Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumb trick inspires robotic exploration system for caves on Mars and beyond
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 21:33
Write a comment
House hunting on Mars could soon become a thing, and researchers at the University of Arizona are already in the business of scouting real estate that future astronauts could use as habitats. Researchers in the UArizona College of Engineering have developed technology that would allow a flock of robots to explore subsurface environments on other worlds.
"Lava tubes and caves would make perfect habitats for astronauts because you don't have to build a structure; you are shielded from harmful cosmic radiation, so all you need to do is make it pretty and cozy," said Wolfgang Fink, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at UArizona.
DoD interested in smartphone-to-satellite communications services
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 20:55 Write a comment
Emerging communications services that connect phones directly to satellites are attractive to military users that operate in locations where there is no cellular network connectivity
Rocket Lab reconsidering mid-air recovery of Electron boosters
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 19:19 Write a comment
Rocket Lab is reconsidering the use of mid-air recovery of Electron boosters as part of its efforts to reuse the vehicle.
SpaceX Dragon crew blasts off for International Space Station
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 19:16 Write a comment
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off on Thursday to the International Space Station carrying two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and the second Emirati to voyage to space.
The SpaceX Dragon Crew-6 mission launched at 12:34 am (0534 GMT) Thursday from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a livestream of the launch showed.
The launch had been scrubbed on Monday just minutes before liftoff because of a clog in a filter that supplies ignition fluid to start the rocket engines.
"Congratulations to the NASA and SpaceX teams for another history-making mission to the International Space Station!" NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.
Atom-scale scan of space materials
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 17:59 Write a comment
Image:
Atom-scale scan of space materials Hubble captures movie of DART asteroid impact debris
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 15:00 Write a comment
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured a series of photos of rapid changes to the asteroid Dimorphos when it was deliberately hit by a 545-kilogram spacecraft on 26 September 2022. The primary objective of the NASA mission, called DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test), was to test our ability to alter the asteroid’s trajectory as it orbits its larger companion asteroid, Didymos. Though Dimorphos poses no threat to Earth, data from the mission could help inform researchers how to potentially change an asteroid’s path away from Earth, if ever necessary.
UK provisionally clears Viasat’s Inmarsat acquisition
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 13:15 Write a comment
The U.K. provisionally cleared Viasat’s plan to buy London-based Inmarsat March 1 after finding the deal would not substantially reduce competition for providing Wi-Fi on planes.
ESA recruits – and not only astronauts. Apply now!
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 13:13 Write a comment
In 2023, ESA will be recruiting over 200 new colleagues to join our teams and support our mission of the peaceful exploration and use of space for the benefit of everyone. More than 30 vacancies have recently been published and many more will be coming soon, so if you are ready to take the next step in your career, this is your chance! Explore our vacancies and apply today.
Virgin Galactic in final phases of return to flight
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 12:16 Write a comment
Virgin Galactic is in the final phases of returning its suborbital spaceplane to commercial service as it ramps up development of a next-generation vehicle.
Rocket Lab set for dual launch campaigns in Virginia and New Zealand
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 10:17 Write a comment
Rocket Lab USA is preparing to launch two dedicated missions in March from the Company's launch sites in the United States and New Zealand - within days of each other. One Electron rocket is ready and in position at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand to deploy satellites for Spaceflight Inc. customer BlackSky (NYSE: BKSY), a real-time geospatial intelligence company. Meanwhile, a second SwRI researching ARM, RISC-V processors for faster spaceflight computers
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 10:17 Write a comment
Southwest Research Institute is evaluating the next generation of fast and reliable microprocessors used in embedded spaceflight systems. During the IEEE Aerospace Conference March 4-11 in Big Sky, Montana, SwRI engineers will present a pair of research papers comparing legacy spaceflight computers to new technology that performs more complex tasks using less power.
"Conventional spaceflig Successful flight acceptance hot test of CE-20 cryogenic engine
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 10:17 Write a comment
On February 24, 2023, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted a flight acceptance hot test for the CE-20 cryogenic engine, which is set to power the Cryogenic Upper Stage of the LVM3 launch vehicle for the upcoming Chandrayaan-3 Mission. The test was carried out at the ISRO Propulsion Complex, located in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, India.
The CE-20 cryogenic engi New insights from an ancient asteroid
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 10:17 Write a comment
In February 2023, Tohoku University researchers published their analysis of samples retrieved from asteroid Ryugu by Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft in the journal Nature Communications. They believe these samples contain the oldest solids from the solar system available for study. The researchers focused on chondrule-like objects and calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions (CAIs), which are key componen Rocket Lab establishes Australian Subsidiary to support rapidly growing Space Sector
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 10:17 Write a comment
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has established a new wholly-owned subsidiary, Rocket Lab Australia, to explore opportunities to support the expansion of Australia's national space capabilities. The Australian Government has set a goal to triple the size of the Australian space sector from an estimated AUD$4 billion in 2016 to AUD$12 billion and create an additional 20,000 jobs by 2030.
To help facil Got Rock Sample: Sol 3755
Wednesday, 01 March 2023 10:17 Write a comment
I am pleased to report that the tactical operations team had a successful morning as we were able to acquire a sample of the Tapo Caparo bedrock. Despite the target rock slab fracturing during drilling, we were able to collect enough sample for analysis by the CheMin and SAM instruments. Our primary goal for Sol 3755 is to drop some of the drill sample into CheMin for analysis, but we have sever