Wuhan, China (SPX) Sep 28, 2021
On 16 December 2020 the Chang'e-5 mission, China's first sample return mission to the Moon, successfully delivered to Earth nearly two kilograms of rocky fragments and dust from our celestial companion. Chang'e-5 landed on an area of the Moon not sampled by the NASA Apollo or the Soviet Luna missions nearly 50 years ago, and retrieved fragments of the youngest lunar rocks ever brought back for a

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 28, 2021
When Masten Space Systems was awarded a NASA contract to land scientific payloads on the Moon, the company chose to work with AdaCore's software development and verification tools for its XL-1 Lunar Lander spacecraft. Masten Space Systems will use the Ada and SPARK programming languages and AdaCore's GNAT Pro integrated development environment and SPARK Pro static analysis verification tools in

Orlando FL (UPI) Sep 28, 2021
Russia and the United States are ready to cross new frontiers for filming movies in space as a way to promote growing commercialization of orbital spaceflight and beyond. Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, plans to launch a Russian actress, film director and cosmonaut to the International Space Station early next month to produce the first full-length feature film shot in space, with a work

Kennedy Space Center FL (SPX) Sep 28, 2021
When astronauts journey to the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket beginning with the Artemis II mission, they will travel by more traditional ground transport as they head to the launch pad to board their spacecraft. NASA is seeking input from industry through a Request for Information on the opportunity for private companies to work with NASA and either

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Sep 28, 2021
At NASA, "CuPID" and "CUTE" aren't just Valentine's Day buzzwords - they're the names of two satellite missions launching this fall. The Cusp Plasma Imaging Detector, or CuPID, will study the boundaries of Earth's magnetic field, to see how energy from the Sun can break through our planet's magnetic shield. The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment, or CUTE, will train its telescope on planets

Zhuhai, China (XNA) Sep 28, 2021
A gravitational-wave research center under the China National Space Administration (CNSA) was inaugurated on Sunday in the city of Zhuhai, in Guangdong province. According to the CNSA, the gravitational-wave research center, located at the Zhuhai Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, will develop a series of experimental satellite platforms and payloads to promote China's space gravitational-w

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 28, 2021
Arkisys has unveiled its first generation orbital outpost spacecraft element, the Port Module Wedge, planned for its first use on its initial Space Outpost in low earth orbit, as well as subsequent future missions and destinations. Standing at approximately 1 meter tall and just over 1 meter wide, it is the core architectural component that defines the unique commercial-focused development

Washington DC (SPX) Sep 28, 2021
Ten university teams designed and built systems intended to harvest water frozen below the surface of the Moon and Mars. The teams put their prototypes to the test during the 2021 Moon to Mars Ice and Prospecting Challenge held September 23-25 at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Virginia. Taking top prize of $6,000 was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) team fro

Washington DC (UPI) Sep 27, 2021
Blue Origin plans to launch people into space for the second time from Texas on Oct. 12, carrying two businessmen and two others to be announced later. The NS-18 mission scheduled to lift off on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket at 9:30 a.m. EDT from the company's spaceport about 160 miles east of El Paso. The two named crew members are Chris Boshuizen, a former NASA engineer and

Washington DC (UPI) Sep 27, 2021
California-based Rocket Lab has won a contract for $24.35 million from the U.S. Space Force to develop an upper stage for the company's Neutron rocket system. The contract, announced Monday, cements the firm's commitment to becoming a launch provider for the nation's national security space program, according to a Rocket Lab news release. The contract is part of a $75 million res