Climate change is launching a mutant seed space race
Monday, 06 March 2023 16:55
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Hurtling around the Earth at more than 20 times the speed of sound, some of the tiniest life forms aboard the International Space Station are on a mission to feed people on a warming planet.
Seeds of sorghum and cress launched into orbit by the International Atomic Energy Agency are tethered to the capsule via a thin metal box. That's exposing them to more-intense solar radiation in a trial to induce genetic mutations so they can survive hotter temperatures, drier soils, spreading pestilence and rising sea levels.
"Most astrobotany until now has been to test how plants can be grown to feed astronauts for eventual space colonies," Shoba Sivasankar, the IAEA's head of genetics and plant breeding, said at her lab outside Vienna. "This experiment is different because it is designed to help people on Earth adapt to climate change."
Farmers from Argentina to California, France and India are struggling to maintain yields amid global warming, with rising prices for the key crops used to bake bread weighing on political stability. Drought gripping North Africa is curbing local wheat harvests, potentially boosting demand in one of the world's top import regions.
Working together to make a difference
Monday, 06 March 2023 16:00 Write a comment
A partnership between ESA and PLAYMOBIL continues to inspire and educate children about space. It also helps to support the children’s humanitarian organisation UNICEF and its work with vulnerable children around the world.
NASA delivers hardware for commercial lunar payload mission
Monday, 06 March 2023 15:02 Write a comment
Ever wondered how your phone knows exactly where you are? Or how it can provide directions from one place to another?
In the United States, we rely on the Global Positioning System (GPS)—a satellite constellation orbiting Earth that provides precise location and timing information. What a lot of people don't know is that GPS is just one constellation of location and timing satellites. There are currently six GPS-like systems, known as global navigation satellite systems, or GNSS, that provide navigation services to Earthlings traveling the globe.
But what if we could use these Earth-based systems beyond our planet?
In 2024, as part of the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, Firefly Aerospace will land the "Blue Ghost" lander on the lunar surface.
How Galileo works - infographic
Monday, 06 March 2023 13:01 Write a comment
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How Galileo works - infographic HydroGNSS twice as good
Monday, 06 March 2023 12:57 Write a comment
ESA’s HydroGNSS mission will now comprise two identical satellites to halve the time it takes to revisit the same place on Earth’s surface and re-measure various climate variables such soil moisture. Having two satellites in orbit will significantly improve the science that this exciting new Scout mission will yield.
NASA shifts focus of suborbital crew program
Monday, 06 March 2023 12:21 Write a comment
A NASA program originally intended to fly astronauts on commercial suborbital vehicles has evolved into a broader effort to enable flights by agency personnel and supporting the nascent industry.
Lonestar raises $5 million for lunar data centers
Monday, 06 March 2023 10:00 Write a comment
SAN FRANCISCO – Lonestar Data Holdings raised $5 million in seed funding for its plan to establish lunar data centers. Scout Ventures led the round.
China plans robotic spacecraft to collect samples from asteroid
Monday, 06 March 2023 04:42 Write a comment
The Chinese government has approved a plan to send a robotic spacecraft to collect samples from an asteroid, according to the China National Space Administration's Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center.
The mission, called Tianwen 2, is designed to launch a probe to obtain samples from the 2016 HO3, the smallest and closest "quasi-satellite" to Earth, and bring them back. After accomp NASA seeks commercial near space network services
Monday, 06 March 2023 04:42 Write a comment
The Near Space Network provides missions within 2 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) of Earth with robust communications and navigation services. Using a blend of government and commercial assets, the network supports science, human spaceflight, and technology demonstration missions exploring our planet, the Moon, and beyond.
In February 2023, NASA issued the Near Space Network Service AI draws most accurate map of star birthplaces in the Galaxy
Monday, 06 March 2023 04:42 Write a comment
Stars are formed by molecular gas and dust coalescing in space. These molecular gases are so dilute and cold that they are invisible to the human eye, but they do emit faint radio waves that can be observed by radio telescopes.
Observing from Earth, a lot of matter lies ahead and behind these molecular clouds and these overlapping features make it difficult to determine their distance and NASA proposes final extension of ISS cargo contracts
Sunday, 05 March 2023 20:15 Write a comment
NASA is proposing extending three existing contracts to transport cargo to and from the International Space Station through the anticipated end of the station in 2030, rather than recompete them.
Sols 3759-3761: More Analyses of the Tapo Caparo Drill Sample
Sunday, 05 March 2023 04:50 Write a comment
Curiosity is in the middle of a drill campaign at Tapo Caparo to characterize the rhythmically laminated unit of the Marker Band. Earlier this week CheMin got a first taste of this sample, and now it is SAM's turn.
The focus of the 3-sol weekend plan is to drop off some sample to SAM, and then perform an Evolved Gas Analysis (EGA) - which involves heating up the sample to very high tempera Sol 3756: Sit back and wait for the data to roll in
Sunday, 05 March 2023 04:50 Write a comment
Today we planned a single sol plan. We are in the middle of the Tapo Caparo drill campaign. In yesterday's plan we delivered 2 portions of sample to our CheMin instrument for mineralogy. That analysis will run overnight on Mars which corresponds to the middle of the day Tuesday, on Earth. That meant we did not have any new information to react to this morning for planning.
We still have pl University Teams forge forward in NASA Moon metal production challenge
Sunday, 05 March 2023 04:50 Write a comment
Seven university teams were selected to develop concepts supporting metal production on the Moon in NASA's 2023 annual Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge: Lunar Forge.
The awards total about $1.1 million, with values between $120,000 and $180,000 based on each team's proposed concept. The challenge is a unique collaboration between NASA's Space Technology Missi Solid-gas carbonate formation during dust events on Mars
Sunday, 05 March 2023 04:50 Write a comment
A joint research team led by Dr. Xiaohui Fu and Dr. Zhongchen Wu from Shandong University, China, proposed a new carbonate formation mechanism in Martian dust activities based on simulation experimental studies.
Carbonates are general products of aqueous processes on Earth. For Mars, carbonate minerals have been considered a sink for an early dense CO2 atmosphere. Orbital spectroscopic inv