Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

May 29, 2015

New Horizons team completes first search for Pluto system hazards
Laurel MD (SPX) May 29, 2015
NASA's New Horizons team has analyzed the first set of hazard-search images of the Pluto system taken by the approaching spacecraft itself - and so far, all looks clear for the spacecraft's safe passage. The observations were made May 11-12 from a range of 47 million miles (76 million kilometers) using the telescopic Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on New Horizons. For these observations, LORRI was instructed to take 144 10-second exposures, designed to allow a highly sensitive search for ... read more

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NASA Begins Testing Mars Lander for Next Mission to Red Planet Testing is underway on NASA's next mission on the journey to Mars, a stationary lander scheduled to launch in March 2016. The lander is called InSight, an abbreviation for Interior Exploration using ... more		The Supreme Council of Parachute Experts It was not your typical NASA meeting. But then again, it would have been difficult to have a typical NASA meeting surrounded by all the hooks, nets, processing tables and other fishy paraphernalia f ... more		Cassini Prepares for Last Up-close Look at Hyperion NASA's Cassini spacecraft will make its final close approach to Saturn's large, irregularly shaped moon Hyperion on Sunday, May 31. The Saturn-orbiting spacecraft will pass Hyperion at a distance of ... more
				Dawn Spirals Closer to Ceres, Returns a New View A new view of Ceres, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on May 23, shows finer detail is becoming visible on the dwarf planet. The spacecraft snapped the image at a distance of 3,200 miles (5,100 ... more		Patent for Navy small space debris tracker A U.S. Navy device that detects small debris in space and provides data on their trajectory has been granted a U.S. patent. ... more

The World's Largest Commercial Drone Conference and Expo - Sept 9 - Las Vegas

Next Generation Integrated ISR 2015 - Washington DC - July 27-29

Tiny grains of lithium dramatically improve performance of fusion plasma Scientists from General Atomics and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have discovered a phenomenon that helps them to improve fusion plasmas, a finding ... more		Science Drives NASA's Journey to Mars "Repeat after me: Mars matters," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told the auditorium of participants at the May 5, 2015 Humans to Mars Summit organized by the non-profit Explore Mars, Inc. "Mars m ... more		Sidekick autonomy software guides YFQ-42A test mission for CCA program Infleqtion lists shares on NYSE as neutral atom quantum firm Top Chinese gaming companies continue to challenge		New Horizons sees more detail as it draws closer to Pluto What a difference 20 million miles makes! Images of Pluto from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft are growing in scale as the spacecraft approaches its mysterious target. The new images, taken May 8-12 ... more
				Robot masters new skills through trial and error Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed algorithms that enable robots to learn motor tasks through trial and error using a process that more closely approximates the wa ... more		Is the Curiosity rover polluting Mars with methane? Methane readings on Mars are once again sparking scientific controversy back on Earth. Recently, sensors on NASA's Mars rover, Curiosity, registered a sizable spike in methane gas, leading researchers to believe microbial life might not be far away. ... more

Army Network Modernization 2015 - Washington DC June 23-25

Google Lunar X-Prize meets Yoda "Do, or do not do. There is no try!" Thus spoke Jedi Master Yoda to his apprentice Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back. Right now, it would seem that the managers of the G ... more		Supersonic decelerator gets a lift to prepare for launch NASA teams are continuing preparations for the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) test off the coast of Hawaii June 2-12. This week the team completed a number of key pre-test procedures, inc ... more		Solar-driven ionosphere charges may nudge stressed faults toward rupture Stable black carbon in mangrove soils boosts coastal climate role Low crystallinity iron minerals show promise for chromium cleanup and carbon storage		China, Russia plan joint landing on the Moon Moscow and Beijing are planning to enhance their cooperation in space research and conduct joint manned space missions, particularly, to the moon. The US does not trust these plans, fearing that Chi ... more
China Plans First Ever Landing On The Lunar Far Side What lies on the "dark side" of the moon? The ruined civilization of our lunar forbearers? A pile of overplayed Pink Floyd records? ... more		Self-healing robots take step towards disaster relief Scientists on Wednesday said they had created a small robot that can recover from damage, in a step towards machines that mimic the remarkable adaptive powers of humans and animals. ... more		Disney develop 2-legged robot that walks like an animated character When Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse, he didn't give much thought to how he might bring his character to life in the real world. But robotics now puts that possibility within reach, so Disney resea ... more		Researchers develop intelligent handheld robots What if handheld tools know what needs to be done and were even able to guide and help inexperienced users to complete jobs that require skill? Researchers at the University of Bristol have develope ... more

	Robotic bird takes flight from back of robot roach Unique partnership between a robot bird and robot roach proves the sum is greater than its parts. In a recent demonstration, a land-based robot roach helped launch a flying robotic bird. ... more		New computer algorithm builds rap songs out of other rap songs Even rappers might soon lose their jobs to robots. Researchers at Aalto University, in Finland, have designed a computer algorithm that mines the lyrics and beats of other rap songs to construct its own original rhymes. ... more

AALTO plans Zephyr stratospheric hub in northern Australia and seeks local payload partners

Ancient guano drove Chincha coastal power

UAH lands first DARPA award for biological sciences department

China ranked 4th among world space powers		Implants read intentions of tetraplegic patient from brain activity		Clinical trial shows intuitive control of robotic arm using thought		Flawed Debates begets false choices beyond LEO - Part Two		New Project Aims to Establish a Human Colony on Mars
Could 'Green Rust' Be A Catalyst For Martian Life?		Curiosity Rover Adjusts Route Up Martian Mountain		Rover Restored to Normal Operations After a Reset		UAE eyes "first Arab unmanned probe" to Mars by 2021		Mars Rover's Laser-Zapping Instrument Gets Sharper Vision

India to test its home-made multi-object tracking radar next month

Ceres Bright Spots Seen Closer Than Ever

Martian Reminder of a Pioneering Flight

Martian impact crater or supervolcano caldera

Ceres bright spots: Clearer pictures, but still no answers

Star power: Troubled ITER nuclear fusion project looks for new path

Exploring a new frontier of cyber-physical systems: The human body

NASA Seeks Additional Information for Asteroid Redirect Mission Spacecraft

Driest Place on Earth Hosts Life

The First Martian Marathon

UK-built technology brings Europe's Mercury mission closer to launch

Exploring the 'Spirit of St. Louis' Crater

Fast Track Program invites non-traditional Roboticists to bolster security

NASA asks for new ideas to bolster asteroid redirect mission

Robot pets to rise in an overpopulated world

Technique for finding signs of life on the Red Planet

Circular orbits for small extrasolar planets

OPALS Boosts Space-to-Ground Optical Communications Research

ESA Works Up A Space Fever

Telescope-Laser Cannons to Clean Up Dangerous Space Junk

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