Copernical Team
NASA's Perseverance plans next sample attempt
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In 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 SpaceWERX ready to propel space innovation
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SpaceWERX 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 Frontier Development Lab transforms space and earth science for NASA with Google Cloud
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Frontier 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 Blue Origin launches experiments, artwork from Texas
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Jeff 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 Implantable drug delivery devices goes remote onboard the ISS
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From 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 University of Zurich and Airbus grow miniature human tissue on the International Space Station ISS
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With 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 KyotoU to test slats of wood aboard Japan's Kibo platform on the ISS
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Humans 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 First light from Sunstorm CubeSat
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First light from Sunstorm CubeSat Maine museum to host large chunk of Mars rock
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A Maine museum will play host to a chunk of rock it said is the largest intact Mars rock on Earth.
The Maine Mineral & Gem Museum said the specimen weighs 32 pounds (15 kilograms) and is about 10 inches (25 centimeters) at its longest point. The museum said the rock was the result of an asteroid impact on the surface of Mars that ejected material into an Earth-crossing orbit in space.
There are less than 500 pounds (227 kilograms) of Mars rock known to exist on Earth, the museum said.
The rock is known as "Taoudenni 002." The Bethel, Maine, museum said it will include the rock when it opens to the public on Sept. 1.
The museum said it is planning a reception with limited capacity on Aug. 31 to celebrate the acquisition of the rock. Two scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are expected to attend, the museum said.
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Space: The wooden frontier
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Humans 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 seem counter-intuitive by comparison.
Therein lies the rationale for wood: as a natural, economical, carbon-based material, its production is considerably more sustainable than advanced alternatives, and its disposal—especially when dropped from orbit into the upper atmosphere—is complete and without harmful byproducts.
Moreover, earlier investigations—in earth-bound labs—have demonstrated wood's surprising ability to withstand a wide range of temperatures, from -150 to 150 degrees Celsius.