The best way to learn about Venus could be with a fleet of balloons
Friday, 17 March 2023 17:10
Interest in the exploration of Venus has kicked up a notch lately, especially after a contested recent discovery of phosphine, a potential biosignature, in the planet's atmosphere. Plenty of missions to Venus have been proposed, and NASA and ESA have recently funded several. However, they are mainly orbiters, trying to peer into the planet's interior from above. But they are challenged by having to see through dozens of kilometers of an atmosphere made up of sulfuric acid.
That same atmosphere is challenging for ground missions. While some of the recently funded missions include a component on the ground, they are missing an opportunity that isn't afforded on many other planets in the solar system—riding along in the atmosphere. Technologists have proposed everything from simple balloons to entire floating cities—we even heard of a plan to enclose the entirety of Venus in a shell and live on the surface of that shell.
Rolls-Royce wins UK funds for 'Moon' nuclear reactors
Friday, 17 March 2023 15:38
British aerospace giant Rolls-Royce said Friday it had secured UK funding to develop small nuclear reactors that could provide power on the Moon.
Rolls said the UK Space Agency had offered it £2.9 million ($3.5 million) to help research "how nuclear power could be used to support a future Moon base for astronauts".
"Scientists and engineers at Rolls-Royce are working on the micro-reactor program to develop technology that will provide power needed for humans to live and work on the Moon," the aerospace company added in a statement.
Rolls forecast its first car-sized reactor would be ready to be sent to the Moon by 2029.
Friday's news comes as US space agency NASA aims to return humans to the Moon in 2025.
It would be the first visit since the historic Apollo missions ended in 1972.
"Nuclear power has the potential to dramatically increase the duration of future lunar missions and their scientific value," Rolls said.
The group, best known for its engines powering Airbus and Boeing aircraft, will work alongside UK universities including Oxford on the space project.
Week in images: 13-17 March 2023
Friday, 17 March 2023 14:28
Week in images: 13-17 March 2023
Discover our week through the lens
Space seminar at ESA's technical heart
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:58
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Space seminar at ESA's technical heart Virgin Orbit suspends operations, in wake of failed orbital launch
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:18
Satellite launch provider Virgin Orbit said Thursday it was suspending operations with immediate effect.
The company confirmed the "company-wide operational pause" to CNBC and the BBC while saying it would provide "an update on go-forward operations in the coming weeks."
Virgin Orbit also reportedly told staff that 600 employees, nearly all of the company's workforce, would be fu Spirit AeroSystems, Astraius join forces to boost UK launch ambitions
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:18
Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., and Astraius Ltd. announced today a collaboration to enhance future satellite launch capabilities from Prestwick Spaceport. During a visit to the Spaceport by Scottish Government Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism, and Enterprise Ivan McKee, the companies commemorated the announcement with a signing ceremony.
Prestwick Spaceport, a joint partnership between Gla Britain backs Rolls Royce effort to develop micro-reactor to power moon base
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:18
Britain is pinning its hopes on nuclear power becoming the energy source that will fuel the next phase of human exploration of the moon, the country's space agency said Friday.
Announcing $3.5 million funding for Roll Royce research into how nuclear could be used to power a manned base on the moon, the U.K. Space Agency said the technology would provide the power for humans to live and Rocket Lab claims 'mission success' after deploying 2 commercial satellites into orbit
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:18
Rocket Lab confirmed Thursday that it has successfully deployed its payload of two commercial satellites into orbit.
The mission "Stronger Together" carried two Synthetic Aperture Radar commercial satellites from U.S. manufacturer Capella Space into orbit on Thursday evening. The Electron booster lifted off shortly after 6:30 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional S NASA begins building its first robotic Lunar rover
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:18
NASA's first robotic lunar rover is officially coming together and the team building it is over the Moon.
"I'm super excited...it makes me very proud of all the time and effort the team has invested to get this far," said David Petri, system integration and test lead for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER). The team recently began assembling the 1,000-pound rover at Remains of a modern glacier found near Martian equator
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:18
In a groundbreaking announcement at the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held in The Woodlands, Texas, scientists revealed the discovery of a relict glacier near Mars' equator. Located in Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus at coordinates 7 degrees 33' S, 93 degrees 14' W, this finding is significant as it implies the presence of surface water ice on Mars in recent times, even near the equator New Horizons team adds AI to Kuiper Belt Object search
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:18
By early 1930, Lowell Observatory junior astronomer Clyde Tombaugh had spent months poring over hundreds of telescopic photo plates in the search for a single moving object - which would turn out to be Pluto, the ninth planet.
Nearly a century later, the team that famously explored the planet Tombaugh discovered is expanding its own search for new targets of discovery - and doing it with t NASA's Magellan Data Reveals Volcanic Activity on Venus
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:18
Direct geological evidence of recent volcanic activity has been observed on the surface of Venus for the first time. Scientists made the discovery after poring over archival radar images of Venus taken more than 30 years ago, in the 1990s, by NASA's Magellan mission. The images revealed a volcanic vent changing shape and increasing significantly in size in less than a year.
Scientists stud Space Systems Command demonstrates satellite anti-jam capability
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:18
Space Systems Command (SSC) successfully demonstrated its ground-based antijamming satellite communications (SATCOM) capability using an on-orbit operational satellite. The event demonstrated over-the-air Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) connectivity between a Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES) Joint Hub and a test terminal, and over-the-wire connectivity to a PTW-capable modem develo NASA appoints Lunar science leads for Artemis 3 and 4
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:18
NASA has appointed two scientists to coordinate the lunar science teams supporting the first and second crewed lunar landing missions in more than 50 years. NASA's Artemis missions will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore the lunar South Pole region and establish a long-term presence at the Moon.
Noah Petro, of NASA's Goddard Arianespace wins Vega contract for Italian imaging satellite constellation
Friday, 17 March 2023 11:12
In a vote of confidence for a troubled launch vehicle, Arianespace won a contract from the Italian government for up to three Vega C launches of an Earth observation constellation.