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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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| Previous Issues | Jan 14 | Jan 12 | Jan 11 | Jan 10 | Jan 09 |
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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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China envisions moon base after far-side success Beijing (AFP) Jan 14, 2019 China will seek to establish an international lunar base one day, possibly using 3D printing technology to build facilities, the Chinese space agency said Monday, weeks after landing a rover on the moon's far side.
The agency said four more lunar missions are planned, confirming the launch of a probe by the end of the year to bring back samples from the moon.
The future launches will cul ... more |
China to deepen lunar exploration: space expert Beijing (XNA) Jan 14, 2019
As the Chang'e-4 probe made the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon, a senior Chinese space expert said China will deepen its lunar exploration and venture further into the unknown.
China's current lunar program includes three phases: orbiting, landing, and returning. The first two phases have been accomplished, and the next step is to launch the Chang'e-5 probe to collect ... more |
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Large asteroid skims past Earth Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 15, 2019
The celestial body known as AG3 was first mapped in December. Scientists then prepared to keep track of it, as it was projected to pass in the Earth's vicinity two weeks into the new year.
A huge asteroid tracked by radars only a month ago passed just a short distance away from our planet in the early hours of Monday, The Express quoted the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as saying. The sp ... more |
Scientist Anticipated "Snowman" Asteroid Appearance Tucson AZ (SPX) Jan 15, 2019
On Jan. 2, the New Horizons spacecraft made the most distant flyby ever attempted, successfully returning images of the Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule. While the world is agog at the so-called "snowman" shape of this icy asteroid, the concept is nothing new to PSI scientist and artist, Bill Hartmann.
The figure shows paintings that Hartmann made from 1978 to 1996, to illustrate the possib ... 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 |
UK Space Agency COMPASS project aims to to improve crop yields for Mexican farmers Harwell UK (SPX) Jan 11, 2019
SIAP, the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food - part of the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture (SAGARPA) - has signed a declaration of intent with the UK Space Agency to provide historic, statistical and satellite data to support Rezatec's development of a crop yield optimisation tool for Mexican farmers and other supply chain stakeholders.
The Mexican ... more |
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India plans manned space mission by December 2021 Bangalore, India (AFP) Jan 11, 2019
India will send its first manned mission into space by December 2021, the head of the country's space agency said on Friday.
The three-person mission would make the Asian giant the fourth country after Russia, the United States and China to put people in space.
"We are planning to have the first unmanned mission by December 2020, the second by July 2021, and the manned mission by Decembe ... 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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Closing The Space Launch Information Gap Houston TX (SPX) Jan 15, 2019
The space revolution is underway. The excitement in the industry is palpable, and new staggering achievements are being accomplished at almost a daily rate. There is also a rapidly increasing tempo of new company announcements, new players who want to serve existing space markets or create new ones. New space companies are creating significant value, but how can anyone see through the hype to kn ... more |
Russia loses control of only space telescope Moscow (AFP) Jan 14, 2019
Russia has lost control of its only space radio telescope but officials are working to re-establish communication, the country's beleaguered space agency said Monday.
The incident is the latest setback for Russia's debt-laden space industry, which in recent years has suffered the loss of spacecraft, satellites, and a failed manned launch.
Roscosmos said a US observatory detected signals ... 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 |
Big Bang query: Mapping how a mysterious liquid became all matter Bethlehem PA (SPX) Jan 15, 2019
The leading theory about how the universe began is the Big Bang, which says that 14 billion years ago the universe existed as a singularity, a one-dimensional point, with a vast array of fundamental particles contained within it. Extremely high heat and energy caused it to inflate and then expand into the cosmos as we know it?and, the expansion continues to this day.
The initial result of ... 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 to deepen lunar exploration: space expert Beijing (XNA) Jan 14, 2019
As the Chang'e-4 probe made the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon, a senior Chinese space expert said China will deepen its lunar exploration and venture further into the unknown.
China's current lunar program includes three phases: orbiting, landing, and returning. The first two phases have been accomplished, and the next step is to launch the Chang'e-5 probe to collect ... more |
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