Copernical Team
In search of a new marker band drill site: Sols 3708-3709
We continue to characterize the Marker Band and the bedrock just below it, with the aim of understanding the origin of the Marker Band. For today's two-sol plan, in an area below the Marker Band, we planned early morning APXS and MAHLI (Touch and Go) on the brushed target "Jenipapo," similar to the flattest material in the accompanying Mastcam image.
Mastcam will acquire some multi-spectra SpaceX capsule lands safely on return from ISS
SpaceX confirmed Wednesday its Dragon cargo spacecraft successfully splashed down off the coast of Florida after returning from the International Space Station.
The uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down at 5:19 a.m. EST, off the coast of Tampa, Fla., marking an end to the company's 26th contracted mission to resupply the space station for NASA.
"Once Dragon has been retr Rocket Lab sets new date for first Electron launch from U.S. soil
Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) has announced the launch window for its first Electron mission from U.S. soil is scheduled to open on January 23, 2023 with back-up dates extending through early February. The daily launch opportunity runs from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST (23:00 - 1:00 UTC).
The "Virginia Is For Launch Lovers" mission will lift-off from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space's Mid- Private U.S. space company ABL fails to launch from Alaska
An effort to put a satellite launcher into low-Earth orbit from Alaska's Kodiak Island failed after the rocket crashed back to the launchpad, destroying the facility, private U.S. company ABL Space Systems said.
The ABL RS1 lifted off from its Kodiak Island launchpad midafternoon Alaska time on Tuesday. The company said through its official Twitter account that it experienced an "anomal Russia to send rescue mission to space station
Russia said Wednesday that it will send an empty spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) next month to bring home three astronauts whose planned return vehicle was damaged by a strike from a tiny meteoroid.
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, made the announcement after examining the flight worthiness of the Soyuz MS-22 crew capsule docked with the ISS that sprang a radiator coo Russia will launch new capsule to return space station crew
Space junk, not meteorites, remains biggest threat to spacecraft
Russian announced on Wednesday a February mission to the International Space Station to pick up crew members left stranded after a strike damaged the capsule that was to take them home.
Didier Schmitt, the European Space Agency's head of human and robotic exploration, said it was not rare for tiny meteorites to hit the space station.
The micrometeorites can be traveling at speeds from 10 to 30 kilometers (6-18 miles) a second—"much faster than a shotgun bullet," Schmitt said.
That is why, when the space station's large observation window is not in use, it is shuttered with "very, very thick layers of protective materials," he said.
Five things to know about the International Space Station
Here are some key facts about the orbiting laboratory set up to advance space exploration—and prepare to send humans to Mars—where Russians and Americans have worked together for a quarter of a century.
Size of a football field
The ISS is the largest man-made structure ever put into orbit.
Launched in 1998 by the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, and members of the European Space Agency (ESA) it is the size of a football field and weighs about the same as a jam-packed Boeing 747.
Built at a total cost of about 100 billion dollars, mostly paid for by the US, it orbits the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 400 kilometres (250 miles).
It has been permanently occupied since November 2000 by Russian and American-led crews that usually stay for around six months to carry out experiments in microgravity (weightlessness) which have practical applications on Earth and help prepare for future Mars missions.
Webb confirms its first exoplanet
Researchers have confirmed the presence of an exoplanet, a planet that orbits another star, using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope for the first time. Formally classified as LHS 475 b, the planet is almost exactly the same size as our own, clocking in at 99% of Earth’s diameter.
Russia to launch new capsule to return space station crew