Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

October 19, 2015

The Last Tiangong
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 20, 2015
In less than a year, China is expected to launch the Tiangong 2 space laboratory. Despite its name, Tiangong 2 is expected to be a small space station, just like its predecessor, Tiangong 1. With its long flights and complex tasks, the Tiangong program has taken China's human spaceflight program to new lengths, but it's really designed to prove the technologies required for the Chinese Space Station (CSS). This large, modular complex seems to be well on the pathway to launch in a few years. Tiango ... read more

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Life on Earth likely started 4.1 billion years ago UCLA geochemists have found evidence that life likely existed on Earth at least 4.1 billion years ago - 300 million years earlier than previous research suggested. The discovery indicates that life ... more		Opportunity parked for solar panels to charge up for winter Opportunity is within 'Marathon Valley' on the west rim of Endeavour Crater completing a valley floor survey for clay minerals before moving to the winter location on the south side of the valley. ... more		Mound near lunar south pole formed by unique volcanic process A giant mound near the Moon's south pole appears to be a volcanic structure unlike any other found on the lunar surface, according to new research by Brown University geologists. The formation ... more
				New Horizons team publishes first research paper presenting numerous Pluto system findings The New Horizons team described a wide range of findings about the Pluto system in its first research paper, published Thursday. From the variety in Pluto's geological landforms, to Pluto's atmosphe ... more		New Horizons reveals Pluto's striking surface variations and unique moon rotations University of Maryland astronomers Silvia Protopapa and Douglas Hamilton are among the authors of the first published paper from the New Horizons flyby, which appears in the Oct. 16, 2015 issue of t ... more

Solar systems for home and business installations

China aims to go deeper into space As China's exploration of the moon progresses, its space experts have begun considering going deeper into the solar system - to Mars, asteroids and Jupiter - and a manned deep-space mission. A ... more		Cassini Begins Series of Flybys with Close-up of Saturn Moon Enceladus NASA's Cassini spacecraft will wrap up its time in the region of Saturn's large, icy moons with a series of three close encounters with Enceladus starting Wednesday, Oct. 14. Images are expected to ... more		U.S. defense in free fall U.S. and Saudis conduct Middle East's largest counter-drone exercise Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign mutual defense pact		AIMing a light across millions of kilometres Imagine beaming a light across millions of kilometres of empty space, all the way back to Earth. ESA's proposed Asteroid Impact Mission is intended to do just that: demonstrate laser communications ... more
				Closest-ever Views of Saturn's Moon Enceladus NASA's Cassini spacecraft has begun returning its best-ever views of the northern extremes of Saturn's icy, ocean-bearing moon Enceladus. The spacecraft obtained the images during its Oct. 14 flyby, ... more		UIC researchers study gut feelings of identical twin astronauts UIC researchers are part of a NASA study on identical twin astronauts - one who is spending a year at the International Space Station and one who remains on Earth. Ten research teams are studying th ... more

Nuclear Operations and Maintenance Efficiency Summit USA 2015

The Journey to Mars: Bridging the Technology Gap As the new movie "The Martian" demonstrates, there's an amazing list of technologies required to safely send human beings to the Red Planet and bring them home again. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Ce ... more		To save on weight, a detour to the moon is the best route to Mars Launching humans to Mars may not require a full tank of gas: A new MIT study suggests that a Martian mission may lighten its launch load considerably by refueling on the moon. Previous studies ... 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		Opportunity working at 'Marathon Valley' before winter relocation Opportunity is within 'Marathon Valley' on the west rim of Endeavour Crater conducting a valley floor survey for clay minerals before moving to the winter location on the south side of the valley. ... more
Pebbles on Mars likely traveled tens of miles down a riverbed The extensive valley networks on the surface of Mars were probably created by running water billions of years ago, but the source of that water is unknown. Now, a team of Penn State and NASA researc ... more		Wyle Wins NASA's Human Health and Performance Contract NASA has selected Wyle as the successful bidder on the $1.4 billion Human Health and Performance Contract (HHPC). Under the terms of the contract, Wyle will support a broad range of human spacefligh ... more		What smacks into Ceres stays on Ceres A new set of high-velocity impact experiments suggests that the dwarf planet Ceres may be something of a cosmic dartboard: Projectiles that slam into it tend to stick. The experiments, perform ... more		Climate models used to explain formation of Mars valley networks The extensive valley networks on the surface of Mars were probably created by running water billions of years ago, but the source of that water is unknown. Now, a team of Penn State and NASA researc ... more

	Cassini Begins Series of Flybys of Enceladus NASA's Cassini spacecraft will wrap up its time in the region of Saturn's large, icy moons with a series of three close encounters with Enceladus starting Wednesday, Oct. 14. Images are expected to ... more		Airbus DS ready to start testing exoplanet tracker CHEOPS Airbus Defence and Space has finished building the structural model for ESA's CHEOPS (CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite), Europe's first mission to search for exoplanetary transits by performing ul ... 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

Robots are learning to fall with grace		Astronaut brains as beacons for researchers		More-flexible machine learning		Lakes on Mars - SETI Editorial		Planetary Data System Releases Final Raw MESSENGER Dataset
Hubble Telescope Spots Mysterious Space Objects		Mercury featuring prominently in October skies		Psychic robot will know what you really meant to do		ASU Mars images star in 'The Martian'		Bio-inspired robotic finger looks, feels and works like the real thing

NASA Challenge Seeks Ways to Use Mars' Natural Resources for Astronauts

Wet paleoclimate of Mars revealed by ancient lakes at Gale Crater

ASU business professor helps astronauts stay on task

Mars colonisation still far off: Amitabh Ghosh

NASA outlines obstacles to putting a human on Mars

Exoplanet Anniversary: From Zero to Thousands in 20 Years

Pluto's Small Moons Nix and Hydra

New Horizons Finds Blue Skies and Water Ice on Pluto

NASA unveils missing pieces in journey to Mars

Latest Mars film bespeaks potential of China-U.S. space cooperation

Blue skies, frozen water detected on Pluto

Where to look for life

Fusion reactors 'economically viable' say experts

Mysterious ripples found racing through planet-forming disc

Curiosity Rover Team Confirms Ancient Lakes on Mars

Perfectly accurate clocks turn out to be impossible

Lunar Pox

Geology Award Going to Mars Landing Site Expert at JPL

MRO imagery reveals Red Planet's stressed substrate

Nobel laureate hopes work could pave way to fusion power

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