Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

June 15, 2016

Small Asteroid Is Earth's Constant Companion
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 16, 2016
A small asteroid has been discovered in an orbit around the sun that keeps it as a constant companion of Earth, and it will remain so for centuries to come. As it orbits the sun, this new asteroid, designated 2016 HO3, appears to circle around Earth as well. It is too distant to be considered a true satellite of our planet, but it is the best and most stable example to date of a near-Earth companion, or "quasi-satellite." "Since 2016 HO3 loops around our planet, but never ventures very far a ... read more

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Clouds, haze cause astronomers to overestimate size of exoplanets New research suggests the size of exoplanets may be routinely overestimated, and clouds, scientists say, are to blame. ... more		Extreme trans-Neptunian objects lead the way to Planet Nine In the race towards the discovery of a ninth planet in our solar system, scientists from around the world strive to calculate its orbit using the tracks left by the small bodies that move well beyon ... more		NASA Mars Rover Descends Plateau, Turns Toward Mountain NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has analyzed its 12th drilled sample of Mars. This sample came from mudstone bedrock, which the rover resumed climbing in late May after six months studying other feature ... more
				Smaller Stars Pack Big X-ray Punch for Would-Be Planets Young stars much less massive than the Sun can unleash a torrent of X-ray radiation that can significantly shorten the lifetime of planet-forming disks surrounding these stars. This result comes fro ... more		Gamers Tackle Virtual Asteroid Sampling Mission Mission: Build a replica of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and successfully return an asteroid sample to Earth. That's the challenge OSIRIS-REx Project Scientist Jason Dworkin of NASA's Goddard Space Fli ... more

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

Planetary Resources and Luxembourg partner to advance space resource industry Planetary Resources has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the banking institution Societe Nationale de Credit et d'I ... more		Natural quasicrystals may be the result of collisions between objects in the asteroid belt Naturally formed quasicrystals - crystal-like solids with supposedly impossible symmetries - are among the rarest structures on Earth. Only two have ever been found. A team led by Paul Asimow (MS '9 ... more		Romania says Russian drone breached its airspace MSBAI wins DoD contract to accelerate OrbitGuard for space situational awarenes AI powered SAR imagery analysis tool launched by SATIM and ICEYE		New planet is largest discovered that orbits 2 suns If you cast your eyes toward the constellation Cygnus, you'll be looking in the direction of the largest planet yet discovered around a double-star system. It's too faint to see with the naked eye, ... more
				Alien Contact Could Be 1,500 Years Away If you're expecting to hear from aliens from across the universe, it could be a while. Deconstructing the Fermi Paradox and pairing it with the Mediocrity Principle into a fresh equation, Cornell as ... more		Light: Information's new friend The rise of big data and advances in information technology has serious implications for our ability to deliver sufficient bandwidth to meet the growing demand. Researchers at the University o ... more

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

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

Musk explains his 'cargo route' to Mars SpaceX chief Elon Musk shed light Saturday on his new plan to send an unmanned spaceship to Mars as early as 2018, as part of his quest to some day colonize the Red Planet. ... more		The Jagged Shores of Pluto's Highlands This enhanced color view from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft zooms in on the southeastern portion of Pluto's great ice plains, where at lower right the plains border rugged, dark highlands informall ... more		Ash improves methane yield and fertilizer value in biogas systems Bio-oil from agricultural and forest waste could help seal abandoned oil wells and store carbon Rice researchers turn wasted data center heat into clean power		Remarkably diverse flora in Utah, USA, trains scientists for future missions on Mars Future Martian explorers might not need to leave the Earth to prepare themselves for life on the Red Planet. The Mars Society have built an analogue research site in Utah, USA, which simulates the c ... more
NASA Mars Orbiters Reveal Seasonal Dust Storm Pattern After decades of research to discern seasonal patterns in Martian dust storms from images showing the dust, but the clearest pattern appears to be captured by measuring the temperature of the Red Pl ... more		Cloudy Days on Exoplanets May Hide Atmospheric Water Water is a hot topic in the study of exoplanets, including "hot Jupiters," whose masses are similar to that of Jupiter, but which are much closer to their parent star than Jupiter is to the sun. The ... more		Why the Deep Space Atomic Clock is key for future space exploration We all intuitively understand the basics of time. Every day we count its passage and use it to schedule our lives. We also use time to navigate our way to the destinations that matter to us. In scho ... more		Europe Develops Self-removal Technology for Spacecraft A new European project has an ambitious goal of cleaning up space for future generations. The Technology for Self-Removal of Spacecraft (TeSeR) program, that was introduced in May 2016, will develop ... more

	Experts Fear Chinese Space Station Could Crash Into Earth Some experts believe China's Tiangong-1 space lab is nearing the end of its life. The problem is, no one's sure where or when it will fall. Nicknamed the Heavenly Palace, Tiangong-1 is Beijing's fir ... more		Robots to provide a steadying hand at the right time Many new robots look less like the metal humanoids of pop culture and more like high-tech extensions of ourselves and our capabilities. In the same way eyeglasses, wheelchairs, pacemakers and other ... more

Manipulating light to advance quantum entanglement research

Top Japan start-up Sakana AI touts nature-inspired tech

Galileo daughter mission named Celeste to strengthen navigation resilience

Optical 'sonic boom' could help graphene convert electricity into light		Likely new planet may be in slow death spiral		Universe's first life might have been born on carbon planets		Air conditioning goes green		Scientists reconstruct the history of asteroid collisions
Microbes in Space: JPL Researcher Explores Tiny Life		On exoplanets, atmospheric water may be hiding behind clouds		Aerospace Awarded NASA Grant for Innovative Space Debris Technology		Teams to compete in 5th year of NASA's sample return robot competition		Secrets Revealed from Pluto's "Twilight Zone"

Flight of the RoboBee

Study of Opportunity Wheel Scuff Continues

Titan Transtage to be studied by orbital debris scientists

Orbit Logic Awarded Air Force Space Situational Awareness Contract

EOD robot system passes critical design review

Germany says not blocking Chinese bid for robotics firm

Fifty Years of Moon Dust

Luxembourg takes first steps to asteroid mining law

SpaceX could send people to Mars by 2024, Elon Musk says

US may approve private venture moon mission: report

Purdue team finds convection could produce Pluto's polygons

Mars 'colonists' to undergo five days of tests

Airbus Defence and Space to guide lunar lander to the Moon

Schafer Corp launches new venture in Commercial Space Situational Awareness

Bolivia to pay back loan to China for Tupac Katari satellite

China plans 5 new space science satellites

Pluto's Heart: Like a Cosmic 'Lava Lamp'

Meta-lens sees smaller than a wavelength of light

NASA Chief: Congress Should Revise US-China Space Cooperation Law

Theft behind Planet 9 in our solar system

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