NASA to launch climate change-tracking Landsat 9 satellite
Monday, 27 September 2021 17:01
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NASA plans to launch one of its most high-tech Earth observation satellites to date Monday from California to help track climate events that range from California wildfires to deforestation of the Amazon.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled to carry the 5,900-pound spacecraft into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 2:11 p.m. EDT.
Landsat 9 is the ninth in X-59 nose makes an appearance
Monday, 27 September 2021 17:01 Write a comment
The X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft is taking shape at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The team positioned the X-59 QueSST's nose at the front of the aircraft.
As one of the more recognizable features of the X-59, the nose makes up almost a third of the aircraft length and will be essential in shaping shock waves during supersonic flight Hughes conducts multi-orbit demonstration for resilient, secure UAV connectivity
Monday, 27 September 2021 17:01 Write a comment
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) and SES has announced the successful first demonstration of a new multi-orbit satellite communications capability for remotely piloted aircraft. Conducted for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the demonstration paired Hughes HM series software-defined modems and Resource Management System (RMS) with SES's satellites that operate in geosynch Asteroid sample brought back to Earth gets close-up look
Monday, 27 September 2021 16:01 Write a comment
In December 2020, Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft swung by Earth to drop off a cache of rock samples taken from a near-Earth asteroid called Ryugu. Asteroids like Ryugu are thought to represent the ancient building blocks of the solar system, and scientists have been eager to get a closer look at the returned samples.
Last week, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency shipped one of the samples—a millimeter-sized fragment from the asteroid's surface—to the laboratory of Brown University planetary scientist Ralph Milliken for analysis. Milliken's lab is one of the first in the U.S. to examine a Ryugu sample so far.
Milliken and Takahiro Hiroi, a senior research scientist at Brown, are members of the Hayabusa2 mission's science team.
Blue Origin unveils next flight, TMZ says Captain Kirk to be aboard
Monday, 27 September 2021 14:04 Write a comment
Blue Origin, the space company owned by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, announced plans on Monday for its next flight and the news and entertainment website TMZ said it may include a celebrity astronaut—William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk on "Star Trek."
TMZ reported that the 90-year-old Shatner would be on the October 12 voyage, making him the oldest person ever to go to space.
Blue Origin revealed the names of two members of the four-person crew but did not confirm that Shatner would be on the flight.
It said Chris Boshuizen, a former NASA engineer and co-founder of Planet Labs, and Glen de Vries, a co-founder of clinical research platform Medidata Solutions, would be on the rocket and the names of the two other astronauts will be revealed "in the coming days.
NASA wants to harvest water on moon and Mars, and students think they can help
Monday, 27 September 2021 13:45 Write a comment
Deep beneath Mars' red clay surface lie ancient oceans now frozen into ice sheets. Earth's moon has hidden water deposits, too—pockets embedded deep inside its rocks.
It's the kind of liquid treasure scientists at NASA hope to one day mine using specialized drilling tools on the moon or Mars.
As NASA looks for new technology to use in space, the agency is mining a different treasure to help develop those tools: the ingenuity of student engineers.
To that end, 10 student teams from universities around the country—including a team from Virginia Tech—gathered Friday at the Hampton Road Convention Center to share prototypes of remote-controlled drilling machines, during the "Moon to Mars Ice and Prospecting Challenge." The event was a three-day competition that began Thursday and ended Saturday.
The students' prototypes attempted to extract and harvest the most water from ice buried within simulated lunar and Martian landscapes—dirt, clay, sand—packed inside giant blue tubs. It's a technology NASA needs. Rather than sending tons of water into space with the astronauts, it's easier and saves millions to extract the water there.
"The most interesting thing about this is it has to be completely hands off.
RocketStar ready for second suborbital flight attempt
Monday, 27 September 2021 13:32 Write a comment
New York-based RocketStar plans to launch its aerospike-powered rocket for the first time this fall, carrying a prototype satellite for resource-mapping startup Lunasonde on a brief suborbital trip.
Video: NASA's Artemis astronaut Victor Glover
Monday, 27 September 2021 12:52 Write a comment
As we look forward to the Artemis program to the Moon and even one-day crewed missions to Mars, accessing resources like water will be crucial for humans to survive on other worlds. We sat down with Victor Glover, NASA Crew-1 astronaut, to talk about NASA's Artemis program, what it would be like to be on the Moon one day, and how technology from the Moon to Mars Ice & Prospecting Challenge could help astronauts extract ice and water resources from the lunar surface.
Portions of this interview appeared in NASA Science Live: NASA's Moon to Mars Ice & Prospecting Challenge, a one-hour live broadcast that showcased student teams and their unique technology and engineering demonstrations that could be capable of digging through a simulated Martian or lunar surface to access and extract water ice below.
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Planet co-founder Chris Boshuizen to fly with Blue Origin
Monday, 27 September 2021 12:23 Write a comment
Planet co-founder Chris Boshuizen will be one of four passengers on the next flight of the Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital vehicle.
Microgravity on demand with Earth return through ESA's Boost
Monday, 27 September 2021 11:56 Write a comment
Spaceflight offers lunar flyby rideshare mission
Monday, 27 September 2021 10:10 Write a comment
Launch services provider Spaceflight sees a lunar flyby mission opportunity next year as a pathfinder for future opportunities to support customers going to both geostationary orbit and the moon.
Microgravity on demand with Earth return through ESA’s Boost!
Monday, 27 September 2021 09:30 Write a comment
A new round-trip commercial space transportation service from 2022, backed by ESA, will enable companies to manufacture in space very pure and more capable materials, discover new pharmaceutical drugs and bring them back for use on Earth.
ESA Open Day 2021
Monday, 27 September 2021 07:00 Write a comment
Video:
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What’s coming next in space? Find out at our virtual ESA Open Day on Sunday 3 October, from 1300 – 1600 CEST (1200 – 1500 BST). Your chance to talk to the people behind future space missions, get close-up views of space hardware and hear from astronaut Alexander Gerst. The Open Day is open to anyone; all you have to do is register to attend.
Space physician training course: call for applications
Monday, 27 September 2021 06:15 Write a comment
Are you a qualified physician? Would you like to gain insight into the field of space medicine? ESA is once again seeking medical doctors for its out-of-this-world training course and this is your chance to apply.
Going hyperspectral for CHIME
Monday, 27 September 2021 06:15 Write a comment
With Covid restrictions a little more relaxed, scientists from Europe and the USA were finally able to team up for a long-awaited field experiment to ensure that a new Copernicus satellite called CHIME will deliver the best possible data products as soon as it is operational in orbit. This new mission is being developed to support EU policies on the management of natural resources, ultimately helping to address the global issue of food security.