Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
October 11, 2020
TECH SPACE
Kongsberg awarded contract for mobile communication satellite



Kongsberg, Norway (SPX) Oct 05, 2020
The equipment is to be integrated in Airbus Defence and Space's new mobile communication satellite, Thuraya 4-NGS. The agreement includes manufacturing and test of electronics from Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace, division Space and Surveillance in Horten, Norway. The satellite will deliver higher capabilities and flexibility while increasing capacity and coverage across Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. The new generation of modular digital processors from Airbus Defence and Space ... read more

MARSDAILY
China's Mars probe completes deep-space maneuver
Beijing (XNA) Oct 11, 2020
China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 successfully conducted a deep-space maneuver on Friday night (Beijing time), according to the China National Space Administration. The probe completed the maneuver ... more
ROBO SPACE
Helping robots avoid collisions
Boston MA (SPX) Sep 18, 2020
George Konidaris still remembers his disheartening introduction to robotics. "When you're a young student and you want to program a robot, the first thing that hits you is this immense disappointmen ... more
ROBO SPACE
Subterranean Challenge Identifies Qualified Teams for Cave Circuit Virtual Competition
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 01, 2020
DARPA's Subterranean (SubT) Challenge will host its Cave Circuit Virtual Competition, which focuses on innovative solutions to map, navigate, and search complex, simulated cave environments November ... more
MARSDAILY
NASA's Perseverance Rover Will Peer Beneath Mars' Surface
Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 09, 2020
After touching down on the Red Planet Feb. 18, 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will scour Jezero Crater to help us understand its geologic history and search for signs of past microbial li ... more
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IRON AND ICE
U.S. space mining policies may trigger regulatory 'race to the bottom,'
Washington DC (UPI) Oct 08, 2020
In a newly published policy paper, a pair of Canadian scientists warn that the United States is angling to establish itself as the de facto gatekeeper of the moon and other celestial bodies. ... more
EXO WORLDS
Massive stars are factories for ingredients to life
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Oct 09, 2020
NASA's telescope on an airplane, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, has provided a new glimpse of the chemistry in the inner region surrounding massive young stars where future pl ... more
TIME AND SPACE
Signals from distant stars connect optical atomic clocks across Earth for the first time
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Oct 09, 2020
Using radio telescopes observing distant stars, scientists have connected optical atomic clocks on different continents. The results were published in the scientific journal Nature Physics by an int ... more
EXO WORLDS
Vaporized metal in the air of an exoplanet
Bern, Switzerland (SPX) Oct 09, 2020
WASP-121b is an exoplanet located 850 light years from Earth, orbiting its star in less than two days - a process that takes Earth a year to complete. WASP-121b is very close to its star - about 40 ... more
IRON AND ICE
SwRI scientists study the rugged surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu
San Antonio AZ (SPX) Oct 09, 2020
As the days count down to NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's Touch-And-Go asteroid sample collection attempt, Southwest Research Institute scientists have helped determine what the spacecraft can expect ... more
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TECH SPACE
NASA, space industry seek new ways to cope with space debris
Orlando FL (UPI) Oct 07, 2020
NASA's official watchdog panel has renewed calls for the agency to move faster on a plan to better track and mitigate dangers posed by orbiting debris in space. Members of NASA's Aerospace Saf ... more
EXO WORLDS
Searching for the chemistry of life
Hamburg, Germany (SPX) Oct 07, 2020
In the search for the chemical origins of life, researchers have found a possible alternative path for the emergence of the characteristic DNA pattern: According to the experiments, the characterist ... more
IRON AND ICE
NASA's OSIRIS-REx unlocks more secrets from Asteroid Bennu
Tucson AZ (SPX) Oct 09, 2020
NASA's first asteroid sample return mission now knows much more about the material it'll be collecting in just a few weeks. In a special collection of six papers published in the journals Science an ... more
IRON AND ICE
Scientists peer inside an asteroid
Boulder CO (SPX) Oct 09, 2020
New findings from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission suggest that the interior of the asteroid Bennu could be weaker and less dense than its outer layers - like a creme-filled chocolate egg flying though spa ... more
IRON AND ICE
Planetary astronomer co-authors studies of asteroid as member of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission
Flagstaff AZ (SPX) Oct 09, 2020
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft mission, launched on Sept. 8, 2016, is the first U.S. mission designed to retrieve a pristine sample of an asteroid and return it to Earth for further study. The mission ... more


NASA Asks: What Would You Pack for the Moon?

ROBO SPACE
What tiny surfing robots teach us about surface tension
Houghton MI (SPX) Oct 11, 2020
Spend an afternoon by a creek in the woods, and you're likely to notice water striders - long-legged insects that dimple the surface of the water as they skate across. Or, dip one side of a toothpic ... more
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STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Intelligent nanomaterials for photonics
Jena, Germany (SPX) Oct 08, 2020
At the latest since the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for research on graphene in 2010, 2D materials - nanosheets with atomic thickness - have been a hot topic in science. This significan ... more
MOON DAILY
Moon's magnetic crust research sees scientists debunk long-held theory
Perth, Australia (SPX) Oct 08, 2020
New international research into the Moon provides scientists with insights as to how and why its crust is magnetised, essentially 'debunking' one of the previous longstanding theories. Austral ... more
EXO WORLDS
New research explores how super flares affect planets' habitability
Chapel Hill NC (SPX) Oct 08, 2020
Ultraviolet light from giant stellar flares can destroy a planet's habitability. New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will help astrobiologists understand how much radia ... more
MARSDAILY
Mars at its biggest and brightest until 2035
Boston MA (SPX) Oct 08, 2020
All eyes on Mars! October 2020 is a big month for the Red Planet. On Tuesday, October 13th, Mars will be at opposition - opposite the Sun in the sky. On that date, Earth is situated directly between ... more
MOON DAILY
First U.S. robotic moon lander since Apollo era planned for mid-2021
Washington DC (UPI) Oct 07, 2020
A private company handling NASA's long-awaited return to the moon's surface said its robotic Peregrine lander is on track for launch in the spring. ... more
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NASA's Perseverance Rover Will Peer Beneath Mars' Surface
Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 09, 2020
After touching down on the Red Planet Feb. 18, 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will scour Jezero Crater to help us understand its geologic history and search for signs of past microbial life. But the six-wheeled robot won't be looking just at the surface of Mars: The rover will peer deep below it with a ground-penetrating radar called RIMFAX. Unlike similar instruments aboard Mar ... more
+ China's Mars probe completes deep-space maneuver
+ Mars at its biggest and brightest until 2035
+ Preserved dune fields offer insights into Martian history
+ The way forward to Mars
+ AI helps scientists discover fresh craters on Mars
+ The topography of the Jezero crater landing site of NASA's Mars 2020 mission
+ NASA's New Mars Rover Is Ready for Space Lasers


NASA Asks: What Would You Pack for the Moon?
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 07, 2020
While advancing its Artemis program - which includes sending the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024 - NASA wants to know what you would pack for a trip to the Moon. The agency kicked off a new social media campaign this week asking participants to share what would be in their lunar suitcases online using #NASAMoonKit. To take the challenge to the next level, the agency a ... more
+ Moon's magnetic crust research sees scientists debunk long-held theory
+ First U.S. robotic moon lander since Apollo era planned for mid-2021
+ A roadmap for science on the moon
+ Simulations give clues to atmospheric loss from Moon's origin
+ Japan aiming to send hopping spacecraft fuelled by lunar water to Moon
+ NASA needs new funding by February for 2024 moon landing, administrator says
+ UAE sets sights on the moon
Arrokoth: Flattening of a snowman
Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany (SPX) Oct 07, 2020
The many millions of bodies populating the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune's orbit are yet to reveal many of their secrets. In the 1980s, the space probes Pioneer 1 and 2 as well as Voyager 1 and 2 crossed this region - but without cameras on board. NASA's spacecraft New Horizons sent the first images from the outermost edge of the solar system to Earth: in the summer of 2015 of dwarf planet Pl ... more
+ SwRI study describes discovery of close binary trans-Neptunian object
+ JPL meets unique challenge, delivers radar hardware for Jupiter Mission
+ Astronomers characterize Uranian moons using new imaging analysis
+ Jupiter's moons could be warming each other
+ Atomistic modelling probes the behavior of matter at the center of Jupiter
+ Technology ready to explore subsurface oceans on Ganymede
+ Large shift on Europa was last event to fracture its surface
Vaporized metal in the air of an exoplanet
Bern, Switzerland (SPX) Oct 09, 2020
WASP-121b is an exoplanet located 850 light years from Earth, orbiting its star in less than two days - a process that takes Earth a year to complete. WASP-121b is very close to its star - about 40 times closer than Earth to the Sun. This close proximity is also the main reason for its immensely high temperature of around 2,500 to 3,000 degrees Celsius. This makes it an ideal object of study to ... more
+ Searching for the chemistry of life
+ Massive stars are factories for ingredients to life
+ New research explores how super flares affect planets' habitability
+ Some planets may be better for life than Earth
+ First direct observation of exoplanet Beta Pictoris c
+ Recipe is different, But Titan has ingredients for life
+ Search for New Worlds at Home with NASA's Planet Patrol Project
NASA, SpaceX Crew-1 Launch Update
Houston TX (SPX) Oct 11, 2020
Launch of NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station is now targeted for no sooner than early-to-mid November, providing additional time for SpaceX to complete hardware testing and data reviews as the company evaluates off-nominal behavior of Falcon 9 first stage engine gas generators observed during a recent non-NASA mission launch attempt. Through the agency's Commercial C ... more
+ Final hot firing proves P120C booster for Ariane 6
+ ENPULSION launches its new MICRO family of satellite thrusters
+ Fate of SpaceX resort thrown into question
+ ISRO plans to launch new rocket before Dec 2020
+ Lockheed Martin to Acquire i3 Hypersonics Portfolio
+ Aerojet Rocketdyne' new Large Solid Rocket Motor Facility opens
+ SpaceX launches Starlink satellites after string of scrubs


Eighteen new astronauts chosen for China's space station mission
Beijing (XNA) Oct 01, 2020
The third batch of Chinese astronauts has been selected for the nation's coming space station mission, the China Manned Space Agency said on Thursday morning. The 18 new astronauts - 17 men and one woman - are in three groups: seven will become spacecraft pilots, another seven will turn into spaceflight engineers, and the last four will be mission payload specialists, the agency said in a ... more
+ NASA chief warns Congress about Chinese space station
+ China's new carrier rocket available for public view
+ China sends nine satellites into orbit by sea launch
+ Chinese spacecraft launched mystery object into space before returning to Earth
+ China's reusable spacecraft returns to Earth after 2 days
+ Mars-bound Tianwen 1 hits milestone
+ China's Mars probe over 8m km away from Earth
U.S. space mining policies may trigger regulatory 'race to the bottom,'
Washington DC (UPI) Oct 08, 2020
In a newly published policy paper, a pair of Canadian scientists warn that the United States is angling to establish itself as the de facto gatekeeper of the moon and other celestial bodies. Earlier this year, NASA published a new set of rules for lunar mining and other space activities, dubbing the voluntary guidelines the "Artemis Accords." Aaron Boley and Michael Byers, author ... more
+ Planetary astronomer co-authors studies of asteroid as member of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission
+ SwRI scientists study the rugged surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu
+ Scientists peer inside an asteroid
+ NASA's OSIRIS-REx unlocks more secrets from Asteroid Bennu
+ GMV to carry out the development phase of the GNC system to guide the HERA mission
+ Second Alignment Plane of Solar System Discovered
+ NASA's OSIRIS-REx Begins its Countdown to TAG


Do Directed Energy Weapons finally live up to their expectations?
Amsterdam, Netherlands (SPX) Sep 23, 2020
Since the mid-1960s few weapons have held as much potential and have constantly failed to live up to that potential as Directed Energy Weapons (DEW). However, since the turn of this century even as most countries have curtailed both their hopes and funding from the highs of decades past, DEWs have gradually and quietly matured. DEWs use the electromagnetic spectrum (light and radio energy) ... more
+ Army testing new air defense system, laser weapons
+ AFRL breaks ground on new directed energy facility
+ US Army plans to mount anti-aircraft lasers on Stryker armored vehicles
+ Northrop Grumman taps Epirus for Electromagnetic Pulse C-UAS Weapon System
+ USS Portland's high-powered laser disables drone in weapon's first at-sea test
+ Navy breaks ground on laser weapons test lab in California
+ The power of short range air defense
US Space Force contracts for 8 missile early warning satellites
Moscow (Sputnik) Oct 08, 2020
The US Space Force's Space Development Agency (SDA) awarded two contracts on Monday to build eight satellites for its upcoming infrared missile detection constellation. However, these are just the first in what could become a vast network of thousands of satellites in orbit. On Monday, the SDA awarded information technology firm L3Harris Technologies a $193.6 million contract and private s ... more
+ Turkey plans live-fire exercise, missile defense tests
+ US Army wants electronic jammer weapon with missile defense capabilities
+ Lockheed Martin selected to integrate missile warning onto EGS via FORGE
+ Japan's Abe urges stronger defences to face missiles
+ Advanced Patriot missile fails in live-fire test
+ Russia testing news S-500 Systems, mass production on the way
+ Lockheed nets $18.8M to support Japan's Aegis Ashore system


Interplanetary storm chasing
Boston MA (SPX) Oct 07, 2020
With its dazzling system of icy rings, Saturn has been a subject of fascination since ancient times. Even now the sixth planet from the sun holds many mysteries, partly because its distance away makes direct observation difficult and partly because this gas giant (which is multiple times the size of our planet) has a composition and atmosphere, mostly hydrogen and helium, so unlike that of Earth ... more
+ Titan's lakes can stratify like those on Earth
+ New chronology of the Saturn System
+ Evidence for Volcanic Craters on Saturn's Moon Titan
+ Saturn's Moon Titan drifting away faster than previously thought
+ Discovered a multilayer haze system on Saturn's Hexagon
Nano particles for healthy tissue
Paris (ESA) Sep 07, 2020
"Eat your vitamins" might be replaced with "ingest your ceramic nano-particles" in the future as space research is giving more weight to the idea that nanoscopic particles could help protect cells from common causes of damage. Oxidative stress occurs in our bodies when cells lose the natural balance of electrons in the molecules that we are made of. This is a common and constant occurrence ... more
+ Hybrid nanomaterials hold promise for improved ceramic composites
+ Scientists open new window into the nanoworld
+ The smallest motor in the world
+ Crystalline 'nanobrush' clears way to advanced energy and information tech
+ Transporting energy through a single molecular nanowire
+ To make an atom-sized machine, you need a quantum mechanic
+ Magnetic nanoparticles help researchers remotely release adrenal hormones


Einstein's description of gravity just got much harder to beat
Tucson AZ (SPX) Oct 05, 2020
Einstein's general theory of relativity - the idea that gravity is matter warping spacetime - has withstood over 100 years of scrutiny and testing, including the newest test by University of Arizona astrophysicists from the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration. According to their findings, Einstein's theory just got 500 times harder to beat. Despite its successes, Einstein's robust ... more
+ Detection of gravitational wave "lensing" could be some way off
+ LSU develops method to improve gravitational wave detector sensitivity
+ China plans to launch Taiji-2 satellite before 2024: chief scientist
+ Into microgravity with face masks
+ LIGO: "Bang" in Detectors Signals Most Massive Gravitational-Wave Source Yet
+ Gravity wave insights from internet-beaming balloons
+ New collaboration between gravitational-wave astronomy and particle physics
The black hole always chirps twice: New clues deciphering the shape of black holes
Melbourne, Australia (SPX) Oct 09, 2020
Black holes are one the most fascinating objects in the Universe. At their surface, known as the 'event horizon', gravity is so strong that not even light can escape from them. Usually, black holes are quiet, silent creatures that swallow anything getting too close to them; however, when two black holes collide and merge together, they produce one of the most catastrophic events in Universe: in ... more
+ A RUDN University physicist simplified the Einstein-lovelock theory for black holes
+ New measurements of the solar spectrum verify Einstein's theory of General Relativity
+ Signals from distant stars connect optical atomic clocks across Earth for the first time
+ Hunting for the lowest known nuclear-excited state
+ Molecular swarm rearranges surface structures atom by atom
+ Scientists find upper limit for the speed of sound
+ UK Nobel physics laureate pays tribute to snubbed Hawking


Subterranean Challenge Identifies Qualified Teams for Cave Circuit Virtual Competition
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 01, 2020
DARPA's Subterranean (SubT) Challenge will host its Cave Circuit Virtual Competition, which focuses on innovative solutions to map, navigate, and search complex, simulated cave environments November 17. Previously, DARPA held Tunnel Circuit and Urban Circuit events featuring both Virtual and Systems (physical) Competitions in which teams demonstrated their autonomy, networking, perception, and m ... more
+ Helping robots avoid collisions
+ What tiny surfing robots teach us about surface tension
+ First tests for landing the Martian Moons eXploration Rover
+ Teams demonstrate swarm tactics in fourth major OFFSET Field Experiment
+ Technology developed for Lunar landings makes self-driving cars safer on Earth
+ Light processing improves robotic sensing, study finds
+ U.S. Navy selects Lockheed Martin to deliver large unmanned surface vessel study
DARPA project strives for off-road unmanned vehicles that react like humans
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 11, 2020
The self-driving car industry has made great autonomy advances, but mostly for well-structured and highly predictable environments. In complex militarily-relevant settings, robotic vehicles have not demonstrated operationally relevant speed and aren't autonomously reliable. While vehicle platforms that can handle difficult terrain exist, their autonomy algorithms and software often can't p ... more
+ Boeing to build unmanned aerial vehicles in Australia
+ Skyvision team wins AUVSI XCELLENCE award
+ Turkey, Iran deploy 'game-changing' drones in north Iraq
+ Wacky indoor Amazon drone takes on privacy skeptics
+ MQ-4C Triton deployed, quickly became an 'invaluable asset'
+ New MS-177 and upgraded AN/ASQ-230 sensors will enhance intelligence collection
+ Robopilot unmanned air platform returns to flight
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