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Mars Society launches Kickstarter to create MarsVR Crew Training Program![]() Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 22, 2018 The Mars Society, the world's largest space advocacy group dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of the planet Mars, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help raise $27,500 for a new open-source virtual reality platform called MarsVR, which will be used for serious research to support the goal of sending humans to the Red Planet. The MarsVR program will be a unique multi-phase effort designed to pioneer the emerging field of CrowdExploration, which we define as the partnership betwee ... read more |
NASA engineers teach Mars rover Curiosity to drill againWashington (UPI) May 18, 2018 Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are preparing to add percussion to an improvised drill technique already being used by the Curiosity rover on Mars. ... more
NASA's Curiosity Rover Aims to Get Its Rhythm BackPasadena CA (JPL) May 18, 2018 NASA's Curiosity rover could soon be drilling rocks on Mars again. Engineers have been working for the past year to restore the rover's full drilling capabilities, which were hampered in 2016 due to ... more
Dorset as model to help find traces of life on MarsLondon, UK (SPX) May 16, 2018 Imperial College London scientists have found traces of fatty acids - key building blocks of biological cells - in Dorset's acidic streams. They say that because of the similarity of acidic streams ... more
Sierra Nevada Corporation Hardware on NASA's Mars InSight MissionSparks NV (SPX) May 15, 2018 Sierra Nevada Corporation's (SNC) hardware is once again on its way to Mars, this time aboard NASA's InSight Mars lander. SNC's actuators are a critical component on the robotic arm of the vehicle t ... more |
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Exiled Asteroid Discovered in Outer Reaches of Solar SystemMunich, Germany (SPX) May 09, 2018 An international team of astronomers has used ESO telescopes to investigate a relic of the primordial Solar System. The team found that the unusual Kuiper Belt Object 2004 EW95 is a carbon-rich aste ... more
Mars-bound CubeSats send first signals from spaceWashington (UPI) May 7, 2018 The first messages from NASA's Mars Cube One, MarCO, have been received by the space agency. The two CubeSats, the first to be sent on a deep-space mission, beamed back radio signals to confirm all is well. ... more
Mars growth stunted by early giant planetary instabilityNorman OK (SPX) May 08, 2018 A University of Oklahoma astrophysics team explains why the growth of Mars was stunted by an orbital instability among the outer solar system's giant planets in a new study on the evolution of the y ... more
Demonstration proves nuclear fission system can provide space exploration powerCleveland OH (SPX) May 03, 2018 NASA and the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have successfully demonstrated a new nuclear reactor power system that could enable long-duration crewed missions ... more
One scientist's 30-year quest to get under Mars' skinParis (AFP) May 5, 2018 Philippe Lognonne has waited three decades to hear the heartbeat of Mars. ... more |
![]() InSight probe to survey Mars for secrets inside the planet
NASA blasts off Mars-bound spaceship, InSight, to study quakesVandenberg Air Force Base, United States (AFP) May 5, 2018 NASA on Saturday launched its latest Mars lander, called InSight, designed to perch on the surface and listen for "Marsquakes" ahead of eventual human missions to explore the Red Planet. ... more |
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Surviving the Inferno of Entry, Descent and LandingHampton VA (SPX) May 04, 2018 Anticipation is building as preparations are well underway for the launch of NASA's next Mars mission, InSight. But before the roar of the rocket lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base has subsi ... more
Microbes living in a toxic volcanic lake could hold clues to life on MarsBoulder CO (SPX) May 03, 2018 Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered microbes living in a toxic volcanic lake that may rank as one of the harshest environments on Earth. Their findings, published recen ... more
NASA's newest Mars lander to study quakes on Red PlanetTampa (AFP) May 3, 2018 NASA is poised to launch its first lander to Mars since 2012, an unmanned spacecraft called InSight that aims to listen for quakes and unravel the mystery of how rocky planets like Earth form. ... more
Early Mars may have been a warm desert with occasional rainTokyo, Japan (SPX) May 03, 2018 The climate of early Mars is a subject of debate. While it has been thought that Mars had a warm and wet climate, like Earth, other researchers suggested early Mars might have been largely glaciated ... more
Results of Mars 2020 heat shield testingPasadena CA (JPL) Apr 30, 2018 A post-test inspection of the composite structure for a heat shield to be used on the Mars 2020 mission revealed that a fracture occurred during structural testing. The mission team is working to bu ... more |
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Chinese volunteers emerge from virtual moon base Beijing (AFP) May 15, 2018
A group of Chinese volunteers has emerged from 110 days of isolation in a virtual "lunar lab", state media reported Tuesday, as the country pursues its ambition to put people on the moon.
The official Xinhua news service streamed images on its website of the would-be astronauts emerging from their temporary home, a self-contained environment simulating conditions which future explorers will ... more |
China's Queqiao satellite carries "large umbrella" into deep space Xichang, China (XNA) May 22, 2018
The relay satellite, launched Monday for China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe, is carrying the largest communication antenna ever used in deep space exploration, according to Chinese experts.
The launch of the satellite Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge, is a key step for China to realize its goal of sending the Chang'e-4 lunar probe to soft-land on the far side of the Moon.
Queqiao, developed by C ... more |
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Football field-sized asteroid to shave by Earth Tampa (AFP) May 15, 2018
An asteroid around the size of a football field is expected to zoom by Earth on Tuesday, but at a safe distance, the US space agency said.
The space rock was discovered in 2010, but only recently did astronomers determine it would not collide with our planet, instead passing at a distance about halfway between the Earth and Moon.
Asteroid 2010 WC9 will make a "close approach" to Earth at ... more |
Study co-authored by UCLA scientists shows evidence of water vapor plumes on Jupiter moon Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 18, 2018
Using new modeling techniques to analyze data gathered in 1997 by the NASA Galileo spacecraft, astronomers have discovered surprising new details about one of Jupiter's moons.
A paper published in Nature Astronomy offers the clearest evidence to date that there are "plumes" - eruptions of water vapor - venting from the surface of on an icy moon called Europa. Two UCLA scientists are co-aut ... more |
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Cosmic Ravioli And Spaetzle Bern, Switzerland (SPX) May 22, 2018
The small inner moons of Saturn look like giant ravioli and spaetzle. Their spectacular shape has been revealed by the Cassini spacecraft. For the first time, researchers of the University of Bern (Switzerland) show how these moons were formed. The peculiar shapes are a natural outcome of merging collisions among similar-sized little moons, as computer simulations demonstrate.
When Martin ... more |
UAE Space Agency conducts MeznSat preliminary design review Abu Dhabi (UAE) May 21, 2018
The UAE Space Agency, working in partnership with Khalifa University of Science and Technology and the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK), has reviewed the preliminary design of the MeznSat 3U CubeSat, which is being developed to monitor and study the Earth's atmosphere.
The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) was held during a meeting at Masdar Institute, and Chaired by Khaled Al H ... more |
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US spacewalkers swap, check coolers 'Leaky' and 'Frosty' Tampa (AFP) May 16, 2018
A pair of American astronauts completed a successful spacewalk outside the International Space Station Wednesday to swap and check on two external cooling boxes, nicknamed "Leaky" and "Frosty," NASA said.
The boxes, each about the size of a mini-refrigerator or window AC unit, are crucial to keeping the batteries cool aboard the orbiting lab.
Since they operate using highly toxic ammonia ... more |
Amateur astronomer's data helps scientists discover a new exoplanet Yekaterinburg, Russia (SPX) May 18, 2018
One of the candidates previously found by the Kourovka Planet Search (KPS) project turned out to be the so-called hot Jupiter. The exoplanet, known as KPS-1b, orbits a star similar to the Sun with a period of 40 hours.
The mass and size of the exoplanet KPS-1b are close to the characteristics of Jupiter, but it is located very close to its parent star. Due to such proximity to the star, th ... more |
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The first wireless flying robotic insect takes off Seattle WA (SPX) May 16, 2018
Insect-sized flying robots could help with time-consuming tasks like surveying crop growth on large farms or sniffing out gas leaks. These robots soar by fluttering tiny wings because they are too small to use propellers, like those seen on their larger drone cousins. Small size is advantageous: These robots are cheap to make and can easily slip into tight places that are inaccessible to big dro ... more |
Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter set to soar high Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 17, 2018
As we develop more and more powerful tools to peer beyond our solar system, we learn more about the seemingly endless sea of faraway stars and their curious casts of orbiting planets. But there's only one star we can travel to directly and observe up close - and that's our own: the Sun.
Two upcoming missions will soon take us closer to the Sun than we've ever been before, providing our bes ... more |
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US indirectly confirms existence of Russia's hypersonic weapons Washington DC (Sputnik) May 17, 2018
Sources with direct knowledge of US intelligence reports say Russia is on the brink of developing a maneuverable, hypersonic nuclear-capable glider warhead that no US system can defeat.
The sources, speaking to CNBC on condition of anonymity, reported that Russia tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle (presumably the Avangard) twice in 2016, and again in 2017. The 2017 test was ... more |
A laser from a space ant Manchester UK (SPX) May 17, 2018
An international team of astronomers have discovered an unusual laser emission that suggests the presence of a double star system hidden at the heart of the "spectacular" Ant Nebula.
The extremely rare phenomenon is connected to the death of a star and was discovered in observations made by European Space Agency's (ESA) Herschel space observatory.
When low- to middleweight stars like ... more |
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GRACE-FO Spacecraft Ready to Launch Vandenberg AFB CA (SPX) May 22, 2018
Twin satellites that will monitor Earth's water cycle are scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California on Tuesday, May 22, in a unique rideshare arrangement. The two Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On mission (GRACE-FO) spacecraft will join five Iridium NEXT communications satellites as the payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Liftoff from Vandenb ... more |
ALMA and VLT find evidence for stars forming soon after Big Bang Munich, Germany (SPX) May 17, 2018
An international team of astronomers used ALMA to observe a distant galaxy called MACS1149-JD1. They detected a very faint glow emitted by ionised oxygen in the galaxy. As this infrared light travelled across space, the expansion of the Universe stretched it to wavelengths more than ten times longer by the time it reached Earth and was detected by ALMA.
The team inferred that the signal wa ... more |
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Robotic assembly of the world's smallest house Washington DC (SPX) May 21, 2018
A French nanorobotics team from the Femto-ST Institute in Besancon, France, assembled a new microrobotics system that pushes forward the frontiers of optical nanotechnologies. Combining several existing technologies, the uRobotex nanofactory builds microstructures in a large vacuum chamber and fixes components onto optical fiber tips with nanometer accuracy.
The microhouse construction, re ... more |
China's Queqiao satellite carries "large umbrella" into deep space Xichang, China (XNA) May 22, 2018
The relay satellite, launched Monday for China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe, is carrying the largest communication antenna ever used in deep space exploration, according to Chinese experts.
The launch of the satellite Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge, is a key step for China to realize its goal of sending the Chang'e-4 lunar probe to soft-land on the far side of the Moon.
Queqiao, developed by C ... more |
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