China narrows field for low-cost space station cargo missions
Wednesday, 27 September 2023 08:10
Likely asteroid debris found upon opening of returned NASA probe
Wednesday, 27 September 2023 06:39
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After a seven-year wait, NASA scientists on Tuesday finally pried open a space probe carrying the largest asteroid samples ever brought back to Earth, finding black debris.
Researchers "found black dust and debris on the avionics deck of the OSIRIS-REx science canister when the initial lid was removed today," the US space agency said, though without specifying whether they definitely belonged to the asteroid.
Scientists are eagerly awaiting researching the bulk of the sample, which will require "intricate disassembly" of the probe.
OSIRIS-REx launched in 2016, landing on the asteroid Bennu and collected roughly nine ounces (250 grams) of dust from its rocky surface.
Even that small amount, NASA has said, should "help us better understand the types of asteroids that could threaten Earth."
It ended its 3.86-billion-mile (6.21-billion-kilometer) journey after touching down in the desert in the western state of Utah on Sunday, following a high-stakes, fiery descent through Earth's atmosphere.
Space Force selects university partner to evaluate classified ground systems software
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 23:03
NASA offers choice of contract type for ISS deorbit vehicle
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 22:55
After setting new record for responsive launch, Space Force eyes next challenge
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 21:27
Listening to the radio on the far side of the moon
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 16:02 Write a comment
There are unexplored regions of the universe—and there are also unexplored times. In fact, there's a nearly 400-million-year gap in our universe's history that we've never seen: a time before stars known as the Dark Ages. To investigate that era, researchers want to pick up a particular radio signal that can't be measured from Earth.
The first step to listening for it is a pathfinder project known as the Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night, or LuSEE-Night. The experiment is slated to head to the moon in 2025, where it will test technology in the harsh lunar environment.
The project is a collaboration between NASA and the Department of Energy, with partners from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), Brookhaven National Laboratory (lead DOE lab), UC Berkeley, and the University of Minnesota.
The Race for More Space: The flawed logic behind making space a 17th Critical Infrastructure
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 15:21
Space Critical Infrastructure: Breaking the Binary Debate and a Call for Space Council Action
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 15:02
Andreas Mogensen becomes International Space Station commander
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 14:15 Write a comment
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ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen became commander of the International Space Station (ISS) on September 26, 2023, in a traditional ceremony in which the departing commander, Sergey Prokopyev, handed over the symbolic key of the Space Station. Mogensen is the sixth European to take on the role of ISS commander.
Mogensen will serve as commander for the rest of his Huginn mission until early 2024. During his command, he will be responsible for overseeing the crew's activities and ensuring the safety and operation of the Space Station.
Seeking Euclid's hidden stars: commissioning looks up
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 13:30
Shh! Quiet cables set to help reveal rare physics events
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46 Write a comment
Imagine trying to tune a radio to a single station but instead encountering static noise and interfering signals from your own equipment. That is the challenge facing research teams searching for evidence of extremely rare events that could help understand the origin and nature of matter in the universe. It turns out that when you are trying to tune into some of the universe's weakest signals, i Three Questions: The first asteroid sample returned to Earth
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46 Write a comment
On Sunday morning, a capsule the size of a mini-fridge dropped from the skies over western Utah, carrying a first-of-its-kind package: about 250 grams of dirt and dust plucked from the surface of an asteroid. As a candy-striped parachute billowed open to slow its freefall, the capsule plummeted down to the sand, slightly ahead of schedule.
The special delivery came courtesy of OSIRIS-REx How OSIRIS-REx is helping scientists study the sonic signature of meteoroids
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46 Write a comment
In the high desert of Nevada, Elizabeth Silber watched NASA's Sample Return Capsule from OSIRIS-REx descend into Earth's atmosphere on Sunday, but unlike most scientists, she wasn't there for the asteroid rocks.
Silber, a physicist at Sandia National Laboratories, is working with researchers from Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, TDA Research Curiosity the Cautious Rover: Sols 3957-3959
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46 Write a comment
Earth planning day: Friday, September 22, 2023: When I opened the workspace imagery this morning, I was happy to see some nice big rock outcrops in reach of the rover and started to pick some nice targets for contact science with APXS, before realizing that one of the rear wheels is perched on a rock. Sure enough, the drive had cut short when the rover detected it had driven over an unexpectedly