Copernical Team
BioNutrients-3 yields fresh kefir in lunar analog mission
Write a comment
To sustain astronauts on extended space voyages, Ames Research Center's Space Biosciences Division has engineered a microbially-based food system under the BioNutrients initiative. This innovative approach leverages genetic engineering to produce vital nutrients and medicinal compounds using minimal resources. It involves the use of dried microbes and food-grade media stored in compact bioreacto Citizen science project classifying gamma-ray bursts
Write a comment
When faraway stars explode, they send out flashes of energy called gamma-ray bursts that are bright enough that telescopes back on Earth can detect them. Studying these pulses, which can also come from mergers of some exotic astronomical objects such as black holes and neutron stars, can help astronomers like me understand the history of the universe.
Space telescopes detect on average one gamma-ray burst per day, adding to thousands of bursts detected throughout the years, and a community of volunteers are making research into these bursts possible.
On Nov. 20, 2004, NASA launched the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, also known as Swift. Swift is a multiwavelength space telescope that scientists are using to find out more about these mysterious gamma-ray flashes from the universe.
Gamma-ray bursts usually last for only a very short time, from a few seconds to a few minutes, and the majority of their emission is in the form of gamma rays, which are part of the light spectrum that our eyes cannot see.
NASA's VIPER moon rover gets its head and neck
Write a comment
In this image from Feb. 12, 2024, engineers lift a mast into place on NASA's VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) robotic moon rover. VIPER's mast and the suite of instruments affixed to it look a lot like the rover's "neck" and "head." The mast instruments are designed to help the team of rover drivers and real-time scientists send commands and receive data while the rover navigates around hazardous crater slopes, boulders, and places that risk communications blackouts.
The team will use these instruments, along with four science payloads, to scout the lunar south pole. During its approximately 100-day mission, VIPER seeks to better understand the origin of water and other resources on the moon, as well as the extreme environment where NASA plans to send astronauts as part of the Artemis campaign.
Provided by NASA
Space exploration: A luxury or a necessity?
Write a comment
"Oh, come on Daniel, space travel is so expensive, and pointless!" These were the words of my friend Max, during a Christmas party where I was discussing my thesis project: studying places on Earth where the living conditions are so extreme, they could hold lessons for future space missions.
Ariane 6 launches: Robusta-3A for weather and radiation
Ariane 6 launches: is it a plane? Aircraft spotting with ISTSat
NASA is seeking a faster, cheaper way to bring Mars samples to Earth
Write a comment
![NASA is seeking a faster, cheaper way to bring Mars samples to Earth](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2024/nasa-is-seeking-a-fast.jpg "This photo provided by NASA shows the Perseverance Mars rover collecting a sample from a rock called "Bunsen Peak" using a coring bit on the end of its robotic arm on March 11, 2024. NASA has put the effort to bring the samples to Earth on hold until there is a faster, cheaper way. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU via AP")
NASA's plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth is on hold until there's a faster, cheaper way, space agency officials said Monday.
NASA confirms mystery object that crashed through roof of Florida home came from space station
Write a comment
NASA confirmed Monday that a mystery object that crashed through the roof of a Florida home last month was a chunk of space junk from equipment discarded at the International Space Station.
Supporting the future of Mars exploration with supercomputers
Write a comment
You may have flown a flight simulator in a computer game or at a science museum. Landing without crashing is always the hardest part. But that's nothing compared to the challenge that engineers are facing to develop a flight simulation of the very large vehicles necessary for humans to explore the surface of Mars. The Red Planet poses innumerable challenges to astronauts, not the least of which is getting there.
EarthCARE out of the box
Write a comment
After being packed up in Germany, a long voyage to the US and then a month in storage, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has been carefully lifted out of its transport container so that the team at the launch site can start getting it ready for its big day in May.
