NASA AI technology could speed up fault diagnosis process in spacecraft
Thursday, 20 May 2021 12:08
New artificial intelligence technology could speed up physical fault diagnosis in spacecraft and spaceflight systems, improving mission efficiency by reducing down-time.
Research in artificial intelligence for spacecraft resilience (RAISR) is software developed by Pathways intern Evana Gizzi, who works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. With RAISR, artificial intelligence could diagnose faults real-time in spacecraft and spaceflight systems in general.
"The spacecraft reporting a fault is like a car with a check engine light on," Gizzi said. "You know there is an issue, but can't necessarily explain the cause. That's where the RAISR algorithm comes in, diagnosing the cause as a loose gas cap."
Right now, the ability to make inferences about what is happening that go beyond traditional 'if-then-else' fault trees is something only humans can do, Gizzi said.
Moonlight: bringing connectivity to the Moon
Thursday, 20 May 2021 11:00
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As international teams across the world forge plans to revisit the Moon, ESA is elaborating how best to facilitate this exploration.
As part of its Moonlight initiative, the agency is encouraging European space companies to put a constellation of telecommunications and navigation satellites around the Moon.
To succeed, the proposed lunar missions will require reliable navigation and telecommunication capabilities. Building these independently would be costly, complex and inefficient.
If this work were outsourced to a consortium of space companies, each individual mission would become more cost-efficient.
Having one system dedicated to lunar telecommunications and navigation could reduce design complexity, liberating missions
ESA advances its plan for satellites around the Moon
Thursday, 20 May 2021 11:00
A bold proposal to create a commercially viable constellation of lunar satellites has taken a step closer.
Deep space communication and navigation
Thursday, 20 May 2021 10:58
Deep space communication and navigation
China delays mission while NASA congratulates on Mars images
Thursday, 20 May 2021 09:17
Join ESA, NASA and JAXA for the Earth observation COVID-19 hackathon
Thursday, 20 May 2021 09:10
Do you have ideas on how Earth observation data can solve some of the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic? If so, ESA, NASA and JAXA invite you to join a virtual Earth Observation Dashboard Hackathon taking place on 23-29 June. Registration for the hackathon opens today.
Moon mission delays could increase risks from solar storms
Thursday, 20 May 2021 06:36
Planned missions to return humans to the Moon need to hurry up to avoid hitting one of the busiest periods for extreme space weather, according to scientists conducting the most in-depth ever look at solar storm timing.
Scientists at the University of Reading studied 150 years of space weather data to investigate patterns in the timing of the most extreme events, which can be extremely dangerous to astronauts and satellites, and even disrupt power grids if they arrive at Earth.
The researchers found for the first time that extreme space weather events are more likely to occur early in even-numbered solar cycles, and late in odd-numbered cycles—such as the one just starting. They are also more likely during busy periods of solar activity and in bigger cycles, mirroring the pattern for moderate space weather.
The findings could have implications for the NASA-led Artemis mission, which plans to return humans to the moon in 2024, but which could be delayed to the late 2020s.
Professor Mathew Owens, a space physicist at the University of Reading, said: "Until now, the most extreme space-weather events were thought to be random in their timing and thus little could be done to plan around them.
China launches latest marine research satellite
Thursday, 20 May 2021 04:35
A Long March 4B rocket carrying the Haiyang 2D (HY-2D) satellite takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China, on May 19, 2021. [Photo by Wang Jiangbo/chinadaily.com.cn]
China launched its latest oceanographic research satellite, the HY-2D, on a Long March 4B carrier rocket from the Gobi Desert on Wednesday morning, according to the China National Space Administration. Did Earth's early rise in oxygen help multicellular life evolve
Thursday, 20 May 2021 04:35
Scientists have long thought that there was a direct connection between the rise in atmospheric oxygen, which started with the Great Oxygenation Event 2.5 billion years ago, and the rise of large, complex multicellular organisms.
That theory, the "Oxygen Control Hypothesis," suggests that the size of these early multicellular organisms was limited by the depth to which oxygen could diffuse Nelson uses Chinese Mars landing as a warning to Congress
Thursday, 20 May 2021 01:31
WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated China for successfully landing a rover on Mars, but also used the milestone to warn Congress of China’s competitive threat to American leadership in human spaceflight.
In a statement May 19, hours after the China National Space Administration (CNSA) released the first images taken by the Zhurong rover since its May 14 landing on Mars, Nelson congratulated China for being only the second country, after the United States, to land a spacecraft on Mars and operate it there for more than a brief period.
China's Tianwen-1 probe sends back Mars landing visuals
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15
Two photos and two videos captured by China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 during and after the country's first landing on the red planet were released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Wednesday.
The lander carrying a rover of the Tianwen-1 mission touched down in the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a vast plain on the northern hemisphere of Mars, on May 15, becoming the coun Planetary Atlas Collection: A Kickstarter Campaign that Promotes Space Exploration for Everyone
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15
On the topic of space travel, one of humanities greatest visionary thinkers and theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking said, "Humans are an adventurous species. We like to explore and are inspired by journeys to the unknown. Science is not only a disciple of reason but, also, one of romance and passion. Exploration by real people inspires us."
Recent years have validated the adventurous nat Xplore opens satellite manufacturing facility to advance satellite production
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15
Xplore Inc., a commercial space company providing Space as a Service has announced they are opening a satellite manufacturing facility in Redmond, Washington. Their new, state-of-the-art campus is a key step in the company's mission to expand mass manufacturing of the XCraft the company's highly-capable, ESPA-class satellite, and the LightCraft, Xplore's highly-maneuverable spacecraft for deep s More than 3,000 jobs created as space sector grows across the UK
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15
The UK's space sector has seen growth in jobs and income while investing more in research and development, leaving it well-placed to grow strongly as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, Science Minister Amanda Solloway announced today.
Findings from the latest 'Size and Health of the UK Space Industry' report, commissioned by the UK Space Agency and delivered by know.space, show the sec China postpones launch of robotic cargo spacecraft
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15
The launch of China's Tianzhou 2 robotic cargo spacecraft that was originally scheduled for early Thursday morning has been postponed due to technical issues, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
The agency said in a brief statement shortly before the preplanned launch time that the new launch time will be determined in due course.
It didn't give more details.
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