Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
August 31, 2018
MARSDAILY
Martian skies clearing over Opportunity Rover



Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 31, 2018
A planet-encircling dust storm on Mars, which was first detected May 30 and halted operations for the Opportunity rover, continues to abate. With clearing skies over Opportunity's resting spot in Mars' Perseverance Valley, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, believe the nearly 15-year-old, solar-powered rover will soon receive enough sunlight to automatically initiate recovery procedures - if the rover is able to do so. To prepare, the Opportunity mission t ... read more

MARSDAILY
NASA's InSight has a thermometer for Mars
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 31, 2018
Ambitious climbers, forget Mt. Everest. Dream about Mars. The Red Planet has some of the tallest mountains in the solar system. They include Olympus Mons, a volcano nearly three times the height of ... more
OUTER PLANETS
Water discovered in the Great Red Spot indicates Jupiter might have plenty more
Clemson SC (SPX) Aug 31, 2018
On Dec. 7, 1995, NASA's historic Galileo probe plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere at 106,000 mph, relaying 58 minutes of data back to Earth before it was pulverized in the depths of the enormous plan ... more
SATURN DAILY
Hubble observes energetic light show at Saturn's north pole
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 31, 2018
Astronomers using the Hubble Space telescope have taken a series of images featuring the fluttering auroras at the north pole of Saturn. The observations were taken in ultraviolet light and the resu ... more
TECH SPACE
Maxar's SSL selected by NASA to explore commercial satellite assembly and manufacturing in LEO
Palo Alto CA (SPX) Aug 31, 2018
SSL, a Maxar Technologies company reports it has been selected by NASA to perform a study exploring the use of commercial habitats in space as satellite manufacturing facilities. In support of ... more
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DRAGON SPACE
China tests propulsion system of space station's lab capsules
Beijing, China (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
Engineers have successfully tested the propulsion system of China's planned space station lab capsules, a key step in its space station program. Weighing 66 tonnes, the space station will comp ... more
MARSDAILY
No word from Opportunity as skies begin to clear
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 30, 2018
No signal from Opportunity has been heard. The dust storm on Mars continues to decay. There has been no new storm activity within ~1,864 miles (3,000 kilometers) of the rover site. The atmosph ... more
OUTER PLANETS
New Horizons makes first detection of Kuiper Belt flyby target
Laurel MD (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
Mission team members were thrilled - if not a little surprised - that New Horizons' telescopic Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) was able to see the small, dim object while still more than 10 ... more
OUTER PLANETS
Deep inside the Great Red Spot hints at water on Jupiter
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
For centuries, scientists have worked to understand the makeup of Jupiter. It's no wonder: this mysterious planet is the biggest one in our solar system by far, and chemically, the closest relative ... more
EXO WORLDS
Scientist develops database for stellar-exoplanet "exploration"
San Antonio TX (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
A Southwest Research Institute scientist is using big data to help the scientific community characterize exoplanets, particularly alien worlds orbiting nearby stars. Of particular interest are exopl ... more
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OUTER PLANETS
Jupiter had growth disorders
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Aug 29, 2018
With an equator diameter of around 143,000 kilometers, Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and has 300 times the mass of the Earth. The formation mechanism of giant planets like Jupite ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Shape-shifting material can morph, reverse itself using heat, light
Boulder CO (SPX) Aug 27, 2018
A new material developed by University of Colorado Boulder engineers can transform into complex, pre-programmed shapes via light and temperature stimuli, allowing a literal square peg to morph and f ... more
ROBO SPACE
Activists urge killer robot ban 'before it is too late'
Geneva (AFP) Aug 27, 2018
Countries should quickly agree a treaty banning the use of so-called killer robots "before it is too late", activists said Monday as talks on the issue resumed at the UN. ... more
IRON AND ICE
Particles collected by Hayabusa give absolute age of asteroid Itokawa
Osaka, Japan (SPX) Aug 28, 2018
Understanding the origin and time evolution of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) is an issue of scientific interest and practical importance because they are potentially hazardous to the Earth. However, w ... more
IRON AND ICE
The Halloween asteroid prepares to return in 2018
Andalusia, Spain (SPX) Aug 28, 2018
There is just over two months to go until asteroid 2015 TB145 approaches Earth once again, just as it did in 2015 around the night of Halloween, an occasion which astronomers did not pass up to stud ... more


Potentially hazardous asteroids to swing past Earth this week

IRON AND ICE
Particles collected by spacecraft help date ancient asteroid Itokawa
Washington (UPI) Aug 27, 2018
For the first time, scientists have used particles collected in space to establish the age of an asteroid. ... more
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ROBO SPACE
Robot teachers invade Chinese kindergartens
Beijing (AFP) Aug 29, 2018
The Chinese kindergarten children giggled as they worked to solve puzzles assigned by their new teaching assistant: a roundish, short educator with a screen for a face. ... more
EXO WORLDS
Infant exoplanet weighed by Hipparcos and Gaia
Paris (ESA) Aug 23, 2018
The mass of a very young exoplanet has been revealed for the first time using data from ESA's star mapping spacecraft Gaia and its predecessor, the quarter-century retired Hipparcos satellite. ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Bowtie-funnel combo best for conducting light
Nashville TN (SPX) Aug 27, 2018
Running computers on virtually invisible beams of light rather than microelectronics would make them faster, lighter and more energy efficient. A version of that technology already exists in fiber o ... more
IRON AND ICE
Russia Restores Defunct Soviet Network to Monitor Near-Earth Objects
Moscow (Sputnik) Aug 27, 2018
Russia has restored a global network of mothballed Soviet observatories to monitor near-Earth objects, according to a report by a state research institute. The document, obtained by Sputnik fr ... more
IRON AND ICE
Aerojet Rocketdyne Propulsion Powers OSIRIS-REx's Approach of Asteroid Bennu
Redmond WA (SPX) Aug 27, 2018
Powered by Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion, OSIRIS-REx's long-awaited approach of Asteroid Bennu has officially begun. With the asteroid now in sight, the spacecraft's onboard thrusters will begin to ... more
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Martian skies clearing over Opportunity Rover
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 31, 2018
A planet-encircling dust storm on Mars, which was first detected May 30 and halted operations for the Opportunity rover, continues to abate. With clearing skies over Opportunity's resting spot in Mars' Perseverance Valley, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, believe the nearly 15-year-old, solar-powered rover will soon receive enough sunlight to automatic ... more
+ No word from Opportunity as skies begin to clear
+ NASA's InSight has a thermometer for Mars
+ NASA's InSight passes halfway to Mars, instruments check in
+ Six Things About Opportunity'S Recovery Efforts
+ The Science Team Continues to Listen for Opportunity as Storm Diminishes
+ Planet-Encircling Dust Storm of Mars shows signs of slowing
+ Aerojet Rocketdyne delivers power generator for Mars 2020 Rover


Direct evidence of ice on Moon surface discovered
Manoa HI (SPX) Aug 24, 2018
A team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) found the first direct evidence of surface-exposed water ice in permanently shaded regions (PSRs) on the Moon. "We found that the distribution of ice on the lunar surface is very patchy, which is very different from other planetary bodies such as Mercury a ... more
+ Bricks from Moon dust
+ There's definitely ice on the lunar poles
+ Scientists confirm ice exists at Moon's poles
+ Ice confirmed at the Lunar poles
+ India's Second Moon Mission as "Complex" as NASA's Apollo Mission
+ At 60, NASA shoots for revival of moon glory days
+ MIDAS cameras spot pair of lunar flashes caused by meteoroid impacts
New Horizons makes first detection of Kuiper Belt flyby target
Laurel MD (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
Mission team members were thrilled - if not a little surprised - that New Horizons' telescopic Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) was able to see the small, dim object while still more than 100 million miles away, and against a dense background of stars. Taken Aug. 16 and transmitted home through NASA's Deep Space Network over the following days, the set of 48 images marked the team' ... more
+ Water discovered in the Great Red Spot indicates Jupiter might have plenty more
+ Jupiter had growth disorders
+ Deep inside the Great Red Spot hints at water on Jupiter
+ Study helps solve mystery under Jupiter's coloured bands
+ Million fold increase in the power of waves near Jupiter's moon Ganymede
+ New Horizons team prepares for stellar occultation ahead of Ultima Thule flyby
+ High-Altitude Jovian Clouds
Scientist develops database for stellar-exoplanet "exploration"
San Antonio TX (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
A Southwest Research Institute scientist is using big data to help the scientific community characterize exoplanets, particularly alien worlds orbiting nearby stars. Of particular interest are exoplanets that could harbor life. "At first scientists focused on temperatures, looking for exoplanets in the 'Goldilocks zone' - neither too close nor too far from the star, where liquid water coul ... more
+ Infant exoplanet weighed by Hipparcos and Gaia
+ Infant exoplanet weighed by Hipparcos and Gaia
+ Discovery of a structurally 'inside-out' planetary nebula
+ Under pressure, hydrogen offers a reflection of giant planet interiors
+ Scientists discovered organic acid in a protoplanetary disk
+ Iron and titanium in the atmosphere of exoplanet orbiting KELT-9
+ Ultrahot planets have starlike atmospheres
India readies baby rockets to tap small satellites' market
New Delhi (Sputnik) Aug 31, 2018
The ISRO is developing a small rocket of not more than 100 tons that can send a 500 kg satellite into a 500 km orbit. The ISRO, which is earning around $40 million annually through launching small satellites of foreign customers, aims to increase its revenue manifold by using the baby rocket. The small satellite launch vehicles (SSLV) will not require a mission control center to launch sat ... more
+ Space launch training cooperation
+ Commercial Spaceports 2018
+ How an LWO and his team guided a Minotaur IV rocket out of the labyrinth
+ Chinese private space company to launch first carrier rocket
+ GEOStar-3 mission success enabled by Aerojet Rocketdyne XR-5 Hall Thruster System
+ Stratolaunch announces new launch vehicles
+ Stennis Begins 5th Series of RS-25 Engine Tests


China tests propulsion system of space station's lab capsules
Beijing, China (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
Engineers have successfully tested the propulsion system of China's planned space station lab capsules, a key step in its space station program. Weighing 66 tonnes, the space station will comprise a core module and two lab capsules. The propulsion system will determine whether lab capsules can move in space. Engineers designed 36 engines for the propulsion system with four to adjust ... more
+ China unveils Chang'e-4 rover to explore Moon's far side
+ China's SatCom launch marketing not limited to business interest
+ China to launch space station Tiangong in 2022, welcomes foreign astronauts
+ China solicits international cooperation experiments on space station
+ Growing US unease with China's new deep space facility in Argentina
+ China developing in-orbit satellite transport vehicle
+ PRSS-1 Satellite in Good Condition
The Halloween asteroid prepares to return in 2018
Andalusia, Spain (SPX) Aug 28, 2018
There is just over two months to go until asteroid 2015 TB145 approaches Earth once again, just as it did in 2015 around the night of Halloween, an occasion which astronomers did not pass up to study its characteristics. This dark object measures between 625 and 700 metres, its rotation period is around three hours and, in certain lighting conditions, it resembles a human skull. An asteroi ... more
+ Particles collected by spacecraft help date ancient asteroid Itokawa
+ Potentially hazardous asteroids to swing past Earth this week
+ Particles collected by Hayabusa give absolute age of asteroid Itokawa
+ Russia Restores Defunct Soviet Network to Monitor Near-Earth Objects
+ Aerojet Rocketdyne Propulsion Powers OSIRIS-REx's Approach of Asteroid Bennu
+ NASA probe begins approach toward asteroid Bennu
+ NASA's OSIRIS-REx Begins Asteroid Operations Campaign


Team Dynetics receives contract for next phase of 100kW laser weapon system for US Army
Huntsville AL (SPX) Aug 07, 2018
The U.S. Army awarded Dynetics, Lockheed Martin and its partners a $10 million contract to continue development for the next phase of the High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle Demonstrator (HEL TVD) program, a 100-kilowatt class laser weapon system. Laser weapons are ideally suited to address high volume, low cost threats because of their inexpensive cost per shot and deep magazine. Team Dyne ... more
+ Dyenetics, Lockheed chosen for work on 100 KW laser weapon
+ Raytheon contracted to develop laser for U.S. Army
+ China firm develops 'laser gun'
+ High-Tech firepower: Russia develops new space laser cannon
+ US Air Force to begin fighter-mounted laser testing this summer
+ Navy taps Northrop Grumman for laser weapon system
+ Lockheed Martin awarded first part of billion dollar laser weapons deal
Russian military successfully test-fires new interceptor missile
Moscow (Sputnik) Aug 30, 2018
According to the Russian Defense Ministry's statement, the new missile interceptor has reliably confirmed its performance specifications and successfully accomplished the set task by destroying a simulated target with a required accuracy. "An air and missile defense unit of the Russian Aerospace Forces has carried out another successful test of a new interceptor missile at the Sary Shagan ... more
+ PeopleTec receives ballistic missile defense engineering contract
+ TOTE Services contracted for SBX-1 ballistic missile tracking radar
+ Lockheed receives contract for missile warning satellites
+ Sweden to purchase PAC-3 MSE missile defense system
+ Lockheed receives contract for Aegis ballistic missile defense
+ One dead, 11 wounded as Saudi intercepts Yemen rebel missile
+ Romania minister under fire over 'ballistic' gaffe


Hubble observes energetic light show at Saturn's north pole
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 31, 2018
Astronomers using the Hubble Space telescope have taken a series of images featuring the fluttering auroras at the north pole of Saturn. The observations were taken in ultraviolet light and the resulting images provide astronomers with the most comprehensive picture so far of Saturn's northern aurora. In 2017, over a period of seven months, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope took images o ... more
+ Cassini data yields super sharp infrared images of Titan
+ Listen: Sound of Electromagnetic Energy Moving Between Saturn, Enceladus
+ Signatures of complex organic molecules spotted on Saturn's moon Enceladus
+ Complex organics bubble up from ocean-world Enceladus
+ Surprising magnetic reconnection spotted on Saturn's dayside
+ Cosmic Ravioli And Spaetzle
First-ever colored thin films of nanotubes created
Helsinki, Finland (SPX) Aug 31, 2018
Single-walled carbon nanotubes, or sheets of one atom-thick layers of graphene rolled up into different sizes and shapes, have found many uses in electronics and new touch screen devices. By nature, carbon nanotubes are typically black or a dark grey. In their new study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), Aalto University researchers present a way to control t ... more
+ Nanotubes change the shape of water
+ Fast visible-UV light nanobelt photodetector
+ Big-picture thinking can advance nanoparticle manufacturing
+ Hybrid nanomaterials bristle with potential
+ Nanotube 'rebar' makes graphene twice as tough
+ Individual silver nanoparticles observed in real time
+ Researchers use nanotechnology to improve the accuracy of measuring devices


Household phenomenon observed by Leonardo da Vinci finally explained
Cambridge UK (SPX) Aug 09, 2018
An everyday occurrence spotted when we turn on the tap to brush our teeth has baffled engineers for centuries - why does the water splay when it hits the sink before it heads down the plughole? Famous inventor and painter Leonardo da Vinci documented the phenomenon, now known as a hydraulic jump, back in the 1500s. Hydraulic jumps are harmless in our household sinks but they can cause viol ... more
+ GRAVITY Confirms Predictions of General Relativity Near Galactic Center
+ How to weigh stars with gravitational lensing
+ Could Gravitational Waves Reveal How Fast Our Universe Is Expanding?
+ Einstein's Theory of Gravity Still Passes the Test
+ VLT makes most precise test of Einstein's general relativity outside Milky Way
+ Precise gravitation lens test confirms general relativity
+ Scotland's space expertise key to gravitational waves study
What actually is nothing
Cambridge UK (The Conversation) Aug 30, 2018
Philosophers have debated the nature of "nothing" for thousands of years, but what has modern science got to say about it? In an interview with The Conversation, Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, explains that when physicists talk about nothing, they mean empty space (vacuum). This may sound straightforward, b ... more
+ Excited atoms throw light on anti-hydrogen research
+ Higgs particle favorite daughter comes home
+ The potential harbingers of new physics just don't want to disappear
+ Scientists observe decay of Higgs boson particle into two bottom quarks
+ Artificial intelligence helps scientists track particles
+ Researchers succeed in imaging quantum events
+ Light from ancient quasars helps confirm quantum entanglement


Activists urge killer robot ban 'before it is too late'
Geneva (AFP) Aug 27, 2018
Countries should quickly agree a treaty banning the use of so-called killer robots "before it is too late", activists said Monday as talks on the issue resumed at the UN. They say time is running out before weapons are deployed that use lethal force without a human making the final kill-order and have criticised the UN body hosting the talks - the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons ... more
+ Robot teachers invade Chinese kindergartens
+ UNC builds better particle tracking software using artificial intelligence
+ Sony to release AI-infused robotic pups in the US
+ Must do better: Japan eyes AI robots in class to boost English
+ Robot wars: China shows off automated doctors, teachers and combat stars
+ UCLA-developed artificial intelligence device identifies objects at the speed of light
+ Soft multi-functional robots get really small and spider-shaped
General Atomics receives contract for MQ-9 drones for France
Washington (UPI) Aug 24, 2018
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has been awarded a contract for $123 million for the French 3rd/4th Systems MQ-9 Block 5 program. Work on the contract, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, will be performed in Poway, Calif., and is expected to be completed by May 2020. The program falls under a foreign military sale to France. The MQ-9 SkyGuardian, also known as ... more
+ General Atomics receives contract for Gray Eagle drones
+ Insitu to provide RA-21 Blackjack UAVs to the Marine Corps and Poland
+ General Dynamics contracted for advanced MQ-9 Reaper sensors
+ Drones fly to rescue of Amazon wildlife
+ 26 days in the air: Airbus drone smashes world record
+ Threat from on high: race on to bolster drone defences
+ Insitu tapped for RQ-21A spare, sustainment parts
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