Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2024
Collins Aerospace, a strategic subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies (RTX), recently achieved a significant milestone in the development of a next-generation spacesuit designed for the International Space Station (ISS), marking a pivotal advancement in extravehicular activity technology. This development underscores a concerted effort to enhance the operational capabilities and safety of astronaut

Menlo Park CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2024
LeoLabs, a pioneering company recognized for compiling the most extensive commercial catalog of objects in low Earth orbit (LEO), has recently announced a significant financial milestone, securing an additional $29 million in funding. This infusion of capital marks a pivotal moment for the firm, enabling it to enhance its AI-powered insights crucial for space operations. The company's inno

Longmont CO (SPX) Feb 13, 2024
In his youth, NASA technologist Les Johnson was riveted by the 1974 novel "The Mote in God's Eye," by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven, in which an alien spacecraft propelled by solar sails visits humanity. Today, Johnson and a NASA team are preparing to test a similar technology. NASA continues to unfurl plans for solar sail technology as a promising method of deep space transportation. Th

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2024
In a groundbreaking study that leverages the retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) data, scientists at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) have made a seminal discovery of water molecules on the surface of asteroids. This finding, derived from the examination of four silicate-rich asteroids with the FORCAST instrument, marks the first time such molecules have

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2024
In a groundbreaking development for the field of astrophysics and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), researchers from the SETI Institute, Berkeley SETI Research Center, and the University of Washington have introduced an innovative approach employing the SETI Ellipsoid technique. Utilizing data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission, this method enhances

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 09, 2024
Voyager Space and Palantir USG have announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and teaming agreement. This partnership is set to explore and enhance national security capabilities within the commercial space domain, marking a significant advancement in the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies in space exploration and security. The collaborat

Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 13, 2024
Two new miniature NASA satellites will start crisscrossing Earth's atmosphere in a few months, detecting heat lost to space. Their observations from the planet's most bone-chilling regions will help predict how our ice, seas, and weather will change in the face of global warming. About the size of a shoebox, the cube satellites, or CubeSats, comprise a mission called PREFIRE, short for Pol

Tokyo (AFP) Feb 13, 2024
Japan's space agency on Tuesday postponed the launch of its next-generation rocket planned for this week due to expected bad weather, after two previous attempts ended in failure. The H3 rocket had been scheduled to lift off on Thursday from the southern island of Tanegashima. Billed as a flexible and cost-effective new flagship, it was to carry two small satellites during the mission, i

Washington (AFP) Feb 13, 2024
A private Houston-based company is set this week to lead a mission to the Moon which, if successful, will mark America's first lunar landing since the end of the Apollo era five decades ago. Reputation will be on the line when Intuitive Machines' Nova-C spaceship will launch atop a SpaceX rocket on Wednesday, following recent completed touchdowns by China, India and Japan. So why entrus

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See how the Sun changed between February 2021 and October 2023. As the Sun approaches the maximum in its magnetic activity cycle, we see more brilliant explosions, dark sunspots, loops of plasma, and swirls of super-hot gas.

The Sun goes through a cycle of activity that lasts around 11 years. It is caused by the ‘solar dynamo’, the process that generates the Sun’s magnetic field. At the beginning of this cycle (the solar minimum) there is relatively little activity and few sunspots. Activity steadily increases until it peaks (the solar maximum) and then decreases again to a minimum.

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