Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
January 20, 2017
ADVERTISEMENT



IRON AND ICE
Observations of Ceres indicate that asteroids might be camouflaged



Mountain View CA (SPX) Jan 20, 2017
The appearance of small bodies in the outer solar system could be deceiving. Asteroids and dwarf planets may be camouflaged with an outer layer of material that actually comes from somewhere else. Using data primarily gathered by SOFIA, NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, a team of astronomers has detected the presence of substantial amounts of material on the surface of Ceres that appears to be fragments of other asteroids. This is contrary to the currently accepted sur ... read more

OUTER PLANETS
Public to Choose Jupiter Picture Sites for NASA Juno
Where should NASA's Juno spacecraft aim its camera during its next close pass of Jupiter on Feb. 2? You can now play a part in the decision. For the first time, members of the public can vote to par ... more
OUTER PLANETS
Pluto Global Color Map
This new, detailed global mosaic color map of Pluto is based on a series of three color filter images obtained by the Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera aboard New Horizons during the NASA sp ... more
EXO WORLDS
SF State astronomer searches for signs of life on Wolf 1061 exoplanet
Is there anybody out there? The question of whether Earthlings are alone in the universe has puzzled everyone from biologists and physicists to philosophers and filmmakers. It's also the driving for ... more
TECH SPACE
China's quantum communication satellite delivered for use
China's quantum communication satellite, launched last August, is officially operational after four months of in-orbit testing, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said Wednesday. Testing of ... more
Previous Issues Jan 19 Jan 18 Jan 17 Jan 16 Jan 13
ADVERTISEMENT



MOON DAILY
The science behind the Lunar Hydrogen Polar Mapper mission
Arizona State University's NASA mission to visit a metal asteroid is just beginning, but the first mission that marked the school as a major player in space exploration has been under way for more t ... more
MARSDAILY
Mars Rover Curiosity Examines Possible Mud Cracks
Scientists used NASA's Curiosity Mars rover in recent weeks to examine slabs of rock cross-hatched with shallow ridges that likely originated as cracks in drying mud. "Mud cracks are the most ... more
MARSDAILY
Opportunity Continues Its Journey South Along Crater Rim
Opportunity is located on the rim of Endeavour Crater, heading south along the rim. The near-term plan is to reach a valley called 'Willamette' where grooves are seen in orbital imagery. The r ... more
IRON AND ICE
Successful Deep Space Maneuver for NASA's OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft
New tracking data confirms that NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft aced its first Deep Space Maneuver (DSM-1) on Dec. 28, 2016. The engine burn sets up the spacecraft for an Earth gravity assist this fall ... more
SPACE MEDICINE
Probable cause and potential prevention of vision deterioration in space found
Vision deterioration in astronauts who spend a long time in space is likely due to the lack of a day-night cycle in intracranial pressure. But using a vacuum device to lower pressure for part of eac ... more


NASA Glenn RED Team Helps EP+R Sterilize Ambulances

SATURN DAILY
Catching Cassini's call
This week, ESA deep-space radio dishes on two continents are listening for signals from the international Cassini spacecraft, now on its final tour of Saturn. ESA's sensitive tracking antennas at Ne ... more
MOON DAILY
Eugene Cernan, last man to walk on moon, dead at 82
US astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to set foot on the moon, died Monday at age 82, NASA and his family announced. ... more

Space Media Advertising


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

Mars Rover Curiosity Examines Possible Mud Cracks
Scientists used NASA's Curiosity Mars rover in recent weeks to examine slabs of rock cross-hatched with shallow ridges that likely originated as cracks in drying mud. "Mud cracks are the most likely scenario here," said Curiosity science team member Nathan Stein. He is a graduate student at Caltech in Pasadena, California, who led the investigation of a site called "Old Soaker," on lower M ... more
Opportunity Continues Its Journey South Along Crater Rim

New Year yields interesting bright soil for Opportunity rover

HI-SEAS Mission V crew preparing to enter Mars simulation habitat



The science behind the Lunar Hydrogen Polar Mapper mission
Arizona State University's NASA mission to visit a metal asteroid is just beginning, but the first mission that marked the school as a major player in space exploration has been under way for more than a year. LunaH-Map, the Lunar Hydrogen Polar Mapper, will launch in September 2018. Its task will be to find water and ice at the south pole of the moon, and map the deposits. ASU Now s ... more
Eugene Cernan, last man to walk on moon, dead at 82

The moon is older than scientists thought

New map of the Moon under creation in China

Public to Choose Jupiter Picture Sites for NASA Juno
Where should NASA's Juno spacecraft aim its camera during its next close pass of Jupiter on Feb. 2? You can now play a part in the decision. For the first time, members of the public can vote to participate in selecting all pictures to be taken of Jupiter during a Juno flyby. Voting begins Thursday, Jan. 19 at 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) and concludes on Jan. 23 at 9 a.m. PST (noon EST). "We ... more
Pluto Global Color Map

Lowell Observatory to renovate Pluto discovery telescope

Flying observatory makes observations of Jupiter previously only possible from space

SF State astronomer searches for signs of life on Wolf 1061 exoplanet
Is there anybody out there? The question of whether Earthlings are alone in the universe has puzzled everyone from biologists and physicists to philosophers and filmmakers. It's also the driving force behind San Francisco State University astronomer Stephen Kane's research into exoplanets - planets that exist outside Earth's solar system. As one of the world's leading "planet hunters," Kan ... more
Looking for life in all the right places with the right tool

Could dark streaks in Venusian clouds be microbial life

VLT to Search for Planets in Alpha Centauri System

When One launch is not enough: SpaceX Return To Flight
SpaceX celebrated the first flight of its Falcon 9 rocket in over four and a half months on Saturday, with a remarkably smooth launch of the vehicle from California. The Falcon 9 had previously been grounded since September, after one of the rockets exploded on a launchpad in Florida during a routine fueling procedure. Though the stakes were high for Saturday's launch, the mission's success does ... more
2017 Rocket Campaign Begins in Alaska

Ruptured oxidant tank likely cause of Progress accident

Next Cygnus Mission to Station Set for March



China's first cargo spacecraft to leave factory
China's first cargo spacecraft will leave the factory, according to the website of China's manned space mission. A review meeting was convened last Thursday, during which officials and experts unanimously concluded that the Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft had met all the requirements to leave the factory. The take-off weight of Tianzhou-1 is 13 tonnes and it can ship material of up to si ... more
China launches commercial rocket mission Kuaizhou-1A

China Space Plan to Develop "Strength and Size"

Beijing's space program soars in 2016

Observations of Ceres indicate that asteroids might be camouflaged
The appearance of small bodies in the outer solar system could be deceiving. Asteroids and dwarf planets may be camouflaged with an outer layer of material that actually comes from somewhere else. Using data primarily gathered by SOFIA, NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, a team of astronomers has detected the presence of substantial amounts of material on the surface ... more
Successful Deep Space Maneuver for NASA's OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft

How the darkness and the cold killed the dinosaurs

NASA's Newly Announced Mission Could Solve the Mystery of Water on Asteroid Psyche



U.K. Defense Ministry finalizes laser weapon system contract
Britain's Ministry of Defense has awarded MBDA and other industry partners a $36 million contract to produce a Laser Directed Energy Weapon demonstrator. The contract, which aims to allow Britain's first laser weapon to enter service by the mid-2020s, will task contractors to assess the technology's capabilities. Project leaders hope to demonstrate the system in 2019. "The U.K. h ... more
U.S. Air Force issues RFP for aircraft laser weapons

Northrop Grumman to develop next-gen fighter laser system

UK to start laser gun program

Israel army gets new ballistic missile interceptors
The Israeli army on Wednesday received new ballistic missile interceptors that significantly upgrade the Jewish state's aerial defence systems in the face of "emerging threats", the defence ministry said. The Arrow 3 interceptor, designed to shoot down missiles above the atmosphere, was handed to air force bases in Israel after successful testing by Israel and the United States at the end of ... more
Israel Introduces Arrow-3 Missile Interceptor System

Italy joins EUROSAM's Aster 30 B1NT program

SBIRS GEO Flight 3 encapsulated for launch



Catching Cassini's call
This week, ESA deep-space radio dishes on two continents are listening for signals from the international Cassini spacecraft, now on its final tour of Saturn. ESA's sensitive tracking antennas at New Norcia, Western Australia, and Malargue, Argentina, are being called in to help with crucial observations during Cassini's last months in orbit, dubbed the 'Grand Finale'. The Cassini-Huygens ... more
Huygens: 'Ground Truth' From an Alien Moon

NASA image showcases Saturn's sun-soaked north pole

Cassini offers a crash course in ring world orbital mechanics

Lighting up ultrathin films
Based on a study of the optical properties of novel ultrathin semiconductors, researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have developed a method for rapid and efficient characterization of these materials. Chemical compounds based on elements that belong to the so-called transition metals can be processed to yield atomically thin two-dimensional crystals consisting of a ... more
New research helps to meet the challenges of nanotechnology

Zeroing in on the true nature of fluids within nanocapillaries

Nano-chimneys can cool circuits



China to set up gravitational wave telescopes in Tibet
China is working to set up the world's highest altitude gravitational wave telescopes in Tibet Autonomous Region to detect the faintest echoes resonating from the universe, which may reveal more about the Big Bang. Construction has started for the first telescope, code-named Ngari No.1, 30 km south of Shiquanhe Town in Ngari Prefecture, said Yao Yongqiang, chief researcher with the Nationa ... more
MIT researchers reveal new technique for measuring gravity

A population of neutron stars can generate gravitational waves continuously

LISA Pathfinder's pioneering mission continues

Our galaxy's black hole is spewing out planet-size 'spitballs'
Every few thousand years, an unlucky star wanders too close to the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. The black hole's powerful gravity rips the star apart, sending a long streamer of gas whipping outward. That would seem to be the end of the story, but it's not. New research shows that not only can the gas gather itself into planet-size objects, but those objects then are flung througho ... more
Light source discovery 'challenges basic assumption' of physics

Seeing the quantum future literally

CU Boulder to lead operations for NASA black holes mission



For white-collar staff, AI threatens new workplace revolution
If your job involves inputting reams of data for a company, you might want to think about retraining in a more specialised field. Or as a plumber. After industrial robots and international trade put paid to many manufacturing jobs in the West, millions of white-collar workers could now be under threat from new technology such as artificial intelligence (AI). The issue of how best to fa ... more
Scientists proposed a novel regional path tracking scheme for autonomous ground vehicles

Cheery robots may make creepy companions, but could be intelligent assistants

Robots need 'kill switches', warn Euro MPs

GenDyn offers Bluefin SandShark mini-drone for sale online
A small autonomous underwater vehicle for defense and commercial use in now available for purchase online from General Dynamics Mission Systems. The new Bluefin SandShark weighs less than 11 pounds - before adding a mission payload - fits in a backpack, can swim up to five knots and dive down to 656 feet, the company said. Its tail section houses the battery and system electron ... more
AUDS counter-UAV system achieves TRL-9 status

UAV performs first ever perched landing using machine learning algorithms

Liteye, Tribalco to deliver AUDS systems to U.S. armed forces

Daily Newsletters - Space - Military - Environment - Energy



Subscribe free to our newsletters via your



Buy Advertising Media Advertising Kit Editorial & Other Enquiries Privacy statement
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement