Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 12, 2024
An experimental antenna has received both radio frequency and near-infrared laser signals from NASA's Psyche spacecraft as it travels through deep space. This shows it's possible for the giant dish antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), which communicate with spacecraft via radio waves, to be retrofitted for optical, or laser, communications. By packing more data into transmissions,

Huntsville AL (SPX) Feb 12, 2024
RWhen the second CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) delivery is launched to the Moon in mid-February, its NASA payloads will include an experiment that could change how human explorers, rovers, and spacecraft independently track their precise location on the Moon and in cis-lunar space. Demonstrating autonomous navigation, the Lunar Node-1 experiment, or LN-1, is a radio beacon desig

Boston MA (SPX) Feb 12, 2024
In the coming decades, NASA plans to send human crews back to the Moon, build a space station in lunar orbit, establish a permanent base on the lunar surface and - hopefully - send astronauts to Mars. What could possibly go wrong? No seriously, what could go wrong and how would we fix it? That is the question a group of researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering

Stuttgart, Germany (SPX) Feb 12, 2024
Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) is a very precise, laser-based method for determining the distance between a satellite and Earth with an accuracy of a few millimetres. SLR is primarily used in geodesy. This is because the precise measurement of satellite orbits helps to determine changes in Earth's structure and rotation. The SLR method also makes important contributions in the field of satellite

Hampton VA (SPX) Feb 12, 2024
Say cheese, Moon. We're coming in for a close-up. As Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander descends toward the Moon, four tiny NASA cameras will be trained on the lunar surface, collecting imagery of how the surface changes from interactions with the spacecraft's engine plume. Developed at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCAL

Paris (ESA) Feb 12, 2024
It's a scenario made famous by the 1998 film 'Armageddon': an asteroid is spotted on a collision course with Earth, and experts scramble to plan a space mission to rendezvous with the asteroid and mitigate the danger. It's classic science fiction, but did you know there is a very real group responsible for recommending such a response in real life? And it celebrates its tenth birthday this week.

Vienna. Austria (SPX) Feb 12, 2024
Space exploration is a venture filled with complexities and risks, necessitating meticulous preparation and a deep understanding of the myriad challenges that come with living in space. At the forefront of these challenges is the health of astronauts, subjected to extreme conditions like microgravity, ionizing radiation, and significant environmental shifts. Emerging as a critical field of study

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 12, 2024
NASA's Juno spacecraft has once again set the bar high by delivering the closest and most detailed images of Jupiter's moon Io in over two decades. The spacecraft, which has been orbiting the largest planet in our solar system since 2011, made a historic approach to Io, coming within approximately 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of its volatile surface on December 30th, 2023. This remarkable feat w

Delft, Netherlands (SPX) Feb 09, 2024
In an essential upgrade to its power distribution network, the European Space Agency's (ESA) European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands has undertaken a significant infrastructure enhancement. Over four kilometers of heavy-duty 10 kilovolt (kV) cables have been installed beneath the site, marking a pivotal step in ensuring the robustness and reliability of power sup