China wants to retrieve a sample of Mars by 2028
Monday, 13 November 2023 16:27
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China continues to take great strides as part of its goal to become a superpower in space and a direct competitor with NASA. In addition to its proposed expansion of the Tiangong space station and the creation of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), China is also planning on sending crewed missions to Mars in the coming decade. In preparation for the arrival of taikonauts on the red planet, China is gearing up to return samples of Martian soil and rock to Earth roughly two years ahead of the proposed NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return (MSR).
This mission will be the third in the China National Space Administration's (CNSA) Tianwen program (Tianwen-3) and will consist of a pair of launches in 2028 that will return samples to Earth in July 2031.
AI chemist synthesizes catalyst for oxygen production from Martian meteorites: One step closer to Mars immigration?
Monday, 13 November 2023 15:00 Write a comment
Immigration to and living on Mars have long been depicted in science fiction. But before that dream turns into reality, there is a hurdle humans have to overcome—the lack of chemicals such as oxygen essential for long-term survival on the planet. However, the recent discovery of water activity on Mars is promising.
Scientists are now exploring the possibility of decomposing water to produce oxygen through electrochemical water oxidation driven by solar power with the help of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts. The challenge is to find a way to synthesize these catalysts in situ using materials on Mars, instead of transporting them from the Earth, which is costly.
To tackle this problem, a team led by Prof. Luo Yi, Prof.
From Kyiv to Taipei: Unraveling the impact of space on military and Taiwan’s daunting prospects
Monday, 13 November 2023 14:00
From Kyiv to Taipei: Unraveling the impact of space on military power and Taiwan’s daunting prospects
Monday, 13 November 2023 14:00A successful liftoff: Space shuttle Endeavour's rockets are installed
Monday, 13 November 2023 13:40 Write a comment
In a delicate maneuver, crews successfully lifted into place giant rockets at the California Science Center, the first large components installed at the future home of the space shuttle Endeavour.
Donated by Northrup Grumman, the solid rocket motors are each the size of a Boeing 757 fuselage and weigh 104,000 pounds. They had to be carefully moved from a horizontal to vertical position by crane before being lowered into place in the new exhibit at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.
One was installed Tuesday, the other Wednesday.
Crews were then able to place the 177 pins attaching each solid rocket motor to the base of the solid rocket booster, known as the aft skirt. Each pin is 1 inch in diameter and about 2 inches long.
"It felt great," California Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph said of the successful installation. "We've got two solid rocket motors standing tall in the new building now."
Visitors to the museum can now see the top of the rockets from outside the construction site. At one point during the crane lift, the solid rocket motors could even be seen from the 110 Freeway.
SpaceNews 2023 Icon Awards honorees: Space Stewardship
Monday, 13 November 2023 13:37
Monitoring methane emissions from space
Monday, 13 November 2023 11:00 Write a comment
Video:
00:03:23
Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. Curbing methane emissions could deliver immediate and long-lasting benefits for the climate, seeing as the gas only lingers in the atmosphere for a relatively short time.
Satellites have a really important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Tropomi instrument onboard the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite is the only instrument that maps global methane concentrations every single day. This lets scientists detect hotspots for large methane sources around the world – allowing us to address the consequences of methane emissions on our
Monitoring methane from space
Monday, 13 November 2023 11:00 Write a comment
Video:
00:03:23
Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. Curbing methane emissions could deliver immediate and long-lasting benefits for the climate, seeing as the gas only lingers in the atmosphere for a relatively short time.
Satellites have a really important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Tropomi instrument onboard the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite is the only instrument that maps global methane concentrations every single day. This lets scientists detect hotspots for large methane sources around the world – allowing us to address the consequences of methane emissions on our
Two ESA Φ-lab-enabled satellites launched
Monday, 13 November 2023 08:15 Write a comment
MANTIS, the first satellite mission to be supported from concept to liftoff by ESA’s Earth Observation InCubed programme, has been launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. MANTIS carries a high-resolution multispectral camera coupled with a powerful AI processing unit.
Intuition-1 was also launched on the same rocket and will similarly demonstrate the advantages of onboard AI capabilities, in this case in tandem with a hyperspectral imager. The satellite’s machine learning algorithms were developed under the ESA-funded Genesis project
A third pair of SES' O3b mPower satellites launches from Cape Canaveral
Monday, 13 November 2023 02:10 Write a comment
In a significant advancement for global telecommunications, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched two new communication satellites, O3b mPOWER 5 and 6, for Luxembourg-based SES S.A. The launch occurred on Sunday at the opening of their 89-minute window at 4:08 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. These satellites are destined for a Halo Space, Eos X and Arthur D. Little Spain indicted for unlawful use of Zero 2 Infinity’s trade secrets
Monday, 13 November 2023 00:45
SpaceX launches final pair of O3b mPower satellites needed for commercial services
Sunday, 12 November 2023 23:53
Rogue Space launches its first demonstration mission on Transporter-9
Sunday, 12 November 2023 15:39
Saber Astronautics gets Space Force contract for data visualization software
Sunday, 12 November 2023 14:33
TRISAT-R CubeSat: A Glimpse of Earth through the Eye of a Coin-Sized Camera
Sunday, 12 November 2023 05:21 Write a comment
In a striking display of miniaturized innovation, the European Space Agency's TRISAT-R CubeSat has provided a unique perspective of our planet Earth from an altitude of 6,000 kilometers, captured through a camera no larger than the edge of a 20-cent coin. This technological feat, demonstrating the prowess of highly compact space technology, has been a part of Slovenia's second space mission, sig