Hibernating astronauts could be the best way to save mission costs, reduce the size of spacecraft by a third and keep crew healthy on their way to Mars. An ESA-led investigation suggests that human hibernation goes beyond the realm of science-fiction and may become a game-changing technique for space travel.

Moscow, Russia (SPX) Jan 26, 2022
The origin of water on our planet is a hot question: Water has immense implications for plate tectonics, climate, the origin of life on Earth, and potential habitability of other Earth-like planets. In a recent study in Physical Review Letters, a Skoltech professor and his Chinese colleagues suggest a chemical compound that - although now extinct - could have preserved water deep underground in

Milan, Italy (SPX) Jan 20, 2022
A research group at the Politecnico di Milano analysed the orientation of ancient Japanese tombs - the so-called Kofun. This study has never been carried out before, due to the very large number of monuments and the fact that access to these areas is usually forbidden. For these reasons, high-res satellite imagery was used. The results show that these tombs are oriented towards the arc of

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 20, 2022
A powerful volcanic eruption has obliterated a small, uninhabited South Pacific island known as Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai. Damage assessments are still ongoing, but preliminary reports indicate that some communities in the island nation of Tonga have been severely damaged by volcanic ash and significant tsunami waves. The volcano had sporadically erupted multiple times since 2009. The most

Tsukuba, Japan (SPX) Jan 19, 2022
It's been becoming more and more clear that global warming means more than just warmer temperatures. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more intense in many different parts of the world, creating an urgent need to predict and prepare for these changes. In a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters, a research team led by the University of Tsukuba has reported

Xian (XNA) Jan 26, 2022
A health check on all 52 in-orbit satellites of China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has been completed, according to the Xi'an Satellite Control Center. The center said the satellites met all key indicators, meaning the constellation can provide services without issue. The evaluation was conducted without interrupting the satellites' usual navigation services, and develo

Beijing (XNA) Jan 21, 2022
China's high-resolution multi-mode imaging satellite has been officially put into use, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA) Thursday. The satellite was launched on July 3, 2020 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province. The summary review of its in-orbit test was completed on December 17, 2021. The test results show that the sate

Irvine CA (SPX) Jan 21, 2022
ICEYE US, a subsidiary of ICEYE, the global leader in persistent Earth monitoring with radar satellite imaging, announced that it has received a contract from the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). This contract enables ICEYE US to participate in the NRO's evaluation of commercial remote sensing companies operating synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. With a focus on modeling and

Los Alamos NM (SPX) Jan 28, 2022
For more than 60 years, scientists have sought to understand and control the process of fusion, a quest to harness the vast amounts of energy released when nuclei in fuel come together. A paper published in the journal Nature describes recent experiments that have achieved a burning plasma state in fusion, helping steer fusion research closer than it has ever been to its ultimate goal: a self-su

Orlando FL (UPI) Jan 29, 2022
SpaceX scrubbed its launch of an Italian Earth-observation satellite, the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation 2, for the third day in a row Saturday. "Due to weather in Florida affecting pre-launch operations, now targeting Sunday, January 30 at 6:11 p.m. EST for launch of COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2 from SLC-40," the aerospace company tweeted. It's the third day in a row SpaceX ha