The coming of 5G promises much more than simply better-than-wi-fi smartphone connectivity; it should enable a wide range of novel services, including asset tracking, autonomous driving and drone flying as well as the internet of things. Highly precise localisation is needed to make such innovations feasible however. ESA has led a major project assessing the potential of 5G and satellite navigation in combination and next month a webinar will make its initial findings public.

Beijing (XNA) Feb 23, 2021
China has been making continuous progress in the satellite navigation and positioning industry with significant moves and industrial applications in more diversified fields. The following facts and figures offer a glimpse of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) and China's latest moves to boost the sector: + China has recently released six documents detailing technical requir

New Delhi (Sputnik) Feb 19, 2021
Indian's armed forces will be equipped with around 5,5000 state-of-the-art software defined radios as the system currently in place has limited or no data transmission capability. India's Defence Ministry has announced that it will replace the army's Combat Net Radio (CNR) with state-of-the-art software defined radios (SDRs), which will be manufactured by Indian companies. Currently, CNR i

Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 19, 2021
Defense industry leaders have long indicated that Russia's advanced fifth-generation Su-57 fighter, equaled by only a handful of other jets in the skies, will have several special weapons designed for it. Russia's stealthy Su-57 is reportedly undergoing tests on its ability to carry a new hypersonic weapon, according to sources inside Russia's military-industrial complex. Russian med

Montgomery AL (The Conversation) Feb 19, 2021
The U.S. Space Force has a serious role to play in the modern world. Its stated mission is to train and equip personnel to defend U.S. interests in space. Given the increasing military and economic importance of space, the USSF is likely to grow in importance. But a quick internet search shows that for most people, the Space Force is more a meme than a military branch. It has been the subj

Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Feb 23, 2021
Astronomers have long been looking into the vast universe in hopes of discovering alien civilisations. But for a planet to have life, liquid water must be present. The chances of that finding scenario have seemed impossible to calculate because it has been the assumption that planets like Earth get their water by chance if a large, ice asteroid hits the planet. Now, researchers from the GL

Beijing (XNA) Feb 23, 2021
The lander and the rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have been switched to dormant mode for the lunar night after working stably for the 27th lunar day, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration. The lander was switched to dormant mode at 1:30 p.m. Friday (Beijing Time) as scheduled, and the rover, Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2), at 1:48 a.m.

Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Feb 23, 2021
Phobos and Deimos are the remains of a larger Martian moon that was disrupted between 1 and 2.7 billion years ago, say researchers from the Institute of Geophysics at ETH Zurich and the Physics Institute at the University of Zurich. They reached this conclusion using computer simulations and seismic recordings from the InSight Mars mission. Mars's two moons, Phobos and Deimos, have puzzled

Washington DC (SPX) Feb 23, 2021
Some microbes on Earth could temporarily survive on the surface of Mars, finds a new study by NASA and German Aerospace Center scientists. The researchers tested the endurance of microorganisms to Martian conditions by launching them into the Earth's stratosphere, as it closely represents key conditions on the Red Planet. Published in Frontiers in Microbiology, this work paves the way for unders

Orlando FL (UPI) Feb 23, 2021
NASA has delayed the test-firing of its SLS moon rocket that had been planned for Thursday to check out a faulty valve in the liquid propulsion system. When it happens, the test will ignite four powerful engines on the 212-foot-tall core stage of the Space Launch System rocket for four to eight minutes at the John C. Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi. NASA is preparing the rocke