Scientists don spacesuits to explore Hawaiian lava tubes as if they were on Mars
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 11:18Imagine trying to pick up a pebble or scrape microbes off a cave wall in a bulky spacesuit with puffy gloves on, under a time constraint because you don't want to run out of oxygen. That's what the analog astronauts do daily at the HI-SEAS moonbase habitat in Hawaii as they prepare for future missions to the moon and Mars, says Michaela Musilova of the International MoonBase Alliance (IMA) and director of HI-SEAS, the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation.
Musilova will present the latest on her team's research on Hawaiian lava tubes, and the challenges of trying to do research in spacesuits, this week at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2021.
HI-SEAS is an analog lunar and Martian habitat and research station located high on the volcano Mauna Loa, on Hawaii's Big Island.
US, Israel expand cooperation to the space domain
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 10:34The U.S. Space Force hosted its first Space Engagement Talks (SET) with the Israeli Air Force during separate virtual sessions April 19-20. The talks brought together two nations with a shared interest in ensuring access to and peaceful use of outer space. "Dating back to 1948, America was the first country in the world to recognize modern Israel as a nation," said Lt. Gen. William L
Responsible Space Behavior for the New Space Era
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 10:34Humans have explored and exploited near-earth space for more than six decades. More recently, the past two decades have seen the start of a New Space Era, characterized by more spacefaring nations and companies and a growing risk of collisions and conflict. Yet the basic treaties and mechanisms that were crafted 50 years ago to govern space activities have only marginally changed. Th
Fooling fusion fuel: How to discipline unruly plasma
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 10:34The process designed to harvest on Earth the fusion energy that powers the sun and stars can sometimes be tricked. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics laboratory have derived and demonstrated a bit of slight-of-hand called "quasi-symmetry" that could accelerate the development of fusion energy as a safe, clean and virtually limitless source of power for
Spotting cows from space
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 10:34Cows don't seem to have a whole lot going on most of the time. They're raised to spend their days grazing in the field, raised for the purpose of providing milk or meat, or producing more cows. So when students in UC Santa Barbara ecologist Doug McCauley's lab found themselves staring intently at satellite image upon image of bovine herds at Point Reyes National Seashore, it was funny, in a "Far
Intuitive Machines’ first lunar lander mission slips to 2022
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 10:27WASHINGTON — The first lunar lander mission by Intuitive Machines, which had been scheduled for launch late this year, has been delayed to early 2022 by its launch provider, SpaceX.
Intuitive Machines had planned to launch its Nova-C lander on the IM-1 mission in the fourth quarter of this year on a SpaceX Falcon 9, carrying a combination of commercial and NASA payloads.
Forest measuring satellite passes tests with flying colours
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 08:53With challenges imposed by the Covid pandemic, engineers building and testing ESA’s Biomass satellite have had to come up with some clever working methods to keep on track whilst adhering to safety rules. The result is that the satellite structure is not only complete, but has also undergone a series of demanding tests to ensure it will withstand the rigours of liftoff – all bringing the launch of this extraordinary forest carbon mapping mission one step closer.
Setting sail for sustainable space
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 08:20Space is getting crowded. Old satellites, rocket bodies and fragments of both are leaving little space for new satellites to reside in that is free from debris.
The risk of collision with debris and even functioning satellites is increasing, especially in low-Earth orbit, putting many of Earth’s climate, ocean and land monitoring missions in harm’s way.
ESA is working alongside private business to clean up space by developing new missions and technologies that will remove debris from orbit. No space agency or business could solve the debris problem alone, but if it becomes
China to launch Heavenly Harmony space station core module
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 08:03Space debris: feel the burn
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 06:44It might be counter-intuitive, but designing satellites to better fall apart is one of the key strategies to combat space debris. Developed by ESA’s Clean Space initiative, the approach is called ‘Design for Demise’ and involves making sure that derelict satellites will break up and burn up fully as they reenter the atmosphere.
Hot and cold space radio testing
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 05:53Long March-6 launches nine commercial satellites
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 05:42China launched its Long March-6 rocket on Tuesday, sending nine commercial satellites into space. The rocket blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province at 11:20 a.m. (Beijing Time). This was the 366th flight mission of the Long March rocket series. The satellites, including Qilu-1 and Qilu-4, have entered their planned orbits and will
Scientists hope Interstellar Probe will reveal secrets of the heliosphere
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 05:42After almost four years of what NASA calls a "pragmatic concept study," scientists are ready to publicly present the agency's plan for a return to the edge of the solar system. In recent years, NASA has launched a number of missions aiming at studying the sun and its many mysterious phenomena. With a new proposed new mission, Scientists hope Interstellar Probe will reveal secrets of
Smart shirt takes a trip to space for science
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 05:42A technology-packed tank top offers a simple, effective way to track astronauts' vital signs and physiological changes during spaceflight, according to research being presented at the American Physiological Society annual meeting during the Experimental Biology (EB) 2021 meeting, held virtually April 27-30. By monitoring key health markers over long periods of time with one non-intrusive d
Fibertek to develop satellite-based charge management system for LISA Gravitational Wave Observatory
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 05:42Fibertek was awarded a four-year contract with the University of Florida to support NASA's Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) Charge Management Device (CMD) program. Under this contract Fibertek will continue our partnership with the University of Florida in designing and testing CMD spaceflight Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL-6) and engineering development units. LISA is an inter