NASA seeks students to imagine nuclear powered space missions
Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:37
The third Power to Explore Student Challenge from NASA is underway. The writing challenge invites K-12th grade students in the United States to learn about radioisotope power systems, a type of nuclear battery integral to many of NASA's far-reaching space missions, and then write an essay about a new powered mission for the agency.
For more than 60 years, radioisotope power systems have he NSF funds annual solicitation seeking physical science research leveraging the ISS National Lab
Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:37
For the ninth consecutive year, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is funding a solicitation that seeks proposals leveraging the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory for research in the physical science area of transport phenomena.
NSF will provide up to $3.6 million for multiple projects to utilize the space station for fundamental research focused on fluid dynami Leidos Enhances ISS Capabilities with New xPWD Water System
Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:37
Leidos (NYSE:LDOS), a renowned leader in science and technology, has reached a significant milestone by deploying its innovative Exploration Potable Water Dispenser (xPWD) to the International Space Station (ISS). This deployment marks a substantial achievement in the domain of space exploration technology, providing astronauts with an advanced system for accessing potable water-a vital resource Cerberus Fossae Identified as Primary Source of Marsquakes
Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:37
The Mars InSight mission, since its inception, has shed light on the seismic vibrancy of the Red Planet. The mission's deployment of a seismic station has led to the recording of 98 low-frequency seismic events. Despite the challenges posed by the singular nature of the data collection point and the often ambiguous seismic signals, a significant stride in martian seismology has been made, pinpoi Australian-Backed SPIDER Payload to Fly on Firefly's 2026 Lunar Mission
Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:37
Firefly Aerospace, Inc., a key player in the space transportation sector, has struck a new deal with Fleet Space Technologies to deploy an Australian-developed seismic research payload to the Moon's far side. This mission, slated for 2026, will feature Fleet's Seismic Payload for Interplanetary Discovery, Exploration, and Research (SPIDER) aboard Firefly's Blue Ghost lander.
This collabora Webb findings support long-proposed process of planet formation
Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:37
Scientists using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope just made a breakthrough discovery in revealing how planets are made. By observing water vapor in protoplanetary disks, Webb confirmed a physical process involving the drifting of ice-coated solids from the outer regions of the disk into the rocky-planet zone.
Theories have long proposed that icy pebbles forming in the cold, outer regions Major $200M gift propels scientific research in the search for life beyond earth
Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:37
The SETI Institute, a non-profit scientific research organization, has announced a philanthropic gift of $200m from the estate of Franklin Antonio, a visionary supporter and catalyst of the work of the SETI Institute for more than 12 years. Co-founder of communications chip company, Qualcomm, Antonio passed away on May 13, 2022, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy to enable breakthrough scien New Test Case Enables Satellite-to-Ground 5G Connectivity, Boosting Rural and Remote Access
Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:37
Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS), a prominent player in the field of testing and measurement equipment, has marked a significant milestone by validating the first protocol conformance test case for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 17 (Rel-17) standards, specifically focusing on non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) using narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) technology. T Final three for ESA's next medium science mission
Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:37
The space science community has narrowed down the shortlist for ESA's next 'medium' mission to three finalists: M-Matisse, Plasma Observatory and Theseus. Following further study, one will be selected for implementation as the newest addition to ESA's space science mission fleet.
Medium (or 'M-class') missions are a key component of ESA's Science Programme that enable Europe to answer impo 
Virgin Galactic to halt Unity suborbital flights by mid-2024
Thursday, 09 November 2023 00:23
U.S. Air Force X-37B spaceplane to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket
Wednesday, 08 November 2023 20:01
How to make asteroid landings safer
Wednesday, 08 November 2023 18:40
Landing safely on an asteroid is no mean feat. Despite several recent successes, there have also been notable failures—most famously, the Philae lander to 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Admittedly, that was an attempt to land on a comet rather than an asteroid, but those two bodies share many of the same landing hazards.
One of the most prevalent problems is "inhomogenous" gravity. Offering a solution, researchers from the Harbin Institute of Technology in China recently published a paper in Aerospace Science and Technology detailing a framework for performing "soft landings" on asteroids, which might help make exploring these rocky worlds much more accessible.
First, it would be helpful to understand the difference between a "hard" landing on an asteroid and a "soft" landing. A hard landing consists of the spacecraft, either in a controlled or uncontrolled descent, landing with some force on the asteroid's surface.
Startups, universities selected for accelerator focused on space domain awareness
Wednesday, 08 November 2023 17:54
Boom in space tourism threatens to boost the amounts of space junk and climate emissions
Wednesday, 08 November 2023 17:13
Commercial companies are increasingly becoming involved in transporting astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), as well as other activities in orbit. Some, such as Houston-based Axiom Space, eventually want to build their own space stations in orbit, where commercial astronauts could make extended stays.
This could also provide more money and opportunities for science to be carried out in low Earth orbit. But it also raises a host of safety concerns, because it will add to the already troublesome issue of space junk. There are also implications for the environment, because rockets produce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
Axiom, which was founded in 2016, was the first company to conduct privately funded missions to the ISS. Under Axiom's Space Access Program, it has been offering different countries the opportunity to design customized missions to orbit aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. As such, it recently signed an agreement with the UK Space Agency for an all-UK astronaut mission to the ISS.