GMV advances Lunar rover navigation with FASTNAV project
Tuesday, 30 July 2024 10:54
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The Multi-Range Navigation for Fast Moon Rovers project, known as FASTNAV, is spearheading the development of advanced navigation solutions for the next generation of lunar exploration rovers. This initiative, led by GMV's UK branch and supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) under the General Technology Support Programme (GSTP), aims to enhance rover capabilities for longer distances and h Lunar soil sample from Chang'e-5 showcased in Bangkok
Tuesday, 30 July 2024 10:54 Write a comment
A rare lunar soil sample from China's Chang'e-5 mission drew large crowds in Bangkok.
In collaboration with the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) and the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the lunar sample was a key feature at the Sci Power for Future Thailand Fair, which concluded on Sunday.
Displayed in a rotating crystal sphere, the 75-milligram Enhanced communication for Lunar Gateway through electric field testing
Tuesday, 30 July 2024 10:54 Write a comment
Engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center have initiated electric field testing on communications hardware designed for the Gateway, the pioneering space station set to orbit the Moon.
Gateway will serve as an orbiting lab for deep space science and as a staging point for lunar exploration. This project will enable NASA and its international partners to maintain a human presence on and arou UAH study sheds light on mystery of why the solar corona is super hot
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In a new study published in the The Astrophysical Journal, a researcher from The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System, explores critical aspects of a phenomenon called kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) to provide fresh insights into an age-old heliophysics mystery. Syed Ayaz, a graduate research assistant at the UAH Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Florida universities collaborate to advance space manufacturing sector
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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has joined forces with the University of Florida, Florida A and M University, and Florida Institute of Technology to form the Center for Science, or C-STARS. This new multi-site organization aims to propel the development of innovative medicines, electronics, and bioenergy systems in space, situated in the heart of Florida's thriving space sector. The Nationa Using AI to capture the invisible in dark matter detection
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In the underground tunnel of the world's largest particle collider, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), beams of protons collide at nearly the speed of light, creating conditions reminiscent of the Big Bang. These collisions, occurring 350 feet beneath the France-Switzerland border, produce subatomic debris that could hold clues to the universe's "missing matter."
Duke University physicist As NASA proceeding with August launch of Crew-9
Tuesday, 30 July 2024 10:32
ULA’s Atlas 5 launches its final national security mission
Tuesday, 30 July 2024 09:57
Boeing says Starliner hot fire test on ISS went well with return date decision coming up
Tuesday, 30 July 2024 09:21 Write a comment
As Boeing's Starliner nears two months in space, teams performed a hot fire test of thruster performance and helium leaks on the spacecraft over the weekend to help inform the decision of when the spacecraft will come home and if its two NASA astronaut passengers will be coming with it.
Boeing announced in a press release the test of the Starliner's Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters was performed Saturday afternoon while it was docked to the International Space Station. Teams with NASA and Boeing also monitored the helium system for the Crew Flight Test mission.
"Both teams were very happy with the results," said NASA's Starliner flight director Chloe Mehring in the press release.
The spacecraft arrived at the ISS on June 6 one day after launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board.
Dubbed the Crew Flight Test mission, the astronauts are amid the first crewed flight of the spacecraft as part of Boeing's efforts to have it certified for use alongside SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
British financial advisor Citicourt & Co plots space venture capital fund
Monday, 29 July 2024 19:36
NASA, JAXA bounce laser beam between moon's surface and lunar orbit
Monday, 29 July 2024 16:20 Write a comment
NASA's LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) has twice transmitted a laser pulse to a cookie-sized retroreflector aboard JAXA's (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) SLIM lander on the moon and received a return signal.
As LRO passed 44 miles above SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) during two successive orbits on May 24, 2024, it pinged the lander with its laser altimeter instrument as it had done eight times before. But, on these two attempts, the signal bounced back to LRO's detector.
This was an important accomplishment for NASA because the device is not in an optimal position. Retroreflectors are typically secured to the top of landers, giving LRO a 120-degree range of angles to aim toward when sending laser pulses to the approximate location of a retroreflector.
What could a future sovereign Mars economy look like?
Monday, 29 July 2024 12:11 Write a comment
What would the economy of a future Mars society look like, and how could it be self-sustaining while being completely sovereign from Earth and its own economy? This is what a recent study submitted to Space Policy hopes to address as a sole researcher discusses a model that could be used for establishing economic freedom on Mars, enabling both monetary and political stability across all Red Planets settlements.
This study, posted on the arXiv preprint server, holds the potential to help scientists, economists, and world leaders better understand plausible governmental systems used by human settlers on other worlds while maintaining sovereignty from Earth and its own governmental law and order.
Here, Universe Today discusses this incredible study with Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra, who is the Director and a Senior Research Investigator of Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (BMSIS) and sole author of the study, regarding the motivation behind the study, significant ideas presented in the study, the importance of establishing a sovereign economic system on Mars, eliminating capital exchange between Mars and Earth, how Mars can become a sovereign entity from Earth after humans settle there, and how an economic system can be established on a sovereign Mars.
SpaceX returns to flight with Falcon 9 launch from Kennedy Space Center
Monday, 29 July 2024 12:00 Write a comment
After more than two weeks grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration, SpaceX returned to launching its workhorse Falcon 9 lifting off early July 27 from Kennedy Space Center.
The rocket took off at 1:45 a.m. carrying 23 of the company's Starlink internet satellites from KSC's Launch Pad 39-A.
The first-stage booster made its 17th trip to space and managed another recovery landing on the droneship Just Read the Instructions stationed downrange in the Atlantic.
It was the 51st launch from the Space Coast for the year, with all but three coming from SpaceX. Including California, it was the 71st operational mission for SpaceX, not including two test launches of its Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Texas.
The company's frenetic launch pace this year was ground to a halt by the FAA after a July 11 launch from California ended in a failure of the Falcon 9's upper stage.
The failure was due to liquid oxygen leak that caused its second stage engine to ice over in between its initial burn and a planned second burn to raise its orbit before deploying its payload.