Moffett Field CA (SPX) Jul 27, 2022
It faced the quicksand-like soil in the "sink tank," climbed the "tilt bed," and conquered boulders and craters. NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) prototype recently endured the most realistic tests to-date of its ability to drive through the most difficult terrain during its mission to the Moon's South Pole. Engineers tested the latest VIPER mobility engineeri

Washington (AFP) July 27, 2022
NASA plans to bring 30 Martian rock samples back to Earth in 2033, the agency said Wednesday - and is sending two small helicopters to help the mission. The Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars in February 2021, has so far collected 11 samples as part of its hunt for signatures of ancient life. But bringing them back for detailed lab study on Earth is proving to be a highly complex

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 27, 2022
We have come to the end of our detour to image the "Bolivar" butte and are starting back to the MSAR (Mount Sharp Ascent Route). This plan provides the last chance to image Bolivar from this vantage point, with the aim of characterizing, so Mastcam is taking one final large mosaic of the butte, before we move on and it is blocked from our sight. We cannot drive up the side of Bolivar (alth

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 28, 2022
Today's team planned a single-sol plan. Our greatest challenge was fitting in all the fantastic science observations and drive distance required during the ~3.5 hours of Mars time available before we need to communicate back to Earth for tomorrow's planning. Often during single-sol plans we include contact science where we use our arm instruments to take a close look at the structure and c

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 26, 2022
The Asteroid Mining Program (AMi) is a ten-year program that aims to unlock one of the largest sources of wealth in history, through profitable asteroid mining. We are committed to launch the first asteroid mining mission in 2027 targeting 1,000 kg of platinum worth around $34 million. However, the Recovery Capsule return capacity is up to 2,500 kg worth $85 million. Until 2031 we pl

East Lansing MI (SPX) Jul 26, 2022
About three years ago, Wolfgang "Wolfi" Mittig and Yassid Ayyad went looking for the universe's missing mass, better known as dark matter, in the heart of an atom. Their expedition didn't lead them to dark matter, but they still found something that had never been seen before, something that defied explanation. Well, at least an explanation that everyone could agree on. "It's been so

In just a few months’ time Europe’s first Meteosat Third Generation satellite will soar into the skies on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. From geostationary orbit, this new satellite, carrying two new highly sensitive instruments, will take weather forecasting to the next level. Taking a significant step towards launch, the satellite operations teams at two different centres have completed an all-important suite of tests ensuring that their procedures are fully compatible with the satellite.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson released this statement Thursday following approval by the U.S. Congress for the NASA Authorization Act of 2022, which is part of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act of 2022.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on July 28 unveiled 12 appropriations draft bills for the upcoming fiscal year, including a defense spending bill recommending $792 billion for the Defense Department. 

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Northrop Grumman does not expect an ongoing antitrust review of its acquisition of Orbital ATK to have any “adverse impact” on the company, said CEO Kathy Warden.

The post Northrop Grumman dismisses speculation that its 2018 acquisition of Orbital ATK could be challenged appeared first on SpaceNews.