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Lasers learn to accurately spot space junk![]() Washington DC (SPX) Dec 27, 2019 Chinese researchers have improved the accuracy in detecting space junk in earth's orbit, providing a more effective way to plot safe routes for spacecraft maneuvers. "The possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to one!" exclaimed C-3PO as Han Solo directed the Millennium Falcon into an asteroid field in "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back." Earth's orbit is nowhere near as dangerous, but after more than half a century of space activity, collisions between je ... read more |
Russia, US to discuss Lunar Gateway Station next springMoscow (Sputnik) Dec 27, 2019 Russia and the United States will have their next meeting, where Russia's participation in Lunar Gateway Station will be discussed, "closer to spring," the head of space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rog ... more
A real-life deluminator for spotting exoplanets by reflected starlightLowell MA (SPX) Dec 27, 2019 Perhaps you remember the opening scene of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" that took place on Privet Drive. A bearded man pulled a mysterious device, called a deluminator, from his dark robe ... more
Space history is made in this NASA robot factoryPasadena CA (JPL) Dec 27, 2019 Built in 1961, the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is the cradle of robotic space exploration. The first probes launched to the Moon, ... more
Breathable atmospheres may be more common in the universe than we first thoughtLeeds UK (SPX) Dec 17, 2019 The existence of habitable alien worlds has been a mainstay of popular culture for more than a century. In the 19th century, astronomers believed that Martians might be using canal-based transport l ... more |
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NYU Abu Dhabi researcher discovers exoplanets can be made less habitable by stars' flaresAbu Dhabi UAE (SPX) Dec 17, 2019 The discovery of terrestrial exoplanets, planets that orbit stars outside the solar system, has been one of the most significant developments in modern astronomy. Several exoplanets lie in the "habi ... more
Mars Express tracks the phases of PhobosParis (ESA) Dec 16, 2019 ESA's Mars Express has captured detailed views of the small, scarred and irregularly shaped moon Phobos from different angles during a unique flyby. Mars has two moons: Phobos and the smaller ... more
International Space Station computer gets a heart transplantParis (ESA) Dec 20, 2019 The Space Station has grown to the size of a football field and space agencies are looking to extend its lifetime until 2030. European-built computers have quietly been keeping this orbital outpost ... more
Asteroid collisions trigger cascading formation of subfamilies, study concludesSao Paulo, Brazil (SPX) Dec 20, 2019 Billions of years ago, asteroid collisions resulted in the ejection of fragments hundreds of kilometers across and sharing similar orbits. The resulting groups are known as asteroid families. ... more
Researchers spy on planets as fluffy as cotton candyBoulder CO (SPX) Dec 20, 2019 Meet what may be the largest carnival delights known to science: the "super-puff" worlds of the Kepler 51 star system. As their confectionary name suggests, these planets are as lightweight as ... more |
![]() China's Xichang set for 20 space launches in 2020
Astrophysics and AI may offer key to early dementia diagnosisSussex UK (SPX) Dec 18, 2019 Crucial early diagnosis of dementia in general practice could improve thanks to a computer model designed in a collaboration between Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) and astrophysicists at ... more |
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Church of England questions ethics of investment in AILondon (AFP) Dec 23, 2019 The Church of England has launched a study into an existential question: do its investments in big-tech giants contradict the Christian faith? ... more
Mars 2020 Rover Completes Its First DrivePasadena CA (JPL) Dec 19, 2019 NASA's next Mars rover has passed its first driving test. A preliminary assessment of its activities on Dec. 17, 2019, found that the rover checked all the necessary boxes as it rolled forward and b ... more
Europe's exoplanet hunter blasts off from EarthParis (AFP) Dec 18, 2019 Europe's CHEOPS planet-hunting satellite left Earth on Wednesday a day after its lift-off was delayed by a technical rocket glitch during the final countdown. ... more
Europe's exoplanet hunter reaches orbit around EarthParis (AFP) Dec 18, 2019 Europe's CHEOPS planet-hunting space telescope left Earth on Wednesday and moved into orbit, a day after its lift-off was delayed by a technical rocket glitch during the final countdown. ... more
CHEOPS space telescope to investigate extrasolar planetsKourou, French Guiana (ESA) Dec 17, 2019 On 17 December 2019 at 05:54 local time (09:54 CET), the European Space Agency (ESA) CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite (CHEOPS) space telescope is scheduled to lift off from Europe's spaceport in ... more |
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Promising progress for ExoMars parachutes Paris (ESA) Dec 24, 2019
A series of ground-based tests designed to check the extraction of the ExoMars 2020 mission's parachutes from their bags have started successfully with promising results to keep the mission on track for next year's launch.
Landing on Mars is a high-risk endeavour with no room for error. In just six minutes, a descent module with its precious cargo cocooned inside has to slow from around 21 ... more |
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Macao's moon, planetary lab to boost China's deep space exploration Beijing, China (SPX) Dec 24, 2019
Macao's first space exploration satellite was named Macao Science 1, the special administrative region (SAR)'s Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Tam Chon Weng announced Sunday at an opening ceremony of an aerospace exhibition.
During the opening ceremony, vice administrator of China National Space Administration (CNSA) Wu Yanhua also announced that the CNSA would set up Macao Space ... more |
NASA's Juno navigators enable Jupiter cyclone discovery Washington DC (SPX) Dec 16, 2019
Jupiter's south pole has a new cyclone. The discovery of the massive Jovian tempest occurred on Nov. 3, 2019, during the most recent data-gathering flyby of Jupiter by NASA's Juno spacecraft. It was the 22nd flyby during which the solar-powered spacecraft collected science data on the gas giant, soaring only 2,175 miles (3,500 kilometers) above its cloud tops. The flyby also marked a victory for ... more |
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Researchers spy on planets as fluffy as cotton candy Boulder CO (SPX) Dec 20, 2019
Meet what may be the largest carnival delights known to science: the "super-puff" worlds of the Kepler 51 star system.
As their confectionary name suggests, these planets are as lightweight as cotton candy - literally. The fluffy globes are the lowest density exoplanets ever discovered beyond Earth's solar system.
"They're very bizarre," said Jessica Libby-Roberts, a graduate student ... more |
Europe marks 40th anniversary of first Ariane rocket launch Paris (AFP) Dec 22, 2019
The first Ariane space rocket lifted off over the forests of French Guiana 40 years ago, enabling Europe to at last take its place as an independent player in the international race for space.
Following a number of delays and technical setbacks, Ariane 1 finally left the launch pad in Kourou at 2:13 pm local time on December 24, 1979.
Its maiden flight was a so-called qualification fligh ... more |
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China's Xichang set for 20 space launches in 2020 Xichang (XNA) Dec 19, 2019
The Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province will host around 20 launch missions in 2020, including two satellites of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), according to an official from the center.
Wang Zemin, deputy director of the launch center, made the remarks after China successfully sent two BDS satellites into space from Xichang on Monday.
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Asteroid collisions trigger cascading formation of subfamilies, study concludes Sao Paulo, Brazil (SPX) Dec 20, 2019
Billions of years ago, asteroid collisions resulted in the ejection of fragments hundreds of kilometers across and sharing similar orbits. The resulting groups are known as asteroid families.
Other asteroid groups formed as a result of rotational fission, which happens when a rapidly spinning body reaches critical rotation speed and splits into relatively small fragments only a few kilomet ... more |
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Air Force tests ATHENA laser weapon against multiple drones Washington DC (UPI) Nov 07, 2019
Members of the U.S. Air Force used the Advanced Test High Energy Asset, referred to as ATHENA, to shoot down a variety of drones in a Lockheed Martin demonstration of the technology.
In the latest test of the ground-portable laser weapon system, Airmen engaged and shot down multiple fixed wing and rotary drones at a government test range in Fort Sill, Okla., Lockheed said on Thursday. / ... more |
Moscow lifts veil on missile attack warning system Moscow (AFP) Dec 18, 2019
Russia on Wednesday lifted the veil on its tightly guarded space-based missile warning system, ahead of a vote in the US Congress on President Donald Trump's plan to create a new space force.
The new system, named Kupol or dome, is designed to detect launches of ballistic missiles and track them to their landing site, according to documents presented by the general staff to military attaches ... more |
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How Enceladus got its stripes Washington DC (SPX) Dec 10, 2019
Saturn's icy moon Enceladus is of great interest to scientists due to its subsurface ocean, making it a prime target for those searching for life elsewhere. New research led by Carnegie's Doug Hemingway reveals the physics governing the fissures through which oceanwater erupts from the moon's icy surface, giving its south pole an unusual "tiger stripe" appearance.
"First seen by the Cassin ... more |
Creating a nanoscale on-off switch for heat Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Dec 19, 2019
Polymers are used to develop various materials, such as plastics, nylons, and rubbers. In their most basic form, they are made up of many of identical molecules joined together over and over, like a chain. If you engineer molecules to join together in specific ways, you can control the characteristics of the resulting polymer.
Using this method, Sheng Shen, an associate professor of mechan ... more |
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Hebrew U researcher cracks Newton's elusive '3-body' problem Jerusalem (SPX) Dec 19, 2019
It's been nearly 350 years since Sir Isaac Newton outlined the laws of motion, claiming "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." These laws laid the foundation to understand our solar system and, more broadly, to understand the relationship between a body of mass and the forces that act upon it. However, Newton's groundbreaking work also created a pickle that has baffled scie ... more |
Laser-based prototype probes cold atom dynamics Washington DC (SPX) Dec 19, 2019
By tracking the motions of cold atom clouds, astronomers can learn much about the physical processes which play out in the depths of space. To make these measurements, researchers currently use instruments named 'cold atom inertial sensors' which, so far, have largely been operated inside the lab.
In new work published in EPJ D, a team of physicists at Muquans and LNE-SYRTE (the French nat ... more |
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Space history is made in this NASA robot factory Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 27, 2019
Built in 1961, the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is the cradle of robotic space exploration.
The first probes launched to the Moon, Mars and Venus were assembled here. So were all of NASA's Mars rovers, Galileo and Cassini (the first orbiters to Jupiter and Saturn), and the twin Voyager spacecraft that are scouting the farthest re ... more |
AFRL completes two and a half-day ultra leap Wright-Patterson AFB OH (SPX) Dec 17, 2019
The Air Force Research Laboratory's Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI) has successfully completed initial flight tests for a revolutionary Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) with a customizable suite of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) tools that supports extended missions.
This series of flight tests began in Feb. 2019 at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, culminating with a two and ... more |
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