Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
February 21, 2019
IRON AND ICE
Close encounters: planning for extra Hera flyby



Paris (ESA) Feb 21, 2019
ESA's proposed Hera mission will already visit two asteroids: the Didymos binary pair. The Hera team hopes to boost that number by performing a flyby of another asteroid during the mission's three-year flight. The opportunity arises because Hera will be flying out to match Didymos' 770-day orbit, which circles from less than 10 million km from Earth to out beyond Mars, at more than double Earth's distance from the Sun. In the process Hera will pass both multiple near-Earth asteroids and the ... read more

MOON DAILY
SpaceIL teams with SpaceX for first first private moon lander mission
Washington (UPI) Feb 20, 2019
The world's first private moon lander mission is scheduled to be carried into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Friday. ... more
MOON DAILY
Ingredients for water could be made on surface of moon, a chemical factory
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 21, 2019
When a stream of charged particles known as the solar wind careens onto the Moon's surface at 450 kilometers per second (or nearly 1 million miles per hour), they enrich the Moon's surface in ingred ... more
MARSDAILY
Weather on Mars: Chilly with a chance of 'dust devils'
Ithaca NY (SPX) Feb 20, 2019
If you're planning a trip to Elysium Planitia on Mars, pack a sweater. Starting this week, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will provide daily weather reports for Mars, courtesy of the red pla ... more
OUTER PLANETS
Tiny Neptune Moon Spotted by Hubble May Have Broken from Larger Moon
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 21, 2019
Astronomers call it "the moon that shouldn't be there." After several years of analysis, a team of planetary scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has at last come up with an explanat ... more
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EXO WORLDS
Discovery of Planets Around Cool Stars Enabled with Hobby-Eberly Telescope
Austin TX (SPX) Feb 21, 2019
A new astronomical spectrograph provides the highest precision measurements to date of infrared signals from nearby stars, allowing astronomers to detect planets capable of having liquid water on th ... more
EXO WORLDS
NIST 'Astrocomb' Opens New Horizons for Planet-Hunting Telescope
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 20, 2019
The hunt for Earth-like planets, and perhaps extraterrestrial life, just got more precise, thanks to record-setting starlight measurements made possible by a National Institute of Standards and Tech ... more
ROBO SPACE
Teaching AI systems to adapt to dynamic environments
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 18, 2019
Current AI systems excel at tasks defined by rigid rules - such as mastering the board games Go and chess with proficiency surpassing world-class human players. However, AI systems aren't very ... more
TECH SPACE
NASA set to demonstrate x-ray communications in space
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 20, 2019
A new experimental type of deep space communications technology is scheduled to be demonstrated on the International Space Station this spring. Currently, NASA relies on radio waves to send in ... more
MARSDAILY
InSight is the Newest Mars weather service
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 20, 2019
No matter how cold your winter has been, it's probably not as chilly as Mars. Check for yourself: Starting today, the public can get a daily weather report from NASA's InSight lander. This pub ... more
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ROBO SPACE
Can we trust scientific discoveries made using machine learning?
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 18, 2019
Rice University statistician Genevera Allen says scientists must keep questioning the accuracy and reproducibility of scientific discoveries made by machine-learning techniques until researchers dev ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Researchers discover anti-laser masquerading as perfect absorber
Durham NC (SPX) Feb 18, 2019
Researchers at Duke University have discovered that a perfect absorber of electromagnetic waves they described in a 2017 paper can easily be tweaked into a sort of "time-reversed laser" known as a c ... more
MARSDAILY
Northwestern study of analog crews in isolation reveals weak spots for Mission to Mars
Evanston IL (SPX) Feb 19, 2019
Northwestern University researchers are developing a predictive model to help NASA anticipate conflicts and communication breakdowns among crew members and head off problems that could make or break ... more
MOON DAILY
Apollo gave America a reason to dream
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 19, 2019
The Apollo program gave a nation reasons to dream, it inspired its generation and generations to come, in those years Space flight was the absolute symbol of American resolve, but interest in space ... more
MOON DAILY
Israel's first lunar mission to launch this week
Tel Aviv (AFP) Feb 18, 2019
Israel is to launch its first moon mission this week, sending an unmanned spacecraft to collect data to be shared with NASA, organisers said Monday. ... more


Russia mulls offering US upgraded space vehicle for lunar orbit station supplies

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Team uses quantum of light to create new quantum simulator
Ottawa, Canada (SPX) Feb 20, 2019
Imagine being stuck inside a maze and wanting to find your way out. How would you proceed? The answer is trial and error. This is how traditional computers with classical algorithms operate to find ... more
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STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Firefly-inspired surfaces improve efficiency of LED lightbulbs
University Park PA (SPX) Feb 20, 2019
A new type of light-emitting diode lightbulb could one day light homes and reduce power bills, according to Penn State researchers who suggest that LEDs made with firefly-mimicking structures could ... more
ROBO SPACE
Robots track moving objects with unprecedented precision
Boston MA (SPX) Feb 20, 2019
A novel system developed at MIT uses RFID tags to help robots home in on moving objects with unprecedented speed and accuracy. The system could enable greater collaboration and precision by robots w ... more
IRON AND ICE
Meteorite source in asteroid belt not a single debris field
Mountain View CA (SPX) Feb 18, 2019
A new study published online in Meteoritics and Planetary Science finds that our most common meteorites, those known as L chondrites, come from at least two different debris fields in the asteroid b ... more
MOON DAILY
Russia mulls delivering takeoff-landing system to Moon in 2029
Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 15, 2019
Russia is planning to launch the Don super-heavy carrier rocket in 2029 to deliver a takeoff/landing complex to the Moon, a space industry source told Sputnik. "The goal of the mission will be ... more
MOON DAILY
IAU names landing site of Chinese Chang'e-4 probe on Far Side of Moon
Munich, Germany (SPX) Feb 18, 2019
Five sites on the far side of the Moon now have official names, including Chang'e-4's landing site. The names have significance in Chinese culture, reflecting the background of the probe's team. ... more
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Weather on Mars: Chilly with a chance of 'dust devils'
Ithaca NY (SPX) Feb 20, 2019
If you're planning a trip to Elysium Planitia on Mars, pack a sweater. Starting this week, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will provide daily weather reports for Mars, courtesy of the red planet's newest robotic resident, InSight. "The InSight lander is close to the Martian equator - just north of the equator - so it is experiencing Martian winter," said Cornell's Don Banfield, the ... more
+ InSight is the Newest Mars weather service
+ Northwestern study of analog crews in isolation reveals weak spots for Mission to Mars
+ Mars Rover Opportunity Ends Mission After 15 Years
+ New study suggests possibility of recent underground volcanism on Mars
+ DLR 'Mole' deployed on surface of Mars
+ InSight Prepares to Take Mars's Temperature
+ NASA announces demise of Opportunity rover


Russia mulls offering US upgraded space vehicle for lunar orbit station supplies
Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 18, 2019
Russia is planning to offer the United States to deliver supplies to the future international lunar orbital station with the use of the modernized Progress-L cargo spacecraft, a Russian space industry source has told Sputnik. It was reported earlier that NASA, together with other countries, plans to build a manned LOP-G station (Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway) in lunar orbit in the 2020s ... more
+ Israel's first lunar mission to launch this week
+ Ingredients for water could be made on surface of moon, a chemical factory
+ Apollo gave America a reason to dream
+ SpaceIL teams with SpaceX for first first private moon lander mission
+ Russia mulls delivering takeoff-landing system to Moon in 2029
+ IAU names landing site of Chinese Chang'e-4 probe on Far Side of Moon
+ China's lander and rover power down for lunar night
Tiny Neptune Moon Spotted by Hubble May Have Broken from Larger Moon
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 21, 2019
Astronomers call it "the moon that shouldn't be there." After several years of analysis, a team of planetary scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has at last come up with an explanation for a mysterious moon around Neptune that they discovered with Hubble in 2013. The tiny moon, named Hippocamp, is unusually close to a much larger Neptunian moon called Proteus. Normally, a ... more
+ Ultima Thule is more pancake than snowman, NASA scientists discover
+ New Horizons' evocative farewell glance at Ultima Thule
+ Sodium, Not Heat, Reveals Volcanic Activity on Jupiter's Moon Io
+ New Horizons' Newest and Best-Yet View of Ultima Thule
+ Missing link in planet evolution found
+ Juno's Latest Flyby of Jupiter Captures Two Massive Storms
+ Outer Solar System Orbits Not Likely Caused by "Planet Nine"
NIST 'Astrocomb' Opens New Horizons for Planet-Hunting Telescope
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 20, 2019
The hunt for Earth-like planets, and perhaps extraterrestrial life, just got more precise, thanks to record-setting starlight measurements made possible by a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) "astrocomb." NIST's custom-made frequency comb-which precisely measures frequencies, or colors, of light-ensures the precision of starlight analysis by an instrument called a spect ... more
+ Discovery of Planets Around Cool Stars Enabled with Hobby-Eberly Telescope
+ NASA Selects New Mission to Explore Origins of Universe
+ New NASA research consortium to tackle life's origins
+ Scientists discover oldest evidence of mobility on Earth
+ Better to dry a rocky planet before use
+ Study shows unusual microbes hold clues to early life
+ Massive collision in the planetary system Kepler 107
Russia Completes Engine Tests of Soyuz Rocket's 2nd Stage Using New Fuel
Bengaluru, India (Sputnik) Feb 21, 2019
The engine for the second stage of the Soyuz-2 rocket using the new naphthyl rocket fuel instead of kerosene was successfully tested, a spokesperson for the United Engine Corporation told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Aero India exhibition in the Indian city of Bengaluru on Wednesday. "On February 12, 2019,... the first 'marketable' RD-108A liquid rocket engine of the central bloc of the ... more
+ Raptor engine beats Russian RD-180 record in combustion chamber pressure says Musk
+ Arianespace orbits two telecommunications satellites on first Ariane 5 launch of 2019
+ SpaceX no-load test delayed
+ Launch of Unmanned US Dragon 2 Spacecraft to ISS Set for March 2
+ Learning on the Job: Student Rocket Launches From Norway
+ New photos show russia's first hypersonic space drone
+ Arianespace Rejects Russia Offer to Fix Seam Rupture in Fregat Booster


China improves Long March-6 rocket for growing commercial launches
Beijing (XNA) Feb 12, 2019
China announced Monday that it is developing the modified version of the Long March-6 rocket to add four solid boosters to increase its carrying capacity. The improved medium-left carrier rocket will be sent into space by 2020, according to the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which designed the rocket. The Long ... more
+ Seed of moon's first sprout: Chinese scientists' endeavor
+ China to send over 50 spacecraft into space via over 30 launches in 2019
+ China to deepen lunar exploration: space expert
+ China launches Zhongxing-2D satellite
+ China welcomes world's scientists to collaborate in lunar exploration
+ In space, the US sees a rival in China
+ China launches telecommunication technology test satellite
Rosetta's comet sculpted by stress
Paris (ESA) Feb 19, 2019
Feeling stressed? You're not alone. ESA's Rosetta mission has revealed that geological stress arising from the shape of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has been a key process in sculpting the comet's surface and interior following its formation. Small, icy comets with two distinct lobes seem to be commonplace in the Solar System, with one possible mode of formation a slow collision of two ... more
+ Close encounters: planning for extra Hera flyby
+ Meteorite source in asteroid belt not a single debris field
+ Insulating crust kept cryomagma liquid for millions of years on nearby dwarf planet
+ From Chelyabinsk to Cuba: The Meteor Connection
+ Possible second impact crater found under Greenland ice
+ Asteroid from 'Rare Species' Sighted in the Cosmic Wild
+ Frequent Visitor: Asteroid Larger Than Statue of Liberty Approaches Earth


U.S. Air Force tests microwave, laser weapon systems
Washington (UPI) Jan 23, 2019
The U.S. Air Force announced it is planning future experiments involving laser and microwave energy weapons after recent successes in testing sessions. Future experiments in the Directed Energy Experimentation Campaign are planned at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the Air Force said Tuesday in a statement. The tests by the 704th Test Group, essentially the use of mi ... more
+ Radiance Technologies tapped for U.S. Army laser research
+ 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
Poland to buy US rocket system for $414 million
Warsaw (AFP) Feb 10, 2019
Poland said Sunday it will buy mobile rocket launchers worth $414 million (365 million euros) from the United States, as Warsaw seeks closer ties with Washington amid concerns over a resurgent Russia. The deal, due to be signed Wednesday, will "significantly increase the Polish army's capacities," Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told journalists Sunday, adding that delivery was expected b ... more
+ U.S. Army to purchase Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system
+ US Army to buy two Israeli Iron Dome air defense systems
+ Raytheon, Lockheed contracted for Patriot systems for foreign customers
+ Japan approved for $2.15B buy of Aegis Ashore missile defense systems
+ Moscow urges US to abandon plans to resurrect 'Star Wars'
+ Swedish army orders Rheinmetall trucks for Patriot missile systems
+ Israel Successfully Tests Arrow 3 Air Defence System


Scientist sheds light on Titan's mysterious nitrogen atmosphere
San Antonio TX (SPX) Jan 24, 2019
A new Southwest Research Institute study tackles one of the greatest mysteries about Titan, one of Saturn's moons: the origin of its thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere. The study posits that one key to Titan's mysterious atmosphere is the "cooking" of organic material in the moon's interior. "Titan is a very interesting moon because it has this very thick atmosphere, which makes it unique amo ... more
+ Cassini data show Saturn's Rings relatively new
+ Scientists Finally Know What Time It Is on Saturn
+ Waves in Saturn's rings give precise measurement of planet's rotation rate
+ Saturn hasn't always had rings
+ Evidence of Changing Seasons, Rain on Titan's North Pole
+ NASA Research Reveals Saturn is Losing Its Rings at "Worst-Case-Scenario" Rate
+ Water on Saturn's Moon Phoebe Is Out of This World
Customized mix of materials for three-dimensional micro- and nanostructures
Karlsruher, Germany (SPX) Feb 14, 2019
Three-dimensional structures on the micrometer and nanometer scales have a great potential for many applications. An efficient and precise process to print such structures from different materials is now presented by researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Carl Zeiss AG in Science Advances: they integrated a microfluidic chamber into a 3D laser lithography device. Then, they u ... more
+ Breakthrough nanoscience discovery made on flight from New York to Jerusalem
+ Nano drops a million times smaller than a teardrop explodes 19th century theory
+ Rice lab adds porous envelope to aluminum plasmonics
+ Research details sticky situations at the nanoscale
+ Nano-infused ceramic could report on its own health
+ Aerosol-assisted biosynthesis strategy enables functional bulk nanocomposites
+ Platinum forms nano-bubbles


US-UK-Australia funding to improve global gravitational wave network
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 18, 2019
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is awarding Caltech and MIT $20.4 million to upgrade the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), an NSF-funded project that made history in 2015 after making the first direct detection of ripples in space and time, called gravitational waves. The investment is part of a joint international effort in collaboration with UK Research an ... more
+ Gravitational waves will settle cosmic conundrum
+ New squeezing record at GEO600 gravitational-wave detector
+ Mini-detectors for the gigantic
+ Portsmouth researchers make vital contribution to new gravitational wave discoveries
+ 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
Where is the Universe Hiding its Missing Mass?
Huntsville AL (SPX) Feb 15, 2019
Astronomers have spent decades looking for something that sounds like it would be hard to miss: about a third of the "normal" matter in the Universe. New results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory may have helped them locate this elusive expanse of missing matter. From independent, well-established observations, scientists have confidently calculated how much normal matter - meaning hyd ... more
+ Exotic spiraling electrons discovered by physicists
+ Philosophy: What exactly is a black hole?
+ Lightning's electromagnetic fields may have protective properties
+ New physical effect demonstrated by University of Bath scientists after 40 year search
+ Scientists simulate a black hole in a water tank
+ How does a quantum particle see the world
+ Why are you and I and everything else here?


Can we trust scientific discoveries made using machine learning?
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 18, 2019
Rice University statistician Genevera Allen says scientists must keep questioning the accuracy and reproducibility of scientific discoveries made by machine-learning techniques until researchers develop new computational systems that can critique themselves. Allen, associate professor of statistics, computer science and electrical and computer engineering at Rice and of pediatrics-neurolog ... more
+ Teaching AI systems to adapt to dynamic environments
+ Robots track moving objects with unprecedented precision
+ Psychology: Robot saved, people take the hit
+ The first walking robot that moves without GPS
+ Getting a grip on human-robot cooperation
+ Programming autonomous machines ahead of time promotes selfless decision-making
+ Trumps orders government to prioritize artificial intelligence
NASA tests urban drone traffic management in Nevada, Texas
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Feb 20, 2019
NASA has selected two organizations to host the final phase of its four-year series of increasingly complicated technical demonstrations involving small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly known as drones. The Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems in Las Vegas and the Lone Star UAS Center for Excellence and Innovation in Corpus Christi, Texas, will host demonstrations to confirm NA ... more
+ Illegally drones pose an outsized risk for US aviation and the public
+ Hughes satellite modems power beyond-line-of-sight comms for UAVs
+ UK plans drone 'swarm squadrons' after Brexit
+ German Forces Begin Training Courses on Armed Israeli Surveillance Drones
+ Airborne Response supports fire and rescue exercise with drones and aerostats
+ ZX Lidars achieves world-first wind Lidar measurements from a drone
+ Ecuador eradicates Galapagos rats using drones
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