Copernical Team
Glass fibers in lunar regolith could help build structures on the moon
Through the Artemis Program, NASA plans to send the first astronauts to the moon in over 50 years. Before the decade is over, this program aims to establish the infrastructure that will allow for a "sustained program of lunar exploration and development." The European Space Agency (ESA) also has big plans, which include the creation of a moon Village that will serve as a spiritual successor to the International Space Station (ISS). China and Roscosmos also came together in June 2021 to announce that they would build the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) around the lunar south pole.
In all cases, space agencies plan to harvest local resources to meet their construction and long-term needs—a process known as in-situ resource utilization (ISRU).
Webb finds water, and a new mystery, in rare main-belt comet
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has enabled another long-sought scientific breakthrough, this time for Solar System scientists studying the origins of the water that has made life on Earth possible. Using Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument, astronomers have confirmed gas – specifically water vapour – around a comet in the main asteroid belt for the first time, proving that water from the primordial Solar System can be preserved as ice in that region. However, the successful detection of water comes with a new puzzle: unlike other comets, Comet 238P/Read had no detectable carbon dioxide.
Bacteria survive on radioactive elements
Bacteria that feed on methanol are able to grow on certain rare earth elements as well as their radioactive relatives. These findings suggest a possible role for such bacteria in the decontamination of areas where actinides are spilled, or in the separation of lanthanides and actinides for analytical or preparative purposes, according to a study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie. For 191st time, SpaceX booster successfully returns after launch
SpaceX on Sunday morning successfully deployed another batch of Starlink satellites into space and successfully landed its first-stage booster.
The Falcon 9 rocket with the satellites lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station just after midnight, illuminating the night skies over Florida's central east coast.
The first-stage booster then returned to Earth and landed "Tianzhou Express" is online again, with five highlights
On May 10, 2023, the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft was successfully launched aboard the Long March 7 Yaoqi carrier rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China at 21:22 Beijing time. Roughly ten minutes after the launch, the spacecraft separated from the rocket and entered its predetermined orbit, with the solar panels operating smoothly, marking the launch as a complete success. The follow Tidal shocks can light up the remains of a star being pulled apart by a black hole
The Universe is a violent place where even the life of a star can be cut short. This occurs when a star finds itself in a "bad" neighbourhood, specifically near a supermassive black hole.
These black holes weigh millions or even billions of times the mass of the Sun and typically reside in the centres of quiet galaxies. As a star moves closer to the black hole, it experiences the ever-incr NASA calls end to Lunar Flashlight after some tech successes
While the CubeSat couldn't reach the lunar South Pole to help seek ice, it fulfilled several technology goals that will empower future missions for the benefit of humanity.
NASA's Lunar Flashlight launched on Dec. 11, 2022, to demonstrate several new technologies, with an ultimate goal to seek out surface ice in the permanently shadowed craters of the Moon's South Pole. Since then, the bri Sitting still but not idling at Ubajara: Sols 3827-3829
Drilling campaigns force us to sit and stop, whilst the "Ubajara" drill sample is analyzed. This takes a week or two, depending on the types of analysis that CheMin and SAM chose to do. This might sound like we are sitting quietly, just waiting but drill campaigns are furiously busy and "power hungry."
CheMin planned the first part of their analysis on Wednesday, and today, they added a se Virgin Orbit receives more than 30 indications of interest under court approved bid procedures
Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc., a responsive space launch provider, has issued an update regarding its ongoing sale process. As part of its court-approved bid procedures, the company has received more than 30 indications of interest as of May 4, 2023. Several potential buyers have proposed to retain the existing business operations and workforce, aiming to operate Virgin Orbit as an ongoing, integr Momentus signs launch package with SpaceX
Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) has announced a significant contract with SpaceX to secure a port on the Transporter-12 mission, anticipated to launch no earlier than October 2024.
This new development solidifies Momentus' plans to participate in three missions with SpaceX in 2024. These missions include all Transporter rideshare missions scheduled for the coming year: Transporter-10 in Janua