Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

January 14, 2016

Opportunity Welcomes Winter Solstice
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 14, 2016
Opportunity is inside 'Marathon Valley' on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover is positioned on steep, north-facing slopes for improved solar array energy production. The winter solstice occurred on Sol 4246 (Jan. 3, 2016), although solar insolation already started to improve. The near-term objective is to position the rover to be able to grind a high-value surface target with the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT). This target may hold some of the clues as to the origin of the clay spectral signatu ... read more

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Nitrogen May Be A Sign of Habitability We might commonly think of Earth as having an oxygen-dominated atmosphere, but in reality the molecule makes up only a fifth of our air. Most of what surrounds us is nitrogen, at 78 percent. Astrobi ... more		Chinese Long March 3B to launch Belintersat-1 telco sat for Belarus China will carry out on Friday, Jan. 15 its first orbital mission this year, sending a Belarusian telecommunications satellite into space. The Belintersat-1 spacecraft will be lofted into orbit by a ... more		China Plans More Than 20 Space Launches in 2016 China has announced its busy 2016 launch manifest, with more than 20 missions scheduled for this year. The country that conducted 19 successful space flights in 2015, intends to launch its Tiangong ... more
				Russian Scientists Developing Avatar Robot for Extraterrestrial Exploration Russian scientists from the state-run Android Technics firm are working on an "avatar robot" that will replace humans on dangerous missions, such as during the exploration of the moon or Mars, the h ... more		New Details on Ceres Seen in Dawn Images Features on dwarf planet Ceres that piqued the interest of scientists throughout 2015 stand out in exquisite detail in the latest images from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which recently reached its lowes ... more

Space Protection - A Financial Primer Last week, Space News aired a timely and important article by Mike Gruss on "Satellites in the Crosshairs." We rarely hear details about the highly classified arena of activities known as Space Prot ... more		Saturn the Mighty Washington DC (SPX) Jan 12, 2016 It is easy to forget just how large Saturn is, at around 10 times the diameter of Earth. And with a diameter of about 72,400 miles (116,500 kilometers), the planet ... more		North Korea declares nuclear statehood 'permanently enshrined' ArianeGroup to develop next-generation M51.4 missile for French nuclear deterrent Comtech modem earns first sovereign certification for SES O3b mPOWER network		Lunar mission moves a step closer China has developed the manufacturing techniques for a key part to be used on its super-heavy rocket that will fulfill the nation's manned missions to the moon. The China Academy of Launch Veh ... more
				Will computers ever truly understand what we're saying From Apple's Siri to Honda's robot Asimo, machines seem to be getting better and better at communicating with humans. But some neuroscientists caution that today's computers will never truly underst ... more		Probing the Mysterious Glacial Flow on Pluto's Frozen 'Heart' Written 45 years ago, these words are more appropriate today than Moore could have ever imagined. Greetings, I'm Dr. Orkan Umurhan, a scientist on New Horizons' Geology and Geophysics Investigation ... more

Military Radar Summit 2016 - Washington DC - February 29

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

NASA Marshall Center to Host FIRST Robotics Kick-Off at USSRC The 2016 FIRST Robotics season, a national robotic competition for students grades 9-12, will kick-off Jan. 9, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The ... more		A Starburst Spider On Mars Mars' seasonal cap of carbon dioxide ice has eroded many beautiful terrains as it sublimates (goes directly from ice to vapor) every spring. In the region where the High Resolution Imaging Sci ... more		New U.S.-European Sea Level Satellite Will Help Safeguard Ships at Sea Planet captures first light from Pelican-3 satellite as constellation expands Trump signs memorandum to deploy U.S. National Guard troops to Memphis		Astronaut vision and ophthalmologic problems explained Just when you think you've seen it all, our eyes look to be victims of a low-gravity environments, too. According to new research published in the January 2016 issue of The FASEB Journal, two signif ... more
China plans 20 launches in 2016 China will conduct more than 20 space missions this year, including a manned one and the maiden flights of two rockets, according to the nation's major space contractor. China Aerospace Scienc ... more		Vietnam army probes mysterious 'space balls' Vietnam's military is investigating the appearance of three mysterious metal balls - believed to be debris from space - which landed in the country's remote north, a senior army official said Friday. ... more		Pinning down the ticking of the neural clock Our innate ability to track time is important for our everyday lives. We would not be able to speak, or even walk properly if we were not able to get the timing of each action just right. How are we ... more		Novel metasurface revolutionizes ubiquitous scientific tool What do astrophysics, telecommunications and pharmacology have in common? Each of these fields relies on polarimeters - instruments that detect the direction of the oscillation of electromagnetic wa ... more

	NASA Office to Coordinate Asteroid Detection, Hazard Mitigation NASA has formalized its ongoing program for detecting and tracking near-Earth objects (NEOs) as the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO). The office remains within NASA's Planetary Science D ... more		Dawn imaging in close Ceres orbit Dawn is now performing the final act of its remarkable celestial choreography, held close in Ceres' firm gravitational embrace. The distant explorer is developing humankind's most intimate portrait ... more

'A better future is possible': Youths sue Trump over climate change

Durham scientists validate superconducting wires for ITER fusion project

Framatome to upgrade Kozloduy nuclear plant electrical systems

'X' Marks a Curious Corner on Pluto's Icy Plains		Particles 'Go with the Flow' on Pluto's Surface		Student-Built Experiment Integrated onto NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission		MBRSC complete final design of KhalifaSat engineering model		Momentum builds for creation of 'moon villages'
Preparing for the Unexpected in Space		Lab discovery gives glimpse of conditions found on other planets		Scientists simulate starting up tokamaks without using solenoid		China's Belt and Road Initiative catches world's imagination: Inmarsat CEO		Chang'e-3 landing site named "Guang Han Gong"

Rover Rounds Martian Dune to Get to the Other Side

Globular clusters could host interstellar civilizations

A Triple Play Out Saturn Way

Looking Back at the 'Year of Pluto'

The Space Environment

US demonstrates production of nuclear battery fuel

Watch: Six decades worth of space junk orbit Earth

Engineers demo first processor that uses light for ultrafast communications

South Korea to launch lunar exploration in 2016, land by 2020

Boulders on a Martian Landslide

Death rumors of Russian lunar program 'greatly exaggerated' - Deputy PM

New social robot Nadine has a personality

NTU scientists unveil social and telepresence robots

U.S. Marine Corps rules out robotic dog, mule

Researchers found an unconventional phase transition in photonic structures

Human-machine superintelligence can solve the world's most dire problems

Synthetic Muscles

Postal Service honors NASA's Pluto discoveries

A quantum of light for material science

Serpentinization: Nutrients of biological organisms in hydrothermal fields

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