Webb measures temperature of rocky exoplanet for first time
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
Paris (AFP) March 27, 2023
The James Webb Space Telescope has measured the temperature of a rocky exoplanet for the first time, finding that a "cousin" of Earth most likely lacks an atmosphere, researchers said Monday.
When the Trappist-1 system was discovered in 2017, astronomers were excited at the prospect that some of its seven rocky planets - which are roughly similar to Earth in size and mass - could be habita

Scientists find water inside glass beads on the Moon
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
Paris (AFP) March 27, 2023
Scientists said Monday they have discovered water inside tiny beads of glass scattered across the Moon, suggesting that one day it could be extracted and used by the "explorers of tomorrow".
The Moon was long believed to be dry, but over the last few decades several missions have shown there is water both on the surface and trapped inside minerals.
Mahesh Anand, a professor of planetary

Certified and Ready for Rocket-Powered Flight
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
Christchurch, New Zealand (SPX) Mar 28, 2023
Insability is a key property that enables both swift iteration in development and unparalleled utility of the end product.
Aside from being a key technology demonstrator, the Mk-II holds significant commercial promise as a suborbital vehicle, spanning a wide range of applications such as earth monitoring, microgravity research, disaster management, and in-situ atmospheric measurements - pr

Firefly Aerospace completes risk reduction testing for critical Miranda engine
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
Cedar Park TX (SPX) Mar 28, 2023
Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an end-to-end space transportation company, recently completed risk reduction testing for critical Miranda engine components ahead of the first hot fire scheduled this summer. As a larger, scaled-up version of the company's Reaver engines, Miranda will power the Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) Firefly is co-developing with Northrop Grumman.
"We are making significant p

Two meteorites are providing a detailed look into outer space
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
Indianapolis IN (SPX) Mar 28, 2023
If you've ever seen a shooting star, you might have actually seen a meteor on its way to Earth. Those that land here are called meteorites and can be used to peek back in time, into the far corners of outer space or at the earliest building blocks of life. Today, scientists report some of the most detailed analyses yet of the organic material of two meteorites. They've identified tens of thousan

Sols 3780-3782: Perfect 10
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 24, 2023
Curiosity is ten and a half years into operating in Gale cater, a concept that before and even a few years after landing seemed to be an impossible dream. When we landed, my daughter - then 6 - asked me how long the rover would last. I remember telling her "By the time you get to high school, we'll be just about out of power to do much."
I am pleased to report to you today how wrong I was,

SwRI-developed instrument delivered for lunar lander mission
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
San Antonio TX (SPX) Mar 28, 2023
Southwest Research Institute recently delivered the Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) to Firefly Aerospace in Cedar Park, Texas, for integration into the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander scheduled to arrive at the Moon in 2024. The sounder will determine the electrical conductivity of the interior of the Moon by measuring low-frequency electric and magnetic fields.
"For more than 50 years, scie

Planet hunting and the origins of life
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
Boston MA (SPX) Mar 28, 2023
George Ricker built his first telescope when he was in third grade. Growing up in rural Florida, with its abundance of dark night skies, facilitated his natural propensity for stargazing. But it was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during his undergraduate days at the Institute that his fascination became a calling. "I was a physics major at MIT, but I took enough astronomy courses to decide that th

JWST confirms giant planet atmospheres vary widely
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
Ithaca NY (SPX) Mar 28, 2023
An international team of astronomers has found the atmospheric compositions of giant planets out in the galaxy do not fit our own solar system trend.
Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the researchers discovered that the atmosphere of exoplanet HD149026b, a 'hot Jupiter' orbiting a star comparable to our sun, is super-abundant in the heavier elements carbon and oxygen - far ab

How football-shaped molecules occur in the universe
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
Wurenlingen, Switzerland (SPX) Mar 28, 2023
For a long time it has been suspected that fullerene and its derivatives could form naturally in the universe. These are large carbon molecules shaped like a football, salad bowl or nanotube. An international team of researchers using the Swiss SLS synchrotron light source at PSI has shown how this reaction works. The results have just been published in the journal Nature Communications.
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Geo eye spy: first Eurostar Neo selfie from Eutelsat's HOTBIRD 13F satellite
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
Toulouse, France (SPX) Mar 28, 2023
The Airbus-built Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F satellite has reached its geostationary orbit, 36,000km away after five months of Electric Orbit Raising (EOR). It has completed comprehensive testing at its orbital position ahead of entering full service. For this purpose, it was equipped with a camera at the tip of one of the robotic arms hosting the electric propulsion thrusters, allowing us to share thi

Constellations of opportunities
Tuesday, 28 March 2023 05:43
Toulouse, France (SPX) Mar 28, 2023
The growing number of satellite constellations is opening exciting new opportunities for everything from improved connectivity and communications to enhanced observation and security - with Airbus taking a lead enabler role through its small, capable spacecraft that are made on a digitised production line.
In fact, Airbus has redefined how satellites are built - streamlining the traditiona

U.S. allies in the Middle East express interest in establishing space forces
Monday, 27 March 2023 20:19
Several military allies of the United States in the Middle East have expressed interest in creating their own space forces, and have sought advice from the U.S.
NASA space operations head Lueders to retire
Monday, 27 March 2023 18:03
Kathy Lueders, the NASA official who oversees the International Space Station and commercial cargo and crew programs, will retire from the agency at the end of April and be succeeded by her deputy.
OneWeb completes constellation deployment for global broadband
Monday, 27 March 2023 17:12
OneWeb is turning its attention to finalizing ground stations after launching a final batch of satellites needed to provide broadband services globally, executive chair Sunil Mittal said March 27.