SwRI to lead NASA/SSERVI Center for Lunar Origin and Evolution
Friday, 12 May 2023 02:56
Southwest Research Institute has entered into a five-year, $7.5-million cooperative agreement with NASA to lead the Center for Lunar Origin and Evolution (CLOE), which will conduct basic research to support science enabled by human exploration of the Moon and the Endurance-A mission concept, a far side lunar rover mission prioritized by the 2022 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey Another beautiful hole on Mars: Sols 3825-3826
Friday, 12 May 2023 02:56
Coming in for sol 3825 planning today, the team was very excited to see that we successfully drilled a new hole on the Ubajara target. The image shows the drill contacting the rock, just before beginning the drilling activity.
On the first sol of the plan, we begin with some imaging. We take a stereo mosaic of the target "Kukenan" to document the bedding of the local bedrock. We also take Astronomers spot benzene in planet-forming disk around star for first time
Friday, 12 May 2023 02:56
An international team of astronomers including several Dutch researchers has observed the benzene molecule (C6H6) in a planet-forming disk around a young star for the first time. Besides benzene, they saw many other, smaller carbon compounds and few oxygen-rich molecules. The observations suggest that, like our own Earth, the rocky planets forming in this disc contain relatively little carbon. T New measurement of Universe's expansion weighs on longstanding debate
Friday, 12 May 2023 02:56
Thanks to data from a magnified, multiply imaged supernova, a team led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers has successfully used a first-of-its-kind technique to measure the expansion rate of the Universe. Their data provide insight into a longstanding debate in the field and could help scientists more accurately determine the Universe's age and better understand the cosmos. ESO telescope reveals hidden views of vast stellar nurseries
Friday, 12 May 2023 02:56
Using ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), astronomers have created a vast infrared atlas of five nearby stellar nurseries by piecing together more than one million images. These large mosaics reveal young stars in the making, embedded in thick clouds of dust. Thanks to these observations, astronomers have a unique tool with which to decipher the complex puzzle of s Space Force commercial office to open new facility in Virginia
Thursday, 11 May 2023 21:55
A Space Force office created to work with the commercial space industry is opening up a new facility in Chantilly, Virginia.
ULA prepares for new round of Vulcan tests
Thursday, 11 May 2023 20:47
United Launch Alliance plans to resume tanking tests of its Vulcan Centaur rocket and test fire its main engines as early as next week, the company announced May 11.
AT&T and AST SpaceMobile seek permission for spectrum leasing deal
Thursday, 11 May 2023 20:31
AT&T requested regulatory permission May 10 to lease AST SpaceMobile the wireless spectrum the venture needs to connect smartphones in the United States to its planned constellation.
L3Harris wins contract to extend GOES-R ground segment work
Thursday, 11 May 2023 20:03
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a contract to L3Harris Technologies to continue providing ground services for the current generation of geostationary weather satellites.
OHB expects first Ariane 6 launch in early 2024
Thursday, 11 May 2023 19:42
A key Ariane 6 supplier expects the rocket to make its first launch within a year, but ruled out any chance the vehicle could fly before the end of 2023.
Experts: Metallic object that crashed into New Jersey home was a meteorite
Thursday, 11 May 2023 19:09
Telesat eyes 2026 for first Lightspeed launches amid funding delays
Thursday, 11 May 2023 17:56
Telesat now expects to start deploying satellites for Lightspeed around 2026, six years later than originally planned as talks to fund the low Earth orbit broadband constellation drag on.
What if Titan Dragonfly had a fusion engine?
Thursday, 11 May 2023 17:32
In a little over four years, NASA's Dragonfly mission will launch into space and begin its long journey towards Titan, Saturn's largest moon. As part of the New Frontiers program, this quadcopter will explore Titan's atmosphere, surface, and methane lakes for possible indications of life (aka. biosignatures).
This will commence in 2034, with a science phase lasting for three years and three and a half months. The robotic explorer will rely on a nuclear battery—a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermal Generator (MMRTG)—to ensure its longevity.
But what if Dragonfly were equipped with a next-generation fusion power system? In a recent mission study paper, a team of researchers from Princeton Satellite Systems demonstrated how a direct fusion drive (DFD) could greatly enhance a mission to Titan. This New Jersey-based aerospace company is developing fusion systems that rely on the Princeton Field-Reversed Configuration (PFRC).
This research could lead to compact fusion reactors that could lead to rapid transits, longer-duration missions, and miniature nuclear reactors here on Earth.
The answer to solving the digital divide is hybrid connectivity infrastructures
Thursday, 11 May 2023 14:12
Satellite and terrestrial communications infrastructures must evolve to democratize access to connectivity worldwide. As a fundamental need in today’s technology-driven society, hybrid network infrastructures can democratize access to connectivity for American citizens and the nearly three billion people in the world who remain unconnected.
Foust Forward | Big opportunities for big science with big rockets
Thursday, 11 May 2023 13:21
Attendees of this year’s Space Symposium were understandably distracted by what was going on a thousand miles from Colorado Springs.