Open Cosmos unveils OpenConstellation, shared space infrastructure
Thursday, 22 September 2022 01:00
British small satellite startup Open Cosmos announced plans Sept. 21 for OpenConstellation, shared space infrastructure designed to offer partners access to satellite data.
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American, Russians reach space station as war rages in Ukraine
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 22:43
A US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts have arrived safely at the International Space Station (ISS), NASA said Wednesday, after blasting off on a Russian-operated flight in a rare instance of cooperation between Moscow and Washington.
The Russian space agency Roscosmos and NASA both distributed live footage of the launch from Kazakhstan and commentators speaking over the feed said it was Instrument issue pauses NASA's James Webb Telescope observations
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 22:43
Scientists have temporarily paused further observations with NASA's new James Webb telescope after a problem was detected with one of its instruments, the space agency confirmed.
"The Webb team has paused in scheduling observations using this particular observing mode while they continue to analyze its behavior and are currently developing strategies to resume MRS observations as soon a DoD to end procurements of geosynchronous missile-warning satellites
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 22:11
The Pentagon plans to end procurements of very large geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) infrared satellites and transition to a proliferated architecture in lower orbits
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L3Harris’ missile-tracking satellites will use a newly designed Maxar bus
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 20:52
Under a $700 million contract from the U.S. Space Development Agency, L3Harris will build 14 satellites using a new Maxar bus.
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Amazon and Telesat coordinate their planned NGSO constellations
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 20:30
Amazon and Telesat said Sept. 21 they have finalized spectrum arrangements to keep their planned satellites in non-geostationary orbit from interfering with each other.
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Space station gets 3 new residents after Russian launch
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 19:09
The International Space Station welcomed three new residents Wednesday following a smooth Russian launch.
The Soyuz capsule rocketed into orbit from Kazakhstan and, just three hours later, pulled up at the space station.
Who wants to go to the moon? Europe names astronaut candidates
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 17:33
The European Space Agency announced a team of seven astronauts on Wednesday to train for NASA's Artemis mission to the moon—but only one will have the chance to become the first European to walk on the lunar surface.
The candidates—France's Thomas Pesquet, Britain's Tim Peake, Germany's Alexander Gerst and Matthias Maurer, Italy's Luca Parmitano and Samantha Cristoforetti, and Denmark's Andreas Mogensen—have all completed at least one mission on board the International Space Station.
Between them, the team has the equivalent of 4.5 years in orbit and 98 hours of spacewalking, ESA communications head Philippe Willekens told journalists at the International Astronautical Congress in Paris.
Three of the astronauts will be selected to go to the Lunar Gateway, a planned station that will orbit the moon.
But only one will set foot on the moon by the end of the decade.
Four-legged jumping robots to explore the moon
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 17:24
A four-legged robot trained through artificial intelligence has learned the same lesson as the Apollo astronauts—that jumping can be the best way to move around on the surface the moon. An update on LEAP (Legged Exploration of the Aristarchus Plateau), a mission concept study supported by ESA to explore some of the most challenging lunar terrains, has been presented today at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 in Granada by Patrick Bambach.
"LEAP's target is the Aristarchus plateau, a region of the moon that is particularly rich in geologic features but highly challenging to access," said Patrick Bambach of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany. "With the robot, we can investigate key features to study the geologic history and evolution of the moon, like the ejecta around craters, fresh impact sites, and collapsed lava tubes, where material may not have been altered by space weathering and other processes.
First 3D renders from JunoCam data reveal 'frosted cupcake' clouds on Jupiter
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 16:52
A virtual hiking map for Jezero crater, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing site
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 16:51
Prospective Mars explorers can now take a hike around the landing site of NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover with an interactive map loaded with orbital imagery, terrain data as well as synthetic and real 3D panoramic views of Jezero crater and its surrounding area. The map, which can be accessed through a normal web browser, has been presented today at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 in Granada, Spain, by Sebastian Walter of the Freie Universität Berlin.
"The map is the perfect tool for planning a future visit to Mars, with an interactive interface where you can choose from different available base datasets. Some of the slopes are pretty steep, so watch out for those if you want to avoid too much oxygen consumption!" said Sebastian Walter.
"To get a real feeling of what to expect on your future Mars trip, you can click on one of the waypoint marker symbols to enter either a fullscreen 3D view or, if you have a Virtual Reality setup, to enter a fully immersive environment.
Arkisys’ first flight to demonstrate universal interface adapter
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 15:30
Arkisys plans to launch Applique, a universal interface adapter designed to connect any spacecraft payload, using a variety of common interface standards and protocols.
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Spaced Ventures petition for SpaceX shares hits $11.4 million
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 14:32
In a little over a week, the crowdfunding platform Spaced Ventures has obtained pledges of $11.4 million from 758 individuals eager to invest in SpaceX.
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Mars is littered with 15,694 pounds of human trash from 50 years of robotic exploration
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 14:27
People have been exploring the surface of Mars for over 50 years. According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, nations have sent 18 human-made objects to Mars over 14 separate missions. Many of these missions are still ongoing, but over the decades of Martian exploration, humankind has left behind many pieces of debris on the planet's surface.
I am a postdoctoral research fellow who studies ways to track Mars and Moon rovers. In mid-August 2022, NASA confirmed that the Mars rover Perseverance had spotted a piece of trash jettisoned during its landing, this time a tangled mess of netting. And this is not the first time scientists have found trash on Mars. That's because there is a lot there.
New Webb image captures clearest view of Neptune's rings in decades
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 14:02