America has sent five rovers to Mars -- when will humans follow?
Saturday, 20 February 2021 01:50
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With its impeccable landing on Thursday, NASA's Perseverance became the fifth rover to reach Mars - so when can we finally expect the long-held goal of a crewed expedition to materialize?
NASA's current Artemis program is billed as a "Moon to Mars" mission, and acting administrator Steve Jurczyk has reiterated his aspiration of "the mid-to-end of the 2030s" for American boots on the Red Pl Life of a pure Martian design
Saturday, 20 February 2021 01:50 Write a comment
Early Mars is considered as an environment where life could possibly have existed. There was a time in the geological history of Mars when it could have been very similar to Earth and harbored life as we know it.
In opposite to the current Mars conditions, bodies of liquid water, warmer temperature, and higher atmospheric pressure could have existed in Mars' early history. Potential early Oregon experiments find that electrical sparks are possible on Mars
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Friction caused by dry Martian dust particles making contact with each other may produce electrical discharge at the surface and in the planet's atmosphere, according University of Oregon researchers.
However, such sparks are likely to be small and pose little danger to future robotic or human missions to the red planet, they report in a paper published online and scheduled to appear in th NASA missions make unprecedented map of Sun's magnetic field
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For decades after its discovery, observers could only see the solar chromosphere for a few fleeting moments: during a total solar eclipse, when a bright red glow ringed the Moon's silhouette.
More than a hundred years later, the chromosphere remains the most mysterious of the Sun's atmospheric layers. Sandwiched between the bright surface and the ethereal solar corona, the Sun's outer atmo Sounding rocket CLASP2 elucidates solar magnetic field
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Cooperative operations between a solar observation satellite and a sounding-rocket telescope have measured the magnetic field strength in the photosphere and chromosphere above an active solar plage region.
This is the first time that the magnetic field in the chromosphere has been charted all the way up to its top. This finding brings us closer to understanding how energy is transferred b Business support scheme to boost UK space industry has lift off
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The up to 10-week Business Accelerator programme, delivered in partnership with business growth experts from Entrepreneurial Spark and The University of Strathclyde, offers free virtual sessions to help companies with their sights set on space to make progress.
Businesses that may not have previously considered the opportunities presented by the space industry can also benefit. Pre-launch Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster Funds Deployment Of Flexible Automation Solutions
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Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the industry-led organization leading Canada's Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster, has co-funded a private sector consortium led by MDA that will enable the integration of artificial intelligence, industry 4.0, data sharing, and collaborative robotics into highly flexible, adaptable manufacturing environments.
MDA along with partners Promark El USAF: Anti-jamming tests of military communications satellites a success
Saturday, 20 February 2021 01:50 Write a comment
Three virtual anti-jamming tests of wideband global satellite communications satellites were a success, the U.S. Air Force announced this week.
The Space and Missile Systems Center, headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., said the tests will provide advanced anti-jamming support for the Wideband Global SATCOM, the system that provides satellite communications to U.S. fighte Northrop Grumman launches Cygnus cargo spacecraft to space station
Friday, 19 February 2021 18:07 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launched a Cygnus spacecraft carrying supplies and experiments for the International Space Station Feb. 20.
The Antares 230+ rocket lifted off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 12:36 p.m.
America has sent five rovers to Mars—when will humans follow?
Friday, 19 February 2021 16:56 Write a comment
With its impeccable landing on Thursday, NASA's Perseverance became the fifth rover to reach Mars—so when can we finally expect the long-held goal of a crewed expedition to materialize?
NASA's current Artemis program is billed as a "Moon to Mars" mission, and acting administrator Steve Jurczyk has reiterated his aspiration of "the mid-to-end of the 2030s" for American boots on the Red Planet.
But while the trip is technologically almost within grasp, experts say it's probably still decades out because of funding uncertainties.
Pentagon inspector general to investigate decision to move U.S. Space Command to Alabama
Thursday, 18 February 2021 23:07 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department’s inspector general will begin a probe into how the Air Force decided U.S. Space Command should move its headquarters from Colorado to Alabama.
“We plan to begin the subject evaluation in February 2021,” Assistant Inspector General Randolph Stone, said in a memo Feb.
Mars landing team 'awestruck' by photo of descending rover
Thursday, 18 February 2021 22:30 Write a comment
The world got its first close-up look at a Mars landing on Friday, as NASA released a stunning picture of its newest rover being lowered onto the dusty red surface.
The photo was released less than 24 hours after the Perseverance rover successfully touched down near an ancient river delta, where it will search for signs of ancient life and set aside the most promising rock samples for return to Earth in a decade.
NASA equipped the spacecraft with a record 25 cameras and two microphones, many of which were turned on during Thursday's descent.
The rover is shown in extraordinary detail just 6 1/2 feet (2 meters) off the ground, being lowered by cables attached to an overhead sky crane, the red dust kicked up by rocket engines.
NASA sees “reasonable chance” of first SLS launch this year
Thursday, 18 February 2021 20:43 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — NASA remains cautiously optimistic that the first launch of the Space Launch System rocket can take place before the end of the year despite having to perform a second hotfire test of the rocket’s core stage.
NOAA expands purchase of commercial radio occultation data for weather models
Thursday, 18 February 2021 20:43 Write a comment
SAN FRANCISCO – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced plans Feb. 19 to dramatically expand the number of daily radio occultation soundings it acquires from commercial satellites operated by GeoOptics and Spire Global.
After an extensive pilot program, NOAA awarded two-year indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contracts in November to GeoOptics and Spire Global with a combined ceiling of $23 million.
Space Force sounds like a joke thanks to pop culture—that could be a problem for an important military branch
Thursday, 18 February 2021 17:30 Write a comment
The U.S. Space Force has a serious role to play in the modern world. Its stated mission is to train and equip personnel to defend U.S. interests in space. Given the increasing military and economic importance of space, the USSF is likely to grow in importance.
But a quick internet search shows that for most people, the Space Force is more a meme than a military branch. It has been the subject of jokes on "Saturday Night Live," and Netflix was working on a comedy show before the service was officially formed.