Thomas Pesquet takes commanding role on Space Station
Monday, 04 October 2021 18:38
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Today ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet became commander of the International Space Station, taking over from Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut and fellow Crew-2 member Akihiko Hoshide. Thomas will hold this role until shortly before Crew-2 return to Earth in November.
Science of Psyche: Unique asteroid holds clues to early solar system
Monday, 04 October 2021 15:54 Write a comment
Set to launch next year, NASA's Psyche mission marks the first time the agency has set out to explore an asteroid richer in metal than rock or ice.
More than 150 years have passed since novelist Jules Verne wrote "Journey to the Center of the Earth," but reality has yet to catch up with that science fiction adventure. While humans can't bore a path to our planet's metallic core, NASA has its sights set on visiting a giant asteroid that may be the frozen remains of the molten core of a bygone world.
Russia film crew set to blast off to make 1st movie in space
Monday, 04 October 2021 15:46 Write a comment
NGA renews Maxar contract for satellite imagery
Monday, 04 October 2021 15:16 Write a comment
Maxar Technologies won a $44 million contract option from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to continue to provide U.S. government agencies with access to unclassified high-resolution commercial imagery from Maxar and other commercial data providers.
Destiny | Space Station 360 (in French with English subtitles available)
Monday, 04 October 2021 14:30 Write a comment
Video:
00:02:06
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet takes you on a tour of the International Space Station like no other. Filmed with a 360 camera, the Space Station 360 series lets you explore for yourself alongside Thomas’s explanation – episode seven is NASA’s Destiny laboratory.
The International Space Station’s fourth module, Destiny, was waunched on 7 February 2001 on Space Shuttle Atlantis. The American module is the heart of the non-Russian part of the Station and allows experiments to be performed in many disciplines, from biology to physics, including a rack for burning liquids in weightlessness and the European Microgravity Science
Enhanced Proton M Launch System – New Features
Monday, 04 October 2021 13:23 Write a comment
In 2021 the enhanced Proton M launch system celebrates the 20th anniversary since the start of its operation. Since then, 100+ missions have been completed with the last 21 launches being successful (no issues reported by customers).
First Copernicus satellite exceeds design working life
Monday, 04 October 2021 13:20 Write a comment
This week marks seven years since the very first satellite that ESA built for the European Union’s Copernicus programme started delivering data to monitor the environment. The Sentinel-1A satellite has shed new light on our changing world and has been key to supplying a wealth of radar imagery to aid disaster response. While this remarkable satellite may have been designed for an operational life of seven years, it is still going strong and fully expected to be in service for several years to come.
First Russian film in space an 'experiment': director
Monday, 04 October 2021 13:07 Write a comment
Russian film director Klim Shipenko said Monday the first movie in orbit would be an "experiment," on the eve of his journey into space hoping to beat a rival Hollywood project.
The 38-year-old director and one of Russia's most famous actresses, Yulia Peresild, 37, are due to blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan at 0855 GMT on Tuesday to shoot scenes for upcoming Russian movie "The Challenge".
Russia's space agency Roscosmos is sending them into orbit with experienced cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, 49. Cosmonauts on board the International Space Station are expected to appear in cameo roles in the film.
The 12-day mission was announced in September 2020, four months after a Hollywood project involving "Mission Impossible" actor Tom Cruise was revealed.
"We are doing an experiment," Shipenko told reporters.
"There is nobody to get advice from. There is not a single cameraman who could answer how to work with light from a porthole," he told an online news conference.
On top of directing, he will also be handling the cameras, lighting, sound and make-up.
Shipenko conceded that "some things will work out and some things will not".
To boldly go: Star Trek's Shatner spacebound with Blue Origin
Monday, 04 October 2021 13:04 Write a comment
Blue Origin on Monday confirmed William Shatner, who starred as Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek series, will fly to space October 12 aboard the company's crewed rocket, becoming the oldest ever astronaut.
"I've heard about space for a long time now. I'm taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle," said the 90-year-old Canadian actor in a statement.
The science fiction television show aired for only three seasons starting in 1966, but was hugely influential in popular culture and has spawned more than a dozen movies and several spin-off series.
It was notable for the utopian vision of its creator Gene Rodenberry, who imagined a future where by the 23rd century humanity had put aside its divisions and united with other peaceful space-faring civilizations.
Meeting Mercury
Monday, 04 October 2021 13:00 Write a comment
Video:
00:01:01
A beautiful sequence of 53 images taken by the monitoring cameras on board the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission as the spacecraft made its first close flyby of its destination planet Mercury on 1 October 2021.
The compilation includes images from two of the three Monitoring Cameras (MCAM) onboard the Mercury Transfer Module, which provides black-and-white snapshots at 1024 x 1024 pixel resolution. It is not possible to image with the high-resolution camera suite during the cruise phase. The MCAMs also capture parts of the spacecraft: MCAM-2 sees the medium-gain antenna and magnetometer boom, while the high-gain
South Korea’s air force opens space ops center
Monday, 04 October 2021 12:57 Write a comment
South Korea’s air force has launched a space center that will play a central role in drawing space policies for the nation’s armed forces as well as enhancing cooperation with domestic and international partners, including U.S. Space Force
Star Trek’s William Shatner to fly on next New Shepard flight
Monday, 04 October 2021 12:55 Write a comment
Blue Origin confirmed Oct. 4 that William Shatner, the actor best known at Capt. James T. Kirk from the original “Star Trek” TV series and movies, will fly on the company’s next New Shepard suborbital flight this month.
Video: We asked a NASA technologist – is there oxygen on Mars?
Monday, 04 October 2021 10:07 Write a comment
Is there oxygen on Mars? Technically yes, but it's nothing like the amount we have on Earth. So breathing is out of the question. However, there is a lot of carbon dioxide (CO2) on Mars.
Now, a new technology—MOXIE—has proven that we can convert Martian CO2 into oxygen for use by future explorers. NASA engineer Asad Aboobaker tells us more.
Space technology rocketing upwards, reports IDTechEx
Monday, 04 October 2021 08:17 Write a comment
Space. The final frontier, the first step in a journey just beginning, or a horrifying void matched only by your deep fear of the ocean? Whatever your feelings on space, technology has been steadily pushing forwards to take exploration further, faster, and foodier than ever before.
Space for seconds?
Many people are familiar with the concept of freeze-dried food for astronauts, from Planets gone rogue could sustain life
Monday, 04 October 2021 08:17 Write a comment
A rogue planet is an interstellar object of planetary mass without a host planetary system. As they freely roam around space, could they be fertile nurseries for life?
A Florida Tech scientist believes it's possible based on extensive research he has undertaken over the past several years.
In research highlighted this summer in Discover Magazine, university astrobiologist Manasvi Lin