Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
December 20, 2017
EXO WORLDS
A New Approach for Detecting Planets in the Alpha Centauri System



New Haven CT (SPX) Dec 20, 2017
Yale astronomers have taken a fresh look at the nearby Alpha Centauri star system and found new ways to narrow the search for habitable planets there. According to a study led by Professor Debra Fischer and graduate student Lily Zhao, there may be small, Earth-like planets in Alpha Centauri that have been overlooked. Meanwhile, the study ruled out the existence of a number of larger planets in the system that had popped up in previous models. "The universe has told us the most common types o ... read more

IRON AND ICE
Interstellar asteroid 'Oumuamua may actually be made of ice
Washington (UPI) Dec 19, 2017
New analysis of 'Oumuamua, the first interstellar object to visit our solar system, suggests the cigar-shaped traveler is made of ice, not rock. ... more
OUTER PLANETS
Study explains why Jupiter's jet stream reverses course on a predictable schedule
Washington (UPI) Dec 19, 2017
Scientists can finally explain why Jupiter's jet stream regularly reverses course - like clockwork. The revelation could help scientists better understand similar equatorial jet stream oscillations found on Earth and Saturn. ... more
EXO WORLDS
Cold suns, warm exoplanets and methane blankets
Atlanta GA (SPX) Dec 19, 2017
Somewhere in our galaxy, an exoplanet is probably orbiting a star that's colder than our sun, but instead of freezing solid, the planet might be cozy warm thanks to a greenhouse effect caused by met ... more
ROBO SPACE
Engineers program tiny robots to move, think like insects
Ithaca NY (SPX) Dec 18, 2017
While engineers have had success building tiny, insect-like robots, programming them to behave autonomously like real insects continues to present technical challenges. A group of Cornell University ... more
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ENERGY TECH
AI helps accelerate progress toward efficient fusion reactions
Plainsboro NJ (SPX) Dec 19, 2017
Before scientists can effectively capture and deploy fusion energy, they must learn to predict major disruptions that can halt fusion reactions and damage the walls of doughnut-shaped fusion devices ... more
EXO WORLDS
Spanning disciplines in the search for life beyond Earth
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 19, 2017
The search for life beyond Earth is riding a surge of creativity and innovation. Following a gold rush of exoplanet discovery over the past two decades, it is time to tackle the next step: determini ... more
IRON AND ICE
Visitor from alien star system wears insulating coat: astronomers
Paris (AFP) Dec 18, 2017
A cigar-shaped rock zooming through our Solar System - the first object from a foreign star system ever spotted in our midst - is cloaked in a coat of organic material, astronomers said Monday. ... more
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 ... 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


Planting oxygen ensures a breath of fresh air

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
ROBO SPACE
Lockheed Martin and NEC to Enhance Satellites, Space Travel with Artificial Intelligence
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 15, 2017
Lockheed Martin and NEC Corp have announced that Lockheed Martin will use NEC's System Invariant Analysis Technology (SIAT) in the space domain. SIAT's advanced analytics engine uses data collected ... more
IRON AND ICE
Alien object Oumuama is a natural body transiting our solar system
Belfast UK (SPX) Dec 19, 2017
Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have led worldwide investigations into a mysterious object that passed close to Earth after arriving from deep interstellar space. Since the object was ... 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
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 17, 2017
Opportunity Comes to a Fork in the Road
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
Designing future human space exploration on Hawaii's lava fields
New Rochelle, NY (SPX) Dec 11, 2017
Space program should focus on Mars, says editor of New Space


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 capabilities that can meet NASA human space exploration objectives while also supporting industry commercialization plans. Based on a public-private partnership model, the next step for human spa ... more
Miami (AFP) Dec 14, 2017
Will Trump send Americans to the Moon? Money talks: experts
Dallas TX (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
Researchers analyze thousands of hours of Apollo mission audio
Beijing (XNA) Dec 12, 2017
Robot Moon Base: Beijing's New Lunar Landing Program
Study explains why Jupiter's jet stream reverses course on a predictable schedule
Washington (UPI) Dec 19, 2017
Scientists can finally explain why Jupiter's jet stream regularly reverses course - like clockwork. The revelation could help scientists better understand similar equatorial jet stream oscillations found on Earth and Saturn. The latest research - published this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets - reveals that gravity waves are the primary driver of the reversal of J ... more
Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 11, 2017
New Horizons Corrects Its Course in the Kuiper Belt
Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
Does New Horizons' Next Target Have a Moon?
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 13, 2017
Juno probes the depths of Jupiter's Great Red Spot
Spanning disciplines in the search for life beyond Earth
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 19, 2017
The search for life beyond Earth is riding a surge of creativity and innovation. Following a gold rush of exoplanet discovery over the past two decades, it is time to tackle the next step: determining which of the known exoplanets are proper candidates for life. Scientists from NASA and two universities presented new results dedicated to this task in fields spanning astrophysics, Earth sci ... more
Atlanta GA (SPX) Dec 19, 2017
Cold suns, warm exoplanets and methane blankets
New Haven CT (SPX) Dec 20, 2017
A New Approach for Detecting Planets in the Alpha Centauri System
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 15, 2017
NASA uses AI to uncover eighth planet circling distant star
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
Stennis Space Center, MS (SPX) Dec 15, 2017
RS-25 Engine Test is Giant Step for 3-D Printing
Paris, France (SPX) Dec 17, 2017
ArianeGroup signs contract with ESA for future Prometheus engine
Kourou (AFP) Dec 12, 2017
Ariane 5 rocket takes off with European GPS satellites


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
Washington (UPI) Dec 19, 2017
Interstellar asteroid 'Oumuamua may actually be made of ice
Paris (AFP) Dec 18, 2017
Visitor from alien star system wears insulating coat: astronomers
Boulder, CO (SPX) Dec 19, 2017
Skye high impact reveals 60-million-year-old meteorite strike in Scotland


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
Lockheed Martin to support AEGIS system for Japanese self defense forces
Washington (UPI) Dec 18, 2017
Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract for the AEGIS weapon system by the U.S. Navy for new construction in support of Japan's Maritime Self Defense Force. The deal, announced Friday by the Department of Defense, is worth more than $135.8 million under the terms of a cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The contract calls for new construction and integratio ... more
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 19, 2017
Japan to beef up missile defence system against N. Korea
Washington (AFP) Dec 19, 2017
Pentagon works to 'understand' missile strike on Saudi
Riyadh (AFP) Dec 20, 2017
Saudi says it intercepted Yemen rebel missile over Riyadh


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 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
Karlsruher, Germany (SPX) ov 27, 2017
Ceria nanoparticles: It is the surface that matters


Sierras lost water weight, grew taller during drought
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 18, 2017
Loss of water from the rocks of California's Sierra Nevada caused the mountain range to rise nearly an inch (24 millimeters) in height during the drought years from October 2011 to October 2015, a new NASA study finds. In the two following years of more abundant snow and rainfall, the mountains have regained about half as much water in the rock as they had lost in the preceding drought and ... more
Mainz, Germany (SPX) Nov 30, 2017
Researchers measure magnetic moment with greatest possible precision
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
Make-believe worlds makes for better understanding of real Universe
Berkeley CA (SPX) Dec 19, 2017
Seeing is believing, or so the saying goes. And in some cases, a world of make-believe can help you realize what you're actually seeing, too. Scientists are creating simulated universes, for example - complete with dark matter mock-ups, computer-generated galaxies, quasi quasars, and pseudo supernovae - to better understand real-world observations. Their aim is to envision how new Ea ... more
Noordwijk, Netherlands (SPX) Dec 14, 2017
Herschel Data Links Mysterious Quasar Winds to Furious Starbursts
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 14, 2017
Most Distant Supermassive Black Hole Found
Vienna, Austria (SPX) Dec 14, 2017
New manifestation of magnetic monopoles discovered


Engineers program tiny robots to move, think like insects
Ithaca NY (SPX) Dec 18, 2017
While engineers have had success building tiny, insect-like robots, programming them to behave autonomously like real insects continues to present technical challenges. A group of Cornell University engineers has been experimenting with a new type of programming that mimics the way an insect's brain works, which could soon have people wondering if that fly on the wall is actually a fly. Th ... more
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 15, 2017
Lockheed Martin and NEC to Enhance Satellites, Space Travel with Artificial Intelligence
Moscow (Sputnik) Dec 13, 2017
Not Your Grandpa's Robot: Russian Robot 'FEDOR' May Become Self-Learning
El Segundo CA (SPX) Dec 13, 2017
Aerospace's SeedTECH AI advances to second round of $5M IBM Watson XPRIZE
Insitu to support Navy's ScanEagle UAV system
Washington (UPI) Dec 19, 2017
Insitu Inc. has been awarded a modified contract by the U.S. Navy for services to support the ScanEagle Unmanned Aviation System, an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platform. The deal, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, is worth more than $22.7 million under the terms of a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, meaning that if the ... more
The Hague (AFP) Dec 13, 2017
Dutch police ground drone-fighting eagles
Washington (UPI) Dec 13, 2017
Jet-powered drone tested by BAE Systems
Washington (UPI) Dec 7, 2017
Hensoldt intros new counter-drone system
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