NASA's near space network enables PACE climate mission to 'phone home'
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 18:21
The PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission has delivered its first operational data back to researchers, a feat made possible in part by innovative, data-storing technology from NASA's Near Space Network, which introduced two key enhancements for PACE and other upcoming science missions.
As a satellite orbits in space, its systems generate critical data about the spacecraft's health, location, battery life, and more. All of this occurs while the mission's science instruments capture images and data supporting the satellite's overall objective.
This data is then encoded and sent back to Earth via radio waves through NASA's Near Space Network and Deep Space Network—but not without challenges.
One challenge is extreme distances, where disruptions or delays are common.
On-demand nutrient production system for long-duration space missions
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 17:36
When astronauts embark on long space missions, they'll need to grow their own food because pre-packaged meals from Earth lose their nutritional value over time. The BioNutrients project at Ames Research Center's Space Biosciences Division has solved this problem by using genetic engineering to create microbially-based food that can produce nutrients and compounds, such as medicines, with minimal resources.
The process involves storing dried microbes and food-grade media in small bioreactors, which can be rehydrated and grown years later.
BioNutrients-3 yields fresh kefir in lunar analog mission
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 17, 2024
To sustain astronauts on extended space voyages, Ames Research Center's Space Biosciences Division has engineered a microbially-based food system under the BioNutrients initiative. This innovative approach leverages genetic engineering to produce vital nutrients and medicinal compounds using minimal resources. It involves the use of dried microbes and food-grade media stored in compact bioreacto
To sustain astronauts on extended space voyages, Ames Research Center's Space Biosciences Division has engineered a microbially-based food system under the BioNutrients initiative. This innovative approach leverages genetic engineering to produce vital nutrients and medicinal compounds using minimal resources. It involves the use of dried microbes and food-grade media stored in compact bioreacto Boeing Starliner rolls to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of May launch
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Washington DC (UPI) Apr 16, 2024
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft took a road trip Tuesday before its May 6 liftoff, moving from the Kennedy Space Center to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Starliner boarded a transporter at the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on Monday. Final checks were completed Tuesday for the short trip to the United Launch Alliance's Vertical Integration
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft took a road trip Tuesday before its May 6 liftoff, moving from the Kennedy Space Center to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Starliner boarded a transporter at the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on Monday. Final checks were completed Tuesday for the short trip to the United Launch Alliance's Vertical Integration Ariane 6 debut includes Portugal's first university CubeSat for aircraft tracking
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Apr 17, 2024
Europe's next-generation rocket, Ariane 6, is set to embark on its inaugural flight, carrying a series of space missions each with their own distinct goals and enthusiastic teams supporting them. This launch will demonstrate the capability and adaptability of the new heavy-lift launcher, whether it's deploying satellites to observe Earth, exploring deep space, or testing key new technologies in
Europe's next-generation rocket, Ariane 6, is set to embark on its inaugural flight, carrying a series of space missions each with their own distinct goals and enthusiastic teams supporting them. This launch will demonstrate the capability and adaptability of the new heavy-lift launcher, whether it's deploying satellites to observe Earth, exploring deep space, or testing key new technologies in NASA seeks community input to refine space technology priorities
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 17, 2024
NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) is revising its approach to technology development as it aims to enhance its missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The agency has identified nearly 190 national space technology needs and is soliciting input from the American aerospace community to prioritize these for future endeavors.
Dr. Kurt Vogel, associate administrator for Space T
NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) is revising its approach to technology development as it aims to enhance its missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The agency has identified nearly 190 national space technology needs and is soliciting input from the American aerospace community to prioritize these for future endeavors.
Dr. Kurt Vogel, associate administrator for Space T Comet Geyser: Perseverance's 24th Rock Core
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 17, 2024
After investigating the high-standing bedrock at the Bunsen Peak workspace deep within the Margin Unit, the unique nature and composition of this rock was deemed worthy for collection of Perseverance's 24th rock core sample, Comet Geyser!
Bunsen Peak is named after a prominent peak in Yellowstone National, Park, Wyoming, USA, and the namesake for Comet Geyser is the silica-sintered cone ge
After investigating the high-standing bedrock at the Bunsen Peak workspace deep within the Margin Unit, the unique nature and composition of this rock was deemed worthy for collection of Perseverance's 24th rock core sample, Comet Geyser!
Bunsen Peak is named after a prominent peak in Yellowstone National, Park, Wyoming, USA, and the namesake for Comet Geyser is the silica-sintered cone ge NASA Goddard to Build Quake Detector for Artemis III Moon Landing
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Baltimore MD (SPX) Apr 17, 2024
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will build a moonquake detector for astronauts to deploy on the Moon in 2026 during the Artemis III mission, which will return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.
NASA selected the instrument, the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) as one of the first three potential payloads for Artem
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will build a moonquake detector for astronauts to deploy on the Moon in 2026 during the Artemis III mission, which will return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.
NASA selected the instrument, the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) as one of the first three potential payloads for Artem New insights on the young ice deposits of Ceres
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 17, 2024
Ceres, the largest asteroid in our Solar System, features recently formed ice deposits in permanently shadowed craters near its poles, similar to those found on our Moon and Mercury. This similarity was first noted when the Dawn spacecraft surveyed Ceres in 2016, revealing bright ice deposits in these dark craters.
"The initial observation in 2016 opened up a mystery, with many of Ceres's
Ceres, the largest asteroid in our Solar System, features recently formed ice deposits in permanently shadowed craters near its poles, similar to those found on our Moon and Mercury. This similarity was first noted when the Dawn spacecraft surveyed Ceres in 2016, revealing bright ice deposits in these dark craters.
"The initial observation in 2016 opened up a mystery, with many of Ceres's International Collaboration Boosts Planetary Defense Efforts with Hera Mission
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Paris, France (SPX) Apr 17, 2024
The team managing the European Space Agency's Hera mission, designed for asteroid deflection, recently gathered in the ESTEC Test Centre cleanroom in the Netherlands, showcasing the mission's spacecraft.
Present in the photograph are members from Tyvak International in Italy and GomSpace in Luxembourg, producers of the Milani and Juventas CubeSats, set to accompany Hera into the cosmos. Ch
The team managing the European Space Agency's Hera mission, designed for asteroid deflection, recently gathered in the ESTEC Test Centre cleanroom in the Netherlands, showcasing the mission's spacecraft.
Present in the photograph are members from Tyvak International in Italy and GomSpace in Luxembourg, producers of the Milani and Juventas CubeSats, set to accompany Hera into the cosmos. Ch Ingenuity Mars Helicopter transitions to stationary role on Red Planet
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 17, 2024
The final transmission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory marked the end of active operations for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter but the beginning of its new role as a stationary data collector.
On April 16, engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory bid farewell to active missions of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a pioneering aircraft on Mars. Although the formal mission concluded on
The final transmission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory marked the end of active operations for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter but the beginning of its new role as a stationary data collector.
On April 16, engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory bid farewell to active missions of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a pioneering aircraft on Mars. Although the formal mission concluded on Dating the Solar System's orbital changes with enstatite meteorites
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
London, UK (SPX) Apr 17, 2024
New research pinpoints the timeline of the Solar System's giant planets moving into their current orbits, showing these changes occurred between 60-100 million years after the Solar System formed. This shift is crucial for understanding events like the formation of the Moon.
A team from the University of Leicester, utilizing a combination of simulation, observation, and meteorite analysis,
New research pinpoints the timeline of the Solar System's giant planets moving into their current orbits, showing these changes occurred between 60-100 million years after the Solar System formed. This shift is crucial for understanding events like the formation of the Moon.
A team from the University of Leicester, utilizing a combination of simulation, observation, and meteorite analysis, Milky Way's first massive stellar blackhole unveiled 2000 light years away
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Apr 16, 2024
A team of astronomers has pinpointed the largest stellar black hole discovered in the Milky Way, utilizing data from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission. This newly identified black hole, exerting a unique 'wobbling' effect on its companion star, was initially detected through this anomalous motion. Verification efforts included observations from the European Southern Observatory's Very Lar
A team of astronomers has pinpointed the largest stellar black hole discovered in the Milky Way, utilizing data from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission. This newly identified black hole, exerting a unique 'wobbling' effect on its companion star, was initially detected through this anomalous motion. Verification efforts included observations from the European Southern Observatory's Very Lar Dragonfly mission set for Saturn's moon Titan with NASA's confirmed plan
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 17, 2024
NASA has officially given the greenlight for the Dragonfly rotorcraft mission to Saturn's moon Titan, authorizing the project's transition to final design and construction stages. This development follows the successful completion of the mission's Preliminary Design Review and subsequent budget adjustments to align with the current financial landscape.
"Dragonfly represents a major science
NASA has officially given the greenlight for the Dragonfly rotorcraft mission to Saturn's moon Titan, authorizing the project's transition to final design and construction stages. This development follows the successful completion of the mission's Preliminary Design Review and subsequent budget adjustments to align with the current financial landscape.
"Dragonfly represents a major science Purple may just be the new green in the hunt for alien life
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 17, 2024
Researchers are expanding the criteria for life on other planets beyond the familiar green of Earthly vegetation. Scientists at Cornell University have suggested that purple, not green, might be the predominant color of life on other worlds, based on a study of bacteria that absorb infrared light for photosynthesis.
These purple bacteria, which exhibit a range of hues including yellow, ora
Researchers are expanding the criteria for life on other planets beyond the familiar green of Earthly vegetation. Scientists at Cornell University have suggested that purple, not green, might be the predominant color of life on other worlds, based on a study of bacteria that absorb infrared light for photosynthesis.
These purple bacteria, which exhibit a range of hues including yellow, ora