Study demonstrates lunar composition mapping capabilities of spectrograph instrument
Industry has more work ahead to make data analytics less dependent on human supervision
NRO begins journey toward commercial data program of record
The National Reconnaissance Office is preparing to survey commercial capabilities to provide various geospatial datasets as part of a long-term campaign to establish a new program of record.
NRO to tap commercial industry for space-based radar data
The director of the National Reconnaissance Office Christopher Scolese announced Oct. 7 the agency will start buying space radar imagery from commercial providers.
Taiwan’s TiSPACE to try again after launch attempt ends in flames
Launch startup Taiwan Innovative Space Inc.’s quest to field a commercial smallsat launcher suffered a setback last month when a suborbital prototype of a planned orbital rocket caught fire during liftoff.
Intelligence agencies seek resilient and reliable commercial tools
U.S. intelligence agencies are eager to adopt cutting-edge commercial tools and technologies, but need confidence in the security of the data delivered, Stacey Dixon, U.S. principal deputy director of national intelligence, said Oct. 6 at the GEOINT 2021 Symposium here.
Less restrictive 'bioburden' rules would make some Mars missions simpler
Samples returned by Chang'e-5 reveal key age of moon rocks
A lunar probe launched by the Chinese space agency recently brought back the first fresh samples of rock and debris from the moon in more than 40 years. Now an international team of scientists—including an expert from Washington University in St. Louis—has determined the age of these moon rocks at close to 1.97 billion years old.
"It is the perfect sample to close a 2-billion-year gap," said Brad Jolliff, the Scott Rudolph Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences and director of the university's McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences. Jolliff is a U.S.-based co-author of an analysis of the new moon rocks led by the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, published Oct. 7 in the journal Science.
The age determination is among the first scientific results reported from the successful Chang'e-5 mission, which was designed to collect and return to Earth rocks from some of the youngest volcanic surfaces on the moon.
Maxar still confident Legion constellation will be in orbit in 2022
Maxar remains confident that it will launch all six of its next-generation WorldView Legion imaging satellites in 2022,
Galileo satellites arrive at Europe’s Spaceport
The latest pair of Galileo satellites have touched down at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, ahead of their launch together next month.
