Washington DC (UPI) Mar 8, 2024
NASA said Friday the Europa Clipper Jupiter mission set to launch in October will carry profound messages from humanity as it gathers scientific data to determine if there are life-supporting conditions. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will be headed for Jupiter's moon, Europa. In addition to scientific instruments for experiments and data collection, it will include an engraving o

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Mar 11, 2024
Researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology have made significant strides in tracking non-cooperative space targets through maneuvering, unveiling a novel methodology that substantially boosts tracking accuracy. Their study, focusing on maneuvering trajectories, introduces a dual-model approach for real-time and precise tracking, marking a leap in space surveillance capabilities. Th

Washington DC (UPI) Mar 8, 2024
NASA will accept applications through April 2 for future Artemis astronauts who could go to the moon and beyond. The opening of the application period concurred with 10 new astronaut graduates completing an initial two years of training. The space agency said that to apply to become an astronaut, applicants must be U.S. citizens with two years of work in toward a doctoral after already

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 11, 2024
Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) has announced its selection by NASA for an Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract, boasting a ceiling value of $45 million. This contract is aligned with NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate's goals, which encompasses the Flight Opportunities program and the Small Spacecraft Technology program, pivotal arms in the agency's push for

Paris (AFP) Mar 10, 2024
False GPS signals that deceive on-board plane systems and complicate the work of airline pilots are surging near conflict zones, industry employees and officials told AFP. A ground collision alert sounds in the cockpit, for instance, even though the plane is flying at high altitude - a phenomenon affecting several regions and apparently of military origin. This includes the vicinity of

Beijing, China (SPX) Mar 11, 2024
In a study published in The Astrophysical Journal, researchers from the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences depicted a complete physical image of the anomalous heating in the upper atmosphere of the Sun - the solar corona and the solar chromosphere. The enigma of the corona's anomalous heating stands as one of the eight challenges in modern astronomy. Similarly, the ano

Baltimore MD (SPX) Mar 11, 2024
Sound waves thought to be from a 2014 meteor fireball north of Papua New Guinea were almost certainly vibrations from a truck rumbling along a nearby road, new Johns Hopkins University-led research shows. The findings raise doubts that materials pulled last year from the ocean are alien materials from that meteor, as was widely reported. "The signal changed directions over time, exactly ma

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Mar 11, 2024
China unveiled on Saturday the names of its manned lunar lander and new crew spaceship. According to a news release from the China Manned Space Agency, the lunar lander that will carry Chinese astronauts to the moon's surface is named Lanyue, or Embracing the Moon, which first appeared in a poem written by the late Chairman Mao Zedong in 1965. The word "Lanyue" symbolizes the Chinese

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 11, 2024
NASA is using a simple but effective technology called Laser Retroreflective Arrays (LRAs) to determine the locations of lunar landers more accurately. They will be attached to most of the landers from United States companies as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) initiative. LRAs are inexpensive, small, and lightweight, allowing future lunar orbiters or landers to locate them

Moffett Field CA (SPX) Mar 11, 2024
Things are heating up in the atmosphere, and NASA is helping space start-ups stay cool. NASA has decades of expertise in creating technology that protects spacecraft from the intense heat generated when entering an atmosphere. As emerging companies develop innovative ways to do business in space, they know where to turn - and the agency is responding by offering its know-how and the advanc