Calling all space stewards: could direct-to-smartphone elevate space sustainability?
Thursday, 04 April 2024 12:30
3D-bioprinted blood vessel
Thursday, 04 April 2024 11:16
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3D-bioprinted blood vessel Ariane 6 tests towards first flight
Thursday, 04 April 2024 11:00 Write a comment
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Europe’s next rocket, Ariane 6, passed all its qualification tests in preparation for its first flight, and the full-scale test model has been removed from the launch pad to make way for the real rocket that will ascend to space.
The test model at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, stood 62 m high. It is exactly the same as the ‘production model’ Ariane 6 rockets that will soon be launched, except that its boosters do not need to be tested as part of the complete rocket, so the boosters are not fuelled.
Teams preparing Ariane 6 for its
All eyes on the Arctic Weather Satellite
Thursday, 04 April 2024 08:50 Write a comment
ESA’s new Arctic Weather Satellite has taken centre stage at OHB’s facilities in Stockholm, Sweden, before the spacecraft is packed up and shipped to California, US, for a launch currently scheduled for June.
Embracing the New Space approach to demonstrate new concepts in a cost-effective and timely manner, the Arctic Weather Satellite has been designed to show how it can improve weather forecasts in the Arctic.
Episode 1 – Scouting the Red Planet
Thursday, 04 April 2024 08:00 Write a comment
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Watch the first episode of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission – Europe’s ambitious exploration journey to search for past and present signs of life on Mars.
This episode starts after a successful descent and landing on the Red Planet in 2030.
Rovers on Mars have previously been caught in loose soils, and turning the wheels dug them deeper, just like a car stuck in sand. To avoid this, Rosalind Franklin has a unique wheel-walking locomotion mode to to overcome difficult terrains, as well as autonomous navigation software.
A major goal of the mission is to understand the geological context
Scout Space eyes military customers for space domain awareness sensor
Thursday, 04 April 2024 08:00
Three companies in the running for NASA's next moon rover
Thursday, 04 April 2024 07:55 Write a comment
Three companies are in the running to provide NASA's next moon rover for crewed missions planned later this decade, the space agency said Wednesday.
Texas-based Intuitive Machines—which landed a robot near the lunar south pole in February—Lunar Outpost of Colorado and Venturi Astrolab of California have been tasked with developing designs under a contract with a combined maximum potential value of $4.6 billion.
One Tech Tip: How to use apps to track and photograph the total solar eclipse
Thursday, 04 April 2024 07:50 Write a comment
Solar Orbiter to watch for eruptions during total eclipse
Thursday, 04 April 2024 07:00 Write a comment
On 8 April 2024, a great swath of the United States and Mexico will experience a total solar eclipse, with viewers getting the rare chance to see the Sun’s stunning outer atmosphere.
NASA selects three companies to advance Artemis lunar rover designs
Thursday, 04 April 2024 00:52
Simulating ejecta on titanium spacecraft surfaces under re-entry extreme environment conditions
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 18:08 Write a comment
The upper-stage helium tank of the Ariane 3 that was launched in 1985 was recovered in Uganda in 2002 after re-entry. Molten aluminum splashes were discovered on the tank, which have been identified as deposits from local fixings.
The ESA and CNES (French Government Space Agency) want to further investigate how the splashes were caused and the potential effects on titanium and stainless steel materials by recreating, for the first time, this extreme environment and re-entry scenario on the lab scale.
Dr. Yunus Azakli, Engineering Lead for Materials Discovery and Prototyping, adapted the Arcast SC100 at the Royce Discovery Center, Sheffield, to drop molten aluminum on to sheets of Ti-6Al-4V and 316L that had been heated by a specially designed mini furnace to recreate the Ariane 3 materials found in 2002 following its re-entry.
The conditions during atmospheric Earth re-entry of spacecraft can cause some aluminum alloy parts to melt and deposit onto other metallic components. The interaction of such ejecta with titanium components such as helium pressure tanks has, so far, not been widely researched and there is uncertainty on the surface reactions during re-entry.
Private companies are exploiting outer space, but the law is struggling to catch up
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 16:00 Write a comment
On 8 January 2024, NASA launched Peregrine Mission One, which carried capsules to the moon containing human remains and DNA samples. The goal was to deposit human remains on the lunar surface, and to release the content of the capsules in space.
Some of the only firm opposition to the mission came from the Native American Navajo Nation. According to their culture, such activity is a desecration of the moon. NASA's response was telling: they were unable to check the payloads' contents, as they belonged to a private company.
Private companies depositing human remains in space is not a new idea: in 1999, an orbiter was deliberately crashed near the lunar south pole, scattering the ashes of the astronomer Eugene Shoemaker. Though it was a NASA craft, the capsule carrying Shoemaker's ashes had been arranged by a private company.
As more and more private actors venture into space, new issues are emerging. International law needs to promptly and carefully regulate all space activity in order to safeguard the future of space exploration.
Anthropogenic contamination: the human footprint in space
Rock sampled by NASA's Perseverance embodies why rover came to Mars
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 15:53 Write a comment
The 24th sample taken by the six-wheeled scientist offers new clues about Jezero Crater and the lake it may have once held.
Analysis by instruments aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover indicate that the latest rock core taken by the rover was awash in water for an extended period of time in the distant past, perhaps as part of an ancient Martian beach. Collected on March 11, the sample is the rover's 24th—a tally that includes 21 sample tubes filled with rock cores, two filled with regolith (broken rock and dust), and one with Martian atmosphere.
Is it safe to fly during the solar eclipse? Here's what experts have to say
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 15:20 Write a comment
If you need to fly in the afternoon of April 8, you might want to grab a pair of solar eclipse glasses.
Airlines and government officials say it is safe to travel during the April 8 once-in-a-lifetime event. The Federal Aviation Administration is forecasting 47,137 flights to operate on April 8.
Health officials are warning eclipse viewers to wear protective eyewear, and that doesn't rule out travelers. The sun's intense brightness can damage eyes in seconds. It'll be damaged even quicker at more than 30,000 feet in the air, said Eric Christian, a senior research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and an eclipse expert.
"The sun will be a little bit brighter, but you shouldn't ever look at it except during totality without either approved eclipse glasses or in the correct pinhole camera," Christian said. "Even the smallest little piece of the sun sticking out can actually damage your retina. Be very careful."
Experts say travelers flying along the path of totality, from Mexico into the northeastern United States and Canada, may experience a longer eclipse from the clouds based on how much closer they are to the sun.