You can see where the Webb Telescope took a direct hit from a micrometeorite on one of its mirrors
Thursday, 21 July 2022 15:16
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The world is still reeling from the release of the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) first images. These provided a comprehensive overview of the kind of science operations that Webb will conduct over its 20-year mission. They included the most sensitive and detailed look at some iconic astronomical objects, spectra from an exoplanet atmosphere, and a deep field view of some of the most distant galaxies in the universe. Since their release, we've also been treated to glimpses of objects in the solar system captured by Webb's infrared instruments.
Meanwhile, the JWST collaboration released a full report titled titled "Characterization of JWST science performance from commissioning," in which they examined everything Webb has accomplished so far and what they anticipate throughout the mission.
Italian becomes first European woman on spacewalk outside ISS
Thursday, 21 July 2022 14:32 Write a comment
Italian Samantha Cristoforetti became the first European woman astronaut to embark on a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Thursday, NASA footage showed.
Cristoforetti was joined by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev on the spacewalk which began just before 1500 GMT, with the pair expected to spend around six and half hours more than 400 kilometres (248 miles) above Earth.
Among their tasks is work on a Europe-made robotic arm which just a week ago became embroiled in tensions between Russia and the West over Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Early last week the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin, furious at the European Space Agency's decision to cut ties with Moscow on a Mars rover mission, told cosmonauts on the ISS to stop using the European Robotic Arm.
But President Vladimir Putin dismissed Rogozin as Roscosmos chief on Friday, and hours later Washington and Moscow said they would renew flights together to the ISS.
China could shift to fully reusable super heavy-launcher in wake of Starship
Thursday, 21 July 2022 14:08 Write a comment
China’s launch vehicle makers appear to be designing a fully reusable version of the Long March 9 super heavy-lift rocket needed for future megaprojects.
Connecting the Dots | Wildfires are advancing, but so is satellite technology
Thursday, 21 July 2022 14:04 Write a comment
Satellite technology is racing to get ahead of increasingly prevalent wildfires that risk lives, destroy property and create pollution that causes long-term health issues.
The post Connecting the Dots | Wildfires are advancing, but so is satellite technology appeared first on SpaceNews.
Solar storm to hit Earth's magnetic field on July 21
Thursday, 21 July 2022 10:39 Write a comment
Something is happening to the sun. One of the regions of the solar atmosphere currently exhibiting sunspots caught the attention of observatories on July 11, when there was a sudden increase in ultraviolet and X-ray brightness. The next ones to notice were the amateur radio communities on either side of the Pacific Ocean, when their communications were briefly interrupted.
A solar flare—the emission of electromagnetic radiation and energetic particles located in a small region of the solar atmosphere—had just occurred. It is a region where the magnetic field is particularly strong and complex.
SPECTACULAR FILAMENT ERUPTION: A filament stretching halfway across the solar disk became unstable and erupted away from the Sun. Couple things to note: (1) A section of it twists (magnetic energy being released).
Isar Aerospace to launch from French Guiana
Thursday, 21 July 2022 10:09 Write a comment
European small launch vehicle developer Isar Aerospace has signed an agreement with the French space agency CNES to launch its Spectrum rocket from French Guiana.
The post Isar Aerospace to launch from French Guiana appeared first on SpaceNews.
EarthCARE takes a big stretch
Thursday, 21 July 2022 10:04 Write a comment
ESA’s upcoming EarthCARE satellite mission has just taken a big stretch. Engineers have gently unfolded this new satellite’s huge five-panel solar wing to test that it will deploy correctly once it is in space. The solar wing is a critical part of the satellite, providing the energy for EarthCARE to do its job: to quantify the role that clouds and aerosols play in heating and cooling Earth’s atmosphere.
Australian rocketry team regains sky wings with triple win at Spaceport America Cup
Thursday, 21 July 2022 01:53 Write a comment
The USYD Rocketry Team has been announced as the overall winner of the Spaceport America Cup intercollegiate rocketry competition, held annually in New Mexico. Competing against 97 student teams from around the globe, including ETH Zurich and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the University of Sydney team placed first in three categories - winning the overall competition with t Goodyear joins Lockheed Martin to commercialize lunar mobility
Thursday, 21 July 2022 01:53 Write a comment
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company supplied essential products for NASA's Apollo program, including the Apollo 11 mission which landed on the Moon 53 years ago today. The company will continue that tradition-focusing on lunar vehicle tires-by joining Lockheed Martin in its development of a lunar mobility vehicle.
Since Apollo, Goodyear continued innovating alongside NASA to advance desig Futuristic Space Habitat lands at Institut Auf Dem Rosenberg
Thursday, 21 July 2022 01:53 Write a comment
Pioneering Swiss boarding school Institut auf dem Rosenberg unveiled today - the anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's famous moon landing - the Rosenberg Space Habitat (RSH), which will serve as an experimental lab for students to explore and actively shape the future of humanity on our planet and beyond. Co-created by Rosenberg students and SAGA Space Architects with sustainable mate Unequal siblings: Ius and Tithonium Chasma
Thursday, 21 July 2022 01:53 Write a comment
When NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft reached Mars more than 50 years ago at the end of 1971 and began to explore the planet from orbit, there was initially great disappointment at the control centre: virtually nothing could be seen in the images sent to Earth. At that time, a global dust storm was raging on Mars, which made it impossible to see the surface. Only the peaks of the highest volcanoes st When Mars throws you a curveball Sol 3539-3540
Thursday, 21 July 2022 01:53 Write a comment
The rover has been making its way along the "Bolivar" ridge, dodging small boulders and rocks that have apparently eroded off the hillside as seen in the above engineering camera image. Unfortunately, due to the complex terrain our last drive ended about 11 meters short of its anticipated location.
Because of the unexpected rover heading, the antenna we usually use to uplink plans directly A New Method to Detect Exoplanets
Thursday, 21 July 2022 01:53 Write a comment
In recent years, a large number of exoplanets have been found around single 'normal' stars. New research shows that there may be exceptions to this trend. Researchers from the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon (UANL), the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and New York University Abu Dhabi suggest a new way of detecting dim bodies, including planets, orbiting exotic binary stars Webb telescope may have already found most distant known galaxy
Thursday, 21 July 2022 01:53 Write a comment
Just a week after its first images were shown to the world, the James Webb Space Telescope may have found a galaxy that existed 13.5 billion years ago, a scientist who analyzed the data said Wednesday.
Known as GLASS-z13, the galaxy dates back to 300 million years after the Big Bang, about 100 million years earlier than anything previously identified, Rohan Naidu of the Harvard Center for As Hey Siri: How Much Does This Galaxy Cluster Weigh
Thursday, 21 July 2022 01:53 Write a comment
It's been nearly a century since astronomer Fritz Zwicky first calculated the mass of the Coma Cluster, a dense collection of almost 1,000 galaxies located in the nearby universe. But estimating the mass of something so huge and dense, not to mention 320 million light-years away, has its share of problems - then and now. Zwicky's initial measurements, and the many made since, are plagued by sour