Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
December 11, 2018
IRON AND ICE
First Images from OSIRIS-REx Have Scientists Buzzing with Excitement



Orlando FL (SPX) Dec 11, 2018
The holidays came early for the science team leading NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid. Monday they announced findings from the mission thus far, which arrived at asteroid Bennu Dec. 3 Scientists were already buzzing with excitement in November when the spacecraft's long-range cameras began beaming early images of the asteroid. Now, the first few close ups confirm the buzz. "We're very excited," said Humberto Campins, a University of Central Florida plan ... read more

IRON AND ICE
Evidence for carbon-rich surface on Ceres
San Antonio TX (SPX) Dec 10, 2018
A team led by Southwest Research Institute has concluded that the surface of dwarf planet Ceres is rich in organic matter. Data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft indicate that Ceres' surface may contain s ... more
MOON DAILY
Learning from lunar lights
Paris (ESA) Dec 10, 2018
Every few hours observing the Moon, ESA's 'NELIOTA' project discovers a brilliant flash of light across its surface - the result of an object hurtling through space and striking our unprotected rock ... more
IRON AND ICE
OSIRIS-REx already finds water on Asteroid Bennu
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 11, 2018
Recently analyzed data from NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission has revealed water locked inside the clays that make up ... more
OUTER PLANETS
Record Setting Course-Correction Puts New Horizons on Track to Kuiper Belt Flyby
Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 10, 2018
With just 29 days to go before making space exploration history, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft performed a short but record-setting course-correction maneuver on Dec. 2 that refined its path toward ... more
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EXO WORLDS
Helium exoplanet inflated like a balloon, research shows
Exeter UK (SPX) Dec 07, 2018
Astronomers have discovered a distant planet with an abundance of helium in its atmosphere, which has swollen to resemble an inflated balloon. An international team of researchers, including J ... more
SPACE MEDICINE
Russian Scientists Reveal How Mars Mission Will Impact Astronauts' Lifespans
Moscow (Sputnik) Dec 11, 2018
Russia's Roscosmos, NASA, the European Space Agency, and China's National Space Administration have all made plans to send manned missions to the Red Planet sometime in the next few decades. However ... more
DRAGON SPACE
China launches rover for first far side of the moon landing
Beijing (AFP) Dec 7, 2018
China launched a rover early Saturday destined to land on the far side of the moon, a global first that would boost Beijing's ambitions to become a space superpower, state media said. ... more
SPACE MEDICINE
HHS and NASA team up to explore health on Earth and in outer space
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 10, 2018
by Eric D. Hargan - Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services My father was an Air Force veteran of the Korean War and he shared his fascination with planes, NASA and anything ... more
MOON DAILY
China launches rover for first far side of the moon landing
Beijing (AFP) Dec 8, 2018
China launched a rover early Saturday destined to land on the far side of the moon, a global first that would boost Beijing's ambitions to become a space superpower, state media said. ... more
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MARSDAILY
NASA's InSight lander 'hears' wind on Mars
Tampa (AFP) Dec 7, 2018
Humans can now hear the haunting, low rumble of wind on Mars for the first time, after NASA's InSight lander captured vibrations from the breeze on the Red Planet, the US space agency said Friday. ... more
MARSDAILY
InSight's robotic arm ready for some lifting on Mars
Washington (UPI) Dec 7, 2018
NASA's newest Mars lander InSight is slowly readying itself for its scientific mission. The newest images captured by the lander's camera, and shared by NASA, showcase the spacecraft's robotic arm. ... more
IRON AND ICE
Planetary Defense: The Bennu Experiment
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 07, 2018
On Dec. 3, after traveling billions of kilometers from Earth, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft reached its target, Bennu, and kicked off a nearly two-year, up-close investigation of the asteroid. It wil ... more
MARSDAILY
NASA's Mars InSight Flexes Its Arm
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 07, 2018
New images from NASA's Mars InSight lander show its robotic arm is ready to do some lifting. With a reach of nearly 6 feet (2 meters), the arm will be used to pick up science instruments from ... more
EXO WORLDS
An exoplanet inflated like a balloon
Geneva, Switzerland (SPX) Dec 07, 2018
Although helium is a rare element on Earth, it is ubiquitous in the Universe. It is, after hydrogen, the main component of stars and gaseous giant planets. Despite its abundance, helium was only det ... more


Unknown treasure trove of planets found hiding in dust

EXO WORLDS
An exoplanet loses its atmosphere in the form of a tail
Madrid, Spain (SPX) Dec 07, 2018
A new study, led by scientists from the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC), reveals that the giant exoplanet WASP-69b carries a comet-like tail made up of helium particles escaping from its ... more
Space News from SpaceDaily.com

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ROBO SPACE
Norfolk Navy Shipyard introducing exoskeletons for workers
Washington (UPI) Dec 7, 2018
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia is introducing exoskeletons for heavy manual work designed to prevent injuries and fatigue, according to the Navy. ... more
EXO WORLDS
Radio Search for Artificial Emissions from 'Oumuamua
Mountain View CA (SPX) Dec 05, 2018
It's the first time a visitor from another star system has been seen nearby. But what is it? An asteroid, a comet ... or an alien artifact? Scientists at the SETI Institute have attempted to a ... more
ROBO SPACE
Artificial joint restores wrist-like movements to forearm amputees
Gothenburg, Sweden (SPX) Dec 04, 2018
A new artificial joint restores important wrist-like movements to forearm amputees, something which could dramatically improve their quality of life. A group of researchers led by Max Ortiz Catalan, ... more
EXO WORLDS
Life in Deep Earth totals 15 to 23 billion tons of carbon
New York NY (SPX) Dec 11, 2018
Barely living "zombie" bacteria and other forms of life constitute an immense amount of carbon deep within Earth's subsurface - 245 to 385 times greater than the carbon mass of all humans on the sur ... more
ENERGY TECH
Developing new materials for the fusion reactor
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 11, 2018
In the future fusion reactor, plasma is confined by using the magnetic field inside the doughnut-shaped vacuum vessel. The blanket is in a location where it almost touches the plasma, and as if to e ... more
24/7 Nuclear News Coverage
24/7 War News Coverage
24/7 War News Coverage

InSight's robotic arm ready for some lifting on Mars
Washington (UPI) Dec 7, 2018
NASA's newest Mars lander InSight is slowly readying itself for its scientific mission. The newest images captured by the lander's camera, and shared by NASA, showcase the spacecraft's robotic arm. The robotic arm can be seen in a flexed position, poised to deploy some of InSight's instruments in the coming days. One of those instruments is the craft's seismometer. Once deployed, ... more
+ NASA's InSight lander 'hears' wind on Mars
+ NASA's Mars InSight Flexes Its Arm
+ Mars 2020 rover mission camera system 'Mastcam-Z' testing begins at ASU
+ Over Five Months Without Word From Opportunity
+ Life at home on Mars in a Big Sandbox
+ Safely on Mars, InSight unfolds its arrays and snaps some pics
+ SpaceBok robotic hopper being tested at ESA's Mars Yard


Learning from lunar lights
Paris (ESA) Dec 10, 2018
Every few hours observing the Moon, ESA's 'NELIOTA' project discovers a brilliant flash of light across its surface - the result of an object hurtling through space and striking our unprotected rocky neighbour at vast speed. Based at the Kryoneri telescope of the National Observatory of Athens, this important project is now being extended to January 2021. Impact flashes are referred to as ... more
+ China launches rover for first far side of the moon landing
+ China Will Launch First Probe to Moon's Far Side Later This Week
+ NASA Announces New Partnerships for Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services
+ Lockheed Martin Selected for NASA's Commercial Lunar Lander Payload Services Contract
+ NASA chooses nine companies to bid on flying to Moon
+ Construction of Russian Lunar Orbital Station May Be Launched in 2025
+ Roscosmos, NASA to work together on concept of Lunar orbital station
Record Setting Course-Correction Puts New Horizons on Track to Kuiper Belt Flyby
Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 10, 2018
With just 29 days to go before making space exploration history, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft performed a short but record-setting course-correction maneuver on Dec. 2 that refined its path toward Ultima Thule, the Kuiper Belt object it will fly by on Jan. 1. Just as the exploration of Ultima Thule will be the farthest-ever flyby of a planetary body, Sunday's maneuver was the most distan ... more
+ Radio JOVE From NASA: Tuning In to Your Local Celestial Radio Show
+ The PI's Perspective: Share the News - The Farthest Exploration of Worlds in History is Beginning
+ Encouraging prospects for moon hunters
+ Evidence for ancient glaciation on Pluto
+ SwRI team makes breakthroughs studying Pluto orbiter mission
+ ALMA maps temperature of Jupiter's icy moon Europa
+ NASA's Juno Mission Detects Jupiter Wave Trains
An exoplanet inflated like a balloon
Geneva, Switzerland (SPX) Dec 07, 2018
Although helium is a rare element on Earth, it is ubiquitous in the Universe. It is, after hydrogen, the main component of stars and gaseous giant planets. Despite its abundance, helium was only detected recently in the atmosphere of a gaseous giant by an international team including astronomers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland. The team, this time led by Genevan research ... more
+ An exoplanet loses its atmosphere in the form of a tail
+ Helium exoplanet inflated like a balloon, research shows
+ Unknown treasure trove of planets found hiding in dust
+ Radio Search for Artificial Emissions from 'Oumuamua
+ Life in Deep Earth totals 15 to 23 billion tons of carbon
+ Telescopes Reveal More Than 100 Exoplanets
+ Oxygen could have been available to life as early as 3.5 billion years ago
NASA Sounding Rockets Carry TRICE-2 over Norwegian Sea
Wallops Island VA (SPX) Dec 11, 2018
Two NASA sounding rockets successfully flew over the Norwegian Sea early in the morning December 8 carrying an experiment to study the electrodynamics of the polar cusp. The Twin Rockets to Investigate Cusp Electrodynamics or TRICE-2 were launched at 3:26 and 3:28 a.m. EST from the Andoya Space Center in Andenes, Norway. The first rocket flew to an altitude 646 miles and the second flew to ... more
+ Dragon attached to Station, returns to Earth in January
+ China puts 2 Saudi satellites into orbit
+ Arianespace Orbits GSAT-11 and Geo-Kompsat-2A for India and South Korea
+ Inmarsat to be first commercial customer for the new H3 launch vehicle
+ Ariane 6 on the way to flight
+ SpaceX launches cargo, but fails to land rocket
+ Tesla CEO Elon Musk taunts US financial regulatory agency


China launches rover for first far side of the moon landing
Beijing (AFP) Dec 7, 2018
China launched a rover early Saturday destined to land on the far side of the moon, a global first that would boost Beijing's ambitions to become a space superpower, state media said. The Chang'e-4 lunar probe mission - named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology - launched on a Long March 3B rocket from the southwestern Xichang launch centre at 2:23 am (1823 GMT), according to the o ... more
+ Evolving Chinese Space Ecosystem To Foster Innovative Environment
+ China sends 5 satellites into orbit via single rocket
+ China releases smart solution for verifying reliability of space equipment components
+ China unveils new 'Heavenly Palace' space station as ISS days numbered
+ China's space programs open up to world
+ China's commercial aerospace companies flourishing
+ China launches Centispace-1-s1 satellite
Planetary Defense: The Bennu Experiment
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 07, 2018
On Dec. 3, after traveling billions of kilometers from Earth, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft reached its target, Bennu, and kicked off a nearly two-year, up-close investigation of the asteroid. It will inspect nearly every square inch of this ancient clump of rubble left over from the formation of our solar system. Ultimately, the spacecraft will pick up a sample of pebbles and dust from Bennu's s ... more
+ OSIRIS-REx already finds water on Asteroid Bennu
+ Get ready to greet the Geminid Meteors
+ Evidence for carbon-rich surface on Ceres
+ First Images from OSIRIS-REx Have Scientists Buzzing with Excitement
+ Taking the Measure of an Asteroid
+ OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Arrives at Asteroid Bennu
+ NASA's first asteroid sample-collector arrives at target, Bennu


Radiance Technologies tapped for U.S. Army laser research
Washington (UPI) Nov 30, 2018
The U.S. Army is contracting Radiance Technologies for high energy laser lethality research, assessment and support in the amount of $28.2 million. Work on the contract, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., and is expected to be completed by November 2023. It falls under a small business contract under acquisition rules, though R ... more
+ Lockheed Martin's missile defense laser concept continues toward development
+ Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, Boeing compete for laser-armed drone
+ Microwave weapon suspected in mystery attacks on US diplomats: report
+ Team Dynetics receives contract for next phase of 100kW laser weapon system for US Army
+ Dyenetics, Lockheed chosen for work on 100 KW laser weapon
+ Raytheon contracted to develop laser for U.S. Army
+ China firm develops 'laser gun'
Navy to purchase new containers for air defense missiles
Washington (UPI) Dec 10, 2018
The Navy has awarded BAE Systems Land & Armaments $41.5 million for SM-3 and SM-6 surface-to-air missile canisters for the Mk 41 Vertical Launching System. Work on the contract, announced Friday by the Department of Defense, includes manufacturing and testing of Mk 21 mod 2 and Mk 21 mod 3 canisters. The canisters help contain exhaust gas and provide a launch rail while firing the missi ... more
+ Navy to commission new Arleigh Burke destroyer USS Thomas Hudner
+ Raytheon to supply Romania with Patriot missile defense systems
+ Raytheon's SM-3 IIA successful in ballistic missle defense test
+ Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion critical to successful intercept test for SM-3 Block IIA Missile
+ Aegis Combat System Demonstrates Success During At-Sea Test Against Medium Range Ballistic Missile
+ Pentagon succesfully tests US-Japan missile interceptor
+ Northrop Grumman to upgrade IBNS systems for Burke-class vessels


Water on Saturn's Moon Phoebe Is Out of This World
Tucson AZ (SPX) Dec 03, 2018
By developing a new method for measuring isotopic ratios of water and carbon dioxide remotely, scientists have found that the water in Saturn's rings and satellites is unexpectedly like water on the Earth, except on Saturn's moon Phoebe, where the water is more unusual than on any other object so far studied in the solar system. The results, found in the Icarus paper "Isotopic Ratios of Sa ... more
+ A new way to create Saturn's radiation belts
+ Saturn's Moon Dione Covered by Mysterious Stripes
+ Cutting through the mystery of Titan's atmospheric haze
+ Surprising chemical complexity of Saturn's rings changing planet's upper atmosphere
+ Latest insights into Saturn's weird magnetic field only make things weirder
+ In its final days, Cassini bathed in 'ring rain'
+ Groundbreaking Science Emerges from Ultra-Close Orbits of Saturn
Artificial synapses made from nanowires
Juelich, Germany (SPX) Dec 06, 2018
Scientists from Julich together with colleagues from Aachen and Turin have produced a memristive element made from nanowires that functions in much the same way as a biological nerve cell. The component is able to both save and process information, as well as receive numerous signals in parallel. The resistive switching cell made from oxide crystal nanowires is thus proving to be the ideal ... more
+ How microscopic machines can fail in the blink of an eye
+ Stealth-cap technology for light-emitting nanoparticles
+ Nano-scale process may speed arrival of cheaper hi-tech products
+ Watching nanoparticles
+ Penn engineers develop ultrathin, ultralight nanocardboard
+ Physicists designed new antenna for supersensitive magnetometers of a new generation
+ Next generation of watch springs


Portsmouth researchers make vital contribution to new gravitational wave discoveries
Portsmouth UK (SPX) Dec 04, 2018
Researchers from the University of Portsmouth have made vital contributions to the observations of four new gravitational waves, which were announced this weekend (1 December). The new results are from the National Science Foundation's LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and the European-based VIRGO gravitational-wave detector. The results were announced at the Gravi ... more
+ Four New Gravitational Wave Detections Announced
+ Universal laws in impact dynamics of dust agglomerates under microgravity conditions
+ Griffith precision measurement takes it to the limit
+ Gravitational waves could shed light on dark matter
+ In five -10 years, gravitational waves could accurately measure universe's expansion
+ RUDN physicist described the shape of a wormhole
+ Kin of gravitational wave source discovered
Bizarre 'dark fluid' with negative mass could dominate the universe
Oxford UK (SPX) Dec 06, 2018
It's embarrassing, but astrophysicists are the first to admit it. Our best theoretical model can only explain 5% of the universe. The remaining 95% is famously made up almost entirely of invisible, unknown material dubbed dark energy and dark matter. So even though there are a billion trillion stars in the observable universe, they are actually extremely rare. The two mysterious dark subst ... more
+ Researchers create tiny droplets of early universe matter
+ Science: High pressure orders electrons
+ On the trail of the Higgs Boson
+ Four New Gravitational Wave Events from Black Hole Mergers
+ Galileo satellites prove Einstein's Relativity Theory to highest accuracy yet
+ Scientists Detect Biggest Known Black-Hole Collision
+ Black hole 'donuts' are actually 'fountains'


Artificial joint restores wrist-like movements to forearm amputees
Gothenburg, Sweden (SPX) Dec 04, 2018
A new artificial joint restores important wrist-like movements to forearm amputees, something which could dramatically improve their quality of life. A group of researchers led by Max Ortiz Catalan, Associate Professor at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have published their research in the journal IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering. For patients m ... more
+ Norfolk Navy Shipyard introducing exoskeletons for workers
+ Insight into swimming fish could lead to robotics advances
+ Flexible electronic skin aids human-machine interactions
+ Embark on a NASA technology scavenger hunt with Optimus Prime
+ Smarter AI: Machine learning without negative data
+ DARPA, BAE to develop AI for interpreting radio-frequency signals
+ GMV leads an ambitious campaign of space robotics trials
General Atomics tapped for French MQ-9 drone support
Washington DC (UPI) Dec 05, 2018
The Air Force has awarded General Atomics $26.7 million for French air force MQ-9 logistics services. The work comes after an option on a previously awarded contract was exercised, and announced on Tuesday by the Department of Defense. The contract falls under Foreign Military Sales and is expected to run through December 2019. The sale involved is exclusively for France. The MQ- ... more
+ Using drones to simplify film animation
+ Logos demonstrates Redkite advanced surveillance pod
+ Drones offer ability to find, ID and count marine megafauna
+ From parcel delivery to security, Singapore bets big on drones
+ DARPA tests autonomous drone swarms against communications and GPS jamming
+ Special Operations Command awards Insitu $18M for continued drone operations
+ Japan issues contract to purchaser RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones
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