Copernical Team
What if Titan Dragonfly had a fusion engine?
In a little over four years, NASA's Dragonfly mission will launch into space and begin its long journey towards Titan, Saturn's largest moon. As part of the New Frontiers program, this quadcopter will explore Titan's atmosphere, surface, and methane lakes for possible indications of life (aka. biosignatures).
This will commence in 2034, with a science phase lasting for three years and three and a half months. The robotic explorer will rely on a nuclear battery—a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermal Generator (MMRTG)—to ensure its longevity.
But what if Dragonfly were equipped with a next-generation fusion power system? In a recent mission study paper, a team of researchers from Princeton Satellite Systems demonstrated how a direct fusion drive (DFD) could greatly enhance a mission to Titan. This New Jersey-based aerospace company is developing fusion systems that rely on the Princeton Field-Reversed Configuration (PFRC).
This research could lead to compact fusion reactors that could lead to rapid transits, longer-duration missions, and miniature nuclear reactors here on Earth.
Experts: Metallic object that crashed into New Jersey home was a meteorite
Monitoring fluctuating forest carbon from space
Monitoring fluctuating forest carbon from space
Tianzhou 6 docks with Tiangong space station
The Tianzhou 6 robotic cargo ship connected with the Tiangong space station early Thursday morning, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
In a brief news release, the agency said the cargo craft docked with the Tiangong station's rear hatch at 5:16 am and began to fly with the station in a low-Earth orbit about 400 kilometers above Earth.
Crew members of the Shenzhou XV mission Great balls of fire! 'Rocket debris' lights up Japan night
Fiery streaks of light across the night sky over southern Japan may have been caused by space debris from a rocket launched by China, Japanese officials said Thursday.
Video of the apparent fireballs lit up social media on Wednesday night, with residents and users speculating on what might have caused the unusual display.
The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)'s Ishigaki b Plateau observatory ready to advance knowledge of universe
China's Large High-Altitude Air Shower Observatory, one of the world's most advanced cosmic ray observatories, passed national appraisal on Wednesday. The facility will help scientists uncover the origins of high-energy cosmic rays and expand humanity's knowledge of the universe.
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles consisting mainly of protons and atomic nuclei that travel through space Testing a theory of supermassive black holes with 100 newly described 'blazars'
More than a hundred blazars - distant and active galaxies with a central supermassive black hole that drives powerful jets - have been newly characterized by Penn State researchers from a catalog of previously unclassified high-energy cosmic emissions. The new blazars, which are dim relative to more typical blazars, have allowed the researchers to test a controversial theory of blazar emissions, Webb takes closest look yet at mysterious planet
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has observed a distant planet outside our solar system - and unlike anything in it - to reveal what is likely a highly reflective world with a steamy atmosphere. It's the closest look yet at the mysterious world, a "mini-Neptune" that was largely impenetrable to previous observations.
And while the planet, called GJ 1214 b, is too hot to harbor liquid-wate Researchers measure the light emitted by a sub-Neptune planet's atmosphere for the first time
For more than a decade, astronomers have been trying to get a closer look at GJ 1214b, an exoplanet 40 light-years away from Earth. Their biggest obstacle is a thick layer of haze that blankets the planet, shielding it from the probing eyes of space telescopes and stymying efforts to study its atmosphere.
NASA's new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) solved that issue. The telescope's infra Scientists to explore lunar construction materials, tech
The Beijing Institute of Technology recently received 500 milligrams of the lunar samples brought back by the Chang'e 5 mission.
BIT's research team will study the material characteristics of these samples and related manufacturing technology, with the building of a future lunar research station in mind.
Shen Jun, a professor with the School of Mechanical Engineering at BIT, noted th