The rush to return humans to the moon and build lunar bases could threaten opportunities for astronomy
Thursday, 30 May 2024 15:03
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The 2020s have already seen many lunar landing attempts, although several of them have crashed or toppled over. With all the excitement surrounding the prospect of humans returning to the moon, both commercial interests and scientists stand to gain.
The moon is uniquely suitable for researchers to build telescopes they can't put on Earth because it doesn't have as much satellite interference as Earth, nor a magnetic field blocking out radio waves. But only recently have astronomers like me started thinking about potential conflicts between the desire to expand knowledge of the universe on one side and geopolitical rivalries and commercial gain on the other, and how to balance those interests.
Ariane 6 launches SIDLOC: opening up tools for safer space
Thursday, 30 May 2024 14:29
MDA Space Partners with Starlab Space in Commercial Space Station Venture
Thursday, 30 May 2024 13:20 Write a comment
Starlab Space LLC, the joint venture between Voyager Space, Airbus, and Mitsubishi Corporation, has announced that MDA Space Ltd. (TSX:MDA) has joined as a strategic partner and equity owner. This partnership expands the venture's reach into Canada.
MDA Space, known for its human-rated space robotics and the developer of the Canadarm robotics family, will provide external robotics, robotic Galactic Energy Completes Second Sea-Based Launch Mission
Thursday, 30 May 2024 13:20 Write a comment
Galactic Energy, a private rocket maker in Beijing, completed the second sea-based launch mission of its Ceres 1 carrier rocket on Wednesday afternoon.
The company said in a news release that the rocket blasted off at 4:12 pm from a mobile launch platform - a modified deck barge - in the Yellow Sea off the eastern province of Shandong and then sent four satellites into an orbit about 850 k Western geologists test instrument for Mars rover mission in search for life
Thursday, 30 May 2024 13:20 Write a comment
The search for life beyond Earth drives space exploration, and the discovery of clay minerals on Mars continues to captivate scientists. Clay formation, linked to rocks interacting with water, provides insights into the past habitability of Mars.
Western planetary geologists Livio Tornabene and Gordon Osinski lead an international team to study clay formation on Mars. Supported by a three- Asteroid Dinkinesh Has Dual Moons, Researchers Discover
Thursday, 30 May 2024 13:20 Write a comment
When NASA's Lucy spacecraft flew past its first official target, Dinkinesh, in November 2023, researchers discovered that the asteroid, known as "Dinky," was accompanied by a satellite asteroid named "Selam." Further data from Lucy revealed that Selam is not a single moon but a contact binary-two moons fused together.
The Lucy team, including University of Maryland Professor Jessica Sunshi ESA Tests Guidance Systems for Hera Asteroid Mission
Thursday, 30 May 2024 13:20 Write a comment
As ESA's Hera spacecraft undergoes pre-flight testing, its Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) system is also being finalized for space operations around a binary asteroid system.
The GNC system is being validated through virtual maneuvers conducted in Spain and Germany. At GMV's headquarters in Madrid, Hera's On-Board Computer is tested using a model asteroid for realistic proximity ope New mapping technique enhances lunar surface analysis
Thursday, 30 May 2024 13:20 Write a comment
Researchers at Brown University have developed a new approach to mapping the Moon's surface, offering improved precision and efficiency. The study, published in the Planetary Science Journal, introduces enhancements to the shape-from-shading technique, which helps create detailed models of lunar terrain by analyzing light reflections.
The technique, refined by Brown scholars Benjamin Boatw NanoAvionics Completes Standardization of Nano- and Microsatellite Buses
Thursday, 30 May 2024 13:20 Write a comment
During a live broadcast, Kongsberg NanoAvionics ("NanoAvionics") announced the full standardization of its nano- and microsatellite buses. This move aims to cut lead times to as little as four months for bus manufacturing, reduce costs, and enhance reliability. The standardization enables quicker and more cost-effective mission launches. For missions with specific requirements, NanoAvionics cont Innovative Startups Join South Australia's Space Ecosystem
Thursday, 30 May 2024 13:20 Write a comment
Four innovative space startups from around the globe have joined South Australia's Venture Catalyst Space program. This initiative supports early-stage technology-based space startups in scaling their businesses.
Since its inception in 2018, Venture Catalyst Space has supported 36 startups, helping them secure $31 million in investments and grants and create over 220 space jobs. The progra AST SpaceMobile and Verizon Plan Nationwide Coverage with Space-Based Cellular Service
Thursday, 30 May 2024 13:20 Write a comment
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS), and Verizon (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) have announced a strategic partnership with a $100 million commitment from Verizon to provide direct-to-cellular AST SpaceMobile service for Verizon customers when needed.
"This new partnership with Verizon will enable AST SpaceMobile to target 100% coverage of the continental United States on premium 850 MHz spectrum wit NASA astronauts return to Space Coast ahead of Starliner launch
Thursday, 30 May 2024 13:07 Write a comment
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Kennedy Space Center on May 28 as their much-delayed flight to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's CST-100 Starliner looks like it may finally happen Saturday.
The duo are slated to climb back aboard the capsule and fly atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 at 12:25 p.m., with a backup launch opportunity on Sunday. ULA said the weather forecast calls for 90% good conditions at the launch site for both days, although the weather also has to be clear along the launch corridor in the event of an emergency abort.
Dubbed the Crew Flight Test, the mission marks the first human spaceflight for Starliner as Boeing tries to play catchup to SpaceX as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. SpaceX launched its first crewed test flight of its Crew Dragon on May 30, 2020, so Starliner's launch will come just over four years since that flight.
Wilmore and Williams came within two hours of launch back on May 6.
Webb finds most distant known galaxy
Thursday, 30 May 2024 13:00 Write a comment
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Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have found a record-breaking galaxy observed only 290 million years after the big bang.
Over the last two years, scientists have used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to explore what astronomers refer to as Cosmic Dawn – the period in the first few hundred million years after the big bang where the first galaxies were born. These galaxies provide vital insight into the ways in which the gas, stars, and black holes were changing when the universe was very young. In October 2023 and January 2024, an international team of
ISS research shows spaceflight affects tumor-bearing fruit fly hosts and their parasites
Thursday, 30 May 2024 12:56 Write a comment
Like humans, fruit flies (a model organism for spaceflight research) also exhibit immune system dysfunction in space. Despite decades of studies on fruit flies and wasps, little was known about how their immune systems interact with natural parasites in space. Drosophila parasitoid wasps modify blood cell function to suppress host immunity.
South Korea targets Mars mission with new space center
Thursday, 30 May 2024 12:52 Write a comment
South Korea aims to make a Mars landing by 2045, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday, outlining plans to spend about $70 billion over the coming decades on space exploration.
The newly created Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) will lead the drive to make the land of K-pop a new space powerhouse, following the United States, Russia and China.
"I have always believed that there is an infinite dream and future in outer space," Yoon said on Thursday.
"KASA will strive to land a homegrown probe on the moon by 2032 and plant the Taegeukgi (South Korean flag) on Mars by 2045," he said.
South Korea sent up its first lunar orbiter, Danuri, in 2022 on a SpaceX Falcon rocket.
It also successfully launched its homegrown Nuri rocket and placed working satellites into orbit last year after two failed attempts.
Seoul is now gearing up for its fourth launch of the Nuri rocket in the second half of 2025.
Modeled after the United States' NASA, KASA says it will act as an "aerospace control tower", overseeing aerospace policy, satellite development and space missions, including moon exploration.