How many satellites are orbiting Earth?
It seems like every week, another rocket is launched into space carrying rovers to Mars, tourists or, most commonly, satellites. The idea that "space is getting crowded" has been around for a few years now, but just how crowded is it? And how crowded is it going to get?
I am a professor of physics and director of the Center for Space Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Many satellites that were put into orbit have gone dead and burned up in the atmosphere, but thousands remain.
Demand growing for managing heat on increasingly intricate satellites
Increasingly capable satellites are driving demand for more complex thermal management solutions to keep them from overheating as they work harder, according to heat pipe manufacturer Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT).
Solar electric propulsion makes NASA's Psyche spacecraft go
When it comes time for NASA's Psyche spacecraft to power itself through deep space, it'll be more brain than brawn that does the work. Once the stuff of science fiction, the efficient and quiet power of electric propulsion will provide the force that propels the Psyche spacecraft all the way to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The orbiter's target: A metal-rich asteroid also called Psyche.
The spacecraft will launch in August 2022 and travel about 1.5 billion miles (2.4 billion kilometers) over three and a half years to get to the asteroid, which scientists believe may be part of the core of a planetesimal, the building block of an early rocky planet.
Space Force to brief industry on its future architecture for space-based missile warning
The Space Warfighting Analysis Center will brief industry representatives Oct. 27 on the results of its first “force design” study focused on space-based missile warning and missile tracking
Kendall: If China can’t beat the U.S. in the air it will try in space
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall in a keynote speech Sept. 20 warned that China’s rapid advances in nuclear and conventional weapons will challenge the United States both in the air and space domains.
NASA selects Moon site for ice-hunting rover
NASA on Monday announced it would land an ice-seeking rover on a region of the Moon's south pole called the Nobile Crater in 2023.
The space agency hopes the robot will confirm the presence of water ice just below the surface, which could one day be converted into rocket fuel for missions to Mars and deeper into the cosmos.
"Nobile Crater is an impact crater near the south pole that was born through a collision with another smaller celestial body," Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division told reporters.
It is one of the solar system's coldest regions, and has only so far been probed from afar using sensors such as those aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite.
NASA picks landing site for VIPER lunar rover
NASA has selected a crater near the south pole of the moon as the landing site for a robotic rover to search for water ice that could be a resource for future human expeditions.
Artemis rover to land near Nobile region of Lunar south pole
In 2023, NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will land near the western edge of the Nobile Crater at the Moon's South Pole to map and explore the region's surface and subsurface for water and other resources. Part of Artemis, VIPER will launch on a SpaceX Falcon-Heavy rocket for delivery to the Moon by Astrobotic's Griffin lander under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload
Discovery about meteorites informs atmospheric entry threat assessment
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign watched fragments of two meteors as they ramped up the heat from room temperature to the temperature it reaches as it enters Earth's atmosphere and made a significant discovery. The vaporized iron sulfide leaves behind voids, making the material more porous. This information will help when predicting the weight of a meteor, its likelihoo Small stature limits Mars' ability to hold water, study finds
For a planet to be habitable, it must be able to hold significant amounts of liquid water.
When considering a planet's potential habitability, scientists mostly look at a planet's atmosphere and its distance from its host star. But novel research out of Washington University in St. Louis suggests size matters, too.
According to the new study, published Monday in the journal PNAS, 
