Zenno and D-to develop superconducting electromagnets
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46New Zealand headquartered space-flight systems company Zenno Astronautics (Zenno), a developer of world-first superconducting electromagnets for space applications, and D-Orbit, a company leader in the space logistics industry, have formed a special commercial partnership to collaborate on the development of new space products and services. The initial project will see Zenno and D-Orbit co
Did life exist on Mars? Other planets? With AI's help, we may know soon
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46Scientists have discovered a simple and reliable test for signs of past or present life on other planets - "the holy grail of astrobiology." In the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a seven-member team, funded by the John Templeton Foundation and led by Jim Cleaves and Robert Hazen of the Carnegie Institution for Science, reports that, with 90% accuracy, their artifi
Historic NASA wind tunnel testing Mars Ascent Vehicle
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46The MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) team recently completed wind tunnel testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in a facility that has been a critical part of NASA missions going all the way back to the Apollo program. The same facility that provided valuable testing for NASA missions to low-Earth orbit and the Moon is now helping the agency prepare to launch the first rocket from Mars. T
All engines added to NASA's Artemis II core stage
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46Teams at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have structurally joined all four RS-25 engines onto the core stage for NASA's Artemis II Moon rocket. The flight test is the agency's first crewed mission under Artemis. Technicians added the first engine to NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage Sept. 11. Teams installed the second engine onto the stage Sept. 15 with th
Astronomers find an abundance of Milky Way-like Galaxies in early Universe
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46Galaxies from the early Universe are more like our own Milky Way than previously thought, flipping the entire narrative of how scientists think about structure formation in the Universe, according to new research published this week, Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of researchers including those at The University of Manchester and University of Victoria i
China capable of protecting astronauts from effects of space weightlessness
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46China has the capability to protect astronauts from the effects of a weightless environment for 180 days in space, according to a forum on aerospace medicine that kicked off Thursday in Beijing. The progress in this area has provided theoretical support and a technical platform for research in cardiovascular health, musculoskeletal systems, neurodegenerative diseases, human aging and drug
Terran Orbital Announces Closing of $32.5 Million Public Offering
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) ("Terran Orbital" or the "Company"), a global leader in satellite-based solutions primarily serving the aerospace and defense industries, has announced the closing of its previously announced public offering of 23,214,290 shares of its common stock (or common stock equivalents in lieu thereof) and warrants to purchase up to 23,214,290 shares of common stoc
Curiosity Needs an Altitude Adjustment: Sols 3955-3956
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46Earth planning date: Wednesday, September 20, 2023: Curiosity speeds towards an exciting new region, specifically close to an area that, from orbit, has visible light and dark banding. Our hope is that within a few more drives we may find a new target for Curiosity to drill. In preparation for an exciting new campaign of drilling, the team will be performing contact science on nearby bedro
"Sombrero Rock": A Case of Case-Hardening?
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:46Mars never fails to provide us with interestingly-shaped rocks, and recent observations have been no exception. The rock seen in this sol 907 Mastcam-Z image has captured the hearts and minds of our science team: our hearts for its sombrero-like shape, and our minds for the potential science implications behind it. "Sombrero rock" (officially named Middle Mountain) was found along our jour
Boeing’s Quantum Leap: Satellites in Record Time, Boosting National Security and Commercial Connectivity
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 10:00NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe passes system integration review
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 08:59The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) marked the completion of an important step on the path to spacecraft assembly, test, and launch operations in late September 2023 at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland.
The IMAP team met with a review panel to evaluate the plan for integrating all systems onto the spacecraft, such as the scientific instrumentation, electrical and communication systems, and navigation systems.
Successful completion of this System Integration Review (SIR) means that the project can proceed with assembling and testing the spacecraft in preparation for launch. This process is a bit like a carefully choreographed dance where the instruments and support systems are delivered to different facilities, tested together in chambers in Los Alamos, New Mexico; San Antonio, Texas; and Princeton, New Jersey; and shipped back to be integrated and tested again altogether.
Historic wind tunnel facility testing NASA's Mars ascent vehicle rocket
Monday, 25 September 2023 19:47The MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) team recently completed wind tunnel testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in a facility that has been a critical part of NASA missions going all the way back to the Apollo program.