NASA spacecraft will soon enter Earth's atmosphere at nearly 25,000 mph. What will happen next?
Friday, 09 December 2022 17:28
Sunday at around 10:40 a.m. MT, NASA's Orion spacecraft will splash down in the Pacific Ocean after its several week-long journey to the moon and back. Space buffs can tune into NASA's livestream to witness some extreme physics—what will be the last leg of the historic Artemis 1 mission, which launched from Florida Nov. 15.
The numbers are mind-boggling: The Orion capsule will hit Earth's atmosphere flying at speeds of almost 25,000 mph (or about 11 kilometers per second) and experience temperatures nearing 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit in the process.
Iain Boyd is a professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences who has spent his career studying hypersonics, or vehicles that travel far faster than the speed of sound. He also leads a $15 million NASA institute called the Advanced Computational Center for Entry System Simulation (ACCESS). This effort investigates new ways to protect spacecraft as they undergo the extremes of entering atmospheres on Earth, Mars and beyond.
Looking back from beyond the moon: How views from space have changed the way we see Earth
Friday, 09 December 2022 15:30
A photograph taken by NASA's Orion spacecraft has given us a new perspective on our home planet.
The snap was taken during the Artemis I mission, which sent an uncrewed vehicle on a journey around the Moon and back in preparation for astronauts' planned lunar return in 2025.
We get pictures of Earth every day from satellites and the International Space Station. But there's something different about seeing ourselves from the other side of the Moon.
How does this image compare to other iconic views of Earth from the outside?
Earthrise
In December 1968, three astronauts were orbiting the Moon to test systems in preparation for the Apollo 11 landing. When they saw Earth rise over the lunar horizon, they knew this was something special. The crew scrambled to find color film in time to capture it.
Photographer Galen Rowell called the resulting image "the most influential environmental photograph ever taken.
Japanese billionaire selects crew for circumlunar Starship flight
Friday, 09 December 2022 12:06
A Japanese billionaire has selected an eclectic group of people who will accompany him on a SpaceX Starship flight around the moon, although it remains uncertain when that mission will take place.
The post Japanese billionaire selects crew for circumlunar Starship flight appeared first on SpaceNews.
Artemis I landing spot abandoned over weather; mission remains on schedule
Friday, 09 December 2022 11:54
Unsuitable weather is forcing NASA to abandon its primary landing site for the Orion spacecraft, although the mission otherwise remains on schedule, officials confirmed at a Thursday afternoon briefing.
"At present, we are on track to have a fully successful mission with some bonus objectives that we've achieved upon the way," Artemis I Mission Manager Mike Sarafin told reporters from J Japanese billionaire Maezawa announces crew of artists for lunar voyage
Friday, 09 December 2022 11:54
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa announced Thursday eight crew members who will join him for a journey around the Moon planned for 2023 on a SpaceX rocket that is still under development.
The mission, known as dearMoon, was first announced in 2018. Maezawa initially said he would invite a crew of six-to-eight artists, but later changed the entry requirements to a competition which applica These freeze-drying algae can awaken from cryostasis, could help spaceflights go farther
Friday, 09 December 2022 11:54
Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys contain some of Earth's coldest and driest deserts. The environment there is so extreme that the Dry Valleys have been used as Mars analogs to test prototype equipment for future Mars exploration. To survive these harsh conditions, layers of algae and bacteria in the Dry Valleys overwinter in a freeze-dried state, coming back to life in the summer when neighborin Evolving time-tested technology to outmatch hypersonic weapons inside the atmosphere
Friday, 09 December 2022 11:54
When it comes to defending against hypersonic weapons that move and maneuver at more than five times the speed of sound, you need layers of defense and multiple opportunities to take out the threat.
Seeking the first missile specifically designed to defeat hypersonic threats in their most vulnerable phase of flight, the glide phase, the MDA selected Raytheon Missiles and Defense, or RMD, a NASA taps Collins Aerospace to develop new spacesuits for Space Station
Friday, 09 December 2022 11:54
NASA has awarded a task order to Collins Aerospace to deliver a spacewalking system for potential use outside the International Space Station. This award - the second under NASA's Exploration EVA Services contract - is for design and development of a next-generation spacesuit and support systems. The task order has a base value of $97.2 million.
Collins Aerospace will complete a critical d Colgate-Palmolive and NASA sign Space Act Agreement to boost off planet hygiene
Friday, 09 December 2022 11:54
Colgate-Palmolive Company has signed an agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to explore innovative solutions to advance oral health, personal care and skin health for both astronauts in space and people around the globe. Former astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman will work alongside Colgate as an advisor to help guide research design and offer insights into the realitie Phantoms return from beyond the Moon with valuable data on cosmic radiation doses
Friday, 09 December 2022 11:54
Together with the Orion spacecraft of the Artemis I mission, as part of the MARE experiment, two human phantoms equipped with numerous cosmic rays detectors are to land on Earth. The information gathered by the detectors will for the first time verify the knowledge, crucial for the presence of humans in deep space, of the effects of cosmic rays on the health of the astronauts who are to live and Evaluating a Possible Drill Location
Friday, 09 December 2022 11:54
The weekend drive went well and Curiosity is back on top of the marker band, investigating some intriguing rippled bedrock. We're assessing whether we want to drill at this location, based on what we see in the chemistry data.
So today's two-sol plan is devoted to collecting data from APXS and MAHLI (supplemented by ChemCam and Mastcam), to evaluate the bedrock in our workspace, as seen in NASA preparing for Orion splashdown to conclude Artemis 1
Friday, 09 December 2022 11:06
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is in the home stretch of the Artemis 1 uncrewed test flight as the agency prepares for the vehicle’s ultimate test: reentry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
China launches 14 satellites with new solid rocket from mobile sea platform
Friday, 09 December 2022 09:24
China launched its new Jielong-3 rocket from a mobile sea platform in the Yellow Sea Friday, successfully sending 14 satellites into orbit.
The post China launches 14 satellites with new solid rocket from mobile sea platform appeared first on SpaceNews.
SpaceX gives rival's internet satellites ride to orbit
Friday, 09 December 2022 08:44
SpaceX launched internet satellites for a competitor Thursday, stepping in to help after the London-based OneWeb company halted its flights with Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
The Falcon rocket blasted off at sunset with 40 mini satellites bound for polar orbit. They will expand OneWeb's constellation to just over 500, nearly 80% of the planned total of about 630 satellites.
Elon Musk's SpaceX has more than 3,200 Starlink satellites in orbit, providing high-speed, broadband internet to remote corners of the world.