Researchers tackle Mars topographic systems
Thursday, 18 March 2021 13:08
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Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have been shedding light on the enigmatic "spiders from Mars," providing the first physical evidence that these unique features on the planet's surface can be formed by the sublimation of CO2 ice.
Spiders, more formally referred to as araneiforms, are strange-looking negative topography radial systems of dendritic troughs; patterns that resemble branches of a tree or fork lightning.
Vacancy for the post of ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes
Thursday, 18 March 2021 13:00 Write a comment
The European Space Agency is currently looking for a new Director of Earth Observation Programmes, to join its Executive Board and support the Director General, with responsibility for relevant ESA programmes and overall objectives.
If skies are clear, don't miss a chance to catch sight of these distant orbital sentinels over the coming weeks
Thursday, 18 March 2021 12:59 Write a comment
You can spot "GEOSat' satellites in far-flung orbits… if you know exactly where and when to look.
Watch the sky long enough, and you're bound to see one.
Seasoned observers are familiar with seeing satellites in low Earth orbit, as these modern artificial sky apparitions lit by sunlight grace the dawn or dusk sky. Occasionally, you might even see a flare from a passing satellite, as a reflective solar panel catches the last rays of sunlight passing overhead.
But look closely along either side of the celestial equator (the imaginary line that the Earth's equator traces on the sky) at certain times of the year, and you might just see the ghostly flare of a distant GEOSat (geosynchronous satellite) as it briefly brightens into visibility and fades away.
Right around equinox in March or September is a good time to try and spy satellites in GEO as they reach near 100% illumination opposite to the sun, before entering the Earth's shadow and winking out.
Chang’e-5 orbiter reaches Lagrange point on extended mission
Thursday, 18 March 2021 10:53 Write a comment
HELSINKI — A spacecraft involved in China’s 2020 lunar sample return mission has entered orbit around Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1 as part of an extended mission.
Wi-Fi on planes boosted by satellite constellation
Thursday, 18 March 2021 10:00 Write a comment
Flight passengers will soon be able to connect to their families and colleagues on Earth via low-orbit telecommunications satellites.
Earth from Space: Amazon rainforest
Thursday, 18 March 2021 09:00 Write a comment
Ahead of the International Day of Forests, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over part of the Amazon rainforest in the Amazonas – the largest state in Brazil.
NASA completes engine test firing of moon rocket on 2nd try
Thursday, 18 March 2021 07:56 Write a comment
NASA completed an engine test firing of its moon rocket Thursday, after the first attempt in January ended prematurely.
NASA, SpaceX Sign Joint Spaceflight Safety Agreement
Thursday, 18 March 2021 06:04 Write a comment
NASA and SpaceX have signed a joint agreement to formalize both parties' strong interest in the sharing of information to maintain and improve space safety. This agreement enables a deeper level of coordination, cooperation, and data sharing, and defines the arrangement, responsibilities, and procedures for flight safety coordination.
The focus of the agreement is on conjunction avoidance Successful test for NASA's giant Moon rocket
Thursday, 18 March 2021 06:04 Write a comment
NASA successfully carried out a key static test of its troubled Space Launch System rocket on Thursday, a win for the agency as it prepares to return to the Moon.
The second "hot fire" test saw all four of the rocket's RS-25 engines fire simultaneously at 4:40 pm Eastern time (2040 GMT) for the full duration of eight minutes, producing a maximum of 1.6 million pounds of thrust (7.1 million n Reports: Biden to tap Bill Nelson as NASA administrator
Thursday, 18 March 2021 06:04 Write a comment
President Joe Biden is expected to nominate former Sen. Bill Nelson, who once spent several days in space, to lead NASA, people familiar with the matter confirmed Thursday.
Multiple unnamed sources told The Washington Post, Politico and The Verge that Biden will likely make the announcement by Friday.
They added that the White House also was considering former NASA astronaut and re
Peraton awarded US Army hypersonic testing and evaluation contract
Thursday, 18 March 2021 06:04 Write a comment
Peraton has been awarded a U.S. Army contract for Hypersonic Test Engineering, Mission Planning and Systems (HyTEMPS), valued at up to $44 million over two years.
This award builds upon Peraton's more than 10 years of experience supporting the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) Technical Center and its mission to develop hypersonic vehicle technologies and provide hypers New Chinese satellite measures solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence
Thursday, 18 March 2021 06:04 Write a comment
Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is emitted during plant photosynthesis. SIF results from vegetation chlorophyll giving off red and infrared light wavelengths when excited by solar radiation. Measuring SIF is important because it is closely related to the terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP), which calculates the total amount of carbon dioxide fixed through photosynthesis in 'Warfighter Council' Guides Capability Development for Space Development Agency
Thursday, 18 March 2021 06:04 Write a comment
As the Space Development Agency builds out the National Defense Space Architecture, it looks to a biannual "warfighter council" to provide guidance about what is actually important to those who will use the systems, the agency's director said today.
"We want to make sure that we address our customers," Derek Tournear said. "The customers, in this case, are the combatant commanders." Department of Defense Awards Relativity Space New Responsive Launch Contract
Thursday, 18 March 2021 06:04 Write a comment
Relativity Space has been awarded its first orbital launch contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), facilitated by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).
This contract was awarded as a Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Launch Enterprise follow-up effort to the DoD Space Test Program (STP) Rapid Agile Launch Initiative (RALI) to identify capable commercial solutions for low-cost Lockheed Martin well-positioned to capitalize on key technologies with Aerojet Rocketdyne acquisition
Thursday, 18 March 2021 06:04 Write a comment
Following the news that Aerojet Rocketdyne's shareholders have voted to approve the Lockheed Martin acquisition;
Anthony Endresen, Aerospace and Defense Associate Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view on what this deal will mean for Lockheed Martin:
"If Lockheed Martin's acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne is successful, the company will be well-p