Colorado Springs CO (AFNS) Aug 26, 2021
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall offered unambiguous support Aug. 24 for the still evolving U.S. Space Force, noting the critical role space plays in the nation's security, the essential functions space enables in everyday life, and why access must be assured as space becomes more congested and contested. "It is impossible to overstate the importance of space-based systems to natio

Lowell MA (SPX) Aug 27, 2021
It's all systems go for SPACE HAUC, a miniature satellite designed and built by UMass Lowell students for NASA, which plans to send it to the International Space Station on Saturday for launch into the Earth's orbit this fall. Funded by a $200,000 grant from the space agency, the satellite was designed, built and managed by more than 100 students from UMass Lowell's Francis College of Engi

London, UK (SPX) Aug 27, 2021
The joint funding call, which opens today from the UK Space Agency and Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), will facilitate and encourage collaboration between industry and academia, and support new entrants to the space sector. The 375,000 pounds Technology for Space Science fund will boost technology that will support the exploration of our universe through space-based astro

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 27, 2021
After successful completion of its final tests, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is being prepped for shipment to its launch site. Engineering teams have completed Webb's long-spanning comprehensive testing regimen at Northrop Grumman's facilities. Webb's many tests and checkpoints were designed to ensure that the world's most complex space science observatory will operate as designed onc

Cambridge UK (SPX) Aug 27, 2021
A new class of exoplanet very different to our own, but which could support life, has been identified by astronomers, which could greatly accelerate the search for life outside our Solar System. In the search for life elsewhere, astronomers have mostly looked for planets of a similar size, mass, temperature and atmospheric composition to Earth. However, astronomers from the University of C

Atlanta GA (SPX) Aug 27, 2021
Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is a natural laboratory to study the origins of life. Like Earth, Titan has a dense atmosphere and seasonal weather cycles, but the chemical and mineralogical makeup are significantly different. Now, earthbound researchers have recreated the moon's conditions in small glass cylinders, revealing fundamental properties of two organic molecules that are believed to exi

Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 27, 2021
In its search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars, NASA's Perseverance rover is once again preparing to collect the first of many rock core samples that could eventually be brought to Earth for further study. This week, a tool on the rover's 7-foot-long (2-meter-long) robotic arm will abrade the surface of a rock nicknamed "Rochette," allowing scientists to look inside and determin

Los Angeles AFB CA (SPX) Aug 26, 2021
SpaceWERX officially lifted off Aug. 19 during the virtual Space Force Pitch Day. The event closed with 19 small businesses securing Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contracts to advance their cutting-edge space technologies. The newly launched SpaceWERX will play a vital role in pursuing innovative technologies for the U.S. Space Force. It will operate as part of AFWERX, the De

Mountain View CA (SPX) Aug 27, 2021
Frontier Development Lab (FDL), in partnership with the SETI Institute, NASA and private sector partners including Google Cloud, are transforming space and Earth science through the application of industry-leading artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools. FDL tackles knowledge gaps in space science by pairing ML experts with researchers in physics, astronomy, astrobiolo

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 26, 2021
Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, launched the 17th mission of its New Shepard rocket Thursday morning from Texas with artwork and experiments for NASA and universities. The NS-17 mission lifted off at 10:31 a.m. EDT from the company's launch facility about 150 miles east of El Paso after nearly an hour delay due to an issue with one of the experiments on board, according to a Bl