Copernical Team
Could the surface of Phobos reveal secrets of the Martian past
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The Martian moon Phobos orbits through a stream of charged atoms and molecules that flow off the Red Planet's atmosphere, new research shows.
Many of these charged particles, or ions, of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and argon, have been escaping Mars for billions of years as the planet has been shedding its atmosphere. Some ions, scientists predict, have been smashing into the surface of Phob NASA will pay $500,000 for good ideas on food production in space
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NASA is prepared to pay $500,000 for a good idea to help feed astronauts on long-term space missions with something other than dried, packaged food from Earth.
The space agency has set a July 30 deadline on its Deep Space Food Challenge, when it will choose a winning idea. The Canadian Space Agency launched a similar challenge with phased awards totaling $500,000 that will result in a g NASA completes spacewalk to finish power system upgrades
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Two NASA astronauts completed a major upgrade to the orbiting platform's power systems and other tasks during a spacewalk on Monday.
The project began at 6:56 a.m. EST and lasted for five hours and 20 minutes. The expedition was the second spacewalk in five days for Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover.
"You guys had a great day. You guys rocked it," astronaut Bob Hines said from gr Virgin Galactic flight test program update
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Virgin Galactic has announced the date of its new flight window for a rocket-powered test flight of its SpaceShipTwo Unity. The flight window will open on February 13 with opportunities to fly throughout February, pending good weather conditions and technical readiness. The test flight will be crewed by two pilots and will carry research payloads as part of the NASA Flight Opportunities program. Businessman plans first all-civilian SpaceX flight to benefit St. Jude's hospital
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SpaceX announced plans on Monday for the first all-civilian mission to space in late 2021 - a days long orbit of the Earth, to be led by finance company executive and pilot Jared Isaacman.
Isaacman has purchased a four-person mission in the SpaceX Dragon capsule Resilience to launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. He expects a mission duration ranging from two to four days. Space tourism: new test flight planned for Virgin Galactic
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Space tourism company Virgin Galactic said Monday it planned a new test flight for its SpaceShipTwo craft this month after an aborted test in early December.
"The flight window will open on February 13 with opportunities to fly throughout February, pending good weather conditions and technical readiness," Richard Branson's company said.
"Pre-flight preparations are already underway at Spaceport America, New Mexico."
It added the flight would test remedial work completed since the December test when the onboard computer halted ignition of the rocket motor.
SpaceShipTwo had been expected to take its first passengers into space later this year.
So far, 600 people who have paid up to $250,000—Virgin Galactic calls them "future astronauts"—have been waiting for years to take their seat.
SpaceShipTwo's development was delayed by a devastating crash of the first one in 2014 due to a pilot error.
When fully functional, the spacecraft will be taken up by a special plane and released at high altitude.
US billionaire buys SpaceX flight to orbit with 3 others
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Apes, robots and men: The life and death of the first space chimp
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On January 31, 1961, an intrepid chimpanzee called Ham was launched on a rocket from Cape Canaveral in the United States, and returned to Earth alive. In this process, he became the first hominin in space.
In the 1950s, it was unclear whether humans could survive outside Earth—both physically and mentally. The science fiction writer and warfare expert Cordwainer Smith wrote about the psychological pain of being in space.
Plants, insects and animals had been taken to high altitudes in balloons and rockets since the 18th century. The Soviet Union sent the dog Laika into orbit on Sputnik 2 in 1957. She died, but from overheating rather than the effects of space travel itself.
While the USSR focused on dogs, the US turned to chimpanzees as they were the most like humans. The stakes became higher when US President John F. Kennedy promised to land humans on the Moon by the end of the 1960s.
Biography of a non-human astronaut
Ham was born in 1957 in a rainforest in the Central African nation of Cameroon, then a French territory.
Spacewalkers complete 4 years of power upgrades for station
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A pair of spacewalking astronauts completed a four-year effort to modernize the International Space Station's power grid on Monday, installing one last battery.
Apply now for the 2021 YGT opportunities!
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The 2021 ESA YGT opportunities are now open for applications until 1 March. Positions are available in engineering, science, IT and business services. Find out more and apply now.