Ottawa, Canada (SPX) Feb 01, 2021
Kongsberg Geospatial, developer of the TerraLens Geospatial SDK, uAvionix, creators of the PingStation Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) transponder, and Aireon, developers of a space-based ADS-B network announced that they will be demonstrating a horizonless air picture to help improve drone operations safety in an upcoming online seminar hosted by the Association for Unmanned

Boston MA (SPX) Feb 02, 2021
The Milky Way is surrounded by dozens of dwarf galaxies that are thought to be relics of the very first galaxies in the universe. Among the most primitive of these galactic fossils is Tucana II - an ultrafaint dwarf galaxy that is about 50 kiloparsecs, or 163,000 light years, from Earth. Now MIT astrophysicists have detected stars at the edge of Tucana II, in a configuration that is surpri

Mainz, Germany (SPX) Feb 02, 2021
Theoretical physicists of the PRISMA+ Cluster of Excellence at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz are working on a theory that goes beyond the Standard Model of particle physics and can answer questions where the Standard Model has to pass - for example, with respect to the hierarchies of the masses of elementary particles or the existence of dark matter. The central element of the theory

Nottingham UK (SPX) Feb 02, 2021
Scientists have revealed new insights into the behaviour of black holes with research that demonstrates how a phenomenon called backreaction can be simulated. The team from the University of Nottingham have used their simulation of a black hole, involving a specially designed water tank, for this latest research published in Physical Review Letters. This study is the first to demonstrate t

Washington DC (SPX) Feb 02, 2021
NASA has named appointees for senior agency positions. Bhavya Lal joins the agency as acting chief of staff, Phillip Thompson will serve as White House liaison, Alicia Brown will serve as associate administrator for the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Marc Etkind will serve as associate administrator for the agency's Office of Communications. In addition, Jackie McGuinne

Laurel MD (SPX) Feb 02, 2021
NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission to Mercury has been out of operation for nearly six years, but the data it collected keeps on giving, from revealing new insights about Venus' atmosphere to providing a new way to measure the length of time neutrons can survive on their own. Now, a recent study in Nature Communications shows the spacecr

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 02, 2021
The Martian moon Phobos orbits through a stream of charged atoms and molecules that flow off the Red Planet's atmosphere, new research shows. Many of these charged particles, or ions, of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and argon, have been escaping Mars for billions of years as the planet has been shedding its atmosphere. Some ions, scientists predict, have been smashing into the surface of Phob

Washington DC (UPI) Feb 1, 2021
NASA is prepared to pay $500,000 for a good idea to help feed astronauts on long-term space missions with something other than dried, packaged food from Earth. The space agency has set a July 30 deadline on its Deep Space Food Challenge, when it will choose a winning idea. The Canadian Space Agency launched a similar challenge with phased awards totaling $500,000 that will result in a g

Washington DC (UPI) Feb 1, 2021
Two NASA astronauts completed a major upgrade to the orbiting platform's power systems and other tasks during a spacewalk on Monday. The project began at 6:56 a.m. EST and lasted for five hours and 20 minutes. The expedition was the second spacewalk in five days for Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover. "You guys had a great day. You guys rocked it," astronaut Bob Hines said from gr

Las Cruces NM (SPX) Feb 02, 2021
Virgin Galactic has announced the date of its new flight window for a rocket-powered test flight of its SpaceShipTwo Unity. The flight window will open on February 13 with opportunities to fly throughout February, pending good weather conditions and technical readiness. The test flight will be crewed by two pilots and will carry research payloads as part of the NASA Flight Opportunities program.