MDA files to go public
WASHINGTON — Canadian space technology company MDA Ltd. filed paperwork March 22 for an initial public offering of stock, raising funding to pay down its debt and invest in new projects.
In a filing with Canadian securities regulators, MDA announced its intent to raise $500 million Canadian ($397 million U.S.
Image: Mont Mercou on Mars
Here are a few stunning views of the Curiosity Rover's current location, Mont Mercou in Gale Crater on Mars. This towering outcrop provides a great look at layered sedimentary rock structures. On Earth, it's common to find layered rock like the ones within this cliff face, especially where there were once lakes. The pancake-like layers of sediment are compressed and cemented to form a rock record of the planet's history.
This color image is from one of our favorite image editors, Kevin Gill. He assembled 202 raw images taken by MSL's MastCam between sols 3057 and 3061. You can see Kevin's full mosaic on Flickr.
Gale Crater was specifically chosen as the destination for the Curiosity rover from approximately original 60 candidate sites, because data from orbiting spacecraft determined that Mount Sharp—the big mountain in the middle of the crater—is created from dozens of layers of sedimentary rock, perhaps built over millions of years. These layers are telling the story of Mars' geological and climate history, and planetary geologists are having a field day with Mont Mercou.
And the cadre of image editing enthusiasts around the world have been taking advantage of this amazing rock formation, too.
Algorithms inspired by social networks reveal lifecycle of substorms, a key element of space weather
Space weather often manifests as substorms, where a beautiful auroral display such as the Northern Lights is accompanied by an electrical current in space which has effects at earth that can interfere with and damage power distribution and electrical systems. Now, the lifecycle of these auroral substorms has been revealed using social media-inspired mathematical tools to analyse space weather observations across the Earth's surface.
Analysis by researchers led by the University of Warwick has revealed that these substorms manifest as global-scale electrical current systems associated with the spectacular aurora, reaching across over a third of the globe at high latitudes.
New research which involves the University of Warwick, John Hopkins University—Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Bergen and Cranfield University, and published today in the journal Nature Communications processes data on disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field from over a hundred magnetometers in the Northern hemisphere using a new technique that enables them to find 'like-minded friends'.
Op-ed | The next space race
Lockheed Martin signs agreement with Omnispace to explore 5G in space
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin announced March 23 it has signed an agreement with Omnispace to share business and technical information on the deployment of 5G networking technology in space.
Virginia-based Omnispace is developing a hybrid space and ground network to provide 5G and internet of things services.
Can you still spell space without SPAC?
For Bessemer Venture Partners, March 1 was a red-letter day. Specifically, the letters S, P, A and C. In separate announcements only minutes apart on that Monday morning, two space companies that Bessemer had invested in, Rocket Lab and Spire, announced deals to go public through mergers with special-purpose acquisition corporations, or SPACs.
Sure, you can spell SPAC. But what is it?
The wave of deals involving special-purpose acquisition corporations (SPACs) has grabbed the space industry’s interest in the last few months. It’s also prompted more than a few people to ask: what, exactly, is a SPAC?
SPACs are an alternative way for companies to go public.
NASA Ingenuity Mars Helicopter prepares for first flight
NASA is targeting no earlier than April 8 for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to make the first attempt at powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. Before the 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) rotorcraft can attempt its first flight, however, both it and its team must meet a series of daunting milestones.
Ingenuity remains attached to the belly of NASA's Perseverance rover, which to Pandora Mission Would Expand NASA's Capabilities in Probing Alien Worlds
In the quest for habitable planets beyond our own, NASA is studying a mission concept called Pandora, which could eventually help decode the atmospheric mysteries of distant worlds in our galaxy. One of four low-cost astrophysics missions selected for further concept development under NASA's new Pioneers program, Pandora would study approximately 20 stars and exoplanets - planets outside of our Lockheed Martin and Omnispace explore space-based 5G Global Network
Omnispace and Lockheed Martin have entered into a strategic interest agreement to explore jointly developing 5G capability from space. The proposed global 5G standards-based non-terrestrial network (NTN) would offer commercial, enterprise and government devices ubiquitous communications worldwide. This type of network has the potential to redefine mobile communications, benefiting users requirin 
