up the side of Bolivar (alth

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 26, 2022
The Asteroid Mining Program (AMi) is a ten-year program that aims to unlock one of the largest sources of wealth in history, through profitable asteroid mining. We are committed to launch the first asteroid mining mission in 2027 targeting 1,000 kg of platinum worth around $34 million. However, the Recovery Capsule return capacity is up to 2,500 kg worth $85 million. Until 2031 we pl

East Lansing MI (SPX) Jul 26, 2022
About three years ago, Wolfgang "Wolfi" Mittig and Yassid Ayyad went looking for the universe's missing mass, better known as dark matter, in the heart of an atom. Their expedition didn't lead them to dark matter, but they still found something that had never been seen before, something that defied explanation. Well, at least an explanation that everyone could agree on. "It's been so

President Biden has nominated Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, U.S. Space Force deputy chief of operations, for promotion to four-star general and selected to become chief of space operations

The post Saltzman tapped to succeed Raymond as chief of the U.S.

ESA’s EnVision mission to Venus will perform optical, spectral and radar mapping of Earth’s sister planet. But before getting down to work the van-sized spacecraft needs to ‘aerobrake’ – lowering its orbit with thousands of passages through the planet’s hot, thick atmosphere for up to two years. A unique ESA facility is currently testing candidate spacecraft materials to check they can safely withstand this challenging process of atmospheric surfing.

Lockheed Martin and Maxar Space won contracts worth $5 million apiece to help define the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s future geostationary weather satellites.

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Five missile-detection satellites built by L3Harris under Pentagon contracts are projected to launch in 2023.

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NASA and the European Space Agency have revised their plans to return samples from Mars, removing a rover and its lander from the effort and replacing them with helicopters modeled on Ingenuity.

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Rocket Lab's solar power business will supply solar cells for three missile-warning satellites that Lockheed Martin is building for the U.S. Space Force.

The post Rocket Lab to supply solar power units for U.S.