Iowa City IA (SPX) May 19, 2022
Physicists led by the University of Iowa have learned how a type of aurora on Mars is formed. In a new study, the physicists studied discrete aurora, a light-in-the-sky display that occurs mostly during the night in the red planet's southern hemisphere. While scientists have known about discrete aurora on Mars-which also occur on Earth-they did not know how they formed. That's because Mars does

Pasadena CA (JPL) May 19, 2022
On February 22, 2022, NASA's MAVEN spacecraft went into safe mode when the spacecraft's Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) began exhibiting anomalous behavior. The spacecraft is currently out of safe mode, stable and in Earth-nadir mode, pointing its high gain antenna toward Earth to facilitate high-rate communications. In this configuration, however, MAVEN cannot perform communications relays fo

London, UK (SPX) May 18, 2022
CAPTION ELEVATE will bring together development program, partner ecosystem, online marketplace to enable businesses around the world to harness industrial IoT success With more businesses recognising the impact of IoT technologies on their operations and on the world, and the number of global satellite IoT connections set to continue growing at a 25% CAGR [Source: Omdia] in the coming years, th

Edwards AFB CA (SPX) May 18, 2022
The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin have jointly conducted a hypersonic-boosted flight test of the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) from the service's B-52H Stratofortress. The successful flight demonstrates the weapon's ability to reach and withstand operational hypersonic speeds, collect crucial data for use in further flight tests, and validate safe separation from

Beijing (XNA) May 18, 2022
China's self-developed floating airship, designed for atmosphere observation, reached a record altitude of 9,032 meters in Tibet Autonomous Region on Sunday, according to its developer. Developed by the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the floating airship "Jimu No.1" type III has a volume of 9,060 cubic meters. The floating airship c

Washington DC (UPI) May 19, 2022
SpaceX launched 53 Starlink satellites into orbit Wednesday, while also successfully recovering its two-stage Falcon 9 rocket, the company announced. The company shared photos of the used Falcon 9 rocket taking off from its Florida launch pad and later setting down in the ocean aboard one of its autonomous drone ships. "Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off carrying our 53 Starlink sa

Munich, Germany (SPX) May 13, 2022
According to a new concept by LMU chemists led by Thomas Carell, it was a novel molecular species composed out of RNA and peptides that set in motion the evolution of life into more complex forms Investigating the question as to how life could emerge long ago on the early Earth is one of the most fascinating challenges for science. Which conditions must have prevailed for the basic buildin

Pasadena CA (JPL) May 19, 2022
The engineering team with NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is trying to solve a mystery: The interstellar explorer is operating normally, receiving and executing commands from Earth, along with gathering and returning science data. But readouts from the probe's attitude articulation and control system (AACS) don't reflect what's actually happening onboard. The AACS controls the 45-year-old spac

Pasadena CA (JPL) May 19, 2022
Despite the incredibly rough terrain surrounding Mirador butte, our nearly 10-year-old rover successfully drove a net distance forward ~10 meters and ~2 meters in elevation! To get a sense of what our Rover Planners try to avoid navigating this terrain, check out this Navcam image of our left front wheel at our parking spot. Not only did the Sol 3476 drive succeed, but placed us perfectly

Washington (AFP) May 18, 2022
After some four years probing Mars' interior, NASA's InSight lander will likely retire this summer as accumulated dust on its solar panels saps its power. The lander will, however, leave behind a legacy of data that will be tapped by scientists around the world for years to come, helping to improve our understanding of planet formation, NASA said, while announcing on Tuesday the imminent en