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HKU scientist makes key discoveries in the search for life on Mars![]() Hong Kong (SPX) Feb 08, 2018 The planet Mars has long drawn interest from scientists and non-scientists as a possible place to search for evidence of life beyond Earth because the surface contains numerous familiar features such as dried river channels and dried lake beds that hint at a warmer, wetter, more earthlike climate in the past. However, Dr Joseph Michalski of the Department of Earth Sciences and Laboratory for Space Research at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and his colleagues have published papers recently that ... read more |
Studies of Clay Formation Provide Clues to Early Martian ClimateMountain View, CA (SPX) Feb 06, 2018 New research published in Nature Astronomy seeks to understand how surface clay was formed on Mars despite its cold climate. The climate on early Mars has presented an enigma for planetary sci ... more
Opportunity Celebrates 14 Years of Working on MarsPasadena CA (JPL) Feb 05, 2018 Opportunity is continuing her exploration of "Perseverance Valley" on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover has moved along the north fork of the local flow channel. Continuing the exten ... more
SpaceX poised to launch 'world's most powerful rocket'Miami (AFP) Feb 6, 2018 SpaceX is poised for the first test launch Tuesday of its Falcon Heavy, which aims to become the world's most powerful rocket in operation, capable of reaching the Moon or Mars some day. ... more
Mount Sharp 'Photobombs' Mars Curiosity RoverPasadena CA (JPL) Feb 02, 2018 A new self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle on Vera Rubin Ridge, which it has been investigating for the past several months. Directly behind the rover is the start of a cla ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Feb 07 | Feb 06 | Feb 05 | Feb 03 | Feb 02 |
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NASA's Next Mars Lander Spreads its Solar WingsPasadena CA (JPL) Jan 25, 2018 NASA's next mission to Mars passed a key test Tuesday, extending the solar arrays that will power the InSight spacecraft once it lands on the Red Planet this November. The test took place at L ... more
Kilopower: What's Next?Cleveland OH (SPX) Jan 19, 2018 When astronauts someday venture to the Moon, Mars and other destinations, one of the first and most important resources they will need is power. A reliable and efficient power system will be essenti ... more
Opportunity gets dust cleaning and passes 45 kilometers of drivingPasadena CA (JPL) Jan 23, 2018 Opportunity is continuing her winter exploration of "Perseverance Valley" on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover has moved along the north fork of the local flow channel. However, befo ... more
Mystery Solved for Mega-Avalanches in Tibet - and Perhaps on MarsTucson Az (SPX) Jan 24, 2018 An international scientific effort determined the cause of a highly unusual and deadly glacier avalanche in Tibet in 2016, a new Nature Geoscience paper says. In July 2016, a glacier in Tibet ... more
Crater Neukum named after Mars Express founderParis (ESA) Jan 19, 2018 A fascinating martian crater has been chosen to honour the German physicist and planetary scientist, Gerhard Neukum, one of the founders of ESA's Mars Express mission. The International Astron ... more |
![]() Next Mars Analog mission will help improve efficiency and reduce dust exposure
New technique for finding life on MarsWashington DC (SPX) Jan 19, 2018 Researchers demonstrate for the first time the potential of existing technology to directly detect and characterize life on Mars and other planets. The study, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, ... more |
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Deep, buried glaciers spotted on MarsMiami (AFP) Jan 11, 2018 Buried glaciers have been spotted on Mars, offering new hints about how much water may be accessible on the Red Planet and where it is located, researchers said Thursday. ... more
Opportunity takes right at the fork and has successful battery testPasadena CA (JPL) Jan 15, 2018 Opportunity is continuing her winter exploration of "Perseverance Valley" on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover is positioned upstream of a fork in the flow channels. After some deliberatio ... more
Possible Lava Tube Skylights Discovered Near the North Pole of the MoonMountain View CA (SPX) Jan 15, 2018 The SETI Institute and the Mars Institute have announced the discovery of small pits in a large crater near the North Pole of the Moon, which may be entrances to an underground network of lava tubes ... more
Steep Slopes on Mars Reveal Structure of Buried IcePasadena CA (JPL) Jan 11, 2018 Researchers using NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have found eight sites where thick deposits of ice beneath Mars' surface are exposed in faces of eroding slopes. These eight scarps, ... more
Scientist's work may provide answer to Martian mountain mysteryDallas TX (SPX) Jan 12, 2018 By seeing which way the wind blows, a University of Texas at Dallas fluid dynamics expert has helped propose a solution to a Martian mountain mystery. Dr. William Anderson, an assistant professor of ... more |
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India Prepares For Second Lunar Mission with Chandrayaan-2 New Delhi (Sputnik) Feb 08, 2018
India's space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), is prepping for its second mission to the moon, which is scheduled for blast off around April 2018.
The objective for the venture is to explore the lunar south pole.
Dubbed Chandrayaan-2, the spacecraft is expected to take an estimated one to two months to reach lunar orbit. Once the craft is in position, a lander w ... more |
China launches first shared education satellite Jiuquan (XNA) Feb 06, 2018
China's first shared education satellite, Young Pioneer 1, carried by the Long March-2D rocket, was launched into space from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Friday afternoon.
The 3-kg CubeSat (100 * 100 * 340mm), Young Pioneer 1, enters an orbit of 502 km above the Earth. The rocket also carried Zhangheng 1, an electromagnetic satellite to study earthquake data, and five other miniaturized ... more |
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Evidence for a massive biomass burning event at the Younger Dryas Boundary Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Feb 08, 2018
Some 13,000 years ago, a cataclysmic event occurred on Earth that was likely responsible for the collapse of the Clovis people and the extinction of megafauna such as mammoths and mastodons.
That juncture in the planet's geologic history - marked by a distinct layer called the Younger Dryas Boundary - features many anomalies that support the theory of a cometary cloud impacting Earth. The ... more |
Europa and Other Planetary Bodies May Have Extremely Low-Density Surfaces Tucson AZ (SPX) Jan 25, 2018
Spacecraft landing on Jupiter's moon Europa could see the craft sink due to high surface porosity, research by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Robert Nelson shows.
Nelson was the lead author of a laboratory study of the photopolarimetric properties of bright particles that explain unusual negative polarization behavior at low phase angles observed for decades in association wi ... more |
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Titan topographic map unearths cookie-cutter holes in moon's surface Ithaca NY (SPX) Jan 19, 2018
Using the now-complete Cassini data set, Cornell University astronomers have created a new global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan that has opened new windows into understanding its liquid flows and terrain. Two papers, recently published in Geophysical Review Letters, describe the map and discoveries arising from it.
Creating the map took about a year, according to doctoral student ... more |
SSTL and 21AT announce new Earth Observation data contract Guildford UK (SPX) Feb 07, 2018
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) signed a 25M pounds contract in Beijing yesterday with Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd (21AT) to provide data from a new Earth Observation satellite (SSTL-S1) due for launch on PSLV in the middle of this year.
The contract was signed by Sir Martin Sweeting, Executive Chairman of SSTL, and Mme Wu Shuang, President and Chairman of 21A ... more |
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NanoRacks adds Thales Alenia Space to team up on Commercial Space Station Airlock Module Turin, Italy (SPX) Feb 07, 2018
NanoRacks reports that Thales Alenia Space has been chosen as the latest partner in its commercial airlock program.
Thales Alenia Space will produce and test the critical pressure shell for NanoRacks' Airlock Module, which is targeting to be launched to the International Space Station late 2019, and will be used to deploy commercial and government payloads. Thales Alenia Space will also ma ... more |
TRAPPIST-1 Planets Probably Rich in Water Garching, Germany (SPX) Feb 06, 2018
A new study has found that the seven planets orbiting the nearby ultra-cool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 are all made mostly of rock, and some could potentially hold more water than Earth. The planets' densities, now known much more precisely than before, suggest that some of them could have up to 5 percent of their mass in the form of water - about 250 times more than Earth's oceans.
The hotter ... more |
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L-3 awarded $8.2M for retrofits to Predator simulators Washington (UPI) Jan 30, 2018
The U.S. Air Force has awarded L-3 Link Simulation & Training an $8.2 million contract for retrofits on the Predator Mission Aircrew Training System simulators.
The new award, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, is a modification to a previous contract, which is now valued at $120,753,92.
The modified contract is for 40 retrofit communications kits and simulator seats ... more |
What's behind the most brilliant lights in the sky Madison WI (SPX) Feb 01, 2018
Space physicists at University of Wisconsin-Madison have just released unprecedented detail on a bizarre phenomenon that powers the northern lights, solar flares and coronal mass ejections (the biggest explosions in our solar system). The data on so-called "magnetic reconnection" came from a quartet of new spacecraft that measure radiation and magnetic fields in high Earth orbit.
"We're lo ... more |
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Elon Musk, visionary Tesla and SpaceX founder San Francisco (AFP) Feb 6, 2018
From cars to rockets, Elon Musk dreams big.
On Tuesday, the South African-born entrepreneur combined both of those passions, blasting one of his Tesla electric cars into space aboard his own rocket.
It was the latest feat for the 46-year-old Silicon Valley billionaire who has been hailed as a leading innovator and visionary.
Born in Pretoria, on June 28, 1971, the son of an engineer ... more |
New use for telecommunications networks: Helping scientists peer into deep space Washington DC (SPX) Feb 07, 2018
For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that a stable frequency reference can be reliably transmitted more than 300 kilometers over a standard fiber optic telecommunications network and used to synchronize two radio telescopes. Stable frequency references, which are used to calibrate clocks and instruments that make ultraprecise measurements, are usually only accessible at facilities t ... more |
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Acoustic tractor beam could pave the way for levitating humans Bristol UK (SPX) Feb 05, 2018
Acoustic tractor beams use the power of sound to hold particles in mid-air, and unlike magnetic levitation, they can grab most solids or liquids. For the first time University of Bristol engineers have shown it is possible to stably trap objects larger than the wavelength of sound in an acoustic tractor beam. This discovery opens the door to the manipulation of drug capsules or micro-surgical im ... more |
NASA Tests Atomic Clock for Deep Space Navigation Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 08, 2018 In deep space, accurate timekeeping is vital to navigation, but many spacecraft lack precise timepieces on board. For 20 years, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has been perfecting a clock. It's not a wristwatch; not something you could buy at a store. It's the Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC), an instrument perfect for deep space exploration.
Currently, most mission ... more |
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Army researchers develop new algorithms to train robots Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (SPX) Feb 08, 2018 Researchers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the University of Texas at Austin have developed new techniques for robots or computer programs to learn how to perform tasks by interacting with a human instructor. The findings of the study will be presented and published at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, Feb. 2-7.
A ... more |
China launches first shared education satellite Jiuquan (XNA) Feb 06, 2018
China's first shared education satellite, Young Pioneer 1, carried by the Long March-2D rocket, was launched into space from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Friday afternoon.
The 3-kg CubeSat (100 * 100 * 340mm), Young Pioneer 1, enters an orbit of 502 km above the Earth. The rocket also carried Zhangheng 1, an electromagnetic satellite to study earthquake data, and five other miniaturized ... more |
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