Astronaut crew returning to Earth after six months on ISS
Thursday, 05 May 2022 15:53
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NASA's Crew-3 mission was returning home to Earth on Thursday after six months aboard the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft with NASA astronauts Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, and Tom Marshburn, as well as European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer undocked from the orbital laboratory overnight.
Their 23.5 hour journey back should see them splash down off the coast of Florida at 12:43 am on Friday (0443 GMT).
They leave behind the one Italian and three American astronauts of Crew-4, and three Russian cosmonauts.
NASA, Boeing ready for second Starliner test flight
Thursday, 05 May 2022 15:20 Write a comment
NASA and Boeing say they’re confident they have resolved a valve issue that delayed a test flight of the company’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle last year and are ready to try again later this month.
Meet the navigation team | Space jobs
Thursday, 05 May 2022 15:00 Write a comment
Video:
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Dive into our navigation activities and hear about the projects, goals, challenges and work environment from ESA staff working in the Navigation Directorate and the Directorate for Technology, Engineering and Quality.
Find out more about Careers at ESA: https://careers.esa.int/
Lunar soil has the potential to generate oxygen and fuel
Thursday, 05 May 2022 14:00 Write a comment
Soil on the moon contains active compounds that can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuels, scientists in China report May 5 in the journal Joule. They are now exploring whether lunar resources can be used to facilitate human exploration on the moon or beyond.
Nanjing University material scientists Yingfang Yao and Zhigang Zou hope to design a system that takes advantage of lunar soil and solar radiation, the two most abundant resources on the moon. After analyzing the lunar soil brought back by China's Chang'e 5 spacecraft, their team found the sample contains compounds—including iron-rich and titanium-rich substances—that could work as a catalyst to make desired products such as oxygen using sunlight and carbon dioxide.
Based on the observation, the team proposed an "extraterrestrial photosynthesis" strategy. Mainly, the system uses lunar soil to electrolyze water extracted from the moon and in astronauts' breathing exhaust into oxygen and hydrogen powered by sunlight.
NASA to Discuss Webb Telescope Alignment, Instrument Setup
Thursday, 05 May 2022 12:43 Write a comment
NASA will hold a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 9, to discuss progress toward preparing the James Webb Space Telescope for science operations. Report: U.S. defense and intelligence agencies slow to embrace small-satellite revolution
Thursday, 05 May 2022 12:08 Write a comment
The United States is at risk of being outpaced by China in space capabilities, in part due to the slow adoption of commercial innovations such as small satellites, warns a new report released May 5 by the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
China launches new batches of Jilin-1 commercial remote sensing satellites
Thursday, 05 May 2022 11:05 Write a comment
A Long March rocket launched eight Jilin-1 remote sensing satellites late Wednesday, days after an earlier batch rode to orbit via launch from a sea platform.
'Spot the difference' to help reveal Rosetta image secrets
Thursday, 05 May 2022 10:55 Write a comment
Today, ESA and the Zooniverse launch Rosetta Zoo, a citizen science project that invites volunteers to engage in a cosmic game of 'spot the difference'. By browsing through pictures collected by ESA's Rosetta mission, you can help scientists figure out how a comet's surface evolves as it swings around the Sun.
Senate rejects effort to strip NASA lunar lander provision from authorization bill
Thursday, 05 May 2022 10:29 Write a comment
Senators overwhelmingly voted against a motion May 4 that would have dealt a setback in NASA’s efforts to select a second company to develop an Artemis lunar lander.
The post Senate rejects effort to strip NASA lunar lander provision from authorization bill appeared first on SpaceNews.
Tracking agricultural-related deforestation
Thursday, 05 May 2022 08:27 Write a comment
The global trade in agricultural commodities provides food, fuel and fibre to consumers around the world. Commodity production, however, is also linked with negative environmental impacts, including the loss and degradation of forested land.
Approximately 90% of global deforestation is driven by agricultural expansion – a phenomenon which has roots in the global demand for products such as palm oil, soy and beef. New research reveals how satellites can be used to map and monitor forest-cover changes and help implement effective zero deforestation commitments.
Astroscale's ELSA-d completes complex rendezvous operation
Thursday, 05 May 2022 08:00 Write a comment
Astroscale Holdings Inc. ("Astroscale"), the market leader in satellite servicing and long-term orbital sustainability across all orbits, has announced that, despite several unexpected setbacks, its End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) mission successfully completed further controlled close-approach rendezvous operations between its two spacecraft in orbit.
The technol Physicists develop ideal testing conditions of solar cells for space applications
Thursday, 05 May 2022 08:00 Write a comment
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma, with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the University of North Texas, the NASA Glenn Research Center and several collaborators within the space power community, have recently published a paper in the journal Joule that describes the optimal conditions for testing perovskite solar cells for space.
Perovskites are a material used in a type o MDA completes first commercial sale of Canadarm3 technology to Axiom space
Thursday, 05 May 2022 08:00 Write a comment
MDA Ltd. (TSX:MDA), a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly expanding global space industry, has announced the first commercial sale of its Canadarm3 technology to Axiom Space.
The contract is for the delivery of 32 external robotic interfaces for Axiom Space's Axiom Station which is now under construction and on schedule to be the world's first commercial spa Satellogic announces multiple launch agreement with SpaceX
Thursday, 05 May 2022 08:00 Write a comment
Satellogic Inc. (NASDAQ: SATL), a leader in sub-meter resolution Earth Observation ("EO") data collection, reports it has signed a new Multiple Launch Agreement ("MLA") with SpaceX reserving launch capacity for its next 68 satellites. This new MLA follows the current MLA covering 2022 launches, and confirms that SpaceX continues to be Satellogic's preferred vendor for rideshare missions, meeting NIC4 awarded satcomm service provider registry prototype contract for US Space Force
Thursday, 05 May 2022 08:00 Write a comment
NIC4, a subsidiary of Network Innovations, has been awarded a Service Provider Registry (SPR) prototype, a component of the Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Enterprise Management and Control (EM&C).
This software development effort is for the U.S. Space Force (USSF), Space Systems Command (SSC) through the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) as an Other Transactional Authority (OTA) Agreem