Laurel, United States (AFP) Sept 26, 2022
NASA's DART mission to test deflecting an asteroid using "kinetic impact" with a spaceship is just one way to defend planet Earth from an approaching object - and for now, the only method possible with current technology. The operation is like playing billiards in space, using Newton's laws of motion to guide us. If an asteroid threat to Earth were real, a mission might need to be lau

Washington (AFP) Sept 26, 2022
NASA's Artemis 1 rocket - waiting to blast off on a delayed mission to the Moon - will be rolled back into its storage hangar Monday night, the space agency said, as Florida braces for Hurricane Ian. The move, to protect the rocket from strong winds and heavy rain forecast for the Kennedy Space Center, will cause further setbacks for the uncrewed Moon mission, which was scheduled to launch

Washington (AFP) Sept 26, 2022
NASA will on Monday attempt a feat humanity has never before accomplished: deliberately smacking a spacecraft into an asteroid to slightly deflect its orbit, in a key test of our ability to stop cosmic objects from devastating life on Earth. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spaceship launched from California last November and is fast approaching its target, which it will strike at

The Sun never stops shining in space, and sunlight is much more intense there than on Earth's surface. So what if we could gather that energy up in space then beam it down to Earth?

Recent studies funded by the Preparation element of ESA’s Basic Activities programme, show the concept, called Space-Based Solar Power, is theoretically workable and could support the path to decarbonising the energy sector. However, significant uncertainties and technical challenges remain. In response ESA is proposing a R&D programme to mature the concept and its critical technologies – SOLARIS.

Beijing (XNA) Sep 22, 2022
China's Mars rover Zhurong, currently in sleep mode, is expected to wake up automatically in December when its energy level hits over 140 watts and the temperature of components like the battery rise above minus 15 degrees Celsius, according to its research team. Jia Yang, deputy chief designer of the Tianwen-1 Mars mission from the China Academy of Space Technology, said Zhurong will resu

Adelaide, Australia (SPX) Sep 22, 2022
From the 'Saucepan' to the 'Southern Cross' star gazing is a popular pastime for many budding astronomers. But as Australia's cities continue to expand, finding a sky that's dark enough to see the stars is becoming more and more difficult, say UniSA astronomers. In search of dark skies - skies unaffected by unnatural light - a team of astronomy students will travel to the southern edge of

Vienna VA (SPX) Sep 22, 2022
Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR), has been awarded as part of Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Delivery Order 5 of the contract issued by the National Oceanographic and Oceanic Administration (NOAA), for commercially available space-based radio occultation (RO). The award, valued at $9.9 million, is the third multi-million dollar NOAA contract Spire has received in FY22.

Paris, France (SPX) Sep 21, 2022
Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), the leader in developing a commercially viable, space-based business park with variable gravity, has announced an agreement with CisLunar Industries to collaborate on providing metal-processing services on its Pioneer-classTM space station. OAC will provide on-orbit facilities to CisLunar Industries, and CisLunar Industries will provide metal processing as a s

Herndon VA (SPX) Sep 21, 2022
BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) has received a combined total of $13.8 million of orders to date within the first year of a five-year National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) contract to monitor global economic activity. "These awards underscore the growing demand for commercial real-time, AI-driven monitoring services that reveal economic activity at manufacturing hubs, major m