U.S. Space Force sees future demand for surveillance beyond Earth orbit
Monday, 16 May 2022 14:42
Space Force Lt. Gen. Whiting said the U.S. military will likely have to pay more attention to what’s happening in cislunar space
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Humans have big plans for mining in space, but there are many things holding us back
Monday, 16 May 2022 12:46
Like Earth, planetary bodies such as the moon, Mars, asteroids and comets contain substantial deposits of valuable resources. This has caught the attention of both researchers and industry, with hopes of one day mining them to support a space economy.
But setting up any kind of off-Earth mining industry will be no small feat. Let's look at what we're up against.
In-situ resource utilization
When you think of off-Earth mining, you might imagine extracting materials from various bodies in space and bringing them back to Earth. But this is unlikely to be the first commercially viable example.
If we wanted to establish a permanent human presence on the moon, as NASA has proposed, we would need to resupply astronauts living there. Resources such as water can only be recycled to an extent.
At the same time, resources are extremely expensive to launch from Earth. As of 2018, it cost about A$3,645 to launch one kilogram of material into low Earth orbit, and more to launch it higher, or onto the moon.
Peek-a-boo Moon
Monday, 16 May 2022 11:57
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Lunar eclipse captured by Samantha Cristoforetti aboard the International Space Station Chinese satellite propulsion startup secures funding as country’s constellation projects grow
Monday, 16 May 2022 11:41
A Chinese satellite electric propulsion company has secured multi-million yuan angel round financing amid a proliferation of Chinese constellation plans.
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Research Fellows in space science 2022
Monday, 16 May 2022 09:59
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ESA has selected 9 new Fellows to pursue their own independent research in 2022. The Research Fellowships in Space Science represent one of the highlights of the ESA Science programme. Early career postdoctoral scientists are offered the unique opportunity to carry out advanced research related to the space science areas covered by ESA Science missions at one of three ESA establishments (ESAC, ESTEC or STScI) for a period of up to three years.
The 2022 Research Fellows in Space Science are Guadalupe Cañas Herrera, Quentin Changeat, Chiara Circosta, Willi Exner, Nicola Pietro Gentile Fusillo, Adam Hepburn, Samuel Pearson, Alicia Rouco
Launcher announces customers for first Orbiter space tug mission
Monday, 16 May 2022 09:55
Launch vehicle and in-space transportation services company Launcher has filled the manifest for the first flight of its space tug later this year with a mix of commercial and academic payloads.
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Find your way to the future at ESA’s NAVISP Industry Days
Monday, 16 May 2022 08:46
After a pandemic-induced gap of more than two years, Europe’s leading companies working on positioning, navigation and timing technologies will meet face-to-face at ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands for the NAVISP Industry Days, devoted to the latest developments in the Agency’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme.
ESA spurs investment in space entrepreneurs
Monday, 16 May 2022 08:23
Dozens of people who have set up start-up companies and fledgling businesses are pitching their ideas to investors today, as part of an ESA Investor Forum held in Berlin.
International Satellite to Track Impacts of Small Ocean Currents
Monday, 16 May 2022 02:05
Though climate change is driving sea level rise over time, researchers also believe that differences in surface height from place to place in the ocean can affect Earth's climate. These highs and lows are associated with currents and eddies, swirling rivers in the ocean, that influence how it absorbs atmospheric heat and carbon.
Enter the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, Earth from Orbit: NOAA Debuts First Imagery from GOES-18
Monday, 16 May 2022 02:05
On May 11, 2022, NOAA shared the first images of the Western Hemisphere from its GOES-18 satellite. The satellite's Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument recently captured stunning views of Earth.
GOES-18, NOAA's newest geostationary satellite, launched on March 1. The ABI views Earth with sixteen different channels, each measuring energy at different wavelengths along the electromagne Researchers reveal the origin story for carbon-12, a building block for life
Monday, 16 May 2022 02:05
With the help of the world's most powerful supercomputer and new artificial intelligence techniques, an international team of researchers has theorized how the extreme conditions in stars produce carbon-12, which they describe as "a critical gateway to the birth of life."
The researchers' fundamental question: "How does the cosmos produce carbon-12?" said James Vary, a professor of physics Black hole scientist: 'Wherever we look, we should see donuts'
Sunday, 15 May 2022 12:10
Discovering something for the second time doesn't usually have scientists jump out of their seats with excitement. But that's exactly what happened in the case of Sgr A* (pronounced "sadge-ay-star"), the second black hole imaged.
In 2019, the image of M87*, a supermassive black hole in a galaxy more than 50 million light-years from Earth, graced the cover pages of virtually every news outl Making sense of the nonsensical: Black holes and the simulation library
Sunday, 15 May 2022 12:10
After mobilizing more than 300 scientists and engineers to establish a network of synchronized telescopes that form an Earth-sized virtual telescope, the international Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration snapped the first-ever images of supermassive black holes.
The first image, of the black hole at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy, was released in 2019. The latest image, released Thu A Different Perspective on Mirador Butte Sols 3473-3475
Sunday, 15 May 2022 12:10
We drove just over 30 metres in the last plan, reaching today's location. If you look closely at the last blog's image you can locate the block in front of us today in the distance of that image. But it's tricky if you are not used to looking at landscapes in different perspectives.
The almost rectangular block in the upper middle of today's navigation camera image can be seen in the upper Study reveals new way to reconstruct past climate on Mars
Sunday, 15 May 2022 12:10
A study led by a Monash University geologist has provided fresh evidence for when high rates of erosion occurred throughout the history of Mars.
The findings, published in Geology date when climate was far more erosive in Mars' past - with the implication that there were sustained periods of time when liquid water moved across the planet's surface.
Scientists have long been keen to u