Dunes trapped in a crater on Mars form this interesting pattern
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 10:25Symmetry in nature is pleasing to look at, and even more so when that symmetry is novel. There's plenty of it to see on Earth, as biological processes have a penchant for patterns. But finding it off-world is trickier, and sometimes more striking. Which is why a picture from HiRISE of some Martian dunes is so spectacular.
The picture was actually taken back in 2010, inside of a crater in Noachis Terra, in the red planet's southern hemisphere, around 38 degrees by -42.5 degrees in latitude / longitude. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE was about 252 km above the planet's surface when it snapped the image, which covers an area of about 25 square kilometers.
Even with that relatively large size, the image still resolves objects that are less than a meter in size. But the most striking feature of the pictures is the similarity between the dunes, which are actually the thin dark lines.
New Zealand signs Artemis Accords
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 10:12WASHINGTON — The New Zealand government announced May 31 that it had signed the U.S.-led Artemis Accords governing best practices for space exploration activities, showing a particular interest in the document’s stance on space resources.
ESA investigates cultured meat as novel space food
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 09:55ESA is seeking proposals to investigate the application of cellular agriculture as a novel technique to produce food, in particular cultured meat, during future long-term space missions.
New Zealand latest nation to sign space agreement with NASA
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 07:00The Incredible Adventures of the Hera mission – Presenting Hera
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 06:53Meet Hera, our very own asteroid detective. Together with two briefcase-sized Cubesats – Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary – Hera is off on an adventure to explore Didymos and Dimorphos, an asteroid pair typical of the thousands that pose an impact risk to planet Earth.
A passion for hypersonics propels success at AFRL Lab
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 06:27An AFRL researcher grew up with two parents who worked as pharmacists, so he was initially interested in medicine as a young student. Once he reached high school, though, his passion for mathematics blossomed, thanks to one of his high school teachers. This teacher showed him that math has real-world applications and he was excited to learn more. 1st Lt. Jonathan "Luke" Hill turned his ent
Commercial UAV Expo Americas 2021
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 06:27Commercial UAV Expo Americas is North America's leading trade show and conference focusing on the integration and operation of commercial UAS. Industries covered include Construction; Drone Delivery; Energy and Utilities; Forestry and Agriculture; Infrastructure and Transportation; Mining and Aggregates; Public Safety and Emergency Services; Security; and Surveying and Mapping.
NASA stacks elements for upper portion of Artemis II Core Stage
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 06:27NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) team fully stacked three hardware elements together May 24 to form the top of the rocket's core stage for the Artemis II mission. NASA and core stage prime contractor Boeing connected the forward skirt with the liquid oxygen tank and intertank flight hardware inside an assembly area at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Teams had previously st
Quark-gluon plasma flows like water, according to new study
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 06:27What does quark-gluon plasma - the hot soup of elementary particles formed a few microseconds after the Big Bang - have in common with tap water? Scientists say it's the way it flows. A new study, published in the journal SciPost Physics, has highlighted the surprising similarities between quark-gluon plasma, the first matter thought to have filled the early Universe, and water that comes
China's Beidou-related industry estimated to top 1t yuan by 2025
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 06:27The value of industries related to China's homegrown BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is estimated to exceed 1 trillion yuan (about $156.4 billion) by 2025, said an official with the country's satellite navigation administration. The figure was revealed by Yang Jun, deputy director of China's Satellite Navigation System Management Office, at the three-day 12th China Satellite Navigation
US Air and Space Forces budget released
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 06:27The Department of the Air Force released its Fiscal Year 2022 budget proposal, May 28, focusing on investing in people and capability, building the future force and delivering joint lethality and effectiveness. The Department's $173.7 billion request includes the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force budgets. The Air Force's budget of $156.3 billion is a 2.3% increase and the Space Force's b
MDA test does not intercept target
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 06:27The U.S. Missile Defense Agency, in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, conducted Flight Test Aegis Weapon System 31 Event 1 on May 29, 2021. The objective of the test was to demonstrate the capability of a ballistic missile defense (BMD)-configured Aegis ship to detect, track, engage and intercept a medium range ballistic missile target with a salvo of two Standard Missile-6 Dual II (BMD-init
Lockheed Martin tests Navy's Hypersonic Strike System
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 06:27The Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have conducted a significant live fire hypersonic strike system test in support of the U.S. Navy's Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) and U.S. Army's Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) programs. In this live fire ground test of the first stage solid rocket motor, the motor fired for the full trial duration and met performance parameters and objective
CryoSat reveals ice loss from glaciers in Alaska and Asia
Tuesday, 01 June 2021 06:00As our climate warms, ice melting from glaciers around the world is one of main causes of sea-level rise. As well as being a major contributor to this worrying trend, the loss of glacier ice also poses a direct threat to hundreds of millions of people relying on glacier runoff for drinking water and irrigation. With monitoring mountain glaciers clearly important for these reasons and more, new research, based on information from ESA’s CryoSat mission, shows how much ice has been lost from mountain glaciers in the Gulf Alaska and in High Mountain Asia since 2010.
Uncovering the Hidden Arctic
Monday, 31 May 2021 15:45The Arctic. Bitterly cold and crossed by blinding storms. Shrouded in darkness half the year. A place of legend where polar bears roam and gigantic icebergs plunge into the sea.
But the Arctic is changing. The six years ending in 2019 were the warmest ever recorded.