Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

December 14, 2015

Study finds evidence for more recent clay formation on Mars
Providence RI (SPX) Dec 15, 2015
Recent orbital and rover missions to Mars have turned up ample evidence of clays and other hydrated minerals formed when rocks are altered by the presence of water. Most of that alteration is thought to have happened during the earliest part of Martian history, more than 3.7 billion years ago. But a new study shows that later alteration - within the last 2 billion years or so - may be more common than many scientists had thought. The lion's share of the clay deposits found on Mars thus far have tu ... read more

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Mystery of missing exoplanet water solved Astronomers from the University of Exeter have helped shed light on the atmospheres of a group of planets which orbit stars outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. Exeter academics led ... more		Japan asteroid probe enters 'target orbit' in space quest A Japanese space probe successfully entered "target orbit" and is on its way to rendezvousing with a far away asteroid, in a quest to study the origin of the solar system, authorities said Monday. ... more		Hubble reveals diversity of exoplanet atmosphere Astronomers have used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope to study the atmospheres of ten hot, Jupiter-sized exoplanets in detail, the largest number of such pla ... more
				Hayabusa2 Earth Swing-by Result The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed that the Asteroid Explorer "Hayabusa2" (http://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/hayabusa2) is cruising on its target orbit after measuring and calc ... more		SSL selected for NASA project to develop robotic on-orbit satellite assembly Space Systems Loral has been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for a multi-million dollar contract to develop on-orbit robotic satellite assembly technology. ... more

Huge organs defy austerity for tiny cave snails in the subterranean realm While most of the knowledge about tiny snails comes from studying empty shells sifted out from piles of dust and sand, the present research is the first contemporary microscopic exploration of organ ... more		Curiosity reaches sand dunes NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has begun an up-close investigation of dark sand dunes up to two stories tall. The dunes are on the rover's trek up the lower portion of a layered Martian mountain. ... 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		Opportunity on west rim of Endeavour Crater within Marathon Valley The rover is positioned on steep, north-facing slopes for improved solar array energy production. On Sol 4202 (Nov. 19. 2105), the robotic arm was raised so Panoramic Camera (Pancam) color images co ... more
				NASA's Curiosity rover reaches Martian sand dunes NASA's Curiosity rover is continuing its trek up Mount Sharp. Recently, the Mars rover reached a series of sand dunes covering a lower portion of the layered Martian mountain inside Gale Crater. ... more		Zooming in on Pluto's Pattern of Pits On July 14 the telescopic camera on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft took the highest resolution images ever obtained of the intricate pattern of "pits" across a section of Pluto's prominent heart-sha ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Dwarf planet Ceres: water vapor in Occator crater When the Sun shines into the Occator crater on the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres, a kind of thin haze appears above its brightest spot. This can be seen in images taken by the camera system aboa ... more		German physicists see landmark in nuclear fusion quest Scientists in Germany said Thursday they had reached a milestone in a quest to derive energy from nuclear fusion, billed as a potentially limitless, safe and cheap source. ... 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		Digital Globe to use Raytheon's Constellation Scheduling System Raytheon has been selected by the high-resolution Earth imagery company, DigitalGlobe, Inc., to develop the capability to support a September 2016 launch and mission planning of DigitalGlobe's World ... more
Tech titans pledge $1 bn for artificial intelligence research Several big-name Silicon Valley figures have pledged $1 billion to support a non-profit firm that on Friday said it would focus on the "positive human impact" of artificial intelligence. ... more		Computing with time travel Why send a message back in time, but lock it so that no one can ever read the contents? Because it may be the key to solving currently intractable problems. That's the claim of an international coll ... more		No extraterrestrial laser pulses detected from KIC 8462852 The anomalous star KIC 8462852 has baffled astronomers with its erratic dimming, causing some to speculate that it's orbited by a massive structure built by an extraterrestrial civilization. To help ... more		Twin civilisations? How life on an exoplanet could spread to its neighbour Imagine two nearby exoplanets orbiting the same sun, each with its own indigenous civilisation. They're going through history either as companionable neighbours or deadly rivals. This is a familiar ... more

	Scientists teach machines to learn like humans A team of scientists has developed an algorithm that captures our learning abilities, enabling computers to recognize and draw simple visual concepts that are mostly indistinguishable from those cre ... more		Pluto's close-up, now in color This enhanced color mosaic combines some of the sharpest views of Pluto that NASA's New Horizons spacecraft obtained during its July 14 flyby. The pictures are part of a sequence taken near New Hori ... 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

China launches new communication satellite		XPRIZE verifies moon express launch contract, kicking off new space race		Student helps discover new planet, calculates frequency of Jupiter-like planets		Robot adds new twist to NIST antenna measurements and calibrations		New Horizons' catches a wandering Kuiper Belt Object not far off
New clues to Ceres' bright spots and origins		Prometheus up close about Saturn		Robot arm simulates close approach of ESA's asteroid mission		New Visualization of Space Environment at Pluto		UW roboticists learn to teach robots from babies

Peering Through Titan's Haze

Russia's Kanopus-ST Research Satellite Deorbited, Heading to Earth

New US space mining law to spark interplanetary gold rush

Space Debris - A Growth Industry?

Swimming devices could deliver drugs inside the body

Mars Mission Team Addressing Vacuum Leak on Key Science Instrument

Pluto surface details revealed in best images yet

British astronaut Tim Peake to run marathon from space

Letter to Mars? Royal Mail works it out for British boy, 5

What kinds of stars form rocky planets

Japan asteroid probe conducts 'Earth swing-by' in space quest

Dawn spiraling in towards Ceres

NASA team discover how water escapes from Saturn

Rotational movies of Pluto and Charon

Half of Kepler's giant exoplanet candidates are false positives

These are the robots you're looking for

Japan shows off disaster-response robots at android fair

New law establishes ownership rights for space minerals

Looking back 3.8 billion years into the root of the 'Tree of Life'

Exiled exoplanet likely kicked out of star's neighborhood

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