Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

June 05, 2015

Building a Smarter Rover
Moffet Field CA (NASA) Jun 05, 2015
The next mission to Mars could carry a smarter rover that is able to make better decisions absent instructions from Earth. Engineers are looking to automate some of the simple decision-making steps undertaken by rovers and orbiters, which could dramatically improve the science they are able to perform in the search for habitable environments. "There are a lot of situations in which rovers can benefit from a little bit of extra onboard decision-making," research technologist David Thompson of the J ... read more

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Lockheed completesc assembly of next-gen weather satellite for NOAA Lockheed Martin has completed assembly of NOAA's GOES-R weather satellite and is now beginning critical testing of the spacecraft. The first of four next-generation geostationary weather satellites, ... more		Pluto probably a binary planet with largest moon Charon Pluto has already been downgraded from a full-fledged planet. But its woes may not be over. According to a new study, the dwarf planet may, in fact, be a binary planet, meaning it has to share its a ... more		Hardy Bacteria Thrive Under Hot Desert Rocks Beneath the rocks scarring California's Mojave Desert are colonies of cyanobacteria, tiny creatures thought to be some of the first on Earth to convert light from the Sun into energy in the process ... more
				Mars Missions to Pause Commanding in June, Due to Sun In June 2015, Mars will swing almost directly behind the sun from Earth's perspective, and this celestial geometry will lead to diminished communications with spacecraft at Mars. The arrangeme ... more		Cassini Sends Final Close Views of Odd Moon Hyperion NASA's Cassini spacecraft has returned images from its final close approach to Saturn's oddball moon Hyperion, upholding the moon's reputation as one of the most bizarre objects in the solar system. ... more

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

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

Nuclear Decommissioning And Used Fuel Market 2015

ESA heading towards removing space debris ESA's goal of removing a derelict satellite from orbit is picking up pace, as a mission design is assembled to be put before European ministers next year for approval. The e.Deorbit mission came thr ... more		Robots can recover from damage in minutes Robots will one day provide tremendous benefits to society, such as in search and rescue missions and putting out forest fires - but not until they can learn to keep working if they become damaged. ... more		Russia launches dozens of drones as Ukraine claims 'important success' Russian jets violate Estonian air space in 'brazen intrusion' U.S. defense in free fall		Helping robots handle uncertainty Decentralized partially observable Markov decision processes are a way to model autonomous robots' behavior in circumstances where neither their communication with each other nor their judgments abo ... more
				Hubble finds Pluto's moons tumbling in absolute chaos If you lived on one of Pluto's moons, you might have a hard time determining when, or from which direction, the sun will rise each day. Comprehensive analysis of data from NASA's Hubble Space Telesc ... more		MUOS-3 communications satellite completes in-orbit testing The U.S. Navy has accepted the third Mobile User Objective System satellite from Lockheed Martin following in-orbit testing. ... more

Army Network Modernization 2015 - Washington DC June 23-25

Astronomers Discover a Young Solar System Around a Nearby Star An international team led by Thayne Currie of the Subaru Telescope and using the Gemini South telescope, has discovered a young planetary system that shares remarkable similarities to our own early ... more		Crashing comets may explain mysterious lunar swirls Brown University researchers have produced new evidence that lunar swirls - wispy bright regions scattered on the moon's surface - were created by several comet collisions over the last 100 million ... more		Fossil fuels harm health from 'cradle to grave': report Trash, mulch and security: All jobs for troops in Washington Rising oceans to threaten 1.5 million Australians by 2050: report		United Arab Emirates Hopes to Reach Mars by2021 The United Arab Emirates has decided that while oil wealth is great, it might be wise to branch out and diversify their economy a bit. So they're going to go to Mars. Declaring that the development ... more
Circular orbits identified for small exoplanets Viewed from above, our solar system's planetary orbits around the sun resemble rings around a bulls-eye. Each planet, including Earth, keeps to a roughly circular path, always maintaining the same d ... more		Helping robots put it all together Today's industrial robots are remarkably efficient - as long as they're in a controlled environment where everything is exactly where they expect it to be. But put them in an unfamiliar settin ... more		Patent for Navy small space debris tracker granted 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		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

	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		Taking control of light emission Researchers have found a way to couple the properties of different two-dimensional materials to provide an exceptional degree of control over light waves. They say this has the potential to lead to ... more

EU to fast-track review of 2035 combustion-engine ban

Norway sovereign wealth fund drops French miner over environmental fears

EU split on 2040 climate goal ahead of UN summit

Robotic cheetah jumps hurdles while running		Giant structures called plasmoids could simplify the design of future tokamaks		Dawn seeking greater riches as second orbit of Ceres begins		Cassini to make final pass by Saturn's odd-shaped Hyperion moon		Microbes Can Survive In Meteorites If Shielded From UV Radiation
JPL's RoboSimian to compete in DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals		Dawn Spirals Closer to Ceres, Returns a New View		Disney develop 2-legged robot that walks like an animated character		Researchers develop intelligent handheld robots		Robotic bird takes flight from back of robot roach

Google Lunar X-Prize meets Yoda

NASA Begins Testing Next Mars Lander Insight

New Horizons team completes first search for Pluto system hazards

The Supreme Council of Parachute Experts

Cassini Prepares for Last Up-close Look at Hyperion

Is the Curiosity rover polluting Mars with methane?

The Moon or Mars: Flawed Debate, False Choice - Part One

Flawed Debates begets false choices beyond LEO - Part Two

Science Drives NASA's Journey to Mars

New Horizons sees more detail as it draws closer to Pluto

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

Supersonic decelerator gets a lift to prepare for launch

China, Russia plan joint landing on the Moon

China Plans First Ever Landing On The Lunar Far Side

Self-healing robots take step towards disaster relief

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

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