NASA Experiment Sheds Light on Highly Charged Moon Dust
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 19:29
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Researchers are studying data from a recent suborbital flight test to better understand lunar regolith, or Moon dust, and its potentially damaging effects as NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the lunar surface under the Artemis campaign. The experiment, developed jointly by NASA and the University of Central Florida, sheds light on how these abrasive dust grains interact with astronauts, ATLAS Space helps make Space Force's Tactically Responsive Space mission a success
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In a significant collaboration between private sector innovation and military space operations, ATLAS Space Operations, a frontrunner in Ground Software as a Service (GSaaS), has successfully supported the U.S. Space Force's VICTUS NOX program through a contract with Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing Company. This partnership underscores the pivotal role of rapid, adaptable ground support in ad Over 120 Grams of Asteroid Bennu Material Delivered by OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft
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NASA's groundbreaking OSIRIS-REx mission has set a new benchmark in space exploration by delivering a staggering 4.29 ounces (121.6 grams) of asteroid material to Earth, marking the largest ever asteroid sample collection. The spacecraft's triumphant return on September 24, 2023, with samples from asteroid Bennu, not only surpassed the mission's initial goal of 60 grams but also highlighted the Sideways American lander sends first images back from Moon
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An American lunar lander that tipped over during touchdown has sent back its first images from the farthest south any vessel has ever landed on the Moon.
The uncrewed Odysseus, built by Houston-based Intuitive Machines, returned the United States to Earth's cosmic neighbor last week after a five-decade absence, in a first for the private sector.
But one of its legs caught on the surface Three years later, search for life on Mars continues
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In the three years since NASA's Perseverance rover touched down on Mars, the NASA science team has made the daily task of investigating the red planet seem almost mundane.
The rover and its helicopter sidekick Ingenuity have captured stunning images of Mars and collected 23 unique rock core samples along 17 miles of an ancient river delta.
One science team member, University of Cinci NASA's New Horizons Detects Dusty Hints of Extended Kuiper Belt
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Speeding through the outer edges of the Kuiper Belt, almost 60 times farther from the Sun than Earth, the New Horizons Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter (SDC) instrument is detecting higher than expected levels of dust - the tiny frozen remnants of collisions between larger Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) and particles kicked up from KBOs being peppered by microscopic dust impactors from outside of New moons of Uranus and Neptune announced
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The Solar System has some new lunar members-the first new moon of Uranus discovered in more than 20 years, and likely the smallest, as well as two new moons of Neptune, one of which is the faintest moon ever discovered by ground-based telescopes. The discoveries were announced by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center.
"The three newly discovered moons are the faintest China names its capsule and lander for its upcoming human lunar missions
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 19:20 Write a comment
In a recent announcement, the Chinese Space Agency (CSA) unveiled the names for its forthcoming lunar mission components. The CSA have been working toward sending humans to the moon through a series of robotic missions. The 22-ton capsule that is taking the astronauts to the moon is called Mengzhuo (translates to "dream vessel") and the lander has been named Lanyue (meaning "embracing the moon"). Assuming all goes to plan, they will send two humans and a rover to the surface of the moon by 2030.
Despite the fact that the CSA have not published a date for the mission yet, if all goes well, they will become the second country to get humans to the lunar surface. The capsules will launch to the moon atop their new super-heavy-lift carrier rocket named Long March 10.
According to Chinese state media, the Mengzhou spacecraft will include the re-entry module designed to house the astronauts and will also function as a control center. In addition to this, there will be the service module that is home to power and propulsion systems.
Space Force to lean on private sector for space tracking data
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 18:32
Highlights of results from space station science in 2023
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The International Space Station is a microgravity research lab hosting groundbreaking technology demonstrations and scientific investigations. More than 3,700 investigations conducted to date have generated roughly 500 research articles published in scientific journals. In 2023, the orbiting lab hosted more than 500 investigations.
See more space station research achievements and findings in the Annual Highlights of Results publication, and read highlights of results published between October 2022 and October 2023 below:
A new spin on pulsars
Neutron stars, an ultra-dense matter left behind when massive stars explode as supernovas, are also called pulsars because they spin and emit X-ray radiation in beams that sweep the sky like lighthouses. The Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) collects this radiation to study the structure, dynamics, and energetics of pulsars. Researchers used NICER data to calculate the rotations of six pulsars and update mathematical models of their spin properties.
Precise measurements enhance the understanding of pulsars, including their production of gravitational waves, and help address fundamental questions about matter and gravity.
Artemis II crew, recovery teams train for final phase of moon mission
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 17:13 Write a comment
NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover is assisted by U.S. Navy personnel as he exits a mockup of the Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean during training Feb. 25, while his crewmates look on.
The Artemis II crew and a team from NASA and the Department of Defense are spending several days at sea to test the procedures and tools that will be used to help the crew to safety when they splash down in the ocean at the end of their 10-day, 685,000-mile journey around the moon next year as part of the first crewed mission under NASA's Artemis campaign.
On the day of the crew's return to Earth, a Navy ship with specially trained personnel will await splashdown and then approach the Orion capsule to help extract the four astronauts. An inflatable raft, called the front porch, will provide a place for them to rest when they exit the capsule before they are then individually hoisted by helicopters and flown to the waiting ship.
Artemis II, launching atop the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will test the Orion spacecraft's life support systems needed for future lunar missions.
A NASA mission that collided with an asteroid didn't just leave a dent. It reshaped the space rock
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 16:08 Write a comment
A frequent idea in sci-fi and apocalyptic films is that of an asteroid striking Earth and causing global devastation. While the probabilities of this kind of mass extinction occurring on our planet are incredibly small, they are not zero.
The results of Nasa's Dart mission to the asteroid Dimorphos have now been published in Nature Astronomy. They contain fascinating details about the composition of this asteroid and whether we can defend Earth against incoming space rocks.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (Dart) was a spacecraft mission that launched in November 2021. It was sent to an asteroid called Dimorphos and commanded to collide with it, head on, in September 2022.
Dimorphos posed and poses no threat to Earth in the near future. But the mission was designed to see if deflecting an asteroid away from a collision course with Earth was possible through "kinetic" means—in other words, a direct impact of a human-made object on its surface.
Asteroid missions are never easy.
Toppled moon lander sends back more images, with only hours left until it dies
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 15:27 Write a comment
A moon lander that ended up on its side managed to beam back more pictures, with only hours remaining before it dies.
Electrodes in spacesuits could protect astronauts from harmful dust on Mars
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 15:20 Write a comment
To quote NASA associate administrator Jim Reuter, sending crewed missions to Mars by 2040 is an "audacious goal." The challenges include the distance involved, which can take up to six months to traverse using conventional propulsion methods. Then there's the hazard posed by radiation, which includes increased exposure to solar particles, flares, and galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). And then there's the time the crews will spend in microgravity during transits, which can take a serious toll on human health, physiology, and psychology.
But what about the challenges of living and working on Mars for several months at a time? While elevated radiation and lower gravity are a concern, so is Martian regolith. Like lunar regolith, dust on Mars will adhere to astronauts' spacesuits and inflict wear on their equipment. However, it also contains harmful particles that must be removed to prevent contaminating habitats.
Could tardigrades have colonized the moon?
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 15:04 Write a comment
Just over five years ago, on 22 February 2019, an unmanned space probe was placed in orbit around the moon. Named Beresheet and built by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries, it was intended to be the first private spacecraft to perform a soft landing. Among the probe's payload were tardigrades, renowed for their ability to survive in even the harshest climates.
The mission ran into trouble from the start, with the failure of "star tracker" cameras intended to determine the spacecraft's orientation and thus properly control its motors. Budgetary limitations had imposed a pared-down design, and while the command center was able to work around some problems, things got even trickier on 11 April, the day of the landing.