Planetary scientist lays out arguments for sending a dedicated probe to Uranus (Update)
Friday, 17 February 2023 15:35
Kathleen Mandt, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory has published a Perspectives piece in the journal Science arguing that NASA should send a dedicated probe to the planet Uranus. She notes that a window is opening in 2032 for the launch of such a probe.
Planetary scientists have spent far more time studying Mars than they have other planets, partly due to its close proximity and partly due to the fact that Mars has a surface upon which craft can land. Planets that have thick atmospheres, on the other hand, are more difficult to study, especially if they provide no place to land.
Still, Mandt argues, such research is important. And initiating the development of a probe to study Uranus, she adds, would be a good start. She further notes that now would be a good time to begin such plans because the next good window for launching a Uranus probe would be in 2032, when Jupiter's alignment with Earth will allow a slingshot maneuver toward Uranus.
Week in images: 13-17 February 2023
Friday, 17 February 2023 13:10
Week in images: 13-17 February 2023
Discover our week through the lens
Juice one step closer to launch
Friday, 17 February 2023 13:00
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After many years of study, development, building and testing, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice, has finally arrived at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. At the end of 2022 the spacecraft underwent its final thermal vacuum test at an Airbus Defence and Space facility in Toulouse, as well as its final software verification tests, whereby it was controlled from the ESOC mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
Soon, an Ariane 5 will lift Juice into orbit and send it on its journey to explore the largest planet in our Solar System and its three icy moons, Europa,
Japan aborts H3 launch moments before liftoff
Friday, 17 February 2023 11:58
Japan’s space agency JAXA aborted the long-awaited first launch of H3 rocket Feb.
First Launcher orbital transfer vehicle fails
Friday, 17 February 2023 11:54
Launch services startup Launcher said its first orbital transfer vehicle failed shortly after deployment on a launch last month, but that it will fly upgraded versions of the vehicle later this year.
Sidius Space reaches an agreement with a Dutch organization to Deploy Lasercom Mission
Friday, 17 February 2023 10:06
The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, known as TNO, has awarded a $2.5 million contract to a satellite and space defense manufacturer Sidus Space.
On February 15 Sidius Space announced, "We are honored to be selected by TNO as its mission partner for the HemiCAT technology," said Carol Craig, Sidus Space Founder and CEO. "This partnership will allow us to demonstrat Former football player revamps NASA air filter invention
Friday, 17 February 2023 10:06
From grimy dirt and dangerous bacteria to tiny spores and pollen grains, air filters remove harmful particles from the air we breathe. But changing filters once they're soiled can prove time-consuming, costly, and complicated - especially in space.
On spacecraft, air filter systems must be cleaned constantly. To get the job done easier, NASA invented a technology called the Multi-Stage Fil Astroscale wins Dstl funding for exploration of future Space-Based Space Domain Awareness missions
Friday, 17 February 2023 10:06
Astroscale has won funding from the MOD Defence Science and Technology Laboratory funding to explore space-based space domain awareness (SB-SDA) mission concepts for launch in the 2030s.
Astroscale Ltd. formed the winning consortium teaming with Raytheon NORSS and SJE Space Ltd for the project. The aim of the study is to advance knowledge of space-based space domain awareness (SB-SDA) thro Japan's new rocket fails to blast off
Friday, 17 February 2023 10:06
Japan's next-generation rocket failed to launch on Friday after an apparent ignition problem, the national space agency said.
The H3 rocket - the successor to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s H-IIA model, which debuted in 2001 - was meant to launch mid-morning from Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan.
But "it appears that we failed to ignite the two solid rock ALL.SPACE builds up executive team ahead of smart terminal rollout
Friday, 17 February 2023 10:06
ALL.SPACE, creator of the world's first smart terminal, has announced the latest in a series of strategic executive team appointments ahead of milestone deliveries of its transformational multi-link connectivity platform to commercial and government customers beginning early this year.
The latest to join the fast-growing ALL.SPACE team is Mark Steel, who was named Executive Vice President China solicits logos for manned space missions in 2023
Friday, 17 February 2023 10:06
The China Manned Space Agency began to solicit logos on Wednesday for the country's upcoming crewed space missions, marking the first open logo solicitation of its manned space program.
The event aims to solicit logos for three missions of China's manned space program this year, including the launches of the cargo craft Tianzhou 6, and the crewed spaceships Shenzhou XVI and Shenzhou XVII, Solstar Space awarded Phase I STTR contract in partnership with AFWERX and SpaceWERX
Friday, 17 February 2023 10:06
Solstar Space (Solstar), the company making persistent on-orbit communications available, announced it was awarded a Phase I STTR contract by the Department of Air Force (DAF) to evaluate the company's Slayton Space Communicator for high-speed data communications.
Solstar Space is developing a flight-proven modular device for spacecraft integration capable of providing satellite operators U.S. Space Force awards Phase III SBIR contract to Astranis
Friday, 17 February 2023 10:06
San Francisco-based geostationary communications satellite operator and manufacturer Astranis Space Technologies announced on February 14, that they won a U.S. Space Force contract worth up to $10 million to integrate the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) using Astranis satellite assets.
The Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract con New technique maps large-scale impacts of fire-induced permafrost thaw in Alaska
Friday, 17 February 2023 10:06
About 40 percent of interior Alaska is underlain by ice-rich permafrost - permanently frozen grounds made up of soil, gravel and sand - bound together by ice. Certain conditions, such as climate warming, have intensified tundra wildfires which have profound implications for permafrost thaw.
Surface vegetation plays a dominant role in protecting permafrost from summer warmth, so any alterat Umbra agrees to provide Maxar direct access to SAR Constellation
Friday, 17 February 2023 10:06
Maxar Technologies has signed a contract for dedicated access to Umbra' Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery constellation, the companies announced February 14.
SAR satellites are able to see past clouds, smoke, and complete darkness using the company's advanced resolution, licensed down to 13 centimeters.
"Maxar and Umbra are breaking new ground for the geospatial intelligence ind