Plainsboro NJ (SPX) Sep 01, 2022
What is the connection between boron, an element in a common household cleaner, and tokamaks, ring-shaped fusion facilities that heat fuel to million-degree temperatures? Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have conducted research showing that a PPPL-developed powder dropper can successfully drop boron powder into high-temperature plasma

Wenchang, China(XNA) Sep 05, 2022
A Long March-5B Y4 rocket, tasked with sending China's space station lab module Mengtian into orbit, has been transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern province of Hainan, the China Manned Space Agency said Saturday. The rocket will undergo final assembly and testing together with the Mengtian lab module, which arrived earlier. Preparations for the launch mis

Washington DC (SPX) Sep 05, 2022
NASA has selected Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp. of Boulder, Colorado, to provide the Laser Prestabilizaton System (LPS) for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) laser assembly. The total value of the cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is $11,906,675, and the period of performance is from Sept. 1, 2022, through April 1, 2025. The work will be performed at the contractor's facility

Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 05, 2022
Well, not quite. But for scientists like me, who study atmospheric and aeolian (wind-driven) processes, wind-blown dust is extremely important to understand on Mars. Because the Martian atmosphere is so thin, adding even a small amount of dust greatly increases the amount of sunlight absorbed, which greatly affects temperature, which in turn affects the entire atmospheric circulation. Part

Beijing (XNA) Sep 05, 2022
Chinese astronauts on the Shenzhou XIV mission have carried out their first spacewalk, also known as an extravehicular activity, which finished early on Friday morning, according to the China Manned Space Agency. Mission commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong opened an extravehicular activity hatch on the Tiangong space station at 6:26 pm on Thursday Beijing time and then floated out of the st

Astronauts with their sights on the Moon are receiving world-class geology training during the fifth edition of ESA’s Pangaea campaign. From choosing landing sites for a future Artemis mission, to designing science operations for the lunar surface, the course challenges space explorers to become field scientists.

Kennedy Space Center, United States (AFP) Sept 4, 2022
After scrapping a second attempt to get its new 30-story lunar rocket off the ground due to a fuel leak, NASA officials said Saturday it may not be possible to try again this month. The current launch window for NASA's Artemis 1 mission to the Moon ends Tuesday and is "definitely off the table," said Jim Free, associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development, at a press conference

Kennedy Space Center, United States (AFP) Sept 3, 2022
After scrapping a second attempt to get its new 30-story rocket off the ground due to a fuel leak, NASA announced on Saturday it will not try again during its current window of opportunity, which ends early next week. Determined by the position of the Earth and Moon, the current launch period for NASA's Artemis 1 mission ends Tuesday and is "definitely off the table," said Jim Free, associat