Collins Aerospace to provide an Earth-like atmosphere for future travelers heading into orbit
Saturday, 28 August 2021 07:36Collins Aerospace has been awarded a $2.6 million contract by an undisclosed customer for Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) that will support a mission to establish a privately owned and operated orbital outpost in low Earth orbit. The ECLSS is a suite of technologies that enable livable conditions as low as 250 kilometers above Earth's surface. The ECLSS includes air
How disorderly young galaxies grow up and mature
Saturday, 28 August 2021 07:36Using a supercomputer simulation, a research team at Lund University in Sweden has succeeded in following the development of a galaxy over a span of 13.8 billion years. The study shows how, due to interstellar frontal collisions, young and chaotic galaxies over time mature into spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way. Soon after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, the Universe was an unruly
Unravelling the mystery of brown dwarfs
Saturday, 28 August 2021 07:36Brown dwarfs are astronomical objects with masses between those of planets and stars. The question of where exactly the limits of their mass lie remains a matter of debate, especially since their constitution is very similar to that of low-mass stars. So how do we know whether we are dealing with a brown dwarf or a very low mass star? An international team, led by scientists from the Unive
Two experiments to help humans "go farther / stay longer" in space
Friday, 27 August 2021 12:28When the Space X23 rocket launches on August 28th to resupply the International Space Station, it will carry two experiments designed to sustain humans as they go farther and stay longer in deep space: A physical science investigation known as DEvice for the study of Critical Liquids and Crystallization—Directional Solidification Insert-Reflight (DSI-R), and a space biology experiment known as the Advanced Plant EXperiment-08 (APEX-08).
While DSI-R's full title may be long, its purpose is succinct: How can material scientists make metal alloys stronger, and last longer under various gravity conditions? The answer may lie in a series of computational models that researchers hope to refine as a result of this experiment. Dr. Rohit Trivedi, a senior scientist at Ames Laboratory and a professor of materials science and engineering at Iowa State University in Ames Iowa is the principal investigator: Dr. Alain Karma, a professor of physics at Boston's Northeastern University is the Co Investigator.
Week in images: 23 - 27 August 2021
Friday, 27 August 2021 12:06Week in images: 23 - 27 August 2021
Discover our week through the lens
Dragonfly Aerospace’s journey from camera specialist to microsatellite builder
Friday, 27 August 2021 11:05Currently more known for the high-resolution cameras it builds than for spacecraft, Dragonfly Aerospace’s plan to move into microsatellite manufacturing got a major boost in April when it was sold to serial entrepreneur Max Polyakov.
China researching challenges of kilometer-scale ultra-large spacecraft
Friday, 27 August 2021 09:13The National Natural Science Foundation of China has outlined a five-year project for researchers to study the assembly of ultra-large spacecraft.
KyotoU to test slats of wood aboard Japan's Kibo platform on the ISS
Friday, 27 August 2021 07:56Humans have relied on forests and trees - for shelter, food, and fuel - from the earliest times. As technology has advanced, timber has been utilized for buildings, ships, and railroads. And now we may be on the verge of taking wood into space. Why wood? Building in space with futuristic, 'space-age' materials might seem to be the obvious choice: lumber's fragility and combustibility might
University of Zurich and Airbus grow miniature human tissue on the International Space Station ISS
Friday, 27 August 2021 07:56With the next supply flight to the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Hub of the University of Zurich (UZH) and Airbus Defence and Space are bringing an experiment into space, which is intended to further advance the industrial production of human tissue in zero-gravity conditions. With this step, space could become a workshop for producing miniature human tissue for terrestrial use in
Implantable drug delivery devices goes remote onboard the ISS
Friday, 27 August 2021 07:56From Novartis to Lamborghini, Alessandro Grattoni and the Houston Methodist Research Institute have partnered with big names to leverage the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory for space-based research and technology development with important benefits back on Earth. Grattoni, professor and chair of the Department of Nanomedicine at the Houston Methodist Research Ins
Blue Origin launches experiments, artwork from Texas
Friday, 27 August 2021 07:56Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, launched the 17th mission of its New Shepard rocket Thursday morning from Texas with artwork and experiments for NASA and universities. The NS-17 mission lifted off at 10:31 a.m. EDT from the company's launch facility about 150 miles east of El Paso after nearly an hour delay due to an issue with one of the experiments on board, according to a Bl
Frontier Development Lab transforms space and earth science for NASA with Google Cloud
Friday, 27 August 2021 07:56Frontier Development Lab (FDL), in partnership with the SETI Institute, NASA and private sector partners including Google Cloud, are transforming space and Earth science through the application of industry-leading artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools. FDL tackles knowledge gaps in space science by pairing ML experts with researchers in physics, astronomy, astrobiolo
SpaceWERX ready to propel space innovation
Friday, 27 August 2021 07:56SpaceWERX officially lifted off Aug. 19 during the virtual Space Force Pitch Day. The event closed with 19 small businesses securing Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contracts to advance their cutting-edge space technologies. The newly launched SpaceWERX will play a vital role in pursuing innovative technologies for the U.S. Space Force. It will operate as part of AFWERX, the De
NASA's Perseverance plans next sample attempt
Friday, 27 August 2021 07:56In its search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars, NASA's Perseverance rover is once again preparing to collect the first of many rock core samples that could eventually be brought to Earth for further study. This week, a tool on the rover's 7-foot-long (2-meter-long) robotic arm will abrade the surface of a rock nicknamed "Rochette," allowing scientists to look inside and determin
Titan-in-a-glass experiments hint at mineral makeup of Saturn moon
Friday, 27 August 2021 07:56Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is a natural laboratory to study the origins of life. Like Earth, Titan has a dense atmosphere and seasonal weather cycles, but the chemical and mineralogical makeup are significantly different. Now, earthbound researchers have recreated the moon's conditions in small glass cylinders, revealing fundamental properties of two organic molecules that are believed to exi