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Curiosity Rover to Temporarily Switch 'Brains'![]() Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 04, 2018 Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, this week commanded the agency's Curiosity rover to switch to its second computer. The switch will enable engineers to do a detailed diagnosis of a technical issue that has prevented the rover's active computer from storing science and some key engineering data since Sept. 15. Like many NASA spacecraft, Curiosity was designed with two, redundant computers - in this case, referred to as a Side-A and a Side-B computer - so that i ... read more |
Lockheed Martin Reveals New Human Lunar Lander ConceptDenver CO (SPX) Oct 04, 2018 At this week's International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen, Germany, Lockheed Martin experts revealed the company's crewed lunar lander concept and showed how the reusable lander aligns wit ... more
Opportunity Remains Silent For Over Three MonthsPasadena CA (JPL) Oct 01, 2018 No signal from Opportunity has been heard in over 115 sols, since Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018). It is expected that Opportunity has experienced a low-power fault. Perhaps, a mission clock fault an ... more
Software finds the best way to stick a Mars landingBoston MA (SPX) Oct 01, 2018 Selecting a landing site for a rover headed to Mars is a lengthy process that normally involves large committees of scientists and engineers. These committees typically spend several years weighing ... more
UCF selling experimental Martian dirt - $20 a kilogram, plus shippingOrlando FL (SPX) Oct 01, 2018 The University of Central Florida is selling Martian dirt, $20 a kilogram plus shipping. This is not fake news. A team of UCF astrophysicists has developed a scientifically based, standardized ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Oct 04 | Oct 03 | Oct 02 | Oct 01 | Sep 28 |
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NASA is taking a new look at searching for life beyond EarthWashington DC (SPX) Sep 26, 2018 Since the beginning of civilization, humanity has wondered whether we are alone in the universe. As NASA has explored our solar system and beyond, it has developed increasingly sophisticated tools t ... more
First to red planet will become Martians: Canada astronautOttawa (AFP) Sept 21, 2018 Astronauts traveling through space on the long trip to Mars will not have the usual backup from mission control on Earth and will need to think of themselves as Martians to survive, Canada's most famous spaceman half-jokingly said Friday. ... more
Ancient Mars had right conditions for underground lifeProvidence RI (SPX) Sep 25, 2018 A new study shows evidence that ancient Mars probably had an ample supply of chemical energy for microbes to thrive underground. "We showed, based on basic physics and chemistry calculations, ... more
NASA's MAVEN Selfie Marks Four Years in Orbit at MarsGreenbelt MD (SPX) Sep 24, 2018 Today, NASA's MAVEN spacecraft celebrates four years in orbit studying the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet and how it interacts with the Sun and the solar wind. To mark the occasion, the team has ... more
ScanMars demonstrates water detection device for astronauts on MarsBerlin, Germany (SPX) Sep 21, 2018 Analogue astronauts have successfully trialed a radar that could help future Mars explorers identify where to dig for water. ScanMars is an Italian experiment that was used to identify subsurface wa ... more |
![]() Hit-and-Run Heist of Water by Terrestrial Planets in the Early Solar System
Opportunity silent since June 10Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 21, 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 |
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Candy-Pink lagoon serves up salt-rich diet for potential life on MarsBerlin, Germany (SPX) Sep 21, 2018 The discovery of a microorganism that gives a candy-pink lagoon in central Spain its startling colour is providing new evidence for how life could survive on a high-salt diet on Mars or Europa. ... 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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Lockheed Martin Reveals New Human Lunar Lander Concept Denver CO (SPX) Oct 04, 2018
At this week's International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen, Germany, Lockheed Martin experts revealed the company's crewed lunar lander concept and showed how the reusable lander aligns with NASA's lunar Gateway and future Mars missions.
The crewed lunar lander is a single stage, fully reusable system that incorporates flight-proven technologies and systems from NASA's Orion space ... more |
China launches Centispace-1-s1 satellite Jiuquan (XNA) Oct 01, 2018
China launched its Centispace-1-s1 satellite on a Kuaizhou-1A rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 12:13 p.m. Saturday.
This is the second commercial launch by the Kuaizhou-1A rocket. The first launch in January 2017 sent three satellites into space.
The Kuaizhou-1A was developed by a rocket technology company under the China Aerospace Science and Industr ... more |
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Hayabusa-2 drops another lander on the surface of Ryugu Washington (UPI) Oct 3, 2018
Hayabusa-2, Japan's asteroid-orbiting probe, has put another miniature lander on the surface of Ryugu.
The box-shaped lander, Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, or MASCOT, was designed by a team of engineers from Germany and France.
Engineers at the German Aerospace Center, DLR, confirmed MASCOT's safe landing on the asteroid's surface.
"It could not have gone better," MASCOT ... more |
While seeking Planet X, astronomers find a distant solar system object Manoa HI (SPX) Oct 04, 2018
Astronomers have discovered a new object at the edge of our solar system. The new extremely distant object far beyond Pluto has an orbit that supports the presence of a larger Planet X.
The newly-found object, called 2015 TG387, was announced by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center on October 1. A paper with the full details of the discovery has also been submitted to ... more |
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New Radiation Belt Discovered at Saturn Gottingen, Germany (SPX) Oct 05, 2018
Approximately one year ago a spectacular dive into Saturn ended NASA's Cassini mission - and with it a unique, 13-year research expedition to the Saturnian system. In the mission's last five months, the probe entered uncharted territory again: 22 times it plunged into the hitherto almost unexplored region between the planet Saturn and its innermost ring, the D-ring.
On Friday, 5 October 20 ... more |
NASA Evaluates Commercial Small-Sat Earth Data for Science Washington DC (SPX) Oct 05, 2018
NASA has launched a pilot program to evaluate how Earth science data from commercial small-satellite constellations could supplement observations from the agency's fleet of orbiting Earth science missions. On Sept. 28, the agency awarded sole-source contracts to acquire test data sets from three private sector organizations.
NASA's Earth Science Division in Washington issued blanket purcha ... more |
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Space Station Crew Returns to Earth, Lands Safely in Kazakhstan Houston TX (SPX) Oct 05, 2018
Three members of the Expedition 56 crew returned safely to Earth Thursday from the International Space Station, where they spent months providing hands-on support for scientific research in low-Earth orbit, working to keep the orbiting laboratory fully operational, and performing three spacewalks.
NASA astronauts Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold, and cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev of the Russian spa ... more |
Liquid crystals and the origin of life Washington DC (SPX) Oct 04, 2018
The display screens of modern televisions, cell phones and computer monitors rely on liquid crystals - materials that flow like liquids but have molecules oriented in crystal-like structures.
However, liquid crystals may have played a far more ancient role: helping to assemble Earth's first biomolecules. Researchers reporting in ACS Nano have found that short RNA molecules can form liquid ... more |
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General Atomics to provide technical services for Gray Eagle drones Washington (UPI) Oct 1, 2018
General Atomics has received a $441.6 million contract for technical services for U.S. Army Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
Work locations and funding for the contract, announced Friday by the Department of Defense, will be based on each order, with an estimated completion date of September 2023.
The Gray Eagle is a derivative of the Predator unmanned aerial drone designed ... more |
Parker Solar Probe Changed the Game Before it Even Launched Greenbelt MD (SPX) Oct 05, 2018
On Oct. 3, 2018, Parker Solar Probe performed the first significant celestial maneuver of its seven-year mission. As the orbits of the spacecraft and Venus converged toward the same point, Parker Solar Probe slipped in front of the planet, allowing Venus' gravity - relatively small by celestial standards - to twist its path and change its speed. This maneuver, called a gravity assist, reduced Pa ... more |
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Nucleus completes successful first launch Kirkenes, Norway (SPX) Oct 01, 2018
On Thursday 27 September Nammo successfully completed the first launch of Nucleus, a sounding rocket powered by its new hybrid rocket motor.
Nucleus launched at 14:16: local time from Andoya Space Center in Northern Norway, and reached an altitude of 107.4 km. That made it not only the first rocket powered by a Norwegian motor design to cross the Karman line, the commonly recognized border ... more |
Keck Awarded Grant to Develop Next-Generation Adaptive Optics Kamuela HI (SPX) Oct 05, 2018
Nearly two decades after pioneering the technology on large telescopes, W. M. Keck Observatory is once again pushing the boundaries in the field of adaptive optics (AO) after receiving a powerful boost of support.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the Observatory funding through their Mid-Scale Innovations Program to build a next-generation AO system on the Keck I telescope ... 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 |
Observations challenge cosmological theories Bonn, Germany (SPX) Oct 05, 2018
Recent observations create a puzzle for astrophysicists: since the big bang, less galaxy clusters have formed over time than was actually expected. Physicists from the university of Bonn have now confirmed this phenomenon.
For the next three years, the researchers will analyze their data in even greater detail. This will put them in a position to confirm whether the theories considered val ... more |
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Machine learning could help regulators identify environmental violations Washington (UPI) Oct 1, 2018
Regulatory agencies tasked with protecting environmental and public health are regularly understaffed and underfunded, but new research suggests machine learning could help officials more effectively monitor potential violators.
The Environmental Protection Agency and partnering state agencies are responsible for monitoring the regulatory compliance of 300,000 facilities. Regulators, ho ... more |
China launches Centispace-1-s1 satellite Jiuquan (XNA) Oct 01, 2018
China launched its Centispace-1-s1 satellite on a Kuaizhou-1A rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 12:13 p.m. Saturday.
This is the second commercial launch by the Kuaizhou-1A rocket. The first launch in January 2017 sent three satellites into space.
The Kuaizhou-1A was developed by a rocket technology company under the China Aerospace Science and Industr ... more |
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