Baltimore MD (SPX) Feb 17, 2022
One of the most exciting findings in planetary science in recent years is the discovery of interstellar objects passing through our solar system. So far, astronomers have confirmed only two of these interlopers from other star systems - 1I/'Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2018 - but many, many more are thought to exist. Scientists have had only limited ability to study these objects once disc

Providence RI (SPX) Feb 15, 2022
The asteroid 16 Psyche, which NASA intends to visit with a spacecraft in 2026, may be less heavy metal and more hard rock than scientists have surmised, according to a new study by researchers from Brown and Purdue universities. Psyche, which orbits the sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is the largest of the M-type asteroids, which are composed chiefly of iron and nickel a

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 15, 2022
In time for Valentine's Day, NASA's Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer which launched Dec. 9, 2021, has delivered its first imaging data since completing its month-long commissioning phase. All instruments are functioning well aboard the observatory, which is on a quest to study some of the most mysterious and extreme objects in the universe. IXPE first focused its X-ray eyes on Cassiopeia

Washington DC (SPX) Feb 17, 2022
JILA physicists have measured Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, or more specifically, the effect called time dilation, at the smallest scale ever, showing that two tiny atomic clocks, separated by just a millimeter or the width of a sharp pencil tip, tick at different rates. The experiments, described in the Feb. 17 issue of Nature, suggest how to make atomic clocks 50 times

Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 15, 2022
When NASA's Perseverance Mars rover tried to collect its first rock core sample last August, the outcome presented a puzzle for the mission team: The rover's sample tube came up empty. But why? Not long after, Perseverance successfully gathered a sample the size of a piece of chalk from a different rock. The team concluded that the first rock they had chosen was so crumbly that the rover's

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 17, 2022
Curiosity is advancing westward through a largely boulder-strewn channel that is leading us toward the Greenheugh Pediment. The Pediment is where our rover will spend the next many months, as we turn back uphill to the south and continue our ascent up Mt. Sharp. Despite it being quite craggy in our current location, we did have to drive over a large sand patch to get to our current parking locat

Cocoa FL (SPX) Feb 17, 2022
Vaya Space announced the successful launch of its hybrid rocket from Mojave, California on January 29th, 2022 operating under an existing FAA waiver. The suborbital flight demonstrated its hybrid rocket design using 3D printed fuel grains created from recycled thermoplastics. This launch paves the way for rapid acceleration of Vaya Space's go-to-market strategy as the Company scales for producti

Haverhill MA (SPX) Feb 16, 2022
EPC Space has announced that Digi-Key Electronics will be a global distributor for EPC Space's line of radiation hardened (rad hard) GaN-on-silicon transistors and ICs, packaged, tested, and qualified for satellite and high-reliability applications. Spanning a range of 40 V to 300 V, EPC Space offers a family of rad hard enhancement mode power transistors. These power transistors demonstra

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 15, 2022
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. has reaffirmed its strong foundation for substantial value creation following the termination of its merger agreement with Lockheed Martin Corporation. The Company issued the following statement: We are poised to deliver substantial value to our shareholders driven by our continued leadership in key space exploration and defense growth markets, including b

Philadelphia PA (SPX) Feb 17, 2022
Astronomers have been waiting decades for the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, which promises to peer farther into space than ever before. But if humans want to actually reach our nearest stellar neighbor, they will need to wait quite a bit longer: a probe sent to Alpha Centauri with a rocket would need roughly 80,000 years to make the trip. Igor Bargatin, Associate Professor in t