Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
December 28, 2016
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MOON DAILY
China plans probes to far side, poles of Moon



Beijing (XNA) Dec 28, 2016
China is planning missions to explore the far side of the Moon and to send robots to explore both lunar poles. Plans to send astronauts to the Moon are also being discussed, according to Wu Yanhua, vice director of the China National Space Administration. Wu told a press conference on Tuesday that work on the Chang'e-5 lunar mission, scheduled to make a soft landing on the Moon and return to Earth by the end of next year, is proceeding smoothly. Asked about private capital in the space ... read more

DRAGON SPACE
China Plans to Launch 1st Mars Probe by 2020 - State Council Information Office
China is planning to conduct the first orbiting and roving exploration of Mars by 2020, the country's State Council Information Office (SCIO) said Tuesday in a report. "China intends to execut ... more
DRAGON SPACE
China sees rapid development of space science and technology
China's space industry has witnessed rapid progress since 2011, said a white paper issued Tuesday by the State Council Information Office. The white paper, titled "China's Space Activities in ... more
TECH SPACE
China to improve space debris database, spacecraft protection
China will enhance the space debris basic database and data-sharing model, and advance the development of space debris monitoring facilities, according to a white paper released on Tuesday. Th ... more
DRAGON SPACE
China to expand int'l cooperation on space sciences
China on Tuesday issued a white paper summarizing international cooperation on space sciences since 2011 and the key areas for further cooperation in the next five years. The white paper issue ... more
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TIME AND SPACE
Saudi Arabia Adopts Western Calendar
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken a near 600-year leap into modernity. The second deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, has announced that the kingdom will transition ... more
TIME AND SPACE
Magnifying time reveals fundamental rogue wave instabilities of nature
Researchers from INRS and the FEMTO-ST Institute in France have used a novel measurement technique that magnifies time to reveal how ultrafast intense pulses of light can be generated from noise on ... more
OUTER PLANETS
Exploring Pluto and the Wild Back Yonder
As 2016 ends, I can't help but point out an interesting symmetry in where the mission has recently been and where we are going. Exactly two years ago we had just taken New Horizons out of cruise hib ... more
TIME AND SPACE
Stretching time to improve extreme event prediction
Stretching time scales to explore extreme events in nature seemed impossible, yet this feat is now conceivable thanks to a team from the Institut FEMTO-ST (CNRS/UFC/UTBM/ENSMM), which used an innova ... more
IRON AND ICE
PANIC Lander to Revolutionize Asteroid Research
A US-German team of researchers has proposed to develop a micro-scale low-cost surface lander for the in situ characterization of an asteroid. The tiny spacecraft, called the Pico Autonomous Near-Ea ... more


Small Troughs Growing on Mars May Become 'Spiders'

EXO WORLDS
Searching a sea of 'noise' to find exoplanets - using only data as a guide
Yale researchers have found a data-driven way to detect distant planets and refine the search for worlds similar to Earth. The new approach, outlined in a study published Dec. 20 in The Astron ... more
SATURN DAILY
Cassini offers a crash course in ring world orbital mechanics
It may look as though Saturn's moon Mimas is crashing through the rings in this image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, but Mimas is actually 28,000 miles (45,000 kilometers) away from the rings. ... more


Russia to face strong competition from China in space launch market
In the decade to come Russia will face strong competition from China for the commercial launch of satellites for developing countries, according to Ivan Moiseev, director of the Institute of Space Policy."China is trying to expand its space launching services, developing new boosters for different segments of the market," Moiseev told RIA Novosti. "It has constructed a new spacecraft launc ... more
Vega And Gokturk-1A are present for next Arianespace lightweight mission

Antares Rides Again

Four Galileo satellites are "topped off" for Arianespace's milestone Ariane 5 launch from the Spaceport

Small Troughs Growing on Mars May Become 'Spiders'
Erosion-carved troughs that grow and branch during multiple Martian years may be infant versions of larger features known as Martian "spiders," which are radially patterned channels found only in the south polar region of Mars. Researchers using NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) report the first detection of cumulative growth, from one Martian spring to another, of channels resultin ... more
All eyes on Trump over Mars

Opportunity performs several drives to ancient gully

Full go-ahead for building ExoMars 2020

China plans probes to far side, poles of Moon
China is planning missions to explore the far side of the Moon and to send robots to explore both lunar poles. Plans to send astronauts to the Moon are also being discussed, according to Wu Yanhua, vice director of the China National Space Administration. Wu told a press conference on Tuesday that work on the Chang'e-5 lunar mission, scheduled to make a soft landing on the Moon and r ... more
Lunar sonic booms

India Inc joins hands to bid for moon mission

TeamIndus signs contract with ISRO for lunar mission

Exploring Pluto and the Wild Back Yonder
As 2016 ends, I can't help but point out an interesting symmetry in where the mission has recently been and where we are going. Exactly two years ago we had just taken New Horizons out of cruise hibernation to begin preparations for the Pluto flyby. And exactly two years from now we will be on final approach to our next flyby, which will culminate with a very close approach to a small Kuiper Bel ... more
Juno Captures Jupiter 'Pearl'

Juno Mission Prepares for December 11 Jupiter Flyby

Research Offers Clues About the Timing of Jupiter's Formation



Astronomers discover dark past of planet-eating 'Death Star'
An international team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Chicago, has made the rare discovery of a planetary system with a host star similar to Earth's sun. Especially intriguing is the star's unusual composition, which indicates it ingested some of its planets. "It doesn't mean that the sun will 'eat' the Earth any time soon," said Jacob Bean, assistant professor ... more
Microlensing Study Suggests Most Common Outer Planets Likely Neptune-mass

Searching a sea of 'noise' to find exoplanets - using only data as a guide

Are planets like those in 'Star Wars

United Launch Alliance launches EchoStar XIX satellite
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the EchoStar XIX satellite lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 Dec. 18 at 2:13 p.m. EST. EchoStar XIX will dramatically increase capacity for HughesNet high-speed satellite Internet service to homes and businesses in North America. Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services procured the Atlas V for this mission. This is ULA's 12th ... more
New round of wind tunnel tests underway for bigger SLS version

Preparing to Plug Into NASA SLS Fuel Tank

Ultra-Cold Storage - Liquid Hydrogen may be Fuel of the Future



China Plans to Launch 1st Mars Probe by 2020 - State Council Information Office
China is planning to conduct the first orbiting and roving exploration of Mars by 2020, the country's State Council Information Office (SCIO) said Tuesday in a report. "China intends to execute its first Mars exploration operation, and grasp key technologies for orbiting, landing and roving exploration. It plans to launch the first Mars probe by 2020 to carry out orbiting and roving explor ... more
China to expand int'l cooperation on space sciences

China sees rapid development of space science and technology

Chinese missile giant seeks 20% of a satellite market

PANIC Lander to Revolutionize Asteroid Research
A US-German team of researchers has proposed to develop a micro-scale low-cost surface lander for the in situ characterization of an asteroid. The tiny spacecraft, called the Pico Autonomous Near-Earth Asteroid In Situ Characterizer (PANIC), could be a breakthrough for the scientific community, offering simple and cheap solutions for asteroid research. The concept of the PANIC mission envi ... more
Ceres Offers Insight Into Prospects For Life in Early Solar System

The case of the missing diamonds

Studies refute hypothesis on what caused abrupt climate change thousands of years ago



Northrop Grumman to develop next-gen fighter laser system
Northrop Grumman will help the U.S. Air Force to develop a directed energy laser system that will offer self-protection for the service's next-generation jets, the company announced Wednesday. The work, under an Air Force Research Laboratory contract, will see Northrop Grumman develop and produce the beam control piece of an airborne laser weapon demonstration array that the laboratory ... more
UK to start laser gun program

Russia's Ray Guns: The Military Capability of Moscow's Secret Laser Weapons

Lockheed Martin receives $1.4 billion for Patriot missile sales
Lockheed Martin has received a $1.4 billion foreign military sales contract for Patriot advanced capability production. The contract supports the sale of 205 missile segment enhancements for the governments of South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. The agreement also includes associated ground support equipment for the missiles. ... more
U.S. Air Force approves Lockheed Martin's SBIRS ground system

Raytheon to provide Patriot missile capability for undisclosed country

Saudis intercept missile fired from Yemen



Cassini offers a crash course in ring world orbital mechanics
It may look as though Saturn's moon Mimas is crashing through the rings in this image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, but Mimas is actually 28,000 miles (45,000 kilometers) away from the rings. There is a strong connection between the icy moon and Saturn's rings, though. Gravity links them together and shapes the way they both move. The gravitational pull of Mimas (246 miles or 396 kil ... more
Saturn's bulging core implies moons younger than thought

Cassini Makes First Ring-Grazing Plunge

Cassini Beams Back First Images from New Orbit

Going green with nanotechnology
Nanotechnology offers many chances to benefit the environment and health. It can be applied to save raw materials and energy, develop enhanced solar cells and more efficient rechargeable batteries and replace harmful substances with eco-compatible solutions. "Nanotechnology is a seminal technology. The UMWELTnanoTECH project association has delivered excellent results. Even the smallest ac ... more
Nanocubes simplify printing and imaging in color and infrared

New aspect of atom mimicry for nanotechnology applications

ANU demonstrates 'ghost imaging' with atoms



MIT researchers reveal new technique for measuring gravity
Researchers have found a way to improve atom interferometers, the most common and precise tool for measuring gravity. Atom interferometers measure difference in wave characteristics between atomic matter. They rely on an exotic state of matter called Bose-Einstein condensates. Researchers in MIT have found a way to improve the precision of atom interferometers by augmenting the condensa ... more
A population of neutron stars can generate gravitational waves continuously

LISA Pathfinder's pioneering mission continues

Magnetic mirror could shed new light on gravitational waves

Cerium hexaboride challenges physicists to come up with new theory
Scientists from MIPT and other research institutes and universities have discovered unusual phenomena occurring in a single cerium hexaboride (CeB?) crystal. By performing an electron spin resonance (ESR) experiment, the researchers confirmed the status of the material that had been dubbed an "exception to exceptions" for the way its behavior defies any explanation in terms of the existing model ... more
ALPHA observes light spectrum of antimatter for first time

Saudi Arabia Adopts Western Calendar

New antimatter breakthrough to help illuminate mysteries of the Big Bang

Daily Newsletters - Space - Military - Environment - Energy

Mimicking biological movements with soft robots
Designing a soft robot to move organically - to bend like a finger or twist like a wrist - has always been a process of trial and error. Now, researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have developed a method to automatically design soft actuators based on the desired movement. "Rather ... more
Marriage and more with robots: science fiction or new reality?

NIST device for detecting subatomic-scale motion may aid robotics, homeland security

A hardware-based approach for real world collaborative multi-robots

Ford studies using drones to guide self-driving cars
Ford Motor Co. is studying a system to use drones to help guide self-driving vehicles, including on off-road adventures, company officials said. Drones launched from an autonomous vehicle would help guide it by mapping the surrounding area beyond what the car's sensors can detect. Vehicle passengers can control the drone using the car's infotainment or navigation system. "At some point, ... more
QinetiQ acquires Meggitt Target Systems

Britain, France continue drone development project

Bird-like drone uses feathers for a more precise flight path



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