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Researchers developed a test bed for separating valuable material on the moon
Image of the test bed machine. Credit: Frontiers in Space Technologies (2024). DOI: 10.3389/frspt.2023.1328341

It's often better to flesh out technologies fully on Earth's surface before they're used in space. That is doubly true if that technology is part of the critical infrastructure keeping astronauts alive on the moon.

Since that infrastructure will undoubtedly use in-situ resources—known as in-situ resource utilization (ISRU)—developing test beds here on Earth for those ISRU processes is critical to derisking the technologies before they're used on a mission.

That's the plan for a test bed designed by researchers at the German Aerospace Center in Bremen—they designed it to improve how well we gather water and oxygen from . Unfortunately, as their work described in a recent paper published in Frontiers in Space Technologies demonstrates, it will be a challenge to do so.

Water and oxygen are two critical components of any long-term lunar exploration plan.

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New Zealand's space sector has been developing rapidly since the first rocket lifted off in 2017. It now contributes about NZ$1.7 billion in revenue, with plans to grow to $10 billion by 2030.

Last year, New Zealand hosted seven , all by the US-listed but local company Rocket Lab. It was in response to Rocket Lab's initial proposal for a launch site that New Zealand developed a regulatory system from scratch in less than two years to meet obligations under international law.

All launch nations have to register every object they send into space, and continue to supervise those objects to ensure no damage or loss occurs to another country's objects or activities. They also have a responsibility to compensate for any harm.

As well, countries must prevent contamination of outer space and Earth's environment, and ensure space activity does not interfere with other countries' rights to free access and participation.

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NASA still deciding whether to keep 2 astronauts at space station until next year
This photo provided by NASA shows Boeing's Starliner spacecraft which launched astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station docked to the Harmony module's forward port on July 3, 2024, seen from a window on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the adjacent port. Credit: NASA via AP

NASA said Wednesday it's still deciding whether to keep two astronauts at the International Space Station until early next year and send their troubled Boeing capsule back empty.

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Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Aug 14, 2024
Astroscale Japan Inc. has successfully advanced its Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) mission, marking a significant milestone in commercial space operations. The ADRAS-J satellite conducted a controlled fly-around of space debris, specifically an upper stage rocket, maintaining a fixed relative distance of about 50 meters. During this operation, the satellite captured detailed
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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 14, 2024
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has successfully launched the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM), developed in partnership with Space Norway. The two-satellite constellation, deployed aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, aims to enhance communications across the Arctic. This mission is notable for including the first-ever operation
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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 12, 2024
China's recent mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the moon has reignited discussions about potential US-China cooperation in space research, particularly in addressing global issues like climate change. "The US and China each have very innovative space programs, and one area, for example, where the US and China could work together today would be space-based solar," said Danie
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