March 13th, 2018
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It’s called CubeRover – a novel and new small rover platform for the Moon. Astrobotic, in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, has been selected by NASA for a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (or SBIR) Award to develop this 4.4 pound (2-kilogram) rover platform capable of small-scale science and exploration on the Moon […]
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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now carrying out Sol 1991 science duties. Reports Ryan Anderson, a planetary geologist at the USGS in Flagstaff, Arizona: “After a successful weekend plan, the team decided that for the sol 1991-1992 plan, we would trade a longer-distance drive in favor of some ‘touch and go’ contact science. This ensures […]
For the first time, the Moon’s far side will be on the receiving end of a robotic lunar lander – China’s Chang’e-4. Zhao Xiaojin, secretary of the CPC (Communist Party of China) committee at the China Aerospace Science and Technology (CAST), explains that the two-phase Chang’e-4 mission is being readied for launch in the first […]
Elon Musk sits with film director and friend Jonathan Nolan to answer questions from the audience at SXSW 2018, an event being held in Austin, Texas. The SpaceX chief rocketeer addresses his moves on the Moon and Mars, governance of the first Mars colony, along with concerns about the future of artificial intelligence, the Earth’s […]
“Life cannot just be about solving one sad problem after another. There need to be things that inspire you, that make you glad to wake up in the morning and be part of humanity. That is why we did it. We did for you.” When Falcon Heavy lifted off, it became the most powerful operational […]
The Earth Gazers: On Seeing Ourselves by Christopher Potter, Pegasus Books, 2018; 400 pages; $28.95 hardcover. This is a very readable and enjoyable volume, one that provides an appealing perspective concerning those space travelers who peered through windows to take in the view of Earth from the vacuum void. Divided into three parts, the book’s […]
Vice President Mike Pence Briefed U.S. President Trump and the Cabinet on March 8 regarding the National Space Council – led by Pence. “This Administration is leading in space,” Pence tweeted, “by bringing together private sector & federal gov’t – huge advances! We’ll continue to strengthen national security & unleash innovation, which creates high-paying jobs […]
Seasons make a big difference for Mars vistas, reports Roger Wiens, Curiosity’s Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) principal investigator and geochemist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The Red Planet is halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox in the southern hemisphere where the robot now resides. “The atmosphere around the globe is the […]
A third edition of the Global Exploration Roadmap has been issued, a report that includes a step-by-step explanation of China’s future space station objectives for the 2020s. The newly issued Roadmap outlines the interests of 14 space agencies that belong to the ISECG, a group that includes the China National Space Administration. Two phases As […]
Agencies participating in the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) are advancing a long-range international exploration strategy to expand human presence into the Solar System, which begins with the International Space Station, proceeds to the Moon, and leads to human missions to explore Mars. A third edition of the Global Exploration Roadmap has been […]
