Beijing, China (SPX) Jun 06, 2021
Since the era of meteorological satellites began in the 1950s, continuous remote sensing instrument improvements have elevated Earth science and have significantly increased available atmospheric observations. Likewise, scientists have made considerable advancements in understanding Earth's atmosphere, climate, and environment. Furthering growth of atmospheric science within the last 20 ye

Washington DC (AFNS) Jun 06, 2021
The Department of the Air Force announced June 4 the designation of Rocket Cargo as the fourth Vanguard program as part of its transformational science and technology portfolio identified in the DAF 2030 Science and Technology strategy for the next decade. Additionally, the U.S. Space Force was designated as the lead service for Rocket Cargo Vanguard, marking the service's first such program.

Moffett Field CA (SPX) Jun 04, 2021
It's a classic superhero tale: Inconspicuous, underestimated, our hero is revealed to have powers beyond imagination! The hottest and coldest environments on Earth, decades without water, the powerful radiation of space - none of it is any match for...the tardigrade! This chubby, microscopic, eight-legged animal may be an unlikely hero, but tardigrades, also known as water bears due to the

Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Jun 04, 2021
SpaceChain has announced that its blockchain-enabled payload has been launched into space from NASA's Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, and will be subsequently installed at the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, made possible by Nanoracks and its Space Act agreement with NASA, marks SpaceChain's fourth blockchain payload launch into space and the first dem

Princeton NJ (SPX) Jun 06, 2021
Lauren Dreier was paging through a 19th century book by the German architect Gottfried Semper when she spotted some intriguing patterns inspired by lace. A professional artist and designer who often incorporates technology into her work, Dreier, who is also a doctoral student at the School of Architecture at Princeton University, decided to recreate the printed illustrations in 3D. She gra

Kobe, Japan (SPX) Jun 04, 2021
A research group from Kobe University has demonstrated that the heat generated by the impact of a small astronomical body could enable aqueous alteration and organic solid formation to occur on the surface of an asteroid. They achieved this by first conducting high-velocity impact cratering experiments using an asteroid-like target material and measuring the post-impact heat distribution around

Melbourne, Australia (The Conversation) Jun 06, 2021
NASA has selected two missions, dubbed DAVINCI+ and VERITAS, to study the "lost habitable" world of Venus. Each mission will receive approximately US$500 million for development and both are expected to launch between 2028 and 2030. It had long been thought there was no life on Venus, due to its extremely high temperatures. But late last year, scientists studying the planet's atmosphere an

Riverside CA (SPX) Jun 06, 2021
A team led by UC Riverside engineers has developed a catalyst to remove a dangerous chemical from water on Earth that could also make Martian soil safer for agriculture and help produce oxygen for human Mars explorers. Perchlorate, a negative ion consisting of one chlorine atom bonded to four oxygen atoms, occurs naturally in some soils on Earth, and is especially abundant in Martian soil.

Turin, Italy (SPX) Jun 06, 2021
The replica ExoMars rover that will be used in the Rover Operations Control Centre to support mission training and operations is fully assembled and has completed its first drive around the Mars Terrain Simulator at ALTEC, in Turin, Italy. The rover 'Ground Test Model' (GTM) will play a critical role in the coming months as rover operators prepare for Rosalind Franklin's arrival in Oxia Pl

Washington DC (UPI) Jun 4, 2021
Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to launch a communications satellite for SiriusXM on Sunday from Florida in what will be the first such mission since one of the broadcast company's spacecraft failed after launch in December. The satellite, known as SXM-8, is prepared for liftoff aboard a Falcon 9 rocket during a nearly two-hour window starting at 12:25 a.m. EDT from Complex 40 at Cape Canavera