Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 31, 2022
UCLA scientists have discovered a new source of super-fast, energetic electrons raining down on Earth, a phenomenon that contributes to the colorful aurora borealis but also poses hazards to satellites, spacecraft and astronauts. The researchers observed unexpected, rapid "electron precipitation" from low-Earth orbit using the ELFIN mission, a pair of tiny satellites built and operated on

Huntsville AL (SPX) Mar 31, 2022
A refinement to a space weather model developed by a center director at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) could help scientists check out which planets outside our solar system are likely to have someone home. Exoplanets are what planets are called when they orbit stars outside our own solar system, and the effort to winnow out those that could harbor life has been intensifying

West Lafayette IN (SPX) Mar 31, 2022
While for humans the constants might be death and taxes, for planets the constants are gravity and collisions. Brandon Johnson studies the latter, using information about impacts to understand the history and the composition of planets, moons, asteroids and meteorites throughout the solar system. "Impact cratering is the most ubiquitous surface process shaping planetary bodies," John

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Mar 31, 2022
These images were created using data acquired by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), which was developed at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and is operated by the DLR Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin-Adlershof. They show a landscape in Utopia Planitia that is millions of years old and was shaped by ice. Utopia is one of three major topo

Washington DC (SPX) Mar 31, 2022
In 2021, NASA recognized four teams from around the agency for inventions and software that will help government and private industry. The new technologies can help improve passenger flights and remotely piloted vehicles, enhance data on our home planet, and help send spacecraft and astronauts to the Moon and beyond. "Whether creating new space technologies that help wildfire fighters or s

Plano TX (SPX) Mar 31, 2022
Siemens Digital Industries Software has announced that Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company at the forefront of creating and building the future of space transportation and infrastructure for Low Earth orbit (LEO) commercialization, has implemented Siemens' Xcelerator portfolio of software and services as the foundation of its next-generation digital engineering program. The co

Washington DC (SPX) Mar 31, 2022
Singapore demonstrated its commitment to the peaceful and responsible exploration of space by signing the Artemis Accords, which set forth the guiding principles for cooperation among nations participating in NASA's Artemis program. Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong signed the document during a ceremony March 28, 2022, in Washington. Singapore is the 18th country to sign the Art

Washington DC (UPI) Mar 30, 2021
Having rolled the Space Launch System lunar rocket out to its launch pad and powered it up successfully, NASA engineers and technicians say they're just about ready for a prelaunch wet dress rehearsal this week. During the prelaunch test, which is scheduled to kick off Friday, the rocket and team will run through launch day procedures from fueling to just before startup, without actuall

Washington DC (SPX) Mar 31, 2022
After extending the record for the longest single spaceflight in history by an American to 355 days, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on Wednesday, March 30, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov. The trio departed the International Space Station at 3:21 a.m. EDT and made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 7:28 a.m. (5:28 p.m. Kazakhstan time)