Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
March 14, 2018
OUTER PLANETS
New Horizons Chooses Nickname for 'Ultimate' Flyby Target



Washington DC (SPX) Mar 14, 2018
As NASA's New Horizons mission continues exploring the unknown, the mission team has selected a highly appropriate nickname for its next flyby target in the outer reaches of the solar system. With substantial public input, the team has chosen "Ultima Thule" (pronounced ultima thoo-lee") for the Kuiper Belt object the New Horizons spacecraft will explore on Jan. 1, 2019. Officially known as 2014 MU69, the object, which orbits a billion miles beyond Pluto, will be the most primitive world ever obser ... read more

MARSDAILY
Next NASA Mars Rover Reaches Key Manufacturing Milestone
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 14, 2018
NASA's Mars 2020 mission has begun the assembly, test and launch operations (ATLO) phase of its development, on track for a July 2020 launch to Mars. The first planned ATLO activities will inv ... more
MARSDAILY
Asteroids and comets shower Mars with organics
Amsterdam, Netherlands (SPX) Mar 14, 2018
Asteroids and comets appear to be a much more important suppliers of organic molecules on Mars than expected. Until now, astronomers assumed that the organics on Mars mainly came from dust particles ... more
MOON DAILY
'Luna City 2175' will take audience to a future community grappling with how to be civilized
Tempe AZ (SPX) Mar 14, 2018
A good book can transport the reader into a faraway universe filled with rich detail. The ASU Emerge event will do the same thing this weekend, but the audience actually will be able to touch, see a ... more
IRON AND ICE
Russian physicists make toy asteroids and blast them with a laser
Moscow, Russia (SPX) Mar 14, 2018
A large team of Russian researchers from Rosatom, joined by three MIPT physicists, has modeled the impact of a nuclear explosion on an Earth-threatening asteroid. They manufactured miniature asteroi ... more
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OUTER PLANETS
Jupiter's Great Red Spot getting taller as it shrinks
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 14, 2018
Though once big enough to swallow three Earths with room to spare, Jupiter's Great Red Spot has been shrinking for a century and a half. Nobody is sure how long the storm will continue to contract o ... more
EXO WORLDS
Heat shock system helps bug come back to life after drying up
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 12, 2018
The larva of the sleeping chironomid, Polypedilum vanderplanki - a mosquito-like insect that inhabits semi-arid areas of Africa - is well known for being able to come back to life after being nearly ... more
SPACE MEDICINE
UH optometrist investigates changes in eye structure in astronauts
Houston TX (SPX) Mar 14, 2018
Astronauts who spend time aboard the International Space Station return to Earth with changes to the structure of their eyes which could impact their vision. NASA has studied the phenomenon, known a ... more
ROBO SPACE
Tokyo Tech's six-legged robots get closer to nature
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 13, 2018
A study led by researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) has uncovered new ways of driving multi-legged robots by means of a two-level controller. The proposed controller uses a netw ... more
MARSDAILY
Opportunity is Halfway Down the Valley
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 13, 2018
Opportunity is continuing the exploration of "Perseverance Valley" on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover is positioned about halfway down the approximately 656 feet (200 meter) valley ... more
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OUTER PLANETS
Unveiling the depths of Jupiter's winds
Rehovot, Israel (SPX) Mar 12, 2018
Three papers published tomorrow in Nature answer a question that scientists have been asking ever since Galileo first observed the famous stripes of Jupiter: Are the colorful bands just a pretty sur ... more
EXO WORLDS
JHU performs first laboratory simulation of exoplanet atmospheric chemistry
Baltimore MD (SPX) Mar 12, 2018
Scientists have conducted the first lab experiments on haze formation in simulated exoplanet atmospheres, an important step for understanding upcoming observations of planets outside the solar syste ... more
EXO WORLDS
The search for interstellar water
Baltimore MD (SPX) Mar 12, 2018
Water is crucial for life, but how do you make water? Cooking up some H2O takes more than mixing hydrogen and oxygen. It requires the special conditions found deep within frigid molecular clouds, wh ... more
MARSDAILY
Travis AFB delivers NASA InSight Spacecraft
Travis AFB CA (AFNS) Mar 12, 2018
Airmen from the 21st Airlift Squadron and the 860th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, California, loaded and transported the NASA InSight Spacecraft Feb. 28, 2018, from Lockhee ... more
MARSDAILY
360 Video: Tour a Mars Robot Test Lab
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 12, 2018
NASA's InSight lander looks a bit like an oversized crane game: when it lands on Mars this November, its robotic arm will be used to grasp and move objects on another planet for the first time. ... more


BepiColombo gets green light for launch site

OUTER PLANETS
Jupiter's turmoil more than skin deep: researchers
Paris (AFP) March 7, 2018
Jupiter's tempestuous, gassy atmosphere stretches some 3,000 kilometres (1,860 miles) deep and comprises a hundredth of the planet's mass, studies based on observations by NASA's Juno spacecraft revealed Wednesday. ... more
Space News from SpaceDaily.com

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DRAGON SPACE
China moving ahead with plans for next-generation X-ray observatory
Washington (UPI) Mar 8, 2018
China is getting closer to a finalized design for its next-generation X-ray observatory. ... more
MOON DAILY
Scientists Share Ideas for Gateway Activities Near the Moon
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 08, 2018
NASA is looking at how the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway can create value for both robotic and human exploration in deep space. In late 2017, the agency asked the global science community to submit ... more
TECH SPACE
Russia successfully tests first atmospheric satellite
Moscow (Sputnik) Mar 08, 2018
The first Russian atmospheric satellite dubbed Sova was successfully tested at an altitude of 12.4 miles, a representative of Russia's Foundation for Advanced Research (FPI) told Sputnik. "Sov ... more
TECH SPACE
Commercial Satellite Built by Maxar Technologies' SSL Successfully Begins On-Orbit Operations, Demonstrating Leadership in New Space Economy
Palo Alto CA (SPX) Mar 08, 2018
SSL reports that the advanced Hispasat 30W-6 satellite, previously called Hispasat 1F, was launched yesterday and is successfully performing post-launch maneuvers according to plan, demonstrating Ma ... more
EXO WORLDS
Study sheds light on the genetic origins of the two sexes
St Louis, MO (SPX) Mar 14, 2018
A new study published in the journal Communications Biology has shed light on the earliest stages in the evolution of male-female differentiation and sex chromosomes--and found the genetic origins o ... more
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Opportunity is Halfway Down the Valley
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 13, 2018
Opportunity is continuing the exploration of "Perseverance Valley" on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover is positioned about halfway down the approximately 656 feet (200 meter) valley. Opportunity is continuing the imaging survey at each rover location within the valley. In addition to both Navigation Camera (Navcam) and Panoramic Camera (Pancam) panoramas, targeted Pancam multi-s ... more
+ Next NASA Mars Rover Reaches Key Manufacturing Milestone
+ 360 Video: Tour a Mars Robot Test Lab
+ Travis AFB delivers NASA InSight Spacecraft
+ Asteroids and comets shower Mars with organics
+ The Case of the Martian Boulder Piles
+ Opportunity collects more 'Selfie' frames
+ Dyes for 'live' extremophile labeling will help discover life on Mars


'Luna City 2175' will take audience to a future community grappling with how to be civilized
Tempe AZ (SPX) Mar 14, 2018
A good book can transport the reader into a faraway universe filled with rich detail. The ASU Emerge event will do the same thing this weekend, but the audience actually will be able to touch, see and interact with the newly created world. "Luna City: 2175," the title of the seventh annual ASU Emerge, will be a combined art, theater and museum experience that's based on real research about ... more
+ Scientists Share Ideas for Gateway Activities Near the Moon
+ The moon formed inside a vaporized Earth synestia
+ Research details mineralogy of potential lunar exploration site
+ Study details new story for how the moon formed
+ How does water change the moon's origin story?
+ On second thought, the Moon's water may be widespread and immobile
+ SwRI scientist helps characterize water on lunar surface
Unveiling the depths of Jupiter's winds
Rehovot, Israel (SPX) Mar 12, 2018
Three papers published tomorrow in Nature answer a question that scientists have been asking ever since Galileo first observed the famous stripes of Jupiter: Are the colorful bands just a pretty surface phenomenon, or are they a significant stratum of the planet? The Weizmann Institute's Prof. Yohai Kaspi led this research in which measurements from NASA's Juno spacecraft were analyzed to ... more
+ Jupiter's turmoil more than skin deep: researchers
+ New Horizons Chooses Nickname for 'Ultimate' Flyby Target
+ Jupiter's Great Red Spot getting taller as it shrinks
+ Jupiter's Jet-Streams Are Unearthly
+ You are entering the Jovian Twilight Zone
+ The PI's Perspective: Why Didn't Voyager Explore the Kuiper Belt?
+ Chasing a stellar flash with assistance from GAIA
The search for interstellar water
Baltimore MD (SPX) Mar 12, 2018
Water is crucial for life, but how do you make water? Cooking up some H2O takes more than mixing hydrogen and oxygen. It requires the special conditions found deep within frigid molecular clouds, where dust shields against destructive ultraviolet light and aids chemical reactions. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will peer into these cosmic reservoirs to gain new insights into the origin and ev ... more
+ Heat shock system helps bug come back to life after drying up
+ JHU performs first laboratory simulation of exoplanet atmospheric chemistry
+ Study sheds light on the genetic origins of the two sexes
+ Rare mineral discovered in plants for first time
+ Hubble observes exoplanet atmosphere in more detail than ever before
+ Chemical sleuthing unravels possible path to forming life's building blocks in space
+ NASA finds a large amount of water in an exoplanet's atmosphere
Elon Musk plans to launch spacecraft for Mars in 2019
Washington (UPI) Mar 11, 2018
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Sunday that he is on track to launch a spacecraft for Mars by next year. "We are building the first ship, or interplanetary ship, right now," Musk said during a question and answer session at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. "And we'll probably be able to do short flights, short up and down flights, probably some time in the first half of next ... more
+ Ukraine eyes new Spaceport downunder
+ Arianespace lofts 4 more O3b sats for SES led constellation
+ SpaceX carries out 50th launch of Falcon 9 rocket
+ NASA team outfits Orion for abort test with lean approach
+ World-first firing of air-breathing electric thruster
+ GOES-S marks 100th launch of Rocketdyne AJ-60A solid rocket booster
+ Action plan approved for next Ariane 5 launches


China moving ahead with plans for next-generation X-ray observatory
Washington (UPI) Mar 8, 2018
China is getting closer to a finalized design for its next-generation X-ray observatory. As reported by Science this week, scientists at China's National Space Science Center are honing in on the final iteration of their design for the X-Ray Timing and Polarimetry, eXTP, satellite. The eXTP mission team plans to complete a prototype by 2022, with a goal to launch the satellite in ... more
+ China to launch Long March-5B rocket in 2019
+ Satellite will test plan for global China led satcom network
+ China plans rocket sea-launch
+ China speeds up research, commercialization of space shuttles
+ Long March rockets on ambitious mission in 2018
+ Chinese taikonauts maintain indomitable spirit in space exploration: senior officer
+ China launches first shared education satellite
Russian physicists make toy asteroids and blast them with a laser
Moscow, Russia (SPX) Mar 14, 2018
A large team of Russian researchers from Rosatom, joined by three MIPT physicists, has modeled the impact of a nuclear explosion on an Earth-threatening asteroid. They manufactured miniature asteroids and blasted them with a laser. The modeling technique developed in this study is a way of experimentally evaluating asteroid destruction criteria such as the explosion energy needed to elimin ... more
+ Lessons from the Tunguska event
+ Comet Chury formed by a catastrophic collision
+ Watch an asteroid pass between Earth and the moon on Friday
+ Hayabusa2 has detected Ryugu
+ Asteroid Institute announces Tech Partners for the ADAM asteroid mapping project
+ Five Years after the Chelyabinsk Meteor: NASA Leads Efforts in Planetary Defense
+ Seafloor data point to global volcanism after Chicxulub meteor strike


Navy taps Northrop Grumman for laser weapon system
Washington (UPI) Mar 8, 2018
Northrop Grumman was awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy for services in support of the Solid State High Power Laser Weapon System Demonstrator program. The deal, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $21.5 million under the terms of a cost-plus fixed fee contract, which is a modification to a previous award. The modified contract brings the t ... more
+ Lockheed Martin awarded first part of billion dollar laser weapons deal
+ Navy orders laser weapon systems from Lockheed Martin
+ Lockheed Martin to develop compact airborne high energy laser capabilities
+ Lockheed Martin developing technology to intercept missile threats with Directed Energy
+ Upgraded Lockheed Martin Laser Outguns Threat in Half the Time
+ ATHENA laser testbed system successfully shoots down drones
JV will deliver Germany's NextGen ground based air defense system TLVS
Schrobenhausen, Germany (SPX) Mar 12, 2018
MBDA Deutschland and Lockheed Martin have announced a new joint venture to pursue the next generation Integrated Air and Missile Defense System, "TLVS," for the German Bundeswehr. The joint venture is expected to become the prime contractor for the new system, which is currently being negotiated with Germany's procurement office for the Bundeswehr, BAAINBw. Gregory Kee of Lockheed Martin a ... more
+ Lockheed PAC-3 missile-defense system successful in demo
+ Northrop Grumman to develop ballistic missile defense simulation models
+ Lockheed Martin tapped to speed up AEGIS system
+ Lockheed Martin Wins $80 Million Contract to Build Missile Defense Targets
+ Interceptor test underscores reliability of proves PAC-3 anti missile system
+ Will missile defense be feeble against hypersonic weapons
+ America's missile-defense system not ready for hypersonic threats


Titan topographic map unearths cookie-cutter holes in moon's surface
Ithaca NY (SPX) Jan 19, 2018
Using the now-complete Cassini data set, Cornell University astronomers have created a new global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan that has opened new windows into understanding its liquid flows and terrain. Two papers, recently published in Geophysical Review Letters, describe the map and discoveries arising from it. Creating the map took about a year, according to doctoral student ... more
+ Cassini finds Titan has 'sea level' like Earth
+ Giant Storms Cause Palpitations in Saturn's Atmospheric Heartbeat
+ Electrical and Chemical Coupling Between Saturn and Its Ring
+ Unique atmospheric chemistry explains cold vortex on Saturn's moon Titan
+ Cassini Image Mosaic: A Farewell to Saturn
+ Unexpected atmospheric vortex behavior on Saturn's moon Titan
+ Heating ocean moon Enceladus for billions of years
Mining hardware helps scientists gain insight into silicon nanoparticles
Saint Petersburg, Russia (SPX) Mar 06, 2018
Researchers first developed a three-dimensional dynamic model of an interaction between light and nanoparticles. They used a supercomputer with graphic accelerators for calculations. Results showed that silicon particles exposed to short intense laser pulses lose their symmetry temporarily. Their optical properties become strongly heterogeneous. Such a change in properties depends on parti ... more
+ UCLA researchers develop a new class of two-dimensional materials
+ New technique allows printing of flexible, stretchable silver nanowire circuits
+ Nanomaterials: What are the environmental and health risks?
+ UT Dallas team's microscopic solution may save researchers big time
+ Researchers invent light-emitting nanoantennas
+ Nanomushroom sensors: One material, many applications
+ USTC realizes strong indirect coupling in distant nanomechanical resonators


New method enables high-resolution measurements of magnetism
Uppsala, Sweden (SPX) Feb 13, 2018
In a new article, published in Nature Materials, researchers from Beijing, Uppsala and Julich have made significant progress allowing very high resolution magnetic measurements. With their method it is possible to measure magnetism of individual atomic planes. Magnetic nanostructures are used in a wide range of applications. Most notably, to store bits of data in hard drives. These structu ... more
+ ESA Creates Quietest Place In Space
+ Bursting with Excitement - A Look at Bubbles and Fluids in Space
+ NASA Technology to Help Locate Electromagnetic Counterparts of Gravitational Waves
+ Transportable optical clock used to measure gravitation for the first time
+ Acoustic tractor beam could pave the way for levitating humans
+ Cutting-Edge Technology Enhances Virgo Gravitational-Wave Detector
+ Deep Learning Pioneered for Real-Time Gravitational Wave Discovery
The occurrence of magnetism in the universe
Dresden, Germany (SPX) Mar 13, 2018
Flows of molten metal can generate magnetic fields. This so-called dynamo effect creates cosmic magnetic fields, like those found on planets, moons and even asteroids. Over the coming years, a globally unique experiment, in which a steel drum containing several tons of liquid sodium rotates around two axes, is intended to demonstrate this effect. It will be carried out in the new DRESDYN f ... more
+ Quantum vacuum may allow stars to exist in unconventional configurations
+ Double or Nothing: Astronomers Rethink Quasar Environment
+ Stephen Hawking: a brief history of genius
+ Artificial intelligence techniques reconstruct mysteries of quantum systems
+ The Schrodinger Equation makes an unlikely appearance at the astronomical scale
+ Dressing atoms in an ultracold soup
+ JILA team invents new way to 'see' the quantum world


Tokyo Tech's six-legged robots get closer to nature
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 13, 2018
A study led by researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) has uncovered new ways of driving multi-legged robots by means of a two-level controller. The proposed controller uses a network of so-called non-linear oscillators that enables the generation of diverse gaits and postures, which are specified by only a few high-level parameters. The study inspires new research into how mul ... more
+ Novel 3-D printing method embeds sensing capabilities within robotic actuators
+ UTSA researchers want to teach computers to learn like humans
+ Modified, 3D-printable alloy shows promise for flexible electronics, soft robots
+ Don't want to lose a finger? Let a robot give a hand
+ Beware of replicating sexism in AI, experts warn
+ Berkeley Lab 'minimalist machine learning' algorithms analyze images from very little data
+ Snake-inspired robot uses kirigami to move
Scientists use satellites and drones to discover antarctic penguin 'super-colonies'
Baton Rouge LA (SPX) Mar 06, 2018
A recent scientific expedition to the Danger Islands, a remote group of tiny islands along eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula, used new technologies to discover and survey a breeding colony of over one and a half million penguins. Michael Polito, assistant professor in the department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences at LSU, and co-authors detail their findings in a study published ... more
+ US gives Philippine air force first drones
+ URS awarded contract for support of Air Force's drone fleet
+ Google guru Page tests flying taxis in New Zealand
+ Unclassified version of new report predicts small drone threats to infantry units
+ Chinese drones slink into North Korean arsenal
+ Cameroon startup launches drones for global market
+ Russian military developing long-range supersonic missile-lobbing drone
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