May 29th, 2019
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“We’ve left multiple tracks across the cobblestone plain of Glen Torridon,” reports Dawn Sumner, a planetary geologist at the University of California Davis in Davis, California. “Curiosity had a nice, long drive retracing our path back toward the southwest where we want to look at some rock layers in more detail. It’s always nice […]
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The European Space Agency (ESA) has released two new reports, one on use of space resources and a second document that reviews a strategy for Moon science. Space resources will be a major topic of activity internationally over the next decade and may become a major motivation for investments in space exploration in the […]
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 asteroid probe is slated to perform a Pinpoint Touchdown – Target Marker operation from May 28-30. Preparation for the descent above asteroid Ryugu will take place on May 28 and the spacecraft will start the descent on May 29. On the same day, the spacecraft’s speed will be […]
The European Space Agency (ESA) is working with NASA to explore mission concepts for an international Mars Sample Return campaign between 2020 and 2030. As a first step, however, a key objective of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission is to rigorously document and store a set of samples in canisters in strategic areas to be […]
Satellites are tremendously isolated — once launched into orbit, they are left alone to do their work until they lose power or age into obsolescence. But what if satellites could be upgraded, refueled or repaired while in orbit? The fourth report in The Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy (CSPS) Game […]
It’s going fast…and there’s a new directed energy arms race. One project that’s part of that scenario is the Navy’s electromagnetic (EM) “rail gun,” reportedly due soon to see testing on a warship. That technology may have off-world implications for future Moon exploration and exploitation. The Office of Naval Research work on the […]
Senators Gary Peters (D-Michigan) and Ted Cruz( R-Texas) have introduced a bill — the One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act – seeking to preserve and protect Apollo 11 landing site. The bill notes that the lunar landing sites of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the robotic spacecraft that preceded the Apollo […]
How much of the Solar System should we leave as wilderness – off-limits to human development? That’s the question tackled by Harvard astrophysicist Martin Elvis and Tony Milligan at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King’s College London. Yes, the Solar System is big, the researchers admit. It is so big, they add, […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2416 science tasks. Reports Fred Calef, a planetary geologist at the NASA/JPL in Pasadena, California, after Curiosity made a short drive of roughly 20 feet (six meters) to “Hallaig,” the science team began the investigation of a new potential drill target named “Broad Cairn,” a flat spot […]
U.S. Vice-President Pence recently announced the Trump Administration’s goal of returning American astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024. That NASA plan is nicknamed “Artemis.” Last week the Administration delivered to Congress an amendment to its initially proposed fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget to reflect this ambitious new goal. Pell grant reductions […]
