February 16th, 2019
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NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has observed the landing site of China’s Chang’e-4 lunar probe for the third time, capturing a much sharper view. LRO passed nearly overhead the Chang’e-4 landing site on Feb. 1, giving a 0.85-meter per pixel picture of the lander and Yutu-2 rover (Jade Rabbit-2) from an altitude of 50 […]
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Preparations for touchdown of Japan’s Hayabusa2 on asteroid Ryugu are steadily proceeding. Touchdown time on February 22 is around 8:00 am JST. The touchdown location is an area named L08-E1, just beside the location of earlier ejected target marker. “Because the width is only about 6 meters here, very precise navigation guidance is necessary, […]
Five sites on the Moon’s farside now have official names, including the landing site of China’s Chang’e-4 mission. The names have significance in Chinese culture, reflecting the background of the probe’s team. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the name Statio Tianhe for the landing site where the […]
NanoRacks has announced the firm has successfully completed its sixth CubeSat deployment mission from Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft. Cygnus (S.S. John Young) departed the International Space Station on February 8th, 2019 and performed a number of on-orbit activities, including the NanoRacks deployment on February 13th. KickSat-2 One of those deployments was the KickSat-2, let […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2320 duties and at work within the Glen Torridon site. Reports Lucy Thompson, a planetary geologist from the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada: “Similar to its namesake in Scotland, the Glen Torridon area on Mars affords us stunning vistas, but in our case, of […]
I am pleased to be part of National Geographic’s yearlong journey – Starstruck — exploring the past, present, and future of space exploration. My new book for National Geographic – Moon Rush: The New Space Race – will be launched in May, a volume that explores the Moon in all its facets, from […]
NASA’s InSight Mars lander has successfully achieve a major milestone by deploying the German-supplied Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3). Like the seismometer and Wind and Thermal Shield, the HP3 was placed on the surface of Mars by InSight’s robotic arm. HP3 is designed to burrow down beneath the Red Planet’s topside — with […]
The InSight Mars lander has successfully placed the self-penetrating temperature and thermal conductivity probe (HP3) down safely on the surface of Mars! “The team here is extremely happy to have completed this step after waiting for more than a month for deployment,” reports Tilman Spohn, principal investigator of the device from the German Aerospace Center […]
Leo Aerospace LLC has given notice that the group had a successful launch of a rocket from a high-altitude balloon – a concept that team members see as making space accessible to microsatellites. The startup idea was developed while they were students at Purdue University. Leo Aerospace is a Purdue University-affiliated startup based in Los […]
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has released “Challenges to Security in Space,” a report that examines the space and counterspace programs that could challenge U.S. or partner interests in the space domain. The report notes that “space-based capabilities provide integral support to military, commercial and civilian applications” and that “longstanding technological and cost barriers to […]
