February 8th, 2018
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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is just starting Sol 1959 operations. Michelle Minitti, a planetary geologist; for Framework in Silver Spring, Maryland, says expect “old site, new tricks.” Turns out that recovering from a recent fault with the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite “proved more challenging than expected, so our planned drive to the […]
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Prototype Moon rover work is being spearheaded by the European Space Agency. The work is being carried out under the ESA-led Human-Enhanced Robotic Architecture and Capabilities for Lunar Exploration and Science, or Heracles for short. Heracles is underway as a cooperative effort with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency […]
Space watcher and astrophotographer, Derek Breit of Morgan Hill, California, snagged impressive video of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy engine burn, hurling a Tesla Roadster outward into deep space. Breit has added the video to his notable gallery page, which contains pre-burn video too. This is posted to: http://www.poyntsource.com/New/Gallery.htm Scroll down to bottom of resources available […]
A new reentry time window forecast for the fall of China’s Tiangong-1 space lab has been provided by the Space Debris Office at the European Space Agency’s ESOC mission control centre, Darmstadt, Germany. The current estimated window is now roughly March 25 to approximately April 17, with the caveat “this is highly variable.” Reentry will […]
February 6, 2018: For this test flight, Falcon Heavy’s two side cores are both flight-proven. One launched the Thaicom 8 satellite in May 2016 and the other supported the CRS-9 mission in July 2016. SpaceX attempted to land all three of Falcon Heavy’s first stage cores during this test. Following booster separation, Falcon Heavy’s two […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 1957 operations. During Sols 1957-1958, the robot is to make its way toward a gray patch on Mars, reports Rachel Kronyak, a planetary geologist at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. “Over the past several months we’ve made excellent progress up and along the Vera Rubin Ridge […]
The countdown clock for the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster is near at hand, slated to reach zero on February 6. This mega-booster comes factory equipped with a Tesla Roadster as payload/ballast, meant to be hurled outward into space. Want to know more? Check out my new Space.com story: […]
First the good news: Significant asteroid impacts are, fortunately, few and far between. However, a major asteroid strike could cause widespread devastation and profoundly affect life on Earth. At this moment in time, a small group of nations have the expertise and resources needed to protect their territory and the entire planet. Technical and […]
Now wheeling and dealing with Mars on Sol 1954, NASA’s Curiosity rover operations feel like Groundhog Day, reports Abigail Fraeman, a planetary geologist at NASA/JPL in Pasadena, California. “Every February 2nd the people of the United States and Canada observe a quirky holiday called Groundhog Day. In the US, the country turns its eyes to […]
A highly international analog field simulation is in “green for go” mode, prepared to mimic a Red Planet expedition. The site: In the Arabian desert Dhofar region, Oman. Four-week simulation AMADEE-18 is a Mars simulation mission led by the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) in partnership with the Oman National Steering Committee and international research […]
