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Hit-and-Run Heist of Water by Terrestrial Planets in the Early Solar System![]() Berlin, Germany (SPX) Sep 20, 2018 A study simulating the final stages of terrestrial planet formation shows that 'hit-and-run' encounters play a significant role in the acquisition of water by large protoplanets, like those that grew into Mars and Earth. The results will be presented by Christoph Burger at the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) 2018 in Berlin. Four and a half billion years ago, the inner solar system was a chaotic place with around 50-100 protoplanets ranging in size from the Moon to Mars that were prone t ... read more |
Recent tectonics on MarsParis (ESA) Sep 20, 2018 These prominent trenches were formed by faults that pulled the planet's surface apart less than 10 million years ago. The images were taken by ESA's Mars Express on 27 January, and capture par ... more
Attempting Contact With Opportunity Multiple Times A DayPasadena CA (JPL) Sep 19, 2018 The Opportunity team is increasing the frequency of commands it beams to the rover via the dishes of NASA's Deep Space Network from three times a week to multiple times per day. No signal from ... more
ExoMars orbiter highlights radiation risk for Mars astronautsBerlin, Germany (ESA) Sep 19, 2018 Astronauts on a mission to Mars would be exposed to at least 60% of the total radiation dose limit recommended for their career during the journey itself to and from the Red Planet, according to dat ... more
River basin provides evidence of ancient ocean on MarsWashington (UPI) Sep 14, 2018 Mars was once home to a giant ocean, new research suggests. ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Sep 19 | Sep 18 | Sep 17 | Sep 14 | Sep 13 |
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Opportunity rover expected to call home as Martian dust storm clearsWashington (UPI) Aug 31, 2018 The weeks-long Martian dust storm is waning, and Opportunity rover can finally see clearly. NASA scientists think the rover will soon receive enough sunlight to recharge its batteries and resume its science mission. ... more
Martian skies clearing over Opportunity RoverPasadena CA (JPL) Aug 31, 2018 A planet-encircling dust storm on Mars, which was first detected May 30 and halted operations for the Opportunity rover, continues to abate. With clearing skies over Opportunity's resting spot ... more
NASA competition aims to convert carbon dioxide on Mars into useful productsHuntsville AL (SPX) Aug 31, 2018 When astronauts begin exploring Mars, they'll need to use local resources, freeing up launch cargo space for other mission-critical supplies. Carbon dioxide is one resource readily abundant within t ... more
NASA's InSight has a thermometer for MarsPasadena CA (JPL) Aug 31, 2018 Ambitious climbers, forget Mt. Everest. Dream about Mars. The Red Planet has some of the tallest mountains in the solar system. They include Olympus Mons, a volcano nearly three times the height of ... more
Mars dust storm clears, raising hope for stalled NASA roverTampa (AFP) Aug 31, 2018 One of the biggest Martian dust storms on record is clearing up after nearly three months, raising hope that NASA's stranded, solar-powered robotic vehicle, Opportunity, will soon come back to life. ... more |
![]() No word from Opportunity as skies begin to clear
Technologies for deep space survivalBethesda, MD (SPX) Aug 22, 2018 Recently, there has been a great deal of discussion concerning human space travel beyond the near-Earth zone. Mars colonization has been a favorite topic for quite some time. However, getting to Mar ... more |
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Pence Reaffirms Vision for 'American Dominance in Space'Washington DC (VOA) Aug 27, 2018 Vice President Mike Pence is in Houston, Texas, to reaffirm the Trump administration's plans to establish an American Space Force by 2020, return Americans to the moon, and set its sight on Mars and ... more
NASA's InSight passes halfway to Mars, instruments check inPasadena CA (JPL) Aug 21, 2018 NASA's InSight spacecraft, en route to a Nov. 26 landing on Mars, passed the halfway mark on Aug. 6. All of its instruments have been tested and are working well. As of Aug. 20, the spacecraft ... more
Six Things About Opportunity'S Recovery EffortsPasadena CA (JPL) Aug 17, 2018 NASA's Opportunity rover has been silent since June 10, when a planet-encircling dust storm cut off solar power for the nearly-15-year-old rover. Now that scientists think the global dust storm is " ... more
The Science Team Continues to Listen for Opportunity as Storm DiminishesPasadena CA (JPL) Aug 17, 2018 The planet-encircling dust storm on Mars continues to decay, although in fits and starts. Atmospheric opacity (tau) over the rover site was estimated down near 2.1, but then popped up to 2.5. ... more
Planet-Encircling Dust Storm of Mars shows signs of slowingPasadena CA (JPL) Aug 15, 2018 The planet-encircling dust storm on Mars continues to show indications of decay. Dust-lifting sites have decreased and surface features are starting to emerge. There are indications that the a ... more |
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Airbus wins ESA studies for future human base in lunar orbit Bremen, Germany (SPX) Sep 20, 2018
The European Space Agency (ESA) has commissioned Airbus for two studies for possible European involvement in the future human base in lunar orbit. The Gateway, previously known as the Deep Space Gateway (DSG) or Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G), is a project involving the US, Russian, Canadian, Japanese and European space agencies (NASA, Roscosmos, CSA, JAXA and ESA).
Over the next 1 ... more |
China tests propulsion system of space station's lab capsules Beijing, China (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
Engineers have successfully tested the propulsion system of China's planned space station lab capsules, a key step in its space station program.
Weighing 66 tonnes, the space station will comprise a core module and two lab capsules. The propulsion system will determine whether lab capsules can move in space.
Engineers designed 36 engines for the propulsion system with four to adjust ... more |
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Cryovolcanism helped shape dwarf planet Ceres Tucson AZ (SPX) Sep 18, 2018
Icy volcanoes have erupted throughout the history of Ceres, but such continuous activity has not had the same extensive impact on the dwarf planet's surface as standard volcanism on Earth, says a new paper "Cryovolcanic Rates on Ceres Revealed by Topography" appearing in Nature Astronomy. Cryovolcanoes erupt liquid or gaseous volatiles such as water, ammonia or methane instead of spewing molten ... more |
Juno image showcases Jupiter's brown barge Washington (UPI) Sep 19, 2018
Jupiter's "brown barge" feature is the subject of a new photograph snapped by Juno's camera.
Like Jupiter's Great Red Spot, the brown barge is shaped by cyclone-like weather patterns in the gas giant's atmosphere. But unlike the red spot, which is round, the barge is longer and boxier.
The brown barge isn't always easy to pick out. Its colors often blend relatively seamlessly wit ... more |
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Cassini's final view of Titan's northern lakes and seas Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 17, 2018
During NASA's Cassini mission's final distant encounter with Saturn's giant moon Titan, the spacecraft captured the enigmatic moon's north polar landscape of lakes and seas, which are filled with liquid methane and ethane.
They were captured on Sept. 11, 2017. Four days later, Cassini was deliberately plunged into the atmosphere of Saturn.
Punga Mare (240 miles, or 390 kilometers, ac ... more |
New kid on the block picks up relay for ozone Paris (ESA) Sep 17, 2018
For more than 20 years, changes in ozone over Antarctica have been carefully monitored by a succession of European satellites. This important long-term record is now being added to by the Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission, which is dedicated to atmospheric monitoring.
Protecting life on Earth from the Sun's harmful rays of ultraviolet radiation, the ozone layer is a very important, yet fragil ... more |
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Orion's first Service Module integration complete Bremen, Germany (ESA) Sep 19, 2018
Last week at the Airbus integration hall in Bremen, Germany, technicians installed the last radiator on the European Service Module for NASA's Orion spacecraft marking the module's finished integration.
ESA's European service module will provide power, water, air and electricity to NASA's Orion exploration spacecraft that will eventually fly beyond the Moon with astronauts. The European Se ... more |
What Recipes Produce a Habitable Planet Houston TX (SPX) Sep 20, 2018
NASA's interdisciplinary Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) project has awarded Rice University $7.7 million for a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research program aimed at finding many different recipes nature might follow to produce rocky planets capable of supporting life.
As any cook knows, it takes the right recipe and getting the right ingredients to make a tasty dish, ... more |
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General Atomics contracted for Reaper drone ground control work Washington (UPI) Sep 17, 2018
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has received a $92.2 million contract for MQ-9 Block 30 Ground Control Station retrofits for the U.S. Air Force.
The contract, announced Friday by the Department of Defense, will provide for MD-1A Block 15 GCS to MD-1A Block 30 GCS retrofits. Work will be performed in Poway, Calif., and is expected to be completed by May 2020.
Air Force fiscal ... more |
Solar Orbiter to leave factory for testing London, UK (SPX) Sep 18, 2018
The UK-built Solar Orbiter is preparing to leave the Airbus factory in Stevenage to travel to Germany for testing, ahead of its launch in 2020 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA.
The UK is at the heart of this European Space Agency (ESA) mission to uncover the secrets of our planet's star. Solar Orbiter will provide close-up views of the Sun's polar regions, tracking features such as sola ... more |
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Japanese billionaire businessman revealed as SpaceX's first Moon traveler Hawthorne, United States (AFP) Sept 18, 2018
A Japanese billionaire and online fashion tycoon, Yusaku Maezawa, will be the first man to fly on a monster SpaceX rocket around the Moon as early as 2023, and he plans to bring six to eight artists along.
Maezawa, 42, will be the first lunar traveler since the last US Apollo mission in 1972. He paid an unspecified amount of money for the privilege.
"Ever since I was a kid, I have loved ... more |
Nuclear pasta, the hardest known substance in the universe Montreal, Canada (SPX) Sep 19, 2018
A team of scientists has calculated the strength of the material deep inside the crust of neutron stars and found it to be the strongest known material in the universe.
Matthew Caplan, a postdoctoral research fellow at McGill University, and his colleagues from Indiana University and the California Institute of Technology, successfully ran the largest computer simulations ever conducted of ... more |
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GRACE-FO Satellite Switching to Backup Instrument Processing Unit Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 17, 2018
The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission team plans to switch to a backup system in the Microwave Instrument (MWI) on one of the twin spacecraft this month. Following the switch-over, GRACE-FO is expected to quickly resume science data collection.
A month after launching this past May, GRACE-FO produced its first preliminary gravity field map. The mission ha ... more |
Wave-particle interactions allow collision-free energy transfer in space plasma Nagoya, Japan (SPX) Sep 20, 2018
The Earth's magnetosphere contains plasma, an ionized gas composed of positive ions and negative electrons. The motion of these charged plasma particles is controlled by electromagnetic fields. The energy transfer processes that occur in this collisionless space plasma are believed to be based on wave-particle interactions such as particle acceleration by plasma waves and spontaneous wave genera ... more |
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Multi-joint, personalized soft exosuit breaks new ground Boston MA (SPX) Sep 20, 2018
In the future, smart textile-based soft robotic exosuits could be worn by soldiers, fire fighters and rescue workers to help them traverse difficult terrain and arrive fresh at their destinations so that they can perform their respective tasks more effectively. They could also become a powerful means to enhance mobility and quality of living for people suffering from neurodegenerative disorders ... more |
China tests propulsion system of space station's lab capsules Beijing, China (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
Engineers have successfully tested the propulsion system of China's planned space station lab capsules, a key step in its space station program.
Weighing 66 tonnes, the space station will comprise a core module and two lab capsules. The propulsion system will determine whether lab capsules can move in space.
Engineers designed 36 engines for the propulsion system with four to adjust ... more |
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