Robotic rover could support astronauts on moonwalks
Tuesday, 02 July 2024 18:52
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Robotic companions are a mainstay of sci-fi series everywhere. From R2D2 to Johnny 5, these characters typically have a supporting role in the story and are helpful to their human companions. But what if they were integral to the humans in the story? So much so that they couldn't live without their robotic compatriots?
That's the idea behind Biobot, which was given a NIAC grant in 2018—why not use a robotic companion to carry supporting equipment on human extravehicular activities (EVAs) on other planets?
If you watch the footage from the Apollo missions, you can see how awkward it is for the astronauts to bend over to pick things up. Also, these extraordinarily naturally fit and gifted people seem to fall over an awful lot, given how coordinated they are on Earth. That's probably because of a 61 kg pack on their back that is helping to keep them alive.
Each moonwalker had to carry a life support system on their suit to maintain conditions inside the suit that allowed them to breathe and not cook to death.
NASA Stennis achieves primary success for historic in-space mission
Tuesday, 02 July 2024 14:33 Write a comment
NASA's Stennis Space Center and partner Sidus Space Inc. announced primary mission success July 2 for the center's historic in-space mission—an autonomous systems payload aboard an orbiting satellite.
"Our ASTRA (Autonomous Satellite Technology for Resilient Applications) payload is active and operational," NASA Stennis Center Director John Bailey said. "This is an incredible achievement for Stennis, our first-ever in-space mission flying on a new state-of-the-art satellite.
Mission success: HERA crew successfully completes 45-day simulated journey to Mars
Tuesday, 02 July 2024 14:33 Write a comment
Four dedicated explorers—Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara—just returned from a 45-day simulated journey to Mars, testing the boundaries of human endurance and teamwork within NASA's HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Their groundbreaking work on HERA's Campaign 7 Mission 2 contributes to NASA's efforts to study how future astronauts may react to isolation and confinement during deep-space journeys.
Throughout their mission, the crew conducted operational tasks and participated in 18 human health studies. These studies focused on behavioral health, team dynamics, and human-system interfaces, with seven being collaborative efforts with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the European Space Agency.
Cosmic Shielding works with Aethero to protect Nvidia Jetson Orin NX GPU
Tuesday, 02 July 2024 13:00
Save Freedom: We must stop the destruction of the International Space Station
Tuesday, 02 July 2024 12:00
How the Applied Physics Laboratory is tackling Artemis moon exploration
Tuesday, 02 July 2024 12:00
Orbit Fab completes ground test of satellite fueling payload
Tuesday, 02 July 2024 10:15
Innospace shares tumble in stock market debut
Tuesday, 02 July 2024 09:17
New satellite to show how AI advances Earth observation
Tuesday, 02 July 2024 07:10 Write a comment
Artificial intelligence technologies have achieved remarkable successes and continue to show their value as backbones in scientific research and real-world applications.
ESA’s new Φsat-2 mission, launching in the coming weeks, will push the boundaries of AI for Earth observation – demonstrating the transformative potential of AI for space technology.
Europe’s space funding gap threatens industry potential
Monday, 01 July 2024 22:32
Determining the safest Mars caves for future astronauts
Monday, 01 July 2024 18:10 Write a comment
When astronauts land on Mars someday, they might have to live in lava caves or lava tubes to survive the harsh radiation that rains down on the Martian surface every second. But which caves could offer them the best chance of survival?
This is what a recent study presented at the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as Dr. Anatoliy P. Vidmachenko from the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine investigated where, how, and why lava tubes and lava caves could aid future Mars astronauts regarding their survival.
This study holds the potential to help scientists and engineers help mitigate risks for future Mars astronauts and what steps that need to be taken to make that a reality.
NASA shares two new Moon to Mars architecture white papers
Monday, 01 July 2024 17:54 Write a comment
NASA has released two white papers associated with the agency's Moon to Mars architecture efforts. The papers, one on lunar mobility drivers and needs, and one on lunar surface cargo, detail NASA's latest thinking on specific areas of its lunar exploration strategy.
While NASA has established a yearly cadence of releasing new documents associated with its Moon to Mars architecture, the agency occasionally releases mid-cycle findings to share essential information in areas of interest for its stakeholders.
Chinese rocket takes off during test, causing local fire
Monday, 01 July 2024 16:40 Write a comment
Beijing: Space Pioneer, a Chinese aerospace company, experienced an accidental rocket launch during a developmental test in Gongyi, central China.
Beijing Tianbing Technology Co, also known as Space Pioneer, reported that the first stage of its Tianlong-3 rocket detached from the launch pad during a structural failure test. Initial investigations revealed no casualties, according to the co