NASA suspends efforts to fully deploy Lucy solar array
Saturday, 21 January 2023 23:07
NASA is suspending efforts, at least until late next year, to try to fully deploy a solar array on its Lucy spacecraft, citing diminishing returns as the spacecraft heads away from the sun.
The post NASA suspends efforts to fully deploy Lucy solar array appeared first on SpaceNews.
Buzz Aldrin, second man on the Moon, marries on 93rd birthday
Saturday, 21 January 2023 11:41
Legendary Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second person to set foot on the Moon, said he had married his longtime girlfriend on Friday, his 93rd birthday.
Aldrin and Anca Faur, executive vice president of Buzz Aldrin Ventures, were wed in a private ceremony.
"On my 93rd birthday... I am pleased to announce that my longtime love Dr. Anca Faur & I have tied the knot," Aldrin tweeted along with pictures of himself and Faur, who is reportedly 63.
"We were joined in holy matrimony in a small private ceremony in Los Angeles & are as excited as eloping teenagers."
According to her LinkedIn profile, Faur earned a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1996 and had previously worked for Union Carbide and Johnson Matthey before joining Buzz Aldrin Ventures. She had also served as treasurer for the California Hydrogen Business Council.
Aldrin's three previous marriages ended in divorce.
The US astronaut is the last surviving member of the Apollo 11 mission, during which he and Neil Armstrong become the first people to set foot on the Moon, on July 20, 1969.
Europe’s Jupiter-bound JUICE spacecraft is ready for April launch
Friday, 20 January 2023 22:40
The satellite behind Europe’s next flagship space mission is ready to be sent to French Guiana for an April launch to explore three of Jupiter’s largest icy moons, manufacturer Airbus announced Jan.
Canadian government to establish commercial launch licensing regulations
Friday, 20 January 2023 19:17
The Canadian government announced plans Jan. 20 to set up a regulatory framework to allow commercial launches from the country as part of an effort to expand Canada’s space industry.
The post Canadian government to establish commercial launch licensing regulations appeared first on SpaceNews.
Exploring the outer solar system takes power: Here's a way to miniaturize nuclear batteries for deep space
Friday, 20 January 2023 16:07
As science and technology advance, we're asking our space missions to deliver more and more results. NASA's MSL Curiosity and Perseverance rovers illustrate this fact. Perseverance is an exceptionally exquisite assemblage of technologies. These cutting-edge rovers need a lot of power to fulfill their tasks, and that means bulky and expensive power sources.
Connecting the Dots | Space insurers toast another profitable year
Friday, 20 January 2023 15:38
The space insurance market made a profit for 2022 despite a devastating rocket failure at the end of the year. However, the shift toward constellations of satellites in LEO poses questions about the shape of the market in the years ahead.
First Native American woman in space steps out on spacewalk
Friday, 20 January 2023 13:57
The first Native American woman in space ventured out on a spacewalk Friday to prep the International Space Station for more solar panels.
NASA astronaut Nicole Mann emerged alongside Japan's Koichi Wakata, lugging an equipment bag. Their job was to install support struts and brackets for new solar panels launching this summer, part of a continuing effort by NASA to expand the space station's power grid.
Mann, a Marine colonel and test pilot, rocketed into orbit last fall with SpaceX, becoming the first Native American woman in space. She is a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in Northern California.
Wakata, Japan's spaceflight leader with five missions, also flew up on SpaceX. He helped build the station during the shuttle era.
Friday was the first spacewalk for both.
The pair will depart the space station in another month or so.
© 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Hubble captures minor asteroid crossing image of background galaxies
Friday, 20 January 2023 13:55
A host of astronomical objects throng this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Background galaxies ranging from stately spirals to fuzzy ellipticals are strewn across the image, and bright foreground stars much closer to home are also present, surrounded by diffraction spikes. In the center of the image, the vague shape of the small galaxy UGC 7983 appears as a hazy cloud of light. UGC 7983 is around 30 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo, and is a dwarf irregular galaxy—a type thought to be similar to the very earliest galaxies in the universe.
This image also conceals an astronomical interloper. A minor asteroid, only a handful of kilometers across, can be seen streaking across the upper left-hand side of this image. The trail of the asteroid is visible as four streaks of light separated by small gaps. These streaks of light represent the four separate exposures that were combined to create this image, the small gaps between each observation being necessary to change the filters inside Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys.
Watch ESA Director General annual press briefing 2023
Friday, 20 January 2023 13:49
Join our start-of-the-year press briefing looking ahead at 2023, with ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESA Directors. They’ll present the next steps of Agenda 2025, looking at new missions, science, space safety and commercialisation of space.
Tune in to #ESAwebTV on 23 January, from 08:00 GMT/09:00 CET, to watch live.
More on ESA’s Vision and Agenda25.
Mapping the Moon
Friday, 20 January 2023 13:11
A paper published in December 2022 has analysed the rocky features of the lunar South Pole and identifies possible areas of interest for astronauts to explore and gather the best samples on the Artemis III mission.
ESA seeks global adoption of “zero debris” policy
Friday, 20 January 2023 12:16
The head of the European Space agency says he hopes to have a “zero debris” policy for European spacecraft in place in the next few years, an approach he says he would like to see expanded globally.
Galileo tribute unveiled as Juice says ‘Farewell, Europe’
Friday, 20 January 2023 12:00
A commemorative plaque celebrating Galileo’s discovery of Jupiter’s moons has been unveiled on ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice. The spacecraft has just completed its final tests before departing Toulouse, France, for Europe’s Spaceport to count down to an April launch.
Britain's Tim Peake steps down from ESA astronaut corps
Friday, 20 January 2023 11:45
Britain's Tim Peake has hung up his spacesuit, stepping down from Europe's astronaut corps to become an ambassador for space activities, the European Space Agency said on Friday.
Peake, who became the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station in 2015, said it had been an "incredibly exciting and rewarding" 13 years.
"Being an ESA astronaut has been the most extraordinary experience," Peake, 50, said in a statement.
"By assuming the role of an ambassador for human spaceflight, I shall continue to support ESA and the UK Space Agency, with a focus on educational outreach, and I look forward to the many exciting opportunities ahead."
The ESA said that Peake had been on an unpaid leave of absence since October 2019, and had retired from active astronaut duties from the start of this year.
Image:
Visitor to a galaxy