Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

May 08, 2016

The 2016 Transit of Mercury
Huntsville AL (SPX) May 08, 2016
Solar Scientists are accustomed to seeing spots on the sun - irregular islands of magnetism that sometimes erupt, producing strong solar flares. On May 9, 2016, they will see a spot of a very different kind - a dark circle moving across the solar disk. This spot is no ordinary sunspot. It's the planet Mercury, making a rare transit of the sun. Mercury passes directly between the sun and Earth about 13 times every century. The last time it happened was ten years ago in 2006, and the next time will ... read more

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Scientists discover potentially habitable planets Is there life beyond our solar system? If there is, our best bet for finding it may lie in three nearby, Earth-like exoplanets. For the first time, an international team of astronomers from MI ... more		MIT compiles list of potential gases to guide search for life on exoplanets A new approach intended to maximize the chances of identifying planets orbiting nearby stars that support life focuses on creating a comprehensive list of the molecules that might be present in the ... more		DSI and Luxembourg partner to commercialize space resources Asteroid mining company Deep Space Industries, together with the Luxembourg Government and the Societe Nationale de Credit et d'Investissement (SNCI), the national banking institution in Luxembourg, ... more
				Johns Hopkins scientist programs robot for 'soft tissue' surgery Not even the surest surgeon's hand is quite as steady and consistent as a robotic arm built of metal and plastic, programmed to perform the same motions over and over. So could it handle the slipper ... more		Proposals to support astronaut health on long missions selected NASA's Human Research Program and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) will fund 27 proposals to help answer questions about astronaut health and performance during future long d ... more

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

Second ExoMars mission moves to next launch opportunity in 2020 On 14 March 2016, the Roscosmos State Corporation and the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the jointly-developed ExoMars 2016 interplanetary mission, comprising the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and t ... more		Planet Nine: A world that shouldn't exist Earlier this year scientists presented evidence for Planet Nine, a Neptune-mass planet in an elliptical orbit 10 times farther from our Sun than Pluto. Since then theorists have puzzled over how thi ... 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		Pluto: A Global Perspective NASA's New Horizons mission science team has produced this updated panchromatic (black-and-white) global map of Pluto. The map includes all resolved images of Pluto's surface acquired between ... more
				New Elevation Map of Pluto's Sunken 'Heart' This newest shaded relief view of the region surrounding the left side of Pluto's heart-shaped feature - informally named Sputnik Planum - shows that the vast expanse of the icy surface is on averag ... more		Pluto's Interaction with the Solar Wind is Unique, Study Finds Pluto has some characteristics less like that of a comet and more like much larger planets, according to the first analysis of Pluto's unique interaction with the solar wind, scientists say. U ... more

Human 2 Mars Conference May 17-19 2016 - Washington DC

Transition from Operations to Decommissioning by Preparing a Safe, Cost-Effective Shut Down and Waste Management Strategy

The World's Largest Commercial Drone Conference and Expo - Sept 7-9 - Las Vegas

Directed Energy And Next Generation Munitions - 20-22 June - Washington DC

NASA research gives new insights into how the Moon got inked A powerful combination of observations and computer simulations is giving new clues to how the moon got its mysterious "tattoos" - swirling patterns of light and dark found at over a hundred locatio ... more		China's space technology extraordinary, impressive says Euro Space Center director In recent years, the development of China's space technology is "extraordinary, impressive", which is favorable to build, together with other countries, a better world for all men of this planet, sa ... 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		Three Earth-sized planets An international team of astronomers composed of UC San Diego astrophysicists has discovered three Earth-sized planets orbiting near the "habitable zone" of an ultracool dwarf star, the first planet ... more
Although Boiling, Water Does Shape Martian Terrain At present, liquid water on Mars only exists in small quantities as a boiling liquid, and only during the warmest time of day in summer. Its role has therefore been considered insignificant until no ... more		Sea urchin's teeth inspire new design for space exploration device The sea urchin's intricate mouth and teeth are the model for a claw-like device developed by a team of engineers and marine biologists at the University of California, San Diego to sample sediments ... more		Interstellar spacecraft sails could slam on Brakes for exoplanet flybys Scientists in the UK and Germany have come up with a quicker way to brake spacecraft on interstellar missions, by combining magnetic and electric sails. Interstellar spacecraft will be able to ... more		Bee model will help development of aerial robotics Scientists have built a computer model that shows how bees use vision to detect the movement of the world around them and avoid crashing. This research, published in PLOS Computational Biology, is a ... more

	Light Echoes Give Clues to Protoplanetary Disk Imagine you want to measure the size of a room, but it's completely dark. If you shout, you can tell if the space you're in is relatively big or small, depending on how long it takes to hear the ech ... more		Boiling water may be cause of Martian streaks: study The results of Earth-bound lab experiments appear to back up the theory that dark lines on Martian slopes are created by water - though in an otherworldly manner, scientists said Monday. ... 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

Newly developed EOD robot delivered to Army		Phase two of ExoMars mission delayed to 2020		Interstellar EmDrive gets boost from new theory of inertia		Airbus DS to build STEM centre at its UK Exomars facility		Opportunity robotic arm camera passes diagnostic test
Machines can learn to respond to new situations like human beings would		China produces key component for nuclear fusion facility		Hiding in the Sunshine: The Search for Other Earths		On the Road to Finding Other Earths		Elektra: A New Triple Asteroid

Curiosity Mars Rover crosses rugged plateau

Opportunity completes mini-walkabout

Could Earth's light blue color be a signature of life?

China can meet Chile's satellite needs: ambassador

China launches Kunpeng-1B sounding rocket

Discovering the bath scum on Titan

Hubble discovers moon orbiting the dwarf planet Makemake

Are we alone? Setting some limits to our uniqueness

Superfast light source made from artificial atom

Physicists detect the enigmatic spin momentum of light

South China city gears up for satellite tourism

Space X's Red Dragons to start Mars exploration in 2018

Mars' surface revealed in unprecedented detail

Profile of a methane sea on Titan

Hydrothermal systems show spectrum of extreme life on Earth

NASA rocket fuel pump tests pave way for methane-fueled Mars lander

New tools for human-machine collaborative design

Algorithm for robot teams handles moving obstacles

First rocket made ready for launch at Vostochny spaceport

China open to Sino-US space cooperation

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