Heating and cooling space habitats isn't easy. One engineering team is developing a lighter, more efficient solution
Thursday, 14 September 2023 17:06
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China, India and the U.S. have all achieved landing on the moon in the 2020s.
Once there, their eventual goal is to set up a base. But a successful base—along with the spacecraft that will carry people to it—must be habitable for humans. And a big part of creating a habitable base is making sure the heating and cooling systems work.
That's especially true because the ambient temperature of potential places for a base can vary widely. Lunar equatorial temperatures can range from -208°F to 250°F (-130°C to 120°C)—and similarly, from -225°F to 70°F (-153°C to 20°C) on Mars.
In 2011, the National Academies of Science published a report outlining research in the physical and life sciences that scientists would need to do for the U.S. space program to succeed. The report emphasized the need for research about building heating and cooling systems for structures in space.
I'm an engineering professor, and when that report came out, I submitted a research proposal to NASA. I wanted to study something called the liquid-vapor phenomenon. Figuring out the science behind this phenomenon would help with these big questions around keeping structures in space a comfortable and habitable temperature.
Some lunar regolith are better for living off the land on the moon
Thursday, 14 September 2023 15:56 Write a comment
Between now and the mid-2030s, multiple space agencies hope to send crewed missions to the moon. of These plans all involve establishing bases around the moon's southern polar region, including the Artemis Base Camp and the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).
These facilities will enable a "sustained program of lunar exploration and development," according to the NASA Artemis Program mission statement. In all cases, plans for building facilities on the surface call for a process known as In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), where local resources are used as building materials.
This presents a bit of a problem since not all lunar soil (regolith) is well-suited for construction. Much like engineering and construction projects here on Earth, builders need to know what type of soil they are building on and if it can be used to make concrete.
Teams watch weather as OSIRIS-REx prepares to return asteroid sample
Thursday, 14 September 2023 15:45 Write a comment
This September, after traveling billions of miles through our solar system, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will cruise past Earth with an extraordinary delivery. As it passes, it will release a mini-fridge size capsule containing a sample of primordial space rock collected from an asteroid located between the orbits of Earth and Mars.
OSIRIS-REx—the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer—is the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid. Scientists hope the pristine material it collected from asteroid Bennu in 2020—about half a pound of rubble and dust from the asteroid's surface—will provide a window into 4.5 billion years ago when the sun and planets were forming.
Before it can do that, the sample's protective capsule will withstand temperatures twice as hot as lava, and the second-fastest velocity ever achieved by a human-made object entering Earth's atmosphere.
After entering Earth's atmosphere at around 36 times the speed of sound, the capsule may eventually encounter wind, rain, and other weather conditions as it drops closer to the surface. Regardless of weather, it will land in the Great Salt Lake Desert, an arid landscape known for its scorching summer temperatures and its salt flats, the remnants of an ancient lakebed where crusty salt deposits coat the ground.
ESA empowering retailers with exclusive B2B access
Thursday, 14 September 2023 15:09 Write a comment
ESA is providing retailers with an exclusive opportunity to supply official ESA products through a new B2B platform.
KaleidEO demonstrates on-orbit processing
Thursday, 14 September 2023 14:13
NASA releases UFO report, says new science techniques needed to better understand them
Thursday, 14 September 2023 13:39 Write a comment
NASA releases UFO report and says more science and less stigma are needed to understand them
Thursday, 14 September 2023 13:39 Write a comment
NASA says more science and less stigma are needed to understand UFOs
Thursday, 14 September 2023 13:39 Write a comment
Webb snaps supersonic outflow of young star
Thursday, 14 September 2023 13:00 Write a comment
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HH 211 (NIRCam image) Solar Orbiter closes in on the solution to a 65-year-old solar mystery
Thursday, 14 September 2023 12:00 Write a comment
A cosmic alignment and a little bit of spacecraft gymnastics has provided a ground-breaking measurement that is helping solve the 65-year-old cosmic mystery of why the Sun’s atmosphere is so hot.
Sentinel-1 reveals shifts from Morocco earthquake
Thursday, 14 September 2023 10:34 Write a comment
Following the devastating earthquake that struck Morocco on 8 September, satellite data have been made available through the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’ to help emergency response teams on the ground.
In addition, radar measurements from Europe’s Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite mission are being used to analyse how the ground has shifted as a result of the quake, which will not only help in planning the eventual reconstruction but will also further scientific research.
Space Force keeping the ‘responsive launch’ dream alive
Thursday, 14 September 2023 10:18
Satellite industry debates size of direct-to-device market
Thursday, 14 September 2023 09:09
China’s military sets up new base for space domain awareness
Thursday, 14 September 2023 08:18
NASA to publish long-awaited UFO report
Thursday, 14 September 2023 06:50 Write a comment
NASA is set to release on Thursday the findings of a long-awaited study on unexplained flying objects in Earth's skies.
The US space agency announced last year it was reviewing evidence regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs—which has replaced the term "UFO" in official parlance.
The subject has long fascinated the public but was shunned by mainstream science.
An independent team of 16 researchers shared their preliminary observations in May, finding that existing data and eyewitness reports are insufficient to draw firm conclusions, while calling for more systematic collection of high-quality data.
It's unlikely Thursday's report will change that bottom line—but it could eventually usher in the start of a new mission for the agency.