Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
December 18, 2017
MARSDAILY
Opportunity Comes to a Fork in the Road



Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 17, 2017
Opportunity is continuing her winter exploration of Perseverance Valley on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover continued with several days of collecting color, stereo, Panoramic Camera (Pancam) panoramas of the surrounding terrain. Then, on Sol 4934 (Dec. 10, 2017), after a sol of recharging, Opportunity drove about 28 feet (8.4 meters), approximately east, down the valley to a modest energy lily pad. Beyond this point the channel features of the valley split into a left and right fo ... read more

MOON DAILY
Thales Alenia Space signs 3 contracts for NASA's deep space exploration
Rome (SPX) Dec 17, 2017
Thales Alenia Space has signed three contracts in the frame of Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP-2) activities with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Orbital-ATK, to develop c ... more
IRON AND ICE
Initial results and data from observations of 'Oumuamua
San Francisco CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2017
Breakthrough Listen - the initiative to find signs of intelligent life in the universe - is reporting preliminary results and making initial data available from its observations of the "interstellar ... more
MARSDAILY
Planting oxygen ensures a breath of fresh air
Paris (ESA) Dec 17, 2017
When resources are limited, you have to work with what you have - especially in the harsh environment of space. Though the International Space Station is regularly restocked by cargo vessels, like t ... more
ENERGY TECH
Lasers could soon trigger fusion energy, researchers predict
Washington (UPI) Dec 13, 2017
Laser-driven fusion energy is a realistic goal and one within reach, according to a new paper published this week in the journal Laser and Particle Beams. ... more
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EXO WORLDS
NASA uses AI to uncover eighth planet circling distant star
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 15, 2017
Our solar system now is tied for most number of planets around a single star, with the recent discovery of an eighth planet circling Kepler-90, a Sun-like star 2,545 light years from Earth. The plan ... more
EXO WORLDS
No alien 'signals' from cigar-shaped asteroid: researchers
Paris (AFP) Dec 14, 2017
No alien signals have been detected from an interstellar, cigar-shaped space rock discovered travelling through our Solar System in October, researchers listening for evidence of extraterrestrial technology said Thursday. ... more
SPACE MEDICINE
Two Embry-Riddle Research Payloads Traveled to Suborbital Space on Blue Origin's New Shepard Rocket
Daytona Beach FL (SPX) Dec 15, 2017
For less than four minutes at the edge of space, T-cells from mice in an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University experiment in partnership with the University of Texas Health Science Center and the Med ... more
SPACE MEDICINE
NASA Funds Flight for Space Medical Technology on Blue Origin
Edwards AFB CA (SPX) Dec 15, 2017
Blue Origin successfully launched its New Shepard reusable space vehicle on Dec. 12 carrying a medical technology that could potentially treat chest trauma in a space environment. The New Shep ... more
MOON DAILY
Will Trump send Americans to the Moon? Money talks: experts
Miami (AFP) Dec 14, 2017
US President Donald Trump's decision this week to return Americans to the Moon makes sense as a way to develop technology to one day reach Mars, but only if Congress allocates the money, experts say. ... more
IRON AND ICE
Ceres' bright spots suggest the dwarf planet is geologically active
Washington (UPI) Dec 13, 2017
New observations and analysis of the hundreds of bright pots on Ceres surface suggest the dwarf planet is a dynamic, geologically active place. ... more


Electrical and Chemical Coupling Between Saturn and Its Ring

SPACE MEDICINE
Cells in space
Paris (ESA) Dec 12, 2017
Laboratories on Earth hardly make the news, unless they come up with life-saving cures. So why would anyone care about a lab in space? The medicine you take on Earth begins with cell research, and t ... more
EXO WORLDS
Life's building blocks observed in spacelike environment
College Park, Maryland (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
Where do the molecules required for life originate? It may be that small organic molecules first appeared on Earth and were later combined into larger molecules, such as proteins and carbohydrates. ... more
IRON AND ICE
OSIRIS-REx cruising towards rendezvous with Asteroid Bennu
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
OSIRIS-REx is continuing outbound cruise operations, en route to arrival in August of 2018 at the asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft is currently 29.6 million miles (47.6 million kilometers) from Earth ... more
OUTER PLANETS
Does New Horizons' Next Target Have a Moon?
Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
Scientists were already excited to learn this summer that New Horizons' next flyby target - a Kuiper Belt object a billion miles past Pluto - might be either peanut-shaped or even two objects orbiti ... more

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Planting oxygen ensures a breath of fresh air
Paris (ESA) Dec 17, 2017
When resources are limited, you have to work with what you have - especially in the harsh environment of space. Though the International Space Station is regularly restocked by cargo vessels, like today's Dragon, self-sufficient spaceflight in the future will require us to recycle and reuse precious resources like oxygen. An experiment on its way to space will look into doing just that. Re ... more
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
Designing future human space exploration on Hawaii's lava fields
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 17, 2017
Opportunity Comes to a Fork in the Road
New Rochelle, NY (SPX) Dec 11, 2017
Space program should focus on Mars, says editor of New Space


Robot Moon Base: Beijing's New Lunar Landing Program
Beijing (XNA) Dec 12, 2017
Scientists are mulling a robot moon station, Chinese space experts said on Tuesday. The base can conduct bigger, more complicated research and experiments, according to space officials who announced the plan at an international symposium in Shanghai at the end of November. Such a station could slash the costs of returning rock samples to Earth, Jiao Weixin, a Peking University space ... more
Rome (SPX) Dec 17, 2017
Thales Alenia Space signs 3 contracts for NASA's deep space exploration
Dallas TX (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
Researchers analyze thousands of hours of Apollo mission audio
Miami (AFP) Dec 14, 2017
Will Trump send Americans to the Moon? Money talks: experts
Does New Horizons' Next Target Have a Moon?
Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
Scientists were already excited to learn this summer that New Horizons' next flyby target - a Kuiper Belt object a billion miles past Pluto - might be either peanut-shaped or even two objects orbiting one another. Now new data hints that 2014 MU69 might have company: a small moon. That's the latest theory coming from NASA's New Horizons team, as it continues to analyze telescope data on th ... more
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 13, 2017
Juno probes the depths of Jupiter's Great Red Spot
Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 11, 2017
New Horizons Corrects Its Course in the Kuiper Belt
Boulder CO (SPX) Dec 07, 2017
Wrapping up 2017 one year out from MU69
Life's building blocks observed in spacelike environment
College Park, Maryland (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
Where do the molecules required for life originate? It may be that small organic molecules first appeared on Earth and were later combined into larger molecules, such as proteins and carbohydrates. But a second possibility is that they originated in space, possibly within our solar system. A new study, published this week in The Journal of Chemical Physics, from AIP Publishing, shows that a numb ... more
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 15, 2017
NASA uses AI to uncover eighth planet circling distant star
Paris (AFP) Dec 14, 2017
No alien 'signals' from cigar-shaped asteroid: researchers
Toronto, Canada (SPX) Dec 08, 2017
Two Super-Earths around red dwarf K2-18
In first, SpaceX launches recycled rocket and spaceship
Miami (AFP) Dec 15, 2017
For the first time, SpaceX on Friday blasted off both a rocket and a cargo ship that have flown before, a step forward in the company's goal to lower the cost of spaceflight. After the launch, the California-based company headed by Internet tycoon Elon Musk landed its rocket booster upright on solid ground at Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX has now managed to return 20 of its rocket boos ... more
Moscow (AFP) Dec 12, 2017
Russian space agency blames satellite loss on programming error
Paris, France (SPX) Dec 17, 2017
ArianeGroup signs contract with ESA for future Prometheus engine
Washington DC (UPI) Dec 11, 2017
Rocket Lab makes another attempt at rocket launch in New Zealand


Nation 'leads world' in remote sensing technology
Beijing (XNA) Nov 27, 2017
China is now the world leader in remote sensing technologies for scientific purposes and is able to provide an unprecedented amount of data to support research and development for the world, officials said on Tuesday. Remote sensing refers to aerial or satellite-based technologies to detect and measure objects on Earth's surface, atmosphere and oceans. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Sci ... more
Beijing (XNA) Nov 19, 2017
China plans for nuclear-powered interplanetary capacity by 2040
Beijing (Sputnik) Nov 16, 2017
China plans first sea based launch by 2018
Beijing (XNA) Nov 02, 2017
China's reusable spacecraft to be launched in 2020
Initial results and data from observations of 'Oumuamua
San Francisco CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2017
Breakthrough Listen - the initiative to find signs of intelligent life in the universe - is reporting preliminary results and making initial data available from its observations of the "interstellar visitor" 'Oumuamua. The initial block of observations (the first of a planned four blocks) ran from 3:45 pm to 9:45 pm ET on Wednesday, December 13, using the Breakthrough Listen backend instru ... more
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 13, 2017
Bright Areas on Ceres Suggest Geologic Activity
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
OSIRIS-REx cruising towards rendezvous with Asteroid Bennu
West Lafayette IN (SPX) Dec 14, 2017
Research shows why meteroids explode before they reach Earth


Lockheed Martin to develop compact airborne high energy laser capabilities
Bothell WA (SPX) Nov 07, 2017
The US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) has awarded Lockheed Martin $26.3 million for the design, development and production of a high power fiber laser. AFRL plans to test the laser on a tactical fighter jet by 2021. The contract is part of AFRL's Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD) program, and is a major step forward in the maturation of protective airborne laser systems. ... more
Sunnyvale CA (SPX) Oct 09, 2017
Lockheed Martin developing technology to intercept missile threats with Directed Energy
White Sands Missile Range NM (SPX) Sep 21, 2017
Upgraded Lockheed Martin Laser Outguns Threat in Half the Time
Washington (UPI) Sep 20, 2017
ATHENA laser testbed system successfully shoots down drones
US, S. Korea, Japan start missile-tracking drill, irking China
Seoul (AFP) Dec 11, 2017
The US, South Korea and Japan carried out joint exercises Monday to track missiles from North Korea, as China warned that such manoeuvres fuel tensions following nuclear-armed Pyongyang's longest-range test launch to date. The trilateral drill comes less than two weeks after Pyongyang test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and declared it had achieved nuclear statehood, e ... more
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 10, 2017
Japan to host joint missile tracking drill amid N. Korea threat
Jerusalem (AFP) Dec 8, 2017
Israel shoots down rocket fired from Gaza: army
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 8, 2017
Japan plans long-range missiles amid N. Korea threat: minister


Electrical and Chemical Coupling Between Saturn and Its Ring
Uppsala, Sweden (SPX) Dec 14, 2017
A Langmuir probe, developed in Sweden and flown to Saturn on the Cassini spacecraft, has made exciting discoveries in the atmosphere of the planet. Jan-Erik Wahlund at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Uppsala and his colleagues show that there is a strong coupling, both chemically and electrically, between the atmosphere of Saturn and its rings. These research results have now been publ ... more
Washington (UPI) Nov 21, 2017
Unique atmospheric chemistry explains cold vortex on Saturn's moon Titan
Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 22, 2017
Cassini Image Mosaic: A Farewell to Saturn
Bristol UK (SPX) Nov 22, 2017
Unexpected atmospheric vortex behavior on Saturn's moon Titan
Discovery sets new world standard in nano generators
Edmonton, Canada (SPX) Dec 18, 2017
A team of University of Alberta engineers developed a new way to produce electrical power that can charge handheld devices or sensors that monitor anything from pipelines to medical implants. The discovery sets a new world standard in devices called triboelectric nanogenerators by producing a high-density DC current - a vast improvement over low-quality AC currents produced by other resear ... more
Boston MA (SPX) Dec 14, 2017
A 100-fold leap to GigaDalton DNA nanotech
Boston MA (SPX) Dec 07, 2017
New nanowires are just a few atoms thick
Moscow, Russia (SPX) Nov 30, 2017
Physicists explain metallic conductivity of thin carbon nanotube films


Researchers measure magnetic moment with greatest possible precision
Mainz, Germany (SPX) Nov 30, 2017
The magnetic moment of an individual proton is inconceivably small, but can still be quantified. The basis for undertaking this measurement was laid over ten years ago, and physicists of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, GSI Darmstadt, and the RIKEN research institute in Japan are still performing experiments to measure this force with a sin ... more
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Nov 28, 2017
Physicists make most precise measurement ever of a proton's magnetic moment
Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 15, 2017
Listening for gravitational waves using pulsars
New York NY (SPX) Nov 14, 2017
Gravity waves from merging supermassive black holes will be found soon
Herschel Data Links Mysterious Quasar Winds to Furious Starbursts
Noordwijk, Netherlands (SPX) Dec 14, 2017
Astronomers have used ESA's Herschel Space Observatory to solve a decades-old mystery about the origin of powerful cool gas winds in the hot environs of quasars. The evidence linking these powerful winds to star formation in the quasar host galaxies may also help resolve the mystery of why the size of galaxies in the universe appears to be capped. Since their discovery in the 1960s quasars ... more
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 14, 2017
Most Distant Supermassive Black Hole Found
Vienna, Austria (SPX) Dec 14, 2017
New manifestation of magnetic monopoles discovered
Washington DC (SPX) Nov 30, 2017
Quantum-emitting answer might lie in the solution


Aerospace's SeedTECH AI advances to second round of $5M IBM Watson XPRIZE
El Segundo CA (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
The Aerospace Corporation's (Aerospace) SeedTECH Artificial Intelligence (AI) team is one of 59 teams out of 147 that are advancing to the second round of the IBM Watson AI XPRIZE - a $5 million AI and cognitive computing global competition. SeedTECH AI will take on the grand challenge of designing an AI that can dream. "We're thrilled that Aerospace's all-volunteer team progressed to the ... more
Ithaca NY (SPX) Dec 18, 2017
Engineers program tiny robots to move, think like insects
Washington (UPI) Dec 8, 2017
Speedy cockroaches help researchers train robots to walk
Moscow (Sputnik) Dec 13, 2017
Not Your Grandpa's Robot: Russian Robot 'FEDOR' May Become Self-Learning
Dutch police ground drone-fighting eagles
The Hague (AFP) Dec 13, 2017
Dutch police have clipped the wings of their airborne drone-fighting force of eagles, and fired their winged warriors deeming them too expensive and too unruly to be effective. After a series of tests in 2015, the police last year announced they were putting into operation a flock of the birds of prey to take down drones believed to be posing a danger to the public, such as near airports. ... more
Washington (UPI) Dec 13, 2017
Jet-powered drone tested by BAE Systems
Washington (UPI) Dec 7, 2017
Hensoldt intros new counter-drone system
Beijing (AFP) Dec 7, 2017
China says Indian drone 'invaded' its airspace, crashed
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