Copernical Team
SwRI receives $2 million NASA grant to develop lunar-regolith-measuring instrument
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has been awarded a three-year, $2,041,000 grant from NASA's Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation (DALI) program to further develop a novel ground-penetrating radar instrument. The Synthetic Pulse Artemis Radar for Crustal Imaging (SPARCI, pronounced "sparky") instrument is designed to characterize the depth of the regolith and upper megaregolit Protect Earth instead of colonising Mars, Obama says
Humanity must preserve Earth before dreaming of colonising Mars because even nuclear war and unbridled climate change cannot make the red planet more liveable, Barack Obama said Wednesday.
Speaking at a renewable energy conference in the French capital Paris, the former US president mentioned Silicon Valley "tycoons, many of whom are building spaceships" that could take humans to Mars.
" NASA Allocates DALI Grants to Foster Lunar Science and Exploration Innovations
In a significant push to enhance lunar research and exploration, NASA has awarded Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation (DALI) grants to five leading scientists and engineers. These grants are a cornerstone of NASA's initiative to advance lunar science through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services and the Artemis campaign.
The announcement was made at the 55th Lunar and Plan Final Mission: Delta IV Heavy Rocket Set for Historic Launch with NROL-70 Payload
The Space Systems Command (SSC) of the U.S. Space Force, in partnership with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and United Launch Alliance (ULA), has announced the scheduled launch of the NROL-70 mission. This event, set for no earlier than March 28, will mark the final flight of the Delta IV Heavy rocket. The launch is planned from Space Launch Complex-37B at Cape Canaveral Space Force St China Advances on Reusable Rocket Technology with Launches Planned for 2025 and 2026
In a significant move towards sustainable space exploration, China is fast-tracking the development of two large reusable rockets, with diameters of 4 meters and 5 meters, slated for their first launches in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
This initiative by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation marks a pivotal response to the burgeoning demand within the commercial space sect SpaceX poised for third launch test of Starship megarocket
SpaceX plans on Thursday to attempt another launch of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket that is vital to NASA's plans for landing astronauts on the Moon later this decade - and Elon Musk's hopes of eventually colonizing Mars.
Two previous attempts have ended in spectacular explosions, though that's not necessarily a bad thing: the company has adopted a rapid trial-and-error approac From Munich to the Moon
The European mission control centre near Munich, Germany, is set to undergo a transformation into a Moon mission control centre, tasked with supporting operations for missions to a lunar space station, the lunar surface and beyond.
SpaceX's Starship-Super Heavy Cleared for Takeoff: FAA Grants Launch License
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has officially granted Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) the authorization to launch the Starship-Super Heavy vehicle. This permission, detailed in license number VOL23-129 Rev.2, allows for a series of launches from the SpaceX Boca Chica Launch Complex in Texas.
As of March 13, 2024, SpaceX is sanctioned to carry out both pre-flight gr Study brings scientists a step closer to successfully growing plants in space
New, highly stretchable sensors can monitor and transmit plant growth information without human intervention, report University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers in the journal Device.
The polymer sensors are resilient to humidity and temperature, can stretch over 400% while remaining attached to a plant as it grows and send a wireless signal to a remote monitoring location, said chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying Diao, who led the study with plant biology professor and department head Andrew Leakey.
SpaceX targets sunset launch from KSC using booster for record-tying 19th time
SpaceX is set to send up another batch of Starlink satellites targeting one minute before sunset from the Space Coast on Wednesday night using a first-stage booster for a record-tying 19th time.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of SpaceX's internet satellites is set to launch at the opening of a four-hour window that runs from 7:29-11:29 p.m. flying from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A. Backup opportunities are available during a four-hour window Thursday that opens at 7:04 p.m. With daylight saving time in play since last weekend, sunset hours have been pushed later. Sunset is set for 7:30 p.m.
Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron forecasts a 60% chance for good conditions with upper level wind shear a concern. That improves to 95% in the event of a one-day delay.
The first-stage booster could equal the total number of flights by two of SpaceX's other boosters, one of which, though, was destroyed when it toppled over at sea.
This booster's resume includes two human spaceflights, the Inspiration4 orbital mission flown by billionaire Jared Issacman and the first private spaceflight for Axiom Space on its Ax-1 mission to the International Space Station.
