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UK tests self driving robots for Mars![]() London, UK (SPX) Jan 03, 2019 As far as we know, Mars is the only planet populated entirely by robots! Due to the time taken for commands to travel to Mars (eight minutes each way), hand guided robots are limited to travelling only a few dozen metres a day. New software developed in the UK will change this, enabling future Mars rovers to make their own decisions about where to go and how to get there, driving up to a kilometre per day so delivering more scientific returns per mission. The UK is a world leader in robotics ... read more |
Russia continues work on plasma engine for superfast space travelMoscow (Sputnik) Jan 03, 2019 Scientists from Russia and around the world see plasma rocket technology as a crucial possible ingredient for speedy missions to Mars and beyond. Physicists from the Budker Institute of Nuclea ... more
ExoMars mission has good odds of finding life on Mars if life exists.Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 01, 2019 As Dr Dartnell pointed out, at this point it is unclear whether life actually exists on Mars; and if it does exist, it remains to be seen how similar this life may be to that on Earth. While N ... more
Mars Express gets festive: A winter wonderland on MarsParis (ESA) Dec 21, 2018 This image shows what appears to be a large patch of fresh, untrodden snow - a dream for any lover of the holiday season. However, it's a little too distant for a last-minute winter getaway: this fe ... more
Over Six Months Without Word From OpportunityPasadena CA (JPL) Dec 24, 2018 Mars atmospheric opacity (tau) over the rover site remains at a storm-free range around 1.0. No signal from Opportunity has been heard since Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018). Opportunity likely experi ... more |
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InSight Engineers Have Made a Martian Rock GardenPasadena CA (JPL) Dec 19, 2018 NASA's InSight lander is due to set its first science instrument on Mars in the coming days. But engineers here on Earth already saw it happen - last week. Like NASA's Curiosity rover, InSight ... more
Opportunity team performs more frequent communication attempts throughout each dayPasadena CA (JPL) Dec 17, 2018 Mars atmospheric opacity (tau) over the rover site remains at a storm-free range around 1.0. No signal from Opportunity has been heard since Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018). Opportunity likely experi ... more
Planetary scientists assist in capturing image of Insight from orbitLondon, Canada (SPX) Dec 14, 2018 Houston, there is no problem here. Eric Pilles assisted in capturing - for the first-time ever - extraordinary and highly significant scientific images of the NASA InSight robotic lander using HiRIS ... more
NASA's InSight takes its first selfiePasadena CA (JPL) Dec 12, 2018 NASA's InSight lander isn't camera-shy. The spacecraft used a camera on its robotic arm to take its first selfie - a mosaic made up of 11 images. This is the same imaging process used by NASA's Curi ... more
NASA's InSight lander 'hears' wind on MarsTampa (AFP) Dec 7, 2018 Humans can now hear the haunting, low rumble of wind on Mars for the first time, after NASA's InSight lander captured vibrations from the breeze on the Red Planet, the US space agency said Friday. ... more |
![]() NASA's Mars InSight Flexes Its Arm
InSight's robotic arm ready for some lifting on MarsWashington (UPI) Dec 7, 2018 NASA's newest Mars lander InSight is slowly readying itself for its scientific mission. The newest images captured by the lander's camera, and shared by NASA, showcase the spacecraft's robotic arm. ... more |
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Mars 2020 rover mission camera system 'Mastcam-Z' testing begins at ASUTempe AZ (SPX) Dec 06, 2018 Arizona State University research technician and Mars 2020 Mastcam-Z calibration engineer Andy Winhold waited patiently on the loading dock of ASU's Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building ... more
Over Five Months Without Word From OpportunityPasadena CA (JPL) Dec 03, 2018 Mars atmospheric opacity (tau) over the rover site remains at a storm-free level of 0.8. Since loss of signal on Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018), 359 recovery commands have been radiated including on ... more
Life at home on Mars in a Big SandboxPasadena CA (JPL) Dec 03, 2018 With InSight safely on the surface of Mars, the mission team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is busy learning more about the spacecraft's landing site. They knew when In ... more
Safely on Mars, InSight unfolds its arrays and snaps some picsWashington (AFP) Nov 29, 2018 After safely landing on Mars following its nearly seven month journey, NASA has released the first pictures taken by its InSight spacecraft, which has opened it solar arrays to charge batteries. ... more
SpaceBok robotic hopper being tested at ESA's Mars YardWashington (UPI) Nov 28, 2018 SpaceBok, a robotic hopper, is currently undergoing tested in the European Space Agency's Mars Yard. On Wednesday, ESA released an image of the four-legged robot navigating cragged, red-tinged rocks. ... more |
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Int'l payloads on Chang'e-4 start operation Beijing (XNA) Jan 11, 2019
China's Chang'e-4 probe has started carrying out a series of scientific research tasks involving multiple countries and organizations since it landed on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced Thursday.
The probe, comprising a lander and a rover, was launched on Dec. 8, 2018. The Yutu-2 rover left its first trace on the far side of the m ... more |
China launches Zhongxing-2D satellite Xichang (XNA) Jan 11, 2019
China sent Zhongxing-2D satellite into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 1:11 a.m. Friday.
The satellite has entered the preset orbit.
The Chinese-made communication and broadcasting satellite will provide transmission service for the country's radio, television stations and cable television networks.
The Zho ... more |
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NASA's Osiris-Rex probe takes flyby video of asteroid Bennu Washington (Sputnik) Jan 10, 2019
The US space agency NASA has released a series of photos from its Osiris-Rex spacecraft that shows a series of flybys of the 1,600-foot-wide asteroid Bennu.
The Osiris-Rex (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft arrived in orbit around Bennu, which orbits the sun between Earth and Mars, back in early December.
The craft has a ... more |
New Ultima Thule Discoveries from NASA's New Horizons Laurel MD (SPX) Jan 04, 2019
Data from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which explored Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule earlier this week, is yielding scientific discoveries daily.
"The first exploration of a small Kuiper Belt object and the most distant exploration of any world in history is now history, but almost all of the data analysis lies in the future," said Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boul ... more |
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NASA Research Reveals Saturn is Losing Its Rings at "Worst-Case-Scenario" Rate Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 18, 2018
New NASA research confirms that Saturn is losing its iconic rings at the maximum rate estimated from Voyager 1 and 2 observations made decades ago. The rings are being pulled into Saturn by gravity as a dusty rain of ice particles under the influence of Saturn's magnetic field.
"We estimate that this 'ring rain' drains an amount of water products that could fill an Olympic-sized swimming p ... more |
Satellite images reveal global poverty Aarhus, Denmark (SPX) Jan 08, 2019
How far have we come in achieving the UN's sustainable development goals that we are committed to nationally and internationally? Yes, it can be difficult to make a global assessment of poverty and poor economic conditions, but with an eye in the sky, researchers are able to give us a very good hint of the living conditions of populations in the world's poor countries.
If we are to achieve ... more |
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NASA fell victim to Trump-Congress Feud says Rogozin Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 10, 2019
NASA became the victim of the confrontation between US President Donald Trump and US Congress, Dmitry Rogozin the director general of Russian space agency Roscosmos, said Wednesday on NASA's decision to revoke his invitation to visit the United States.
"In this situation, this is part of the feud between the Congress and Trump. In this situation, NASA was the victim of this feud," Rogozin ... more |
Potential for life on planet around Barnard's Star Villanova PA (SPX) Jan 11, 2019
Barnard b (or GJ 699 b) is a recently discovered Super-Earth planet orbiting Barnard's Star, making it the second nearest star system to the Earth. Although likely cold (-170 degrees centigrade), it could still have the potential to harbor primitive life if it has a large, hot iron/nickel core and enhanced geothermal activity.
That was a conclusion announced by Villanova University Astroph ... more |
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Military help UK police respond to Heathrow drone threat London (AFP) Jan 9, 2019 Britain's armed forces were supporting police Wednesday at London's Heathrow Airport after a drone sighting led to the suspension of all departing flights for nearly an hour on Tuesday.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said the military had been sent to Europe's busiest airport at the request of police.
It follows a similar deployment at Gatwick Airport just three weeks ago after multi ... more |
Five things to know about January's total Lunar eclipse Syracuse NY (SPX) Jan 10, 2019
This month's rare total eclipse will be the last one visible from the United States until 2022.
Walter Freeman is an assistant teaching professor in the Physics Department at Syracuse University. Freeman answers five questions about the upcoming eclipse.
Freeman says: What should those in the viewing area of the Jan. 20-21 total lunar eclipse expect to see?
"Viewers will see a ... more |
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Navy test-fires low-cost, hypersonic-speed projectiles Washington (UPI) Jan 9, 2019
The U.S. Navy test-fired high-velocity projectiles using existing guns aboard a destroyer during an exercise last summer.
Twenty projectiles were successfully fired at near-hypersonic speed from the USS Dewey's standard Mk 45, five-inch main deck gun during the "Rim of the Pacific" exercises off Hawaii, the USNI News reported.
It was an attempt to learn if the 40-year-old gun's u ... more |
First evidence of gigantic remains from star explosions Lancaster UK (SPX) Jan 10, 2019
Astrophysicists have found the first ever evidence of gigantic remains being formed from repeated explosions on the surface of a dead star in the Andromeda Galaxy, 2.5 million light years from Earth. The remains or "super-remnant" measures almost 400 light years across. For comparison, it takes just 8 minutes for light from the Sun to reach us.
A white dwarf is the dead core of a star. Whe ... more |
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New squeezing record at GEO600 gravitational-wave detector Hannover, Germany (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
The detection of Einstein's gravitational waves relies on highly precise laser measurements of small length changes. The kilometer-size detectors of the international network (GEO600, LIGO, Virgo) are so sensitive that they are fundamentally limited by tiny quantum mechanical effects.
These cause a background noise which overlaps with gravitational-wave signals. This noise is always presen ... more |
Gemini: cosmic telescope zooms in on beginning of time Hilo HI (SPX) Jan 10, 2019
Before the cosmos reached its billionth birthday, some of the very first cosmic light began a long journey through the expanding universe. One particular beam of light, from an energetic source called a quasar, serendipitously passed near an intervening galaxy, whose gravity bent and magnified the quasar's light and refocused it in our direction, allowing telescopes like Gemini North to probe th ... more |
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Artificial bug eyes Washington DC (SPX) Jan 10, 2019
Single lens eyes, like those in humans and many other animals, can create sharp images, but the compound eyes of insects and crustaceans have an edge when it comes to peripheral vision, light sensitivity and motion detection.
That's why scientists are developing artificial compound eyes to give sight to autonomous vehicles and robots, among other applications. Now, a report in ACS Nano des ... more |
China launches Zhongxing-2D satellite Xichang (XNA) Jan 11, 2019
China sent Zhongxing-2D satellite into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 1:11 a.m. Friday.
The satellite has entered the preset orbit.
The Chinese-made communication and broadcasting satellite will provide transmission service for the country's radio, television stations and cable television networks.
The Zho ... more |
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