Lunar gold rush could create conflict on the ground if we don't act now
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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London, UK (The Conversation) Jan 01, 2021
When it comes to the Moon, everyone wants the same things. Not in the sense of having shared goals, but in the sense that all players target the same strategic sites - state agencies and the private sector alike. That's because, whether you want to do science or make money, you will need things such as water and light. Many countries and private companies have ambitious plans to explore or
When it comes to the Moon, everyone wants the same things. Not in the sense of having shared goals, but in the sense that all players target the same strategic sites - state agencies and the private sector alike. That's because, whether you want to do science or make money, you will need things such as water and light. Many countries and private companies have ambitious plans to explore or
Elon Musk's SpaceX crewed launches led space events in 2020
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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Orlando FL (UPI) Jan 01, 2021
Launching people into orbit from U.S. soil again during two SpaceX launches topped the year's accomplishments in spaceflight. With that and other achievements, it was a strong year for Elon Musk's company. The launch of the Dragon Endeavour at the end of May with two astronauts on board, followed by the Crew 1 mission's successful flight starting Nov. 15, stood out as historic achievements
Launching people into orbit from U.S. soil again during two SpaceX launches topped the year's accomplishments in spaceflight. With that and other achievements, it was a strong year for Elon Musk's company. The launch of the Dragon Endeavour at the end of May with two astronauts on board, followed by the Crew 1 mission's successful flight starting Nov. 15, stood out as historic achievements
SDA awards contract to SpaceX
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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Washington DC (SPX) Jan 01, 2021
Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX), Hawthorne, California, has been awarded a $150,450,000 firm-fixed-price contract for launch services from Vandenberg Air Force Base for the Space Development Agency's Tranche 0 Transport and Tracking Layer space vehicles. This award was made based on the Tranche 0 Launch request for proposal (HQ085021R0001) released Oct. 6, 2020, to which respo
Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX), Hawthorne, California, has been awarded a $150,450,000 firm-fixed-price contract for launch services from Vandenberg Air Force Base for the Space Development Agency's Tranche 0 Transport and Tracking Layer space vehicles. This award was made based on the Tranche 0 Launch request for proposal (HQ085021R0001) released Oct. 6, 2020, to which respo
Russia plans more Proton-M launches in 2021
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 01, 2021
Russia plans to perform three launches of the Proton-M carrier rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome next year, three times more than in 2020, a space industry source told Sputnik. This year, only one Proton-M launch was carried out, putting telecommunications satellites Express-80 and Express-103 into orbit. "Next year, three Proton-M launches are being planned," a space industry sour
Russia plans to perform three launches of the Proton-M carrier rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome next year, three times more than in 2020, a space industry source told Sputnik. This year, only one Proton-M launch was carried out, putting telecommunications satellites Express-80 and Express-103 into orbit. "Next year, three Proton-M launches are being planned," a space industry sour
Launch of Long March 4C closes out China 2020 space plan
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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Beijing (XNA) Jan 01, 2021
China launched a Long March 4C carrier rocket late on Sunday, bringing an end to its annual space plan for 2020. The 48-meter rocket lifted off at 11:44 pm at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi Desert, deploying the Yaogan 33 remote-sensing satellite and a small experimental satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit, according to a statement from China Aerospace Scie
China launched a Long March 4C carrier rocket late on Sunday, bringing an end to its annual space plan for 2020. The 48-meter rocket lifted off at 11:44 pm at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi Desert, deploying the Yaogan 33 remote-sensing satellite and a small experimental satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit, according to a statement from China Aerospace Scie
Rice seeds carried to the moon and back sprout
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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Beijing (XNA) Jan 01, 2021
Some of the 40 grams of rice seeds that made a round trip to the moon have sprouted and are ready for follow-up studies, according to Science Daily on Monday. The rice seeds traveled to the moon and returned to Earth after 23 days of flight aboard China's Chang'e 5 lunar probe. This marks the first time China conducted a deep space induced mutation breeding experiment on rice. The se
Some of the 40 grams of rice seeds that made a round trip to the moon have sprouted and are ready for follow-up studies, according to Science Daily on Monday. The rice seeds traveled to the moon and returned to Earth after 23 days of flight aboard China's Chang'e 5 lunar probe. This marks the first time China conducted a deep space induced mutation breeding experiment on rice. The se
Danes staying in origami-inspired 'Lunar' camp in Greenland end their mission
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 01, 2021
The two architects built the foldable futuristic-looking shelter as part of an experiment to establish whether ordinary people without training could survive in harsh conditions, including those on the Moon. Danish "space architects" Sebastian Aristotelis and Karl-Johan Sorensen have wrapped up their mission in Greenland aimed at testing a "Lunark" shelter - an origami-inspired camp design
The two architects built the foldable futuristic-looking shelter as part of an experiment to establish whether ordinary people without training could survive in harsh conditions, including those on the Moon. Danish "space architects" Sebastian Aristotelis and Karl-Johan Sorensen have wrapped up their mission in Greenland aimed at testing a "Lunark" shelter - an origami-inspired camp design
Scientists review how they study lunar samples
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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Beijing (XNA) Jan 01, 2021
China's Chang'e-5 probe retrieved about 1,731 grams of samples from the moon. It has been much anticipated just how these would be used for research. Researchers have set up special storage facilities, constructed laboratories for sample processing and analysis, and developed detailed operating procedures to ensure that lunar samples are not contaminated as far as possible and that the res
China's Chang'e-5 probe retrieved about 1,731 grams of samples from the moon. It has been much anticipated just how these would be used for research. Researchers have set up special storage facilities, constructed laboratories for sample processing and analysis, and developed detailed operating procedures to ensure that lunar samples are not contaminated as far as possible and that the res
NASA approves two new missions to study space weather
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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Washington DC (UPI) Dec 30, 2020
NASA has given the go-ahead to a pair of heliophysics missions designed to aid the study of space weather. Both the Extreme Ultraviolent High-Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope Epsilon Mission, or EUVST, and the Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer mission, or EZIE, aim to illuminate the physics of solar wind, solar flares and coronal mass ejections, the phenomena that produce electromagn
NASA has given the go-ahead to a pair of heliophysics missions designed to aid the study of space weather. Both the Extreme Ultraviolent High-Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope Epsilon Mission, or EUVST, and the Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer mission, or EZIE, aim to illuminate the physics of solar wind, solar flares and coronal mass ejections, the phenomena that produce electromagn
Record Year for FAA Commercial Space Activity
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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Washington DC (SPX) Jan 01, 2021
A record number of launches, new streamlined launch and reentry licensing regulations, and a historic licensed crewed mission are some of the noteworthy commercial space transportation achievements of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2020. The FAA will build on these accomplishments in the coming year. "This record-setting year in launches, and the new streamlined launch and re
A record number of launches, new streamlined launch and reentry licensing regulations, and a historic licensed crewed mission are some of the noteworthy commercial space transportation achievements of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2020. The FAA will build on these accomplishments in the coming year. "This record-setting year in launches, and the new streamlined launch and re
NASA studies fruit flies to understand astronaut sleep cycles
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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Orlando FL (UPI) Jan 01, 2021
Tiny fruit flies are helping NASA study how brain activity and sleep patterns change when organisms live in the microgravity of space. An experiment on the International Space Station will build on the United States' legacy of using fruit flies to understand how life endures in space. The experiment, known as Genes in Space-7, uses genetic matter derived from fruit fly brains to unde
Tiny fruit flies are helping NASA study how brain activity and sleep patterns change when organisms live in the microgravity of space. An experiment on the International Space Station will build on the United States' legacy of using fruit flies to understand how life endures in space. The experiment, known as Genes in Space-7, uses genetic matter derived from fruit fly brains to unde
China's space achievements out of this world
Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:08
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Beijing (XNA) Jan 01, 2021
China's space industry has produced a remarkable scorecard this year: characterized by the nation's first independent Mars mission, the completion of a global navigation satellite network and a landmark adventure that retrieved rocks and soil from the moon. The most significant event in China's space field, and also one of the most notable space activities globally, this year-the Chang'e 5
China's space industry has produced a remarkable scorecard this year: characterized by the nation's first independent Mars mission, the completion of a global navigation satellite network and a landmark adventure that retrieved rocks and soil from the moon. The most significant event in China's space field, and also one of the most notable space activities globally, this year-the Chang'e 5
SpaceX wins $150 million contract to launch Space Development Agency satellites
Wednesday, 30 December 2020 22:43
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WASHINGTON — SpaceX has been awarded a $150.4 million contract to launch as many as 28 satellites for the Pentagon’s space agency, the Defense Department announced Dec. 31.
The contract is to launch a mix of small and medium spacecraft of different sizes that the Space Development Agency is acquiring from multiple vendors.
Discovery boosts theory that life on Earth arose from RNA-DNA mix
Wednesday, 30 December 2020 06:09
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La Jolla CA (SPX) Dec 31, 2020
Chemists at Scripps Research have made a discovery that supports a surprising new view of how life originated on our planet. In a study published in the chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie, they demonstrated that a simple compound called diamidophosphate (DAP), which was plausibly present on Earth before life arose, could have chemically knitted together tiny DNA building blocks called deo
Chemists at Scripps Research have made a discovery that supports a surprising new view of how life originated on our planet. In a study published in the chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie, they demonstrated that a simple compound called diamidophosphate (DAP), which was plausibly present on Earth before life arose, could have chemically knitted together tiny DNA building blocks called deo
NASA video shows Perseverance rover's planned 'terror' landing on Mars
Wednesday, 30 December 2020 06:09
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Washington DC (UPI) Dec 23, 2020
NASA has shown what it will look like when its Perseverance rover touches down on Mars, a challenging sequence that the agency describes as "7 minutes of terror." The Perseverance rover was launched in the summer and is scheduled to arrive on Mars in February. Once it reaches Mars' atmosphere on its way to Jezero Crater, it must slow down from its speed of 12,000 mph in a span of
NASA has shown what it will look like when its Perseverance rover touches down on Mars, a challenging sequence that the agency describes as "7 minutes of terror." The Perseverance rover was launched in the summer and is scheduled to arrive on Mars in February. Once it reaches Mars' atmosphere on its way to Jezero Crater, it must slow down from its speed of 12,000 mph in a span of