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NASA's MAVEN spacecraft shrinking its Mars orbit to prepare for Mars 2020 Rover![]() Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 12, 2019 NASA's 4-year-old atmosphere-sniffing Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission is embarking on a new campaign to tighten its orbit around Mars. The operation will reduce the highest point of the MAVEN spacecraft's elliptical orbit from 3,850 to 2,800 miles (6,200 to 4,500 kilometers) above the surface and prepare it to take on additional responsibility as a data-relay satellite for NASA's Mars 2020 rover, which launches next year. "The MAVEN spacecraft has done a phenomenal job teach ... read more |
Developing a flight strategy to land heavier vehicles on MarsUrbana IL (SPX) Feb 12, 2019 The heaviest vehicle to successfully land on Mars is the Curiosity Rover at 1 metric ton, about 2,200 pounds. Sending more ambitious robotic missions to the surface of Mars, and eventually humans, w ... more
Spaceflight to launch first privately funded lunar landerCape Canaveral FL (SPX) Feb 12, 2019 Spaceflight Inc has announced it will launch two payloads on its first rideshare mission to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The mission is scheduled for no earlier than mid-February 2019 aboard ... more
Russia pencils in first manned lunar mission for 2031Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 11, 2019 Russia's first ever manned lunar mission is expected to land on the Moon in 2031, according to a document prepared by the Russian Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIIMash) and obtai ... more
Curiosity Mars Rover Departs Vera Rubin RidgePasadena CA (JPL) Feb 11, 2019 After exploring Mars' Vera Rubin Ridge for more than a year, NASA's Curiosity rover (https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl) recently moved on. But a new 360-video lets the public visit Curiosity's final dri ... more |
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Better to dry a rocky planet before useBern, Switzerland (SPX) Feb 12, 2019 Earth's solid surface and clement climate may be in part due to a massive star in the birth environment of the Sun. Without its radioactive elements injected into the early solar system, our home pl ... more
NASA seeks US partners to develop reusable systems for lunar missionsWashington DC (SPX) Feb 08, 2019 As the next major step to return astronauts to the Moon under Space Policy Directive-1, NASA announced plans on Dec. 13 to work with American companies to design and develop new reusable systems for ... more
Study shows unusual microbes hold clues to early lifeEast Boothbay ME (SPX) Feb 08, 2019 A new study has revealed how a group of deep-sea microbes provides clues to the evolution of life on Earth, according to a recent paper in The ISME Journal. Researchers used cutting-edge molecular m ... more
Asteroid from 'Rare Species' Sighted in the Cosmic WildPasadena CA (SPX) Feb 08, 2019 Astronomers have discovered an asteroid looping through the inner solar system on an exotic orbit. The unusual object is among the first asteroids ever found whose orbit is confined almost entirely ... more
ESA's Mars rover has a name - Rosalind FranklinParis (ESA) Feb 08, 2019 The ExoMars rover that will search for the building blocks of life on the Red Planet has a name: Rosalind Franklin. The prominent scientist behind the discovery of the structure of DNA will have her ... more |
![]() Northrop Grumman awarded $17.4M for space tracking system
Programming autonomous machines ahead of time promotes selfless decision-makingAberdeen Proving Ground MD (SPX) Feb 12, 2019 A new study suggests the use of autonomous machines increases cooperation among individuals. Researchers from the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory, the A ... more |
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Scientists discover oldest evidence of mobility on EarthCardiff UK (SPX) Feb 12, 2019 Ancient fossils of the first ever organisms to exhibit movement have been discovered by an international team of scientists. Discovered in rocks in Gabon and dating back approximately 2.1 bill ... more
Trumps orders government to prioritize artificial intelligenceWashington (AFP) Feb 11, 2019 President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the US administration to give greater priority to artificial intelligence, a move seen as firing up a battle for leadership with China. ... more
Psychology: Robot saved, people take the hitMunich, Germany (SPX) Feb 11, 2019 Robots are now being employed not just for hazardous tasks, such as detecting and disarming mines. They are also finding application as household helps and as nursing assistants. As increasing numbe ... more
NASA-Industry Partnerships Can Support Lunar Exploration, Reports SayWashington DC (SPX) Feb 08, 2019 Renewed interest in exploration of the Moon has the potential to benefit lunar science greatly and could evolve into a program facilitated by partnerships between commercial companies and NASA's Sci ... more
Momentus Announces Orders are Open for the Vigoride Orbit Transfer ServiceSanta Clara CA (SPX) Feb 07, 2019 Momentus, provider of in-space transportation services, has announced that they are taking orders for their Vigoride and Vigoride Extended services (orbital repositioning for satellites with masses ... more |
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Curiosity Mars Rover Departs Vera Rubin Ridge Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 11, 2019
After exploring Mars' Vera Rubin Ridge for more than a year, NASA's Curiosity rover (https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl) recently moved on. But a new 360-video lets the public visit Curiosity's final drill site on the ridge, an area nicknamed "Rock Hall." The video was created from a panorama taken by the rover on Dec. 19. It includes images of its next destination - an area the team has been calling ... more |
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NASA seeks US partners to develop reusable systems for lunar missions Washington DC (SPX) Feb 08, 2019
As the next major step to return astronauts to the Moon under Space Policy Directive-1, NASA announced plans on Dec. 13 to work with American companies to design and develop new reusable systems for astronauts to land on the lunar surface. The agency is planning to test new human-class landers on the Moon beginning in 2024, with the goal of sending crew to the surface in 2028.
Through mult ... more |
New Horizons' evocative farewell glance at Ultima Thule Washington DC (SPX) Feb 11, 2019
An evocative new image sequence from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft offers a departing view of the Kuiper Belt object (KBO) nicknamed Ultima Thule - the target of its New Year's 2019 flyby and the most distant world ever explored.
These aren't the last Ultima Thule images New Horizons will send back to Earth - in fact, many more are to come - but they are the final views New Horizons captu ... more |
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Study shows unusual microbes hold clues to early life East Boothbay ME (SPX) Feb 08, 2019
A new study has revealed how a group of deep-sea microbes provides clues to the evolution of life on Earth, according to a recent paper in The ISME Journal. Researchers used cutting-edge molecular methods to study these microbes, which thrive in the hot, oxygen-free fluids that flow through Earth's crust.
Called Hydrothermarchaeota, this group of microbes lives in such an extreme environme ... more |
Raptor engine beats Russian RD-180 record in combustion chamber pressure says Musk Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 12, 2019
The new methane-fueled Raptor engine developed by US SpaceX aerospace company for its Starship interplanetary craft has outperformed the Russian RD-180 rocket engine in terms of pressure level in the combustion chamber, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Monday.
"Raptor reached 268.9 bar [approximately 274.2 kilograms of power per square centimeter], exceeding prior record held by the awesome Ru ... more |
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China improves Long March-6 rocket for growing commercial launches Beijing (XNA) Feb 12, 2019
China announced Monday that it is developing the modified version of the Long March-6 rocket to add four solid boosters to increase its carrying capacity.
The improved medium-left carrier rocket will be sent into space by 2020, according to the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which designed the rocket.
The Long ... more |
Asteroid from 'Rare Species' Sighted in the Cosmic Wild Pasadena CA (SPX) Feb 08, 2019
Astronomers have discovered an asteroid looping through the inner solar system on an exotic orbit. The unusual object is among the first asteroids ever found whose orbit is confined almost entirely within the orbit of Venus. The asteroid's existence hints at potentially significant numbers of space rocks arcing unseen in uncharted regions nearer to the sun.
A state-of-the-art sky-surveying ... more |
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U.S. Air Force tests microwave, laser weapon systems Washington (UPI) Jan 23, 2019
The U.S. Air Force announced it is planning future experiments involving laser and microwave energy weapons after recent successes in testing sessions.
Future experiments in the Directed Energy Experimentation Campaign are planned at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the Air Force said Tuesday in a statement.
The tests by the 704th Test Group, essentially the use of mi ... more |
U.S. Army to purchase Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system Washington (UPI) Feb 6, 2019
The U.S. Army will purchase Israeli-made and battle-tested Iron Dome missile defense system, it announced on Wednesday.
The system is meant to protect soldiers from indirect-fire battlefield threats by intercepting and destroying incoming missiles, rockets and other artillery.
Developed by Israel's state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, the s ... more |
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Scientist sheds light on Titan's mysterious nitrogen atmosphere San Antonio TX (SPX) Jan 24, 2019
A new Southwest Research Institute study tackles one of the greatest mysteries about Titan, one of Saturn's moons: the origin of its thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere. The study posits that one key to Titan's mysterious atmosphere is the "cooking" of organic material in the moon's interior.
"Titan is a very interesting moon because it has this very thick atmosphere, which makes it unique amo ... more |
Research details sticky situations at the nanoscale Providence RI (SPX) Feb 08, 2019
Brown University researchers have made a discovery about the way things stick together at tiny scales that could be helpful in engineering micro- and nanoscale devices.
In a series of papers, the latest of which is published in Scientific Reports, the researchers show that miniscule differences in the roughness of a surface can cause surprising changes in the way two surfaces adhere to eac ... more |
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New squeezing record at GEO600 gravitational-wave detector Hannover, Germany (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
The detection of Einstein's gravitational waves relies on highly precise laser measurements of small length changes. The kilometer-size detectors of the international network (GEO600, LIGO, Virgo) are so sensitive that they are fundamentally limited by tiny quantum mechanical effects.
These cause a background noise which overlaps with gravitational-wave signals. This noise is always presen ... more |
Lightning's electromagnetic fields may have protective properties Tel Aviv, Israel (SPX) Feb 11, 2019
Lightning was the main electromagnetic presence in the Earth's atmosphere long before the invention of electricity. There are some 2,000 thunderstorms active at any given time, so humans and other organisms have been bathed in extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields for billions of years.
These electromagnetic fields - the result of global lightning activity known as Schumann ... more |
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Programming autonomous machines ahead of time promotes selfless decision-making Aberdeen Proving Ground MD (SPX) Feb 12, 2019
A new study suggests the use of autonomous machines increases cooperation among individuals.
Researchers from the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory, the Army's Institute for Creative Technologies and Northeastern University collaborated on a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The research team, led by Dr. Cels ... more |
Hughes satellite modems power beyond-line-of-sight comms for UAVs Germantown MD (SPX) Feb 11, 2019
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, has announced the first shipments of its specialized, multiband HM400 SATCOM modems to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), powering beyond-line-of-sight communications for their next-generation Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) known as the MQ-9B SkyGuardian.
Customized to m ... more |
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