Experiments show algae can survive in Mars-like environment
Thursday, 30 December 2021 07:31
Chinese researchers have demonstrated that algae can survive in a Mars-like environment during four experiments since 2019, raising the hope that mankind might be able to turn the barren planet into an earth-like green one in the future.
In a seven-hour experiment which took place in September this year, algae were carried by a helium balloon to an altitude of 30,000 meters and survived fo Virgin Orbit expected to list on NASDAQ
Thursday, 30 December 2021 07:31
NextGen Acquisition Corp. II stockholders has approved the previously-announced business combination with Vieco USA, Inc., the parent company of Virgin Orbit ("Virgin Orbit" or the "Company"), at a special meeting of stockholders held. A Form 8-K disclosing the full voting results is expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Also, NextGen and the Virgin Group announ Carbonaceous chondrite impact responsible for lunar water: study
Thursday, 30 December 2021 07:31
A Chinese research team has found that a meteorite hit the moon about one million years ago through data sent by the Chang'e-4 probe, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The impact event is believed to be related with carbonaceous chondrites, a water-rich class of asteroids, according to Liu Yang with the National Space Science Center (NSSC) under the CAS, corresponding aut James Webb telescope completes tower extension
Thursday, 30 December 2021 07:31
The James Webb Space Telescope continued to deploy perfectly Wednesday as it flew over 360,000 miles from Earth on a million-plus-mile journey to its destination.
The latest maneuver for the $10 billion observatory was to extend its Deployable Tower Assembly, which hoists the giant gold reflective mirror a little further from the thruster and heat shield.
The tower extension occu Satellogic to build high-throughput manufacturing plant in Netherlands
Thursday, 30 December 2021 07:31
Satellogic, a leader in sub-meter resolution satellite imagery collection, announced that it will be constructing a high-throughput satellite manufacturing facility in the Netherlands.
This 57,000 square foot new location is expected to accelerate the company's assembly of satellites and accommodate its state-of-the-art manufacturing, integration, and testing equipment. In addition to havi China launches Tianhui 4 satellite into orbit
Thursday, 30 December 2021 07:31
China launched the Tianhui 4 satellite into space on Wednesday evening from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.
The State-owned space contractor said the satellite was deployed by a Long March 2D carrier rocket that blasted off at 7:13 pm and has entered orbit.
Tianhui 4, built by the compa First ViaSat-3 pushing through pandemic challenges for 2022 launch
Wednesday, 29 December 2021 17:55
The first ViaSat-3 broadband satellite is on track to launch in the first half of 2022 despite ongoing pandemic-related challenges, according to Viasat’s recently appointed chief operating officer Kevin Harkenrider.
Precise Ariane 5 launch likely to extend Webb's expected lifetime
Wednesday, 29 December 2021 16:30
After a successful launch of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope on 25 December, and completion of two mid-course correction manoeuvres, the Webb team has analysed its initial trajectory and determined the observatory should have enough propellant to allow support of science operations in orbit for significantly more than a 10-year lifetime (the minimum baseline for the mission is five years).
Japan wants a JAXA astronaut to be first “non-American” to join a NASA lunar landing
Wednesday, 29 December 2021 16:07
Japan’s recently elected prime minister set an end-of-the-decade goal for sending Japanese astronauts to the moon as part of the U.S.-led Artemis program.
Blue Origin joins U.S. military ‘rocket cargo’ program
Wednesday, 29 December 2021 14:38
Blue Origin has signed a cooperative agreement with the U.S. military to explore the possibility of using its rockets to transport cargo and people around the world.
With its single 'eye,' NASA's DART returns first images from space
Wednesday, 29 December 2021 12:45
Just two weeks after launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft has opened its "eye" and returned its first images from space—a major operational milestone for the spacecraft and DART team.
After the violent vibrations of launch and the extreme temperature shift to minus 80 degrees C in space, scientists and engineers at the mission operations center at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, held their breath in anticipation. Because components of the spacecraft's telescopic instrument are sensitive to movements as small as 5 millionths of a meter, even a tiny shift of something in the instrument could be very serious.
JWST begins sunshield deployment
Wednesday, 29 December 2021 11:32
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has started the process of deploying the sunshield required to keep the spacecraft cold enough to operate, a process that is one of the riskiest aspects of the mission.
Virgin Orbit raises far less than expected from SPAC merger
Wednesday, 29 December 2021 10:46
Virgin Orbit will get less than half the money it originally expected from its merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) as that deal wins shareholder approval.
Webb Telescope Aft Sunshield Pallet Deployed
Wednesday, 29 December 2021 06:07
Webb is beginning to resemble the form it will take when it is fully deployed - now that the mission operations team has successfully deployed and latched into place the observatory's forward and aft Unitized Pallet Structures.
The team began working through the deployment of the forward pallet this morning, concluding at approximately 1:21 p.m. EST. The team then moved on to the aft palle Perseverance Samples in Review: 2021
Wednesday, 29 December 2021 06:07
As the 2021 calendar year comes to a close, it's nice to sit back and reflect on all the progress we've made on Mars this year. It's been a busy ~300 sols for both Perseverance and our helicopter sidekick, Ingenuity!
One of Perseverance's mission objectives is to collect and store samples of the martian surface for eventual return back to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. T