Kepler demonstrates optical data relay service in LEO
Tuesday, 11 June 2024 09:00China selects new batch of astronauts with an eye on the moon
Tuesday, 11 June 2024 07:46China announces first astronaut candidates from Hong Kong, Macau
Tuesday, 11 June 2024 07:23China on Tuesday announced the first astronaut candidates from its special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong, with the latter calling it a "glorious page" in the city's history.
Beijing has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space program as it pursues ambitious plans for a manned lunar landing by 2030.
The China Manned Space Agency said Tuesday that a payload specialist from Hong Kong and another from Macau were among 10 candidates for the country's fourth batch of astronauts.
Hong Kong leader John Lee called it "a glorious page in Hong Kong's history".
"This is... the first time that a Hong Kong citizen was selected as a payload specialist in China's manned space program, with a chance to become an astronaut to go to space in person, to participate in research and to contribute the country's space program," Lee said.
Sun Dong, Hong Kong's tech and innovation secretary, said the winning candidate was selected out of a pool of 120 applicants through a multi-round process that has been going on since 2022.
"We accepted a rather wide range of professional backgrounds including natural sciences, engineering, biology and medical science, because the space is a brand new area for scientific exploration," he told reporters, declining to name the Hong Konger selected.
Ten make the cut for China's fourth batch of astronauts
Tuesday, 11 June 2024 07:11Ten candidates, including eight space pilots and two payload specialists, have been selected for China's fourth batch of astronauts, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Tuesday. Of the two payload specialists, one is from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the other is from the Macao Special Administrative Region, said the CMSA. It added this is the first time it
DOE Unveils Decadal Strategy for Fusion Energy
Tuesday, 11 June 2024 07:11The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) marked the two-year anniversary of the Biden-Harris Administration's launch of the U.S. Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy by releasing the DOE Fusion Energy Strategy 2024 at an event co-hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. At the initial event, the DOE started a Department-wide initiative to develop a strategy
Redwire to Develop Solar Arrays for Thales Alenia Space's New GEO Satellites
Tuesday, 11 June 2024 07:11Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW) announced it will develop and deliver Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) wings for Thales Alenia Space's Space Inspire satellites, the newest product line of geostationary (GEO) telecommunications satellites. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space is a prime manufacturer providing space solutions for telecommunications, Earth o
Earth and space share similar turbulence dynamics
Tuesday, 11 June 2024 07:11In a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, researchers have discovered that turbulence in the thermosphere follows the same physical laws as wind in the lower atmosphere. Additionally, wind in the thermosphere rotates cyclonically-counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. These findings reveal a new principle for Earth's environmental
Sentinel-5 Air Quality Instrument Ready for Installation
Tuesday, 11 June 2024 07:11Following months of testing, the Copernicus Sentinel-5 instrument has been delivered to Airbus in France for installation on the MetOp Second Generation weather satellite. Sentinel-5, a Copernicus mission, will be carried on MetOp Second Generation A-type weather satellites, with the first launch expected in 2025. The mission aims to measure atmospheric trace gases such as ozone, nit
NASA Scientists Take to the Seas to Study Air Quality
Tuesday, 11 June 2024 07:11Satellites continuously peer down from orbit to take measurements of Earth, and this week a group of scientists set sail to verify some of those data points. On June 2, the SCOAPE (Satellite Coastal and Oceanic Atmospheric Pollution Experiment) research team, in partnership with the U.S. Interior Department"s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, took to the seas in the Gulf of Mexico for its
AI on CubeSats Speeds Up Bushfire Detection
Tuesday, 11 June 2024 07:11Australian scientists are advancing in detecting bushfires quickly, using cube satellites equipped with AI that can identify fires from space 500 times faster than traditional ground-based methods. Researchers have improved the processing and compression of large hyperspectral imagery on cube satellites. This technology, using AI, allows earlier detection of bushfires from space, enabling
First Plato camera
Tuesday, 11 June 2024 07:00NASA and Boeing Advance Starliner Tests with Crew at Space Station
Monday, 10 June 2024 23:46NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are testing Boeing's Starliner spacecraft at the International Space Station. This mission aims to collect data for NASA certification of the Starliner for regular crewed missions to the station. As part of the Boeing Crew Flight Test, Wilmore and Williams, with ground teams, are completing various objectives since Starliner arrived at the st
NASA Observes Mars Illuminated During Major Solar Storm
Monday, 10 June 2024 23:46In addition to producing auroras, a recent extreme storm provided more detail on how much radiation future astronauts could encounter on the Red Planet. Mars scientists have been anticipating significant solar storms since the Sun entered a period of peak activity earlier this year called solar maximum. Over the past month, NASA's Mars rovers and orbiters have provided researchers with dir
In new experiment, scientists record Earth's radio waves from the moon
Monday, 10 June 2024 23:46On Feb. 22, a lunar lander named Odysseus touched down near the moon's South Pole and popped out four antennas to record radio waves around the surface-a moment CU Boulder astrophysicist Jack Burns hails as the "dawn of radio astronomy from the moon." It was a major achievement for the tenacious lander, which was built by the Houston-based company Intuitive Machines and had to overcome a s
Water frost discovered on Mars' tallest volcanoes
Monday, 10 June 2024 23:46Water frost has been detected on Mars' colossal volcanoes, marking the first observation of this phenomenon on the largest mountains in the Solar System. The international team, led by the University of Bern, utilized high-resolution color images from the Bernese Mars camera, CaSSIS, onboard the European Space Agency's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Understanding water distribution and transport is