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Efforts to communicate with Opportunity continue![]() Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 15, 2018 The dust storm on Mars has effectively ended with atmospheric opacity (tau) over the rover site down to around 1.0 to 1.1, values are typical for storm-free conditions this time of year. No signal from Opportunity has been heard since Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018). As stated previously, it is expected that Opportunity has experienced a low-power fault, a mission clock fault and an up-loss timer fault. The science team has been listening for the rover over a broad range of times using the Deep Spa ... read more |
Painting cars for MarsPasadena CA (JPL) Oct 10, 2018 When John Campanella's friend wanted his beloved Ferrari painted, he knew exactly who to call. After all, Campanella had been painting, pinstriping and even airbrushing flames on to cars, motorcycle ... more
Novel Technique Quickly Maps Young Ice Deposits and Formations on MarsTucson AZ (SPX) Oct 09, 2018 A new investigative technique has shown the latitudinal distribution of ice-rich landforms on Mars. This large-scale study enables future, more detailed investigations to study several young deposit ... more
ASU researcher innovates solar energy technology in spaceTempe AZ (SPX) Oct 08, 2018 Experts predict that by 2050 we're going to have global broadband internet satellite networks, in-orbit manufacturing, space tourism, asteroid mining and lunar and Mars bases. More than a giga ... more
Curiosity rover operating on backup computer during repairs to main processorWashington (UPI) Oct 4, 2018 NASA engineers have switched the Curiosity rover's brains, ceding control of the spacecraft to a backup computer. The move will allow engineers to analyze Curiosity's main processor, which has been unable to function properly for a few weeks. ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Oct 12 | Oct 11 | Oct 10 | Oct 09 | Oct 08 |
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How a tiny Curiosity motor identified a massive Martian dust stormGreenbelt MD (SPX) Sep 27, 2018 There is no shortage of eyeballs, human and robotic, pointed at Mars. Scientists are constantly exploring the Red Planet from telescopes on Earth, plus the six spacecraft circling the planet from it ... more
Martian moon likely forged by ancient impact, study findsWashington (UPI) Sep 24, 2018 New research suggest Mars' largest moon, Phobos, was formed from Martian debris excised by an ancient impact. ... more
Martian moon may have come from impact on home planetWashington DC (SPX) Sep 26, 2018 The weird shapes and colors of the tiny Martian moons Phobos and Deimos have inspired a long-standing debate about their origins. The dark faces of the moons resemble the primitive asteroids o ... more
Opportunity emerges in a dusty picturePasadena CA (JPL) Sep 26, 2018 NASA still hasn't heard from the Opportunity rover, but at least we can see it again. A new image produced by HiRISE, a high-resolution camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), ... more
NASA sees its stalled Martian robot, but still no signalsWashington (AFP) Sept 25, 2018 NASA scientists can now see their solar-powered probe that was lost in a Martian dust storm more than 100 days ago - but the vintage robot hasn't shown any signs of life. ... more |
![]() NASA is taking a new look at searching for life beyond Earth
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 |
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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 SystemBerlin, 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 gre ... more
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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SpaceX delays Israel's first lunar mission to early 2019 Jerusalem (AFP) Oct 11, 2018
The Israeli organisation behind the country's first mission to the moon on Wednesday announced a delay in the vessel's launch from December to early 2019.
SpaceIL said Elon Musk's SpaceX firm, whose rockets are set to carry the unmanned probe into space, had informed it of "a delay of a number of weeks to the beginning of 2019."
SpaceIL stressed that the delay was SpaceX's decision, not ... 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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MASCOT's zigzag course across the dust-free Asteroid Ryugu Bonn, Germany (SPX) Oct 15, 2018
Six minutes of free fall, a gentle impact on the asteroid and then 11 minutes of rebounding until coming to rest. That is how, in the early hours of 3 October 2018, the journey of the MASCOT asteroid lander began on Asteroid Ryugu - a land full of wonder, mystery and challenges.
Some 17 hours of scientific exploration followed this first 'stroll' on the almost 900-metre diameter asteroid. ... more |
Icy warning for space missions to Jupiter's moon Cardiff UK (SPX) Oct 12, 2018
A location often earmarked as a potential habitat for extra-terrestrial life could prove to be a tricky place for spacecraft to land, new research has revealed.
A team led by scientists from Cardiff University has predicted that fields of sharp ice growing to almost 15 metres tall could be scattered across the equatorial regions of Jupiter's moon, Europa.
Previous space missions have ... more |
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Surprising chemical complexity of Saturn's rings changing planet's upper atmosphere Lawrence KS (SPX) Oct 11, 2018
Political humorist Mark Russel once joked, "The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage."
Well, there's no luggage, it turns out. But a new study appearing in Science based on data from the final orbits last year of NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows the rings of Saturn - some of the most visually stupendous objects in the univer ... more |
After two long careers, QuikSCAT rings down the curtain Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 15, 2018
Launched in June 1999 for an intended two-year mission, NASA's SeaWinds scatterometer instrument on the QuikSCAT spacecraft was turned off on Oct. 2 in accordance with its end-of-mission plan. QuikSCAT spent its first decade creating an unprecedented record of the speed and direction of winds at the ocean surface. Then, for another nine years, it served as the gold standard of accuracy against w ... more |
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SAS announces expanded Human Spaceflight Safety Services to support deep space and lunar missions Boulder CO (SPX) Oct 12, 2018
Special Aerospace Services (SAS) has announced the offering of expanded Spaceflight Safety Products and Services that now include support for deep space and lunar missions. SAS developed the expanded line of engineering services to cover the next phase of human spaceflight that will be initiated by inaugural test launches and first human launches in the coming year.
"Human spaceflight is o ... more |
NASA should expand search for life in the universe: NAS Report Washington DC (SPX) Oct 11, 2018
To advance the search for life in the universe, NASA should support research on a broader range of biosignatures and environments, and incorporate the field of astrobiology into all stages of future exploratory missions, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Astrobiology, the study of the origin, evolution, distributi ... more |
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AeroVironment contracted for Raven drones, spares, training Washington (UPI) Oct 11, 2018
AeroVironment has received a $13 million contract for Raven RQ-11B small unmanned aircraft systems.
The contract, announced Tuesday by the Department of Defense, covers recurring requirements for RQ-11B SUAS, spare parts, related equipment and training.
The SUAS will be directed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, which includes nations in Central America, South ... 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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Russia creates group to consider temporary shutdown of ISS after Soyuz incident Moscow (Sputnik) Oct 15, 2018
The Russian state commission, established after the failed liftoff of the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle on Thursday, has set up a subcommission to consider the options for further exploitation of the International Space Station (ISS), including the possibility of its temporary shutdown, a source in the rocket and space industry told Sputnik on Saturday.
"A subcommission has been created that wil ... more |
Update on the Hubble Space Telescope Safe Mode Greenbelt MD (SPX) Oct 15, 2018
NASA continues to work toward resuming science operations of the Hubble Space Telescope after the spacecraft entered safe mode due to a failed gyroscope (gyro) on Friday, Oct. 5.
Following the gyro failure, the Hubble operations team turned on a backup gyro on the spacecraft. However, that gyro did not perform as expected, reporting rotation rates that are orders of magnitude higher than t ... 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 |
Ultrafast optical fiber-based electron gun to reveal atomic motions Washington DC (SPX) Oct 10, 2018
One of the most enduring "Holy Grail" experiments in science has been attempts to directly observe atomic motions during structural changes. This prospect underpins the entire field of chemistry because a chemical process occurs during a transition state - the point of no return separating the reactant configuration from the product configuration.
What does that transition state look like ... more |
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No more Iron Man: submarines now have soft, robotic arms Boston MA (SPX) Oct 10, 2018
The human arm can perform a wide range of extremely delicate and coordinated movements, from turning a key in a lock to gently stroking a puppy's fur. The robotic "arms" on underwater research submarines, however, are hard, jerky, and lack the finesse to be able to reach and interact with creatures like jellyfish or octopuses without damaging them.
Previously, the Wyss Institute for Biolog ... 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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