Space embrace: Astronauts and robots work together to service the ISS
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 14:09
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A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, according to one of the three laws of robotics imagined by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. On board humanity's only outpost in space, this obedience has turned into cooperation. Astronauts and robots are working together.
The latest robot to service the International Space Station is the European Robotic Arm (ERA). This android automaton is much like a human arm. It has an elbow, shoulders and even wrists, and it the first robot able to 'walk' around the Russian part of the Space Station.
The arm will be launched into space together with the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, called "Nauka," from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, on 15 July 2021.
ESA astronaut André Kuipers is seen in this picture during his first space mission in 2004, with a scale model of the European Robotic Arm. The real thing has a length of over 11 m, and has the ability to anchor itself to the Station in multiple locations, moving backwards and forwards with a large range of motion.
"I am happy to see the European Robotic Arm fly next month.
Spacewalking astronauts boosting station's solar power
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 14:02 Write a comment
Astronauts ventured out on a spacewalk Wednesday to outfit the International Space Station with powerful, new solar panels to handle the growing electrical demands from upcoming visitors.
It's the first of a series of spacewalks to equip the aging orbital outpost with smaller but stronger solar wings.
Spacesuit problems prevent astronauts from completing job (Update)
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 14:02 Write a comment
Astronauts ventured out on a spacewalk Wednesday to outfit the International Space Station with powerful, new solar panels to handle the growing electrical demands from upcoming visitors.
It's the first of a series of spacewalks to equip the aging orbital outpost with smaller but stronger solar wings.
China, Russia reveal roadmap for international moon base
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 13:47 Write a comment
HELSINKI — Russia and China unveiled a roadmap for a joint International Lunar Research Station Wednesday to guide collaboration and development of the project.
Register for Φ-week 2021
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 13:18 Write a comment
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Why is everyone so obsessed with going to Mars? Here are some other worlds ripe for exploration
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 12:20 Write a comment
Last month, China successfully landed and deployed the Zhurong rover on Mars, becoming the second country ever to set wheels on the surface of the red planet.
Last year the United States, the United Arab Emirates and China all launched missions to Mars, taking advantage of the relatively short journey time offered by the two planets' unusually close proximity.
Why are planetary scientists so obsessed with Mars? Why spend so much time and money on this one planet when there are at least seven others in our solar system, more than 200 moons, countless asteroids, and much more besides?
Fortunately, we are going to other worlds, and there are lots of missions to very exciting places in our solar system—worlds bursting with exotic features such as ice volcanoes, rings of icy debris, and huge magnetic fields.
There are currently 26 active spacecraft dotted around our solar system. Some are orbiting other planets and moons, some have landed on the surfaces of other worlds, and some have performed fly-bys to beam back images.
Phase Four announces new electric thrusters, subscription program
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 11:00 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Phase Four announced June 16 two new electric propulsion systems that offer performance and other improvements, along with a subscription service that offers those thrusters to customers at a discount.
The company, which raised a $26 million Series B round June 11, said it now offers a Block 2 version of its Maxwell thruster, available for deliveries starting in the first quarter of 2022.
Brazil joins Artemis Accords
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 10:53 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Brazil became the 12th nation to sign the Artemis Accords, the U.S.-led effort to establish norms of behavior for space exploration, June 15.
Marcos Pontes, Brazil’s minister of science, technology and innovation, and also the first Brazilian to go to space, signed the Artemis Accords in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.
NASA asteroid hunter mission moves into next phase of development
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 07:37 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — NASA has moved a space telescope designed to look for near Earth asteroids into the next phase of development, a move that, when combined with the agency’s budget proposal, gives advocates of the mission renewed optimism.
China to send 3 astronauts to space station
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 07:25 Write a comment
China will launch its seventh manned space mission on Thursday morning to deploy three astronauts to the core module of the nation's permanent space station, according to a project leader.
Ji Qiming, assistant to the director of the China Manned Space Agency, told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Inner Mongolia auton Minotaur I puts 3 payloads into space for NRO
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 07:25 Write a comment
NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia supported the launch of a Minotaur I rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad 0B on Wallops Island.
The rocket carried three national security payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space and Missile Systems Center's Launch Enterprise provided the launch services for this mission. The launch Next stop Jupiter as country's interplanetary ambitions grow
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 07:25 Write a comment
Barely a month after China landed its first rover on Mars, the country's scientists already have plans to explore Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar System.
Zhang Rongqiao, an official at the China National Space Administration and chief planner of the Tianwen 1 Mars mission, told reporters at a news conference at his administration's Beijing headquarters on Saturday that China will Debris from carrier rocket drop safely
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 07:25 Write a comment
A small proportion of debris from a Long March 7 carrier rocket fell back to waters in the southern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday afternoon, said the China Manned Space Agency.
According to analysis of tracking data, most of the debris burned out during the atmospheric re-entry that started around 4:49 pm, the agency said in a brief statement.
The rocket, the third in the Long March 7 ser NASA to Air Briefing, Spacewalks to Install New Station Solar Arrays
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 07:25 Write a comment
Expedition 65 astronauts will conduct two spacewalks - one Wednesday, June 16, and the other Sunday, June 20 - to install new solar arrays to help power the International Space Station. NASA will discuss the upcoming spacewalks during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, June 14. Live coverage of the news conference and spacewalks will air on NASA Television, the agency's website, and the NAS Brazil Signs Artemis Accords
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 07:25 Write a comment
Brazil is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords, affirming its commitment to ensuring sustainable space exploration that adheres to a common set of principles benefiting all of humanity.
Brazil Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Marcos Pontes signed the document during a ceremony June 15 in Brasilia that featured President Jair Bolsonaro, Minister of Foreign Affairs C