La Palma lava flows into the sea
Friday, 01 October 2021 11:40
Blue Origin accused of 'toxic' work culture, compromising safety
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
San Francisco (AFP) Sept 30, 2021
A group of current and former Blue Origin employees on Thursday accused Jeff Bezos' space company of having a "toxic" work culture with rampant sexual harassment and a pattern of decision-making that prioritized speedy rocket development over safety.
The allegations, firmly rejected by Blue Origin, were outlined in a lengthy blogpost signed by Alexandra Abrams, the company's former head of e

NASA selects crew for simulated trip to a Mars Moon
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Houston TX (SPX) Oct 01, 2021
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to head deep into space, all the way to Mars? Through a simulated journey, four volunteer research subjects will soon have a chance to find out.
Beginning Oct. 1, 2021, four people will live and work for 45 days inside a unique, ground-based habitat at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Designed to serve as an analog for isolation, confinem

Building a home in the sky
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Beijing (XNA) Oct 01, 2021
After initial solid steps, upcoming missions will ensure operation of China's Tiangong space station. China plans to conduct its Shenzhou XIII manned space flight this month, sending three astronauts to stay six months inside the country's Tiangong space station.
During their mission, the astronauts, whose names have yet to be disclosed, will be mainly tasked with demonstrating and testing

Heavy bombardment experienced by the planets in the early Solar System
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Heidelberg, Germany (SPX) Oct 01, 2021
At approximately 500 kilometres in size, Vesta is the largest known asteroid in the Solar System. Like its numerous companions in the Main Asteroid Belt, it is made of the 'primordial matter' of the Solar System. A new study published in Nature Astronomy concludes that Vesta was exposed to an extensive impact series of large rocky bodies much earlier than previously assumed. This suggests that t

Galileo ground control segment ready for full operational capability
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Madrid, Spain (SPX) Oct 01, 2021
In early July the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) announced the upcoming upgrades of the Galileo GCS infrastructure in preparation for the next launch .
Today the new GCS V3.0 infrastructure has been completely deployed in the Galileo Ground Control Centres in Oberpfaffenhofen (Germany) and Fucino (Italy) and is being used to operate the Galileo Satellite Constellatio

Phantom Space announces agreement to build and launch 72 satellite constellation for Ingenu
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Tucson AZ (SPX) Oct 01, 2021
Phantom Space Corporation, a space transportation technology development and manufacturing company, has announced that they signed an agreement with Ingenu, provider of one of the leading Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology platforms.
The agreement includes the production, manufacturing and launch of a 72 satellite constellation (AFNIO) that Ingenu will be utilizing to host the

RockSat-X team witnesses experiment launched into space
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Wallops Flight Facility VA (SPX) Oct 01, 2021
On the Eastern Shore of Virginia against a clear blue August sky, a sounding rocket stood ready on the launchpad at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility. With undergraduate student teams, faculty advisors, and family eagerly awaiting and viewing the launch via livestream coverage, the countdown began.
Late in the afternoon of Aug. 19, the Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket successfully

FAA clears Virgin Galactic to resume flights after investigation
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Orlando FL (UPI) Oct 01, 2021
The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that Richard Branson's space tourism company can return to spaceflight after conducting an investigation into issues with the firm's July 11 launch.
A probe into the flight, which included Branson as a passenger, found the company's SpaceShipTwo deviated from its assigned airspace as it descended to Spaceport America in New Mexico, accordi

Lake breach flooding played big role in Martian geography
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Tucson AZ (SPX) Oct 01, 2021
A significant amount - at least 25 percent - of Martian valley networks formed as a result of lake breach flooding, as reported in a paper on which Planetary Science Institute Research Scientist Alexander Morgan is an author.
This helps us better understand the past climate history of Mars, said Morgan, a co-author on "The importance of lake breach floods for valley incision on early Mars"

NASA's Lucy science mission will fly by eight asteroids
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Orlando FL (UPI) Oct 01, 2021
NASA plans to launch its Lucy spacecraft from Florida on Oct. 16 to fly by eight asteroids starting in 2025, marking the first time scientists will gain close-up views of them.
The spacecraft for the $981 million mission is at Kennedy Space Center for launch preparations, which include packing atop an Atlas V rocket for its 12-year voyage. United Launch Alliance plans to send the probe int

China's Chang'e-4 completes 1,000 days on far side of moon
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Beijing (XNA) Oct 01, 2021
The lander and rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have worked for 1,000 Earth days on the far side of the moon as of Wednesday, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.
The lander and rover Yutu-2 are in good condition. The payloads aboard are also working properly and will continue the scientific exploration on the far side of the m

Study finds photosynthesis in Venus' clouds could support life
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Pomona CA (SPX) Oct 01, 2021
New data analysis has found that the sunlight filtering through Venus' clouds could support Earth-like photosynthesis in the cloud layers and that chemical conditions are potentially amenable to the growth of microorganisms.
Biochemistry Professor Rakesh Mogul is the lead author of the study, Potential for Phototrophy in Venus' Clouds, published online this weekin the journal Astrobiology'

Mercury ahead
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Paris (ESA) Oct 01, 2021
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury will make the first of six flybys of its destination planet on 1 October before entering orbit in 2025.
Hot on the heels of its last Venus flyby in August, the spacecraft's next exciting encounter is with Mercury at 23:34 UTC on 1 October (01:34 CEST 2 October). It will swoop by the planet at an altitude of about 200 km, capturing imagery and sci

Scientists recreate cosmic reactions to unlock astronomical mysteries
Friday, 01 October 2021 10:51
Lemont IL (SPX) Oct 01, 2021
Experiments will give scientists a closer look at how exploding stars create world's heaviest elements. How do the chemical elements, the building blocks of our universe, get built?
This question has been at the core of nuclear physics for the better part of a century. At the beginning of the 20th century, scientists discovered that elements have a central core or nucleus. These nuclei con
