Quantum Space launches Sentry to pioneer deep space communications network
Tuesday, 28 November 2023 09:04Quantum Space, a trailblazer in deep space infrastructure, has announced the imminent launch of its ambitious Sentry mission, marking a significant leap in developing a modern connectivity network for deep space. The company's pioneering project, QuantumNet, aims to revolutionize space communication by offering high-speed, uninterrupted connectivity in the vast expanse of deep space, stretching
Cassini's Grand Finale Unveils Variations in Saturn's D Ring influx
Tuesday, 28 November 2023 09:04In a significant addition to our understanding of Saturn's atmospheric dynamics, Joshua Dreyer is poised to present his doctoral thesis at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) and Uppsala University. His research, which scrutinizes the effects of material from Saturn's innermost D ring falling into its upper atmosphere, marks a novel chapter in space exploration and planetary science.
Earth's magnetic field protects life on Earth from radiation
Tuesday, 28 November 2023 09:04The Earth's magnetic field plays a big role in protecting people from hazardous radiation and geomagnetic activity that could affect satellite communication and the operation of power grids. And it moves. Scientists have studied and tracked the motion of the magnetic poles for centuries. The historical movement of these poles indicates a change in the global geometry of the Earth's magnetic fiel
NASA Scientific Balloons Ready for Flights Over Antarctica
Tuesday, 28 November 2023 09:04NASA kicks off its annual Antarctic Long Duration Balloon Campaign around Dec. 1, which includes three scientific balloon flights planned for launch from the long-duration balloon (LDB) Camp near McMurdo Station, Antarctica. NASA's stadium-sized, zero-pressure balloons will support a total of five missions on the long-duration flights with one mission vying to break NASA's heavy-lift, long-durat
Understanding charged particles helps physicists simulate element creation in stars
Tuesday, 28 November 2023 09:04New research from North Carolina State University and Michigan State University opens a new avenue for modeling low-energy nuclear reactions, which are key to the formation of elements within stars. The research lays the groundwork for calculating how nucleons interact when the particles are electrically charged. Predicting the ways that atomic nuclei - clusters of protons and neutrons, to
Wits researchers pioneer a new way of searching for dark matter
Tuesday, 28 November 2023 09:04The existence of Dark Matter is a long-standing puzzle in our universe. Dark Matter makes up about a quarter of our universe, yet it does not interact significantly with ordinary matter. The existence of Dark Matter has been confirmed by a series of astrophysical and cosmological observations, including in the stunning recent pictures from James Webb Space Telescope. However, up to date, n
A prominent protostar in Perseus
Tuesday, 28 November 2023 08:00This new Picture of the Month from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope reveals intricate details of the Herbig Haro object 797 (HH 797). Herbig-Haro objects are luminous regions surrounding newborn stars (known as protostars), and are formed when stellar winds or jets of gas spewing from these newborn stars form shockwaves colliding with nearby gas and dust at high speeds. HH 797, which dominates the lower half of this image, is located close to the young open star cluster IC 348, which is located near the eastern edge of the Perseus dark cloud complex. The bright infrared objects
Spacelab to Gateway: 40 years of modules for people in space
Tuesday, 28 November 2023 07:24ESA’s first human spaceflight mission lifted off 40 years ago today. Accompanied by the first ESA astronaut, Ulf Merbold, the Spacelab module took flight inside the Space Shuttle’s cargo bay, turning NASA’s ‘space truck’ into a mini-space station for scientific research. Europe continues to be highly active in the crewed module business to this day.
How we made Spacelab
Tuesday, 28 November 2023 07:08On 28 November 1983 European human spaceflight took a giant leap forward. Not only did German Ulf Merbold become the first ESA astronaut in space, but along with him travelled the European-made Spacelab. Carried in the Space Shuttle’s cargo bay, Spacelab converted the Shuttle into a highly productive orbital laboratory.
Pentagon looks to commercial space for an edge
Monday, 27 November 2023 20:19PUNCH mission advances toward 2025 launch
Monday, 27 November 2023 16:57Additional vendors selected for DoD’s low Earth orbit satellite services contract
Monday, 27 November 2023 16:30China makes progress on Raptor-like engines for super heavy rocket
Monday, 27 November 2023 11:56NASA feels a 'sense of urgency' to get to Mars: Idaho scientists could help us get there
Monday, 27 November 2023 11:33China has repeatedly stunned the U.S. intelligence community in the last five years with rapid progress in its space exploration program, landing a rover on the far side of the moon and completing its very own space station orbiting Earth.
Their advances have established that a new space race is on between Washington and Beijing—this time with the ultimate goal of sending a crewed mission to Mars, each vying to be the first to land humans on another planet.
America's success may come down to a team of scientists based out of Idaho Falls.
Engineers at the Energy Department's Idaho National Laboratory are leading a nationwide team of scientists to enhance the capabilities of nuclear thermal propulsion, a technology that NASA hopes will cut the travel time to Mars by half.
It is an ambitious project that could transform the future of human space travel.
"What NASA ultimately is looking for is a nuclear thermal solution to get to Mars," Sebastian Corbisiero, senior technical advisor for advanced concepts at the Idaho National Laboratory, told McClatchy in an interview.
Space Team Europe for Euclid: Jean-Charles Cuillandre
Monday, 27 November 2023 11:30Focus on Euclid with Jean-Charles Cuillandre: “What we see in the first Euclid images is a promise of what will come in the future.”
Jean-Charles Cuillandre, astronomer at CEA Paris-Saclay, explains that he was “blown away” when he saw the first full-colour images captured by ESA’s recently launched Euclid space telescope.
Being a specialist of wide-field imaging, Jean-Charles was not only involved in the programme committee that selected the celestial targets for the ESA Euclid’s ‘Early Release Observations’, but he was also in charge of processing the data both for their scientific and their outreach value.
Jean-Charles expected the resulting