Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

March 04, 2016

Methane Snow on Pluto's Peaks
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 04, 2016
The New Horizons team has discovered a chain of exotic snowcapped mountains stretching across the dark expanse on Pluto informally named Cthulhu Regio. One of Pluto's most identifiable features, Cthulhu (pronounced kuh-THU-lu) stretches nearly halfway around Pluto's equator, starting from the west of the great nitrogen ice plains known as Sputnik Planum. Measuring approximately 1,850 miles (3,000 kilometers) long and 450 miles (750 kilometers) wide, Cthulhu is a bit larger than the state of Alaska ... read more

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Great tilt gave Mars a new face The surface of the planet Mars tilted by 20 to 25 degrees 3 to 3.5 billion years ago. This was caused by a massive volcanic structure, the Tharsis volcanic dome1, which is the largest in the Solar S ... more		Space simulation crew hits halfway mark til August re-entry The six crew members of the fourth Hawai?i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, or HI-SEAS, have spent more than six months of their 12-month mission in a solar-powered dome on the slopes of Mau ... more		Versatile Instrument to Scout for Kuiper Belt Objects At the Palomar Observatory near San Diego, astronomers are busy tinkering with a high-tech instrument that could discover a variety of objects both far from Earth and closer to home. The Calte ... more
				China's lunar probe sets record for longest stay Chang'e-3, China's first lunar lander, has been operating on the moon for over two years, the longest time for an active probe, according to a Chinese scientist. The probe has exceeded its ope ... more		China to use data relay satellite to explore dark side of moon China will launch a data relay satellite to ensure communication between Earth and the lunar probe during an expedition to the far side of the moon, Ye Peijian, chief scientist with China's lunar ex ... more

New photos show 'magic island' on Saturn's moon New images captured by the Cassini probe showcase the shifting shape of a geological feature on Saturn's moon known informally as "magic island." ... more		What if extraterrestrial observers called, but nobody heard As scientists step up their search for other life in the universe, two astrophysicists are proposing a way to make sure we don't miss the signal if extraterrestrial observers try to contact us first ... 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		Searching for Extraterrestrials Who Might Have Found Us First Are we alone in the universe? To answer this question, astronomers have been using a variety of methods in the past decades to search for habitable planets and for the signals from extraterrestrial ... more
				China to Launch Over 100 Long March Rockets Within Five Years China in the next five years will launch 110 Long March rockets, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee said Wednesday. According to Liang Xiaoho ... more		Monster volcano gave Mars extreme makeover: study A volcano on Mars half the size of France spewed so much lava 3.5 billion years ago that the weight displaced the Red Planet's outer layers, according to a study released Wednesday. ... more

Space Tech Expo - Design - Build - Test - Pasadena CA - May 24-26, 2016

Military Network Modernization 2016 - Washington DC - April 25-27

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Automatic programming makes swarm robots safer and more reliable Researchers from Sheffield Robotics have applied a novel method of automatically programming and controlling a swarm of up to 600 robots to complete a specified set of tasks simultaneously. Th ... more		Microrobots learn from ciliates Ciliates can do amazing things: Being so tiny, the water in which they live is like thick honey to these microorganisms. In spite of this, however, they are able to self-propel through water by the ... 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		Moving in to Tiangong 2 After months of speculation, it's official. The crew of Shenzhou 11 will live aboard the Tiangong 2 space laboratory for 30 days. Add more time in space for them to fly to the laboratory and come ... more
SSL developing robotic sample handling assembly for Mars 2020 Space Systems Loral (SSL), a leading provider of commercial satellites, has announced it will design and build a robotic Sample Handling Assembly (SHA) for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) thr ... more		Don't Panic: asteroid won't hit Earth but will get close The asteroid 2013 TX68 will come fairly close to Earth in early March, but the exact time and distance of its closest approach will not be known until after the fact. Sean Marshall, a fifth-ye ... more		Tethys, Janus pose with Saturn's rings in new NASA photo A newly shared image from NASA showcases the orbital mecca that is Saturn. ... more		Underwater robots can be programmed to make independent decisions More than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, yet scientists know more about space than about what happens in the ocean. One way scientists are trying to improve their understandi ... more

	Is it life, or merely the illusion of life Research from the University of Washington-based Virtual Planetary Laboratory published Feb. 26 in Astrophysical Journal Letters will help astronomers better identify - and thus rule out - "false po ... more		Spacepath Communications creates new joint venture with Polarity in US Spacepath Communications and Polarity Inc. have formed a new company, Stellar Satcom, based in Rancho Cordova, California, to provide marketing and customer support for the Stellar range of products ... 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

Rover begins contact science of rock target on Knudsen Ridge		MAVEN Observes Mars Moon Phobos in the Mid- and Far-Ultraviolet		Countdown To Twin Astronaut's Return		Logistics Rule on Tiangong 2		NASA Tests Life-Detection Drill in Earth's Driest Place
The Frozen Canyons of Pluto's North Pole		NASA May Return to Moon, But Only After Cutting Off ISS		Revisit NASA's Mars Pathfinder and Rover In 360 Viewer		Small Asteroid to Pass Close to Earth March 8		China to launch second space lab Tiangong-2 in Q3

The Frozen Canyons of Pluto's North Pole

Imaging Technique May Help Discover Earth-Like Planets Around Other Stars

Opportunity Mars Rover Goes Six-Wheeling up a Ridge

Lunar love: When science meets artistry

New Lunar Exhibit Features NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Imagery

Newly discovered planet in the Hyades cluster could shed light on planetary evolution

Facebook donates servers to speed up research into AI

Should we work together in the race to mine the solar system

Search narrows for Planet Nine

Imaging technique may help discover Earth-like planets

Help NASA Create Better Vision for Robonaut

Boston Dynamics robot learns from being bullied

Understanding how turbulence drains heat from fusion reactors

NASA releases strange 'music' heard by 1969 astronauts

Titan Temperature Lag Maps and Animation

China's moon lander Chang'e-3 enters 28th lunar day

Eying exomoons in the search for E.T.

Staying Alive on Tiangong 2

NASA Invites Public to Send Artwork to an Asteroid

Footprints of a martian flood

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