New research shows that Mars did not dry up all at once
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 16:00
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The Perseverance rover has just landed on Mars. Meanwhile, its precursor Curiosity continues to explore the base of Mount Sharp (officially Aeolis Mons), a mountain several kilometers high at the center of the Gale crater. Using the telescope on the ChemCam instrument to make detailed observations of the steep terrain of Mount Sharp at a distance, a French-US team headed by William Rapin, CNRS researcher at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (CNRS/Université Toulouse III/CNES), has discovered that the Martian climate recorded there alternated between dry and wetter periods, before drying up completely about 3 billion years ago.
Op-ed | Attention Silicon Valley: The Exposure of Space Startups to US Export Control Rules
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 15:27 Write a comment
Federal officials warn that many space startups are not aware of their export control obligations and are exposed to punitive sanctions. With five different export control mechanisms, this is no surprise. If your startup has an international client, supplier, expert, investor, or cooperation, you might just need a permit.
Satellites monitor Mount Etna’s unpredictable behaviour
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 14:30 Write a comment
Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, has recently been on explosive form, with 17 eruptions in less than three months. Instruments onboard three different satellites orbiting Earth have acquired imagery of the eruptions – revealing the intensity of the lava-fountaining eruptive episodes, known as paroxysms.
Private equity firm GI Partners plans to buy Orbcomm in $1.1 billion deal
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 14:05 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. — Private equity firm GI Partners plans to buy satellite operator Orbcomm, which specializes in connecting industrial monitoring devices, for about $1.1 billion including net debt.
Ariane 6 pre-flight 'plumbing' tests
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 13:19 Write a comment
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Ariane 6 pre-flight 'plumbing' tests Ningbo, Wenchang to construct Chinese commercial spaceports
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 12:49 Write a comment
HELSINKI — The coastal cities of Ningbo and Wenchang are planning construction of new commercial spaceports to meet growing demand for launch in China.
NASA's Odyssey orbiter marks 20 historic years of mapping Mars
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 11:33 Write a comment
NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft launched 20 years ago on April 7, making it the oldest spacecraft still working at the Red Planet. The orbiter, which takes its name from Arthur C. Clarke's classic sci-fi novel "2001: A Space Odyssey" (Clarke blessed its use before launch), was sent to map the composition of the Martian surface, providing a window to the past so scientists could piece together how the planet evolved.
Say cheese on Mars: Perseverance's selfie with Ingenuity
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 11:16 Write a comment
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, seen here about 13 feet (4 meters) away in this image from April 6, 2021, the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Perseverance captured the image using a camera called WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering), part of the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument, located at the end of the rover's robotic arm.
New ESA director general outlines priorities
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 11:16 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The new head of the European Space Agency has outlined his priorities for the next several years, ranging from improving relations with the European Union to increasing commercialization activities.
The ESA Agenda 2025 document, released by the agency April 7, is an expression of how its new director general, Josef Aschbacher, wants to use the agency to ensure Europe retains a role as a global leader in space.
Perseverance's take selfie with Ingenuity
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 09:31 Write a comment
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, seen here about 13 feet (4 meters) away in this image from April 6, 2021, the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Perseverance captured the image using a camera called WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering), part of the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminesce Odyssey marks 20 years of mapping Mars
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 09:31 Write a comment
NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft launched 20 years ago on April 7, making it the oldest spacecraft still working at the Red Planet. The orbiter, which takes its name from Arthur C. Clarke's classic sci-fi novel "2001: A Space Odyssey" (Clarke blessed its use before launch), was sent to map the composition of the Martian surface, providing a window to the past so scientists could piece togethe NASA's OSIRIS-REx completes final tour of Asteroid Bennu
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 09:31 Write a comment
NASA's OSIRIS-REx completed its last flyover of Bennu around 6 a.m. EDT (4 a.m. MDT) April 7 and is now slowly drifting away from the asteroid; however, the mission team will have to wait a few more days to find out how the spacecraft changed the surface of Bennu when it grabbed a sample of the asteroid.
The OSIRIS-REx team added this flyby to document surface changes resulting from the To Webb Telescope packs its sunshield for a million mile trip
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 09:31 Write a comment
Engineers working on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have successfully folded and packed its sunshield for its upcoming million-mile (roughly 1.5 million kilometer) journey, which begins later this year. The sunshield - a five-layer, diamond-shaped structure the size of a tennis court - was specially engineered to fold up around the two sides of the telescope and fit within the confines of its Ningbo to build $3.05b rocket launchpad site
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 09:31 Write a comment
The port city of Ningbo in Zhejiang province is building a 20 billion yuan ($3.05 billion) rocket launch site to meet surging demand for putting satellites into orbit and further develop the industrial cluster of the commercial aerospace sector, according to the local authorities.
Highlighted in the recently revealed draft for mega projects in Zhejiang during the 14th Five-Year Plan period Mars helicopter Ingenuity performs well before first flight
Wednesday, 07 April 2021 09:31 Write a comment
NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity, the first powered aircraft on another planet, is free of the Perseverance rover that carried it and appears to be functioning well ahead of its first flight on Sunday, the space agency said.
NASA plans to broadcast the results of that first flight at 3:30 a.m. EDT Monday after the helicopter transmits data and images to Perseverance, which will send the